Followed by Fear

 

A city girl needs the help of a small-town sheriff to stop her stalker.

Harper’s Bend is the perfect small town, especially on Halloween. Filled with friendly locals and rural traditions, Sydney views this place as her only chance to take back her life and flee from the mysterious stalker who’s been after her since the death of her husband.

She didn’t expect the danger to follow her, and she definitely didn’t expect to develop such an instant connection to local sheriff, Preston Blacker. He’s standoffish and treats her more like a problem to solve than an actual person. There’s a reason for his distance, though, and Sydney realizes that she’s not the only one struggling with a dark past.

As the stalker’s efforts escalate, Sydney and Preston must work together to find out who is following them. But can they keep their emotions in check long enough to save themselves?

Followed by Fear is a romantic suspense story where the heroine finds protection in the arms of a complicated hero while surrounded by the holiday trappings of rural New Mexico. It’s perfect for fans of the high-stakes thrills of Cassie Miles and the quirky small towns of Maddie Day.

Amazon

Kobo

Barnes and Noble

Apple

Estelle Harrow Gets Lucky

I introduce to you... Hell Hath No Fury, a brand-new anthology from the premier publisher of pulp, Pro-Se Productions.

Estelle Harrow uses her connections to the ghost realm to solve murders, but her adventures never go as planned. This time, she's up against the Irish mafia, a powerful organization that may or may not be smuggling leprechaun blood for their own nefarious purposes. As Estelle comes face-to-face with dangers that she couldn't imagine, will she be able to survive fistfights, drunken gambling rings, and a six-year-old ghost who's finally gotten fed up with her pesky seances?

I am so excited to have my story kick off this new anthology. It's honestly really wild, and I can't wait to hear what you think!

And Now... Snow White!

I'm really getting into the podcast world lately. I just posted about my Lovecraftian radio drama for Horrifying Tales of Wonder (please check it out if you haven't). I was lucky enough to be a part of Life on Pause Season 2, which was a total, total blast.

And now, I'm writing ten episodes of a new kids podcast that's a little bit Snow White, a little bit Buffy, and a whole lot of crazy. It's an adventure with chicken monsters, a wicked witch, some karate, and even a little music! Fun stuff!

Here's an early look at Snowii, one of our young leads:

The team at Streamin' Services is halfway through the recording sessions now, and I can't wait to see what they come up with. The first episode drops soon on Spotify, so be prepared for a crazy time!

The Same Old Lake

 

I finally wrote an old-time radio podcast. This one is for the Horrifying Tales of Wonder series, which merges classic radio with Lovecraftian goodness. It's right up my alley, basically.

So if you're down for a little creeping dread, check out "The Same Old Lake." It was such a joy to write and the actors really knocked it out of the park.

Kunzum Reading Corner: My Interview!

I got interviewed! The awesome people at Kunzum Bookshops in India have reached out to talk to me about my Karma Tandin: Monster Hunter series. It was a pleasure to answer the questions (Thanks, Shruti! You're awesome!) including one particularly difficult question about representation that I found quite interesting.

(Even I get scared sometimes.)

Anyway, I love, love, love talking about monsters, and I hope you like my answers!

Underground Monsters

Underground creatures. Everyone loves 'em... from Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers to, I don't know, molemen. The concept of weird beings living just under our feet has been the premise for several of my stories, including a particularly gnarly yarn in the San Cicaro anthology.

But this new one is a real doozy. The collection is called "Underground" from COLP, the eclectic magazine from Gypsum Sound Tales. Man, these stories are wiiiiiiild. Mine is called "Rosemont Hills Primary School" and it's about a little girl whose first day of first grade goes horribly, horribly wrong.

This one is not for the squeamish (or anyone with asthma).

Evan Gets Interviewed (Kid Reporter Edition)

Check out this ultra-charming review from a very professional young reviewer. I made this as part of a writing workshop thing I did for preteens. Man, it was fun.

People. It's what's for dinner.

CANNIBALS! You know you love 'em. I sure do.

The glorious weirdos at Red Cape Publishing are releasing a series of horror anthologies. They're on letter C right now, which is where my cannibal story comes in. It's called "Bert," and it's about a chubby, little farmboy who has suspicions that his dad might be planning to eat him. Try to guess the twist ending, because I'm sure you won't.

This collection is very dark, very funny, and very... delicious? Can I say that? Sure. Why not? It's my blog.

The point is, check out C IS FOR CANNIBALS when it's finally served on June 24. And bring your appetite!

Crazy Stories from Kazakhstan

My students are awesome. No matter where I teach, I always find students who are creative and excited and eager to share their stories with the world.

That's why I'm so proud of this latest antho! Crazy Stories from Kazakhstan is a collection of student-written stories from the kids of Almaty. Killer teddy bears, aliens, dragons, curses... These stories have a little bit of everything.

And the craziest part? All the stories were written by non-native speakers in thirty minutes. That's right! We had a contest at our school, and students had to finish their stories (based on four secret photos that we gave them) in under a half hour! This is what they came up with.

And of course, I added some illustrations to go with their words. This time, the mascot is the famous Kazakh snow leopard.

This guy.

 Check him out in ebook form, or just email me and I can connect you with a PDF. We're raising money for a local charity, and this is just a little thing I could do to help.

Another Monster for Karma to Fight

Congratulations to another winning monster! Melania did a great job with her monster Jelly Freeze. It was so hard to judge this contest, but Jelly Freeze was one of my personal favorites! And look at that poem! It's hilarious.

Here are some more great creatures:

Funny, scary, cute, and creepy. Monsters come in all different flavors.

The Problem with Monsters (Besides Them Eating You)

Varsha Seshan is a critic and blogger in India. She just posted a really inciteful piece called "The Problem with Monster Stereotypes in Literature" and it really sums up my feelings about monsters (especially in young adult literature).

One of my big reasons for creating the Karma Tandin: Monster Hunter series was to challenge the assumptions about good vs. evil. I wanted to create a village full of monsters that are a bit more complex than just MONSTER = BAD. My monsters are real characters with real quirks and personalities. They're different and they're dangerous, but that doesn't mean they're irredeemable. They're young and old, male and female, ugly and beautiful. And they're complicated.

In my first book, the monster is a book-loving librarian that just happens to hide a mutant shark face under her human head. In the second, a school bully becomes a decomposing zombie that learns the hard way what it feels like to be the victim of bullying. In the third book, well... stay tuned, but it will involve an "evil twin" with a bit more complexity than you'd expect.

Especially in kidlit, writers have the responsibility to expand the definition of "monster." The world isn't a simple, black-and-white place, and monster characters shouldn't easily fit into any category. That's more-or-less the mission statement of the Karma Tandin series, and Varsha's article really captures that. Give it a read.

Karma Arrives in Bhutan!

Karma Fights a Monster is hot off the presses. Check it out.

(And as always, my students in Bhutan are super smiley.)

Wedding in Kazakhstan

This was a Kazakhstan/American wedding in the mountains just outside Almaty, Kazakhstan.

I danced all night. Badly.

And I'm so happy for the lucky couple.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! NEW SERIES!

All my writing experience has prepared me for this. After publishing a bunch of horror shorts for anthologies big and small, and after reading and rereading every Goosebumps book until my eyes turned fuzzy, I've finally started my own middle grade horror series!

Karma Tandin: Monster Hunter is a series of funny, exciting, spooky adventures about a twelve-year-old monster hunter who battles wild creatures throughout Bhutan. The first in the series, Karma Fights a Monster, just hit stands and it is wild! I am so proud of this story (and all the stories to come). Check out our hero as he contends with his school librarian who may or may not be a shark monster. (Spoiler: She is.)

Seriously, guys, this is my passion project, and it's so, so cool to share it with you all. What's even cooler is that I get to write about Bhutan, my favorite place in the world. If you like monsters (and who doesn't), then you'll love Karma!

Welcome to SAN CICARO

San Cicaro is a coastal resort town in California where strange things happen every day. I was lucky enough to be included in this travel companion. I wrote all about a local landmark called Missy's Diner. Come check it out or (better yet) visit San Cicaro yourself. 

Startling Monsters

"When I started reading it, I hoped there would be ‘real’ monsters, not allegorical or imagined monsters. I was not disappointed. The monsters in the book startled me, and it was wonderful."

Another happy, monster-loving customer. Check out Varsha Seshan's review of my latest middle grade horror book, Karma Fights a Monster.

Plus: more awesome fan art for the Karma series. This is Bibi-Da-Bi, a color-sucking monster created by Aditeya Goyal (age 11).

Duckbill Books

My new series Karma Tandin: Monster Hunter got a nice shout-out from Indian children's author and editor Sayoni Basu. I've worked with her closely over at Duckbill Books, and I'm always amazed by the amount of good, positive, funny, exciting work they release.

An Everyman Superhero

"Karma is a protagonist that every child can easily identify with. He is not shown to be a superhero of sorts, though he is the famed monster hunter. He is as ‘human’ as any of the readers reading the book. Excellent story, capturing plot and loads of good humour…"

Karma Fights a Monster is fresh off the presses, and already we've been getting some good reviews. This one comes courtesy of the Booked for Life blog. I'm so happy that my little story of a monster-hunting twelve-year-old is really connecting with readers. 

And of course, here is another monster submission to add to the collection. This one is by Aadya,  a four (!) year old monster hunter from India. Jigiliboo is a fierce creature from an enchanted forest. Better watch out!

Karma Gets a Review!

"Through this monster story, Purcell has tried to introduce the issues that kids face in their lives and how everyone has to struggle against their worst impulses. His cool, shark monster represents something that we can all understand and relate to — teachers and their ways."

Amen.

Our first review is in! Ministry of Magik (which is a very cool blog) gave us their thoughts on Karma Fights a Monster. I'm so glad that Karma's wacky adventures are finally catching on with people. I've had this story (and this series) kicking around in my head for over two years now, and it's so exciting to hear the reactions.

And, to further celebrate this occasion, I'd like to share a piece of fan art from our monster design contest. Here it is:

This was made by Ria Melanie (age 10). Clever, spooky, and very cool, Jelly Freeze is a monster that I wish I'd thought of myself. Great job!

Make a Monster! Enter the Contest!