Once Upon a Nightmare BLOG TOUR - Author Cherie Reich

An Excerpt from Cherie Reich’s Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection

“Are y’all really going?” Denise glanced from James to Cassie to Mary. How dare they consider leaving me in the truck alone! It was so unfair. All of her good spirit and fun for driving around evaporated like morning dew under a hot sun. She stomped her foot. Stupid, piece of shit truck had gotten them into this mess. She pounded her foot against the floor again for good measure. A huff of frustration burst from her lips. “I’m not going.”

“I definitely am.” James buttoned his coat. “Y’all shouldn’t come along.”

“I’m walking. There’s no way around it.” Cassie zipped up her winter coat.

“I’m coming too,” Mary said.

Denise stared at them. They’d lost their freakin’ minds. Mary didn’t have proper shoes to go hiking. Only Cassie was appropriately clothed for a December walk. “We’ll freeze to death out there!”

“We’ll freeze in here too.” Cassie sighed. “Walking will at least keep us warmer than sitting in the truck.”

“We could turn the heat on.” Denise pointed to the air vents.

“It’s almost on E.” James tapped the gas gauge. “Don’t know how much longer the engine’ll run. If somethin’ is seriously wrong with the truck, we shouldn’t start it up.”

“We can’t just sit here.” Mary bounced in the seat. “Denise, we all have to go. Please.”

“Let’s face the facts.” Cassie turned toward Denise and held up one finger. “No one knows where we are.” She added a second finger. “The cell phones don’t work here. We have to move and try them elsewhere.” She put up a third finger. “It’s cold out, and we’ll freeze just as much in the truck as we will outside. We have to go now.”

“Do you have reason number four and five too?” Denise couldn’t keep the snide tone from her voice. She knew she was outnumbered. Did she want to stay in the vehicle by herself? Hell no! She flung her hands up, almost smacking both James and Mary in the process. “Fine! Let’s leave, but this is a bad idea.” 

 A monster hunts us. After hibernating for a decade, it’s ravenous. We long to stop this nightmare, but the end of the road is far. There is no waking up once a legend sets its sights on you. 


Purchase Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection by Cherie Reich at Amazon. From June 22-28, the collection is only $0.99!

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Cherie Reich is a speculative fiction author and library assistant living in Virginia. Visit her website and blog for more information.

Guest Post: Author Cherie Reich (Reborn Blog Tour!)

Today, author Cherie Reich is dropping by to explain why she reads fantasy. Be sure to check out the links to her new novel, Reborn, a Greek mythology-influenced YA high fantasy.

 

Why Cherie Reich Reads Fantasy

I didn’t start out reading fantasy. My fantasy experience as a child revolved around Disney movies. I delved more into mysteries and horror as a child. I loved RL Stine’s Goosebumps series. I couldn’t keep my hands off the next Nancy Drew book. I watched Scooby Doo and Inspector Gadget.

From childhood, I graduated to Stephen King and Michael Crichton. I couldn’t stop reading horror, mysteries, and thrillers. I watched The X-Files, CSI, Criminal Minds, etc. I loved it.

Then, my friend told me about Mercedes Lackey. That moment changed my life. I picked up her Magic’s Pawn. I fell in love with the world, the characters. I started snatching up as many books as possible from her Valdemar series. My friend and I even created a roleplaying game featuring her characters and characters we created in her worlds.

Then, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie was about to come out. I devoured the first four books, which were out at the time. I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and so many other types of fantasy books. Recently I’ve been reading Brandon Sanderson’s work, and man, I’m crushing hard on his world building abilities.

I couldn’t get enough of magical worlds which contained elements of mystery and horror. Who wouldn’t want to live in a magical world, after all? I found my home within these worlds.

Do you read fantasy books? What are your favorites?

 

To save a kingdom, a prophetess must challenge Fate. 

On the day of Yssa’s death and rebirth, the god Apenth chose her as the Phoenix Prophetess.

Sea serpents and gods endanger the young prophetess’s journey and sour the omens. Yssa is cursed instead of blessed, and her duties at the Temple of Apenth prove it. She spends her days reading dusty scrolls, which does nothing to help her forget Tym, the boy back home. But the annoying yet gorgeous ferryman’s son Liam proves to be a distraction she can’t predict, even though he rarely leaves her alone for two sand grains.

Her boring temple life screeches to a halt when visions of her parents’ murders consume her. Yssa races across an ocean to stop the future. If she can’t change Fate, she’ll refuse to be the Phoenix Prophetess any longer. Fate, however, has other plans for her and the kingdom.

Yssa must either accept her destiny or fight to change Fate.

Available in Ebook and Print!

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The authors of Untethered Realms and I are giving away over $50 worth of books to one lucky winner. The giveaway is open internationally. A Rafflecopter giveaway.

A self-proclaimed bookworm, Cherie Reich is a speculative fiction writer and library assistant living in Virginia. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies, and her books include the horror collection Nightmare, a space fantasy novella collection titled Gravity, and the fantasy series The Foxwick Chronicles and The Fate Challenges. Reborn is her debut novel. She is Vice President of Valley Writers and a member of the Virginia Writers Club and Untethered Realms. For more information, please visit her website.