Fan Friday—The Reduced Series


I don’t often blog about my book series, REDUCED, because, well, you know how that goes. Besides, they’re all listed down the sidebar here—————->

But just in case you missed all that, and you want more info, I’ll lay it out all nice and neat. And of course, if you’ve read them, feel free to tell everyone how great they are!

[Should I insert a j/k or a wink here or something? Nah, you get that this is all a making-fun-of-promotions thing, right?]

Reduced cover

A devastating biological agent is about to be released, to be tested in remote areas. Rumor has it, though, that there is more to this than meets the eye. One group makes plans to hide out, and survive, in case that rumor proves to be truth. Meeting at an abandoned summer camp near St. Louis, Missouri, a dozen old friends gather after the alarm is raised.

Life becomes more precious, more tenuous, as time passes. Government controls tighten, people are herded into the city…or killed. Towns are obliterated. And soon, the enemy agenda becomes obvious.

Abby, like the rest, has special skills – each member of the group was chosen not only because of past ties, but also for their unique training and abilities. She will come face-to-face with death, bear the responsibility for a young girl, and endure the severing of childhood relationships in the most terrible way imaginable.

From mere concealment to reconnaissance to aiding a rebellion, where will it end? Will the entire region be decimated, and who will be left alive to know?

Reused cover

Colonel Barton has been replaced, and the new commander is sending his henchman, Major Blake, to scour the outlying areas and remove any insurgents. Abby and the girls have remained in the cave at the camp, relatively safe for now, but plans are underway to eliminate all of them… for personal reasons, known only to the commander himself.

Soon, however, worlds will collide as Captain Alison Hinson is transferred in from Chicago. In spite of her background, Alison is horrified by the tactics of her superiors in the field and begins to question her own stance on the new government. As she puts together the pieces of the past, she realizes that she and Abby are kindred spirits, faced with a mission not of their own choosing but of circumstance.

Across the country, while officials and mercenaries live the high life, the citizenry are faced with more sanctions, more regulation, and fewer necessities.

Pockets of rebellion are quickly quelled, but incidents continue to increase as more people make the decision to go underground. Literally.

From abandoned caves below St. Louis itself to a subterranean river winding north into Illinois, REUSED will tell you more, perhaps, than you truly wish to know about the potential for the utter collapse of our civilization.

Recycled cover

Survival had become a way of life since Co-opComm first launched VADER. Thirteen years had passed, and yet, Abby remained . . . she and the others prevailed where many had surrendered. And died.

Abby is tired. Tired of running and hiding. Tired of struggling, tired of fighting. Ultratron has a new secret weapon—a better, improved version. And the government-sponsored company has a new target, a more heinous plan.

Traveling to Chicago, the heart of the current regime, they come face-to-face with a new threat—or is it? Who is this mysterious Riley, and what does she know about the St. Louis compound? And how? Shadowy inhabitants arise from the depths of the city, but are they friend . . . or foe?

But Abby has only one objective: to defeat the government. Regardless of the cost.

 

Prep Monday—Still Searching


As you’re reading this, we’re out in the woods. Left this morning around 7:00 a.m. and will be home around 5:00 p.m. or sooner. I’m trying not to zero in on one property and think “this is the one” until we see them. For once, I don’t have strong feelings on any of them, so maybe that’s a good sign?

Here’s what we’re looking at:

Twenty-five acres with a creek.

Forty acres with a pond.

Thirty-six acres with a river.

And two properties, one 22 acres and one 40 acres, with house, well, septic, power, etc. Of the two, one is pretty overpriced, but we’ll see. And of course, I have to decide if the house and set-up will work for what we’ve planned, and my husband will have to determine if the buildings are sound. We ran into this before, saw the cutest cabin ever, way off the beaten track, had a road, a barn, water, septic, solar.

The house was just a tad shaky. Just.a.tad. So we passed.

I should add, too, that the river property doesn’t seem too likely. We’ve driven past it, a few weeks or so ago, and couldn’t exactly pinpoint what we were looking at—if it’s the one I think, there are a few old buildings that look like they got hit by a tornado or Godzilla or something. About 50 years ago, at least. So, a big mess to clean up.

On the other hand, that property goes not just TO the river, but ACROSS it. Cool, huh?

So, we’ll see. Tune in next week for the updates!