Trees are not made to withstand that kind of snow when they’re sporting a full head of leaves. What resulted was a disaster. Tree limbs snapped taking down countless power lines with them. Almost any residential street you frequent looks like a war zone with branches, trees and wires scattered everywhere. Driving is a white-knuckle event – especially in the dark – because you have to pay strict attention to where the debris is, dodging downed trees and power lines EVERYWHERE.
Power restoration efforts are underway – but in places like the area that I live (not just my town but a multitude of surrounding towns) don’t have estimates of when power will be back. Some are lucky enough to have generators; however, most generators need gas. Gas is an issue. My short story Armageddon hits on the point we are all experiencing. Without power, the gas pumps don’t work. Catch 22. Lovely.
Now that I’ve explained mine and several hundred thousand other folks circumstances – now comes the rant. People – IF THE TRAFFIC LIGHT HAS NO POWER – IT BECOMES A STOP SIGN. Simple concept – but damned if those on the roads understand this. Stop at a dead light. Don’t assume YOU have the right of way.
I know I’m saying this to the masses that aren’t impacted by the storm, but damn people, it is just common sense and common courtesy. We’re all crabby from the no heat and no power and no connectivity to the outside world, but do you have to drive like a fricken maniac or more aptly – a stupid fool?
Deep breath. Rant is over. Thanks for listening all.
Unfortunately I don’t have connectivity to go searching for November releases for my Backspace Brethren, but I do have access to the new and upcoming releases from Novel Concept Publishing. So, without further rambling, here are our recent releases and some new books on the horizon:
Current Novel Concept Publishing Releases:
THE CAPABLE MAN by Marc Hamlet – science fiction
Far from his homeworld, Justin Maisling was desperate for a fresh start, and Aki Spaceworks knew that a desperate man will do just about anything.
After a drug-addled teenager turns the annual Battle of Flowers Parade into a bloodbath, Majorette Cindi Neff - photographed blood covered and screaming beside the body of a dead classmate - becomes the media symbol of the tragedy, and the object of cultleader Juan Otero’s obsession.
Soon after his burial, the gravesite of Cindi’s dead classmate is violated and Deputy Sheriff Nancy Neff, an expert in Afro-Caribbean religions, is called to the scene. Minister Luke Oeding, a representative for the bereaved family, joins Nancy in the investigation into this unimaginable crime.
In a deadly chess match of good versus evil, they plunge into the world of the South Texas drug cult and come face to face with Palo Mayombe, the darkest of the hidden religions. When Cindi Neff is kidnapped, Nancy and Luke race to save her from the clutches of the malevolent cult before she is sacrificed in an Easter Sunday Palo Mayombe ritual.
THE LOST GIRLS by Jason Halstead – sci-fi thriller
The only thing hotter than the summers in Phoenix is the temper of a police detective who can't figure out why young girls keep disappearing. Katalina Wimple is that detective. Her obsession with the missing girls makes her the best person for the job, but it also serves as a refuge from the problems in her own life.
Special Agent Steve Williams, still reeling from the death of Chris Ryan and his unexpected inheritance, isn’t ready to step back into the line of fire. Relations with his wife are strained at best, and now he’s saddled with a new partner and a not so silent guardian angel.
When his boss calls with news of another case, a serial killer in Atlanta targeting children, it strikes a nerve in Steve. Caught between responsibility and instinct, he makes a choice – a choice he’ll regret forever.
GLIMPSES by J.E. Taylor – short story anthology
STEAM by J.E. Taylor – erotic short story anthology
Novel Concept Publishing Upcoming Releases:
Deputy Maryanne Levine thought little Lourie County would be the place to hone her skills and get a fresh start. But the backwater berg is holding onto secrets that could cost her as much as she’s willing to give. Maybe more.
Lourie County isn’t the only one with secrets. Maryanne has one of her own, buried deep until her past follows her to the quaint county - just about the time all hell breaks loose.
With all of its tabletop gossip and close-knit ties, this little community is harboring evil.
Someone is taking young girls. And, in the aftermath of these unforgivable crimes, someone is taking the mothers.
THE PROGENY (February 2012) - paranormal romance
“No fate other than the one I choose.” The timeless creed, and tattoo, bore by the Rousseau’s— a vampire clan with the purest bloodline of any vampire family. Out of this clandestine group came one who was different, yet the same: Ascher - a half-bloodling— half- human, half vampire.
Ascher questions the purpose for his existence and which world he truly belongs to: the human world or the vampire world. Two months from sealing to Ursula— a prearranged union to a woman he abhors — he’s at his wit’s end. He knows if he calls off the sealing, the Romanian clan will strike with deadly force, but he cannot see eternity with a cold empty shell of a woman like Ursula.
Just when he thought life was complicated enough, he meets Shauna— a beautiful, bi-racial human wiccan — and immediately develops an unshakable attraction to her. She makes him feel alive and vital despite his origins and Ascher makes a decision that turns his immortal world upside down.
THE BOY IN THE BACK ROW (March 2012) - paranormal thriller
The prophetic clock begins countdown when a young child awakens from a near-death experience with the power to raise the dead. When Danny Christopher unknowingly resurrects one of Hell's prized souls-a notorious contract killer-Hell unleashes the Dark Ones to reclaim its property and deal with the boy.
Six thousand miles away, an ancient ruin suddenly awakens with activity when a cryptic seal is uncovered and a meek businessman is branded with its mark-powerful enough to threaten the foundations of Hell but useless unless he overcomes his own demons.
When Danny resurrects a politically connected attorney, he becomes the next target of the powerful drug cartel that ordered her assassination. Threatened by the boy's power, they slay the First Lady in order to draw him out from hiding, but three unlikely heroes- a repentant hit man, a guilt-ridden schoolteacher and a lone businessman-join forces, risking their lives to protect the boy.
With brutal killers on their heels and Hell's Dark Ones closing in, a deadly showdown climaxes where Good stands against the powers of Hell, but not without its sacrifices.
Thanks for swinging in and listening to me rant! Hope you enjoyed a look at the releases from Novel Concept Publishing! Stay warm!
