Book Promo And Vignettes By Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

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.*Note that I haven’t read most of these books (my reading is eclectic and “craving led”,) and apply the usual cautions to buying. I reserve the right not to run any submission, if cover, blurb or anything else made me decide not to, at my sole discretion.– SAH

FROM JERRY BOYD: There’s No Space Like Home (Bob and Nikki Book 44)

The Gene scrambles to help Milly. Watch as they get through the obstacles to bring her home safe. Bob and Nikki decide to finish their shore leave on Earth. A nice relaxing few days in the Holler, right? You know better by now, don’t you? Come find out what all happens.

FROM LAURA MONTGOMERY: The Wheels Run Truly: A Science Fiction Lost Colony Adventure (Martha’s Sons Book 6)

Two brothers fight for freedom. A lost colony’s governor strives to reinvent the feudal state. Can Martha’s sons escape to liberty and a future?

Thaddeus Dawe is a patient man. On a planet where only the valley of First Landing is fully terraformed, he waits for spring’s agonizingly slow arrival. He plans to take the colony’s last terraseeder to fortify a secret northern enclave outside the governor’s control. When the palace loses power in late winter, Thaddeus scrambles to save his and his brothers’ hopes for independence.

Peter Dawe suffers under another secret. When he receives his brother’s call to return from exile to save the terraseeder, Peter forces himself to disclose his long-planned departure to those who sheltered and befriended him, including the woman he wants in his life. None of that goes as planned, and he heads north responsible once again for too many lives.

With the terraseeder losing power, a promise he has yet to fulfill, and the governor’s men against him, Thaddeus fears the new chaos marks the imminent death of the essential terraforming microbes and the failure of the new world he plans to build. Peter has spent the winter learning skills for his brothers’ northern plans, but joining Thaddeus’ team puts not only his own life at risk, but that of the woman he gives up to friendship.

Can the Dawe brothers escape the governor’s dominion with the life-giving terraseeder in time, and with their friends and loved ones alive?

The Wheels Run Truly is the final installment in the gripping science fiction colonization series, Martha’s Sons. If you like driven heroes, deep bonds of love and friendship, and a fight for freedom, you’ll need to read Laura Montgomery’s thrilling adventure tale.

FROM SPENCER HART: The Masuyo Incident

A short story adventure. The Year is 2185, in a timeline not quite our own. The Jovian Guard patrols the space near Jupiter and its inhabited moons, potentially the last uncontaminated human settlements in the Solar System since the plague 50 years ago.

Lieutenant Osiris Jackson, aboard the patrol ship Nevada, intercepts a distress call from the civilian ship Masuyo near the moon Callisto. Is the crippled ship the result of a mere accident, or are more sinister forces in play?

The young officer is plunged into a life-or-death situation with far more at stake than he realizes as he tries to save the mysterious Callistan passengers.

FROM J.M. ANJEWIERDEN: The Long Black (Audiobook)

Version 1.0.0

Morgan always assumed that if she could survive growing up in the mines of Planet Hillman – feared for its brutal conditions and gravity twice that of Earth – she could survive anything. That was before she became a starship mechanic. Now she has to contend with hostile bosses, faulty equipment, and even taking care of her friend’s little girl. Once pirates show up, it’s a wonder she can get any work done at all.

FROM HOLLY CHISM: Normalcy Bias: Look closer…things aren’t always what they seem to be.

Look closer. The things that you’re assuming you’re seeing? May not be what you think. Is that really a mouse, or is it a Brownie? Is that really an owl? Is that polished gemstone a stone…or an egg?

We take so many things for granted. Some of them may be harmless, but many are a lot less so. I wonder how many people ignore red flags every day, because they only see what they expect to see?

This collection takes what’s “normal” and asks “What if it’s something more?”

FROM DALE COZORT: Exchange: Book One of the Exchange Universe

It’s called Bear Country, an untamed alternate reality where humans never evolved, but saber-tooth tigers and suspiciously intelligent little green monkeys did. Random chunks of Bear Country are temporarily swapped—exchanged—with Earth, bringing a risk-averse, bubble-wrapped society unimagined threats, from giant bears to the hazards of unknown bacteria. They also bring opportunity for anyone brave enough—or crazy enough—to settle there.

Computer guru Sharon Mack prepares to evacuate when she finds out her town is about to be Exchanged . But when her crazed ex-husband kidnaps their autistic daughter, dragging her into Bear Country, Sharon has no choice but to go after them, find her daughter, and escape before the Exchange reverses, cutting her off from her own reality forever.
Flash floods and giant bears aren’t the most dangerous thing in this wild frontier. Bands of escaped convicts, with nothing left to lose, roam freely in a land with no laws but survival of the strongest. Then there’s enigmatic Leo West and the secretive Sister West cult, determined to claim Bear Country for their own. And there are those willing to kill to hide the true secrets of the Exchange.

Exchange is the first book in the Exchange universe. The second is Devouring Wind, available now.

FROM LEIGH KIMMEL: Ice Storm

Everywhere Evangeline looks, a thin coating of ice makes objects gleam in the sunlight. However, the beauty proves deceptive, for it hides a deadly secret, one only she can recognize.

In her youth, Evangeline had aspired ot master the powerful magics of her world. Those dreams died the day her Gift awakened uncontrolled and plunged her into a vision of a full fleet battle. The Admiral’s Gift will not be denied, and for Evangeline there was no choice but to trade her mage’s robes for Navy blue.

Now she is faced with an enemy she cannot fight save by magic. Except those who bear the Admiral’s gift are forever barred from working magic.

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.

We recommend that if you have an original vignette, you post that as a new reply. If you are commenting on someone’s vignette, then post that as a reply to the vignette. Comments — this is writing practice, so comments should be aimed at helping someone be a better writer, not at crushing them. And since these are likely to be drafts, don’t jump up and down too hard on typos and grammar.

If you have questions, feel free to ask.

Your writing prompt this week is: Handy

44 thoughts on “Book Promo And Vignettes By Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike”

  1. So… this is a bit weird but I don’t know where else to go with it. We all have dreams while sleeping and I very rarely remember even a bit of what they were. Once in a while I will wake up and remember a sliver of the dream I just came out of. Some may think these thoughts would be good for a story – but I don’t write.

    The sliver: I was approaching a downed/beached ship in my craft (with vague others along) and we were landing the craft/shuttle, whatever on the open deck area of the ship. The stranded ship was the “Elmer Kifkin” and there was some sort of mild storm in progress. Then I woke up. I’m very interested to see where this story goes!

    I looked up the name and found nothing and nobody with that name. There was a Tude Kifkin but from 1901 and nothing else. It’s odd to me as I can’t figure where the name came from. Oh well, food or fodder for those who can figure out more. 

    Oh, yeah – thanks for the book promos as I am looking for more to read! 

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    1. It might pay to keep a notebook and pencil by your nightstand. That way, you can jot down a note or two after you wake up, but before concious life overwrites what you dreamed. 

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  2. “I wish my husband were as handy as Lurie’s is,” June commented as she dealt another bridge hand. “You heard about that electrical problem at the club the other day? We were having dinner and there was a total blackout in the dining room.”

    “So what happened?” Selah asked obligingly.

    “Doug talked his way into the kitchen and took a look…” Too late, June realized that spreading the news of the sabotage might not be a good idea. “It was too complicated for him to fix, but he was able to give the staff some advice.” She gave a little shrug and focused on her cards, trying to pass the episode off as an inconvenience.

    Selah’s sharp look indicated she hadn’t been fooled. “I heard there had been some issues with the management over there. Hope this isn’t connected,” she replied in a low voice.

    “I hope not. Two clubs.”

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    1. Somehow I imagine a folding card table and a starburst clock on the wall, flanked by paintings of sad waifs. There’s a round flourescent light in the kitchen, illuminating teal-colored Formica countertops. The ladies playing bridge are all wearing dresses in styles meant to spite the other women. In my minds eye, the colors are highly saturated, like a Technicolor film from the 1950s. 

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  3. “Handy”?

    My mind is split between a vignette featuring a telekinetic or a vignette featuring a multi-handed alien. :wink:

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  4. I should know better than to come here after a day of being handy. I read the one author’s name as “An Weirdo” and was wondering if they knew anything about English articles…

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  5. Ciara went to help. So did Autumn and Karlos, but none of the three of them were as handy as the twins were. The twins idly talked of how they had had teachers in these matters, for the wilderness. "I should have learned them," she muttered, a bit too loudly.

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  6. The small, balding man in the sweatshirt introduced himself. “Name’s O’Malley,” he said. “I’ve been following you all day, and I’ve got an opportunity for you!”

    Ethan couldn’t believe it. “I’ve never seen you before, but you were following me?”

    “Invisibility,” O’Malley replied, “or obscurity. A handy tool to have!”

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  7. Leaving the dorm, Ethan and O’Malley started across campus. O’Malley lit up a cigar; puffs of smoke trailed him like a steam locomotive.

    “People will give you a hard time for doing that,” warned Ethan.

    “And I’ll tell ‘em to hiss up a rope,” said O’Malley. “That’s another handy skill.”

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  8. ”No not Handsy. Johnny didn’t touch me. Well, he held my hand while we were walking back to where I parked, but I grabbed his hand first and he just held on. I said he was handy.”

    Jennifer looked skeptical. But she always looked skeptical. “Handy how?” she asked, skeptically. Kelly thought Jennifer was a bit jaded from the bad experiences she kept having with the idiot rich kids she picked to date. But Kelly thought Jen was a bit of a gold digger too.

    ”It was my car. The darned front left lift fan would not spin up to full speed, so the diagnostics locked me down and wouldn’t let me lift. He had the cover off in a second and used a little pocket gizmo he had to do something in there and then it came up fine, no errors then or all the way home.”

    Jennifer scowled. “Why didn’t he just fly you back to the apartment?“

    ”Jen, he’s not one of your idiot rich boy toys, he’s only got an old ground-only pickup. I was game but he said it would take a couple hours to drive me all the way out here to this tower. We are way out of town.”

    “And he knew how to fix a lift fan?” More skeptical looks. You’d think she’d run out at some point.

    “He said I should get it to my mechanic to make sure it’s okay, but it looked like, what did he say, an oxidized connector thingie or something like that? He is in the Engineering School, Jen. Just because your Business School boys couldn’t fix their shoelaces doesn’t mean all the guys at this University are like that.”

    ”Hmph.”

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  9. “I said I wanted someone handy, not handsy.”

    “Easy there.” The Shep spread his hands in an appeal for peace. “I was just trying to steady you so you didn’t topple over backward.”

    “Sure, buddy. If you were a Glenn or a Chaffee, I’d buy that. But everybody knows that Sheps are sneaky enough to make it look innocuous. So push off, so I don’t have to make it official.”

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  10. “There you are!” caroled the woman. “How handy! I was afraid I would have to go hunting for you.” Annike’s tongue froze in her mouth. Her feet could not move. Neither could her hands. “Very awkward that would be. Especially given how I have to dispose of all the witnesses. If only they had listened to reason. Or at least let me freeze them in place.” She shook her head. “So much difficulty in doing my work. When you are so vital to it.” Annike blinked, and looked at how the woman moved from person to person. It was important.

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  11. She found her tongue. “Of course they do,” she said. “Sewing for the queen is not that fascinating. So they tell tales, like the one of the old man who was traveling one night when he saw cats having a funeral, black robes and coffin and shovel and all that.”

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  12. THere are many answers to this question, but I am interested in yours:

    Why do so many first books start out auto biographical?

    Fell free to make a direct response rather than blog response, or make a whole post (I’ve obviously missed).

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    1. I actually have no idea. None of mine are. And my first book was the least likely to be auto-biographical.
      Are most autobiographical? I honestly don’t know

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    2. Do you mean literally autobiographical, or including a self-insert character?

      For the first question, I suspect it’s easier for most to tell their own story before they tell anyone (or anything) else’s story. After all, they already know most of it! And when writing an autobiography, you only need to learn how to write. With other books, you need to learn how to imagine (or learn the subject, or both) and how to write.

      For the second – there’s a quote I’ve seen of unknown origin, but possibly attributable to Oscar Wilde: “In every first novel, the hero is the author as Christ or Faust.” Again, it’s easier to learn how to write by using a protagonist similar/identical to yourself than by creating someone different from you in every way then trying to see from their point of view. But there’s also the added bonus of wish fulfillment – if you’re writing fiction with an avatar of yourself as the main character, you can imagine yourself doing all kinds of cool things without the risk/moral danger of doing them yourself. You can be the villain without having uncomfortable conversations with law enforcement, or be the beloved hero without having to put your own skin on the line.

      Apologies if you only meant this question for Mrs. Hoyt, it caught my attention as something worthy of discussion.

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  13. Having spider-bots as your home companions was just so handy at times.

    Our house had nearly two dozen spiders, most of them were the size of a large rat and ran almost entirely in networked mode with the home AI or one of the bigger spiders. We had seven of those, each about the size of a golden retriever and designed so perfectly well that you didn’t get arachnophobia looking at them. Instead, all of the home-spiders had individual personalities, looked cute and cuddly for being eight-legged androids, and they always had some time for you.

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  14. “W C?”
    “Second door on the right.”
    “No, not that W C. The Blues guy.”
    “Oh… yeah.. his recordings are right here. Anything in particular?”
    “Might be cliche by now, but the 1914 version of St Louis Blues is where I think I need to start.”
    “Right here, sir.”
    “Thank you.”

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  15. Potentially sexist Boomer upbringing makes me question why the guy with the gun is hiding behind the girl with the knife; but I haven’t read the story yet… It just seems an odd way to defend her…

    Mind you, there might be many reasons not apparent to my Neanderthal wit…

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      1. Based on how they were facing (ie toward the threat), I’d say that they’re more side-by-side than him behind her.

        Also, based on how they’re standing, I don’t see him holding her hostage.

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    2. Well, obviously the cover is a fail then, if it can be misinterpreted like that.

      Should I go back and try with the original view from the front? (Although the scene lighting will probably look all messed up. I picked this angle with some feedback from an artist, as the red glow highlights really showed up.)

      There’s a fairly early version of front angle show here:

      https://www.deviantart.com/spencerhartwriter/art/Masuyo-Incident-test-33-1030422521

      Liked by 1 person

        1. There was over a week of refinement in lighting, pose and face tweaks, etc. done in between that early version and the published one. I just don’t have any newer renders from that angle.

          Think I’m stuck with it at least for a couple weeks in any event. About to render the cover image for the 3rd story in my current batch I’m releasing (the 2nd one will hopefully appear in next week’s promo, and the 3rd the week after that).

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        2. Re-rendered the image from the front camera view. Much better than I expected. I might be able to make some more tweaks and make an alternate cover out of it.

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            1. The dress has a slit down the front of the skirt, but 2 hours of futzing with the movement morphs included accomplished nothing with the pose I made.. Probably easier to find a different outfit than spend the next year figuring out dForce for draping cloth…

              Liked by 1 person

                2. I might keep that image in mind if I ever write the all the possible sequels to this I proposed to myself years ago – 2 more shorts and 3 novellas. This one is only the “boy meets girl” part.

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      2. Sorry to cause pain There’s nothing wrong with the cover except us old guys would have stuck the “girl” behind us. Obviously, that requires her consent and cooperation.

        There are many, many ways to interpret the scene and the cover art is attractive.

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