Book Available for Pre-Order

My newest book, Conguise Chronicles: The Rise Of The River-Man (Mutter’s Story) is now available for pre-order on Amazon for 99 cents (click the book cover to order it now - NOT sure why the images aren't showing. I've opened a support ticket.  You can click on the place where it says "picture" to order).  This is a novella about the River-Man who Trinity named Christian.

Here’s the book description:

Some monsters are born; others are made.
Mutter was sure that his pending execution at the Guards’ Shelter was the worst thing that could happen to him, but that was before he met Professor Conguise.


Now, he is living in a laboratory and the Almightys are giving him shots. He fears that they are attempting to mutate him into some kind of monster like those in the other cages. The creatures in the other cages are unnatural. Things that he can’t believe exist. Things that shouldn’t exist and if he doesn’t escape, soon he will become one of them.

Since it is only available for pre-order, Amazon does not let you read any of the chapters.  I’m going to post the Introduction and chapter 1, so you can take a look.  I've also posted the back cover.  I think a lot of you will find the author bio and drawing amusing.
Introduction:
The world of the Lake of Sins
This story takes place hundreds of years after the Great Death visited the earth, killing most humans, all domestic animals and all wild animals larger than a turkey.  Those who survived were left with the task of rebuilding society. 


The new social structure on earth is now based on a class system.  The classes important to this story are detailed below.


The Almightys rule all of the other classes.  They are the only direct descendants of the human race.  They are generally between five and six feet tall with dark hair and pale, hairless, white skin. 


The Guards belong to the Almightys and are used for hunting or protection.  They vary in size and hair color.  Their eyes are usually brown and the males generally wear facial hair.  Both males and females have a light coating of hair on their bodies.  They have large canine teeth used for biting and tearing.  They are strong, fast and heal quickly.  Their senses of hearing, smell and nighttime vision is superior to Almightys. 

 The House Servants also belong to the Almightys but their role in this society is to manage the households and businesses of the Almightys.  They are slender in build and short, between four and five feet tall.  They also have a light coating of hair covering their bodies.  The males are usually clean shaven.  They are all born with fangs and claws, although their claws are often removed by their masters.  Their eyes are usually a vibrant hue and their senses of night vision, hearing and smell is superior to the Guards’. 

Stray or unwanted Guards and House Servants are taken to the local shelters and are executed if not adopted.
Mutter is a Guard who is no longer wanted.  He waits to be executed.  This is his story.

 
CHAPTER 1

Mutter was in trouble.  No one would want a Guard like him.  Even with keeping his beard neat and trim, he was too big and too strong and too ugly.  He stretched out on the concrete floor and winced.  He definitely had some broken ribs, but he’d fought and won with broken bones in the past.  He started coughing.  It was this sickness that had cost him the match.  He sat up; the coughing subsided.  He’d pleaded with Vickers, his Almighty master, not to make him fight but the money had already switched hands.  He leaned his head against the bars of the cage.  He’d lost the fight and now he’d lose his life.  Vickers did not give second chances. The door opened and a male Almighty around thirty years old with blond hair entered the room followed by Satcha, the House Servant who ran this establishment.  The Guards’ Shelter didn’t allow visiting at this hour but Almightys did whatever they wanted.  He didn’t even bother to stand up like the others.  No one wanted him.  It was a bit embarrassing, but he’d tried to find a new home his first few days here.  He’d run to the front of the cage and had smiled at the Almightys.  He’d smelled the fear on them as they’d passed.  Most tried not to look at him, but he was big and scarred and hard to ignore.

They stopped in front of his cage.

“Ableson, this is the one I told you about,” said Satcha.  “Looks like he was a fighter, so he should be used to obeying.  He does have a bad cough, but I thought he might work for you.”

The Almighty stared at him but remained quiet, blue eyes sizing him up.

“Come here,” said Satcha.

Mutter wanted to stay where he was to annoy the Servant but Guards like him didn’t get many chances for a home.  He stood slowly, letting the Almighty get used to his size and appearance.

“How old are you?” asked Ableson.

“Not sure.  Been around for a while but not too old.”  That was the safe answer.  He had counted nineteen winters but that might be too old or too young.  He never could tell what an Almighty wanted.

“By his teeth and body we estimate around twenty-five to thirty years,” said Satcha.

Ableson twirled his finger.  Mutter understood that signal.  Before the fights started, when the betting happened, he was often sized up by the gamblers.  He turned in a circle, slowly, giving the Almighty time to study him. 

“I’m strong and healthy.”  That was a lie but he would be healthy again.  He just needed a little time and food.

“Does have that cough, that I mentioned.”  Satcha sent him a glare.

“Just a little.  From this damp, rotten place.”  He hated Servants.  They didn’t know when to keep their big mouths shut.

“I need an obedient Guard.”  The Almighty’s eyes roamed up and down his frame. 

“Won’t find one more obedient than me.”

“Let’s see if that’s true.”  Ableson walked down the aisle.  “Is there another Guard who he’s close to?”

“Him?”  Satcha laughed, following the Almighty.  “He’s so big and ugly even the other Guards stay away from him.”

Ableson stopped in the hallway.  “Take this one out.”

The Servant opened the cage and slipped a rope over a young Guard’s neck.  Mutter’s chest pinched.  Typical.  The Almighty’s always chose the young ones.  His only chance was gone.  They would walk out and soon he’d be executed.  He started to sit back down, when the three of them stopped in front of his cage. 

“Put her in with him,” said Ableson.

“Ah, we keep the younger ones separate from the older ones, especially the older males,” said Satcha.

The Almighty didn’t say a word, but his look was enough.  The Servant muttered an apology and opened the door shoving the young Guard into Mutter’s cage. 

He glanced at the little Guard who stood as far away from him as possible.  She couldn’t have been older than nine.  She had russet hair and large, frightened, brown eyes.

“Hit her,” said Ableson, his tone conversational.

“Wait,” said Satcha.  “That one’s young and attractive.  I can find a home for her.  Let me get—”

“I’ll pay for both.”  The Almighty’s eyes never left Mutter.  “Now, beat her.”

Mutter kept his face a mask but his stomach clenched.  He didn’t want to do this.  He’d fought females before but they were all older, experienced fighters.  This wouldn’t even be a fight. 

“I need an obedient Guard,” reminded Ableson.

The girl trembled in the corner, tears streaming down her soft, round cheeks.  “Please, don’t hurt me.”

Pleading didn’t do any good.  It didn’t change anyone’s mind.  He knew the game and it would be her or him.  He stared into the girl’s scared brown eyes.  “Bruised, broken or dead?” 

“Just hit her.  I’ll tell you when to stop.”

Mutter stepped forward.  The girl curled in a ball on the floor, pleading and crying.  He grabbed her by the shirt.  She weighed next to nothing, all skin and bones.  He punched her in the gut, making the blow look harder than it was, but the girl was so small she gasped and coughed.  He hesitated, waiting for the Almighty to stop this, but no words came.  He hit her again.  She yelped in pain.  He shifted his stance, stalling again and praying for the words that would allow him to quit, but the only sounds were the yells of the other Guards in the nearby cages.  Most screamed for him to stop but some cheered him on.  If the Almighty wouldn’t end this, he would.  His next punch caught her upside the head, knocking her out.  He let her slide to the floor.

He walked toward the Almighty.

“I didn’t say stop.”  Ableson’s blue eyes challenged him.

He stared at the girl on the floor.  Only in the roughest fights, those to the end, did they hit opponents when they were down.

“Forget it.  He won’t work.”  Ableson turned and headed for the door.

His only chance was leaving.  He’d be dead tomorrow if that Almighty walked out the door.  The girl’s tiny frame was about the size of his arm.  She was still breathing.  “Wait.”

Ableson walked back to the cage, a smug smile on his face.  “Obey or I leave.  This is your only warning.”

He nodded.  His heart thudded as each footstep moved him closer to the little female.  The other Guards had fallen silent.  He grasped her by the back of the shirt again.  Her head lolled to the side, her eyes closed.  His supper churned in his stomach.  He stared at the tears on her cheeks as he punched her over and over, trying to hit non-vital parts but it was difficult.  She was tiny and his fits were big.

“Enough,” called the Almighty. 

He lowered her to the floor.  Her breath was ragged as blood trickled from her lips.  His eyes burned, but no wetness came.  He hadn’t cried since he’d lost his mother.  It didn’t do any good.  He wiped the girl’s blood on his shirt as he faced the Almighty.

Ableson smiled at him and handed an envelope to the Servant.  “I’ll take him.” 

Satcha looked in the envelope.  “Ah, the price for the girl…”

Ableson frowned at the Servant but dug in his pocket and handed Satcha a few more bills.  The Servant stuck them in his pocket and opened the cage door, putting a rope around Mutter’s neck.  He fisted his hands, fighting the urge to kill both of them, but he’d never make it out of the shelter if he did that. 

“Come.”  Ableson yanked on the rope. 

“What about her?” asked Satcha.

“Do what you want with her.”

“But…you already paid….”

“If she lives, sell her again, or kill her.  I don’t care.”  Ableson walked toward the door.

Mutter refused to look back at the girl, the sacrifice for his freedom.