Book Promo (the normal weekly patter.)
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 CEDAR SANDERSON: The Luminous Citadel of New Atlantis (The Tanager)
A Hollow World Defies Known Science…
Wilt Frobisher seizes the chance to join an expedition to the Luminous Citadel—an enigmatic moon orbiting a shattered planet—leaving behind everything he’s ever known. What he finds inside the hollow impossible world staggers the imagination: a lush, gravity-defying biosphere teeming with ancient trees, mysterious inhabitants, and ugly secrets hiding in the shadows.
Guided by the fearless Dione—a red-haired native with a knack for flight and a language all her own—Wilt plunges into a realm where survival depends on mastering the strange currents of an alien ecology. Questions arise the more he bonds with Dione and her people. Who built this refuge? Why was it abandoned? And what does his mentor, the eccentric Dr. Sooma, know that he’s not telling?
In a world of treetop villages, floating acorns, and lurking dangers, Wilt must uncover the truth of the Citadel—or risk becoming part of its forgotten history.
FROM DALE COZORT: Wokuo Incursion
Invasion from an alternate timeline?
It’s December 1937 in a world exactly like ours except that it is about to veer wildly into alternate history. It’s less than two years before World War II broke out historically in Europe. War has already come to much of Asia, with Japan invading China. An isolationist US fears it will be drawn into that conflict, especially after the Japanese sink the US gunboat Panay. Just when President Franklin Roosevelt thinks he has that crisis under control, he faces a bigger issue. High tech descendants of the Wokuo, Japanese pirates and smugglers who should have vanished over three hundred years ago, flood into the Pacific coast off California.
The Wokuo are both refugees and invaders, fleeing from war in an alternate reality where they survived and grew strong, while looking for new conquests to replace their lost empire. They set their sights on California. President Roosevelt sends disgraced former Colonel Martin to California to organize resistance to the invaders, but the Colonel has his own issues, buried deep in his brain and waiting to cause disaster.
FROM LAURA MONTGOMERY: Took Their Wages (Space Law Science Fiction)
Returned from long years in interstellar space to longer decades missed on Earth, a starship’s crew face their biggest obstacle yet: Human Resources.
Fresh off their victorious defense of a starship captain on mutiny charges, attorneys Calvin Tondini and Sara Seastrom must now pivot to a new challenge: defending the same starship crew’s hard-earned salaries. Bureaucrats citing relativity want to apply a different clock than bargained for in the crew’s original contract.
Whatever may be said about Einstein, time, and space, the crew’s attorneys know that money isn’t relative.
Check out Took Their Wages for a sober analysis of this timely question.
A science fiction short story.
FROM DAN MELSON: The Price of Power: Book Two of Politics of Empire (The Politics of Empire 2)
For everything there is a price.
Grace has married into one of the most important families of the Empire. The Scimtars are wealthy and powerful in every sense of the term. Her five children will be among the Empire’s elite when they are ready, and Grace herself is not without influence or importance despite her relative youth. But Imperial politics are deadly, and the more you have, the more your rivals want what you have.
There is no shelter from The Price of Power.
FROM NATHAN C. BRINDLE: The Lion of God (Timelines Book 1)
John Wolff has been handed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Again.
He’s already saved the love of his life from an early death – thirty years after she died.
Now, a beautiful young woman, who is clearly his daughter, has appeared from the timeline branch where that same love of his life survived and married his counterpart.
She says they need his help fighting off invaders from the far future. Who, by the way, are looking for him. Why? Because they want the starship drive he and a friend invented, the precursor to their time machine. Problem is, in her timeline, it hasn’t been invented yet.
What man can resist a cry for help from his own daughter?
Particularly when the invaders think she’s a saint. Or possibly, a devil wearing saint’s clothing. And they’re looking for her, too.
Thus begins the Timelines Saga, and the story of the Lion of God.
FROM LINDSAY PETERSEN: Caught in the Wizards’ Duel (The Romantic Chrononaut Book 2)
Rumors swirl of the “Elf King” sabotaging Nicola Tesla’s network of aether towers. Dougray Cameron is called out by King Edward’s Secret Service to investigate. Doug’s wife Kate follows in secret, heeding her misgivings about this ‘wee, small task’ Doug took on. As she watched him scale a tower across the turbulent strait the great iron tower slowly collapses, plunging Doug into the fatal surf. It’s the stranger next to her whose slow-clapping amplifies the horror — what kind of fiend would do that?
When Kate turns to demand an explanation he’s gone. Surely he knew something, planned something, killed her husband! The card he handed her — he lives in Paris! Kate Cameron, newly widowed, will follow this Errol Koenig to Paris and serve justice on him!
But — he’s aware of her pursuit, and his confederates are determined to stop her, if not kill her. Aided by those she meets, including Winston Churchill, P G Wodehouse, Mata Hari, Arsène Lupin, Nicola Tesla, and Kemal Ataturk, she follows her prey across Europe to Constantinople and beyond, travelling by Orient Express, Tesla’s airship, and automaton Janissary.
Somehow the moment to end Koenig’s life never arrives. Could his strange allure be the reason why?
And could it be true that her husband survived?
In a classic scene, the pursuit ends atop an ancient castle in a thunderstorm.
FROM GERALD HALL: Yesterdays War
A wealthy Australian industrialist in the year 2040 accidentally opens a portal into the past with one of the scientific experiments that he has financed. A cataclysmic nuclear war that dooms humanity erupts almost at the same time. The industrialist decides to go through the portal and try to change history to prevent the final war. He assumes the identity of a dead prospector after finding himself in the year 1918. The time traveler enlists the aid of local Aborigine tribesmen while planning to use his knowledge of the future to become wealthy once again. Only this time, he will be using his wealth to influence the course of history and those who made it.
FROM J. MANFRED WEICHSEL: Five Maidens on the Pentagram
Nobody believes Jonah, a mild-mannered mental patient with split personalities, that his doctor is working with his evil alter ego, Maldeus, to sacrifice women to a sex-crazed demon in the hospital basement. Determined to expose his doctor’s evil plan, Jonah goes undercover as Maldeus.
Assisted by a cute nudist mental patient named Aurora, Jonah is thrust into a diabolical plot that forces him to confront the very limits of his own identity. Will Jonah defeat his doctor in time to stop the rise of Satan?
FROM MARY CATELLI: The Princess Seeks Her Fortune
In a land where ten thousand fairy tales come true, Alissandra knows she is in one when an encounter with a strange woman gives her magical gifts, and another gives her sisters a curse.
And she knows that despite the prospects of enchantments, cursed dances, marvelous birds, and work as a scullery maid, it is wise of her to set out, and seek her fortune.
FROM KAREN MYERS: King of the May – A Virginian in Elfland (The Hounds of Annwn Book 3)
MORE VALUABLE AS A WEAPON THAN A KINGMAKER, HE MUST MAKE HIS OWN CHOICES TO SECURE THE FUTURE.
George Talbot Traherne, the human huntsman for the Wild Hunt, had hoped to settle into a quiet life with his new family, but it was not to be. Gwyn ap Nudd, Prince of Annwn, has plans to secure his domain in the new world from the overbearing interference of his father Lludd, the King of Britain.
The security of George’s family is bound to that of his overlord, and he vows to help. But when he and his companions stand against Lludd and his allies at court, disaster overturns all their plans and even threatens the Hounds of Annwn themselves.
George and his patron, the antlered god Cernunnos, must survive a subtle attack that undermines them both. Other gods and gods-to-be have taken an interest, but the fae are divided in their allegiances and fear the threat of deadly new powers in their unchanging lives.
George and his companions must save themselves if they are to persuade their potential allies to help. But how can they do so, attacked on so many fronts at once? Will he put his family into greater jeopardy by trying to defend them?
https://amzn.to/41mdVoVFROM 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.
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: Glamorous.
According To Hoyt 
“Nice Scottish greatsword.”
“It’s Fae – not at all what it seems.”
“Agreed – overdone, too glamorous.”
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He would have to keep the necklace quite safe if she did not know. What woman, seeing so lovely and priceless a necklace, would not consider it harmless to put it about her neck and see if it became her?
At least he could slip back to his room, unnoticed.
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The spring had only advanced, and not fallen back toward winter. Snow lay in a filthy heap on the northern side of the road. The road itself was more of a marsh. With standing ponds, where ice was melting.
The glamorous life of a knight, thought Lenore. She trudged on.
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“We have a new Rogue Ultra on our hand, she have been given the Code-Name Glamorous. Her power appears to be the ability to appear incredibly attractive to people who see her. Worst of all, it’s not just an illusion as she has appeared in photographs of events where she appeared. Not only is she incredibly attractive, she apparently can completely control her chosen targets in order to convince them to transfer their wealth into temporary accounts which she loots later on. Her MO includes draining her victims’ lifeforce, but fortunately leaves them alive.”
“The draining of their lifeforce points to the Feeder-Controller power-set, but all known Feeders-Controllers are male.”
“Correct, however the Ancients have informed the Agency that there were cases in their time where a female child of a male Feeders-Controllers have been born. These female Feeders-Controllers are extremely more dangerous than their male counter-parts as these females lack the restraint that the males can learn. Fortunately, these “Vamps” can be stopped by male Feeders-Controllers and Mentalists. The problem will be finding her as her appearance has differed every time she has shown up.”
“What makes you think that there’s only one “Vamp”?”
“There may be more but so far, DNA traces have shown that it’s the same person.”
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I need to register a complaint.
I’m getting ready for doctors to operate on me tomorrow, I need to study a lot of relatively boring work-related subjects to become a different type of senior IT guru, have 15 unread science-fiction/fantasy books on Kindle, and you lot of albeit glamorous people conspire at least once a week to get me to buying more books!
I don’t want it to stop; but it’s not fair!! Who knew there were so many talented authors?
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well, not trad pub….
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Agreed. I gave those “guys” up a long time ago. I am just amazed at the plethora of books I “need” to read and how few years I may have left to read them…
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Yeah I’m trying to take care of myself, because so many books to WRITE.
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Look, it’s far from all glamorous. Some of it is just a pain. I was not rich when I was turned, and after I built my wealth I didn’t hire servants. I think that…aristocratic idiot Vlad always put far too much trust in his Renfield-types. I prefer security by obscurity. And so far – knock on wood (heh) – I have yet to get staked. All of that to say, no mirrors, right? I really hate shaving by feel. Especially back when all I had was a straight razor. Sure, I heal right back up, but it still hurts. Who do you think actually funded the development of the safety razor, anyway?
I remember some idiot who somehow got a silver straight razor into my shaving kit, I guess hoping that I’d nick myself to death. Silver is for weres, you moron.
Actually those were my exact words before I drowned him.
What? Look, almost any authorities will investigate a head ripped off or full disembowelment flung up into a tree, or even a full exsanguination or such. A drowning? Nope. Case closed, my obscurity preserved. Another thing Vlad doesn’t get – no flashy killings!
And don’t get me started on hair care. For centuries after I was strong enough to survive a bit of sunshine, I still only went out at night just because I hated the idea of coffin-hair. All I could do is pile on the hair care product of the day and slick it all back, and walking around any town like that all the time will draw attention.
Nowadays it’s easier. For some reason while film cameras act like mirrors, digital cameras can get images of the undead. Sometimes they are a bit see-through and ghostly, but I can now actually see what I look like to the mortal naked eye, which means I can hack at my own hair a bit, or even go to Supercuts and be able to tell what the randomly-assigned haircutting gal did to me.
Now buzz off – I need to get some shuteye. What? Sure, you can come back. Remember, though, on top of, well, my native advantages, I have had literally centuries to become expert at surveillance, including all of the latest electronics. So no blabbing about me, don;t let what you are recording and I assume transcribing be anywhere unsecure, and don’t get careless and lead anyone here. And no, this is not where I sleep
What? My name? Call me Robb.
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Sheila E.’s “The Glamorous Life” was blasting through the open door to the nightclub, and flashes of multicolored light reflected on the wall beyond. From his vantage point, Lucius Belfontaine could just glimpse a guy of about the right height talking to the bouncer, but couldn’t get a good look at the man’s face.
Lucius cursed under his breath. To be so close….
But no, it would be stupid to make a scene, only to discover that this man had nothing to do with the people he was looking for. Wait a little longer, hope the man would turn this way, but not far enough to see the silver Corvette at the curb — but with every minute that passed, the more suspicious Lucius would look.
It’d be so much easier if he had some definite evidence. But this wasn’t small-town Maine, where the constable would pay attention to a longtime resident’s hunch or bad feeling about a newcomer. The Miami-Dade Police Department had no reason to give him the time of day when all he had was suspicions and the word of a woman he’d just met.
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It was Monday morning, and June and her family were coming off a weekend of stomach flu. Though Susan was well enough to go to school, she dragged her heels getting ready to the point that they arrived five minutes after the bell had rung. The teacher was not pleased, and June had to take an extra few minutes reassuring her that Susan was not contagious. On her return she found that Diesel, their dog, had had an accident on the kitchen floor. Suppressing her urge to drop-kick the dachshund, she let him out and mopped up the mess.
Being an adult isn’t nearly as glamorous as I always imagined it would be, she thought dryly. Pouring herself the last of the Seven-Up left over from the flu supplies, she sat down in front of the television to ponder dinner options requiring little to no work.
Then the morning newscaster announced that a body had been found in a car located in the parking lot of the local supermarket. The words “Homicide is suspected” floated from the television as June started scribbling a shopping list. I wonder if Lurie needs anything? she thought, and picked up the phone.
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Being a private dick ain’t glamorous. Between the crummy hours, infrequent paydays, and low-life informants, ain’t no long line of applicants for the job. Unless you just left The Job, or like me, was told to leave or get fired.
Nmae’s Maurice Brannigan, and I hate my job. And myself.
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It’s been a while and it’s almost a week late but there’s no way a certain character wouldn’t respond to this prompt word so here goes!
Warm, clear, and sunny days were as rare as gold in Nimbus, which meant there was only one thing Mireia Asturias could do today: put on her best bikini and luxuriate by the pool, the envy of all who laid eyes on her! She had earned it, after all, having to use poisoned lipstick on that disgusting old man Priede. Mireia was sure she wouldn’t feel clean again until she’d taken at least another week’s worth of showers.
Her thoughts changed from disgust to amusement as she sorted through her extensive collection of swimwear as she remembered the other memorable part of that night: that dumbass redheaded chick in the crowd. Damn, was the Society’s deep cover training slipping or what? That witch looked about as comfortable in the club as Thanos Ferenczy would surrounded by the saints of the Pillars! Hell, Mireia had done her and her bosses a favor by taking Priede out as discreetly as she did!
She did hesitate briefly as another thought occurred to her. She was probably lucky she dealt with that redhead on her home turf rather than the streets of Drusus like she did that last Enforcer. Whoever that silver-haired guy in the striped camo outfit was, he was a tricky enough opponent when they were after the same target. She could still smell the air after he’d thrown those lightning bolts at her and she’d been wearing her mask! Miss Red would probably be right at home on the streets with whatever the hell kind of custom gun and magic she had.
“The Queen got her prize, Little Miss Red Stick Up Her Ass got jack, and that’s that!” Mireia said aloud when she found exactly what she was looking for: a yellow bikini with magenta accents that would showcase her athletic frame perfectly.
Mireia idly wondered when the next time some reporter from a health and fitness magazine would start bugging her about her workout routine and diet would be as she put on a simple pair of sunglasses and walked towards the sliding glass door. Whenever it was, it wouldn’t be today. Sure, she could go to some fancy pool where the rich and crapulous gathered but she’d dealt with enough scum looking for arm and bed candy for one week. Today would be all about her. She sighed as she settled into her chaise lounge, smiling as she soaked up the sun. Living the glamorous life wasn’t easy but nobody did it better than Mireia Asturias, Queen of the Night!
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