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IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR
Cryptid, noun:
1. Any creature whose existence has been suggested but not proven scientifically. Term officially coined by cryptozoologist John E. Wall in 1983.
2. That thing that's getting ready to eat your head.
3. See also: "monster."
The Covenant of St. George was founded to uphold one simple ideal: anything that was not present on the Ark—anything they deemed "unnatural"—needed to be destroyed. Monsters. Creatures of myth and legend. All of them would be wiped from the Earth in the name of Man's dominion. Unfortunately for them, not all the monsters agreed with this plan...and neither did all the human beings.
After their rather abrupt departure from the Covenant, Alexander and Enid Healy found themselves alone in the world, but with a simple mission of their own: to protect the cryptids of the world from those who would harm them without just cause. It was a cause that would eventually claim both their lives, leaving their children, and their childrens' children, to take up the fight. Now in the modern day, their descendants struggle to stay beneath the Covenant's radar, while defending the cryptids from humanity—and humanity from the cryptids.
INDIVIDUAL BOOKS
Discount Armageddon (March 6th 2012, DAW) introduces us to Verity Price, journeyman cryptozoologist, ballroom dancer, and former reality television star. She's on assignment in Manhattan, researching the local cryptid community while she pursues her dance career. It's a cushy job...at least until local cryptids start disappearing, and all signs start pointing to a man from the Covenant of St. George. But is Dominic De Luca really to blame? And if she casts her suspicions in the wrong place, is she going to survive the experience?
Midnight Blue-Light Special (March 5th 2013, DAW) takes us back to Manhattan, where Verity Price is finishing her journeyman assignment, and starting to wonder what she's going to do with the rest of her life. It's a complicated question, made harder by all the things she's trying to juggle. Does she want to be a dancer, a cryptozoologist, or something else altogether? Where does Dominic De Luca fit into her future? And what's all this about a Covenant purge? It's going to take some pretty fancy footwork to survive this dance number, much less get the winning score...
Half-Off Ragnarok (March 4th 2014, DAW) formally introduces us to Alexander "Alex" Price, Verity's older brother, a cryptoherpetologist managing a basilisk breeding program in the office of a Columbus, Ohio zoo. He's enjoying a little peace and quiet, helping his grandparents take care of his injured cousin Sarah, and dating an Australian zookeeper named Shelby Tanner. Things are going well...at least until people start getting turned to stone, and he finds himself in the unenviable position of trying to juggle both sides of his profession as he tries, desperately, not to get anyone else killed. And Shelby, it seems, has some secrets of her own...
Pocket Apocalypse (March 3rd 2015, DAW) finds Shelby Tanner summoned back to Australia, where her family is dealing with a little werewolf problem. Specifically, there are werewolves in Australia, and they don't belong there. Alex Price is unwilling to let his girlfriend cross an ocean by herself, and so it's off to the Land Down Under to try to prevent lycanthropy from establishing a true foothold in the island ecosystem. But when the monsters can think and plan, how are Alex and Shelby supposed to stop them? And that's before Alex gets bitten, and everything changes. Can they make it back to America? Will they be human when they do?
Chaos Choreography (March 1st 2016, DAW) takes us back to Verity Price, who has just been offered the opportunity of a lifetime: Dance or Die, the reality show that helped her to launch her dancing career, is hosting an all-star season, and she's been asked to return to the stage. But is that really such a good idea? She's almost been caught by the Covenant once, and now that she's married to a known traitor, there's no way they won't be watching for signs that something is going on. Will Verity return to the stage for one last tango? Or will she hang up her dancing shoes for good? And then there's the little matter of the dead people in the theater...
Magic for Nothing (March 7th 2017, DAW) brings the youngest member of the current generation to the center of the ring: meet Antimony Price. Angry, restless, and dealing with more problems than even her family knows, Annie is not thrilled to be sent undercover to clean up her sister's mess. She's even less thrilled when her first undercover assignment spawns a second. With layers of falsehood between her and home, can she trust anyone she meets? More importantly, can they trust her, when all she's ever do is lie to them? It's a circus of the damned, and lucky Antimony is in the center ring. All she has to do now is stay alive until the curtain closes.
Tricks for Free (March 2018, DAW). Details coming soon!
SHORT FICTION
Because InCryptid is a family affair, spanning multiple generations in the lives of the Healys, Prices, and allies, it was only natural that the universe expand into short fiction, where the rest of the family could have their say. From Fran and Jonathan Healy to Istas and her waheela relatives, there's something for everyone, and an awful lot to learn about the cryptid world.
Some stories have appeared in anthologies, but most are free to read on this website.
For more information on the InCryptid short stories, and to download the free stories for your reading pleasure, please visit the InCryptid Short Fiction page.
GRAPHICS AND GOODIES
You can download promotional icons and wallpapers for several of the available InCryptid adventures. More goodies are coming, so check back often!
Watch this space for additional news.