Mostly because I’m busy and I have a book out.
Wait, I have a book out? Sure. It’s a short-ish novel (not as a short as some, but about half the size of my normal novels, and it’s the story of a poor guy who has to go to hell.
I actually want to say a few things about it: Deep Pink has a music theme, but this is not a series theme. And other books probably won’t involve Heaven or Hell, which I’m a little uncomfortable dealing with in fiction.
Some of the characters will be continuing to the next book and beyond. Beyond the main, ones, I mean. This is just the setup book.
Note the books below use my Amazon associates link. They give me a little extra money, without costing you anything. Consider using them.
That’s about it, for your COPIOUS spare time over the holidays, I give you:
Like all Private Detectives, Seamus Lebanon [Leb] Magis has often been told to go to Hell. He just never thought he’d actually have to go.
But when an old client asks him to investigate why Death Metal bands are dressing in pink – with butterfly mustache clips – and singing about puppies and kittens in a bad imitation of K-pop bands, Leb knows there’s something foul in the realm of music.
When the something grows to include the woman he fell in love with in kindergarten and a missing six-year-old girl, Leb climbs into his battered Suburban and like a knight of old goes forth to do battles with the legions of Hell.
This is when things become insane…. Or perhaps in the interest of truth we should say more insane.
AND NOW A FEW BOOKS FROM SOME OF MY FRIENDS (OBVIOUSLY NOT ALL. IT WOULDN’T FIT):
FROM ANNA FERREIRA: Christmas at Blackheath.
Agnes Rawlins would never dream of showing a melancholy face to her brother’s guests. She may be a spinster, and treated little better than any common housekeeper, but she is responsible for bringing Christmas cheer into the dark and rambling Blackheath Manor, and she does not shirk her duty, even when she has little reason to celebrate.
William Marlowe, Viscount Claridge, has reluctantly accepted an invitation to spend the Christmas season at Blackheath. It’s not his first choice- how anyone could wish to spend time in the gloomy manor house is beyond him- but when he meets the kind and gentle lady of the house, he find that Christmas at Blackheath might not be so bad after all.
FROM SAM SCHALL: Betrayal from Ashes (Honor and Duty Book 5)
War is never clean. Honor doesn’t always win out. Betrayal becomes the shadow currency that can tip the balance of power.
Colonel Ashlyn Shaw learned those lessons the hard way. Five years ago, she lost her command and her freedom because of the machinations of those willing to betray Fuercon, the homeworld they’d sworn to protect. Supposed allies conspired with enemies. Now Fuercon and its allied systems face a war on multiple fronts.
A war where the enemy doesn’t want a diplomatic solution. One where the enemy claims victory based on the number of civilian deaths.
This is not a war of attrition. It is a war of survival.
It is also a war Ashlyn and her allies have every intention of winning. But to do so, they must first unravel the layers of a conspiracy that goes much deeper than any of them suspect.
Honor and duty. Death before dishonor.
FROM JIM CURTIS: The Grey Man- Generations.
A new generation carries on the legacy of service in the latest Grey Man novella…
Marine Corporal Jace Cronin, a scout/sniper, survived insurgents in the Philippines, only to be handed an even greater challenge: the Naval Academy. He won’t be headed in alone, though. Esme Carter got her own slot and is ready to go head to head with him over who’s the best. They’ve got their eyes on lieutenant’s bars and pilot slots, and woe betide anyone who gets in the way!
FROM JASON FUESTING: By Dawn’s Early Light (Echoes of Liberty Book 1).
Eric Friedrich was supervising the last ice harvesting shift for his ship’s shot-up environmental systems when they detected an anomalous ice comet drifting by. Investigating the icy tomb, Eric finds a ship that couldn’t exist–a relic from a nation the Protectorate killed billions to erase from history… And will kill even more to keep secret.
When his world explodes, Eric must make allies in the unlikeliest places, and seize even the slimmest chance of survival while unraveling a conspiracy that shattered planets and set off interstellar war!
FROM PAM UPHOFF: Moles (Wine of the Gods Book 48).
A short story. #48 in the Wine of the Gods Universe
Ice, a top notch Analyst has just been given a new assignment. To investigate his best friend, and find out if he’s a foreign agent.
Dog, an up and coming young analyst has a new assignment–to investigate his friend and Mentor, and find out if he’s a foreign agent.
Could get interesting . . .
FROM KAL SPRIGGS: Stolen Valor (Forsaken Valor Book 2)
They stole my life, so I stole one right back.
My name is William Alexander Armstrong. I come from a long, honorable, military family. My grandparents were heroes back home… but not me. Kidnapped by pirates, I’ve had to fight to survive on the streets of an alien world. Only now, I’ve got a way out.
The only trouble is, my way out is to serve in the enemy’s military, hidden under a stolen identity. I’ve got to hide who I am, build alliances, and hope to keep my head down at a military institute where one in three trainees don’t survive.
But hiding isn’t in my blood. I’m an Armstrong, I’m born to fight, born to lead… and in this case, that might be the only thing that saves me. Because something is rotten at the Heart of Drakkus Prime, and stolen identity or not, valor may be the only thing to save the day.
FROM LAURA MONTGOMERY: Long in the Land (Martha’s Sons Book 2)
A lost starship.
A lost colony.
A man on the run.
Peter Dawe shares the same horizons as the rest of the stranded starship’s offspring. First Landing shelters them from the worst aspects of the planet, but it doesn’t shelter them from each other.
Sure, Peter was recovering stolen property, but the colony’s governor doesn’t see it that way, and Peter faces a stark choice. He can stay on the farm and bring the governor’s wrath down on his family, or he can run.
He wants to stay and fight, but the day an aircraft—a machine not seen for decades—appears in the sky, everything changes.
And the person hunting the aircraft also hunts for Peter.
FROM SABRINA CHASE: Soul Code.
A very secret war…
With the planet Beredul liberated, the Wiyert and the humans from Earth celebrate their first victory against the fadohl—but at a cost. The fadohl now suspect the existence of an enemy. And they must never know the location of that enemy, since Earth’s defenses consist of two stolen AI ships and a ragged band of Wiyert armed with salvaged weapons.
How can the Earth humans hope to defeat the advanced technology of the galaxy-spanning fadohl?
By never, ever, letting them know there’s a war…
FROM MARGARET BALL: A Child of Magic (Applied Topology Book 7)
An old enemy, a new threat… When their son Aleksi is kidnapped, Thalia and Lensky are left wondering if the reason is ransom (bad) or revenge (worse). It’ll take all Thalia’s genius for applied topology (aka magic) to retrieve their baby – and meanwhile, the other topologists are turning into cats, getting jailed in the eighteenth century, and otherwise keeping life interesting.
FROM PETER GRANT: Taghri’s Prize
Taghri has left the Sultan’s army to seek his fortune – and he seizes opportunity when it knocks. In the confusion of a pirate raid on a trading caravan, he kills their leader and captures their ship. The vessel is now his prize of war… but some prizes may be more trouble than they’re worth!
Nestled among the gold coins in the captain’s cabin is a stolen Temple sacrificial knife, whose Goddess is now paying close attention – too close! – to its new owner. Among the slaves he’s freed is a princess, formerly being held for ransom, who comes with political and personal intrigues all her own. Even if he survives the attention of both, there’s also a pirate lord out there, hell-bent on avenging the death of his son.
It’s going to take all of Taghri’s skill, experience and cunning to survive winning this prize!
FROM ALMA T. C. BOYKIN: Eerily Familiar: Familiar Tales Book Seven
Something hunts the hunters . . .
Something waits in the shadows, watching. Lelia Chan and her Familiar, Tay, hear vague rumors of trouble among the shadow mages. Everyone’s heard rumors before, and keeping her boss happy is more important. Then a painting tries to capture her friend. When her mentor and good friend André and his Familiar Rodney both go missing, Lelia has to take charge.
She’s not ready. No shadow mage ever is. But she’ll find a way or die trying.
Things worse than than death hide in the shadows. And they LIKE meeting over-confident young mages . . .
According To Hoyt 
Merry Christmas.
G-D bless us, every one.
For the more secularly inclined, this reminder of night travelers who will be out this night …
Yippee-yi-yay
Loved it ! Thank you!
That was epic.
Santa Claus is the original hot rod speed merchant.
Sent me off on a night of listening to yet another new favorite… I’m going to have to start the playlist sometime in October pretty soon (conservatively, I’ve added a bit over nine hours this years).
My favorite, so far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u5UvnKlCTA
Indeed, a very Merry Christmas to all.
What No Werewolf and No Red-Headed Witch?
I’m sure that Seamus Magis would have loved to have them along for his invasion of Hell! 😆
Of course it is one of the inspirations….
Nod. 😀
In case, anybody is wondering. Poul Anderson in “Operation Chaos” had a werewolf and a red-headed witch (& her cat) invade Hell to rescue their daughter.
Of course, Sarah’s Hell is somewhat different than Poul’s Hell. 😀
They had a Chaos box set for $1.99 earlier this month….
yes. But both are disorganized hells, which is important, in a way.
What No Werewolf and No Red-Headed Witch?
My mind convoluted that and I was thinking of Earl and Heather and how unfair that was going to be for the denizens of hell.
Tut, tut, tut — that’s two werewolves, one red-headed.
In Operation Chaos, no.
EXACTLY!
Those two are not named Earl and Heather, either.
OH!
Throwing this in because I can:
Merry Christmas, whichever side of the elvish culture wars you fall on.
I like Deep Pink. It does a nice job of having sufficient humor to effectively deal with hell, rather than making it look all…cool and stuff.
Yep.
I started the first of the Yankee Republic books, (’tis a rather short novel, or perhaps a novella), and Deep Pink is next in line. The teaser was intriguing.
$SPOUSE is reading Hear the Wind Blow, and I’ll read that sooner or later. Have to remind her to skip the spoilers. She’s a sucker for mysteries and true-crime (I loaded the Dyce Dare stories on her new Kindle.)
It’s interesting to see how the ‘Zon got the Kindle Fire prices down. My Mk I version acts like a generic tablet, while hers is loaded with advertising and frequent requests to go online to get more ads.
Very well done. It’s very solidly constructed, albeit I kinda think some monologuing from the baddie as they left would have made the end even more fun. But why give baddies anything?
I look forward to.further books.
Do you know how MUCH theology I read before I wrote that?
And in the way my subconscious works, I first did the research and then figured out WHY. 😀
FWIW, I got a serious “oh!” moment when…someone… had his ah-ha moment about the baddie’s motivation.
It works!
’twas the night before Christmas,
and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring,
except for the mouse.
Who was leaving a message to Sarah to leave all the electronic devices off for the day and just enjoy your family.
Merry Christmas to All!
Quick question – can I send something to you at the Goldport P.O. addy?
And P.S. viz actual post content: Sold!
If it’s an email, send it to my two initials my last name at the thermally enhanced email.
I had been if not planning, at least considering, a trip to Denver since I need to take a week of vacation before 22 Feb. But with medical issues, I’m staying home for a week to recover (and likely going bonkers – no lifting anything more than 5 lbs? That means I shouldn’t even lift a gallon of water!). The next week is spoken for, for Libertycon, and I generally use the final week to visit (blood relative) family. Maybe late 2020? Best laid plans of… and all that, so, shall see.
I’m sorry. I was there with eye trouble four years ago.
“But when an old client asks him to investigate why Death Metal bands are dressing in pink – with butterfly mustache clips – and singing about puppies and kittens in a bad imitation of K-pop bands”
Man, that tired, worn-out old trope AGAIN? I dunno . . .
ROFL.
Look, my mind is not normal, okay?
That sounds so familiar, fsr.
Merry Christmas!
And to all a good night. 😀
Oh, and G0d bless us one and all.
I have EWTN on with the St. Peter’s Christmas Eve Mass.
The psalmist was a freaking boy soprano, poor kid. He was a trouper, though. Man, I would be so frozen in front of that many thousands of people, in that giant space, but he did it perfectly.
Me too.
BTW the masses at the Cathedral in Denver are a treat. Both because at least all the priests we catch are religion geeks and tend to explain all the details of why things are the way they are, and because opera singers tend to be inn the choir. 😀
Makes for rather beautiful services.
Oh, wow.
Merry Christmas!
And to you too.
Merry Christmas, and wonderful third night of Hanukkah, to all and sundry. Thank you for the promo, Sarah!
I wanted to make a picture of all the huns celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah, but I ran out of time.
To our gracious hostess;
Grabbed DEEP PINK, because it sounded weird, and right now weird is right. Fun, but are you aware that for some stupid reason the Kindle app for iPad thinks the ‘beginning’ of the book is chapter 2?
Hardly a major flaw, but odd.
THAT is weird.
Merry Christmas to Sarah, her family, and all here!
Best wishes to all for a Very Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah, a glorious Festivus, a Happy End-of-Calendar-Year-Use-It-Or-Lose-It-Days-Off Work Break, and a most Happy and Heathy New Year!!
Congratulations on another book out, Sarah! That’s awesome!
Thank you. Winter Prince next month, and then Dyce because Team Greebo voted for it.
A very Merry, Joyful, and Peaceful Christmas to all; may the Miracle of Light also shine upon you and yours, in this season and all seasons.
Amen
Hang those stockings …
Bank that fire!
Put on your dancing slippers …
Prepare ye to dance Santa’s polka.
Merry Christmas and/or (fill-in-the-blank) to you all!
Happy third night …
A great miracle happened, as Yshua granted His grace.
yes, indeed. The light that should have gone out burned on. Because Himself is GREAT.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Crabby Festivus, and Joyful Solstice to all! But, especially Merry Christmas!
A last touch before Christmas Eve passes unto the day.
Merry Christmas, one and all.
Sigh – it was only about 11:30 when I hit “Post Comment” and went to another tab.
(Shakes fist of righteous wallaby wrath) Curse you, WP!
Something for our Dominion Huns …
May we always believe in Father Christmas.
Merry Christmas to all!
So, um, anybody wanna play “It ain’t Christmas without…”? For me, it goes like this:
It ain’t Christmas without…
… waiting for the Coca-Cola Christmas ad to start running, thus signifying the official start of the season.
… enjoying the five or so snowy days you get in a nigh-Mediterranean climate, that never seem to match the actual Christmas eve.
… trying Western style traditional Christmas foodstuffs like eggnog, but never really straying from the local customs during the actual Christmas dinner.
… decorating the tree in the last minute, under the sounds of Dolly Parton’s “Home for Christmas” album (plus a couple of duets with Kenny Rogers).
… finding “Home Alone” running on at least one national television channel.
… finding “Die Hard” running on another.
… watching “Love Actually” and discovering a new form of love in it every year.
… eating a rather bland meatless Orthodox-style dinner (mostly beans and various pickles), but not before requiring a family team effort not to flub the Lord’s Prayer. Also includes breaking the obligatory vasilopita (bread with a coin in it), and trying to ascertain if last year’s recipient really did have a better fortune for getting the coin.
… opening otherwise menial presents like belts and kitchen wares with the same joy as childhood toys; though maybe I’m just easily pleased.
and of course,
… vowing to have a full-month, organized, proper Christmas season next year… while pretty much expecting it to go the same way as before, due to overwork and unforeseen schedule changes. But knowing it’ll be fun all the same.
Snagged Deep Pink but will not be reading it right away. Nothing against it, mind. Just that since doc(s) say I need to do pretty much a whole lot of not much for a week plus, I expect I’ll be reading a lot. That and I figure reading of much of any afterlife stuff before medical procedures is potential problems.
Mountain optional.
It’s a metaphor, I think.
Merry Christmas to Sarah and all the Huns!
The central movement of Lauridesn’s “O Nata Lux.” The birth of Light:
If you can find a bigger chorus doing it well, it’s even better,
A Merry Christmas to each and every one. To families near and far, to husbands and wives, daughters and sons. For those of us working today, to keep the peace, to keep the lights on and the water flowing, to watch over the innocent and keep a two eyes on the guilty. For kindnesses great and small, for blessings unnoticed and unthought, for warm blankets and hot food, for good books and the miracle that is the US, we rejoyce.
Whether standing tall on watch or silently in the shadows, in the air and below the sea, in the filthy mud and the gritty sandbox, a Merry Christmas to those far from hearth and home as well. You are not forgotten. Be blessed and know the greater task is seen by those back home.
For the gifts of family, pets, friends close and not yet met, it is a good day. May himself bless and keep you. Leave the matters of politics and strife for another day. For today, be well, be happy, and share it with those you love.
I mentioned this in Sarah’s Diner but Marion Harmon published a Christmas Wearing The Cape short novel titled “A Christmas Choir”.
Nice little story with a very special character (no spoilers). 😀
Merry Merry, and thanks for the Surprise Promo! 😀