Pandemic

Bio:

Before becoming a children’s writer, Yvonne Ventresca wrote computer programs and taught others how to use technology. Now she happily spends her days writing stories instead of code. Yvonne’s the author of the young adult novel Pandemic, available since May from Sky Pony Press. Yvonne’s other writing credits include two nonfiction books for kids: Avril Lavigne (a biography of the singer) and Publishing (about careers in the field). You can visit her website at www.YvonneVentresca.com.

Blurb:

In Pandemic, only a few people know what caused Lilianna Snyder's sudden change from a model student to a withdrawn pessimist who worries about all kinds of disasters. After her parents are called away on business, Lil’s town is hit by what soon becomes a widespread fatal illness. With her worst fears realized, Lil must find a way to survive not only the outbreak and its real-life consequences, but also her own personal demons.

Buy links:
Indiebound www.indiebound.org/book/9781628736090
Amazon www.amazon.com/Pandemic-Yvonne-Ventresca/dp/1628736097
Barnes and Noble www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pandemic-yvonne-ventresca/1116107728?ean=9781628736090
Powells www.powells.com/biblio/62-9781628736090-0
Books A Million www.booksamillion.com/p/Pandemic/Yvonne-Ventresca/9781628736090
Excerpt

I stood on the smoking corner behind school reveling in my aloneness. Not many smokers had the same schedule, which made the corner the perfect place for solitude. We always stayed a foot off the high school property, near the big oak tree, and since we were allowed to leave during last period study hall, we weren’t technically breaking any rules.

As if rules mattered.

“Hey, got a light?” Jay Martinez asked, interrupting the quiet. In the fall, he’d moved from Arizona to live with his aunt down the block from my house.

I handed him my half-smoked cigarette. Cupping the burning ember, he used it to light his own. He didn’t fit in with the other smokers, but then neither did I. My black clothes, basic ponytail, and minimal makeup placed me in my own category. Maybe Lazy Goth. But the nice thing about smokers was that they didn’t exclude anyone.

“Thanks.” Jay passed my cigarette back to me.

“Is New Jersey always this cold in April?”

Being the new guy at school made Jay the flavor of the month with the other sophomore girls. They craved him in a nauseating kind of way. He was dark, tall, and lanky, and tended to over-communicate. Totally not my type. Now he ruined my aloneness with weather chatter. I shrugged so he’d get the idea that I wasn’t in a talking mood.

“Ethan was hoping to run into you,” he said.

Another shrug. I’d managed to avoid my ex for months. No reason to change the pattern now.

“So . . . do you have Robertson for bio?” he asked.

I nodded. Jay definitely wasn’t taking the hint.

“What are you doing your report on?”

“Emerging diseases,” I said, finally giving up on staying silent.

“Cheerful stuff.”

The school projects I chose did favor the dark this semester. American history report? The decision to drop the bomb. English book talk? A collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories. Thematically, Ebola hemorrhagic fever fit right in.

“What are you writing about?” I flicked the accumulated ashes. “Lung cancer?”

He smiled. “The biology of taste. I write restaurant reviews on my blog and that was the closest topic I could think of. Do you like eating at restaurants?”

Leaning slightly forward, he held eye contact a little too long for me. Was he flirting? Nervous, I pulled my sweater tighter around me and crossed my arms. A flirtatious guy was the absolute last thing I needed in my life. No boyfriends, no coy conversations for me. Not anymore.

Time well spent?

Kathy L Wheeler

Ha! I don’t know the meaning of the word. TIME? What is that? Like sleep, I have no idea. Between a day job (technical writer), summer bootcamp coding class (javascript, express, node, mongo db), writing (four manuscripts underway), short story anthology online class (for next month), critique groups meetings (every other week), NBA Thunder basketball (season ticket holder, forty-three home games, not including playoffs), fantasy football (draft night coming up), OKC Broadway season tickets (starts Aug 29th—Phantom of the Opera!!!! CANNOT WAIT!), editing my stuff, critique partners stuff and various other chapter members requests, OK-Rwa), Burger night (every Wednesday), Martini club (every Friday). Well, I think you begin to see what I mean about time. House cleaning? Ha! I leave that to my husband these days. (I hope doesn’t read this.)

In fact, I’ve actually been cooking dinner since last November (I’m on a health kick). One day my husband stood in the doorway of our remodeled kitchen contemplating the fire beneath the skillet. After a few minutes, he said, “I know you’re not used to cooking with gas, but don’t you think that fire is a little high?” Perhaps he said that a while back. Now (almost every day) it’s “Is that fan on?” And he does regularly asks, “Is that fire too high?”

To my credit, I do not yell, and stomp out. No, I calmly reply, that he is right but if he isn’t careful I might quit cooking again in the near future anyway. Dinner usually goes smoothly after that. On occasion, I’ll just hand him the utensil and walk away.

So how do I manage all of these activities? I’m not quite sure, but somehow I do. I suppose each aspect: job, writing, burger night, martini club night, basketball, football, theater, karaoke (I forgot that one), writing, reading critiquing…get worked in because each activity I’m involved in are important to me. It helps, I suppose, that I don’t have small children about. All my family lives out of town, but I count myself very blessed with the many friends I have. And I do make time for them.

I suppose the point in this post is to give you a little insight to a full-time, tax-paying citizen who loves to read, write and sing. And perhaps leave you to contemplate how you manage all the tasks you consider essential to your life. I’m certain you realize that you will get done what you need to. That we all tend to make room for the things most important to us.

And that’s just fine!

Happy Reading!~~Kathy L Wheeler

Bio:

Kathy L Wheeler (aka Kae Elle Wheeler) writes both contemporary and historical romance. She is a computer programmer and software expert by day. She is a member of several RWA chapters including The Beau Monde, DARA and has served several positions in her home chapter of the Oklahoma Romance Writers. She is an avid sports fan, theater buff, and loves to travel and sing karaoke.

Blurb:
The Surprising Enchantress – book iii

Delusions of grandeur? Happily-ever-after? Lady Esmeralda is destined for life with a fluttering eye syndrome—a deterrent to any prospective intended. Alessandro de Lecce’s efforts to save Chalmers future heir are nil without Lady Esmeralda’s assistance. There is more to this fluttering-eye miss than meets the . . . eye!

Buy links:
Amazon ~~ Nook ~~ iTunes ~~ Kobo ~~ Smashwords
Contact information
Website ~~ Facebook ~~ Twitter
***BONUS***

For everyone who signs up for my NEWSLETTER you will receive an e-book copy of book i, The Wronged Princess ($1.99 value) for FREE!

Excerpt from 'The Nightclub'

by Lynette Sofras:

Petra's eyes rolled upwards to scan her pink ceiling; she then glanced at her watch and swung her long legs over the side of the bed. Laura feared this was a prelude to being shown the door, but instead, Petra reached for a pack of cigarettes and pulled one out, offering the pack to Laura. She shook her head.

"No thanks, I don't—"

"No such thing as don't. At Ferriby's you do, even when you don't. Take one, just to get used to holding it." Petra lit her own cigarette from a vintage gold lighter with an art deco diamond inlay that she casually picked up from the side table. She proffered this to Laura. "Genuine vintage Cartier, worth a couple of grand; a little gift from one of my punters. I didn't smoke either, though I do now. You don't have to inhale, just know how to look as if you're used to it. The ciggies are a little income-booster. When Jeannie comes round, the punters usually buy you ciggies, then you can sell them back to her, or pass them on to your friends. Or keep them, if you take up the habit."

Bibi stretched out her hand eagerly, but Petra laughed again. "Not you, little skylark. Think what it would do to that wonderful voice of yours." She watched as Laura pulled a cigarette out from the packet and rolled it between her fingers. "OK, Ferriby's. When I first started there, it was one of the best nightclubs in town. That was when Guy Ferriby ran the place. It was high end and very elegant, frequented by the wealthy and famous. But then Guy died." Petra choked on a cough and stubbed out her cigarette in a large rose-pink ashtray. After another sip of her drink, she continued. "Very sad. After that his brother, Melvin took over. He had completely different ideas about the club, but not all bad. He just catered to a different crowd—and that made a lot of work for a whole new army of girls."

"Strippers," Lily added, surprising everyone

.

Laura looked at her, hoping for more, but Lily simply swung her slender frame from the bed and reached for a hand mirror to examine her face, her expression again doll-like and blank.

"The girls don't complain," Petra assured them. "And don't worry about Mel, his bark is far worse than his bite. He's a puppy dog really. So what do you think, Laura? Are you game?"

Blurb:

Trying to make a living for her teenage sister and herself, naïve Laura Hamilton accepts a job offer as a hostess at an infamous nightclub. As she struggles to survive in a world of sex, drugs and corruption, she certainly doesn't expect to find her own knight in shining armour in the club's owner, Julian. But will he really save her from a future as a fallen woman? And is he involved in the criminal organisation that threatens not only her sister's life, but will change her own fate forever?

Bio:

A former teacher, Lynette gave up her career in education a few years ago in order to focus on her writing and thus fulfil her childhood dream. She writes contemporary women's fiction, often involving romance with suspense or a supernatural twist. She claims 'Killing Jenna Crane', a romantic thriller and 'Unworkers' a modern ghost story/women's fiction are her personal favourites to date. Her latest release 'The Nightclub' is a romance packed with suspense. You can find more details of her novels on her website: http://www.lynettesofras.com or Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Lynette-Sofras/e/B0084YQCD8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Buy Link:
http://amzn.com/B00KYW2Z8O

The Shenanigans of Time

About the book :

The Shenanigans of Time is an absorbing, vivid collection of interlocking stories. P. A. Chawla, reveals myriad emotions - the turmoil and transcendence of childhood, parenthood, sex and love – that shape immigrant lives.

Whether it is the motelier Deven Shah and his deep seated desire to be embraced as the quintessential local only to be regarded as a foreigner by his own child, or Saya Sharma who fades in and out of her suburban life like a migratory bird, or the visiting Feroz grasping for a chance at domesticity with the volatile Rita, The Shenanigans of Time is ultimately a hymn of praise for the resilience of the human spirit and the desire for a place to call home.

Bio:

Poonam Chawla migrated to United States from India in 1982. She has worked in the corporate arena for fifteen years (Communictions) before she began her career as a writer.

The Shenanigans of Time is her debut novel. Poonam lives in new Jersey wither husband of 32 years and two extraordinary children.

Excerpt from: Chai for his sister

Now came the hard part. He had to let go his cane, and carry the tray back to her room. It did not feel too heavy at first but the act of turning around with the tray, made the teacups slide a bit and he realized, his heart sinking, he had not added napkins to the tray. What if the tea spilled…the thought made him nauseous. After all his work, to bring her a cup of tea making dirty brown rings in the saucer, like a clumsy, irreverent peon. He gripped the tray hard and walked carefully his tongue sticking out between pursed lips. Halfway through, his right toe got caught in his pajamas. He had the urge to empty his bladder. He stood still, unfurling his toe waiting for it to come unstuck. He should have tightened his pajama string before he picked up the tray. By now his forehead was gleaming with sweat threatening to trickle down his eyes. A few more steps and he was at her door.

She seemed to sense his presence and stretched and sighed. His elbow nudged the corner table by the door. Ah! Perfect. He would place the tray on the table just for a moment. She was now awake and looking at him wide eyed. “Chai” he smiled shyly.

She sat up painfully, making a cursory attempt to push her wispy hair in place under the thinning braid. “Rosa?” She queried, perplexed.

“She will be in later.” He placed the tray beside her and sat at the edge of the bed. She held out his cup. Together they sipped their tea.

“Is it all right?” He asked after a while. She smiled at him, her eyes wet, her lips trembling. He put his head down. Why get used to that look in her eyes? She was only here a few days.

She ate a tea biscuit, then another. Wiped the crumbs from her lips and said, “Remember Ram Singh? I was so afraid of him…he looked like a monster to someone my age, with his moustache like a scrubbing brush, his deep voice …” Ram Singh was an old family servant, back when they were children.

Her brother nodded, listening as she prattled on, letting the words tease the air, play in his ears wash over him like water in the desert heat. Now and then he nodded, led the conversation down another alley, deliberately transposed dates, killed off living relatives, conflated events then acted surprised as she corrected him, the twinkle in her eyes and sharp curving lines around her lips making her otherwise featureless face come alive with pleasure. “No no don’t you remember…. you were in Quetta at the time, trying to persuade our father to let you join the film industry … ”

Like a child who sucks and sucks and sucks at a mint, willing himself not to allow its inevitable escape into the blood stream, the 87 year old brother let his sister, two years younger, talk about the things she liked to talk about, an endless number of times.

Available: the Shenanigans of Time is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.

Ellora's Cave Changes

On Dear Author and Passive Voice.

On Monday, an anonymous person posted on Absolute Write the full email Patty Marks sent to the Ellora’s Cave authors. Before the post was taken down, we managed to copy and paste the letter, and Jane put together the following news item:

To All Ellora’s Cave authors:

>Read more.

Blonde Ops

Short Bio:

Until Hollywood calls, Charlotte lives in NJ with her husband, three children, two needy cats and sometimes a deranged squirrel. She is the co-author of Blonde Ops (St. Martin’s/Dunne) and the Sirenz series (Sirenz, Sirenz Back In Fashion, Flux).

She’s written for magazines and newspapers. Currently she’s working on solo sci fi, ghost, and time travel novels and loves to hear from fans on Twitter (charbennardo) or through her blog, http://charlotteebennardo.blogspot.com/

You can buy her books at your local bookstore or online at:

Amazon
Books A Million
Barnes and Noble
Indie Bound
Powell's
Walmart Ebooks.com

Excerpt:

Staying in the shadows, I walked around the warehouse, and spying the faded Fredo Transporto sign, I knew I was in the right place. Around the corner of the building, I passed cracked windows grimed over with soot and dirt and eventually found a door. After a quick glance to make sure no one was around, I ran up to it and stopped in dismay. It had an electronic keypad lock. Cracking this would cost me extra time that I didn’t have. Lucky for me, it was a cheap setup. I didn’t have the equipment for disabling a more sophisticated system. Carrying the necessary tool in my luggage, even if I had it, would have instantly gotten me yanked out of the security check into a room for a full body search and interrogation.

Sliding my backpack off, I pulled out my penlight. A swift look up assured me I was still alone. Using my hand to shield the light, I turned it on and searched the ground near the door.

Not too far from the walkway was a patch of dirt, bare of grass, dried and hard packed. I ground it with my foot, creating a powdery dust. I scooped up a small handful, went back to the door, and gently blew dirt onto the keypad. It was almost like dusting for fingerprints. The penlight showed it stuck to four numbers: 3, 5, 6, and 8, where residual skin oils remained from repeated pressing on the pad.

That meant only twenty-four possible combinations if it was a four-digit code string. It wasn’t a high-end lock, so it probably had a shorter sequence of numbers and wouldn’t freeze up with too many wrong combos, like a computer would after three incorrect passwords.

I began with 3, 5, 6, 8.

Then 3, 6, 5, 8.

Sweating, I rushed. Being caught picking a lock on a warehouse would be the most legitimately jail-worthy thing I’d done to date, taking me from hobbyist-hacker to criminal-cracker.

i>Focus! If Candace or the man shows up early…

5, 6, 3, 8.

Click!

Researchers May Have Found a New Way to Cure Cancer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Chasing cancer cells with chemotherapy drugs can save lives, but there's no guarantee that the treatment will kill every run-away cancer cell in the body.

hat if, instead of hunting those metastatic cells, a treatment could lure them out of hiding -- every last one of them -- and eliminate them in one swift blow?

Yong Wang, associate professor of bioengineering at Penn State, has created such a therapy -- a tissue-like biomaterial that attracts cancer cells, like bits of metal to a magnet, and entraps them.

"Once we trap the cancer cells, we can deliver anticancer drugs

>Read more.

Author Rock Star Round Up

What have my rock stars been up to the past few weeks?

Hugh Howey has been asked why indie authors should care about what Hachette charges for e-books.

I just got an email from a reporter asking me why indies are fighting for lower priced ebooks. I’ve seen many indies ask each other the same thing. After all, affordable pricing is one of our biggest advantages. Why would we want that to go away?

What I find interesting about this question is the insight it provides about the people doing the asking. It would never occur to me to question another person’s willingness to perform selfless acts. I’m far more curious (and wary) of those who seem to think this is alien behavior. Maybe there is a lot of projection going on here. I don’t know.

Read here.

There's more fisking going on over at J.A. Konrath's blog.

William Ockham Fisking Michael Pietsch

William: In case you haven't heard, Hachette (US) CEO Michael Pietsch is sending out a response to the emails he's getting. DBW has it: <.Phttp://www.digitalbookworld.com/2014/hachette-ceos-response-to-amazon-advocate-emails-why-we-price-books-the-way-we-do/

As you might imagine, I have a few comments:

Thank you for writing to me in response to Amazon’s email. I appreciate that you care enough about books to take the time to write. We usually don’t comment publicly while negotiating, but I’ve received a lot of requests for Hachette’s response to the issues raised by Amazon, and want to reply with a few facts.

• Hachette sets prices for our books entirely on our own, not in collusion with anyone.

David Gaughran makes the argument that indie author are saving the publishing industry.

Self-Publishers Aren’t Killing The Industry, They’re Saving It

Posted on August 9, 2014 by davidgaughran

In light of current events, I thought it would be good to re-run Ed Robertson’s excellent guest post from November 2012 where he highlighted interesting parallels between historical paperback pricing (pre-industry consolidation) and self-published e-books.

Lunar Lion X Update: Raising funds

Moon missions take brains, willpower, and usually, the wealth of nations. Until now. Brains are still needed, as is willpower. Now, for the first time in history, YOU can join a group landing a privately-funded spacecraft on the Moon.

>Read more

Tiva Boon

Blurb

The kingdom of Abennelp has enjoyed an age of peace. Tiva Boon, a loyal and ambitious Royal Guardian is determined to carry on tradition and become an elite protector to the throne. It is all she has ever wanted. Possessing abilities and strength beyond her age, Tiva dedicates her youth and risks her life in the service of her king to prove she is worthy. With her goal achieved and her destiny in motion, a mysterious off-world threat emerges and shatters everything Tiva holds dear.

Exiled from her home and running for her life, Tiva seeks asylum with the Union, a universal security force, and attempts to put the past behind her. Finding herself alone among various space faring races, Tiva integrates herself into the strange society using her skills as a protector and befriends several aliens she meets along the way, ones who will change her life forever.

When a message from those loyal to her king reaches her months after she feels safe in her new life, Tiva’s destiny and the fate of her people collide.

Excerpt:

The king held out his hand to Tiva. She turned to her father, who nodded, so she pressed her tiny palm against the king’s hand. He covered the top of her hand with his other and looked into her eyes. Instantly, she felt warmth and kindness from him. She smiled.

“I do not intimidate you, do I Tiva Boon?”

“No, sire,” she said, and put her free hand on top of the king’s. A smiled appear\ed on his lips as he looked up to Kevler.

Her father chuckled.

“Most of the children I have met are quite frightened of me, even though I always offer my hand in friendship,” he said, studying her small hand on top of his.

“Your hands are warm, sire, your spirit is calming. You are a good king,” she said candidly.

The two men laughed.

Tiva looked to them confused. She pulled her hands back and took a step away from the king, her markings turning pink. Kevler noticed and immediately knelt down beside her.

The king looked to Kevler. “She is in tune with her empathic senses and her markings have begun to react already?”

“Yes, Harer, can you believe it?” he said.

“I would expect nothing less from the Boon Family.” He nodded and clasped Kevler on the shoulder. The king turned to Tiva and took her hand again. “You are a very special child. Study well and listen to your elders.”

Tiva nodded.

“As you grow, you will come to learn, young Tiva, that even I can be easy-spirited in private, but you are still confused, speak of what you feel.”

“Father called you by your birth name,” she said, studying him. She was sensing more from him than she understood. His jade eyes pierced through her in a wave of familiarity and his touch was comforting not intimidating as her cousins had told her. The king’s short black hair sparked with flecks of silver when he ran his hands over his head. The hair hid his moon markings. Tiva found this curious as she believed the crescent moon markings of her people were beautiful and something one should display with pride

.

“Your father and I have been friends for many, many cycles. He is as close to me as a brother of my own blood,” he said, his complete attention on her, “you will learn when you can be informal. Guardians must always balance duty with pleasure.”

“So, am I to begin my training to prepare for the induction?” Tiva grinned at her father and the king.

“Yes, Tiva Boon, you are to begin your training.” King Delos deepened his voice sounding more official. “Five cycles from this day, should you pass all your schooling, you will be inducted into guardianship training.”

Author Bio

Jenn’s love of writing started the year she received her first diary and Nancy Drew novel. Throughout her teenage years, she kept a diary of her personal thoughts and feelings but graduated from Nancy Drew to other mystery suspense novels.

Jenn often adds a thriller and suspense element to anything she writes be it Romance, Science Fiction, or Fantasy. When not writing, she spends her time reading, observing pop culture, playing with her two dogs, and working on various charitable projects in her home state of New Jersey.

Website: www.jennnixon.com
Facebook: facebook.com/JennNixonAuthor
Blog: www.jennafern.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/jennnixon
http://www.amazon.com/Jenn-Nixon/e/B002BLNBBQ/
Tiva Boon Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LN8S32U

Launch Party.

Love's Sweet Sorrow

Book Jacket for Love’s Sweet Sorrow

Love and faith are tested as Jason and Ariel are caught in a battle to expose smugglers selling weapons to terrorists.

It is said opposites attract. There can’t be two people more opposite than Ariel and Jason. Ariel is a traditional Quaker with an absolute aversion to war. Jason is the lead council for America's largest weapons manufacturer.

Their budding romance is thrown into turmoil when Jason uncovers evidence linking his employer to international arms deals that could devastate America. His determination to stop the treason puts Ariel in the middle of dangerous territory.

The kidnappings, killings and harrowing escapes from those trying to retrieve the evidence force Jason and Ariel to delve deeply into their often opposing long-held convictions, and question if they are truly meant to be together.

The following is an excerpt where Ariel has developed strong feelings―maybe not quite love yet―for Jason and starts to change to please him.

Set up: It is Ariel’s birthday. Jason had agonized for hours over what to get her. Now he wondered if he had made a mistake getting her a gift that expressed so unabashedly what he wanted. He was taking her to dinner and a Broadway show to celebrate her birthday. Having second thoughts about the gift and not wanting to cause tension in their evening, he asked her not to open it until they got back to her apartment.

She reached for the end of the pink ribbon.

He took her hand. “Open it when we get back.”

“Why?” she asked

“Because it’s to cap off the evening, not start it.”

(The celebration over, they had returned to her apartment.)

“Can I open my present now?”

He sat forward, crossing his fingers behind his back. “Go ahead.”

She pulled the pink ribbon. The bow dissolved. She lifted the top. The tissue paper rustled as she unfolded it. Cautiously she touched the lace trim on the shiny, jet-black garment and quickly withdrew her hand as if her fingers had been burned by a red hot branding iron.

She smiled meekly. “Thank you. It’s very pretty.”

A few minutes later she escorted him to the elevator.

* * *

Ariel took her present into her bedroom and placed the box on the heirloom bedspread. Ever so carefully she removed the black silk camisole, laid it on the bed and smoothed it out. She placed the tap pants below it. Slowly she undressed, dropping her blouse and skirt on the carpet. Reaching behind her back, she unhooked her bra then stepped out of her panties.

Slipping on the tap pants, she trembled as the sensuous silk stroked her long legs. Holding the camisole by the thin straps, she extended her arms over her head and released it. It floated over her torso sending a shiver through her.

Turning toward the mirror, she stood tall, her arms dangling next to her thighs. Will wearing this blind me to the hungry, the homeless? Will it prevent me from working toward a more peaceful world? I don’t think I will change my convictions because I put this on, or wear makeup, or like movies, art, TV, dancing and…

Her fingers fluttered against her thighs. She closed her eyes and envisioned Jason caressing the fabric against her hips, her waist, stomach, breasts.

“Jason, I want to, but…Lord, what should I do?”

Bio

Richard Brawer writes mystery, suspense and historical fiction novels. When not writing, he spends his time sailing and exploring local history. He has two married daughters and lives in New Jersey with his wife.

Love’s Sweet Sorrow will be available in mid September in both trade paperback and e-book wherever books are sold.

Read more about Love’s Sweet Sorrow and all Richard’s books at his website: www.silklegacy.com