Minnette Meador's Blog, page 10

STARSIGHT FLASH BLOG TOUR - RULES OF THE CONTEST

STARSIGHT FANTASY SERIES - FLASH BLOG TOUR INTRODUCTION - RULES OF THE CONTEST
Welcome to the Starsight fantasy series flash blog tour. I will be giving away chances to win special prizes everyday to anyone who downloads Starsight from Amazon Kindle for FREE (WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY, APRIL 4TH & 5TH ONLY!) and plays along with us as we explore the world of the Imperium and the powerful Starguiders who guide her. Each day there will also be a treasure hunt, a closer look at the world of Joshan and Trenara, and a chance to win one of two grand prizes at the end of the week... a $100 gift certificate from Amazon and both Starsight Books, Vol. I and Vol. II autographed. Plus many surprise gifts will be given away during the week.
Keep in mind that the Kindle version of Starsight Volume I is free today only (Wednesday, April 4th), but you can pick up Volume II for only $2.99. That's the entire duology for less than $3.00 TODAY! If you miss downloading the free book, you can still pick it up for only $2.99 (FREE for Amazon Prime Members). 
So, strap on your sword, grab your crystal via, and join me for a magical adventure I hope you will never forget.
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS: (Visit www.minnettemeadorbooks.com every day for more chances to win)
1. Get yourself over to Amazon today and download your free copy of Starsight Vol I on Wednesday, April 4th only. If you don't have a Kindle, no worries; you can download the Kindle app for your computer or even your i-phone/android!
2. Read the first chapter. There will be one question every day this week about this chapter and a treasure hunt to participate in. The more times you answer right, the more times your name will go into the hat for the grand prizes.
3.  THREE WAYS TO WIN!           COMMENT: Visit this blog every day, read that day's article, and then leave a comment for a chance to win the daily prize. Your name will go into the hat for every blog post you comment on!           TREASURE HUNT & DAILY QUESTION: Treasure hunt and daily question prizes will be announced the next morning on the blog site only, so make sure to visit me every day. Treasure hunt and daily questions must be emailed to: mmeador@minnettemeador.com. Please don't answer daily or treasure hunt questions in the comments section.              GRAND PRIZES & TREASURE HUNTS: Grand prizes will be rewarded on Saturday, April 14th and will be selected from all the people who comment on my blog, answer the daily question, or find the object in the treasure hunt. Good luck! :o)

DAY ONE - APRIL 4, 2012 - THE PROPHECY

DAY ONE, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012(for contest rules visit: CONTEST RULES)Whoohoo! Looks like they got it fixed... Starsight is ready to download... http://www.amazon.com/Starsight-Volume-1-ebook/dp/B0079K6AOE/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1333560591&sr=8-6
Today's Daily Prize: Any one of Minnette's Kindle books
Today's Treasure Hunt Challenge: Watch the Starsight Video below and email the answer to this question: What kind of smile is prophesied in the video?
Today's Daily Question: If you send me an email with your Amazon receipt number stating you have own loaded the first book, I'll add you to the drawing! No questions today since we're just getting started! 
THE PROPHECY

The boy, a man, yet not of age,The man, divine, yet not a sage.He rises from a veiled match,He the door, she the latch.
He holds the stars within his hand.Upon his head a crown does stand.A serpent's smile, a golden crest,A heart of passion in his breast.
Be wary, mortals, watch the nightWhen sunlight's dim and darkness bright,Worship not the lovely stonesAs they will conquer all your thrones.
For in your deeds his future's sealed.His eyes are blind or yet revealed?In mortal's foolish hands we giveA choice to die, a chance to live.
So end the war, the hate, the fear,Close the mouth, unlock the ear,Before disease jumps sire to son,Season to season and moon to sun.
For from your curse or noble actsWill be his strengths or what he lacks.Upon your wisdom or your mightFair or foul will be Starsight.

STARSIGHT FLASH BLOG TOUR - RULES OF THE CONTEST

Starsight Tour - Day One - The Prophecy
http://www.minnettemeadorbooks.com/20...
Whoohoo! Looks like they got it fixed... Starsight is ready to download... http://www.amazon.com/Starsight-Volum...


STARSIGHT FANTASY SERIES - FLASH BLOG TOUR INTRODUCTION - RULES OF THE CONTEST
Welcome to the Starsight fantasy series flash blog tour. I will be giving away chances to win special prizes everyday to anyone who downloads Starsight from Amazon Kindle for FREE (WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4TH ONLY!) and plays along with us as we explore the world of the Imperium and the powerful Starguiders who guide her. Each day there will also be a treasure hunt, a closer look at the world of Joshan and Trenara, and a chance to win one of two grand prizes at the end of the week... a $100 gift certificate from Amazon and both Starsight Books, Vol. I and Vol. II autographed. Plus many surprise gifts will be given away during the week.
Keep in mind that the Kindle version of Starsight Volume I is free today only (Wednesday, April 4th), but you can pick up Volume II for only $2.99. That's the entire duology for less than $3.00 TODAY! If you miss downloading the free book, you can still pick it up for only $2.99 (FREE for Amazon Prime Members). 
So, strap on your sword, grab your crystal via, and join me for a magical adventure I hope you will never forget.
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS: (Visit www.minnettemeadorbooks.com every day for more chances to win)
1. Get yourself over to Amazon today and download your free copy of Starsight Vol I on Wednesday, April 4th only. If you don't have a Kindle, no worries; you can download the Kindle app for your computer or even your i-phone/android!
2. Read the first chapter. There will be one question every day this week about this chapter and a treasure hunt to participate in. The more times you answer right, the more times your name will go into the hat for the grand prizes.
3.  THREE WAYS TO WIN!           COMMENT: Visit this blog every day, read that day's article, and then leave a comment for a chance to win the daily prize. Your name will go into the hat for every blog post you comment on!           TREASURE HUNT & DAILY QUESTION: Treasure hunt and daily question prizes will be announced the next morning on the blog site only, so make sure to visit me every day. Treasure hunt and daily questions must be emailed to: mmeador@minnettemeador.com. Please don't answer daily or treasure hunt questions in the comments section.              GRAND PRIZES & TREASURE HUNTS: Grand prizes will be rewarded on Saturday, April 14th and will be selected from all the people who comment on my blog, answer the daily question, or find the object in the treasure hunt. Good luck! :o)

CREATING ROMANTIC FRICTION BETWEEN THE SHEET...OF PAPER

[image error] On Tuesday night I was honored to present "Creating Romantic Friction Between the Sheet... of Paper" to Willamette Writers Association at The Old Church. What a wonderful group of writers! Several of them asked me to post the notes from the talk and they are now available on my resources page for review by anyone. I talked about some of the tools I use including the ARC (an abbreviated version of The Hero's Journey and Aristotle's Fall From Grace scenarios), a copy of The Hero's Journey Summary, It Not What You Say; It's How You Say It; Body Language Basics for Writers, and my comprehensive 11 page list of Chart of Body Cues By Emotion/Attitude and Color Terms. Please feel free to download the article if you can use it.


My sincere thanks to Mary Andonian and Bill Johnson from Willamette Writers for inviting me. I had such fun! Minnette :o)


MINNETTE MEADOR'S RESOURCE PAGE

THINGS TO COME...

Well, I think I'm well rested from some time off over the last month. I've caught up on my reading, organized my office, and even got enough sleep over the past few weeks to keep me going for this year. It promises to be a great one and I wanted to thank everyone for all their support over the last few months. Here's what I have coming up for 2012-2013...
ARPEGGIOS IN THE DARK - Sci-Fi (appropriate for YA) - Earth has joined alliances with two other civilizations, the Gammond, a race of diplomatic geniuses, and the powerful, very dangerous Saatus race, who have already wiped out a fourth civilization because of a slight to one of their royals. Mousikós, the very first half human, half Gammond hybrid faces a life of celebrity where she is never allowed a single minute to herself. When she hides on a derelict freighter to escape the ever-present paparazzi, her life is changed forever when the ship suddenly takes her into space where she discovers, quite by accident, that her voice can kill. Unfortunately, the Saatus she annihilates, is the crown prince of the sovereign family. Earth teeters on the balance of destruction with only a strange young woman, her very inexperienced attorney, and a salty aged space captain who can tell their story. RELEASE DATE: TBD.
PHANTOM HEARTS - Book II in the Ghost Series, Paranormal Romantic Comedy - Dyna is having a bad day... a really bad day. Her house is now filled with ghosts, the neighborhood association is trying to get her evicted, a coven of erstwhile witches are camped on her front lawn, and she just found out she's pregnant with a demon child. To top everything off, a handsome cop thinks he can make it go away, but all he is doing is making it worse! RELEASE DATE: 10/31/12
THE PIRATE PRINCE OF EGYPT - Book IV in the Centurion Series, Historical Romance - Hasani has a reputation to uphold as the world's greatest pirate; but that's hard to do when you're wasting away in a Syrian jail for making love to one of the Parthian king's daughters. For the first time in his life his luck has run out and he faces a very real possibility of losing his head for good this time. When a mysterious woman shows up and helps him to escape, he falls in love for the first time. The problem is... she is taken prisoner and swept away to Egypt, the last place he wants to be. Will he risk his life and riches to save her or follow old habits and simply walk away. There is something about this girl... RELEASE DATE: 1/16/2013
PHANTOM HEARTS - Book III in the Ghost Series, Paranormal Romantic Comedy. He's suave, he's debonaire, he can say or do no wrong, the ladies love him, and life couldn't be any sweeter. That is until he finds out he's the devil's love child and strange things start happening around him. Enter a sexy, snoopy female reporter who not only seems immune to his charms but does everything she can to double his trouble. He simply can't resist her and that's where the fun begins. Will he fight the evil deeds blooming in his head or will he finally succumb to his father's wishes and "join" the family business. Only a crazy girl knows... and she's not talking.

THE BELLE STALKER BLOG HOP

THE BELLE STALKERBLOG HOP
Come join me over the next month as we take a journey to some of the coolest blogs on the internet. We'll be talking about murder, psychos, strange fantasies, and harsh realities as I celebrate the release of my new urban fantasy thriller, THE BELL STALKER. I'll be giving away prizes everyday and at the end of the tour I will be giving away a Kindle and a tote bag full of wonderful Portland goodies. All you have to do is comment on as many blogs as you can. Hope you can join us... We'll be talking every day about something new!
Below is a complete schedule with links. I will update this post every day with that days visit, plus I will send out reminders via Goodreads and Facebook to everyone. Also, if you get a chance while you're visiting, please join these wonderful blogs for more info on books and reading. Good luck in the contests and see you there! Minnette :o)

12/12/2011 Romance to Make Your Heart Race. Wendi asked me some tough, but wonderful questions about writing, the universe and everything. Come on over and join us and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win today's prize plus a chance at the grand prizes at the end. See you there! 
SCHEDULE11/28/2011     Riverina Romantics11/29/2011     Sexy Lady11/30/2011     The Forbidden Bookshelf12/1/2011       The Muse12/1/2011       Night Owl Romance Winter Wonderland Hunt12/2/2011      Sugarbeat's Books12/5/2011      AsianCocoa's Secret Garden12/6/2011      Travel the Ages12/7/2011      Reading Romances12/8/2011      Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews12/9/2011      Wake Up Your Wild Side12/12/2011    Romance to Make Your Heart Race12/13/2011    Rogues Angels12/14/2011    Me Want Food12/15/2011    Erotica for All12/15/2011    Night Owl Romance Winter Wonderland Hunt12/16/2011    Urban Girl Reader12/17/2011    FORUM - Writing Paranormal                            Chelsea's Paranormal Books12/19/2011    Realmantic Moments12/20/2011   Among the Muses12/21/2011    It's Raining Books12/22/2011   Reader Girls12/23/2011   Sarah Ballance12/26/2011   LASR Stuff Your Stocking 1/1/2012        Night Owl Romance Winter Wonderland Hunt1/10/2012     Night Owl Romance Winter Wonderland Hunt
 
THE BELL STALKER
an urban fantasy thriller
by Minnette Meador
RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2011
Resplendence Publishing
Excerpt

Romancing Christmas Give Away Hop!

ROMANCING CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY HOP!
THE MAGIC LINKYLINK
Or see a list below this post
Here is an opportunity to win tons of great prizes from over 40 authors, publishers, and reviewers! Each post is giving away prizes and all you have to do to participate is follow each post's instructions! 
I am giving away all three of my new 2011 books!!!

 
All you have to do is leave a comment about what you're doing for the holidays! It's that simple....
So make sure you follow the linkylink above and get yourself into as many contests as you can. Good luck!!! Minnette :o)
[image error] The Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop is being hosted by Reading Romances!

THE BELLE STALKER BLOG HOP

THE BELLE STALKERBLOG HOP
Come join me over the next month as we take a journey to some of the coolest blogs on the internet. We'll be talking about murder, psychos, strange fantasies, and harsh realities as I celebrate the release of my new urban fantasy thriller, THE BELL STALKER. I'll be giving away prizes everyday and at the end of the tour I will be giving away a Kindle and a tote bag full of wonderful Portland goodies. All you have to do is comment on as many blogs as you can. Hope you can join us... We'll be talking every day about something new!
Below is a complete schedule with links. I will update this post every day with that days visit, plus I will send out reminders via Goodreads and Facebook to everyone. Also, if you get a chance while you're visiting, please join these wonderful blogs for more info on books and reading. Good luck in the contests and see you there! Minnette :o)
SCHEDULE11/28/2011     Riverina Romantics11/29/2011     Sexy Lady11/30/2011     The Forbidden Bookshelf12/1/2011       The Muse12/1/2011       Night Owl Romance Winder Wonderland Hunt12/2/2011      Sugarbeat's Books12/5/2011      AsianCocoa's Secret Garden12/6/2011      Travel the Ages12/7/2011      Reading Romances12/8/2011      Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews12/9/2011      Wake Up Your Wild Side12/12/2011    Romance to Make Your Heart Race12/13/2011    Rogues Angels12/14/2011    Me Want Food12/15/2011    Erotica for All12/15/2011    Night Owl Romance Winder Wonderland Hunt12/16/2011    Urban Girl Reader12/17/2011    FORUM - Writing Paranormal                            Chelsea's Paranormal Books12/19/2011    Realmantic Moments12/20/2011   Among the Muses12/21/2011    It's Raining Books12/22/2011   Reader Girls12/23/2011   Sarah Ballance12/26/2011   LASR Stuff Your Stocking 1/1/2012        Night Owl Romance Winder Wonderland Hunt1/10/2012     Night Owl Romance Winder Wonderland Hunt
 
THE BELL STALKER
an urban fantasy thriller
by Minnette Meador
RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2011
Resplendence Publishing
Excerpt

A FINE LIKENESS BY SEAN MCLACHLAN

I met Sean McLacklan years ago when I first started out as a writer and was awed by his grace, his humor, and his amazing turn of a phrase. Sean travels the world and writes about his adventures for several different travel blogs and is a solid history buff, like myself. I'm so excited to introduce his full length novel "A FINE LIKENESS" and am delighted to feature him here.

A FINE LIKENESS
by Sean McLacklan

Civil War Missouri: a great setting for a novel

A Confederate guerrilla and a Union captain discover there's something more dangerous in the woods than each other.

This is the idea behind my Civil War novel A Fine Likeness, set in Missouri in 1864. That particular time and place made a perfect setting. Take that rebel guerrilla, Jimmy Rawlins, and that Union captain, Richard Addison. They exemplify the divisions that tore Missouri apart. While the majority of Missouri's urban population was Unionist, rural Missourians generally supported the Confederacy. Jimmy is the teenaged son of a poor farmer from the Ozarks. Addison is a successful shopkeeper in Columbia, a small city in central Missouri.

Their two different worlds had been clashing since before the war, when during Bleeding Kansas, proslavery bushwhackers invaded Kansas to kill abolitionists, and abolitionist Jayhawkers rode into Missouri to kill slave owners and free their slaves. Once the war started in earnest in 1861, the Union army quickly took control of Missouri, but the countryside remained in rebellion. The bushwhackers now turned their wrath against Union troops and Jimmy, an impressionable young man, joined them. Addison, like many Missourians, wanted nothing more than to stay home, yet as the war laid waste to the countryside, he realized he needed to do his part.

In 1864, after almost three years of Union occupation, the Confederate army returned. Marching north from Arkansas, they swept aside the scattered Union forces and approached Columbia. Jimmy and his fellow bushwhackers busied themselves with attacking Union outposts, cutting telegraph wire, and burning bridges in support of the Confederate invasion.

Enter Bloody Bill Anderson, the deadliest of the bushwhackers and a real historical figure. In 1864 he burned, shot, and scalped his way through central Missouri in an orgy of killing that shocked even some die-hard bushwhackers. Various guerrilla bands joined him, including Jimmy and his young friends.

And this is where the tale really becomes fictional. Bloody Bill is part of an occult conspiracy sacrifice a Union prisoner in a hellish ritual to raise the Confederate dead. Jimmy discovers Bloody Bill's plans and has to choose between his conscience and his loyalty to the rebel Cause. Meanwhile Captain Addison gains the support of rival occultists who want to stamp out the evil arising in the woods of Missouri.

As anyone who reads Minnette Meador's novels knows, history is a rich mine for story ideas. I found Civil War Missouri to be the mother lode. The conflicts of North vs. South, urban vs. rural, rich vs. poor, and Order vs. Chaos create a rich backdrop of narrative tension. Add in Bloody Bill Anderson, a real person who looks like he just stepped from central casting for a slasher flick, and you have the beginnings of a story.

A Fine Likeness is available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, and Amazon FR. In the next couple of days it will appear on Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. A print edition is coming in early December. Drop by my Civil War blog, Twitter feed, and Facebook page to learn more about me, my novel, and my history and travel writing.

[image error] Sean McLachlan, freelance author and bloggergadling.com
civilwarhorror.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @WriterSean
A Fine Likeness: Civil War novel
American Civil War Guerrilla Tactics (Osprey, 2009)




EXCERPT


CHAPTER ONE

September 19, 1864
The road between Rocheport and Columbia
Boone County, Missouri

Jimmy Rawlins gripped his rifle and hoped his friends couldn't see his hands shake. Peering through the underbrush, he scanned the dirt road's gentle curve as it disappeared around an outcropping of rock topped by a tall oak. That was the way to Rocheport, the way the supply wagon would come.

He darted a glance to either side to check if everyone was in position, hidden in the thick forest that pressed in on the road like a green wall. Elijah Bogan lay underneath a dense shrub to his left, a pale blonde boy of seventeen with a broken-toothed grin on his face and a Colt six-shooter in his hand. He was close enough that Jimmy could have touched him, but barely a third of his body was visible through the leaves. Jimmy knew Hugh and Albert Milligan lay further away but couldn't see them at all.

To his right, Morgan Whiteside nestled against a spreading black oak, his dark features set in concentration as he aimed down the double barrels of his shotgun. Past him crouched the Kid, barely a shadow in the dim half-light of the forest.

Morgan looked at Jimmy's hands and grinned. Jimmy gripped his rifle tighter to stop them shaking as Morgan nudged him and made a startled face, shaking all over like he'd seen a ghost. Jimmy frowned and looked back down the sights of his rifle, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the bright midday glare of the open road.

Calm down, Jimmy told himself. Waiting is the worst part. Think of something nice. See that rock by the bend? Looks like the one you and Eliza used to sit on down by Squaw Creek. Wish I was there now. Quiet, you got your duty. You're no slouch, not like that Henry Gibbs who's always sparking Eliza with his fine ways and nice horses. Henry Gibbs never did a damn thing for the South. What's his business kissing Eliza at the corn shucking? Sh. Quiet now. Don't get mad. Got to be calm in a fight, not mad.

A thin brown haze smudged the blue sky beyond the bend.

The wagon? Riders too, by the looks of it. If it's too many don't risk it. Morgan will call you yellow but he knows you ain't. Aw, but why do my hands always shake?

An open-topped wagon rattled around the bend, flanked by five riders wearing blue. The riders carried muskets and peered into the underbrush.

Let 'em get close. The boys will wait for your shot. They respect you. They voted you captain because you're the toughest (except for Morgan) and the smartest (except for Elijah) and at nineteen you're the oldest.

Well, nineteen next month.

The driver sat stoop-shouldered in his seat, sweat staining his blue uniform black, a forage cap shading his eyes from the heavy sun. He let the horses have their reins, not bothering to hurry them. The creak of wagon wheels and the soft clop of hooves on dirt grew louder in Jimmy's ears, as did the rising whir of the cicadas sounding out from the forest. Jimmy aimed for the driver's head. The sight on his rifle tracked the man's slow progress along the road. Jimmy's hands no longer shook.

Just a few more feet. You're fine. Do it just like last time. But you almost got killed last time. Sh. None of that. Think of something nice. Eliza sitting on that rock and dipping them pretty white legs in Squaw Creek. Eliza and Henry kissing at the corn shucking. That yellow, sneaking son of a. . . Sh. All serene.

Jimmy squeezed the trigger and a loud crack jabbed his eardrums. Through a gritty plume of smoke he saw blood erupt from the driver's neck. The man jerked to the side, fell off his seat, and got crushed under the wheel of his own wagon.

"Bushwhackers!" one of the riders shouted.

The forest lit up with the flashes of rifles and pistols. One rider toppled off his saddle with a bullet in his forehead. Morgan leapt to his feet with a rebel yell and set off his shotgun. The blast from the first barrel hit a soldier and his mount. The horse reared, screaming, and Morgan let loose with the second barrel, horse and rider toppling over. Bullets grazed two other horsemen and they flinched in their saddles.

The sole rider who hadn't been hit raised his rifle and cocked it with his thumb. Jimmy threw down his own rifle and drew a pair of pistols.

Morgan bellowed and ran into the road, blazing away with a revolver at the man about to fire. The rider's shot went wild as Morgan hit his arm. The soldier ducked in his saddle and yanked on the reins with his good hand, hollering as Morgan shot him in the side. He dug his spurs into his horse's flanks and galloped down the road. His two comrades sped after him.

Jimmy leapt out into the open and fired at the receding figures. His friends did the same. Once or twice a rider jerked in his seat, but all managed to keep a hold of their mounts and get back around the bend, fleeing for their camp at Rocheport.

"Daaang!" Morgan shouted. "You see them Feds run? They'll be to California by sundown!"

"They'll think twice before using this road again," laughed the Kid as he grabbed the reins of the wagon team and calmed the horses.

The horse Morgan had shot lay on its side pawing the ground, breathing in great gusts as it tried to get up. Jimmy leveled his pistol and approached, a sharp eye on the Union soldier lying slack jawed beside it. Jimmy gave the man a kick. He felt limp, unresisting. The horse made another attempt to rise but slammed back down into the dust, its coat spattered with blood where half a dozen pellets had pierced it.

"Sorry partner," Jimmy whispered.

He aimed his pistol and closed his eyes. The crack of the shot wasn't loud enough to drown out the sound of the horse's head thudding into the dirt.

Jimmy let out the breath he'd been holding and turned around before opening his eyes. He swallowed to steady his voice and called out to a pair of lanky boys who'd emerged from the woods, looking as alike as two halves of a split log.

"Hugh, Albert, fetch your horses and ride down a ways to keep a lookout. Morgan, check that wagon. Kid, you help him. Elijah, what in hell you doing?"

"What I always do," Elijah said as he waved his hands over the dead body of one of the riders, making strange signs with his fingers. After a moment he pulled a dirty bottle from the inside pocket of his overcoat. He uncorked it and put the opening close to the mouth of the dead man, whispering:

"Come to me, come to me, your immortal soul shall never be free."

"Elijah," Morgan called out as he rummaged through the wagon, "you are one sick son of a bitch."

Elijah corked the bottle and stood up, his grin showing a broken front tooth.

"Come say that over here," he invited.

Morgan mumbled something Jimmy couldn't catch, lowering his head so the brim of his hat covered his eyes, and continued to search the wagon.

Jimmy shook his head and checked his pistols. Three shots gone from each. He pulled a pair of fully loaded ones from the deep pockets on the sides of his loose shirt and put them in his holsters. He put the used ones in the pockets. No time to reload them now. They needed to get any munitions they could find from the wagon and be gone. Jimmy ran to fetch his rifle as the twins rode out from the brush. Hugh headed down the road in the direction of Rocheport while his brother Albert went the other way toward Columbia.

Jimmy picked up his rifle and wiped a bit of dirt from the stock. It was a Sharps, the finest made, taken off a Kansan he'd killed a few months back. He slipped a cartridge into the breech and slung it over his shoulder as he sauntered back toward the wagon.

"We want their guns, Captain?" the Kid asked.

Jimmy smiled. He liked the Kid. Only fourteen but a fine shot and a fine rider, and the only one who called him "Captain."

"Naw," Jimmy replied. "Them Springfields are no good for our type of fighting, and we don't want these here government nags neither. You keep checking that wagon."

A second later Morgan let out a whoop and raised a barrel over his head.

"Powder!" he shouted.

"Just one barrel?" Jimmy asked, running over to him.

"Yep, but big enough to blow a blockhouse if we set it right."

"Good, anything else?"

"Only commissary stores, Captain," the Kid said.

"No percussion caps?"

"Nope."

"Hey, Jimmy?" Elijah's voice came from beneath the wagon.

Jimmy bent down.

"What you skulking down there for?" he asked.

Elijah patted the wagon driver's corpse on the shoulder. Blood trickled from holes in the soldier's throat and stomach.

"'Cause that's where he is."

"Quit fooling around and help," Jimmy said.

Elijah waved the dirty bottle.

"Oh, I'm helping, don't you worry on that score. But I got a question, Jimmy. I gave him this slug in his belly as he fell, so I got a claim on him despite you plugging him too. But you see, the soul comes out of the mouth, and you done given him another one. Which one should I hold the bottle up to?"

Jimmy grimaced and stood up without answering.

"It's all right," Elijah continued. "I'll hold it up to the hole you made in his throat. It's closer to the heart. Come to me, come to me, your immortal soul shall never be free."

Morgan jumped off the wagon, the barrel of gunpowder tucked under his arm. The Kid opened a few more boxes and sacks before turning to Jimmy.

"Nothing else but hardtack and tinned beef here, captain. Grandma Wyatt will cook us up something better than that."

Elijah crawled out from under the wagon and stood up. He grinned and held the corked bottle in front of Jimmy's face. Jimmy flinched, then cursed under his breath. He had promised himself he wouldn't do that.

"That makes nine," Elijah said. "Only four more to go."

Before Jimmy could reply a pistol shot rang out in the distance. He spun around. It had come from the direction of Columbia. Everyone drew their guns. Elijah tucked the bottle inside his shirt, drew a pair of pistols, and began to whistle.

Out of the shimmering haze a figure rode into view. In a moment they saw it was Albert. A black line appeared in the distance behind him, seeming to float in the heat rising off the road. It separated into silhouettes and resolved into a column of blue-uniformed riders.

"Into the woods!" Jimmy shouted.

Albert slowed his steed and headed into the underbrush while Jimmy and the rest hurried for the tree line.

The two Union officers in front fired their revolvers. A bullet snapped into the front of the wagon, making the team of horses rear. With a steady hand Jimmy aimed a pistol at the soldiers as the dusty road filled with the roar of gunfire.

 

NEWSLETTER CONTACTS…

If you would like to be included in my newsletter list, please email me at mmeador@minnettemeador.com and I'll make certain you get added. I only send out newsletters when I have new releases or upcoming events and you can opt out anytime you want…

Thanks! Minnette