S. H. Marpel

It started with a dream. In it, John Earl Stark solved the problem of a ghost he met. Or did he? It was a dream, after all. The next day he meets two women who visit his cabin, arriving out of the blue, literally. (Well, one arrived with pitched black darkness which filled his cabin and made her cough.) These two have an offer for Stark. All he really wanted was to enjoy the small cabin and solitude so he could write his detective stories. These...

The story continues, as two young girls find their power by becoming ghosts, then spirit guides. This is their origin-story...Barely escaping discovery by soldiers from a nearby dukedom, Sal and Jude's dad starts training them to survive in the forest. While gathering herbs in a clearing, Sal and Jude find they can communicate to the animals. But find something else, their mother's ghost can appear to them. They can see and hear her voice in their...

Vampires aren't good at everything. For instance, they suck at haunting. John Earl Stark continues his adventures in ghost hunting. Encountering a female ghost who attacks him in a gothic Victorian mansion left him bitten, but alive. Sal and Jude, his employers and guides, came in from a nearby room, shocked. Obviously, John was going to need more training to survive these attacks. But this particular ghost was still haunting and still attacking...

I'd been left out here, alone. By an oil-burning lamp. In the cold, uncaring desert. It was my only comfort until dawn. Just dawn started bringing the earliest glimmer of what I could see with my human eyes, I woke to some snuffling sound near my head. Opening my eyes, not relishing the hot day coming, I saw the nose of an animal near my face. "Rise, little one." I sat up. And, saw eye-to-eye with a female coyote. She was not young. Scars crisscrossed...

A nude woman collapsed on my doorstep. Someone I knew somehow. Of course, I carried her in and cared for her. Gave her shelter, clothes, and food to heal. In her normal form, she was one of the most powerful entities on this planet, in all known history. Harpy. But for now, she was simply human. And to regain her strength, she said she needed to make love with me. The weird part was the last time we met, she tried to kill me. And now I had...

"JOHN, I JUST MET A ghost who's dying." I raised one eyebrow, waiting for the punchline from my favorite time-bender." No, it's not what you think. I haven't gone off the deep end. The government made him into something they call a ghost.” Figure if the government's involved, then it's going to be screwed up...But a ghost, dying?” Running out of juice, actually. Kept alive on some sort of weird life support that he won't fix to save himself.”...

Born between worlds, Silvie fell in love with Earth when she first visited it. She just didn't like the culture, the politics, the noise. So she decided to remake it the way she wanted it. Improve it. Civilize it. Regardless of who thought themselves in power. Because they didn't know real power. Silvie did. And had to prove it to several races who had tried to extinguish hers. Saving her own life was nothing new. Compassion for others was. Only...

My true love got us trapped here with my own time machine. Not really her fault - or I hoped, anyway. You see, she's brilliant, powerful - and a shapeshifting cat who rules Ancient Egypt. That last part doesn't bother me, as long as she's human at least part of the time. Otherwise, royal consorts have some benefits, too. She brought me here with my own machine. And, then it disappeared. Stolen. And, now we're marooned. But, that doesn't matter....

In the days when people were owned by the land, two young girls found their power by becoming ghosts, then spirit guides. This is their origin-story... Their parents were serfs, and belonged to two different dukedoms. Falling in love endangered them both. Becoming pregnant with twins made this even worse. Their Dad had to raise them by himself, as Mother died shortly after birthing them. But her spirit remained on Earth to watch over them. Sal and...

Walking down the highway barefoot, feverish, and in only a nightgown. At least the storm had quit. Now if I could get my chattering teeth to stop, it would help, maybe. Up ahead, I see some stopped cars. Some have their lights on. Maybe I can get help. Too bad I can't travel any faster the way I am. That's odd. Nobody in them. Lights on, but no one at home. Except for a crying baby. And no one answers my calls either. No, I can't leave her alone....