Last month I mentioned that I will be publishing a little collection of shorts this year. To add to that, the anthology will be called This Merry Summertime and will contain 7 short stories and satirical comedy scripts, and one novella. The satirical comedy scripts are very short screenplays that tell a typical, cliché story in a funny way. But they are creative, with invented characters, and explore the genre as well.

The title was chosen because the storylines for every piece take place during the summer. A couple have scenes in the spring or early autumn, but the bulk of the story has a warm summer feeling to it and several stories are set exclusively in the warm months of the year.

The 7 pieces are titled:

• Sarcophagus: An Epic Paranormal Fantasy (Satirical script)
• Ella Substituted (Short Story)
• In the End the Story Ended: Dramatic Comedy by Shakespeare (Satirical Script)
• Movies at the Beach (Novella)
• The Destiny of Princes (Satirical Script)
• Everwood: An Allegory (Short Story)
• A Matter of Life & Hair: A Western Romance (Satirical Script)

Actually, the idea of publishing these blindsided me without warning. A very few of you might have been around long enough to remember some of these little skits, which were shown to a few blog readers about 6 years ago. But the concept behind these shorts wasn’t serious at the time and they returned to my USB flash disk where they remained buried up until last month. I thought of them as a rather wistful memory of a very different time in my publishing career, one that was rich in personal relationships but much less professional than it has since become. Everwood briefly appeared in a now-out-of-stock single of "The Amulet of Renari", because at the time I wasn’t sure if Renari would fit permanently with the other Facets stories. But it ended up doing so and Everwood went back into the USB disk.

If I ever stumbled on any of these while sorting my files, publishing them never occurred to me. But then, like a motorcycle coming sideways out of a forest, these stories zoomed back into view. And the next thing I knew, I was compiling them together and preparing to publish them. Movies at the Beach requires a bit of trimming and it will still be the longest in the book when it’s done. But the changes I’m doing are slight and basically these little skits are resurrecting themselves. In terms of the imagery of a motorcycle trying to run you down, they mean business too. At least, that doesn’t sound like a vehicle that wants to be argued with.

And there will be more updates.

Before I go into the five focus characters in Consuela, the second Palladia book, you should know there's a flash sale of $0.99 fantasy books going on this week only. It lasts May 4-10 and includes over 30 books in high fantasy, urban fantasy, general fantasy, and a bit of sci-fi. This is a good bundle for anyone who likes fantasy and it has an excellent lineup of books. To check it out (who knows, maybe you'll find something discounted that you've had your eye on!) follow this link.

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​Consuela was originally brainstormed as a historical story but turned into a sci-fi book instead—a slightly rambling adventure set in the future. Its thread of humorous moments might seem a deviation from a genre that always takes the issues it explores very seriously. But part of dystopian’s magic is that tales of a near-future world easily become so pertinent, as if that future was already present to a degree. There's really nothing quite like this unique genre. And if a hypothetical future society has such a tangible reality, then we must feel it's a place we could potentially live.

Consuela, in addition to exploring a bit more about daily life in the future—which, of course, is why it’s here—has a stronger political plot than Invaders. Politics are very important to the story. If there ever comes a future society that has a bad government and is mostly filled with crime, it’s likely to have some pretty busy relationships springing from that bad government. Plus, the abundance of criminals in Palladia means people who make laws are likely to be friends with people who break them. Illogical, yes. But it certainly adds to the fun. 😉

So for the five central characters of Consuela:

Miss Plummer is very intelligent and from an educated group of people. She’s always been one of the elite if not one of the politically powerful. But for no explained reason, in old age, she’s become quite restless and adventurous. She crosses social conventions, national borders, and an old friend to wind up in jail. She believes she is invincible, although the jury (literally in this case) doesn’t seem to agree with her.

Consuela is an ordinary girl trying to make a living. Like 90% of people in Palladia, she’s from a criminal background and it’s easy for a girl with basically no family or friends to get stepped on. But Consuela never does and has always made it through. She’s aware it’s unusual for someone like Miss Plummer to hire her, but a job is a job—give or take a number of extra schemes that unfold along the way.

Mr. Lazeemboi is a former crony of Miss Plummer’s. Although technically part of the EC, he cares far more about money and socializing than about his roots. He has lived in nearby Belaria for many years and envisions himself and his children as social climbers among the wealthy there. It also appears that he doesn’t view himself as Miss Plummer’s friend anymore.

Mocha is Mr. Lazeemboi’s opportunistic daughter. While she appears a bit spoiled and annoying, she’s also a feminist who is hailed as a famous author in spite of being just a teenager. Miss Plummer’s young friend Rena is a big fan of Mocha’s and is dying to meet her and exchange thoughts about books. However, Mocha doesn’t comport herself well under emergencies and eventually falls off the map.

Nesya’s real name isn’t known. He is from the “technical” class, who are skilled with technology and metal. He is a person of strong opinions, fiercely defensive of what he believes in, and attaches himself to Miss Plummer’s group in order to engage in friendly debate with her about their cultural differences. Consuela calls him “Nesya,” the Invader word for friend, and the name sticks even after his romance with Rena makes it clear they ought to learn his real name.

And there will be more updates.