Gloria Oliver's Blog, page 6
April 23, 2022
Virtual Tourist 04/22/22
Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStoryOrigin Swap 1 (freebie)Virtual Tourist – Lost ArkStoryOrigin Swap 2 A Galaxy of Books Promo
Greetings!
I hope 2022 has been treating you well. Temps are seesawing like crazy!
News/Musings
I decided to tackle a couple of things these last few weeks.
First, prepping the files and cover for a BONUS Daiyu Wu Mystery short story called Romeo’s Revenge. More details on how you can get your hands on it and not have to wait until Oct 2022 to get it—coming soon!
Second, since I still had not received a resolution about the Black Jade paperback over at Barnes & Noble and the KDP fiasco, I set out to get it published through the B&N Press. While the setup wasn’t bad, I ran into an issue with the ISBN. 😭 B&N wants a whole new one. After a few emails, searches, etc. I had to cave in. So in the next few days, a paperback version should be available for those of you who shop through Barnes and Noble. Yay!
Third, KDP/CreateSpace had announced they would offer a Hardback option to authors/publishers. I finally decided to try it out. As of this morning, Black Jade – A Daiyu Wu Mystery is now also available as a Hardback book! It’s already LIVE on Amazon. I’ve ordered a proof copy to get a better feel of the production value, but it won’t be here until mid-May. Boo! I will take pics once it gets here and share those so you too can take a look. 😁
Fourth, I could not resist a special offer on Photoshop styles, so I used them to spruce up the Daiyu Wu Mysteries FB banner. I also used it to give a little more of a jolt to the cover for Romeo’s Revenge. See below for the results. 😎
Extra content today:
1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (freebie)
2) StoryOrigin Swap 2
3) A Galaxy of Books – Science Fiction That Takes You to Other Worlds – Giveaway
4) Survey for future giveaway
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉
StingerStoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)
Quick-paced, primal, and full of suspense… A thrilling sci-fi short with an “Aliens” feel.
As his warship comes under attack by a devastating alien horror, a drug-addicted recruit stumbles upon a secret super soldier compound. In his hand is the one hope to save the ship. But to do it, he’ll have to face his crippling fear of the alien on the other side of the hatch.
Lost Ark
I’ve made some progress on the game. There is so MUCH extra content in here! Aside from the main storyline and side quests, there’s rapport (building trust with NPCs (Non-player characters) as you complete quests. You give them gifts, songs, or do small quests for them to get them to like you more and more.
As you reach certain levels, they throw more stuff to do, like give you your own island! Later, your own ship to go to other continents as you continue trying to gather the seven Arks.
Pics currently uploaded can all be seen here. (There’s a selfie mode, but I haven’t found where they hide those. DOH!)
Inside one of the dungeons. There are main dungeons that are part of the storyline and also hidden dungeons you can only find if you get a map from defeated enemies.
In this first major dungeon, the city/temple was entirely covered in water. As you clear a section and open the flood gates, more and more of the structures is revealed.
The boss for the flooded dungeon. The only thing I’ve been unhappy about is how you can’t get a closeup of the bad guys unless they put it in the videos. Which they don’t always do.
Closeup of the demon pulling strings—Kharmine. He’s using the characters to weaken those above him, then taking their power for himself. Climbing the ladder the backstabbing way. 😝
The half-demon priest, Armen, after giving in to his demon side to bring forth enough power to fight against Kharmine. (Though Kharmine wants him to do this. He has plans! Bwahahahaha!)
Character loading screen – I LOVE the picture in the background!
One of the boss demons Kharmine is planning to use as stepping stones in his quest for power.
The throne of the kingdom of Luttera. While searching for the Arks, you befriend Prince Thirain who is battling to retake the throne stolen from him.
Evolutionary MagicStoryOrigin Swap 2
When a mysterious asteroid awakens monsters of myth on Earth, mutant Evolutionaries like Andromeda Bochs are forced to protect what’s left of humanity.
Elite monster hunter with the E-gene might sound prestigious, but Andromeda just put on her last pair of jeans not slimed, burned, or eaten on the job. She expects to die by monster in spectacular fashion until she meets a scientist who believes in magic. And he claims she has it.
Monster hunter becomes the hunted when Andromeda’s new-found power draws the attention of an Ancient Magic. Can she still die by monster? Absolutely. But if she escapes the Ancient and embraces her magic, she might prevent ALL Evolutionaries from dying on the job.
Science and magic collide in this dystopian urban fantasy!
“If you want to read a fantastic book of magic, monsters, heroes, and villains, buy Evolutionary Magic.” • N.N. Light, Amazon Vine Voice
“When I need a ride or die after the apocalypse, I’m calling her.” • Amazon Reviewer
A Galaxy of Books – Science Fiction That Takes You to Other Worlds – freebie reads for your SF cravings.
Have a fabulous weekend!
Gloria
April 9, 2022
Mind Sieve 04/08/22
Greetings!
April is here, which means spring is about to begin! 🌺
News/Musings
With spring around the corner, a new horror for pet owners begins—presents from our pets of things they find outdoors! Eek!
While our dog doesn’t do this, two of the cats are notorious for this! Starsong’s motherly instincts make her do it for the two younger cats to teach them how to hunt, but the Boy does it just to have toys that move! 🐭🦎🐇🐍 They use the doggie door to get in and out and will bring small snakes, lizards, mice, and baby rabbits home!
If we see suspicious behavior from the cats or hear noises we shouldn’t, the game is ON to find the latest critter to try to save it and get it back into the wild. Phew! (We’ve also started closing the doggy door in the late afternoon while the cats nap and leave it closed until morning. (Luckily, our dog has a good bladder.)
As the release date for The JOY of Murder gets ever closer, I am trying to line up things for the pre-order period, for sharing the ARC for reviews, and a Bonus Gift for you guys for the first week of release. Lots of juggling going on. I just hope I don’t forget something. LOL.
Once the manuscript is cleaned after the edit and I send it to the cover artist, I will once again share the concept sketches and have you guys pick your favorite. Make sure to vote when the time comes! 😁
The new Reviewers Section I started last time I will keep on a monthly rotation. Want to see your name there? Post a review of any of my books! (No pressure. Honest. Bwahahahaha!) 😈
Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:
1) One swaps from DTN.
2) One StoryOrigin Swap.
3) Three April Giveaways – one includes a Kindle Free HD Tablet!
More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊
DTN Swap 1California Dreaming – Bollywood PIOnly the unexpected can save them!
Jita Patel punches numbers and coddles patients at a health clinic in California. Her only excitement is a daily dose of Bollywood P.I. (starring a senior citizen), and dodging her mother’s matchmaking attempts (“no” and “wtf” don’t seem to work.)
Hoping to hone her P.I. skills and find out more about her cousin’s disappearance, Jita rushes into a missing person’s case, armed with a wonky firearm and a dodgy P.I. certification.
But what she uncovers is unimaginable – with far-reaching consequences.
Time is running out and there’s no turning back.
Mini Movie Reviews 🎥
★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!
★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed
★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely
★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!
★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!
The Lost CityRomancing the Stone meets Indiana Jones! (I thought it was funnier than Romancing the Stone to boot! Lol.) Like a lot of good comedies, the serious and funny go together hand in hand, so several subjects and subtexts abound. The film pokes fun at several other films right from the start. All the characters were a hoot. Great special effects, great action, and craziness. It was a lot of fun. (As an author, I enjoyed certain bits a heck of a lot.) 😁
Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)
Turning RedUntil this film, I don’t think I’d ever heard of Red Pandas before. They are super cute and usually only found in the Himalayans.
Several topics run at the core of the film—family, familial obligations, being your own person. This movie was super cute! (Keep hankies handy though.) Meilin is a very outgoing girl finding her place in the world and trying to balance who she is with what her mother and grandmother expect from her. There are a ton of super cute moments. The animation, as usual, was fantastic.
Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission to See Again!)
MorbiusMorbius is the latest Marvel film to hit the screens. Jared Leto did a great job as Morbius, and Matt Smith was quite impressive as Milo. The special effects were marvelous—body changes were super smooth. We get served several red herrings, and some fun dynamic combat scenes, but in the end no real plot surprises (except in the added scenes!). It’s left totally open for a sequel. Morbius calling himself Venom during one scene was a hoot.
Rating: ★★★.5 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission to See Again!)
Movie Previews 🎥
Minions: The Rise of Gru – looks like a ton of fun!
The Sea Beast Trailer – this is going to be a fun adventure! What fun!
The Favourite – lots of awesome people in this one. Should be insane!
Story Origin Swap 1 (Freebie)Xu Lamon’s Children: Damon’s MadnessFive scientists entered into the unknown realms of the Netherverse. But they didn’t return alone…
When Damon Nalar was assigned to the government project to uncover the Netherverse, he thought his life dreams were finally coming true. Unfortunately, he soon discovers the horrors behind his mission, and our world will never be the same…
A Lovecraftian novella
Just for Fun!Peacemaker Opening Sequence – One of the weirdest and fun opening sequences for a show I have ever seen. (Not a show for kids! Just FYI.) Eagly is hubby’s favorite character. Also, the lyrics to this song are a riot!
Peacemaker Opening Sequence with LEGOs! – I had to share this too because they did such a great job of recreating it! Now you can compare! Lol.
Pianist Shocks Audience with Moonlight Sonata Dubstep Remix – Moonlight Sonata is one of my all-time favorite pieces of music. Loved what he did with it. 😁 Though I wish the person doing the video would have left off the comments popup.
A Galaxy of Books – Science Fiction That Takes You to Other Worlds – freebies for mailing list signups for April 2022. 21 offerings to calm your inner SF needs. 😎
Coming of Age – Across the Ages – YA books in all sorts of settings. Ends on April 20th.
Win a Kindle Fire HD Plus – the giveaway is open 4/8 to 4/23/22!
Have a fabulous weekend and see you in two weeks!
Gloria
March 26, 2022
Virtual Tourist 03/25/22
Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStoryOrigin Swap 1 (freebie)Virtual Tourist – Star Wars: Jedi Fallen OrderStoryOrigin Swap 2 (freebie)Dark Flights of FantasyEpic & High Fantasy Free eBook GiveawayFree Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Paranormal eBooksComing of Age Across the Ages
Greetings!
Looks like spring is just around the corner!
News/Musings
I’ve been getting a bit carried away with joining giveaways! I had stopped at three for March, but then came another I couldn’t resist. So this time around there are four! Eek! 😱
I am also going to start something new (only in the newsletter – so sign up!) that I read about last week. Mainly adding in a Reviewers’ Corner! A space to give thanks to you guys for any recent reviews posted on any of my nine books, the horror novelette, and whatever else ends up getting put out there. 😁
The JOY of Murder is now off to the editor. She said she might even be able to start on the edits early! Woot! I’m trying to get other stuff situated to try to get a splash of some sort going for the release of book two. Wish me luck! Lol.
I’d also hoped to start working again on book one of the Discoveries of Julia Xero – an urban fantasy series, but the Curse of the Evil Back Muscle has reared its ugly head again, so productivity has been down. 😢 I got new meds a month or more ago, and I always seem to get the weirdest side effects. One of them is making the Evil Muscle even madder than it would be without them. Getting older is not for the faint of heart! 😛
Extra content today:
1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (freebie)
2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (freebie)
3) Dark Flights of Fantasy Giveaway
4) Epic & High Fantasy Free eBook Giveaway
5) Free Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Paranormal eBooks
6) Coming of Age – Across the Ages Group Promo
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉
Discovering Your NeighborStoryOrigin Swap 1
A simple exploration of an unknown planet. What could go wrong?
(Prequel to The Neighbor You Don’t Know Series)
Baldwin Tavares is called up by the Admiral Pitch to join in their expedition to the planet Allende 1-b, also known as Neighbor. Baldwin and his team were requested for their very specific skill set, as they are the best in their individual fields. Eager to be part of something bigger than himself, Baldwin, aka Win, convinces his team to go on the expedition. They aim to find some remnants left behind of the once inhabited planet Neighbor in the hopes of studying and preserving whatever knowledge about them that they find.
Win begins to realize the expedition to Allende 1-B is not entirely scientific. He suspects the Pacific Ocean World Mining Organization, or POMO, have sunk deep into the pockets of the ship’s commanding officers, with the hopes of mining Allende 1-B for its rich mineral reserves as soon as they arrive. As such he immediately starts investigating the ship to confirm his suspicions. When Win finds out he was right, he races to convince the crew against any mining expeditions before it’s too late. However, little does he know something even more pressing will require his attention before he even gets the chance to tell anyone.
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
I’ve done something I’ve never done with a game before – I am playing it twice! LOL. There’s so much I missed the first time, and certain side bits needed time to mature/happen, so it behooves one to go to the same planet several times to find secrets or try to complete the maps while seeds germinate in the ship’s planter, or seeing the pet you picked up on Bogano change some of the dialogues and getting to spot him inside one of the vents.
Knowing better what to expect and look for has made the second time even more enjoyable. Plus the story itself is awesome! And the graphics! There are seven or more planets, so lots of unique places to see.
View of the cockpit of the Mantis as it enters hyperspace.
First look at the birthplace of the Zeffo—a force-sensitive race that died millennia ago. A small town of archeologists lived here, but have been dragged away or killed by the Empire.
Inside the first of three tombs on Zeffo. Several puzzles lay there which can only be solved by those who can use the Force.
The sarcophagus of Zeffo master in the first tomb. They were BIG people, these Zeffo.
The One Tree in Kashyyyk – home planet of the Wookies. The Empire has not been kind to them. You meet the resistance here, led by Saw Guerrera (From the Star Wars movie Rogue One). The chieftain Cal is looking for is deep in the jungles, so Cal has to leave and return once they’ve found him.
Cal and BD-1 back at Zeffo looking for more clues and trying to locate the second tomb.
The Empire and the Inquisitors have been busy. This is inside one of the giant monuments in Zeffo. They are looking for relics of power here as well. And not being nice about it. (An archeologist’s worst nightmare! Lol)
The inquisitor Second Daughter – she was once a padawan before being broken into what she is now. She uses her knowledge of Cere Junda to try to create a rift between Cal and his companions.
The Final AssignmentStoryOrigin Swap 2 (freebie)
Immerse Yourself In Intriguing Mysteries With Interesting Women!
Mila stood in front of the University of Chernivtsi, and it was like time had stood still. The gate and the buildings looked the same as when she was a student there, and yet somehow, she was the one who had changed and aged. Of course, nobody could call her old. Mila was thirty-two, but today she felt older than the university.
Mila remembered when she left for her Ph.D. in Kyiv; she was heartbroken and swore she would never return to her hometown. However, life has a way of interfering with people’s plans and Mila was no exception…
First, her mother died, then her father retired because of a heart condition, and Mila knew she had to come home to take care of him. It was a good excuse to return when a call came from her best friend that a professor position was open at the university.
So, there she was, all dressed up and ready to confront a past demon and prove herself more than capable to become a professor…
Mila Kovalenko has returned to her alma mater to fill the vacant position of professor of ancient history.
Happy to reunite with her best friend Ania, the university’s librarian, they discuss a manuscript that has come to Ania’s attention. No sooner had Mila signed her contract when someone steals the manuscript from the library.
However, when the detective assigned to the case pegs her as the prime suspect, Mila must use her expertise and cunning to prove him wrong, or at least find another motive and suspect.
Realizing the book is more dangerous than it appears, and its origins are even eviler than they thought, Mila hopes to help the detective find the book before it falls into the wrong hands. However, the detective is not so willing to accept her help, infuriating Mila, if only he wasn’t so annoying, she could grow to like him, he was quite attractive….
Dark Flights of Fantasy – there’s still time to grab these dark tainted tales.
Epic & High Fantasy Free eBook Giveaway – this one is ending soon, too!
Free Fantasy and Sci-Fi eBooks – the end of March is near! Don’t miss out.
Coming of Age – Across the Ages – purchase links of a ton of books with this theme. I could not resist joining! 😝
Until next time!
Gloria
March 12, 2022
Mind Sieve 03/11/22
Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStoryOrigin Swaps 1Mini Movie ReviewsMovie/Show PreviewsStoryOrigin Swaps 2Just for Fun!Dark Flights of FantasyEpic & High Fantasy Free Book GiveawayFree Science Fiction, Fantasy & Paranormal ebooks Win a Bundle of Female Mystery DetectivesStrong Women – Strange Worlds
Greetings!
March is turning out to be crazy busy! Plus, I somehow signed up to participate in too many giveaways! Lol.
News/Musings
First off – until Saturday, March 12th – Black Jade – A Daiyu Wu Mystery will be on SALE for $0.99. (75% off) This is to celebrate National Read an eBook Week!
The sale is through Smashwords – so all ebook formats are available there. (pdf, mobi/kindle, ePub, html, and more!)
Black Jade - A Daiyu Wu MysteryNational Read an eBook Week Special for $0.99 (75% off)
Could an old-fashioned ballgown be used to commit murder?
Daiyu Wu believes there’s been a murder by arsenic poisoning. But being blind, Chinese, and living in Dallas in 1930 carries many impediments. Add in the fact the police aren’t aware of any foul play, and her job becomes doubly hard.
With the help of her confidant, Jacques, Dai sets out to find who has been murdered. And, if possible, who committed the foul deed. But there are many obstacles in her path—a spoiled popinjay, his jealous self-appointed girlfriend, and Dai’s overprotective parents. Can she and Jacques avoid all the hurdles and get to the truth before it’s too late?
A Daiyu Wu Mystery – Book 1
For lovers of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Editing continues on White Gold before I send it to the professional editor. I’ve also decided to change the title. Book 2 is now The JOY of Murder.
I’d originally thought I would use color and mineral combinations to continue the theme started in Book 1, (Daiyu means Black Jade in Chinese) but to increase discoverability, I decided I needed to go in a different direction with the title.
Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:1) Two info swaps from StoryOrigin.
2) Three Giveaways! (March has been crazy!)
3) One Female Detective Bundle and e-reader promotion
4) Strong Women – Strange Worlds Virtual Readings
More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊
Story Origin Swap 1The Trouble in Glamour TownMurder. Corruption. Romance. Movie stars.
A modern-day TV shoot ‘em up? No. It’s 1926 Old Hollywood, and a film producer is gunned down in cold blood. In comes Rosie, a pretty bit-player, who, in spite of her stage-mother’s expectations, just longs to be happy. Silent screen idols Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Lon Chaney, and Rudolph Valentino float in and out, as Los Angeles’ corruption is exposed, the era described, and a chase to find the killer revs up before there’s another hit.
Mini Movie Reviews 🎥★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!
★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed
★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely
★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!
★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!
Death on the NileIf you enjoyed the remake of Murder on the Orient Express, you should also love this one. It’s worth seeing for the cinematography alone. I also very much enjoyed how they tied the character Bouc into both films. The acting was superb. Like in the previous film, they bring elements of Poirot’s past into the story. They even have an origin for why he wears the multi-tiered mustache. (Though from the first image, it’s hard to believe it healed that well.)
Rating: ★★★★.25 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)
DOGThis movie was super cute! Channing Tatum does a great job. Some of the hijinks he and Lulu get into are insane! Two veterans on a path of self-destruction until they realize they are kindred spirits and might be able to help each other. Too cute!
Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)
CyranoThis makes the third movie rendition, I’ve seen of the famous story. This time as a musical! (The 1950 version with Jose Ferrer didn’t make me cry, it made me SOB!) Paying homage to the original story, you will note a lot of people in the front half of the film wearing masks with long, fat noses as that was the deformity Cyrano dealt with in the original play. The acting on the film was fabulous! I expected nothing less from Peter Dinklage, but Haley Bennet was an awesome surprise. Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Ben Mendelsohn tied it all together. The whole cast was awesome. There were a couple of anachronistic issues in the song lyrics, but the scenery was fabulous and funky integrated dances were entertaining. Make sure to take some tissues with you! (Just in case!)
Rating: ★★★★.25 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)
UnchartedWith tons of action, betrayals, and funky stunts, Uncharted will definitely entertain. The story was pretty solid, with some unexpected surprises, until 3/4s of the way through. Then they dropped the ball a little for convenience’s sake, which was disappointing. But overall, it is worth a look just for the adrenaline, snark, and all the backstabbing. Extra scenes during the first part of the credits. Strap in for a crazy ride!
Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission to See Again!)
Movie Previews 🎥
Obi-wan Kenobi limited series trailer – oh yeah!!!! With Ewan McGreggor – even better! Woot!
Chariot – this looks bizarre!
HUXLEY Trailer – when the trailer started I thought I’d clicked on a Star Wars type trailer. Still, looks interesting!
Story Origin Swap 2Eye of the JaguarDavid and Abby are coworkers at a video game company. Their lives are turned upside down as David is chosen to protect the world against monsters, and she discovers her magic.
Their partnership blooms into a powerful romance which neither are prepared for. Together they must face an evil that claimed the lives of David’s parents over an artifact of great power, the Eye of the Jaguar. Read for free on Kindle Unlimited!
Five star reviews: – “Story moves like a bullet! Fun read!” – “An unusual shifter tale!” – “Great First Book!”
In a faraway land to the north lies the Eye of the Jaguar, a powerful relic that allows the worthy to travel along the path of the Dark Sun to the Land of the Dead. It will be found by a shapeshifter touched by the gods of both earth and spirit. His mate will be a Shaman. Together they are the Protectors of their people. – Mayan Prophecy
Just for Fun!Official Furkids Kitty Kommercial – this is super cute. Shelter video done as a car sales commercial but with cats. Lol.
I’m Not Your Hero – The Murderbot Diaries Animatic – a friend sent me this as she knows I love Martha Wells’ Muderbot series. Just in case – CONTENT WARNING – I didn’t think it was all that graphic, but just in case!
Simon’s Cat – Cast Adrift – too cute! I don’t think I’ve shared one of these in a while. Always a hoot!
Dark Flights of Fantasy Giveaway! March 1st to 31st.
Epic & High Fantasy Giveaway Banner – Feb 28th to Mar 31st.
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Paranormal eBooks – Mar 1st to Apr 2nd.
Mystery Book Giveaway – includes 50 mystery eBooks and 1 eBook Reader!
The next Strong Women – Strange Worlds free virtual reading is on 3/17/22 – reserve your spot now!
Have a fabulous weekend! See you next time!
Gloria
January 29, 2022
Virtual Tourist 01/28/22
Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStoryOrigin Swap 1Virtual Tourist – Star Wars Jedi Fallen OrderStoryOrigin Swap 2Cozy Up with a Mystery GiveawayRing in the New Year with Mystery Books
Greetings!
How is everything? I hope life’s been good!
News/Musings
I’m always trying new things to market the books, get more readers, or write better books. You have to be careful or you can drown in everything out there or stretch yourself too thin.
The first draft of White Gold, book two of the Daiyu Wu Mysteries is almost complete. I am chomping at the bit to get it done! But that’s when I need to reign it in to make sure the end is as good as I can make it for the first pass. This is my first book two ever, so it’s weighing on me more than usual. LOL.
I also worked with someone to re-do Black Jade’s blurb. I was getting clicks on Amazon Ads but minimal buys. So the cover and ad blurb were doing their jobs, but something was not working on the actual book page. I put up the new blurb this week and restarted the ad. It’s still too early to tell, but I am hoping it will do better now. 🤞 Wish me luck!
If you want to see the new blurb, you can see it at my website here.
Around Christmas, I joined another author promo group called the Dream Team Network. So you may see swaps from that direction soon. It’s not as organic as the StoryOrigin setup, but hopefully, I can join some cool giveaways to share.
Extra content today:
1) StoryOring Swap 1& 2
2) It’s January—Cozy Up with a Mystery Book Giveaway!
3) Ring in the New Year with Mystery Books
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉
Gargoyles: Stone CurseStoryOrigin Swap 1
Your whole family is dead, so here’s a bunch of money, a rundown estate on twenty acres, and a chance to live in a po-dunk town in the middle of nowhere.
Three months after sixteen-year-old Violet Kai moves to the small town of Concrete Washington to receive her inheritance from her late uncle, she starts to get the feeling that not everything is not what it seems in the sleepy nook of the Pacific Northwest. During an impromptu séance with friends that ends up in chaos, Violet learns she was bequeathed much more than she bargained for. Six gargoyles swoop in and save her life; only to inform her that she also inherited them as her wards. Along with an ancestral curse, and a book load of magic. With Violet in town, the gargoyles are awake for the first time in years and Violet quickly learns why they seem to need a magical babysitter. Ready to stretch their wings and go wild, they wreak havoc on her life and even her reality.
Pulled into a new world of magic and stony shenanigans, it’s not all fun and games. Awakened gargoyles also mean awakened demons too, demons who are attracted to Violet and her powers. With monsters of all sorts seemingly running loose, it’s up to Violet and her gaggle of gargoyles to fight and contain them. Demons aren’t the only threat in her midst. When long lost memories start bubbling to the surface, they bring with them betrayal, deep seeded feuds, and strong feelings that Violet isn’t sure any amount of magic can fight.
Star Wars – Jedi Fallen Order
I am a sucker for all things Star Wars. While I have not played all the games, Star Wars – Jedi Fallen Order had been calling to me for a while. There were specials during Christmas and New Year, but I hesitated as the reviews kept comparing it to Dark Souls, which I stopped playing after the first boss as he was way, way, way overpowered. But seemingly there are people out there who love impossible challenges. Me, not so much. My time for fun is limited and I want to make it count. Being frustrated out of my mind is not something I enjoy. So I went back and forth, and back and forth, and finally, I caved and got it. I’m glad I did!
As all games should, you can pick the difficulty level, so those who like impossible odds can set it to hard. I went with the story-rich version. The game also uses parkour movements. What this means is that the player will use more ways to move around than just walking and jumping. You’ll climb walls, swing on ropes/vines, and look for non-standard ways of getting to places.
You don’t get a map until you meet BD-1 (He’s so cute!), and it can be a bit troublesome as it’s in 3D. You do have to go to the same planets/areas multiple times, but you do get to create shortcuts as you go along, so that’s nice!
Premise: Set five years after Order 66 was initiated and most Jedi killed, we meet Cal, a young padawan at the time of the purge, who has been hiding at a junkyard world to stay under the radar. Then things go wrong.
Great music, gorgeous graphics, and a very Star Wars movie feel. You can see all the pics I’ve uploaded so far here.
Our journey begins on the planet Bracca, a junkyard planet. It’s there that we meet Cal, the game’s protagonist. No map on this planet, so you have to get to where you need to go on your own! Think outside the box. 😋
Be prepared for insane, outside-the-box situations. Cal saved a coworker when some wreckage messed up the platform and had to use the Force. This brought imperial forces to hunt him down. Now he is trying to flee. (Cal was a padawan at the time of Order 66 (The kill all Jedi orders) and suppressed his connection with the Force so he wouldn’t be found.
A couple of freedom fighters helped Cal at the last minute on Bracca. An ex-Jedi has asked for his help to find a Holocron with the names of Force-sensitive children. The ex-Jedi is no longer connected to the Force. Things will be revealed as we got along. Cool ship, no? As you find secret stuff in the game, you get skins to change the colors of the ship, your poncho, BD-1, and lightsaber.
Cal’s first look at Bogano—a supposedly unknown, sparsely populated world. It is here that Cal is looking for a Jedi Master to help find information needed to possibly restart the Jedi Order.
Cal is here to get information on an extinct race and its location. It is here that Cal has his first flashback of his Jedi Master and remembers a blocked-out skill. (Running on walls sideways!) You also get skill points to spend as you get experience points.
Here’s a closeup of Cal with BD-1.
Close up of BD-1. He’s so CUTE!!!!! He rides on Cal’s back and as you ad modifications, he does all sorts of things. He was left on Bogano by a Jedi doing research on a Force-sensitive race. BD-1 will trigger recordings when you reach certain places. (***He shows up on Episode 5 of The Book of Boba Fett! The whole episode is about the Mandalorian! Woot!***)
Walls of the temple that contain the first clues on finding the Holocron.
Ring of FireStoryOrigin Swap 2
Magic. Betrayal. Forbidden love.
A human girl must choose between safety and truth when she falls in love with an elven prince.
Kala was only 8 when Mystics killed her parents.
At least, that’s what she’d been told.
Her uncle-one of the king’s soldiers and the only witness-had never had the heart to burden her with the details of the night that had changed him forever.
Still, she should have known better than to wander in to the woods alone.
An encounter with a pair of elven enemies leaves Kala even more confused about her past, and uncertain of her future in the human world. “Love had blinded me to all logic, wrapping me in my own denial…” If you like magic, adventure, and clean fantasy romance, you’ll love Ring of Fire.
It’s January – Cozy Up with a Mystery Giveaway!Click the banner to see all the books available!
Ring in the New Year with Mystery Books – I missed sharing this one last time. DOH! You still have a few days to check it out. 😁
Until next time! May you have a ton of fun!
Gloria
January 15, 2022
Mind Sieve 1/14/22
Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStoryOrigin Swaps 1Mini Movie ReviewsMovie/Show PreviewsStoryOrigin Swaps 2Just for Fun!Cozy Up with a Mystery GiveawayRing in the New Year with Mystery BooksStrong Women—Strange Worlds
Greetings!
I hope you’re keeping warm!
News/MusingsThere is not a lot to report aside from the fact that the whole family now has head colds from the flip-flopping weather here in Texas. Ugh. We’ve been couch potatoes most of the week.
My friend Pat had mentioned the Nero Wolfe Mysteries with Timothy Hutton around Christmas, and we binged watched them on youtube a couple of weeks ago. (If you’ve not seen them, I recommend them. The two-season series is unusual in its own right, as all the secondary characters (the ones you only see one episode and then are gone) are played by the same group of actors! So you will see them episode after episode, playing different people! Weird but awesome!)
The series is based on books by Rex Stout from the ’30s and ’40s. I got the kindle version of the first book, called Fer-de-Lance. I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it. The stories are from the perspective of Archie Goodwin, Nero’s assistant. Nero is a weird eccentric and a genius. (He does not consider himself a detective, but an artist—as he paints in the details of the crime.) He never leaves his home, and certain times of the day are reserved for his orchids, and nothing is to disturb that. An odd but fascinating man.
I got derailed last week when someone mention that I should make the cover for the reader magnet “Elixir of Life” look more like a typical Urban Fantasy cover. So I did! (Book covers are custom by artists, but for a short story, it’s DIY.)
What do you think? Better, right?
Original Cover
New Cover
1) Two info swaps from StoryOrigin.
2) It’s January—Cozy Up with a Mystery Giveaway
3) Ring in the New Year with Mystery Books
4) Strong Women—Strange Worlds and their first virtual reading for 2022!
More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊
Story Origin Swap 1Ranger of Kings by C.J.R. IselyTraining to be a knight isn’t fun…
if you die
Living as a lowly village boy, Will finds himself thrown into a world he could only dream of when he meets the mischievous son of an influential Lord and a calculating last heir of a powerful Count. Brought to Alamore castle, he can not believe his luck when he is invited to join his two new friends in training to become knights of the realm.
But training isn’t all the grandeur and chivalry he imagined.
After he and his friends stumble upon a secret set of tunnels beneath the castle that hide a clan of traitors to the crown, they are plunged into new dangers. Their lives are at risk from new threats beneath the fortress while, beyond Alamore’s walls, alliances crumble and the uneasy peace begins to fracture.
When fate twists again, Will must face the reality that more than good fortune brought him to Alamore. There are secrets he must uncover, truths he has to find, in order to help keep Alamore from falling into war.
But the only person who holds the answers that might keep Alamore from falling, that will help him to discover who he is, is a man more dangerous than the tunnels themselves. A man known only as the Ranger of Kings.
Mini Movie Reviews 🎥
★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!
★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed
★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely
★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!
★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!
EternalsThis was not one of the better Marvel films, but it’s still worth watching for the special effects and flashes of historical places. (Though I will say, both the alien tech and historical spots looked a lot like what you see in the Assassin’s Creed games!) The plot was uninspired, with minimal surprises. The lead-in narration for the film gave too much away. The movie did have a lot of amusing moments and the Bollywood dance scene was awesome. The fact one of the Eternals was a teenager whose body never matured after 7,000 years, made no sense (especially later in the film after one of the reveals.) But the music was good, the special effects excellent, and the acting was decent, so worth a watch. As they normally do, there is a clip after all the credits are done.
Rating: ★★★.5 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)
The Matrix ResurrectionsA lot of nostalgia with snippets from the previous films and returning actors/actresses infuse the movie. All the special effects/CGI were great. There were some decent twists and turns. Yet, there was something missing. Hubby and I have tried to pin it down, but haven’t had success. I loved the growth they gave Trinity, but Neo being emasculated to do so, I did not. The whole Matrix as a PC Game angle was amusing, especially the meetings. LOL.
Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission )
Spider-man No Way HomeI’d been a little worried after seeing some of the trailers, but I was happily shown they were baseless. The film was a lot of fun! What they did with the multi-verse as a means to bring homage and cool interactions with all the previous spiderman films was genius. (There was even a nod sent to Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse.)
Willem Dafoe is still scary as heck—that man is amazing! Loved them bringing in Matt Murdock as Peter’s attorney. I don’t want to say much more and spoil the million surprises in store. 😁
The only nitpick was with Sandman. (Not the actor, just what they did with the character.) He’s going one way for most of the film, then does a 180, which made little sense.
As always, stay until the credits are done for the last sneak peek!
Rating: ★★★★.5 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission to see Again!)
The King’s Daughter – Pierce Brosnan with long hair?!?! A mermaid in the King’s basement? 🤯
The Lost City — OMG! This looks like a riot! Somewhat reminiscent of Romancing the Stone, but possibly more fun?
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – Oooh! Dark Strange! Wanda finally as The Scarlet Witch! Chaos! Woot!
Story Origin Swap 2Space Pirate Roberts by Jay ToneyPlundering innocent worlds; that is Doc Roberts’ job and he is good at it. He is awarded a Letter of Marque and a territory to hunt in exchange for his service to the Alliance and of course, a cut of his take.
The Alliance government can’t openly operate in Coalition territory without starting another war, so they use privateers like Captain Roberts to destabilize governments and cause unease among the people, in hopes that they will ask for Alliance protection.
Cheating and treachery cause Captain Roberts to reevaluate his loyalty. He can live with a little pilfering, but not outright stealing from him and trespassing on his planet. The Alliance has gone too far. It is time to teach them that there is a price to pay for stealing from him.
The Alliance sends a snobbish young captain, Captain Thornton, to assassinate Doc’s wife. Her death is the start of outright war, at least for Captain Roberts. Now, he is both a pirate and a rebel, with people on both sides of the border who either love him, or want him killed.
After fighting a duel with the Alliance’s promising new captain, torturing him, and leaving him for dead, he has made powerful enemies in the Alliance hegemony. The Alliance military leaders want to make Captain Roberts suffer like he has made their rising star suffer.
One man can only do so much, and Doc is getting tired. It is time to pass the reins of command to his son. But first, he must crush his son’s dreams and teach him what it means to be an Alliance citizen.
Just for Fun!I Built a Giant LEGO Train in a Snowy Forest – I would never have the patience to do this! I have to say he is quite impressive. Such a neat concept!
Slide into the Void – super cool music video based on the PC Game Control. Quite impressive! Not only does he have scenes from the game, he’s also recreated one or more of the rooms and taken the place of a couple of the characters.
Dogs Pick Out Their Own Christmas Presents 2021 – This is so freaking adorable!
It’s January—Cozy Up with a Mystery Giveaway! Tons of titles to choose from. 😁
Ring in the New Year with Mystery Books! Books, books, books!
The Strong Women—Strange Worlds peeps have their first virtual reading of 2022 on Jan 18th! More info here.
Before I forget (again), I was featured over at Shepherd.com as I supplied a list of ‘the best historical mystery novels that will both enlighten and ensnare your imagination.’ Just click the link if you want to take a look at my recommendations. 😁
I hope 2022 has been great for you so far!
Gloria
January 1, 2022
Virtual Tourist 12/31/21
Table of Contents
News/MusingsStoryOrigin Swap 1Virtual Tourist – Call of the SeaCozy Up with a Mystery GiveawayGreetings!
I hope you and yours had a Merry Christmas or at least a fun set of holidays. Ours was different than usual, as we celebrated at home and didn’t visit relatives. My daughter is a Petrie dish sponge so we figured better safe than sorry! Hubby had some back issues the day of (he thought it was a new kidney stone for a while), so we mellowed out all day watching season 1 of Kill Monkey (nothing says Christmas like assassins?) and the last three Harry Potter films.
Our tradition of stocking stuffers went well and we worked hard not to go into sugar comas. (Seemingly, as we get older, that’s a major no-no. Bah humbug!) 😁
News/MusingsHubby’s kidney stone is GONE! 🎊 He has an appointment next week to check its composition (and therefore hopefully stay away from what makes them) and to be sure it’s all out. 😍 Yay!
In the never-ending quest to find something that will actually help with marketing and not make me go broke, I started digging into some of the other options available at StoryOrigin. I felt pretty stupid when I realized they have GIVEAWAY Promos and I’d totally missed it. So you will get news on a couple I joined for 2022 so you can get free stuff. Basically, unlike the other promo groups which were books in exchange for reviews, these will just add you to the author’s newsletter to get the book. I figure that’s a better and easier deal for readers overall. 🤞
Another thing StoryOrigin has recently set up is a Beta Copies option. So I’ve decided to experiment with that and have uploaded the first few chapters of The Secret Humankind there. This is supposed to allow people to see and comment on uploaded chapters. You can help shape the book! I like that any participants have to comment on a chapter before they can move on to the next. It even has star ratings you can select for each chapter. The stuff I have up there has already had a first pass with the Future Classics Writers Group so you’re not getting a totally raw story. This novel will be book 1 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero – an urban fantasy series.
If you’re interested in participating, or just want to take a look at what this is about—Click Here: https://storyoriginapp.com/bet…
Extra content today:
1) StoryOring Swap
2) It’s January—Cozy Up with a Mystery Book Giveaway!
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉
Coffee, Angels, and MurderStoryOrigin Swap
You try solving a murder with a novice angel getting in your way!
Wren King has just had the worst date of her life. Her father is a gambler. Her life is directionless and lonely. Then a bossy angel appears to sort Wren’s life out. Fiona is an angel who won’t take no for an answer.
All is going well until the local coffee shop owner is murdered and Wren’s father is accused of the foul deed. Can Wren and her angel partner sort through the clues and the suspects (including a drag queen gangster, a cheating wife, and a son with a terrible secret) and discover the real murderer?
A cozy mystery with plenty of red herrings, twists, cats, and drag queens, perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke, Laura Childs, Richard Osman, and Steve Higgs!
Call of the Sea
Call of the Sea is an indie game by Raw Fury Games.
The game has great background music, easy-to-hard puzzles (walkthroughs are awesome!), great voice acting, and a captivating story. It’s a 6+ hour game, depending on your puzzle-solving skills and what achievements you try to get.
I loved 95% of it. Then we hit the throne room where Norah makes a HUGE mental leap (No hints on this whatsoever beforehand, so not sure how she reached this conclusion about Harry), and then a final decision is to be made by the player. I chose what I felt had to be the Choice. That circumstances really left Norah no other true action. You get to see more that way, though they then tacked a final scene I felt was heavy-handed to make you regret taking that route. (Again, after all that’s happened, and all the sacrifices made, I felt it was the ONLY choice IMHO. Not a happy choice, but the best one under the circumstances.) I looked online for a video of the second choice, which is short and doesn’t show the reunion—however short-lived and pain-filled that would have been—and throws away all that was done and those who died as if their sacrifices meant nothing. Others may see things differently than I, though. 😋
I uploaded all the pics I took in the game at once, so you can find those below and all the rest here.
Our protagonist—Norah. The game is from her POV. Wracked with a weird illness, she’s left home to chase after her husband, who went on a quest to find a cure for her.
The Island where the majority of the storyline takes place. Beautiful watercolor images are used between the chapters and loading.
Norah wakes from a bizarre dream in her ship’s cabin hours before reaching the island.
Norah’s first close-up view of the island. The ship’s captain will row her to shore and the ship come back to get her in three days time.
Objects found on the South Pacific island resemble Polynesian culture but others, like this one, resemble nothing she’s seen before.
It’s easy to dismiss the rock face on the left, but looking at it closely shows a weird tendency of having six or more sides and look like individual columns.
Huts for those who originally lived here can be seen on the right. Toward the top of the picture, you can see giant statues.
Contraption inside the well. Harry and the others in the research team were finally able to get inside, but not without casualties. Dum dum DUM!
It’s January – Cozy Up with a Mystery Giveaway!
Click the banner to see all the books available!
Have a great New Year!
Jumping ahead by a day, but so I don’t forget, let me wish you a wonderful Happy New Year for 2022!
Gloria
Related
December 18, 2021
Mind Sieve 12/17/21
Table of Contents
News/MusingsStoryOrigin Swaps 1Mini Movie ReviewsMovie/Show PreviewsStoryOrigin Swaps 2Just for Fun!Greetings!
Glad to see you! I hope you’re staying warm and comfy. 😁 Winter is officially just around the corner!
News/MusingsIn Texas, the weather seems to change every five minutes. Going from freezing temps to hot and back is normal around here. It does do funky things to my sinuses though! Ugh!
Hubby’s kidney stone is still hanging on, so he will be going through a procedure next week. Thankfully, the stone’s moved enough so they can see it on the x-rays and so will be throwing sonic waves at it to break it up. Woot!
We’ve been enjoying new episodes of The Expanse, the Wheel of Time series, and especially Hawkeye! Season 2 of Witcher starts 12/17! Woot! (We also loved the live-action Cowboy Beebop (they were so much more faithful to the original than you usually see when something animated is done as live action) but I also heard it’s not getting renewed. 😭)
I am close to a 50K word count on Book2 – White Gold – of the Daiyu Wu Mysteries. I am hoping to keep the writing pace steady so I can finish the first draft of the manuscript soon and get it sent to the editor in April. Then, I am hoping to jump on The Secret Humankind and get that sucker done too! (My hope is to be able to bounce back and forth between the two series so I can feed everyone’s cozy mystery and urban fantasy hunger.) Wish me luck!
Sad news 😭 – now two of my favorite all-time authors have passed in a year. Rachel Caine (AKA Roxanne Longstreet Conrad) passed in November 2020, and now Carole Nelson Douglas has left us in 2021. I’ve read just about EVERYTHING the two ever published. I had the honor of being friends with both and always looked forward to seeing them at the local SF/F conventions.
If you’ve never checked out their books, I highly recommend them. Like me, they wrote outstanding stuff under several genres. (Like me in the ‘different genres’ sense, whether my stuff is anywhere near to outstanding is up for debate. 😋)
Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:1) Two info swaps from StoryOrigin.
Next month there will be some opportunities for free books by signing up for other authors’ newsletters. Easier than committing to do a review, right?
More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊
Story Origin Swap 1Jack Gilmor – Wish Lawyer by Ed RyderBad deals, demonic femme-fatales, and a city on the brink of chaos. Jack Gilmour is having a really bad day.
Welcome to Las Vegas. More sin in a day than most places see in a year. No wonder demons love to call it home. Whatever your vice, they have it covered on a contract splashed with the ink of regret.
That’s where Jack comes in. As Vegas’ first and only demonic law attorney, it’s his job to protect his clients from deals that seem too good to be true.
When a case of misplaced lust sets Jack against a powerful demon from his past, he’s soon embroiled with both the human and demonic underworlds in a battle for dominion over the city. With only his wits and a gambling wizard for help, can Jack save his client’s soul and prevent a war before it consumes both realms?
Full of action and danger, Jack Gilmour, Wish Lawyer is an urban fantasy thriller with a twist of noir.
Mini Movie Reviews 🎥★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!
★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed
★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely
★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!
★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!
Ron's Gone WringThis movie was super cute! (And a little scary.) Explores the meaning of what true friendship is about. As Barney tries to teach his defective “Friend out of the box” about what it means, he comes to learn its true meaning. Great animation and voice acting. Ron is hilarious. Nice vehicle to show kids what can be bad about trying too hard to be popular on social media.
Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission to See Again!)
EncantoBring tissues! If the short before the film doesn’t get you, the movie will! Bwahahaha! Both the short and Encato cover the topics of family, and how good intentions can turn wrong. Everything seems perfect in the isolated town of Encanto, especially with the magical family Madrigal. But ever since Mirabel’s failed coming of age ceremony where she was supposed to get a power like all the rest of the people in her family, a dark cloud has been building. Things are about to take a turn. Fun songs, great animation, and some lovely twists and turns. Tons of fun! (But bring those hankies!)
Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission to See Again!)
Movie Previews 🎥
The Book of Boba Fett – this is starting soon. I’m feeling weird about this one, but will definitely check it out to see what they’re going to do with it.
The Bad Guys – this should be a ton of fun. 😛
Around the World in 80 Days – David Tennant is BACK! This will be shown on PBS. Looks like a ton of fun! Woot!
Story Origin Swap 2Paradise Dawn: C’Mon Inn Mystery Prequel by D.N. McNicolMy life has always been weird.
I find an odd amount of dead or dying people, and if something freakish happens, I’m usually in the middle or nearby. And I’m tired of not being able to help the dying. Though finding another dead body almost counts as annoyance, because it is going to make me late to work, and I need all the hours I can get. College for non-mages is expensive.
In a world where a significant portion of the population are mages, I’m not. And I never will be. As such I need to do everything I can to succeed. After my brother died in my arms, my parents left. Not physically, I mean they still live here, but to them I became an obligation to a stranger. But getting my degree is just step one, someday I’ll solve the mystery of my brothers death.
Juggling work, school, lack of money, internships, and waiting for my best friend Josefa to emerge as a mage is stressing me out. I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to lose everything important in the process of reaching for my dream of being an EMT. And worst of all, what if I can’t handle it?
No, nothing is going to stop me. I will have a good life, I will be a great EMT, and I will keep researching. Life is a series of steps; this is step one. But with my luck, anything might happen.
Just for Fun!
Alien Redemption Speed Date Practice! – Last Sunday was the Strong Women – Strange Worlds Year-End Party. The whole thing was done on Zoom. I was one of the guests to the 2nd Speed Date panel. In case you weren’t able to come, I figured I’d share one of my test runs. The authors were to come up with fun ways to introduce their books. Here’s mine. Heh heh. Enjoy!
I Built an Elevator For My Cat – this video is hilarious! What he did is awesome but his telling of the process will crack you up! Lol.
The Muppets – Popcorn – I’ve always loved the instrumental composition called “Popcorn” – add in Muppets and what could go wrong?
2021 is almost over! 😲 It went by crazy fast! I’m not ready for 2022. Are you?
Gloria
December 4, 2021
Virtual Tourist 12/03/21
Table of ContentsNews/MusingsVirtual Tourist – Assassin’s Creed OdysseyStrong Women – Strange Worlds Year-End Party!
Greetings!
If you celebrate it, I hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving!
Temperatures have been dipping the last week or two and hubby is playing Christmas music like mad.
How weird is it that 2021 is almost over? 😱
News/MusingsHubby’s kidney stone journey continues. The sucker has yet to come out. He’s been feeling good, but he wants it OUT! If it has not moved much by the time of his next appointment, he may have to have outpatient surgery. With a scope and laser, they will follow the route the kidney stone is following and shoot it to pieces. Eek!
As I mentioned in the email last week, Jacques – A Daiyu Wu Mystery Prequel Short Story is now available at Amazon. Since I put it in the KDP Select, anyone with a Kindle Unlimited subscription can read it through there.
In 90 days, it will be available at all the other ebook retailers. Huzzah!
There will be no StoryOrigin or Books for Reviews this time around. The peeps I submitted to do trades with using the StoryOrigin setup did not Accept/Deny the requests, so no extra stuff from them this time around.
Jacques - A Daiyu Wu Mystery Prequel Short StoryNew Release!
How many times can a boy lose his home?
When Jacques is transferred to the Buckners Orphans’ Home in 1916 at the age of six, he hopes this will be a place to belong. But a crafty bully named Gary has other plans. Plans that drive Jacques away from the orphanage and to try his luck on the Dallas’ streets.
He’s befriended there by Emmett—a young pickpocket who’s escaped from his wire mob to make his way in the world alone. Things appear bright until Emmett’s past catches up with him. Jacques loses yet another home.
Creating a hidey-hole under a maintenance shed in Dallas City Park, Jacques has few options. But when he gets curious about the odd family that only visits the park during the weekdays, he’s about to reach a new crossroads. He will experience a final strange encounter that will change the rest of his life and perhaps give him what he’d been searching for all along. If he is brave enough to take the first step.
Origin/Prequel short story for Black Jade – A Daiyu Wu Mystery. Stand-alone fiction.
Read Now!Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:
1) Strong Women – Strange Worlds Year End Party!
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Shaking things up a bit with some pics from Assassin’s Creed – Odyssey.
All currently uploaded pics can be found here. Pics 21 to 45.
The game really does have fabulous graphics. A giant statue of Zeus is in the background.
A large variety of plants are shown in gorgeous detail. Love the open-walled building ahead.
The interior of a small temple to Poseidon.
A moonlit view of the Mediterranean Sea.
The game map—it is awesome that they did it with sea creatures and such, like you would see on a real map of the period.
View of the coast from the air. Some sunken ruins can be seen on the left!
A moonlit coast. Love the rock arch in the water.
Waves, froth, even algae. It’s almost like being there. 🥰 That’s our ship – has a mainsail, rowers, archers, greek fire, and more. Like in Black Flag, there’s ship-to-ship combat and different skins for the ship itself.
Strong Women – Strange Worlds
SWSW will be having a Year-End Event 🥳 on 12/12/21 from 12 to 6 PM EST. Get more info here. There will also be fun stuff on the days leading up to it! Should be fun! 🎉 Reserve your spot today!
I will be on one of the Speed Dating sessions (I think it will be the 2 PM EST one) and I am also sponsoring one of the Microfiction Contest days on Twitter—12/06/21!
Registration for the 12/12/21 event is Free! Pre-show fun Dec 3rd to the 11th with Microfiction contests on Twitter, party games on Facebook, and a prize bundle on a multi-day scavenger hunt! Woot!
Come join the fun!
Have a great weekend! See you next time!
Gloria
November 26, 2021
New Release and Experiment - Jacques - A Daiyu Wu Mystery Prequel Short Story
New Release Time! Booyah!
I mentioned last week that I’d sent off two short stories out for editing, the first being “Jacques” a prequel short story to Black Jade – A Daiyu Wu Mystery.
Well, “Jacques” is now LIVE! I am using it as an experiment to see what difference it makes to do a release through the Kindle Select/Kindle Unlimited.
I do plan to release the story under other retailers and formats once the 90-day hold has passed. And for anyone posting reviews of Black Jade and sends me a link, the story will still be coming your way regardless of the file type needed.
Check out the cover below!
Here’s the current blurb and excerpt.
How many times can a boy lose his home?
When Jacques is transferred to the Buckners Orphans’ Home in 1916 at the age of six, he hopes this will be a place to belong. But a crafty bully named Gary has other plans. Plans that drive Jacques away from the orphanage and to try his luck on the Dallas’ streets.
He’s befriended there by Emmett—a young pickpocket who’s escaped from his wire mob to make his way in the world alone. Things appear bright until Emmett’s past catches up with him. Jacques loses yet another home.
Creating a hidey-hole under a maintenance shed in Dallas City Park, Jacques has few options. But when he gets curious about the odd family that only visits the park during the weekdays, he’s about to reach a new crossroads. He will experience a final strange encounter that will change the rest of his life and perhaps give him what he’d been searching for all along. If he is brave enough to take the first step.
Origin/Prequel short story for Black Jade – A Daiyu Wu Mystery. Stand-alone fiction.
Excerpt:
“How’d you do that? Isn’t stealing wrong?”
“Holy bejesus!” The boy jumped backward, sending two wallets flying. “Where the heck did you come from?” He glanced back toward the Dallas Union Terminal. “Where are your parents?”
“Don’t got none.” I hurried to pick up the closest dropped wallet and held it out to him.
The boy threw me a scrunched look, as if not sure what to make of me. “So what do you want?”
“They didn’t know you took stuff. So, how did you do that? Was it magic?”
The scrunched stare deepened. “Do I look like a mark to you?” The boy snorted. “I’m no twit.” He started to walk off, looking around as if expecting someone to jump at him from the spindly shrubs.
Confused, I rushed after him. “No, you’re aces! What you did was amazing. But, it’s wrong, too, right?”
“It’s only wrong if you get caught.” He slowed down a bit and looked me up and down. “What happened to your collar?”
My neck grew hot. I’d forgotten all about it. “A bully.” I stared at the ground, not wanting to say anything more.
“So you ran away. Buckner’s?”
My eyes grew wide, once more amazed by his skills. “How do you know that?”
This made him laugh. “You didn’t notice they make y’all dress the same?”
I had, but unless you’d been to Buckner’s, you wouldn’t know that. “You were there, too?”
He shrugged. “What do they call you, squirt?”
“Jacques.” I watched his face, wanting to see if he would make fun of it, like most others.
“Fancy. I like it.” He gave me a sideways grin and held out his hand. “I’m Emmett, but call me Em.”
Obligatory Pitch! (Apologies!)If “Jacques” sounds interesting to you, click the button below. If you know someone who would be interested, I’d be super grateful if you’d let them know about it!
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Gloria
