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Fictionista, Foodie, Feline-lover

Monday, August 20, 2018

Peng Shepherd's Book of M--a review


In a world where people are suddenly losing their shadows, the lives of a group of unrelated people are bound up in a hope for building a new world on the memory of the old.

This is an epic, apocalyptic quest along the lines of Stephen King’s THE STAND or Robert McCammon’s SWAN SONG, with a large dose of INCEPTION thrown in. It’s also a zombie story of sorts, particularly in scenes where the “shadowless” surround those who are still tethered to their ‘dark twins.” The story unfolds in a somewhat nonlinear fashion where events being recounted by various characters overlap, but there’s a good mix of adventure and intimate contact.


The unraveling of reality is incredibly visual, and no one will much quibble with the premise that memories are stored in our shadows (and not in a certain part of our brains). The writer tells the story from multiple points of view, with both first and third person being used. The author does a very good job of “opening out” the story with flashbacks to “before” and even to multiple events after the Forgetting hits.


Peng Shepherd's debut novel is a multi-faceted apocalyptic quest story told from multiple points of view. She plays with pov in a way that I haven't seen since Kevin Brooks' iBoy, and it's astonishing that this is her first book. 

Monday, June 25, 2018

Coming soon!!!

I am very excited about this upcoming boxed set which features stories about royal witches!! Mine is about a young Catherine the Great using magic to play a real-life Game of Thrones. Stay tuned for more info!  In the meantime, if you have a iDevice or a Nook, you can pre-order. (Amazon pre-order will happen later in the year.)
Here's a link that will take you everywhere.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

The Heart of a Devil

I'm always interested in the villains. YYou HAVE to have great villains to have a great tale. My short story "The Ugly One," a tale of a mermaid's revenge, is in this collection. I can't wait to read the other stories. Here's where you can get it.

Friday, May 18, 2018

The Z Sisters

I've been having fun writing different kinds of stories this year and I had a blast writing a "zombie apocalypse" story for Nicole Morgan's Zombie Apocalypse boxed set (on pre-order at Amazon here for 99 cents).  I haven't been given the official go-ahead to share the cover (although it is up at Amazon) but the cover I have for the eventual stand-alone release is here. Images by Neostock, design by Indie Author Services.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Seven Shifter Stories!

The first book in Pure Textuality's Summer of the Supernaturals has landed:  Shifters in the Shadows, curated by Jena Gregoire and Brandy Dorsch. It's a sampler pack of all kinds of shifters--yes, there are werewolves (including my own The Howl), but there are whole worlds of paranormal creatures here--vampires, and witches, and mountain lions and panthers. And dragons. There are also dragons in the story that anchors the collection.

Wicked Desire by Brandy Dorsch (Hunger Mates, Book 2)--The story that leads this collection offers a strong, if conflicted, heroine and a little reverse-harem action with the two sexy werewolves who want her as their mate. Throw in some nice world-building that includes were and vampire protocol, and Wicked Desire is the perfect story to set the mood. Even better, if you love it (and you will), there are other books in the series. Find more of her work here.

One Wounded Wolf  by Nicole Zoltack--Set in Bethlehem, PA (where the author lives), this is a story of a town overrun by all sorts of supernatural creatures, from sirens to djinn, and an immortal werewolf that drinks blood. The narrator muses on the relative strength of vampires versus werewolves and concludes that, "They have fangs and so do we!"  Find more of her work here.

Monday, April 30, 2018

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for StoryAuthority

Policy effective as of 2018-05-19. We review our privacy practices on an ongoing basis, and as such we may change this privacy policy from time to time. Please check this page frequently to ensure you are familiar with its current content.

This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their ‘Personally identifiable information’ (PII) is being used online. PII, as used in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.

For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (“GDPR”), we, StoryAuthority, are the “data controller”. If you have any questions about this policy or about how we use your personal data, please contact us via our contact details at the end of this policy.

What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our blog, website or app?

When registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your name, email address or other details to help you with your experience.

When do we collect information?

We collect information from you when you register on our site, sign up to receive free content (including ebooks, videos, and offers,) subscribe to a newsletter, respond to a survey, fill out a form to join the site or enter information on our site. Data we request from you may include: name, email address, and any personal data you provide us in a form’s text box.

We will only collect and use your personal data where: we have lawful grounds to do so, including to comply with our legal obligations; we are performing a contract with you for our services; and we have legitimate interests in using your personal data and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.

How do we use your information?

We may use the information we collect from you when you register, make a purchase, sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:
• To personalize user’s experience and to allow us to deliver the type of content and product offerings in which you are most interested.
• To improve our website in order to better serve you.
• To allow us to better service you in responding to your customer service requests.
• To administer a contest, promotion, survey or other site feature.
• To send periodic emails regarding other products and services.

How do we protect visitor information?

We have implemented security policies and technical measures to safeguard the personal data we collect. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with applicable law, including the GDPR, to safeguard personal data from accidental loss, destruction or damage and unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. In addition, all sensitive/credit information you supply is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.

We implement a variety of security measures when a user enters, submits, or accesses their information to maintain the safety of your personal information.

Data Retention

We will use and store your personal data only for as long as necessary, bearing in mind the uses of your personal data as described in this privacy policy and otherwise as communicated to you. We review the personal data we hold at regular intervals and delete permanently or anonymize any personal data which is no longer necessary.

Access to and Control Over Your Personal Data

You have legal rights under applicable law in relation to your personal data. You can ask the following questions, or take the following actions, at any time by contacting us via email or our postal address (found at the end of this policy):
• see what personal data we hold about you (if any), including why we are holding it and who it could be disclosed to;
• ask us to change/correct your personal data;
• ask us to delete your personal data;
• object to the processing of your personal data;
• ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data;
• withdraw any consents you have given us to the processing of your personal data; and
• express any concerns you have about third parties’ use of your personal data.

Change of Purpose

We will only use your Personal Data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to have an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us. If we need to use your Personal Data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Do we use ‘cookies’?

Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the site’s or service provider’s systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. For instance, we use cookies to help us remember and process the items in your shopping cart. They are also used to help us understand your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services. We also use cookies to help us compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.

We use cookies to: Compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interactions in order to offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may also use trusted third party services that track this information on our behalf.

You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser (like Internet Explorer) settings. Each browser is a little different, so look at your browser’s Help menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies.

If you disable cookies off, some features will be disabled It won’t affect the users experience that make your site experience more efficient and some of our services will not function properly.

Third Party Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information unless we provide you with advance notice. This does not include website hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others’ rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter, for marketing, advertising, or other uses.

Third Party Links

We use Google Analytics on our website. We along with third-party vendors, such as Google use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookies) to monitor our marketing efforts.

Opting out:
You can opt out by using the Google Analytics Opt Out Browser add on.

California Online Privacy Protection Act

CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law’s reach stretches well beyond California to require a person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting personally identifiable information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals with whom it is being shared, and to comply with this policy. – See more at: http://consumercal.org/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa/#sthash.0FdRbT51.dpuf

According to CalOPPA we agree to the following: Users can visit our site anonymously. Once this privacy policy is created, we will add a link to it on our home page, or as a minimum on the first significant page after entering our website.

Users will be notified of any privacy policy changes: On our Privacy Policy Page

Users are able to change their personal information by emailing us.

How does our site handle do not track signals?

We honor do not track signals and do not track, plant cookies, or use advertising when a Do Not Track (DNT) browser mechanism is in place.

COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)

When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under 13, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children’s privacy and safety online.

We do not specifically market to or knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you are under the age of 13, please do not provide us with any of your personal data, including your email address.

Fair Information Practices

The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information.

In order to be in line with Fair Information Practices we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur: We will notify the users via in site notification within 7 business days. We also agree to the individual redress principle, which requires that individuals have a right to pursue legally enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or a government agency to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.

CAN SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.

To be in accordance with CANSPAM we agree to the following: If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, you can email us at kat@katparrish.com and we will promptly remove you from ALL correspondence.

Contacting Us

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, you may contact us using the information below.

StoryAuthority
c/o Domains By Proxy, LLC
14455 N. Hayden Road
Scottsdale, Arizona
United States 85260
+1.4806242599

kat@katparrish.com

Sunday, April 1, 2018

The Ultimate Urban Fantasy giveaway

My novelette, The Fourth Sense. is in this giveaway and right now, the only place you can get it is on InstaFreebie. So why not pick it up?  And some other books as well.