“Porcelina’s fingers trembled in the cold February air as they moved along the worn strings of her violin.”

And so begins the story of Porcelina, a young woman in 19th century France who has come to Paris to play violin. When a mysterious masked stranger appears offering to grant her every wish, Porcelina believes her dreams have finally come true … but what will it cost her?

My story, “La Marionnette” is available in this revealing anthology, Unmasked: Stories of Risk and Revelation from WordFire Press. Executive Editor Kevin J. Anderson. Audiobook narrated by Brenda McGinnis. (July 2021)

WordFire Press link HERE.
Available in paper, kindle, and audiobook on Amazon HERE.

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This anthology was created by Kevin J Anderson’s students at Western Colorado University as a part of the Graduate Program in Publishing he teaches there. I am so excited and beyond honored to have been accepted into this anthology, and getting to work with one of his students as my editor (Thank you, Amanda!) was a super fun experience in learning together.

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From the publishers website:

When the mask comes off, can you handle what’s underneath?

When the mask comes off, can you handle what’s underneath?
When your secret identity is revealed …
When the monster is unleashed …
When the superhero’s child has no power …
When Death himself is caught unawares …

Pull back the mask to reveal 21 tales from seasoned and award-winning authors, of magical masks, gas masks, death masks, superheroes, secret identities, disguised robots, alien symbionts, a Napoleonic thief, a swindling demon—even a hidden clown.
Who will take the risk?

Explore the masks we wear, the mysteries they conceal, and the price we pay when they’re stripped away.
Join us in our unmasquerade as we revel in—revelation!

Table of Contents:
Pygmalion—Seanan McGuire
La Marionnette—Alicia Cay
I Have No Name—Andi Christopher
Speakeasy—Keltie Zubko
Framing Marta—James Romag
The Green Gas—Liam Hogan
Death by Misadventure—John M. Olsen
The Fog of War—Edward J. Knight
Faces of Death—Ed Burkley
The Quota—Tom Howard
Masque—JL Curtis
Beauty is Lifted from Its Face As a Mask—Eric James Stone
Pagliacci’s Joke—Travis Heermann
A New Purpose—Rebecca M. Senese
Eyeless—Gama Ray Martinez
In Defiance of Death—Rebecca E. Treasure
Qualia—Russell Davis
Shot in the Dark—Brennen Hankins
The Hibakusha—Michael Scott Bricker
Mope Not for the Mighty—Michael Nethercott
Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast—Eugie Foster

Introduction by Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson, Executive Editor
Editorial Team: Kelly Adams, Erekson Holt, Deborah Kevin, Melissa Dalton Martinez, Constanza Ontaneda, Dale Sprague, Amanda Spriggs, and Matthew Wright

~xo