Author’s page at MuseItUp Publishing
Forging Day 
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Tags: ADULT CONTENT magic, werewolves, fantasy, contemporary fantasy, elves, urban fantasy, serial rapist, murder, alternative reality, parallel universe, online games, role-playing games, faires, friends are family, self-growth, bisexual, lesbian
Back Cover
Global apocalypse never felt so good.
Olivia almost has the perfect life. She almost has a job. She almost has a boyfriend. She almost has a future.
It’s a good thing she has friends.
On a sunny day in June, the entire world steps sideways into a new reality—out of this chaos, almost a third of the human population find themselves transformed into Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, and Trolls. Olivia is now a Dark Elf mage, and her new girlfriend is one sexy kitty.
With magic, however, come monsters, and things that draw blood in the night— and now a werewolf is carving a path of pain and terror through the park next to Olivia’s home. The old Olivia would have been hiding under her sister’s bed.
The new Olivia is going hunting.
Adversity is the forge of the soul. For Olivia, today is Forging Day.
Excerpt
I was having a bad dream that I fell into a campfire and my arm was on fire, and then I woke up the rest of the way and it felt much worse. Somehow, I’d ended up on the ground. I was cold and wet, and Berto was doing something excruciating to my arm. “Hold still Olivia. I’m almost done.”
It was still dark, so I couldn’t have been out that long. “Hey Olivia, you gonna make a habit of fainting now? The Dark Elves, they gonna kick you out of the club.” Korembi’s upside-down face appeared, his hands on my shoulders keeping me pinned while Berto worked.
There seemed to be a lot more people gathered around, talking in low voices. “Seth had the sense to come get us when you passed out,” Kat murmured, her whiskers tickling my ear. “We were already discussing things with Korembi when he showed up, so we moved everyone down here.” She kissed my forehead and she felt all soft and furry. “Stop scaring me like that! You’ve only been a Dark Elf for a couple of hours and you’ve nearly been killed twice now.”
Dark Elves were supposed to be tough, at least according to all of the stories I’d read and games I’d played. Clearly I was doing it wrong.
Mike was wrapped in a blanket near the campfire and drinking from a mug while Wendy hovered over him. Of the people that made it to Wendy’s campsite, Mike and I seemed to have suffered the worst injuries so far. A fairly steady stream of vehicles was crunching down the gravel roads, though.
Korembi helped me into a chair, and Berto used some kind of sling and strap to bind my injured left arm tightly to my chest. As soon as I was settled, Kat produced a mug of faintly steaming beef broth with a slight medicinal flavor. She held the mug for me while I drank.
“The cities may be dangerous, but we can’t stay here,” said Korembi. “I don’t think we can just drive off into the dark and hope for the best, either. Razaini and I, we feel the wild speak to us. We say wait here for now, and let us do some scouting.”
Mikah spoke from somewhere behind me. “No one should be going off alone right now.”
“We not be going alone, mon. I feel—we feel— our spirit animals under the skin, scratching to get out. We stay here, with the rest of you guarding us, and send our spirit animals to have a look around.”
It sounded crazy, but given everything we’d seen tonight, it actually seemed like a halfway decent plan. It wasn’t like I had any better ideas.
They sketched out a circle in the dirt, off to the side from the camp fire. Sitting cross-legged inside the circle, facing each other, Razaini and Korembi lit two incense sticks, standing them up in the ground. Their eyes closed and they swayed together, chanting in a language I couldn’t understand. A ghost raptor burst free from Korembi and took off running impossibly fast to the south. A pterodactyl flew from Razaini, winging skyward to the north.
The other Trolls stared at them. They looked as surprised as we were. “Wonder how long this is going to take?” asked one of them.
“Who knows? As long we’re hanging out together, how about some introductions?” said one of the women. “I’m Sonya, but I go by Soni. This lug here is my boyfriend, Wonu, or Frank as he’s known in the mundane world of academia.” She pointed. “That’s Zonu—John—and Saeazi—Stacy.” They all waved. “Last, but not least, there’s Huka—Henry—and Talju—May. None of us know how she puts up with him—those crazy kids.”
Sonya started in on a story about last year’s dig and someone getting stranded in a porta-john, and I faded out. I must have slept again a little, because next thing I knew, Kat was urging me to wake up. “They’re back.”
They both looked exhilarated, but pale under their greenish skin. “Amazing, mon. Amazing. The spirits, they be everywhere.”
Razaini spoke first. “Sorry kids, but north is no good. The snow gates were closed, and I saw a sign that said Humans Only. I saw ranchers with shotguns, and more wolves than you could possibly imagine. The crazy thing was that with a lot of the wolves, I could see right through them—but that didn’t stop them from attacking things. Spirit or not, they were drawing blood.”
Korembi hugged her a moment, and cleared his throat. “I think we can still get south. We can reach the main road and avoid town for quite a ways.”
“Please come with us,” Mikah said. “There’s plenty of room at our house in Denver. I called a friend already and the place is still secure. If we can get there, we’ll be safe for now.”
The rest of the Trolls looked expectantly to Korembi and Razaini. Korembi nodded and answered. “We be happy to accept, mon.”
Wendy said, “My sister has a ranch out east. We’re going to try and reach her place. Berto, thank you. I don’t know what we would have done without you.” She went over and gave him a hug. Mike smiled weakly.
“I’m glad I was able to help.” Berto hugged her back. “Mike, you should be okay for now, but you’ll still want to see a regular doctor as soon as you can. I suggest you take the creature’s body with you, just in case they need to test it for anything.”
Furious Misfortune: Overture
Series Crucible of Change: Companion book 1.5 
Genre: Magical Realism Urban Fantasy
Tags: Magic, fantasy, contemporary fantasy, elves, urban fantasy, murder, alternative reality, parallel universe, online games, role-playing games, trolls, wizards, magic, military
Description
When the oddballs of Zeta Company are assigned to guard a top secret research facility they assume it’s just another in a long line of crappy punishment details. This time they’re wrong. Someone needs to salvage the situation and prevent an imminent global apocalypse. Unfortunately, they were brought to the assignment about a month too late. Now they have to win the hearts and minds of both hostile and amorous scientists. They are the only men for the job.
With a chimpanzee who throws exploding poo. Tunnels filled with flying rats. The nymphomaniac Troll. And nobody wants to milk the chupa. Zeta Company has finally found a home.
Excerpt
Augie was only snuffling a little when he grabbed a hazmat suit from a hanging rack. His name was on it. Using his keycard, he entered the first door on the right.
The animal lab was through the third door on the right. Glory went in first and it seemed to him the room was much too quiet.
When Doctor Donne shoved her way past him, one of the enclosures erupted with loud squeals. “Who’s a good boy, Percy?” she said. “And how is our little Gwennie?”
Two piglets shouldered each other side, vying for Doctor Donne’s attention as she scruffed them behind their ears.
“Doctor,” said Shonice. “Jasper’s missing and the rats are all gone. Looks like the mice cages are empty too.”
“What do you mean, gone?” said Doctor Donne. “He’s not..dead, is he?”
“No,” said Shonice. “I mean gone as in missing.”
The door to a large cage hung open. It appeared to be undamaged. Of more immediate concern was the gaping hole beyond the cage. Something had blasted into solid concrete. The ventilation duct stood exposed. Several bloody flying rat bodies littered the floor below the duct opening.
“Shonice, take care of Percy and Gwen,” said Doctor Donne. “Lieutenant, do you happen to have a flashlight stashed somewhere about your person?”
“I do, ma’am, and I’d appreciate if you’d stay back and allow me to look in that duct,” said Glory.
As he approached the dark opening, a broken, bloody rat sailed out, striking him center mass. He jumped back, bringing his weapon to bear.
“Don’t you dare shoot! What if it’s Jasper?” said Doctor Donne. “Wait and see before you get all trigger happy.”
Three more rats sailed out of the duct, followed by a chimpanzee in a navy blue jumpsuit with the name tag Jasper. His mouth and fingers were bloody and the look he gave Glory was not at all friendly, but he broke into a wide smile at the sight of Doctor Donne. He loped over to her, leaping into a hug.
“Thank goodness you’re okay,” said Doctor Donne. “I was worried about you, little rascal.”
Jasper stepped back and gesticulated wildly. It took Glory a minute to recognize the chimp’s wild signing.
Glory had missed the beginning of whatever Jasper was saying, but he was sure the sign he’d just seen was for hunting.
“Jasper was hunting rats,” translated Doctor Donne. “One of them had hot eyes and made a hole in the cage. It got through the vent cover and into the ducts, followed by the other rats. Jasper let himself out of his cage and followed. He says he got many of the rats, but could not find Hot Eyes.”
“Which one of these cages held the rats?” asked Glory.
“All of the cages along this wall,” said Doctor Donne. “We had a lot of rats.”
Glory examined the nearest cage. It looked like a laser had cut through the metal bars. The same small hole appeared in each cage. Great.
“What’s your plan?” asked Glory.
“I’m going to ask Jasper to come with us,” said Doctor Donne. “We can give the pigs enough supplies to last for a week. There is a cover for their cage but it won’t protect them from a rat that can burn through iron bars. Shonice, new plan. Get together supplies we can bring with us and put Percy and Gwen in their harnesses.”
Glory covered the open duct while Jasper packed a small backpack.
He glanced at Glory then signed to Doctor Donne.
“Lieutenant? Jasper thinks you should attempt to cover the opening to that duct.”
“And does Jasper have a suggestion on what material would be impervious to lasers?” asked Glory.
Jasper made a rude noise and signed something else.
“How should he know? You’re the soldier. He’s just a chimp,” said Doctor Donne.
* * * *
Augie cycled through the double doors of lab one. He’d cranked up the external sound pickups on his suit. He didn’t hear anything but his own footsteps in the empty lab. No screeching of those hell-born rats.
He retrieved the case of Prep RQ3 first and sat it on the counter near the door. If he forgot it after all this Doctor Hastings would kill him.
As long as he was here, he ran through the normal safety checklist. It was a damn shame he had to put the Decilian sample into the freezer. It had been coming along nicely. He slipped a little as he walked by the bench with the Ervinox 12. Someone must have spilled something and then left it to him to mop up. Typical.
He heard a faint hissing as he closed the cold storage door. It sounded like one of the gas lines was open. He must have bumped something in this stupid suit. He got cleaning rags and was almost back to where he’d slipped when the sole of his foot started itching. He stared at the spot on the floor. The tile bubbled and melted as he watched and the sensation in his foot moved from itching to pain.
Something black and viscous oozed across the counter and onto the gas shutoff valve. Air sensor alarms began bleating as the valve disappeared and the ooze expanded. He caught himself as his foot went abruptly numb and he missed his step. The stuff had already hit his nervous system. He didn’t want to look down, but he couldn’t stop himself.
The hissing noise was gone and his ears were ringing. What was left of his boot was slightly behind him. The inside of the boot roiled black. More creeping black ooze crept up the pant leg of the suit. If that thing got out of this lab they’d never stop it. Why did he have to wear that red shirt this morning?
Family Values Book 2
Tags: ADULT CONTENT magic, fantasy, contemporary fantasy, elves, urban fantasy, murder, alternative reality, parallel universe, online games, role-playing games, trolls, bisexual, lesbian, wizards, magic, eco-terrorists
Description
How do you deal with challenges that can’t be solved with a well-timed exploding bluebird?
The world has settled down remarkably well in the wake of the Change that turned a full third of the Human population into Elves, Dwarves, Trolls and more. People are back at work, buses are on time, and—thankfully for Olivia Mitchell—the hospitals are learning how to care for Dark Elves. Olivia is even behaving like a responsible citizen, using her magic to help drive back the flesh-eating slime creatures and mutant coyotes emerging from the former Rocky Mountain Arsenal.
That part is easy. The rest of her life is as chaotic as ever. Her relationships are up in the air, Mikah’s parents have arrived—doing their level best to disrupt everyone’s lives—and on top of all that, Olivia just might be expecting.
Who—or what—is behind the growing disruption at the arsenal? If Olivia doesn’t want to end up a sacrifice in a fiery ritual, she’d better figure it out.
Excerpt
The four of us got into the Hummer and Leo gunned it a little faster than I was entirely comfortable with. We crested a slight rise in the road, and the pack of slimes was right there. Leo hit the brakes, and we would have been okay if he hadn’t clipped the one small slime. The Hummer lurched as the tire was consumed, and sparks flew when the rim hit the ground.
We spun to a hard stop, and the truck shook under the onslaught of the slimes. Not only were they eating our ride; they were getting bigger by the minute.
“We have to get out of here while we still can,” Leo said as he and Skeeter lowered their windows. “We’re going to get on the roof. I think we can leap clear of the slimes from there. Olivia, come here and I’ll give you a boost.”
He supported me out the open window as I got a grip on the roof rack and pulled myself out of the window and onto the roof. I helped Sharon climb up from her side and realized the roof escape wasn’t going to work for Leo and Skeeter. They were too big for the windows. I think they knew it.
Leo was on the side nearest to the Arsenal, and there were only smaller slimes on Skeeter’s side.
“You guys get ready,” I told them. “I’m going to plow the road. It’ll probably get a little toasty.”
I knelt, bracing myself against the roof rack. The magic balls of fire scattered, burning the smaller slimes. I had no idea where the gas tank was on this beast. I hoped I was nowhere near it. “Skeeter, now!” I yelled.
He flung the door open and vaulted over the burning slime. Leo scrambled over the center console and was right behind him.
The Hummer lurched as another tire disappeared, nearly bucking me off on my head. Crawling toward the back of the roof, I shot more flame at the slimes behind us. One was already up to the bumper and had a silvery sheen to it. I threw another blast of flame and the damn thing exploded, spraying burning globs of acid.
The whole truck listed to the left and I fell forward, catching myself on the roof rack and finding myself eye-to-whatever a giant slime saw with.
Sharon jerked me backward just as Leo shouted, “Jump!”
She and I scrambled uphill, away from the giant slime, and threw ourselves off the edge of the roof. I landed hard and skidded along the asphalt. So much for the legendary Elven cat-like grace. At least I avoided the slime eating the last rear tire. Sharon landed neatly and rolled to her feet.
I threw flame at the slime I could see, but it was only enough to annoy it. It turned away from the tire and oozed toward me. “Leo, I need you!”
I tore off my glove as he ran over. I put one bare hand on his cheek and pulled at his energy, throwing flame at the slime as it touched the tips of my boots. I yanked my feet free before the bubbling reached my toes.
There was one more smallish slime, and the giant slime was nearly finished eating its way through the Hummer. It was coming this way. I threw one more blast at the smaller one, and it was another exploder. I threw my arm over my eyes in time, but the painful splashes gave me a new appreciation for acid rain.
“Olivia, the big one,” Skeeter yelled. “They don’t like cold!”
More sirens split the air, but I wasn’t confident our backup would get here fast enough. Leo was trying to help, but he had no more energy to spare. The coldest thing I could think of was from chemistry back in high school. I remembered the teacher bringing in an insulated bottle of liquid nitrogen. It was one of the few classes I didn’t sleep through. I loved watching him freeze and shatter things.
“Skeeter, I’m sorry, but I need you,” I said. I put my hand on his neck, and pulled hard on his strong life force. I cast a stream of liquid nitrogen on the biggest slime. At first it did nothing, but finally it was slowing. I poured energy into the magic stream until Skeeter fell away. The slime stood there like an obscene gelatin mold. “Stand back,” I said and held up my hand. “Crom!” I felt the heft of the glowing silver hammer and brought it down on the motionless slime. It shattered, throwing shards in every direction. I was knocked back, slamming into the street.
Strong hands pulled us away from the wreckage and officers formed a line between us and the Arsenal. My head pounded with a relentless migraine. I heard Sharon talking but I couldn’t understand her through the buzzing in my ears. All I could see were starbursts of light in my eyes.
I was pretty sure I’d bottomed out in misery, but I was wrong. I was still waiting for my head to stop spinning when I was shoved into a tent the size of an inflatable porta-john and sprayed with far too much astringent cold water. I was ready to sit on the ground and cry when I was yanked out and wrapped in several layers of heated blankets. I had a vague awareness of the others receiving the same treatment.
They cut my clothes off on the way in, and bundled everything into hazmat containers. I didn’t care what they did with my ruined clothes, but I demanded they empty out my backpack before it suffered the same fate. I couldn’t replace those items.
It was probably a good thing they loaded us into ambulances and hustled us to the hospital. We were fresh out of vehicles. Leo was never going to get his deposit back on what was left of the Hummer.
California Dreaming, book 3
Tags: ADULT CONTENT, magic, fantasy, contemporary fantasy, elves, urban fantasy, murder, alternative reality, parallel universe, online games, role-playing games, trolls, bisexual, lesbian, wizards, magic
Description
After battling mutant slime creatures, eco-terrorists, and a ruthless mage bent on making her the guest of honor at a human sacrifice, Olivia Mitchell was looking forward to a nice, long, all-expenses-paid vacation in southern California. Frank is busy training for his role in the latest Warblade venture – a really series called Dungeon Raiders. While Frank learns the skills he’ll need for the show, it’s time for Olivia to decide what she wants to do with her new life.
Olivia planned to relax, do a little artwork, and bask in the glow of expectant motherhood. She forgot that a ‘trouble magnet’ doesn’t have an off switch and relaxing isn’t in her genes. With the help of a powerful mentor, Olivia is taking her magic skills to another level – studying harder than she ever did in college. At the same time a mysterious gallery owner promises to bring Olivia’s artwork to a new audience. It would be fame beyond her wildest dreams – if she’s willing to pay the price.
Television cameras attract all manner of crazy. Olivia wasn’t prepared to obsessed fans, and she didn’t expect the crazy team politics or would-be romantic rivals. Add a doctor with the world’s worst bedside manner and Olivia’s life behind the scenes far more dramatic than anything that’s actually part of the show. The chaos also cloaks a very real threat: a twisted mage from another world, intent on putting Olivia and her children on display in his personal menagerie.
It’s time for Olivia to get her Mommy Rage on – and this time, she’s killing for three.
Excerpt
My sister has long told me, “Opportunity knocks. You just have to let it in.” This time opportunity took the form of Lorena Norris and Avalanche Entertainment. The company was only the maker of Warblade, the most popular online fantasy role-playing game on the planet right now, and Lorena was here to make us an offer we couldn’t refuse. When opportunity tracks you down to a hotel in New York City, kicks in the door, and grabs you by the scruff of the neck, how can you argue?
Our very public defeat of an evil wizard back home in Colorado, and Frank’s beheading of said wizard on national television, had gotten us invited to The Morning Show in New York. Lorena had good timing. I’d been let go as a consulting mage with the police due to being pregnant with twins, and Frank had parted ways with his teaching job at the university, mainly because he cared more about rescuing me from being the sacrificial guest of honor of the wizard than teaching paleontology to bored college students.
Lorena had cryptically promised us a chance to be part of the greatest new adventure in the Warblade franchise. Of course we agreed to meet her for lunch.
We arrived at the restaurant a bit before the appointed time, but according to the host, Lorena was already there. Rounding the corner of the bar, Lorena, sitting at a secluded corner table, came into view. I stopped so abruptly that Frank ran into me. Lorena was an actual Damazi from Warblade. She was all blue, with long black hair and sparkling green eyes. Later, I would find she also had the satyr legs and a blue furry tail shading to black. She was truly stunning.
She stood and shook hands with each of us when we reached the table. “I’m delighted to finally meet you in person.”
I wondered if the other diners were looking at us as the set-up for a joke. A Damazi, a Dark Elf, and a Troll walk into a restaurant…The mind boggled.
“Order whatever you’d like,” she said. “Avalanche is picking up the bill.”
After we’d placed our orders, she handed each of us a folder labeled Operation Epic Loot Drop. “Next month at BuzzCon, Avalanche will be announcing a new franchise of Warblade; a live action version, as a matter of fact. The working title is Dungeon Raiders and we’re going to bring television and gaming together in a way that’s never been done before. We have a number of other recruits, but when I saw the footage from the Arsenal, and found the older news footage of Olivia, I knew with the two of you we’d found the perfect pair to lead one of our teams.”
“What’s involved?” asked Frank.
“I have contracts and detailed information in the packets, and we’re about to hold our orientation session,” said Lorena. “I’d like you to take the time to read through the packets but I do need to ask you to sign the non-disclosure agreements first. Mainly they say that you won’t publically divulge information about this venture before it’s officially announced.”
“That seems fair,” I said.
The agreement was the first page inside of each folder. I admit it; I just skimmed through the legalese and signed. Hopefully I hadn’t just promised to sell her a kidney.
“With Dungeon Raiders, we plan to run mixed teams of Humans and Changed through challenges, both physical and mental, in pursuit of a million dollar prize. Our cast will go through an intense training program from April through June and we begin filming in July. We will, of course, be providing all room and board during training and filming. And that’s on top of the pay for being a cast member.”
“How physical are you talking?” I asked. “I’m pregnant with twins.”
“I found that out today during your appearance on The Morning Show,” said Lorena. “Gordon and I spoke, and we would still like you to be part of the cast. You wouldn’t take part in any physical challenges, but we see a great story line with you as Frank’s love interest. We’re not just planning adventures; we want the cast to have background stories that draw people in each week.”
“If you’re starting this in April, when is the orientation?” asked Frank. “We’re halfway through March already.”
“That’s the thing,” said Lorena. “It took us some time to find you and make contact. The orientation in Santa Barbara starts with a cocktail party tomorrow evening. I know the timing is tight, but I feel in my gut that this can be the beginning of a whole new life for the two of you.”
“Wow. That’s really short notice,” I said. “We have tickets back to Denver for tomorrow. I don’t know if we could even get a flight that fast, and that’s if we decided to do it.”
“Avalanche will reimburse you for those tickets,” said Lorena. “I flew out here on a friend’s private jet. If you agree, you can fly back to California with me. The orientation finishes on Sunday. If you join the team, as a signing bonus, we’d like to send you to Las Vegas for a few days of rest and relaxation at The Trove before flying you home to Denver. What do you say?”
“I say…we need to talk about this,” said Frank. “You’ve given us a lot to think about.”
“I have one other small gift I’d like to share with you before I let you go.” Lorena tapped the box sitting in front of her at the table. Inside the box proved to be too smaller boxes. She looked at the bottom of the first one before handing it to Frank. The other one went to me. “Go ahead. Open them.”