Connie Cockrell's Blog, page 15

Create, Phoenix Fan Fusion T’s, Giveaways, Gardening: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

After Saturday’s double mass killings in El Paso and Dayton, I saw a facebook post from author George Sirois: “Please create something today. Create something positive. Create on behalf of all the people killed in the last 24 hours, robbed of their chance to ever create again. Create because you might help someone get through all this destruction with your creation. Just Create. Please.” I don’t usually get political or dwell on recent news on this blog but when I read his post I started to tear up. So go. Use whatever you have at hand. Create joy. Create love. Create peace. Share your heart.

Next to the last picture

After the Phoenix Fan Fusion, I began showing some of the t-shirts from the show. Here is one for this week.

Gardening. The peaches are small, and not ripe yet though they have a nice blush on them. A week, perhaps, before I can start picking them. I also have two pear trees which have lost nearly all of their leaves. Between the two trees, only one tiny pear. Very disappointing. I did pick another tomato on Saturday. That makes two. I found one ripe tomato in the corner of the backyard, half eaten. So, the squirrels or the chipmunks or the rabbit tried one out. Hubby says it wasn’t him. Not sure if they liked it. I hope not.

Giveaways:

The Summer Giveaway is open! There are 33 participating authors with 33 book prizes and 33 summer gift prizes. The Grand Prize is $100 in Paypal cash. This is certainly a giveaway to get involved with.

Where will I Be?:

Now that the Payson Book Festival is done, I don’t have anything on my calendar until the December Mesa Book Festival. The date, just announced, is December 14th from 10am – 5pm and the location has changed to 225 E Main St, Mesa. This is the Benedictine University, for those familiar with Mesa. I am sharing a booth space with the wonderful Marsha Ward. The site only promotes the author registering the table, so you’ll only see Marsha’s name, not mine. But I promise, I’ll be there. You can find all the details and a map at www.MesaBookFestival.com.

On
the other hand, if something juicy comes up, because it’s a long time between
July and December, I’ll let you know. Do you know of an event where you’d like
to see me? I’d love to know about it. Contact me here and say the word.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Book Release:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is only up on Amazon, at the moment. I’ll let everyone know when the print version is up and is up on the other platforms. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

The Party- Chapter 6: Mara Brown – Flash Fiction Friday Post

Yes, this is political. I offer you trigger warnings for language and sexual and racist slurs and comments. Future episodes may also contain rape, abuse, and other unpleasant things.

Chapter 6: Mara Brown

Mara Brown stood in her back yard, arms wrapped around
herself, doing her best to keep from sobbing. Her beautiful family. Her
beautiful house. Gone. All gone. It had been three weeks since the Immaculata
had barged into their yard and taken her husband and children away. Was it
really just three weeks? She sniffed back imminent tears and gave her head the
tiniest of shakes. It seemed a lifetime ago.

She looked around the back yard. People were arriving
for the auction. They stared at her but looked away when she caught their eye.
Vultures, she thought. Here to pick over the body. That’s how she felt about
it. The body of her old life.

It was amazing, actually, how fast it all was. The day
it all exploded, she had been left standing, almost where she was right now, as
the Macs left with her family and the poor Apples. Tears threatened so she
turned to face the back of the yard and dashed the tears away. She pulled a
tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. She wasn’t about to show these
vultures any weakness. She pulled her spine erect and raised her head, squaring
her shoulders as she turned back to face her house.

Bruce Leightner’s wife, Corrine, was watching her.
Mara gave her a slight nod and was surprised when Corrine gave her a smile. A
sad, but sympathetic smile. Mara gave a small smile back and they traded nods.
Not all alone, even though Bruce was an asshat. Still it was something. She
took a deep breath.

The day after the raid, three men from the government
showed up at the front door. They introduced themselves and walked right in.
The head guy, Mr. Clarke, told her what was going on as the other two headed
upstairs, electronic pads in their hands.

“You’ll have to move, of course,” Clarke told her as
he scanned what was on his pad. “All the furniture will have to be sold or
moved, your choice. We’ll help you with that if you’d like.” He looked around
the foyer and adjacent living room. “Nice place. It should sell quickly at the
auction.”

Auction, she thought. “What auction?”

Clarke raised an eyebrow. “For the fine. I see,” he
scrolled pages on his pad, “you only have $12,347.56, in you accounts. Total,
that is. The fine is $200,000.’

She felt as though she’d fallen into a house of
mirrors. “Fine?”

He sighed. “Yes. For being married to racially impure.
It’s $100,000 for your ex-husband and $50,000 each for the children. Good thing
you only had two. It can get cost prohibitive with more children.” He went back
to scanning his pad. “If we get enough for the house, you can keep what’s in
your bank accounts and anything you get from the sale of the furniture.”

All she could do was nod.

“Just have a seat, it won’t take long for us to
complete the assessment.”

She went into the kitchen and made a cup of tea. Mara
sat in the morning room where she sipped it slowly as she watched the three men
meet in the backyard and make their assessments back there. The tea was gone
when Mr. Clarke came in through the back door.

“That’s about it, Mrs. Brown. We’ll send you a letter
with the auction date. Have all furniture you’re keeping out by then. And all
the rest of the furniture sold. The house should be empty for the sale.”

She nodded her understanding.

He gave her a smile and a nod. “Good working with you,
Mrs. Brown.”

She watched him go out through the living room and
heard the front door open, then close.

Now here she was. The auction. Several of her
neighbors were in the crowd, none of them looking at her, at least eye to eye.
The auction began. Mara was surprised at how fast it went. Bruce Leightner had
the highest bid. While everyone was gathering around to congratulate him,
Corrine walked over to her.

“I’m so sorry, Mara. Really. I am.”

Mara nodded. “Thank you.”

“What are you going to do now?”

Mara was surprised she’d asked. No one had spoken to
her except in one-word statements or questions since the day. “Um. I have a
little apartment.” She shrugged. “Something cheap. I don’t have a lot of
money.”

Corrine reached up to pat Mara but Mara flinched away.
Corrine dropped her hand, folding her arms in front of herself. “Sorry.” She
sighed. “Look. You have the same email?”

Mara blinked in surprise. “Yeah.”

“I’ll email you. We’ll get together.”

“Corrine!”

Corrine flinched a little. “Yes, dear?”

“Let’s go!”

Corrine wagged her eyebrows at Mara. “I’ll email.” Then
turned and walked to her husband.

Bruce grabbed her by the arm and jerked her toward the
back gate. “That makes ten houses in this neighborhood.” His voice was loud
enough to be heard two houses away. “Don’t be talking to no impures. Hear me?”

“But, she’s not impure.” Corrine defended Mara.

Bruce jerked her arm. “She married one. So stay away.”
He glared back in Mara’s direction. “She’s not clean, sleeping with a nigger.”

“But…” Corrine began.

“Shut it.” He jerked her arm again as they crossed the
street.

Mara drew in a big breath. This was how it was going
to be. For a long time, she expected. Unclean. Dirty. Just how they’d described
the Jews before World War II. She walked over to the auctioneer and Mr. Clarke.
Time to see if the house sale covered the fine. She hoped so. She wondered if
they’d help her find a job. Things were already getting lean.

Thank you for reading.

The Party: Chapter 6 – Flash Fiction Friday Post

Yes, this is political. I offer you trigger warnings for language and sexual and racist slurs and comments. Future episodes may also contain rape, abuse, and other unpleasant things.

Chapter 6: Mara Brown

Mara Brown stood in her back yard, arms wrapped around
herself, doing her best to keep from sobbing. Her beautiful family. Her
beautiful house. Gone. All gone. It had been three weeks since the Immaculata
had barged into their yard and taken her husband and children away. Was it
really just three weeks? She sniffed back imminent tears and gave her head the
tiniest of shakes. It seemed a lifetime ago.

She looked around the back yard. People were arriving
for the auction. They stared at her but looked away when she caught their eye.
Vultures, she thought. Here to pick over the body. That’s how she felt about
it. The body of her old life.

It was amazing, actually, how fast it all was. The day
it all exploded, she had been left standing, almost where she was right now, as
the Macs left with her family and the poor Apples. Tears threatened so she
turned to face the back of the yard and dashed the tears away. She pulled a
tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. She wasn’t about to show these
vultures any weakness. She pulled her spine erect and raised her head, squaring
her shoulders as she turned back to face her house.

Bruce Leightner’s wife, Corrine, was watching her.
Mara gave her a slight nod and was surprised when Corrine gave her a smile. A
sad, but sympathetic smile. Mara gave a small smile back and they traded nods.
Not all alone, even though Bruce was an asshat. Still it was something. She
took a deep breath.

The day after the raid, three men from the government
showed up at the front door. They introduced themselves and walked right in.
The head guy, Mr. Clarke, told her what was going on as the other two headed
upstairs, electronic pads in their hands.

“You’ll have to move, of course,” Clarke told her as
he scanned what was on his pad. “All the furniture will have to be sold or
moved, your choice. We’ll help you with that if you’d like.” He looked around
the foyer and adjacent living room. “Nice place. It should sell quickly at the
auction.”

Auction, she thought. “What auction?”

Clarke raised an eyebrow. “For the fine. I see,” he
scrolled pages on his pad, “you only have $12,347.56, in you accounts. Total,
that is. The fine is $200,000.’

She felt as though she’d fallen into a house of
mirrors. “Fine?”

He sighed. “Yes. For being married to racially impure.
It’s $100,000 for your ex-husband and $50,000 each for the children. Good thing
you only had two. It can get cost prohibitive with more children.” He went back
to scanning his pad. “If we get enough for the house, you can keep what’s in
your bank accounts and anything you get from the sale of the furniture.”

All she could do was nod.

“Just have a seat, it won’t take long for us to
complete the assessment.”

She went into the kitchen and made a cup of tea. Mara
sat in the morning room where she sipped it slowly as she watched the three men
meet in the backyard and make their assessments back there. The tea was gone
when Mr. Clarke came in through the back door.

“That’s about it, Mrs. Brown. We’ll send you a letter
with the auction date. Have all furniture you’re keeping out by then. And all
the rest of the furniture sold. The house should be empty for the sale.”

She nodded her understanding.

He gave her a smile and a nod. “Good working with you,
Mrs. Brown.”

She watched him go out through the living room and
heard the front door open, then close.

Now here she was. The auction. Several of her
neighbors were in the crowd, none of them looking at her, at least eye to eye.
The auction began. Mara was surprised at how fast it went. Bruce Leightner had
the highest bid. While everyone was gathering around to congratulate him,
Corrine walked over to her.

“I’m so sorry, Mara. Really. I am.”

Mara nodded. “Thank you.”

“What are you going to do now?”

Mara was surprised she’d asked. No one had spoken to
her except in one-word statements or questions since the day. “Um. I have a
little apartment.” She shrugged. “Something cheap. I don’t have a lot of
money.”

Corrine reached up to pat Mara but Mara flinched away.
Corrine dropped her hand, folding her arms in front of herself. “Sorry.” She
sighed. “Look. You have the same email?”

Mara blinked in surprise. “Yeah.”

“I’ll email you. We’ll get together.”

“Corrine!”

Corrine flinched a little. “Yes, dear?”

“Let’s go!”

Corrine wagged her eyebrows at Mara. “I’ll email.” Then
turned and walked to her husband.

Bruce grabbed her by the arm and jerked her toward the
back gate. “That makes ten houses in this neighborhood.” His voice was loud
enough to be heard two houses away. “Don’t be talking to no impures. Hear me?”

“But, she’s not impure.” Corrine defended Mara.

Bruce jerked her arm. “She married one. So stay away.”
He glared back in Mara’s direction. “She’s not clean, sleeping with a nigger.”

“But…” Corrine began.

“Shut it.” He jerked her arm again as they crossed the
street.

Mara drew in a big breath. This was how it was going
to be. For a long time, she expected. Unclean. Dirty. Just how they’d described
the Jews before World War II. She walked over to the auctioneer and Mr. Clarke.
Time to see if the house sale covered the fine. She hoped so. She wondered if
they’d help her find a job. Things were already getting lean.

Thank you for reading.

Phoenix Fan Fusion T’s, Book Sale & Giveaways, Gardening: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

After
the Phoenix Fan Fusion, I began showing some of the t-shirts from the show. Here
is one for this week.

What a deal. For the month of July, I’m still offering many of my books either 50% off or free! That’s right, the entire month of July is Smashwords’ Summer/Winter Sale and I’m participating, but it only lasts three more days. If you decide to pick up one of my books, I hope you enjoy it. If you do, a small review would be greatly appreciated.

One more giveaway if you are a SciFi, Apocalyptic/Dystopian fan. Starting today! I’m with a group of authors offering just that. The giveaway is called World’s End and is through Book Funnel. You’ll be asked to join author’s newsletters. This giveaway is over at the end of July, again, just three more days! Don’t wait too long or you’ll miss it!

Gardening. It’s peach season here in central Arizona. My peach tree branches are just bending over with their peach load. It’s also tomato hornworm season. So far, I’ve just pulled two of them from my biggest tomato plant.

Hornworm

Here’s a picture of a hornworm.

My empty deep garden bed now has two plants popping up. I see now they’re potatoes. Probably a couple of left over tiny taters lay in wait. Apparently the chipmunks, squirrels, and the rabbit don’t eat the potatoes any more than they eat the tomatoes. Just as well, as every single yellow squash that has grown has been eaten by the time it gets three inches long. Sigh.

Giveaways:

The Summer Giveaway is open! There are 33 participating authors with 33 book prizes and 33 summer gift prizes. The Grand Prize is $100 in Paypal cash. This is certainly a giveaway to get involved with.

Where will I Be?:

Now
that the Payson Book Festival is done, I don’t have anything on my calendar
until the December Mesa Book Festival. Dates are still to be determined but
I’ll post as soon as the website makes info available.

On
the other hand, if something juicy comes up, because it’s a long time between
July and December, I’ll let you know. Do you know of an event where you’d like
to see me? I’d love to know about it. Contact me here and say the word.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Book Release:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is only up on Amazon, at the moment. I’ll let everyone know when the print version is up and is up on the other platforms. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

The Party: Chapter 5 Duncan Angelson – Friday Flash Fiction Post

Yes, this is political. I offer you trigger warnings for language and sexual and racist slurs and comments. Future episodes may also contain rape, abuse, and other unpleasant things.

Chapter
5: Duncan Angelson

After Andy McGuire left, Duncan got to work. He knew
exactly why Mr. Joe Evans, The People’s Party leader, wanted to talk. There was
much to do. Too soon, his secretary, Wendy Ackerman, buzzed. “Mr. Evans to see
you, Sir.”

He punched the intercom button. “Send him in.”

As the door opened, Duncan stood and walked around the
desk. “Joe. Good to see you.” He held out his hand.

Joe Evans strode in and shook hands with the Chief of
Staff. “Good to see you, too, Duncan. It’s been too long. Emily says you and Monica
need to come out to the farm for dinner.”

“Let us know the day and time, Joe. We’d love to come
out.” He motioned to a loveseat in the middle of the room. “Have a seat. What
can I do for you?”

Joe Evans sat down, his bulk nearly filling the
loveseat.

“Drink?”

“Scotch. No ice.”

Duncan nodded and poured his best into a heavy, squat,
cut-crystal glass. He poured one for himself then handed over the glass before
sitting in the armchair across from a small, glass-topped coffee table.

Evans sipped, smacking his lips. “You know how to take
care of a visitor, Duncan.”

Duncan smiled and put his lips to his drink, then
placed it on the table. “I know you didn’t come all the way into Washington for
a Scotch.”

“No.” Joe Evans sighed, drank again, and held the near
empty glass in his lap. “You reading the Immaculata reports?”

“The summaries, of course. A full report when there’s
something of interest, why?”

“Well, it’s a good thing, bad thing sort of issue. The
Immaculata were very efficient. We had them started rounding up dissidents and
activists before the President’s second term was only half over. And you know,
by the time it ended, we’d put all of our people in place and had the
electorate whipped into a frenzy about illegal aliens. Then we rolled back all
the civil rights legislation since 1959. The next three years, we had anyone
not a citizen and anyone with any Negro or Chink blood rounded up, or nearly
so. This last year, anyone turned in by people they knew who had even the
smallest amount of black, chink, or Hispanic blood was fair game.”

He laughed. “Damn but that marketing campaign was
effective. Suspicion, greed, jealousy—all of it ramped up until we were working
24/7 on rounding people up.” He drank the last of his scotch and motioned,
asking for another.

Duncan nodded and got up, taking the glass to his
little dry bar. “So, what’s the problem?”

“It worked too well. The Immaculata are rounding up
people now with so little taint in their blood that we’re damn close to making
it up.” He took the glass from Duncan and drank some more. “We’re not sure what
to do now.”

Duncan sat back in the armchair. “Are the people being
turned in actually bad people? They complain about the president or the party?”

“No.” Joe Evans waved away the thought. “Matter of fact,
a lot of them are party members and donated to the President’s reelection.
Voted him President for Life, too.”

Duncan rubbed his cheek. He could feel the stubble
already forming. “How about letting some of them go, then. You know, they were
examined and found clean, politically correct. It might be time to show how
fair the party is.”

For a moment, Evans rubbed his chin, nodding, as he
thought that idea over. “Perhaps. I’ll take it to the committee.” He sipped,
then changed the subject. “How’s the President?”

Duncan shook his head. “It’s like minding a child. But
we knew that six years ago. How’s his wife?”

Evans sighed. “She’s happy to be in New York. Their girl
is in that special school she needs. But Mrs. Margaret Masters wants to
divorce. We can’t allow that.”

“Any particular reason? I mean other than she knows
he’s a horndog?”

“She wants to be free to see other men.
Understandable. She’s only thirty-two. But we can’t allow that.”

“What about if she sees men discretely? Would she go
for that?” Duncan was thinking furiously. Maggie Masters knew the whole story.
If she decided to spill the beans, that could cause a huge problem. Mainly for
her. Duncan didn’t want that. He personally liked Maggie and her daughter,
Bectie. It wouldn’t do for her to have an accident.

A slow head shake from Evans was the answer. Then he
shrugged and drank another sip. “Maybe. I’ll take that to the committee too.”
He sighed again. “We can play off anything that happens in the press, of
course. Most of the media outlets know where their bread is buttered now. But
there’s always a few reporters still willing to kick up a fuss.”

Duncan shrugged. “What about the President. I don’t
think there’s enough hookers in the country to satisfy the lecher-in-chief.”

“Start bringing back the ones he started with. His
dementia is far enough gone by now, and the girls all look the same anyway,
he’ll never know.” Evans drained his glass and rose ponderously from the
loveseat. He smoothed what little white hair he had into place. “The doc’s giving
him a clean bill of health?”

“Yeah. As much as possible. Dementia has it’s health
side effects, you know.”

Evans nodded. “Do what you have to. By the time he’s
too sick for any appearances, we’ll have the entire country nailed down.” He
turned to the door and took a step. “Oh.” He turned back. “The Eastern
Federation wants a sit down on nuclear issues.”

“President Popov?”

“Right. When they rolled over Eastern Europe, the
Balkans, and Germany, they acquired a lot of material.”

“I’ll set something up.” Duncan walked Evans to the
door, opened it and shook his hand. “Give me a few days.”

“Keep in touch.”

Duncan nodded and went back into his office as Evans
waddled out of the secretary’s office. Nukes, he thought. Great.

Thank you for reading.

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Payson Book Festival, Phoenix Fan Fusion T’s, Book Sale & Giveaway: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

Here are just four of the wonderful women of Four Carat Press who attended the Payson Book Festival!

Wow!
I cannot tell you how excited I am about this last weekend’s Payson Book
Festival. We’re still doing the counts, but I can tell you that there were a
LOT of people at the festival. With 93 authors, vendors, and publishers, this was
a great event. If you were able to get to Payson and participate, thank you so
much. If you didn’t get to come, I’m sorry you missed it. We had the Mogollon
Monster, the Storybook monster, puppet shows, presentations, and did I mention
the 93 authors? Here’s the secret. Mark your calendar for July 18, 2020. This
is free to attendees and we welcome families. Money raised by the festival goes
in part to two scholarships. One to a graduating high school student and one to
a student at the Payson campus of the Gila Community College. Literacy is one
of our missions and we put that in the forefront of our efforts. So! See you in
2020! You won’t be sorry you’ve come to the cool pines of Payson.

After the Phoenix Fan Fusion, I began showing some of the t-shirts from the show. Here is one for this week. I’ll have to admit. I really laughed out loud!

What a deal. For the month of July, I’m still offering many of my books either 50% off or free! That’s right, the entire month of July is Smashwords’ Summer/Winter Sale and I’m participating. If you decide to pick up one of my books, I hope you enjoy it. If you do, a small review would be greatly appreciated.

One more giveaway if you are a SciFi, Apocalyptic/Dystopian fan. Starting today! I’m with a group of authors offering just that. The giveaway is called World’s End and is through Book Funnel. You’ll be asked to join author’s newsletters. This giveaway is over at the end of July so don’t wait too long or you’ll miss it!

Gardening.
What’s your gardening problem this year? Mine is the chipmunks, squirrels, and
the rabbit that have taken up residence in my back yard. Sigh. The beautiful
stone sided bed my husband built for me is empty. I’ve planted 3 sets of beans.
All eaten as soon as they poke their heads up. Also, Swiss Chard, beets, and to
be honest, I’ve now forgotten what else I’ve planted in that bed and it’s all
been eaten. However, two green shoots are surviving. I suspect they’re tomato
seedlings. At this point, whatever. I just am sad that whole bed is just dirt.
It makes me sad.

Giveaways:

The Summer Giveaway is open! There are 33 participating authors with 33 book prizes and 33 summer gift prizes. The Grand Prize is $100 in Paypal cash. This is certainly a giveaway to get involved with.

Where will I Be?:

Now
that the Payson Book Festival is done, I don’t have anything on my calendar
until the December Mesa Book Festival. Dates are still to be determined but I’ll
post as soon as the website makes info available.

On
the other hand, if something juicy comes up, because it’s a long time between July
and December, I’ll let you know. Do you know of an event where you’d like to
see me? I’d love to know about it. Contact me here and say the word.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Book Release:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is only up on Amazon, at the moment. I’ll let everyone know when the print version is up and is up on the other platforms. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

Share this:

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The Party: Chapter 4 – Andy McGuire Flash Fiction Friday Post

Yes, this is political. I offer you trigger warnings for language and sexual and racist slurs and comments. Future episodes may also contain rape, abuse, and other unpleasant things.

Chapter 4: Andy McGuire

Special Assistant to the President and Director of the
Office of the Chief of Staff Andy McGuire entered the President Jeff Master’s
private office. The Chief of Staff, Duncan Angelson was standing in the middle
of the room. The president was on the sofa with a young, blond, woman in his
lap. The young woman was wearing a sleeveless, low cut, tight fitting blouse in
hot pink and the president had his hand up her tiny skirt, grinning like a
small boy with his favorite toy. Andy thought the woman was barely legal but who
knew. He moved his eyes to his boss, Duncan.

Duncan read from a folder. “Mr. President. After four
years, the internment of undesirables is down. They’ve mostly been sent to
internment camps and put to work for the good of the motherland. Dissidents, on
the other hand—those numbers are up. But they’re getting harder to catch.”

Out of the corner of his eye Andy could see the president
nuzzling the woman’s neck. He focused. “Chief, a message from the Secretary of
Homeland Security.” He handed McGuire the sheet of paper and waited while the
man read it.

“This is some news, Mr. President. The Immaculata have
seized a small group of dissidents right here in Washington. They’re being
interrogated as we speak. They expect they’ll get a number of leads on other
groups.”

“Good,” the President said into the woman’s neck. “Good.”
He moved his hand down her bare leg to her knee and moved it further aside. His
hand went back up her skirt. “Keep me apprised. Dismissed.”

The Chief of Staff nodded. “Very good, sir. A reminder
that the women’s volleyball team will be here in an hour and a half for a photo
op.”

The President raised his head and grinned. “Excellent.
Lovely young ladies, those.” He went back to his nuzzling, pushing the woman
further back.

The Chief caught Andy’s eye and we left the room. Andy
swallowed his bile and wished to go wash his hands, but he followed the Chief
to his office. He closed the doors behind them.

“Make sure the President is cleaned up and in the Oval
and the woman paid off and escorted out as soon as he’s done. Get the news crew
into the office and set up before he gets in there.”

Andy nodded. The whole situation was disgusting but
that was the world they were living in now. “The People’s Party leader, Mr.
Evans, wants a meeting today.” Evans was the brains behind the president, who Andy
was starting to believe was more than a little senile. But as long as he was
kept in blonde young women and had time to watch eight hours of news and
political commentary a day with his phone in hand to send out tweets, he was
controllable. Evans, however, was merciless. Paid off by the top one percent of
the one percent, the ultra-rich were now in charge of the country. Mega-corporations
pretty much owned everything. The air, water and land was becoming more
polluted already as environmental laws were repealed.

“What’s he want?”

“I suspect the little revolt in Congress the other day
concerns him. He’s going to want those Senators taken care of.”

McGuire nodded, sighing. “Yeah. I figured as much. Can
any of them be bought off?”

“Anyone who would take a payoff has pretty much been
in our pocket for two years now. These are the radical hold-outs.” Andy wasn’t
sure how the People’s Party had missed taking over those districts but that
wouldn’t last much longer. The mid-term elections would see those Senators
replaced. If they lived that long.

“See if they’ll be bought off. If not, arrange
something.” He turned on his computer. He had work to do.

Andy nodded and left, stomach rolling. He was hoping
they’d take a bribe. If not, the party had some people I could call. It would
all look like accidents of course. They always did. And, for the sake of the
visuals, they wouldn’t happen all at once. But it would happen. Oh yes. It
would happen.

Thank you for reading.

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Phoenix Fan Fusion T’s, Book Sale, Giveaway, Payson Book Festival: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

After
the show, I began showing some of the t-shirts from the Phoenix Fan Fusion.
Above is one for this week.

What a deal. For the month of July, I’m offering many of my books either 50% off or free! That’s right, the entire month of July is Smashwords’ Summer/Winter Sale and I’m participating. If you decide to pick up one of my books, I hope you enjoy it. If you do, a small review would be greatly appreciated.

One more giveaway if you are a SciFi, Apocalyptic/Dystopian fan. Starting today! I’m with a group of authors offering just that. The giveaway is called World’s End and is through Book Funnel. You’ll be asked to join author’s newsletters. This giveaway is over at the end of July so don’t wait too long or you’ll miss it!

Our front yard lizard, an earless lizard, seems to have lost part of his tail. I’ve shown him before—a handsome fellow, but life out in the yard is tough. I’m happy to see he won his battle and is free to continue to sun himself on his favorite rock.

Giveaways:

The Summer Giveaway is open! There are 33 participating authors with 33 book prizes and 33 summer gift prizes. The Grand Prize is $100 in Paypal cash. This is certainly a giveaway to get involved with.

Where will I Be?:

The Payson Book Festival 2019. Mark your calendars for this Saturday, July 20th. Go to www.paysonbookfestival.org for all of the details! We have nearly 90 authors, lots of speakers in both the Fireside and Maple rooms, and again, the silent auction. Want to just make a donation? Go to our Paypal.me page, Payson Book Festival.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Book Release:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is only up on Amazon, at the moment. I’ll let everyone know when the print version is up and is up on the other platforms. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

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Phoenix Fan Fusion T’s, Book Sale, Radio Interview, Payson Book Festival: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

After
the show, I began showing some of the t-shirts from the Phoenix Fan Fusion.
Above is one for this week.

What a deal. For the month of July, I’m offering many of my books either 50% off or free! That’s right, the entire month of July is Smashwords’ Summer/Winter Sale and I’m participating. If you decide to pick up one of my books, I hope you enjoy it. If you do, a small review would be greatly appreciated.

On Tuesday morning, I’ll be on KMOG radio to talk about my books and the upcoming Payson Book Festival. If you’d like to hear me, go to http://www.kmogcountry.com/programs/rim-country-forum-8 to hear the show.

Giveaways:

The Summer Giveaway is just about ready. There are 33 participating authors with 33 book prizes and 33 summer gift prizes. The Grand Prize is $100 in Paypal cash. This is certainly a giveaway to get involved with. I’ll post a Facebook message when it goes live.

Where will I Be?:

The Payson Book Festival 2019. Mark your calendars for July 20th. Go to www.paysonbookfestival.org for all of the details! We have nearly 90 authors, lots of speakers in both the Fireside and Maple rooms, and again, the silent auction. Want to just make a donation? Go to our Paypal.me page, Payson Book Festival.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Book Release:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is only up on Amazon, at the moment. I’ll let everyone know when the print version is up and is up on the other platforms. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

Share this:

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The Party: Chapter 3 Devon Brown, Flash Fiction Friday Post

Yes, this is political. I offer you trigger warnings for language and sexual and racist slurs and comments. Future episodes may also contain rape, abuse, and other unpleasant things.

Chapter 3: Devon Brown

Devon trembled in the backseat of a monstrous black
SUV beside his sister, Caitlin. The truck was so big, the officers had had to
lift them both up to the back seat.  Both
of them had their hands handcuffed behind their backs. Caitlin was crying, calling
out, “Mommy, Mommy,” snot running down her face. That bothered him. His mother
wouldn’t like it but what could he do?

He didn’t understand. Did Daddy do something wrong?
Why’d they take him away? Why did the soldiers take him and Caitlin away? He
slid a little closer to his sister so that they were side by side. What was
going to happen? Where were they going? He was too short to see out of the windows.
When he tried to crane up, all he could see were rooftops. He stopped when the
soldier riding up front told him to sit back.

They drove for a long time. He was glad when Caitlin
fell asleep, her little blond head against his shoulder. He was too upset to go
to sleep. His hands were full of prickles, but he didn’t want to shift around,
it would wake his sister. Every few minutes the soldier checked his mirror,
watching Devon. It scared him, so he sat very still.

It seemed like a long time but finally the car pulled
up to a gate. The driver’s window went down and a soldier stuck his head in to
look in the backseat. “Go on,” he said, and the car went in. They came to a big
building and the car stopped at the front door. The two soldiers got out and
Caitlin woke up as the doors slammed shut.

“Devon?”

“We’re here,” he told her as the passenger doors
opened at the same time. The driver pulled him out of the car as the other soldier
pulled Caitlin out. Devon’s legs had fallen asleep along with his hands and he
collapsed to the sidewalk, skinning his knees.

“Stand up, kid.” He pulled Devon up by the back of his
t-shirt.

“My legs are asleep.”

“Great.” The soldier kept hold of Devon’s shirt and
joined Caitlin and her guard at the door. They went in and nodded to the
soldier at the desk near the door. He nodded back and they went across a lobby
and down a hall. There were a lot of halls, Devon thought, and soon, he had no
idea where they were of what was going on. They were taken to a place where
people in white uniforms, like doctors, took them after the handcuffs were
taken off.

The soldiers left and the aides made them undress.
Devon had trouble. His hands didn’t want to work. One aide had to undress him.
Devon didn’t like that but there was nothing he could do. They were sent into a
shower together. Devon helped Caitlin wash her face and when they came out,
they were given gray cotton pants and shirts with numbers on them to wear—and picked
up and put in barber chairs. Devon didn’t think he needed a haircut, he’d just
been a few days ago with his dad. The barber took clippers and ran them over
his head. Horrified, he watched as they did the same to Caitlin. She began to
cry and fight them. One of the aides grabbed her hands and told her to shut up.
It was over in just a moment, her blonde hair scattered all over the floor.

They were escorted to another place and a doctor
looked at them. Then another place where there were other kids, standing in
lines. Girls in one and boys in another. Caitlin didn’t like that and started
crying again, calling for Devon. An aide came down the line and slapped her and
told her to shut up.

“No!” Devon yelled and began to go to her. An aide
grabbed him by the arm, slapped him, and shoved him back into line so hard he
fell. “Get up, kid.” And the aide walked away. Devon, shaking, stood up. He’d
never been hit by an adult. Never. He didn’t know what to think. Caitlin cried
quietly, watching him, as the line kept moving. She reached the desk first.

“Six years old,” the man said. He waved his hand and
an aide led her away. She didn’t want to go and fought the aide, but it did no
good. He dragged her, screaming, “Devon,” until they left the room. Then it was
his turn.

“Eight years old,” the man said as he checked a
tablet. He waved and an aide took Devon away in a different direction than
Caitlin had went.

“What about my sister?” he asked.

“Shut up,” was the only answer.

They entered a room where there were other boys sitting
at desks. Devon saw that the boys sat, hands folded on their desks, eyes
straight ahead. Not one boy turned to see him come in.

The man in the room checked his tablet, then nodded at
the aide, who left.

“Boy. Pay attention. I’m Mr. George. You are now called
9280970. Remember that. It’s the number on your shirt. Say it.” He stood,
staring at Devon.

“9280970,” Devon said in a voice that cracked.

“Good. There is no talking unless you are asked a
direct question. Is that understood?”

Devon nodded.

“Do what you are told and it will go easy on you. If
you disobey, or don’t follow directions, you’ll be punished. Do you understand?”

Devon nodded again. He tried to swallow but his mouth
was dry. This place was scary.

“Sit over there, Row four, chair six. That is your
place.”

Devon nodded and walked over to the seat.

“Hands folded on the desk. Eyes to the front.”

Devon did as he was told. This is not good, he
remembered his father always saying. He was right.

Thank you for reading.

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