Elements–An Excerpt From Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin

  • May 27, 2018
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This week, author Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin is up, sharing an excerpt from her horror story “An Opening Black and Infinite.” You’ll be able to read it in its entirety later this summer in the anthology Elements: Tales From the Substratum. Enjoy!

CVN: I chose ether, often called the fifth element, matter that makes up the heavens or at least the upper reaches of space. I wanted that indefinable place between the material and immaterial worlds. Reggie thinks she’s firmly planted in the former—until Antonio shows her otherwise.

 

AN OPENING BLACK AND INFINITE

Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin

 

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Reggie thought he would knuckle the eyeballs into the back of his head. When he removed his fingers the sclera showed bluish-white. “I’ll tell you what to do.”

Reggie waved a hand. “I don’t believe any of this, you know.”

“Celia may have been in on it.”

Reggie froze. “I didn’t mention her name.”

“No, you didn’t.” Antonio smiled, and for a flash he had the eyes of a shark.

Reggie turned to Lita. “I never told you about her, did I?”

“No.”

“Then how—”

“What he said about himself.”

Reggie held her breath as this sank in.

“Listen to him,” Lita said.

Antonio wrinkled his nose like a feral dog smelling a rival on the wind. “Find a Y-crossroad. It must be a fork with two prongs. The place where they intersect is the area of creation and decision. What you are creating and what you are deciding. The park out back—” He indicated a window. “Lots of those crossroads.”

No, Reggie thought.

“Everything I’m about to tell you,” Antonio said, “you must do between midnight and 3 a.m. That’s when the veil between worlds is thinnest. If something is going to come through, good or bad, that’s when it will be.”

Next week, R.G. Emanuelle will share an excerpt from her paranormal lesfic romance, “Pyromaniac.” Come check it out!

Missed last week’s excerpt by J. M. Levinton? You can find “Airborne” here.

 

 

Elements: Tales From the Substratum–An Excerpt

  • May 21, 2018
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This summer, the anthology Elements: Tales From the Substratum will be released on Amazon.

Five diverse writers cover the same theme with wildly different takes on it.

I drew “air” as the element for my story. And what could be more nerve-wracking than our two favorite demons, Jonas and Valerie, needing to take a plane ride? (You can catch their earlier adventures in the anthologies Hunger and Smoke.)

Of course nothing is normal when they’re involved. Here’s an excerpt from my story “Airborne.”

 

AIRBORNE

J. M. Levinton

 

The PA system came on with its customary chimes. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Captain Cirocco. We seem to be moving into an unexpected cold front and turbulence is to be expected. Please make sure your seats are in an upright position and keep your seatbelts on. Thank you.”

The flight attendant gave them a practiced and professional smile and pushed her cart to the next few rows.

“Great, just great.” Valerie opened her bottle of water. “This is not what I need.” Her hands shook.

The young woman across the aisle leaned over. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. I don’t have any children yet.”

Valerie cocked her head to one side. “Excuse me?”

“My family’s under a curse,” said the woman. “I can’t die, because the curse needs me to have children—and I don’t have any yet, so we’re safe.” She took a gulp of her obviously alcoholic drink.

“You could be the sole survivor here,” Jonas pointed out.

The woman straightened and brushed cornflower yellow hair out of her eyes. “Damn. Didn’t think of that. But still, keep the faith. Those around me tend to live—unless you’re my sibling. You’re not, right?”

Tipsy and harmless, thought Jonas. “No, I’m pretty sure we’re not related in any way.”

“There!” The woman gave them a bright, cheery grin. “You’re safe.”

The plane lurched again, this time more sharply, and Jonas and Valerie felt the rise of tension in the atmosphere. The trays rattled harder and the woman’s drink slopped onto her tray.

Next week, Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin will be sharing an excerpt from her tale of horror, “An Opening Black and Infinite.” See you there!

 

 

First Annual BlueJays Deaf Expo

  • May 06, 2018
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The Deaf Expo took place this past weekend at the Lexington School for the Deaf in Queens, NY. I went, a little nervous. My signing skills were pretty weak but I knew how to sign that I was an ASL student and to please sign slow.

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