From the Files of My Sister's Wedding

It's hard to believe that I'm the youngest.

Excerpt from Twenty-Five Percent Mutation by Nerys Wheatley

More eaters were on the road now, at least twenty, all of them heading towards Alex. He glanced back at Micah, only now noticing that Mavis’ car hadn’t started. The engine turned over a few times and stopped. Micah looked at him through the windscreen and shook his head. He tried the car again. It didn’t start.

Alex turned back towards the horde of eaters in time to see the final car pull out, zigzagging across the road as its panicked driver looked at the eaters instead of where he was going. Alex’s eyes widened as the car headed straight at him. He grabbed the bag and dived out of the way, crashing into a parked van as the car careered past, right where he had been standing moments before.

“Seriously?!” he shouted at the car’s retreating bumper, rubbing his shoulder where he’d collided with the van.

As the sound of its engine faded, he heard two things. The moaning of at least a couple of dozen eaters all determined to make him dinner, and the repeated turning over of a Thicar engine.

Scrambling to his feet, he ran back towards the white Nissan. The engine caught and revved as he approached and he heard Micah whoop. He jumped into the passenger seat. The engine promptly died again.

“What? No!” Micah said, staring at the dashboard in horror. He looked at Alex. “What is it with you and cars?”

“What do you mean me? You shouldn’t have taken your foot off the accelerator.”

“I had to get into gear.” Micah turned the key again. All the effort produced was a few lacklustre revs.

Alex stared out the window at the approaching eaters. “Now would be good.”

“Shut up.”

He turned the key again. The starter rolled sluggishly over and over. The eaters lurched closer, the first few within ten feet now.

Suddenly, the engine caught.

Micah exhaled loudly and sat back, revving for what seemed like an age.

“Don’t you think we should be leaving, Mike?” Alex said from between gritted teeth.

“Do you want it to die again? And it’s Micah.”

“What?”

“You can call me Micah or you can call me Mr Clarke, but don’t ever call me Mike.”

The first eater reached the car and slammed a bloody palm onto the window next to Alex.

“I’ll call you sweetheart and bake you cupcakes if it will get us moving.” 

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About the Author

Nerys Wheatley has an underabundance of excitement in her life and an overabundance of imagination which is constantly making up stuff in her head. She writes fast moving, action packed science fiction because she has to let the stories out somehow. She was born in the UK, which makes her spelling just that bit more thrilling, and her greatest wish is to wake up one day to find the remaining boxes from when she moved house two years ago have magically unpacked themselves. It hasn't happened yet, but she's not giving up hope.

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Website – http://neryswheatley.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/neryswheatleyauthor/

Blue is a Haunting Color - by Molly Dean

Eleven years ago Professor Dr. Hayden Parrish vanished without a trace during a cruise near the Caribbean island of St. Christopher. Did he somehow fall off the ship? Was he pushed? Did he commit suicide? Or might rumors be true that he faked his disappearance in order to start a new life?

And what about the loved ones the professor left behind, forced to live in a state of limbo, constantly wondering? One of these is Parrish’s now-twenty-seven-year-old daughter, Mallory, who travels to the island to seek answers and finds that each question she asks provokes more questions: Did her father conceal secrets about his youth? Who is Joanna Horne, the fellow cruise passenger who claimed to have had more than a passing acquaintance with Dr. Parrish? And why does the woman conjure up feelings of darkness in Mallory?

Mallory, while facing hostile encounters and unexpected dangers, discovers strength she never knew she had. Thrust into an exotic locale for the first time, she looks at herself and her past beliefs with new eyes. Does anyone ever really know another person, she wonders?

Cassien Le Clerq, a native islander who also lost a father to the sea, turns up one of the first clues to Hayden’s possible whereabouts. "I turn over many rocks," he tells Mallory. He also insists the island holds many secrets, though most lie beneath the haunting blue waters.

Excerpt:

“I will tell you, Mallory Parrish,” he said after a moment, “something of my life that makes me like you. When I was a child my father...he went away. He was a fisherman. He sails off into a yellow sunrise. My brother and I watch him go. It feels like any other morning. He does not look back, not even to wave. His name,” Cassien pauses, “is Elijah.

"In the evening Elijah does not return. And the next and the next. This is strange. Strangest thing that has ever happened. We go down to the dock and wait, my mother and my brothers and sisters. Night comes and we see no boats, only darkness.

‘Where is he?’ I ask Mama. ‘Where is our father?’

"My mother...she does not answer. She gives a big shrug, raises her shoulders high. I see all in the way she does this. I see the answer in her eyes. In her sad eyes. She knows in her heart we are never to see him again.

"They search. The other fishermen. The friends of the village. But find no trace, no boat, no body. There is no death. But my father, Elijah, is gone.

"And after this...our life...it is changed. We spend our time chasing Elijah. It is the way of things. We, you and I, so many people, must spend whole lives searching.”

“And once in a while the searching pays off. I mean somebody finds something,” I said in a determined voice.

Cassien sighed before answering. “Once in a while. But I will tell you this, Mallory Parrish--this island, it keep many secrets, never to let them go. And most of these lie beneath the water the tourists say is so beautiful.”

Buy your copy today!

Amazon: amazon.com/Blue-Haunting-Color-Molly-Dean-ebook/dp/B01JI8HE0I

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OmniLit: omnilit.com/product-blueisahauntingcolor-2084284-232.html

Hillary Clinton and the Curse of the Lying Liars

My god, it's full of stars!

This will be my last serious political blog post of this election cycle.

Non-serious posts may follow.

Any attempt to make Hillary out to be a bigger lie-facer than any other politician with her longevity and career in the field is simply character-assassination. Do keep in mind, I'm not a fan of Hillary, but I generally like truth in my advertising, and this campaign has ended up with me defending/supporting Clinton far more than I would like or want. But whether it's buying into the propaganda that has been leveled at her for decades, or actively working against her, it amounts to the same thing. Politicians have an agenda, and speaking to that agenda, for personal or political ends, means making statements that at times, or from a certain point of view, can be seen as false. Are they actually lies? Sometimes. Sometimes not. This is part of the reason that PolitiFact offers a spectrum of analysis from "True" through "Half-True" to "Pants of Fire". Compare Clinton to other career politicians of the same caibre, like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio or Chris Christie, and you'll see very similar report cards, with the majority of their statements being on the upper part of the scale of truth.

Clinton has done as any other politician would in her position and with her same goals in mind. She's crafted a narrative that support her position, at times cherry-picked elements or spun events to better suit her particular worldview, and at times misspoken, miss-remembered or conflated some statements. With all that, she has only been a "Pants on Fire" a handful of times—equivalent to any other major politician. Of course, her political enemies want to make spin a whole blanket out of those failures—no matter if they were errors of memory, cherry-picks, spins, or actual lies (yep, politicians lie). Over time, with repeated viewing, we arrive at a conclusion that could just as easily be leveled at anyone else under similar scrutiny (including you or me)—but because of the constant repetition of this narrative, without taking into consideration who is making the allegation or what their agenda might be, the public has bought into it with no better support than any other argument from repetition.

This ad nauseam fallacy has been used for a blunt-force attack, through decades of swings, which has now paid off. People regard Clinton as a liar of the highest caliber, second only to Satan or his right hand Trump (be sure to check out Trump's scorecard on PolitiFact for a real eye-opener). It's allowed discussion to be hand-waved away with a, "Well, Hillary lies, so . . ." without ever digging into the facts of the matter—whether she actually lied or unintentionally. It's become a myth of epic proportions, on the scale of anti-vaxxers or Flat Earthers. Now, no matter how much evidence if brought to the fore, how much explanation is provided, or how much reasonableness is applied, the acceptable axiom is that Hillary lies.

That is all.

Tears of Heaven - Giveaway!

Go!  Fight!  Win!

Wowee-wow-wow!  My first giveaway was over in almost 24 hours.  I had no idea there would be such amazing interest.  As such, I’m going to do a second giveaway for my first book Tears of Heaven.  If this one goes well, I may run a third for Hell Becomes Her again!

An ‪#‎AmazonGiveaway for: Tears of Heaven. NoPurcNess—Ends Aug. 18. http://ow.ly/QdyF30326mg ‪#‎urbanfantasy ‪#‎giveaway

In the past, the children of angels and humans, the Nephilim, were allowed to lead their lives as they willed. But they proved too strong, too ambitious, and too cunning for their own good. They became warlords, conquerors and emperors. They caused war and strife until the Throne stepped in and forced them to submit to Its will, or die. Unlike most of her fellows, Del, one of the first Nephilim, had no interest in conquest and domination. In the ancient past, prior to the Throne's interdiction, she met and fell in love with Dami, a Mediterranean ship captain and trader. Together, they face down pirates and storms and try to create a future together. In the present, Del unwillingly works for the Throne, obeying the commands of the angel Ahadiel. She helps to keep the world safe from the horrors of escaped demons. At the same time, she keeps herself in the Throne's good graces. Whenever a rogue demon breaks free from Hell, she and her partner, Marrin, another Nephilim, work together to banish it.

I’m definitely pulling for you to win!

Hell Becomes Her - Giveaway

See this #AmazonGiveaway for: HELL BECOMES HER NoPurchNec Ends 8-20 ttps://giveaway.amazon.com/p/fb246b02e77411cd

#urbanfantasy #readers

Angels should be a human’s worst nightmare. Del didn’t think there was anything worse than angels, or their fallen kin, demons. She and her partner Marrin helped to keep the world safe from the horrors of escaped demons for generations. But when Del’s daughter is kidnapped by a shadowy group, Del will find that the world is even more dangerous than she suspected. There are worse things than angels and demons.

I’m pulling for you to win!

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? Why Not!

She's so broken inside!

Is anyone watching [i]Crazy Ex-Girlfriend[/i]?  While it’s uneven in parts, the majority of this sitcom is hi-freaking-larious.  We especially love the song-and-dance numbers which pay homage to, among other things “West Covina, California”, “Texmercency/Textpocalypse” and “Settle for Me”.

The series centers around Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) who, after running into her summer camp sweetheart Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III), decides to quit her high-profile legal job in New York and move to West Covina in an effort to pursue him and happiness.  Unfortunately, Josh (he of the bro-hood and thousand-watt smile) already has a girlfriend—yoga-instructor and part-time harpy Valencia (Gabrielle Ruiz).

Bloom is hi-freaking-larious and carries off the character of Rebecca with effortless grace.  The stories are clever, self-referential and fast, with the jokes flying effortlessly and (mostly) landing.  While somewhat uneven in the first season, at times actually making Rebecca sometimes unlikeable, it finishes strong with a story that is as much about mental health as it is about romance.  The show also isn't afraid to comment both on the story and on the world in general though it's multiple musical numbers.  "Boy Band Made Up of Four Joshes" hilariously reflects the "hang loose" style of Josh, while skewering the boy band style.  While my particular favorite, "Settle for Me" is a throwback to 40s/50s era musical numbers:

There really isn’t a character that we don’t like, and some that we would want to see more of.  Josh’s friend, Greg (Santino Fontana), serves as a disgruntled everyman, and his relationship with Rebecca’s neighbor, ultra-laidback and ultra-cool Heather (Vella Lovell) is a lot of fun.  Rebecca’s self-appointed best friend (and rut-stuck wife/mother/co-worker) Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) has a wonderful arc, and some really great moments serving as both cheerleader and moral conscience.

Overall, [i]Crazy Ex-Girlfriend[/i] which has been picked up for a second season has something for everyone with a bonus of leaving you humming any of the nearly 40 catchy and funny original songs.