Project Update: Chupacabra Vengeance

Here’s a tentative list of the stories in my next collection, Chupacabra Vengeance and Other Weird Tales (which will be in front of an editor in March, so let’s cross our fingers):

1. The Teen and the Triton—girl living at South Padre Island finds an injured young merman
2. The Devil’s Lagoon—retelling of the legend of the haunted body of water near Rosita
3. Chupacabra Vengeance—after his mother dies, a boy travels through Mexico to search for his father who lives in the US; when his group of companions are stopped by crazy militia near the river, they receive help from a very unexpected source
4. The Black Cats—Oscar’s magic-dabbling military dad leaves his black cats behind when he is deployed, and the felines will do anything to protect their master’s secrets
5. Barbie Versus el Puma Negro—someone has raised long-dead luchador el Puma Negro from the dead…and only Barbie de los Ángeles, spiritual protector of the mid-Valley, can stop him
6. Sketch—an abused girl finds solace in her art…as well as a weapon to help her escape from her twisted father
7. The Donkey—retelling of a Mexican legend about a very scary…donkey
8. Tamales—retelling of a Mexican legend about some tamales made with…the flesh of children (yikes!)
9. Big Bird—retelling of a very famous Valley legend. Not the Sesame Street Big Bird, but a very big, antediluvian, scary freaking bird.
10. The Deal with the Devil—retelling of the famous story of a Valley landowner and the price of his deal with dark forces
11. The Alligator (from The Secret Diary of Donna Hooks)—a young girl in late 19th-century East Texas faces off against a child-eating reptile
12. The Wildcat (from The Secret Diary of Donna Hooks)—a young white woman hoping to tame a corner of the border wilderness learns valuable lessons from a Mexican chamana and an orphaned wildcat
13. The One-Eyed Lady—retelling of a local legend. A boy in 1950s McAllen keeps seeing a mysterious one-eyed lady everywhere. Does she mean him harm, or is she trying to tell him something?
14. Orphans in the Wood—Chalcie Paz is stranded on an uncharted island continent on a distant world. Her only chance at survival is to befriend the enormous, wolf-like alien that discovers her.
15. To Brave the Mountains—in a strange fantasy version of Mesoamerica, a girl struggles to save her brother from being sacrificed to undead overlords.
16. Stowaway—in a future devastated by ecological disasters, a teen travels out of a nearly uninhabitable US into Mexico in an attempt to sneak aboard the first spaceship to carry a colony to a distant star.
17. Vampire Girl—in 19th century New Mexico, María discovers a horrifying family tradition
18. Ghost—three young women have immigrated to the US, trying to escape a horrible deed. But when a ghost begins to plague their lives, they realize you can never run from your past.