Santa Cruz (Tales of the Derry Plague: Two) by Ray Anselmo

 

Dr. Eric Bayo thought he’d just be finishing a summer class that August. Now, he’s expected to save a whole city.

Half-Irish half-Senegalese Dr. Bayo is teaching a class at the University of California, Santa Cruz when his students start dropping like flies – one falling dead right in front of him. A mysterious plague is spreading rapidly and wiping out most of humanity. With emergency services stretched beyond capacity and disappearing as well, there’s nowhere to go for assistance, no way to reach his family, no one whose lead he can follow.

In fact, the few survivors start looking to him for leadership! Eric doesn’t feel qualified to lead anyone, but … well, someone has to step up. Soon, he’s doing his best to fumble through crisis after crisis: where will food come from, how to keep the electricity and water flowing, what to do as the crowd of people depending on him grows, and grows, and grows. And not everyone likes what he’s doing or how he’s doing it – or is willing to go along.

As he seeks out help, puts people to work, feeds and houses them, and tries to build community out of chaos, all under the shadow of countless deaths, can Eric bring safety and civilization back to SANTA CRUZ?

Available on Amazon

(affiliate link included)

Ray Anselmo is a California native currently living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. SANTA CRUZ is his 29th book and fifth post-apocalyptic story.

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ray.anselmo
https://www.facebook.com/Million.Dreams.Press

I was compensated via Fiverr for sharing this post. I only share those books that I feel will be of interest to my readers.

Some Other Traveller by Lyn McConchie

 

Today we welcome author Lyn McConchie to the blog as she shares an excerpt from her post-apocalyptic book Some Other Traveller and gives us insight into a day in her life as an author. Be sure to follow the tour for even more as well as bonus chances to enter the giveaway!

When the world’s civilizations collapse from a lethal pandemic, being old can mean you have the experience and wisdom to survive and to see that friends and family do as well. Donal and Sheila McArn are seventy when most of the world is dying, and they must hold the line for everything they know. They may not have long, but so long as they live, they’re going to do their best – and anyone against them had better step back. NOW!

Read an excerpt:

Kaylie died an hour later. Ricky had all his things packed by then, Donal had dug a small grave, and we placed her in that, the teddy bear – a bright pink one that Ricky said she still loved – tucked in beside her. After that, he clung to my hand.

I drove home, and when I would have left the lad with Janet, he clung to me like a limpet, his eyes wide in fear of losing someone else. I put him to bed in the spare room, slept in the bed opposite, and took him with me the next morning. Janet took the accumulated cash, along with a list and several friends, utes, and her car with a trailer. We removed the Black and McMallan animals, several small portable sheds, and salvaged useful items from houses and outbuildings. During which time Ricky was never out of eyeshot, and when my hands weren’t employed, he clung to one of them.

We drove home to eat dinner, I put him to bed, and when he asked, I answered, “Yes, this is your room now. You’ll go to school here once it opens again. The place is called Glen Mhairi. It’ll be your home.” And then the tentative question that almost broke my heart. “Aye, you can call us Grandma and Grandpa if you want. We’d like that.” He fell asleep still trustfully holding my hand, and as I looked at that peaceful face, I knew the truth.

After all those years and with never a child of our own, we finally had a grandson.

Book Links

Amazon * Smashwords * BN * Kobo

(affiliate links included) 

A day in the life of this author.

I regularly forget the date. Why? Because I’m also a farmer and my small farm requires attention twenty-four/seven. So there’s little to remind me of the date. The day, yes. Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday I write; the date often has no relevance to what I’m doing. But doing both jobs, often requiring that I try to fit two days’ work into one, can be – hectic, funny, upsetting, involving, and; some of the things on the farm can cross over into my writing (As can my cats and my friends, and my friend’s cats…) That’s the thing about writers, all is grist to our mill. My most recent published book, Some Other Traveller, attracted both a friend and her alpacas into the story. The book I’ve currently just finished sucked in a local dog – a massive black beast whose looks belie his gentleness.

But a day in my life can hold a lot of events. That morning was the bad, the good – and the “this will keep you occupied for days.” I rose at 6:00a.m., breakfast, out to feed the livestock. As I did so, I discovered my place was white with frost. Urk, first front for winter and it’s early. I shot back inside, stoked the fire vigorously, and got on with Some Other Traveller. Followed three hours later by the good when the geese announced that not only was the mail-car here, it was spending time. An indication Tracey was unloading parcels. Continuing goose commentary suggests she’s unloading a lot of parcels. I whizzed out, yes indeed. Five parcels of books crammed into my mailbox. I beamed, that would be the third on my list; “this will keep you occupied for days.” Back to my book. Two hours later as I completed, “Oh, heck, the world’s about to end, we don’t feel fine and we’re seventy,” why is this happening to us? I realized it was cold.

I trot out to the woodshed, collect a massive armload of wood, and scuttle back into again. That had been an earlier item on the “good” list. My firewood merchant – like most people in a rural area, a personal friend too – worried I might freeze if distancing or zones lasted too long and I ran out of firewood, delivered all my ordered firewood in two massive lots. That left me with eight cords, enough to see me through for months. I stoke the fire, shut the dampers down, and return to Some Other Traveller. Until the phone rings. The meter-reader, “I’ll be at the gate in a minute.” Right. Go outside, watch him pull up, bellow “Stand down” to the geese, the meter is read, he departs and I go back to the book. “The motor-bike thieves made a mistake in assuming Sheila was the nice old lady she appeared. Guns, bodies, investigating what they may have as stolen goods in their rooms in the boarding house”… Stoke the fire again and have a late (very) lunch.

I’m tiring. Creativity, no problem. Physical energy, nope (I’m 76 and crippled from an accident in 1977.) “But there’s strange sounds and something in a wardrobe”…The geese sound off; I glance at the clock. Oh, dinner time for them all. Amble out and feed 20 hens, 8 geese, and Daisy Duck. And that’s writing for the day. I’m so wiped out I’m having to think about each step I take as I start dinner. I eat that, and retire to bed at eight p.m. with one of the new books. Another day in my life is over. It’s been a productive one, over 20 pages written, the meter was been read, the hens laid nine eggs, and I’m going to sleep very well tonight.

About the author:
Lyn McConchie started writing in 1990 and within a year had short stories and poems published. In 1993, her first book – a humorous true-life work (Farming Daze) about her farm, friends, and animals appeared – this was followed by six others in that series. As a joke between them, a long-time friend of Lyn’s, Andre Norton, was given a book Lyn had written set in one of Andre’s worlds. Andre was impressed with the work and took it to her agents who sold it to Warner books. This led in turn to Lyn writing another six books in Andre’s worlds, which were published either by Warner or TOR. Lyn has won seven short story Muse Medallions from the (International) Cat Writer’s Association, and six Sir Julius Vogel Awards for her books. Since the original book, Lyn has seen almost fifty more books appear plus over three hundred short stories, and says she has no intention of stopping so long as she is able to write.


Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lyn.mcconchie.397

http://lynmcconchie.com/new/

Night to Dawn Magazine & Books will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If the book If Darkness Takes Us by Brenda Marie Smith was made into a TV series...

 

Post-apocalyptic science fiction often makes for a great screen time. And many authors dream of seeing their work played out on the screen. Today, author Brenda Marie Smith tells us about hers. You can also read an excerpt of the book before you download your own copy. Be sure to follow the tour for even more. Best of luck in the giveaway!

In suburban Austin, Texas, Bea Crenshaw secretly prepares for apocalypse, but when a solar pulse destroys modern life, she’s left alone with four grandkids whose parents don’t return home. She must teach these kids to survive without power, cars, phones, running water, or doctors in a world fraught with increasing danger. And deciding whether or not to share food with her starving neighbors puts her morality to the test.

If Darkness Takes Us is realistic post-apocalyptic science-fiction that focuses on a family in peril, led by a no-nonsense grandmother who is at once funny, controlling, and heroic in her struggle to hold her family together with civility and heart.

The book is available now. Its sequel, If the Light Escapes, is told in the voice of Bea’s eighteen-year-old grandson, Keno Simms, and will be released by SFK Press on August 24, 2021.

“Bea Crenshaw is one of the most unique characters in modern literature—a kick-ass Grandma who is at once tough and vulnerable, and well-prepared to shepherd her extended family through an EMP disaster, or so she thinks."
—Laura Creedle, Award-winning Author of The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily

"There is real, identifiable humanity, subtle and sweet and sad, and events utterly shattering in their intensity."
—Pinckney Benedict, Author of Dogs of God, Miracle Boy, and more

Read an excerpt:

Through the upstairs window, we watched a fire burning yellow along the western horizon. It didn’t look like a huge conflagration, but this drought-ridden place was a tinderbox.

“Um, kids. That’s more than a fire over there. There’s a yellow glow behind it, all the way across...”

Keno and Tasha crowded up next to me at the window, making anxious sounds in their throats. We ran to the front window and saw the same glow to the north…

“What is that?” I asked, though my breath had left me. “It’s how I always imagined the northern lights would look...”

… “It could be a glow from a geomagnetic storm,” Keno said...

I whirled around to face him. “What do you mean?”

“Back in the 1800s, the sun took out all the telegraph lines once... The sky all over the planet lit up with colors, like the strongest Northern Lights ever seen, except it was in Australia, too... This doesn’t seem as strong as that. There aren’t bright colors all over the sky, right?”

“Good… Good,” I said, releasing a breath. I hugged Tasha hard. “Don’t worry.” I was trying to be comforting, though I needed comfort myself. I pulled a chair in front of the big front window and sat down to study the yellow glow that rose and fell as though it was breathing. The kids stood watching with me, all of us seeming to breathe in time with the undulations of the glowing pulses of light.

Buy Links

Amazon * BN * BookPeople Austin 

(affiliate link included)

If I could be lucky enough to have my book, If Darkness Takes Us, made into a television series…

First of all, my husband would be ecstatic if I were to sell movie or series rights to any of my books. “I could retire,” he says, and he really needs to retire. Happy retired husband, happy writer wife.

I’m not sure the book would fit into a movie and, since the sequel, If the Light Escapes, comes out this August, and I have a third book in the works, then a television series, in my mind, is definitely the way to go. The first two books alone should be good for two, three, even four seasons. Some of the scenes I cut from the books for the sake of brevity could be added back if they’re needed.

Bea Crenshaw is the protagonist and hero of If Darkness, which takes place in Austin, Texas. She’s 70-years-old, smart, funny, a little too controlling, and she is fierce about protecting her grandchildren. She has to teach them to survive after a solar electromagnetic pulse fries the grid and also takes out the cars, phones, running water, and so much more. Sissy Spacek, of a similar age and also from Texas, would be perfect for the role of Bea. We’d better hurry up and make this series since old folks only get older. (I know this from experience.)

Jack Jeffers is an old flame of Bea’s. A retired manager of a grocery store, he’s the go-to guy in the neighborhood for wisdom and advice. Since Bea’s husband and grown kids don’t return home after the solar pulse, she is lonely, grieving, alone with four kids, and she increasingly turns to Jack as a trusted source of emotional support. Keith Carradine would be a really great Jack. He’s the same age as Sissy Spacek, and he currently plays a similar character in Fear the Walking Dead. Viggo Mortensen would also be good. He’s often undervalued, but he has range, and he’s only eight years younger than Jack’s character. Gives us more time to get the series made.

All four kids are forced to grow up fast in the story, and I’d like to see them played by fresh new faces: Tasha, 15, is pretty and buxom with long chestnut hair, and she chafes against her Nana’s rules. Milo, 12, has a blond mop of messy hair. He’s funny and gets in trouble by being oblivious. Mazie, 6, has blond, stringy hair, and is freaked out most by their situation. She squeals a lot at the beginning, but soon toughens up and becomes a source of good cheer.

Then there’s 17-year-old Keno, a snot-nosed science nerd who adores his grandmother and follows her example by taking care of his sister and cousins until he’s not so snot-nosed and nerdy anymore. And Keno goes on to become the married 18-year-old protagonist of the sequel, a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and is trying hard to be a man. Whoever plays Keno needs to be a strong actor with the chops to continually grow and to show a wide array of emotion in his face and demeanor.

There are around twelve more important characters between the two books, and a couple of dozen secondary characters. It would be so much fun to choose the actors for all these roles, although I realize that, as the writer of the books that would be adapted by someone else, I would probably have zero control.

Still, I can dream, can’t I? And then I can get on with the serious business of deciding how to spend so much imaginary money.

Thank you so much for hosting me and my book on your blog. Please wish me luck on this endeavor of selling the books for a series. I guess this means I have to figure out how to offer them up for sale.

Brenda Marie Smith lived off the grid for many years in a farming collective where her sons were delivered by midwives. She’s been a community activist, managed student housing co-ops, produced concerts to raise money for causes, done massive quantities of bookkeeping, and raised a small herd of teenage boys.

Brenda is attracted to stories where everyday characters transcend their own limitations to find their inner heroism. She and her husband reside in a grid-connected, solar-powered home in South Austin, Texas. They have more grown kids and grandkids than they can count.

Her first novel, Something Radiates, is a paranormal romantic thriller; If Darkness Takes Us and its sequel, If the Light Escapes, are post-apocalyptic science fiction.

Social Media:

Website: https://brendamariesmith.com/

Twitter: @bsmithnovelist

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrendaMarieSmithAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brenda_marie_smith/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJlLSnORIyoaygvZ1j49ZKw

Brenda Marie Smithwill be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Welcome to the Apocalypse by D.L. Richardson with Giveaway

Welcome to the blurb blitz tour for Welcome to the Apocalypse by D.L. Richardson. This sci-fi/apocalyptic trilogy is now available and you can check out an excerpt before purchasing your own copy. Be sure to also leave a comment or question for the author. You can also follow the tour for more excerpts and more chances to win the giveaway below.

Please note that affiliate links are present within this post. Should you make a purchase through one, I may earn a small commission to help support my websites, at no additional cost to you.

Welcome to the Apocalypse

"Players. Welcome to the apocalypse"

Book One – Pandora:

The Apocalypse Games is a state of the art virtual game, yet when it traps over 100 players inside, there’s reason to worry – their simulation pods are designed to last 3 days and the artificial intelligence is taking over.

On Amazon

Book Two – CyberNexis:

When rescue finally arrives, the players are transported to an offsite facility to recover from cyber sickness. Not all the players survived and not all is what it seems. What is CyberNexis hiding out in the desert?

On Amazon

Book Three – Primal Scream:

The disaster known as The Event has plunged the world into icy darkness. Humans can’t survive but a group of mutants can. All signs lead back to the simulation pods. What were they really designed for?

On Amazon

Join these characters on an emotional and fast-paced journey to explore what it really means to survive.

Read an excerpt from Book 1:

Jack Minnow grabbed a brochure off the rack and his eyes scanned the back page. "It says
here that rule breakers are ten times more likely to survive an apocalypse. They're adaptable and they rely on cunning and instinct."

Jack was five-foot-eight, and the woman behind the counter, called an operator, was easily six-feet tall. Looking at her was like looking at a marble statue atop a pedestal. All white – her hair, her tight-fitting jump suit, her face, neck, and hands, painted to resemble a computer generated character. He allowed himself to imagine that the stage make-up covered places he couldn't see.

She smiled at him. "It also says that rule breakers are ten times more likely to die within the first hour. They're reckless and often act without thinking."

She pushed a plastic tray towards him, the kind handed out at airports to slip under x-ray machines. Jack dropped his wallet, phone, and car keys into the tray.

"So it's a win/win day for a guy with a superhero complex," he said.

Superman, his mother had called him after he'd brought home a stray dog for the fifth time.
"Can't help but save things," she'd told the dog ranger. Even as a boy, Jack knew what happened to the mutts who were handed over to the ranger, but he still brought dogs home for one last night of fun. His superhero complex was the reason he'd entered The Apocalypse Games. Save everyone. Save the world. Nobody dies. Not for real anyway.

The operator removed the tray and he stood there waiting for a voucher. None came. A warning flared up into his brain. What did he really know about this operation?

Buy the series on Amazon

About D.L. Richardson

D L Richardson writes speculative fiction. She is currently a self-published author of three YA novels "The Bird with the Broken Wing", "Resident Spy", and "One Little Spell". She is also the creator of the apocalyptic/sci-fi series "Welcome to the Apocalypse", and the novella series inspired by Tales from the Crypt, "The Shivers Novellas".

A former singer and musician, she credits this stage experience for her ease of public speaking, conducting writing workshops, and appearing on panels. Her books don't feature the usual tropes and this has earned her many loyal readers.

When she's not writing she enjoys playing music, watching Netflix, reading, gardening, and walking the dog.

Website  http://www.dlrichardson.com
Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/DLRichardsonAuthor/
Twitter  https://twitter.com/DLRichardson1
Google +  https://plus.google.com/u/0/112189215156085425271
Blog   http://dlrichardsonwrites.blogspot.com.au

D L Richardson will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal! Dancing With Flames (A Dragon's Breath Novel) by Susan Illene

Dancing with Flames
Dragon’s Breath Series
Book Two

by Susan Illene

Genre: Dark Fantasy/New Adult/Post-apocalyptic

Date of Publication: June 24th, 2016

Cover Artist: Jeff Brown and Claudia McKinney

Dancing With Flames

Four months ago, fire breathing dragons invaded Earth from an alternate dimension, wreaking havoc on modern civilization. Bailey Monzac has been training to kill them ever since discovering she was impervious to their flames, but when some of the beasts begin targeting children, she can’t hold back any longer and must hunt them down.

Her ally, Aidan, would help, except the shape-shifter has his own troubles. His clan is battling for territory against the pure dragons and his father—their leader—is dying. As the shifters fight for the pendragon position, fierce rivalry takes over. Aidan’s own brothers aren’t above blackmail and murder if it will get them to the top. He must stay one step ahead if he is to survive and keep his clan safe from the pure dragons who threaten them all.

Bailey and Aidan may be natural-born enemies, but working together might be the only thing that saves them from the danger that lies ahead.

About Susan Illene

Susan Illene served in the US Army for eleven years and worked as a human resources specialist and an Arabic linguist. She served two deployments to Iraq, and after leaving the army, she studied history at the University of Oklahoma. She and her husband currently live in Oklahoma with two high-maintenance cats doing their best to help her write her books.

Website: http://www.susanillene.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SusanIllene1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/susan_illene
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6889690.Susan_Illene

Tour giveaway 

1 winner will get the following prize pack-

*Pewter figurine of a dragon reading a book

*1 signed copy of the first novel in the series, Stalked by Flames

*Coffee Mug

*Bookmarks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

'Sanctuary' by Pauline Creeden is #FREE until 10/9

Left Behind for the Hunger Games Generation

In a heart-racing thriller described as Falling Skies meets The Walking Dead, Jennie struggles to find a safe place for what's left of her family. But it seems as though there is no place sacred, no place secure. First the aliens attacked the sun, making it dimmer, weaker, and half what it used to be. Then they attacked the water supply, killing one-third of Earth's population with a bitter contaminate. And when they unleash a new terror on humankind, the victims will wish for death, but will not find it…

When the world shatters to pieces around her, will Jennie find the strength she needs to keep going?

Buy on Audible / Amazon (Free until 10/9)/ Paperback

Pauline Creeden

Pauline Creeden is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy. In her fiction, she creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.

Follow Pauline Creeden: Website | Facebook | Twitter

A Day in Stephanie Erickson's Writing Life and excerpt from 'The Dead Room (Vol. 1)'

A Day in Your Writing Life

Well, my writing days are all different, as much as I like routine and structure. I have a toddler, and am a stay at home mom. My husband is a pilot so when he’s working, I’m on 24/7. I also have a part time job as a graphic designer, so my days are full, that’s for sure. But, they go something like this.

When I’m behind, I get up early and work before my daughter wakes up. Those are usually writing days. So I try to catch up on words I should’ve written the day before, or maybe get ahead if I have a busy day full of nap time meetings scheduled.

8 am to 1 pm is my daughter’s. There’s no work that happens during this time. None. We play, we go to music class, or the library, whatever. It’s about her.

1 pm to 3 pm is nap time, so it’s mine, all mine! Most days I have a short graphics meeting, then I can start writing. At this stage, I have two books that I’m juggling. So, at any given point, one is in the writing or outlining phase, and the other is in the editing phase.

For example, today I’m working on outlining The Dead World, and Unforgiven is with the editor. I want to start writing TDW this week! So, during naptime, I work on tweaking the outline, setting scenes in my mind, as well as learning about the characters and who they are.

Then 3 pm to 8 pm is back to my daughter. After her bedtime I work anywhere from 2 to 4 hours if I’m really behind. That doesn’t happen too often though. Some days I have a lot of administrative stuff to do, like writing guest posts (haha), keeping up with social media, responding to comments on the Web site, and stuff like that. Some days I can just write and those are my favorite! After all, that is why I got into this business.

On days when I can get into bed by 10, I like to read for a bit. Right now, I’m slowly working on Sea of Stars, by Amy Bartol and LOVING it! It’s totally amazing.

So, it doesn’t sound like much, but that’s my day. Somehow, it adds up to 4 books so far, with three more planned this year! And I love it!

Post Apocalyptic 

Date Published: March 11, 2015

322 years after the apocalypse, the world has changed, but her people have not. Secrets, lies, and manipulations endure among a small group of survivors taking refuge on an island in the Northern Pacific.

No one knows what claimed so many lives over three centuries ago, and no one asks, except Ashley Wortham. She can feel the secrets all around her, begging to be uncovered.

But the nine elders who govern the island guard their secrets jealously. They believe the islanders know what they need to, and they hide their secrets behind a ruse of peace. But when Ashley, and her best friend Mason, go down the rabbit hole, no one is prepared for truths they uncover. What will they do when they discover the downfall of humanity lies within their own island, deep inside the dead room?

Read an excerpt:

The body lay on a two-piece metal pyre in the center of the clearing.
Nothing more than the skeleton of a table, the pyre was simply used for the display and transport of the bodies. Burning the dead was a custom from the time before.

The corpse’s blue cotton, long-sleeved shirt was buttoned all the way to
the top to hide his injuries, and the matching navy slacks had recently been pressed.

With his hands folded over his abdomen, Wesley looked rather dashing. Ashley wished her match had actually been dashing in life.

She wondered who would wear that outfit next. Nothing was ever wasted on the island. Not even the clothes of a dead man. She herself had worn the clothes off a dead woman’s back. Squeamishness was a luxury no one could afford.

Although “new” clothes were made on the island, from animal skins and the cotton grown in the farmlands, they were typically reserved for the higher ups—elders, doctors, and the like. Cotton was difficult to grow in the cold climate, and the clothes were made entirely by hand. Once it had been worn and patched a few times by those with power, new clothing was eventually passed down to the lower branches of society,

But, it wasn’t just clothing that moved on after an islander died. All of
their belongings were redistributed among those in need. The dead’s family wasn’t allowed to keep anything they didn’t need. Sentimentality was a lost emotion to the islanders. Reusing everything was essential, even if the previous owner was a dead man.

It had only bothered her once—the first time she’d seen one of her
father’s outfits on another man. Even then, at the tender age of ten, she’d understood it was bound to happen eventually. She just hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly. Only a week after his funeral, she’d spotted one of her neighbors walking down the road in her father’s clothes. She ran to him, hoping her father’s scent might still linger on his shirt. But the man neither embraced her nor offered her any sympathy. He only looked at her with wide eyes,the horror and disgust plain on his face.

Death on the island was such a strange thing. She’d lost track of how many
funerals she’d been to in her lifetime—at least one a month. Unexpected deaths, like that of her match, added to the average.

Only three of the losses had actually meant something to her—her mother,
her father, and now Wesley. Her father’s funeral was, of course, devastating, made more so by the fact that they’d shared the same first name. Everything the elders said about him could have also been applied to her. How they were thankful for “Ashley’s life,” how they wished “Ashley peace.”It sent shivers down her spine.

Once, she’d asked him why they shared a name. His mother’s name had been Ashley, he’d explained, as had her mother, and her father before that. On and on, down the line, the name had traveled, until it had reached Ashley. And one day, as was their tradition, it would go to her own child.

The funeral for her mother, who had been taken by a simple cold that
escalated into something much worse, was nothing more than a hazy memory. Still, Ashley missed her mother terribly and felt incomplete without her. She searched for her whenever the jasmine got caught on the wind, because her mother had loved to wear the flower behind her ear.

Wesley’s funeral was a problem. She wasn’t entirely sure how she felt
about it. The loss of her parents had left her feeling completely alone. She’d hoped to find love again with her match, but he’d left her terribly disappointed.

Now that he was gone, her emotions warred with themselves. Relief was the
biggest player fighting for space in her mind. Relief to have escaped the abuse and the pressures of being the next elder’s wife. Guilt came in at a close second, but not because she regretted killing her match.

It was because her best friend was being blamed for it.

Available on Amazon

About Stephanie Erickson

Stephanie Erickson has always had a passion for the written word. She pursued her love of literature at Flagler College, in St. Augustine, FL, where she graduated with a BA in English. She has received several honors in her writing career, including recognition in the 72nd Annual Writer's Digest Competition.

After graduation, she married and followed her husband in pursuit of his dream. The Cure and The Blackout were written to reignite Stephanie's passion, when she found the time. Now that he is settled in his career, it's her turn to devote more time and energy into writing.

Stephanie currently has 4 projects planned for 2015. Her latest release, The Dead Room, is a post apocalyptic set on a lonely island 300 years in the future.
Stephanie, of course, loves to read and write. She also enjoys living on the beach on the Florida's Treasure Coast. Most of all, she and her husband are in love with their baby girl.

Website: www.stephanieericksonbooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephmerickson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sm_erickson

Blog: http://www.stephanieericksonbooks.com/blog/

Newsletter signup: http://www.stephanieericksonbooks.com/thanks-for-reading/

'Last Light Falling: The Covenant) by J.E. Plemons

Blurb:

If your fate has already been chosen for you, would you change it? 

For Gabriel and Arena, life has been short of exciting, but when they receive a special letter on their fifteenth birthday, history will forever change. Nations have fallen, economies have collapsed, and half the world's population has been wiped from the earth. The prophecy of the end is near and it's up to Gabriel and Arena to help prepare the world's demise by the wrath of God. Souls will rest in the providence of these ordinary twins put in an extraordinary situation, but when fate chooses them, they will have to accept their destiny changing their lives forever.

Buy links

Amazon \ B&N

Rave reviews!

"Tragedy is not born in the destiny of a bad man, but rather destiny born into a tragic world." 

"That moment when you finish a book, close the cover, and look around, realizing that the people around you have no idea you've just had a Significant Emotional Event at the hands of a paperback." - Brandon Withey 

"Not since Stephen King’s "The Stand" has such an enthralling apocalyptic thriller with a good versus evil theme graced the bookstores."

About the author:

Jay Plemons' life is nothing short of ordinary. From an aspiring chef, carpenter, educator, musician, husband, and father, nothing ever seems too busy when adding yet another hat into the mix as a fiction novelist. With a degree in music business, and a minor in English from Middle Tennessee State University, the aspirations to continue his journey in the arts, has followed Jay to write the Last Light Falling series, which has not only touched on some of his personal experiences, but has also helped him further explore the heightened convictions of faith. Though his first love is music, writing has profoundly changed the way he expresses himself to others, which has recently impacted his son to follow in those same emotional footsteps. When Jay isn't drumming, writing is his cure to life's distractions.

Jay's only philosophy is to enjoy whatever time you can whenever you can, with whoever you can, because the uncertainties that tomorrow may bring will have a profound impact on how you give your time today. If we could all just stop for a moment and enjoy the little things in life that make the big things worthwhile, our troubles would all seem inconsequential.

Raised in a fundamentally sound Christian home, Jay's quest for knowledge was under a jaded, but compassionate moral compass. But with all questions about life, there's never a good time for harsh scrutiny, but being a child of God, timing is everything. While scrutiny may come under experiences, it's our experiences that breeds humility, and that's what bridges our relationship with God. This is the true nature in which man may take several paths before realizing his chosen path was never meant to be in judgment, hidden in shame and guilt, or riddled with harm. We may not understand the world around us, but comprehending its vast secrets was never the true intentions of our being. We were called to serve one another and accept a gift greater than our minds can possibly fathom--love.

Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/lastlightfalling.Plemons
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lastlightfallin
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8062911.J_E_Plemons

'Survivor (Sanctuary #2)' by Pauline Creeden is available for preorder!

*Novella companion to Sanctuary*

Aliens have attacked and Rory's mother is missing, but none of that matters much to him. He's safe in his apartment complex, has his friends and his twin sister, Hailey. But as supplies start to dwindle, it becomes obvious that he needs to do something to make sure they all survive...even if it means he has to brave going outside through the Shisa and the zombies people have become. As long as they are safe, that's all that matters, right?

Pre-order on Amazon

Left Behind for the Hunger Games generation

In a heart-racing thriller described as Falling Skies meet The Walking Dead, Jennie struggles to find a safe place for what’s left of her family. But it seems as though there is no place sacred, no place secure. First the aliens attacked the sun, making it dimmer, weaker, and half what it used to be. Then they attacked the water supply, killing one-third of Earth’s population with a bitter contaminate. And when they unleash a new terror on humankind, the victims will wish for death, but will not find it…

When the world shatters to pieces around her, will Jennie find the strength she needs to keep going?

 

Buy on Amazon / Barnes and Noble /Goodreads

Forever FREE 'Enter Ruinland' by C.J. Anderson

Blurb:

Inspired by the words of Nietzsche, Enter Ruinland is the searing dark chronicles of human and synthetic life following a future nuclear apocalypse. An artificial intelligence will sentence to death all humans incapable of authentic emotion. Within a military bunker are 70 survivors who face execution by a fabricated being. A soldier with a troubled past must come to terms with a horrible truth. One woman's lustful choice may have fatal consequences. This is a story about the mystery of life, the finality of death, and the struggle to survive in a ruined world.

Available on Amazon

Forever free!

Author bio:

"Love has no value in the absence of truth." - C.J. Anderson

A survivor of religion, C.J. Anderson is an impassioned writer from Nevada and lover of all things Sci-Fi. Anderson's writing is inspired by the German philosopher and poet Friedrich Nietzsche. Many more books to come!

Now available: Enter Ruinland
Coming soon (2014): Survive Ruinland
Future release (2015): Exit Ruinland
Future omnibus (2015): Ruinlander

'Planet Urth' by Jennifer & Christopher Martucci is forever FREE

Blurb:

The world has changed. It’s dangerous, deadly. Inhuman creatures rule the planet. Animals have mutated. The land is hostile. But it’s all I’ve ever known. Hunger. Fear. Panic. Those emotions are my reality. They are my every day. I am Avery, and I am seventeen. My father died a year ago. Since then I’ve been responsible for my eight-year-old sister, June.

I worry we are the only humans left.

Humans have been hunted for centuries, to the brink of extinction. I must fight each day to protect my sister. It is the reason I wake, the reason I breathe. But how long can I go on fighting? How long will it be before they find us?

More than two hundred years into the future, human beings are an endangered species. The planet has been battered by war, its inhabitants plagued by disease and death. Few humans survived and remained unaffected. Most changed dramatically and evolved into something else entirely. Irrevocable alterations caused by chemical warfare have created a new species. North America is in ruins and has been overtaken. Humanity has fallen at the hands of mutants known as Urthmen.

Seventeen year-old Avery is alive and unchanged. But she has not been immune to the harshness of the new world. She has lived on the run for much of her life, in terror.

After losing her father, Avery is the sole guardian of her eight-year-old sister, June. Avery is now charged with June’s safety as well as her own, a nearly impossible task.

Forced to hide deep in the forest and away from the cities overrun by Urthmen, Avery and her sister are constantly hunted. Danger awaits them at every turn. They fear they are the only human beings left, that they are the last of their kind.

But are they truly alone?

Find out in this raw and riveting first installment of the Planet Urth series.

Find out what others are saying about this free young adult post-apocalyptic thriller:

”Planet Urth pulled me in from the very beginning… Engrossing from start to finish, I can't wait to read the 2nd book.” ~Amazon Reviewer 

“I recommend this to everyone who likes post-apocalyptic books and a good humor/romance I love all the characters and I'm GOING to read the next book!” ~Amazon Reviewer

“I can't wait for the next book in this series!! There are so many Post-Apocalyptic books out there. This one surpasses the rest!!” ~Amazon Reviewer

If you enjoy free teen fiction and post-apocalyptic adventures, this is the book for you!

Buy links

Amazon \ Barnes & Noble \ Google Play \ Smashwords \ iTunes \ Kobo

Also available:

Book 2 \ Book 3

Coming this June:

Book 4

About the Authors
Jennifer and Christopher Martucci hoped that their life plan had changed radically in early 2010. To date, the jury is still out. But late one night, in January of 2010, the stay-at-home mom of three girls under the age of six had just picked up the last doll from the playroom floor and placed it in a bin when her husband startled her by declaring, “We should write a book, together!” Wearied from a day of shuttling the children to and from school, preschool and Daisy Scouts, laundry, cooking and cleaning, Jennifer simply stared blankly at her husband. After all, the idea of writing a book had been an individual dream each of them had possessed for much of their young adult lives. Both had written separately in their teens and early twenties, but without much success. They would write a dozen chapters here and there only to find that either the plot would fall apart, or characters would lose their zest, or the story would just fall flat. Christopher had always preferred penning science-fiction stories filled with monsters and diabolical villains, while Jennifer had favored venting personal experiences or writing about romance. Inevitably though, frustration and day-to-day life had placed writing on the back burner and for several years, each had pursued alternate (paying) careers. But the dream had never died. And Christopher suggested that their dream ought to be removed from the back burner for further examination. When he proposed that they author a book together on that cold January night, Jennifer was hesitant to reject the idea outright. His proposal sparked a discussion, and the discussion lasted deep into the night. By morning, the idea for the Dark Creations series was born.

The Dark Creations series, as well as the Arianna Rose series and the Planet Urth series, are works that were written while Jennifer and Christopher continued about with their daily activities and raised their young children. They changed diapers, potty trained and went to story time at the local library between chapter outlines and served as room parents while fleshing out each section. Life simply continued.

As the storyline continues to evolve, so too does the Martucci collaboration. Lunches are still packed, noses are still wiped and time remains a rare and precious commodity in their household, but it is the sound of happy chaos that is the true background music of their writing. They hope that all enjoy reading their work as much as they enjoyed writing it.