Leonard D. Hilley II's Blog, page 3

FREE Kindle Books March 4-5, 2023

Freebies for this weekend! I hope you enjoy and please tell your reading friends about this weekend special. Paperbacks are also available (NOT Free), and some titles are also in Audible (NOT Free). As always, my very best to each and every one of you!

(Short Story)

Legends and paranormal activities prevail in the Ravenstead Community. One such legend is the constant beating heart of Wendell Graven in the Hollow Hill Cemetery. A curious fourteen-year-old girl, Dee Sullivan, wants to discover the truth behind the strange, mysterious phenomenon. With her older brother, Marty, and their two best friends, Lynn and Adam, they set out on Halloween night to discover the truth behind the beating heart in Hollow Hill.

 

 

Marty Sullivan’s black cat, Edgar, mysteriously appears at the most unusual times and in the least expected places. For the others in Dee’s Mystery Solvers Club, they suspect the cat is somehow magical. What they don’t know is Marty has a secret he needs to reveal about Edgar and where he found the cat. But in doing so, he knows his suspicious sister, Dee, will not rest until they completely solve the mystery. He fears her stubbornness will put their lives into peril, especially after he tells her that Edgar was found in the haunted Tangled Forest. Marty’s greatest fear is that returning to the forest might cause him to lose Edgar forever, as the cat’s true owner is a ghost … The ghost of a witch.

 

EPIC FANTASY: 759 pages. Beware: There be DRAGONS.To what end would a princess go to regain her rightful throne?After a coup led by Lord Waxxon kills the beloved half-elf queen of Hoffnung, the Queen’s daughter, Lady Dawn—the rightful heir—is forced to disguise herself as a lowly squire. Chosen by Caen—one of Hoffnung’s faithful Dragon Skull Knights—they search Aetheaon to gather forces to end Waxxon’s hostile takeover.Her identity must remain secret, even to the knight she serves. A lucrative bounty of gold has been set upon her head by Lord Waxxon. His ruthless henchmen, thieves, and bounty hunters scour Aetheaon to find her. But Lady Dawn’s not without hope.Warriors, a wizard, and rulers from several races and kingdoms seek to find her before Waxxon’s bounty can be collected. And find her, they must, if ever she can rightfully reclaim Hoffnung’s throne.

Twenty years have passed since a young man disappeared inside Devils Den never to be seen again. During this time the haunted cave has lain dormant, but the legend of its evil has not died. In fact, what lies within has awakened and prowls Cider Knoll one last time, seeking to offer a final blood sacrifice in order to gain immortality. Such a sacrifice must be pure and untainted, but finding an uncontaminated soul in a corrupt world is nearly impossible.

Horror spreads through rural Cider Knoll when another teenager, Justin McKnight, vanishes inside Devils Den. As the search and rescue begins, Sheriff Hopkins is baffled on how to continue searching for the boy when the only clues end at a mysterious wall inside the cave. When search efforts are about to be abandoned, an unexpected man shows up with an age-worn book that has disturbing revelations about what had actually occurred twenty years prior. And according to the predictions inside the book, they have little time to find Justin before he becomes the next victim.

“Leonard D. Hilley II writes with a dark veracity, giving real life to a world slightly askew. There’s always a sense that something is lurking in the shadows, just beyond the ‘normal’ world.”–Paul Counelis, writer for Rue Morgue

 

Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance:

Nocturnal Trinity is the exclusive nightclub everyone in Seattle raves about, where the crème de la crème of the city mingles and parties. Access and membership are by rare invitation only. Those hopeful to become members are desperately willing to do almost anything to be chosen. They sacrifice hours of their time waiting in line, give blood offerings, offer their very souls, and even kill, if doing so grants them a better chance for entry into the nightclub.
To the unknowing eye, the nightclub’s symbol above the door is merely occultic art, but to the ones able to translate its obvious message, the symbol screams a blatant declaration of the union of vampires, witches, and demons that preside over the club.
“Welcome to Nocturnal Trinity!” sounds like a cordial invitation for any new member fortunate enough to be chosen to partake in the Seattle Underground, but not so for Kailey Yates. She discovers something far more sinister resides inside the nightclub and their combined powers spellbind and blindly draw the lust of the city’s elite, mesmerizing them into doing whatever the nightclub’s Circle of Unity commands.
Kailey believed these creatures only existed in fantasy novels and movies, but now that she knows they are real, she must fight for her life because some of them want her dead. And one of those is the demon who murdered her brother.

 

Science Fiction/Suspense

NO LIFE ON MARS? THINK AGAIN.

MARS AND DEIMOS: THE NEW FRONTIER

Exploration always comes with great risks and settling the frigid Martian terrain proves more hostile than expected. Those working to settle Mars and Deimos soon discover the frightening truth. All their preconceived beliefs about no life existing on Mars are shattered. Life exists. More deadly than anyone could have imagined.

At the same time, a devastating virus spreads through the colony stationed at the Deimos Moon Station, killing fifty-six people. Dr. Carter, somehow immune and the sole survivor, vows to avenge the lives of his colleagues and his lover. Carter propagates the virus and plots to deliver the lethal contagion to Earth to infect and kill Boyd Grayson, the multi-billionaire owner of Grayson Enterprises and the founder of the mining colonies at Olympus Mons and on Deimos.

Carter holds Grayson responsible for their deaths. However, returning to Earth isn’t an easy task but soon he finds others willing to make the journey to Earth with him, not knowing his covert intentions. Delirious, and controlled by his blind vengeance, Carter dismisses the fact there’s no cure, placing the entire Earth population at risk.

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Dee’s Mystery Solvers (YA Book Series)

Dee’s Mystery Solvers is a young adult series. The Mystery Solvers is a club consisting of four teenagers who are determined to solve paranormal mysteries that occur in the small neighborhood of Ravenstead. Dee Sullivan leads the club with her older brother, Marty, and their two friends, Lynn and Adam. The four live on Dreary Lane.

The club members are introduced, along with Marty’s unusual black cat, in the short story: “The Beating Heart Beneath Hollow Hill Cemetery“.

Blurb: Legends and paranormal activities prevail in the Ravenstead Community. One such legend is the constant beating heart of Wendell Graven in the Hollow Hill Cemetery. A curious fourteen-year-old girl, Dee Sullivan, wants to discover the truth behind the strange, mysterious phenomenon. With her older brother, Marty, and their two best friends, Lynn and Adam, they set out on Halloween night to discover the truth behind the beating heart in Hollow Hill.

The second adventure in the Dee’s Mystery Solvers is the novella, “Witch Cat“.

Blurb: Marty Sullivan’s black cat, Edgar, mysteriously appears at the most unusual times and in the least expected places. For the others in Dee’s Mystery Solvers Club, they suspect the cat is somehow magical. What they don’t know is Marty has a secret he needs to reveal about Edgar and where he found the cat. But in doing so, he knows his suspicious sister, Dee, will not rest until they completely solve the mystery. He fears her stubbornness will put their lives into peril, especially after he tells her that Edgar was found in the haunted Tangled Forest. Marty’s greatest fear is that returning to the forest might cause him to lose Edgar forever, as the cat’s true owner is a ghost … The ghost of a witch.

The third book (novella) in the Dee’s Mystery Solvers Series is: “Buried Treasure“.

At the moment, Amazon has one paperback of Buried Treasure marked at $3.92 (~one third regular price!).

Blurb:

Almost every teenager has dreamed of finding buried treasure at the beach. While accompanying Dee and Marty’s mother and Lynn’s mother on a business trip in Morgan’s Cove, the Mystery Solvers find a treasure map inside an old seaweed-covered bottle near the beach. Thinking they’ve discovered a find of a lifetime, they set out to various shops to get more information about the history of the cove and what Pirates of Olde might have buried their treasures there in the past.

Their sleuthing questions, however, capture the attention of some modern day thieves who keep watchful eyes on the Mystery Solvers’ activities. Soon the Mystery Solvers find themselves in harm’s way and that some secrets are often best left buried. They are forced to consider the price of their lives over the potential worth of unknown treasure.

Currently, I am finishing the fourth book in the series. These are all young adult mystery books.

The post Dee’s Mystery Solvers (YA Book Series) first appeared on Leonard D Hilley II.

FREE Digital Book This Weekend (1/07-1/08)

With the fourth book in my Nocturnal Trinity Series being released soon, the first book in the series, Succubus: Shadows of the Beast, is FREE this weekend! Here’s the blurb:

Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance:

Nocturnal Trinity is the exclusive nightclub everyone in Seattle raves about, where the crème de la crème of the city mingles and parties. Access and membership are by rare invitation only. Those hopeful to become members are desperately willing to do almost anything to be chosen. They sacrifice hours of their time waiting in line, give blood offerings, offer their very souls, and even kill, if doing so grants them a better chance for entry into the nightclub.
To the unknowing eye, the nightclub’s symbol above the door is merely occultic art, but to the ones able to translate its obvious message, the symbol screams a blatant declaration of the union of vampires, witches, and demons that preside over the club.

“Welcome to Nocturnal Trinity!” sounds like a cordial invitation for any new member fortunate enough to be chosen to partake in the Seattle Underground, but not so for Kailey Yates. She discovers something far more sinister resides inside the nightclub and their combined powers spellbind and blindly draw the lust of the city’s elite, mesmerizing them into doing whatever the nightclub’s Circle of Unity commands.

Kailey believed these creatures only existed in fantasy novels and movies, but now that she knows they are real, she must fight for her life because some of them want her dead. And one of those is the demon who murdered her brother. All Hell’s about to break loose.

 

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2023, What Will You Bring?

Ever since the opening of 2020, I teeter between hope and caution with the welcoming of a new year. After all, my intro blog to 2020 was about my hope and anticipation that 2020 would be my year of focus, since the best vision is ranked as 20/20. Hastily, I jumped the gun. Perhaps, my optimism was premature, but I looked forward to book signings, setting up vendor tables at sci-fi convos, and lecturing at different libraries about the publishing process and so forth. All of those events were suspended. My gym closed. Instead of keeping my focus sharp, my life as well as everyone else’s was derailed.

My ambition to write was buried beneath all the uncertainty of what was happening around us. In one sense, I had all the extra time in the world to write, but sadly, I could not. My focus was gone.

This wasn’t what we writers call, “Writer’s block”; no, it was much, much worse.

I earned an MFA in Creative Writing, but my B.S. is in biology. I’m a scientist. I constantly research and probably even more so since 2020. The reason I couldn’t focus on my writing was because I was stunned beyond understanding at how easily people accepted information from the media without researching for themselves.

When I taught at Daymar College, my students grew concerned about the Ebola outbreak in 2014, and it occurred to me that the last pandemic had occurred in 1918. Was Ebola the next one? As it turned out, thankfully, it wasn’t. But, I kept digging and researching. Oddly, the news stopped reporting Ebola, even though the outbreak and death toll continued nearly two years longer. Yet, I continued researching and looking. I asked critical thinking questions and discovered documented evidence of medical and scientific atrocities, which would blow your mind (a subject for another day).

I’m not going into details about what I found in late 2019 into January 2020 before everything was shut down, because it’s a tangent not necessary for this blog and would take several chapters of space to write. But, I should say that I tried sharing some of this information on social media to warn people. Around this time, hundreds of people were having their Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter accounts banned. Some of these people were scientists and medical doctors; experts in their fields. “Fact-checkers” became an acceptable way of censorship, and the majority of the time, the fact-checkers were wrong. Each and every one of us should check the facts for ourselves.

Use critical thinking methods, which is something I’ve done most all of my life. Question everything. Research for yourself through scientific investigation in the journals with proper citations. You cannot safely take what you’re told as truth. Both of my parents were pathological liars, so I evolved into a skeptic. I couldn’t take what they said at face value. It’s an inner need for me to seek the facts and the truth.

What does all of this have to do with my inability to write from 2020 until mid 2022? My greatest problem was having scientific proof and knowledge but I couldn’t post it. Several key scientific terms had their definitions changed to suit the narrative, which still bothers me. As someone who loves to research and learn, it was disheartening and alarming and apparently a violation of some hierarchy code to share it without suffering repercussions. Science is established, in part, through discussion, evaluation, theories, questions, tests, and re-testing. Research is built off other scientists’ research; thus, the reason for the citations in the journal.

Some folks dear to me on social media chatted with me about various aspects, and either argued the facts, unfriended me, and a few even blocked me for discussing issues with them, which they had brought up. At no point did I ever dismiss their views or use ad hominem. I simply asked for them to read cited information.

Those of you who know me and have followed me over the years know that I never post about religion and/or politics because a dear teacher of mine in high school, Ms. Tommie, said that the best way to lose friends is to discuss religion or politics. I dare say that we could add the discussion of college football teams to the list, too. I took her advice to heart and have successfully chosen not to partake in such approaches in my blogs and posts. After all, why alienate half my potential audience?

But science? Since I’m a biologist, science is one of my passions. I love discovery and always have. And in light of the cited information I found, I wanted to share this to benefit others, but everything surrounding the mandates and lockdowns became political, everyone was an ‘expert’, even when they weren’t. For some, their views became strict and almost fanatically religious. Some mantras were ridiculous.

After such lines were drawn, I ceased posting information from reputable scientists and doctors. Maybe I shouldn’t have stopped but once it became politicized and people chose to attack others, regardless of the views or facts, I bowed out. I delved my time into building D&D dungeon terrain, but my mind wouldn’t allow me to write, probably due to my frustrations in what I knew and what I was witnessing. Chaos became the norm.

In fiction, especially my Predators of Darkness Series, I write about conspiracies. In research, I have found actual conspiracies (NOT theories) where diseases were used to eliminate or greatly harm a population. In 1932, the Tuskegee Experiment occurred in Alabama until 1972, when a reporter exposed the horrible atrocity. Small pox blankets (some report it a myth, while others don’t) were used for genocide. Experiments have been done on twins, quintuplets, and the poisoning of wells, just to determine results for some twisted minds. So, when questionable things arise and people are silenced, it makes me speculate and seek answers, and hopefully, find the truth.

I cannot believe nearly two years lapsed before my drive to write returned to me. It’s my hope that 2023 will become my most prolific year for writing. We are applying to have a booth at the Rathacon in Athens, Ohio, again and several other conventions this year. I guess I’m three years behind schedule.

The fourth book in my Nocturnal Trinity Series will be released in 2023, so I am back on track.

With my sincerest wishes, I hope you all receive the greatest blessings of your life in 2023! The fact that you checked out my blog and website is appreciated!

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A Great Writing Source

I wrote several children’s short stories when I was a teenager. My mother tried to help me find ways to get them published in magazines and even submitted one for me. A kind editor sent me a rejection letter but had also taken the time to write a message of encouragement on the form as well. While this motivated me to keep writing, we still didn’t know how or where to submit for publication. We lived in a rural area and seldom ever went to larger cities where we might find information to guide my way to publication.

Our 1st issue of Writer’s Digest

In 1994, I began writing novels and short stories with a more serious outlook and wanted to become a full-time author. Yet, again, I was faced with not knowing how or where to submit my work. One day while at the Gadsden Mall in Alabama, my wife noticed Writer’s Digest on the magazine rack. We purchased the magazine and scoured it when we got home.

In the Index, I found listings for literary agents, magazines seeking submissions, and even some publishers looking for new authors. At the time, Writer’s Digest also had a book club with books I found useful, like Writer’s Market, which listed literary agents and publishers by genre with contact information.

This was before Internet search engines used readily, so I found a treasure trove of vital information within this magazines and the books I had been able to purchase.

Writer’s Digest has been beneficial over the years and the interviews with authors and how they were able to find success are always interesting. Articles helped me learn new techniques and how to improve my writing. For new writers this is a great magazine (currently 6 printed issues/$19.96), or the digital format for Kindle (6 issues/14.99). Click here—>

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Making D&D Dungeon Terrain W/ Proxxon

Lately, several have asked me how I craft my terrain pieces. The majority have been surprised to learn the pieces are made mostly from XPS foam. This brief blog is to provide you insight to the most beneficial tool I use: The Proxxon 37080 Hot Wire Cutter.

During the past few years, I’ve crafted terrain using various methods: dental stone in silicon molds, corrugated cardboard, and XPS foam. While each method has its strengths, XPS foam has better suited me for time and allowing better textured results. Foam produces much lighter terrain pieces than dental stone, but foam can get damaged easier in moving from one gaming area to the next.

As for cutting XPS foam, a large kitchen knife, an X-acto knife, or boxcutters can be used. However, the cuts using these tools can be jagged, uneven, or inaccurate. Once I learned about the Proxxon and invested in adding it to my set of crafting tools, cuts were smoother, more accurate, and easier to make multiple cuts in far less time than any of the other tools I had used. I still rely on the boxcutter and X-acto knife but often after I’ve made the basic cuts with the Proxxon.

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The blue building at the top was inspired by a How-to video on Youtube by eBI Crafter. I made some slight modifications, but overall followed his plan measurements and guidance.

If you’re interested in crafting your own terrain pieces and haven’t purchased a Proxxon for yourself, you might consider doing so. It has saved me hours of foam-cutting and when gluing, painting, and dry brushing also demand valuable time, the Proxxon was worth the cost.

foam-cutting and when gluing, painting, and dry brushing also demand valuable time, the Proxxon was worth the cost.

Here are some other terrain pieces I’ve made over the past year.

Disclaimer: This blog is not sponsored by Proxxon and simply explains how helpful the tool has been for me. 

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SAVAGE ANCIENT SEAS, Gallipolis, Ohio

On October 1st, my wife and I visited Bossard Memorial Library in Gallipolis, Ohio. We were greeted by one of the staff and she asked if we were there to see the interactive exhibit. Unaware of the exhibit, we asked for more information.

From October 1st through December 31st, Bossard Memorial Library is hosting the Savage Ancient Seas exhibit. This is a free event and a self-guided tour, which is produced by Embedded Exhibitions, LLC.

Numerous fossil replicas (to scale) are on display in two rooms. The huge sizes of these ancient dinosaurs, turtles, and fish are incredible to view. Several video stations are in the tour with more information about the fossils and how they are excavated and preserved.

The above pictures are but a few of the exhibits and the photos don’t do justice to what you see in person. It’s difficult to imagine the size of these creatures until you are standing near them. If you live in the Gallipolis area, this is an excellent opportunity to see some spectacular ancient replicas. We plan to return with our grandkids before the Savage Ancient Seas exhibit moves to its next viewing destination.

For more information about touring hours and FREE reservations, please visit the Bossard Memorial Library website: https://bossardlibrary.org/content/SAS

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Giving Thanks

When we sat together for Thanksgiving dinner, I choked with emotion and found difficulty saying the blessing. My wonderful wife sat to my right. She had progressively gotten better each day after returning home. For that, I was the most thankful, as were our two children and two grandchildren.

For those seventeen days in September, despair overshadowed me. I wondered when/if she’d return home. Forgive me, but my writer’s mind has always looked at every angle with the proposed question: “What if …?” For novels, these analytical thoughts are a blessing. However, for personal events, I can be tormented by this cursed way of thinking; especially when I have no idea how the situation will end. Those days passed slowly and nights seemed an eternity.

But she sat with us at our table. Her presence was more radiant than ever, and for that, I was thankful and grateful. Though her eyes were tired, her smile lifted my spirit and our children’s and grandchildren’s. Her mental strength is remarkable. She’s one of the strongest people I know. She had kept fighting when I wonder if I could’ve managed the same courage to survive similar circumstances. Even now, I’m moved by tears of joy in having her home.

So many friends and family had responded to our requests for prayers and healing during September. I’ve no doubt she’s home because of these prayers and the constant encouragement.

She and I have always hugged a lot, but I hug her more often and longer than before. We tell one another how much we love each other throughout each day. Since she’s been home, she’s invested a lot of time in her drawing and painting and produces fantastic art on a daily basis. I marvel at her creativity and how skilled she is.

While we express our thanks most often at Thanksgiving, each day is an opportunity to show gratitude to those we cherish and love. I have never taken my wife for granted, nor will I. I realize how empty my life would be without her. She’s always been the one to encourage me with my writing. Her honest critiques of my prose point me to improvement. She is my muse, my best friend, and my wonderful wife.

 

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Approaching 2022 Carefully …

Well, it’s a ‘New’ year, but I’m too skeptical to highlight 2022 as a potential ‘Happy’ one. At least, not yet. We’ve gone through two years where UP seems to be DOWN and RIGHT is WRONG and vice versa. So, I proceed with slight trepidation, as if I’m carrying a case of Nitroglycerin across a rotten wooden bridge in the middle of a moonless night.

At the beginning of 2020, I prematurely termed the year, “My Year of Focus” and believe me, I became everything except focused. All my plans (as well as the rest of the world) were dashed.

2021 started off a bit better, until September when my wife was hospitalized, and we found ourselves in the darkest setting of our lives. For the longest time, I have started to write a blog about those 17 days she’s was kept against her will, but each time I attempted to recall the events to write, I’d breakdown, unable to put the words in place.

While many reading my blog posts in September assumed she had Covid, I never stated she did. She had ‘viral‘ pneumonia. I plan to elaborate about this in a future post, as we’re quite certain she didn’t have Covid. A month before she was hospitalized, she was bitten by a dog tick. A few days after we removed the tick, she developed a dark rash. The doctor (NP) she visited refused to give her a full prescription to treat the infection, even though she had a huge rash around the bite mark, a horrible fever each night, and later she developed sepsis because she wasn’t properly treated.

Another post I’ll share soon is “Giving Thanks” and how thankful we were having her home for Thanksgiving.

It is with the greatest hope and prayer that 2022 is a year that makes up for the past two. It’s too early to judge, but time will tell. Perhaps, we’ll all know by the end of this December.

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DAY 10: Hospital Update

Why is it that the time we spend with the ones we love the most seems to pass so quickly? Hours turn to minutes. Years pass and seem like only days when we stare back at our life events. And yet, when sickness or other obstacles separate us, time drags endlessly and painfully by.

When Christal told me the night before last that she’d awakened scared, was confused, and couldn’t breathe, it gripped me hard. She had been doing so much better. The day before she had been full of energy, could breathe, and was drawing again. The doctor and nurses believe she simply exhausted herself and was trying to do too much, too soon. I imagine that would be hard not to do.

I just talked to her via FaceTime and her color has returned. She’s optimistic and able to breathe much better than yesterday. The Respiratory Therapist said that she’s doing really well and that’s positive news. Her oxygen levels are in the optimal place and that seems to be the case throughout the day. What’s most important is for her to rest and sleep as much as she can.

Her improvement is also due to all your wonderful family and friends who are praying for us and reaching out to us. It means the world to us.

Please keep praying! We love you all!

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