Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives – #PotLuck – What’s Wrong With Being Odd? by Charles E. Yallowitz

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Ode to the Spymaster

Spy vs Spy

Lurking and listening
A shadow within the darkness
Or a smiling face
Sitting across the table

Masters of secrets
Both their own and others
Essential to a cause
And those who rule

Some are loyal
While others have no heart
Following money or excitement
Yet all ply the same trade

The spotlight is shunned
Wearing a shroud of mystery
That keeps them safe
And distant

(I tried to make this one work, but ran into a problem.  WordPress seems to hate me hitting spacebar when I do a Shift+Enter to create stanzas.  I have to do another Shift+Enter then go back to add the spaces to the sentence.  Really frustrating and makes it hard to maintain the flow.  Sorry . . . Check out War of Nytefall: Rivalry.)

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Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – Author Update #Reviews – Robbie Cheadle, Leslie Tate, Peter Weisz

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Derailing Bedlam: Courting of the Killers Part 3 #fiction #adventure

As usual, here is your warning that this story has cursing, sex (not graphic), innuendo, and violence.  It’s my Rated-R action adventure called Derailing Bedlam.  This is the fourth outing (third official) for Cassidy and Lloyd, so feel free to click on one of the two covers to see how it started.  Each one is 99 cents!

Cover by Jon Hunsinger

Cover Art by Jon Hunsinger

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Science Fiction: The Gate

coldhandboyack's avatarEntertaining Stories

Staci Troilo is one of my closest author friends. She’s got something new for all of us under her pen-name of D. L. Cross. Let’s make her feel welcome and share this around today.

“No Idea” Excerpt from New Sci-Fi Novel: THE GATE

Thanks for inviting me here today. I’m excited to share an excerpt from The Gate, Book 1 of the Astral Conspiracy series in the Invasion Universe. 

Excerpt:

“You do realize I’ve never done this before. I have no idea what’ll happen up there.”

“You better hope it’s what I want to happen. Or you won’t be coming back down.”

Landon gulped, no longer certain he’d made the right choice to stay on Lorena’s behalf. So far, the mercs had been more or less gentlemanly toward her. She’d probably walk out of this ordeal alive. 

The same couldn’t be said about him.

They followed a path…

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Check This Out: Up for Air

L. Marie's avatarEl Space--The Blog of L. Marie

Hi ya! (See what I did there? Yes, I laugh at my own bad puns. If you’re still wondering what on earth I mean, think higher. Get it? Air? Higher? Okay, I’ll stop.) My guest is nudging me to focus, so, with me on the blog today is none other than the amazing Laurie Morrison. She’s been here before to discuss her debut MG novel, Every Shiny Thing, written with the awesome Cordelia Jensen. Click here for that post. Today, Laurie’s here to talk about her solo flight, Up for Air, published by Abrams on May 7.

   

Laurie is represented by Sara Crowe.

Stick around to the end to learn of a giveaway for Up for Air and to find out who won the $25 Amazon card I announced in this post. Now, let’s talk to Laurie!

El Space: Four quick facts about yourself?
Laurie: I’m very…

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7 Tips to Being an Effective Spymaster

Yahoo Image Search

So, I’ve asked Kai Stavros from War of Nytefall: Rivalry to give some tips on being a spymaster.  He doesn’t really want to share his secrets or be out in public, so he gave me a list.  It was written into my car with a warning that I should never ask him to do anything like this again.  Here we go:

  1. Never do public appearances unless they are on your terms . . . Just going to voice a complaint right away, huh?  You know, I could have asked another of my spy characters to do this.  Well, I don’t have any, but I know a few who would willing to make stuff up.
  2. Always double-check your information.  (That makes sense.)  Torture is a good way to confirm . . . Really!?  This is what I get for asking a vampire how this goes.  In his defense, vampires regeneration, so what would be a fatal wound for a mortal isn’t a big deal for them.  Still, there could be kids reading this, Stavros.
  3. Maintains some friendships with your coworkers, but remain distant.  You don’t want to get attached to those you might have to sacrifice for the sake of a mission.  The exceptions are your masters or employers depending on your personal employment position.  (That was bizarrely bureaucratic.)
  4. Never fall in love because that will inevitably be used against you.  If not your lover then children, so celibacy is a good idea as well.  (I know of one famous spy who would really disagree on that last one.  Why doesn’t that guy have kids on every continent?)
  5. When sending messages, you must write in code to protect your secrets.  It is best to have multiple code systems and randomly cycle through them.  Only one person should know the locations of the scrolls needed to decipher them.  It helps to put two spells on the messages as well.  One is to share the information with your employer if you and the translator are dead.  The other is to curse or kill anyone who manages to get even one word correct.  (Wow.  That’s actually a good one.)
  6. Never agree to appear on a blog to share secrets.  It doesn’t matter how much the author pathetically begs.  (And we’re back to the sass.)
  7. Uh . . . This one is in code and I don’t want to risk anything.  I mean, he did give me a warning in #5.  Oh, it’s just messy penmanship since I guess he was in a rush to get out of here.  The tip is: Don’t bring attention to yourself, but don’t try to hide from society.  You need to find something in the middle because blending in and understanding human nature are essential tools of the trade.  (I think that was cursed . . . No, just the Taco Bell I ate, which is basically the same thing.)
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Teaser Tuesday: Viewing the Carnage #vampires #fantasy

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

Here’s another excerpt from War of Nytefall: Rivalry.  I was looking for something that would show off Titus Winthrop a bit.  He’s kind of background here, but I enjoyed writing him as the ‘little guy’ for once.  Check it out!  As usual, there could be spoilers below.

Continue reading →

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Cover Reveal: Unclear Purposes

coldhandboyack's avatarEntertaining Stories

Joan Hall is sharing her cover art across the internet today. I hope you’ll all make her feel welcome.

Some people take secrets to the grave…

Three years after her husband’s murder, Christine Lawrence still struggles for balance. She has a rewarding career and a close circle of friends but feels oddly unfulfilled. Worse, the close relationship she once had with her teenage daughter has grown increasingly strained. 

Former FBI agent, Vince Green, is battling demons of his own—painful secrets that drove him from Driscoll Lake. Newly resettled in the small town, he makes his living as a private investigator. 

When Vince and Christine cross paths, stumbling over the body of a murder victim, he’s forced to confront memories he thought long buried. The circumstances surrounding the killing are eerily similar to a victim from his past.

As the body count continues to rise, Christine finds herself…

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#BookRelease #scifi Novel: THE GATE #aliens

Staci Troilo's avatarStaci Troilo

Ciao, amici! I feel like I was just announcing the release date had been moved up (how unheard of!) and now the release day is HERE!

I’m happy to announce THE GATE is available today!

The Gate

If you like Ancient Aliens, this is right up your alley. Think of it as Indiana Jones meets Falling Skies. There’s travel, mystery, lore, ancient artifacts, government agents, a nefarious cabal, and (you guessed it) aliens.

The Gate is the first of five books in the Astral Conspiracy series, part of the popular Invasion Universe. I hope you’ll celebrate with me.

Universal Purchase Link | More Information | Invasion Universe Newsletter

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