Lime Gelatin, and several of my other stories, owe their existence to a unique and innovative author prompt series over at Amber Allure - the Amber Pax. Amber Paxes are five novella length stories written by different authors around a unifying theme. Though they can be any genre, the idea is to bring the story in under 40K (which has been a bit of a challenge for me on some of them and the Amber folks have been nice enough to let me slide on a couple of extra thousand words here and there.) The fun thing about these is you cn buy them individually, or save yourself a bit of cash and buy the Pax as a set of five. I've had the good fortune of being able to have my stories in Paxes with wonderful authors over the years - T.A. Chase, Lynn Lorenz, Rick Reed and so on. Some previous AmberPax stories and the prompts that cultivated them: Sub Zero, written in my ESTO Universe - Forbidden Liaisons Pax Canines, Crosshairs and Corpses: Brandywine Investigations 1 - Immortals Pax Dragons, Diamonds and Discord: Brandywine Investigations 3 - Dragon Pax Wild Rose, Silent Snow - Once Upon a Fairytale Pax And Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters? Part of the 77th Precinct Pax - a collection of stories about the paranormal 77th Precinct, each in a different city the authors chose. With stories from New Orleans, Minneapolis, Seattle, Philadelphia and Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters (Part of the Offbeat Crimes series) by Angel Martinez What good is a squad of cops with psychic abilities if all of them are defective? Officer Kyle Monroe’s encounter with a strange gelatinous creature in an alley leaves him scarred and forever changed, revealing odd abilities he wishes he didn’t have and earning him reassignment to Philadelphia’s 77th Precinct where all the cops have defective paranormal abilities. Just as Kyle’s starting to adjust to his fellow misfit squad mates, his new partner arrives. Tall, physically perfect, reserved, and claiming he has no broken psychic talents, Vikash Soren irritates Kyle in every way. But as much as he’d like to hate Vikash, Kyle finds himself oddly drawn to him, their non-abilities meshing in unexpected ways. Now, if Kyle and Vikash can learn to work together, they just might be able to stop the mysterious killer who has been leaving mutilated bodies along the banks of the Schuylkill. Genres: Gay / Contemporary / Paranormal / Mystery / Detective / Romantic Comedy / Action / Adventure / Series Heat Level: 2 Length: Novella (19k words) Crazy Joe by A. J. Llewellyn Montana Delray, a hot, good-looking New Orleans detective, had it made until his captain found him fooling around with his son at the office Christmas party. Even a gold shield and a medal for valor can’t save him from being busted down and transferred to the last place any cop wants to go—the 77th Precinct. Detective Joe Hunter, nicknamed “Crazy Joe” because he has the sixth sense, flounders in a department where everyone has their “idiosyncrasies.” Then Montana Delray walks through the doors of the 77th and turns psychic Joe’s world upside down. For the two mismatched detectives, is the 77th Precinct a nightmare or their destiny? Genres: Gay / Contemporary / Mystery / Detective / Suspense / Thriller / Paranormal / Psychic Phenomena / Romantic Comedy Heat Level: 3 Length: Novella (25k words) The Door Keeper by Hurri Cosmo The Minneapolis/St. Paul 77th police precinct has been labeled a group of misfits, but it’s actually rather unfair. In reality, the precinct has plenty of talent in its midst...paranormal talent. Of course, no one on the “outside” really knows that. And Nick, the boss of the 77th, keeps his team busy chasing, capturing, and returning to where they belong all those creepy-crawly things that tend to go “bump” in the night. Together, the officers of the 77th keep the twin cities safe and totally unaware that doors to other realms even exist, while Nick, the Door Keeper, maintains order in what would otherwise be chaos. But chaos has materialized in the form of a dangerous vampire. Viciously brutal, he is a killing machine and must be stopped at all costs. So the last thing Nick needs is another partner, especially one as sexy and distracting as Arrain. Yet Arrain intends to be far more than just a partner. He has come to be paired with Nick, something Nick cannot allow, mainly because he has a secret that he intends to keep. Arrain, however, has a few secrets of his own, and one thing he knows is that the vampire intends to not only kill the Door Keeper, but to take his power. Now, Arrain might be the only one who can save Nick, and the twin cities, from total destruction. Genres: Gay / Dark Fantasy / Vampire / Paranormal / Mystery / Detective / Suspense / Thriller / Action / Adventure Heat Level: 3 Length: Extended Novella (36k words) Eye for the Prize by Darcy Abriel Detective Larke Ava doesn’t believe in magic or the paranormal. And he joined the Seattle PD in order to uncover and expose the unscrupulous, those like his mother and his brothers. Larke has few cherished memories of growing up on Vashon Island, except for the time he spent with his best friend, Roan Dwellen. But Roan, the adventurer, with a belief in the magical running deep in his veins, left the island when he was eighteen on a mission for his family—his Roma tribe—leaving Larke behind. Now a part of Seattle’s 77th Precinct, Larke has been assigned a new case—to discover the secrets behind a recovered stolen artifact named the Eye of Anu. Little does Larke realize the unique artifact is about to change his life. Not only will it reunite him with the boyhood friend he has never forgotten, but it also draws the attention of dangerous foes, including his own family, who will stop at nothing to acquire it. Soon, caught between the family he’s always tried to love but couldn’t, and the best friend he could not stop loving but doesn’t necessarily trust, and all the while tempered by his duty to the city he serves, Larke’s next move could mean live or death—especially his own. Genres: Gay / Contemporary / Mystery / Detective / Paranormal Heat Level: 3 Length: Extended Amber Kiss (17k words) Scarecrows and Devils by T. A. Chase Ace Castle, detective in the Detroit Homicide Unit, works in the paranormal division known as the 77th Precinct. He and his partner deal with the weird, odd, and downright strange cases popping up in the city. Ace has been doing the unusual work since he started at the DPD, and since then, he has learned that the monsters children swear are under their beds just might really be there. Now, when a girl is murdered in the city, it’s up to Ace and his partner to find the killer along with his motive for ending her life. Yet Ace soon discovers the victim was no ordinary human, but an Undine, and he’s pretty sure her killer is also one of those aforementioned monsters. Finding a murderer is hard enough without constant interference from demon lords and fallen angels, so when Dulles, a fallen angel Ace has known for years, is determined to make Ace fall in love with him, his job soon becomes twice as difficult... Genres: Gay / Dark Fantasy / Shapeshifter / Witchcraft / Magic / Paranormal / Mystery / Detective / Action / Adventure Heat Level: 2 Length: Extended Novella (32k words)
4 Comments
KristiP
5/27/2015 10:01:46 am
I loved Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters! I can't wait to get my hands on the next story from the 77th precinct.
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Angel Martinez
5/28/2015 01:26:06 am
Woohoo! Thank you so much for reading, Kristi! Next one comes out 6/21 - The Pill Bugs of Time ;)
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KristiP
5/29/2015 09:48:15 am
I'm ready! I got my friend to read this first story, and we're both so excited for book two.
Shirley Ann Speakman
6/3/2015 03:15:13 am
The books in the Amber Pax sound so good I just wish I could buy them from the site.
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About Angel
Angel writes (mostly) Science Fiction and Fantasy centered around queer heroes. Currently living part time in the hectic sprawl of northern Delaware and full time inside her head, she has one husband, one son, two cats, a love of all things beautiful and a terrible addiction to the consumption of both knowledge and chocolate. |
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