Sandra Cox's Blog, page 268

Monday and The Korat

Good day to you. I trust your Monday is quick and painless.
It's cat day at Night Writers. I'm blogging on the Karat. If you're in the vicinity stop by and say hey. If not and you're a cat person, take a quick peek at the video. This is a fascinating cat.

VBT: Wisteria & Myopia

BLURB for Wisteria:Sixteen year old Wisteria Kuti has two options—track the infected around the Isle of Smythe or leave the only known safe haven and face a world infested with flesh eating biters. But even with well-armed trackers, things go wrong and Wisteria ends up alone facing certain death, until she is rescued by the mysterious Bach. Uninfected, Bach is able to survive among the hordes of living dead. Eighteen year old Bach, from a race known as The Family, has no interest in human affairs. He was sent here to complete his Great Walk and return home as a man—as a Sen Son. The Family regard humans as Dirt People, but Bach is drawn to this Terran girl, whom he has never seen before, but somehow knows.  Hunted by flesh eaters, cannibals, and the mysterious blood thirsty group called Red Phoenix, Wisteria and Bach make their way back to the Isle of Smythe, a community built on secrets and lies.BLURB for Myopia:Sixteen-year-old Wisteria has embraced her deep bond with eighteen-year-old Bach, a member of a supernatural race called the Family, despite the risk of his family finding out. Should Bach’s people discover his bond with a human, Wisteria will be guaranteed a painful and bloody death—but somehow, being together is more important. Their bond is tested when empirics, an elite group of Family investigators, are sent to the Isle of Smythe under the orders of Bach’s father to find artifacts stolen by the humans. They’re to find the artifacts at any cost. Among the empirics is Bach’s old friend, the stunning Alba, who has learned about Bach and Wisteria’s secret relationship, and surprisingly accepts this. With no one else in the Family to turn to, she becomes Bach’s ally and confidant, but possibly more.As the empirics start to take over the town, Wisteria is torn between trusting Bach and the safety of the humans on Smythe. She soon realizes that she and Bach are on opposite sides of the war between the Family and Humans, and there is no middle ground. One of them must choose a side.Excerpt: Thirteen months after the first official case of Nero Disease “Wisteria, run!” Rebecca O’Leary screamed over the radio.Wisteria Kuti whipped around and came face-to-face with the blood-red eyes of a hungry flesh-eating biter. The biter was a man, infected by Nero Disease, who had long lost his mind. He looked more animal than human and he wanted one thing—to feed on the flesh of uninfected people. The biter growled and staggered toward Wisteria.She fled down the deserted road to the nearest house. The front door was locked. She kicked at the door, but it didn’t open. Taking out her handgun, she smashed through the window of the door.“Ugh,” more biters growled behind her.She spun around, fired once, and hit one in the head. She unlocked the door by reaching in and turning the lock. Once inside, she chained and bolted the door. Crash—a biter smashed through another window into the house. Wisteria’s heart jumped and she darted up the stairs as fast as she could.“Get out of the house, Wisteria!” Rebecca radioed.I’m trying.A biter grabbed her ankle as she ran. Falling hard on the steps, she wailed in pain. “Ah.” No time to cry, Wisteria. She fired at the biter holding her. One bullet left. Three more biters appeared below and started coming up the stairs. Leaping up, she sprinted to the top floor and dashed into the first open doorway that led to the master bedroom. Locking the door, she headed straight for the window. The infected clawed at the door, tearing it apart and snarling as they enteredAUTHOR Bio and Links:Bisi Leyton was born in East London in 1978. She grew up in London, Nigeria and the States, listening to the stories life and love from aunts, cousins and big sisters.She lives in London, but has worked around Europe including France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the Czech Republic. She has a fondness for reading graphic novels.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WisteriabooksCurrent Blog: http://bisileyton.blogspot.com/http://www.goodreads.com/BisileytonBo...
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_TWuW...  Free Paranoia short story for anyone who signs up on my mailing list (from Smashwords)Kindle Fire: Currently running a Kindle Fire giveaway on my blog till November 30, 2012

Is It Spring Yet?

Apparently, these little guys aren't willing to wait for spring. We discovered them over the weekend.
I just tossed in the pic of the Holly tree because I like it:) We didn't have Holly in the Midwest. Even after thirteen years in the south, it's still a novelty for me.

2013 Superbowl Ads

Did you see these? How cute.

SBB:Wind's Aria

BLURB:He pushed further back into the shadows as she strode closer. “Someone you need not know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
When he didn’t answer, she sighed.
“What a strange, terrible day,” she mumbled. “Well, at least tell me your name . . .”
He stood, speechless, knowing he shouldn’t be there at all—conversing with a Meleyan—especially not their musical deliverer that he was set to doom the day after tomorrow.
A peculiar grumbling interrupted her insistence, to his relief.
“Sorry.” She patted her stomach. He could see, even in the blackened night, how her face turned a deeper shade of red than her hair. “I’ve forgotten to eat. I guess I’m hungrier than I realized.”
He plucked an apple from the tree he’d nearly become a part of and held it out to her. The girl approached tentatively. She reached for the fruit but recoiled when her fingers brushed his.
“Is touching me so horrible?” he asked.
Her jaw dropped open and her delicate brow furrowed. She inclined her head. “It . . . hurt.”
“How?” he asked, for her fingers felt good to him, soothing. Warm. He wanted to try again.
“I don’t know how to explain . . .”
“Hum.” Unsatisfied with the answer, he tossed the apple to her and watched as she crunched her teeth into it.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A veteran of the performing arts and worldwide missions, Tessa Stockton also contributed as a writer/editor for ministry publications, ghostwriter for political content, and she headed a column on the topic of forgiveness. Today she writes romance and intrigue novels in a variety of genres. In addition to her fantasy romance, WIND’S ARIA, she’s the author of suspense/thriller, THE UNSPEAKABLE, political intrigue/romance, THE UNFORGIVABLE, and a literary short story, LOVE AND LULL, with more in the works.  www.TessaStockton.com https://twitter.com/TessaStockton https://www.facebook.com/tessastockto... links: TBD 
 Tessa will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during this tour and her reviews tour.
The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-super-book-blast-winds-aria-by.html

VBT:The Ruby Curse

I asked Makayla to tell us why Violet is in prison… that’s quite the story, actually. Here’s the story as the people within “the Ruby Curse” know it:Before the events of “The Ruby Curse”, Violet was serving as a mechanic’s assistant on the S.S. Hindrance, one of the most prestigious airships in the queen’s air navy. Her job mainly consisted of passing the ship mechanic any tools he needed and doing the grunt work that was below him. The mechanic was an ugly man, appearing to be twelve times larger than Violet’s meager one hundred and eight pounds. The straps on his grease stained overalls strained against his immense girth and he walked with a kind of penguin waddle. Of course that was only when he did move. Too much movement put a strain on his lungs and made him break out into a cold sweat, so needless to say he stayed down in the engine room and sent Violet to the upper decks to bring him his meals. Despite being the mechanic’s peon, Violet had always been the one in control. Had the mechanic known what kind of person was working alongside him, taking his abuse, he might’ve been a little more inclined to be nicer to her. Everything started one night after the mechanic had gone to sleep on the cot he had in the engine room. No one knows what made the day prior any different than the others. The mechanic’s cruelty to Violet was no more and no less than usual, and her workload hadn’t been lightened or had more added onto it. Everything had been just as it was every other day, but that night things took a turn for the worst. That night Violet butchered the mechanic in his sleep and was found early that morning drenched in blood sitting before the furnace throwing the mechanic’s severed arms and legs into the furnace.
And this is the story of her escape: She spent six months in Erabium, the highest maximum security prison in Arcova and the purgatory where damned souls go to await the final judgment. As one of the only women in Erabium, Violet was the object of abuse and torment; which she returned tenfold on anyone who dared to attack her. Someone like Violet had no choice but to thrive in an environment where violence and madness reigned. Of all the people who found themselves marching those hallowed halls, dressed in their prison jumpsuits, Violet was the only one to ever escape. On the night she decided she’d had enough, Violet waited until after lights out before sneaking out of her bed and hiding under it until a Defendron-9 rolled by. She got its attention by throwing a spoon she’d stolen from the cafeteria while the guards were busy trying to break up a brawl. When it stopped to try and identify what had made the meek little clunk noise against the metal floor, Violet knocked the Defendron over and stole its keys while its sirens were going off and the other guards were being alerted. As she unlocked her door and ran across the length of the upper rim of the prison to escape the guards, she hit the button that unlocked the other cells, filling the prison with inmates to buy her enough time to make an escape. While the guards were busy fighting off any immediate threats, Violet dove out the back door that the dwarf maids used to bring in and take out the cart that carried all the guards’ dirty laundry and snuck around the perimeter until she found a manhole leading down into a sewer. She crawled into it and followed the sewer until she reached a pipe spewing thick green liquid out into the hot desert sand. The moment Violet put her feet on the shifty, white sand, she was free. Like I said, this is the story as reported to the people within “the Ruby Curse” world. Is this the true story? No one but Violet knows. 
BLURB: Makayla Yokley is a college student who lives in Kansas with her somewhat evil cat named Cujo. She likes to write fiction of all genres. Currently she is majoring in Liberal Arts.Where to find me:(Fan page on Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Makayla-Yokley/231164716982029 (Blog) http://www.theforgotten-kingdom.webs.... Buy a copy of “The Ruby Curse” at:(Paperback and Kindle)http://www.amazon.com/The-Ruby-Curse-Makayla-Yokley/dp/1479117471/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1(Nook) http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/206917
   
Makayla will award a free digital copy of The Ruby Curse via Smashwords to one commenter at every stop.
The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-book-tour-ruby-curse-by-makayla.html

Booty Magnets

Have you ever noticed those booty magnets in your favorite recliner?You go to get up and gravity pulls you back down. You try again and then give an 'Oh what the heck, it's not worth the effort' and sink back down to either sleep or channel surf.

My theory: there's a hidden surcharge in the price of the furniture that the manufacturer doesn't tell you about.  He just slips in the magnets and charges for them.
Anyway, that's my theory. Enjoy your weekend. Hope to see you in cyberland Monday.  And yes that's the baby girl back when she was a baby.

Contagion

I first had it when I was a child. I was unable to shake it in my teens and it stayed with me into adulthood. It interfered with my school work, sleep, social activities and my responsibilities in the home. When I started seriously writing, like a slumbering giant, it lay dormant. Now it's back with a vengeance. I have every fear it's terminal. Yes, I have a contagion that is prevalent among the writing community. Though, as readers can attest, you don't have to be a writer to catch it. I've succumbed to the dreaded bookwormitis.
Hm, writing and reading, they go hand in hand. Should be a good thing, right? No. Sob. Not when you're reading and supposed to be writing.
I don't want to stamp it out, just contain it. You know, set the book down after breakfast and blog, write, do the laundry, clean the house, not just keep reading.  Do you think there's a reader tranq out there that takes the edge off, lets you walk away and come back later?
I know everyone who stops by here, no doubt, has the same contagion. How do contain your voracious appetite for books?

SBB:Holding Off For A Hero

BLURB:

Excerpt :
She floored the gas, and they took off with a squealing of tires.
 “Hey, hey!” he yelled. “Slow down! The speed limit is 100 km. You’re heading to 130!”
“Look, I told you, I’m in a hurry!” she exploded.
“I’ve got a ton of things to do back at the cabin. You see,” she continued, quieting and sounding sly, “I’m having a party tonight. I have to get ready.”
“A party? You’re having a party? At the lake?”
Ah, man, that just about tears it.
“Actually, a bachelorette bash. One of my teacher friends is getting married next week, and a bunch of us decided we’d give her a real whing-ding of a sendoff…up at my cabin where there’ll be no witnesses. Teachers and the likes of myself have reputations to think of, you realize.”
She cast him a wicked glance.
“So there’ll be music and a lot of noise and…”
The Professor’s blood pressure would skyrocket when he gave him this information.
“Oh, y-e-a-h.” She dragged out the last word.
“Couldn’t you have it somewhere else? Like a male strip joint in town?”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said about teachers and others of that ilk? We can’t be seen parading into one of those places. Our superintendent would suspend every last one of us. Anyway…” She looked over at him. “I don’t see why it should be such a big deal for you. You don’t have to keep banker’s hours. If the noise bothers you, stay up, watch a video, and sleep in on Sunday morning.”
“Okay, okay, but will you please keep your eyes on the road? And slow down! There’s a speed trap somewhere along…”
Behind them a siren wailed.
“Quick!” she ordered, pulling over as the police cruiser rolled alongside. “Hunch over and clutch your chest!”
­AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Gail MacMillan is a three-time Maxwell Award Winning writer and author of 26 published books.  A graduate of Queen's University, she lives in New Brunswick Canada with her husband and two dogs, Fancy a Little River Duck Dog and Bruiser the cover guy and hero of Holding Off For a Hero.
Gail's web site is www.gailmacmillan.ca    
 Holding Off for a Hero is available in both print and e-book from:
Amazon.com:  e-book -  http://www.amazon.com/Holding-Off-Hero-ebook/dp/B009SDED76/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1355876388&sr=8-2&keywords=Holding+off+for+a+hero
Print - http://www.amazon.com/Holding-Off-Her...
The Wild Rose Press:  
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index... 
Gail will award two $5 Amazon GCs and three digital copies of "Lady and the Beast" to randomly drawn commenters during the tour.
The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-super-book-blast-holding-off.html

SBB: Revenge Of The Mad Scientist

Blurb: When Lady Arabella Trunkett’s father, the High Lord Minister of Urbannia is kidnapped, all clues point to the mysterious country of Gandiss and the world is thrown into political upheaval.
Arabella is convinced the more sinister nation of Carabarras is to blame, urged on by a mad scientist seeking revenge. So, she sets out on a perilous airship journey across a variety of exotic locales to save him, and halt the potential world war.
But airship pirates, secret assassins and slave traders aren’t her only trials. The fickle hand of fate has made the captain of the only airship available for charter, the man who left her at the altar. For eight years she's wished him dead. Now he's her only hope.   Excerpt:  Another scream sounded and then another. A group of people blocked her view and she didn’t hesitate in pushing them aside. She gasped when she reached a body sprawled on the floor and noted a trail of red blood tracking from a side room. She recognized the injured man as Conrad Bellows, her father’s assistant. Horrified, her champagne glass slipped from her fingers and shattered on the marble.
She pushed another man out of her way. What the hell was wrong with everyone standing around like statues while a man needed help? She knelt at Conrad's side. A knife protruded from his back but when she put her fingers on his neck she found him still alive, thank God. He struggled to his side and blinked as he looked up at her.
“Gone,” he whispered. “So…sorry, My Lady…gone.”“Who is gone, Conrad?” She put a hand on his shoulder as panic shot through her.
“You’re, fa, fa, father…they took him.”
“What? Who took him?”
“Ahh, all in black, don’t know…” He closed his eyes and then slumped on the floor, unconscious.
Belle sucked in a sharp breath. She jumped to her feet and spun around. “Someone call for a doctor and help Mr. Bellows. Where’s my father?” AUTHOR Bio and Links: Lara Nance grew up and lived in many cites throughout the South. She loves to write in a variety of genres, but the basis of all of her stories is a great tale that will take you on an adventure of imagination.
If you want to escape and lose yourself in a novel, you've come to the right place. Choose your genre and settle in to be entertained. From thrilling mysteries and steampunk tales, to paranormal romance and adventure, she's willing to explore a variety of compelling stories full of danger and suspense, along with a touch of romance.
Having been on the fencing team in college and now living on a sailboat convinces her that she was a pirate in another life, or possibly kin to Errol Flynn… However, due to the unfortunate demise of the romantic pirates of the past, she lives out her fantasies, thrills and adventures in her stories. Lara loves to weave interesting true historical tidbits into her fiction which invite the reader to explore further after the novel is finished.
Currently docked in Norfolk, Virginia (until the wind changes) Lara enjoys living on her sailboat and spends time reading, of course writing, indulging a variety of artistic endeavors, cooking and sailing with her husband, Joe and their Yorkie, Rio.
Link to Website: www.laranance.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lara_Nance Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lara-N...
Buy link at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Mad-Scientist-Book-ebook/dp/B008XJ8LJ2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1353853847&sr=1-1&keywords=revenge+of+the+mad+scientist+by+lara+nance 
 Lara will be awarding an autographed original map of Arabella's steampunk world to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop, and a $50 Amazon gift card and an original steampunk necklace to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.  If people sign up for her newsletter on her website from Jan 29 - Feb 3, they will be entered for an autographed copy of her book as well as an original steampunk necklace.http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-super-book-blast-revenge-of-mad.html