Showing results by author "Ariel Archer" in All Categories

Six short stories. Worlds of possibilities. The future, both near and distant. Alternate and plausible realities. Messages of hope and of doom. Fate, chance, and definitely choices.

1979. President Carter was in the White House. Three Mile Island. Odd-even gas rationing. Pink Floyd released “The Wall.” The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. Margaret Thatcher elected Prime Minister of the UK. The Iran Hostage Crisis. And disco…lots of disco.

She was a stuntwoman in Hollywood during the Golden Age of Motion Pictures, a time when stuntwomen were few and far between. She doubled for some of the industry’s most famous leading ladies, appeared in some of the most popular films, and broke ground for women in entertainment. She supported causes, made a difference, and left her mark in arenas other than just show business.

Dr. Richard Arden is a man of science, a renowned and respected forensic anthropologist who at the age of 80 and now afflicted with an incurable disease has seen a few things, had some unusual experiences, and done some “connecting of the dots” to formulate a rather unorthodox and a bit “unscientific-sounding” hypothesis: that we are not, in fact, alone on this planet.

Julia Bancroft, a pioneer in Los Angeles top 40 radio as a woman DJ on KBRD (K-Bird) in the 1960s and early 70s. At a time when pop radio was still a "man's world," Bancroft (aka The Rockin' Raven) challenged the status quo and launched a legacy of women in radio.

1951. The Day the Earth Stood Still had just taken the world by surprise with Michael Rennie's portrayal of Klaatu. Motion pictures had seen a surge of female protagonists and heroines defying the norms of the time with films such as The Sword of Monte Cristo and Anne of the Indies. 20th Century Fox's subsidiary label, Astrys Pictures, embarks on something new, a Flash Gordon-type duo of movies...except with a female spaceship captain and action heroine.

Ariel Archer's debut into the world of serial story-telling (originally appearing on Kindle Vella), featuring iconic fictional Hollywood stuntwoman Alivia Chambers as Marshal Tessa Blaine in Sentinel Ridge Pictures Presents "Lady Lawgiver," a western serial adventure set in 1880's Colorado,

She had the fiery feminism of Mae West, the blonde sex appeal of Jean Harlow, and the athletics of men like Yakima Canutt and Eddie Parker combined. Known as "The Horsewoman of Hollywood's Backlot", she was Alivia Chambers, a pioneer stuntwoman during the Golden Age of Motion Pictures. Introduced in previously published works, this fictional icon of Hollywood's classic era comes alive once again in these new sensational stories of her moments in the film industry from the 1930s, '40s, and early '50s.

Codrin Voinescu, a retired soldier, a man approaching 50, haunted by past choices, grief, loss, and a present that seems without hope and purpose. A return trip to his home village in Transylvania that ends in one last unexpected conflict. A hasty retreat into the nearby Hoia Baciu Forest, a woodland with an equally haunted reputation, offers Codrin an encounter with a strange Faerie (well, half-Faerie, technically) guide who has a rather interesting story of her own. Their sojourn in the woods and what happens over a two-week period will change everything.

Julia Bancroft was a state park and forest ranger in Southern California who just happened to be at the wrong place...at the right time. The result was the launching of an eight-year career on the airwaves that would change the sound and scene of Los Angeles radio forever. Ariel Archer presents the tale of the "Rockin' Raven", a pioneer in the world of Top 40 women DJs and a fictional pop culture icon on the fictional radio station KBRD.

"...And here at the studios in beautiful downtown Bird-bank it's a rockin' 70 degrees! Now, back to the music with your Rockin' Raven on KBRD 1130 Los Angeles". Familiar words to those listening to Top 40 Radio in Southern California during the late 1960's and early 1970's. Explored through narrative in Your Rockin' Raven on K-Bird 1130, Ariel Archer now returns...With Love from Beautiful Downtown Bird-Bank, more about the controversial, charismatic, and iconic woman DJ Julia Bancroft...a.k.a. The Rockin' Raven...

Alan Madison: A middle-aged World War Two veteran discharged with an injury and former LAPD cop who lost his badge and marriage due to the bottle, then went into business as a P.I. in Santa Monica. Theresa McKinley: A young and savvy but rather unconventional recent graduate with a license to carry...and Alan's new partner in the firm. Together, as Madison-McKinley Private Investigators, they redefined detective drama for Southern California in the 1960s! You'll delight in listening to Ariel Archer's tales of this duo in The Madison-McKinley Files.

May of 1970. Student protests are happening around the country in response to American military expansion into Cambodia during the Vietnam War. At a college campus in Southern California, similar protests are taking place, with a young candidate for governor at the school one day in support of student activity and advancing his campaign for California's gubernatorial race. Violence breaks out during a protest. During the chaos, the candidate is shot and killed. Was this merely an accident, a progressive young politician caught in the crossfire?

Los Angeles, California - 1932. A blonde studio assistant and a daring equestrian feat by chance...leading to a distinguished and colorful career as one of the first stuntwomen in Hollywood's Classic Era of motion pictures. A legend was born, one that would sadly die before her time but would be immortalized (in a manner of speaking) by a legacy of women to follow in her footsteps, the testimonies of celebrities who knew and worked with her, and even a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

A 7-year old girl saved from drowning with the sinking of the Titanic by...a mermaid? A copy-cat serial killer, separated by four decades and an ocean from the original, only to "rip" through the wrong neighborhood. Everything that could go wrong aboard a prototype airship's maiden flight does go wrong.... Is it true what they say about gremlins? And a group of friends from the city spending a serene summer by the lake in scenic upstate New York.... Do you really want to know what they did?