Jeremy rolled his shoulders, trying to find some relief from the burning pain as he followed the beckoning call—so like the one he remembered from when he was a kid. A few more steps through the tangled underbrush and he was standing at the edge of a small clearing where a young oak sapling was growing. The tree was about sixteen feet tall, its trunk about a half-foot in diameter. It had already shed most of its leaves in preparation for autumn, but a few dry leaves and acorn clusters still clung tenaciously to the slender, twisting branches. As he stared at the tree, Jeremy’s mouth dropped open. This is the tree I planted—the tree from the acorn!
Another feverish gust of cold, sweet wind swept through the clearing, roaring around the tree in a circle. Jeremy flinched, then ducked as something dropped and bounced off the trunk of the tree, rolling across the ground towards his shoe. It was a new, fist-sized acorn. Slowly, Jeremy looked up at the tree, following the path the acorn had traced.
“So, you didn’t die,” he said out loud to the silent, ethereal presence he sensed before him. His breath smoked in the frosty air of the clearing, but no answer came.
As Jeremy reached down to pick up the acorn, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. His scars burned and his breath caught in his throat as a familiar Irish voice spoke behind him.
“You must stand up for what is right, laddie—especially when no one else will.”
Jeremy whirled around, but he could see no one else in the grove. A single tear pooled at the corner of his eye; how he had longed to hear that voice again, for so many years! He stared at the acorn in one hand, and Schneider’s business card in the other.
“I will!” said Jeremy.
He was going to study environmental law; he’d find some way to pay for it. And he knew exactly where to plant this acorn; there was an endangered park in Austin that he and a few other students were trying to save from development. But first, he needed to find out just what Windmere Development had done with that tar pit.
This was only the beginning.
The End
Acknowledgements
This novel has been a rich and incredible adventure. I owe a debt of thanks to many I’ve met along the way, and I only have space to catch a few of you here. First, to those who plowed through revision after revision: Aaron Capps, Mina Mauldin, Christina Johnson-Sullivan, Mom, Dad, Allison Maglothin, Bob Finch, Jayden Gonzales, and Rose Snyder.
In the midst of any grand journey is a darkness shrouded in doubt, and these incredible writers are friends and mentors that kept me on the path: Gabrielle Faust, Jen Mahon, Mary Hershey, Heidi Kling, and the entire Taxicab Crew: RaeLynn Fry, Dave DiGrazie, and Beth Albright.
And lastly, this book would not be what it is today without two excellent editors: Gabrielle Harbowy and Miranda Rabuck.
I am grateful to all of you. Thank you so very much.
Clint Talbert
Clint Talbert Biography
CLINT TALBERT started writing at a very young age, after reading all the King Arthur stories he could find in his backwoods Texas library. He figured the world needed more Camelot, but fortunately, his next door neighbor loaned him Tolkien, which really got him going. Talbert has now completed four novels and several short stories. The Last Stand of Daronwy is his first published novel. Clint lives on the ocean in California with a very cute Boxer puppy. You can follow his progress at his website, www.clinttalbert.com. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook.
About Barking Rain Press
Did you know that six media conglomerates publish eighty percent of the books in the United States? As the publishing industry continues to contract, opportunities for emerging and mid-career authors are drying up. Who will write the literature of the twenty-first century if just a handful of profit-focused corporations are left to decide who—and what—is worthy of publication?
Barking Rain Press is dedicated to the creation and promotion of thoughtful and imaginative contemporary literature, which we believe is essential to a vital and diverse culture. As a nonprofit organization, Barking Rain Press is an independent publisher that seeks to cultivate relationships with new and mid-career writers over time, to be thorough in the editorial process, and to make the publishing process an experience that will add to an author’s development—and ultimately enhance our literary heritage.
In selecting new titles for publication, Barking Rain Press considers authors at all points in their careers. Our goal is to support the development of emerging and mid-career authors—not just single books—as we know from experience that a writer’s audience is cultivated over the course of several books.
Support for these efforts comes primarily from the sale of our publications; we also hope to attract grant funding and private donations. Whether you are a reader or a writer, we invite you to take a stand for independent publishing and become more involved with Barking Rain Press. With your support, we can make sure that talented writers thrive, and that their books reach the hands of spirited, curious readers. Find out more at our website.
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Dr. Offig’s Lessons from the Dark Side
by P.S. Gifford
Print ISBN: 978-1-935460-26-8
eBook ISBN: 978-1-935460-27-5
Some people are optimists and some people are pessimists, but Dr. Offig is a “gruesome-ist!” Visit him in his cluttered and curious office and he will surely tell you one of the wonderfully creepy stories he is famous for—the kind that makes your eyes bug out in disbelief, your skin shiver and crawl, and once in a while they might—just might I say—even make you laugh out loud.
But be forewarned that these stories can also become very, very addictive. Once you finish with one of Dr. Offig’s stories, you will most certainly want to read another, then another, and then another still. Which sometimes makes it hard to go to sleep with the lights out…
“P.S. Gifford is a writer of great wit and talent. He remembers that most treasured of all storytelling purposes: entertainment! Keep an eye on this writer, because he’s going places and he’s delivering a lot of joy along the way.” —Scott Nicholson, Author, The Red Church and Liquid Fear
“P.S. Gifford’s stories are like being on the last seat of an out-of-control roller coaster—and the first carriage has just jumped the tracks.” —Paul Mannering, BrokenSea Audio Productions
“P.S. Gifford’s combination of horror and wit make his stories the ‘potato chips’ of the genre: betcha can’t read just one!” —Billy Tackett, Dark Artist, Resurrection Studios
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The Celibate Succubus
by Barton Paul Levenson
Print ISBN: 978-1-935460-58-9
eBook ISBN: 978-1-935460-59-6
“Team Packer” is a covert Catholic strike team against supernatural evil with a secret weapon in its arsenal: 16-year-old Delilah Vincentio—the world’s only Christian succubus. Trained by demons to despise humanity and lead them into sin, her unprecedented capacity for mercy caused her to renounce her place in Hell—and gain an angelic referral to Team Packer.
Delilah is assigned to infiltrate the Order of the Lightbringer, a Satanic cult that plans to make Pittsburgha test site for the Apocalypse. After Delilah’s identity is almost discovered, Team Packer sends her to high school to hide out until things cool down.
But while Delilah may be reformed from her beguiling ways, she’s still very much a demon—and she hasn’t learned how to play well with others. In fact, trying to fit in and keep a low profile at high school may prove to be a tougher battle than bringing down the Order of the Lightbringer.
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The Unremarkable Squire
by Nick Layden
Print ISBN:
978-1-935460-54-1
eBook ISBN: 978-1-935460-55-8
A squire’s oath is to be of service… but to whom?
In the kingdom of Basileon, an unremarkable and emotionally detached young man named Obed Kainos is about to stumble into adventure—quite against his will. When the knights of the realm gather in a quest to search for the lost Armor of Arkelon, Obed is chosen at random to replace the recently deceased squire of Sir Lance Valentino. While trying to perform his menial tasks faithfully, the young squire becomes entangled in the plots of mages, thieves, and kings.
And that’s just his first week on the job.
Unfortunately for Obed, his indifference cannot save him from his new oath. For despite his enigmatic personality (or perhaps because of it), he manages to attract a band of misfits to his cause—the ugly, the arrogant, the clumsy, and the cowardly—putting the legendary armor within the grasp of one who never wanted anything at all.
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Of Machines & Magics
by Adele Abbot
Print ISBN: 978-1-935460-30-5
eBook ISBN: 978-1-935460-31-2
Billions of years ago, humans abandoned their cradle and are now scattered across the galaxies. But the legends speak of a time when the sun threatened to burn away the inner worlds of the solar system when it became a red giant, and a remnant of mankind returned to Earth from the farthest stars to install a machine to move humanity’s cradle out of danger.
Since then, the remnant communities built settlements in the cracked and broken slopes of the old continental plates, exposed to the elements when the Earth was moved. Now nestled in the outer reaches of the solar system, Earth faces a new challenge—the sun has begun to collapse into a white dwarf. As the sun grows smaller and the world gets colder, the quest for the mythical machine that can move the planet closer to the fading sun becomes a race to save the planet from final extinction.
“An engrossing Steampunk quest to save our dying future planet. Fresh off selection as a finalist in the ‘Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now’ contest, Adele Abbot is a writer to watch! —David B. Coles, Author, The Tourist and The Last Free Men
“Adele Abbot has a new take on past and future history alike. A fascinating and refreshing view which has a great filmic quality to it. Echoes of Terry Pratchett perhaps?” — Jack Everett, Author, 1/1: Jihad-Britain and The Faces of Immortality
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Postponing Armageddon
by Adele Abbot
Print ISBN: 978-1-935460-80-0
eBook ISBN: 978-1-935460-81-7
When history goes off course, can it be nudged back? The second coming of Jesus Christ was supposed to take place in the thousandth year of His era, but it did not happen as scheduled.
For in the year 1016, the long-lived thirteenth apostle (who was chosen to replace Judas), sets off on a perilous journey across Europe with a priceless and powerful treasure—twelve parchment scrolls inscribed by the twelve apostles. Matthias knows that if the scrolls can be read at the proper time at Glastonbury Tor in England, their powers will be initiated. History would be rewritten and the world would be restored to the glorious state originally envisioned by his Lord and God.
But Matthias is not the only one who knows what the power of the scrolls can do—nor is he the only ancient being with an agenda. For these primordial clans know that if the scrolls are ever put to use, they and their families will disappear, as if they had never existed…
What is the price they — and the rest of humanity — will pay for postponing Armageddon?
Postponing Armageddon was a finalist in the 2011 Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now contest for aspiring debut novelists, sponsored by Sir Terry Pratchett and Transworld Publishers.
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Bounty Hunter’s Moon
by Lee Pierce
Print ISBN: 978-1-935460-35-8
eBook ISBN: 978-1-935460-36-6
Weary of hunting men for a living—first as a Texas Ranger, then as a bounty hunter—Pharaoh Smith sets out on what he hopes will be a fast and lucrative bounty to end his long career. But nothing’s ever been easy for Pharaoh, and right on cue his latest manhunt quickly spirals into death and deception on an epic scale as bounty hunters, outlaws, crooked lawmen and bullets light up the Old West in this thrilling adventure novel.
When three armed men rob a Wells Fargo Stage and kill a passenger, a one thousand dollar reward is offered for their capture. But as fate would have it, Pharaoh isn’t the only manhunter on the crooks’ trail. Two bounty hunters with unsavory reputations, Shadrach “Sweet Tater” Johnson and Roscoe Buffalo Soldier, are also on the trail to claim the reward money. But after attempts are made on all of their lives, Pharaoh and the others realize that this is about something more than a stage robbery.
A thousand dollars split three ways isn’t what any of them had in mind, but the three bounty hunters are forced to form an uneasy alliance to figure out what’s really going on before they all end up dead.
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Building a Better Monster: Legend of the Chupacabra
by Christopher Treagus
Print ISBN: 978-1-935460-52-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-935460-53-4
If enough people believe in something, can that belief make it real? Explore the creation of mankind’s newest monster, the Chupacabra, in this mesmerizing tale of the creature’s origins.
The story begins with the earliest reported sightings of the Chupacabra in the American Southwest in mid 1990s, then weaves its trail of blood-sucking destruction into the folktales of Mexico and Puerto Rico. Part vampire, part animal, part alien, the Chupacabra is blamed for the slaughter of countless animals—and humans—throughout the region.
While the Chupacabra seemed to come suddenly on the scene from out of nowhere, it would not be the first time that the collective consciousness of humanity’s wildest imaginings breathed life into a myth, giving it flesh and blood and deadly purpose…
And now that we’ve created it, can anything stop its modern day reign of terror?
“Chris Treagus has a great talent for historical horror fiction, dragging the reader through time and space so that one feels like they’re actually there. A writer to watch!” —Ken Kupstis, Author, Clownwhite and Voodoo Highway
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Learning Curve
by Michael S. Malone
Print ISBN: 978-1-935460-62-6
eBook ISBN: 978-1-935460-63-3
Get an inside view of the breathless, winner-take-all world of high technology—Silicon Valley style—in this fast-paced corporate thriller.
Veteran businessman Dan Crowen is finally handed the reins of a large, successful tech firm, Validator Software—only to be ordered by its eccentric owner, Cosmo Validator, to take a step that could destroy the company.
Young entrepreneur Alison Prue is at the helm of Validator’s upstart rival, eTernity. When the venture capitalists funding eTernity decide it’s time to take the the hot young startup public and go head-to-head against Validator, both Alison and Dan are caught up in a global tsunami of high-tech conspiracies.
Nothing’s as it seems in this high-stakes game of cat and mouse that will keep you guessing the whole way through.
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Bad Policy
by James M. Jackson
Print ISBN: 978-1-935460-60-2
eBook ISBN: 978-
1-935460-61-7
When private financial investigator Seamus McCree returns to Cincinnati after a routine business trip, he discovers that his home has become a crime scene for a brutal murder. The victim in his basement is an acquaintance from a previous corporate investigation—and endured bullets to both of his ankles, knees and elbows before the final shot to his forehead put him out of his misery.
No one has seen an “IRA six pack” victim since The Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.
Now the primary “person of interest” in the murder, Seamus must use his talent for logic and hard work to prove his innocence. Soon he uncovers a trail that leads back to his Boston roots—and a poisonous family feud dating from the divorce of Boston’s Irish mafia and the Provisional IRA in the 1970s.
Driven by the chilling realization that there was more behind the death of his policeman father than he ever knew, Seamus ignores warnings from the police, friends, and enemies as he continues to dig for the truth.
As the body count climbs, all trails seem to lead back to him, and Seamus is forced to go underground to find out who is framing him—and why—before he becomes the next victim.
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