Liz Pierce

Forest Glen, Pennsylvania. A peaceful suburban neighborhood where nothing unusual ever happened — until the day Masaman the Troll moved out from under his bridge and bought the old fixer-upper on Oak Tree Lane.

Now Goblins swarm the neighbor’s front porch and kitchen windowsill in search of freshly baked pies and cookies; a cat-food eating Zombie canvasses the residents, looking for landscaping and interior decorating opportunities; and a Dwarf takes time out from Poker Night to investigate the rash of burglaries that suddenly plague the neighborhood.

And the Neighborhood Watch has no idea who it should be watching.

Available from your favorite online retailers.

WMG Publishing offers up another installment in The Year of the Cat:

Most cats pursue the business of their lives in ways both fantastic and whimsical. In this entertaining volume of stories, cats perform as muses, inhabit fairy tales, consort with ghosts and zombies, and one cat even reigns as fantasy queen.

I’m delighted to announce that Dead Fred is included in The Year of the Cat: A Cat of Fantastic Whims.

A high school, a zombie janitor, and a psychic cat…

Available in print and ebook.

As the folks at WMG Publishing said:

Everyone knows dogs save people. Cats do too, in a different way. And although cats feign an aloof detachment, they possess great heart. A cat rescue comes on its own terms and in its own time, and always with dignified heroism…

With that as an introduction, it gives me great pleasure to announce that my story, Of Cats and Lost Socks in the latest installment of The Year of The Cat: A Cat of Heroic Heart.

A witch. A cat. A curse.
When Emmaline McMurtree falls victim to a rival witch’s curse, it’s up to her familiar, Marley, to save the day.

Available in print and ebook.

I am not a fan of the eat-your-face-off zombies of movies and TV shows, so when Muzak ‘woke up’ on the page, and introduced himself to me as a newly-dead, gay, interior decorator, zombie from Philadelphia, I knew it would be a challenge to write past the tropes and stereotypes and develop him authentically.

Turned into a zombie by accident, lost, and struggling to find his place in the world, And Then I Woke Up Dead is a fanciful depiction of the challenges faced by many displaced individuals. Whether it’s those trying to cope with mental illness, find a job that lets them eat more than dog food, deal with rejection from friends and loved ones, or manage to survive on the street, it’s important that we remember the basic humanity of every person we encounter – even when their outer shell isn’t perfect.

I’m very pleased to have Muzak’s tale included in Stars in the Darkness:

Stars in the Darkness is a collection of stories about why being just matters, and what the ramifications are for individuals, groups, towns, countries, or even worlds if justice is not expected, encouraged, or enforced.

What better way to kick off October than to announce my newest Suburbia short story: Of Cats and Lost Socks.

A witch. A cat. A curse.

When Emmaline McMurtree falls victim to a rival witch’s curse, it’s up to her familiar, Marley, to save the day.

Of Cats and Lost Socks is now available in The Witches’ Brew Bundle, exclusively through BundleRabbit. Check it out!

I’ve written several short stories about the characters in Just Another Day in Suburbia, and writing for this anthology gave me the opportunity to tell you a little more about Muzak’s friend, Grace Hewlett.

In Dead Fred, which takes place about three years before the events in Just Another Day in Suburbia, Grace is still in high school – and trying to figure out what she thinks about the school’s new janitor, a zombie named Fred. Her father makes an appearance, together with the dreaded Mrs. Simpson, as do Mrs. McMurtree and her cat, Marley.

I had a wonderful time writing Dead Fred, and was delighted that my editor, Rebecca Moesta, chose to include it in this collection with so many other wonderful stories. I hope you enjoy it, too!

Fiction River: Sparks is available in electronic and paper formats from WMG Publishing, or your favorite electronic bookstore.

Enjoy!

I’ve been trolling the web (pun intended) to see if I could find a picture of a troll that came vaguely close to the way I see Masaman. In my mind, he’s not some oogly-boogly ugly creature that goes “growl” in the night, but is incapable of saying anything else. Likewise, he’s not a soft, squishy cartoon character with skin colored in primary colors. Even the fabulous Freemont Troll on the cover of the novel isn’t really how I see Masaman.

The trolls in the world of Just Another Day in Suburbia are reasonably realistic-looking guys. They’re big dudes, who wear heavy boots and durable clothing. Think of the biggest, baddest biker dude you can imagine, and then make him even bigger. He might have an attitude, or he might be a really nice guy – he just happens to live under a bridge. Or, in Masaman’s case, on Oak Tree Lane.

Anyway, as you can see, I finally did find a troll that is as close to my idea of what a troll looks like as I can imagine – if you’ve played the role-playing game Shadowrun, you’re already familiar with the world this big guy comes from (of course, my trolls don’t usually carry heavy weaponry… )

So there you are … that’s my idea of a troll!

Muzak is definitely not your garden-variety, brain-gobbling zombie – he has higher aspirations than mindlessly sucking down on raw flesh. Then again, becoming a zombie was never part of his plans, either…

And Then I Woke Up Dead

Muzak knew about zombies – he’d seen them on the streets, doing the menial jobs they’d been created for, jobs no living person wanted to do. He just never expected to find himself shuffling along as one of the walking dead, anti-freeze coursing through his veins. To be honest, he’d had higher expectations of the after-life – and, at the very least, expected a better wardrobe.

Available on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords. $2.99

More than a few people have asked for stories about some of the characters in Just Another Day in Suburbia, and I’ve been having a lot of fun obliging! This time, we go back a few years to Pinkerton’s first case…

Pinkerton Dwarf, P.I. – Case File 001: Renault

When the tall, red-haired woman walked into Grady’s Bar and Grill on that dark and stormy night, newly-licensed private investigator, Pinkerton Dwarf knew at a glance that she wasn’t the date he was waiting for. He did not know that Monica Renault would turn out to be his first official client, or that his date had gone awry before it even began.

Available on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords. $.99

We first met the Goblins in Just Another Day in Suburbia, but did you ever wonder what happened the day they emigrated from Faerie to the Real World?

No Plan for Chaos

It’s raining… Goblins!

The Goblins emerged from the Faerie Realm into the Real World in the most unexpected manner: drifting in on the breeze, settling on rooftops, in the trees, in the road. In a world filled with unfamiliar dangers, Skeezix the Goblin discovers the key to the Goblins’ survival in the unlikeliest of places — a discarded cup of diet cola.

Available on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, and in the iBookstore. $1.99

Seattle’s “Freemont Troll” sculpture – which appeared on the original cover of Just Another Day in Suburbia, was recently in the news. It seems that vandals decided the enormous sculpture needed a bit of makeup.

Fortunately, the damage was superficial, and easily repaired.

Thanks to my Seattle friends for pointing out both the news item and the quick cleanup! I’m quite sure that Masaman, Rasta, and all the other trolls inspired by the Freemont sculpture are feeling quite relieved!

It’s a long way from Philadelphia to Reno – especially when you’re squeezed into a Mini with a Zombie, a Dwarf, a Goblin, and a Troll – so I’m not going to be attending WorldCon (aka: the World Science Fiction Convention) this year.

But I did want to invite you to hang out with Masaman and friends, and pick up your own copy of  JUST ANOTHER DAY IN SUBURBIA at the special, WorldCon-weekend price of $2.99 (with coupon code WG54G) – after all, another ebook isn’t going to crowd your luggage out of the car!

Enjoy!

Mini-Cooper photo courtesy of www.Copyright-free-photos.org.uk