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I am currently working on my romantic suspense series, featuring Kitty Morse and her little dog, Coco.

Book One, currently untitled, is now complete and I am nearly finished with Book Two, SEVEN BRIDES FOR ONE BROTHER.                         

           BOOK ONE:   When her nit-picky husband Douglas and their - well, his - friends decide to spend a vacation in Upstate New York, middle-aged California housewife Kitty Morse thinks it will be a good idea to go on ahead of them and get things ready. "Don't take any detours, Kitty," Douglas warns. "Just pick up the car and check in. We'll call you to come get us at the airport, but don't go wandering around." And when has Kitty not followed his instructions to the letter?      

            An impulsive detour through a fast-food restaurant changes her life forever. She finds an abandoned dog in the parking lot and her attempts to reunite it with its missing owner drag her into a dangerous world of kidnapping and murder, and into a doomed romance with a quirky investigator.

            Jeff Carver works as a contract investigator for a shadowy company, TRT Enterprises. He's good at what he does, and relies on his "antennae" or sixth sense to help him in his endeavors, to the derision of the other agents with whom he works.            

            Jeff investigates the disappearance of a female colleague involved in research into child abductions, and his antennae point him toward the woman and the dog. But his sixth sense is no match for his heart when he finds himself falling hard for a married woman.

BOOK TWO: SEVEN BRIDES FOR ONE BROTHER      Kitty Morse has a big decision to make, but first she needs to find out what happened to her oft-married brother Jimmy, who has disappeared in the Arizona desert. With the help of new pal Joellen Koppelman and loyal doggie Coco, she travels to the Southwest and finds a dead guy in her brother's trailer.

             A crazy ex-wife with an axe to grind, a possibly-pregnant young girl, and a dishy local detective add to the mix as Kitty tries to find Jimmy before either the cops or the murderer does. Racing against time, she must also make a hard choice or face losing the love of her life, Jeff Carver, forever. 

I have plans for a third book as well, because everyone deserves a happy ending, don'tcha think?

I am also serving a two-year term on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Chapter of Sisters in Crime as a member at large.

And I have the pleasure of serving as an editor, along with mystery writers JERI WESTERSON and NAOMI HIRAHARA of the new chapter Anthology, LAdies Night - more information on this as it becomes available.

My short story, Company Christmas Party, was published in a holiday edition of Kings River Life Magazine, December 2013. Click here to read it for free!

I have had two stories win the challenges at the Creator & Catalyst site: The first story, THE CANYONS OF MADNESS, won the Diablo Canyon writing challenge. The second story, ROOM 3327, took Second Place in the Even Darker Shadows writing event. Many thanks to the other authors who voted for me!

The new Cookie Sullivan story, BLUE PLATE SPECIAL was featured in the September 2013 issue of APHELION WEBZINE

BLUE PLATE SPECIAL is now available for Kindle for only 99 cents! Just click here for the details!

I write mystery and science fiction short stories and create art as a painter.   My new book, SPACED OUT - INTERPLANETARY VOYAGES OF THE LINDA RAE is now available. Click the titles or see below for more details. And don't miss INHUMAN CONDITION my last book!

Check out my published stories on the OTHER PUBLICATIONS page and my paintings on the PAINTING page.

CHECK OUT WRITING THE MYSTERY SHORT STORY at MYSTERY WRITERS INK

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                                                                                                         About Me:

I spent 22+ years in the US Army where I was an instructor, and retired in 2001. I am privileged to have the time now to work on my 1955 Cliff May mid-century modern house when I am not sitting in front of the Blue Screen of Death waiting for inspiration to strike.

I have written several novels, including a 3-book mystery series, a full-length fantasy, and a couple of adventure romances, but my real interest is in short fiction.  My current writing projects are a mystery novel (working title: Give the Dog a Bone) and a new science fiction collection of eleven of the Cookie Sullivan short stories, SPACED OUT. A collection of twenty of my favorite previously-published short fiction pieces,  Inhuman Condition, is also available.  I am also preparing a collection of Flash Fiction, working title:  FLASH DRIVE.                                    

I spent some R and R time in Hawaii at the end of 2013, working on the new books:

SPACED OUT

Go Here to Order from AMAZON (now available in Kindle!)

Space jockey Cookie Sullivan pilots her decrepit craft, the Linda Rae, through eleven tales of adventure, misadventure and encounters of the quirky kind in this collection of zany science fiction stories which explore all those questions about humans and non-humans you were always too nervous to ask.

 

Here's a taste: 

Even the most sincere declaration of undying affection usually involves a catch, and the declarations issuing from the speaker of my companion were no exception. The catch here  - well, there were two catches, actually - consisted of the fact that the companion was a cut-rate heap of metal, plastic and duct tape and also the fact that it was not programmed to express affection.

It was a navigation device, programmed to get my rust-bucket, the Linda Rae, from one sector to another without ending up in the uncharted hollows of deep space or the solid interior of some piece of space rock.

Having it tell me it loved me was disturbing on so many levels, but navigational malfunction rather than any sudden feelings it may have unaccountably developed was my main concern.

"Oh, crap," I said to my human companion on the bridge, my co-pilot. "The nav's on the fritz again."
 

INHUMAN CONDITION 

Go Here to Order from AMAZON  (now available in Kindle!) or Barnes & Noble (now available in NOOK!)

Kate Thornton’s imagination is only exceeded by her talent as a storyteller. From the sci-fi fascinations of Mare Tranquillitatus to the darkly provocative Working in the Suburbs, Thornton takes us on an impish joy ride through a mind field of criminal intents. Inhuman Condition is a rare and evocative find among story collections.

—Darrell James, Award Winning Author of Body Count

 

 

In Inhuman Condition, noted short story author Kate Thornton has compiled some of her finest tales into one fun and exciting read. Whether you are a fan of science fiction, crime fiction or just good fiction, you will enjoy this diverse collection that smacks of the same juicy eeriness as found in classic Twilight Zone episodes. 

– Sue Ann Jaffarian, best-selling author of the Odelia Grey, Ghost of Granny Apples, and Fang-in-Cheek mysteries

 

NEW REVIEWS!

CLICK HERE FOR KEVIN TIPPLE'S REVIEW

I have over 100 short stories in print and am pleased to be a member of and to speak on short story panels for for Sisters in Crime Los Angeles. I also teach short story workshops. Check out the PANELS AND WORKSHOPS page for a list of upcoming activites.

I am a member of the SHORT MYSTERY FICTION SOCIETY - check them out here!

I am also an artist...

In addition to writing, I also paint and have been fortunate to have many of my works exhibited in galleries. I have also sold quite a few of my paintings. I work in oil and have been described as an Abstract Expressionist. Upcoming gallery shows may be found on the EXHIBITION OPENINGS page.

And be sure to visit my blog, It Doesn't Take a Genius. Okay, I haven't updated it in a million years, but there are some cool pics from my checkered past...