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 PAM UPHOFF: In Plain Sight (Chronicles of the Fall)
A short story taking place after the Fall
Bryanne Volkov is sixteen and moving from a small town to the capital of the Alliance, as her Grandfather is about to become the head of the entire Volkov Family. And her new home is not much like what she expected . . . the servants, odd, and an Executioner much too interested in the family.
FROM HOLLY LEROY: Malibu Blues: A Short Story.
Movie executive Robin Wolff and P.I. Jim Krag had something personal going on. Unfortunately, his business—and hers—got in the way, and they drifted apart. Then she was found shot to death in a dumpster behind the Hollywood Paramount Theater. Krag is going to find the killer and mete out justice as only he can.
FROM CEDAR SANDERSON: Tanager’s Flight (The Tanager Book 2)
Captain Jem Raznick of the Tanager dreams of nothing more than sailing the stars with his crew—a family forged in the vacuum of space. When a mysterious pirate threat looms, what seems like a routine trading run spirals into a cosmic adventure!
Family isn’t just blood—it’s the bond that holds the galaxy together.
Every time the enigmatic Jade Star enters their orbit, routine turns upside down. Jem must outwit the treachery that lurks in the shadows of space to keep his crew alive. Prepare for a journey between planets where loyalty, betrayal, and survival are the only constants. Join Captain Raznick as he navigates through danger, deceit, and the deep, dark unknown!
FROM LAUREN RITZ: Guardian (Demons Bay)
When enemies attack the palace, young Lord Orin is given the sacred charge of protecting the Soul of Tien, an infant princess he names Insi. After the child’s nurse is killed, Orin must continue their journey, caring for the baby as best he can. Their goal is a small village at the edge of Linan, where the King said Insi will be protected from the enemies that would give anything to prevent her from taking her throne.When they arrive the village is dead, the only things left living the ancient sentient trees of the forest. The Elder Trees around the destroyed village in Linan still remember the oath they made to a long dead Tiene king. Protect the Soul.Lord Orin is destined to fulfill a future he never imagined. In order to protect the princess, he needs to become more than human—to die and live again, to be more than just the Guardian of the Soul of Tien. If he is to truly protect her, Linan itself must gain a Soul.
FROM MACKEY CHANDLER: A Sudden Departure (April Series Book 9)
The Earth below is a house in disorder. The spacers increasingly just want to be left alone. They need less from Earth all the time so many don’t really care what they do down there on the Slum Ball, but what if improving technology made it easier for them to bring all their old factions and sects and rivalries among the stars? The three partners April, Jeff and Heather hope to beat them at that game and find a firm foothold out there before the Earthies arrive. The book is also laying out details leading up to the merge of the “April” series of books with the story of the “Family Law” series.
FROM BLAKE SMITH: The Hartington Inheritance (The Hartington Series Book 1)
Almira Hartington was heir to the largest fortune in the galaxy, amassed by her father during his time as a director of the Andromeda Company. But when Sir Josiah commits suicide, Almira discovers that she and her siblings are penniless. All three of them must learn to work if they wish to eat, and are quickly scattered to the far reaches of the universe. Almira stubbornly remains on-planet, determined to remain respectable despite the sneers of her former friends.
Sir Percy Wallingham pities the new Lady Hartington. But the lady’s family will take care of her, surely? It’s only after he encounters Almira in her new circumstances that he realizes the extent of her troubles and is determined to help her if he can. He doesn’t know that a scandal is brewing around Sir Josiah’s death and Almira’s exile from society. But it could cost him his life, and the lady he has come to love.
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.
FROM SARAH A. HOYT: Draw One In The Dark (The Shifter Series Book 1).
Something or someone is killing shape shifters in the small mountain town of Goldport, Colorado. Kyrie Smith, a server at a local diner, is the last person to solve the mystery. Except of course for the fact that she changes into a panther and that her co-worker, Tom Ormson, who changes into a dragon, thinks he might have killed someone. Add in a policeman who shape-shifts into a lion, a father who is suffering from remorse about how he raised his son, and a triad of dragon shape shifters on the trail of a magical object known as The Pearl of Heaven and the adventure is bound to get very exciting indeed. Solving the crime is difficult enough, but so is — for our characters — trusting someone with secrets long-held. Originally published by Baen Books.
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: holiday
According To Hoyt 
“It is only fitting,” said the cook, in reproof. “With the holiday coming up, the royal kitchen is hardly fit for the court if we can not produce a grand feast.”
“And then there’s the tourneys,” said a maid, and the maids about her groaned in sympathy.
“For the princess.”
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As the Thanksgiving dinner finished, the Ancient Tneicna said to his former Apprentice, “Thank you for inviting me to your celebration.”
Andrew replied “You’re welcome sir, I’m glad you enjoyed it”.
Willis, Andrew’s twelve-year-old son, asked “what holidays did you Ancients celebrate in your time?”
Tneicna said “In those days, we were not a united people, so we didn’t have many shared celebrations. Although, we currently have a day of mourning.”
“Day of mourning Sir” asked Andrew.
“We mourn the end of our world”.
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Well, I already planned to get Tanager’s Flight (The Tanager Book 2) tomorrow. I just hope that I remember to purchase it via this post. [Wink]
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I keep forgetting to email the new books. sigh Maybe I’ll remember this week.
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Send them at any time. I’ll collect on Sunday.
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“I could promise you a special treat for learning the spell, but then, with the festival, you will get all kinds of special treats, whatever you do.” She sounded like she was laughing.
“I’ll learn it as a special treat for you!” said Lelio, running over.
She kissed his forehead.
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When the principal announced that school would be let out for the celebration of the Festival of Companions in the Hunt, Sam was puzzled. Then he realized that a species of sapient obligate carnivores wouldn’t develop harvest festivals like Thanksgiving, since they wouldn’t be raising grains or other domesticated plants until they had domesticated their major prey species and needed fodder crops for them. But if they were in areas where they needed to lay in stores of meat to deal with seasonal shifts in the availability of game, they would develop some kind of festival to recognize the end of that period.
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“I know the twain of you never work apart, but then, when you work so well together it would be folly to try to separate you. This will be a desperate venture, not a holiday, but then, neither of you are known to be cowards.”
“On the contrary,” muttered Marian.
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“Holiday in Cambodia”.
“…That a Planetary Coordinating AI in another sector is familiar with titles of obscure ancient Earth Punk Music is … disturbing.”
“It’s on my Terrible Tuesday playlist.”
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Randomly generated…. and so many words… and a repeat. Very well…
“Billie, I know,” said the Time Traveler, “the tune is a horror and you wretch every time you sing it. I do NOT ask you to sing it for me. I wish there was an easier way, but it must be YOUR voice. I ask that you record it – the future needs to hear it, and feel the pain of it. If you never sing it again, fine. But.. please, make a recording of Strange Fruit. Maybe it can help keep the future from repeating the horrors of its past.”
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“Happy Birthday!” said young Nigel Slim-Howland, proffering the wrapped box. He heard a faint whirring sound as Lily looked at the box, then at him.
“But Nigel,” Lily said, “I’m a cyborg. I haven’t got a birthday.”
“They finished building you exactly one year ago. That’s holiday enough for me!”
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Lily opened the box carefully, removing a ball coated in foil. She looked quizzically at Nigel, who nodded for her to continue. With utmost precision, she removed the foil.
“It’s a chocolate orange!” said Nigel. “The best!”
“I see,” said Lily. “Like what Father Christmas delivers to good little children!”
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It’s time to taste what you most fear
Right Guard will not help you here
Brace yourself, my dear
Brace yourself, my dear
It’s a holiday in Cambodia
It’s tough, kid, but it’s life
It’s a holiday in Cambodia
Don’t forget to pack a wife
every time the market crashes, like it’s doing now, this verse runs through my head. I suspect there’s a fair few people in DC a who are tasting fear for the first time.
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You think it’s going to be a crash? My beloved is waiting patiently for the crash he’s expecting, though we have less cash to drop on deserving and suddenly undervalued companies.
(The Huddle House is open and making money, but it will be a whole before it breaks even. I. Other news, our son had to do his first firing yesterday).
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I provide a most unique service.
Think about being in charge somewhere. God Emperor (or Empress). Or a Chosen One. King or Queen. President-For-Life. The sort of job where it’s only 24/7 because there are no more seconds in the minutes in the hours in the days.
There’s no real way to have a vacation from that kind of job. Or any kind of holiday. Oh, sure, you can decamp to somewhere that you can pretend for a few days or a week or two to relax. But the job, the duty, is still out there. Waiting.
And you’re made to feel guilty, even inadvertently or accidentally, if you take too much time off. Which, for one sad client, could be considered a single moment of not thinking good thoughts about the world’s entire existence.
So…what if you’re someone who really, really, really needs to get away for a while? Without guilt or even blame for getting away from it all?
There’s an escape clause-if you think about it-to this dilemma.
You can’t be blamed, after all, if someone kidnaps you, sneaks through your security, and takes you away in the middle of the night. With you wrapped up in enough ropes to satisfy a really particular shibari fetishistm, chained and secured with wards and enchantments, and thrown into a “dungeon” somewhere.
It’s a mere technicality that your “dungeon” has a beachfront view with access to the private beach, 24/7 concierge service with chefs that can make anything, access to entertainment all over the multiverse, all sorts of care services from marriage counseling to a private masseuse to a well-organized team of economists, and a bed that is sinfully comfortable.
(We even provide your choice of bed-warmers.)
And we also provide services for a Hero to show up, with the proper narrative battles and logic, and enough time to be chained up (or webbed, or for this one boy…well, let’s just say that I don’t kink-shame but damn if they don’t need therapy and the really good drugs) and have you “rescued” in a proper manner once you’ve gotten some time away from it all.
It’s a job that I really love.
Except for this one client…and every time I jack up my rates, she pays fifty percent over. And usually an emergency, last-minute booking because she’s always busy.
She’s not even particularly needy, per-se. Tips well. Never a problem for the staff. Hell, there’s some staff members that would adopt her if they could.
But when her Hero comes around…
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“Children!” The white-haired knight’s voice boomed. “This is not a holiday festival! You are not safe here! Stay back! Stay away from him!”
“So you can make things unsafe for him?” shouted Hans. His hands swept the air, and an arrow in midflight burst into flame. And flew toward them.
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Sarah, what with the holidays and a bad cold and then 8″ of snow that took three weeks to finally melt, I was somewhat delayed in mailing the gift card intended for your winter fund-raiser. We finally took it to the post-office on Wednesday last. I’d appreciate it if you would just let me know in a comment that it arrived safely? Thanks, and enjoy the funds! ;-)
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Oh. Thank you. I’ll let you know when it arrives, yes. THANK YOU. Yes, it’s been a mess here too.
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”Here on holiday, Miss?”
I glanced over the top of the travel brochure I was using to obscure my face. Surveillance in skycabs is almost as tight as the spaceport these days.
”No, business,” I said flatly, inviting no further exchanges. Hiding in plain sight is key for an assassin.
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As I came down for breakfast, Mrs. Hudson was leaving, seeming worried.
Well should she be! Holmes, still in dressing gown and carpet slippers, paced furiously in the salon, waving about a copy of the Times.
“Watson! Have you seen? The Bishop of St Albans has let his sermon to the papers again. Today, he tells us, is the Feast of Saint Aquifoliceae, a martyr in the Sandwich Islands. Remarkably, no other shares February 2 as a feast day.”
“Saints are not your usual concern, Holmes, nor bishops. How has this perturbed you so?”
“I researched Aquifoliceae in that Papist tract, the Lives of the Saints. She was a missionary, and succeeded in irritating the natives into stabbing her to death with their volcanic-glass knives. She exsanguinated quickly, it says.”
“Still, the present gravity of the case eludes me, Holmes.”
“I have told you all, Watson, but let me summarize: February second is the wholly holy holey haole Holly holiday!”
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Arrggh!! Carp! Carp!
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From my position, ON THE WAAAYYYY!
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Client comes in, dumps a box of receipts on my desk.
“Yes ma’am. Last name?”
“Daye.”
“First name?”
“Hollister.”
“Profession?”
“Doctor.”
“Social Secur..” I trailed off as it sunk in.
I looked at my client. Sure enough, she was printing on both sides of her coat.
“Really? You’re Doc Holiday?”
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(facepalm)
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