UNEDITED

Washington DC, USA

“Congressman Richards!” Mark Billingsly called out.  The tall man with shocking blond hair turned to see who had called him on the street outside of his office building.

A man smiled at him.  Terry Richards thought he looked familiar and the two woman behind him, one with a camera, were certainly attractive enough.  Congressman Richards decided to stop and turn around to speak with these three.  Maybe he had seen the Hispanic looking reporter before?  They certainly weren’t here on the Hill very often.

The cute short one lifted a camera up, first pointed away from him, and he acknowledged the camera.  When he did that, she turned it back around towards him.  That was an unexpected courtesy he felt.

Terry turned on his million dollar smile. Well, at least it should be a million dollars, as he had well over fifty-thousand dollars of dental work to make it pretty damned perfect.  The male reporter stepped closer to him and looked a little towards the camera, so Terry stepped slightly sideways and joined the reporter looking into the camera.

“Hello!  My name is Mark Billingsly, and I have with me Congressman Terry Richards from the great state of New York.”  Terry smiled for the audience and wondered if this was going to be a conversation about his solar energy initiative, or the pollution issues and cleanup they were accomplishing around New York city with water pollution.

Mark turned just slightly in towards Terry, who looked down a little at the man, “Congressman Richards, I appreciate you taking your personal time out of your busy schedule to answer just two questions for us.  The first, of course, is a question related to the use of Solar Energy and the advancement of the funds to implement such a system in today’s climate.”

“Certainly, Mark,” Terry aimed his mouth a little towards the microphone on the camera, but kept his eyes on Mark except for a couple of glances to the camera, “Right now is the time we all have to focus on the ability to expand our renewable energy usage.  With oil such a highly volatile product and the use of oil in manufacturing harmful to the environment, we need renewables such as Solar to become a viable alternative.  So long as we have the sun above us, we will be able to depend on Solar helping us achieve an ongoing energy independence.”  Terry waited for the softball follow-up question and the reporter provided it.

“So … everyone agrees that Solar is pretty inefficient right now. Yet you believe that we as a country, and specifically New York, should fund the development and manufacturing of Solar implementations as a way to create energy independence from foreign countries?”

Well, this wasn’t the softball question Terry expected, but he could handle this easily enough. “Certainly, when you only depend on the sun which is up above your own nation, not oil drilled out of the ground thousands and thousands of miles away, we have options.  The option to continue to depend on the sun above us. Or the political and military expedients that continue to infect the machinations of countries who are oil rich. They’re constantly trying to involve the US in their problems, as we are so heavily dependent on oil at this time.  Right now, I’m fighting for a future of energy independence. We might have to pay for implementations that require an investment by the government. And it may take twenty years to recoup the investment, I believe we need to focus on the long view.  A long view that is sorely lacking with our short time frames for Congress and slightly longer for the Senate.”

Damn, he was on a roll!  He was going to ask for a copy of this interview.

“Right now, Congressman Richards, the top five Solar manufacturers are Chinese, two are Korean, two are here in the US using parts from which country – we don’t know and one is Canadian.  I’m curious Congressman Richards if the use of so many manufactured panels from a foreign country concerns you in any way?”

Terry smiled, not sure where the reporter was heading, but who cared? “Certainly not Mark, when the solar panels are accumulating the sun,” Terry pointed up and winked to the camera, “above our own heads, I’m not sure I worry about a foreign country turning off the sun in our part of the world.”

Mark nodded sagely in agreement with everything Terry said.  When he finished, he asked, “So, the fact that the foreign made components inside the majority of Solar Energy products could have a kill switch in them, easily controlled by a foreign country, rendering them useless as an energy provider doesn’t bother you?”  Mark took the surprised look on the congressman’s face as an opportunity to nail him. “And this future,” Mark pointed up above him, “this future where we only have to depend on the sun above us, and trust no kill switches were put in place by five of the top ten solar manufacturers in our products?”

“Well, I don’t think we need to look behind every bush and find an evil plan to take over America, Mark,” Terry answered.

“But Congressman Richards,” Mark now set him up for the final comment, “When you take over two hundred and thirty-two thousand, five hundred and thirty-two dollars in donations from lobbyists who have themselves been hired by these same Chinese solar manufacturers.  Many of your donations having been received the very same day you had meetings with those lobbyists, interestingly enough.  These companies, these solar-based companies have no ulterior motives?”

“Of course not!” Terry exclaimed, smiling for everything he had, “the use of donations to facilitate an independent energy effort should be applauded.” Terry turned towards the camera, “I want to thank you both for such an excellent opportunity to continue the discussion of how Solar will support the energy independence of the American People, good day!”  With that, he waved and continued down the street.

Mark turned towards the camera, “We appreciate the good Congressman Richards, himself a recipient of almost a quarter of a million dollars from lobbyists money.  Money focused on the continued implementation of solar panels and solar products manufactured in China.  That in itself is not a bad thing, but when almost all of the core infrastructure which makes this work can have kill commands inside them. Kill commands that fry the circuitry based on an internet attack which would instantly kill the energy acquisition without physical replacements?  Well, that seems a little concerning that no one is considering the ability of a foreign country to wreak havoc with our needed and necessary infrastructure without one bomb being dropped.”

Mark turned away from the camera to look off camera in the direction of where the Congressman walked away, “And let’s not even begin to discuss the big and unique electrical pieces that require manufacture in China itself.”  Mark looked back towards the camera, “Pieces that once destroyed, will keep your city dark for months if they ever can be replaced by a country we might be at war with.”

Two blocks away, Terry Richards had punched in a specific contact’s number.  The phone number was memorized and was a one-time use number.  Halfway around the world, after seven different forwards to hide the eventual destination, a woman picked up the phone, “Hello.”

“This is T.R., I’ve been asked questions and had my connections and exact funding delivered to me highlighted.  You told me this wasn’t possible!”  He fumed.

“Was the group behind it a male reporter?” The voice asked him on the phone.

“Yes!  Mark Billingsly and two females.”  He answered while looking for cars before crossing the road.

The female responded in a calm voice, “You are the third concerned citizen to ask about this situation.  You know what they say in America about three strikes?”

Terry only admitted, “Yes.”

“Well, don’t expect to receive another request for an interview.”  She replied.

“Fine, that works for me.  What about the video?”

“Our teams will work on it. Give us time is all I can answer on that.”

“Understood, goodbye,” Terry closed the phone.

In a foreign country, a Colonel hung up the phone and turned in her seat.  She was part of the approximately seven-and-a-half-percent female population of the PLA army and had responsibility for long-term foreign investment. She picked up a phone and made a call, “I need the approval to send out a clean-up squad. There is a thorn we need to get rid of.”

FROM MICHAEL >> Chapter 20 just dropped minutes ago to the Editing group.  That means I’ve written it and reviewed / edited it the first time.  Then, Stephen and a team take over.  Chapters 1-5 are in final before it comes back to me and I start pulling them into Scrivener for final prep.

It’s getting much closer, folks!  The goal is to have it out very, very soon.  Like reading it next weekend soon.  I hesitate to say any more, because the next thing I know, the fans in Australia start emailing me about how ‘It’s already xxx day in their country’ and I’m wanting to slap myself for forgetting that. 😉

Now, we come to John L. Monk.  John is a member (more lurking, but a member!) of our 20BooksTo50K group.  He has been writing for three years, and came out with his latest book that has climbed the (amazingly competitive) dystopian / post apocalyptic charts.  What caught my eye (and ear – he was on a writing Podcast called Rocking Self Publishing I listen to) was that John highlights other authors to help them get found.  Sounds like the kind of author I want to support!

So, here he is with his latest book…

Hell’s Children: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller

The world has gone to hell and it isn’t coming back.

It happened in a year: starvation, gangs of kids with guns, and every adult in the world dead from the Sickness. Houses are now mausoleums. Civilization lies in the hands of children who’ve never had to feed themselves or survive a winter without gas or electricity. Most will die. Others — a bare few — will tread a different path.

Fourteen-year-old Jack Ferris is a survivor — because his parents raised him that way. Leveraging qualities rare for his age, he must lead his desperate companions to a secret refuge. Too late, he learns that safety is a mirage, and that the high price of hope is paid in blood.

“An emotional and action filled post-apocalyptic story with unforgettable characters. You won’t want to put this one down!”
– Nicholas Sansbury Smith, author of the “Extinction Cycle.”

“John L. Monk brings a remarkable wit and elegance to his storytelling through the use of vivid descriptions and complex characters.”
– J. Thorn, Amazon Top 100 Author in Action & Adventure.

”A Post Apocalyptic Lord of the Flies that’s both terrifying and uplifting.”
– Nick Cole, author of CTRL-ALT-REVOLT, creator of Apocalypse Weird.

Fans of One Second After, The Hunger Games, and Alas Babylon should enjoy this what-if tale of inventiveness, character, and courage.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BEST SELLER!

UNEDITED

Bethany Anne returned to the President’s conversation.  Her conversations with ADAM and TOM were over so quickly he didn’t register a pause, “When you find a suitable computer to review the contents of the USB, I know you aren’t going just to plug it into any computer in your systems, you will find incriminating evidence.”

The President looked down at the USB he was holding, “Truly Pandora’s box, then.  I can’t say I’m happy with the present you’ve delivered.”

Bethany Anne shrugged, “Well, you could destroy it and go blithely on your way.”

“No,” he sighed, “I can’t.  I have a duty and however distasteful it is, I’ll see it done.”  He looked at her, “How do you handle stuff like this?” He asked as he lifted the USB and waved it a little.

“I have a group responsible for tracking down the truth and bringing those guilty to justice,” She admitted, wondering what the President would say.

“What about juries, judges, and the rest?”

Her grim face told him the answer, “Mr. President, in the harshness of space, you don’t allow stupidity.”  She wasn’t about to fess up regarding Barnabas and Tabitha.  “So, we have a strict policy.  While we aren’t a hundred percent effective, almost all of the people we have are focused on a bigger goal than just working for their own ends.  So, there is a significant amount of self-policing. Those that we miss?”  She paused, “They are warned, and they are adults.  We treat them as such.”

“You don’t have a strong opinion of our court system?”

“Do you?” She countered.

“Well, I think it is the best thing we have going at the moment.”

“Let me ask you a question, what are the two things that drive people?”

“Fear and greed, usually.” He answered.

“So, take that to the logical conclusion. At a certain age an adult will be driven by either fear, greed, or a challenge – something bigger than themselves.  Fear of repercussions for actions they have taken is a strong motivator for not doing punishable offenses.  If the system for punishment is broken, then the power of fear to stop actions diminishes, and you have more and more people shrugging their shoulders. However, people learn, quickly.  Greed can be considered in a good light.  I’m not talking about wanting more money, or power, I’m talking about being greedy or desiring something good in your life that benefits yourself and others.  What about the person who is greedy about wanting to be in space?  They have to prove themselves capable of deserving that position, of protecting not only themselves but others.  Everyone depends on what a person is willing to do to save everyone else.”

“That works when you take the best of society that wants to get ahead,” the President started.

“No, it works when you stop supporting those who do nothing.”

“That isn’t a very Christian attitude.”

She smiled at him, like a cat looking at a mouse. “Christian?  I’ll give you a few things to ponder, Mr. President.  Look them up when you have time.  ‘The appetite of the laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.’” She continued, “And the best yet. A quote by the Apostle Paul, who said to those in Thessalonica, ‘We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you… For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’”  

She leaned back in her chair, “Do you have some idle hands?  Then dream bigger for your country, Mr. President, and give them something to use their minds, their strength and their abilities and stretch your people. Make them earn their keep, and then they will have pride in themselves. If some don’t?  Well, be a man and strap a pair on – if you need a pair you can borrow my ovaries.  Your infrastructure needs fixing! You have the ability to create work centers by the thousands.  You need to fucking dream bigger.  We are human beings, every one of us has worth, talents and skills.  Fucking put them to use! Stop taking the easy way out and punting the problem to the next generation. Don’t support a nation of people sitting on their asses and taking money from those who work without trying to make it better.  Make a change, even if it is starting the change before you step out of office.”

The President had nothing to say in response.  While he didn’t doubt she knew the difficulties of making this happen, she also wouldn’t care that it was a challenge.  He pursed his lips and nodded his head sharply.

She stood up and faced him, both hands held up as if in supplication, “Don’t give up, don’t accept mediocrity, don’t accept the status quo.  You’re the most powerful man on this planet.  Now, fucking act like it.”  She stepped backwards and disappeared right in front of his eyes.

It took the President a few moments to come to grips with someone disappearing right in front of him.  He pondered her comments, her challenge. He stood up and turned towards the door before stopping to look over his shoulder and whispered.

“I may be the most powerful man on earth, but you are certainly the most powerful woman.”

With that, the President turned back to open the door and admit to David he owed him a steak dinner.

to be continued…

FROM MICHAEL >> So, we are about two and a half chapters into the book (snippet wise).  I’m 55k into the story with about 1,500 words to finish before I work to give it to the editing crew. That means that the first 20 chapters are ‘in editing’.  For those that follow me, you know I try like crazy to stay ahead of them and when I finish.. I’m just as impatient to get THEM through the edits as you are to get the book out!

“Stephen, are you guys  finished yet?”

“No Mike, you just gave us 5 WHOLE CHAPTERS three hours ago.”

<fifteen minutes later>

“How about now?” I’ll ask…

It isn’t quite that bad <yes it is – Stephen> but I do get anxious to push it out.  I have the cover, I will have the story and I’ll need to write the Author’s notes.  These will be my 14th Author’s notes and while sometimes it is rushed (like forgetting to write them until the story is DONE), they ARE like candy and I enjoy writing them.  There is no story, I just get to write whatever the hell is on my heart and in my head.

It’s crazy.

So, the book below is crazy different. The Forum group 20booksto50k did this little thing started by Kat Lind (you might recognize her name as the editor for a couple of the recently previous books when Stephen got so sick.) She is crazy smart, and also just crazy… quick.  As in, she likes to challenge herself when she gets bored (apparently a common occurrence) and one of her professional degrees (of 4) is in Industrial Psychology, but with a creative effort focus.  So, when she got involved in 20Booksto50k as a Beta Editor / Reader, it was like allowing a super smart scientist to mix it up with the type of people she happen to also be the types she … studies? Not sure that’s the right word.

Either way, about six weeks ago, she was bored.  What came out of it was a game, if you will, where she and her team at her company provided very specific items to pull out of a hat (remember the psychology part above) and then helped get all of the short stories pulled together into a book and released it.

You will recognize a TON of these authors in the book, as I have promoted many of them already! (If not all of them at one point or another).  Read the preview, I think many of you will not only be fascinated by HOW the effort was pulled together, but enjoy the stories as well.

Inanna’s Circle: The Game Begins

A tattooed dwarf, dark forest with winding road, a jewel emitting swirls of color… What can a group of writers create when they are presented with a mystery box of characters, snippets and scenes?

Pick at least one from each column and let your imagination soar! That is the challenge of Inanna’s Circle Game.

Eight authors accepted the challenge, writing in varied genres, some with many books to their credit, others with very few. The results are amazing! With vision and talent that shows the skills of the indie author and the way that

creativity can be sparked with the right flame, this anthology takes you to many worlds and introduces characters across universes.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED – Let the game begin! 

Click Here to read the amazing story how this book came about!

UNEDITED

Bethany Anne started chuckling, “I was born on this planet with two human parents, if that doesn’t make me human, I’m not sure what would clarify it further.”

“Well, parental names?” He pressed.

She put up a finger, “Mr. President, I do this as a favor, not as an opportunity to play twenty questions.”

“You can forgive me for trying?  I do have the responsibility for four hundred million people to look after,”

Bethany Anne’s face sobered, “Mr. President, I’m concerned with the seven and a half billion we have on earth, and those coming after us. My parent’s names aren’t going to accomplish much except provide some annoying researcher further useless information to try and analyze me.  If you want my thoughts on something, you can ask.” She pulled a USB memory chip out of her jacket.  The President didn’t fail to notice the small pistol and holster she was wearing.

He wasn’t accustomed to having anyone but Secret Service Agents around him with weapons. If any of the guys on the other side of the door knew he was talking with an armed lady just a few feet away, they would be trying to bust down the door to protect him.  He smiled.

“This is …” she started before her eyes drew together in confusion, “why are you smiling?”

“I’m just thinking how my protective detail,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “would react if they knew I had an armed person sitting in here with me.  It humored me to imagine them trying to bust down the door in frustration.”  He smiled at her and chuckled, “Sometimes, it is the little things I think about that bring a smile to my face.”  He pointed to his hair on the side of his head, “I wasn’t expecting to go gray quite so fast.”

Bethany Anne put the USB on the table, “Talk to me when you get out of office if I’m still around, and I’ll help you with that.”  She slid the USB over to him, “On here are the names of the members in the United States and all of your territories.  There are thousands in total, although there are probably no more than a hundred and twenty-five that I would rate as the highest priority to review. Those are tagged.”

>>A hundred and twenty-seven.>>

I know that, ADAM.  What have we talked about when being exact with humans?

>>That to always be exact points to you not being human.<<

If an A.I. could sound miffed mentally, ADAM was accomplishing the feat pretty well, she thought. Yes, so while you are an Entity, and you are working to accomplish the most amazing feats ever for me, I need you to understand that if you grease the wheels, it will help reduce trouble.  Make sure you update the EVE project for me with that understanding.  She thought quickly, except in battle, you don’t fudge anything during battles.

>>I understand and will make the adjustments.<<

The President eyed the USB, “I’m not going to like what is on that, am I?”  He reached to take the USB, “Pandora’s box?”

“Some, not all of it.  Some of the people on that USB are just family, people who can be used to blackmail other people to get them to do what the Black Cabal need them to do.” When he raised his eyes to her, she explained further, “My name for them.”

He nodded his understanding, “What should I do about General George Thourbourah?”

“Well, his boss is out of the equation and don’t ask about that if you want plausible deniability.  He believes I was seriously hurt, but that will go by the wayside the next time I’m photographed.”

“Oh, earlier than that,” he assured her.  He shrugged at her raised eyebrow, “We have assets that track all important people.  That could mean important for any number of reasons; you just happen to trip a few of them including financial, technological and security.”

ADAM.

>>Yes?<<

Find out how many countries are tracking me, and start placing information that shows me everywhere so that they can never tell what is the right answer.

>>When do you want this to occur?<<

Can you make it happen retroactively so that the information seemed like it happened before this conversation?”

>>Not easily, no.  Countries will have a paper trail.<<

Damn.  Ok, figure out the countries data feed and start adding additional false positives if you can.  I suppose changing their data would flag them you are in the system.

>>Not to mention might be too risky unless you believe this must occur?<<

No, it isn’t that big of a deal.  I just didn’t realize I’m on various country’s morning reports, and it bugs the shit out of me.

TOM?

Yes?

What are you working on at the moment?

Still on the gravitic issues with Marcus.

Please add a request to your queue to consider what it would take to change someone to look like me.

I can answer that question already.  The Pod doc can’t do it.  It works on the person’s DNA, so it isn’t going to change another person to look like you.

But I thought since you can change the structure of the materials in a body, this might be possible?

That was changing the design, not how you look.  The Pod Doc hasn’t been setup to change a person.

Wait a minute, TOM – you paused! I sense you thinking about something, fess up.

Well, if a patient is considerably messed up physically or their DNA has been corrupted, the Pod Doc can use a super-set of DNA to try and fix, which would certainly change the person as they heal.

So, it’s feasible?

Yes, but not very recommended.

Ok, I’ll push that idea off to the side.  

Are we good?

Yes, sorry.  I don’t like being the target, and I figured if there were copies, it would be hard to confirm which version is me.

It would be the version with four huge guards walking around her, he quipped.

Did you just zing me… again?  She replied.

Yes and here’s your sign. he told her in a southern drawl.

You ass!  She heard his version of a chuckle and then withdraw from their conversation.

That’s another one I owe you, she thought

FROM MICHAEL >> So, 15 chapters out in editing and I’m off to write some more this evening!  I thought the comments on the FB group about drinking the big Cokes which included: From Bjorn -“Just give in to your desires. You know you want the Mexican bottle. In can feel it running thought your veins. Drink it and together we can rule the Galaxy!” and from Holly -“Whatever it takes, whatever it takes. Your fans demand it of you…. :)” were hilarious.  It doesn’t matter if I have to wear an XXL t-shirt with “Body by Coke” on it just so long as the next book comes out more quickly.

Trust me, I don’t need additional temptation to drink more Coke! (For those that missed it, I admitted to buying the little 8 oz Cokes as a way to help me limit my Coke consumption.)

This Snippets book suggestion comes from a huge F.O.T.S.  (Fan of the Series) Lisa Lamb Diggs.  Here are her comments!

From Lisa >> I found a new author that may need your assistance. I read his books and I really liked them even though they are a little darker than I like. His name is L. J. Kendall – book “Wild Thing: The Leeth Dossier Vol 1” fans of yours may like the story but I will caution that the story has aspects that I really dislike but is in line with the story being told. As an indie author and self published it kept me engrossed and very few errors that I could see. He has challenged his readers to assist him with corrections and to help out with getting other readers to his books. I know you are trying to help other authors like him so I wanted to bring him to your attention. 

Wild Thing (The Leeth Dossier Book 1)

(For a limited time only, at the bargain price of $0.99 for the Kindle edition.)
IN 2036, magic returned to a world which neither needed nor wanted it. Several years later, an unusual young child is acquired by Dr Alex Harmon for his magic research at the Institute for Paranormal Dysfunction. He sets Sara to hunting an imaginary creature, unaware it is both real and far more dangerous than anyone could know.

Sara, too, though, has her own hidden depths.

She’ll need them.

At the Institute she strikes up an unlikely friendship with Godsson, one of the world’s most powerful mages – and an inmate. But when Sara’s unique magic finally unfolds, Dr Harmon discovers the deadly consequences of creating an archetypal Huntress. While from a place far beneath reality, where Godsson helped slay the Enemy of Mankind, some thing, or things, have come hunting.  And their first targets are Godsson, and Sara.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MORE ABOUT WILD THING!

UNEDITED

7 – Days Earlier – Washington, D.C. – USA

It was half an hour past midnight when the President and two of his secret service members walked the distance from the residential wing to the Deep Underground Command Center located adjacent to the West Wing.  As they arrived next to a meeting room, two members of his security staff stepped out.

“David, is the other side secured?” He asked the ranking Secret Service agent who just came through the door.

“Yes, I’ve locked the door from the inside and confirmed with both security members on the other door they will be there for the next six hours. There are no personnel authorized to come down from the other entrance.”

“I only need an hour, probably less,” The President told him.

David smiled, “Sir, I doubt you will need more than fifteen minutes.  There isn’t anyone who is going to make it through the other doorway, and between myself and Rod here, we swept everything from the other side to this door for everything, organic or electronic.  There isn’t any way anyone is going to meet you in there.”

The President pursed his lips, then smiled. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll bet you a dinner I’ll have a meeting.”

David regarded the President for a moment.  “Ok, but I want the nicest, best-aged Filet Mignon and a baked potato soaked in butter.”  David looked around to make sure the three other Secret Service Agents were listening.

“Agreed,” the President said as he stepped to the door and turned before closing it to look at his men. “Remember, no one enters this door, either, gentlemen.”  With that, the President closed the door.  Three seconds later, the door opened, and a hand stuck out.  Secret Service Agent Mark Tims smiled and put the most recent sports section from the newspaper into the waiting hand.  Both the hand and the sports section disappeared and the door shut with a click.

David looked over to Mark, “I give him ten minutes, fifteen on the outside before he admits I’m right.”

Mark looked back then turned to face towards the rest of the room and got into position, “Do you have any idea who he expects to meet?”

“Nope,” David admitted, “Not that it matters.  There isn’t any way that someone is going to turn invisible, sneak through the entrance on the other side with our temperature, and movement detectors and bust the lock to get inside that meeting room.  Hell will freeze over, first.”

Mark shrugged, “You are probably right.  Unless he was meeting the CEO of TQB Enterprises, they probably have some scary techni-shit.”

David snorted, “Like she would want to show up here in the States.”

—

The President sat down in the same chair he had the last time he met this person. That time, like this evening, was off the books, off the record and frankly never happened.

He opened the sports to the second page to see what the latest scores were.  He made it to page three when he sensed, rather than heard, someone in the large meeting room with him.  He looked up to see her eyeing him, a small smile on her face. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a red camisole and a black jacket over it.  She didn’t have on any jewelry, but then, she didn’t need any.

The President smiled, “Well, looks like I won the bet.”

“Oh? What bet would that be,” she asked him as she walked over and pulled out the chair on his left to sit facing him.

“Whether I would have a meeting in here or not.” He told her, “Although I’m going to have to play like I lost the bet.  At some point, I should throw a fit over how you keep standing me up.” He grinned, “But since these meetings aren’t on the record, how would that work?”  The President closed the sports section before asking, “Just curious, how did you get in here?”

Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow, “While it isn’t, say at the level of a national secret, I do have a few important ones.”  She grinned, “Maybe someday I’ll take you on a walk that will change your life.”

The President laughed and shook his head, “I’m not sure my wife would like me to take any walk that could change my life.  She has told me at least three times every week since I gained office if I decide to run again, she will castrate me, or I’ll be sleeping on the couch for the duration of my time in office.”  He sobered, “But if there is a way to get into this area that others can use, I’d be incredibly appreciative if you explained it.”

Bethany Anne shook her head, “There is no way for another person, living; that can enter here using the means I have.  Should that change, I will get ahold of you and provide a warning device of some sort to help.”

He shrugged, “Best I’m going to get?” She nodded her answer. “Ok. How about the next item on the agenda.  What is this about a real Illuminati?”

Bethany Anne leaned a little forward, “There is an offshoot of the original Illuminati group, a splinter if you will, which was responsible for the attack on our facilities in Colorado and the backpack nuke. They are responsible for many different efforts on our group trying both legal and illegal means to acquire our technology.”

“You know that’s true for damn near any major company in the world and most of the countries, right?” He asked her, wondering how she would answer.

“I’m totally aware of the desires, Mr. President.”  Bethany Anne considered how much to share before continuing, “I’m aware of most attacks and plans, most secondary plans and their followups.  I’m not trying to upset the world, that is the reason for not using our technology to upset the World’s economies in the first place.  However, I’ll not simply stand by and allow attacks to happen. That is not in my nature.”

“A lot of think-tank scientists are trying to figure out what your nature is, exactly.”

“In what way?” She asked.

He paused a moment, “Well, are you human?”

MORE TO COME…

FROM MIKE >>  So, I can hear the gnashing of teeth already… DAMN YOU ANDERLE!  They say (in my head…it’s these voices, almost like I can hear some of the fans on Amazon and Facebook waiting for the resolution)…the resolution of those who caused the last snippet to occur …But that happens LATER in the book.  So, unfortunately I put snippets up in the order of the book, and this book shows it a little out of order (blame the Pepsi)… and the lake of sleep in Vegas due to the beds.  I think.

Either way, it’s coming.  I joked one time that book 7 should have been named Die…die…die…die…die….and Kneel (instead of Kneel or Die).  So far, it doesn’t really look like there is going to be much in the way of kneeling.  But, I’m only 1/2 way finished and our death count is only 4 for the enemy right now.  I believe it is going to go downhill.

Fast.

So, let’s talk Craig Martelle – An Former-Marine (20+ years), ex-lawyer (business, not criminal…so, no need to hate on him!) big friend of the authors group has a couple of series out.  The dude can be righteously funny (a piece of another book I’ve read had me shaking my head…it had to do with dangling participles in Alaska).  He gives back to our Indie Author community and is generally just a nice guy.  I’m happy to highlight his series that has four books out, with number 5 coming soon so check out this book from Craig and see if you might like it 😉

The Free Trader of Warren Deep (Free Trader Series Book 1)

A Hillcat and his human minions fight to save humanity. Hostile humans and mutant creatures try to keep them from rebuilding society.

Following a civil war on the earth colonized world of Cygnus VII, humanity and its creations rise again. Free Trader Braden and his mindlinked Hillcat determine that their fortune lies to the south, away from what passes for civilization. Braden gathers engineered (mutant) creatures to him for a trip south of the Great Desert where he hopes to find Old Tech that he can trade for untold riches.

The more he learns about the ancients, the more he wants to learn. Along the way, he establishes a new ideal regarding trade and collaboration in an area where trust of strangers is unknown. Braden and his companions find functioning Old Tech that has the potential to change their world for the better or worse, depending on what they decide.

READ MORE ON AMAZON – CLICK HERE!

UNEDITED

Hospet, Karnataka – India

Nikhil Patel stood to the side, watching as the paramedics took the body of one of his researchers out on a stretcher, a white cloth draped over her body.

He had seen her beautiful but dead eyes staring out in anguish on the floor of her lab early this morning.  He had rushed to the offices when he got word that the alarms had been tripped.

By Anjali herself, apparently.

Nikhil tried to hold back the tears. Anjali was the devoted wife of a close friend of his.  Nikhil had been amazed that Talan had been able to even hold the interest of a woman of her intellect and beauty. Nikhil had asked her about that one time when the three of them were out for drinks. She told him that Talan could make her laugh no matter how bad her day had been.

Now, Nikhil doubted he would be able to stop Talan’s tears, ever.

The police were inside the building, and Nikhil was outside trying to understand the purpose of this attack when he noticed someone pointing up into the sky.

He turned to look up, shading his eyes from the morning sun when he saw small black dots coming down towards them.  In a few seconds, he could discern that they were slowing down.

And still coming down right at them.

A few people standing in the parking lot started moving quickly towards the building as they stopped their descent about a hundred feet up and then slowly started to descend onto the parking lot where those people had been standing.

Nikhil’s eyes opened wider when he finally recognized these shapes.  These were the famous Pods, the gravitic transportation of Bethany Anne, the CEO of his companies parent company.

The top boss had arrived.

Nikhil unconsciously straightened his jacket as he walked towards the Pods.  The first door opened, and a Raven haired beauty and a large white dog got out.  She was dressed in black leathers with a jacket that barely concealed her pistols.

She stepped out of the Pod and looked around before all of the Pods but one opened and Nikhil watched as many men and another woman stepped out.

Finally, the last Pod opened, and Nikhil gawked at the biggest man he had ever been near stepped out all in black  with many weapons on his body.  None of them were concealed.  He looked around before offering a hand to the woman inside, and she pulled on his arm to step out.

Nikhil swallowed.  Here was his ultimate boss.

He noticed that her people spread out looking for threats and then he found himself inside a circle that included himself and his CEO, who was walking straight at him.

She was wearing a modified suit.  The pants were leather, her top some sort of black spandex and he noticed she had pistols on, as well.  Covering it up was a nicely tailored dark red jacket.

She held her hand out to him, “Mr. Patel, I’m Bethany Anne.” Nikhil shook her hand, and she turned towards the ambulance, “Is Ms. Anjali inside or in the ambulance?”

“The ambulance, but I’m afraid she was killed.” He told her.

“I know, but I’m going to pay my respects.” She replied.  He walked with her as she strode towards the ambulance.

One of the paramedics was about to close the door when he noticed the large group of people coming right at him.  He looked around to see if there was another destination before a big black man approached and he stepped back.

The big black guard opened the door for Bethany Anne to step into the ambulance.  Nikhil was allowed to step inside with her before her guards blocked anyone from getting closer.

He watched as she reached down to hold the bodies hand through the sheet and pulled the top of the sheet down just enough to see Anjali’s face.  He noticed a tear made its way down her face.

Not thinking, Nikhil said into the silence in a near whisper, “She was pregnant, she was going to tell her husband Talan the good news tomorrow when both his and her parents arrived.” He sniffed once and wiped a tear from his own eye, “She loved to read the old stories from other countries, from centuries in our past.  If the baby was a boy, she wanted to name him Alexander.”  Bethany Anne turned to face him as he finished, “If it was a girl, she would name her Alexandra.”

Nikhil noticed something he would swear was true for the rest of his life.

Her eyes turned red.

She turned back towards Anjali’s body and put her left hand on her forehead, “I swear to you, the sea will run red before I fail to avenge you and your unborn child’s death. Anjali, you have the Queen Bitch’s promise.”

When she looked at Nikhil again, her eyes were normal. “Whatever her salary was Mr. Patel, triple it and create a fund to help children learn to read the classics or whatever they want to read.  Name it the Princess Alexandra fund in her unborn daughter’s honor.  Then, create another fund and make it ten times her salary and provide monthly payments to her husband.”

She stood up, and Nikhil asked, “Excuse me, but where do you want me to pull the funds to make this happen?”

She turned towards him, vengeance clearly written in her eyes, “For now, from this company.  But, I will reimburse it from the accounts of those who stole her life.  One way or another. They will pay it all.”  With that, she turned away and stepped back out of the ambulance.

—

“She was pregnant, John.” Bethany Anne spoke into the silence inside the Pod. “They fucking killed an unborn child.”

Inside the Pod, where no one in the world could see her unmasked, John Grimes popped the locks on his harness and turned to open his arms as Bethany Anne laid her head against his chest, “A child, John.  She never got to tell her own husband.  For what?”

He felt her shoulders shake as she cried in muted silence, the two of them flying towards destiny.

—

Ten minutes later, the team was gone. It wasn’t until after they left that he wondered how she was so sure it was a daughter.  Two weeks later, he was comforting Talan when Talan happened to mention he was told his wife had been carrying a little girl.

Nikhil felt cold chills run through his body.

>> From Michael – This doesn’t need much setup (as I go into it in the book itself), but here is what I WILL say.  Boris is back! Check out the new collaboration between Paul C. Middleton and myself, rocking another short series in the Kurtherian Gambit Universe…A book that reached #1 for Action and Adventure (at least for a little while) and beat Out George R.R. Martin’s shorts ;-).

Evacuation – The Boris Chronicles

The Russian Mercenary known as Boris has always been a conundrum for governments the world over. His visage never changes, his capabilities never understood.
The Russian government gets word he has been killed on a mercenary mission in America, allowing agents to come in and attack the villages Boris has been protecting. Using a fanatical military sub-group in the Russian military, the atrocities start.

The only problem? Boris isn’t dead, and now he has help.

Boris won’t allow his people to go unprotected, and now the Queen Bitch herself has accepted his oath of fealty.

Russia doesn’t have a clue what they have started when this Bear comes back from the Dead.

Get a little more Kurtherian Gambit Universe in your life today by clicking right here!

UNEDITED

Space Around Earth

Bethany Anne reviewed to beautiful blue globe beneath her.  It was one of the few calming influences to help her ground her emotions.

And TOM, of course.

Bethany Anne, I’m not blocking any emotions.  You are handling the residual pain from Michael’s…absence…on your own.

Thank you, TOM.  I recognize the aching void, but I can deal with it.  

Bethany Anne put her foot up on the little step, made for her, and cupped her chin in her hand and placed her elbow on her leg.

I miss him, TOM, she admitted.  Not being able to kill those son-of-a-bitches who desperately needed it was a lot tougher than I thought.  

What about Johann?

TOM, what is the first rule of Johann?

That we don’t speak about Johann?  TOM replied immediately.

That’s right.  We don’t speak about Johann’s specific form of death.  To anyone, TOM. That was one individual that wasn’t going to be allowed a painless death.

Is that what Joshua had?

Well, Barnabas took care of that ass. My emotional hands are clean of that one.  I didn’t realize Barnabas could place a human into his own nightmare before I tossed him into the Etheric.  If I had, I would have had him do it to a lot of people.

Johann?

No, I would have kept him for myself.  I just needed to get cleaned up before anyone saw the blood on me.

You ruined another set of clothes.

Worth it.

Bethany Anne and TOM settled into a comfortable silence together before she spoke again.

You know, I understand why Michael put in the strictures.  At least with those, you knew the penalties in advance.  It also explained why no one wanted to be around him, either.

TOM provided a type of grunt in reply.

>>Bethany Anne, I have an incoming message from Dan Bosse.<<

Switch it to speaker, please.

“Bethany Anne?” Dan’s voice came over the Pod’s speaker, “Are you sitting down?”

“I’m in space, Dan, damned difficult to stand up in a Pod.  It’s not like we have a standing version.”

“Yeah, well, you can in the ones we put in the Space Station.  But that isn’t why I called.”

“How bad is it?”

“Have you been told?”

“No, but you started with whether I was sitting or not. So, who is it, what are they trying to do, and what do you want to do about it?” she asked him.

“We don’t know who yet, but we have fourteen companies in five different countries that have been attacked, physically broken into by armed forces.  We have four casualties including three security guards and one woman in India.”

Bethany Anne’s eyes started glowing red, “Is this the black cabal?”

“No, I doubt it.  It’s possible, but I think we have someone bigger.”

“How the hell do you get bigger than those fucks?” She asked, her voice grating into anger.

There was a pause, “Bethany Anne, I think we are being attacked by a nation, this time.”

Bethany Anne switched into Vampiric speed, thinking through the many permutations.

ADAM, find out which companies, run through their video tapes, try to track down their weapons and their operations for anything including numbers on their teams, tactical weapons and gear and what time they went in.  Get back to me when you have that information. Also, is there any correlation between the companies?

Dan continued on, not realizing Bethany Anne was already issuing orders to ADAM, “Frank walked in a few minutes ago, he wants to add some stuff.  Here he is.”

Bethany Anne could hear Frank clear his voice, “Hey boss, sorry to hear about the attacks.  We have a few more items.  I’m getting wind of some of the outsourcing companies we are using for materials and manufacturing are getting harassed.  I’ve got some in South America and Africa and one in Las Vegas, Nevada.”

“What are they doing?” She asked him.

“I don’t have full details, but at the moment it seems like local crime is doing a protection racket scheme.  However, this time, they want both money and the prints for anything they are manufacturing.”

Bethany Anne heard Dan’s voice, “Another vote for nation-state, BA.”  Then she heard a female say that the companies lawyer was on the line for Dan, who said he would take the call.

Frank continued, “Well, it would make sense.  So, probably a request that is using local assets in the country.  They probably pay them to focus their protection on our resources, and give them a spiff or bonus for acquiring technical prints.”

“We need to know who this might be, Frank.  Get with Dan and ADAM, I want to know as quickly as we can.  Give me the names of those we lost and get with Ecaterina and Cheryl Lynn to provide support to them.”

Frank replied, “Got it, Dan’s back, here he is.”

“Ok, just got off the phone with Jakob Yadav.  He has a couple of close friends in the U.N., it seems that some countries are getting pressure from their business groups to refuse to work with us unless we share the technology ‘with the world, for the world.’”

“Any idea who is putting them up to this?” She asked before continuing, “and I don’t believe for a second it’s for the world.  Someone is doing a full court press.  Could it be the U.S.?”

“I doubt it, the countries that are putting up the requests are either unaligned or have seen a significant amount of investment in the last two to five years from China.”

“Dan, I’m not going to back down.  If we are getting attacked by a country, I’ll fight back at the same level.  It won’t be my preference, but if I have to go to war, to deliver peace, It will be done.”

“Boss, I’m with you.  From a small tarmac in Florida to foreign Galaxies, you got my back, I got yours.”

A small tear escaped Bethany Anne’s eye, “I need the addresses where we lost people, Ashur and Gabrielle’s Team, Dan.”  She paused for a moment to look at the beautiful blue ball hanging before her in silence.

“I’m coming down.”

From Michael >>  Ok, this book (SUED FOR PEACE) is going to be a little different from my others.  Instead of large and varied arcs, we are going to be up close and personal, I think.  I say ‘I think’ because I’m about 10,000 words into it, and anything can change.

Like, for instance, me drinking Pepsi.  Did you know that Pepsi damn near owns Las Vegas? I can’t get Coke on tap in most of the restaurants and certainly not here in the Palazzo / Venetian area where I’m staying right now.  I have to acknowledge that Pepsi has played a good game and provided probably awesome incentives to carry their product IN EVERY DAMNED RESTAURANT.

Those BASTARDS!

So, I’m taking a walk on Ecaterina’s side at the moment and if SUED FOR PEACE is a little off, I’m blaming it on the beverages.

Just saying.

So, one of the ladies (fellow Kurtherian Gambit reader turned writer) in my beta readers group has her own series out.  When I did the Readers supporting Military Readers email with 16 books highlighted (See those books on this post here: 16 Awesome Authors Supporting Our Military) she was missing because she went on a mission trip to Uganda.  So, I told her to put her book on the sign-up page for the next email.

What I didn’t tell her, was that I would highlight her book in my next snippet.  This one right here.

So, shhhhh, if she reads this snippet (instead of writing) she will figure it out 😉

Eclipse of the Warrior: The Interdimensional Saga, Book 1 (The Eclipse Series)

Caught between the forces that be, It’s no place for a human…

Vampires? Fae warriors? Who knew they were real. Somebody must have and they should have let the rest of us know.

While coming out of a movie, I followed agroup of super-hot guys and ended up regretting it. I was pulled into the fightand I don’t know how I did it, but I killed a vampire! Now I’m running for my life.

I’m not supposed to know about their world,being a lowly human and all, but I also shouldn’t have been able to kill a vampire; a ripper is what they call themselves.

Now I have a choice. Well not really. A choice means options and mine are bad or worse. I can die or I can become a hybrid fae. Like I said, not much of a choice, one that sucks actually.

If I choose to become a fae, I have to help them fight the rippers who are kidnapping humans to take back to their planet. Oh, did I mention that they’re all from another dimension? They change humans into hybrid rippers and use them on the front lines of the battle between their two races.

The fae describe them as suicide bombers. Yep. Those are my choices…

Eclipse of the Warrior, the first of the Interdimensional Saga by J.L Hendricks, is a YA sci-fi romance that will have you turning the pages so fast you’ll spin off into another dimension. Clean and humorous with a hint of paranormal and urban fantasy elements this is a story you don’t want to miss!

Click Here to See More

(unedited)

Future 

The historian Ahrgri-vactix of the Ristorian Sept looked over his latest entry into his history of the Human Military Power, Queen Bethany Anne. She was a favorite of his, not only was she still alive, but alive long enough that she had made history far into the past, as well as his present.

He was writing up a scene for the issues she had with another world power, but keeping to as much of the truth of the story as he could.  Part of his challenge was finding source material to recreate what must have happened on her own planet, so many solar turns in the past.

However, he re-read his most recent entry and decided he liked it.

One of these days, he would have to ask his contact Adam how he knew so much of her history.

He started reading it one more time, and this is what he read.

PLA General Staff Headquarters – Beijing

The Chinese General walked into his meeting room on his way through to the door into his private office.  He grasped the handle to open his office door when he suddently stopped  He left his right hand on the knob but slowly turned his head back towards the meeting table.

It was black, polished with a high shine and had the symbol for power inlaid in gleaming brass in the center. The table had room for ten to sit around it, with another eight chairs set up around the wall for support personnel.

In the middle of this well protected PLA base, in his own meeting room was a letter.  A letter that hadn’t been there when he had left just two hours before.

Certainly not with a sharp knife impaling the letter into the wood between the symbol lines.  He let go of the door knob and took the four steps to approach the table.  He leaned over to grab the knife.

Which wouldn’t budge.

The General used his left hand for leverage and then pushed and pulled the knife back and forth before he could finally wiggle the knife free.  He yanked the knife out and pulled the paper over closer so he could read it.

His lips compressed as he read the words.

“There are two ways to stop my vengeance.  You can kill me, or you can sue for peace.  But you had better decide soon, or there will be nothing left of your military but machines blackened by fire and people praying for the souls of your dead.”