Weston Sullivan: Just Off The Path

Hansel never asked to be a hero. He never wanted to fall in love with Rapunzel, Queen of the East. He didn’t ask to be raised by Gothel the Wretch, and he certainly never wanted to be credited for her arrest. But more than any of that, Hansel never wanted to lie: but he did. He lied about everything. He thought that he was done with it all when he and his sister Gretel retreated into the woods to reclaim their land, but he should have known better.
Years later, Rapunzel’s guards knock at his door, and they say the words he hoped that he would never hear: Gothel has escaped. As he and Gretel take refuge inside Rapunzel’s castle in the eastern capitol of Hildebrand, Hansel is thrust back into everything he never wanted in the first place: his lies, his legend, and his lust. In the wake of it all, he knows that Gothel has escaped to finish what she started. She is out to make sure that the Sleeping Beauty never wakes, and that Grimm suffocates under her blanket of thorn and vine. In order to find Gothel and save the kingdom, Hansel and Gretel must look for fact in a land of fairy-tale by following a trail of grisly murders, a girl in a red cape, and a powerful little man who can’t stand the sound of his own name.

As they search for answers, Hansel finds that he isn’t the only liar in Grimm, and that there may be a traitor among them of royal proportion.

After graduating with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of South Florida in 2017, Weston Sullivan moved to New York City to live and write in the heart of the industry. In late 2016, he began working as an intern in the submissions department of BookFish Books. His short story, “On the Hillside”, won the Anspaugh Award for Fiction in February of 2017, and his novel, JUST OFF THE PATH, is due for release in early September.

He likes to believe that he is in charge of his own destiny, but at the end of the day, he knows that he was born to serve his two beloved cats.

Gerald And The Amulet of Zonrach

In the realm of Wyverndawn, a wizard’s height is the mark of his power, and shrinking an entire inch is disastrous for twelve-year-old Gerald.

Looking for promotion of an inch or two, Gerald attempts to create a village landmark using his superior wizarding skills. But the spell he bought – from a guy who knows a guy – is a tad more powerful than he anticipates. The resulting earthquake breaks off a chunk of Wyverndawn from the rest of the realm allowing Vabalaz, a highly dangerous wizard, to escape from prison.

A red-faced Gerald is banished from his village and, to complete his shame, is demoted another inch; two more and he’s likely to become a Royal Equine Poop Disposal Coordinator. Gerald’s questionable acquisition of a certain golden amulet could be the answer to his problems. But when Vabalaz discovers it may also be the key to creating his elite wizard realm, Gerald is elevated to evil wizard’s enemy number one.

Gerald’s hopes of returning home hinge on repairing the damage to Wyverndawn and thwarting Vabalaz’s plans. Failure could mean Gerald’s next spell might well be his last.

After serving eighteen years in the British Royal Navy, Carl was medically discharged with a broken back and started his first novel. He had almost completed it when he had to put it aside to earn a living wage. He taught himself Visual Basic and became a computer programmer. Although it paid enough to live on he felt unfulfilled and became unhappy with the rat race. He and his wife decided to move to the Dominican Republic for a slower pace of life.
He started to write GERALD, his second novel. The first draft was completed within six months and went through revision after revision until he had it shining like a new penny. James Wymore saw the novel and championed it through a few more revisions and it will be published by Immortal Works as his debut novel.
Since finishing GERALD, Carl has completed the first novel he started and is half way through his third. They are all very different and say a lot about his interests in life. Fantastical worlds, animals and medieval England.

Ben D’Alessio: Binge Until Tragedy

Laden with the grief of losing his childhood best friend to suicide and the weight of the “Real World” approaching fast, Joel Lupo buys a one-way ticket to Paris after graduating from college. With his faithful friends, Riley and Kev, at his side, a carry-on full of whiskey nips, and the promise of drugs, women, and the chance to finally speak French (the damn beautiful tongue), Joel heads to Europe to seek adventure, excitement, and new vices.

But through the haze of hallucinogens and prostitutes, new friends and new lovers (Joel quite liked to use the word ‘lover,’ when in Europe), bloody red wine and absinthe, something gnaws at Joel in the pit. It follows him from Paris, across the pulsating cities of the continent. It takes hold of him and eats away at his thoughts, his mood, his friendships.

Across the warm waters of the Mediterranean, an awakening foments on the coasts of North Africa: Revolution.

Binge Until Tragedy is Ben D’Alessio’s debut novel. He lives in New Orleans with a very mischievous cat named Kennedy.