Musings in the Dark: June 2014

6/24/2014

CRASH!!! ...a Teaser

Lee-Lee walked up to the lady and extended her hand.  “In that case, let me introduce myself.  My name is Elysie Blake, but everybody calls me Lee-Lee.”  She pointed to Monica.  “That’s Monica, my roommate.  We live in 6B.  Those two are Jocasta and Neveyah.  They live in 6C.”
The lady didn’t extend her hand and Lee-Lee stared at her.  “Your name is…?”
She smoothed her hair and glanced at the movers, who were finishing up.  Her ring caught the light and the stone sparkled like a diamond.  “I suppose I could offer my name.” 
“It’d be nice,” Monica said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice and failing.  “We do live on the same floor.”

6/22/2014

The Nightingales Supplemental...

Silhouettes by katagaci
Today marks the release of the Nightingales blog.  It is intended as a supplemental resource to the series and a way for readers to keep track of the characters and the story.  As I’ve said before, this was a response to a writing challenge posted by fellow author and co-conspirator Ankhesen MiĆ© on At the Bar, and it wasn’t intended to be anything more than that…until the Muse decided that it would be.

The original challenge was for a TV show with a basic cast and premise.  As a result, the Nightingales series is constructed into a set of 60-page books or “episodes,” with each episode representing one hour of TV time.  I originally thought the tale could be told in a miniseries format of a one-hour pilot and five hour-long episodes…but as I got deeper into my research, I realized that there was no way I could do that and be fair to the readers and the story.  So what I can assure you right now is that the Nightingales will span at least six books.  This isn’t the kind of story that I think would work well in novel format.  Writing it as a series of short stories (short for me, anyway) keeps the narrative streamlined and the plot moving. 

6/21/2014

Meet the Nightingales: Jocasta Dallas


Bianca Lawson as Jocasta Dallas

Jo is a genius, an author, a Daddy's Girl, and a popular bartender at a downtown strip club.  She’s at a crossroads in her life, a woman with decisions to make and baggage to either claim or release, and finds herself caught up in a situation that tests her heart, her strength, and all of her abilities.

6/20/2014

Meet the Nightingales: Elysie Blake

Sujata Day as Elysie "Lee-Lee" Blake

A lover of nature and the occult, Lee-Lee is a doctoral student indirectly studying her origins.  She’s friendly, inquisitive, and blessed with unique abilities.  Her gifts allow her to be a conduit for supernatural forces.  Supported by her skinflint father, yet sustained by her understanding mother, Lee-Lee is determined to know who and what she is.

6/19/2014

Meet the Nightingales: Cressida Brinton


Michelle Krusiec as Cressida Brinton
This is a woman who knows exactly what she wants and will do whatever she feels is required to obtain it.  She is classy, cold, and calculating, with a slew of wealthy men at her beck and call.  But an unforeseen encounter puts her in the crosshairs of the unfamiliar…actually needing someone.

6/18/2014

Meet the Nightingales: Neveyah Austin-Malone

Jana Mashonee as Neveyah Austin-Malone

Neveyah Austin-Malone is a talented musician and gifted dancer who loves taking off her clothes for a living.  She is a tour de force on stage and has the ability to bring men to their knees.  Neveyah’s been fooling around with powers she has no business messing with, and as a result, has opened the door to something she’s unable to handle on her own.

6/17/2014

Meet the Nightingales: Monica Tierney

Nightingales was conceptualized to be a cable television show, and as such, is dreamcasted.  The actresses that were chosen have made the characters come to vivid, wonderful life and it is with the utmost respect that I reference them here and on the Nightingales blog.

As part of the publication countdown, allow me to introduce the dreamcast of this exciting new series. 

Chrystee Pharris as Monica
Monica Tierney is a computer geek with a love for languages and the law.  She’s practical, brilliant, and relentlessly planning her future with Chris Kang, her fiance. She’s about to be in over her head in an unexpected spiritual struggle.  A Christian, Monica is unprepared for what is about to be unleashed.

6/16/2014

Coming Soon: The Nightingales

I am thrilled to report that my next book, Nightingales: CRASH!!! will be published
next week by Middle Child Press.  Nightingales is a contemporary supernatural series about five women who unite to solve the mystery of a haunted apartment that one of them occupies.   The series is expected to be a minimum of six 60-page books, or “episodes.”

Fans of Musings in the Dark may recall when this idea was first conceptualized a couple of years ago; as a response to a writing challenge posted on At the Bar.  Like ideas tend to do, this one took root, sprouted, and then evolved...and boy, did it ever.  I was not planning to write a series, but when the Muse speaks, I listen.  Therefore, I do not know how many books it will take to resolve the plot.  I will, however, take my time in doing so. Join me, if you will.

Readers can stay abreast of the Nightingales by checking out the supplemental blog, which will be released shortly before the publication of CRASH!!!  There are full biographies of each protagonist and information about the people in their lives, as well as anecdotes and facts about the setting of the story…my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.  Feel free to follow the blog and share your opinions and reviews of the books as the series progresses.

CRASH!!! is the pilot episode and in it, we meet the Nightingales: Lee-Lee, Monica, Neveyah, Jo, and Cressida.  

Neveyah and her BFF Jo are rudely awakened by Cressida, who is moving into a recently-vacated apartment on their floor.  Also disturbed by Cressida’s early-morning relocation shenanigans are Lee-Lee and Monica.  They converge in the hallway and sparks begin to fly.  Little do they know that Cressida’s loud and abrupt entry into their lives also marks the entry of something other.


Let the countdown to publication begin!