Several months ago I was invited to take part in a very unusual collaborative project.  Called the Alvarium Experiment, it would feature short stories by over a dozen award winning or best selling authors based on the same premise.  The styles of the stories are different, as told by writers of mystery, romance, fantasy and scifi.  I told my tale with my normal focus on lots of action, and fans of any of my series will most probably enjoy Marathon.  And if you enjoy my tale, you will surely want to check out the other stories in the Saga.  The information posted on this blog about authors and stories are from the project pages themselves.

About the Authors:

Bria Burton’s short stories have appeared in anthologies such as Welcome to the Future and speculative fiction magazines such as The Colored Lens. Her novella, Little Angel Helper, was written for her sisters, one of whom has special needs like a character in the story. She also has a collection of family-friendly pet stories called Lance & Ringo Tails. Her epic fantasy manuscript, Livinity, won First Place in the RPLA Unpublished Fantasy Novel category in 2011.

At St. Pete Running Company, she works as a blogger and customer service manager. Find out more about her upcoming and past publications by visiting www.briaburton.com.

Raised in Huntsville, Alabama, Daco is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, Author’s Guild, and the Alabama State Bar. She is the author of The Libra Affair (April, 2013), an international spy thriller featuring CIA agent Jordan Jakes. The Libra Affair was an Amazon #1 Bestseller of Suspense, Romantic Suspense, and Romance in September, 2013. The novel was also included in a limited-time only Suspense bundle entitled Racing Hearts: 10 thrilling suspense novels released in July, 2014. The sequel, The Scorpio Affair, will be released soon. Visit Daco at www.authordaco.com, Twitter @AuthorDaco, and her author Facebook page “Daco.”

The Libra Affair is “A complex spy game, rather like a Jason Bourne movie – only instead of the usual male secret agent, we get Jordan Jakes. And she is more than capable of rocking your world.”

—RT Book Reviews

“Daco’s romantic thriller debut intrigues with fast-paced, high-stakes action that forces the take-charge heroine to balance her clandestine mission with obligations to her heart … The keenly sharp intelligent female characters soar in this edge-of-your-seat adventure …”

—Publishers Weekly

Ken Pelham lives and writes in Maitland, Florida. His debut thriller, Brigands Key, won first place in the Florida Writers Association’s Royal Palm Literary Awards and was published in hardcover in 2012 by Cengage/Five Star Mystery. The ebook edition was released in 2013.

Brigands Key is “. . . a perfect storm of menace . . . breathtaking!”

—The Florida Weekly

His BK prequel, Place of Fear, also a first place winner of the Royal Palm Literary Award, hit the electronic shelves as an ebook in 2013, and the wood shelves in softcover in 2014.

Short stories by Ken, available for e-readers on Amazon.com, include:

Tales of Old Brigands Key

—Three short stories about the sordid and unseemly past of little Brigands Key. Contains “The Light Keeper,” a finalist in the 2014 Royal Palm Literary Awards, and “The Wreck of the Edinburgh Kate,” 2^nd-place winner of the Royal Palm for Published Short Story.

Treacherous Bastards: Stories of Suspense, Deceit, and Skullduggery

—Three stories in the Hitchcock tradition, including one about Brigands Key.

A Double Shot of Fright: Two Stories of Horror

—Two chilling short stories guaranteed to cause loss of sleep.

Ken has penned two nonfiction books on the craft of writing: Out of Sight, Out of Mind: A Writer’s Guide to Mastering Viewpoint, and Great Danger: A Writer’s Guide to Building Suspense.

Visit Ken at www.kenpelham.com for updates on his work, and musings on suspense fiction.

Charles A Cornell writes thrillers with a touch of the macabre and pens a unique form of science fiction blended with fantasy and alternative history known as dieselpunk. His awards include the 2012 Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Thriller for Tiger Paw and another RPLA in 2014 in the science fiction category for his illustrated dieselpunk novel DragonFly. He fuels his creativity from inside the chaos of everyday life and you can follow his musings at http://www.CharlesACornell.com.  He’s a proud member of the Florida Writers Association and the Alvarium Experiment. ‘Alvarium’ is Latin for beehive. The Alvarium Experiment is a unique collaboration of fourteen authors reinventing the short fiction experience. Their first short fiction collection is The Prometheus Saga.

Doug Dandridge lives in Tallahassee, Florida, and has been a full time independent author for the last two years.  His Amazon Best Selling science fiction series, Exodus: Empires at War, has consistently placed in the number one position in Space Opera and Military Science Fiction on Amazon.UK, and in the top five in the same genres on Amazon.US.  He is also the author of the Refuge Technothriller/Fantasy series, and The Deep Dark Well Space Opera series.  He currently has 23 fiction and one nonfiction book on Amazon, How I Sold 100,000 Books On Amazon, which documents his steps to becoming a successful author.  He has also most recently been published in Kevin J. Anderson’s Five By Five 3: Target Zone military scifi anthology.  His blog can be found at http://dougdandridge.com, in which he covers his own work,topics of interest to readers and writers, his take on some of the most tiresome tropes in scifi and fantasy.  Doug earned a BS in Psychology from Florida State University, and an MA in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.

JADE KERRION is the author of the Double Helix series, which has won eight science fiction awards, including the Gold Medal, Readers Favorites 2013. She writes speculative fiction and contemporary romance novels that aspire to keep you from doing anything else useful with your time.

“The Double Helix is the kind of series you’d expect to see with a movie deal. I loved, loved, LOVED it.”

—Full Time Reader, Amazon Reviewer

“I wish I could award more than 5 stars. This phenomenal series continues to astonish and delight.”

— Hillel Kaminsky, Amazon Reviewer

For a free electronic copy of Perfection Unleashed, visit www.doublehelixbooks.com

Find Jade’s books on Amazon at www.amazon.com/author/jadekerrion

Visit Jade at www.jadekerrion.com for her latest publishing news, events, promotions, and giveaways.

About The Author

Victor DiGenti (aka Parker Francis)

 After a career in broadcasting as a producer/director of public affairs programs and award-winning documentaries, and in the special events arena in which he produced the Jacksonville Jazz Festival for eight years, Vic DiGenti turned to his first love—writing. He found inspiration in his household of cats and wrote three award-winning adventure/fantasies with a feline protagonist.

Writing as Parker Francis, Vic made the leap into the hard-boiled mystery/suspense field and has written two award-winning novels in his Quint Mitchell Mystery series, Matanzas Bay and Bring Down the Furies. A third in the series, Hurricane Island, will be released soon. He’s also published the novella, Blue Crabs at Midnight, and the short story collection, Ghostly Whispers, Secret Voices.

Vic is a frequent speaker at libraries, book festivals, and writers’ conferences. He’s taught writing classes at the University of North Florida, and is the FWA Regional Director for NE Florida coordinating 8 writers’ groups, and has served as Co-Director of St. Augustine’s Florida Heritage Book Festival and Writers Conference. He’s also on the Board of the Friends of the Ponte Vedra Library. Visit him at www.parkerfrancis.com

Elle Andrews Patt is a married mother of two unschooled kids now thriving in high school and at  university. She is an eclectic and has worked as a certified veterinary technician, event manager, and  co-owner of a pizza restaurant, large equestrian boarding, show, and breeding farm, and telecommunications company. Her award-winning speculative and literary short fiction has appeared in markets such as The Rag, Solarcide, and SawPalm, as well as anthologies. She is currently seeking representation for her paranormal murder mystery, Billie Mae, and completing a literary novella. ‘Manteo’, a short story within The Prometheus Saga collection is her first self-publication and a product of her association with The Alvarium Experiment. To read her short fiction and samples of her novel, please visit elleandrewspatt.com Facebook: Elle Andrews Patt, The Prometheus Saga, The Alvarium Experiment Twitter: @LAndrewsPatt

Antonio Simon, Jr.

Antonio Simon, Jr. is a lawyer and award-winning author of several books. His debut novel, “The Gullwing Odyssey”, is a fantasy/comedy adventure and winner of three awards in its first year. In 2014 it won the first-place Royal Palm Literary Award in the category of humor & satire. If nothing else, the book proves that being a lawyer and fostering a sense humor are not mutually exclusive. Mr. Simon is also the author of “R.A.G.E.”, an original roleplaying game system, and “Miami Is Missing”, which delves into Miami’s hidden history. All told, he has written four books, collaborated on two, and published over a dozen short stories.

Mr. Simon holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Miami (Florida), one apiece in the subjects of political science and history, as well as a Juris Doctorate from Saint Thomas University’s School of Law. He lives in Miami, Florida.

Visit his blog at www.GullwingOdyssey.com.

Discover his books at www.DarkwaterSyndicate.com and Amazon.

Kay Kendall set her debut novel, DESOLATION ROW—AN AUSTIN STARR MYSTERY in 1968. The sequel RAINY DAY WOMEN (June 2015) shows her amateur sleuth Austin Starr proving her best friend didn’t murder women’s liberation activists in Seattle and Vancouver. Both books are published by Stairway Press of Seattle. A fan of historical mysteries, Kay does for the 1960s what novelist Jacqueline Winspear accomplishes for England in the 1930s–she writes atmospheric mysteries that capture the spirit of the age. Kay is also an award-winning international PR executive who earned degrees in Russian history. She lives in Texas with her husband, three house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. Terribly allergic to the bunnies, she loves them anyway! Her book titles show she’s a Bob Dylan buff too. Visit Kay at http://www.kaykendallauthor.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KayKendallAuthor

Bard Constantine writes gritty futures and far-flung fantasy. His love of those genres catapulted his writing career, which includes the Troubleshooter novels, featuring the private eye of a dystopian future. Other novels include the horror/sci-fi novel The Aberration, and Shadow Battles, a recently released epic fantasy series. A huge fan of edgy, fast-paced television shows, Bard paces his stories in a similar fashion, keeping his readers hanging on from chapter to chapter. Bard lives in Birmingham, Al with his wife and unbridled imagination. Keep up with his work at http://bardwritesbooks.com and at Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bardwritesbooks

And, the stories, with links to their Amazon sales pages:

“The Pisces Affair” by Daco Auffenorde. CIA operative Jordan Jakes meets Prometheus when the Secretary of State becomes the target of a terrorist attack at a head-of-state dinner in Dubai. Visit Daco at http://www.authordaco.com.

“On Both Sides” by Bria Burton. When a mysterious woman vanishes during the American Revolution, young Robby Freeman searches for answers from a cryptic sharpshooter who deserted Washington’s Continental Army. Visit Bria at http://www.briaburton.com.

“Ever After” by M.J. Carlson. Two mysterious women convey the same Cinderella story to Giambattista Basile in 1594 and Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1811. How different cultures retell this story reveals humanity’s soul to those who listen. Visit M.J. at http://www.mjcarlson.com.

“The Blurred Man” by Bard Constantine. FBI agent Dylan Plumm’s investigation of a mill explosion puts her on the trail of the Blurred Man, a mysterious individual who may have been on Earth for centuries. The case turns deadlier at every turn, placing Dylan in the crosshairs of shadowy antagonists even as she unravels a centuries-old mystery. Visit Bard at http://www.bardwritesbooks.com

“Crystal Night” by Charles A. Cornell. Berlin, 1938. On the eve of one of history’s darkest moments, a Swedish bartender working in Nazi Germany accidentally uncovers a woman’s hidden past. Can he avoid becoming an accomplice as the Holocaust accelerates? Visit Charles at http://www.charlesacornell.com.

“Marathon” by Doug Dandridge. Prometheus, posing as a citizen of Athens, participates in the battle of Marathon alongside the playwright Aeschylus. Visit Doug at http://www.dougdandridge.net.

“The Strange Case of Lord Byron’s Lover” by Parker Francis. Writing in her journal, Mary Shelley recounts a series of perplexing events during her visit with Lord Byron—a visit that resulted in the creation of her famous Frankenstein novel, but also uncovered a remarkable mystery. Visit Parker at http://www.parkerfrancis.com.

“Strangers on a Plane” by Kay Kendall. In 1969 during a flight across North America, a young mother traveling with her infant meets an elderly woman who displays unusual powers. But when a catastrophe threatens, are those powers strong enough to avert disaster? This short story folds into Kay’s mystery series featuring the young woman, amateur sleuth Austin Starr. Visit Kay at http://www.kaykendallauthor.com.

“East of the Sun” by Jade Kerrion. Through a mysterious map depicting far-flung lands, a Chinese sailor in 1424 and a Portuguese cartographer in 1519 share a vision of an Earth far greater than the reality they know. Visit Jade at http://www.jadekerrion.com.

“Manteo” by Elle Andrews Patt. In 1587, Croatan native Manteo returns from London to Roanoke Island, Virginia. Can he reconcile his strong loyalty to the untamed land and people of his home with his desire for the benefits the colonizing English bring with them before one of them destroys the other? Visit Elle at http://www.elleandrewspatt.com.

“First World War” by Ken Pelham. 40,000 BC: As the last remaining species of hominid, Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis, fight a desperate battle for ownership of the future, the outcasts of both sides find themselves caught in middle. Visit Ken at http://www.kenpelham.com.

“Lilith” by Antonio Simon, Jr. In this retelling of the Adam & Eve story, a hermit’s life is turned upside-down by the arrival of a mysterious woman in his camp. As the story of their portentous meeting carries forward through the millennia, only time will tell if Lilith is a heroine, a victim, or a monster. Visit Antonio at http://www.DarkwaterSyndicate.com.

“Fifteen Dollars’ Guilt” by Antonio Simon, Jr. 1881: After a close brush with death in a steamship disaster, Prometheus encounters another survivor who gripes about how aimless his life has become. Prometheus helps him find his calling, inadvertently setting in motion the assassination of President Garfield. Visit Antonio at http://www.DarkwaterSyndicate.com.

For additional info about the stories and authors, visit the official website: The Prometheus Saga

The Prometheus Saga promises to be a unique experience for readers, and the same main character is followed for thousands of years through the craft of many different writers. The series can be entered at any point, as all of the stories are stand alone.  There may be more in the future; that had yet to be determined.  So give the series a try, and, as always, reviews are welcome.