Fantastic Creatures is an anthology of twenty-one stories, each one centered around a different mythical creature. There are dragons, fairies, mermaids, griffins, werewolves and a variety of other imaginative beings, some you may not have ever heard of before. It ranges from high fantasy to urban fantasy and everything in between. The book is a collaboration of authors from an online group called Fellowship of Fantasy that are dedicated to writing fantasy books free of graphic sex and swearing - although a couple of the stories (including mine) are a little on the scary/violent side.
Available for FREE at Amazon Kindle Nook Kobo
In print at Amazon
And add it to your Goodreads "to read" list
In print at Amazon
And add it to your Goodreads "to read" list
What is my story? It's called "Mother's Night Out"
Mallory hasn’t been working long at New Tradition Day Care when she’s asked to fill in for a special overnight program in the infant classroom. It pays well and should be an easy night, but things change when the babies all wake up at midnight. And they’re hungry. Some people say taking care of babies is scary. They have no idea.
Fellowship of Fantasy is doing a blog series on each of the creatures in the book. Here is my piece: http://www.fellowshipoffantasy.com/fantastic-writes/fantastic-creatures-werewolf
Mallory hasn’t been working long at New Tradition Day Care when she’s asked to fill in for a special overnight program in the infant classroom. It pays well and should be an easy night, but things change when the babies all wake up at midnight. And they’re hungry. Some people say taking care of babies is scary. They have no idea.
Fellowship of Fantasy is doing a blog series on each of the creatures in the book. Here is my piece: http://www.fellowshipoffantasy.com/fantastic-writes/fantastic-creatures-werewolf
Some Reviews!
"Overall, this is a strong and diverse collection of fantasy short stories. There's enough variety in setting, tone, and plot that there should be something for everyone."
Inside the Mind of a Bibliophile
"I love creatures of myth and legends, and this series of short stories did not disappoint in the slightest. This book is suitable for nearly all age groups and gives you glimpses of fantastic, magical creatures that many do not even know about." Goodreads review
"The stories were great, short and very clean. They capture your imagination so well that when you turn the page to find that it's ended you want more, like a whole novel!" Goodreads review
Specifically about 'Mother's Day Out'
"'Three Steaks and a Box of Chocolates,' 'Seekers,' 'Skin Deep,' 'Priscilla the Magnificent, Flying Giant Squid,' 'Mother's Night Out,' and 'Absolutely True Facts about the Pacific Tree Octopus' were definitely the strongest stories in this volume... (Mother's Night Out) was a strong story! It was another of the more violent ones, and it has this sense of menace to it the whole time even though the main characters are in a nursery dealing with babies." Beauty and the Bookworm
"My favourites were as follows:
Skin Deep (dark fairytale)
The Last Chronicle of Pete Mersill (dystopian)
The Netherlands (demon hunters)
Mother's Night Out (urban)
Three Steaks and a Box of Chocolates (adult but not dark)
Snapdragon (dark fairytale)
As you can see, most of my favourites were in the young adult or adult genres with urban, dark, or teen themes. But that's what I tend to enjoy anyway." Goodreads review
"I think this is probably something lovers of dark tales would enjoy... a plus for someone who enjoys a well-written twisted tale." Amazon customer review
"Overall, a very good anthology with a lot of fun reads, a mix of true fantasy, contemporary fantasy, and urban, some with romance, many without. My favorites include Snapdragon, An Adventurer's Heart, The Kappa, Celebration (awesome), Mother's Night Out (excellent), The Very Last Dragon, and Absolutely True Facts about the Pacific Tree Octopus (hilarious)."
Amazon customer review
Want a taste of "Mother's Night Out?" (See what I did there?)
Headlights came in through the front windows of the room, and Josie quickly pulled the blinds all the way down to block them out. “The parents are arriving. Before they come in, there’s something you should know. These aren’t babies that go to this day care regularly. We’re going to have nine of them. There are two sets of twins and one set of triplets in this group. The youngest is an only child and only nine weeks old. The oldest baby is Ms. Dierdre’s son. He’s eleven months and the third born of a triplet group, but his brothers don’t need to come here anymore.”
Ms. Dierdre was our Center Director. “I didn’t even know she had kids,” I confessed. Josie just shrugged and didn’t offer any more information because the first mom was entering the classroom.
She was introduced to me as Shelley Gray as she pushed her two babies into the room in a two-seat stroller. She wore yoga pants and a tank top like she was headed for the gym instead of a job. The woman was lean and fit, I noticed. Though her babies, two boys, appeared to be about six months old, she didn’t look like she had recently given birth. There wasn’t a hint of leftover pregnancy fat left on her. Mrs. Gray was sweet as could be and seemed delighted that her babies would have a place to stay for the night. She never stopped smiling for a second, thanked us a hundred times, and only had a moment of worry cross her eyes when Josie introduced me and explained that Alaina was going to be late.
“Oh, well, I’m sure you have it all worked out, like usual,” Mrs. Gray said. She winked at me. “You’ll learn a lot from Ms. Josie. Everyone in town says she’s the ‘Baby Whisperer’ because she knows everything there is about taking care of babies.”
Josie gave an ‘aw shucks’ look that made me laugh out loud. A diaper bag was passed over, and I took it to the counter to put the bottles in the refrigerator. I noticed there were only two. “Um, Mrs. Gray?” I said, trying to catch her before she left. “There aren’t enough bottles for the whole night.”
Mrs. Gray looked uncertainly at Ms. Josie, who said, “Two is all they’ll need. They’re going to bed at eight.”
“O-kay,” I said, but I let them know in my tone that I thought it was stupid not to have a back-up. Some baby whisperer. Everyone knows babies wake up hungry in the middle of the night.
Within the next twenty minutes all the moms had shown up with their kiddos. While they weren’t all in work-out attire, they all were amazingly healthy looking. All of them had sleek, long hair, strong arms and long legs.
The other thing they had in common was the desire to give their kids unusual names. Mrs. Diedre’s son was Maccon. The two girl twins that were nine months old were Susi and Timber. The triplets were Lowell, Canagan and Channon. Channon was a boy, mind you, and Canagan was the girl. Weird. Mrs. Gray’s twin boys had more normal names. She was kind enough to name them Channing and Colin. The tiniest baby was Felan, a little girl.
Once again, I was kind of glad the babies would all be asleep early, because I didn’t want to have to say those names over and over again all night long.
Ms. Dierdre was the last mom to arrive. She came in a little harried at 6:30 and apologized for being late. She went to plop little Maccon down on the floor, but he refused to bend his body to sit. So, she made sure he was steady in standing position and let go. Maccon smiled giddily, took two steps and fell to his bottom.
“He’s walking now,” Ms. Dierdre told us. “Just a couple steps, but he’ll be good at it within the next week or so if he’s anything like his brothers.”
Josie took the diaper bag from Ms. Dierdre and asked, “So, this will be his last overnight visit then?”
Ms. Diedre beamed with pride. “I think so. It’s about time. His brothers learned to walk at ten months. He’s been slow. I’d keep an eye out on him tonight, though. He’s liable to try to jump out of the crib.”
“Jump out?” I said. I’d babysat a lot of babies over the past four years, and I’d seen babies climb out of cribs but never jump.
Ms. Diedre just patted me on the shoulder and said, “You’ll be gone before then, so you won’t need to concern yourself about it. Ms. Josie knows what to do.”
Maccon was a cute boy with pretty hair that was blond at the roots and dark at the tips. His mom had dark hair with a cool streak of blond close to the front that ran from where she parted it to where her hair was cut just below her shoulder. I once asked a co-worker if she dyed it like that, but I was told it was natural and she'd had that streak of blond her whole life.
Ms. Dierdre followed Josie over to the counter and spoke quietly while I sat on the floor and played with the babies. I heard her say, "There isn't any worry about Alaina getting here in time, is there?"
"No. She knows the schedule."
"Okay," Mrs. Dierdre said warily. "Because, you know I can't control what will happen if she's late."
Wow, I thought. Alaina must have some problem with tardiness. It sounded like if she were late one more time she'd get fired.
"She'll be here," Josie said with confidence.
Ms. Dierdre seemed to accept that and smiled. She walked over and kissed her baby on the head. Maccon reached up her arms for a hug, and she pulled him up to her again. He kissed her cheek and then opened his mouth. "Ow, Maccon! No!" Ms. Dierdre shouted and put her baby back on the floor a little roughly. "No biting." She put her hand to her face but not fast enough for me to see that her son had broken the skin. I'd have to remember that kid had some sharp teeth. On the floor, Maccon grinned, and I noticed he hadn't grown his front two teeth yet. So far he only had two fang teeth on the top.
I followed Mrs. Dierdre to the door of the classroom, "Um, Ms. Dierdre, Alaina didn't say how much I get paid for this tonight. Is it the same rate as during the day?"
"Oh no," Ms. Dierdre said. "This is special. You get twenty-five an hour."
"No kidding. Really?"
"Yes." She winked at me. "It'll be easy money. The babies will all be asleep in an hour."
That was kind of funny, actually, since I didn’t even earn half of that per hour during the daytime hours and had to work very hard with the hyper little devils. I kind of wanted to text my mom and tell her what I was being paid. She said I'd never get paid more than minimum wage if I didn't go to college.
I did the math in my head and then said to my boss, “Hey, I’d be happy to work all night, so Alaina doesn’t have to rush here after the concert. Do you want us to call her?”
Ms. Dierdre’s lip seemed to snarl at the suggestion. She looked past me to Josie. “Alaina better be here on time. You make sure she understands that.”
Headlights came in through the front windows of the room, and Josie quickly pulled the blinds all the way down to block them out. “The parents are arriving. Before they come in, there’s something you should know. These aren’t babies that go to this day care regularly. We’re going to have nine of them. There are two sets of twins and one set of triplets in this group. The youngest is an only child and only nine weeks old. The oldest baby is Ms. Dierdre’s son. He’s eleven months and the third born of a triplet group, but his brothers don’t need to come here anymore.”
Ms. Dierdre was our Center Director. “I didn’t even know she had kids,” I confessed. Josie just shrugged and didn’t offer any more information because the first mom was entering the classroom.
She was introduced to me as Shelley Gray as she pushed her two babies into the room in a two-seat stroller. She wore yoga pants and a tank top like she was headed for the gym instead of a job. The woman was lean and fit, I noticed. Though her babies, two boys, appeared to be about six months old, she didn’t look like she had recently given birth. There wasn’t a hint of leftover pregnancy fat left on her. Mrs. Gray was sweet as could be and seemed delighted that her babies would have a place to stay for the night. She never stopped smiling for a second, thanked us a hundred times, and only had a moment of worry cross her eyes when Josie introduced me and explained that Alaina was going to be late.
“Oh, well, I’m sure you have it all worked out, like usual,” Mrs. Gray said. She winked at me. “You’ll learn a lot from Ms. Josie. Everyone in town says she’s the ‘Baby Whisperer’ because she knows everything there is about taking care of babies.”
Josie gave an ‘aw shucks’ look that made me laugh out loud. A diaper bag was passed over, and I took it to the counter to put the bottles in the refrigerator. I noticed there were only two. “Um, Mrs. Gray?” I said, trying to catch her before she left. “There aren’t enough bottles for the whole night.”
Mrs. Gray looked uncertainly at Ms. Josie, who said, “Two is all they’ll need. They’re going to bed at eight.”
“O-kay,” I said, but I let them know in my tone that I thought it was stupid not to have a back-up. Some baby whisperer. Everyone knows babies wake up hungry in the middle of the night.
Within the next twenty minutes all the moms had shown up with their kiddos. While they weren’t all in work-out attire, they all were amazingly healthy looking. All of them had sleek, long hair, strong arms and long legs.
The other thing they had in common was the desire to give their kids unusual names. Mrs. Diedre’s son was Maccon. The two girl twins that were nine months old were Susi and Timber. The triplets were Lowell, Canagan and Channon. Channon was a boy, mind you, and Canagan was the girl. Weird. Mrs. Gray’s twin boys had more normal names. She was kind enough to name them Channing and Colin. The tiniest baby was Felan, a little girl.
Once again, I was kind of glad the babies would all be asleep early, because I didn’t want to have to say those names over and over again all night long.
Ms. Dierdre was the last mom to arrive. She came in a little harried at 6:30 and apologized for being late. She went to plop little Maccon down on the floor, but he refused to bend his body to sit. So, she made sure he was steady in standing position and let go. Maccon smiled giddily, took two steps and fell to his bottom.
“He’s walking now,” Ms. Dierdre told us. “Just a couple steps, but he’ll be good at it within the next week or so if he’s anything like his brothers.”
Josie took the diaper bag from Ms. Dierdre and asked, “So, this will be his last overnight visit then?”
Ms. Diedre beamed with pride. “I think so. It’s about time. His brothers learned to walk at ten months. He’s been slow. I’d keep an eye out on him tonight, though. He’s liable to try to jump out of the crib.”
“Jump out?” I said. I’d babysat a lot of babies over the past four years, and I’d seen babies climb out of cribs but never jump.
Ms. Diedre just patted me on the shoulder and said, “You’ll be gone before then, so you won’t need to concern yourself about it. Ms. Josie knows what to do.”
Maccon was a cute boy with pretty hair that was blond at the roots and dark at the tips. His mom had dark hair with a cool streak of blond close to the front that ran from where she parted it to where her hair was cut just below her shoulder. I once asked a co-worker if she dyed it like that, but I was told it was natural and she'd had that streak of blond her whole life.
Ms. Dierdre followed Josie over to the counter and spoke quietly while I sat on the floor and played with the babies. I heard her say, "There isn't any worry about Alaina getting here in time, is there?"
"No. She knows the schedule."
"Okay," Mrs. Dierdre said warily. "Because, you know I can't control what will happen if she's late."
Wow, I thought. Alaina must have some problem with tardiness. It sounded like if she were late one more time she'd get fired.
"She'll be here," Josie said with confidence.
Ms. Dierdre seemed to accept that and smiled. She walked over and kissed her baby on the head. Maccon reached up her arms for a hug, and she pulled him up to her again. He kissed her cheek and then opened his mouth. "Ow, Maccon! No!" Ms. Dierdre shouted and put her baby back on the floor a little roughly. "No biting." She put her hand to her face but not fast enough for me to see that her son had broken the skin. I'd have to remember that kid had some sharp teeth. On the floor, Maccon grinned, and I noticed he hadn't grown his front two teeth yet. So far he only had two fang teeth on the top.
I followed Mrs. Dierdre to the door of the classroom, "Um, Ms. Dierdre, Alaina didn't say how much I get paid for this tonight. Is it the same rate as during the day?"
"Oh no," Ms. Dierdre said. "This is special. You get twenty-five an hour."
"No kidding. Really?"
"Yes." She winked at me. "It'll be easy money. The babies will all be asleep in an hour."
That was kind of funny, actually, since I didn’t even earn half of that per hour during the daytime hours and had to work very hard with the hyper little devils. I kind of wanted to text my mom and tell her what I was being paid. She said I'd never get paid more than minimum wage if I didn't go to college.
I did the math in my head and then said to my boss, “Hey, I’d be happy to work all night, so Alaina doesn’t have to rush here after the concert. Do you want us to call her?”
Ms. Dierdre’s lip seemed to snarl at the suggestion. She looked past me to Josie. “Alaina better be here on time. You make sure she understands that.”
