Look! Up In the Sky!

I'm pleased to announce today that the MONSTER anthology (seriously, this thing is gargantuan) Superhero Monster Hunter: The Good Fight is now live on Amazon from the fine folks at Emby Press! Right now, you can feast your eyes on the digital copy, with a hard copy soon on the horizon.

An original pic of Light Sphere I drew back in '97, I think

My short story "Red Fog" is included in this mammoth text, featuring my own superhero creation Light Sphere. I've spoken about Light Sphere and his creation before on this very blog, but I created the character way back in junior high in the early '90s when the X-Men were really cooking. Seriously, the comics were back in vogue and there was the new FOX cartoon (which totally blew my mind). "Mutants" were all the rage and I jumped in with my own variation on the concept, but I wanted something with a bit of a twist. In Light Sphere, I created a character whose greatest strength was his greatest weakness--he had the ability to blast energy from his hands, but to do so without wearing these special mechanized gauntlets, he'd fry his arms to crispy husks. It's a severe limitation and, I thought, would make for an interesting predicament. Or, at least I did when I was thirteen.

I wrote and drew (re: traced) two whole issues of Light Sphere back in ninth grade or so, in the back of my classrooms while I was supposed to be learning something. Then, after that, Light Sphere got stuffed in a shelf and forgotten until about 2012 when I resurrected him, gave him a fresh polish, and included him in my multidimensional cosmic horror romp Rift Jump. He showed up to duke it out with my main protagonist in that book (another comic book character I created later in high school--Michael Morrison) and, like any good superhero yarn, the two slugged it out before becoming friends and allies.

Since then, I've had fun crafting new stories for Light Sphere. Late last year he tangled with a very strange lycanthrope in Lion's Share Press' anthology Metahumans vs Robots. Most recently, Light Sphere made a return in my brand new novel Rift Jump II: Sara's Song!

Needless to say, the guy's making the rounds and it's been a real blast playing with this character after so long and telling his stories after all these years. As for "Red Fog" in particular, it is my homage to the classic Batman/Dracula series of graphic novels: Red Rain, Bloodstorm, and Crimson Mist. Those things were a revelation to me when I was a teenager, combining Gothic horror and the noble plight of the superhero. I hope I've done that style of story justice, as well as adding my own spin on the material.

Check out Light Sphere battling vampire hordes in "Red Fog" collected in the pages of Superhero Monster Hunter: The Good Fight! And now I leave you with this:

Release Day--"Sara's Song"!

The wait is over.

Available today is my new release Rift Jump, Volume Two: Sara's Song--the concluding chapter of the Rift Jump duology! As always, the book is available in print, Kindle, and other ebook formats.

Folks, this has been a crazy ride. I knew when I wrote the original Rift Jump that I had one more book in me to wrap up Michael and Sara's trip across the multiverse, but Sara's Song has really surprised me. For starters, this is the longest thing I've ever written, and it is jam-packed with adventure, heartache, cosmic horrors, and explosive action--and the stakes have never been higher. All of existence is in danger of being eradicated, and our two favorite dysfunctional teenage runaways are at the very heart of it.

What was perhaps most surprising to me is that this book also lays the groundwork for the entire uber-mythology that encompasses most of my work, including The Coming Evil Trilogy. Trust me, you'll never look at the little town of Greensboro the same after reading this! It's all setting up for where I would like to take The Coming Evil series in future books.

So enough of the sales pitch. Go out and pick up your copy today. Here's the cover and synopsis. And, if you're behind on this series that spans space and time, you can also buy the recent Rift Jump: Revised and Expanded Edition and experience the journey from the beginning.

About the Book:

For over a year, Sara Morrison has been living a life she never dreamed possible. Rift jumping across parallel dimensions with her husband Michael, who is on a quest to battle the Rage, and their adopted son Toby, who possesses superpowers of his own, Sara has experienced wonders beyond belief. But she can't help but feel inferior to Michael as he saves the day time and again, and Sara longs for the chance to shin on her own.

When Michael and Sara encounter a cosmic storm that is shattering the worlds within the multiverse, Sara begins to uncover devastating truths about her past, her foretold future, and her connection to the reality-devouring storm. In order to overcome her own frightful fate, Sara will have to make a harrowing journey across the worlds and into the very heart of hell itself, before the multiverse falls to total darkness and her family is lost forever.

An Update and a Release!

Been awhile since we've had an update around here because I've been knee-deep in the final phases of production for my new novel Rift Jump Volume 2: Sara's Song. I'm happy to report that we're almost there! The e-book will most likely be online this week, with the paperback soon to follow--if not released simultaneously. Ironing out all the kinks and getting it ready to unleash upon the world.

Sara's Song is meant to be the capper to my wild little ride through the multiverse and, believe me when I say, this is the biggest project I've ever done. There's some mind-bending, reality-warping, galaxy-shattering goodness going on in this thing. Think Lovecraft meets Star Wars with teen love thrown in the mix, all wrapped in a comic book package. This is a fantasy epic I've been working on since high school and I'm excited to share it with you all.

In the meantime, now is the perfect time to get caught up on the Rift Jump saga. The Revised and Expanded Edition is now available in print and e-book. Check it out and stay tuned for the big release of the epic finale!

Free Short Fiction--"Company Man: Finale"

Welcome to the final installment of an all-new Rift Jump short story, exclusive to this site. In "Company Man", we explore the origins of the villainous Hooded Man from the original Rift Jump novel--now on sale in the new Revised and Expanded Edition.

Click here to read Part One of our tale.
Click here to read Part Two!
Click here for Part Three.
Click here for Part Four.

PART FIVE

Michael lined up his shot, looking through the rifle scope at the deer that nibbled at grass down range. Keeping perfectly still, hiding in the brush, Michael held in his breath and slowly exhaled, pulling the trigger. A loud clap split the countryside serenity and the deer bolted, only making four or five paces before it collapsed—a fresh hole just behind the shoulder.

Michael grinned and stood. The winter cold assaulted his senses and he pulled his dirty and tattered long coat closer, drawing the hood to shadow his eyes from the merciless sun. He slung the rifle over his shoulder by the strap and trudged through the icy river to his felled prey. It was a big one. The biggest one he’d caught all winter. Sara would have her hands full packing the meat, but it was sure to last them for months.

He bundled up the deer methodically, preparing to haul it back to his four-wheeler some yards away. Even as he did so, he snickered, remembering those first few months out in the Wilds, learning how to hunt. He’d been so green back then, fearful of his own shadow, only good for scribbling figures for those blasted machines. So long ago…

He hadn’t seen a machine since they’d escaped to the Wilds fifteen years ago.

His mind drifted back to that old life. Sometimes he felt that another person lived those years. At the time, he’d not been aware how angry he was, but now he saw how easily it had been for Rip to manipulate him—to control him, just as the monitors had done.

Michael wondered where Rip was now. What terrible things he was doing across the cosmos. That could have been my life. But it wasn’t. His life was here, in the peace and quiet, with Sara at his side.

Without regret, he journeyed over the plains on his old four-wheeler, finally spotting his and Sara’s cottage. He pulled the four-wheeler into the yard with his prize in tow. Blowing hot breath into his hands to warm them, he pushed his way through the front door. He slipped off his hood and called out, “Hey, I’m back.”

Sara’s usual reply did not meet him. He stepped into the kitchen, but did not find her. “Sara?”

Moved to the next room, their bedroom. Empty, too.

He stood still, his heart beginning to pound. “Sara? Where…?”

Then he heard whimpering. From above.

Jerking his head skyward, he saw Sara pinned to the ceiling by some invisible force. She wept, her long red tresses dangling down past her face.

“Sara!”

He reached for her, his mind whirring to figure out some way to get her down, when a wave of unseen energy slammed him, shot him across the room, and pinned him in place against the wall.

Michael grunted in pain and shock, struggling to move his arms—even his fingers—but he was frozen solid. “Sara!”

A voice spoke from somewhere within the shadows of the room, low and calm. “Michael.”

He twisted without success, tears building in his eyes. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

Michael’s panicked eyes darted every which way, trying to find the source of the voice. At last, the shadows parted and a tall, thin man in a black suit with coattails exited. The pale man’s hair was wild and white, as though styled by static electricity. His eyelids were half-closed, his nose upturned in a display of arrogance. He nearly floated along the hard wood floor, coming to a stop before Michael.

“Who are you?” Michael demanded.

“I believe you once knew an associate of mine. Rip?”

Michael swallowed hard. No…please, no. Suddenly, Rip’s words returned to him, after fifteen years: “You can’t run from us! You can’t run from what you are!”

“You’re Rip’s Boss,” Michael stuttered. “The one he talked about.”

The thin man considered, then shook his head. “I’m more of a…conductor of a symphony. Rip played for me, but we both make music at the behest of a greater muse. Something greater than anything you can imagine. And he is not pleased with you.” The man circled the room, casually eyeing Sara still sobbing on the ceiling.

I’ll get you down, Michael thought to her, meeting her terrified eyes. I’ll save you, just like I did before.

“You see,” the stranger said, “you’ve stolen from him.”

“I didn’t steal anything!” Michael blurted, tears spilling down his weathered face, and he suddenly felt so very old.

“Ah, but you have. All that power, churning inside. It doesn’t belong to you, though you’ve certainly profited from it, haven’t you? Leaving your mechanical oppressors, building a life out here for you and your…woman. All made possible by the Rage. And now it’s time to pay up.”

Michael gnashed his teeth, trying to will himself to move. “Please, I’ll—I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Michael, no,” Sara sobbed.

He winced, and continued, “Rip said I was supposed to help make Chaos or something, right? I’ll—I’ll do it. Just, please, don’t hurt Sara.”

The thin man faced Michael, tapping his chin. The man’s long face was impassive, devoid of all emotion. Just dead, staring eyes, and a put-upon air about him, as though he had more pressing matters to attend to. “It’s too late for that, Michael,” he stated without mirth.

Michael whimpered. “No, please…”

“We have a new part for you to play. You see, we have another stray, running rampant across the multiverse, causing us a lot of trouble. Another Michael Morrison, as a matter of fact.”

Michael blinked in surprise.

The thin man continued, “He, like you, thinks he can escape us, but he’s wrong.” Leveling a disdainful glare on Michael, he finished, “You both are.” He paced again, glancing to Sara on the ceiling. “You will help us find and convince him that to flee from us is futile. We are your fate—the very reason you were created. But to share that truth with him, you must share it from a place of conviction.”

The man fixed a cold, unflinching stare on Sara, then lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. Sara screamed, her body making terrible crunching noises. Bones breaking. Michael grunted, trying to pull himself free. “What are you doing? Stop!”

The thin man spoke over Sara’s shouts, “You are an instrument, Michael, but one that is out of tune. We have to refine you, to prepare you for my symphony.”

Sara continued to scream, her body breaking at the demonic man’s command. Michael wailed and raged against his invisible restraints. “I’ll kill you!”

The man only shook his head. “Still out of tune. Come on, Michael. You are a company man. You remember how this game works, or have you forgotten, living out here in the Wilds? You have to be taught your place. You. Will. Heel.”

“Sara!” he cried, his heart breaking, a thousand memories of their life together passing before his eyes.

But Sara’s screams finally trailed off. Her head hung limp, her body still. The man gave a wave of his hand and Sara collapsed to the bed, lifeless.

Dead.

Michael wept deep ragged gasps that pained his chest.

At last, the man—this sick Maestro of misery—regarded him. “Ah, much better. The song of your pain is beautiful—don’t ever try to hide that. Now you will be able to sing with passion, to spread my music.”

Michael bowed his head, weeping, his hood slipping over his features. At once, he was released from his imprisonment and collapsed to all fours.

The Maestro moved to him, his polished shoes clicking on the hard wood floor. “Will you submit now?”

Michael thought to rebel, to punch and kick and die fighting. He’d been ready to die when he left The Company, to be with Sara. He’d had fire back then, desperate to be away—determined that his life would belong only to him.

But, in the end, maybe his father was right. Better to blend in. To obey.

If he had, Sara would still be alive.

He stood, his hood draping over his eyes, bathing his sight in shadow. “Yes.”

EPILOGUE

The Hooded Man arranged Sara’s body on their bed and softly kissed her forehead.

Then he set the house on fire.

He stood now, wrapped in his tattered coat and hood, watching the last remnants of his independence burn away. It’d been a good life, the last fifteen years. A good distraction, but a distraction all the same. Rip had tried to tell him that he was meant for more, but he’d refused. Resistance was useless. He understood that now, here at the end, and he would teach it to this other Michael Morrison.

You can’t run from who you are.

He was a company man, through and through.

“Are you ready to leave?” the voice spoke from the shadows behind him.

He nodded, not facing the Maestro. “I’m ready.”

“Then let us begin the concerto.”

To Be Continued In

RIFT JUMP: Revised and Expanded Edition 

Now on sale from Genre Experience

Copyright 2015 Greg Mitchell

Thanks for reading, everyone. Go out and get your copy of Rift Jump: Revised and Expanded Edition, and stay tuned for the release of this summer's stunning sequel--Sara's Song!

Major Announcement: "Rift Jump"--Revised and Expanded Edition!

2015 is shaping up to be a big year for me. In case you haven't heard the news, I've got my second Syfy Original Movie set to premiere this summer (more on that as we get closer to the debut). Not only that, this will be the year that I wrap up my sci-fi/action adventure Rift Jump series.

As you may or may not know, Rift Jump began as a series of stories I wrote in high school. Over the years, I added to the mythology, never intending to publish; it was simply something that amused me. But, back in 2012, I began collecting those old stories and giving them a fresh polish and the first volume of Rift Jump was published by Splashdown Darkwater.

Once I made the decision to publish Rift Jump, I knew it was going to be a two-parter. I had a very definite story that I wanted to tell, featuring my star-crossed inter-dimensional lovers, Michael and Sara. Later this year, I'll be releasing Rift Jump, Volume 2: Sara's Song (check out the sweet cover art by Thomas Mason here).

Leading up to that release will be a few surprises: the first being today's big announcement--In a few weeks, I will be re-releasing the first Rift Jump novel under my own banner, Genre Experience, and it will be a Revised and Expanded Edition! Here's your first look at the (slightly altered) cover:

"So why a new edition?" you may ask. I'm generally hesitant to re-visit my work, but in the writing of Sara's Song, I found myself taking some twists and turns I had not anticipated when writing the first book three years ago. Looking back, there were some things I wished I'd built up a little bit more in that original tale in view of what was to come in the concluding installment of Michael and Sara's journey across the multiverse. Grace (at Splashdown Darkwater) and I had been talking about moving Rift Jump over to my own line (that began with last year's release of HITMEN: Four Tales of Magick, Monsters, and Murder) and I decided that, if I were going to be making the move and creating a new edition anyway, now would be the perfect time to go in and make those subtle--but important--changes to the original book.

So what's in the new edition?  A few brand-new scenes, some expanded scenes, some expanded characters, and a richer mythology that should excite fans of The Coming Evil Trilogy... Also, the new edition will include a new introduction written by me, and conclude with an excerpt from the upcoming Sara's Song. I'm confident that, together, these two books will make a very complimentary coupling--much like the heroes whose story they tell.

What's NOT in the new edition? Sadly, to make room for the new material--and to streamline the overall product--I'm losing the appendices found in the original edition: namely the completely unmodified original "Rift Jump" short story I wrote way back in high school (it's hysterically awful :)), and bittersweetly, the humorous send-up "Rift Jump: Ninjas" written by my superbly talented wife Meghan. Cutting these was a hard decision and not made lightly, but ultimately, I feel, the right one.

All is not lost: that first edition of Rift Jump, complete with those rare short stories, will be available for just a little while longer. At least a week or so--but likely longer, until the release of the new edition. So consider this your final chance to pick up the soon-to-be-out-of-print first edition of Rift Jump from Splashdown Darkwater. You can get it in paperback or Kindle while the gettin's good.

As for the Revised and Expanded Edition, stay tuned here for the big release as well as a couple of surprises--all leading up to the end of an era (at least for me), Rift Jump, Volume 2: Sara's Song!