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.

 

Fan Friday—Reading Books


Everyone reads books, right? Well, no, in fact, adults read less now than they used to. And as far as books go, no, Facebook doesn’t count!

Me, I prefer real books. The smell, the feel, the printed page . . . But I’ll read just about anything in a pinch: cereal boxes were a favorite when I was a child, because my mom didn’t like me to read at the table, even the breakfast table, because I could drag it out for an hour.

What kinds of books do I like? Some science fiction—I like to be able to pronounce words, even if only in my head, without a struggle each time; and it has to be believeable, as in “what if?” I like historical fiction, too, both the regular kind and the mash-ups, the “what ifs.” Murder mysteries, yes, especially series. Paranormal, magic, other-worldly, ghost-type stuff. Things that make you go “hmmm.” I like westerns, too.

To be specific, in no particular order, I like:

Stephen King

Dean Koontz

John Grisham

James Patterson

Tim LaHaye

Frank Peretti

Sidney Sheldon

Walter Farley

Patricia Cornwell

Zane Grey

Danielle Steel

Louisa May Alcott

Laura Ingalls Wilder

I also have a lot of author friends, and I’ve read many of their books—which I loved! But I also haven’t read and re-read them over decades, because, well, they weren’t available until the last few years. So if I left you off the list, don’t worry—ten years from now, you’ll be on a new list!

I have, at the moment, three favorite books whose authors aren’t mentioned above because I’ve only read one of each of their books:

Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

Elizabeth Goudge, The Little White Horse

Mira Lode, The Grandma in the Apple Tree

And I highly, highly recommend all three! Obviously, the first one will take a sort of time commitment from you; the second would be considered, today, YA, and the last one is a children’s book. But they all fired my imagination, I still think of them fondly, and yes, I own copies of each.

What books and authors are your favorites, old or new?