Excerpt from The Chameleon Effect #8

Chavez works for The Agency and has been assigned to rescue Kira Rostropovich and return her to Vega Minor, where she resides with her parents. After being in prison and being 'bought' by Chavez in an auction, Kira is not happy about being searched by Chavez. But he finds a tracking device on her right before a mercenary, Captain Maddeson, finds them and demands that Kira be turned over to him. Chavez immediately makes a sudden jump across the galaxy, much to Kira's surprise! Kira continues to have nightmares and is haunted by the fact that her life is in danger. She demands to go back to Prison Planet 452, but Chavez has someone to add to his crew complement first.
Kira's dream keeps coming back. Is it a warning? All she knows is that her destiny lies intertwined with the prison planet. Will Chavez understand? It is six hours away from rendezvousing with Dr. Winters, who will attempt to help Kira with her problems. But Captain Maddeson is on an intercept course to capture them and return them to the warden. Will they escape?

Upon boarding Dr. Winters, Chavez altered their flight plan to arrive at Darius, in the Merridian sector, before returning to Vega Minor. Something in his gut told him this retrieval of Kira had been too easy. Captain Maddeson didn’t give up when credits were involved, so he was out there somewhere, coiled like a cobra, ready to strike. What Chavez didn’t know was how closely he had missed him. But what he did know was that by diverting their flight to Darius, it would give Dr. Winters ample time to examine Kira.

Chavez escorted the small, wiry doctor, whose head came just up to Chavez’s shoulders, to the personal living space he kept as his own quarters. He had packed away his private effects so Dr. Winters could make himself comfortable. Gone were Chavez’s bear skin rug and ornamental throwing knives. What was left gave the space a Spartan appearance, but Chavez knew the doctor had a lot of expensive medical equipment to fill up the room. He’d been close friends with Dr. Winters for many years and willingly gave up the large quarters to the one person he could call his friend.

“Doc, you can have the first door on your left for your quarters.” Chavez had moved his personal belongings to the bridge and would sleep there or in smaller quarters so the doctor could have as much room as possible for his equipment.

“Thanks.”

He peered into the room and stepped in long enough to unburden himself with an armload of equipment. Then he turned to Chavez with anticipation written all over his face.

“Where is Kira? I’d like to get a good look at her as soon as possible.” Dr. Winters followed Chavez to Kira’s quarters and waited while he pressed the pad that would announce to Kira she had visitors. But there was no answer.

“Kira? We’d like to see you.” Chavez spoke into the comm-link. He pressed the entry pad when Kira didn’t open the door. The door was locked, but Chavez bypassed it with his entry code and it slid into the wall allowing the two men entry into her quarters. They found Kira lying on the bed with her eyes fluttering and drenched in sweat. She was startled by their intrusion, causing her to jump up and lunge forward into a defensive stance.

“How dare you enter my quarters uninvited!  Just what do you want?” she shouted. Her breath was rapid and her eyes burned with fire.

Dr. Winters stepped forward to calm her. “Kira, we’re not here to hurt you. You didn’t answer your door and we were worried about you.” He offered her a towel.

Kira relaxed her stance and accepted it. After wiping the sweat from her face and neck, she asked, “You’re that doctor I met from Arcturus. What do you want?”

Dr. Winters nodded and smiled. “I’m Dr. Winters. We met via the comm-link. I’d like to examine you, if you’ll allow it. I understand you’ve been having some dreams?”

Kira averted her gaze. “So. Chavez told you.”

“Yes, but I think there might be a way to get them to stop. Or, to figure out what they signify.”

Kira nodded as she threw the towel on the bed. “I’d like that. What do you want me to do?”

“May I look at your back?”

Kira hesitated, sizing up the small, wiry man and then turning to Chavez. “Does he have to stay?”

“Of course not.” Dr. Winters turned to Chavez and ousted him with a wave of his hand. “Excuse us for a minute, will you Chavez?”

Chavez made a display of unhappiness at being told to leave, but he sauntered out, flipping his ponytail over his shoulder as he gave one last look at Kira.

After he was gone, Dr. Winters smiled and asked, “Would you mind lowering the top of your jumpsuit so I could see your back?”

Kira turned around slowly as she unzipped her silver jumpsuit. Dr. Winters gingerly pulled down the top of her suit so he could see her back. His eyes widened as he saw what he thought might be there: mottling on either side of the spine, all the way up to her neck. He was silent while he measured the size of the spots, pressed on them to see their depth and if they caused any pain. Then he carefully pulled her jumpsuit back up, turned her around and examined her arms and wrists, which were clear.

“Thank you, Kira.” Dr. Winters said. “May I take a blood sample?”

Kira shrugged. “What’s wrong? What did you see on my back?”

Dr. Winters gave Kira a reassuring look. “I think someone has injected you with autonomous transposons, which are elemental genes that can move from one place to another along your chromosomes. It appears they are travelling up the spinal column at the moment. I’ll know more after I see your blood work.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. What does all that mean?”

“There are special genes that are affecting the chromosomes in your DNA along your spinal cord. They caused the spots to appear.”

Kira’s eyes grew large and round and her face paled. “Am I going to die?”

“I haven’t seen any evidence of death, yet, but it is serious.”

Kira closed her eyes and shook her head to steady herself. “I can’t believe all this is happening to me! First my memory and now this! What am I supposed to do about it?”

There was an insistent chiming of the doorbell and then rapping on the door. Dr. Winters knew Chavez wanted to know the outcome of his examination. After getting an affirmative nod from Kira, he stepped over and pressed the privacy button to unlock the door. It opened with a hiss and an impatient Chavez stormed in.

“So what’s happening?”

After receiving another nod from Kira, Dr. Winters filled him in on her primary diagnosis.

“Those spots weren’t there two days ago.” Chavez insisted.

“That means the genes are moving quickly through her nervous system.”

“But why would they inject her in the first place?” Chavez asked.

Kira waved her arms before Chavez and Dr. Winters to interrupt their conversation. “Hey! I am in the room, guys. Don’t talk about me like I’m not here!”

Dr. Winters turned to her. “I think you might have been injected for experimental gene reproduction and to see if you would adapt to your surroundings. Why they sold you in the auction is a mystery still.”

Chavez watched as Kira’s eyes filled with tears, but he didn’t want to embarrass her by bringing up her pain. His desire to comfort her was overridden by his hate for the one who had done this to her: the warden. He wanted to get even. Not only for Kira, but for all the people he’d wreaked havoc on. But his reverie was interrupted when Dr. Winters turned to Kira and asked,

“ Kira, can you tell me about your dreams?”

Kira closed her eyes, and then began describing her dream. “All I can remember is being inside a white room, strapped to a hard bed or table and someone comes towards me. I start to ask for help and I wake up. It’s the same each time. Except this last time, the person gets to me and he has something in his hand.”

“Can you see what it is?” Dr. Winters tried to push her on into the dream image.

“No, it’s all blurry. But it’s small, like a pen or needle.”

“A laser-syringe, maybe?”

“Yes! That’s what it is!”

“What happens next?”

Kira opened her eyes and sighed. “I don’t know. It’s all a blank, but I bet I get injected like you said I did.”

Dr. Winters exchanged looks with Chavez as he pressed a laser syringe on her finger to get the blood sample. “Probably so. Kira, you rest now and I’ll look at your blood work. We’ll talk after that, okay?”

Kira gave a half smile, which didn’t go unnoticed by Chavez. Was she actually trying to smile?

 

 

To be continued...

Christine Rice's Blog Tour

Christine Rice is a freelance writer who has just published her book: Freelance Writing Guide. I look forward to having her as a guest on my blog September 16th.

If you are aspiring to be a freelance writer and don't know where to start, or have already started, the Freelance Writing Guide is a excellent book to read for making a plan for your first year. It outlines marketing strategy, gives a realistic look at your first year and helps get you pointed in your own direction. Christine's blog tour will introduce this valuable tool to us in a question and answer format. I hope you visit us and hear what she has to say about being a freelance writer.

Be Inspired!

I want to thank L. G. Keltner at Writing Off The Edge for passing this tag on to me. To complete the responsibilities of this award, I must answer some questions regarding my current writing project.

What is the name of your book?
The working title for my new book is called The Hidden City.

Where did the idea for your book come from?
The idea for my book came from a picture of a ghost town out in the desert. I decided to transform it into a hidden city on an arid planet.

In what genre would you classify your book?
I would classify this book as Sci-fi/Fantasy.

If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?
I don't have anyone in mind right now, but someone who was young and muscular would fill the bill for the protagonist. He is strongminded and determined.

Give us a one sentence synopsis of your book?
A young man with a telekinetic chip, that gives him special abilities, is stranded on a backward planet and must escape a saboteur to save his home planet from a plague.

Is your book already published?
My book is just getting started.

How long did it take you to write your book?
It has taken three weeks to establish the basic plot. Now I'm starting to weave in the subplots.

What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or readers of which books would enjoy yours?
Readers of Issac Asimov's I Robot and Orson Scott Card's Homecoming Series would enjoy this book.

Which authors inspired you to write this book?
Issac Asimov and Orson Scott Card

Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book?
Matt will be stopped by his angry brother, who is seeking revenge, unless an old man, who is sworn to keep the city's secret, divulges their whereabouts and helps Matt repair his ship so he can deliver the antidote to a plague. Good versus evil? If the secret community is found out, it could be annhilated and the citizens' freedom lost forever. Is it worth losing his community to save an entire planet? What will the old man decide?


Now I'm supposed to tag 5 more people. I have no idea who has received this award already. I'll pick 5 of the many bloggers who inspire me the most. This tage is my way of saying your blog inspires me. Whether you choose to pass it on or not is up to you. We're all busy, after all.

M Pax

Susanne Drazic - Putting Words Down On Paper

Amanda Rose - Flowering Fiction

Elysabeth - Elysabeth's Writing Emporium

Alex J Cavanaugh

There are many others who inspire me everyday, but I'm only supposed to name five. I hope you all are inspired by someone today!

Creating A Plot For Your Story

Have you heard the saying: Plot is a verb? Something is happening, and going to happen. "Plot is the things characters do, feel, think, or say, that make a difference to what comes afterward. It's the way of deciding what's important and then showing it to be important through the way you construct and connect the major events of your story." (Anson Dibell - Plot)

Recently I've been studying the ideas that make up plot and have discovered a blethora of ideas on how to construct a story. I'm told to make a list, or construct a literary house for my story, containing the moral of the story or backbone, defining the stakes and stating the main goal. All of this is done in the smallest part of the story, the scene.

Creating a scene with your protagonist (or main character) is the way we introduce our story to the reader. Each scene should be tight and motivated by the story's basic idea. Leave out all extraneous details that are not important to that particular scene and show, don't tell the story's action.

There is a lot of talk about showing versus telling. Since I'm not an expert and there are many examples of this already, I'll skip the explanation except to say that when you show the action, you push your story forward, whereas telling can stall the action. You can tell part of your story if need be, in exposition, when you want to add backstory or cover large amounts of time.

Creating a well rounded plot will cause your story to hang together when you keep it simple. By establishing your basic plot with your protagonist, you can then add subplots to create more tension and action. Adding subplots will cause the story to be interwoven with side glimpses at other characters and a blending together of thoughts and ideas.

Remember, plot is a verb. Keep the action rolling and your story will take off and soar! How is the plot of your story? Are you creating action in your scenes? Are you showing and not telling?

Surviving The Doldrums---

Have you ever felt like what you are writing is junk and it stinks to high heaven? I've been going through that emotional roller coaster for the last few days. I pick up my WIP (work in progress) and start to re-read the last chapter I was working on and grit my teeth, while inside my head I'm saying: Eeew!

That's when I have to bring out the big guns and shoot away at those feelings. Some people advise you to continue writing and break through the funk. I recently I read something that had a different take on getting through the doldrums. And that was to study the craft of writing!

Analyze successful stories. Writers should ask questions when reading and then use their findings to help strengthen their work. For example:

• How does the writer make me turn the page?
• Why am I drawn to the lead character?
• When are the stakes raised?
• How does the writer integrate minor characters?
• What makes a scene work?
• What's the key to conflict?
• How does the writer handle dialogue?

There are many questions you can ask yourself as you are reading, these questions were just an example of the many that you can employ.

Another thing you can do is have people give you feedback - editors, critique groups, trusted and objective friends. Feedback will help set you in a direction of action. What you can correct or what is already working in your WIP. One thing you don't want to do is throw out the baby with the bath water. In other words, keep what is good and edit the rest.

Here is one last thought when you are reading: Writers write with fresh voices.

• Explore all facets of a story - then concentrate on feeling your story as well as writing it.
• Read a wide variety of material - writers need to read outside their genre - even poetry - to expand their stylistic range.

Remember that the most important thing is to keep writing while you do your studying. Don't be defeated by lack of inspiration. Continue writing and get that first draft finished. Then you can go back through and edit what needs to be polished.

Are you going through the writing doldrums? Or have you had those feelings lately, that say you aren't really a writer? Have you read any good books lately?


"Fear reveals itself through our excuses."

Excerpt from The Chameleon Effect #7

Chavez works for The Agency and has been assigned to rescue Kira Rostropovich and return her to Vega Minor, where she resides with her parents. After being in prison and being 'bought' by Chavez in an auction, Kira is not happy about being searched by Chavez. But he finds a tracking device on her right before a mercenary, Captain Maddeson, finds them and demands that Kira be turned over to him. Chavez immediately makes a sudden jump across the galaxy, much to Kira's surprise! While exploring Chavez's ship, Kira finds a plush garden, but is startled by a watchful Chavez who she keeps at arms length. Kira continues to have nightmares and is haunted by the fact that her life is in danger. She demands to go back to Prison Planet 452, but Chavez has someone to add to his crew complement first.
Kira's dream keeps coming back. Is it a warning? All she knows is that her destiny lies intertwined with the prison planet. Will Chavez understand?


Just as Kira was about to start explaining her dream to Chavez, the alarm on the incoming monitor flashed red. Chavez hit the alarm. Damn! Just when I was getting somewhere! It was a call from Arcturus. He pressed the sensor to bring the image on the forward screen.

“Greetings, Chavez!” A bushy headed man in his fifties wearing a white lab coat appeared on the screen. He was a quirky character, with an Albert Einstein appearance.

“Dr. Winters! So glad you got my message.”

“Tell me, is our young lady present?” Can we talk freely?

“Yes. She’s right here.” No, she’s listening.

“Please introduce her to me, will you?” Let me have a look at her.

“Dr. Winters, this is Kira. She is looking quite well for her ordeal.” It’s hard to see anything on the outside.

“Hello, Kira. You are exceptionally lovely.” I can’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Kira raised an eyebrow. “Hello, Dr. Winters. Thank you for the compliment. Are you our passenger?”

Dr. Winters smiled. “You are perceptive. Yes, I will be accompanying you to Vega Minor.”

Kira whirled around to face Chavez. “I thought we were going to Planet 452. You lied to me!”

“Our plans have changed. We need to go to Vega Minor.” Chavez could feel the atmosphere change as Kira frowned, then dodged the hot cup of coffee she suddenly threw at him. She scowled while she gripped her fists together and stomped off towards the sliding double doors. After she passed through them and was gone, Dr. Winters stroked his chin.

“Is she always that volatile?”

“Are you kidding? This is calm for her, doc. I haven’t slept since she’s been on board. Kira is demanding and spoiled rotten. She even tried to steal my ship from me!”

“I see. I’m prepared to come aboard as soon as you get here, so buzz me when you get in range and I’ll fly out to meet you.”

“Expect to hear from me in six hours.”

“Excellent. Dr. Winters out.”

*****

Captain Luthius Maddeson hissed out a laugh as he finished listening to the translation of the intercepted message. He had been systematically searching through all the star systems in the galaxy trying to find the prey that had slipped through his fingers without a trace. But a simple thing like an unprotected message had not only given away Chavez’s position, but also his destination. The captain folded his webbed fingers together and grinned, showing his gleaming white incisors that looked more like the pointed teeth on a Terran alligator. He turned in his chair to face his navigator as his words slurred out in their guttural intonations.

“Ah, my little birds, I have you now! The warden will be pleased by this turn of events. Navigator, plot a course to Arcturus and tell me the arrival time.”

After a moment, the navigator replied, “Eight solar hours, captain.”

“That’s too long!” He pounded on the arm of his chair in frustration. “They’ll already be on their way to Vega Minor. Plot an intercept course two solar hours out from Arcturus to Vega Minor. Allow for varying speeds and course deviations.”

“Course plotted, captain.”

“Change course to intercept course... now. I'll be in my quarters and I don't want to be disturbed.”

Captain Maddeson  went to his private quarters off to the side of the bridge. He needed privacy for the call he was about to make. He had waited to contact the warden until he could report that he had found the female. It would still be difficult to admit that he had lost her. It would mean a loss in credits because of the wasted time. But he was a mercenary and used to dealing with the warden. He placed his call and waited. During the time he had to wait, Captain Maddeson sat glumly before his screen, trying to decide how much information to divulge. If he disclosed too much, it would mean a humiliating conversation that the warden would use to his advantage. Finally, after an interminably long wait, he had a connection.

“To whom do you wish to speak?” A Terran male answered in the common Terran language onscreen. He was dressed in the uniform of the prison guards. He wore an all-black jumpsuit with a red 452 patch on the left shoulder.

Captain Maddeson flipped on his universal translator. “Tell the warden Captain Maddeson is waiting.”

A moment later, the screen lit up revealing a pudgy, red-faced man sitting behind a giant mahogany desk. He was wiping his forehead with a silk handkerchief and frowning at the screen. “Where have you been, Maddeson? I’ve been waiting to hear from you for quite some time. I’m assuming you have the female, Kira, from the auction?” The warden drew a heavy breath and mopped his forehead again.

“I am on an intercept course as we speak.”

“So, you do not have her. This is very disappointing. It complicates things. She was a special experiment and shouldn’t have gotten out of our hands in the first place. But since that is not your fault, I will not hold you responsible. Our agreement was that you’d find the female and get her back. You have another forty-eight hours before I call in help from other sources.”

“That won’t be necessary, warden. You’ll have the female by the deadline. She’s with someone else I think you’ll remember - Chavez.”

“Now that is a most interesting development.”  But the warden wasn’t smiling. “Oh and Captain… we need Kira alive.”

The screen darkened as the warden cut Captain Maddeson off without so much as a proper goodbye. He gritted his teeth, more determined than ever to get his reward for this retrieval. Especially for the added benefit of Chavez being there. It was common knowledge that Chavez had escaped from the warden many years ago and had been a thorn in his side ever since. 

And what was this experiment that the warden talked about? Could it be of any value to him? When he got ahold of the female, it might be good to have some information about this. He would have to contact his informants on the planet and find out what was going on. He didn’t have any time to waste if he wanted to bargain with the warden. If the warden called in the bounty hunters, his other source, the captain would have a race on his hands to get his credits. A plan formed in his mind and he hissed through his teeth, laughing out loud. He would lay a false trail for the bounty hunters that would be fresh enough for them to follow into the next galaxy! He turned to the navigator.

“Plot a course across the galaxy, opposite of ours, and send an ion trail in that direction.”

A few minutes later the navigator answered, “Buoy launched, Captain.”

To be continued...

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from The Chameleon Effect. I will be posting more chapters soon.

Liebster Blog Award

I've just come off a month of whirlwind editing and publishing of my two books, Medieval Muse and Dragon Kind to find that I've been given an award. The Liebster Blog Award was given to me by Heather Musk over at: Reading, Writing and Everything In Between. Thank you, Heather, for giving me a breather from my duties.

This award comes in groups of 11's. I saw over at Heather's blog that she wrote 11 things about herself that weren't evident in her blog and then answered 11 questions and then asked 11 questions for the 11 new recipients of this award. So, I will follow  the example she has set.

First, I will tell you 11 things about me that you might not know:

1. I am a very proud grandmother of my dear four year old granddaughter, Jude Avery. She is a very bright child (of course I'm biased) who can play on the computer without any help, plays pee-wee soccer and loves to wear dresses, especially ones that are pink.
2. At age 18 I traveled to Europe with an orchestra and in Italy we stayed in Rome for two weeks studying music. Of course, my girlfriend and I studied more than just music with all the cute Italian sailors around. I received a marriage proposal from a sailor who was dying to come to the USA.
3. The time I spent with a Buddhist group sent me to Japan where I played in another orchestra and marched in a fife and drum corps in a parade. What instrument did I play in the parade? The bass drum!
4. I have a sister, Loretta Stephenson, at Art By Retta, who is very talented. Not only is she an artist (she did the book cover for Medieval Muse), but she is musically talented too. When I've been stuck for an idea in my writing, I've always been amazed at the incredible ideas that flow out of her.
5. I live with my oldest daughter and we get along quite well. Where I hate to cook, it is one of her passions. She is another one of my muses when I am writing. Also, she has the ability to bring a smile to my face when I am blue.
6. I am working on a Sci-Fi series with my critique partner, and a Fantasy novel at the same time. Also, I'm getting ideas together for my class which starts in September where I will be writing another story and poetry. No, it's not allowed to use work already written before class starts.
7. I'm bored with most sporting events. I'm glad for the Olympics, but I haven't watched them at all. When I was in high school I was active in sports, but not anymore. Geez... I'm 60! Too old to be running the bases.
8. I love chocolate, but can't eat very much of it. No, it doesn't give me acne, I'm diabetic and sugarfree chocolate just isn't the same thing. I was amused at M Pax's use of chocolate in her book Stopover At The Backworlds' Edge.
9. I'm reading a book by Orson Scott Card: How To Write Science Fiction & Fantasy and he has some great ideas that all sci-fi writers should mull over at least once.
10. I have a new idea for a book. It's about a new technology that's being experimented with by scientists. A telepathy chip that's implanted in the brain that can control computers, TV's and light switches. Of course, I have other ideas for its use. Hmm...
11. I have always had a hard time talking about myself. If someone was considered shy when they were growing up, it would have been me. In fact, I think my cheeks are pink just from writing this post.

Now we get to the part where I answer the questions that Heather posed for me:

1. What has been your favourite sport at the 2012 London Olympics? I didn't watch the Olympics this time, but the swimming has always been a favorite in the past.
2. Who was the first Doctor Who that you remember seeing on the television? Dr. Who? I've never watched this series. So far, I'm batting zero!
3. What would be the first thing you'd think to save (other than family) if you're house were hit by fire or flood? Probably my laptop. Or at least the flash drives that contain a back-up of all my work.
4. Do you have a writing routine? Do you stick to it? It's not set in stone, just that I write everyday. I'm in a good habit and it's working for me. Yes, I stick to it. The day goes by so fast when I'm writing, I have to set an alarm when I need to do other things.
5. Do you prefer tea or coffee? Coffee!
6. Have you achieved your ambition(s) yet? Yes, I have achieved some of them. Others are near.
7. When writing, can you cope with noise (children, television) or do you need absolute quiet? A little noise doesn't bother me, but not TV. That's too distracting.
8. How many people know about your writing? I just recently got up the courage to start telling people that I am writing. The responses are quite interesting.
9. Is your glass half full or half empty? Definitely half full!
10. Darts – is it a sport or just a pub game? I supposed it depends on who is playing, right?
11. Are you happy with your lot? Absolutely!

Now we come to the place where I bestow the Liebster Blog Award on 11 others. If I had my way, and the time, I would make sure that all my friends were awarded this honor. But, since the post is already very long, I'll stick to the rules. Here they are in no particular order:

Alex J. Cavanaugh
Susan Gourley/Kelley at Susan Says
Elysabeth at Elysabeth's Writing Emporium
Amanda Rose at Flowering Fiction
Susanne Drazic at Putting Words Down On Paper
M Pax
LG Keltner
Lynda R Young
Carolyn Brown
Nancy S. Thompson
Teresa Cypherbus at Dreamers, Lovers and Starvoyagers

Congratulations to all those who are here and to those who are not. We all have our successes, either big or small. It all depends on how we perceive them. Is your glass half full or half empty?

And here are my 11 questions for you to answer on your blog:

1. What kind of music inspires you when you write?
2. What is your favorite holiday?
3. Barefoot or sandals?
4. What are your goals for writing this year?
5. What are you reading right now?
6. Do you outline before you write? If not, do you have some other preparation for your story?
7. Who or what is your special muse?
8. Do you have a special place to go to get inspired?
9. Do you prefer to write during the day or at night? Do you have a schedule?
10. Favorite author(s)?
11. Beef, chicken, fish or tofu?

For all of you who are interested, Dragon Kind will be available free at Smashwords.com with this coupon: ZP95F Click Here. Coupon expires August 16th.

Launch Party Review

(Cover by Art By Retta)

I want to thank all those who participated in my launch party for Medieval Muse. I had an overwhelming response at Smashwords.com, with 389 downloads as of this morning. It is a sobering thought to know that what I write will be read by so many people and it makes me want to sharpen my skills that much more, so I can present the best work I know how to the reading public.

I am grateful to all of you who promoted my book on your blogs and websites. I think I made it to each of your blogs to say thank you. There has been a whirlwind of activity this week since not only did I publish one book, but I gave a sneak preview of my second book, Dragon Kind. The coupon promotional to get this book free lasts until August 16th. The coupon number is: ZP95F



For those of you writers who like websites with lots of resources and information, I came across an excellent site today: The Web Writer Spotlight.

Do you want to know the 6 common mistakes that doom writers? How about needing 8 brainstorming strategies for generating new writing ideas? There is a list of the best websites and blogs for writers and the best web tools for writers 101. This website has everything from: Ten reasons every writer needs a website, to basic writing rules of punctuation.

Also offered, is a list of top websites and blogs, of which I've posted a few:

Poets & Writers

Content Done Better

The Renegade Writer

Inspiration For Writers

I hope you find something here that will urge you on in your goal of becoming the best writer you can be. Have you run into any new websites or books this week?

Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against his will. ~Goethe



Dragon Kind Pre-Launch Announcement

While we are celebrating the launch of my novella Medieval Muse, I am offering a special sneak preview at my new book Dragon Kind. From now until August 16th you can go to Smashwords.com and recieve a copy free with this code: ZP95F

If you are here looking for a copy of Medieval Muse it is offered as a free read HERE.

Dragon Kind

When Marsilynda Weston’s grandfather dies, he leaves her a magic sword that sends her through a time portal, on a quest to kill a dragon. Plus, he requests that his associate, Richard Carnes, become her sentinel. But what happens next is a total surprise when the dragons turn out to be her friends and the nearby king and his knights her enemies. Will Marsilynda accept Richard, who she thinks will foul up her quest? Will she return with Richard through the time portal or will she stay with the dragons and fight their enemies?

Richard decides he can’t allow Marsilynda to be stranded on the other side of the portal, so he races after her, only to find that she has bonded with a dragon. What does that mean? Will she ever come home? He has to find a way to convince her that she needs to return to the modern world. But he is captured by a forest gnome who takes him on his own quest to release a dragon from captivity, after being held by the king. Will he succeed in earning his own freedom? Or is it all a ruse?

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