Category Archives: Original Work

Here you will find some original writing I did that I’m not afraid to share on Wordpress due to its dubious quality.

ICE UPON A PIER is Out TODAY!

By Posted in ICE UPON A PIER (Novella 4/2023), Original Work Tagged , , , , , , 1 Comment

The day has finally come: my debut novella, Ice Upon a Pier, is out today! My debut novella is a lesbianoir fantasy novella about a prolific contract killer in a secondary world inspired by 70s/80s New York.

Read more about the summary, contact warnings, and where to buy the novella below.

BOOK SUMMARY

My warped sense of morality embarrasses me. 

Ruta Pawlak is one of the most successful contract killers Pier-Upon-Pier City has ever seen. Convicted of five murders that landed her multiple life sentences, her kill count allegedly sits between fifteen and two hundred people. Some were just for practice, others for revenge, and others she executed for money to keep her potentially world-record setting reading collection going.

For the first time, a biographer sits down with the legendary killer to hear her story in her own words. Get the details on her relationship with her depraved bosses and her eclectic arsenal of murder weapons from ice magic to poison to even the sun itself. From her impoverished upbringing to her introduction to the Syndicates to her bizarre affair with fellow killer Frieda Masters to Ruta’s eventual downfall, this account goes beyond headlines and court proceedings, weaving a story of love, family, survival, and murder.

This novella is perfect for fans of true crime, fantasy, noir, The Last Podcast on the Left, and the interview portions of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire series.

Humans killing other humans wasn’t natural.

Humans killing monsters, however, might be.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Bullying, killing your bully, killing your parents, death of a child (off-page), vomiting, immolation, poisoning, gun violence, and a mention of beastiality. There is a cat, the cat does not die.

BUY LINKS

COVER REVEAL: ICE UPON A PIER by Ladz (yours truly)

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I am so thrilled to finally get to share the cover art for Ice Upon a Pier, done by the incredible Aleta Perez, a Bolivian-American illustrator and screen-printer. The reveal went up earlier today on Sarah Gailey’s Stone Soup newsletter and website, which comes complete with a preview of Chapter 1. A preview of the Introduction went live in the January edition of my own newsletter, which you can read here.

This post is to show off the cover on my own space and also tell you how to request ARCs.

Continue reading →

Original Work: A Problem for Tomorrow’s You

By Posted in Original Work, Short Stories Tagged , , , , , 1 Comment

This is a horror story about how taking ADHD meds feels like putting on a glamour every morning and what happens if the glamour achieves its own sense of self.

It was originally written for an anthology that fell through and its publisher completely folded. After a slew of lovely rejections in other markets, I decided to give it a home by self-publishing it on my site. Enjoy!

Continue reading →

WriteWorld: Lord of the Seven Spires

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of_frost_and_ice_by_matthewsellers-d9e1nub

Art By Matthew Sellers. Click the image to get to his DeviantArt.

Every place has legends and I saw this image and decided to craft one that illustrates one of the great tenants of Soldier battle theory: “The sword is only as good as its wielder.”


Writer’s Block
(Artist’s DeviantArt)

A picture says a thousand words. Write them.

Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a critique about this picture. Write something about this picture.

Be sure to tag writeworld in your block!

Continue reading →

WriteWorld: The Country of Hell

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write world december

Art by Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe. Click the image to get to his DeviantArt.

In case anyone is wondering, I have, officially, over 1000 likes on my Tumblr and I found a whole host of potential WriteWorlds there, so here’s one for size. It involves me building the country of Hell featured for a bit in my book.

Writer’s Block
(Artist’s DeviantArt)

A picture says a thousand words. Write them.

Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a critique about this picture. Write something about this picture.

Be sure to tag writeworld in your block!
Continue reading →

The Crimson Stethoscope: A Horror Story

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stethoscope

I went to a meet-up this week where I almost presented this 265-word short story that I wrote in under an hour. That introduction wasn’t meant to be a brag, it’s terrible, but I liked it enough to read it out loud. It’s a little spooky so reader beware. If you want some campy Halloween, story-telling fun, this plot generator kept me entertained for a few moments. Enjoy! Continue reading →

Writeworld: When a Robot Reads

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Photo by Sophia Marilyn. Click the picture to go to her Tumblr.

Photo by Sophia Marilyn. Click the picture to go to her Tumblr.

Here another writeworld exercise post. Here’s the prompt from the Tumblr:

Writer’s Block
(Artist’s Tumblr)

A picture says a thousand words. Write them.

Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a critique about this picture. Write something about this picture.

Be sure to tag writeworld in your block!

Continue reading →

Writeworld: This Girl Looks like Sarah

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Art by Wenqing Yan. Click the picture to go to the artist's DeviantArt.

Art by Wenqing Yan. Click the picture to go to the artist’s DeviantArt.

There’s a great Tumblr called writeworld which posts images for writers to help their inspiration.  Try to do them every once in a while, which I will share here. Here’s the prompt from the Tumblr:

Writer’s Block
(Artist’s Tumblr)

A picture says a thousand words. Write them.

Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a critique about this picture. Write something about this picture.

Be sure to tag writeworld in your block! Continue reading →