Category: Hartshorn Publishing

Miniature Golf Course Murders for sale

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cover for Miniature Golf Course Murders
My second cozy mystery under the Sara Penhallow pen name, The Miniature Golf Course Murders, is now available for purchase — in both e-book and print formats. (Currently, print is only available directly from CreateSpace; within a week, it should be available from Amazon as well. Other distributors may take 6 to 8 weeks to show its availability.) Oh! And this is enrolled in Amazon’s MatchBook program, which means if you buy the paperback from them, you can get the Kindle version free.

Isobel Santini solved River Corner’s first grisly murders in decades. She was happy to turn over crime-solving to her cousin, the chief of police, and get back to her life, a life that included a handsome new professor, Greg Stone. Life doesn’t remain simple, of course. While out on a date at the local miniature golf course, Isobel and Greg discover a dead body. Around town, tempers flare as the town prepares for its annual Summerfest amidst finger pointing, electoral divides, and town-gown conflicts that usually give the summer a rest.

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End of Summer Splash!

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No, it’s not the end of summer yet — we’ve weeks left of heat and humidity to survive. However, I’m making all of August a buy-one, get-one-free special. During August, if you buy any of my e-books, you can receive another one of equal or lesser value free.

  1. Purchase whatever you like during the month of August by any of the names I publish under (from whichever store you like — Amazon, Kobo, Nook, Sony, iBooks, or Smashwords)
  2. Send an e-mail copy of your receipt to book_sale@erinmhartshorn.com along with the name of the second title you want between August 1 and September 15, and
  3. I will send you a coupon code to download the title from Smashwords in your choice of format.

To answer questions that haven’t been asked:

  • You may take advantage of this offer more than once.
  • You don’t have to pick your second book immediately; you have until September 15 to receive your code and until September 30 to redeem it.
  • The book sale e-mail won’t be live until August.
  • The names I publish under include Erin M. Hartshorn, Sara Penhallow, and Doru Walker.
  • The second cozy mystery by Sara Penhallow will be out in the first half of August.

If you have any other questions, let me know!

Jekylls for sale

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Jekylls coverMy new novella, Jekylls, is now up for sale. This is an SF thriller, involving genetic manipulation and set essentially in the modern-day San Francisco Bay Area, a biotech area I’m familiar with. Check out the excerpt below, and if you like what you read, consider purchasing it. (I should tell you, however, that I’m working on a collection of all three of my novellas, Dreampunk, Farwalker, and Jekylls, so if you haven’t picked up the others yet and want to hold off and pick up the collection, I’ll understand.)

Lou Lopez’s normal life falls apart when he’s diagnosed with a new genetic mutation. The beautiful CEO wants to date him. Members of his support group want answers. Lou just wants to know whether he’s changing into a monster–and how he can stop.

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Ophid Dei for sale

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Cover for "Ophid Dei"This actually went live at the end of last week, but as I noted, I took a long weekend. Ophid Dei is a novelette — which is to say, it’s longer than your average short story, but shorter than a novella or short novel, such as Heart of Darkness (to use an example most people will recognize). It involves a little gender-bending, and some of the action is a bit more risqué than some of my other stories, so if you’re squeamish, don’t read the excerpt. That said, I hope you do read, enjoy, and decide you’d like to see the rest.

When the “snake” aliens took over Earth, they started radio-tagging the humans. Disguised as a girl, Sovann has managed to hide from the snakes for a decade, but now they need someone without a tag. Captured, unable to escape, how long can he remain hidden?

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Christmas Tree Farm Murders for sale

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cover for The Christmas Tree Farm MurdersMy alter ego, Sara Penhallow, has published her first mystery. As soon as I figure out this “Multisite” functionality of WordPress 3.0, I’ll be creating a blog for her on her page, although I won’t be updating it as often as I do this blog. This is the first of two mystery series I’m working on; I won’t launch the other until two or three of the River Corners series are up.

Below, I’ve posted the first chapter of this mystery, along with links to buy the e-book. (Sorry, no paperbacks yet. I’ll let you know when they’re available, possibly later this year.)

Isobel Santini–managing editor, terrible cook, and best friend–is present at the discovery of a grisly murder. Shaken, she tries to return to her normal routine working at the college press, but when her best friend becomes the prime suspect and a second murder follows the first, Isobel has to drag herself out of her slush and into the snow to hunt for clues, much to the disapproval of her cousin, the chief of police. Along the way to finding the killer, she encounters a handsome newcomer, endures the town Christmas pageant, evades her match-making aunt, and forgets to put up her own Christmas tree. The dénouement comes in the off-white linoleum halls of academe, when Isobel and the killer confront each other face-to-face.

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Farwalker for sale

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Cover for Farwalker novellaThe latest addition to my published stories, Farwalker, isn’t quite as bright and cheerful as most of my work. I think it’s still hopeful as it shows a man struggling to save everybody on his ship, but the story definitely visits some dark spots along the way.

When saboteurs wreck the hydroponics bay of the colony ship Promise, First Captain Djon Farwalker struggles to find a way to keep his crew alive, even if that means taking the long walk out of an airlock to decrease oxygen consumption on-board. His wife challenges him to find another way, tensions heighten, and factions quickly develop, including those who want the colony idea abandoned.

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Winter White for sale

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cover for Winter White short storyHvinde’s stepmother truly is the fairest of them all, goddess of beauty and ruler of the kingdom. Her priests, however, think it’s time to give somebody else a chance at the title of fairest, and at least one thinks Hvinde has a shot. What’s a girl to do when she’d much rather play bridge with the guards than primp for others?

As is probably obvious from the blurb above, this is my retelling of the Snow White tale, without hearts cut out, poison, or wicked stepmothers being forced to dance in red hot shoes made of iron. Read an excerpt below. Continue reading

New short for sale: Rise of Kencha

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I uploaded another short story for sale on Friday. “Rise of Kencha” first appeared in Spacesuits and Sixguns, an online magazine that is no longer available. (The Website currently says something’s coming 4th quarter of 2011, in a rebirth of the site, so I check back every now and again to see if there’s anything there yet.) Dave Duggins, the editor, liked my story so much he made it the cover story and commissioned art for it. Happily, Krzysztof Biernacki gave me permission to use the art with the story once again. Below is an excerpt from the opening of the story, as well as the links to buy it, should you be so inclined.

Jani’s been working night shift since she broke up with the commander of her station, Lev Ren, but even with her grief, she notices the problems with engines and airflow on the station. What she doesn’t notice at first is the crew who have altered their bodies, giving up limbs and exoskeleton for machined parts. These crew are playing a game, a deadly game called Kencha. Jani can’t go to her commander, but she can’t let the station be corrupted, either. How she responds will affect everyone on the station.

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“Blood Brother” for sale

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As promised, this is the other story I’ve put up for sale recently. It’s what’s technically known as a novelette — about 13,000 words — longer than a short story, shorter than a novella. The cover is by Jade E. Zivanovic (her Facebook profile). The first two scenes follow the break. If you’re interested in buying it, those links are provided, too. Continue reading