Blue Musings

Happy New Year, dear readers! Just a quick note to let you know that FUTURE TENSE is free to download on Amazon for today and tomorrow (January 4th and 5th).

And if you don't have a kindle and need the ebook for a nook or any other ereader, just contact me and I will send you the epub directly.

Ten years ago his parents died in a fire he predicted but couldn't prevent. Now, 17 year-old Matt is trying to stay out of trouble until he graduates and ages out of foster care. All he wants is to be left alone so he won't be tortured by knowing someone's future he's powerless to change, but his plans at isolation fail when he interrupts a gang attack on Amara, a girl he recognizes from school. Despite his attempts to push her away, glimpses of her dangerous future invade the present - a future Matt fears is his fault. He'll do whatever it takes to avoid the violence of his visions, but where can he go to escape himself?
 

I wrote this book because the only stories I was seeing with a foster kid protagonist and an urban neighborhood with a diverse population were 'message' fiction - something you might see on an ABC afterschool special.

Which is totally not the kind of story I enjoy reading or writing.

I wanted to explore that setting within the context of speculative fiction and my hero is a kid living a disadvantaged life in inner city foster care.

I also wanted to challenge assumptions of foster parents as cardboard villains or abusers.

As I do with all my stories, I got to do a lot of research for this one. I had several intense conversations with a social worker in the foster care system here in MA. She was extremely helpful. I also got to learn - at least at a rudimentary level - how to read tarot cards.

And that's not something you put together every day: foster care and tarot cards.

So, take a chance while it's free. I can promise you a few hours entertainment.