AphroditeThank you to everyone that has sent me a birthday message today.

Unfortunately, Facebook has locked me out of my account and is saying my computer is not my computer, which is why I can’t thank anyone on my timeline 🙁 So, thanks to Xakara, Imari Jade, Melanie Tushmore, Fernanda Parente, AJ Llewellyn, Cuqui Luna, Patrick Wendling-Markwell, Blaine D. Arden, and any other well-wishers on this, the day I was born so many (many) years ago. You all are fabulous ^_^

Hopefully the Internet situation will sort itself out here. Everyone in the neighborhood is having Internet trouble, so it’s not just us. At least it means the phone company will be out and about, working around the clock to get things working again.


Other things of note:
– I’m excited about the new movies coming out on Netflix this month. Namely, Kick-Ass 2, which I’ve been waiting for.

– I’ve got a good start going on All That Remains, the third book in “Heroes & Villains.” It’s set four years after Allies & Enemies. I can’t really say a whole lot at this point without spoiling A&E some, but the outline is pretty bad ass.

In case you didn’t know, “Heroes & Villains” follows a three-act structure. Heroes & Villains is Act One, introducing the characters and the setting. Allies & Enemies is Act Two, showing the confrontation and setting up the climax. And All That Remains is Act Three, the resolution to everything brought up in the first two acts.

Each novel can standalone, but together they make one story — the chronicles of the supervillain Darkstar.

Paradigm Shift is starting to look beautiful (:P) and will be coming out on time (February 2014). Park is even more bad ass than I thought he was going to be. Plus there’s all that stuff with Zero I’ve been splicing in here and there, little tasties that make a lot of sense if you read the upcoming Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade (January 2014).

Count Zero at Amazon

I’ve picked my winners and you’ll be the first ones to get Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade.

Winners list:

  • Katherine S
  • Regina M
  • KT A
  • Karen O-G
  • Holly L
  • Booklady
  • Catherine L
  • Shelly H

You’ve all been great. Expect to receive a Smashwords coupon when Jagged Blade goes live.

Have another taste:
EXCERPT –

He could still remember being that nervous kid sweating at his first audition. His hands had been slippery against the hard plastic chair and he’d known he was going to be a dripping mess by the time he was called in. Except Simon had come and sat down beside him and given that trademark smile that had already brought America to its knees.

Colby had been shocked that Simon Peters would even speak to him, much less give him helpful advice. Yet every time they’d run into each other after that, Simon would always greet him by name and pass along recommended parts. It was because of Simon that Colby had gotten his career off the ground before his grandmother’s deadline was up.

Without Simon’s help, Colby would be running the family store. He owed the guy all that he had.

Kakushigoto 01 at Amazon

This is one of those things that news networks aren’t talking about when they really should be. A blurb scrolling past the bottom of the screen doesn’t mean a whole lot.

I don’t know if this will really affect the tuna we eat — as bananas have been known to contain more radiation — but I honestly feel concerned. Irradiated water is washing up on the west coast of the United States. People in Japan are swimming in the water. Plant and animal life may be affected.

This is not the kind of problem that should be handled by a for-profit company that has already held back and lied to the public about how things are going. This is something that should be handled by people with know-how and concern for the public health. There should at the very least be some kind of over watch on the situation that has thus far not been provided.

Do we really want a situation like they had in The Host?


Harvey Wasserman:

The World Community Must Take Charge at Fukushima

At Fukushima Unit 4, the impending removal of hugely radioactive spent fuel rods from a pool 100 feet in the air presents unparalleled scientific and engineering challenges. With the potential for 15,000 times more fallout than was released at Hiroshima, we ask the world community, through the United Nations, to take control of this uniquely perilous task.

They need 125,000 signatures. Go check it out.

The danger of huge radiation releases from Fukushima 4 has taken on a new dimension; the world community must step in!

A City On Mars at Amazon

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Mistletoe Hop Christmas Trees. Holiday Music. Sugar Cookies. Glitter and Bows. And Best Of All … the Mistletoe. Romance books enhance our holiday traditions. Who doesn’t love to cuddle under a warm blanket near a fire place on a cold day and read? Hop around with us to celebrate the best romance books of the season.

Read excerpts from some good books. Enter each of the author contests. Tell us what you like to read during the holidays. Find some new-to-you authors to ring in the New Year with.


For the Mistletop Hop I’m giving out eight copies of my newest collection “Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade.”

As the title suggests, it’s a collection of short stories and vignettes. Included are a couple of Human Pets Verse vignettes like the excerpt, and the short story Black Friday which is set in the Heroes & Villains universe and features a young pre-Starburst Vereint Georges.

Most of the stories are gen, though there are some genhet, mm, and ff. Hopefully there’s something for everyone 🙂 There’s a rafflecopter after the excerpt, so please feel free to enter. Otherwise, follow the Linky at the bottom and check out the rest of the hop.

Good luck to everyone, and happy holidays!

Reef had been alone with only alien company for so long he thought he’d already lost his mind. There were some days when he had to force himself up out of bed, fearful of what would happen if he was thought to be sick. He really didn’t want to be put down.

He forced himself up and was cheerful and affectionate toward the Owner. It earned him tasty treats and lavish attention that were a lot better than the old mattress pad and dry kibble he’d had to put up with at the pet shop. The Owner would feed him real food, meat and vegetables, and even though everything was blandly prepared, it was positively gourmet when compared to the kibble and tepid water. He could almost get himself to believe that everything was going to be okay.

It was strange to think that he’d been free once. He’d been a kid with parents and a house and a future that had stretched before him with possibility. He’d still thought humans were going to turn it around, right up until he was marched onto a ship and sold on the galactic slave market. And then he’d learned to follow the commands he was given and keep his head down.

The Owner wasn’t so bad. He was one of the big furry bear ones versus the more sinister lizard ones that had conquered Earth and eaten his parents. The Owner had seemed to think Reef was fascinating and exotic; for the first few months he’d constantly checked what Reef thought was a book on pets. He’d read a few pages and then try to teach Reef simple tricks.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if Reef could understand what the Owner was saying, but his ears just weren’t built to handle the bear speech. Every once and a while he could make out a sound or two, but for the most part he just saw that mouth open and close and he had to figure out what was happening from the rather erratic gestures.

Reef had taken to teaching the Owner various broad gestures that he’d decided would mean certain things. He wished he could use sign language, but he didn’t know any and he wasn’t sure the Owner would pay attention anyway.

Over the past two years he’d come to realize that the Owner was some kind of rich socialite or something. His clothes were different from other bear-things and the way he held himself was different. He also seemed to be really attractive to some others of his species, because there were always dozens of males and females hanging around and Reef was pretty sure there was sex happening in the house when he was locked in his kennel. And to the Owner, Reef was a purse dog.

Reef had seen the way humans and animals from Earth were treated. He guessed they were so new on the market that they cost a lot of money and were currently some kind of status symbol. Only the richest of aliens were buying them. He supposed he should be flattered that he’d cost a ton of money, but mostly Reef just wished he could go home.

Until the day he found himself being led on his leash through some kind of market and the Owner took him to a fenced in area full of people. He’d never imagined how emotional it would be to see other human faces. He’d nearly forgotten what a face other than his own looked like.

He was momentarily frightened that he was being resold. He liked being the Owner’s pet. It was so much better than being locked in a small cage at the pet shop, shivering and naked as only purchased humans were allowed clothes. Then he realized that the Owner was going to buy another human. He wouldn’t have to be alone.

From the gesture the Owner made, Reef saw that he was supposed to help pick the new human. He was being allowed to choose his new companion. It was a frightening and heady prospect. Who was he supposed to save? How was he supposed to know who he would get along with from this desperate group of strangers? He almost wanted to turn away.

“Reef! Is that you, Reef Galloway?”

Reef traced the shouts and his breath caught for a second. Then he screamed, “Ryan!”

The other was older than the last time they’d seen each other and seemed to have filled out some in the interim, but there was no doubt in his mind that that was Ryan Bellows. The boy he’d had a crush on back before the end of the world.

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