My Shorts

 Novellas, novelettes, short stories

Read short snippets from my books, perhaps one or two will catch your attention.

Happy reading!

Family Tradition

 A Halloween story by

Erika M Szabo

“Sara, go put on your sparkly shoes while I talk to your grandma,” Mandy shooed her little fairy out of the kitchen and turned to her mother. “Mom, I have three this year. The first one is a bad man who lives at 21 Mayberry Street. He’s been beating his wife and daughter in his drunken rages for months and the poor woman is afraid to leave him because he threatened to kill her and the little girl if she ever leaves.

“Got it,” the old lady nodded with a serious expression on her wrinkled face.

Mandy continued, “The next one is the shifty lawyer at 13 Viola Street. She twists and turns the law and uses dirty tricks to defend her clients. A rich child molester is free because of her. They both deserve punishment. The man lives at 52 Madison Street in the big mansion.”

“Indeed, they do,” her mother exclaimed and put on a wild smile as she heard Sara running down the stairs. Are you ready, pumpkin?”

“Let’s go, Grandma,” Sarah grabbed the old lady’s hand and pulled her toward the front door. “We don’t want to miss the best candy!”

The next day as the woman opened the front door at 21 Mayberry street, she wondered where her no-good husband could be. She covered her bruised face and winced in pain. He didn’t come home last night. She thought feeling worried. Probably he drank too much and sleeping it off somewhere. I hope he’ll be sober by the time he gets home; he doesn’t get too angry with me when he’s sober.

She picked up the newspaper and as she straightened up, she spotted a large, rotten pumpkin on the bottom step. “This one is rotten already,” she mumbled, picked up the heavy pumpkin and threw it in the compost box in the back.

A weak but angry voice shouted from the pumpkin, “Put me down, you stupid woman! It’s me, don’t you see? I’m gonna kill you, I will!”

But the woman didn’t hear the voice and as the pumpkin hit the pile of rotting vegetables in the box, it exploded into hundreds of little pieces. She filed a missing person’s report two days later, but she and her daughter didn’t miss him, at all. Deep down she hoped that he would never be found.

The lawyer who lived at 13 Viola Street had a court case the next day. She had everything prepared to confuse the jurors, but the first words came out her mouth was, “My client is guilty as hell.”
She stood there feeling horrified as everyone in the courtroom cheered. From that moment on, the woman couldn’t ever tell a lie. She lost all her clients, and nobody would hire her again.
The pervert at 52 Madison Street had an awful Halloween night. He kept hearing the mother’s cries in his mind. The words she shouted at him when the not guilty verdict was announced, cut into his brain over and over. You deserve to rot in hell for what you did! You deserve to rot in hell for what you did!

 He heard the same words in his mind, day, and night, for days. “I can’t take this anymore!” he finally snapped and went to the police station to confess.

He got a long sentence but didn’t find peace. Even the hardest criminals hate child molesters, so his comfortable, rich life turned into a living hell in prison.
***
A few days later Mandy’s mom stopped for a short visit. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Mom, everything is as it should be,” Mandy said, smiling.

“You know, I’m getting too old for trick or treating. It’s time for you to continue the family’s Hallows Eve Magic tradition,” the old lady announced handing her wand to her daughter. “Next year you go with Sara, and I’ll stay home to hand out the candy.” 

Read more

The Ancestor's Secrets

New revised edition on Amazon

An alternative history fantasy series

Ilona resigns to live the simple life of a small-town doctor, but her life goes into a tailspin on her birthday. She finds out she was born into a secretive, ancient clan still hidden among us. She starts to develop unusual powers which she finds exciting as well as frightening. 

Press Release

Author Erika M Szabo's Press Release 

https://www.abnewswire.com/pressreleases/writer-erika-m-szabo-introduces-her-amazing-collection-of-creative-stories-across-diverse-genres_456428.html

Published on many sites

Holiday Sale

https://www.goldenboxbooks.com/sale.html

Stocking stuffer book sale

Discount publishing and book promotion services

https://static-promote.weebly.com/share/4bad8ca8-ee9c-4db6-aa27-fff565aee201

Read about Holiday Sale, new release, and fun blog posts in my December newsletter.

Enjoy!

Bittersweet Memories

A sweet romance Christmas story

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081ZK3HWL

Elana was born to a homeless, drug addict mother and left on the steps of St. Patrick Cathedral. Moving from one foster home to another, her life was a revolving door of shattered hopes and disappointments.

As soon as she felt an emotional connection to anyone, the foster kid in her quickly pushed the feeling away. The last thing Elana wanted to do was to get close to someone she would probably never see again. The necessary emotional defense served her well throughout her unpredictable life.

Until she met Luca.

Allowing them only a short time of happiness, cruel fate tore them apart. All she had was hope and half of the rosewood heart pendant he carved to hold onto.

Will they meet again?

Reblogged by P. J. Mann - This ghost have a sad story to tell... The Wandering Writer

Here I am once again to tell you about ghosts, the real ghosts. Differently, than those narrated in my latest novel, those have once been living in this Earth, and they died. Nevertheless, they refused to leave for the eternal peace, believing to have still something left undone in this world.

The story I am going to tell you in this weekly post is the one of Guendalina Malatesta, born as the daughter of Ugolinuccio di Montebello and Costanza Malatesta.
The tale says that little Guendalina was born albino around the year 1370. At that time, albinos were considered having the mark of Satan. Fearing the superstition, and the reaction of the people, not to mention the risk for the very lives of those people, they were kept hidden for their whole life. The same happened to Guendalina Malatesta, whose parents tried to keep her away from everyone outside the castle.
The story goes on telling that she was regularly followed by two guards, to avoid that anything happened to her. Despite this, during the summer solstice, the 21st of June 1375, Guendalina was playing with a rag ball together with her two guards. During their play, the ball rolled away, down the stairs that lead to the 'nevaio,' which was an underground storage where the ice was kept to preserve food that was easy to decay (a sort of nowadays fridge).

She followed the ball down to the storage door and disappeared. The guards followed her, but she was never found, not alive or dead. She simply disappeared.
Now, one thing to be noted is that by the popular folklore, the day of the solstice has a powerful magic meaning. It is the day where the doors between the underworld and the real world might be opened and by sacrificing an albino virgin to one or another deity would have granted the members of the sect unusual powers. One of the many superstitions available within humanity...
The most accredited theory is that she might have been abducted with the help of the two guards and sacrificed during one rite.
Some rumors say that she can be heard playing or calling her mother for help, every five years during the summer solstice, but this is something I cannot guarantee.
What I can guarantee is how worthwhile is to pay a visit to the castle of Montebello.
Located close by San Marino between the Marecchia and Uso River in the region of Emilia Romagna in Italy, represent one of the best preserved medieval castles.

Likewise all the fortresses it has a very long and exciting history (ghosts apart). The first construction of the castle is from the Roman age, and it was a square base tower that is nowadays included inside the structure of the castle.
The first documented owner was of the year 1186 when the castle was sold by the family Mataldone to the family of Malatesta.
After this, the castle went through an intense rebuilding particularly concerning the building of the fortified walls, as it was neighbored by the Montefeltro family, ancient enemies of the Malatesta.
In the year 1393, the castle was conquered by the Montefeltro family, but in 1438, Pandolfo Malatesta was able to get it back and owned it until 1464, when the fortress thanks to the intervention of the Pontifical Army, was conquered by the actual owners the counts Guidi di Bagno.
Just like for many other destinations, I cannot tell you how enjoyable is the place and the nature surrounding it. If you are going to visit Italy, you might take your chance and pay a visit to the many castles and particularly to those who have a ghost in it!!
As usual, I wish you an awesome weekend, Stay tuned for new adventures of the Wandering Writer.

On Borrowed Time

On Borrowed Time

Lorraine Carey

~ On Borrowed Time is book 2 in the Women of the Willow Wood Trilogy.

Here we find our heroine, Daniella Reyes on another dangerous mission from her Sisters. The ante is upped now that she is rising in power within her clan.

There have been many secret societies throughout history but none can compare to the powerful Women of the Willow Wood.

 ~Some women pay Top Dollar for a body makeover, but not Daniella Reyes—she’s got a few supernatural friends that are willing to do this for FREE!

Daniella is led into the sacred cave in the Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico with Nina, the high Curendera. It is here she will receive her physical and spiritual transformation~

Excerpt~

I scanned the open cave with my flashlight, amazed to see vapors seeping through the cracks in the rocks above me. Nina set her bag down, instructing me to remove my shoes and clothing. We were on sacred ground here. Modesty goes out the door when you’re about to take part in a powerful ritual.

"The vapors from the chasm are the conductors for the magic of the ritual, Daniella. Our sisters have used this cave for hundreds of years. We must offer a blessing before we begin." Nina removed her shoes and knelt on the ground. "St. Muerta, please oversee our safety as we enter into a realm where protection is needed. We ask for your guidance and protection at this time from any lower lying entities.

"We call on the High Priestess Tryrenea from the Oracles of Delphi, the Goddesses Phoebe, and Themis." Nina removed a sachet from her bag, filled with dried herbs, which she sprinkled over the cave floor. We honor your presence, goddesses, on this very important evening. Let our newly appointed guardian, Daniella Reyes, journey to your realm safely and return safely. We honor and respect this sacred site to Gaia. So mote it be."

Nina handed me a white sheath to put on and a white sheet over the ground where I would lay. I anticipated that a Greek goddess might pop out of thin air at any moment. Nina had changed into a toga. I was amazed at how she'd managed to fit everything into her backpack. I wondered what else might be in there.

Nina had removed a long, wand-like branch from her bag and a jar of what appeared to be some sort of powder. She asked me to hold the flashlight as she drew a circle in the dirt with the branch with one hand and holding her long, black hair in the other. The ground sparked a fire where the branch had etched the circle. "You know, Daniella, this branch was made from the bark of an ancient willow tree, which has been used for hundreds of years in rituals such as this. It’s been blessed and used by many of those who came before us."

I never stopped being in awe of the new things I learned. Nina had just upped the ante with her stick-like wand. Here I'd imagined she’d have some kind of glitzy wand like the Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz.

Nina had instructed me to lie on the sheet, which she'd placed in the middle of the circle. She set our flashlights down so the light would shine directly onto the circle. The sparks had died down, leaving behind a circle of smoke. She'd also bound my hair up in a white, linen turban. Nina took my right hand and slipped what appeared to be a bracelet of twisted twigs with knots onto my wrist, like some sort of friendship bracelet from the sisters. I looked into her eyes to see a golden glow in her irises.

"This is also made from the willow tree," Nina told me. "I'm going to tell you exactly what I'm doing as I'm doing it, Daniella. There's no need to panic or worry. You have a council of some of the most powerful women in this realm and the next protecting you.

"I'll need you to take three deep breaths to inhale the vapors, holding for a count of seven. You'll do three sets of these. After that, you'll be in a very relaxed state. You'll be conscious but unable to talk. You'll feel your body changing. We're calling on the Divine Feminine, here. Your heart rate will increase, your pupils will dilate, your skin will feel warm, and your breasts will swell. This is all normal. It's part of the changes in the structure of your DNA as your body heals on a cellular level. We're aiming to raise your frequency so you'll be able to tap into a higher consciousness and vibrate at a higher frequency. This is the process of raising the kundalini. It's why we've performed so many chakra-balancing sessions with you. You'll need this to assist others in the rescue of their souls and their protection. Once you're in an altered state, I'll also partake of the vapors and assume the role of a conduit for your transformation.

"So...shall we begin, my dear?"

Books 1 and 2 are available on Amazon~

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E3Z6AII/ Book1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CSW65XC/ Book 2

Reblogged: Sir E. Robert Smythe and writing for Middle-grade

Sir E. Robert Smythe:

Writing for Middle-grade

Christina Weigand

 Time to talk a little bit about my Middle-grade series.  A few years ago I approached a gentleman about taking a series of children's scripts and aging them up to middle-grade. I felt that since I was writing young adult, writing middle grade would be easy. I quickly realized when I started working on this new series that middle grade is definitely different from writing young adult. I won't go into all the differences here, just know that there was a slight learning curve. It has been an exciting challenge to write for people in this age group.

Although many of the characters had already been created, I felt one more was needed. So I created Sir E. Robert Smythe. He is the Chief Safety Ambassador for the Galatic Safety Council from the planet Gwill. He works with Queen Sage and an array of characters that come to Earth to help children navigate their way through many of the social issues plaguing today's society.

Sir E. Robert  helps  boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 14, deal with school bullies, homeless people, death of a loved one, rich girl vs. poor girl, self esteem issues, suicide, arts vs. sports and A.D.H.D.

Someone once asked me why do kids need fantastical creatures to guide them through life? Don't the parents do that? At the time I was so upset that I could not formulate an answer. ( A problem I frequently have when in a confrontational situation). Looking back on that evening from this point of having finished six books with these characters, I think I finally have a partial answer. So here it is: This is a very unique age group. These kids are on the verge of teen years where they become more responsible for their decisions and yet they are at a point that they still want their parents to give them all the answers. They don't want to listen to their parents and yet they are  in a place where adults are still needed. The fantastical creatures of the Gwill create an atmosphere for these young people to begin to formulate the person that they will grow into, provide gentle guidance while still giving the preteen room to make their own choices.

Anyway that's what the series is all about. Two of the books are published: Sir E. Robert Smythe and the School Bully and Sir E. Robert Smythe and the Lost Detective. The third one, Sir E. Robert Smythe Goes Shopping will be released in the next few months

and the remaining three books are with the publisher with plans of releasing them over the next few years.

God willing these books will serve to help 8-12 year-olds become aware of social issues and find a way to navigate their way through them.

A Lesson in Life by Rick Haynes

Displayed on the wall of my local pub

Rick Haynes

The following was sent from a mother-in-law to her new daughter.  It’s a rough guide to the battle of the sexes, apparently, and is displayed on the wall of my local pub.

As she said, it’s not meant to be taken seriously.

If Julie, Della and Susie go to lunch, they call each other, Julie, Della and Susie. But if, Tommy, David and Mikey go to lunch, they call each other, Toss-Pot, Ginger Knob and Numb-Nuts.

When the ladies receive the bill, the calculators come out. But when the boys decide to pay, they each put in a £20 note as they have nothing smaller and they’d never admit they want any change.

A woman would pay £5 for something she doesn’t really need. Whereas, a man would pay £6 for a £5 item he needs.

A man has about six items in the bathroom cabinet. Toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, aftershave, razor and shaving foam. The average number of items in a ladies’ bathroom is usually over 100. A man would not be able to guess what most of them were.

A woman always has the final word in an argument. Anything a man says afterwards is the start of a new argument.

Women love cats. Men say they do to ensure another argument doesn’t start.

A woman always worries about her future. A man only worries about the future once he’s married.

A successful man is one earning more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one finding such a man.

A woman marries a man expecting him to change but he rarely does. Whereas a man marrying a woman expects she will not change, but she does.

A woman will always dress up to go shopping, take the kids to school and visit friends. Her man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

Men will wake up looking reasonable. Their other half takes an hour in the bathroom to look the same but usually better.

Ladies have an in depth knowledge of their children. What they like, what they hate, their friends and social activities, even their dreams. Their partner has some vague idea of small noisy people running around the house.

Written by K.

Aquila et Noctua a historical novel - New Release

By P. J. Mann

There is a new release on Mann's house, and that doesn't just mean that I have written a new novel, but I have also experimented something new, a historical fiction.

Aquila et Noctua (The Eagle and the Owl) comes from a story I wrote many years ago and brings me back to one of my loves in life: History, and particularly the history of Ancient Rome. 

The story tells about a young slave, Saul, coming from Jerusalem, and the complicated relationship he will develop with his masters and with the other slaves, who will become a sort of surrogate family; the one he lost once he was enslaved.

Once again, like in my debut novel "A Tale of a Rough Diamond," we have the themes of envy, jealousy, conflictual relationships within the family, and wisdom.

Wisdom is depicted in this case like the Noctua (Owl), and like in nature happens, the owl is going to bring wisdom, with sudden chaos.

The Aquila, (Eagle) represents the Roman Empire and the family who will purchase Saul. 

There is going to be a Release party on my Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/2225782511045126/

It is scheduled for Sunday 1.9  at 10:00 AM EDT and there will be other authors to help me celebrate the release. If you have more questions about this new release this is the right time to have them answered.

EXCERPT:

​The sun shone brightly in the sky on that late summer day. The successful campaign in the territories of Palestine brought new glory to the Empire and filled every corner of the city with celebrations.
The massive military action, planned by Emperor Hadrian, had brought about the final defeat of the rebellious Jews in the third Jewish revolt.
Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina in honor of the victorious emperor and as an ultimate humiliation to the rebels. The prisoners were sent all over the Empire to be sold as slaves while the Roman generals and commanders were decorated in the public square of the Forum.
It was a joyful period throughout all of Rome, and it should have been no exception for Marcus Tiberius Numida. However, something weighed heavily on his mind and alienated his soul from the revelry.
He wandered through the streets of Rome, not paying attention to where he was going until he found himself in the slave market in the Forum.
Several specimens of males and females, crammed into cages, peered from between the bars, waiting to be yanked out and pushed to line up behind the merchant. Their eyes revealed fear and confusion
Each merchant touted the good properties of each slave they were selling, wildly gesticulating to underline their words to attract customers, as crowds of curious people and potential buyers gathered around.
The sobs of the waiting slaves and the clang of their chains against the bars, combined with the din of the curious onlookers and the raucous voices of the merchants. The stench of bodily fluids melded with the scent of food that was sold in the square.

To pre-order the novel, please follow this link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VXB2QFR

Author link: https://pjmann2016.wixsite.com/pjmann

Other books: https://pjmann2016.wixsite.com/pjmann/books

I hope I have attracted your attention and see you soon at the release party!

Stay tuned!