I was delighted to have my low-key story “Careless Mistakes” included in this superhero anthology set in H. L. Burke’s Supervillain Rehabilitation Project universe. Read on for all the details, including other stops on the blog tour with clues to prize giveaways! A brief post about the origins of my story follows, so be sure to read all the way to the end.
Superhero fans rejoice! The DOSA Files: Tales from the Supervillain Rehabilitation Project Anthology is launching June 27th.
If you love epic tales of heroism, humor, and heart, you’ll adore this collection.
Featuring stories from:
H.L. Burke, Sarah Pennington, Amber Gabriel, Karen Eisenbrey, Rena Gail, Jake Tyson, K.M. Carroll, C.O. Bonham, Michelle L. Houston, and Jenelle Leanne Schmidt.
About the Book:
10 Authors, 10 Stories, Endless Ways to Save the Day!
The Award-Winning Supervillain Rehabilitation Project series expands with this new ten-story anthology of exciting superhero (and villain!) tales.
Enter a world of superpowered heroes… and villains. Of epic adventure and hope.
In this collection you’ll find tales of humor, action, and suspense. Meet brave heroes, quippy villains, and desperate vigilantes.
All featured stories are PG or lower, making this a great read for all ages, but especially for fans of superhero fiction, heartfelt moments, and snarky humor.
Featuring New Superhero Stories from Award Winning authors as well as exciting new voices in the genre.
Are you ready to save the day?
Available on Amazon June 27th! Get your copy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5JS32QJ
Add it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212327283-dosa-files
Check out the other stops on our blog tour!
And let me let you in on a secret: scattered throughout the various blog posts are six clues. Find them all and solve the puzzles to get a secret passcode. That passcode will give you entry to this form: https://forms.gle/55fAGSXAyyjDEFCw9
One lucky puzzle solver will win a mini-ebook library of titles from our authors, including Far from Normal: A Rage Brigade and Supernormal Team-Up by me and LeeAnn McLennan. (Winners chosen July 1st, 2024)
One lucky puzzle solver will win a mini-paperback library of titles from our authors, including my St. Rage duology, The Gospel According to St. Rage and Barbara and the Rage Brigade.
Blog Tour Schedule
June 20th:
June 21st:
June 22nd:
https://authorambergabriel.com/blog
June 23rd:
https://corinnejet.wordpress.com/2024/06/23/hl-burke-exclusive-interview/ (post goes live 6/23/2024 6:30 AM PST)
June 24th:
http://creatingforcreator.wordpress.com
http://kmcarrollblog.wordpress.com
June 25th:
https://www.rachaelritchey.com
June 26th:
https://kareneisenbreywriter.com/blog/
June 27th:
Don’t forget: once you’ve solved all the clues and discovered the passcode you can enter to win one of two epic prizes here: https://forms.gle/55fAGSXAyyjDEFCw9
The Story Behind “Careless Mistakes”
When H. L. Burke floated the idea of letting other authors write short stories for an anthology in her Supervillain Rehabilitation Project universe, my first thought was, “Fun idea, but how could I write a superhero story in someone else’s story world?” In my St. Rage series, there is no organization or agency overseeing and supporting people with powers. They’re on their own, mostly acting in secrecy. But then I remembered, I had already done it once! In 2020-21, in the depth of the pandemic, LeeAnn McLennan and I brought my Rage Brigade and her Supernormals together for a team-up adventure in a co-written novella titled Far From Normal. It was a lot of fun to write and good for our sanity in that trying time. Also good practice in leaving our egos at the door as we trusted each other with our characters and settings. As in the SVR universe, the supernormals have their own governing agency. While at the time of Far from Normal, they are acting in secrecy, later in the Supernormal Legacy trilogy, they go public. I figured if I could smoothly insert my existing characters into LeeAnn’s existing world, it should be even easier to create new characters to fit into Burke’s SVR world.
I like playing with ridiculously specific or seemingly weak superpowers, then finding the exact situation where that goofy power saves the day. For example, the Rage Brigade includes Bug Lord, who communicates with arthropods. In Barbara and the Rage Brigade, he directs an ant colony to disable a cult leader’s sound system. Tempus “hears the soundtrack”, making it easier to tell villains from potential allies. Trash picks up random detritus that later turns out to be useful, including a broken gaming headset that becomes part of Barbara’s disguise for infiltrating an event at the cult’s headquarters.
For DOSA Files, I figured I was safe to use my familiar Seattle setting. Surely it’s a big enough town to have its own DOSA team. But I chose characters outside the team. I came up with Hayley Harrington, an office temp with a secret superpower: she detects careless mistakes, which makes her a top-notch proofreader and beta tester. But she has entry-level villain aspirations, cleaning out the cash from mislaid wallets and purses. She would rather not register with DOSA if she can avoid it. Meanwhile, Paul St. James, AKA PC Paladin, is a low-powered legacy sable with the power to sense the workings of computers and other electronic devices and even make small repairs. I sent him undercover as an IT guy for a public utility, trying to catch an eco-terrorist who is using the utility’s computers for distributed processing of something mysterious and nefarious. (I still don’t know how the Sewage Amplifier works!) Sparks fly when Hayley and Paul meet and bond over a shared love of melted cheese. They become unlikely heroes when their seemingly weak powers are the right thing at the right time when the villain strikes. I like the idea that anyone with powers could save the day, as long as they are paying attention. Are you?
Karen Eisenbrey 