Summer Storms & Other Natural Disasters

Since the THIS SUMMER STORM anthology is all about storms, I began thinking about all the different storms and natural disasters I’ve lived through. Now, my mind is imagining ways to use all of these experiences in a book.

I grew up with tornadoes in Illinois and am still terrified of them today. The second a tornado warning was posted, I cleaned out the closet under the basement stairs to fit my nine family members. While other kids were playing in puddles, I was shaking under the stairs. My brothers and sisters would make fun of me.

Moving to California as a teen, I had to deal with earthquakes. No warnings or alarms. Just a sudden jolt in the ground and the immediate dash for cover. I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1989 World Series earthquake where the Bay Bridge collapsed. I was working at the mall when the shaking started. I dove toward an interior wall for cover. Light fixtures fell, the floor cracked, and a jewelry store window shattered. The historic town I lived in was destroyed. 

Traveling in Japan, I experienced a typhoon. The rain was coming down sideways and the wind was hurricane force.

Speaking of hurricanes, I was in Mexico when Hurricane Emily struck. For days management would give reports of the hurricane’s approach. The storm was like a stalker. I was evacuated to a convention center. Just me and a thousand of my closest friends with no electricity and no air conditioning through an entire night.  Each person got enough space to sit, but not lay down. After the hurricane passed, we returned to the resort to find it had been destroyed. Roofs ripped off buildings. Pools filled with black water and debris. The beach completely washed away.

This past winter I was having dinner at the top of a Colorado mountain, taking two different gondolas to get there. A surprise snow storm came in with gale force winds while I ate. Heading down, the winds were so strong they had to stop the gondola several times. For several minutes. Sitting in the carriage hanging by a thin wire in the sky, I rocked back and forth like a carnival ride over a dark abyss. A freezing dark abyss.  When I arrived at the halfway point, they directed me to a closed restaurant for shelter to wait for the wind and snow to die down. Eventually, I was taken off the mountain by snow cat.

One storm or natural disaster I haven’t experienced is an avalanche. I live in Colorado now so my eyes are always searching the mountain tops…watching and waiting.

What are some of your storm and natural disaster stories?

For more information about other books in the Lost Daughters of Atlantis series, visit my website at www.allieburton.com.

A Current So Swift by Kristy McCaffrey

Post by Kristy McCaffrey

I’m pleased to have a story in the just-released Young Adult anthology, THIS SUMMER STORM. In “A Current So Swift,” a wilderness course on the Green River in Utah has sixteen-year-old Amy Whittaker stuck on a raft with football players and cheerleaders from her high school. No longer able to maintain a low profile among the more popular crowd, she wonders how she’ll survive the week. Even more distressing—Sawyer Tate, her crush since seventh grade, is also in the group. When a torrential rainstorm flips the boats and strands everyone, Amy is forced to take charge. And when Sawyer makes it clear he has feelings for her, remaining invisible is carried away on a current so swift.

Kindle

Nook

Smashwords

TradePaperback

I based this story on my own experience rafting the Green River when I was sixteen years old. My parents insisted that I take an Outward Bound course, since I was such a homebody. My trip wasn’t nearly as eventful as the crisis that befalls Amy and her classmates; and, while there were a few other teenagers in the group, it was mostly adults. But I hope I was able to convey how being in the wilderness can strip down many of the social norms we’re accustomed to in our everyday life. In Amy’s case, being forced to abandon her persona of detachment is made all the harder because she is with kids that leave her feeling socially intimidated. I threw in the love story because in my other life as a writer, I pen romance novels.

 

Unfortunately, I couldn't locate a photo of my trip on the Green
River. This is a photo of Lava Falls Rapid in the Grand
Canyon, considered one of the most fearsome
stretches of whitewater on the Colorado River.

I hope readers find my story enjoyable. I don’t normally write Young Adult, but I do have another YA short story available on Kindle. “Echo of the Plains” is a sweet historical western romance. Eli Ryan searches for the renegade stallion, Echo, in the Texas desert, but Cassie Callahan's stubborn protection of the horse just might steer him off course. Learn more at http://www.kristymccaffrey.com/YA-Short-Stories.html

Kindle

 

Kristy McCaffrey is the author of several adult historical western romances, as well YA short stories. She loves to travel and frequently writes about her adventures on her blog, Pathways, at www.kristymccaffrey.blogspot.com.

Secondary Characters That Inspire

Secondary Characters That Inspire

I’m so excited to be part of Tornado Alley Publications THIS SUMMER STORM anthology! My story, ATLANTIS TWISTED TIDES, features Adria a secondary character from an earlier novel who inspired me so much I had to write not only the novella featured in this anthology, but another complete book.

What makes a secondary character worthy of their own book and/or novella? The character needs to be compelling, needs to have room to grow, have a unique background, and an interesting story to tell or an adventure to complete.

Readers must like and be intrigued by the secondary character you’ve chosen to star in their own story. A princess from the underwater Kingdom of Merta, Adria is the sister of Reef the hero in ATLANTIS DARK TIDES. This book was supposed to be the final book in the Lost Daughters of Atlantis series, but I couldn’t forget Adria. She is outspoken with her family and the adults in the royal household, but get her around people her own age and she’s tongue-tied and shy. And she had her own story to tell.

Her half Atlantean-half mermaid princess background makes her unique. Her mother’s fear of her not being approved of has kept her secluded from other Atlantean kids. Like all teens, she worries about being accepted on a variety of levels. On top of that, Adria craves excitement and until ATLANTIS TWISTED TIDES she’d never had any of her own. I wanted to give Adria her first adventure.

And does she ever get it. An adventure that based on the choices she makes could bring down her entire kingdom.

Adria’s growth in ATLANTIS TWISTED TIDES takes her from inexperienced, shy girl to a teen who heads out on a quest and learns to trust her instincts. But she still has more growth to accomplish and a love to fulfill which is why she will have her own full-length book to be released later this year. Keep watching my website for information.

So, have you ever read a book that had a minor or secondary character that you wanted to read more about? Tell me about it in the comments below for a chance to win an e-copy of ATLANTIS DARK TIDES.

For more information about other books in the Lost Daughters of Atlantis series, visit my website at www.allieburton.com.

THIS SUMMER STORM--NEW RELEASE AND GIVEAWAY!

THIS SUMMER STORM is a collection of some of the best young adult stories out there today! In this exciting group of tales, it seems "one of everything" happens. Tornadoes, comets, hurricanes and raging river waters are all set to wreak havoc. But just when things can't get any worse, along comes a life-changing experience in each story that is just as unsettling as the threatening weather.

Can Jo and Frog solve the mystery of the cattle rustlers, or will Halley's Comet evaporate the earth first? Will Cassie be able to undo her father's terrible mistake by getting rid of his new wife? If Adria hadn't saved Kai, would she have ever had her first kiss? When a tornado threatens, rookie police officer Steve Cooper tries to save his new neighbor Christy--but gang warfare erupts in the apartment stairwell below them. Amy's a  heroine when she saves her rafting group--but Sawyer's sudden interest keeps her from wearing her familiar cloak of invisibility. Panic attacks have ruled Angela's life--until she faces something far worse than she ever could have imagined. Cassie's family life is on the verge of disaster, but when a tornado strikes, everything changes--again!

A CURRENT SO SWIFT—KRISTY MCCAFFREY

A wilderness course on the Green River in Utah has sixteen-year-old Amy Whittaker stuck on a raft with football players and cheerleaders from her high school. No longer able to maintain a low profile among the more popular crowd, she wonders how she’ll survive the week. Even more distressing—Sawyer Tate, her crush since seventh grade, is also in the group. When a torrential rainstorm flips the boats and strands everyone, Amy is forced to take charge. And when Sawyer makes it clear he has feelings for her, remaining invisible is carried away on a current so swift. 

WAITING FOR A COMET—RICHARD PROSCH

During the long, hot spring of 1910 it seemed all 12-year-old Jo Harper could do was wait. Wait for her father, wait for her friends, wait for the comet that might appear in the sky and wipe out the whole town of Willowby, Wyoming once and for all. But when wild west legend Abby Drake arrives in town lugging an orphaned baby calf, an old-fashioned revolver, and a mystery shrouded with superstition, it’s up to Jo to take action. Why is Abby in town? Who is she after? And what secrets can Jo coax out of her own arch enemy, Emily Bly? 

Action, humor, and real life history combine for an exciting mystery about one girl’s summertime quest for family, friendship, and justice on the windburnt Wyoming range at the dawn of a new century.

TO MAKE THE MAGIC LAST—CHERYL PIERSON

Tornado sirens wail, but Steve Cooper and Christy Reed are trapped on the top floor of their apartment building. As they try to get to safe ground, Steve is wounded by gunfire from the two rival gangs who are fighting it out in the apartment stairwell. It can’t get any worse…or can it? With no phone service because of the storm and the building collapsing around them, they must rely on each other. It’s going to take a lot of relationship magic and faith to survive what awaits them…will they live long enough  TO MAKE THE MAGIC LAST?

WEEKEND WHIRLWIND—ANGEL DREW

Cassie is excited about going to her first party at Lyndsey Stapleton’s house.  Lyndsey is a senior, and everyone that’s anyone will be there.  But, it is a senior party and Cassie’s dad is very protective; what if he doesn’t let her go?  

With her family on the verge of a breakup and Cassie’s mother’s bad choices, Cassie isn’t sure she can handle the turmoil of the coming weekend. Determined to go to the party despite her mother’s mid-life meltdown, Cassie knows she has some hard decisions ahead of her. How can she ever be her own person if she has to worry about her parents? This party means everything…but will her family be strong enough to survive one very life-changing weekend? 

TAKEN BY STORM—DIANA STUART

Angela Spencer has been dealing with storms as long as she can remember. These storms take over her body, leaving her paralyzed in a wave of fear. Dealing with panic attacks has been detrimental to her high school social life, but this summer Angela is starting over. Her summer job leads to new friends, her first crush, and new opportunities to overcome challenges. As she faces down storms, Angela learns who she really is and just what she is capable of.

ATLANTIS TWISTING TIDES—ALLIE BURTON

When fifteen-year-old Atlantean Princess Adria sneaks away to see a hurricane on the surface of the ocean, she finds an air-breather in trouble. Kai’s sailboat is sinking, and Adria risks exposure of her Atlantean powers in order to save him. 

Kai believes he’s rescuing Adria. He’s Atlantean too, with his own skills and secrets. 

The two teens stumble onto an uninhabited island, still thinking the other needs rescuing. When other Atlanteans show up—Atlanteans plotting against Adria’s kingdom—Adria must decide whether to trust Kai based on the guy she’s come to know…or the company he keeps. 

THE LAST OF HER KIND—CHERYL PIERSON 

An antique Victrola record player is the cherished possession of Cassie's grandmother but her new stepmother, Trish, detests it and wants it gone. Despite the heated arguments over getting rid of it, Cassie’s father also seems oddly attached to the antique phonograph, and stands up to his new wife and her demands to see it gone. Cassie’s grandmother is sick, probably dying, and Cassie will be the only one left in the house who sees through Trish as Cassie's brothers no longer live with them. Trish is a threat, and Cassie must protect their family—what’s left of it.

Then Cassie discovers a secret; something so wonderful, yet frightening, that she can hardly believe it. Can she make it work to her advantage? Will her new knowledge save her family…or destroy it?

Links
Amazon Trade Paperback     Kindle      Smashwords

We're giving away a digital copy of THIS SUMMER STORM to one lucky commenter today! Be sure to leave your contact information in your comment for the drawing, and good luck!

Waiting For a Comet by Richard Prosch

Looking back, it’s hard to believe the stuff we imagined, the stuff we did, and the stuff we got away with while growing up in a rural area. On  a farm, ranch, or small town with easy access to the country, the sheer variety of opportunities are unimagined in the cities. Opportunities for education. Opportunities for fun. Opportunities for trouble!

In my story, “Waiting For a Comet,” part of TAP’s new anthology, THIS SUMMER STORM, twelve-year-old Jo Harper takes full advantage of her country setting to help justice prevail. It’s the kind of mystery I imagined growing up on a northeast Nebraska farm in the ‘70s. And, in looking back over the story, some of Jo’s adventures aren’t so far removed from my own.

Here’s something that directly influenced a scene in “Waiting for a Comet.” 

When I was eight or nine years old, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. Fact is, I knew I’d grow up to be a famous archeologist, somebody who discovered heretofore unknown species of lightning bugs in amber and thunder lizards in rock. To do that, I knew I’d have to read up on the subject, so I checked out every library book about dinosaurs I could find. But more important, I knew I needed to get crackin’ in the field. There’s just no substitute for hands on experience.

My grandpa’s cow pasture became an untapped sea of Jurassic-age treasure. Under the dry bluestem I knew I’d find a million fossils. In the banks of the wandering crick, I was sure to locate a footprint or twelve. At the very least I hoped for a collection of Indian arrowheads.  When I heard that a hunting guide along the Niobrara river, twenty miles north, had discovered the remains of a wooly mammoth (a creature the local Ponca tribe called Pasnuta), my dreams reveled in newfound credibility.  

And then one day: the mother-lode.

My friend Greg and I discovered a near complete skeleton. Small and bleached white, a perfect specimen preserved there on the flaking mud floor of the crick. Consisting of a skull, a rib cage and a couple long “dog bones,” it was just small enough for two kids to manage, and we drug it off to my fort. 

We argued about it. Was it a baby Tyrannosaurus? Maybe a little Stegosaur? Greg even suggested it might be a Pterodactyl. We simply hadn’t yet found the wings.  We spent the afternoon setting up our display.  We invited my parents and grandparents to the newly christened “Museum Wing” of the fort.  We even charged admission (a quarter).

I don’t know what the grown-ups expected. My mom, I think, figured we had set up a display of our plastic model toys. My grandpa probably thought we found some old tree limbs.

Nobody figured on us finding the remains of a baby calf that had gone missing in the early spring. But that’s what we had. And after a round of “Pee-ewws” and then, “Where did you find it?” we were driven up to the house and into the bath tub for a serious scrubbing. 

The best part in looking back is remembering how on one level I knew the rack of old bones wasn’t a real dinosaur, and yet…on another level, convincing myself that maybe it was. What if? Why not? Then what?

Those three questions led to plenty of nonsense on the farm. But they also led to plenty of wonder. 

They still do!

Welcome to Tornado Alley Publications

Welcome to the Tornado Alley Publications blog!

We've got a lot of great stories coming up in the near future from some very talented authors! First rattle out of the box is our first Tornado Alley Publications anthology for Young Adult readers, THIS SUMMER STORM.


Authors include: Kristy McCaffrey, Richard Prosch, Angel Drew, Diana Stuart, Allie Burton, and Cheryl Pierson.

Here's a little bit about the stories in THIS SUMMER STORM:

A CURRENT SO SWIFT—KRISTY MCCAFFREY

A wilderness course on the Green River in Utah has sixteen-year-old Amy Whittaker stuck on a raft with football players and cheerleaders from her high school. No longer able to maintain a low profile among the more popular crowd, she wonders how she’ll survive the week. Even more distressing—Sawyer Tate, her crush since seventh grade, is also in the group. When a torrential rainstorm flips the boats and strands everyone, Amy is forced to take charge. And when Sawyer makes it clear he has feelings for her, remaining invisible is carried away on a current so swift.

TO MAKE THE MAGIC LAST—CHERYL PIERSON

Rookie police officer Steve Cooper heads out for work one morning just as the city's tornado sirens blast a warning. In the stairwell, he runs into a different situation—a gang war in his apartment building. Shots ring out and Steve catches a bullet.

Christy Reed, his enchanting new neighbor, pulls him into her apartment and attempts to stop the bleeding. Recently arrived from Mississippi, Christy has no idea what the sirens and gunfire mean, but she is terrified.

As the storm bears down, they take refuge in the bathtub. Through the pain, Steve finds himself drawn to Christy. There's some sort of magic about her. Christy feels the same about Steve. He's the man she's always dreamed of meeting.

When the building collapses around them and they meet the gunmen once more, will Steve and Christy have what it takes to help each other survive? Can they make the magic last?

THE LAST OF HER KIND—CHERYL PIERSON

An antique Victrola record player is the cherished possession of Cassie's grandmother but her new stepmother, Trish, detests it and wants it gone. Despite the heated arguments over getting rid of it, Cassie’s father also seems oddly attached to the antique phonograph, and stands up to his new wife and her demands to see it gone. Cassie’s grandmother is sick, probably dying, and Cassie will be the only one left in the house who sees through Trish as Cassie's brothers no longer live with them. Trish is a threat, and Cassie must protect their family—what’s left of it.

Then Cassie discovers a secret; something so wonderful, yet frightening, that she can hardly believe it. Can she make it work to her advantage? Will her new knowledge save her family…or destroy it?

WAITING FOR A COMET—RICHARD PROSCH

During the long, hot spring of 1910 it seemed all 12-year-old Jo Harper could do was wait. Wait for her father, wait for her friends, wait for the comet that might appear in the sky and wipe out the whole town of Willowby, Wyoming once and for all. But when wild west legend Abby Drake arrives in town lugging an orphaned baby calf, an old-fashioned revolver, and a mystery shrouded with superstition, it’s up to Jo to take action. Why is Abby in town? Who is she after? And what secrets can Jo coax out of her own arch enemy, Emily Bly?

Action, humor, and real life history combine for an exciting mystery about one girl’s summertime quest for family, friendship, and justice on the windburnt Wyoming range at the dawn of a new century.

WEEKEND WHIRLWIND —ANGEL DREW

Cassie is excited about going to her first party at Lyndsey Stapleton’s house. Lyndsey is a senior, and everyone that’s anyone will be there. But, it is a senior party and Cassie’s dad is very protective; what if he doesn’t let her go?

With her family on the verge of a breakup and Cassie’s mother’s bad choices, Cassie isn’t sure she can handle the turmoil of the coming weekend. Determined to go to the party despite her mother’s mid-life meltdown, Cassie knows she has some hard decisions ahead of her. How can she ever be her own person if she has to worry about her parents? This party means everything…but will her family be strong enough to survive one very life-changing weekend?


TAKEN BY STORM—DIANA STUART

Angela Spencer has been dealing with storms as long as she can remember. These storms take over her body, leaving her paralyzed in a wave of fear. Dealing with panic attacks has been detrimental to her high school social life, but this summer Angela is starting over. Her summer job leads to new friends, her first crush, and new opportunities to overcome challenges. As she faces down storms, Angela learns who she really is and just what she is capable of.

ATLANTIS TWISTING TIDES—ALLIE BURTON

When fifteen-year-old Atlantean Princess Adria sneaks away to see a hurricane on the surface of the ocean, she finds an air-breather in trouble. Kai’s sailboat is sinking, and Adria risks exposure of her Atlantean powers in order to save him.

Kai believes he’s rescuing Adria. He’s Atlantean too, with his own skills and secrets.
The two teens stumble onto an uninhabited island, still thinking the other needs rescuing. When other Atlanteans show up—Atlanteans plotting against Adria’s kingdom—Adria must decide whether to trust Kai based on the guy she’s come to know…or the company he keeps.

This wonderful anthology will be available on THURSDAY, JUNE 5!