Eric Wojciechowski has a degree in psychology from Oakland University and writes essays and articles on religion, pseudoscience, and woo-woo. Also writes on politics at FreedomCocktail.
Published work can be found at American Atheists magazine, Skeptic magazine, Skeptical Inquirer and Free Inquiry. His 1997 article in Skeptic magazine examining claims of Zecharia Sitchin was chosen for inclusion in The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. Also authored two novels to date.
Avion Airlines flight 17A is on its way from Phoenix to Detroit when it makes a crash landing at a small airport in the State of Missouri. Investigation reveals the fuselage is crumpled as if squeezed while still in mid-air.
A few weeks before, Iraqi War veteran, Richard Guerry, publishes a best selling book on the subject of UFOs, arguing that most of what you hear is nonsense. But because of things he learned during his time in the desert, he’s in pursuit of the real answer surrounding the stories of flying saucers.
Seven-year-old Jacqueline Vincent is the only passenger on Avion Air 17A that was conscious during the entire episode, leading Richard Guerry to pursue her, thinking she could be the key to understanding what links his findings from the ancient world to unidentified miraculous craft, people have been seeing in the skies for thousands of years.
Catherine McCarthy grew up in the valleys of South Wales where she went on to teach for almost three decades. She was inspired to write from a young age, having fallen in love with story-telling after being ‘shown the light’ by her mother who had the tradition of oral story-telling down to a fine art.
Her most recent publication is a collection of short stories for adults entitled Door and other twisted tales which explores the darker side of magical realism. An absolute joy to write, the collection visits a variety of locations and incidents throughout history and imagines them affected by supernatural forces or creatures of myth.
Her other published works include Hope Cottage, a dark and mysterious family saga of triumph over adversity, the proceeds of which she donates to thebraintumourcharity.org in memory of her mother, and The Gatekeeper’s Apprentice, a fantasy adventure for middle-grade children.
Her current work in progress is a magical realism novel in which the main character is a young girl with Down’s syndrome and big ambitions.
She now lives with her husband in an inspirational old Welsh cottage in West Wales where she writes, reads, sews and walks the wonderful coast path.
Catherine believes that storytelling is probably the oldest and wisest art form known to man, though to make it compelling, it needs to be crafted with a bit of magic.
Botany Bay, 1790 – One by one, a colony of white-skinned pioneers disappear from their camp. Did the legendary rainbow serpent of the Dreamtime, Goorialla, wreak revenge on the ghosts for disturbing its sacred watering hole?
North-east coast of Japan 2011, vicinity of Fukushima Nuclear Plant – Seismic waves on the Pacific Ocean floor cause a catastrophic tsunami. The mythical giant catfish, Namazu, is believed to seek retribution for human greed by creating earthquakes. Could it be to blame?
Door and Other Twisted Tales is a collection of ten, dark portal stories, each set in a different place, a different time, yet woven together by supernatural visitations which result in the death, destruction and disappearance of humans in recompense for their actions.
From Plague – the embodiment of the 14th Century Black Death, to Shams – a contemporary tale of the mysteries of quantum physics and the mind, Door and other twisted tales will lead you on a journey through time and place as the consequences of greed, impulse, loneliness and fear are exposed.
Carol Roberts is a freelance writer with particular interest in cultural myth. Originally from Vienna, she has spent all of her adult life in the Far North of New Zealand. Her work took her to several different countries, where she indulged her fascination with stories. 'Tower of Babel' is her second novel.
An ancient text has corrupted the mind of King Ninus, Babylon 3000 BC. At the peak of his rulership there is one power he desires above all else, but it is not in his control, and his symbol of conquest (tower of Babel) lies incomplete.
A man has been seriously injured and is without any memory of who he is. The woman, who finds him, saves his life and hides him from the king until he has fully recovered and can start to retrace his steps. But as Rihat’s memory starts to release his name and fragments of his life, he becomes once again embroiled in the past, thereby putting her in great danger. Because like him, she is compromised by a destiny beyond her own will, and like him, she is not free to follow the calling of her own heart.
When he eventually re-lives the agony of who he is and why he has become that way, he is forced into choices that will affect both past and future.
It was past midnight when the sound of a horse’s hooves in the small outdoor patio woke her. It was highly unusual for anyone to visit at this hour of night, but she needed to know who had arrived, so she got out of bed and lit one of her oil lanterns. Before she had time to reach the door, however, there was a thump as though a sack of grain had been dropped off outside, and she decided to look out of the window first. She could only make out the tail and back of a horse, which seemed riderless, so she called out for the person to identify himself. There was no reply.
Carefully she opened the door and looked outside. She lifted her oil lantern and nearly dropped it when she saw a man lying on the ground in a pool of blood, which was quickly spreading. She started to shake and lifted the lantern higher to see the horse. It was a beautifully kept, strong-looking, grey stallion, but its eyes were rolling to the back of its head, it was frothing from the mouth, and it, too, was covered with blood.
She could not tell if the horse was injured or not, as there was only a thick, red streak on the horse’s side, where the rider had slid off and fallen to the ground. She stood frozen with panic, and her first impulse was to call out for help. Instead, she put her hand over her mouth to muffle all sounds, as she did not know where the attacker was. She had seen wounds and blood before, but this was the first time she faced it on her own. She knew she had to do something.
