Rebekah Jonesy's Blog, page 10

The Whisper Collector

The Whisper Collector
Ok this is a first, because I have not read this book. I have however read, and listened to some of her work. I didn't know she had a book out as I have just recently met this author. but I have no doubt that it will be as good as everything else I have seen from her. And she assures me this is a shiny paperback :D

And new shiny paperbacks filled with soul moving prose is always something we can use. I have found that when my soul becomes tired, when life exhausts me to the point where I can not even cry, I can read poems like hers. Feelings given form in word. Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I smile. Most often I do both. And then, and only then, can I take a deep breathe, and let it shudder out of my chest taking all the tension and mild agonies that have built up, and expel them from my soul and my body. And I am renewed. Her poem "Allergies of Society", which I have posted below, makes me want to print it out and frame it on my wall. It might not work like an antihistamine taken that way, but it does alleviate some of the symptoms. Even if it is only a placebo effect.
Here's a sample.
If you would like some more insight she gave me this lovely bit to share:

Excerpt from The Whisper Collector
Sleep Cycles

The trouble is I need to sleep.
The trouble is I’ve exhausted
My fate. With secret needs,
I’ve decried a wish of seduction.
A beat in the blood. Into the
Spiral spinal cord of the Rose
Tore the pollen from my mouth.
So silken is deceit when all
The wishes want to believe.
Every desire is disserting me.
Five flaming fathoms are
Opening and flaunting their
Favourites- all not me.
I’m deprived of dignity.
Rosebud mouth closing over
Fingers bent receiving sticky
Honey. Sweating petals dusted
Dew drop encamp upon thighs
So silvery old. The sights they
Have seen in a young age has
Eldered them and left limbs
 shivering
In pale light.
I hate myself; I hate you.
I hate breathing that leaves me
Echoing the fate of the tree.
Leaves it open
Red gold marigold
Leaves in a garden
Frightened of two halves,
A whole…
Miracles suck the mouths.
Words wept into the lap of an
Empathetic man. I’m off
Inside my head again.
He can not find me.
I’m lost inside my darkness
Again. I’ll soon be clinging
To your light. A gust of wind
Shielding my tears from his
Tender questions, touching at
A core truth too picked on to
Be spoken aloud, the curved
Back hero administers the final
Toxic elixir to change me into
A myth before I am ready
Forgive my crushed petals
I grew them for you
I only wanted to scent the
Air, I only wanted… the
Want is covered under silk
The velvet hammer in his
Hands and I don’t think it
Was cruelty, this shattered
Glass feeling, he wanted me
Awake when he told me
So silken is deceit when
All the wishes want to
Believe.

Chicken Little Tendencies

I am not asking any more questions;
this is the time for you to provide answers.
They come on stilts, I know, and you
afraid of heights. Afraid of falling.
Afraid of landing. Afraid keeps you
standing looking stupid. I hope you
know it. You look like a complete fool
gesturing awkwardly. Some days
I hate you more than others. I know
you feel the same, but you lack
the strength to have your say. So
stay there, and gesture. Mime out
your panic and water your soul through
the eyes. There is nothing more regrettable
than a man made mute by chicken little
tendencies. I stand apart, and although
I hesitated now I am walking away.
I used to be like you, wishing I was
who I was before. But I grew in
ramshackle vine ways. I grew in a disarray
I save to say I don't want to be that one
who lead me through the maze
unrehearsed. I want to be better versed.
I want to be what I am becoming.
I want to say goodbye fondly to who
I was before. Who I was before I
catered to you. Now who I am canters
away without expression. You don't
affect me enough to warrant response.
Even my pity is dimming.
You are a part of the past that could
not move with me. Now you will stay
stagnant and smelling, standing.
I can't sense any of your fear anymore.
I am moving past, and forgetting all
the details that made you prominent
in my life. Now you are a character
stretched into a frame packed in
a box and left by the dumpster the
next time I move. Good riddance,
truly good.

Allergies to Society

I do not have time for people who
need constant supervision and
promises of my love... Love in friendship...
I have exhaustion and illness that drives
stakes into me, see, stakes like the ones
you set on how our friendship would be.
I can not take the time to pet all your
wounds, that is something a significant
other would do. Friendship is not the most
important thing in my life, not unlike how
high schoolers say Forever and mean until prom.
I have an interior world I do not let
anyone inside. I do not care how persistent
you are in asking. Can you not see
the door is closed? As well as all this,
consider this, I have lost my voice.
I have to cough it out in the morning and
soothe its aggression against me with
medicinal teas, throat herb drops, and
steam baths. I am carrying about tissues and
using them all until I am flushing the remainder
of the wealth down. Weak of tone I am now,
I only called my mother and even then sat
in silence for some time as my voice had sailed on.
I have had my anger sparked and no air
in my lungs to blow out the flame. It is not
that I wanted to forget about you. And I did
not forget. I just could not speak your
language those days. I could only cloud bust
with my eyes tight shut closed. My fingers
escaped their lacing with my sweet heart's.
in the night my heart is a closed glove.
 I have no energy for you after him.
I am pretending all social skills, because
I want them terribly. For you and for me
and for the masquerade of normalcy. But
the mask slips and I settle back into my skin
of the person who forgets, and is bombed
by her flowers, bombed into creation.
A symbol of the human genius should be
a figure in love with a book. A book has so
 many connections and a friend is only
that one person. That one connection which
never ends up seeming important unless
they can handle when I am silent.
When I am coughing up my voice again.

If you, like me, sometimes need something to help you cough up your voice again, check out her works. She even has some in music form so you can close your eyes and let it wash over you.Books
Buy The Weightless One: https://www.amazon.com/Weightless-One-Ana%C3%AFs-Chartschenko-ebook/dp/B06XRXYWHJ/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Buy The Whisper Collector:https://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Collector-Ana%C3%AFs-Chartschenko-ebook/dp/B01NCSGZGL/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Buy Bright Needles: https://www.amazon.com/Bright-Needles-Anais-Chartschenko-ebook/dp/B00J49LM1O/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
MusicBuy Howling at the Moon: Live from my Living Room: https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/anaisbelieve
Buy Codex: Live from my Living Room Vol II:https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/anaisbelieve3
Buy Immigration: https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/anaisbelieve2


Bio:

Anaïs Chartschenko hails from the Canadian wilderness. She has come to enjoy such modern things as electric tea kettles. Her published works include two collections of poetry, Bright Needles and The Whisper Collector as well as a novel in verse, The Weightless One.Social Media Links:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiw1y7_NUCoADdc5Xnn3whg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anaischartschenko/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anaisbelieve
Website: http://anaischartschenko.weebly.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15387157.Anais_Chartschenko
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anaischartschenko/
Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Anais-Chartschenko/e/B00J4QSO7C/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Cdbaby: https://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/AnaisBelieve
Mailing List: http://weebly.us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=48656038b5eefef3d63a541e9&id=8059b9efc9

A Novel Connection

If you haven't checked out ANC yet, you should really do that. This week they added this awesome sounding new book.

In a small town, in the smallest county in the Florida panhandle, a twenty-five-year-old cold case murder is re-opened.  A new female police officer visits a seniors’ residence to find out that the prime witness in the case, Jacob Jeebs, was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last year but is still in the early stages.
Both the judge and the sheriff are locals, and have been in their jobs for over thirty years and remember the initial investigation very well.  In fact, the two of them along with Jacob Jeebs have been fishing together every Sunday morning for almost three decades.
This new information might lead to a conviction of the main suspect from twenty-five years ago.  But what would the legal ramifications be?  An Alzheimer’s patient has never testified at a trial of any kind before.
How can you put him on the witness stand?  How can you not?  He is the only one who knows the truth.  Will the defense be able to tear his testimony apart or will the prosecution defend the validity of using a witness who can’t recall what he had for breakfast this morning, but can remember an event that happened years ago in astonishing detail?  ‘A Moment of Clarity’, is a ground-breaking legal drama that answers those questions in a compelling, creative way.
A Moment of Clarity is the first book in a series.  I have now finished the 2nd draft of the 3rd book

And you can find that here http://www.anovelconnection.com/amome...

Stacy and Ambrosia

Today I would like to introduce everyone to author Stacy Overby. She has been kind enough to put her poetry into a new anthology, Ambrosia, for a very good cause, suicide prevention. The proceeds from this book goes to  https://afsp.org/ . I will let her introduce herself and explain what is going on.

Stacy Overby is a regular columnist at ourwriteside.com. Her work has been featured in several anthologies and in issues of OWS Inked, an up and coming literary journal. She is a substanceabuse counselor for teenage boys by day and an author by night. Her day job providesinspiration for many of her stories. When not at work or writing, she is playing with her son,hiking, camping, or involved in other outdoor activities – if it is not too cold. She, along with hersocial media contacts, can be found at www.thisisnothitchhikersguide.wordpre... we get to the questions.
Tell us about the book you're promoting, Stacy.

Ambrosia is a poetry anthology that provides readers with the nectar of the gods. This isan amazing and diverse collection of poetry that will take readers on an emotional journey notsoon forgotten. I am honored to have been part of this talented group of poets, particularlybecause everyone chose to donate everything we make on the book to the AmericanFoundation for Suicide Prevention.
What inspired this book?
For Ambrosia, it’s not a what, it’s a who. Eric Keizer had the daring and belief in thefeatured group of poets, myself included, to pull us all together and create this project. Hebelieved that we all could rise above the average poetry projects to write something beautiful,sad, inspiring, heart-breaking, and just plain emotional. Best yet, what we make on this book willbe donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Where do you come up with your ideas?
I’m going to combine two questions here as, for me, they overlap. My ideas andinspiration come from three main sources. First, I grew up on science fiction and fantasy thanksto my parents. My mom always indulged our love of books and my dad introduced us to theworld of science fiction and fantasy. He’d read a book first and then my brother and I would fightover who got to read it next.Second, my son gives me ideas and inspiration. There’s a poem in Ambrosia, I’m sureyou’ll be able to pick out which one, he inspired. I’ve also written several short stories withthoughts and ideas he’s given me, including a character I’ve based on him—Theron in the shortstory Theron’s Dream.The third source of inspiration and ideas is my work as an adolescent substance abusecounselor. I see some amazing things and some horrific things as a counselor, which getsreflected in my writing. Most of the inspiration and ideas from here are more about the emotionsand events rather than the boys themselves. You know, confidentiality and all.
What is one great lesson you have learned as a writer?
Perseverance. Being a writer is not easy, nor is it simple. This is hard, soul rending workthat has a tendency of provoking feelings of inadequacy. But, when the final product finally hitsthe page and the readers’ hands, the whole labor of love is worth it. There is nothing like thefeeling of people enjoying what you write.
Just to end this on a less intense note, on a cold day: coffee, tea, cocoa or something a bit stronger, and why?Tea or cocoa. Tea is my first choice because caffeine, but cocoa is a close second becausechocolate. I can’t do coffee as it upsets my stomach too much.


Ok folks there she is. If you want to meet more of the wonderful authors who donated time and work to this charity anthology you can the see tour master list found here: 
The book is on pre-order for $2.99 and will go up to $4.99 on September 16th and that all royalties go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. You can preorder on Smashwords or Amazon . And of course since it is on Smashwords you can also find it at Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and nearly everywhere else. I've read parts of it already and loved it. I will be buying it as well. So if you wanna be like all the cool kids, you should get your own copy and help change some lives.

And if you want to connect with Stacy you can find her on Facebook or Twitter  and of course on Amazon Google+ and her website
 https://afsp.org/

Angel's Dance

Angel's Dance
Angel's Dance is the sequel to Heidi Angell's book Elements of a Broken Mind. If you haven't read that one, which I also loved, you really should. If you choose to miss out on that wonderful book you can read the second book on it's own. This story picks up only 6 months after the first book. Six long, life changing months after the explosive ending.

Clear is a psychic who has been working to harness her abilities or at least build mental walls strong enough to let her interact with people more easily. She is interrupted one stormy night by Grant pounding on her door. Grant's daughter, Kat, has been kidnapped and the police have no leads. A daughter he had never mentioned to her. Clear, and her psychic abilities, is his only hope. Despite the fact that she nearly died the last time she helped him, and that she will have to travel to a large city to look for the girl, she can't say no to him.

As usual, Heidi's story snags you from the first page, taking you through a fast paced race to save a teenage girl. Clear struggles to find the one voice, the one thought in a city of nearly 3 million people that will give them a clue to where they can find Grant's daughter.

Chicago, far larger than any city she had yet experienced. Could she handle it? Clear was terrified by the idea. Her past experiences in large towns had been overwhelming to the point of debilitation, and those cities were nothing like Chicago.

Heidi Angell. Angel's Dance (Kindle Locations 157-159). Heidi Angell. 

Clear's struggles are made harder working beside a frantic and emotional Grant, his ex wife, and his ex partner. Things did not end well between them and they clash nonstop, giving Clear a nonstop headache while she hunts down the "oogy" man that Kat interacted with.

Clear felt the pressure building in her head again and the emotional-roller-coaster-that-was-Laura was more than she could take at that moment.

Heidi Angell. Angel's Dance (Kindle Locations 1264-1265). Heidi Angell. 

Dealing with police that don't want them there, parents that refuse to believe the truth, teens with wildly fluctuating emotions and hormones, and her own emotional turmoil at working with Grant again, Heidi shows her immense writing talent by showing us the immense internal and external struggles her characters deal with without losing the sight of the bigger picture.

Find Kat before the man who took her completely destroys her body and mind.

“The girl with Kat. Oh Grant, we have to hurry, or Kat will die too.”

Heidi Angell. Angel's Dance (Kindle Location 1313). Heidi Angell. 

Unacceptable

The story of Leslie and Stuart hasn't ended. Book two was released yesterday. Unacceptable take Leslie into the world of pain and pleasure. A world she had only dipped her toe into before. But as a single mom with a jealous ex husband it's not easy for her to find the time to be with Stu. Luckily, he's very understanding. And part of being a good Dom is patience. Stuart isn't looking for a few good nights. He's looking for a woman to share his life with. Someone to protect, teach, and love. As hot as things get between them, they are both still carrying baggage from their pasts. And they are going to have to learn to trust each other completely or they are going to get hurt in ways that aren't pleasurable. 

Cooking as stress relief

The last week has been really stressful for me. My latest book, Unacceptable, that I absolutely love, goes live tomorrow and there's all kinds of little annoying things that you have to do when you have a book coming out. One of the ways I deal with stress is to cook. It relaxes my body and lets me think as I move around the kitchen. With all the things I got out of the garden already this has worked out well for me.

I made pickles. Yes I canned them in an old Vlassic pickle jar, don't laugh. And the brine isn't cloudy, the glass is cold because I just pulled it out of the fridge so it's foggy.

And I tried my hand at making cheese. It turned out very well and is a soft, because it's less than 24 hours old, cheddar cheese.

And for dinner tonight I decided to make a honey mustard glazed country ham. The sweet salty combo worked out perfectly.

And my usual big fat loaves of bread. This time it's french bread so the outside is a bit chewy.


I had the skin from the ham left over, yes it's skin, so I soaked that in the leftover sauce and toasted it to make chicharonnes.

And this is what we had for dinner tonight. Everything homemade. While another batch of cheese is draining on the counter and another 4 pounds of cucumbers are pickling. This is what country living is about.

For the book addict

Recently I joined a new site, A Novel Connection. It's like a Netflix for books. Pay the monthly subscription and get all the books on their list for free. The list gets added to every week so there is always something new to read. It has books for every genre from kid's books.to erotica, including one from yours truly. And for the authors that sign up and host their books you get a free membership as well. The site also welcomes scouts from different publishing groups too for those that want to get representation. Be sure to pop over and check it out to see if they have something for you.
To read these books for free and dozens of others, subscribe to A Novel Connection. $1.99/month. Unlimited downloads. New books every week. www.anovelconnection.com/Subscribe Subscribe to A Novel ConnectionCheck out up and coming author, Kayla Kirby ​ www.facebook.com/authorkaylakirbyANOVELCONNECTION.COMNot Again! The Adventures of Breanna and Allyson by Sarah Hays
 It is a story based on the real-life events of her daughters. Allyson is always getting into trouble and Breanna has to get her out of sticky situations! Sometimes, it’s hard to be a big sister! But, through it all, they’re the best of friends!

www.anovelconnection.com/notagain
23:27 by H.L. Roberts 
 Fame. Money. Glory. These were all the things that you would expect from being famous. The bait that the producers of the industry would tempt you with to get you on their side. What they don't tell you though are all the inner tragedies that come along just as quickly. They don't tell you about the heartache that occurs when you realize that this wasn't what you wanted at all. They don't tell you about the pressure that's always on the verge of crushing you when you're forced to do everything that the public demands for and not what you truly desire. They don't tell you about the self hatred that would soon take over your entire being at the thought that you will never be good enough. No - they don't tell you these things at all. But, Lilith Rose will. When Lilith Rose, lead singer to one of the most famous rock bands around gets tired of all the lies and secrets that comes with being famous. She decides that it's time for all of it to stop and ends up revealing everything on a Facebook live stream. The result... "Part of me wants to die tonight, part of me wants it to be an accident, and part of me wants someone to notice and save me." - Lilith Rose

www.anovelconnection.com/2327
Lizzie in the Land Beyond by Susan McDonough Wachtman
 Hijacked by witches, kidnapped by a dwarf and enraptured by river sprites -- will Lizzie ever manage to go home? And if she can, will she want to? Lizzie is an exhausted honor student and an enthusiastic amateur folk singer. She wakes one day in a strange and terrifying new land. The women who revive her tell her she can never go home because they scooped her up when she was about to die. Lizzie must somehow navigate this fantastic land, try to determine how she got fished out of her life in the first place, help the people of the land understand that they are about to be colonized, and find a way, if any, to get home again. But if she does find a way — will she really want to go?

www.anovelconnection.com/lizzieinthelandbeyond
Summer of Love: Lips and Verse by Charles Edward York Summer, the time of sun, fun & reflection, the time when the soul has a chance to expand and contract. The time for someone to fully breathe and connect with the world around them. These 55 poems by Charles Edward York, poet activist, is a spontaneous exploration of his inner and outer universe during the summer of 2017. Some of these moments are intimate and others spiritual and philosophical. Either way, a summer one will remember.

www.anovelconnection.com/summeroflove

Amongst the Killing

Amongst the Killing
Have you ever read a book and thought that it needed a sound track? That's how I felt about this book. The book is written from the two very different, very distinct personalities of the killer and the cop that is supposed to catch him. Yes, I said "supposed to". Because everything the media tells us is that the good cop catches the bad guy, after several near misses, then goes home and kisses his wife and child. Right?
Well, that's why I love indie authors so damn much. They're independent. They don't follow the same paths. And Joe Compton blazes a new trail with this story.
Jack Casey is a newly minted serial killer. He decides he is tired of living by societies rules and does what he wants instead.
Charles Street is a man that wants to be a good homicide detective more than anything else so he can really make a difference to society.
You would think this would be a simple game of cat and mouse with the detective chasing the mouse all over town before running him to ground. Except in this case the mouse has rabies, isn't afraid of the cat, and only follows his own internal rules that even he doesn't fully understand. Neither man acts the way you, or the other man, thinks they will. Both men are struggling to stay true to themselves while still working towards their objectives. But they both have to figure out what their real objectives are. And we get to go along, chapter after chapter, as the two men tell their stories one after the other.
This story was so twisty turny that I kept getting dry mouth from it because my jaw kept dropping. And as soon as I was done I had a bunch of questions for the author, which thankfully, he agreed to answer.
So I present to you my first author interview.
Rebekah:
Have you worked as a cop? Or a psycho killer?
Joe Compton:
No I spent time with a retired LAPD Robbery Homicide detective though and did a ride a long with the LAPD.
Rebekah:
Did you seek out this cop and do the ride along specifically for this book?
Joe Compton:
Yes, I sought him out for the purpose of the book. Actually, I read this true crime/non fiction book called the Life and Times of the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division and I wrote a letter (an actual letter you had to mail, I am old) to the publisher. It turned out the author was the publisher and he called me and we talked for like an hour and half. He gave me the retired LAPD detective's number and I called him. We sat in a pizza place near my house and talked 3 times for about 4 hours each time. He gave me the name of a desk clerk  with Oxnard Police and I got hooked up with a ride along shortly thereafter. The police department in Oxnard gave me all the websites I needed to go to to get any information I would need to authenticate the story and the rest I researched on my own
Rebekah:
Did you do other research for this work? I noticed that you didn't answer my question about having worked as a psycho killer. Please don't axe murder me if the answer is yes to that.
Joe Compton:
I am not nor have I been a psycho killer. Funny my Father In Law read the book and one day we were over there for dinner and he had just finished it. He looked at me and said who are you. This is not the Joe I know. I did a ton of research. I did a lot on survivalists.
Rebekah:
LOL that's awesome about your FIL. So who was your muse for Jack Casey?
Joe Compton:
He is a mix of a lot of bad dudes but also I wanted this to be a duality, so I had to make sure that him and Detective Street shared some traits, that was a huge key for me. I based him on Charles Mansion, Jack Torrance from the Shining, and a couple others.
Rebekah:
Did you ever feel like you were going crazy jumping back and forth between these two minds? I'll be honest, I had to put the book down a few times and take a breather to let the conflicting psyches settle into my mind.
Joe Compton:
You know I didn't have much trouble. What I focused on was what was next in the event timeline and I just had to keep track of who was talking and I was able to turn one voice on and one voice off. Some scenes though were definitely harder than others though.
Rebekah:
That's amazing. It really was like both men talked and told their stories, even as one devolved down into insanity and wanted to stay there. What gave you the idea to write it that way? So neatly divided with the back and forth?
Joe Compton:
I love the idea of there are two sides to every story. So I wanted to try and write a duality tale. Honestly it was all inside voices, I didn't add the cop vs serial killer element till after the 2nd draft, realizing I needed a setting and I think for this to work it had t be something like a cop vs killer idea. So it lent itself perfectly to the idea.
Rebekah:
From what you've said I assume you plotted this whole story out. Did it end the way you thought it would?
Joe Compton:
Actually I am a pantser believe it or not. I wrote the first draft in 3 days. I had a different ending at first and then my wife who was my beta reader when I dusted it off the shelf. Mentioned the third act was a glaring weakness in the momentum of the story. So I trashed it and rewrote it. I did not think it would end the way it would until I wrote 2 specific lines. Then I knew where my mind was going.
Rebekah:
You're a pantser?! I'm shocked! And I like it. I always have a rough draft but the story goes where the voices in my head direct me. So the ending was just as surprising for you writing it as it was for me reading it?
Joe Compton:
It was. Especially the phone call
Rebekah:
You didn't plan the phone call either?! Which one? Both?
Joe Compton:
Nope, not till I wrote it, the written reaction, is my reaction to it. The 2nd one is what i am referring to.
Rebekah:
I love it! Ok Joe take us home and tell everyone that is going to read this where they can find you.
Joe Compton:
On Twitter @Joedream73
On Instagram Joeidfilms73
www.youtube https://www.youtube.com/c/JoeCompton73

Oracle's Hunt

Oracle's Hunt
Written and published by a sister team this book totally blew me away. The blurb is just the tiniest hint of the deft story that A. Claire wove.

A security-critical facility is destroyed to get to it and it is called Oracle.

That's all USFID investigator Donovan Pierce knows. And while he is told to find whoever perpetrated the deadly attack, and find them fast, he is also warned not to look for Oracle itself.

Lara Holsworth never expected Oracle to be in any danger. She would like nothing more than to keep it secret and Pierce away from it—and from her, but hiding is no longer an option.

With those who now know too much more determined than ever to destroy Oracle, will its protectors' cooperation be enough to keep it safe?

In my Amazon reviews I did my best not to give spoilers, but I'm not going to be so restrained here. There's just so much in this story to talk about. Like the blurb says, Oracle is top secret. The highest level of Top Secret. It's used by the American government and several other countries as the group in charge of this project, the Internationals, work to bring a united peace to the world.

And that was when the Internationals rose - people worldwide who decided they would break away from their respective nationalities and create a new one, millions who had succeeded in convincing the International Court to announce a new citizenship, an international one.

They would, they vowed, treat humanity as one, and find a way to unite it.

 This is the group of peoples in charge of Oracle. They are working to stop threats world wide to all people through diplomacy if possible. If that's not possible, they still have Oracle on their side. Something so great, so immense that it has saved hundreds if not thousands of lives already. And it seamlessly fits in with any military force in the world. But no one except the IDSD knows what it even is. Outside of the agency only the military members it speaks to and saves have ever had contact with it.

When a data center is breached and files on Oracle are stolen it starts a landslide of leaks. The man charged with investigating the break in, Donovan Pierce, learns what was stolen but the simple act of asking questions about Oracle could lead to its discovery and collapse. And if the world finds out what Oracle really is, the threats will never stop.

Because not everyone wants peace. There are men out there that make their living and their reputations on violence and war. People that profit off of the pain and suffering of others, and have been stopped with increasing frequency, want things to do back to the old days. And one of them is hunting for Oracle after losing everything to it.

Lara Holsworth is a civilian that works for IDSD. An International she strives to help bring about peace and understanding. And she knows how to keep a secret. Her sharp wit, strength of character, and unflappable courage has been tested repeatedly. She isn't about to cower when Donovan turns his icy eyes on her and starts to threaten her. There is no way in Hell she would give in when or give up information on the top secret project. Her icy glare matches Donovan's and her security clearance outranks his, even if he is the guy carrying the gun. When these two icebergs collide sparks fly in unpredictable ways. Everyone around them knows what those sparks mean, but both Donovan and Lara have jobs to do.

He has to figure out what Oracle is in order to stop the terrorist group coming for it. She has to protect Oracle and is willing to sacrifice anything for it. And the way this book ends, and when it doesn't end, deeply surprised me after getting to know the characters.

(This next bit is more about the author and her family then the book. But gives you a real insight into where this story comes from.)

I will admit that this book hit me extra deep because I know the story of the women behind this book. The concept of the Internationals, when I first read it, choked me up a bit. Because I can understand why two brilliant women would fantasize about such a group. From their blog at AuthorandSister

What our small family seeks is a place of peace, kindness, tolerance. A place of safety. And security, too, we don’t want wars anymore. I am writing this post in a room that is pure concrete, with a heavy iron door and a blast window. Both open now, but they have been closed too many times. Many homes here have these rooms. In the last war we sat here day after day, waiting for the missile warning to stop, for the missiles to explode far enough away. One hit a building a walking distance from here. Another fell in a schoolyard nearby. It was scary. You don’t forget something like that. This wasn’t our first war, and there’s constantly talk of the next one, in this increasingly unstable region. From the south, where the Egyptian military is not making headway in its fight against ISIS. From the north, where Syria and Lebanon are and the borders are restless. And in the southeast, well, I don’t need to tell you about that, do I? And it’s never over. On the morning Author began writing this post two rockets were launched from the south. Luckily no one was hurt. But luck doesn’t hold forever. And then there are the terror attacks, they simply don’t stop. You know, you never get used to living in fear. Constant tension, constant worry, not a moment of peace. We just want a bit of peace. We want to live in a friendly place, a country with people who are, simply said, nice, where we can build a real life for ourselves, with friends and neighbors and laughter. Canada.

Pardon me a moment while I get myself under control again.

They are women who cannot safely live where they were born. They have been working to get refugee status in Canada where they have friends. Obviously they have jobs that they would take with them. That's one of the upsides to being an author. While they continue to write and work, and take care of their cats, this family also has to worry about missiles landing on their home and bombs going off in the streets. They have to worry about another new war starting. Writing here in my office, looking out at my five acres of woods, I sometimes gripe about the loud noises from my neighbors across the creek. A. Claire writes sometimes behind iron doors and shutters in a concrete room waiting for the sirens to end and hoping she doesn't get blown up. Hoping no one she knows will die this time.

I wish Oracle was real. I wish it could be used to stop the wars where they live. I wish, and hope, and pray, that they will get their refugee status and can move someplace safe. I wish them all the gravy covered fries they can eat.

 

 

Only Human

Only Human
Only human. The title kinda says it right there. Only. Human. "Only" is such a limiting word. You use that word against one of us humans and our spirit pushes back to prove that "only" should never be used to describe us. And that is precisely what Nathaniel does.
He's in a dead end job he despises, with a yearning for knowledge and a chance to prove himself. That sounds like any other main protagonist, right? Well, maybe. Stupid protagonists are for tragedies, they aren't heroes. And this story needs a Hero. Except the path he takes is completely different.

He stank of cynicism, self loathing, brutal honesty and possibly too much gin. He recognized the life he'd given himself, fully knowing that the path he now walked was one he had chosen on his own.

After being kidnapped by a vampire named Daniel, and paraded around like a tasty snack, Nathaniel hits the ground running trying to escape. Which isn't easy to do when the coven of vampires that surrounds him can read his mind and he's trapped in a legendary maze. It's only made possible when one of the other vampires starts to unlock some of his potential.
But during his escape attempt several things become obvious, the maze is more complex than he had anticipated, the vampires aren't worried about him getting away, he's not the only person trapped, but he is the only human. Oh, and angels are real. And cranky. Some of them are real cranky.

"Mmmm hhmmmm hmmmm hahahahahah." Her laugh was atypical and terrifying. There was no rhythm to it and Nathaniel realized why; she had never laughed before. This made her cackle as maniacal as it was loud. "You'll see," she said. "You'll see, very soon. For now, I must leave."

And then he really falls down the rabbit hole. And things get a lot worse, and a lot more complicated. 

And with a firm push on Nathaniel's back, Daniel sent him crashing down the well while he snickered at the dirty trick before taking one last look at his watch. "Humans, you have to love them. Now off to my mistress the ocean." With that he jumped into the dark hole that led off to the coast.

Adapting to the changing times, and situations, isn't enough. Nathaniel has to change who he is and his understanding of what it means to be human. Because everyone he encounters tells him he's a key to saving the entire world. Not the key, because there are lots of humans and there could be a replacement that has just as much potential. They also agree not to eat him, which is a plus.
This is a crazy whirlwind of a story with events happening rapid fire. And poor Nathaniel struggles to keep up with the deluge of information, like the real history of the world and fall of man, cranky pirates, horny werewolves, all the while learning how to deal with his new abilities and traverse two extra dimensions all at the same time. It's amazing how much mythology, psychology, religions, and realism can be put into one book. J.D. Estrada manages it, however and it makes for a very compelling and interesting read. I understand if this all sounds like too much to put into one book, but it absolutely works. And I highly recommend this book to everyone.