Fairy Tales From the Dark Side
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $4.99 USD. 27820 words.
Published by Secret Fire Press on January 26, 2012. Fiction.
Five fairy tales twisted by the demons of the human—and not so human—soul. Be careful what you wish for and whom you trust. Includes Snow for Flowers, Time and Memory, Outcast, Treasure, and Your Blood.
Member Since: Nov. 23, 2010
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Leslie Claire Walker
Biography
I live in the lush (humid and green) and darkly magical (crazy insane) bayou country of southeast Texas with various companions, including a Doggie Ranger and two cats, one older and distinguished and the other young with hellion ambitions. I am a legal secretary by day and a fiction writer at all other times. In my rare spare minutes, I play the lever harp (mostly Irish tunes) and enjoy gluten-free baking adventures.
I write in the fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and young adult genres. I love to sit in my writing chair in the early mornings with the world's biggest mug of coffee and have no idea where the story will take me next.
My fiction has appeared in Fantasy Magazine, Chiaroscuro, Electric Velocipede, GUD Magazine, and DAW Books anthologies.
I write in the fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and young adult genres. I love to sit in my writing chair in the early mornings with the world's biggest mug of coffee and have no idea where the story will take me next.
My fiction has appeared in Fantasy Magazine, Chiaroscuro, Electric Velocipede, GUD Magazine, and DAW Books anthologies.
Where to find Leslie Claire Walker online
Website: http://leslieclairewalker.com
Facebook: Facebook profile
Blog: http://leslieclairewalker.com/blog/
Facebook: Facebook profile
Blog: http://leslieclairewalker.com/blog/
Books
Invocation
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 3660 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on July 1, 2011. Fiction.
Shel’s grandfather: a little man who couldn’t keep his big mouth shut. Her boyfriend believes that unfortunate character trait got the old man murdered. But plenty of people hated him for far worse reasons. Shel despises him for what he did to people she loves. And because his ghost haunts her. She’ll find a way to get rid of him for good—by hook, crook, or magic.
Price: $0.99 USD. 3660 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on July 1, 2011. Fiction.
Shel’s grandfather: a little man who couldn’t keep his big mouth shut. Her boyfriend believes that unfortunate character trait got the old man murdered. But plenty of people hated him for far worse reasons. Shel despises him for what he did to people she loves. And because his ghost haunts her. She’ll find a way to get rid of him for good—by hook, crook, or magic.
Afterlife: Tales of Life, Death, and the Road Less Traveled
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $4.99 USD. 26270 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on June 28, 2011. Fiction.
A short story sixpack - six tales of life, death, and the road less traveled. Includes As the Crow Flies, Max Velocity, Fortunate Brave, Offerings, The Devil Wears Combat Boots, and The Truth According to Margot Williams.
Price: $4.99 USD. 26270 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on June 28, 2011. Fiction.
A short story sixpack - six tales of life, death, and the road less traveled. Includes As the Crow Flies, Max Velocity, Fortunate Brave, Offerings, The Devil Wears Combat Boots, and The Truth According to Margot Williams.
As the Crow Flies
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 4220 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on June 21, 2011. Fiction.
Violet can’t handle her own ghostly afterlife—or the thought of leaving it—until another lost soul and the mysterious man who loves her teach her the true meaning of salvation.
Price: $0.99 USD. 4220 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on June 21, 2011. Fiction.
Violet can’t handle her own ghostly afterlife—or the thought of leaving it—until another lost soul and the mysterious man who loves her teach her the true meaning of salvation.
Swashbuckler
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 2610 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on May 31, 2011. Fiction.
Hatch knows fraternity parties, intermittent studying, and life inside a bloody horror novel. What he doesn’t know—how to escape a pirate bent on revenge—could kill him. When the pirate strikes, Hatch breaks through a wall—and out of his book—into a paranormal romance with the enemy hot on his trail. He hopes the tough girl detective he falls for can save him. And that he can save her.
Price: $0.99 USD. 2610 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on May 31, 2011. Fiction.
Hatch knows fraternity parties, intermittent studying, and life inside a bloody horror novel. What he doesn’t know—how to escape a pirate bent on revenge—could kill him. When the pirate strikes, Hatch breaks through a wall—and out of his book—into a paranormal romance with the enemy hot on his trail. He hopes the tough girl detective he falls for can save him. And that he can save her.
Fortunate Brave
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 3580 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on April 7, 2011. Fiction.
A nation engulfed in endless war. Troops die faster than they can be replaced. The military raises its veterans from the dead, including Evie’s grandfather. She copes with his sudden appearance and departure, but her grandfather’s return to the battlefield pushes Evie’s mother to the crushing grief she felt when he died the first time. Evie will find a way to help and die—or kill—trying.
Price: $0.99 USD. 3580 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on April 7, 2011. Fiction.
A nation engulfed in endless war. Troops die faster than they can be replaced. The military raises its veterans from the dead, including Evie’s grandfather. She copes with his sudden appearance and departure, but her grandfather’s return to the battlefield pushes Evie’s mother to the crushing grief she felt when he died the first time. Evie will find a way to help and die—or kill—trying.
Max Velocity
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 6890 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 30, 2011. Fiction.
Fan should’ve known better, but desire overrode common sense and she ended up pregnant. Breeding. The worst word in the world, because of what it means. Forcible capture. Registration. Planting. Harvesting. Death. She prays that her beloved Denny will rescue her. When he does, she finally understands the meaning of another word. Helpless.
Price: $0.99 USD. 6890 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 30, 2011. Fiction.
Fan should’ve known better, but desire overrode common sense and she ended up pregnant. Breeding. The worst word in the world, because of what it means. Forcible capture. Registration. Planting. Harvesting. Death. She prays that her beloved Denny will rescue her. When he does, she finally understands the meaning of another word. Helpless.
Hanged Man
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 3660 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 22, 2011. Fiction.
Griff broke the law and missed his own wedding on account of getting caught. To add insult to injury, his bride-to-be married a better prospect and hopped the final transport off-planet, leaving Griff to his immediate punishment and worse—a lifetime trapped on a used-up world. What kind of future could a would-be adventurer like himself conjure from dust, dreams, and beer?
Price: $0.99 USD. 3660 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 22, 2011. Fiction.
Griff broke the law and missed his own wedding on account of getting caught. To add insult to injury, his bride-to-be married a better prospect and hopped the final transport off-planet, leaving Griff to his immediate punishment and worse—a lifetime trapped on a used-up world. What kind of future could a would-be adventurer like himself conjure from dust, dreams, and beer?
Treasure
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 4460 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 17, 2011. Fiction.
Addie pays quick cash for cursed objects. That's how she makes the innocent safe--and how she atones every single day for the terrible bargain she made as a young, abused girl on the street. She never speaks of the vile price she paid for freedom or the crime she committed--until the victim strolls through the door of her shop carrying the worst curse of all.
Price: $0.99 USD. 4460 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 17, 2011. Fiction.
Addie pays quick cash for cursed objects. That's how she makes the innocent safe--and how she atones every single day for the terrible bargain she made as a young, abused girl on the street. She never speaks of the vile price she paid for freedom or the crime she committed--until the victim strolls through the door of her shop carrying the worst curse of all.
Self-Preservation
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 4100 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 10, 2011. Fiction.
Blue Devers smuggles women out of abusive relationships. He procures new identities and new lives, no questions asked—until one of the women winds up dead at the base of an Oregon coast cliff. The cops will call it suicide, but Blue knows Tamara MacDougall would never have jumped. He’ll find her killer. He owes her that. But he doesn’t expect the nasty turn the investigation takes.
Price: $0.99 USD. 4100 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 10, 2011. Fiction.
Blue Devers smuggles women out of abusive relationships. He procures new identities and new lives, no questions asked—until one of the women winds up dead at the base of an Oregon coast cliff. The cops will call it suicide, but Blue knows Tamara MacDougall would never have jumped. He’ll find her killer. He owes her that. But he doesn’t expect the nasty turn the investigation takes.
Devil's in the Details
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 3900 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 4, 2011. Fiction.
After John Johnson graduates from interior design school, he must face his father, Lucifer. Dad insists he go into the family business, and when the Devil insists, there’s no denying him. Question is, can John find a way to open a branch office that matches his design aesthetic?
Price: $0.99 USD. 3900 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 4, 2011. Fiction.
After John Johnson graduates from interior design school, he must face his father, Lucifer. Dad insists he go into the family business, and when the Devil insists, there’s no denying him. Question is, can John find a way to open a branch office that matches his design aesthetic?
The Greening
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 5570 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 4, 2011. Fiction.
Birdie Beecham’s traitorous feet seed grass and weeds everywhere she walks. The town—last in a long line of new towns where she and her mother have moved—fears her. They’re convinced she’s not human and maybe she isn’t, but she wants to be. When her best (and only) friend tries to help solve the problem, both of them get more than they bargained for.
Price: $0.99 USD. 5570 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on March 4, 2011. Fiction.
Birdie Beecham’s traitorous feet seed grass and weeds everywhere she walks. The town—last in a long line of new towns where she and her mother have moved—fears her. They’re convinced she’s not human and maybe she isn’t, but she wants to be. When her best (and only) friend tries to help solve the problem, both of them get more than they bargained for.
Ever Rose
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 4520 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on January 25, 2011. Fiction.
If Briar Rose (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty) can’t find a suitable prince to kiss her awake in her own ancient time, can she find one in modern-day Central Park? The 13th Faery—who cursed the girl in the first place—makes it her mission to lure the right man to Rose’s side. There the Faery discovers that oldest of lessons: You can lead a prince to a princess, but you can’t make him kiss her.
Price: $0.99 USD. 4520 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on January 25, 2011. Fiction.
If Briar Rose (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty) can’t find a suitable prince to kiss her awake in her own ancient time, can she find one in modern-day Central Park? The 13th Faery—who cursed the girl in the first place—makes it her mission to lure the right man to Rose’s side. There the Faery discovers that oldest of lessons: You can lead a prince to a princess, but you can’t make him kiss her.
Time and Memory
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 4830 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on December 31, 2010. Fiction.
Thomas falls asleep beneath a hawthorn tree. A kiss from the Fairy Queen awakens him and she takes him to Faery for seven years. Thomas discovers he’s not the first man―or the first Thomas―the queen has taken for a lover. He finds himself dangerously caught between the queen and her king, whose love is strained to the breaking point. Will Thomas survive to return to the human world?
Price: $0.99 USD. 4830 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on December 31, 2010. Fiction.
Thomas falls asleep beneath a hawthorn tree. A kiss from the Fairy Queen awakens him and she takes him to Faery for seven years. Thomas discovers he’s not the first man―or the first Thomas―the queen has taken for a lover. He finds himself dangerously caught between the queen and her king, whose love is strained to the breaking point. Will Thomas survive to return to the human world?
Offerings
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 3290 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on December 25, 2010. Fiction.
Emma makes her living as a decorator to the dead. Ghosts who refuse to move on live unseen among us, and she helps to make their chosen existence bearable. Her devotion to her calling comes from deep guilt―she raised a son who became a murderer. She wants more than anything to atone for his sins. Until the day one of her son’s victims lures her into a trap.
Price: $0.99 USD. 3290 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on December 25, 2010. Fiction.
Emma makes her living as a decorator to the dead. Ghosts who refuse to move on live unseen among us, and she helps to make their chosen existence bearable. Her devotion to her calling comes from deep guilt―she raised a son who became a murderer. She wants more than anything to atone for his sins. Until the day one of her son’s victims lures her into a trap.
Grave
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: Free! 1520 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on December 24, 2010. Fiction.
The court denies Vel the one thing in the world she craves―a glimpse of the daughter she accidentally killed. Without a photograph to remember her, Vel can’t mourn. She might even forget what her child looked like. A man promises to help her. She’s not sure she has the courage to go through with his plan, but without him she lives a fate worse than death.
Price: Free! 1520 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on December 24, 2010. Fiction.
The court denies Vel the one thing in the world she craves―a glimpse of the daughter she accidentally killed. Without a photograph to remember her, Vel can’t mourn. She might even forget what her child looked like. A man promises to help her. She’s not sure she has the courage to go through with his plan, but without him she lives a fate worse than death.
Skin and Bone
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $7.99 USD. 61700 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on December 16, 2010. Fiction.
(4.25 from 4 reviews)
Stories create the world. They live on your skin. In your bones. Lose your stories? Cease to exist. The world will not remember you. Sally Gold has only one chance to stop that terrible death from happening to everything and everyone she loves: She must take a dangerous road into a parallel world and battle an evil older than time itself.
Price: $7.99 USD. 61700 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on December 16, 2010. Fiction.
(4.25 from 4 reviews) Stories create the world. They live on your skin. In your bones. Lose your stories? Cease to exist. The world will not remember you. Sally Gold has only one chance to stop that terrible death from happening to everything and everyone she loves: She must take a dangerous road into a parallel world and battle an evil older than time itself.
Bones
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 4110 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on December 6, 2010. Fiction.
Smoke salvages companies on the brink of bankruptcy. Lately every job seems cursed by an old man named Ballard with mysterious powers and a hunger for carrion. A man whose thousands of crows literally pick apart, brick by brick, the companies Smoke wants to save. Ballard wants Smoke dead. Smoke wants to marry the old man's daughter. A twisted love story made for corporate hell.
Price: $0.99 USD. 4110 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on December 6, 2010. Fiction.
Smoke salvages companies on the brink of bankruptcy. Lately every job seems cursed by an old man named Ballard with mysterious powers and a hunger for carrion. A man whose thousands of crows literally pick apart, brick by brick, the companies Smoke wants to save. Ballard wants Smoke dead. Smoke wants to marry the old man's daughter. A twisted love story made for corporate hell.
Your Blood
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 10120 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on November 29, 2010. Fiction.
Tom meets the mysteriously beautiful Rachel at his favorite club. The chemistry feels undeniable. He takes her home, expecting to have a very good time. He absolutely does not expect that making love to Rachel allows her to own him—mind, body, and soul. Or that his seemingly harmless one night stand will become a feverish fairy tale nightmare from which he may never wake.
Price: $0.99 USD. 10120 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on November 29, 2010. Fiction.
Tom meets the mysteriously beautiful Rachel at his favorite club. The chemistry feels undeniable. He takes her home, expecting to have a very good time. He absolutely does not expect that making love to Rachel allows her to own him—mind, body, and soul. Or that his seemingly harmless one night stand will become a feverish fairy tale nightmare from which he may never wake.
The Devil Wears Combat Boots
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 4030 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on November 24, 2010. Fiction.
Nick can’t bring his wife Jess back from the grave. His only chance to mend his and his son’s hearts is to replace her―with another Jess. One who looks just like theirs. A Jess from a parallel world. This new Jess yearns to be what they need. But she’s not now nor has she ever been a wife and a mother. In fact, she’s not what any of them bargained for.
Price: $0.99 USD. 4030 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on November 24, 2010. Fiction.
Nick can’t bring his wife Jess back from the grave. His only chance to mend his and his son’s hearts is to replace her―with another Jess. One who looks just like theirs. A Jess from a parallel world. This new Jess yearns to be what they need. But she’s not now nor has she ever been a wife and a mother. In fact, she’s not what any of them bargained for.
Outcast
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 4100 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on November 23, 2010. Fiction.
A singer of songs can make people feel and know. Beautiful things. Things people wished they could un-feel and un-know. But not if the keepers of secrets imprison him. He has been tortured, the ability to sing ripped from his chest. He would be dead but for one thing: the warden sends for him every day. The warden tells him stories he can never repeat. One day the stories will end and so will he.
Price: $0.99 USD. 4100 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on November 23, 2010. Fiction.
A singer of songs can make people feel and know. Beautiful things. Things people wished they could un-feel and un-know. But not if the keepers of secrets imprison him. He has been tortured, the ability to sing ripped from his chest. He would be dead but for one thing: the warden sends for him every day. The warden tells him stories he can never repeat. One day the stories will end and so will he.
Dreamwalker
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $7.99 USD. 66160 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on October 30, 2010. Fiction.
Megan blames herself for her best friend’s death. She can gain absolution if she saves the life of a king in a world she sees only in dreams. Janek is a guard of Draca in that world, protecting the king on a night ride into haunted Dimwood Forest, where he and Megan come face to face with each other and with the king’s terrible secret. There begins the unraveling of the world.
Price: $7.99 USD. 66160 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on October 30, 2010. Fiction.
Megan blames herself for her best friend’s death. She can gain absolution if she saves the life of a king in a world she sees only in dreams. Janek is a guard of Draca in that world, protecting the king on a night ride into haunted Dimwood Forest, where he and Megan come face to face with each other and with the king’s terrible secret. There begins the unraveling of the world.
Snow for Flowers
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 4090 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on October 30, 2010. Fiction.
Becca has lived all her life underground, kept safe from the brutal war on the surface by the magic of the stone men and the mysterious woman who dreams in her crystal coffin. When the woman dreams that Becca must travel topside, she has no choice but to go. Her mission: pluck one special little boy from the jaws of death and bring him back with her. Originally published in Chiaroscuro.
Price: $0.99 USD. 4090 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on October 30, 2010. Fiction.
Becca has lived all her life underground, kept safe from the brutal war on the surface by the magic of the stone men and the mysterious woman who dreams in her crystal coffin. When the woman dreams that Becca must travel topside, she has no choice but to go. Her mission: pluck one special little boy from the jaws of death and bring him back with her. Originally published in Chiaroscuro.
The Truth According to Margot Williams
by Leslie Claire Walker
Price: $0.99 USD. 4650 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on October 30, 2010. Fiction.
Margot Williams makes a deal with a different sort of devil. The mysterious Grim Men get her life before Alzheimer’s steals her mind. In return she’ll have a new life as their messenger crow between the realms of life and death. It’s the perfect solution ― until she discovers that the Grim Men will erase her memory anyway.
Price: $0.99 USD. 4650 words. Published by Secret Fire Press on October 30, 2010. Fiction.
Margot Williams makes a deal with a different sort of devil. The mysterious Grim Men get her life before Alzheimer’s steals her mind. In return she’ll have a new life as their messenger crow between the realms of life and death. It’s the perfect solution ― until she discovers that the Grim Men will erase her memory anyway.
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