Archive for 2014
Time for a Harvest Treat
September 10, 2014 | Author Friend Promo
Emilia Mancini has more talents than writing terrific romance. No matter what Em says, she also bakes great treats. Emilia is here today to share a family favorite. The kitchen is all yours, Emilia.
For all the disasters I have in the kitchen (and there are plenty), there is one tried and true recipe that never fails. My zucchini bread. It’s yummy. That is all. I need not say more.
I’ve replaced the zucchini with carrots as well, and it was almost as good. The carrots didn’t have as much moisture so the bread was a tad bit drier, but wash it down with a nice hot cup of Earl Grey and you’ll never notice the difference.
This recipe makes two loaves. That may seem like overkill, but the first loaf never even has a chance to cool down. It’s gone that fast.
Emilia Mancini Zucchini Bread
3 cups shredded zucchini (about 3 medium)
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. baking powder
½ to 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
½ cup raisins (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease bottoms of two loaf pans.
Mix zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Pour into pans and bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate.
This is a perfect breakfast bread or snack or treat. Basically, when we have zucchini bread in the house, that’s all we eat.
I hope you enjoy it. If you don’t, bring it over to my house and we’ll finish it for you!
Here’s a little teaser from my latest sexy release for your reading pleasure.
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It took Kyle one look to realize he wanted to seduce his best friend’s mother. And one kiss to realize he didn’t have to.
It was lust at first sight when Kyle met his roommate’s mother Kate. Kyle, a college transfer, was too far from home to visit on short school breaks, so Justin took him to Minneapolis where his mother was serving up a family meal for Thanksgiving.
One look left Kyle with a healthy obsession for Kate which grew with each visit. When he landed an internship in Minneapolis, he moved in with Kate for the summer, and got in touch with his voyeuristic side. It wasn’t until one late evening and a few too many glasses of wine that Kyle began to suspect his attraction wasn’t one-sided.
When he dared to push the issue, he found Kate more than willing to succumb to his seduction.
To read an excerpt from Seducing Kate, please click a vendor’s name. Musa Publishing – Amazon
Emilia Mancini is the naughtier side to author Marci Boudreaux. Emilia stays hidden in the shadows like a nefarious side kick, slipping out only when the stories Marci wants to share are a little too grown up to be called sweet romance.
Seducing Kate is Emilia’s second release and, at least for the moment, her crowning glory.
Be sure to check out the Pinterest board for Seducing Kate.
Visit Emilia on her website. Stay connected on Twitter and Facebook.
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Spotlight on A Model Hero
September 8, 2014 | Author Friend New Releases
from Sara Daniel
Welcome to a new month! Time to pull out your Calendar Men calendars. While you’re doing that, I’ll give you some background on how they came into existence…
Leonidas Russo is a former US Marine-turned-fashion model. He uses his connections in the fashion world to put a call out for models to be featured in a charity calendar he’s put together to honor the memory of his brother, an Army soldier who died in the Afghan war. Proceeds for the calendar in the stories will benefit The Fallen Warriors Family Fund, a charity that gives scholarships and assistance to the families left behind.
All together now, flip the calendar page up and gaze in adoration and unabashed lust at the ripped physique and chiseled face of Mr. September. This is his story…
Gretchen Meyers is a full-figured woman living in a model thin world. Desperate to end her mother’s constant, nagging stream of dieting and fashion “advice,” Gretchen tackles the challenge of reviving her mother’s faltering modeling agency. All she needs is to woo back Kyle Ramsey, once the hottest model in the country.
Making the preemptive choice to turn his back on his career seemed Kyle’s only option until Gretchen comes calling. He doesn’t care what she wants to offer him, the answer is no. Still, he’s intrigued by her refreshing personality and all her lovely, lush curves.
When tragedy strikes, Kyle finds comfort and healing in Gretchen’s arms. But he can’t trust her with his career-ending secret and she doesn’t believe their relationship will survive the long term. He’s perfect and she’s not even close. Can the fragile ties holding them together survive Kyle’s opportunity to become a true model hero?
Excerpt:
The restaurant scene, then, had done its job. Gretchen would have to send Jamie flowers. No, she’d send a box of fattening chocolates instead. “Did you enjoy your evening after I left?”
Kyle’s gaze narrowed, he pushed himself out of the chair. “Did you arrange with Jamie to drop by our table?”
“How could I, when I had no idea where we were going for dinner until we were there?” Not to mention, she’d have preferred to sever essential body parts than ask Jamie Feldman for anything. But her irrational possessiveness was her own problem. “The important thing is you had a good time, and you’re ready to make up for everything you’ve been missing over the past year.”
“Those things aren’t important at all.” He advanced on her slowly.
She took a step back and came up against the door she’d closed a moment before.
Kyle flashed a predatory smile. He took her purse and briefcase from her shoulder, setting them aside. Then he rested his forearms on either side of her head and stared into her eyes, his lips a scant inch from hers as he spoke. “I’m here for you. Our date deserves another shot.”
Her heart thundered. The thick eyelashes framing his gray-green eyes mesmerized her. He stood too near for her to formulate a coherent response. This much physical perfection and sex appeal should be outlawed. Her mind was not equipped to handle it.
“What do you say?” he asked.
Yes, take me. “I say, why me?” Her voice rose with an embarrassing squeak as she struggled to compose a rational argument and remind herself she was in her office, just feet away from her employees who’d never seen her anything less than one hundred percent professional. “I get why you went out with me on Saturday. You’d shut yourself away from the world, and I was the first woman to find you. But you’ve been reminded you can have Jamie or anyone else you crook your finger for. Why do you still want me?”
His gaze softened with a tenderness that pierced her heart. He brushed his thumb along her cheek. “How could I not want you, Gretchen? You’re smart and funny and beautiful and not afraid to let a guy who has no idea what you like order for you on a first date.”
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Sara Daniel writes what she loves—irresistible romance, from sweet to erotic and everything in between. She lives her own happily-ever-after romance with her hero husband. Connect with her online at:
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To celebrate A Model Hero’s release, Sara is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card. Fill out the Rafflecopter form here or on her Facebook page to enter. http://tinyurl.com/nn757av
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Always Delicious – Always Perfect
September 3, 2014 | Author Friend Promo
Vonnie Hughes, Regency and Contemporary Suspense author, is here to share her recipe for a delicious Never-fail Date & Nut Loaf that’s ideal for family and company. This tasty treat is perfect with breakfast, lunch, or a good cup of tea.
Never-fail Date & Nut Loaf
1 large cup dates
Boiling water
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. butter
¼ cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ cup chopped walnuts (or dried apricots or raisins)
3 drops vanilla essence (extract)
2 cups white flour (or wholemeal if you prefer)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 pinch salt
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place dates in a medium-size bowl. Cover with boiling water. Add baking soda and soak for one hour.
Beat butter with brown sugar. Add egg and beat well.
Blend walnuts and vanilla essence with the dates and liquid.
Lastly, stir in flour, baking powder and salt.
Bake in a greased loaf tin (with baking paper is easier) for about 50 minutes. Keep in a sealed container for freshness.
NEVER FAILS.
Here is a little from Vonnie’s latest Regency.
A kidnapper makes a grave mistake and faces a revenge he never expected.
Annis’s new husband investigates crimes, and Caroline’s new husband is a capable ex-Army officer. When their ladies are kidnapped in an effort to suppress the evidence of pilfering and murder, Giles and Fort fight their way through all the lies and subterfuge to not only rescue them, but also to avenge them.
EXCERPT:
Fort approached the person on the seat. “Mr. Young, we’ve been looking for you.”
If that was Mr. Young, why was he listing to one side like a ship at sea?
“Is he injured? Has John hurt him?” She hurried towards them.
“Stop!”
Fort’s peremptory order stopped her in her tracks. She watched as Fort examined Mr. Young’s head and neck. He lifted Mr. Young’s hand. It dropped laxly.
“He’s dead,” Fort said, turning towards Caroline. “Sweetheart, do you know your way out of the maze? I must stay here with the body. There’s been enough moving of evidence already.”
“How—?”
Fort gesticulated with a finger across his throat.
“Oh! I’ll fetch Giles. Sir William Harding will have to be notified too.” Caroline cast her husband an anxious look. “Please be careful, Giles, in case John comes back.”
“You be careful too, my love. Walk slowly and listen for footsteps on the other side of the hedge. And if you meet anyone—anyone at all, man or woman—scream. Scream loudly.”
Caroline nodded and plunged back along the gravel paths surrounded by greenery. To her great relief she met nobody, although she was so rattled by events that she took a wrong turning and had to retrace her steps. “Hurry,” she told herself. “Fort is alone there and John is on the loose.”
All of Vonnie’s books are available on Musa Publishing and Amazon.
Vonnie Hughes is a multi-published author in both Regency books and contemporary suspense. She loves the intricacies of the social rules of the Regency period and the far-ranging consequences of the Napoleonic Code. And with suspense she has free rein to explore forensic matters and the strong convolutions of the human mind. Like many writers, some days she hates the whole process, but somehow she just cannot let it go.
Vonnie was born in New Zealand, but she and her husband now live happily in Australia. If you visit Hamilton Gardens in New Zealand be sure to stroll through the Japanese Garden. These is a bronze plaque engraved with a haiku describing the peacefulness of that environment. The poem was written by Vonnie.
Learn more about Vonnie Hughes on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Goodreads.
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September 1, 2014 | Holidays
from
Sloane and Studs
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A Perfect Dinner
August 27, 2014 | Author Friend Promo
Viki Lyn is stirring up a mix of good things in the kitchen today. Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable.
Perfect Salmon Filet
1 salmon filet per person
olive oil
lemon juice
salt
freshly ground pepper
herbs and/or spices of your preference
Set oven to 350°F.
Place salmon filet in pan and rub with olive oil. Squeeze on lemon juice. Spice to your liking. I use dill, salt and pepper.
Place in oven for 20 minutes.
All oven temperatures are different so give and take a few minutes, and experiment. The trick is not to overcook the fish. The salmon is done when it flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Here’s a lovely adult beverage to enjoy while your salmon bakes.
Angel Face
(drink recipe from Diffords Guide)
1 shot of dry gin
1 host of calvados
1 shot of apricot brandy liqueur
Add ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Pour Angel Face into a martini glass and garnish with a very thin apple slice.
Here’s a little from my latest book to enjoy with your Angel Face Cocktail.
Kenneth believes everything—even love—can be solved logically, until he meets a flower child who challenges him at every turn.
Kenneth Hailey, an uptight conservative mathematician, believes he’s in control. After all, every problem can be solved in a deliberate and logical manner. Even love. When his fiancée dumps him for his best friend, he leaves Manhattan for the West Coast. What better place to forget his past. It’s 1967, and San Francisco is the place to turn on, tune in, and drop out.
But is he ready for Rose Red?
Rose Red, a free-spirited flower child, challenges Kenneth, thrusting him into her world of love-ins, protest rallies, and rock concerts. Kenneth finds himself falling down a rabbit hole, hanging on for dear life.
Old habits die hard, and he retreats, but Rose Red has other plans for him.
Formula For Love is available at:
Musa Publishing
Amazon
What inspires Viki Lyn is the reality that romance between lovers is a hope more than a guarantee. Her stories are an eclectic mix of contemporary and paranormal, but it is always romance that drives the story to its final happily-ever-after.
Learn more about Viki Lyn on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter. Check out her bookshelf and be sure to Join Viki’s Street Team!
Viki is also an award winning author of male/male paranormal and contemporary romances. You can find all of her books at the following sites: Amazon, All Romance Ebooks and GLBT Bookshelf.
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HOT DAMN!
August 25, 2014 | New Releases
I am excited to announce Musa Publishing has just release my four Magnificent Men of Munich books in a box set and priced at $2.99.
Icy German reserve melts with hot-blooded American passion.
Heated Negotiations Book 1
Mergers and negotiations are not just for the boardroom, especially when things heat up high over the Atlantic.
Travel agency owner Teddi Howard is Hell in high heels when she jumps a plane to Munich. Her goal—strangle the German tour operator who reneged on their exclusive contract.
Winter Games Book 2
As the games heat up, the stakes grow higher, and Lonnie must decide whether to play along or leave her heart out in the cold.
Lonnie Copley may be a genius, but not when it comes to her personal life. A series of wrong turns puts her far from reality and the German autobahn. The last thing she wants on the eve of a snowstorm is to be dangling at the edge of an Austrian mountain in need of rescue—especially by a leather-clad giant with Johnny Depp eyes.
Perfect Lie Book 3
A seedling of doubt will unravel even a perfect lie.
After two ex-husbands and a con artist, Francine Daniels has had it with men. Her life is finally the way she wants it — successful and complete. At least she thinks so until a working vacation in Munich brings her face to face with a sexy German hotelier who sees right through her brash exterior and makes her sizzle with his every touch.
Yesterday’s Lovers Book 4
Isabella Carrington has never wanted for anything her entire pampered life — except for love.
No matter how many designer items she buys or men she conquers, Isabella Carrington never seems to find what she’s looking for. When she meets the one man in the world completely unaffected by her charms, she is determined to have him, even if it means a dunk in the Grand Canal.
Warning: This eBook contains language, content, images, and scenes that depict profanity, violence, sexuality/sexual relations or other content that is intended for mature adult readers. This eBook is meant only for adults as defined by the laws of the country or region where you made your purchase. If you are under the age of maturity, if adult material offends you, or if it is illegal to read, view, purchase, or own such material in your community please be warned that this eBook may contain objectionable content. Store your eBook carefully so that it cannot be accessed by younger readers.
To read more on this book or purchase, please click a vendor’s name Musa Publishing – Amazon.
To read excerpts from my other erotic romances, please click a vendor’s name Musa Publishing or Amazon.
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Eggs Not Quite Benedict
August 20, 2014 | Author Friend Promo
I’m delighted to have author James Hartley in the kitchen preparing a new twist on an old recipe. The stove is all yours, Jim.
Hi Sloane. Thanks for having me out and giving me full rein. Now tie on your apron and let’s get cooking!
Everyone has heard of Eggs Benedict, that pearl of the Breakfast Brunch, but has anyone ever tried to make them? No way! First, they call for poached eggs, and who knows how to do that? Fried eggs, fine, but poached? And Hollandaise Sauce, well, real chefs know how to make that, but I don’t think you can go down to the local grocery store and buy a jar of it, nope. So let’s think of something else.
Suppose we settle for the eggs fried, then scrounge around in the fridge for some other kind of sauce. Like, maybe, spaghetti sauce. That’s Italian, so we’re going to call this one:
Eggs Benedito
1 English Muffin
Butter or margarine for muffin
2 slices Canadian Bacon (optional)
2 eggs
2-4 tbsp. spaghetti sauce (leftover is OK)
2-4 tbsp. ground or shredded Parmesan (or other Italian) cheese
Split and toast English muffin, spread with butter or margarine.
Lightly fry Canadian Bacon (if using it), place one slice on each half of muffin.
Fry eggs, over medium, then place one on each half of muffin. Top eggs with spaghetti sauce and cheese.
Serves one.
But then one day we were out of spaghetti sauce. A little more scrounging yielded a jar of Salsa, well, that sounded good. Being on the Mexican side, this one gets the name:
Eggs Bandito
1 English Muffin
Butter or margarine for muffin
2 slices Canadian Bacon (optional)
2 eggs
2-4 tbsp. Salsa (Mild, medium, or hot, your choice)
Split and toast English muffin, spread with butter or margarine.
Lightly fry Canadian Bacon (if using it), place one slice on each half of muffin.
Fry eggs, over medium, then place one on each half of muffin. Top eggs with Salsa.
Serves one.
A good book is perfect with a good breakfast. Here’s a little from Jim’s speculative fiction book for your reading pleasure.
Stories from one end of the universe to the other, and off into the realm of Faerie, too.
A collection of Fantasy and SF short stories. Space travel, time travel, aliens. Witches, wizards, ghosts, vampires. Oh, yes, and a bit of a look at what happens when the paranormal impinges on high school romance.
To read an excerpt from Worlds Away and Worlds Aweird please click here.
James Hartley is a former computer programmer. Originally from northern New Jersey, he now lives in sunny central Florida. He has published a fantasy novel, “Teen Angel,” and stories in Illusion’s Transmitter, Written Word Online, Clonepod, Every Day Fiction, Lorelei Signal, Beyond Centauri, Raygun Revival, and the “Desolate Places”, “Strange Mysteries”, “Book of Exodi” and “Christmas in Outer Space” anthologies.
He is currently working on a new novel. He is a member of IWOFA and the Dark Fiction Guild.
Learn more about James Hartley on his website and blog.
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NEW RELEASE for DANIEL AUSEMA
August 18, 2014 | Author Friend New Releases
Please allow me to introduce you to phenomenal steampunk author Daniel Ausema. Dan has created Spire City and a world of entertaining characters that bring the serial to life. The latest addition is Mint’s Arrival, Episode 13.
What can you do when a steampunk mad genius targets you with a deadly serum? Fight back.
Spire City is home to mighty machines of steam power and clockwork, and giant beetles pull picturesque carriages over cobbled streets, but there is a darker secret behind these wonders. A deadly infection, created by a mad scientist, is spreading through the city, targeting the poor and powerless, turning them slowly into animals. A group of those infected by the serum join together to survive, to trick the wealthy out of their money, and to fight back.
Despite all their caution, Mint has tracked down the residents of the Weave to their neighborhood. Mingling threats with subtle promises to anyone who will betray the infecteds, he is coming closer and closer to discovering where they live. And now he may have kidnapped an innocent, uninfected child. The time has come for a real confrontation, but who will prevail? Find out in the climactic finale of Season One: Infected.
EXCERPT
With the shovel over one shoulder, she approached the coal.
The lantern light played over a figure seated on the pile, pointing a gun at her. Chels froze.
“Hello.”
Chels’s muscles twitched as she stared at the cold eyes. No, not possible. Not here. His gun didn’t waver.
“My name is Mint.”
The voice made it real. All the terror, the fear she’d felt each time she’d seen him. The sickening twist to her stomach when she recognized him at the coal seller’s. The months of wondering where he’d be, when he might find her next. It all came together, at first keeping her frozen, but then triggering her into motion. Chels threw the shovel at his face and ran the other way. Expecting to be shot down. Expecting him to surge to his feet and run after her. The shovel struck something soft and fell with a clatter. Mint cursed her. If he got a shot off, it made no noise and missed her fleeing form. As she passed through the door, she pulled the wheelbarrow across the entrance and didn’t look back. Mint’s swearing shifted to laughter, laughs that followed her, even with no sound of footsteps to accompany the noise.
To read excerpts from the other episodes of Spire City or Daniel’s other work, please click a vendor’s name.
Musa Publishing – Amazon
Daniel Ausema is the creator of the Spire City serial fiction project. His short stories and poems have appeared in Penumbra, Daily Science Fiction, The Journal of Unlikely Stories, and many other places. He has worked as a journalist and educator and is currently a stay-at-home dad. He lives in Colorado, where May blizzards, September floods, and summer wildfires engage in a never-ending war.
Learn more about Dan on his website Twigs and Brambles.
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A Delightful New Taste
August 13, 2014 | Author Friend Promo
Acclaimed Regency and contemporary suspense author Vonnie Hughes is here with her wonderful dessert that serves 4 people and has only 3 ingredients.
Strawberry Marshmallow Delight
1 punnet (or carton) of strawberries
1 packet of small marshmallows
4 oz of thick whipped cream flavored with a couple of drops of vanilla
Wash and hull the strawberries. Sort into four equal quantities
Place in glass dishes like parfait dishes.
Very carefully melt 16-18 marshmallows and cool slightly.
Fold the whipped cream into the marshmallow mix and pour it all over the strawberries.
Easy, cheap and quick.
Here is a little from Vonnie’s latest Regency.
A kidnapper makes a grave mistake and faces a revenge he never expected.
Annis’s new husband investigates crimes, and Caroline’s new husband is a capable ex-Army officer. When their ladies are kidnapped in an effort to suppress the evidence of pilfering and murder, Giles and Fort fight their way through all the lies and subterfuge to not only rescue them, but also to avenge them.
EXCERPT:
Fort approached the person on the seat. “Mr. Young, we’ve been looking for you.”
If that was Mr. Young, why was he listing to one side like a ship at sea?
“Is he injured? Has John hurt him?” She hurried towards them.
“Stop!”
Fort’s peremptory order stopped her in her tracks. She watched as Fort examined Mr. Young’s head and neck. He lifted Mr. Young’s hand. It dropped laxly.
“He’s dead,” Fort said, turning towards Caroline. “Sweetheart, do you know your way out of the maze? I must stay here with the body. There’s been enough moving of evidence already.”
“How—?”
Fort gesticulated with a finger across his throat.
“Oh! I’ll fetch Giles. Sir William Harding will have to be notified too.” Caroline cast her husband an anxious look. “Please be careful, Giles, in case John comes back.”
“You be careful too, my love. Walk slowly and listen for footsteps on the other side of the hedge. And if you meet anyone—anyone at all, man or woman—scream. Scream loudly.”
Caroline nodded and plunged back along the gravel paths surrounded by greenery. To her great relief she met nobody, although she was so rattled by events that she took a wrong turning and had to retrace her steps. “Hurry,” she told herself. “Fort is alone there and John is on the loose.”
All of Vonnie’s books are available on Musa Publishing and Amazon.
Vonnie Hughes is a multi-published author in both Regency books and contemporary suspense. She loves the intricacies of the social rules of the Regency period and the far-ranging consequences of the Napoleonic Code. And with suspense she has free rein to explore forensic matters and the strong convolutions of the human mind. Like many writers, some days she hates the whole process, but somehow she just cannot let it go.
Vonnie was born in New Zealand, but she and her husband now live happily in Australia. If you visit Hamilton Gardens in New Zealand be sure to stroll through the Japanese Garden. These is a bronze plaque engraved with a haiku describing the peacefulness of that environment. The poem was written by Vonnie.
Learn more about Vonnie Hughes on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Goodreads.
INTRODUCING TOM OLBERT
August 11, 2014 | Author Friend New Releases
Tom Olbert is an outstanding science fiction author with many books to his credit. Tom’s latest release is Long Haul. I hope you enjoy the snippet below as much as I did his short story.
This trucker’s haul takes him to the end of time and space, and beyond…
In the near future, physicists have stumbled on a way to open rifts into other universes, making it possible to transport goods and people anywhere in the world in nothing flat. The unscrupulous corporation that owns the new technology uses it to monopolize shipping worldwide
Thrill-seeking, death-defying truckers like veteran army driver Garth Jenkins and his gun-toting trucking partner Sally Drake earn hazardous duty pay by hauling rigs through perilous alien universes often infested with deadly alien monsters and many other dangers besides.
Garth and Sally accept a shady corporate contract to deliver some unknown cargo to an alien universe, no questions asked. It looks like an easy way to score big money. But, things go south fast when their truck is hijacked by the beautiful and mysterious Keira Takahashi, and they find themselves pursued by hideous alien parasites in undead human bodies.
On the run and in danger, Garth and Sally find themselves on a crooked cosmic road leading to bizarre other worlds and exotic time periods. They have one chance to unravel the company’s twisted plot and save themselves. Whether they succeed or fail may decide the fate of a universe…
EXCERPT:
Three suns burned brightly in the sky, the Earth was breaking apart, and giant moths were attacking us. For most guys, that would describe a bad dream after a bender, but when you’re trucking a load on the long haul, that’s business as usual.
A big mama moth was comin’ straight at me, and she looked pretty damn pissed. Wing spread of about fifteen feet, jaws bigger than my head. Yeah, that’s how big they grow in the crazy gravity in this parallel ’verse.
I squeezed the trigger of my flamethrower. A long, twisting stream of fire snaked out and nailed that sucker right between its foot-wide sparklin’ silver eyes. The shrieking noise those mothers make when they burst into flames cuts to the marrow and curdles the blood. Kinda like my ex-wife when I’m late with a payment.
It was still coming straight for me. I felt the fire on my face as it swooped in. Those things go up like freakin’ gas balloons, y’know. As it passed over, I held onto the rearview side mirror, crouched down on the running board, and nudged that big flaming bug with the muzzle of the flamethrower. It passed on over, stinking, singed pieces of it falling onto my hair and coveralls.
“Damn!” I yelled at the top of my lungs as the truck hit the guard rail, sparks flying, metal screeching. My feet slipped off the running board, and the rearview started coming loose in my hand. I looked down. My feet dangled over a damn long drop into a kind of island floating in mid-air, a jungle landscape splitting apart, volcanoes erupting and lava bubbling up.
There was nothing but sky all around, filled with other floating islands, and swarms of those moth things were taking off from them. Behind that, the moon filled half the sky. It looked close enough to touch. I held on for dear life as the rubber screeched over the tar. My trucking partner, Sally Drake, was spinning that wheel blind, trying to keep the damn rig on the highway. A highway that was built in mid-air, stretching out from one floating island to the next. Don’t ask me how. Our road crews just paved over old highways that were already there. Built by aliens from another ’verse, maybe. Or by humans from our future. I just drive. I don’t ask questions.
To read more on Long Haul or Tom’s other books please click a vendor.
Musa Publishing – Amazon
Tom Olbert lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts; cradle of the American Revolution, and home of University egg heads and kooky liberals. He loves it there. His work has most recently appeared in Musa Publishing. Previously in Mocha Memoirs Press, Eternal Press, and such anthologies as Ruthless, Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous, Something Wicked Vol II, In the Bloodstream, and Torched.
When he’s not working or writing sci-fi or horror, Tom volunteers for causes he cares about. He comes from a most interesting family; his mother, Norma Olbert is currently self-publishing a biography of the life of Tom’s dad Stan Olbert, a retired MIT physicist and veteran of the Polish underground during WWII. Tom’s sister Elizabeth Olbert is an artist, art teacher, and avid lover of horses.
Learn more about Tom Olbert on his blog.
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