Obsidian Worlds by Jason Werbeloff Super Book Blast and Giveaway

Obsidian Worlds

by Jason Werbeloff

NOTE:  THE BOOK WILL LAUNCH AT ONLY $0.99 ON NOVEMBER 30!

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GENRE:  Sci-Fi

BLURB:

Jason Werbeloff’s short stories have been downloaded over 20,000 times. Obsidian Worlds brings together his 11 best-selling sci-fi shorts into a mind-bending philosophical anthology.

In Your Averaged Joe, a man’s headache is large enough to hold the multiverse. Q46F is an obsessive-compulsive android who finds love in a zombie-embroiled apocalypse. The end of the world isn’t all that bad – The Experience Machine will fulfil your every desire (and some you hadn’t considered). A sex bot dares to dream of freedom in Dinner with Flexi. But mind what you eat, because The Photons in the Cheese Are Lost. Don’t fret though: The Cryo Killer guarantees that your death will be painless, or your money back when you’re thawed. Unless, that is, you’re The Man with Two Legs.

Plug into Obsidian Worlds for these and other immersive stories, including the hilarious Time-Traveling Chicken Sexer. Your brain will never be the same again.

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EXCERPT:

(from Your Averaged Joe):

“Sorry, this is a bit overwhelming. Let me introduce myself.” Then all three men spoke in unison, extending their hands, “I’m Thursday.” They each chewed a piece of gum, their masticating movements simultaneous.

Joe eyed the identical hands. Long, frosty fingers. Whitest skin. He shook hands with each. Their grips were firm. All three.

Thursday continued, “This is the Chamber.” He waved his arm around the room proudly. Joe considered the space. The rows of beds seemed to stretch forever. He couldn’t see the end of the room. And no pillars. Nothing to support the pink ceiling that extended in all directions. Joe scrunched his feet at the enormity of the Chamber, and the floor squeezed between his toes. But the floor wasn’t smooth – it was … hairy? He glanced down, and yup, fine dark hairs covered its surface. It was like standing on a forearm. Goose bumps erupted along his arms, down his legs, Joe shifted his weight to his heels, trying to avoid the hairs from scratching between his toes. And as the goose bumps spread across his back, down his chest, the ground beneath his feet changed. Between the silky black hairs, the fleshy floor lumped in places. Lumps the size of fists. Bumps, goose bumps. On the ground. He shivered.

Trying not to think about it, and resisting the urge to jump, to get his feet anywhere but on the fleshy floor, he stared at the beds. Each held a single occupant, each with brown hair, each wearing the same pale blue nightgown he was wearing. Joe looked to the bed beside his, and his heart stopped.

The man in the bed was him.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jason Werbeloff is a novelist and philosopher. He loves chocolate and his Labrador, Sunny.

He's interested in the nature of social groups, personal identity, freedom, and the nature of the mind. His passion is translating philosophical debate around these topics into works of science fiction, while gorging himself on chocolate.

Amazon Author Page – download all of Werbeloff's fiction from Amazon.

http://smarturl.it/AuthWerbeloff

Newsletter – subscribe to get 'The Solace Pill' free, as well as VIP access to Werbeloff's latest fiction.

http://smarturl.it/werbeloff

Goodreads – read reviews of Werbeloff’s fiction.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7340789

Facebook and Twitter – follow Werbeloff for release date information on upcoming shorts and novels.

http://www.facebook.com/solaceseries

https://twitter.com/JasonWerbeloff

Website - read about the author, and the philosophy behind his fiction.

http://www.jasonwerbeloff.com/

Buy the book for only $0.99:  http://www.amazon.com/Obsidian-Worlds-Mind-Bending-Sci-Fi-Shorts-ebook/dp/B014Z8IECS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1445992291&sr=8-2&keywords=obsidian+world

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

Jason will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Musing Mondays - Nov 30, 2015

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading… Nexis by A.L.Davroe
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

Musing Mondays is sponsored by A Daily Rhythm.

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What makes a book really enjoyable for you? And, conversely, what would turn you off about a book?

I like good dialog, a interesting plot and characters that I like.  All of that has to be in a area I like to read.  Science Fiction is my favorite and the one I always pick first.  Space Opera is my favorite in SciFi.  Good Space Opera has to have a great plot and characters.  Then I need tension and danger that is hard to overcome.  What tuns me off more and more today is the amount of sex that seems to be added as a requirement and does not add to the story.

What Else I Read/Listened to in November 2015

Audio Books:

Cursed Moon by Jaye Wells - This is the second Prospero's War

Novel that I have listened to.  I love the characters.  Kate Prospero is a great strong female character who has demons of her own to overcome.  She is supported with a great team of Magic Enforcement colleagues.  Add a past love to the mix and the tension and danger just keep ramping up.  A fun book to listen to or to read.

Depth by Lev A.C. Rosen – This is a interesting mystery set in a

New York that has flooded as the water around the world got higher.  Now people live on the top floor of building that are flooded in the lower floors.  Simone Pierce is a complex and interesting character.  A Private Eye in New York she starts on a case that seems simple and just gets more and more complex.  There is betrayal, theft, murder and a hunt for the unusual.  Great characters and a nice mystery.  There are issues of friendship and trust added to the plot.  The world building is interesting with a new take on what happens if all the ice melts.

Books:

A Call to Duty (Book 1 of Maniticore Ascendant) by David

Weber and Timothy Zahn - A interesting story about how Manticore came to be the power they are in the Honor Harrington series.  This can be an introduction to both series but I really think fans of the Harrington series will be the main audience.

The Cowboy's Christmas Family by Donna Alward - A sweet Christmas story with two adorable twins. There is something that is holding both Maddy and Cole back. I saw the solution to Maddy's problem before it happened but it did not spoil the story. I like Alward's books. She does not disappoint and again she has written a really nice feel good romance,. I think I see the hook for the next book. If so it should also be a really good one.

A Pain in the Tuchis (A Ms. KaplanMystery #2) by Mark Reutinger -Rose and Ida are at it again. There is a dearth at the 

Jewish Home. Rose takes a a hand when foul play is suspected and the plot moves form there. Our detectives are senior citizens with a lot of life experience which they do not mind putting to work solving cases. This is book two in the series. There are some new characters and we learn a little more about the characters. There are quite a few Jewish words worked into the plot. I found them interesting even though they sometimes slowed the story down. The solution to the mystery was a big surprise to me. Fun story and great addition to the series.

Controlled Burn (Boston Fire #2) by Shannon Stacey – A nice love story filled with interesting characters.  Rick Gullotti keeps being told he is not the marrying kind.  Jessica Broussard has lived her life doing what her Father wants.  That changes when Jessica decides to go meet the grandparents on the other side of the country.  Things do not work as she expected and Rick is a big part of the reason.  Turns out being the marrying kind just needs the right two people.  Rick and Jessica are very strong main characters and a great cast of well-developed secondary characters supports them.  While this is book two it works as a stand-alone.

Reunion at Cardwell Ranch (Cardwell Cousins #4) by B.J. Daniels – Finally the last Texas Cardwell falls in love and stays in Montana.  If course he did not expect to fall at all and he really did not expect it to be with a cat burglar.  Look for the usual from Daniels’.  A lot of danger, an adventure, great characters and romance.  A nice ending to the Cardwell Cousins series.

A Call to Arms (Honorverse: Manticore Ascendant #2) by David Weber, Timothy Zahn, Thomas Pope – Travis Long was the main character in the first book in this series and once again we follow him into danger.  This series is a prequel and backstory for the Honor Harrington series.  I found parts of it a little slow and don’t think it would hold anyone’s interest unless they were a fan of the Honor Harrington series.  For fans it is a interesting look at Manticore before it became a star power.  The lead up to that is a the heart of the plot.  Somethings are settled but much is left to be revealed.

The Pirate’s Tempting Stowaway (the Dukes of War #6) by Erica Ridley – This is a novella and a fairly quick read.  The main characters are from two of the previous books.  Captain Blackheart and Clara Halton move from side character the stars of their own romance.  There is adventure, romance and danger as the two work toward their own HEA.  It can stand alone but will be much better if you have read the other books in the series.

Her Brother’s Keeper by Mike Kupari

Science Fiction/Space Opera

From Goodreads:

DEBUT SOLO NOVEL FROM THE CO-AUTHOR OF DEAD SIX. Air Force weapons expert Mike Kupari, co-author of Dead Six and Swords of Exodus, offers up a science fiction adventure. When privateer Captain Catherine Blackwood is enlisted to rescue her brother from a treacherous warlord, she finds herself on her most dangerous mission yet.

It's been years since Catherine Blackwood left the stodgy, repressive colony world of Avalon. Now the captain of the privateer vessel Andromeda, she is the master of her own destiny. But Catherine soon finds herself back on Avalon after receiving a plea for help from a most unlikely source: her estranged father, esteemed Avalon Council member Augustus Blackwood.

It seems Catherine's brother, the heir to the Blackwood aristocracy, has gone off in search of treasure on the failed, chaotic world of Zanzibar. But Cecil Blackwood's plans have gone very, very wrong, and he has been taken hostage and held for ransom by a fearsome local warlord. Augustus, knowing his daughter is the only one who can be trusted to return his son safely, swallows his pride and hires Catherine to bring her brother home.

Catherine takes the job—but it won't be easy. Just getting to Zanzibar proves treacherous. And once she arrives, things only get worse. If she is to save her brother, Catherine Blackwood must face down danger at every turn and uncover a mystery four million years in the making.

Baen books is noted for its large stable of  established Science Fiction writers and a group of new writers they are helping get a start.  Many start off writing with an established writer to hone their craft and after a time they are turned loose on their own.  Mike Kupari is one of those. 

For a first solo novel Her Brother's Keeper is very well written.  There is a very complex plot that follows both Catherine Blackwood and her brother Cecil Blackwood.  Cecril is trying to just stay alive and Catherine is working very hard to get to where he is being held to rescue him.

The plot seems simple but Kupari has added many unusual elements that serve to ramp of both the danger and the tension.  While Catherine and Cecil play a big part in the story there are several very interesting not quite side characters and not quite main characters that add to the mix.  There is quite a bit of backstory about several of the characters.

The world-building provides several of those unusual elements.  Some of that is revealed in dangerous situations.

All of the elements for a great story are present.  Unfortunately when all of this was put together it resulted in a book that was just a little to predictable.  I kept reading but the tension that should have been there was missing.   A solid start but a miss from being a book I would ever e-read.

Baen published Her Brother’s Keeper by Mike Kupari in 2015.

I received an ARC of Her Brother’s Keeper from Edelweiss in return for an honest review.

Stacking the Shelves - November 28, 2015

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

A very slow week-end here.  It has been raining for two days and I decided to skip getting out for the after Thanksgiving shopping.  Instead I have been catching up on my reading and my reviews.  I did visit the library and Barnes and Noble the day before Thanksgiving so I added to my TBR shelf.

Purchased:

A Cold Creek Christmas Story by RaeAnne Thayne

Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt

White Trash Zombie Gone Wild by Diana Rowland

From the Library:

A Call to Arms (Book 2 of Manticore Ascendant)  by David Weber, Timothy Zahn, and Thomas Pope

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

Armada by Ernest Cline

Amazon Vine:

Controlled Burn (Boston Fire 2) by Shannon Stacey

For Review:

Atrophy by Jess Anastasi

Inquisitor by Mitchell Hogan

The Wonk Decelerator by Johbn Joseph Doody

Deadly Curiosities: Vendetta by Gail Z. Martin

The Awakening by Adair Hart

Book Beginnings and The Friday 56 - November 27, 2015

I'm linking up with Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings and Freda's Voice for Page 56. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Pick the closest book on your book stack and join the fun.

The Beginning:

"If she didn't have thirty children showing up in the next half hour, Celeste Nichols would have been tempted to climb into her little SUV, pull out of the Pine Gulch library parking lot and just keep on driving."

Page 56:

"Olivia gave her a shy look. "That's good. Because I want to have pizza with you on my birthday."

She blinked, taken by surprise. "With...me?"

From RaeAnne Thayne's A Cold Creek Christmas Story. This is a Harlequin Special Edition. Great characters including a cute kid. Everything for a heartwarming Christmas love story.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was cloudy here but in the 60's. Rain held off until 5:00p.m. but is suppose to continue for the next three days. Staying in for Black Friday. I did spend my Black Friday 30% off coupon from Barnes and Nobel. Used it on the web.

Veiled Magic by Deborah Blake

Paranormal

From Goodreads:

Since Witches came out of the broom-closet in the early 21st century, they have worked alongside humans as police officers, healers, stock traders, and more. But they aren’t the only paranormal entities in our world…

Police officer and Witch Donata Santori spends her days interrogating dead witnesses by summoning their spectral forms. Normally the job is little more than taking statements and filing reports. But when she’s called in on the case of a murdered art restorer, she finds herself suddenly in possession of a mystical portrait that both the human and paranormal communities would kill to get their hands on.

Unable to take on the forces hunting her alone, Donata seeks help from two unlikely and attractive allies: a reluctant shape-changer and a half-dragon art forger. But as the three of them hurry to uncover the truth about the powerful painting, Donata realizes that she’s caught in the middle of not one but two wars—one for possession of the painting’s secrets and one for possession of her heart.

According to Deborah Blake’s author’s notes this is the book that got her an agent.  While she got an agent the book sat on the shelf unpublished until now.

There are some really interesting takes on the paranormal in Veiled Magic.  The world building and back story are both revealed in action and dialog as the story progresses.  Characters are introduced as they are needed to keep the plot moving.

I found the story to be exciting and tension filled.  Donata Santori is a great character.  She is a witch and a police woman who can talk to the dead.  You would think that would be an exciting life.  It isn’t.  She works in the basement and is very isolated from everyone.  On her first case out of the basement everything changes when the ghost of one of the murdered men demand that she keep a painting from falling into the wrong hands.  That brings in three new and interesting characters.  Together they start out on a very dangerous journey.

I loved the interaction between Donata and the other characters.  It kept the story moving as the plot developed.  I did think there was a little flaw in the end.  See if you feel the same about the fate of the painting.

This could be the start of a new series.  I hope so as this world is big enough to support a lot more action and adventure as well as adding new and interesting characters.

InterMix published Veiled Magic by Deborah Blake in 2015.

I received an ARC of Veiled Magic from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Future Winds by Kevin Laymon Book Blast and Giveaway

Future Winds

by Kevin Laymon

GENRE: Sci-Fi

BLURB:

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.

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EXCERPT 

Chapter 12 excerpt:

Though humanities new planet is mostly desert, there is an abundance of lush and complex alien life that dwell below the hot surface.

The channel was lit up by neon flora of green and blue, beautiful little plants that swayed back and forth despite the lack of a breeze or draft to give them a push. Reaching out to touch one with his glove, the little blossom reacted by illuminating brighter, so much so that the exterior became transparent, and Tyler could see the thousands of cells within, that made up life for the spectacular flower.

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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.

Website:

AuthorKevinLaymon.com

Facebook:

Facebook.com/AuthorKevinLaymon

Twitter:

Facebook.com/AuthorKevinLaymon

BUY LINK:  http://www.amazon.com/Future-Winds-Kevin-Laymon-ebook/dp/B0173W013I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446145148&sr=8-1&keywords=KEVIN+LAYMON

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

Kevin will be awarding a $20 gift card to Thinkgeek.com (international) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teaser Tuesday - November 24, 2015

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Teaser:

" She couldn't imagine what he must have gone through, knowing his daughter had been hurt.  She also could tell by the threads of guilt twining through his voice that he blamed himself for not being able to control the situation and keep his daughter safe.

Page 68 in Rae Anne Thayne A Cold Creek Christmas Story, a predictable but feel good Christmas love story featuring a very brave little girl.