Don't Just Look... See!!!
Bookworm series continues!
The long-awaited sequel to Incompatible With Life is now here! My Bookworm series is growing and has many more to go. Lindsey, Eric, Joel and Rachael are back and in even more trouble this time in Bookworm Two: Crisis of Faith. Follow Lindsey's growing faith and paramedic skills as both are greatly tested and her friends have their own life challenges to consider.
Also, I have parted ways with Archway, the company the originally published Incompatible With Life. The original book was plagued with editorial issues that were supposed to be taken care of but were not. I have since republished it with Wolf Ridge Publishing with the errors having been corrected. If you have the original, the story is the same, but the typing and continuity issues are much improved. Both are available on Amazon and soon on here as well.
My first full length horror novel!
No Swimming by KR Pendergrass
This is the novel that seven-year old dreamed about! As a reader, I love it (though I might be a little prejudice) and as a writer, I am more proud of it than I am anything else I've written. It has all the elements of the classic horror I've always loved, with enough twists to not be just like all the old stuff.
As a girl, Rylee was orphaned and adopted by her best friend's family. Years later, she finds she has her late uncle's lake house and seeks to learn more about her lost family. What she finds will show her that family doesn't always mean blood.
After years of cranking out short stories for one submission call or another, or something just rattling around in my head, I have finally collected fourteen of my best short stories into this collection. From the semi-satirical novella "American Heroes" to the humorous "Sternutation" (which is medical for 'sneezing' by the way) to the classic ghost story of "Jaded", this collection is my best. Also includes the story "Daddy's Little Girl" from Hellfire Crossroads! Links to purchase in the newly formed Store.
Okay so this is it... my first professional sale in print! Was so excited to hold this in my hand! My name on the back of a book with a bunch of other authors! When I was a kid, I would never miss either of the country music award shows, and they had an award called the Horizon Award. It was kinda like the music version of Rookie of the Year, and one artist said that it meant more than Entertainer of the Year because you just get one shot at this. Well, twenty-five years later, this is my Horizon award. Somebody shut me up before I start quoting Sally Field...!
So it finally happened! I officially sold my first story! Yay me! I was actually very proud of the story when I first finished it. It felt like my best short work yet. I crossed my fingers and sent it in to the submission call I wrote it for. I just knew this was it. This would be my first sell, and I would be on my way.
It was rejected a week later. I've been at this too long to be crushed, but that one really was kinda hard. I just knew it was right this time. But I kept at it. Writing and submitting, and checking my email a zillion times a day. And finally, one day, there it was!
The book is called Hellfire Crossroads 7, and the story is called "Daddy's Little Girl". It is available on Amazon, and has many other great stories in it. Order a copy, either paperback or ebook. I get no royalties from the sales as the editor bought the story from me, so trust me when I say that it's worth the read!
After a long wait, the issue of The Scarlet Leaf Review with me in it is live!! It turned out really great, and showcases my writing well. I have three pieces in it; a poem about my career as a paramedic on a rough day called "Whispers to St. Michael", a non-fiction piece called "Paramedics Don't Cry", and a story titled "Call", that is dedicated to my late friend Chris Hall (Shrek). I'm proud of these stories, as I feel like they show more of my heart than most.
Ok, so I can't make the link work... Copy and paste to get there!
https://www.scarletleafreview.com/nov-dec-2018
Very excited to announce that one of my nonfiction stories "Beef Jerky and Matthew West" came out today on the Heart and Humanity site. It is about my whole 'finding myself' revelation following my divorce, and the exact moment I became the person I am today. Check it out!
https://therelationshipblogger.com/beef-jerky-and-matthew-west/
Of course, the biggest thing I have out right now is my debut novel, Incompatible With Life. It is a Christian mystery that on the surface explores a fledgling Christian trying to rescue a young boy, but deeper, it is an exploration of free will. I hope to make it a series that goes through the development of a young Christian and her adventures as a paramedic.
More recently, I have had a non-fiction story about the worst day of my career on an online journal called "Soft Cartel". It was entitled "The Worst Shift" and was a chronicle of me facing the day every paramedic dreads: When you are called to a SIDS baby. Here is the link, it's dated August 14th: https://softcartel.com/category/creative-non-fiction/
In the near future, I will have a short story, another nonfiction story, and a poem published in the December issue of The Scarlet Leaf Review, a Canadian online journal. All three represent some of my best work, and the story, "Call" is dedicated to my late friend, Chris Hall. Wrote that one for you, Shrek...
