Tag: fiction

My New Psychological Thriller – SEVEN ANGELS (Query)

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I’m currently sending out queries for my latest novel, a psychological thriller called SEVEN ANGELS. I was inspired to write this novel during the lockdown era of Covid. People were acting crazier than normal. I was also inspired by thinking about how easy it would be for a serial killer to kill and hide his victims while the authorities were distracted by national matters.

SEVEN ANGELS QUERY:

Emma Meyer, an anxiety-ridden MIT dropout, is struggling with her mental health during the summer of lockdown in Northern Virginia. Unemployed and desperate to avoid her alcoholic mother—who she’s stuck in the house with most of the day—Emma becomes obsessed with true crime podcasts. She learns of the “Hollow Man,” an urban legend in the local area rumored to be responsible for the murder of twelve young women who have disappeared without a trace. Emma’s bubbly friend Hani Abdullahi (a TikTok influencer with growing fame) tries to lift Emma’s spirits by giving her number to Luke Taylor—a charismatic landscaper with a Captain America smile. From the moment Emma meets Luke, she gets an ice-cold feeling in her gut.

Emma’s unease only deepens as she notices strange coincidences and signs that Luke might be stalking her. She starts to wonder if he’s the infamous Hollow Man from her true crime podcasts, or if lockdown is just kicking her morbid imagination into overdrive. Meanwhile, Hani, eager to avoid her overprotective family, grows closer to Luke, uncovering traumatic secrets behind his charming facade. With the lines between fear, reality, and attraction blurring, the girls must work together to expose Luke’s true nature before the Hollow Man pulls off his largest disappearing act yet.

AUTHOR NOTES:

Much like NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell, SEVEN ANGELS has an unreliable narrator coupled with the fast pacing of a psychological thriller. My novel also has the sinister, comedic deadpan tone of Oyinkan Braithwaite’s MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER.  

If you are interested in this story, don’t hesitate to reach out by leaving a comment or emailing me at jbjwrites@gmail.com

50 Word Stories of 2023 is Now Out!

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The Vine Leaves Press 2023 anthology of 50-word stories was just published yesterday.

My micro-fiction on chemotherapy, “The Red Devil,” is a part of this anthology.

The anthology is a fun collection of stories to keep on a coffee table. Each story only takes about 30 seconds or less to read. For anyone looking to write micro-fiction, or for those who have limited time for reading these days, I would highly recommend you check it out.

8 New Agents Seeking Cookbooks, Kidlit, Horror, LGBTQ, Women’s Fiction, SFF, and more!

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Erica Verrillo has been kind enough to share a list of 8 new agents seeking clients. She states that all the agents work for established agencies, have good track records, and are looking to represent all genres.

Check out the list here!

“The Hot Ghoul Summer” – A Microfiction Told Via Cocktail Recipe

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I recently accepted a creative challenge to write a dark fantasy story in the form of a cocktail recipe. I wrote “The Hot Ghoul Summer” for all the creatures of the night who may be bored with their unlives and looking to spice things up with the right cocktail.

I am happy to report it just got published in The Chamber Magazine’s July 2023 edition.

Check it out here!

“The Burning Soldier” – Microfiction on Mercury

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Unable to sleep, Myrilla Nakamura passed the time staring out the glasssteel observation blister of the transport ship, idly admiring the silver rings hugging Mercury below. 

Educational text flitted across her eyelinks in neon red. It was a welcome distraction from the fighter ships exploding through her memories. “Each ring is made up of millions of orbital solar arrays, which are constantly harnessing energy. This close to the sun, the arrays burn out quickly. Yet with the abundance of silicon on Mercury’s surface, hundreds more can be rapidly constructed—”

—They’re all disposable, Myrilla thought. A million burning soldiers. Just like me.

Author’s Note: The mercenary, Myrilla Nakamura, is a character that I’ve included in another story I wrote about Mercury, “The Blind Mystic,” which was published in The Vanishing Point Magazine. You can purchase it on Amazon.

The image source is here.

If you want to write some hard sci-fi about Mercury yourself, check out my World Building Guide to Mercury.

If you liked this story and want to read more, check out my collection of stories here. Many are online, available to read for free.

Similar Micro-Fiction:

Life on Jupiter’s Ocean Moon Europa – Micro-fiction

Upcoming Utopia and Climate Conference for Creatives – 2023

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Explore and learn with paradigm shifting CliFi authors, artists, film makers, and world-builders.

The 2nd annual Utopia Awards will highlight and honor authors, artists, and other creators producing works focused on hopeful outlooks, solutions to climate change and related social problems, and building a better future.

The Climate Fiction Conference will host panel discussions and workshops on a range of related topics, including but not necessarily limited to

  • climate fiction (as well as poetry, nonfiction, art, games, and film)
  • writing craft development
  • climate change, climate tech, and climate solutions
  • sci-fi punk genres such as solarpunk, hopepunk, ecopunk, biopunk, cyberpunk, and steampunk

Conference Website

“Body Share” 100-Word Cyberpunk Micro-fiction

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Have you ever wondered if the people in a world like that of Altered Carbon ever downloaded into the wrong body by accident? Maybe after a few too many drinks?

An instance of, “Dude, where’s my body?”

Check out my short, 100 word story on the premise below:

BODY SHARE MICRO FICTION

“Shit. Not again.” The body Avery woke up in this time had BO that smelled like moldy onions. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the little black hairs protruding from every pore, like a forest of sweaty spider legs.

What was that phrase they taught you in college? Don’t body share while intoxicated? Next time she’d be more responsible. She’d only have one, or two drinks max before she downloaded.

Avery called Body Share tech support. She went straight to voicemail. That’s right. It was Sunday.

She rubbed her face. She did like the beard though.

NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR

Originally the story was published here on Martian Magazine’s website with non-exclusionary publishing rights (meaning I can also publish it elsewhere). However, the site unfortunately is not around anymore, hence me posting my story above. Many people started asking how to access it or were trying to see it, so I finally posted it here on my author website.

The image source for this post is here.