Fantastic Creatures Anthology Release & Scavenger HuntA. R. Silverberry

FANTASTIC NEWS ABOUT FANTASTIC CREATURES!

Fantastic Creatures, an anthology of twenty short stories from the Fellowship of Fantasy, is here at last! Each tale features a creature from folklore or mythology, including my yarn, Three Steaks and a Box of Chocolates, my funniest tale yet. You can read more about it by taking part in our Scavenger Hunt. Visit all the stops, collect the clues—look for the number in each post!—and you could win a Kindle Fire, plus eBooks from participating authors. Read down to the bottom to find out how to enter.

But first, here’s D. G. Driver, who contributed Who’s Afraid of a Baby? to the anthology.

Who’s Afraid of a Baby?

D. G. Driver

For just over eleven years I have been the lead teacher in an infant classroom at a child development center here in Nashville. My assistant teachers come and go, getting promoted or moving on to other kinds of jobs. I’m currently working with my 7^th who is leaving soon. We’re having some trouble finding a full time replacement for her. Why? Babies, especially eight of them at one time, are scary. Apparently, only I have the nerves of steel to work with the little wailing creatures year after year after year. (No, I joke with you. I love my precious babies, and although I dream of abandoning them for a life as a full time author, I can’t say I’d prefer a different job.)

D. G. Driver with the werewolf babies at Chattacon, by doll artist www.werecubs.com

A few years back, my then assistant, a lovely Goddess of a woman named Maria, and I were both super into watching True Blood and The Walking Dead. We shared our enthusiasm for all things vampire and zombie after each new episode. At that time, several of the babies in the room were older and either crawling or beginning to walk. Whenever either of us would get on the floor, the babies would immediately approach us, stumbling and bumbling until we were smothered by babies. Maria and I began to joke about how they moved like tiny zombies. It always started out as simple, harmless ambling by one lone child to suddenly being mobbed and attacked by all of them. Hair being pulled while slobber and drool proliferated.

We nicknamed all our moving babies “Bombies” and it is a nickname for the burgeoning toddlers that I still use to this day. At home my writing mind whirled. What if babies were little monsters? That would be hilarious. I considered writing a story about baby zombies but never got around to it. (I’m not alone in the idea, though. Buzzfeed did this fantasy video “Horror Movie Day Care” that makes me laugh every time I watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WTkJHHF4B4) Also, when at Chattacon (a speculative fiction convention in Chattanooga) last year, I met a lovely woman who made monster baby dolls. No kidding. This is how she makes her living. I, of course, had to get a picture with them.

One day, I saw a prompt for an anthology looking for horror stories. Ah! I thought. I will do this. I wrote up a story about a rather unusual day care. It didn’t get accepted, though, because I think it was a little too different from the other stories chosen for the book. So, I stuck it up on Wattpad for a while. My daughter made me a really cute cover image for it. I left it there until I saw the call from Fellowship of Fantasy for their Fantastic Creatures anthology.

I tweaked the story again, and to my great surprise and joy it got accepted. No, the babies aren’t zombies. You’ll probably figure out pretty quick what they are, though. I’m told that “Mother’s Night Out” is one of the more scary/gory stories in Fantastic Creatures, but it’s still PG13. I mainly write YA, and I feel it is fine for my typical audience of readers. I do hope you enjoy it, and if you’re curious about any of my other books or stories, visit me at www.dgdriver.com to learn more about my work.

MINI GIVEAWAY FROM D. G. DRIVER!

Sign up for D. G.’s mailing list on her website during this scavenger hunt, and she’ll enter you to win a free eBook copy of her award-winning mermaid novel, Cry of the Sea. Happy reading!

Mother’s Night Out, by DG Driver

Cry of the Sea, by D. G. Driver

ABOUT OUR ANTHOLOGY!

Fantastic Creatures

Here be dragons … and selkies and griffins and maybe even a mermaid or two.

Twenty fantasy authors band together to bring you a collection of thrilling tales and magical monsters. Do you like to slay dragons? Or befriend them? Do you prefer to meet cephalopods as gigantic kraken or adorable tree octopuses?

Each story focuses around a fantastic creature from folklore or mythology, and they range from light and playful tales for the whole family to darker stories that may make you wish to leave the lights on. These stories carry the Fellowship of Fantasy seal of approval. While our monsters may be horrifying, you won’t stumble into graphic sex and constant swearing.

Perfect for the fantasy lover who can’t get enough of mythical beasts!

GUESS WHAT? The eBook edition is FREE!!! Get it here –>

ENTER THE SCAVENGER HUNT!

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