Book promo
If you wish to send us books for next week’s promo, please email to bookpimping at outlook dot com. If you feel a need to re-promo the same book do so no more than once every six months (unless you’re me or my relative. Deal.) One book per author per week. Amazon links only. Oh, yeah, by clicking through and buying (anything, actually) through one of the links below, you will at no cost to you be giving a portion of your purchase to support ATH through our associates number. A COMMISSION IS EARNED FROM EACH PURCHASE. That helps defray my time cost of about 2 hours a day on the blog, time probably better spent on fiction. ;)*
FROM HEATHER STRICKLER: Whirlwind of Stars (Mythic Roads Book 1)
Some worlds end in Fire
Some in Ice.
A whirlwind swept Karsus away.
Sarah Macaran survived. Kidnapped, struggling with strange powers. She stowed away in the Toto’s cargo hold, but Scarcrow and the Toto’s crew have other worries: Dorothy vanished.
Can Sarah unravel the mysteries before the Wind finds her? Or the Witches of the Galaxy take matters into their own hands?
FROM MICHAEL LORTON: The Missionaries
Ron Rothman has nothing to lose. He hates his job; his marriage is disintegrating. When he crawls out of the smoking ruins of an automobile on the outskirts of Bangkok, leaving his wife’s lover dying in the front seat, the police suspect the wreck was not an accident. When he begins an affair with the dead man’s girlfriend, that suspicion becomes near-certainty. Krasaung Phiwang is a detective in one of the most corrupt police departments in the world, but he is an honest man and a good cop. Now his job—and perhaps his life—depends on finding enough evidence to convict the American of murdering his rival, whether he is guilty or not.
FROM WILLIAM MEISHEID: Beginnings: Book One of the Chronicles of the Lawgiver
The year is 1292 B.C. and Egypt has almost recovered from more than a generation of turmoil. Begun by the “Pharaoh who is not named,” the nation was plunged into social and religious chaos by a leader who overthrew the historic gods of the Two Lands in his desire to follow a single supreme and all-powerful deity, which he named Aten.
The powerful priesthood of Amun-Ra blamed and sought destruction of the Hebrews for corrupting the forgotten pharaoh with their heretical religious ideas. However, they sought to accomplish their annihilation in a way that would not destroy the economy of Egypt since the Two Lands had become dependent on Hebrew labor. By killing all newborn males, the blight would gradually be removed from the land within one generation.
Now, during the fourth year of a fledgling dynasty, a new threat is taken from the waters of the Nile by the sister of Pharaoh: a Hebrew child who should rightfully be put death as an offering to Sobek, the crocodile-headed god. However, the princess is childless and abundant signs and portents signal the gods have an opinion in the matter.
Through numerous twists and turns of an eventful day, Pharaoh and his priests seek the will of the gods in council, while Nephura, the Chief Priest of Amun-Ra in Memphis, seeks his own resolution to the problem. Before the day is out the destiny of two nations is forever changed as the name of Moses is first etched into the annals of history.
Discover possible answers to questions that have long remained problems such as what happened to the edict and why wasn’t Moses put to death as required by the law.
FROM GERALD L. HALL: Unwanted Gifts
Stewart Williams was a seemingly ordinary man working for a Defense Logistics Agency office. But he had inherited an extraordinary family gift to create objects seemingly out of thin air and to heal people with a mere touch. When Stewart uses this gift to heal his wife Sarah, help his community, his state and America. His act leads to an year-long adventure with many twists and turns. With the aid of several friends from his church, Stewart and his wife go into hiding from a hostile President B.H. Arnold with a hidden agenda once their identity is discovered. Because of the unexpected consequences set into motion by Stewart’s incredible act, events lead to a massive terrorist attack on America and an even more dramatic response on the part of Stewart and his wife.
FROM DANIEL ZEIDLER: Ghosts of a Fallen Empire
In the distant future an isolated human world has survived the Nomad Wars and the Fall of Imperium. Together with their non-human allies, the Dussakairay and the Bregus, they repopulated and rebuilt their devastated region of the galaxy to form a 40 system Commonwealth. For over five centuries the people of the Commonwealth have known only peace and prosperity, but an ancient enemy has been watching from the ruins of the old Imperium, slowly rebuilding their forces, and waiting for their opportunity to reduce the Commonwealth to ashes. The founders of the Commonwealth may have given up their Imperium, but they did not give up all of the Imperium’s secrets. Now the only hope for the people of the Commonwealth lies with the Ghosts of a Fallen Empire.
Are you looking for a fun and entertaining science fiction story with action, adventure, intrigue, a little humor, and dash of romance? How about one that also has star yacht racing, thrilling space battles, and clever, daring heroes you’ll enjoy rooting for? If you answered “Yes!” or even if you answered “I’m not sure… maybe?” then Ghosts of a Fallen Empire just might be the story you’re looking for!
FROM LAURA MONTGOMERY: Simple Service: Science Fiction Colonization Adventure (Martha’s Sons Book 1)
They’re stranded beyond the known stars. Will Peter Dawe’s perilous mission with a brother he despises end in death?A lost starship’s settlers, isolated on an uncharted alien world, manage to terraform a mountain-ringed valley into a rich replica of Earth. Despite their success reproducing the environment they need to survive and thrive, only tenuous forces hold together the human colony on the world of Not What We Were Looking For. The governor’s appropriation of the western settlers’ weapons for the city strains those bonds to breaking point—and then beyond when Peter Dawe’s father sends him to get the weapons back.
Twenty-year-old Peter Dawe’s restless nature easily endures the lost colony world’s rigors. His genetic modifications make it even easier. So when Peter retrieves the family weapon, he also brings back a motorbike, a piece of technology no longer available to everyone.
It would be a fine prize to keep to himself. He won it. He earned it. He quickly learns that his brother Simon lies in wait to take what isn’t his. Simon wants more than just the motorbike. He wants Peter’s glory.
But when Peter’s father forces him to take his hated older brother on Peter’s next mission, the pair must not only navigate the city’s perils and politics but learn to work together—when neither thinks the other should be in charge. Their success—and their very lives—depend on it. Or will Peter be proven right that he should have faced this task alone?
Simple Service is the first book in the immersive Martha’s Sons science fiction series. If you like gripping action, insurmountable odds, and alien worlds, you’ll love Laura Montgomery’s tale of a man determined not to let family ties sabotage mission success.Buy Simple Service to pull off the impossible today!
FROM ELLEN KUHFELD: Secret Murder: Who Shall Judge?
In the days of old, life could be cheap.
Death, however, could be very expensive.
“There is one problem. And here he comes, at this very moment.”
Yes, Thorolf Pike was trouble. Declared an outlaw and exiled from his home, he had come from Surtsheim, where his fellow Norsemen lived, to Northlanding, where English settlers lived. Now he was dead, by an unknown hand. Who killed him? And, should the murderer be judged by English law, or by Norse law, for the crime of secret murder?
FROM HENRY VOGEL: The Hostage in Hiding
In a family full of heroes, Nora Connaught is the normal one. She’s never fought space pirates. Never saved anyone’s life. Never done anything remotely heroic.
Now she’s 18, and going off to college on another planet. Nora hopes she’ll finally get to live a normal life.
But life never goes as expected.
After pirates hijack the starliner she is traveling on, putting thousands of lives at risk, Nora must live up to the Connaught name.
Can she cast her own heroic shadow?
FROM HARDING MCFADDEN: Making Monsters: -stories
Welcome, all, inside the head of Harding McFadden! With open arms, he invites you to visit with an assortment of strange guests: a robot on a forgotten world, and a deadly visitor on Halloween night in Sleepy Hollow. The undead at the end of the world, and the last cursed soul thereon in his workshop at the top of the Earth. A barbarian, charging at a beast from beyond the stars, and an incredible heroine, looking eye-to-eye at forever. Here are tales of old friends, and lost loves, the world under our feet, the furthest stars, and points in-between. Won’t you visit for a while?
Five Stars: “It is an amazing book, can’t stop reading it. Harding McFadden and Chester Haas did an amazing job with keeping the reader intrigued through out the entire book. I highly recommend, can’t wait for the next one.” Amazon review of The Children’s War
Five Stars: “A great adventure book exploring important themes for today’s society. Godchick is an interesting and entertaining character that still manages to come off as believable, with relatable emotions and experiences.” Amazon review of The Great First Impressions Trip
Five Stars: “The book was really amazing, I could not put it down. I read some of the stories over and over. It has easily become one of my favorites. Harding Mcfadden has easily become one of my favorite authors. Can’t wait for his next book!!!!!!!” Amazon review of The Judas Hymn
FROM ROB HOBART: The Sword of Amatsu (Empire of the Sun and Moon Book 1)
For four centuries, the Empire of the Sun and Moon has been torn apart by war as its samurai Clans fight for the empty throne of the Emperors. The Gray Wolf Clan is one of only six Clans remaining, but faces a deadly threat from the more powerful and ruthless Jade Dragon Clan. Yet the greatest threat to the Empire is not the bloody ambitions of its samurai. The shadowy followers of the Cult of the Mask, worshippers of foreign demons, burrow through the Empire’s society like worms in rotten meat, growing in power year by year.
As battles rage and conspiracies fester, the fate of the Empire will turn on the actions of a handful of samurai. The young lord Ookami Akira, trained by monks to be a master of war but desperately ignorant of the Empire’s civilization, must learn to be the ruler of the Gray Wolf Clan or he and his people will perish. Kuroi Kaede, a naïve girl forced into an unwilling marriage to Akira, must master the courts if she is to survive. The lowly magistrate Kobayashi Mitsui is the only one in the Empire who recognizes the true scale of the threat from the Cult of the Mask. And the murderous wandering swordsman Kenji may hold the fate of all in his blood-stained hands…
FROM TONY MCKINLEY: The President’s Suit: How Dr. Applebreath and the Little White Ball Saved the World from Nuclear Annihilation
What would be the opposite of a Black Hole, a gravity source so powerful that not even light can escape it? The opposite would be a negative gravity source so powerful that nothing can even touch it! Dr. Applebreath has been developing energy weapons and defenses for decades built on this concept. JJ’s President’s Suit is a lightweight business suit that employs this principle to render the wearer invulnerable to small arms fire by absorbing the incoming energy of approaching projectiles and reflecting them back with equal momentum. Farley’s Anti-Gravity Ballroom enabling dancers to swim and float through the air under the towering ceilings employs the same principle. Then one Christmas Eve, in the Satellite Ballroom that shares all information sources on the planet, our heroes see that nuclear war is erupting between the global super powers. It’s time to save the world, it’s time for The Little White Ball!
FROM KYRA HALLAND: Daughter of the Wildings Books 1-3
In the Wildings, magic can get you killed.But sometimes, it’s the only thing that can save you.
The gunslinging mage. The rancher’s daughter with a dangerous secret. Together, they must stop a renegade wizard before the dark and deadly power he’s discovered destroys everyone who makes the Wildings their home.
And the adventure begins…
If you love magic, adventure, and romance in a unique setting, come discover the wonders and mysteries of the Wildings with magical bounty hunters Silas Vendine and Lainie Banfrey in this innovative epic romantic fantasy-western series. This ebook collection contains three full novels: Beneath the Canyons, Bad Hunting, and The Rancher’s Daughter.
Contains language, violence, and mild to moderate sensual content.
FROM LARRY DENNINGER: Songs for Clara
Rochester, New York, the summer of 1986. While clearing out the attic of his childhood home, Frank Stephens discovers a hidden collection of songs, composed by his father, for a woman named Clara.
But his mother was named Louise, and she died of cancer eight years ago. His father, now living in a retirement home, is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and is likely unable to give an explanation. Even if he could, would he? Their relationship bears scars of lifelong unresolved arguments and grudges. Despite these obstacles, and his sister’s objections, Frank is determined to discover Clara’s identity.
Frank is convinced his father was unfaithful. His search for the truth uncovers secrets and promises, which causes him to reconsider everything he once believed to be true – about his life, his parents, and his future.
FROM WILLIAM ALAN WEBB: Standing The Final Watch: (Last Brigade) (The Last Brigade Book 1)
America might be dead, but Nick Angriff will kick your ass to resurrect her.
Lt. General Nick Angriff has spent his adult life protecting family and country from a world of terrorism spinning out of control. On the battlefield, off the grid, in clandestine special task forces and outright black ops, Angriff never wavers from duty. But when a terror attack on Lake Tahoe kills his family, he’s left with only the corrosive acid of revenge… that is, until a hated superior officer reveals the deepest of all secret operations. Against the day of national collapse, a heavily-armed military unit rests in cryogenic storage, to be awakened when needed, and Angriff is named its commander.
Fifty years later he wakes to find the USA destroyed and predatory warlords roaming the ruins. Stalked by assassins bent on seizing his command for their own purposes, Angriff has to prepare for war while avoiding murder.
Because the only wall still shielding survivors from slavery and death are the men and women of The Last Brigade.
FROM RACHELLE AYALA: Red Hexed: Ruby (Love Charmed Romance Book 2)
When all you need is beauty, and the Devil’s serving boy needs you to play dead—with Hella, the Norse Goddess of Death.
Ruby Rush lost her face to a fire and has been in hiding ever since. When her best friend brings her a magical mirror, she finds herself through the looking glass with Roger Rok, a demigod son of the Norse God of Love.
He’s looking for a berserker sword to stop the end of the world, and in return for her help, promises her a beauty beyond her wildest dreams. But bargains, as well as mirrors and hearts, are made to be broken—especially when Ruby comes face to face with Hella and is whisked away to her icy realm of death.
While Ruby fends with Hella, Roger must deal with the conflicting desires of Odin, Loki, Hella, and Freya while a shapeshifting horsefly turned cockatoo leads or misleads them on their journey to stop Ragnarok.
Ruby tries to protect her heart, and Roger does his best to charm and protect her into helping him navigate modern day San Francisco. As the end of the world draws near, will Ruby discover that Roger’s professed love is not an illusion? More importantly, will Ruby and Roger find what they’re truly looking for?
Vignettes by Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike.
So what’s a vignette? You might know them as flash fiction, or even just sketches. We will provide a prompt each Sunday that you can use directly (including it in your work) or just as an inspiration. You, in turn, will write about 50 words (yes, we are going for short shorts! Not even a Drabble 100 words, just half that!). Then post it! For an additional challenge, you can aim to make it exactly 50 words, if you like.
If you have questions, feel free to ask.
Your writing prompt this week is: CROW