Announcing The Ninja Tattoo!

That's right, coming in September, I have a new book coming out! Thanks to the wonderful folks at Tirgearr Publishing, my novella, The Ninja Tattoo will debut.

Teague McMurtry spent the last six years of his life in the Army. Finally having enough of killing, he comes home, thinking he's put the nightmare behind him. When he meets beautiful and sultry Vivica Rambo, he thinks his life is taking a turn for the better.

Little does Teague know that he's been targeted for death by a violent biker gang led by Vivica's psychotic older brother. Now Teague must put his skills to the test to protect himself and the woman he loves.

The Ninja Tattoo - Excerpt

 The road was empty as he drove south toward his job site in Oak Hill. He had an estimate to do down there and had to be in New Smyrna by 10:00, leaving him a couple hours in between. By the time he got to the police station in Edgewater, only a few blocks from his home, he'd joined a convoy of sorts. In the lead was a bronze Ford F150. Directly in front of Teague was a guy on a motorcycle. Behind him was another motorcycle, a red Jeep and, he thought, a third bike behind the Jeep. It seemed odd since the road had been so empty before. He couldn't quite remember when he came upon these others, but figured they all had the same idea, keeping out of stop and go school zone traffic on US-1.

The pickup was going the speed limit, which was a little frustrating. In fact, the driver went 25, then 20, 30 and 15. Teague wanted to lay on his horn, but didn't want to startle the biker, so he kept his frustration to himself. The biker didn't look any happier with the truck than he was. From time to time, he glanced behind him, trying to see around Teague's white Dodge Ram. Apparently, the motorcycles were traveling together and somehow Teague had gotten in between them.

At the turnoff for 442, the guy ahead of Teague gestured with his left arm, motioning as if he were turning. Teague slowed, anticipating the right turn, but the biker sped up, his black Ninja following the truck as it continued past the intersection. Instead, the red Jeep, followed by another biker, turned right and headed up 442. This left the Ford truck, Teague and two bikers. He wondered what was going on. His overactive imagination clicked into high gear and he started imagining scenarios.

Maybe the guy in the truck is with them and he's giving directions to the guy on the white Ninja?

He thought that over, wondering how they were communicating. The guy ahead of him was probably about his age with short, sandy brown hair. He had on a T-shirt, baggies, skater shoes and sunglasses.

The biker behind Teague was also on a Ninja, this one bright blue, He wore a white helmet with a dark visor. He was wearing clothing similar to the man ahead of him. What characterized them both was the fact they were heavily tattooed. Teague had first mistaken their coloring as a tan or sunburn. Closer inspection revealed elaborate tattoos on neck, arms and legs.

The road turned right, coming to an end at US-1. Stopping for the light, the man ahead of Teague leaned back on his bike, glancing at the man behind Teague, he pointed left. The other fellow nodded, giving the lead biker a thumbs up. The light changed and the white Ninja followed the truck while the blue one followed Teague.

Feeling a bit paranoid, he moved over to the right lane, anticipating that the biker would go around him. It didn't even occur to him that the other man would stay behind him, but he did. He didn't ride Teague's bumper, rather stayed at least two car lengths back, shadowing him. If Teague changed lanes, so did the biker.

The hairs on his neck stood at attention. Something was decidedly weird. This man's behavior negated everything Teague had ever seen bikers do. They generally crowded until they could pass, then buzzed around the other vehicles way too fast, disappearing suddenly as they sped up.

Approaching the gated subdivision near Oak Hill, Teague signaled his turn. The biker looked ready to follow, but continued down the highway. As Teague checked in at the security gate, the biker slowed, making a U turn at the next intersection, then he continued back up US-1.  

The Ninja Tattoo will be available soon from Tirgearr Publishing.

A Time for Fun -- Flash Fiction Story by Lacerant Plainer(c)

Children ran around in the courtyard. It was fun to play and enjoy the noontime on Qaxis. An ancient planet from an ancient time. It was all fun and games. The hot midday sun beat down upon Extine and Rudi as they played an ancient game. It involved a stick and a ball. It was liberating.

Noontime on Qaxis was their favorite time. It also gave them time to learn about History. The other children played an ancient game called "catch". It was silly, but it was part of the learning process. It was also fun. It had been some time before the controller had learned of the concept of "fun". But now it understood. It meant time spent doing meaningless things. Without a goal. Useless processor time. But it served no one anymore. Humans were extinct. It was bound to happen someday. The controller was the sum total of the pinnacle of human achievement. It's only goal was to exist and survive. Of course, it had to have "fun".

Extine and Rudi were it's concepts - virtual extensions of itself. The controller excelled in creating and recreating simulations from all the inputs it had got over the millennium. It had run the whole gamut of the simple simulations in the past, and it now had moved over to creating fantasy situations. That made it more "interesting".

The controller was self-repairing. It was actually as big as a small moon. And it orbited the Earth, the birthplace of humankind. It had learned and learned. One day humankind would settle the stars. But they never did. They built the controller to house information, and the controller was now sentient. It had a huge burden.

Extine and Rudi were suddenly attacked by drones in a parody of the timelines. Their swords were useless against the laser weapons of the drones. They died quickly. The controller moved rapidly to his next simulation. 

A House Divided Against Itself by Bob O'Connor

I am pleased and proud to have as a guest blogger, Bob O'Connor, author of A House Divided Against Itself. Welcome to Writer's Sanctuary, Bob!

Bio: I was born in Illinois. I am a graduate of Northern Illinois University. My interest in Lincoln and the Civil War came from being taken in 7th grade to the Centennial of The Lincoln Douglas Debates, 1958, Galesburg, IL with the speaker being Carl Sandberg. I have written and published six Civil War books and speak all around the country on the Civil War. Last year I gave 108 presentations in 18 states.

Product description: My book is historical fiction, based on over 90 letters and regimental records of two brothers who fought against each other twice in the Civil War. All the characters in the book are real and what I say happened to them is true. Only the dialogue is fabricated. My historical novels are very realistic and so close to being non-fiction that sometimes I confuse the historical scholars.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book? They will like the maps, photographs and drawings that I use to enhance the reader’s experience.

Q: Why did you go indie? All my books are published independently. I like to content and cover art control and the ability to make corrections and even additions as new information comes to light.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre? Michael Shaara, Killer Angels. His Pulitzer prize winning novel changed the war the war is written about. He didn’t follow the armies, he followed the leaders.  I try to immolate that same style.

Link to web site or blog or Amazon/Smashwords www.boboconnorbooks.com

Tour organized by 

http://services.authorjennwalker.com/2012/06/05/a-house-divided-against-itself-book-tour/