Flash Fiction Friday, done on Saturday + info

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take. 

(pic has been removed: broken glass

Long lost hope by Blodeuedd

She could see the pods through her broken window. They were scattered all over the land, and everyone who went near one was never seen again. At first the army had try to destroy the pods, but nothing had worked. And the pods had exploded in light and millions upon millions of people had simply vanished. It was said that where there were few people no pods could be found. A lot had tried to escape but it seemed that the pods just reacted with the same light when too many people gathered. So now those who were left travelled in small groups and managed to survive. There was even a safe distance you could keep without the pods killing you. The tricky part was knowing when one showed up.

Lissa had been on the run for years. At first she had travelled with her family but her father was killed by looters, her brother by a pod hidden from view and her mother had died from a fever last year. She was the only one left now, in a dark broken world. She tried her best to avoid other humans and the pods but it was hard, she was tired and hungry all the time. She hated running from looters and creepy gangs. Most days she just wanted to lie down and cry, but she kept on running. She still remembered her mother’s voice.

“Promise to never stop.”

And she had kept that promise. With a  sigh she took the window in her hand and dragged it back in. She would try to put it up to keep the warmth inside. One got handy when you were the only person around to do anything. A little digging around the house produced a hammer and nails and she set to work. Always keeping an eye on the pods. They never moved so that was not a problem, but she always expected them to open, for the evil inside to come out and finish the slaughter they had started.

“Hello?”

She dropped the hammer and cursed. She should have been quiet and run instead she spun around and came eye to eye with a boy her own age. She looked at the hammer but then a young girl peaked out from behind him and softly he said.”It’s just us, Sara saw you earlier.” With a trembling hand he gave her a jar of pickles and she decided that for once, for once she would give another human being a chance.

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Sci-fi time :)

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A bit of info:

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And today's freebie ebook deal ;)

Free on Kindle and Nook
The Stolen Crown by Susan Higginbotham, go get it! I really enjoyed it :)

Friday Fiction Flash on Saturday + ebook deals

Dottie over at Tink's Place has come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge.  Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to  participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take. 

So come on over and join us! It's fun.

(pic has been removed: couple kissing)

Winter and Summer

by Blodeuedd

She was the Summer Princess, fair and true. He was the Winter Prince, cold and harsh. But then the seelie and unseelie courts have always been opposites in every way. The Summer folk liked dancing and kissing. The Winter court liked war and rules. They did not mix as they had nothing in common. Neither did they fight each other as the Winter Fairies would have slaughtered the peacelovers at with one strike.

But every spring and fall they met and gave over the spire of Season. The Summer court was in full bloom when the Winter Court rode in. With unfeeling eyes they looked down at the bright colors and the laughter and frolicking going on. And Summer rolled their eyes at the strict Winter court who all had a rod up their asses.

The Ceremony was long and dull, even to the Winter Court. The priests went on and on. And as always they spoke of the one to come. The Child of Winter and Summer who would rule over both courts and change everything. The child who would take back the Dark Lands from the Sidhe who stole them long ago. It was then the young Summer princess looked over and caught the eye of the Winter prince. She smiled as her people always did and he, for a moment he looked beyond the silliness of her kind and saw her beauty and strength.

During the dinner Summer made her escape to the hills she loved and danced in the pale moonlight. Winter defied the rules and went to explore. There he saw her, dancing and laughing and his cold heart jumped for a moment. He went up to her and looked into her eyes as she stopped and fell into his arms with a laugh. She had never had a Winter Man to her bed and took the chance. For one who liked control he showed it well and it was nothing like the Boys of Summer. Even if it did feel a bit unfeeling he took her where she wanted to go. And without having uttered a word they lay there while the moon looked down upon them. Winter felt a spark starting to grow within her and pondered the consequences. A child of winter and summer. Uniting them both? He knew well that Winter wanted the Dark Lands back, and the Fields of Glory. But now, not now. So he smiled and she looked up with surprise and smiled too. A smile that slowly faded as he took the dagger and plunged it into her belly. Then he left her there, bleeding and alone. That is what he got for defying the rules.

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I meant them to have a kid, be happy and the courts would go to war one day. But hey, those who know my flashes from LJ know very well that I am dark ;)

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eBook Deals from Sourcebooks

Promotional Price: $1.99 

Or go to your fav ebook retailer

Review: Dark is the Night - Brindle Chase

Genre: Paranormal  romance

Pages: Ebook, 173

Published: June 2011

Review by Lis

Katherine Wells is Cleveland's top homicide detective and she's hot on the trail of the Antoinette killer. The string of burnt and beheaded bodies have little in common, except they keep turning up. In search of clues, she encounters Alexander. His intoxicating old world persona captivates her and she suddenly finds herself in a torrid love affair. The passion is overwhelming and her sense of law falls into blissful chaos. 

As an elder vampire, Alexander struggles for anonymity in the modern world. Killing isn't personal; it's to prevent them from becoming the undead. His kind can't be discovered. With Katherine's investigation getting too close to the truth, the other vampires demand he eliminate Detective Wells. Katherine discovers Alexander's supernatural secret and he learns Katherine's the detective he must silence. The revelations are shocking. He's everything she ever wanted and everything she stood against. Torn between a love like no other and the law she's sworn to uphold, she must choose. Against time, the police and the other vampires, they must destroy the evidence she's collected and join the undead.

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It’s all about vampires this Halloween weekend and it’s on in Brindle Chase’s Dark is the Night. When B. send this book over, I expected a typical romance with vampires it. Nothing was further from the truth. This book kept me on the edge of my seat almost the entire time while melting me in a puddle of goo at certain parts. There may have been a bit of hiding behind the couch too! Needless to say, hell yeah I enjoyed Dark is the night. That’s not an easy thing to do with me anymore. So I guess now you want to know all the details, right?

Dark is the Night is the story of Katherine, a homicide detective and Alexander, a vampire who keeps others in line to keep their secret from getting out. Katherine is hot on the trails of a serial killer that leaves bodies beheaded and burned left and right when she meets Alexander. There is a connection there that almost set the pages on fire. Little does she know that Alexander is actually the killer she seeks. Lucky for you there’s more to it than that. 

Make no mistake though. This is a dark story where vampires are every bit the predators from the legends of old, needing to kill to survive. There’s no romanticized version here your get all the dark, gritty and violent details. However, that is exactly what makes this story so very good. It sets it apart from all the other vampire stories currently out there. There are a lot of stories out there with sex and violence in it, but a lot of them are just for the sake of violence or the story is written around an act of violence. This story is very well written. The author knows his words and how to draw a reader into the story without giving you that which is right in front of you. This author actually knows what he’s doing. 

Besides the world building in this story – which is nicely done, I might add – the characters are well-written and drawn out. I loved both Alexander’s and Katherine’s characters. Alexander is both sweet and more than a bit creepy, but in a good way. It’s interesting to see how he sees the world. 

Dark is the Night is a suitable book to read for Halloween. It will have you jumping at every shadow after you’ve read it. At the same time it’s unbelievably hot. There is a lot of sex in this book, so you might want to keep that in mind if you don’t like to read about sex in detail. 

So there it is. If you’re looking for a good, creepy, dark, scary, hot book to read for Halloween then Dark is the Night is definitely a good book to pick up. I’ll sure be thinking about this one tomorrow!

Happy Halloween! Whatch out for walking corpses and grisly ghouls and vampires. Unless, they’re really hot of course!! 

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(ps from Blodeuedd, I got this last weekend ;) But hey here it's All Saint's Day today so Happy Halloween works :)

And a note from Sourcebooks

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November: 5 British Babes for $1.99! 

11/01/2011 – 11/07/2011

Title: Rumor Has It by Jill Mansell
Newly single Tilly Cole impulsively moves to a small town, only to find she's arrived in a hotbed of gossip, intrigue, and rampant rivalry for the most desirable man—Jack Lucas, whose reputation is beyond bad.

Title: The Greatest Knight by Elisabeth Chadwick
William Marshal is plucked from obscurity when he saves the life of Henry II’s formidable queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. In gratitude, she appoints him tutor to the heir to the throne.

Title: I am the Chosen King by Helen Hollick
Harold Godwinesson, the last Saxon King of England, is a respected, quick-witted man both vulnerable and strong, honorable and loving -- and yet, in the end, only human. After the political turmoil and battles leading up to 1066, we all know William the Conqueror takes England.

 Title: Dating Mr. December by Phillipa Ashley
When a nice girl asks twelve men to get naked, it’s sure to cause a scandal... Emma Tremayne leaves her high-powered PR job and moves to the Lake District looking for peace, quiet—and celibacy. So perhaps it’s not the best idea when, in the spirit of “community-mindedness,” she agrees to help the local mountain rescue team fundraise by putting together a “tasteful” nude calendar.

Title: Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange
The only place Darcy could share his innermost feelings was in the private pages of his diary... Torn between his sense of duty to his family name and his growing passion for Elizabeth Bennet, all he can do is struggle not to fall in love.

Review: Deadtown by Nancy Holzner + ebook deals

Series: Deadtown #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 327
Published: 2009
Publisher: ACE
Source: Library

They call it Deadtown: the city's quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its borders-but Victory Vaughn, Boston's only professional demon slayer, isn't exactly human. 

My thoughts:

Maybe I will just try to make it short for once. Sure I liked it, I could read it and all that. But there were also those times when I was bored. I liked what was happening, but I was not swept away of invested in it. But I do not want to mark it as just ok, but I fear I just have to. But I would read book 2...if someone gave it to me, and after I had read all my other books. I have no urge to read more. I kind of do not have the urge even to tell the library to get book 1...yeah.

My I feel mean, do not get me wrong. It was an interesting world. A plague hit and some peeps in Boston are zombies. Our heroine Vicyy is a shapeshifter and demonkiller. Some people do not like the paranormals and most states to not accept them. Solid action, not so solid romance, I never felt anything there, was I supposed to?

But if it sounds like a good UF book for you then go ahead and read it. It does have a bit of everything thrown in, I was just a bit more bored then usual. But I can still like thins even if I feel bored. I just do not know about this one. Now when I have finished it I feel that I am left with no feelings at all.

Conclusion:
I have no snappy final words.

Cover:
Well at least the cover is cool

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I bring thee ebook deals

Halloween Spotlight: Plain Fear Forsaken for $2.99! 

(10/25/2011 – 11/03/2011)

Plain Fear Forsaken by Leanna Ellis
Hannah Schmidt pines for Jacob, the boy who saved her life when she drowned, bringing her back from the brink of death by breathing life into her. But Jacob is gone, buried. Levi Fisher loves Hannah. But he knows how much Hannah loved his brother Jacob. He also knows the troubling event that took Jacob out of their lives.

Vampires, Werewolves, and Witches, Oh My! Paranormal Romance for $0.99! 

(10/28/2011 – 11/03/2011)

Wicked by Any Other Name by Linda Wisdom
Stasi Romanov uses just a little witch magic in her lingerie shop, running a brisk side business in love charms. A disgruntled customer threatening to sue over a failed love spell brings Trevor Barnes to town.

Kiss at Your Own Risk by Stephanie Rowe
Trinity Harpswell is a cursed Black Widow--death and mayhem are all part of the job description.

The Wolf Next Door by Lydia Dare
Rogue, Rake…Werewolf. Years ago on a full moon, Lord William Westfield gave way to his inner beast and nearly ruined young Prisca Hawthorne. Knowing he can never trust himself in the arms of the woman he loves, he throws himself into a debauched lifestyle.

Merely Magic by Patricia Rice
The daughter of one of the strongest magical lineages, Ninian Malcom Siddons is a powerful witch. Determined to only use her magic for good, she lives a simple, solitary life as a healer in her village, where she meets Drogo.

Heart of the Wolf by Terry Spear
Devlyn is a beta male werewolf in a pack of grays, Bella is the female red werewolf he rescued as a pup. When the pack’s alpha male tries to rape her, she flees and lives as a lone  werewolf until Devlyn comes to bring her back to the pack.

Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase
When all-star pitcher and shape-shifter Jason Falco buys a small apartment building, he sees it not only as an investment but as a place to escape the demands of major league baseball. That is, until he meets his tenants.

Emma and the Vampires by Jane Austen and Wayne Josephson
In this hilarious retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, screenwriter Wayne Josephson casts Mr. Knightley as one of the most handsome and noble of the gentlemen village vampires.

The Wild Sight by Loucinda McGary
Haunted by visions of Druid priests and Celtic warriors, Donovan O’Shea left home in Northern Ireland and immigrated to America. With his father ill, he returns to help sell the family property and pub, and now, to his dismay, the “sight” has returned.

GuestPosting and e-book deals

I am guestposting over at the Secret HEA society about My Perfect HEA (though I mostly ramble on about pirates and gladiators ;)

And now a couple of e-book deals from Sourcebooks for you all :)

First up, The Heir by Grace Burrowes. Only 99 cents to celebrate that it is on the NY ebok bestseller list. You can buy it at all the usual places. Here is the link to Sourcebook's own store

Save a cowboy, read a book. You can get Lucky in Love or Hell Yeah by Carolyn Brown for 1.99 cents and the same goes for One fine cowboy or cowboy trouble by Joanne Kennedy

And of course if you become a Casa VIP member then you get a free ebook, Romeo Romeo by Robin Kaye  ;) So check that out.