Day: March 2, 2013

Sneak Peek: Of Battles Past

Today we have a sneak peek from author Bryn Hammond’s novel, Of Battles Past.

China has executed Ambaghai, the Mongols’ khan, on a hurdle with donkey ears and tail from the theatre, in mockery of the horse peoples of the steppe. It cries for hachi.‘Hachi means that which is owed, or felt due. It can mean an act of humanity. It can mean vengeance. It meant justice.’

The Mongols go to war for Ambaghai’s hachi, in a century when no steppe people is fit to tackle China. They believe battles are won by the just, and the size differential doesn’t bother them. They are wrong, but the Mongol God comforts them with an omen. Temujin, the baby of that battle day, has in his hand his people’s future victory.

The Chinese have crossbows, but the Mongols have belief.

Of Battles Past is available from Amazon.com, Amazon UK, and Smashwords.

Here is an excerpt from Of Battles Past… Continue reading “Sneak Peek: Of Battles Past”

Great Tool for Tracking Goals

You’ve heard me preach about goals in this space before. Wait, wait, wait … Before you click to another Indies Unlimited post, hear me out.

I’m not going to drive the message of goals down your throat … again. I’m here to give you a tool.

Before I get into this tool, for the record, I want to say that I’m a little old-fashioned when it comes to writing down goals. I like to grab a pad or whatever, and manually write them down. I’ve got a little notebook that has goals written down from more than ten years ago, Continue reading “Great Tool for Tracking Goals”

Flash Fiction Challenge: Undeadwood

Photo by K.S. Brooks.

It wasn’t the hurricane: at least not directly. Maybe the storm winds had carried the virus from its point of origin.

By now, everyone knew about the zombie apocalypse. The human zombies had turned out not to be the worst problem.

Nobody had thought about the dead trees—or the undead trees as they were now known.

One of those damn trees got his dog. That was it for Mike. He eyed the sign one last time, fired up his chainsaw and stepped off the path…

In 250 words or less, tell us a story incorporating the elements in the picture. The 250 word limit will be strictly enforced.

Please keep language and subject matter to a PG-13 level.

Use the comment section below to submit your entry. Entries will be accepted until 5:00 PM Pacific Time on Tuesday, March 5th, 2013.

On Wednesday morning, we will open voting to the public with an online poll for the best writing entry accompanying the photo. Voting will be open until 5:00 PM Thursday.

On Friday morning, the winner will be recognized as we post the winning entry along with the picture as a feature. Best of luck to you all in your writing!

Entries only in the comment section. Other comments will be deleted. See HERE for additional information and terms.

Book Brief: The Second Daughter

The Second Daughter
by J. Jeffrey
Genre: Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Word count: 95,000

It had started out well. Umbrellas tangled. A storybook romance followed. A wonderful wedding. A beautiful, sweet first daughter. They were complete, a family, happy.

And then they went and had another daughter.

Her charming fraud of a father starts disappearing, then worse, coming back. Her once sweet older sister resents her, and the sisters are at constant war. Her poor harried mother is so busy what-iffing about the life she might have had that she overlooks the life she is actually having. Everyone blames younger daughter Debra for everything as the family disintegrates. Along the way there are secrets and lies, heartbreaks and betrayals, plus the dramatic unexpected death of a central character at a pivotal moment. Debra, now a young woman, finds herself living awkwardly alone with her embittered mother when the phone rings—and her mother’s secret past suddenly crashes back into the present. Their life may be about to change forever; or rather, perhaps, revert back to what it should have been all along.

But not because of that phone call, as it turns out.

Because of the remarkable second daughter. For what Debra Gale has is unyielding determination. What she has is an irrepressible capacity to love.

And now at last what she has is a chance.

The complex dynamics of a changing family. Mother, daughters, sisters, and the father who both divides and unites them. A fair amount of banana cream pie. The Second Daughter: a funny but poignant, unusual but beautiful love story.

This book is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Continue reading “Book Brief: The Second Daughter”