Future's Edge Trilogy by Mort Herman Book Tour and Giveaway

Author Bio:

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Mort Herman has a Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering. Holder of six patents, he worked at several companies including IBM, Texas Instruments, AT&T and Lucent Technologies where his specialty was semiconductor electronics, systems design, and marketing.

Mort lives on the Jersey shore with his mate Mary Ann. When he’s not writing, Mort is an avid sailor, a wood sculptor, and a charter member of the Arts Society of Keyport. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, he added his technical, artistic, and project management skills to the design and implementation of three, free form concrete sculptures that replaced destroyed public art in the town of Keyport, NJ.

Author Links - 

Website: www.futuresedgebook.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/futuresedge?fref=ts

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=316031646&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7880581.Mort_Herman

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1502337002

Book Genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy

Publisher: Amazon

Release Date: September 25, 2014

Buy Link(s): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1502337002

Book Description:

Most people do not carry the fate of the world on their shoulders. Sam Greenhut does.

By the year 2230, the world is no longer dependent on fossil fuels. All power is harnessed directly from the Earth’s core. A clever integration of neural technology and wireless energy gives rise to the Global Network (GNET), revolutionizing society. Diverse industries operate efficiently under the umbrella of a neurally connected world economy, powered by an unlimited geothermal fuel supply controlled not by Presidents, Sheikhs nor Monarchs, but by a Corporate Federation run by seven individuals.

This is the state of the world when the Corporate Federation charges Sam Greenhut with ensuring GNET’s unquestioned reliability and integrity.

Sam sees a world whose population is totally dependent on GNET, as if the previously admired trait of self-reliance was weaned from the gene pool. Inevitably, the insatiable demand for energy prompts a reckless decision by Corporate Federation board members to expand the geothermal energy lattices. Despite Sam’s protest, the choice to exceed the cautionary “Greenhut Limits” precipitate a string of earthquakes that destroy GNET and plunges the planet into the chaos known as “The Upheaval.”

What happens next fundamentally alters the destiny of the planet and catapults Sam into the center of The Seed – book one in my science fiction trilogy, Future’s Edge.

Excerpt:

… With the village stabilized and work preparations for the upcoming season proceeding smoothly, it was finally time for Kappi and Elizabeth to depart – a little later than usual, but still in time to be comfortably cradled between winter and spring. They left Tyber in the capable hands of the core group of people who had been with Kappi since the beginning of their enterprise. As agreed, Frank stayed behind to carry out his primary job of caring for the puppies. This was to be Kappi’s and Elizabeth’s alone time.

Their preparations were simple and swift. They chose to take their three favorite dogs led by Jupiter, the oldest, strongest, and most even-keeled of the lot. He had the experience to tame any wild or unsafe actions of the other dogs and could administer discipline when needed. Tassi (Tassiorpok, the guide) was the youngest and she possessed the keenest of senses. When there was uncertainty concerning the weather, a sound, or what path was the safest, Tassi was the one all looked at for guidance. Lastly, there was Angus (Angusuktok, the good hunter). Angus could smell prey for several kilometers and understood by verbal command what animal Kappi and Elizabeth wanted him to seek. This proud team was considered a vital, integral part of their family.

Off they went on their adventure with their dogs carrying food, supplies, clothing, hunting weapons and tools. They were finally able to leave behind the realities of the real world. There was no need to discuss their destination. Each knew instinctively where they would go.

With Tassi in the lead, Kappi provided the verbal commands that guided them toward a special hidden river valley. In the summer months, the river would flow freely, but now it was completely iced over. Tassi understood where Kappi wanted to go, and he let Tassi guide them with little intervention.

Elizabeth and Kappi were struck by the sheer majesty of this place even though they had been there before. Their place, which they called Uyaraut (meaning “precious stone” in the Inuit language), was bounded on three sides by cliffs providing a magnificent vista of the frozen river valley as it stretched for kilometers between the Arctic Ocean on the north end and the cloud-topped mountains to the south. Their camp was about halfway down the steep slope on a relatively flat area with a deep cave at the most easterly point. Uyaraut presented a perfect view of the sunset at this time of year. The setting provided shelter from the strong winds relentlessly funneling across the treeless, snow-encapsulated tundra.

Throughout their stay, Kappi and Elizabeth hardly uttered ten words to each other. In Uyaraut, they let in the solitude, the silence, their heartbeats, their individual breaths and all that surrounded them. It was an empathic event for Kappi and Elizabeth and it bridged the barrier of mental separateness intrinsic to humans. Uyaraut acted as an amplifier…

Schedule
Giveaway - Signed Print (US Only) Ebook (Int'l)

May 24 - Introduction at VBT Café Blog
May 27 - Interviewed at Author CA Milson
May 28 - Guest Blog at Infinite House of Books
June 1 - Spotlight at 3 Partners In Shopping - Nana, Mommy & Sissy Too!
June 1 - Spotlight at BookJunkieMom at Rainy Day Reviews
June 3 - Review at Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock
June 3 - Guest Blogging at Hywela Lyn - Romance That's Out Of This WorldJune 3 - Guest Blogging at Lori's Reading Corner
June 3 - Reviewed at A Virtual Hobby Store & Coffee Haus
June 5 - Review at Tea and A Book
June 6 - Spotlight at I Feel The Need, The Need To Read
June 8 -Spotlight at 4covert2overt A Place in the Spotlight
June 10 - Spotlight at KR Morrison, Author
June 10 - Spotlight at Urania's DistractionsJune 12 - Spotlight at Paranormal Romance And Authors That Rock
June 15 - Spotlight at The Voluptuous Book Diva 
June 15 - Spotlight at eBook Review Gal
June 17 - Spotlight at XOXO Book Blog
June 17 - 6 Besties at BK Walker Books

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Letters From Inside by Teresa Blue Book Blitz and Giveaway

About the Book

Letters from Inside
by Teresa Blue
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | All Romance | Kobo Books | Boroughs Publishing
Genre: Romantic Action/Suspense
Published by: Boroughs Publishing
Release Date: February 15, 2015
Length: 181 Pages

Detective Tom Harrington’s touch is like a warm balm, soothing life’s scratches from Linda Wheeler’s troubled heart, but he is also the last man she should trust: a stranger, a cop, a threat to all she holds dear.

INSIDE 
Leaving her two-timing, alcoholic husband was tough, but single parenting is harder. Still, waitress Linda Wheeler will do anything for her teenage daughter. Jessica might be rebellious, but at her core she’s sweet and good, and a mother’s love must remain deep and true. Even when her child makes a terrible, perilous mistake that might end her in jail—or worse.

AND OUT 
Detective Tom Harrington has personal reasons for keeping an eye on Carl Jenkins, so he follows the recently paroled rapist to the small Michigan town of Berrien. There he finds something even more personal…and confusing. Why would a seemingly decent woman write letters, pouring her heart out to such a dangerous convict? Is she really as lonely as she is beautiful? Linda Wheeler is a mystery that demands unraveling, just as her soft lips demand kissing and her wounded heart demands soothing. Above all, he must protect her—and his own secrets.

---

Excerpt

The bedroom door slammed behind her as Jessie threw herself on the ruffled spread stretched smooth across the bed, the one chore her mom still seemed willing to do as part of her motherly duty. 

Grabbing the slim-line phone, Jessie dialed her best friend. If she had a cell phone she could have called her sooner, like the moment she'd opened the mailbox and saw the cryptic handwriting, knowing immediately it was from him.

“Hey, Lisa. What’re you doing?” 

She turned on the small Holly Hobby lamp that had belonged to her mom and, with the phone cradled next to her ear, removed a wrinkled envelope from beneath the waistband of her jeans. 

“Not much,” Lisa said. “Same-O-bull.”

“Well…guess what?” Jessie lay back against the headboard. “I got another letter today.”

“Another one? That makes what? Four? Five?” Lisa’s high pitch squeal blasted through the receiver.

“Five, not counting the card he made me.”

“Seriously? I can’t believe you’re actually writing to a convict.”

“I am very serious. I stopped playing games a long time ago.” 

“Aren’t you the least bit afraid? I mean, convicts are dangerous you know.”

“First of all, I like to think of him as a kindred spirit. Like me, he’s someone whose rights have been taken away. He probably didn’t do much of anything, just couldn’t blend in with the so-called normal people.” She blew at the bangs hanging over her eyes. “As if we all can.”

“Yeah, but Jess–”

“But what? Mom’s doing her best to keep me a prisoner around here, I may as well find out first hand what being locked up is all about.”

Jessie rolled across the bed and placed her feet against the headboard. 

“Okay, I see your point,” Lisa agreed. “What will you do if he wants to meet you or something? Or, oh my God, what if he’s like, a sex pervert? He could be a real psycho.”

“You’re starting to sound just like my mom. I’m not going to write him forever, you know.” 

Her stomach fluttered and she wondered for a moment if maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea, and then envisioned her mom’s stern face and squelched the thought. With all the crap she’d been through lately, this diversion was just what she needed. 

“Don’t forget the guy’s locked up, remember? Unless he’s Houdini there’s not much he can do behind bars,” Jessie said, and let go a long exaggerated breath. “Guess what I asked him?” Her girlish giggles erupted and she dropped her voice barely above a whisper. “If they really make license plates,” she said and snorted with laughter. “Can you imagine? I get my permit next year. I could probably get a discount on my tags.”

The sound of her mom’s footsteps stopped outside her room.

“I’m leaving for work now, Jess. Be sure and lock the door, okay?”

“Okay, Mom. I will.” Soon after, her mom’s car started up and rolled down the driveway.

“I’ve heard those cons have humongous biceps. I mean all their spare time is spent pumping iron, right?” Her face became hot just thinking about what the mysterious pen-pal might look like. “I’ll bet he’s a hunk.”

“Well, I still think you’re crazy, Jess. What are you going do if your mom sees the letters? Or, even worse, suppose he were to call the house or something?”

“Relax. Our mail doesn’t come until late afternoon and I always get it first. And I didn’t give him the phone number. I’m not totally stupid, you know. Besides, it’d probably be collect and my mom would never accept the charges. You know how freaking cheap she is. I mean, come on, I'm probably the only living person on the planet who still uses an old-fashioned house telephone. I mean, would it kill her to shell out eighty bucks a month for me to have a freaking cell phone?"

“She told you she didn’t have the money, Jess.”

“Whatever.”

“I don’t think you should write him again. Besides, couldn’t he, like, get in trouble, you know, writing to a minor?”

“I already thought of that. I signed the letter Linda Wheeler. Cool huh?” 

“You did not!”

Jessie held the phone away from her ear until the yelling died down. “Chill out, will ya? I’m sure I’ll probably never meet the guy. And if by chance he does show up, so what? Mom doesn’t appreciate a good man. Let’s see how she deals with a bad one.”

About Teresa Blue
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page

Teresa Blue grew up in a Southwest Michigan town so small it didn't even have a stoplight. Sweltering summer evenings were spent on the front porch hoping to catch a breeze and life seemed to crawl. She discovered books and by the time she entered high school, had sailed the high seas with Captains and rode the English countryside with highwaymen, robbed stages-- well, you get the idea. She fell head over heels in love reading romance.

And for awhile reading was enough, until the day it wasn't. For whatever reason,she picked up a pen and just wrote. And has been at it ever since. Happily married for thirty years, the mother of three, she's also a grandmother to four. Her favorite day of the week is Monday when the kids - and grandkids - all return home for a hot cooked meal. And for a few hours the house is filled again with kids, cartoons and chaos.

Teresa is a member of Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America and Romance Writers of America.



 

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Shades of Vengeance A Jude Magdalyn Series by L. M. Pruitt Book Five Blog Tour

Shades of Vengeance

Jude Magdalyn Series

Book Five

L.M. Pruitt

Genre: PNR

Publisher: SP Press

Date of Publication: 04/30/15

ASIN: B00U1I18CA

Number of pages: 61

Word Count: approx. 20K

Cover Artist: Kendra Egert

Book Description:

In moments of pain, we seek revenge.--Ami Ayalon

My home is compromised.

My children are gone.

My husband is dead

Every inch of my life is in ruins.

The only thing I have left is vengeance.

And no matter what it takes--no matter what tool must be used--no matter the cost--I will have it.

Available at Amazon

Excerpt Shades of Vengeance:

“This life isn’t salvation, Jude.” St. Germaine leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Look at Williams. He is gnawing on your wrist like some sort of savage animal, doing his very best to drain you dry.” He glanced over my shoulder, his features hardening. “He is going to kill you if something isn’t done very soon.”

“And Theo is going to die if you keep standing there, trying to talk me out of this decision.” I finally took that deep breath the Comte had recommended and pulled out the big guns. “You promised Madame Henries. You promised me. Please, please, please do this.”

The Comte stared at me for so long I began to wonder if he’d turned to stone. Finally, he sighed, stepping back and raking a hand through his hair, disheveling the carefully coifed locks. “Fine. Fine. Danie, go to my wine cellar, it’s directly off the kitchen. Bring back two—no, three bottles.”

“Do you really think you should be drinking right before you do something this major?” Lies didn’t sound confrontational or condemning. If anything, she sounded curious. “I’m assuming this is going to be more than a little taxing, otherwise everybody would do it, so wouldn’t you want to have a clear head?”

“My head is quite clear, child.” St. Germaine snorted, somehow managing to make the rude nose sound ridiculously elegant. “Because the process is, as you said, taxing, I’m going to need more than a little bit of sustenance to get through this evening. The wine is fortified with blood.” He shot me a disgruntled look. “Is nobody teaching the children their history these days?”

“I’ll make sure to integrate you into my daughters’ education.” I shifted my gaze to Williams, watching him suckle on my wrist like a baby at a breast—one more thing Hart and Elizabeth had taken away from me. I’d be damned if I let them take away the person I’d spent my entire life waiting for. “Williams, can you hear me?”

He didn’t answer.

I took a deep breath and dug my nails in to his cheek.

He hissed and jerked away.

I bit back a scream as I felt my wrist rip open, blood spurting high in the air. “Oh, f*** Someone go get Bridget, now. Hurry, hurry, hurry.”

“I’m sorry.” Williams’ voice sounded rusty from disuse but I was still able to detect a note of repentance. “I’m sorry, the hunger was just too much. I tried, truly, but--.”

“You can apologize for your lapse in mental judgment later.” St. Germaine once again sounded bored and urbane and I turned just in time to watch him perch on the edge of the bed. He glanced over at me, his face shifting in to concerned lines. “I must ask again. Are you certain--?”

“Do it.” I flinched when someone pressed a bandage to my gushing wrist but didn’t break eye contact with the Comte. I slipped my hand in to Theo’s, squeezing it tight. “Save him, please.”

St. Germaine sighed. Bent over Theo. And sank his fangs into Theo’s neck.

Shades of Loss

Jude Magdalyn Series

Book Four

L.M. Pruitt

Genre: PNR

Publisher: SP Press

Release Date: February 17, 2014

Print Length: 116 pages

ASIN: B00IICVD44

Book Description:

We have to distrust each other. It is our only defense against betrayal. Tennessee Williams

Fact--Hart is back from the not-quite-dead.

Fact--His ultimate goal is my death.

Fact--He'll use anything--and anyone--to help him reach that goal.

The only way to save myself--my family--the entire Covenant--is to find the answer to one simple question.

Who is the traitor?

Available at Amazon

Shades of Blood

Jude Magdalyn Series

Book Three

L.M. Pruitt

Genre: PNR

Publisher: SP Press

Book Description:

If it's not one thing, it's another.

Felipe, one of New Orleans's most infamous--and crazy--vampires is back in town. And to say he's unhappy is an understatement.

Duprees and Williams have to track down Felipe, fast, before he claims any more victims. If that means making a deal with the Devil--otherwise known as St. Germaine--and using an untrained dhampir, so be it.

If that wasn't enough, I've also got rebellious teenagers, feuding couples, and a suddenly full social calendar.

The more things change....

Available at Amazon

Excerpt Shades of Blood

“I’m going to kill her.” I didn’t throw the phone across the room like I wanted to, but instead, set it down gently on the coffee table. I took a deep breath and held it for a long moment before releasing it. “I’ll just have to owe Williams another favor.”

“That would put you at owing him three times, which is three times too many.” Theo slid the phone out of my reach. I’d already thrown two phones this month, so I didn’t begrudge him the action. “What exactly did Danie do this time?”

It’d been almost a month since Williams had shown up in the foyer and left his niece—Hart’s daughter—in my care. Not that I really wanted her here or that she wanted to be here. Things were just getting back to normal after the terror of Halloween, after darting around the city trying to find Hart’s other psychopathic

brother. Having Hart’s daughter under my roof made me more than a little uneasy, even though he was still at the bottom of the Mississippi.

I’d argued with Williams. Danie had argued with Williams. Even Mickeal, Williams’s second-in-command and currently stationed at the Crossroads, had argued with Williams. He refused to budge. And my conscience wouldn’t let me throw her out without a definite place to go.

So Danie stayed. And did her best to make all our lives a living hell.

“Shoplifting. Again.” I drummed my fingers over my stomach, then stopped when one of the bumps kicked a little. Theo and I still called them the bumps, even though it was starting to look like I’d swallowed a small beach ball. At the rate I was going, I’d be as big as a cow by the time I delivered in May. “Down at that tourist shop.”

“Which one? There’s only half a million or so.” Theo made a little circle motion with his finger and I gave him my back. I always seemed to have a knot between my shoulder blades these days. Whether it was from Danie or from the bumps, I couldn’t begin to guess.

“Voodoo Blues. The owner recognized her, so instead of calling the police, he let her go and called me. I’ll send Elizabeth down tomorrow to take care of it.”

“Have you ever thought about letting her get picked up by the police? Seeing if having the law come down on her would actually make her see how stupid she’s being?” Theo pressed a kiss against my bare shoulder. I shrugged half-heartedly, tapping my fingers on my knee.

“Maybe it would work. Or maybe she’d go nuts on them and then we’d have a serious problem.” Restless now, I stood up to pace in front of the fireplace. It was just now ten p.m. and most of the house had been up long enough to start getting into trouble. Any minute now, someone was going to knock on the parlor door and tell me they needed help with something.

I wasn’t psychic. It had happened often enough that it was a given.

Shades of Desire

Jude Magdalyn Series

Book Two

L.M. Pruitt

Genre: PNR

Publisher: SP Press

Book Description:

All I wanted was a little peace and quiet.

Instead, I've got dead Covenant members and a steady stream of letters from the new guy in town. His beverage of choice? A 2002 Merlot, with a shot or two of powerful virgin blood.

On top of that, I'm breaking in a new police liaison, failing at playing matchmaker, and fighting nausea like it's a full time job.

Did I forget to mention that I've also got enough girls living at the Crossroads to start my own boarding school?

Peace and quiet? Out the window.

--Jude Magdalyn Henries

Available at Amazon

Excerpt Shades of Desire

“If someone doesn’t get me a lemon in the next five minutes, everyone will suffer. A lot.”

“Jude, I love you. Which is why I can say you’re being just a little overdramatic.” One look at my face and Theo changed his tune. “But then again, you could say pregnancy is dramatic and you’re just getting into the groove.”

“Nice save.” I tried to sit up again. Halfway through the upward movement greasy waves of nausea rolled over me and I eased back down onto the pillow. Strands of black hair clung to my sweaty face and I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly. “Not as nice as that lemon would be right now, but nice.”

“Elizabeth will be here in a moment. No doubt she’ll have a lemon. And tea. And toast.” Theo turned over to face me, laying one hand over my still mostly flat stomach. If you looked close, you could see the smallest of bumps.

I know, because I checked. Every other day or so.

If anybody told me three months ago, that the week before Halloween, I’d be lying in bed with a man who absolutely adored me—even the crazy parts—I’d have asked them what the hell they were smoking. If they’d thrown in being pregnant, I would have punched them in their jaw. Then gone to the store and bought a dozen pregnancy tests and prayed for them all to be negative.

But that was before the Covenant.

In two weeks, I’d gone from being an orphan raised by nuns, to the latest in a long line of only daughters. Women charged with the protection and well-being of hundreds of people with unique powers. Some made flame burn for hours, while others called the wind to knock you flat on your ass. They were a group of people who came together over two-hundred years ago, bound by a prophecy. One with no past, lost in the present, will bring in the future, through gifts of both this world and the next.

And lucky me, I’d passed the job interview.

I’d sent Hart to a muddy, watery grave-literally. Unless something went crazy wrong, he’d stay under the Mississippi until the Final Judgment. Williams ruled the vampires of the city now and kept his distance as much as possible.

And I, Jude Magdalyn Henries, led the Covenant. Maybe I wasn’t terrific at it. But Gillian would be proud.

All things considered, I think I came out with a pretty good deal.

Shades of Gray

Jude Magdalyn Series

Book One

L.M. Pruitt

Book Description:

Jude Magdalyn Henries lives what many would call an unconventional life.

Orphaned at birth, raised by nuns, a teenage runaway living on the streets... she now earns a living at odd jobs, including one as a fake tarot card reader. Very little about Jude's life appears normal, by any scale. When she accepts a gig to do a private reading,

unconventional takes on an entirely new meaning. Life as she knows it ends when she's thrust into a world she never knew existed-one filled with magic, vampires, and her beloved New Orleans on the verge of an underground war. To make matters worse, she's got two men in her life vying for attention, Williams and Theo. Both call to a different part of her, but one scares her just a little bit. Can she step up to the challenges set before her and make the right choices for the "greater" greater good"?

Available at Amazon

About the Author:

L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. She knows this because she's killed bamboo. Twice. She is the author of the Winged series, the Plaisir Coupable series, Jude Magdalyn series, the Moon Rising series, and Taken: A Frankie Post Novel.

http://www.lmpruitt.org

https://www.facebook.com/pages/LM-Pruitt/364776895104

https://twitter.com/lmpruitt

http://www.amazon.com/L.M.-Pruitt/e/B00427WOW4/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4320796.L_M_Pruitt

Amber Prelude by Kevin B. Henry Release Day Blitz

 

 

Amber Prelude

Amber Gifts

Prequel

Kevin B. Henry

Genre: Fantasy, Time Travel, Science Fiction, and History

Publisher: Burst/ Champagne Books

Date of Publication: June 01, 2015

Word Count: 20,000

Formats available: eBook, PDF

Cover Artist: Ellie Smith

Book Description:

Mitchell didn't really believe the story the Man told him, Just take a sip and speak a year. He whimsically chose a historic event to witness. Little did he know he would become part of that history. Faster than you can say Teithwyr Amser our man Mitchell is chasing a bona fide assassin not only across America but across time.

Amber Prelude will require Mitchell to travel from the America he knows to France and Africa. He will travel to decades and centuries he is unfamiliar with. Mitchell will chase authentic villains and make historic friends, all in an attempt to set history back the way he remembers.

Excerpt Chapter One

1963: New Mexico

It had started simply. I uncapped the vial, drank the liquid, and spoke the year I had chosen aloud. The room spun. I dissolved.

I anticipated nothing happening. I began by sitting at the old wooden table feeling numb. My expectations extended to looking for shelter the following morning. Maybe I would move under a bridge for a short time; maybe I would do something much worse to myself.

I’d experienced severely morbid thoughts for months. Moving often transformed me. A nightmarish combination of a manic and depressed person was all I had been until the vial. It continued for months, and I expected it to continue forever. What I didn’t expect was a twisting feeling in my chest and lower abdomen. It wasn’t painful, just an unusual feeling. I didn’t expect the room to blur. I blinked several times, but it wasn’t my eyes; the room was blurry. Soon the room ceased to exist.

I had not spent long hours considering the year I would move to. I flippantly selected 1963. It would give me almost ten years before my birth moment and I vanished from the universe forever. The Man was specific about not existing past my birth moment. It would give me a chance to see some of the most tumultuous years in America, civil rights marches, hippies, the moon landing. My choice of year would give me a chance to stand at Dealey Plaza and personally see if there was a second shooter. It was a shallow choice, but it was the best I could come up with.

My first thought as the world congealed around me was that I had said something wrong. Had I said 1863? It was night. The stars above me were crisp and clear. Sagebrush surrounded me in all directions. Gone were the smells of the city. My senses absorbed a clean, fresh smell. This was how I remembered the world use to be. A scrub oak blended with the evening shadows just a few feet to my right. To my left was a light in the distance, a campfire. The flames created dancing shadows on the two trees surrounding the fire. Someone sat next to the fire, stirring the flames, sparks rising into the starry sky.

I walked toward the fire. I didn’t see that I had any choice; every other direction was pitch-black. Halfway there he rose from his place at the fire and raised his left hand above his head.

He sparkled. It wasn’t anything residual from the fire. His whole body twinkled and sparkled. It was disturbing.

“About time, Mitchell,” he yelled. “I’ve been waiting here for damn near three days.” “Come on in. I’m sure you have questions, son.”

I got over my initial anxiety of the twinkle man and sat on the far side of the fire. We had been sitting before the fire for fewer than five minutes. I was dazed, confused, and overwhelmed. Less than an hour ago, I was sitting in a dingy, two-bit hotel room.

Now, here I was, in some large expanse of desert in the company of someone who looked like Ray Teal, that quintessential sheriff on so many TV westerns and movies. He wore standard blue jeans, a simple button-front dress shirt, and a light-gray jacket. This twinkle man had a slouch hat, not exactly cowboy, but not a fedora either. He was half a foot shorter than me, stockier, and a minimum of twenty-five-years older, if I had to guess his age. There was salt and pepper stubble covering his face. His voice was deeper than mine, but not so deep that I envied it.

“Okay,” I began. “Where am I?”

“New Mexico,” he answered without hesitation. “You’re about three miles east of Tucumcari.”

I considered that answer. “When am I?”

“It’s November, 1963.”

“What’s the date, the day?” It concerned me I might miss my reason for picking this year.

“It’s the sixth.” A wave of relief swept over me. I wasn’t too late.

His answers were rapid-fire, no pauses or measurable moments that I would have considered creative thinking. He was either telling the truth or extremely well prepared for my random questions. I tried to think of the relevant questions I should ask. The standard ones, who, what, when, where, seemed a good place to start.

“How did I get here?”

“Well now, that’s an obvious answer to a poorly considered, ill-thought out question.” He shook his head. “You took a drink from that vial you have tucked away in your jacket pocket.”

A sudden gust of wind caused me to wrap my windbreaker tighter around my body. Maybe it wasn’t the night air. I was a little hurt. It wasn’t an attempt at sounding stupid; just understand what had happened to me.

“How did you know I was coming?” Maybe that question would seem less inept.

“Now that’s complicated.” He answered this question more slowly. He was thinking more and not just responding. “My name is Gil, Gil Seward. I got a letter just a few days ago. It asked me to come here and see if you’d appear. The letter said to just wait here a while and see if you drank from the vial or not. If you did, I’m supposed to help you out a little. Get you started and send you on your way.”

“Asked by whom? That guy who gave me the vial?”

“Yeah” was his only response. I hate one-word answers.

“Who was he? Why did he give me this vial?”

“He was someone I owed a favor. I haven’t seen him for a long time. He isn’t someone you need to know. Forget him. I don’t know why he decided to give you his vial. He just did.”

He paused for a while, stirring the fire with his stick, a small branch from one of the nearby trees.

“One last question for now,” he said. “Make it a good one.”

“Okay, Gil,” I said, using his name for the first time. “Why the hell do you sparkle? You look like some creation by Industrial Light, a special effect in a vampire or science fiction movie.”

“Forgot all about that,” he laughed. “You sparkle too. You just can’t see it. You started as soon as you drank from the vial. All Amser will sparkle.”

“What’s an Amser?”

“Sorry, Mitchell, You’ve reached your limit on questions for now. It’s my turn to ask some.”

I started to say something, but the look on his face made me stop. I hoped that ‘for now’ meant there would be more answers in the future.

“What made you pick this year?”

“It wasn’t a rational decision. Who would believe this would really work? I figured I’d see something special, something historic. Dallas and the Kennedy assassination was a significant event in my life. All the other conspiracy theories I remember while growing up could never surpass this one event. Standing on the grassy knoll and knowing beyond a doubt if there was or wasn’t a second shooter seemed as good an idea as any.”

“With all of history to choose from, you wanted to watch somebody die?”

“That wasn’t my motivation.” I said “I thought of it more as watching a documentary on TV.”

“We’ll see what you think of your documentary as you watch it live. Did you have plans afterward?”

“I don’t have many concrete plans. Just live out the next decade before I die.”

“Why would you want to die?”

“The Man said I couldn’t live past my birth moment. That was another reason I came here. That gives me several years to live before that time.”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“You have it all wrong, Mitchell. You can use that vial repeatedly. Just refill it. You can travel to any year, any time, as often as you want, as many times as you want. You’re not stuck in this year or decade forever.”

I’m not sure my mouth actually fell open, but that is how I remember it

About the Author:

From an early age, Kevin B. Henry was a voracious reader. His collection of science fiction, fantasy and mystery books bring tears of envy to the eyes of many small community libraries.

Kevin has worked as an educator, technology specialist and day laborer most of his adult life. During all that time he lived the life of a frustrated author. That it took 30 years for him to piece together the series, Amber Gifts is a testament that the best meals need slow cooking to bring out the flavor.

The Amber Gifts Series begins with Amber Gifts. The second story, which is really the first, is Amber Prelude, and is available now. The third story, Amber Legacy continues where Amber Gifts left off. It will be available in November 2015. All are published by the wonderful folks at the Champagne Book Group. A fourth story is in the process of being written.

Kevin is a natural story teller, so it’s logical that he lectures occasionally. Topics range from the implementation of cutting edge technology hardware to the creation, modification and use of e-books within education. He constantly pursues research to expand his range of possible topics. His most recent research revolved around the aerodynamic properties of reindeer. He’s also been known to include little known facts and trivia within his presentations. Did you know just 146 years ago today the Union Army marched into Atlanta. It took longer than anticipated. They were delayed by a traffic jam on I-75 and the toll booth on Ga. 400

He continues to live in the Mid-West without human or domesticated mammal companionship.

Blog/Wesbite: www.ambergifts.blogspot.com

Twitter: @Kevin_Henry

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmberGifts

Stepping Stones by Kacey Vanderkarr Cover Reveal

Stepping Stones (The Stone Series, #1)

by Kacey Vanderkarr 

Release Date: 08/25/15

Urban Fey Press

Summary from Goodreads:

Onnaleigh Moore is part of a plan—and it isn’t hers. When her brother dies in a car accident, Onna is desperate to preserve the tatters of her family. Any hope of finding normalcy vanishes when her mother runs off and her dad turns to booze to numb his pain. Onna’s grief is crippling, but the boy who showed up just when she needed him is helping her cope.

Everett’s presence is comforting, though he knows things—Onna’s name just before they met, where she lives, and sometimes he comments on thoughts she doesn’t say aloud. She pegs him for a stalker, or maybe psychic, but the truth is deadlier than she imagines. As their feelings for one another deepen, Everett confesses a horrifying secret: Onna’s brother is only the beginning of the plan, and some fates are worse than death.

About the Author

Kacey Vanderkarr is a young adult author. She dabbles in fantasy, romance, and sci-fi, complete with faeries, alternate realities, and the occasional plasma gun. She’s known to be annoyingly optimistic and listen to music at the highest decibel. When she’s not writing, she coaches winterguard and works as a sonographer. Kacey lives in Michigan, with her husband, son, and crazy cats. Along with her novels, Reflection Pond and Antithesis, Kacey's short fiction can be found in Sucker Literary Vol 3, and the upcoming Spark Vol 7, Ember: A Journal of Luminous Things, and Out of the Green: Tales from Fairyland.

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