BOOK PROMO
FROM PAM UPHOFF: Tiger Hunter
A novella in the Chronicles of the Fall series
Yuri Popov was born and raised on a primitive Research World, where his scientist dad and uncle worked, avoiding the rest of the family.
But as he approaches his eighteenth birthday, it’s time to meet that family, and deal with a culture having more trouble adjusting to the new reality, than Yuri the Tiger Hunter will have dealing with a modern society.
FROM M. C. A. HOGARTH: An Exile Amid Stars
For nearly ten years, Surela “Rel” Silin Eddings has been plying the galactic waters on the merchant vessel Earthrise, picking up sundries for the home system from which she remains exiled… and enjoying herself despite it. How else, with a congenial crew, dozens of worlds to explore, and so many things to learn? Most days, she can even forget she’s a criminal to her own people, and that’s the way she likes it. The last thing Surela wants is a new mission… particularly one that involves haring off into the unknown reaches of space in search of an Eldritch from a House predisposed to hate her for her misdeeds. But the Empress has decided one of the Eldritch’s waywards needs to come home, and Surela’s the woman to fetch her.As usual, nothing goes as planned…
FROM JOHN BAILEY: The Quiet Orbit: The Aurora III Incident
High above Earth, the privately funded Aurora III space station represents the next step in human progress—clean energy, advanced research, and confidence born of flawless simulations.
When a revolutionary experiment known as Project Helios Seed is activated, the crew expects routine success. Instead, they encounter something no model predicted: a hybrid organic–silicon system that adapts faster than human oversight can contain.
As subtle anomalies multiply and safeguards quietly erode, the crew of Aurora III must confront a growing truth—technology that feels familiar can still become dangerous when its limits are assumed rather than enforced. With time running out and Earth preparing drastic countermeasures, the station’s crew faces a final test of responsibility, restraint, and courage.
The Quiet Orbit: The Aurora III Incident is a calm, suspenseful science-fiction novel in the tradition of classic mid-century stories—where professionalism matters, heroism is measured, and survival depends not on panic, but on doing things the right way.
FROM M. A. NILES: A New Beginning (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds Book 1)
On a remote mining station, Nyalin hides a secret that would make her a hunted woman—she is a Crystal Keeper, a protector of a shard of the powerful Starfire crystal. However, when a strange shuttle falls through a portal near the mining station, she can no longer avoid her responsibilities. The human pilot, Vellin, is part of a research team that has developed gateways for instant travel anywhere in the universe without requiring a Starfire crystal, and he has been followed by an enemy through the portal.
To stop dangerous forces from possessing the gateways to spread destruction, Nya must team up with Vel and risk exposing her secret. In their race to destroy the gateways, they will find allies and enemies… and a new reason to worry.
FROM MEL DUNAY: Undead Flight (Hunter Healer King Book 2)
The name’s Chloe Fortebat, and I don’t understand this place at all.
First I helped Maxim kill a werewolf, then I kissed him, and then I found out that he was about twice as old as he looked. Now Maxim is about to be crowned King of the Stormcrows aboard a luxury airship, and I am invited, even though things are pretty awkward between us right now. But this ship feels more like a cage with each passing hour. A passenger’s horse has turned up missing. A crewman has turned up dead. And before it all started, I heard noises in the cargo hold. But Maxim has a mind as sharp as my banishing dagger, and between us, we will take down whatever monster is stalking this airship.
My name is Dr. Maxim os Storm, and I hunt the beasts that haunt the night.
With my coronation only hours away, something stalks the shadows of this vessel: a monster that answers to a human being. But who, and for what purpose? Despite our recent complications, Chloe’s courage and loyalty make her my strongest ally. The crown of the Stormcrows may await me, but first, we have a mystery to solve. Together.
For fans of Lindsay Buroker and Patricia Briggs, here is a dual POV gaslamp fantasy with monster hunting, a slow-burn romance subplot, and a reluctant king facing his destiny. Book 2 of the Hunter Healer King Trilogy.
FROM JULIE FROST: Dark Day, Bright Hour
A choir girl cast into the Pit through an egregious clerical error
Her strapping Guardian Angel
A condemned hitman
… and Derek
–a crossroads demon who’s been secretly storing up power for millennia.
He wants revenge on everyone on his extensive list, from Lucifer all the way up to Daddy and every devil and angel between. It’s a frankly impossible goal for a low-level guy like him, but “dream big” is his motto and sheer spite keeps him going.
Now he’s stuck escorting three idiots through Hell—and Derek has a history with the angel, thanks very much.
An infernal rebellion looms along with a premature Armageddon, and the black and withered thing Derek used to call a conscience rears its stupid, stupid head. He’s faced with a choice.
Rescue friends he never thought he’d make from a boss he never really thought he’d defy, at the possible cost of his life, such as it is…
Or let it all burn and dance in the ashes.
FROM LAURA MONTGOMERY: Fractional Ownership
When his company demands either a move to Mars or the loss of his job,
perpetual plaintiff Lewis Ostrow finds he can’t even get a ticket to
the world without lawyers.
FROM DALE COZORT: The Best of Space Bats & Butterflies – Volume 1: Alternate History & Time Travel
Space Bats & Butterflies pulls together an eclectic collection of seventeen of the best alternate history or time-travel stories, book excerpts, essays and world-building exercises from the ninety-plus issues of a long-running Alternate History zine.
• An alternate World War II-The Moscow Option-1942.
• Was a Japanese invasion of Hawaii possible?
• Could you do a better job than Roosevelt in the lead-up to Pearl Harbor?
• Alternate timelines and the Prime Directive
Fiction stories and excerpts:
• Modern-day US finds an alternate timeline where the Roman Empire stagnated and Europe never reached the New World. It’s 1492 all over again, but this time with an entire new world to exploit.
• Outnumbered four to one, New England’s Indians make one last doomed attempt to push the English into the see, but this time they have a dangerous ally who may help them win.
• The Space Bats don’t want to invade Earth. They just collect unique human minds the way we collect rare coins.
• Red Potter is unemployed, homeless and humanity’s last desperate chance in a time war that has lasted a million years.
• World War II Europe meets an alternate North America cut off from the rest of the world since the middle of the American Revolution.
• A boy and girl from alternate realities become friends, but they can’t both be real.
BY CLEVE F. ADAMS, REVIVED BY D. JASON FLEMING: Too Fair To Die (Annotated): The classic hard-boiled pulp noir.
Cherchez la femme, they told McBride. Find the woman. He hit the trail in the suburbs of L.A., and wound up in the heart of Montana; in the heart of a bitter, bullet-baited gubernatorial election; in the heart of the one woman he would have given his life to put behind bars.
- This iktaPOP Media edition includes a new introduction giving the book historical and genre context.
NON BOOK PROMO — DID SANTA MISFIRE? WELL, GET YOURSELF A GIFT FROM THESE GOOD PEOPLE:
Sharp, shiny and just plain fun!
Gaming figurines, custom laser engraving and oh, so much more.
The best coffee money can buy, and also plain fun. And EVERYTHING IS ON SALE RIGHT NOW.
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: MAGICAL
According To Hoyt 
Magical is how it feels when your first book sells. And the second. And the third…
Magical is how it feels when your first royalty “checks” start showing up in your bank account.
Magical is how it feels when your siblings say. “You write books?” and you show them your Author Page.
….
Gratitude and Thankfulness are how it feels when you think of those who educated, encouraged, and promoted your efforts, bought a book, or even gave review (good or bad).
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“Pyromancy is one of the most dangerous fields we teach here at the Seven Gables School of Magic,” Magister Daeroth warned, looking from one to another of the youngsters at the long benches of his classroom. “There is a reason that we only teach it to sixth-graders. Although I am certain that almost all of you have been permitted to work with fire for mundane tasks, under adult supervision,” was his gaze falling a little more heavily upon the girls, suggesting that familiarity had come in the kitchen? “fire magic is a very different matter.” His gaze shifted to a couple of boys in the back. “Do not think for a moment that you can treat this class as a lark. There is no room for tomfoolery when working in pyromancy, and if I catch any one of you doing something stupid, I will remove you from the class at once. Consider yourself lucky if you are not expelled altogether.”
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Coming up on Epiphany, we recall the story of the Three Kings. But, that description is a popularization, and most folks know them as Magi, powerful sorcerers and sages.
But they were not the only ones.
I am reminded of a flashy sage and his drive to provide freedom of movement to the people. With his faithful familiar “Spot”, he would preach nightly.
Someday I must relate the tale of the leader of the California Magi, Cal Worthington.
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“It’s magical!”
“Ah young student, it seems magical to you, but to me it’s hard work. I may be able to alter things/beings of this world, but reality fights back.”
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if you are a fan of the semisesquicentennial or whatever the 250th birthday of the US is called – here is another book for you (kindle is available, others coming soon)
Discovering America Again: Daily Quotations from the Explorers
K. MacCutcheon and William Duncan
ISBN
9798241523990
9798241712844
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The building was on fire, and it wasn’t my fault.
Honestly, I tried to avoid fire when fighting inside buildings-magic spells, like bullets, always have the right of way. And launching fireballs in a house means you’re doing squirts of an extremely powerful flamethrower inside an enclosed space…
Unfortunately, the wannabe necromancer I dealt with knew just a little bit too much magic and knew how to build a fireball wand. And a decent set of wards against magical harm, which meant I had no choice but to deflect fire attacks with my shields until I could get close enough to gut him with Whisper.
And then evacuate everyone I could find in basement before it properly caught on fire.
Thank God the building alarms still worked and there was nobody here at 2 AM.
…ah, the life of a Dawn Empire magical girl. Always full of excitement.
At least Detective Craigmore wasn’t being sarcastic this time around.
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In the beginning was the word. You heard, and could speak to another, the wisdom of long-ago lives, bequeathed by the word to lives just now beginning. Monkeys saw and monkeys did, but humans saw and did by hearing. Speaking the words into stories, the magical Word made Man.
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Remember, o Readers, that you can be FORCE MULTIPLIERS! When you read books, you can rate and review them.
Even short reviews are of aid to the writer, because sheer mass helps. (And if you really can’t review, still rate.)
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Yes — and those of us who have the fewest ratings and reviews on our books are the ones who need them the most. Once there’s a review or two, it “breaks the ice” and makes it more likely that other people will leave reviews as well.
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Silence followed for a moment. “That’s useful,” murmured Sonia. “Did you find the spell, or devise it?”
“I considered how to devise it,” said Augustus. “That lead me to consider where I could usefully look in the library. It may be mathematically harmonious but it’s not exceedingly obvious. But it works.”
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Perfect chance to follow up from last week:
“I see,” Ciaran said, glancing down at the report on his desk. “I’d be more than willing to tell you what I know, Detective, but that would mean I’d need to read the field report first. A task your call interrupted.”
“Of course, Mr. Locke,” the detective replied. “Get back to me when you finish it.”
“I will. Or more likely, Spencer Crawford will. Good day, Detective Renoir.”
“Good day to you too.”
Ciaran allowed himself a malicious grin as he ended the call. He knew that nobody who dealt with magical crimes in any capacity enjoyed being on the opposite side of either him or Crawford, much less the two of them at the same time and Renoir’s voice betrayed his irritation. Ciaran knew invoking Crawford’s name would be enough to buy him some time from whoever Renoir was in touch with among the city, state, and federal authorities. This meant he could get to the bottom of the damn report in peace.
Still, the detective had given him a hint as to the missing details. Apparently Bourdillon and a few of his subordinates were still dealing with lingering pain from the fight and were requiring more thorough medical treatment than most cases. That wasn’t anything unusual in and of itself. Martial magic was always an ugly business, especially when it came to raids like the one his agency had just conducted. The strange part was that the victims were muttering to each other in fear about a “sorcière blanche.” Well, except for Bourdillon himself, whose mutterings were venomous indignation.
“Only one way to figure out what happened.” Ciaran thought, opening the report folder.
There wasn’t anything unusual in Riley’s portion of it but Ciaran hadn’t expected there to be. Straightforward frontal assault tactics including dispatching a fair number of Bourdillon’s thugs with both firearms and fire magic, as was typical of him. Lyall’s was where the interesting details would be. Sure enough, he described meeting Byrne near a thug that she had already incapacitated – one who’d still be having nightmares about Mademoiselle Sorcière Blanche no doubt – and mentioned that they had cooperated. For the most part Byrne relied on Lyall’s stealth capabilities though they had to fight in the open against Bourdillon. Lyall noted that Byrne struck the decisive blow with a lightning spell, leading to the priest’s arrest.
“Interesting…” Ciaran muttered aloud. Lightning magic was, broadly speaking, under the domain of air, a branch Ciaran knew well from his own specialty of cryotheurgy. He didn’t wield it with the skill of his great-grandmother – there was a reason her nickname Rhona the Stormbringer still endured over 100 years later – or for that matter Caiti but he knew it well enough. Injuries caused by lightning magic were different enough from electrical injuries caused by mundane technology but that sort of effect wasn’t one he knew well. He’d have to bring the subject up with his great-grandmother when he got in touch with her to arrange Caiti’s next trip to Scotland, and Corbin Shearer too. The investigator, teacher, and medic hadn’t gotten any easier to deal with in his old age but there was still no one better for helping him get a handle on mysterious magical maladies than him.
“Unless…” Eldean’s Deputy Director thought, his features darkening. “It’s some kind of astrapitheurgical variant of…”
Of course. Vasanistírio, a spell used by the most sadistic enforcers of the evil wizard who terrorized the British Isles in his youth as well as the man himself. He’d still need to run this possibility by both of them but at least he wasn’t coming to them completely clueless. That was important for Shearer in particular.
It made sense considering that Miss Byrne was quite obviously from the old country. She had greeted him in Gaelic once she heard him speak, after all. It wouldn’t surprise him if she was an alumnus of his old alma mater as well, more specifically the same division of the school Crawford had been a part of. There was little doubt as to what Byrne was by this point, either. He kept informed enough to have heard of the Badb, who worked in the grey areas legitimate authorities, including the agency, couldn’t touch but weren’t so dire as to require assistance from actual criminal elements. A spell like that would fit right in with a Badb’s magical arsenal.
Ciaran sighed and pulled up Spencer Crawford in his contact list before pressing the call button. Lyall hadn’t just brought a stray cat to his doorstep. He’d brought in a full-blown kitsune and Crawford was looking at a huge paycheck to sort out this unholy mess.
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She had seen the works they had studied before. They showed no magic. At least, not visibly.
She should have realized that a magical library would look like any other library.
Edur, and the children, fanned over the shelves.
Honor said, “Where should I look?”
“Over here!” said Clara, waving.
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Barnaby pushed back from the computer and took a couple breaths. He’d been at it all night, trying to identify correlations among spell ingredients, cantrips, incantations, and results. Professor O’Malley was sure a thorough analysis would reveal some relation, but he made the study of magic seem so, well, unmagical.
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“I don’t talk about it because people will think I’m talking about magic,” said Cari. “What I’ve seen, what you’ve seen? It’s no different from echoes or mirages. Nothing magical about it; nothing more than a reflection.”
“Except for when it’s not,” countered Max.
“Right, except for when it’s not.”
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It had been a pleasant, wonderful evening. The Riverside Promenade had everything one could ask for: atmosphere, unique cafes, street musicians, and ice cream. Definitely ice cream. Max and Cari lapped their cones as they watched the boats pass. “You don’t need a wizard to make things magical,” thought Max.
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She sighed contentedly with her head resting on his shoulder, secure, resting contentedly in his strength as he gently pulled her close with an arm around her waist. The fire in the fireplace was warm on her back, and cast a flickering red glow across the entire room. She looked out the large picture window at the snow falling gently outside, as it was occasionally briefly lit by the full moon as it played peekaboo from behind the drifting clouds. There was something magical in the air tonight and she sighed contentedly again.
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