Friday Fictioneers: Penance

Thank you Madison Woods for providing this opportunity and flash fiction photo prompt. Her story is available here.

***

Endless days of wandering through the arid wilderness without food and little water, he comes to a wooded haven seeking shelter from the relentless sun. The sound of trickling water fills his ears. 

 Blessed Goddess has finally shown mercy.

He kneels before the spring splashing water on his face. Glorious relief floods his parched skin, but when a drop touches his tongue he tastes the bittersweet poison.

He jumps back and sees the lethal red berries on the bush growing beside the spring leaching it’s toxin into the water. Witchlock. He should have known the Goddess wouldn’t be so forgiving.

***

Thank you so much for reading! Comments are welcome. :)

3rd Sunday Sweet: Hollowland

First & foremost I need to announce the winner of the Blood & Whiskey Contest. Between the comments on the blog and the Twitter DM Random.org has chosen: Gina. Check your email darling. :)

Okay, I've read four of Amanda Hocking's books over the last two weeks & this one is by far my favorite. Hollowland is the perfect zombie apocalypse novel full of fine action and sprinkled with delicious romance.

Blurb: Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

Remy King is like a teen zombie-asskicking Milla Jovovich. She's snarky, smart, tough as nails, but also full of heart and soul. She does what needs to get done without apologizes. The whole time I read the book it felt like I was watching a movie. 


My favorite part in the book is when she saves a lioness that was tied up to an overturned truck and the names her Ripley, because she rips into zombies like a killing machine. Of course Ripley becomes her pal. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading book two Hollowmen.

So guess what? Hollowland is free right now on Kindle. Click here to get your own copy. Be warned, if you have anything you need to get done, make sure you do it BEFORE you start reading or it won't get done till you've read the last page.  


I will be on vacation next weekend, so I won't be doing any Friday Fictioneers or 4th Sunday surprise. See you in July.

Friday Fictioneers: White

Happy Friday! Thank you Madison Woods for this opportunity & beautiful photo prompt this week.

I had traveled down this trail many times. I knew every bend and incline. But this time something was different. I stopped and examined the trees around me. As I scanned my surroundings the hairs on my neck prickled. Another set of eyes watched me. I felt them racking my skin. 

Around the corner I spotted a pale creature shifting between the young conifers. Every major muscle in my body tightened with each soft clop. I forgot to breathe when the tall white horse stepped out into the path, but when he spread open his wings, my heart stopped beating.

Thanks for reading. Just a reminder that tomorrow is the last day to enter the giveaway. I will draw the winner on Sunday. Next week I'll be on vacation in Canada and will not be doing Friday Fictioneers or 4th Sunday Surprise. Thanks again for stopping by.

2nd Sunday Savor: Blood & Whiskey

Normally I do book reviews on the 3rd Sunday of the month, however my birthday is this week and I'm feeling kind of generous. And since it's my birthday I can do whatever the hell I want, right? So I'm going to talk about one of my favorite vampire novels which I had the opportunity to read six months before it even came out--one of the benefits of being friends with other authors, especially those who write stuff I like to read. :)

I met Clark Hays & Kathleen McFall a year and a half ago at the Book Fair. I only had enough money to buy one book, so of course I bought the only vampire novel there, The Cowboy and the Vampire, (book 1). You can read my short review here. When they asked me if I wanted to be a beta reader for the sequel, it was all I could do not to scream, "HELL YEAH!"

So what do I think of Blood and Whiskey? I frigging LOVED it. Similar to Cowboy & Vampire, the plot and the take on vampires was simply refreshing.

Dad, Tucker, Rex (the dog), Lizzie, Elita, and Lenny are back. Between dealing with the international assembly of vampires descending upon Lone Pine, a small podunk town in BFN Wyoming, and a possible human blood farm in Oregon, Lizzie and Tucker's vampire/human relationship is put to the test. So is Lizzie's new vampire status-- beneficiary of Lazarus's estate and by default Julius's wealth. Not to mention her pending pregnancy. Tucker will do just about anything to protect his lover and the mother of his unborn child, but even his devotion is challenged.

Lenny, my favorite character of both books, is still Lenny, the crazy government conspiracy theorist, explosive specialist, and producer of some of the best one liners I've heard. The book is full of heart pounding adventure, plot twists, and colorful humor with a perfect dose of romance.

So here is the generous part: leave a comment with an email address where I can contact you and you'll be entered to win a digital copy for your Kindle of Blood & Whiskey. I'll draw a name next Sunday, the 17th. Nothing makes me happier than giving away a vampire novel on my birthday.

You can check out Clark and Kathleen's blog tour here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday Fictioneers: Blue

I had loads of fun writing this one. Thank you Madison Woods for the photo prompt (here is her short) and everyone stopping by today. You're input and comments are welcome.

The infinite sky surrounding the airship, the vast Pacific below, the metallic floor beneath her feet, the starch-pressed slacks covering her long slender legs, the cotton button-up shirt she wore, the backwards baseball cap on her head, the clear half-filled water glass sitting next to the flashing buttons on the control panel, and even the few symbols and labels decorating the dashboard—blue.

Everything around Kiera was a shade of blue. The only color she’d known for the last twenty-eight days. She sighed echoing the mood of the relentless hue. In the distance she saw the speck. Green. Land. Mission-accomplished.

Thanks for reading. 

1st Sunday Snippet: The Truth

Bubbles in Shell by Etriky

Happy June, everyone! I'm going to keep this short and sweet, because I have a massive headache and need to lay back down. June is my birthday month and I have a little surprise coming up next Sunday so be sure to check back.

Here's a snippet from my mermaid YA WIP:

“Why would I lie?”

“Oh, I could think of several reasons,” he twirls his fingers away from his chin “number one being you are on a special mission for the witch priestess who claims she is acting on behalf of the goddess.”

I flinch and lower my gaze at his implied statement. Yes, I was on a mission, but how could he possibly know this? Furthermore I do not appreciate his distrust of Her Holiness. My cheeks burn hot despite myself, confirming the prince’s suspicions.

“Aha, tis true then. So what are you here to steal?”

I lift my chin, look at him straight in the eye, and tell him the truth. “Your heart.”

As always thanks for reading. Cheers,

Melania

Friday Fictioneers: Ascent

Photo by Douglas Macllroy.

This is my very first attempt to flash fiction. Thank you Madison Woods for providing this fun opportunity. Click here for her story.

One step in front of the other.  The mountaineering instructor’s words ring in my ears.  We’ve been climbing since one this morning. Three power bars, one package of vegan super protein jerky, and half of a hydration pack later I finally see the summit. 

My quads burn, my lungs feel like an inferno erupts inside them with each breath, and the pressure inside my head feels like it’s about to explode.

Altitude sickness. Damn it.

 

I’m so close, yet so far away. Do I go back or push on? Either way, it’s still one step in front of the other. 

Thanks for reading!