anthology

UnderDOGS Need Help

If you know me in real life or online, then you know that I adore animals. Usually more than people.

So it made a lot of sense for me to donate a story to More Futures for Ferals last year — a charity anthology that raised money for cat rescues. Editor Danielle Ackley-McPhail shared that we were able to raise, “just shy of $5000 for the Kickstarter, plus an additional $1400 post-campaign.” She added, “In fact, we just met an urgent need for kitten food for the local rescue using the current profits. They ended up with 21 kittens all at once!”

This is AWESOME.

Lately, the local dog rescues in Harford County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City and beyond have reached capacity due to many reasons including hoarding cases, dogfighting rings being broken up, and financial insecurity. We were eager to donate stories to a new set of books to raise money for rescues. Here’s the cover:

That looks like the jackal-headed god Anubis with a German Shepherd support dog flying a dirigible past the Great Pyramids of Egypt. I want to read that story!

NOT AWESOME: Currently the Kickstarter sits at roughly half of what the cat campaign did with just 42 hours left. CATS CANNOT BEAT DOGS THIS BADLY. We need to raise another $500 to get to the next achievement: unlocking a second book. There is enough material. I’ve submitted both a story and an essay. If we get a second book then I’ll be submitting a second essay about why in the world we fostered three dogs over five weeks and some of the hijinks that occurred.

My foster fail babies:

Happy Cabbage

Gabe

This promises to be another amazing collection… with hope, two! We have stories donated or promised by  Jonathan Maberry, Grace Bridges, John L. French, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jean Marie Ward, Ef Deal, Christopher J. Burke, Rigel Aliur, Sherri Cook Woosley, Lawrence M. Schoen, Brenda Cooper, Jennifer Povey, Eric Hardenbrook, Kris Katzen, Kevin Wetmore, Marie Vibbert, Charles Barouch, Taluna Wise, Carol Gyzander, Danny Birt, Bernie Mojzes, and Lisanne Norman, with more to come!

We just need to get that second volume funded!

In addition to reprint and original fiction, A Heart for Hounds will contain brief informational essays about aspects of dog rescue and the unique challenges those efforts face. All profits go to dog rescue! @Kickstarter #Kickstarter

Link to donate

Posted Sunday, May 24th. This Kickstarter ends in 44 hours. Please help!

Love,

Sherri

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I love this time of year! Friends, family, and food are the heart of the holiday and I appreciate the emphasis on gratitude and the opportunity for me to grow by choosing to focus on the good and not the setbacks. For example, this year has been the year of anthologies for me. I have short stories in: Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day, Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2021, Once Upon a Dystopia, Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging, AND an acceptance for an anthology forthcoming in Spring, 2022.

Check out this beautiful cover!

My short story “Gargoyles of Prague” is being included in the anthology DARK CHEER: CRYPTIDS EMERGING Volume Blue. The story is based on my experience of being a mother of a child with a life-threatening illness and the year I spent teaching English in Prague, Czech Republic. It will be released in early December by Improbable Press. Please enjoy this excerpt:

When the hospital door closed behind his mothers, Toby stepped closer to the window. In the gloam, the urban landscape had morphed from buildings into mysterious shapes. Grit – rock against brick – scraped outside his seventh story window. Curious, Toby leaned his forehead against the cold glass to see better. No locks on windows this high; only solid panes.

Suddenly gray claws came into view and dug into the brick wall to find purchase. Wings the same shade smacked against the window. Then a gray face, chiseled, filled the window. A feline face with carved nose, eyes, and whiskers. Wings pressed tightly to its back. Sharp teeth and a tongue that hung out in mid-pant. A statue. One of the creatures that decorated so many of Prague’s ancient buildings.

            “Come out,” the gargoyle said. The voice sounded like it looked: coarse and solid.           

            Toby’s hands trembled. “I don’t know how.”

            “Yes, you do.”

More good news! Improbable Press has chosen to turn my short story into an illustrated children’s book! I will share details soon, but I’ve seen the artist’s portfolio and I can’t wait to see what she does with Toby and my gargoyle and the incredible Charles Bridge.

AND…I have another story acceptance for an anthology centered on Greek mythology and history.

For those who have stuck with me after reading my novel Walking Through Fire, I have the rights back from the publisher and I sent off the draft of ASHES OF REGRET (Book 1.5 that features Tamaki) for a final editorial readthrough. I’m also working with a graphic designer for the cover and a map!

Finally, I had the opportunity to be a guest on MOUTHFUL OF GRAFFITTI, a podcast for musicians and authors hosted by Brad Cox. Take a listen here as I talk about our pandemic chickens, local festivals, and more about the inspiration for “Garygoyles of Prague.”

I have a lot of plans for 2022 in the works and I can’t wait to share them with you as we get closer.

Enjoy the holiday and enjoy a good book!

Love,

Sherri