Releases October 31st

River Black lives in a world where only the strong survive. The earth has changed to a brutal climate and the survivors will do anything to live. The eastern continents unleash a biochemical weapon on their enemies, and directly onto River’s world. She will have to leave her quiet existence in the forest and venture to the slaver fortress and further beyond, into the deepest part of the surviving cities. If she doesn’t die first, or rise infected…

Excerpt:

Aspen was the first to speak, all of us still slightly in shock at what we had just witnessed.

“We have to clear out the house. I don’t know if all of them left, or if some of them got in, but we have to know for sure,” he said, the urgency in his voice clear.

“I’ll take upstairs,” I responded immediately, wanting to get a familiar perch from above, and recalculate our current situation.

The fire still burned in the pit in the entryway, illuminating the three of us as I walked up the curved stairs. I quickly lost sight of them, the wall turning smoothly into a hall. The hallway was covered in shadows, the dying embers of fire pits casting light through the open doors of the rooms.

“Hello,” I called out weakly.

I didn’t like the idea of going blindly into each room, possibly ambushed at any moment. It would be better to draw them out into the hall, and cut them down as they ran towards me.

I waited, my body tense and fluid at the same time, ready to spring if needed. But nothing came. I spoke louder a second time, my ears straining as my voice traveled down the hall. Once again nothing came out of the rooms and I walked forward, entering each one and searching every corner, my rifle always ready.

A few were bedrooms, which I frowned upon. It was a bad omen to have bedrooms above ground. It was obvious that the townspeople had become lazy. I entered one more room that was a study, a desk crammed into the corner, covered in books. Even in the most stressful situation, I found myself becoming excited at the plethora of reading material that was before me. It was rare to see one book, let alone dozens.

The last thing in the hallway was the stairs leading to the final floor. Once again I walked the smooth curve of the stairwell, the stone giving off a sense of protection, although it would do nothing to help me if I was attacked by the infected.

It was dark down the long hallway, only one room at the far end giving any light, the rest of the doors closed. Once again I called out and waited, keeping my eyes on the farthest room. I was greeted only by the sound of my own voice.

Taking a breath, I pushed open the closest door, holding my gun out in front of me. I knew the moment I stepped in the room that I was not alone, there was a presence in the room, a presence in turmoil. I could almost hear the chaotic thoughts, trapped and angry. I knew when I heard the low animalistic growl, that I had walked into the room of one of the infected.

My shoes slipped on the floor as I walked towards the sound, a trail of blood beneath me, as though someone had dragged themselves to the door and shut it. I walked around the bed towards the continued hissing, expecting the creature to come sprinting at me. But it remained in the corner. I walked closer, and finally saw white gleaming eyes as it stared at me, a hideous grin on its face.

It was a woman, or what was left of a woman.

These rooms were bare compared to the extravagant rooms below. I could only imagine the ones below ground. Logic would say that they belonged to servants, possibly even slaves. It was clear that even with the thick window covering the rooms would quickly get hot during the extreme heat. It would be torturous to be forced to live up here. On a beautiful day like this, they had all probably had their windows open, the first to succumb to the plague that had been dropped upon us.

I almost tripped over the two severed legs that were littered on the floor. It looked like someone had taken an axe to them, and the brutality of the scene shocked me. Instead of dying, the woman’s wounds had almost healed, the blood stopping its flow.

The growling increased as the woman dragged herself by her arms towards me. Her mouth had started the rabid chomping that seemed a telltale trait of the infected. Bloody fingers reached for me, just as I lifted the rifle once again and placed it to the woman’s temple, pulling the trigger with a quickly flick of my finger.

I took a closer look at the carnage around me, the bloody legs and the limp body of the infected woman. “Yup, looks like a Zombie to me.”

I wiped the blood from my boots in the hallway, leaving a creepy trail of red footprints. There was one more room before the open one at the end, and my hairs rose as I pushed open the next door. I was greeted by silence, the room empty. Even the shutters were closed, and from the dust on the furniture I could tell it had been some time since anyone had been here.

I moved back out into the hall and walked towards the last room, the light was not coming from a burning pit but from an open window, the sun shining into the room. My trigger finger tensed once again, concentrating on everything in front of me. The first thing I saw was the bed, covered in blood. Another servant was there, axe marks evident on her body.

But this one was clearly dead, its head lying a few feet from the body.

“I doubt you will be getting up,” I said, and that’s when I realized there was someone else in the room.

It was another woman, her hair dark and her clothes fine. She was not some servant, but a mistress of the house. She was young, not much older than I was, and she carried an axe that dripped blood onto the floor as she stared at me.

Look for Rise of the Infected

October 31^st 2012

 

To learn more about the author visit moniquemorgan.com

Guest Blog

Author Laurence St. John

            While working in the steel processing business for almost fifteen years, my place of employment changed hands, for the third time in 2006; fighting for my job, again. No one knows more the feeling of disappointment, of feeling betrayed and taken advantage of more than me. I had no idea how I would take care of my family, no idea how I could hold my head up high. Fortunately I was able to retain my job. And I knew then that I could not give up.

            In the same year my first granddaughter, Kendall, “Papa’s Angel” was born. This was one of the most uplifting moments of my life. This was one of the few times I actually cried. As I held her in my arms, she stared back at me with her precious smile. It was at this time when my emotions were running wild; I became inspired as well as determined to write my penned-up thoughts on paper. I decided to follow my true bliss, as they say and to write my first book. I also wanted Kendall to be proud of me; her Papa.

            Nearly four years later, and many hours of writing, editing, revising and re-editing, it was finished. I had completed my first middle grade fantasy novel, METATRON: The Angel Has Risen. This journey had many bumps and curves in the road but at the end, it was all worth it.

I have already started the process of writing the second novel in the METATRON series which will hopefully be release sometime in 2013. I am endlessly inspired by my three grandkids Kendall, Eli and Sadie. I write for them as well as my wife Julie, my son Joe and his wife Cari, and my daughter Jan her husband Andrew. Lastly, I write for my audience, the readers.

 

Friendly Reminder:
My first scheduled book signing (where I am participating) will be at the 2012 Genoa Ohio Street Fair on Saturday September 15th from 9am - 4pm. My book will be available to purchase. If you already have one bring it by and I'll sign it. Or just stop by and say "hello".
I should have 50 - 100 books on hand.
***A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to:
"The Genoa Area Local Schools Scholarship Foundation, Inc." ***
Hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Laurence

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing

These questions are for my current release.

1. What is the working title of your book?

SpaceHive

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

My friend was stung by wasps when gardening, and I was then stung by wasps who lived within the walls of her house. This started me thinking about killer bees, wasps, and what would happen if they were huge alien apians who were going to invade Earth. I did a lot of research on bees and wasps and thus the idea was born.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Young adult/middle grade Science fiction/fantasy

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Probably Justin Bieber to play Jason, but I'm not familiar with recent actors. A young Bollywood actor to play Aadab Ali, and perhaps a young Richard Gere to play his father. I'm really not familiar with recent actors at all. Vincent Price could have played General Vard.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Earth's fate is in the hands of a 12-year-old boy named Jason Anderson as Earth is invaded by vicious giant alien Wasps and Bees in a ship called SpaceHive.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

My book is published by Imajin Books in Edmonton, Alberta.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Approximately one year.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Perhaps James Patterson's "Witch and Wizard." James Patterson was my model for a YA novel.

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My publisher Cheryl Tardif worked closely with me on the original draft of this book, which originally was an adult story. She thought, rightly so, that it would be better as a young adult/middle grade novel. I wrote the book originally because of a love of science fiction and a desire to write a good science fiction novel my son would enjoy.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

There's a theme of the world as a "global village," inspired by the words of Canadian philosopher/educator Marshall McLuhan in the 1970s/80s. There's a theme of humanity working together against a common enemy and to make a better world.

Visit Al Place:
http://hereiamattheedge.blogspot.com/

 

INTRODUCING KENNA MARY MCKINNON AND HER DEBUT NOVEL, SPACEHIVE! 

It was a lot of fun to write. Published by Imajin Books. Hear Quinn Barrett's podcast on Wednesday Sept. 5 at 11:00 a.m. MST, see the guest blogs by Chris Redding on Saturday Sept. 1st (launch day), Rosemary McCracken on Sunday Sept. 2nd, Laurence St. John on Tuesday Sept. 4th, Monique Morgan on Friday Sept. 7th, and a SURPRISE...Jeremy Shipp (Attic Clowns and many more) on Slices of Bizarro Pie on Saturday September 8th!

"The queen knows the Black Watch guards SpaceHive, a ship so powerful and huge it can carry half a planet through space to our new home, and bring us safely to foreign soil. We need the Black Watch wasps. And their technology. They're more than warriors—they're engineers and pilots."

Bipp's eyes widened.

"Nothing will defeat us," Zibb hissed. "We'll take them by surprise. Earth is doomed."

"Yes," a nurse matriarch spoke up. "They won't know what happened. We'll destroy them so fast. From deep space and their own fields and valleys, we'll sting them to death. We'll burn them."

Bipp laughed. "We have the machines."

"We have the wasps," Zibb said. "Black and frightful, they loom over us like giants. The Eternity Drive still exists from old times, hidden in the Hollow Hills near the Black Watch and guarded by the sergeants-at-arms. Their body fuzz is tipped with poison and their spikes are instant and deadly." She finished cleaning her antennae and turned to Banter, who was snoring by the fire. "Yes, the humans don't stand a chance."

The second of the orange moons set. Putrid light dripped like blood onto the valley.

Get the ebook and trade paperback on Amazon.com and the print at CreateSpace (see below).

Kenna McKinnon--a name to reckon with!

    http://kennamckinnon.blogspot.ca/
    https://www.facebook.com/KennaMcKinnonAuthor
    http://www.twitter.com/KennaMcKinnon
    http://www.kennamckinnon.com
    "SpaceHive"        
    http://tinyurl.com/cvg9c4t
    https://www.createspace.com/3966763                                
    "DISCOVERY-An Anthology of Poetry"
    http://tinyurl.com/7z6lxev