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This is a great platform. Thanks Grasshopper (Daisy)Here is an excerpt from my latest book The Tryptych III. Hope to get some amazing reviews here. Thanks in advance! :)
The Tryptych III:
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A mystic Byzantine monk from Germany, was visiting one day. John asked her to be present at the dinner table. Rebecca acquiesced in fear. She was now sure, he knew of her secret trysts.
The monk was dressed in a charcoal grey vestment, and had a white rope, firmly knotted at his waist. He had a unique fey around him. He was speaking about the Holy crusades, when Rebecca entered the room. ‘In 1095 November’ he said, ‘The Pope asked Christians take up arms to aid the Byzantine and recapture the holy land from Muslim control. Crusades failed to capture Jerusalem. But they increased the authority of the king. Sometimes, nobles died in battle without leaving an heir in which case, kings got their land. Kings passed taxes to pay for the crusades.’ ‘This', he said 'Is a Byzantine relic from a church in Germany. I have brought it especially for the funeral’, holding aloft the Tryptych.
Mod
24. Dream
Yes I dream
I dream of a better morrow
I dream of hope
I dream a lack of sorrow
Is it too wrong to live in them?
When life is too dreary
And all you have is your pen?
Dream on O soul
If it gives you wings to fly
Dream on soul do not die
If dreams take you to far off lands
Beneath the sky
And starry skies
Above the mountains
And in deep valleys below
Dream on O soul dream on
Wake up though sometimes
To make them true
Yes dreams come true too
A little spunk
A little fight
Put it up
It's your own life
'Wake up though sometimes To make them true
Yes dreams come true too'
That's lovely Daisy
Hello all! Here's an excerpt from my debut romance novel Abundance: An endearing romance novel.
Prologue
Natalie Cameron sat in the driver’s seat of her Honda Accord with her head on the steering wheel and tears in her eyes. Her car had broken down on the side of an old dusty Texas road that stretched as far as the eye could see. Save for randomly scattered clusters of trees, nothing but open fields of pasture land covered both sides of the road; an endless row of fence line and posts marched ahead. Her childhood home, settled on the west end of her hometown of Abundance, Texas, was still a good 15 minutes away and the sun was slowly sinking low in the sky, falling below the tree lines.
Natalie had just brought her four-year-old daughter over 950 miles across the Midwest. She was completely exhausted and didn’t know how much longer she could run on an empty stomach. Her head was pounding, her back ached, and her rear-end was numb. She just wanted to be home with her parents then she would finally feel safe. However, now she was stuck in the middle of nowhere and the only question she could ask herself was: How could this be happening to me? She raised her trembling, tear-stricken face off the steering wheel and looked in the rear-view mirror. She saw her daughter staring back at her and turned around in the seat.
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” her daughter asked, her expression full of concern, as she rubbed at her eye with her small hand.
“Nothing, angel! I’m just tired, that’s all,” Natalie said, wiping at the tears on her cheeks and giving a weak smile, so as not to alarm her little girl.
“I’m hungry, Mommy,” the little blonde cherub replied, rubbing at her eyes again with her tiny fists, trying to wake herself.
Natalie had naively assumed they would be to her parent’s house by now so they had both eaten only snacks since being on the road. “I know, baby. We should be at Grandma and Paw-Paw’s house soon. I promise.”
And it was high time for her to decide how on earth they were going to get there because the sun, now a beautiful array of purple, pink and orange hues, was slowly disappearing behind the trees and it didn’t look as if her car, with all the gray smoke billowing from the engine, would be getting them there. She grabbed her cell phone from her purse. Knowing there was no way that it was going to work on this desolate country road that stretched for miles on end with no visible sign of a cell phone tower anywhere in sight, she tried dialing her parents’ number anyway. Her phone had no service and her ears were bombarded by a series of loud beeping noises.
“Dallas, will you be okay if I step out of the car for a minute?”
“Yes,” she replied quickly, “but I’m hungry.” She confirmed once again.
“I know Dallie, I’ll hurry.”
She opened the door and stepped out of the car. The wind softly blew her hair from her face, and she took a deep breath as she shut the door back, trying her best to keep what was left of her composure. She knew that if she gave in and lost it that she would do them both more harm than good, and right now she needed to keep it together because they were stranded here in the middle of nowhere with no way out. She walked around to the front of the car honestly not knowing what she could possibly do, just subconsciously willing the engine to heal itself. She was no mechanic; she knew absolutely nothing about cars. Stubbornly, she opened the hood anyway and yelped as the heat from the engine burned her fingers as she raised the hood.
“Ow, Dammit!” The wreckage that was her engine hissed and sputtered, rivulets of smoke coiled out at her. “Oh, this is bad, really bad,” she mumbled aloud as she stood transfixed at her current situation. Ok, so what am I going to do? I can stand here all night and stare at this mess with no clue what to do or come up with a plan… She couldn’t walk to her parents’ house; it was at least 10 miles or more so that would take her about 15 minutes by car. She couldn’t even fathom how far it would take her to walk it, especially in the dark and carrying Dallie most the way. She was ready to scream when Dallas called for her. She stepped back toward the driver’s side of the car and opened the back door, looking down at her daughter. Her big blue eyes were curious and worried, and her curly blonde head was tilted.
“Is the car broken, Mommy?” she asked softly, her little bottom lip pouting out.
Natalie couldn’t help but smile at her daughter’s innocence. It was very much broken and completely useless to them at this moment. “Yes, Dallie. Our car is dead.”
“What are we gonna do now?” Dallie asked, so unaware.
That was her line of questioning, not her daughter’s worry; she smiled again at her little blonde angel. “Everything will be fine, baby. Mommy will think of something, okay?” The truth was that Natalie hadn’t a clue what to do.
She decided against walking. It wasn’t a good idea, she thought, not with Dallie; if she were alone, she would, but not with her daughter. She felt hopeless, and she felt like she was out of options.
She should be better prepared for something like this, but her mind had stopped functioning at full capacity months ago. All she wanted to do was cry, but she prayed instead. Praying had been the one thing she had held onto throughout all this… God, please, help me out! Her parents had no idea that she was coming, she wasn’t expected to arrive until the following week. She hoped for a miracle.
Hello! Excerpt from Winter Delight New Contemporary Romance. Christmas themed. Let me know what you think.Chapter 1
“Is there a problem?” A deep voice asked, just as Sally threw her drink in Ed's face.
“I could use another drink, it looks like.” She mumbled.
“Sally be reasonable, nothing happened. I thought you would be happy.” Ed pleaded, trying to hold Sally's hand.
She immediately shook off his hand and with a searing look, growled. “You. Thought. I would be happy about you trying to stick your dick in some other woman?” She bit her lip, the struggle to not throttle him evident on her expressive face. “How could that possibly make me happy.”
“Well,” He said way too cheerfully for the situation. “At least I was honest.” Big stupid grin.
Taking off her glasses and pinching between her eyes. Sally laughed, a little bit insanely. “Are you serious? Wow... Ed, listen to me.” She put her glasses back on, grabbed her purse and hopped off the high stool. “Go F' yourself. Maybe you'll have better luck.” And immediately ran into a huge wall of flannel. “Oof.”
“Here's your drink.” The deep voice came from way up high. Sally's eyes slowly rose up the trail of white buttons running up the blue plaid shirt like a runway. A great big paw was suddenly in her face, delicately holding a Lemon Drop Martini, her favorite.
She reached up to grab it and looked back up, way up, finally into beautiful light blue eyes, tan skin and dark hair. A full beard finished the whole lumberjack look. Sally realized two things, one, her mouth was wide open in awe of the size of this guy, he had to be every bit of seven foot tall. Two, she still had her hand on his and to say it dwarfed hers was an understatement. “Thank you.” She stammered.
“Paul.” Big, tall and burly replied.
Sally giggled. “Paul.” She put the drink to her mouth, pausing, wondering where his great blue ox was. Resting the sugary rim on her lips. Moving the drink away slightly. Licking at the sugar granules slowly. “Nice to meet you, I'm Sally.” She clicked her perfectly manicured nail on her glass, looking in contemplation at Paul. “You want to get out of here?”
“Now, Sally, really come on.” Ed whined.
A rumbling chuckle warmed Sally as she flipped off Ed. “I'd love to, Sally.” Paul grabbed her coat, while she downed her drink. The empty martini glass dealt with and Sally bundled up. A jumbo arm wrapped around her shoulders, they headed outside. “So what's the plan, Ms. Sally,” He stopped. “Shit, it is Miss, right?” He hadn’t seen a ring on her hand when he first noticed her at the bar. Long, thick, auburn hair, sexy librarian glasses, tit hugging green sweater and poured into skin tight jeans tucked into cute little lace up boots made for snow trekking. He was about to make his way to her, when he saw shithead Ed approach her with a kiss on the cheek. She had looked happy to see him. So Paul had sat back, finishing his drink watching her. Then he noticed a few minutes later, her sweet face scrunching up in disgust and pushing away Ed's hands, shaking her head. So of course he had to intervene.
“Oh, definitely Miss.” Sally laughed. “Sorry you had to witness that whole mess.” She looked away, hands fidgeting. “I appreciate the drink and your timing.”
Paul grabbed her hands, warming them between his great big ones. “Honestly, I was making my way over to you, but I backed off when I saw Ed approach you. So, I moved in as soon as I saw trouble.”
“Well, again, Thank you.” She smiled up at him.
Her smile could melt the snow, she sure was a radiant little thing. All dimples and bright green eyes. “My pleasure.” He spanned his arms out, “So, what would you like to do now. I'm pretty much at your disposal.”
Sally shrugged her shoulders. “Well, originally I had plans to walk through the park around the corner. They have a Christmas festival going on this weekend, and I sure love all the decorations.” She proceeded to stick her tongue out and catch some flakes of the white powder floating around them. “And snow, I love the snow, it came just in time for all the festivities!” She made a little sound, and he realized she was humming, 'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas'. She seriously was the prettiest sight to see. “The music also.” She bumped his arm with her shoulder. “So what do you think?”
He gulped. “I think that it would be pretty much impossible for me to tell you no to anything, but that being said I would love to roam around with you. I'm a big fan of all the winter scenery.” He stuck his arm out for her to hold onto. “I need to swing by my truck though and grab my coat, this suit jacket just wont hold up to this weather.” It was pleasant enough out for now, but with it getting later the temperatures were sure to drop. Plus if sweet Sally got cold, he wanted to be able to take care of her.
“Okie dokie.” She grinned up at him, wrapping her arms around his forearm. “Did you park very far?” Looking around and lifting up on tip toes, she tried to spy a truck.
“Nope, just around the corner not far from where we are going.” He placed his hand over hers, tucking her into his side. “So... not to pry, but are you alright? With all that back there?” He flung a look back over his shoulder as they walked down the sidewalk.
She shrugged a little. “Yes, I am very good now.” Smiling up at him. “We hadn’t been dating very long, at least he was honest.” She chuckled. “I guess it should hurt, but if anything it just disgusted me. I am an optimist though, it doesn’t feel like a big loss. I just won't deal with that kind of crap though.” Going quiet for a moment. Then scrunched up her nose. “But enough about that let's be joyful!”
“And triumphant?” He grinned down at her, a dimple popping through his beard.
“Paul, you get me.” She laughed softly. Then stopped in her tracks. “Oh my, is this your truck? Holy cow that's a ginormous truck. Well, I guess it makes sense, you definitely need a big vehicle. What are you about seven foot. Sorry you probably get asked that a ton, huh?” She looked embarrassed.
A laugh boomed out of him. “Well, give or take a couple inches, yes. Little bit hard to find the right ride. Not all of us can be five foot flat of compact cuteness, you know.” He let her go to open the passenger side door.
Sally sounded huffy. “I'll have you know I am every bit of 5'2.” She pouted and crossed her arms.
Pulling his coat on, Paul turned around to stare down at her. Then crossed his arms also, copying her. “With your boots on?” His eyebrow shot up knowingly and gave her a big white smile.
She smirked. “Maybe.” Sticking her tongue out at him.
“Keep sticking that tongue out at me and I'm going to think it's mine.” He growled at her playfully. He put her hands back on his arm again and started walking. “Are you from the area?”
“Kind of. About 30 minutes outside of town. What about you?”
“Just bought a big piece of land just north of here. I build houses for a living and this area is really growing especially with all the seasonal vacationers deciding to stay. I used to live farther south, but business has been really good and steady, so I decided it would be best to get closer to where I was actually working.” They were at the cross walk and could see people roaming around. Paul looked both ways and pulled Sally across the street with him once it was safe. The area was really busy, people trying to find parking to get to the big park. Once they were back on a path, he asked her, “What do you do for a living?”
“I'm a lawyer.” She patted his arm. “I know, I know, a lawyer, yuck. But seriously I'm the good kind or at least I like to think I am. I like to work with families. Mainly I just deal with adoptions and have worked on some cases that get children into safer environments, guardianship and such. It's kind of silly because I actually really hate conflict and I'm pretty non confrontational.” She chuckles. “That mess back there with butt head Ed, is about as situational as I have been through in a long while actually.”
Paul laughs. “Shithead Ed, is what I came up with.” His body shakes as he looks down at Sally. “So law huh? That sure is a ton of schooling.” He says with a little more country twang. “I myself graduated from a small town high school, nothing special. Played a little football that was a given with my size. Coaches loved me, but it just wasn’t my thing, ya know. I have always loved building things. My dad is always crafting furniture, boats, toys, pretty much anything requiring wood.” He sighs. “I guess it was just natural that I got into construction. I learned a bunch from him and I ended up leaning towards building homes. More specifically log homes.”
“Really! Oh my, would I love to own a log cabin.” She got a dreamy look about her. “I have always wanted one. This whole area is perfect for them, all the majestic mountain views.” Sighing. “I have rented a cabin a couple times up at Bedford Falls. Those places are so cute and the Jacuzzi, boy, I love those things. After I finished up my schooling, I really needed some down time and that place was the ticket.” She smiled softly. “I kind of over did the school thing, went right out of high school and straight into working my buns off to get my law degree. Didn't have a life for several years during all that, other than working at getting as much practice in as possible. So that sweet little cabin called Falling Star, was my little bit of heaven, once I got through.”
“That is nuts.” He laughed. “I built that cabin, and the nine others in that area. Frank Loggin has given me a ton of work. I am actually working on some bigger places for him now. Just finished up a couple right in time for the holidays. Would you want to go check them out sometime?” They had been walking around talking, taking in the sights, but stopped near a little booth that was giving out hot chocolate.
“Really?” Sally beamed. “I would love to. That is amazing. What are the odds.” They sipped on the hot cocoa and moved on from the booth, heading towards the huge skating rink. It was really beautiful, they had it all lit up and with the sun dropping behind the mountains you could still see a few rays peeking over the tops. “Want to sit and watch the skaters for a little bit?”
Paul grabbed her hand and they walked to an empty bench near the rink. “Do you not skate?” He settled in with his arm around the back of the bench, laying his hand on her shoulder getting her to move closer to him.
Snuggling into his side, she rested one hand on his thigh, blowing and sipping at the yummy hot chocolate. “Um, no.” She giggled. “I am a teeny bit afraid of those sharp blades, plus I get a motion sick feeling when I just roller skate, so I can only imagine how it would be out on the ice.” Her shoulders bunched up to her ears. “What about you?”
“Yup. Probably not the greatest skater and you wouldn’t think someone my size would be so spry, but yes, I do alright.” He stroked her arm and asked. “Want to try with me, I’ll keep you safe. I wont let you fall.”
Sally bit her lip, looked up at him then at the ice and back again to him. “You sure they have skates your size. Those are some mighty big boots you have there.”
“Don't try and use my big feet to get out of skating.” He chuckled and squeezed her tight. “But if you want to be a scaredy cat, I guess we can go walk around some more. Or we can sit right here, talking. I am enjoying spending time with you either way.”
Sally felt all warm when he looked at her that way. All serious and sweet smiles smooshed together. “Are you daring me Mr. Bunyan, hmm, well come on then, but when I take us down please don’t fall on me.”
Grasshopper wrote: "Here is a little poem from my collection The Poetry of my Soul:24. Dream
Yes I dream
I dream of a better morrow
I dream of hope
I dream a lack of sorrow
Is it too wrong to l..."
It's a lovely poem. Are you just letting us read your work or are you asking for review and critique?
I have several books that desperately need reviews. Two of them were once published as a co-author with Nancy Adams (Horror stories from the Grue Series, "Amber" and "Angel") but Nancy has dropped out and released them back to me since I was the actual, original author, and they had great reviews before she took them down. Now I have none, and it hurts :(Here is an excerpt from "Amber." I would happily provide free copies for reviews.
You can find it here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
“A ghoul?” I shrieked. “Like a zombie? I don’t want to be a zombie!"
“No, dear, not a zombie. A zombie is merely an animated corpse that has no intellect of any kind. It has only one purpose—to feed, and it will eat anything that comes within reach. A ghoul, on the other hand, is an animated corpse that still retains the functions of its brain, and it’s made by placing a few drops of vampire blood into the heart of a person newly dead. If it’s done properly, and quickly after death occurs, the ghoul will have all the memories and personality of the original human and this seems to be a form of immortality. Wait too long, and it’s just a zombie. Had Jen done it properly, you would be a ghoul, and would feed on carrion.
“But she didn’t. She should have waited until you were dead, your heart fully stilled, your thoughts ceased, your mortal life ended, and then plunged her pierced finger into your heart. You would have wakened a day later, and begun your new existence—but would you have truly been you? No. You would have been only a walking corpse that thought of itself as the person you had been.
“You could pass for human; many ghouls do, with care, good hygiene and lots of mouthwash, but you would not be human. You would answer to the name Amber, and would even be able to mimic the emotions and actions of humanity. You would laugh and cry, but only as part of that mimicry, and while any human would be disgusted if he came upon you at your dinner, you would feel not a thing, no matter how it stank. If she had done it right.”
“But she wanted to spare your fears. She waited until she thought your heart had beaten its last, and then she put her blood into it, but as she did so, it beat again. You were not dead, so you cannot become undead. Even when we make a new vampire, they still have to die! If we have misjudged, and not fed them enough, then they are dead indeed, and will not rise again to become as we are.
“You were not dead. When the blood of a vampire, even a very young vampire, is inserted into the heart of a living human, it makes an entirely different creature, one that is both human and inhuman at once, and therein lies my concern.”
He looked at me, then, really looked at me as if he was seeing me for the first time. “Amber, sometime today your own transformation will be complete, and you will never be able to return to your former life. When it is done, you will be hungry and will need to feed—Jen and Rudy will go out as soon as night falls to procure your first meal and bring it to you here, and at that point you will have to decide whether you want to live or not.”
I was afraid to ask the question I knew I was about to ask.
“Horace—if I’m not a vampire—then what am I? What’s so bad that I might rather be dead?”
He smiled sadly. “Little Amber, when the transformation ends, you will be a creature not seen on the earth for over eight hundred years. The last one ran amok in Britain for decades, until we vampires were forced to hunt it down and destroy it completely.
“Amber, you will be a grue. The word today means ‘to shiver with fear,’ but that was originally a fitting description of the creature it denotes, for if you cannot cope with your new existence, there will be nothing on earth more gruesome than you. You will have some powers and abilities that amaze even my kind, you will be even stronger than we and you will be almost indestructible. You will never age, never be sick, and never die unless you are utterly destroyed in the only possible way, which is to be burned in a fire hot enough to melt iron.” He grinned at me. “Doesn’t sound so bad, yet, does it? But as with anything, there is a price to be paid. In payment for such power and immortality, a grue must take its nourishment only from the living flesh of a human being.”
I’m sure my eyes bugged out at this point. “Living flesh?” I cried. “Living?”
He nodded again. “Yes. You will feed on living humans. No other food will give you any nourishment. You must feed at least every third day—you might be able to stretch that to four days, but by then the hunger will be so fierce that you will lose all connection to sanity until it is sated; you would attack and feed on the nearest person to you, even your most beloved family or friend.”
He sighed again. “We must now sleep, for the sun is about to rise. You will probably sleep again yourself, and by the time you wake, I suspect your change will be complete. And tonight, we’ll see whether you can accept what Jen has done to you, whether you will feed when we give you the chance.” He reached out then, and laid one hand on my knee. “But Amber—if you do not feed—I will have no choice but to see that you are destroyed. Do you understand?”
I swallowed, and nodded. I didn’t trust my voice to speak.
And then the vampires all lay down on the dirt floor. I listened for their breathing to slow as they fell asleep, but instead it simply stopped, all of them at once. I sat there for a few minutes, going over all that Horace had said, but then weariness hit me, and I drifted off to sleep, myself.
If I’d known it would be the last time, I would have enjoyed it more.
Mod
24. Dream
Yes I dream
I dream of a better morrow
I dream of hope
I dream a lack of sorrow
..."
A review is always welcome to a writer. Feel free to give an honest review.🤗
Mod
Here's an excerpt from my debut romance novel Abundance: An endearing romance novel.
Prologue
Natalie Cameron sat in the driver’s seat of her Honda Accord with her he..."
The book does have a very promising start. Remarkable for a debut. I am really keen to read it all now!😊
Mod
Here is an excerpt from my latest book The Tryptych III. Hope to get some amazing reviews here. Thanks in advance! :)
The Try..."
Is this a period drama Catherine? It intruiges me already. I have marked it as (To be read) ✓
Mod
Chapter 1
“Is there a problem?” A deep voice asked, just as Sally threw..."
Nice contemporary romance. Have marked your work as (To be read)✓
Mod
Stormy, if you could provide a link to your book on GR, the readers can mark it as 'To be read'
This book seems perfect for a Halloween read.
I plan to open a thread a week before Halloween. Maybe we could discuss your book there? Good Luck.
Mod
All members are encouraged to select an excerpt & post their reviews here. It would help immensely if we could mark these books as
(To be read).
Mod
Members are encouraged to review it and discuss the same in detail there with the author.
Grasshopper wrote: "Stormy wrote: "I have several books that desperately need reviews. Two of them were once published as a co-author with Nancy Adams (Horror stories from the Grue Series, "Amber" and "Angel") but Nan..."Done and thank you!
Mod
You are selected as the ' Author of the Month' in the ' Meet the Author ' thread that has been opened up.
Starting from Sunday (21.10.2018)
Readers please feel free to ask her book related queries ( And a few personal ones if she acquiesces ) 😄
From my debut novel, The Lost Tayamu. It's in need of reviews. I've only gotten 1 on GR so far, and a few on Amazon. The book is a contemporary fantasy, more light-hearted than traditional fantasy books. I'm working on the sequel right now, and hopefully will have it published in the next few months. We'll see.Ellie sat on the ground, staring at the creature in front of her. At first glance, it seemed to be a Rottweiler, but it was unlike any Rottweiler she had ever seen. For starters, it was at least the same size as the elephants she’d seen at the zoo, although it looked like it might be even larger than them; its paws were three or four feet in diameter, at a bare minimum. Its head had ducked to pass through the barn doors, while its monstrous body had barely gotten through. The creature was at least twenty feet long from nose to tail, and half as wide.
The glossy black fur gleamed in the sunlight, and the deep brown eyes watched her, filled with intelligence and concern. None of this mattered to Ellie, though. Her attention was locked on the pair of long fangs protruding from its mouth, making it look like a saber-toothed tiger. Ellie couldn’t say anything, and she was shocked when the deep voice came from the animal.
"I’m sorry", it said, sounding contrite. "I tried to warn you."
Ellie struggled to find her words. “What…how…”
“Theonus, what did you do to poor Elowyn?” called Doyle, jogging up from behind, his face contorting in pain. He gave the creature an affectionate pat on its leg and leaned against it, catching his breath, one hand pressed against his ribs.
“Huh?” Ellie looked around, confused. Doyle knelt down and took her hand.
“Just breathe deeply. Look at me. Hey, over here.” He took her chin and turned her head to look at him. “Ignore him. Focus on me.” Without turning his head, Doyle said to Theonus, “Would you please get her something to drink, Theonus?” The giant creature turned and went back into the barn. It returned a moment later with a large bucket of water with a rope handle and a cup attached to it. The rope was tied to a long pole, which was somehow clenched in the massive jaw. “Thanks.” Doyle dipped the cup into the bucket and held it to Ellie’s mouth. “Here, drink this. Slowly, slowly. Don’t rush it.” Ellie sipped, watching as Doyle glanced over at Theonus. “So what happened?” Doyle asked.
Ellie heard the deep voice in her head, responding to Doyle. "She heard my humming and found me and begged to see me."
Doyle frowned slightly. “Hold on….she spoke with you? She can hear you?” He shook his head in what looked like surprise to Ellie. “Damn. That’s unexpected. Well, don’t worry about it, Theonus. She had to meet you sometime.” Doyle eased himself down to the ground, still supporting Ellie. “That’s it. Just relax, Elowyn. Don’t go into shock on me.” He wrapped his arm around her.
Ellie’s eyes went back to Theonus. Although her heart hammered with a mixture of fear and curiosity, she studied the giant creature, taking in everything, including the impossibly apologetic expression on its face. Her hand sought Doyle’s and she gripped it. He squeezed back, which comforted her. Theonus set the water bucket beside Doyle and then settled himself onto his haunches. He lifted his hind leg and scratched vigorously behind his ear.
“What…in the hell… is that?” Ellie had finally found her voice, although she kept it very low. She let go of Doyle’s hand and locked onto his arm, squeezing with all her strength.
Mod
I have marked this as ( To be read) ✓
And could suggest this book for a 'Fantasy' theme in the coming months.
Grasshopper wrote: "Shanna wrote: "Hello all! Here's an excerpt from my debut romance novel Abundance: An endearing romance novel.
Prologue
Natalie Cameron sat in the driver’s seat of her Honda Acc..."
Thank you, Grasshopper!! :-)
Thank you for looking at the excerpt, Grasshopper! I am planning on posting a free day next week some time on amazon. Hoping to get some thoughts on it and reviews.
Mod
It was my pleasure. I hope all the others can pitch in too and post their comments. It would be highly appreciated..
Zuzu wrote: "Thank you for looking at the excerpt, Grasshopper! I am planning on posting a free day next week some time on amazon. Hoping to get some thoughts on it and reviews."Super idea Zuzu! I plan a Halloween sale (50% discount) on the 30th & 31st October too. Hoping for some more reviews then.
Grasshopper wrote: "Catherine wrote: "This is a great platform. Thanks Grasshopper (Daisy)Here is an excerpt from my latest book The Tryptych III. Hope to get some amazing reviews here. Thanks in adv..."
This is not a period drama per se. But, it actually amalgamates the past and the present and weaves it into one epic centered around the magical decalogue.
Mod
You are being featured on Meet the Author
*********************************
MONTH. THEME. AUTHOR. BOOK
__________________________
October 🎃 Halloween
Stormy SummersAmber: The Grue, Part One
November ✨Fantasy
Ben Cass The Lost Tayamu
December 🎄Christmas
Catherine Habbie The Tryptych III
January 🎆New Year
Zuzu Lu Winter Delight
February ♥️ Romance
Shanna Swenson Abundance: An endearing romance novel
Members please feel free to come up with more suggestions and themes for the remaining months with a related book.
Meanwhile, keep posting the excerpts!
Grasshopper wrote: "Congratulations to the New AuthorsYou are being featured on Meet the Author
*********************************
MONTH. THEME. AUTHOR. BOOK
__________________________
October. 🎃 Halloween.
[author:S..."
Thank you, I'm excited to be a part of the feature! :-)
Mod
Grasshopper wrote: "Congratulations to the New AuthorsYou are being featured on Meet the Author
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MONTH. THEME. AUTHOR. BOOK
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October. 🎃 Halloween.
[author:S..."
Thank you for adding me! Made my day when you sent me the message :D
Mod
Thanks Grasshopper. It's an honour to be featured as the 'Author of the Month'.
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Our member Rob Keeley
Will be featured on 'Meet the Author' in March.
The theme being 'World Book Day' as declared by UNESCO.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World...
Ah! Brilliant. Looking forward to meet all the authors listed here! :)
Grasshopper wrote: "Sheri wrote: "Grasshopper wrote: "Here is a little poem from my collection The Poetry of my Soul:24. Dream
Yes I dream
I dream of a better morrow
I dream of hope
I dream a lac..."
I love your poem. If I had written it (and I wish I did) I might change sky to clouds
"If dreams take you to far off lands
Beneath the sky
And starry skies"
If dreams take you to far off lands
Beneath the clouds
And starry skies
Please share more of your poetry.
I very much enjoy reading the excerpts here. Thanks.
Mod
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Super idea Zuzu! ..."
Halloween is almost here.Zuzu & Catherine looking forward to your book sales.
Hopefully can get it set up soon. I've been in contact with amazon over the review problem. They have not been very helpful so far. I will definitely give some notice once that part is figured out. It has me a little bummed.
Mine is still on.So welcome to half-price books on 30&31st guys!
To And From Crack To Christ: A Sinner In Recovery This is a poem from my book
Lord Who Am I
Lord who am I
That you would love
Enough to send your son
As if I was important
As if I mattered
As if I was someone
Lord who am I
That you would watch over me
As I went through my test
Always by my side
Never late with a delivery
Of a way out of my mess
Lord who am I
That you would stand by
And watch me as I smoked crack
Not there to judge
But to only show love
While asking "Are you done with that?"
And when I said yes
Lord I need your help
You were already reaching out your hand
You said, I was always here
Welcome home my child
Your down, let me help you stand
Lord who am I
That you will never leave me
Even when I was wrong
The Lord said
You are my child
That was once lost
And I sent my Son to bring you home.
written by Anonymous Sinner
To And From Crack To Christ: A Sinner In RecoveryThis is a poem from my book
Lord Who Am I
Lord who am I
That you would love
Enough to send your son
As if I was important
As if I mattered
As if I was someone
Lord who am I
That you would watch over me
As I went through my test
Always by my side
Never late with a delivery
Of a way out of my mess
Lord who am I
That you would stand by
And watch me as I smoked crack
Not there to judge
But to only show love
While asking "Are you done with that?"
And when I said yes
Lord I need your help
You were already reaching out your hand
You said, I was always here
Welcome home my child
Your down, let me help you stand
Lord who am I
That you will never leave me
Even when I was wrong
The Lord said
You are my child
That was once lost
And I sent my Son to bring you home.
written by Anonymous Sinner
Mod
This is a poem from my book
Lord Who Am I
Lord who am I
That you would love
Enough to send your son
As if I was important
As if..."
A beautiful hymn Anonymous Sinner. Have marked your book as {To be read✓}
Anonymous wrote: "To And From Crack To Christ: A Sinner In RecoveryThis is a poem from my book
Lord Who Am I
Lord who am I
That you would love
Enough to send your son
As if I was important
As if..."
Amazing thoughts. Well penned.
Grasshopper wrote: "Anonymous wrote: "To And From Crack To Christ: A Sinner In RecoveryThis is a poem from my book
Lord Who Am I
Lord who am I
That you would love
Enough to send your son
As if I w..."
thank you
Mod
Here's another excerpt from my book "The Very Swift Witches," about three 17th century witches who are accidentally transported to the Missouri Ozarks of today. You can download a free ARC at: http://stormysummers.com/arc-copies/The Very Swift Witches can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
The three women stared at the radio for a few moments as the voices continued to pour out of it and wondered what kind of man could fit into such a small box. This is precisely why they did not see, through the window, Katie stand up from behind the milking stand, stretch her back, and start toward the house for her aforementioned morning coffee break.
It’s also the reason why, intent on the voices and trying to figure out what they were saying, they didn’t hear Katie walk onto the porch, open the front door and step inside. They did, however, hear her gasp at the sight of the three strange—and strangely dressed—women in her kitchen, and so they spun around to face her.
Katie reached up and shut off the radio, and then all four women looked at each other and tried to speak, all at once.
“What are you doing in my house?” demanded Katie.
“What manner of magic is it that be happenin’ here?” asked Emma.
“Good mistress, we are lost and seek our way home!” said Annalee with a tremor in her voice, while Mary asked, “’Ere, now, miss, just what kind of magic might ye be practicin’, eh?”
Katie shook her head. “What?” she asked, squinting in her confusion.
Emma held up a hand and silenced her companions, then slowly pointed at the lamp.
“Was it ye, Miss, what took my lamp from beneath my hearthstone?”
Squinting, Katie looked from the lamp to Emma. “The lamp? That old lamp? My dog drug it home this morning!”
Emma’s eyes widened and she looked at Mary and Annalee, then back to Katie.
“Ah—ahem—I sees,” she stammered. “Well, then. I reckons we’d best be along our way home, then—er, um—only ’tis a bit confused I is, Miss—so if ye could p’raps point me the way toward Aberystwyth?”
Katie blinked. “A very swift what?”
“What?” Emma said, blinking right back.
“You said, point the way to a very swift—a very swift what?”
Emma squinted at her, then held up one hand. “A moment, Miss,” she said and so surprised Katie that she forgot that it was her house. She closed her mouth and waited.
Emma drew Annalee and Mary back into the kitchen a bit further.
“Have ye girls noticed a great—difference, perhaps, in her manner of speakin’?”
They nodded, and Mary said, “Her tongue’s dear prickly to make out, ’tis!”
“Aye, ’tis. I best be cautious then.” She turned back to Katie and spoke loudly and slowly. “Well, Miss, it does seem as though we be yet a wee bit more lost than at first I believed, and I hopes ye’ll accept our very sincere apologies, and help us to know the nature of this dilemma?”
Katie eyed her with all the steel she could put into her gaze.
“And just exactly what dilemma is that?” she asked, also speaking slowly and loudly.
Emma twisted her face into the expression that Mary had told her was her best imitation of a smile. She’d practiced it many times before her mirror. It was supposed to put other people at ease. It never did.
“Well, as I sees many powerful examples of yer own magic ‘round us, of course I discerns that ye be a witch, yerself, and a great one, no doubt. And as it happens, we three are ourselves called by that name, and ye’ll have certainly heard of us, fer we’s called the Aberystwyth Witches? And so...”
“Very—swift—witches?” Katie whimpered nervously.
Emma hesitated. “Er—we’ll revisit that, eh? For ’tis not entirely critical to the matter at hand, which is that we are near sure to be a fair way from that our home, so could ye be tellin’ us then, how far it may be to the shores of Cardigan Bay?”
“Cardigan... B-b... Bay?” Katie stammered.
“Aye, in Cardiganshire, in Wales. Y’see, ‘twas a skippin’ spell what I used, with some of the hairs from our heads tucked into yon lamp, that we might escape a grave danger, and that we should be non corpore until it be touched by the light of the sun, and hid it away ‘neath my hearthstone. I knew that someone would look under there and carry it out for to take it home, but now it appears as that one must have hid it under a cloth and kept it dark until it was lost or in some other way passed into the jaws of yer hound.”
Emma closed her mouth with a smug look that implied that everything would be alright now, and Mary and Annalee smiled confidently behind her.
Katie stood stock-still for a few seconds then began slowly: “Let me get this straight—you are—witches, from this—this ‘Very Swift’ place—and that’s in, where did you say, Wales?”
Emma beamed. “Aye, Lass, ye have it!”
“Mm-hmm—and, somehow, you rode that lamp—and then you—appeared, here in my kitchen?”
“Aye.”
“That’s your story?”
The three ladies glanced at each other then nodded to Katie.
“Aye, ’tis.”
Katie, who was standing in the doorway between her kitchen and living room, suddenly reached to her left and snatched up a broom, which she raised menacingly as she advanced two steps and began yelling.
“Alright, ladies, I don’t know what loony-bin you’ve escaped from or if somebody put you up to this as a stunt, but I’m here to tell ya I’m in absolutely no mood for either possibility, so get your crazy story, your kooky clothes, your B-movie accents and all the rest of your wacky butts outta—my—house!” The head of the broom, which was a good, old, tight-weave corn straw model, swung toward Emma’s head and she spun and ran.
She ran right into Mary and Annalee, who shrieked and turned to run themselves but the only place they found to run to was around the breakfast table. Luckily, Katie was so furious that she failed to realize they were running in circles and ended up fourth in line, which made it hard to whack anyone!
“Mary,” cried Annalee, who was in the lead, “is that a broom she’s got?”
“Aye, ’tis indeed, and a powerful one it must be!”
“Oooh,” Katie said as Emma ducked a swing that knocked the clock off the wall. “I said get out!”
“And we’s tryin’, Miss, we’s tryin’,” cried Emma.
“Emma? And why’s it so that ye’ve not turned yon daft wench into a tortoise to aid our escape?”
“For the same sound reason ye’ve not, Mary Higgins, that bein’ that I fear the lot of us bein’ put into the magic box with them lads as was fussin’ a wee back! Any witch as powerful as she be a witch I’d as soon not be angerin’, and turnin’ her into somethin’ else just might be doin’ it!”
“Ooooohh!” cried Katie. “Stop that! I—am—not—a—witch!”
It took two more full laps before it registered. When it did, Emma called loudly, “Tempus Pausa!”
Katie froze in her tracks, the broom in mid-swing. Annalee, unaware of this until it was too late, ran into Katie from behind, knocking her forward until she was supported by the broom. Mary reacted quickly enough to stop before joining the pile-up.
“Did ye hear what she said, Mary?”
“That bit about not being a witch? Aye, I did.”
“Huh! Now, ain’t this a thing! Us as is, a-runnin’ like hares from her as ain’t! Annalee, push the lass back upright, and we’ll be seein’ what might be seen—for I must confess, my dears, that I am not at all sure we’ll be gettin’ home anytime soon,” and she drew a deep breath, “or indeed, ever again!”
Mod
Thanks for this opportunity. My first book, a dystopian satire called Literature®, was published in July and has been well received.Publishers Weekly call it a "zippy debut" that "will keep readers turning pages".
Interzone magazine call it "a tour de force".
Anne Cunningham (Irish Independent, Irish Times, U.K. Sunday Times) calls it "one of the cleverest stories I’ve read this year. It’s whip-smart, well-paced, deeply satirical and dappled with just enough dark and light to keep the reader riveted."
Always eager to find new readers and reviewers. The Goodreads page for the book is https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
A short excerpt:
“OK, folks, stay between the lines.”
Murphy was on the move again, speaking over his shoulder. They filed along behind him, Billy instinctively taking up the rear. He’d been too busy checking his tab every few minutes to listen very carefully to Murphy’s presentation. He took it out and looked at it again. No notifications. It had been four days since he’d had anything from her—the longest ever. The last two messages he had had were requests for him to stop contacting her. He pocketed it again and followed the others on a diagonal, toward one of the openings where some technicians gathered around their gear.
What was he doing here anyway? He could get into all kinds of trouble here. It wasn’t even his job—this was Reynolds’ turf. Billy covered sports for the Herald, but Reynolds was down with some bug and they’d been stuck. There were precisely no good reasons why Billy would put his hand up for this of all jobs, and plenty why he shouldn’t. But put his hand up he had. Vince had flipped. Anyway, here he was.
A loud hiss pulled him out of his thoughts—the others were looking towards the opening, where a vehicle, almost as wide and tall as the gap itself, was backing in. There were no windows and no sign of a cabin for a driver. Actually, Billy couldn’t tell whether he was looking at the front or the back—it looked like a solid cube of metal to him as it slid along a slick, shiny surface without the aid of wheels.
“The Litera-Truck®,” said Murphy. “Surfacing. These’ll be going out every twenty-four hours to keep the roads clean, freshly coated and legible. They’ll be extra busy today, for tomorrow’s launch.”
“Legible?” said one of the other journos, a tall woman who Billy had heard introduce herself as a staff writer from the Standard. He hadn’t caught her name. He thought he’d recognized her from somewhere but from the way she’d looked right through him back in the visitor room, presumably not. “The interface isn’t in-car?”
“Oh no,” said Murphy. “That’s been key for us. Placing it on-road is a big part of what makes this thing work. The safety systems all rely on it—a shared surface for both vehicular motion and operator interface. I think you’ll be impressed at what integration has done for maximum safe velocities.” His hands were on his hips. “No, you definitely need to get that to understand the approach. The road is the page.”
Billy snorted. He’d finally gotten round to tapping some notes into his pad.
“The road is the page,” he echoed. “The page is the road.” He grinned and looked up from his screen. Nobody else was smiling. He swallowed.
“I just meant...you know...that’s some heavy symbolism, isn’t it?”
Murphy was looking at him in a way he didn’t like one bit.
“I haven’t seen you here on any of the open days, Mr Stringer. I assume you’re filling in. I hope you have the chops for it. We are very keen to get our message out there and above all, to strike the right tone. It would be disappointing to see a discourse on symbolism in coverage of what may be the transport sector’s greatest paradigm shift in millennia. The transport sector, Mr Stringer.”
“No, of course not,” said Billy, feeling his skin flush. “I would never...I just meant, between us, you know—”
But Murphy had already turned away and disappeared around the corner of the Litera-Truck®. He reappeared on the other side of the wet-looking track and crouched at the end that faced the opening, drawing the visitors’ attention to a roller that ran along the base of the cube. Its surface had that same sheen to it.
“The Litera-Tyre®,” said Murphy. “This coats the surface.”
“Coats the surface with what?” asked the woman from the Standard.
Murphy stood.
“It’s proprietary, Ms Gutefee,” he said, “so you’ll understand that I won’t be answering that question. I can tell you a little about the R&D.”
He’d come back around to the journalists’ side of the vehicle.
“It took us a while, beginning with technologies that were bona fide antiques. We tried various methods based on electro wetting, for example. Interferometrics. A number of imaging techniques. Nematic displays and so on. We even tried plasma.”
An operative handed him a tab which he checked, signed and gave back.
“None of them could provide the fluidity we needed in conjunction with basic grip,” he continued. “Traction. Eventually we abandoned all of the above. What we’ve ended up with is completely new. I can tell you that titanium is an element but, crucially, this is biotech. Living material. You can print that, but make sure you stress its non-toxicity. Get her out of here, Jerry, and roll the car in.”
As the cube slipped back out through the gap in the wall, Billy looked around. None of the others would make eye contact with him, except the tall lady from the Standard who did for just a moment, to glare. He was beginning to feel very uncomfortable, especially all done up like this. The collar of his prom blazer itched.
Another vehicle backed into the hangar. It was easy to tell that this one came in backwards because it had a tail. A long, armored tail in articulated sections that tapered to a point and swept low over the road surface from one side of the track to the other. He’d never seen anything like it. Again there were no windows and no wheels. Even an aging jock like him knew not to look for co-axials or blades. Cognition drives didn’t do airborne. Not yet anyway—they were too erratic. The best comparison he could think of was a flattened armadillo.
“The Car-A-Pace®,” said Murphy who was suddenly, and unnervingly, behind him.
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Grasshopper wrote: "Catherine wrote: "Zuzu wrote: "Thank you for looking at the excerpt, Grasshopper! I am planning on posting a free day next week some time on amazon. Hoping to get some thoughts on it and reviews."..."
Winter Delight
Anyone interested, I will be having 2 free days on Amazon, for Winter Delight. It will be available for free on Nov. 9-10 (next Friday and Saturday)! Would love it, if y'all would grab a copy and let me know what you think!
amazon.com/author/zuzulu
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