Necromancer: A Novella

By Lish McBride

DEATH AND WAFFLES: A Short Story by Lish Bride, author of HOLD ME CLOSER, NECROMANCER

Matt's childhood friend, Ashley, has been stopping by a lot lately. That might seem pretty normal, but Ashley died years ago and now she's Death.

And tonight she wants waffles and fries.

INCLUDES AN EXCERPT OF HOLD ME CLOSER, NECROMANCER…

Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he's doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.

Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he's a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else.

With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Feb 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781429991902

Lish McBride

Lish McBride grew up in the Pacific Northwest. It rains a lot there, but she likes it anyway. She spent three years away while she got her MFA in fiction from the University of New Orleans, where she managed to survive the hurricane. She enjoys reading, having geek-laden conversations about movies, comics, and zombies with her friends, and of course trying to wear pajamas as much as humanly possible. She lives happily in Mountlake, WA, with her family, two cats, and one very put-upon Chihuahua. Her debut novel, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults and was a finalist for the YALSA William C. Morris Award.

Book preview

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Contents

Introduction

Death and Waffles: A Story by Lish McBride

Chapter One: Dead Man’s Party

Chapter Two: Well, Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?

Preview: Firebug

An introduction to Death & Waffles, by Lish McBride

I wrote Death & Waffles when I was still in school getting my masters in fiction, which just goes to show you that some homework can be fun. This story came from my last year of classes, when I was finally at the point with my writing where I thought it would be good to let the weird out onto the page. Luckily I had a very patient instructor who didn’t mind getting this story along with a short about a unicorn death match and some third story that I’ve already forgotten, but I’m sure is languishing in my office somewhere.

Death & Waffles was one of those tales that came about because I had a very strong image of the characters, Ashley and Matt, walking into a diner. Something about a young girl in saddle shoes working for death and being in a bright and shiny diner appealed to me, and I built the story around that image. I was working on the draft of what would become Hold Me Closer, Necromancer at the time and, well, Ashley was just too much fun to leave in one short story, especially when she so easily fit into the novel. She continues to be one of my favorite characters to write, and I hope she becomes one of your favorite characters to read.

In the novel, we only really get to see the side of Ashley that she presents to the world, but in this short story, the reader is given the chance to observe a different side of her. Through Matt, a close childhood friend, we get about as near to the warm and fuzzy side of Ashley as I think anyone might get. She’s a feisty little nut to crack, that’s for sure. I hope you enjoy Death & Waffles as much as I do.

Death and Waffles: A Story

by Lish McBride

The sharp rapping of knuckles on my window pane woke me up. I’d like to say the noise surprised me, but Ashley had been showing up a lot lately. I rolled out of bed and walked over to the window.

Matt, she hissed, teeth flashing in a fierce and happy way, open up.

I stopped in front of the window, arms crossed. Does it matter if I do?

It shows you’ve got some manners, jerk-wad.

I sighed and flipped the latch so she could open the window and crawl in. She seized me in a hug the instant her feet hit my floor. Ash had always been affectionate to the point of exuberance. At least, she’d always been that way toward me. She said my family didn’t hug enough.

C’mon, get your coat on, she said after she’d let go of me and collapsed onto my bed. And ditch the pj’s.

I pulled some jeans on over my boxers and searched around in my drawer for a clean sweatshirt. The weather hadn’t turned to snow this week, but that didn’t keep the cold from hanging around. I finally grabbed my gray sweatshirt off the floor, deciding it was more clean than filthy.

Hurry up, blondie, she said. Ash swung her feet back and forth, saddle shoes flashing as they caught the moonlight.

Do I even want to know where we’re going?

Probably not. But I want waffles and fries, and you’re my ticket to a night free of harassment. For some reason, a little girl alone in a diner at night is questioned.

Good to know I’m useful.

Ash shrugged, an easy roll of shoulders. Her shrugs had always been graceful. Mine looked more like shoulder spasms.

I pulled on my hiking boots and grabbed my keys off my nightstand.

Finally, she said.

Aren’t you forgetting something? I jerked my chin toward her getup. Tonight, Ashley wore the tartan skirt, white button-up, and sweater of some Catholic school. I knew for a fact that she’d never once set foot in any private school, Catholic or otherwise.

She cocked her head to the side and raised one sable brow. Like what?

Jacket, I said.

Oh come on, Matt. It’s not like I get cold.

You wanna blend, right?

She huffed out a dramatic sigh and snapped her fingers. Ash became instantly wrapped in a large parka. She was nothing if not practical.

I looked at her dark pigtails, each one tied with shiny red ribbon. What, no hat?

Don’t push it.

Fine, I said, walking softly through the hallway even though I knew my parents wouldn’t wake up. They’d have to be home for that. Ash didn’t bother trying to be quiet. In fact, she skipped down the hall.

Mom at a conference?

Yeah, I said, New York, I think. I forget exactly.

Where’s daddy dearest?

Your guess is as good as mine.

My dad had stopped taking interest in me as soon as he figured out I wouldn’t be following in his footsteps in pretty much any way. Not in his love for baseball, not in his vocation as an architect, and certainly not in his frequent skirt-chasing. I guess my ability to see women as people and not disposable sort of killed any last chance we had. Pity.

By the time he realized my savings fund was for a new camera and not a sweet sixteen hot rod of some sort, I knew we’d never really understand each other. I cared more about taking pictures than cruising. To me, cars were a method to get from point A to point B, period. Dad just shook his head and muttered, a little disgusted. Mom bought me the Toyota so I could get to school when she was away and ignored the rest.

I unlocked the front door and waved Ash through. And what’s with the snapping thing? Don’t you think that’s just a little cheesy in a sort of I Dream of Genie way?

She nodded her head.

Fine, Bewitched then.

She twitched her nose. Besides, I’m not a witch.

I know, I said, but don’t you sometimes wish you were?

Ash laughed but didn’t answer.

I’d always been able to make Ash laugh. That seems like a simple thing to take joy from, but for me it was rare. Other kids made it look so easy. Not just laughing, but talking, playing, hanging out. I wasn’t good

Reviews for Necromancer

[ash600-888477 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's a cute short story about Ashley, the little pig-tailed smart Harbringer of Death from "Hold Me Closer, Necromancer". I liked her a lot in HMCN and it was nice to know a bit more of her backgrounds and where she goes when not on duty which happens to be hanging out with Matt, her very alive best friend since she was a normal ten years old girl.

[avoraciousreader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

*Book source ~ Free on AmazonMatt’s best friend Ashley died of cancer when she was 10. That doesn’t stop her from coming around to visit with him though.I picked this up after reading Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. I went looking to see if there were more stories in the series and couldn’t believe my luck when I saw this short for free on Amazon. Score!Ashley is a Harbinger. Matt calls her Death though that’s not what she is. She doesn’t kill people, she’s just a guide for those who are newly dead. Sort of like an usher showing you to your seat in a stadium. She can make herself look however she wants, but she prefers the form of her 10-yr-old self. She says it makes her less threatening to the newly dead who are confused though that can backfire when they have a hard time believing a little girl. She’s smart, funny, loving and occasionally snarky. I loved her. She’s a great character! I’m glad she got her own short story in this one and I look forward to seeing more of her in the series.

[bettyb30 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is on the Kindle as Necromancer A Novella. It is 2 short stories together. The first is Hold Me Closer Necromancer; I never figured this one out. They left me hanging. The second is titled Waffles and Fries. I morbidly cute little ditty. Good for a cute drawn in read.

[theyodamom · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5 I liked the first story, I was really enjoying it and it just stopped ??? Cruel ! The second story was ok, not very interesting characters.

[warbetweenthebooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There are three types of books that I am familiar with: the novel, the novella, and the short story. A short story to me is a few chapters long and a full length novel is usually hundreds of pages. A novella is some where between that. That leaves a novella on average ten to fifteen chapters long with a maybe a few less or more. What I downloaded from Barnes and Noble was two chapters. That is a short story. Now that I have that out of the way we can get to the actual story.Characters. As a short story there was not really that many characters that could play a significant roll in the book. In this case we have Ashley and Matt. I liked both of them and even after I read the two chapters I wished that I could learn more about them. I was especially interested in why Matt could see Ashley even though she had died. There is an attempt at an explanation but it felt either half-hearted or like Ashley did not really want to tell Matt the truth.Plot. The short summary really gives most of the story away. If I had just read the novella I would have happily stampeded my way toward putting the book that this novella stemmed from on my wish list. However, there was also an excerpt that came with the download. It introduced Samhain (Sowin) and the people that he worked with in a fast food restaurant. I did not like any of them. They were rude and found fun in trying to break the young new guy. The part that was taken out just did not interest me and yet I really liked Ashley. I still want to read Hold Me Closer, Necromancer to see if Ashley is in it but because of my dislike of the people in the excerpt I am less enthusiastic about it and may just wait to see if my local library has the book in stock.I would recommend that people who enjoyed Hold Me Closer, Necromancer to read this book. Also if you are thinking of reading that book or you are looking for a fast, cheap read this is a good book for you. You don't have to be familiar with the world to read this book because it does explain everything that it needs to enable almost everyone an adequate understanding of what is going on.

[michelleangone · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked the short story (Death and Waffles) a lot but I do wish it had been a tad bit longer. I get this bad feeling that Ash is a minor character in the series and now that I got to know her a little, I doubt I will get to know her better...ever. The teaser for Hold Me Closer Necromancer certainly left me wanting to read the rest of the book. I will be adding more Lish McBride books to my every growing list. Engaging story and worth the read.

[nookbooks_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really really enjoyed Death and Waffles, and would love to more of the story of Ash and Matt. The author really did a great job with the short story. The two main characters are wonderfully coplex, with a backstory, that it's hard to fit into the 20 pages or so that the story is, and yet she did it.I'm also interested in the story that we got a couple preview chapters to. The main character in that story seemed fairly interesting as well.

[pacey1927 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ok, I am giving this short story "Death and Waffles" four stars because it was cute and I liked finding out more about the background of death, also known as ten year dead girl, Ashley. She is a great character and I really like the other character in the story, Matt. I want to see this guy again, definitely. He was every bit as compelling as the main character in "Hold Me Closer, Necromancer", Sam. Now a things: this story took all of five minutes to read so it is VERY short. It is well written and very entertaining but so short it merely wets the appetite for more, which is probably the point. I was also a little disappointed. The name of this Kindle download is "Necromancer: A Novella" which was stated to contain preview chapters for "Hold Me Closer, Necromancer". I knew this would't be a full new story, but this VERY short, short story is not a novella. Throwing that short story together with the first two chapters of another book is also NOT a novella. The title is more than slightly misleading and in my opinion should be changed. It should be listed by the name of the short story. {The definition of novella (I looked it up): a fictional prose narrative that is longer and more complex than a short story; a short novel.} Still the story is well crafted and fun and is a no brainer since its offered as a free download.