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 MACKEY CHANDLER: A Reluctant Sovereign (Family Law Book 7)
When North America attacked the space habitats beyond the Moon they had no plan B if they failed. The Earth Claims Commission was already suffering a credibility crisis and North America’s disastrous failure and defeat left them with no muscle. Far flung worlds and stations were abandoned with no banking, no supply, and no news. The explorers who were owed royalties were cut off too. Lee and her father Gordon weren’t about to sit still for that. If you can repossess a ground car, why not a planet? Lee had standing to be sovereign of Providence but wasn’t all that fond of planets. She didn’t want to be bogged down with the day to day drudgery of sovereignty like her friend Heather on the Moon. Was there any reason she couldn’t have her cake and eat it too? None that she could see.
FROM C. V. WALTER: The Alien’s Major Dilemma (Alien Brides: The Chelion Conspiracy Book 1)
When an elite Chelion scout crashes on an uncharted planet, the last thing Cooper expects is to find his mate. But after kidnapping a fiery human Marine named Marissa, he discovers an unbreakable bond forming between them that defies all logic.
Stranded together and hunted by mysterious forces, Cooper and Marissa must navigate a web of intrigue that stretches across the stars. With the help of unlikely allies, they uncover shocking secrets about Cooper’s own people, the Chelions, and their ancient enemies, the Dragor.
As the pair grow closer, Marissa helps Cooper question everything he thought he knew. But when a long-lost Chelion artifact resurfaces, it puts a target on Cooper’s back and threatens to tear the lovers apart forever.
In a world of danger and deception, can Cooper and Marissa’s newfound bond survive? Or will the truth of the Chelions’ past destroy any hope for their future?
Strap in for a wild ride across the galaxy in this steamy sci-fi romance, where two hearts from different worlds discover that love knows no bounds, and the greatest adventure of all is letting yourself trust another.
FROM J. M. ANJERWIERDEN: Mech Bunny
Humans won the war against the Blues, thanks in large part to the neural link they stole from the aliens. Few people can use it properly, though, and anyone with the right kind of brain gets conscripted immediately — even ordinary high school kids.
All Sophie wanted to do was be a dancer. She definitely hadn’t planned on piloting a sixty-foot ANGEL mech with only a cranky rabbit mechanic to talk to, or fighting the genetically engineered foxes and wolves that had turned on the humans once the aliens were gone.
She’s lost count of the battlefields she’s seen, but this next one is the worst yet. Ordered to defend a crucial forward operating base on a volcanic planet, forces are stretched thin, so she’ll have only infantry and artillery support, no other ANGELs.
One girl, one rabbit, and one giant robot up against creatures designed to be relentless soldiers.
Creatures who have mechs of their own.
Great.
FROM SCOTT MCCREA: U.S. Marshal Ezra Flint: Cold As Flint: A Western Adventure (A U.S. Marshal Ezra Flint Western Book 2
The second Western adventure in a brand new series from Scott McCrea!
U.S. Marshal Ezra Flint is on a cross-country trek with a madman in custody and a pack of hired killers in hot pursuit!
When Cass Malone is convicted of murdering a child, a doctor convinces the governor that the man is insane. Flint and the doctor are ordered to transport the lunatic to the state asylum.
But the victim’s father has other plans. He hires a group of badmen to stop Flint and kill the killer.
But … what if the man is innocent? Flint has his doubts and will fight to save an innocent man while dealing with gunmen, rogue Cheyenne and a know-it-all doctor.
FROM RACONTEUR PRESS: Moggie Noir (Raconteur Press Anthologies Book 31)
The question remains whether you should tuck into this volume in a comfy chair for a bit of adventure. Well, if you like cats, there’s more than a little of something you love in the pages or pixels herein because, instead of a bland all-two-legger cast, these stories feature felines as central or pivotal characters. If you are a fan of noir fiction, you’ll enjoy how these authors have explored this genre and maybe stretched the bounds of what you find familiar. Some are set in the 1930s, some are present day, and some are who-knows-when.
After all, who better than a cat might convey the contradictions of a ruthless killer enrobed in the most exquisite package of sumptuous fur with glittering emerald eyes? No one, see? Cats are the ultimate expression of the noir aesthetic, and we hope you will agree, but fasten your seatbelts: it’s going to be a bumpy read.
FROM HOLLY CHISM: Lizzy’s Tail
A small, plush horse learns what it means to be real when a little girl chooses her and takes her home. Through adventures and accidents, Lizzy the horse becomes real to her little girl, Carrie, even though she is still a toy.
FROM LEIGH KIMMEL: Lunar Surface Blues
The High Frontier is no place for foolishness, but nature can always make a better idiot.
Four years ago, Molly’s parents brought her up here to the Moon when their work brought them to Shepardsport. In the time since that move, she’s earned her place here and a seat on this field trip. Only one problem — she’s been given the worst possible EVA partner.
A pencil-necked dweeb with an attitude, Benji wants to be one of the guys. But his stunts keep putting them both in danger, and the adults keep blaming Molly.
When Benji gets in over his head, can Molly save him before it costs both their lives?
A short story of the Grissom timeline.
FROM KAREN MYERS: Monsters, And More: A Science Fiction Short Story Bundle from There’s a Sword for That
A Science Fiction Story Bundle from the collection There’s a Sword for That
MONSTERS – Xenoarchaeologist Vartan has promised his young daughter Liza one of the many enigmatic lamedh objects that litter the site of a vanished alien civilization.
No one can figure out what they’re good for, but Liza finds a use for one.
ADAPTABILITY – The Webster Marble Deluxe Woodsman, Model 820-E, has been offline for quite some time. Quite some time indeed.
Good thing Webster has a manual to consult, and a great many special functions.
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: ASTONISHING
*Because these are my two weeks of fundraising, I’m obligated to add the following:
This blog is reader funded. I don’t have a grant or a patron. You’re my patrons and only you can compensate for the toil of keeping the blog going day after day, year after year. For the full explanation of why a funding drive, and what I intend to use it for, if you’re interested, go here.
There are several ways of supporting me.
GiveSendGo, for which I make no promises meaning I’m not giving you anything for your contribution; Chapterhouse, for which I will give you my fiction that is in process and yes there will be typos, backtracking, characters who change names suddenly and other mishaps; and Patreon, for which I give you cat pspsps posts. For the more exotic ways to donate: email me for paypal address. The book promo email will do for that: bookpimping at outlook dot com. And there is the snail mail address at: Sarah A. Hoyt, 304 S Jones Blvd #6771, Las Vegas, NV 89107.
I know times are tough — for all of us — and I don’t hold it against anyone who can’t contribute. But all contributions are greatly appreciated. – SAH*
According To Hoyt 
“That’s Astounding! You made my sister shut up!”
“No, I turned her into a rabbit but she’ll automatically turn back to her normal self and then she’ll be screaming at you & me again.”
“Can’t you permanently keep her a rabbit?”
“Possible but much harder to do. Of course if I did, my Master would permanently turn me into a slug.”
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Forgot to click.
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Did you mix up your Pohl and Campbell, there? <g>
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Amazingly, I wasn’t thinking about older SF magazines or SF/F editors/writers.
Astounding but true. [Big Crazy Grin]
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The torchlight was echoed by lights ahead, and Sylvie blinked. Unless they had circled around more than she thought, there was no way short of magic that they could have reached the village so quickly.
Shouts sounded ahead, and she realize that they reached it. Without the use of magic.
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”Astonishing,” Dr. Anderson murmured.
The PTA meeting had been delayed as the new officers bickered about the agenda, and the principal had utilized the time by going through his correspondence. He seemed not to have realized that he had spoken out loud. June glanced at the envelope, lying face up nearby, and noticed the return address was from the school district; she wondered what new absurdity the local bureaucracy had come up with.
Anderson’s head came up and he glanced around. “May I address the Association?” He asked crisply. “I have news here which may take priority. The school board wishes to meet with me within the next two weeks; apparently some of the parents have communicated their concerns regarding safety of students at the school. As you know, the incident of the death was not on school property -“
”That we know of,” Pam Kolte, the new treasurer, interrupted. “And there was the break-in in one of the classrooms. And by the way, it wasn’t me who notified the school board.”
Anderson raised an eyebrow. “Regardless, I will need to make arrangements to meet with them, so perhaps we could shorten this meeting. I can stay until 3:15, but no later.”
The PTA officers looked dissatisfied, but agreed.
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For some reason, I spotted Don and Betty Draper in the crowd! :-)
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“It’s astonishing that you lived this long,” Hazel replied, eyebrow raised.
“I’ve had to learn about eighty percent of what we do,” I sighed, letting my claws retract, “by myself and by instinct. And figure out the rest from there.”
“And you’ve killed how many drones?”
I waggle my claws back into fingers and test their motion. “Six,” I held up both hands and the right number of fingers. “In less than three years.”
“I’ve only done one in three years,” Hazel sighed. “It’s almost like you’re drone bait.”
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“It’s a creature from the planet Ing, way out in the Carrados System. But Ing has an… interesting evolutionary history. There are two races of intelligent, sapient creatures, both of which are referred to as Ing, singular and plural.”
“Doesn’t that get confusing?”
“In the abstract, yes. If you’ve got any Ing present, however, not so much. It’s not that the two races had a divergent evolutionary track millions of years ago. Life on the planet had two actual genesis… geneses? Genesi? Whatever. It got started twice, quite separately.”
“How sure are we of that?”
“Oh, quite sure. You see, one set of life is carbon-based, and the other is silicon-based. And both gave rise to a sapient species, in the end.”
“So this one is… silicon based.”
“Quite so. He is, in fact, a Stonish Ing.”
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Here, have a carp. You’ve earned it.
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Make that a particularly well-aged and smelly Carp. :-P
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Well done. Much better than the one I was straining towards.
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groooaannn…
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“It’s the most amazing VR headset ever made,” said Simon Slim-Howland proudly. Nigel’s older brother was in Product Development.
“It looks like an ordinary pair of spectacles,” said Nigel.
“But it covers the entire sensory experience,” insisted Simon. “Not just visual and audio, but olfactory and tactile. Try ‘em on!”
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Nigel Slim-Howland donned the VR headset. In a moment he was gaping in wonder. He could see the bird feeder, smell bacon frying, feel the roughness of the brickwork.
He was home, ten years old. “How did you get Howland Hall in here?” said Nigel.
“What? We didn’t!” said Simon.
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In the virtual world, he heard someone behind him.
“Nigel?”
He knew that voice.
“Nigel?”
Memories of that day 25 years ago flooded his mind in a single heartbreaking instant.
“Nigel, I’ve missed you so!”
He turned – there she was, grey skirt, blue jumper, ribbon in her black hair. Lily!
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Gasp! What happens next?
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Ditto! First page grabber there.
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I’ll have to figure that out after work. Expect an unhappy Nigel, though.
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Here we go:
The VR goggles lay shattered, while Nigel, crimson with rage, pinned his older brother against the wall. He could barely manage speaking. “You’re right clever putting Lily in there, weren’t you?”
“I didn’t! We didn’t!” Simon protested.
“Well somebody did,” Nigel sobbed. “Who?”
“I don’t bloody know! Now let go!”
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“And,” called Cora from the lake, “it’s astonishing what Hans can do. He could stop all the fires even the trees exploded!”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Before it caused any damage at all? Wherever it fell?”
Hans colored a little, and Jasper too as Marcus turned his gaze on him.
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”Astonishing!”
”The logical term, Doctor, is ‘fascinating’.”
”Listen you pointy eared walking computer, you can call it what you want, and I can call it what I want. This is my med lab, and this sample is astonishing!”
“There is no need for casting aspersions, Doctor. I am simply pointing out…”
”My lab, my terminology.”
”As you wish.”
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“Whatcha readin’, Carrie? Another dull-as-dirt chick-flick ‘epic’..?”
Her answer made no sense to Adrian, beyond starting with “roonzroonz” or something. She moved the candy in her mouth around a bit and went on, “The new illustrated edition. See?” And turned her tablet.
The chapter-heading picture was actually pretty good. Even reminiscent of old 19th-century archeologists and… stuff. “Looks neat, with all those Egyptian pyramids and obelisks and things, and the dog-headed dudes, and other sorta Stargate-esque stuff.” The girl in the center of it all was actually okay-looking, in a hot-librarian sort of way. It reminded him a bit of the old pulp-era covers he’d seen, minus the mostly-naked chicks.
Though the two moons in the sky seemed really a bit much, even for pulp.
“Not Egyptian. Older,” she said, none too distinctly, shifting the sour candy ball around again. “Way older. One of the least plausible and most fun books I’ve read for a while,” she said almost clearly.
“Almost like one of those classic Astonishing covers from the 30s; but I still didn’t catch the title. ‘Roonzroonz’ isn’t exactly such good English, even if it might be okay Bideyblop.”
“You’re a despicable man, Adrian, and hopelessly nye-kulturny too.”
“Stop Heinlein-cussing at me and tell me again. I’m at least fractionally interested, now. Assuming it’s not one of your endless chick-flicks on a long dusty back road to nowhere, only with better visual design and CGI.”
Carrie tossed her dark hair snittishly, and fiddled with her tablet, then handed it to him. The title page was up, over more background graphics.
Runes, Ruins, and Ruination: The Extraordinary Lost Years of Miss Jane Austen.
“Hey, Jane Austin? Didn’t she write all those infamous chick-flick books, way back when? Her and, oh, Emily Bronto-something?”
“It’s called fiction, Adrian, as in made-up. And since I’ve caught you reading two different authors’ versions of that whole face-on-Mars, lost Earth civilizations, aliens on both planets, legacy-tech galore thing this month — Ian Douglas and Allen Steele, wasn’t it? — you’d likely find it more adventure and less chick-flick-ery than you think.”
“Wait, now, this Austen chick dug up neat old alien gizmos ‘n’ crap too??”
“Adrian, just put a sock in it, dearie, you can read it when I’m done.” A semi-coquettish turn of her head. “And it was Astounding, dearest Adrian, back in the Golden Era days of John Campbell. Not Astonishing, for shame.”
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Thank for for the link to Chandler’s new volume. I discovered the April series here, a few years ago, and it’s always a pleasure when he brings out another book.
(I lately read April aloud to C, and she liked it enough to ask me to start the next volume in that series.)
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A-stonishing we will go, then…
It is, by the way, astonishing how much faster an older, under-powered laptop can operate by simply maxing out the RAM and replacing the spinning HDD with even a mediocre SSD.
Amazing and Astounding, even. But digital, not Analog.
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Yes, I am fishing for carp to restock my backyard fish-killing device. Why do you ask?
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“How is he?” asked King Westel. The high priest of Sigfrey did not answer immediately, frowning as his fingers traced over the filigree on his prayer book.
“Not dead, surely?” Queen Elisya breathed. Her face was pale, as it had been since their son was first stolen away.
“No, not dead,” the priest answered quickly, then he sighed. “Forgive me. I should have said that sooner. He is not dead. Nor is he injured any longer, the Light I bear was enough to ensure that. The boy is sleeping.”
The king grimaced. “Then what is it you fear to say?”
“Majesty, I know not what to say. The ritual you spoke of…”
“Was finished before the guard arrived, yes.” Something dark and empty seemed to be eating everything in his chest, but a king did not show weakness before his people. He straightened his spine even further and kept his eyes locked on the priest. “They did not kill him, so presumably he was not the sacrifice. Which leads me to wonder why they needed my son in the first place.”
The priest looked towards the windows. The sun outside was just beginning to set, surrounded by clouds that burned orange-gold against the darkening sky. He murmured a prayer, then spoke.
“There is a curse that hangs over the prince. If His Majesty would forgive my astonishing lack of humility, I would say that Sigfrey has blessed me with great power, greater than most in our temples. Even what I can bring to bear is not enough to drive the dark away.”
The devouring shadow roared in his ears, but nothing showed on the king’s face. “What sort of curse?”
“Not one of beast-shifting, such as might be tied to the full moon. I could drive that off easily enough.” The priest drummed his fingers on the prayer book now, deep in thought. “The same holds true for anything that might tie him to an artifact, unless that artifact was bound to a demon prince or a similar power. Besides, the boy is four, he could not hide such an artifact from me, your majesties, and the entirety of the royal guard.”
“Then what is it?” asked the queen, her face now finally regaining some color. Her old stubbornness was working its way back into the lines of her face, and the king might have smiled if he had more heart for it. A choice hung before him like a pair of heavily laden scales, and he did not like the shape of it.
“I don’t know,” the priest told her bluntly. “If their majesties will permit it, I would send for one of my people. I know several who are strong in the Light and good with children. We will observe, and search through our books. If he shows symptoms later, knowing of them will help us narrow our search.”
“Give the Captain a list of priests,” the king commanded. “Captain, see that they can be trusted.” The Captain saluted. “The both of you may depart. I thank you for your efforts, Father.”
“I only wish it had been enough,” the priest said quietly. Then he followed the Captain out of the room.
Westel turned to Elisya. “You know what I must do. I cannot trust the people of this kingdom to chance.”
“Give him a year, my love,” she asked, face a mask of calm. “If the curse is not lifted by then -“
“Then our next son shall inherit the throne.”
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“… frowning as his fingers traced over the filigree on his prayer book.”
Love that! Visual and tactile at once!
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Today’s astonishing headlines:
AT LEAST 100 SHOT, 17 FATALLY, DURING VIOLENT 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND IN CHICAGO
Gee, sounds like a perfectly ordinary Chicago weekend to me, along with 17 new Democrat voters. Tell me again what a great job the Democrats do, running our biggest cities.
ACTOR MIKE HESLIN HAS DIED, DOCTORS ‘HAVE NO EXPLANATION’
“He was young, in perfect health, and the doctors have no explanation for what happened.”
One question: How many COVID shots?
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For many of us, Imaginos1892, that is the first question…
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And the second is, “Can I contract the vaccine from a recipient?””
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Kerry looked up at the impossible sky overhead. It was still hard to wrap her mind around the idea that she’d been transported several hundred light-years from Earth and had now been settled on a planet more like what the early science fiction writers had imagined Mars to be — except without the ancient and dying civilizations still lingering along the banks of the canals.
The air was breathable, if a little thin for someone accustomed to living at sea level — more like on the Alteplano of Peru, one of her new neighbors had told her. The gravity was just enough lighter that she had to be careful when picking up heavy things that she didn’t overdo it. Even on warm days the nights could get chilly enough that frostbite was a possibility — which would make agriculture interesting, since the local plant life didn’t appear to be biocompatible with Earth life, or that of any of the species in the Chongu Empire, for that matter.
But to her the most interesting thing was the mysterious ruins that dotted this world, almost always at the intersections of those long channels that had been dug from pole to pole, connecting the ice caps with the few tiny seas this world could claim, not a one of them much larger than Lake Superior back on Earth. Ruins so ancient and worn that not a single building remained intact — yet not so decayed that one could deny they were the work of intelligent beings, now long vanished.
Which raised the question of what had happened to those beings. Had they been wiped out by disease, by some cosmic accident like a magnetar eruption? Or had they somehow gone elsewhere, for all there was no evidence of industrial activity prior to this world’s discovery by the Kitties and their sepoys.
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