Residing in California. Love to read, write and help other authors grow. I write middle grade adventure but have dabbled in SciFi and a few adult-length novels. Couple of short stories published in anthologies. When I’m not working or spending time with my family, you’ll find me writing at my computer, sketching scene cells, reading, or hiking on any one of many local trails.
I love reading great characters and great story. Capture me emotionally, and I’m likely to give you a pass (Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One is a great example of this). But beware: I read through my writer’s lens, so I can be critical when others simply enjoy a story at face value.
I’m always positive, respectful and try to help others out, and expect the same in return. I’ll never give you false praise. If I like what I read, I’ll say it. And mean it. If something bothers me, I’ll point our why and often give suggestions to improve.
Smut, excessive language, drugs, personal harm, or anything along these lines.
To save the world, twelve-year-old Mary Cairins must overcome trust issues, win a fantastical competition at the North Pole, and defeat Crystal Frost to become the first female Santa.
For Mary Cairins and her Uncle Dave, life has always been a financial struggle and they never seem to catch a break. Until one rainy night at the CraveCo store when a hidden Easter egg in a video game lands Mary a spot in the most highly anticipated contest of recent history: The Reindeer Games. She quickly learns that Santa--as in "the" Santa Claus--is behind the contest. Four heart-racing events at the North Pole will test the contestants, and the winner will walk away with a $1,000,000 prize. It's "game on" and the contestants are hungry to win. But an ancient rival returns to seek revenge and exploit the victor's spoils, putting the contestants in grave danger. Crystal Frost has escaped from her genie-bottle prison and conspires for the crown. For the one that wins The Reindeer Games will become the next Santa and control the North Pole--and the world. Adventure. Danger. Loyalty. Will Mary's wit be enough to help her survive the dangerous events? Can she find a friend to depend on, or is she truly on her own? The moral high-road. Unethical shortcuts. Both will be taken, but there can only be one winner of The Reindeer Games.
I shoot from the tunnel and sail through the air. Pointy spears of ice claw at me from below, threatening to skewer me on their hearty tips. Blinding sunlight stabs my eyes. My heart races, beating a million times a minute. I’m going to die!
My lunch rises in my throat. Pizza and cookies never tasted so awful.
Six hundred feet and falling.
“Heeeeeeeeeeelp!”
Less than twenty-four hours ago, I was safe. Living a dreary existence in Illinois, but safe.
Five hundred feet.
“Rudi!” My reindeer charges at me, flying in a daze as if she’s wearing earbuds and zoned out on some holiday music. “Rudi?” She’s not stopping. “Rudi!”
When the four-hundred-pound reindeer cannons into me, I lose all the air in my lungs.
Four hundred feet.
The sharp ice draws nearer.
Rudi snaps out of her daze—somewhat. At least she seems to see me now. She shakes her head. “Oh, hey. What are you doing here? I didn’t know you could fly?” She gallops in the air lazily, following me in a death drop to the perilous ice spikes below.
Three hundred feet.
“I can’t!” I scream, tumbling closer to the frozen lances pointing up at me. “Rudi? Help me!”
Two hundred feet.
Almost to the icy spears.
One hundred feet.
My vision begins to darken, consuming me like a swirling storm, drawing my memory back to the night when my life changed. The night, a video game, and a one-in-a-million chance.
Next installment in the Mary Cairins series is complete.
To save all magic, geniekind and Christmas, Mary Cairins must figure out why the Sands of Time are going haywire, defeat the evil Dragon Genie, and put everything right before the next full moon in three days, or the world is doomed. But there's a catch. She must sacrifice her relationship with Michael and teach a handsome prince with no self-confidence to believe in himself. Mary Cairins is coming back in an all new adventure! Join her, Michael Proper and Prince Fortunous as they set out to solve the mystery of the Sands of Time.
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