Friday Freebie

A woman stalked by her double. A detective in over his head. In a city where the cops are on a mobster’s payroll, private investigator Charlie Madison stands in the gap. When a wealthy young socialite asks him to help her catch a threatening stalker, he takes the case. But things aren’t what they seem, and Madison has to act fast before he’s framed for murder. 

A life ended in flames. A detective sorting through the ashes. Private eye Charlie Madison saw plenty of bloodshed during the war, but he's never seen a billionaire burst into flames in his office. Until now. Searching for answers, Madison uncovers more than he bargained for: a bizarre mystery of human combustion that's smoking with jealousy, revenge, and murder. Add a pair of cops on his tail who are more interested in putting him out of business than seeking justice. It's just another action-packed day for the Charlie Madison Detective Agency. Now accepting...unusual clients. 

An honest cop impaled through the chest. A detective fighting his way to the truth. Private eye Charlie Madison saw his share of murder and mayhem during the war. But he's never seen anything like this on home soil. The culprit can't be human. A mandroid, then? Cyborg? Madison's investigation takes him deep into the underground world of extreme fighting—duels to the death, showcased beneath the city's biggest casino. Along the way, he discovers a new steroid quietly coming out of Little Tokyo. If rumors are true, it can turn a man into a killing machine. Before vengeful police can find and execute the murderer, another officer is found slain. With rogue yakuza, the Russian mob, and Federal agents in the mix, Madison must put the pieces of this violent mystery together before the city loses another good cop. Problem is, the killer may be one of his own clients.

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Book Review: The Silmarillion

This year I'm keeping track of what I read. Whether I enjoy the book or not, I'll post a blurb and brief review. Most will be speculative fiction in some form—genres I gravitate toward in my own writing. Today, it's The Silmarillion by legendary fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien:

Three Silmarils were jewels created by Fëanor, most gifted of the Elves. Within them was imprisoned the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor before the Trees themselves were destroyed by Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. Thereafter, the unsullied Light of Valinor lived on only in the Silmarils, but they were seized by Morgoth and set in his crown, guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. This is the ancient drama that took place long before The Lord of the Rings, events in which Elrond, Galadriel, and Sauron took part.

I've been meaning to read this one for a while now. I tried a couple decades ago, but I couldn't get through the first chapter. Expecting the engaging narrative style of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, I was obviously disappointed by Tolkien's history text—or Bible, if you will. Because that's what this is: the origin story of J.R.R. Tolkien's world. It's grim and dark at times, but the final chapter, tying everything from The Silmarillion to LOTR, was the best part. Reading about the characters I know and love (Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, and the halflings) was enough to bring a tear to my eye. After so much darkness, I appreciated this much-needed light at the end of the tunnel. 4.5 stars out of 5.

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The Interdimensionals Trilogy Continues...

Now Available:

Anthony Reynolds and Sephora Ashton escaped from Madame Antic's sky city, and now they must navigate a new life in the dangerous ruins of London. Nothing is as it was in the technologically advanced Victorian city with no name. Here tribes of survivors hunt and gather in the dark of night, keeping vigilant watch during daylight hours. Mutant animals with poisonous fangs roam the outskirts, and, according to legend, mole people live underground. But if they exist and have managed to hide from Antic all these years, then they might hold the answers Anthony seeks. 

 No one can tell him where he came from, or who he was before Madame Antic kidnapped him to play a role in her elaborate stage play. No one even knows what year it is. But when Anthony and Sephora are driven underground by gunmen wearing gruesome masks, they find themselves in a surreal subterranean refuge complete with its own lavish hotel and casino. There they meet the man responsible for it all, a man who claims to have answers, a man with a penchant for gambling with human lives: the enigmatic Monsieur Moule. 

eBook       Paperback

June Reading Deals

Check out these multi-author book promotions. You're sure to find something you like:

Paperbacks Under $15        Support Indie Authors        Great Stories        Cozy Mysteries

June Mysteries        New Releases        Kobo Plus Book Fair        SciFi + Fantasy

SFF Series Sale        SciFi Series Sale        End of the World        SFF Book Bazaar

Kobo Plus Fantasy Series      Epic SciFi & Fantasy      Audiobook Sales      Fierce Fantasy

Dystopian Fiction        Exclusive SFF Deals        KU Fiction Frenzy        June KU SFF

Pre-Order Event        The Sound of Stories        Beach Reads        Historical Mysteries

Historical Fiction Sale        Audiobook Extravaganza        Quirky Cozy Mysteries

SciFi & Fantasy Series        Fantastic Fantasy        Post-Apocalyptic Reads

Young Adult Fantasy        SciFi & Fantasy        Historical Fiction        Apocalyptic KU

Future Crime        Mystery & Suspense       Fiction Frenzy         KU Crime Stories

And peruse these multi-author book giveaways. Download as many as you like:

Fantasy & SciFi Freebies        Free Adventures in SciFi & Fantasy        Epic SciFi & Fantasy

Free Fantasy & SciFi        Free SciFi + Fantasy        Free SFF Reads        Fantastic Realms

New Heights        Free Science Fiction        Spine Chilling Reads

8K to Go

I'm up to 82,000 words in my current novel, Angels & Androids, and I'm closing in on the home stretch. Whenever I write a trilogy, I always try to make the final installment a real hoot and a half. I figure if readers have stuck with me for three books, there should be a major payoff for them at the end. There are few things I hate more as a reader than to get to the last book in a series only to find that the author has lost steam. Or lost interest. Or both. That's why I aim for a grand finale. A satisfying finish. And while it dumps a load of self-imposed pressure onto my shoulders, it's usually worth it in the end.

I had ideas for a couple of novellas in this series, which were going to be Mutants & Madmen and Zombies & Zealots, but I decided to cram everything into one action-packed novel instead. And so far, it's made for a very rewarding (and complicated) drafting experience. It's also been one of my more time-consuming projects to date. Usually, I can crank out a first draft in about four months. By the time I wrap this one up, it'll have been in the works for an entire year.

But I have to give myself some grace here. After four years of subbing, I'm teaching part-time now, which has required a readjustment to lesson-planning, grading, and attending meetings like old times. So my head space is a bit more crowded these days. Meanwhile, things with the in-laws aren't getting any easier. Dementia is a real monster; it takes your loved ones a piece at a time and leaves you feeling like a failure. Because no matter what you do, you can't make things right. You can only bring comfort and care, whether or not your efforts are remembered five minutes later.

Keep on keepin' on. Never give up, never surrender!

Cover Reveal

The second book in my Interdimensionals trilogy isn't scheduled to greet the masses until June 3 (pre-orders are available), but here's a sneak peek at the cover art and current iteration of the blurb:

Anthony Reynolds and Sephora Ashton escaped from Madame Antic's sky city, and now they must navigate a new life in the dangerous ruins of London. Nothing is as it was in the technologically advanced Victorian city with no name. Here tribes of survivors hunt and gather in the dark of night, keeping vigilant watch during daylight hours. Mutant animals with poisonous fangs roam the outskirts, and, according to legend, mole people live underground. But if they exist and have managed to hide from Antic all these years, then they might hold the answers Anthony seeks.

No one can tell him where he came from, or who he was before Madame Antic kidnapped him to play a role in her elaborate stage play. No one even knows what year it is. But when Anthony and Sephora are driven underground by gunmen wearing gruesome masks, they find themselves in a surreal subterranean refuge complete with its own lavish hotel and casino. There they meet the man responsible for it all, a man who claims to have answers, a man with a penchant for gambling with human lives: the enigmatic Monsieur Moule.

I enjoyed exploring the "real world" in this one and giving our heroes room to discover more about themselves, each other, and the harsh truths hidden from them in Madame Antic's. Monsieur Moule was a complicated character to write, straddling the line between villain and something else, and expanding the story required looking at a few characters from the first book in a new light. I hope readers are captivated by this leg of the journey, building up to one heck of a finale in July.

Book Review: Big Time

This year I'm keeping track of what I read. Whether I enjoy the book or not, I'll post a blurb and brief review. Most will be speculative fiction in some form—genres I gravitate toward in my own writing. Today, it's the sci-fi thriller Big Time by Ben H. Winters:

What if time could be taken from us—the minutes, the hours, the years of our lives, extracted like organs taken for transplant? Grace Berney is a mid-level bureaucrat in the FDA, a woman who once brimmed with purpose but somehow turned into a middle-aged single mom with a dull government job and a melancholy sense that life has passed her by. Until the night a strange photo comes across her desk, of a young woman in a hospital bed who has been subjected to a mysterious procedure. Against orders and against common sense, Grace sets out to bring the girl to safety, and finds herself risking her job, her future, and her life on whether she can find the missing girl before a violent mercenary does. 

I've been a fan of Winters ever since his Last Policeman trilogy. Underground Airlines was a winner, and Bed Bugs (recycled recently as The Bonus Room) was engrossing, but some of his other novels have just been disappointing. Great premise and solid execution, yet the characters were too mundane to hold my interest. The same issue plagues Big Time, unfortunately. The idea of stolen time is fascinating, but very little of the novel addresses the science fiction of it. The rest is a paint-by-the-numbers thriller that reads like an after school special with stock characters you've seen on any number of prime time TV shows from a decade ago. 3 out of 5 stars.

Re-Release Day is Here

Now Available:

In an alternate Victorian era replete with aerovehicles, automatons, and other electrik wonders, factory worker Anthony Reynolds seeks to improve his station in life for the sake of his young bride-to-be. Against his better judgment, he joins Richard, a gregarious coworker with social connections, for a night on the town after their late shift. Richard leads them deep into the city’s underworld to a brothel of sorts specializing in the illegal art of mutilation where willing victims are skinned, broken, and mangled without lasting damage due to a special drug that returns them to their original state. Horrified, Anthony wants to leave at once—but that's when Constables raid the establishment. 

While attempting to flee the scene, Anthony encounters a giant monstrosity of a man who infects him with an unknown substance. Anthony is instantly disfigured, and when the authorities capture him, he is unable to identify himself, let alone speak. What follows is a mind-bending adventure of mistaken identity, multiple realities, and paranoia as he fights to reclaim a simple life he never truly appreciated but now wants more than anything. When he discovers the shocking truth of his world and Madame Antic's disturbing role in it, nothing will ever be the same again. 

eBook     Paperback

Thar Be Pirates Afoot, Matey

So, what do you do when you find out that Meta (a hydra-like multinational technology company consisting of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and the harvested souls of countless smartphone zombies) has stolen 40 of your books & short stories to train its darling artificially intelligent monster how to think like humans and generate "original" content? That's right. You write about it. 

According to the Authors Guild, 7.5 million pirated books (so far) have been used by Meta to train its AI. Whose works are included in this vast swath of stolen intellectual property? Type the author's name into this handy-dandy search engine, and you'll see that I'm in pretty good company: Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, John Grisham, Orson Scott Card, and JK Rowling, just to name a few.

Authors have no control over what readers do with our books after buying them. (Tear out all the pages to wallpaper the guest bathroom? Have at it.) If Meta wants to use my books, they're welcome to do so. But they need to pay me for my work. According to The Atlantic, it would have taken Meta over four weeks to legally acquire the amount of quality writing needed in order to compete with ChatGPT. And it would have been very expensive. Piracy was much cheaper.

I deleted my social media accounts years ago when our Silicon Valley Overlords started quashing and canceling free speech under the guise of fighting misinformation. So I'm not surprised by this latest dishonest venture. They are the kind of people who design addictive devices and apps for your children, but won't allow their own kids access to them. "Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit" (Matthew 7:17). 

Good news: There's a class action lawsuit currently in the works, and every author of material used by Meta is automatically included in this battle against the forces of evil. We'll see how it goes.

Writing Update

It's been a couple months since my last check-in, so how are things progressing with Angels & Androids, the final installment in my Dome City Investigations trilogy? I'm so glad you asked. The going has been incredibly slow, but I've made it to the 65K mark. A minor victory. I've got about 25K left to draft, but I'm fairly certain where I'm headed at this point, so it should be a breakneck sprint to the finish. Plenty will need to be cleaned up later, but that's okay; this is just the sloppy copy.

Speaking of sloppy, I started writing it longhand a few chapters ago. We lost power for a couple days during a recent storm, and my laptop needed a charge, so I dug out an old spiral notebook and pen and got to work. Doubtful anybody else would be able to read my scrawling penmanship (at times, I struggle with it myself), but I've noticed that it's helped me to get my ideas down without stopping to edit as I go. And it's nice to take a break from the ol' computer screen now and then.

If I can manage between 500 and 1,000 words a day, I should be able to complete this draft by the end of the school year. That's my goal, and I'm sticking to it.