Showing results by author "Erik Schubach" in All Categories

Laura and her family, the most skilled blacksmiths in Flatlash, have had a better life than some of the other commoners in the Keep, seeing few winters where food and heat were scarce. But she dreams of more, thinking to reach beyond her station. Daring to change her stars and write her own destiny, she petitions the Crown to grant her, a mere serf, lands in which to start a mine that would raise her to the rank of nobility, and start a revolution in mining in all the lands of Sparo, taking her place in this new age of heroes.

On her first outing to the forest with her mother, Rain finds herself running for her life from ravenous wolves when she gets lost in the woods. Her mother always taught her than no matter how big you are, there is always something bigger and badder than you out there.

Zilrita was at the top of her game, managing the most successful record label in Europe, London Harmony. There was nothing that could derail the squid hugging goth woman, except the smile of the woman she secretly longed for, their receptionist, Jennifer. After an emergency calls her back to Denver after being away for 13 years, Zilrita is forced to re-examine her life and face some truths she has hidden herself away from. Jennifer has faced difficulties, discrimination and bigotry, trying to be the person she has felt she was her entire life.

Emily is a normal girl working at Big Burger who has the unfortunate luck to look exactly like Big City's superhero darling, the Chosen One. It has been the bane of her existence, as it disrupts her life and the lives of those around her when supervillains come knocking, wanting to prove their mettle by fighting the Chosen One. With common sense and years of rage built up inside, she usually serves their butts to them on a platter, asking, "Did you want fries with that?"

This young adult sci-fi/comedy short story follows a group of alien girls who just graduated school and the madcap road trip they take to go surfing with the popular boys in another star system. Teenage hijinx ensue and accidents soon follow in the Earth system. Oops.

In this horror short story, the world gets turned upside down on up and coming corporate executive, Marci Kendrick, when she visits an exclusive jeweler in Seattle for an engagement ring. Her nightmare begins and she realizes that the simple freedoms we take for granted can be someone else hell.

This short story follows two new mothers and their struggles between new and old traditions. Hilarity ensues as a slightly used MUB (Monster Under the Bed) helps their daughter in a rite of passage. Parenting will never be the same.

This short story prequel sets up the world of the Rift Jumpers, the pioneers of interstellar space. Follow the story of Commander Jane Henningsly in her research ship, Dauntless, as she develops the first Faster Than Light (FTL) drive. Her and her crew set the groundwork for mankind's expansion into the void, making us an interstellar species. The future of the Rift Contingent will never be the same with the development of the first Rift Jumper-class vessel in space.

This post-apocalyptic dystopian short story follows Elizabeth, a mechanical and chemical engineer who used to work for a rapid prototyping firm. She uses the skills from her former life to provide for her and the woman she took under her protection, Melissa. The two seem to thrive in adverse conditions to bring semi-modern conditions to their hidden camp. But even after the world ends, you sometimes need something pretty.

This paranormal short story follows Lischca Fonteneau, who takes an internship at the antiquities museum of the city she had finally settled in. She feels that she has finally ceased her lifelong wanderings. Her boss, Kimoura Kaga, seemed hauntingly familiar to her and she couldn't place exactly why. Lischca believes she is finally rid of the curse that had hounded her since the day she became an adult. But the powers that be had other plans for her.

This short story follows two ex-employees of an online gaming company as they struggle to find their way in a dystopian future that has no mercy for the weak. They have each other's backs as they go on a snack run. Heather and Emma have the munchies. Things just got real.

This short story is set in Europe before the start of World War Two, Jillian tours the clubs as a jazz singer to put a little adventure into her life. She gets more than she bargains for when she does a little favor for the girl who has her eye. She winds up running for her life and discovering a calling that gives her a purpose in life that is bigger than herself.

When it comes to love, Brandye can't see what is right in front of her. A blind artist, Robin, shows her that all relationships are not doomed to end badly, and soulmates are destined to find each other.

Angel and the other Sentinels are in pursuit of the remains of the now-rogue black ops Lazarus Group and its leader Xerxes, the ancient warlord who has used the enslavement of lesser Djinn for centuries to secure power and unnaturally long life. Lazarus has teamed up with the nemeses of the Sentinels in a last-ditch effort to awaken the last Greater Djinn, a Shaytan, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Valkyrie and the Asgard come up against an enemy unlike any they have faced before.

After the polar ice caps melt in the Thaw, the Corporations take control of the flooded zones and create virtual utopias over the great cities of the past that rest below the waves. April Yale is accepted into college, in the stilted mega-city of Greater York, to study programming and robotics for the Frame, the massive worldwide information net which hosts countless Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality locations.

Doctor Myra O'Connell is researching myths and folklore. In a strange twist, she discovers that she is one of the legends she is researching. Then all hell breaks loose.

A recent mysterious string of disturbing murders of the dragons of Denver has Myra, Quinn, and the International Arcane Taskforce on the hunt.

Finnegan Temperance McLeary-May, dog walker extraordinaire, has had an eventful time in Manhattan since she first moved to New York City. Her unique profession and quirky, bubbly personality endear her to everyone who meets her. Finnegan and her personal NYPD detective and wife Jane adjust to the realities of adjusting their lives to accommodate the two daughters they have adopted.

Finnegan Temperance McLeary-May, dog walker extraordinaire, has had an eventful time in Manhattan since she first moved to New York City. Her unique profession and quirky, bubbly personality endear her to everyone who meets her. Finnegan sits this one out as she recovers from an injury from her last misadventure so her daughter Luce picks up the reins of trouble magnet extraordinaire.