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.*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: Nikki’s Day Out
Nikki wants Bob to help a failing colony from her Guide days. It turns out some people don’t want to be helped. Bob is able to explain it to the colonists, but our shepherd is handy with new and different things to worry about. Ride along, and see what BSR gets up to this time.
FROM PAM UPHOFF: Wild West Bar and Grill
Horst Aslanov is a seventeen-year-old criminal. Or at least he aspires to be one. But his mentor is missing, the number two boss is a dictatorial idiot, and it’s hard to say if the possibility of a police raid is better or worse than the violent criminal gang moving into their area.
The Wild West Bar and Grill is a restaurant in a cross-dimensional future Moscow. Serving authentic barbeque, and tiny shows of wild west shootouts. It’s also a cover for an unlicensed brothel . . . which is an extra layer of cover for an ID hacking and brainchip forging operation. But the old forger is missing, and now Horst has to decide if he’s going to try to keep the business running . . . or go straight.
FROM LEIGH KIMMEL: All the Little Hedgehogs
In Soviet Union, genetic engineering does you.
Yona wondered why everyone kept steering him toward a military career, until one of his teachers noticed his aptitude for genetics. Now he’s the personal student of Academician Voronsky, working in a secret genetic engineering facility in a closed town.
However, Yona keeps having to spend as much time babysitting the Academician’s adopted son Kolya as actually doing genetics. When this extra assignment becomes a frustration, Yona learns just how quickly privileges can be retracted.
And then he starts learning just how deep the secrets of the Soviet human genetics program really goes.
A story from the Grissom timeline (Gus on the Moon universe).
Caution: Contains intense material that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader caution advised.
FROM ALMA T. C. BOYKIN: Hunter and Horseman: Familiar Generations Book Four
Undying love or cruel obsession?
Devon County, a quiet rural corner of Pennsylvania. That is, until two brothers refuse to take “no” for an answer. Malice and magic pull Jude Tainuit, the lone Hunter, into the fray. When a tornado rips through the county, leaving pain and twisted power in its wake, the Hunter and his allies face two foes – one in the open, and one who lurks, patient and deadly. A blood-path magic worker hides in the storm, one who hunts Hunters.
Worse awaits. Aunt Martha goes to visit relatives, leaving Jude in charge of the farm … Or as in charge as his Familiar and Martha’s cat will allow.
Jude Tainuit will need all his skills, and the help of allies great and small, to face the storm when twisted power awakens the phantom Horseman.
FROM HOLLY CHISM: The Schrödinger Paradox: Cataclysm
The end is coming.
Unlucky jerk Tom Beadle was on watch at NASA when the collision alert sounded: a new asteroid, bigger than the dino-killer, headed for Earth. Big problem, but that’s why we have NASA, right? Except, after decades of budget cuts, NASA has no way to shove it off course. That job has to be contracted out. Will the private sector company his best friend from college works at succeed where the government option failed? Might be best to have a backup plan, just in case…
FROM LAURA MONTGOMERY: The Gear Engages: A Science Fiction Lost Colony Adventure
It takes more than a single terraformer to start a new world.
The human colony on the lost world of Not What We Were Looking For faces fracture and schism. On one side of the river, the settlers from Earth remember what it means to live in a free society. In the Marss-controlled city, the governor cancelled elections long ago and strives daily to cement his grip on the inhabitants.
Thaddeus Dawe and the Hudson cousins, including the one who agreed to marry him, save the colony’s last terraseeder from the governor’s political grandstanding, and head for the secret northern enclave started by Thaddeus’ brother. But all Thaddeus’ careful planning takes a wrenching turn when not one but two parties race in pursuit.Thwarted in his original goal, faced with repairing the consequences of what he does to escape arrest, and besotted by the discovery of newspapers, Thaddeus wrestles with new ventures and roles in which he dare not fail. He must save not only Earth’s microbial legacy but its knowledge base as well. Not to mention, he’s getting married.
But when the governor’s chief of staff decides to weaponize Thaddeus against both the city’s farmers and the newspaper’s publisher, Thaddeus must fight the governor’s attempts to steal the farmers’ land even as someone destroys everything Thaddeus himself tries to build. In the end, he must do what he can to save those his own betrayal put at risk.
Picking up where Under the Earthline left off, The Gear Engages is the fourth book in the gripping science fiction colonization series Martha’s Sons. If you like action, political machinations, and a driven hero, you’ll want to dive in heart-and-head first.
Pick it up now to join the fight for a lost world!
FROM BECKY R. JONES: Night Mage (Academic Magic Book 2)
After fighting a demon in the middle of Philadelphia, Zoe O’Brien wants nothing more than to return to her normal, if stress-filled, life as an assistant professor of history at Summerfield College. But she’s an Elemental mage and that means when there’s potential magical trouble on campus, the squirrels come to her. Who or what is the dark presence moving around campus? Why is it here and what does it want? Zoe struggles to come to terms with her mage powers and the leadership role her colleagues have given her. Complicating everything are all the papers that have to be graded, classes that need to be prepped, and most importantly, cats that require attention. Oh, yeah. She might actually have a boyfriend as well.
https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Scarborough-Pride-Prejudice-Sequel-ebook/dp/B07T8ZRZ51FROM ANNA FERREIRA: A Summer in Scarborough: A Pride & Prejudice Sequel
Miss Anne de Bourgh was delighted to receive a letter from her cousin Georgiana, explaining that she would be spending the summer by the sea, and requesting the pleasure of her company. A glorious few months of balls, shopping, and walking by the sea awaits- a wonderfully diverting holiday for Anne, who has rarely left Rosings before.
But Anne is a de Bourgh, and life is never simple. Before long, she finds herself caught between the attentions of two very different men, and must choose if she will follow her heart or disoblige her family. One must be disappointed, and Anne has never been very practiced in the art of disobedience. Must she give up everything she has ever known, will she find the strength to search for happiness elsewhere?
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: vest
According To Hoyt 
“We’re looking at a convergence of vested interests.” The CEO of the McHenery Corporation International spoke softly, but the boardroom was so quiet that it was as if he’d shouted it from the rooftops.
Yes, everyone knew the stakes here. Not just the financial ones, but the legal and the social. The McHenery triplets, who served as the megacorp’s CEO, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Information Officer, were products of America’s secret Cold War human cloning and genetic engineering projects. If Flannigan’s executive order were to stand, all three brothers would be stripped of their authority along with their civil rights, and the consequent disruption of the corporation could throw whole industries into disarray.
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“We’re looking at a convergence of vested interests.” The CEO of the McHenery Corporation International spoke softly, but the executive boardroom was so quiet that he might as well have shouted it from the rooftops.
The assembled executives knew the stakes. The McHenery triplets, who served as the megacorp’s CEO, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Officer, were products of America’s secret Cold War cloning and genetic engineering projects. If Flannigan’s new executive order were allowed to stand, they would be stripped of their authority along with their civil rights — and the McHenery Corporation International would be thrown into chaos, from which far too many other actors stood to profit.
There was no choice but to cast their lot in with Governor Thorne.
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There isn’t a link to Amazon with A Summer in Scarborough: A Pride & Prejudice Sequel.
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Horace Greely, the haberdasher: “Go vest, young man.”
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Lord Hamilton glared at the young footman and quietly but intensely said “I will not wear that vest”.
“But My Lord, the tailor said it was the newest fashion…”
“Perhaps, but… Makemson get in here!”
The footman cringed as Lord Hamilton’s senior body servant entered the Lord’s chambers.
“Yes My Lord?”
“Look at this vest. The young fool expected me to wear this… this deathtrap!”
Makemson took a look at the vest and quickly said “but of course, you shouldn’t wear that. I’ll deal with it and the young man.”
The footman followed the senior servant into the senior servant’s quarters. It was obviously a combination of servant’s quarters and sorcerer’s workshop.
Makemson turned to the footman and said “I don’t know if you are aware of the dangers of that vest or if you were fooled by an enemy of our Lord. However, many of the decorations on this vest are magical in nature and make our Lord an open target for attack magically or otherwise.
“Now, you will truthfully tell me everything you know about where you got this deathtrap.”
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I thought I posted a vignette but it didn’t post. Now, I’ll have to redo it.
Word Press Must Die!
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The Black Dog is chewing on my foot, I might as well put a vest on him.
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Chewing on my gut in the middle of the night. It horrifies me.
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Well sometimes he chews on my guts too, mostly in the form of anxiety upsetting my stomach.
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The newfangled paper packet broke asunder in Suzanne Baker’s inexpert hands. Bone-dry yellow powder flew in all directions, but much of it headed for Vicar Brown’s chest. He stepped nimbly aside as Suzanne cried, “Your pardon, your pardon! I’m a butterfingers!”
“No worries,” said the Vicar. “Please put your mind at rest.” And as the canary clouds slowly settled in her kitchen, it became evident that his head and face were only slightly smudged, and his pants dusted only in the slightest — which yielded to a quick and vigorous brushing.
“Sorry, sorry, I’m so clumsy, and you came here to visit me on such a nice day.”
Paul Brown pulled a tiny slip of paper from his vest pocket. “No, truly, worry nought about it. I carry a minor cantrip here for just such an occasion, extracted from the works of the immortal Kipling.
“For yeast is yeast, and vest is vest; and never the twain shall meet.”
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Should have read existing comments before making my own…
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Hey, it’s a big Creative Universe, lots of room for everyone and everything.
Have at it. We always do…
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“I talked my way into your club,” said Doug, taking a sip of iced tea. “Told them I’d heard about their problems with the electrics and I was wonderin’ if we could do business. The head engineer there is a decent guy, I got to chat with him for about 20 minutes. He played it close to the vest, but he said enough to make it clear they’ve been pestered with breakdowns and things goin’ wrong for the past few months.” Doug was frowning. “I hate when people pull stuff like that. Anyway, I explained I’d been there for dinner with you the other night and that I was the one who’d found the sabotage. I kind of hinted around to see if he knew who might be responsible, but I couldn’t get any other information out of him. As I was leaving though, one of the kitchen guys got me into the hallway and said there’s a rumor that the club might be sold.”
“But the club is central to the real estate development. When the company bought the land ten years ago, that’s how they got the loans to start construction. How could they sell the club?” June wondered.
“Things are doing better since that property defunding problem got straightened out and they’re finishing off the development. Some corporations are starting to set up specialized investments in things like golf courses,” Tom noted. “And if their targeted seller is reluctant, I could see somebody maybe putting pressure on them.”
After a moment’s grim silence, June and Lurie got up to clear the table. “We’ll be back with dessert in a second,” June said, trying to change the subject.
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Lord Hamilton glared at the young footman intently and quietly said “I will not wear that vest.”
“But My Lord, the tailor said that it was the newest fashion.”
“Perhaps. Makemson get in here”.
The young footman cringed as the Senior Servant entered the Lord’s chambers.
“Yes My Lord?”
“This young fool expects me to wear this… deathtrap”.
Looking at the vest, Senior Servant Makemson grimly said “but of course you won’t. I’ll deal with this deathtrap and the young man.”
To sacred to run, the young footman followed the Senior Servant to his quarters which was a combination of servant’s quarters and a wizard’s workshop.
After they enter the quarters, Senior Servant Makemson sat down in a chair that to the sacred footman looked very much like a throne.
Staring intently at the footman, the Senior Servant said “I don’t know yet if you are a willing part of this potential trap for our Lord or if you are an unwilling pawn in a dangerous game. However, since you might be just a pawn, I need to inform you that the decorations on that vest are magical with dangerous consequences to the wearer of the vest. So I strongly suggest that you honestly tell me what you know about this vest.”
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Lord Hamilton glared at the young footman intently and quietly said “I will not wear that vest.”
“But My Lord, the tailor said that it was the newest fashion.”
“Perhaps. Makemson get in here”.
The young footman cringed as the Senior Servant entered the Lord’s chambers.
“Yes My Lord?”
“This young fool expects me to wear this… deathtrap”.
Looking at the vest, Senior Servant Makemson grimly said “but of course you won’t. I’ll deal with this deathtrap and the young man.”
To sacred to run, the young footman followed the Senior Servant to his quarters which was a combination of servant’s quarters and a wizard’s workshop.
After they enter the quarters, Senior Servant Makemson sat down in a chair that to the sacred footman looked very much like a throne.
Staring intently at the footman, the Senior Servant said “I don’t know yet if you are a willing part of this potential trap for our Lord or if you are an unwilling pawn in a dangerous game. However, since you might be just a pawn, I need to inform you that the decorations on that vest are magical with dangerous consequences to the wearer of the vest. So I strongly suggest that you honestly tell me what you know about this vest.”
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Lord Hamilton glared at the young footman intently and quietly said “I will not wear that vest.”
“But My Lord, the tailor said that it was the newest fashion.”
“Perhaps. Makemson get in here”.
The young footman cringed as the Senior Servant entered the Lord’s chambers.
“Yes My Lord?”
“This young fool expects me to wear this… deathtrap”.
Looking at the vest, Senior Servant Makemson grimly said “but of course you won’t. I’ll deal with this deathtrap and the young man.”
To sacred to run, the young footman followed the Senior Servant to his quarters which was a combination of servant’s quarters and a wizard’s workshop.
After they enter the quarters, Senior Servant Makemson sat down in a chair that to the sacred footman looked very much like a throne.
Staring intently at the footman, the Senior Servant said “I don’t know yet if you are a willing part of this potential trap for our Lord or if you are an unwilling pawn in a dangerous game. However, since you might be just a pawn, I need to inform you that the decorations on that vest are magical with dangerous consequences to the wearer of the vest. So I strongly suggest that you honestly tell me what you know about this vest.”
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Just a comment about the relationship between Lord Hamilton and Makemson.
Albert Hamilton was a second son so went into magic and became friends with his fellow student Henry Makemson.
They grew very close after a few years of dangerous tasks for the Royal Wizards Corps.
After the death of his father and elder brother, Albert became Lord Hamilton and married a young woman of another noble family.
Because of various factors, it seemed necessary for Lord Hamilton to have a “House Wizard” and Henry became that House Wizard.
While officially, Henry (and his wife) are just servants of Lord Hamilton’s Household, both of them are strong advisors of Lord & Lady Hamilton.
It’s no real secret within the Household concerning Henry’s status as a Wizard.
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What does Word Press thing of Makemson?
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I got a missing post here. I even posted it in the “reader”. What’s going on here?
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I have no idea…
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You had three identical ones on in spam. Because WPDE
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And there might be a fourth one. [Twisted Grin]
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Please check spam again. I did a response to my post and its missing. [Frown]
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freed. seriously, WPDE
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I wonder if it was character names.
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Let’s see if this works.
Lord Hamilton glared at the young footman intently and quietly said “I
will not wear that vest.”
“But My Lord, the tailor said that it was the newest fashion.”
“Perhaps.Makemson get in here”.
The young footman cringed as the Senior Servant entered the Lord’s
chambers.
“Yes My Lord?”
“This young fool expects me to wear this… deathtrap”.
Looking at the vest, Senior Servant Makemson grimly said “but of course
you won’t.I’ll deal with this deathtrap and the young man.”
To sacred to run, the young footman followed the Senior Servant to his
quarters which was a combination of servant’s quarters and a wizard’s
workshop.
After they enter the quarters, Senior Servant Makemson sat down in a
chair that to the sacred footman looked very much like a throne.
Staring intently at the footman, the Senior Servant said “I don’t know
yet if you are a willing part of this potential trap for our Lord or if
you are an unwilling pawn in a dangerous game.However, since you might
be just a pawn, I need to inform you that the decorations on that vest
are magical with dangerous consequences to the wearer of the vest.So I
strongly suggest that you honestly tell me what you know about this vest.”
*
Paul (Drak Bibliophile) Howard
*
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“Let me help you with the LIFE vest,” Kurt Ramsey said with a smile. Inwardly he cursed all these tourists. They would certainly need those Launch Interruption Fast Exit devices. The Corporation had reduced him from piloting interplanetary flights to twice daily lunar shuttles, and today he would get revenge.
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”Hey, Sally, did you ever notice we all just bop along having our lives, but every week there’s some word that everyone is suddenly using all at once?”
Sally looked thoughtful. “Maybe. What specifically brought this to mind?”
Sam gestured. “Last weekend all of a sudden everyone was talking about grass, and today out of nowhere everyone I meet is mentioning vests. It’s like some sort of Groucho Marx secret word, but I never see any duck floating down carrying money.”
Sally looked down at her own outfit, today featuring a sharp vest she’d picked up the other day. “Yeah, now that you mention it, I do. It does seem like it runs on a weekly schedule too, but not ultra-reliably on the same day each week. And it does seem almost like some sort of contest or competition, something The Author is running regularly.”
Sam knew Sally was a devout Authorist. He wasn’t so sure, but this all did fit what he knew of their faith. “Well, maybe I should show up with you next weekend and drop a few suggestions in your Author’s Notes box, just in case you guys are right. Can’t hurt to butter up The Author, if they are really there, and are paying attention.”
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“That’s why the king vested power in you,” said a white-haired woman, hobbling from the cottage. “To look after these things. Why should peasants be taken from their work to do it for you?”
Marcus glared at her. Her spirit slipped out of her, and she cowered like the rest.
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WWB&G cover:
The subject is holding a mirror-reversed Ruger Security Six, a double-action mid-20th century .357 Magnum revolver.
Having used one to save my ass and a buddy from a riotous mob, it kinda stands out.
Not a bad choice at all, if one likes to carry throwback “police” wheelguns. (Grin)
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Everyone was staring, friends and relatives, but for once, she adored the attention. “By the power vested in me by the Commonwealth and Republic,” she heard the officiant say, “I pronounce –”
Cari awoke with a start, and remained awake, staring out her bedroom window, for a long time.
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“How handsome!” said Lily. “That waistcoat looks very dapper.”
Young Nigel Slim-Howland did not feel dapper. “I can barely breath in this,” he complained. All this torture just for a wedding. Worse, Lily couldn’t go with him, as everyone would think she was an advertisement for Howland Technologies’ latest product.
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The stock market is so unsettled, I don’t know whether it’s time to invest, or divest. :-P
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The short just before the Trump assasination attempt is deeply suspicious.
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“Oh, Yeast is Yeast, and Vest is Vest, and never the twain shall meet…”
– early draft of Kipling’s “Ballad of East and West,” when its concept was of conflict between Female Cooking (“Yeast”) and Male Clothing (“Vest”), rather than between different cultures.
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Lady Isabella picked up the vest she sewed. “Life will go on,” she murmured. “We will need any news as swiftly as it can be obtained.”
Sylvie nodded. “I wonder what the duke will do.”
“Won’t the king catch him?” said Marlene.
“He’ll try,” said Sylvie. “But the duke tried to catch me.” She spread her hands and nearly knocked her mending to the floor. With it neatly in her lap again, she did not dare try to sew.
Master Gregor raised his voice, and slowly, the court proceeded through the other cases. With far more sidelong glances at Sylvie.
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Almost (but maybe not quite) off topic: spent a goodly number of hours troubleshooting the Internet these past few days. Starlink, now, so all-DIY. So, if quieter than usual here, largely why.
Turned out to be the (relatively cheap and redundant) cable from the router/power box to the phased-array antenna / transceiver (called a “dishy” for historical reasons, even though it’s a flat rectangle about the size of ledger paper).
Lots of running back and forth and re-plugging and re-booting things. Trial and error search. Hours (as stated) of total elapsed time, and of course it had to fail in a rainstorm in the first place.
Still an impressive (if somewhat expensive) system. Maybe someday, maybe in collaboration with other users, I could write / co-write “The unexpurgated wonder that is Starlink.”
Because I still think it’s true. Even after all the fiddly mucking-about.
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[And, I’m guessing there’s a post about de-gremlinizing my S t a r l i n k (Russian italics for the non-WPDE win?) these past few days, in the spam-hamper. Either way, a bit too tired /sleepy to try to re-create it right now. Blessed, non-doggied dreams and good luck to Venezuela.]
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I like Jerry Boyd’s writing; but 49 books in the Bob’s Saucer Repair series is too much, unless one pays for the Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Sadly, I don’t have the spare income to spend on Amazon.
This weekly column offers so many wonderful choices!!!
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