13 Days of Free Short Reads for the Holidays…

On Monday, December 1^st, Musa Publishing started the holiday ball rolling by offering 13 days of free, short e-stories as a gift from Musa authors. A different short story will be released each day for 13 days. Some days have more than one release scheduled, so there will actually be 17 stories in total. That’s a whole lot of reading to cram in throughout the holiday season!

BTW: These are not books; they’re short, fast, fun–and free!–reads. Yup, I said FREE again!

Since I’m a published author with Musa, my middle grade/young adult short fantasy story, The Terrible, Mighty Crystal, is scheduled for gift release on Friday, December 6. This short read is actually a spin-off from Legend of the Timekeepers as it features the Atlantean cross-eyed seer Shu-Tu, and reveals a little background on how and why she became a seer. Have I piqued your interest? If so, check out the blurb and tagline for The Terrible, Mighty Crystal:

There is the known and the unknown. And then there is the unknowable.

A rumor around Atlantis whispers that the mighty crystal has the power of resurrection. Fourteen-year-old Shu-Tu believes this to be true and will do whatever it takes to bring her father back from the dead. Recruiting two trustworthy classmates, and with the help of her beloved teacher Thoth, Shu-Tu sets out to change her father’s fate, and right a wrong.

Instructed to meet Thoth at his grotto, Shu-Tu and her friends are forced to flee underground, and must follow the maze of passages to find another way out. There, they come across a baboon-headed human hybrid possessing a rare firestone—one of six harvested from the mighty crystal—which has the power to restore life. Shu-Tu agrees to play the hybrid’s bizarre game to win the firestone, knowing that if she loses, she loses her father forever.

Hooked you yet? If so, I’ve got another gem of a free short story written by my YA author peeps HL Carpenter, who wrote SkyHorse. HL is Florida-based a mother/daughter duo who love writing about magical places and practice the fine art of curiosity. Their upcoming free read called Dream Stealer is due out on Monday, December 9^th. Here’s the tagline and blurb:

Ever wonder what became of the dreams you once had? Fancy Moonstruck can tell you. She steals dreams for a living. Close your eyes. Fancy’s on the job.

Fancy Moonstruck is supposed to steal dreams. It’s what her family does for a living, and now that she’s fifteen, the job is hers.

It’s a job she’d rather not have. She knows first-hand what dreams mean to the dreamer because she has a dream of her own. She dreams of her mom, who died five years ago. Losing her dream would be like losing her mom all over again. That’s a pain Fancy doesn’t want to cause anyone.

But the rules are clear: Steal a dream—or lose her own.

Sound intriguing? I know, right? Another featured free YA short story is by Kaitlin Bevis who loves to write about Greek myths and classical heroes. Her free read called Medusa is due for release on Thursday December 5^th. Holy Hades, that’s today folks! Here’s the tagline and blurb:

The gods turned her into a weapon, but weapons can turn against their makers.

The gods have not been kind to Medusa. They have turned every piece of her to poison, and no one can look at her without turning to stone. But she soon finds an unlikely friend in Hades, The Lord of the Underworld, and settles in to her new life.

Until the heroes arrive.

Convinced that she is a monster that needs to be slain, hero after hero ventures to Medusa's cave, never to be seen again. But there's something different about the latest hero, Perseus. Something tragic. Will Medusa be able to stop Perseus and save herself? Will she even want to?

So, are you ready to load up your ereaders (or even the ereaders you’re giving as gifts) with fun, fantastic short stories this holiday season? Awesome-sauce! Then head over to Musa Publishing, start downloading, and enjoy. Happy Holidays and may the spirit of giving infect you in ways you never could have imagined! Ho, ho, ho!