Greetings all!

A few months back, I had announced the publication of a free short story prequel to Blood Dawn, called One Who Waits.  In this short story, we meet A'la, a boy in the Sun Priesthood whose father is about to kill him, and learn about how this experience leads to the events of Blood Dawn.

Today, I'd like to announce that One Who Waits is no longer available for download from the Noisetrade site where it was hosted -- I've now published it on Amazon and Smashwords, for the price of $2.99, the first of many such complementary titles that spin off from the main epic Blood Dawn and its sequels will form.

Click on the cover to buy it on Amazon:

A bit later in the day than I intended, but it is still Sunday and thus time for some funding book recommendations from me. I'll keep my own thoughts on them short, and let you just check out the books' pages themselves if I've piqued your interest.

First I'll quickly cover the 3 main criteria I use to decide which books to recommend each week: 1.) I have to enjoy reading it, simple enough;  (2.) it must currently be in the funding stage, with particular preference given to those who have not hit the Quill goal of 250 orders yet(there's plenty of great books that have already reached the funding goal, but I'm mainly trying to help out other authors of good books to get said books published here); (3.) the books that meet criteria 1 with the earliest end dates get chosen first, also simple enough. With that covered on to the recommendations(links embedded to both book and author pages here).

"The Defeated" by Joseph G. Calcagno:  I can't wait to read more of this one really. What bit of it is already posted has the perfect mixture of grit and wit to appeal to my tastes, plus I can't help but admire a book that drops this tidbit of narcissistic wisdom right in its first paragraph, "At his most ragged he'd never been in short supply of admirers, but if you're going to kill a man, you should damn well look your best."

"Seven Devils" by E.B. Mathews:  I'll admit to preferring my horror stories, whether watched or read, to have either a strong supernatural or psychological aspect to them. This book definitely fulfills the supernatural from what is seen in its opening possession/exorcism scene. Easily one of the most powerful opening scenes I've read in a long time, but not just because of the demonic aspect of it. The psychological influence that it has on the main character is obvious from the way the scene is painted, and is clearly still a defining moment for Ezra when the next scene picks up seven years later. Horror fans definitely need to check this out, and keep an eye on E.B. Mathews in general.

"Terminal Magic" by B. Riggs:  The premise alone would have been enough to hook me, but my love of the diary-style dated entry technique of storytelling this employs just keeps me reading. I think I gained that particularly stylistic love in my teenage years, about the same time I was also cutting my teeth on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. That last bit could explain my overly excited meeps of joy at the references to Lovecraftian lore. Beyond that there's so much to love about this one: the dual character narrative gained by having diary entries from two characters, the subtle social commentary woven into the narrative smoothly so as not to try to beat you over the head with it, and for me its portrayal of something closer to a real-world style of magic without sacrificing the truly supernatural elements.

Well, that's all for me. If I've done my math correctly, funding on "The Defeated" and "Seven Devils" ends 12/11, and on 12/15 for "Terminal Magics". Be sure to check them out, and hopefully you'll join me in ordering them so that we can get their numbers up enough for me to get copies of these books. Because that's what its all about really: getting me more reading material.

Chapters 4 & 5 have been added to the Inkshares page for The Children of the Forest. Looking ahead, I still have 3 more chapters to post, and I will try to have all 3 up by the end of the month. 

I've made some updates to my second book's page for The Darkest Places. The novel is equal parts science-fiction and horror, and the story combines elements of Boardwalk Empire, Indiana Jones, and H.P. Lovecraft. If you're a fan of the supernatural, any of the sources above, or my writing in general, go check it out @ https://www.inkshares.com/projects/the-darkest-places   and pre-order a copy today to help me win the Sword & Laser Contest (Part Deux).

Also, I've made the announcement before but I would like to remind all you savvy reader-folk that I am currently underway in holding a raffle for purchases of my books. Each sale of The Darkest Places & The Children of the Forest nets you a chance to win a $250.00 Amazon gift-card! 

The drawing will be held on December 10th, with a live video posted to youtube. So remember everyone, mark your calendars and be prepared for the inevitable horror of my terrible visage staring back and talking to you through your computer, while also announcing the winner.

~ Until next time! 

Extract from Chapter 40 of mystery-comedy novel, 'The Investigations of the Para-Usual':

Baby clapped his hands loudly to galvanise the crew into action.

‘Okay, let’s reset!’ Let’s go to the prof with the dictionary,’ he bawled.

O’Singh picked up the book he had placed at his feet and looked around, a little confused by the hubbub. The lights dimmed. Persil sloped off to view the action with Baby on an off-stage monitor.

The professor drew a deep breath to compose himself and to recall Baby’s advice on presentational style. The crew members shushed themselves quiet.

‘Thank you! Positions please!’ called Baby. ‘And action!’

O’Singh lowered himself onto a rock, illuminated by the flickering fire. He opened the dictionary, reverentially, turned a couple of pages for effect, then stole a sidelong glance at the cavepeople resuming their original positions around the fire.

‘Closer inspection of a translation dictionary reveals how that utterance “Ug!” would threaten to condemn Alphabetti Spaghetti and the very concept of an edible text,’ said O’Singh, in a hushed tone reminiscent of the great Sir David Attenborough himself.

On the monitor, Persil and Baby could now see O’Singh turn to a page with the section heading: “Caveman-English”. O’Singh turned the page, then the next and the next… all blank pages. No caveman words under “A”, none beginning with “B” and so on. Until at last he arrived at “U”, underneath which the word “Ug!” was followed by an endless list of every conceivable English definition continuing onto the next page and for nigh on the remainder of the book.

O’Singh stopped at a randomly selected spread and pointed to an instance of the word ‘Ug!’

‘“U”, “G”: “Ug!” said O’Singh, slowly, spelling out the Neolithic communication. He snapped the book shut, placed it gently upon a rock ledge then began to creep towards the caveman sat prodding letters around in his bowl.

‘Uh-Ger!’ exclaimed the caveman, very much pleased with himself. He tipped the bowl so his wife could see the letters arranged to form ‘UG’.

O’Singh approached cautiously round the back of the primitive personage. The cavewoman sat at the fire all the while, engrossed in the stirring of her pot of Alphabetti Spaghetti.

‘Quite clearly,’ resumed O’Singh, ‘while cave people were utilising just two letters, there would remain sparse demand for a complete alphabet. Spaghetti it was, Alphabetti though it clearly could not yet claim to be.’

‘Cut!’ boomed Baby.

The lights came up rapidly. O’Singh blinked to accustom his eyes.

‘Sexy, huh?’ said Baby to Persil, as he walked her off set. ‘High drama’s what I bring, drawing the viewers in,’ he boasted.

‘Wow, right?! What was it you said was your saying?’

Baby shook his head as if to say, ‘Come on narrow it down, there’s so much you could quote me on.’

‘Square Eye, the company’s saying. Something about facts?’ suggested Persil.

‘“We don’t tell facts, we sell facts”,’ regurgitated Baby. ‘You bet, babes. That’s what ya talkin’ ‘bout, yuh? We repackage facts. Sex them up with new labels. Put them back on the shop display.’