Lincoln Cole's Blog, page 23

Fragment 3 - Power at all Costs

There was a shuddering vibration beneath their feet, followed by a loud hum as the ground thrummed to life. Kate felt like she was standing on a paint-can shaker.

"Totally normal," Aaron explained. "That'll go away."

The entire crowd glancing around, shifting curiously and mumbling to each other.

"How long?" Kate asked.

"A few minutes. Give or take."

"Good, because it's making me feel diz—"

There was a resounding boom from the west and the ground shifted violently for several seconds. Kate lost her balance and stumbled, bouncing painfully against the sand. When it stopped there was still a hum, but now it felt like it was off kilter, like the cadence had shifted.

Kate climbed shakily to her feet as other people stood and dusted themselves off. She looked at Aaron, who was leaning over with his arms outstretched, trying to stay up.  

"Was that normal?" she asked.

He looked up at her, ashen faced. She knew immediately that something was very, very wrong.

Suddenly, an alarm started blaring through the area. The crowd panicked and fled from the stage. Kate felt herself pressed against a sea of bodies, dragged with the current. Someone caught her hand, and she was suddenly being pulled the opposite direction. She caught glimpses of Aaron, pushing against the crowd and leading her toward the stage.

"Come on," he shouted over his shoulder.

"Where?" she shouted back. "We need to get out of here!"

He ignored her and kept moving, rushing up the stairs. The stage had already been evacuated and cleared, leaving behind only two people: a man in his sixties with a beer belly and suspenders and a woman wearing a prim white dress with long brunette hair. Kate recognized the man: Fred Dallinger, lead engineer on the project. The woman she didn't know.

"What happened?" Aaron asked. He was still shouting to be heard over the alarm.

"One of the regulators blew," Fred shouted back. "Pressure spiked higher than we anticipated."

"Can we release it?"

"Trying," Fred replied. He gestured at Kate.  "Who's she?"

"A friend," Aaron said.

Fred nodded. He wiped the sleeve of his plaid shirt across his sweaty brow and tapped frantically on a little tablet. The woman watched, pensive and frowning.

"It shouldn't have spiked," she said to no one in particular.

"Well it did," Fred replied.

"With all of my calculations-"

"Ma'am, with all due respect, I don't care," Fred said. He turned to Aaron. "The remote pressure valves aren't opening. I think when the temperature jumped it might have fried the circuits."

"Then we have to turn it off," Aaron said.

"On it," Fred said.

He tapped furiously on the tablet, and gradually the hum under their feet decreased.  But, it didn't stop entirely.

"What's wrong?"

"Valve three," Fred said, frowning. "It isn't shutting off."

"You mean it's still pumping?"

"Yep," Fred said. 

"What does that mean?"

"That means we need to get the hell out of here," Fred explained. "It's going to explode."

"No way," Aaron said. "There has to be another option."

The woman in the white dress turned to Aaron. "He's right," she said. "If we can't regulate the pump or release the pressure, then it's going to be critical in just under ten minutes. This area is hazardous."

"We can't abandon this project," Aaron growled. "If this fails today, it'll set us back dozens of years."

"We can't release it from here," Fred argued. "So we run."

"Is there a manual release?"

"Yes," Fred replied. "But the access shaft is locked while the pump is active. We can't get in."

"Then what if...?"

"No 'if's," Fred said. "There's nothing else we can do. We need to get out of here."

Aaron sighed glanced at Kate. "Fine. We need to go."

Kate ignored him, staring off at the salt fields to the West.

"Kate," he reiterated. "We need to go, now."

"I know another way in," she said. 

Then she turned and sprinted across the desert. She heard the three screaming, telling her that she was running the wrong direction, but she ignored them. It was a little over two hundred meters to the access hatch to Valve Three. 

There was a huge structure of pipes leading to the hatch, but that wasn't where she ran. Instead, she went to an outcropping of rocks thirty meters farther, searching for the hole she'd found several weeks ago.

Winter Solstice Flying up the Charts!

Today, Winter Solstice managed to climb up to #2 on the Amazon charts of Free Anthologies, and #232 in the entire store! It is just flying through the ranking and with any luck we'll be able to push it all the way to #1 in anthologies over the next few days!

If you haven't picked up a copy yet, now would be the perfect time to grab one to help us during this push! Let's reach the top!

Winter Solstice

Book Feature: 7 Noble Knights

Today I will be featuring 7 Noble Knights.

J. K. Knauss Debuts Seven Noble Knights

Brave knights. Beautiful ladies. Battles. Truces. Hunting. Jousting. Cities. Countryside. A troubadour. Monks. Mosques. Churches. Palaces. Tents. Farmhouses. Slaughterhouses. Heart-melting love. Hair-raising hate. A blood-soaked cucumber.

Seven Noble Knights has all of this and more!

An epic of family, betrayal, and revenge medieval Spain, Seven Noble Knights, will be published on Kindle December 15, 2016, and in softcover on January 16, 2017, by Bagwyn Books.

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7 Noble Knights


by J. K. Knauss

Giveaway ends December 14, 2016.

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at Goodreads.

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Spain, 974. Gonzalo, a brave but hotheaded knight, unwittingly provokes tragedy at his uncle’s wedding to beautiful young noblewoman Lambra: the adored cousin of the bride dead, his teeth scattered across the riverbank. Coveting his family’s wealth and power, Lambra sends Gonzalo’s father into enemy territory to be beheaded, unleashing a revenge that devastates Castile for a generation.  

A new hero, Mudarra, rises out of the ashes of Gonzalo’s once great family. Raised as a warrior in the opulence of Muslim Córdoba, Mudarra must make a grueling journey and change his religion, then chooses to take his jeweled sword to the throats of his family’s betrayers. But only when he strays from the path set for him does he find his true purpose in life.

Inspired by a lost medieval epic poem, Seven Noble Knights draws from history and legend to bring a brutal yet beautiful world to life in a gripping story of family, betrayal, and love.

 “Let Seven Noble Knights welcome you to historical fiction! …it’s a rich saga populated with characters you will grow to love (and a few you will love to hate). The ancient empires of Spain are a beautiful backdrop to the struggles of humankind across all generations of all lands: romance, revenge, war, and adventure.”

—Pushcart Prize nominee Reneé Bibby, The Writers Studio

For more about Seven Noble Knights and all the information about its grand blog tour and launch party, visit JessicaKnauss.com. 

Last Chance to Win a #Free Copy of Winter Solstice

Enter to win a free copy! The giveaway ends soon, so don't miss out!

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Winter Solstice


by Lincoln Cole

Giveaway ends December 15, 2016.

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Winter Solstice Featured on #Instafreebie!

The Anthology Winter Solstice is being featured on Instafreebie today! It's free for download on Amazon, but you can also get a copy directly from Instafreebie if you don't want to go through Amazon, and you can read it on any device or platform you prefer!

We're already up to about 1,000 copies given away, averaging between 60 and 100 per day, and it is available on all platforms! The givewaway is still going strong, so I would love for everyone to go enter the giveaway and get your free copy from Amazon as well!

Winter Solstice









Goodreads Book Giveaway








Winter Solstice


by Lincoln Cole

Giveaway ends December 15, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

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Book Review: Rethink Happy: An Entrepreneur’s Journey Toward Finding Authentic Joy

Today I will be reviewing Rethink Happy: An Entrepreneur’s Journey Toward Finding Authentic Joy by Doug Kisgen

About the Book

Are you happy? Really?

Rethink Happy: An Entrepreneur's Journey Toward Finding Authentic Joy

By Doug Kisgen

Have you experienced business success and wondered if there is something more?

Have you figured out how to be successful at home as well as in business?

Do you struggle with finding time to think?

Have you learned how to make sense of setbacks and “bad things happening to good people”?

Cleve has it all. Or so he thinks. Until an apparent chance encounter with an old man named Camino causes him to realize that what he believes is happiness is merely a shadow of the joy he could experience.

Yes, having money and cool cars and freedom is fun, but happiness is not a result of accumulating stuff. Told in a compelling parable format, "Rethink Happy" challenges readers to redefine authentic joy. Join Cleve as Camino leads him on a journey through three key principles of old-school philosophy and new-school science toward understanding the secrets of living authentic joy.

Doug Kisgen hit rock bottom in the early 2000s when the business he was trying to grow took on so much debt that he and his family could barely make ends meet. It was then Doug realized that success and happiness has less to do with him and his ego and more to do with something much more profound. Since then, Doug has built and sold an INC5000 Fastest Growing Company and built a consulting business with clients in fifteen states across the US. "Rethink Happy" is Doug’s latest entrepreneurial venture, and the concepts he teaches through a parable format combine old-school philosophy with a little new-school science to help readers learn how to achieve authentic joy.

Review

This book felt like a self-help book blended together with a story to creature a really interesting twist on what we expect out of entrepreneurial books. I loved the fact that it was told as a story with Cleve rather than just the author spouting self-help quotes at us from atop a high tower, because it managed to lend a lot of credibility and style to what was being presented.

Cleve was a likable character, maybe a little mild, but that is to be expected from a book like this which breaks genre norms. It is the content and ideas being presented that are wholly different, not just the characters.

As such, it was more idea driven than character driven, but the ideas were simple and easy to understand and presented in such a way that there will be something in this work for everyone. I have to applaud the author for how well he put this together and certainly think many people will find good from this. I, myself, thought many of the presented ideas were interesting.

I will rate this book an easy 5-stars and hope to see more from this author in the future!

About the Author

 

Doug Kisgen is a serial entrepreneur, speaker, consultant, and personality expert. He has extensive experience in senior care, performing arts, and working with at-risk teenagers and entrepreneurs, which he’s found to be very much alike! He has a Bachelor of Science in Biology, a Servant Leadership Certificate from Gonzaga Graduate School, is a certified catechist, and a graduate of the Entrepreneurial Masters Program hosted by MIT. He has also participated in formal spiritual direction and doctrinal formation since 2008.

Those are the credentials behind what Doug does, but his real drive comes from his desire to help others operate at the highest level possible, both in their personal and professional lives. His uncanny talent and experience have allowed him to assist many different people from various walks of life in the area of finding true happiness. This book combines his experiences with the practical application of the essential principles he’s learned along the way. Doug and his wife of twenty-plus years have five children and live in the hill country of South Texas.

Check it out on OBC!

http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=70432

Book Feature: Underneath

Today I will be featuring Underneath.

An injured merman is found washed up on a beach in Maine. After being brought to a special facility, doctors are at a loss for how to help him. Worse, how are they to keep him away from the eager hands of the military?

One reporter is hot on the trail of what she believes is an elaborate hoax—or the story of a lifetime. A story that has her tracking elusive clues into an ever-growing house of secrets surrounding one of the richest families in New York City.

For merfolk have been hiding in plain sight for centuries, and are now torn between sacrificing one of their own—or telling humanity the truth.

M.N. Arzu (1982) was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and fell in love with books at age 9, when her oldest sister translated The Chronicles of Narnia for her. Those books would set her on a journey of literature and other languages that continues till this day.

She graduated as a Graphic Designer, and she now feeds her creative world with equal measures of fantasy and science fiction, always seeking adventures in other realms.

Book Review: Storm of Arranon by R E Sheahan

Today I will be reviewing: Storm of Arranon by R E Sheahan

About the Book 














Storm of Arranon







By R E Sheahan






 

A forbidden birth. A remarkable young woman. A marauding alien society. The battle begins.
Cadet Erynn Yager guards a secret that if revealed would change her life, and not for the good. Erynn senses the emotions of others, can manipulate the electro-magnetic field around her, bend time for brief moments, and see the future. It’s not Erynn’s abilities that jeopardize her. It’s why she has these talents. Erynn’s very birth as a child of two worlds is forbidden.

When a brutal alien society begins an invasion, sending a specialized team to assassinate a military representative, Erynn bends time, saving the dignitary’s life. The alien assassin takes Erynn hostage, using her as a shield to evade capture. Pursued and attacked, they crash land on Arranon, the sister planet of Erynn’s home world, Korin.

Erynn escapes the enemy, fleeing into the unfamiliar dangers of an untamed, frigid, and beautiful planet.

Jaer, enigmatic leader of Arranon’s elite Anbas Warriors, vows to protect Erynn. Together they try to save their worlds. From their first meeting, her touch awakens a need Jaer thought dead and buried, creating in him a desire for something more in his life. His defenses tatter, carried away by the intensity of Erynn’s unusual energy. Jaer covers his feelings with a rigid defiance, not believing someone as rare and precious as Erynn could ever love him.

Obsessed with Erynn’s potential, the enemy hunts her. In a constant race to elude the invaders, Erynn becomes aware of a mysterious connection between her growing powers and the living consciousness of Arranon, leading her on a mystical journey. The wild animals of the forests assist Erynn, communicate with her. Even the weather seems to interact with Erynn, acting on her behalf, further drawing her into the spirit of Arranon, a world that needs her help. The ghostly vision of Erynn’s biological father comes to her, empowering her, instructing her to trust Arranon.

Arranon leads Erynn to a portal, a virtual doorway to another realm and a strange glowing life form, a collective colony of part plant, part animal. By linking their intellect to hers, they impart their warning. The alien is gaining control and time is running out. With Erynn’s trust increasing, Arranon reveals one last task. Erynn faces the final dreadful and agonizing objective that awaits her if she dares to save her worlds.

Review

So, I liked this book for the characters, but I didn't really like the storyline. This fell into the same trap that a lot of books fall into where the actors have to do some really stupid things to advance the story. I don't like when bad decision after bad decision makes the storyline feel weak and conflicted and I just want someone to actually do something competent and intelligent for a change.

Don't get me wrong, it isn't terrible when it is at least well justified, but in this case many of the decisions were poor for no reason. The thing is, even with this flaw, the book was still a lot of fun to read. The author has a real talent for holding the story together despite the characters doing silly and predictable dumb things once in a while, and I was impressed with the depth of the world being created.

I think there are a few things that could be tightened up in the prose, but I'm looking forward to checking out the later books in the series and seeing where this is going. My only final critique of the story was that the romance felt a little forced and abrupt, not something I was really expecting, but it wasn't bad.

I will give this book a 4-star rating, because it can be some entertaining and light reading for the right audience.

About the Author

Before I wrote, I read. Voraciously. When I wasn’t able to read, I listened to audio books on tape or CD. Still do.
Hi. My name is Robynn E Sheahan and I live and write from the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest. 
I started to dabble in writing while working as a Paramedic/Firefighter in Northern California. Trust me, it’s not like it appears on TV. There was plenty of time for books. 
Ideas from dreams follow me into warm sunny days or the quiet of falling snow. What ifs feed a vivid imagination. Even miss-typed phrases may lead to an aha moment. Brain storming sessions standing in windy, dark parking lots with fellow writers release thoughts that pry at the corners of my mind, grasping for purchase. Sometimes the ideas pursue me, with persistence. 
About three years ago the dabbling became serious when worlds and characters screamed for, no, demanded attention. So I wrote my first manuscript. Critiques and rewrites filled the next two years.
I now had STORM OF ARRANON, the first book in the series.

Check it out on OBC!

http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=2559

Fragment 2 - Power at all Costs

"There, look," Aaron said, gesturing toward the platform. The mayor of Bedford was gathered with the owners of the power plant atop a small stage. A crowd of a few hundred workers had gathered below, along with Aaron and Kate. "They are about to turn it on."

"You should be up there with them," Kate said.

Aaron hesitated. "No way. We're in this together."

"You're the head geologist. I'm only an engineer."

"You're the best damn engineer out here."

"I wouldn't say that."

"I would," Aaron said. 

Kate shifted awkwardly. She didn't like praise, and she knew there were a lot of talented engineers out in the crowd.  Still, she said, "Thanks."

"No worries," he replied. The crowd started cheering: with how far back in the crowd they were the speaker sounded tinny and inaudible. "Here they go."

Goodreads Giveaway: Winter Solstice!

Enter to win one of three free copies! Just click into the giveaway and share with all of your friends! The perfect stocking stuffer!

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Winter Solstice


by Lincoln Cole

Giveaway ends December 15, 2016.

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at Goodreads.

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Winter Solstice