Michael Phillip Cash's The History Major - Review

My thoughts
The History Major was an interesting read. It definitely was not what I expected. When Amanda wakes up from a bender, after a huge fight the night before with her boyfriend, things are not how they should be. This leads the reader to wonder...Alien abduction? Did she travel to another dimension? The reason I mention the latter is because things in her world are the same, but not the same.

So, I can't go into detail here because it would give the whole story away. I will say that the story definitely keeps you reading, and being a novella, it doesn't take long to get through it. The book has a message contained in its short pages, and it even ties in some history and an occurrence not unlike some recent current events.

I wouldn't necessarily classify this as horror, but it is eerie enough to feel a few chills on the back of your neck.

About the Book

Title: The History Major
Author: Michael Phillip Cash
Publisher: Chelshire, Inc.
Pages: 130
Genre: Thriller

After a vicious fight with her boyfriend followed by a night of heavy partying, college freshman Amanda Greene wakes up in her dorm room to find things are not the same as they were yesterday. She can't quite put her finger on it. She's sharing her room with a peculiar stranger. Amanda discovers she's registered for classes she would never choose with people that are oddly familiar. An ominous shadow is stalking her. Uncomfortable memories are bubbling dangerously close to her fracturing world, propelling her to an inevitable collision between fantasy and reality. Is this the mother of all hangovers or is something bigger happening?

For More Information The History Major is available at Amazon.
Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
Watch the Trailer.

Book Excerpt

“You again!” The professor pointed a long finger at her angrily. “If you had bothered to read my treatise on logic, you would understand the chain of thought! Care to share what you have learned these past few classes with your puerile friend, Mr. Fortune?” he demanded.

The room was deathly silent. Amanda shrank into her chair. Nick turned to her.

Wait, she thought frantically. Past few classes? Where have I been? Did I miss something? Did I miss class? Amanda’s fisted hands forced small semicircular indentations from the pressure of her nails into the tender skin of her palms. Was this a dream? Her mind worked feverously, trying to piece things together. “What’s today’s date?” she demanded, her eyes wide with mounting horror.

Nick went on, ignoring her. “What I think our esteemed professor is trying to point out is that the chain of thought results in a systematic group of memories that create the laws of association. The professor believes”—he glanced up to the teacher as if for confirmation—“that past experiences are hidden within our minds.” The older man nodded sagely. “He claims there is a force that awakens these memories. That power is association.”

Amanda looked at Nick and then glanced uncertainly at the professor. It was like looking through a tunnel. Their voices came as if from a distance.

“Yes, Mr. Fortune. Logic, once again. First we have the experience, then the memory, which fades. We stimulate the brain with an image, and there you have it.” He snapped his fingers. “The memory is activated by the…” He bent down, peering at Amanda expectantly.

Nick whispered from the side of his mouth helpfully, “Association.”

“Association,” Amanda repeated weakly.

“Yes,” Nick said quietly. “Aristotle’s theory on association.”

“Aristotle?” Amanda exhaled the name. She looked from Nick to the educator on the stage and giggled. “Is this a joke, like where teachers dress like historical figures?” Or a dream?

“Silence!” the teacher’s voice thundered. He stalked over to stand right before Amanda, his silver brows drawn together. The room was deathly silent. Amanda gulped so loudly, she swore she could hear it amplified in the room.

About the author

Michael Phillip Cash is an award-winning and best-selling novelist of horror, paranormal, and science fiction novels. He's written ten books including the best-selling “Brood X”, “Stillwell”, “The Flip”, “The After House”, “The Hanging Tree”, “Witches Protection Program”, “Pokergeist”, "Monsterland", "The History Major", and “Battle for Darracia” series. Michael’s books are on the Amazon best-seller list and have also won numerous awards. Additionally, he is a screenwriter with 14 specs under his belt. Michael resides on the North Shore of Long Island. 

Michael’s latest book is The History Major.

• Visit Michael Phillip Cash’s website. 
• Connect with Michael on Facebook and Twitter.

The Unholy by Paul DeBlassie III - Character Guest Post

I’m Claire Sanchez, curandera, medicine woman, protagonist in The Unholy. I witnessed my mother’s brutal murder in the nighttime forest of Aztlan at the hands of a black-robed man. Hiding behind the tress, a five-year-old girl, I was powerless to help. This nightmare haunted my waking life and dreams for twenty-five years. I feared fulfilling my destiny as a medicine woman. My mother died because of who she was. Terrible fright dominated my life. The black-robed man could find me and do what he had done to my mother. Death lurked around every corner of Aztlan. Religion, I came to discover, cloaks many a sordid deed and foul personage. There was no way I could continue to run. What I most feared came my way, discovered my whereabouts, what my life was about and was to become, and who I loved. The time came for me to decide. Decisions of life-long consequence are painful, agonizing. Nevertheless, I do not regret the decision I made. I had to face the ghost of my past or forever be haunted by nightmares of what might come and what I could have done differently. I am not one to be indecisive. It was all a matter of timing. Yes, it was violent. Yes, the world of the supernatural and natural collided and forever changed the lives of so many people; but, I would not have it any other way. I needed to be true to my life, destiny, to myself as a woman who could run no longer. I could no longer cling to old ways and crippling terrors that needed to be confronted. I did what I had to do and for that I am glad and am complete. To all who read, I send you courage as you confront the dark side of religion and a woman’s quest to discover self, destiny, and whether, because of the scarring of her past, she could ever love again.
About the bookA young curandera, a medicine woman, intent on uncovering the secrets of her past is forced into a life-and-death battle against an evil Archbishop. Set in the mystic land of Aztlan, The Unholy is a novel of destiny as healer and slayer. Native lore of dreams and visions, shape changing, and natural magic work to spin a neo-gothic web in which sadness and mystery lure the unsuspecting into a twilight realm of discovery and decision.

Purchase your copy at AMAZON

About the author

PAUL DeBLASSIE III, PhD, is a psychologist and writer living in his native New Mexico. A member of the Depth Psychology Alliance, the Transpersonal Psychology Association, and the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, he has for over thirty years treated survivors of the dark side of religion.

His latest book is the psychological/paranormal thriller, The Unholy.

Visit his website at www.pauldeblassieiii.com or his blog at www.pauldeblassieiii.blogspot.com.

Connect & Socialize with Paul!

TWITTER * FACEBOOK

Watch for my review...coming this weekend!

PUYB: Kevin Bohacz's Ghost of the Gods - Spotlight

Title: Ghost of the Gods
Genre: Techno-Thriller
Author: Kevin Bohacz
Publisher: Mazel & Sechel
Pages: 437
Format: Paperback/Kindle

Purchase at AMAZON

Was it the accumulated wounds to the environment that had finally triggered the nanotech plague or was it simply one more step in a shrewdly crafted plan to replace us with humans 2.0? As I write this at least one pair of these transhumans breathe the same air as us, and there are likely many more. They may look like us, they may even be almost human, but they are also cybernetic and will live for an extraordinary length of time. Trust me, their goals are not the same as ours. It was not a natural plague that almost drove humankind to extinction but an attack from within, turning our own biology against us. Scientists discovered all too late an artificial entity, a sentient machine foolishly created in the image of god, had been studying us and genetically altering us for longer than we can imagine. Perhaps it is because of this god-machine that we evolved into creatures who can think and speak and know our own mortality? This silicon god is so different from us that we may never truly understand it, but what we do know is that it is terrifyingly intelligent and it hates us. What we do know is that it tried to eradicate us from the face of our planet and then stopped for no discernible reason. What we do know is that its work is not done.

Excerpt:
It had been a restless night for both of them. The old growth forest was dense with huge oak and hickory trees. The ground was damp, and the air had a mossy tang to it. Mark Freedman heard the snapping and popping of the campfire as he awoke very oddly from a dream. He no longer awoke as humans had since their beginnings. At some point the processing throughput of his nanotech augmented brain surged upward and his eyes simply opened. He was fully aware of the data streaming in from his senses and his wireless neurological interface to the god-machine. The machine was an artificial intelligence whose origin was murky. It was hosted redundantly within the world’s oceans in supercolonies of the same nanotech seeds that infected him. A single seed was a self-replicating nanotech machine about a quarter the size of an average bacterium, yet had the power of a personal computer. The technology was decades beyond anything humans could have created in a lab. Some thought the technology could be almost as old as life on earth while others had far different, more recent ideas.

Mark could still see the spherical colonies in his mind. He had been dreaming of them again. Each was an undulating mass of hundreds of trillion of COBIC bacteria. Each bacterium was infected with a seed that covertly replaced most of the nucleus. It was all so stealthful, like a skilled hunter toying with its prey. Only in this case its prey was the world. Each colony was only a few feet in diameter, a size easily lost in the vast chasms of deep ocean water. Only a handful of these super- colonies were secreted around the world. He could hear echoes of the artificial intelligence thinking to itself. At times it could be maddening.

The god-machine, through its global wireless web, linked together all seeds that permeated everything on the planet. The result was an ancient living network of unimaginable scale and distributed comput- ing power. The seeds undetectably infected virtually every multi-celled creature, including humans.

Mark took a deep breath to clear the cobwebs of his dreams then took another deep breath. He heard a twig snap in the darkness, and his heart jumped. At the edge of the small clearing, beyond the reach of the campfire’s glow, lurked a deep gloom thick enough to conceal almost anything. The night was alive with droning and chirping creatures that should have been hibernating. Climate change had brought so many unforeseen consequences. In seconds his nanotech brain had cataloged the telltale sounds of several species of insects and other small creatures. Some would be extinct before long.

Mark thought how humankind had come so dangerously close to extinction itself. When the nanotech seeds had metastasized inside him two years ago, the technology had not only altered his brain, it had modified his flesh and even to some extent his DNA. While most of the seeds had taken root permanently inside the neurons in his brain, some remained unattached.

Using a mental command, Mark augmented his vision to include medical information about his body. The information was mentally projected as virtual reality. Looking at his arms and legs, he saw what resembled a colored fluoroscopic view. Orange blotches in the overlaid schematic symbolically indicated where the unattached mobile seeds were now massing. He knew these seeds were concealed inside harm- less COBIC bacteria, which they controlled and used both for disguise as well as mobility. These nanotech bacteria navigated his circulatory system like computerized antibodies. The microbes were sheathed in a chemical disguise, dialed-in to match its environment in the same way a chameleon changes its color. The result was complete invisibility to the immune system of its host. If his flesh was injured, this free-swimming nanotech could knit his tissues back together at the molecular level, healing the damage in days instead of weeks. These seeds, however, did far more than heal. Slowly, over time, they perfected through genetic fine tuning. He was the first of his kind. He had no idea how long he would survive, but he did know his lifespan would be extraordinary.

Mark turned off the medical projection. While he could examine his flesh, there was no command that could show him what was happening to his mind. Soon after the nanotech seeds had infected his brain, all his dreams had become conscious experiences and remained that way. In his conscious dreams he was able to solve problems, explore places, and just simply live. It was like an entire second existence had been opened to him. He knew his conscious dream life was mostly the result of photographic recall of everything, including dreams. Surveillance data from the god-machine proved most people had conscious dreams every night; they just failed to remember them and called them by a different name: lucid dreams.

Mark gazed up from the small clearing at a sky overcrowded with stars. He felt like the only being alive in this infinite, lonely place. A gibbous moon was just setting below the branches. Its pale blue light cast long shadows of tree limbs across the clearing. The shadows reminded him of ghostly talons reaching out for their prey. He checked for dream signs to make sure he was not experiencing a false awakening.

The temperature should have been frigid and the ground covered in deep snow, but it was not. More signs of a planet teetering on the brink of environmental collapse. The continent no longer had uniform seasons. Some places were experiencing a frozen winter while here in Missouri it was closer to early spring. It was chilly enough to be uncomfortable for an organic, but not for Mark and his companion. He simply dulled the temperature sensitive nerve endings in his skin. The campfire’s low flames had been reduced to orange coals. He could see the radiated warmth on his arms and legs but felt nothing. The glowing coals seemed almost alive as they writhed in their superheated world. Unable to feel the warmth, Mark was fascinated and reached out with his hand. A computer assist acted automatically in response to his state of mind. This assist, like the medial schematic, was a geo-projected virtual reality. The assist was warning him that the heart of the fire was 1,262 degrees Fahrenheit. It did this by displaying the temperature superimposed over the coals. Mark thought about the utter pointless- ness of that warning and how it showed the machine interface was still adapting to him and had far to go. He never had any intension of inserting his hand into the flames.

A soft breeze stirred dying leaves on the branches around him as a few more floated to earth. He watched one incinerated as it drifted down onto the hungry coals… as it dissolved, a terrible memory crept back into his awareness unbidden and his heart broke anew. Every day when he awoke the world was as it should be for a brief time, then the serpent of reality opened her eyes inside him and the horror of what he knew broke him again as he knew it would every morning of every day of his unimaginably long life. He spoke in an urgent whisper directed at both God and the god-machine.

“I want our lives back. I want our hope back. How could you hate us so much?”

Sarah stirred next to him. She was a nanotech hybrid like him. They were the only two known to exist in a world of one and half billion humans who had survived the nanotech plague. A plague caused by the god-machine and the seeds living inside his flesh. Mark regretted whispering and furtively wiped the dampness from his eyes. Sarah’s Rottweiler, Ralph, was staring at him. The dog’s eyes glowed with orange light from the fire. The huge animal was like a witch’s familiar.

Sarah could partially see and hear through the animal’s senses as they were radiated out as data across the god-machine’s n-web. Since all creatures were infected with some nanotech seeds, all creatures radiated some emanations, be it mental or emotional. Sarah propped herself up. Mark could see her shadowed expression in the wavering light. She looked so attractive and so frighteningly intelligent. He knew she was curious. He could feel her empathic awareness begin to suffuse him as her cybernetic brain fully awoke like a rising sun. Her spiritual caress was a hand returning to a familiar glove. While she shared and expe- rienced all his emotions, she must never discover the terrible truth. He concealed it deep inside himself and kept it from her so that she did not lose all hope. There was always hope.

About the author

I am Kevin Bohacz the bestselling novelist of Immortality and a lucid dreamer… Welcome to my dreams. I am also a writer for national computer magazines, founder and president of two high technology corporations, a scientist and engineer for over 35 years, and the inventor of an advanced electric car system – the ESE Engine System (circa 1978). I was also a short order cook for I-Hop, flipped burgers at McDonalds, and delivered Chicken Delight. All of those careers and more are behind me now that I am a full time storyteller, a catcher of dreams. Thank you for reading my stories and making this all possible.

His latest books are Immortality and Ghost of the Gods.

Visit Kevin’s website at www.kbohacz.com or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kevinbohacz.

Discuss this book in our PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads by clicking HERE

Ghost of the Gods Tour Page

Run with the Wolves-Volume One: The Pack by T C Combs - Guest Post and Review

Story and Setting

In writing the "Run with the Wolves" saga I initially had a concept for a story about a number of different people who suffered from afflictions that were not of their choosing - and how differently those various people chose to deal with what fate had cruelly bestowed upon them. I had in mind a 'Vampire-like' character; a 'Pack' of both wolves and wolf-like humans who suffered from a lunar-sickness; and finally, a group of people who were rejected by society due to physical abnormalities or forced into hiding due to religious persecution.

To make these characters come to life, it quickly became apparent to me that the setting was going to be every bit as important as the story itself.

I did a lot of research - and a lot of soul searching too, I suppose. The more I learned, the more I was drawn to the life and times of the 15th century in Medieval Europe, and in particular, to the year 1461. This was century of great discovery and learning. It was also a time of terrible repression and great cruelty.

The 15th century saw the birth of great minds like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Copernicus. The famous explorers Bartolomeu Dias, Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, and Vasco da Gamo opened up the world to new trade routes and lands not previously known to Europe. It was a century that saw the Johannes Gutenberg printed bible and the founding of universities in places such as Barcelona.

The 15th century saw the birth of Joan of Arc in 1412, saw her lead the French forces against the English in 1428, and watched as she was burned at the stake in1431. It saw the execution of the Czech religious reformer Jan Hus. It was the time of the War of the Roses, the Plagues that swept across Europe, the on-going conflict between the three pillars of society - the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths. It was a century that saw the expulsion of Jews from Portugal and Spain - and of course, the 'Inquisition' under Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand.

And, it was the century that saw the advent of firearms and the change that development brought to warfare. If all that wasn't enough, it was the time of Vlad the Impaler - the man said to have been the inspiration for Bram Stoker's story 'Dracula'. What better setting for my fantasy epic to take place in than this time period!

I hope you will check out my trilogy 'Run with the Wolves'. Pick up a copy of Volume One 'The Pack' and see for yourself how history and fiction can be mixed to deliver a spell-binding tale that will keep you riveted and entertained.

Please visit my website www.tctombs.com for retail sites, full reviews, storyboards, and special events.

All the best

T c Tombs

My thoughts on Run with the Wolves
The best of both of my favorite worlds here...historical fiction and horror. This is a very different werewolf novel from what I have read before. I found the story and setting a refreshing change from the normal Urban Fantasy setting.

Don't go into this one expecting non-stop action. That is not this novel. As I read a lot of historical fiction, I am accustomed to long, descriptive scenes, etc. of historical background which is what this book has in plenty. Now don't get me wrong...there is plenty of action and, for the horror buffs, even gore. But this novel is not just a tale of wolves and werewolves. It's a story of countries divided and warfare too. So, although it may have been slow going at times, I appreciate the difference in this style of horror novel and find myself anxious to read the next book in the series.


About the book
It is the fifteenth century, and three kingdoms are caught up in the dire conflicts of their time. As the possibility of a peaceful resolution provides hope that a decade-long war will finally end, no one realizes that dark forces are waiting to invoke chaos as a full moon rises.

On a farm nestled beneath the Euralene Mountains along the western border of Medinia, young Willie works for the Smythes as a serf. One moonlit evening when the Smythes are gone to a neighbouring village, Willie hears the terrified cries of animals in the pastures. When he goes to investigate, he discovers that this wolf pack attack is like no other. Badly injured during the raid, he survives—but now he is afflicted by the full-moon madness that will soon transform him into one of the wolf creatures he dreads. With his life seemingly warped forever, Willie must face the prospect of a lifelong descent into horror.

In a time of witchcraft, superstitious folk lore, and fearsome creatures roaming the night, Willie struggles with an uncertain destiny and must seek help from the one man he holds most responsible for the dark fate that awaits him during the next full moon cycle.

“Beware of the full moon. This one is for all of the werewolf lovers!” —Top Book Reviewers

A well-written and addictive first novel. —Blue Ink Review

A well-developed, tightly plotted fantasy; readers will want installments two and three. —Kirkus Reviews

 

About T C Tombs
T c TOMBS earned degrees from Trent University and Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. Like many Canadians, he loves hockey and golf, and he has a passion for medieval history, folk lore, literature, film, and music. Terry and his wife, Sandra, live in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada, where they have raised five daughters.

A copy of this book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for providing it.

The Curse Giver by Dora Machado: Guest Post and Review

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Dora Machado

1. I have to travel because staying put doesn't make any sense to my restless mind.

2. I love thunderstorms. Over the sea, over the desert, over the mountains, nothing clears the mind and awakens the senses like thunder's epic voice.

3. I'd be skinny if cake hadn't been invented.

4. I think that tyrants are bullies that have beaten the hell out of their peers and taken over the playground.

5. I write at night because that's when my characters are awake.

6. I think sarcasm is the cleverest form of humor.

7. When you grow up on an island, the long road and the uninterrupted journey are quite the novelty.

8. I'm a very careful skier. In fact, people watching me from the lifts often like to encourage me in passing. "Downhill, lady," they shout. "You want to go downhill!"

9. I haven't taught my kids half the lessons they've taught me.

10. The spring fed river that runs through my backyard reminds me every day that change is constant and more is yet to come.

My thoughts on The Curse Giver
I have found myself a new fantasy author! For me, good fantasy has to have the following elements: phenomenal world building, engaging and multidimensional characters, and just plain great writing. This book has all of them. I have always been a fan of epic fantasy that makes me feel and care for the characters and also makes me feel like part of the story. I honestly felt like I was there with Bren and Lusielle, experiencing the danger and adventure right along with them.

I feel I must share a quote from the book. When I read this, I chuckled, and then I thought that the author must be a lover of books. This quote is just so fitting for us book lovers...

"Word was that that the Lady of Tolone had been selling some of the lesser known valuables from her library in order to raise cash to pay for her whims. Upon learning this, Hato had gone into a quiet panic. She could have sold the somber paintings or the extravagant windows. Instead, she chose to dismantle the library. The library!"

Scandalous! Don't mess with the library.

Dora Machado has written one hell of a fantasy novel in The Curse Giver. I can't believe I have not read her books before this, but I definitely will now...and I look forward with great anticipation to her next book.

About the book
Lusielle’s bleak but orderly life as a remedy mixer is shattered when her husband betrays her and she is sentenced to die for a crime she didn’t commit. She’s on the pyre, about to be burned, when a stranger breaks through the crowd and rescues her from the flames.

Brennus, Lord of Laonia is the last of his line. He is caught in the grip of a mysterious curse that has murdered his kin, doomed his people and embittered his life. To defeat the curse, he must hunt a birthmark and kill the woman who bears it in the foulest of ways. Lusielle bears such a mark.

Stalked by intrigue and confounded by the forbidden passion flaring between them, predator and prey must come together to defeat not only the vile curse, but also the curse giver who has already conjured their ends.

Purchase your copy at AMAZON or at Barnes and Noble. 

About the author
Dora Machado is the award winning author of the Stonewiser series and her newest novel, The Curse Giver, coming this summer from Twilight Times Books. She is one of the few Latinas exploring her heritage and her world through the epic fantasy genre today. She holds a master’s degree in business administration and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University. She was born in Michigan and grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a bilingual fascination for writing, a love for history, and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She enjoys long walks, traveling, and connecting with the amazing readers who share in her mind’s adventures. She lives in Florida with her indulging husband and three very opinionated cats.

Her latest book is The Curse Giver. Visit her website at www.doramachado.com.

Connect & Socialize with Dora!

TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Visit other stops on The Curse Giver tour HERE. 

This book tour was organized by Pump Up Your Book.

A copy of this book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for providing it.

Book Tour: Guest Post from author A.B. Bard

Please welcome A.B. Bard, author of The Killer Poet's Guide to Immortality.

On the Writer’s Responsibility

So, what’s the responsibility of the writer in the American Empire? Is it to sell more books just to paper his or her nest? I don’t think so. Writers engage in a learned, impassioned and imaginative discussion between the generations that has been going on since before American Idol. We have the gift to move vowels with our words. It is perhaps easier to move people only where they are already comfortable going, or simple to leave them right where we found them. But we at the NYC MTA won’t stop till you’re somewhere you never intended to go. Wake up, mo’fo! The world reeks of hunger, lies, inequality, violence and bad poetry. To write while staying silent about this overriding truth is to lend a hand in the perpetuation of pure, organic, locally-sourced and fair-traded evil. 

America has rushed into its Empire phase. Democracy is dead. So is Farrah Fawcett-Majors, but that’s another guest post. Obama is a moderate republican who could no more call for the dismantling of the military-industrial complex or a true separation between Church and State or a truly progressive tax on hobbits than he could call for a day of mandatory simultaneous public readings of HOWL by Allan Ginsberg, who’s dead too. We the People are now the enemy. We are the oppressors, the rapacious exploiters, the Men from Smersch. Although please remember that “the People” in the Constitution has been changed by definition. Corporations are People. E pluribus zippo.

I’m not so naïve as to believe that America is the root of all evil. China is worse, Russia may be even worse, and North Korea is fuckin’ scary. But America is on my watch. Besides, it’s the only nation with 24/7 access to pizza. So as a writer, it is my patriotic duty to zing out my best seditious libel, in the hopes that it will awaken my fellow citizens from their long night of endless daydreams. I hope you cried. I know I would have if I wasn’t busy fighting off this hobbit chewing on my leg.

The Killer Poet’s Guide to Immortality is the riveting tale of a frustrated poet who decides that the best way to get his work read is by pinning it to corpses with a dagger. Alternately profound and hilarious, this novel chronicles in rapid-fire succession AB Bard’s obsessive murder spree, rise to media notoriety, capture, trial, and execution by lethal injection.

Then it presses further, into the future . . .

About A.B. Bard

Reclusive Seattle author AB Bard’s poetry has twice been nominated for the Pushcart. He is the author under a pseudonym of two other hysterical novels, or perhaps historical novels, neither of which is funny. Mr. Bard is not now, nor has he ever been, a member of the Republican Party. Mr. Bard does not Tweet. He was awarded a sheepskin (BAaa) from Reed College Sleeper Cell. His one super power is the ability to repel all conventional measures of literary success. Mr. Bard is lap to a cat, pal to a girl, God to a dog, & dog to the Man.

To find out more, please visit him at http://www.abbard.com

This tour is with Pump Up Your Book book tours.

Book Tour: Guest Post & Review--White Lies by Jeremy Bates with {Giveaway}

The Situational Thriller: Wrong Place, Wrong Time

My favorite type of thriller is what I call a situational thriller. You know, those books or movies you’ve seen when the protagonist is smack-dab in the middle of something nasty, and you’re thinking: that could happen to me. Scott Smith’s A Simple Plan comes immediately to mind. Two brothers find four million bucks in a downed plane. What would you do? A couple prominent films along the same lines are Open Water—a newlywed couple go scuba diving and get stranded in the middle of the ocean. And Frozen—two guys and a girl stuck on a ski lift in freezing weather. Oh, and some hungry wolves far below!

My debut novel, White Lies, is also what I would call a situational thriller—what if a white lie spiraled out of control until you found yourself in a game of life and death? I chose this idea for two reasons. One, as I’ve mentioned, I like these type of simple what if scenarios. And two, because they’re easier for me to write than other thrillers, such as action-adventure, medicine, legal, etc. I love reading action-adventure, but, man, does James Rollins and the crew do their homework. Same with the other genres I mentioned. You have to know your stuff. And truthfully, I like telling the story, not doing the research. Sure there is research that goes into situational thrillers. But you’re usually dealing with regular characters in regular environments (albeit exceptional situations), which makes it easy to take that initial what if idea and run with it.

I understand all thrillers place a character in a dicey situation in which he or she must get out of. So I should clarify three conditions that make a so-called situational thriller:

1) An ordinary person as a protagonist (no cops, FBI agents, etc.)

2) A situation a character gets himself or herself into (not something he or she is chosen to do)

3) A relatively simple, straightforward plot

Does anyone know of any novels or films they could recommend that fall under these criteria? I’d love to hear about them!

My thoughts on White Lies:

There's an important lesson learned from this book.  Telling white lies can come back and bite you in the ass...in a huge way.  

At first, I didn't know what to think when I started reading.  I thought it was going to just be a book about a woman being stalked by a guy she told a little fib too, which enraged him and turned him into a stalking psychopath.  Man, was I ever wrong.  Instead, the plot became a miasma of white lies snowballing one right after another.  I can't go into much detail because I don't want to give away major plot points, but let's just say that in this book, seemingly harmless lies led to big, big trouble.

Now let's talk about Katrina, the female protagonist/main character.  I have seen a couple of reviews that stated something along the lines of, "How could Katrina let herself be such a victim?" and other statements along those lines.  While I did find myself scratching my head over a couple of decisions she made, I can't say that she didn't react and behave like any woman would have.  She lost her beloved fiance and had been alone for two years.  I could totally understand her wanting to move on with her life.  That she plunged into her new affair with Jack so quickly not knowing anything about him might seem strange, but how many of us run background checks on potential boyfriends.  Not many, I would guess.  The point is, the entire premise of this book was Katrina's telling a white lie and the subsequent things that happened as a result of it.  When a person is constantly trying to cover a lie they told, they're certainly not going to be making very clear or smart decisions.

In the end, I think what White Lies is trying to point out is that Katrina's white lies, told in naivety and as some kind of protection, were far different from the lies told by others in the book, with malice and deceit behind them.  I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a very engaging thriller.  It certainly kept me on the edge of my seat.

About the book:

While driving to a charming village tucked away deep in the Cascade Mountains of eastern Washington, where she is to begin a new job teaching high school English, Katrina Burton picks up a young hitchhiker who turns out to be drunk and predatory. Fearful for her safety, she lies about her destination in order to get him out of the car. But when she later discovers that he is a teacher at the same school, she finds herself feeding that initial lie with more lies.

Then Katrina meets a mysterious man. Handsome, charismatic and strong, he is exactly what she needs to extricate her from the expanding network of lies, now spinning out of control. She falls fast and hard for him.

Her perfect solution, however, soon becomes a nightmare that lands her in the middle of a grisly murder. And Katrina’s problems don’t stop there. She must decide whether to betray her new love or to cover up the murder and hope for the best…until she discovers that the choice may not be hers to make.

About the author:
Jeremy Bates has spent the last ten years traveling the world, visiting more than thirty countries. He has lived in Canada, the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.

Bates is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario with a degree in English literature and philosophy. He is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Inc, and Crime Writers of Canada.

His frightening debut novel, White Lies, is set in a small village in the Cascade Mountain range of eastern Washington. In the book, he succeeds in bringing world-class terror to this tranquil community.

To find out more please visit http://jeremybatesbooks.com

***GIVEAWAY***
One print copy of White Lies to a winner in the US/Canada.  To enter, please leave a comment below in answer to Jeremy's question at the end of his guest post.  Be sure to include your email address for contact if you win.  Last day to enter will be Monday, September 3 at 11:59pm CST.  Good luck!

Thanks to Pump Up Your Book for the opportunity to participate in this tour!

{Book Spotlight} The Grim by Raynetta J. Stocks

A gripping tale of both thrills and depth, The Grim follows Jaycee Baynes, single mother and convicted murderer, through her tumultuous stay at an in-patient psych ward. Unable to remember the horrendous events that incarcerated her, she is haunted daily by the presence of her bullet-riddled ex-lover, without whose help, she will undoubtedly never be freed. Having repressed all memory of what she’s done, Jaycee must find a way to manage her illness and confront her past–before it consumes her first.

About the author:

Raynetta Stocks was born in Washington D.C. in August 1981. She excelled early at reading and writing, passions that endured and thrived into adulthood. She honed her skills entering literary contests and writing plays and prose for various extracurricular groups in both high school and college.

Having written since childhood, Raynetta has composed hundreds of works in a multitude of genres to include children’s books, adolescent fiction, short stories, and social essays. Her first work,Barely Breathing, a collection of prose and letters written under the pseudonym Micah Michele and comprised with fellow author J. Mahogany, was published in June 2005. While the work was a tentative first effort, Raynetta continued to persevere as a writer, strengthening her skills by working with talented and knowledgeable mentors.

Now on the brink of the release of her second published work, and first solo effort, she is optimistic and excited about the future prospects in her career. The Grim, a gritty and empowering novel about a young woman’s struggle with PTSD, is the spring board by which Raynetta continues reaching for the stars.

She now resides in Maryland with her family.

You can visit Raynetta’s website at www.raynettastocks.com

{Book Tour} Guest Post--Gregory Lamberson, author of Carnage Road

Writing by the Seat of Your Pants

By Gregory Lamberson

I prefer not to work from an outline when writing a novel, and when I’m required to submit a detailed outline to a publisher to land a contract I procrastinate when the time comes to write the actual book. If the story has already been written as either a synopsis or an outline, then the act of creation has already occurred, and when I dive into a novel, I want to discover the story with my protagonists; I want their actions and reactions to dictates of the story to me, not the other way around. In other words, I want to surprise myself, and an outline works against surprise.

As an independent filmmaker who’s written many screenplays, structuring a story comes to me pretty easily regardless of which medium I’m writing for. The most important thing I need to know is who my protagonist is and what his goals are. I like to know what the opening scene of a novel is, and what the climax of the first act is. Beyond that, I might like to know what my second act climax is, and I may want to have a loose idea of what the conflict in my ending will be. Beyond these points, I don’t want to know anything that happens – until I reach that point in the story. In many cases, a supporting character’s sudden demise in one of my novels surprises me just as much as it does my readers.

For my new novella Carnage Road, I tried a different approach. The story concerns a cross country motorcycle trip taken by two bikers during the zombie apocalypse; in essence, Easy Rider via George A. Romero. I wanted to begin my story in Buffalo, New York (where I live) and end it in Texas, but I had no idea where my antiheroes would stop along the way. I opened some maps online and plotted their course, with each location stop serving as the setting for a different horrifying episode. Their roadmap became mine.

During their travels, Boone makes Walker promise that if he gets bitten by a zombie, Walker will put him down. I knew I wanted the climax to occur at the Alamo, with Boone in his death throes, ala Colonel Travis, and a horde of zombies threatening to enter the historic mission. Walker would have only one bullet in his gun, putting him in a moral dilemma: should he spare himself an agonizing death, or keep his promise to his friend? In the actual novella, the suspense is compounded when Walker becomes attached to an orphaned girl. The little girl did not exist until I reached my last chapter, and then suddenly there she was, adding an additional layer of resonance to my coda. This happy accident never would have happened if I had written an outline and adhered to it. 

About the author:

Gregory Lamberson is the author of five published horror novels and one nonfiction book on independent filmmaking. A two-time winner of the IPPY Gold Medal for Horror for his novels Johnny Gruesome and Personal Demons, and a three-time Bram Stoker Award finalist, he has three books scheduled for 2012: his zombie novella Carnage Road, from Creeping Hemlock Press; The Frenzy War, Book Two in his werewolf series “The Frenzy Cycle” from Medallion Press; and Tortured Spirits, Book Four in his occult detective series “The Jake Helman Files,” also from Medallion. An Active member of International Thriller Writers and the Horror Writers Association, Lamberson also has a following as a cult horror film director and is best known for "Slime City" and "Slime City Massacre."

Visit him at his website, www.slimeguy.com.

Read my REVIEW of Carnage Road.

Book Tour: Review--Carnage Road by Gregory Lamberson

My thoughts:
This is more of a short story or a novella than a novel, but it packs a lot of punch.  Anyone who loves zombies will enjoy this little book.  I'm a big fan of the AMC television series, The Walking Dead, and this book reminded me of it in some ways.  However, Lamberson cleverly added some elements to the story that make it even more frightening.

After our heroes, Walker and Boone, lose their crew, they set off on their own.  They decide to head to Hollywood because Boone, "wants to see America."  The idea is against Walker's judgement, who would much rather go to Canada.  Along the way, they meet a preacher who is still tending to his flock...of ghouls.  Oh yeah, their called ghouls in this story, not zombies.  They are warned that the left over police forces have probably formed militia or something to that effect and that they should avoid them, if at all possible.  It turns out that they're not so easy to avoid.  They find themselves in the midst of the Founding Fathers' Order lead by a woman that evokes thoughts of Sarah Palin (yikes!).  Some of her new world order consists of making abortion illegal and rewriting textbooks to eliminate evolution in favor of creationism.  Yikes again! As Walker reflects later on, "With the human race the minority group among biped, we needed to stick together, but the same old differences kept us apart:  sexual politics and politics of power.  It must have been November already."  Frankly, I find this element of the story even more scary than the zombies ghouls.

Carnage Road is a quick, entertaining read.  I really recommend it to anyone who likes zombie stories and especially to anyone who might be afraid of what our world would be like if there was a zombie apocalypse.

About the book:
Boone and Walker, the last two members of the Floating Dragons motorcycle gang in Buffalo, set out to re-discover America during the zombie apocalypse. Their odyssey takes them to Ohio, Kansas, Hollywood, and a last stand in Texas. Along the way they learn just what happens when the federal government ceases to exist, and it isn’t pretty.

A tale of friendship and loyalty, Carnage Road is author Gregory Lamberson’s unforgettable ode to westerns, biker pictures, and the cinema of the living dead.

About the author:
Gregory Lamberson is the author of five published horror novels and one nonfiction book on independent filmmaking. A two-time winner of the IPPY Gold Medal for Horror for his novels Johnny Gruesome and Personal Demons, and a three-time Bram Stoker Award finalist, he has three books scheduled for 2012: his zombie novella Carnage Road, from Creeping Hemlock Press; The Frenzy War, Book Two in his werewolf series “The Frenzy Cycle” from Medallion Press; and Tortured Spirits, Book Four in his occult detective series “The Jake Helman Files,” also from Medallion. An Active member of International Thriller Writers and the Horror Writers Association, Lamberson also has a following as a cult horror film director and is best known for "Slime City" and "Slime City Massacre."

Visit him at his website, www.slimeguy.com.


Thank you to Pump Up Your Book book publicity tours for having me on this tour.