Set
in a science fiction setting with elements of twisted horror, Future Winds is a
strange yet wondrous tale of species self preservation and the all out moral
cost of survival. Forced to leave earth, humanity discovers a planet capable of
supporting life and hatches an audacious plan that will warp them across the
universe to settle and begin anew. There is a darkness that resides below the
planet's surface, but with no option to turn back, humanity must find a way
forward.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
Chapter 7 Excerpt:
Being a science fiction story set in another galaxy,
technology and artificial intelligence play a big role in Future Winds. This is
an example of that.
In the year 2045, a Russian man by the name of Vladimir
Karkorov took ophthalmology to a whole other level when he figured out how to
counter human born blindness via fusing a human’s eyesight with the cam feed of
robotics. Eventually Karkorov won a Nobel Peace Prize for his works, but much
like Alfred Nobel, Karkorov’s invention was gulped up by the armies of the
world for use in warfare.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
My name is
Kevin Laymon. My passions are space exploration, music, sailing, snowboarding,
wildlife, and of course writing. I have been writing for some time but the
focus has been primarily on short stories and dark poems strictly for personal
use. Future Winds is the first of a handful of novels I am working on for
publication. I grew up in upstate New York and have lived up and down the east
coast. New York is a location that holds a very special place in my heart.
After working a wide range of jobs that I hated for far too long, Sara my
significant other, and I decided earlier in 2015 to make some dramatic changes
and travel. We scraped together some cash, I quit my job, and we moved to
Albuquerque, New Mexico where we live a libertarian life as vegetarians. We
share our desertscape living quarters with an aquatic turtle named Taz and a
rabbit named BunBear. On October 9th 2015 Sara & I got married in Las
Vegas, Nevada. The sunshine in New Mexico has helped immensely in illuminating
a greater perspective as to who I am and what I was placed on this planet to
do; that is to teach and inspire. I have a hunger to awaken humanity so that we
may break away from our programed way of thinking. Our minds are powerful and I
encourage everyone to open them up, exercise them, and tap into the potential I
know every living man woman and child has. Though my stories at times can be
very dark there is a reason for everything I do. Perspective, perception, and
relativity are everything in the world of literature.
My Grand daughter is loving this headband kit. She is very crafty and is making some really cute headbands. Everything you need to make 10 headbands is included in the kit. We did have to buy some more glue and she did go through my craft room and found some other things to use on her headbands though. This is a basic kit but any kit has room for extra embellishments.
In the kit is 10 satin covered headbands in different colors, rhinestones, flowers, feathers, a butterfly, yards of ribbon, glue, and more. This is a afternoon of fun for some girls others will take awhile to make all 10. All of my girls loved to dress up, and if they made it they loved showing it off even more. This is a great set for girls over 3, a 3 year old still could use adult supervision though there are some very small pices.
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These are really nice little bottles and made of very good quality materials. I am very happy with mine.
I received this product for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
I am absolutely thrilled with my new measuring cups. I love these so much. I love that they stack together and are less then an inch tall with all 4 cups put together. They have really given me back a good bit of space in my drawer. There are no stiff long handles to hang up in the drawer or with other items in the drawer. The measurements are exact. The are in such bright vibrant colors too. These are dishwasher safe but just as easy to wash with warm soapy water. My daughter saw them and is crying for a set. Thanksgiving is in a couple of days and these will get a great work out with our family of about 30 members, These would make a great gift or as part of a kitchen or baking themed gift basket.
I received this product for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
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Her face was the only thing that had kept him sane during his deployment. At this moment, however, thoughts of Morgan had been pushed to the side for reasons of pure survival. Declan wiped the mud from his eye with a swift movement of his hand, just quick enough so that he could see again. Booming thunder went off near and far.
Swearing under his breath, Declan closed one eye and squinted the other shut as he spied his target. Breathe. One, two, three… he could do this. The first time he’d had to shoot another man he had faltered, hesitated only the briefest of seconds, during which time the man escaped his line of sight and shot a fellow soldier in the leg, causing serious injury.
This time, Declan concentrated, aimed his M4 rifle, and fired. The distinct thud of a man dropping to the ground confirmed the target had been hit. Swiping at the sweat in his eyes from the sweltering mid-day heat, Declan gulped and struggled to his knees. Lining up his rifle again, his neck and shoulders ached with fatigue. He bit down and gritted his teeth, tasting dirt while fighting off the pain.
It seemed as if hours had gone by, when in fact, it had probably only been minutes when finally the haunting sound of gunfire ceased. Not one to trust silence in any setting, Declan mentally counted upward until he reached near fifty.
“All clear,” his buddy, Sean, called out. “All clear.”
Declan, always cautious, still maintained his position until he heard his fellow soldiers from his platoon begin to speak. Peeking up from his ravine, Declan rose slowly to his feet as the rifle was pressed to his side.
Surveying the damage, it appeared that several of their enemies were lying still on the ground. The man he had shot lay still, appearing lifeless. Another man lay several feet away. It seemed the enemies had taken off, deserting the boundaries of the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan. His platoon mates fell silent, all business as they quickly gathered their belongings to head back to base.
Declan clutched his rifle, drawing closer to his victim. Curiosity had gotten the best of him. Fully aware of his previous actions, Declan stepped even closer. He had never killed a man before — injured, yes, but never killed. This man did not appear to be alive.
His heart sped up as sweat caused his fatigues to cling to his body. For God’s sake, the man looked to have been only in his early twenties at best. What have I done? What are we doing here? Waves of nausea rose and Declan swallowed hard.
“Hey! Step back!” Sean called out. “Move out! I repeat, move out!”
Hearing his friend call out to him, Declan turned toward the sound of his voice, realizing his mistake seconds too late. He should have known better; he should have. But no amount of training can prepare you for taking another man’s life.
Glancing swiftly at Sean through tear-stained eyes, he saw the movement in his peripheral vision. Sean raced to the open dirt road. They were sitting ducks, in plain sight. The man that Declan had presumed dead, the one he had shot, raised his own rifle and fired at Sean, who dropped instantly to ground.
“No! No!” Declan spun his head back to the imminent threat, a moment too late. The force of the explosion knocked him to the ground in an instant. Morgan’s face was the last thing that registered in his mind as another shot fired, leaving his world black.
****
Clouds scattered overhead, cries of gulls bringing back another time, a different memory, sitting here with Declan by her side. Morgan squeezed her jaw, fighting back the pain.
Months later, there was still no word from Declan. On the Internet, she had searched out his name relentlessly but there was no mention of Declan, no death certificates and his name couldn’t be found on any list of casualties of the war. It was as if he had simply disappeared, but that wasn’t possible and she feared the worst. He was gone and there was no closure for Morgan, as his only living relatives were his mom and some family living on the west coast, whom Declan hadn’t seen in years. Even she and Declan’s old friend, Stephen seemed to be losing touch.
She could sit on this beach and watch the water forever; it was a place Declan had cherished, a place she felt close to him. Never again would her life be the same without Declan Blake. How was she going to make it without him?
The world was quiet and without joy for Morgan. Even Morgan’s mother nagged her to speak with a therapist. She didn’t see the purpose of smiling or laughing when it was all forced. Constant thoughts of Declan plagued her day and night.
Morgan nearly jumped when her cell rang. First instincts were to let the call go to voicemail, but she knew the person calling would only persist. That’s how it had been lately; she would ignore phone calls only to find tons of messages waiting.
It was Elle, calling for the second time that day. “Hi, Elle.”
“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you for hours,” Elle exclaimed.
“I don’t know, I’m just hanging out.”
“Down by the river again?” Elle inquired.
“Yup,” Morgan responded as she moved her foot around in the sand.
“Figured as much.”
Elle’s voice sounded odd, almost as if she were hearing her close by. Morgan turned to see her friend walking toward her on the grassy path leading to the small beach.
Rising to her feet, Morgan felt tears escape. Elle was by her side, arms wrapped around her within moments. Morgan released Elle and took a small step back.
“Oh, Elle, what am I going to do?” she sobbed.
“You’re going to live, dammit. Declan would want you to be happy.”
“How? How can I forget about him, just move on?” It wasn’t possible, she had tried, and it just wasn’t working. Even when she was at work, she was just going through the motions; she did her job, but her heart wasn’t the same.
“I think it’s time for you to see someone to talk about all of this. You’ve waited long enough.”
She was right and so was her mother, believe it or not. “I will, Elle. I will because I don’t know what else to do.”
“Morgan, you’re the strongest person I know. You have so much happiness and love to share. I have full confidence in you. You’re going to make it and come out stronger in the end.” Elle spoke through her own tears.
“Thanks, Elle. I love you.” Morgan felt better knowing there was someone on her side rooting for her.
Author Mya O’Malley Mya O’Malley was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City, where she currently lives with her husband, daughter and three step-daughters. The family also consists of a boxer, Destiny and a ragdoll cat named Colby. Mya earned an undergraduate degree in special education and a graduate degree in reading and literacy. She works as a special education teacher and enjoys making a difference in the lives of her students. Mya’s passion is writing; she has been creating stories and poetry since she was a child. Mya spends her free time reading just about anything she can get her hands on. She is a romantic at heart and loves to create stories with unforgettable characters. Mya likes to travel; she has visited several Caribbean Islands, Mexico and Costa Rica. Mya is currently working on her eighth novel.
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by readinglight.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall
of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas in New York by Alex Palmer Name
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: History/True Crime
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Before the charismatic
John Duval Gluck, Jr. came along, letters from New York City children to Santa
Claus were destroyed, unopened, by the U.S. Post Office. Gluck saw an
opportunity, and created the Santa Claus Association. The effort delighted the
public, and for 15 years money and gifts flowed to the only group authorized to
answer Santa’s mail. Gluck became a Jazz Age celebrity, rubbing shoulders with
the era’s movie stars and politicians, and even planned to erect a vast Santa
Claus monument in the center of Manhattan — until Gotham’s crusading charity
commissioner discovered some dark secrets in Santa’s workshop.
The rise and fall of
the Santa Claus Association is a caper both heartwarming and hardboiled,
involving stolen art, phony Boy Scouts, a kidnapping, pursuit by the FBI, a
Coney Island bullfight, and above all, the thrills and dangers of a wild
imagination. It’s also the larger story of how Christmas became the extravagant
holiday we celebrate today, from Santa’s early beginnings in New York to the
country’s first citywide Christmas tree and Macy’s first grand holiday parade.
The Santa Claus Man is a holiday tale with a dark underbelly, and an essential
read for lovers of Christmas stories, true crime, and New York City history.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
The Santa Claus Association was an enormous hit. By Dec. 24,
1913, the association had coordinated the delivery of gifts to 13,160 kids in
the city. Two years later, that number had ballooned to 50,000 in 16,000
families. The papers were filled with stories of delighted kids receiving gifts
in the tenements.
The city’s richest families were eager to give to the
organization because they saw the results of their charity firsthand — the
Santa Claus Association sent them specific letters, letting them deliver the
gifts themselves if they wanted.
The group moved, first to donated space at the Hotel Astor,
then to the Woolworth Building, then the tallest in the world. As the group’s
work wound down on Christmas Day 1915 and the piles of letters in the office
dwindled, suddenly the space began filling with reporters. Gluck stopped his
volunteers and informed them he was going to make an announcement. He dropped
his big news: “The peculiar nature of our work calls for a building of our
own.”
Gluck had commissioned architects George and Edward Blum to
create “the most unique building in America.”
The Santa Claus Building, in Manhattan, would be made of
white marble, with a massive arched portal, nearly 20 feet deep as a front
entrance. The façade would depict versions of Santa Claus from all the
countries of the world, each created by an artist native to that country.
The ground floor would house the offices of the association
as well as other willing charities. On the second floor would be the
Lilliputian Bazaar — a huge market where toys from around the world would be
sold or given away. “The proposed Santa Claus Building will be a national
monument,” Gluck declared — a real-life Santa’s workshop, as well as a place of
international celebration of the “Christmas spirit.”
Every detail seemed to have been carefully considered and
provided to the press — except how to pay for the $300,000 building.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Alex Palmer is
the author of The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and
the Invention of Christmas in New York, called "required reading" by
the New York Post and "highly readable" by Publishers Weekly.
It tells the
history of Christmas in America through the true-crime tale of a Jazz Age
hustler who founded an organization to answer children's Santa letters -- and
fuel his own dark dreams. Palmer curated an exhibit about this Santa Claus
Association for Brooklyn's City Reliquary Museum, earning attention from the
Village Voice, Time Out New York, and inspiring a memorable segment on WNYC
(http://wny.cc/1bQIx5k).
The son of two
teachers, Palmer's love of learning and sharing surprising stories behind
familiar subjects has led him to become a secret-history sleuth. In addition to
The Santa Claus Man, he is the author of Weird-o-pedia: The Ultimate Collection
of Surprising, Strange, and Incredibly Bizarre Facts About (Supposedly)
Ordinary Things, published in 2012 by Skyhorse Publishing. it offers up a
wealth of unexpected facts of familiar things. His first book, Literary
Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Literature, takes a look
at some of the more colorful aspects of great writers and their works, and was
published in 2010 by Skyhorse.
He is a
full-time freelance journalist whose work has appeared in Slate, Rhapsody,
Smithsonian, Vulture, the New York Daily News, Publishers Weekly, and The
Rumpus, among others.
Alex will be awarding a $20 Amazon or
B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10
Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.
