Tuesday, August 16, 2016

New Release - Rescue



“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice. Would you risk it all for love?”

It all comes down to choice. Choose to live. Choose to die. Choose to love.

Zared’s choice is to rescue the love of his life, Tru Shepard, despite the warrant for his own death. She’s a prisoner at a remote military compound.

Tru’s choices are limited. Marry a man she despises or face death.

Sometimes life dictates what’s important.

Is love enough to risk it all?

Will Zared’s ultimate mission prevail?












CHAPTER 1

ZARED
“Citizens help the New Order find and eliminate terrorist agitators!
The keys to spotting traitors of the American Republic:
Traitors don’t support Inoculation Day,
…doubt the Government,
…don’t watch AR news streams,
…talk of Alliance,
…avoid mandated educational questionnaires,
Traitors don’t support Riza.
Don’t be caught supporting a traitor! Be a loyal citizen. Report any and all suspected traitors.”
(A communiqué from the Bureau of Homeland Protection)


I saved a life and took a life in a matter of seconds.
Watching the Canadian medics wheel Ko away, I know she’ll be fine, thanks to me. Another set of medics claims my father’s body. Also my fault. I did the right thing. He would have killed Ko and anyone else who got in his way.
But, my father’s blood staining my hands is a stark reality I have to face. Children don’t kill their parents. We’re supposed to love and cherish them. Yet, parents shouldn’t incite their children to commit murder. Perhaps I could have overlooked his faults. I search my memory trying to latch on to the good times we shared, but the vault’s dry. 
My father abandoned me years ago.
Still, I wanted to forgive him. All I needed was one reason, any excuse would have worked. I wasn’t picky. I needed to know why he discarded me when I needed him the most. Now, I’ll never know. 
“Aoki, we need to talk.” The loud, acidic voice cuts through the silence. Malcolm slithers his way across the floor. I have no desire to go up against the former rapper turned activist. I need time to myself to accept what I’ve done.
“Can it wait?” I croak.
“I need a status report,” he blasts back. The man once known as the Ice Pimp crosses his arms, staring me down with intense, eerie blue eyes.
“I need to deal with what happened,” I say absently, pushing the hair off my forehead. A slight tremor quakes through my body followed by a trail of sweat etching its way down my spine. The tremor morphs into a fully charged piston. Its incessant revving urges my feet toward the door. Either time needs to speed up, or Malcolm needs to shut up.  
“We ‘preciate what you did for the cause.”
I bristle at Malcolm’s callousness. Jabbing a finger, I snap. “It wasn’t about the damn cause. It was self-preservation. Don’t you get it?”
Malcolm’s face tightens, insubordination on my part. For once, I didn’t care about the repercussions. What I’d done mattered more than a status report or this militant’s battle.
“I killed my FATHER! It was him or me.”
Malcolm sneers. “What would you like me to do? Throw you a goddamned party? Get over yo’self. You had a job to do. You did it. End of story.”
The arrogant-ass prick doesn’t get it. Killing my father, killing anyone, wasn’t the job. Damn it, I loved my father. At one point in my life, I’m sure, the man loved me. I know he did. I believe he did. I hope he did.
I need time to handle my loss and the person I’ve become… a murderer. Reality sucker punches me. I’ve been a lot of things in my life—son, boyfriend, liar, cheat. But never a murderer.
One person understands me. Tru. I need my girl.
“I’ve got to get out of here.” I rush for the exit.
Malcolm blocks my path. “I need the report.”
I stare up at him. He juts his chin, squints, and a hard smile crosses his face. Damn! I’m a complete idiot. This ass played me. My fingers clench.
“You planned this,” I accuse.
“And you carried it out. Mission complete.” His cold eyes mock me.
Unbelievable. Malcolm wasn’t man enough to do the job himself, so he set me up. Who the hell does that?
I reach for my gun. It’s not in my waistband. The glint of steel catches my eye from the floor.
Malcolm follows my line of sight. “You’re not that stupid, Aoki.”
He’s right, I concede. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to rip his heart out with my bare hands. His death, however, serves no purpose. My father will still be dead, and I’ll be a punching bag for Riza. Bastards like him cause their own demise. I storm past Malcolm. His joyless laughter is the backdrop to my hurried steps.
A few Alliance mercenaries stand around outside the building. I approach a sturdy soldier in tan camo fatigues. The name on his shirt pocket reads Niang, a Purebred from Senegal.
He salutes. I return the gesture. “Aoki.”
“Private Niang, sir.” His French-accented voice booms from his body. Definitely not native to the American Republic.
“Don’t have to be so formal. No rank here. Did you take someone to an Ubernet café today?”
Niang frowns. “No, but I know where it is. I can take you there.”
“Good. Let’s go.” I hop into the passenger seat, lean back, and close my eyes. The image of my father’s inanimate body surrounded by his own blood invades my thoughts and causes bile to rise up in my throat.
“Pull over, now!”
As soon as Niang stops the vehicle, I jump out, spilling my guts across the cracked asphalt. Reality kicks my ass. The gun blast and the image of my father crumpling to the ground loop in my mind.
My God, I killed him.
With my own hands, I ended my father’s life. Yes, I saved Ko and prevented more bloodshed. But it didn’t change the fact I killed my own flesh and blood.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I attempt to mourn for him. To ask God for forgiveness. Memories of the suffering and heartache I endured because of my father’s abandonment blur the lines of grief. His involvement with the New Order crushes any shred of remorse left in my heart.
With final resolve, I rest my trembling body against the Jeep. Where will my father’s soul find its resting place? With all the havoc he caused on Earth, I hope he owned a pair of asbestos-lined boots.
 “Sir?” Niang’s voice, like the peal of shattered glass, interrupts my thoughts.
 I scrape my hand down my pants leg before wiping my mouth and climb back into the vehicle. “I’m ready.”
 My life hasn’t been easy. The green kid who stared at a pretty girl across the school yard years ago no longer exists. Life on the streets hardened me, corrupted my youth, and left behind a guy who’s discovering not everyone has my best interests at heart.
 Working for the Alliance wasn’t something I could avoid. My options were clear-cut: join the cause and help in any way requested or face punishment for a crime I didn’t commit. I disagreed, but lost the war of words.
 Malcolm’s possession of a video showing a different altercation sealed my fate and guaranteed my cooperation. If anyone had to die today, it should have been the cold-hearted Hybrid.
Trust. It’s not something one does living on the streets of New Detroit. New perils present themselves daily. Deviants, hanging out on corners waiting for guys like me, want to play cat and mouse games. Survival requires being smarter.
Joining the Alliance kept me alive. In doing so, I merely exchanged a familiar predator for a craftier, secretive one.
It’s time to take back control of my life.
Niang stops the vehicle in front of a red-brick storefront. I pull out my phone and call Tru. Straight to voicemail. I exit the vehicle, hoping Tru waits inside the café. 













 SF Benson, a Michigan native, resides in Georgia with her husband, a human daughter,
and a couple of miniature fur kids (two female short-haired guinea pigs). At one time she
wrangled a household which included three Samoyeds, saltwater fish, a hamster, and three
guinea pigs.
SF has always wanted to be a writer, but she’s had a variety of positions ‘feeding’ her
creative brain—blogger/reviewer, customer service representative, veterinary assistant,
marketing assistant, editorial assistant, receptionist, and even cashier for women’s clothing
and shoes.
She’s an avid bookworm who appreciates a well-written book regardless of genre. SF
prefers to write stories which allow her to answer the question “what if”. She leans towards
writing strong, diverse protagonists set in dystopian, science fiction, or paranormal worlds.



Email ~ Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon Author Page ~ Instagram: @authorsfbenson




Monday, August 15, 2016

Your Favorite Books of 2016 so far

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm gonna talk about my favorite reads of 2016 so far, and I wanna hear all about yours! These are in NO particular order. Ready? Let's get going!

My first isn't a book or series I've reviewed yet, but I've read all but the last one (The Crown). The Selection Series by Kiera Cass. I enjoyed this series more than I thought I would. You all know how much I love a spunky female protagonist, and America takes the cake in this series. She's vivacious, true to self, and endearing. Love it. Review to come (possibly on the air).

Second, I loved the Frenzy series by Casey L. Bond. Seriously. They're such quick reads, I think I blazed through the first three books in two days. Since the fourth just hit the shelves, I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I totally plan to very soon! Porcha Grant is witty, just tough enough, and good at keeping me on my toes as I read. Review of the whole series to come VERY soon.

I can't leave the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer off this list. I just finished Fairest, and Winter is sitting on my shelf, beckoning to me. I'm totally admitting to not liking Fairest. You all know how I feel about not telling the villain's backstory, and that's what Fairest does. I now feel kinda bad for Levana, and I don't like it. Hating on her was something I enjoyed, and it made me pull hard for Cinder to win. On the fence. Once I finish Winter, I'll review both of the last books at once. Cross your fingers for me!

I loved The Girl in 6E by A. R. Torre. Totally planning to continue that series, too! You've all read my review for that book (I hope). If not, find it here.

Totally can't forget The Adventures of Sir Edric! You'll laugh. I loved this book too much. See my review here.

Because of my fascination with the macabre this year, I greatly enjoyed Dark Bishop by Casey L. Bond and Rachel Brownell, too. Man, did that book make my jaw drop! Don't miss it! I wrote a review already and posted it here.

To be honest, this isn't all of them, but that would make for a VERY long post! haha!

What have your 2016 top reads been? Share in the comments!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Free Book - On Dry Land

ON DRY LAND
by Rebecca Barber
(Book 3 Swimming Upstream)
FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME

SYNOPSIS — Tyler Andrews, Olympic swimming superstar, has always gotten his way—until he falls in love. Living in the spotlight was just part of Tyler’s life. Magazines, paparazzi, and being the topic of every sports radio show in Australia…it was either adjust or be driven insane. He’d gotten used to his fame. Hell, he even enjoyed it. But there is one thing he can’t get used to—his girlfriend, Ava Jacobs, hates being the center of the public’s attention.

Ava has lived her life in the shadows—and that’s exactly how she likes it. But after fulfilling her lifelong dream to have her debut novel published, her world is turned on its head by Tyler’s fame. She writes novels for a reason—it’s a quiet, peaceful profession. The last thing she wants is to be thrown into the spotlight.

Love and life don’t always fit as well as fame and fortune.

Frustrated by Ava’s continuous reluctance to publicly embrace their relationship, Tyler takes every opportunity to make his own declarations—social media posts, visiting her at work, and even crashing her first television promotional appearance, which she grudgingly accepted as part of her publishing deal.

So when something changes and Tyler abruptly pulls away, Ava knows something is terribly wrong.

With Olympic selection looming, Ava’s publisher eagerly awaiting a sequel to her hit novel, and day-to- day life taking a toll, Tyler starts to see that life is much easier in the pool than… 

On Dry Land.

——— PURCHASE ———

——— OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES ———

Perfection is Just an Illusion (Book 1)

Nobody's Obligation (Book 2)

***NOTE: It is recommended that you read the books in order***

——— AUTHOR: REBECCA BARBER ———

Rebecca, one of four kids to her parents who are both primary school teachers, was born in Wollongong on the south coast of Australia before moving to the country with her family. After a few years of embracing all that country life had to offer, the family relocated to Port Macquarie with its white sand beaches. After a brief period enjoying the sun and the surf they finally settled in Canberra where Rebecca still lives today. But all through her childhood a notepad and a book where never far away. These days Rebecca is an avid reader, and when she isn’t buried in a book or cheering on her beloved football team she’s spending time with her husband Robert and their overly spoilt dog Levi.

Stalk Links:

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
PINTEREST
WEBSITE

What do you think? Will you be grabbing a copy?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Friday, August 12, 2016

5 Reasons Authors are Divas

Happy Friday, everyone! Wowzers, what a crazy week, huh? Hope you all have big plans for the weekend and have a ton of fun. Today, I'm gonna talk a little bit about authors. If you're ready, get comfy, grab a cup of Jo, and let's get going!

5 Reasons Authors are Divas!

Number 1
No one ever told us how much marketing we'd have to do when we published our book. Seriously, that shit wasn't laid out there in the beginning. We had no idea we'd need a degree in human psychology and social media interaction to make anything of ourselves in the book world. Now that we've found out, we lament the loss of our writing time. It makes us grouchy on the best of days (no matter how many cups of coffee we imbibe). We're tired, frustrated, and downright pissed off most of the time because we don't have the magic formula, and when we find something that works, it's suddenly inundated with 5k other people doing the exact same thing. What happens then? We have to go back to the drawing board and pray whatever we try next works, and then wash, rinse, and repeat.

Number 2
It's literally all about us. All the time. We have to be our own biggest cheerleaders, and that makes our heads swell whether we want them to or not. When a person spends all day talking about themselves on social media, it's hard to step out of that mindset and remember how to focus on other people. Just know that most of us don't do it intentionally. Narcissism is a byproduct of marketing yourself.

Number 3
When a person sacrifices so much of themselves, both physically and mentally, to accomplish a task with the magnitude of publishing and marketing a book, they feel like they deserve some kind of reward or acknowledgement for all that they gave up to make it work. To put it simply: This shit ain't easy. Authors give up time with their families, time they'd spend on themselves, and even time to pause and eat something, for the cause. Do we want to take the time to go get mani-pedis? Hell yeah we do! But unless the nail person can come to our office and do our toes under the desk as we write (I still haven't figured out how the manicure would even occur--Dragon?), we're shit out of luck. I hear people say there need to be more hours in a day. That statement makes me laugh. We'd still use those hours to write or market. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and if we're not producing books, or talking about our stuff, we're screwed.

Number 4
We give a lot of stuff away. Why? Because this is what we've been told will make loyal readers. For every few dollars we make, we're probably spending ninety percent of it on giveaways and marketing. Hours are spent setting things up so readers have the most fun at our parties. Then, we find our books on pirate sites, posted by someone we gave an advance review copy to, or we get a one star review from someone we gave several prizes to, only to have them say they'll never read anything by us again. I mean, holy shit, Batman! Do you have any idea what that can do to a non-diva mindset? Yeah... So, we have to hold our heads up and say it doesn't bother us, put on a brave face, and forge ahead. Otherwise, we go down in all-consuming flames of depression and give up.

Number 5
We're tired of hearing how easy it is to write and publish a book. Seriously. So damned tired of it. We're also sick of people shunning us because we're not worldwide bestsellers with a million bucks in the bank. We freaking work hard, and we have to have an attitude about it because we know we've done something all those mouthing bastards who talk about how easy it is haven't done. If they had, they'd never spout all that bullshit to begin with. Rather than berate or negate us or our work, they'd genuflect. Regularly.

Writing is a job. When someone works for themselves, they don't have 9-5 like regular folks. Authors usually work 10-18 hours a day. So do small business owners. Guess why? Yep, because being an author is the same thing as owning a small business.

At this point, are you wondering why we do it? If you are, just know it's because we love what we do. Writing books is what our insides tell us we must keep doing in order to stay sane.
So, if there's a writer in your life, and you wonder why they're so consumed with themselves, take a moment to consider what it is they do every day. Think about what kind of pressure they may be facing. Ask how you can help (if you can), and be sure and tell them what an amazing job you think they're doing. It matters.

Are you an author? Do you know one? What are your thoughts on the above?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Thursday, August 11, 2016

New Release - Friction (Frenzy #4)

Title: Friction (Frenzy, #4)
Buy now!
Author: Casey L. Bond
Genre: YA Paranormal
Cover Designer: Cover Me Darling
Model: Daniel Wells
Cover Photography: Cassy Roop of Pink Ink Designs
Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR
Blurb: A cure has been found for both the Infection and Vampirism, and Porschia Grant must take this news out of the colony. Between her friends volunteering to go with her and a well-planned route, the first journey should be easy. But when they make it to Mountainside, things are strange. The people are frightened of female night-walkers and won’t say why.
When the excursion takes a wrong turn, Porschia’s friends make a decision that will impact the rest of their lives. They expect to save Porschia from the evil contained in The Manor; they don’t expect to have to save her from herself.
When everything goes wrong, who will be left to pick up the pieces and save Ford from a threat no one could have seen coming?
What will happen when they risk everything to save one?
Award-winning author Casey L. Bond resides in Milton, West Virginia with her husband and their two beautiful daughters. When she’s not busy being a domestic goddess and chasing her baby girls, she loves to write young adult and new adult fiction. You can find more information about Bond’s books via the following links: 
Buy Links: #Free with #KindleUnlimited

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

I Suppose You've Noticed

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope you're all having a fabulous week so far, and you're raring to go for the weekend. Just two more days now. Today, I'm gonna talk to you all about what's going on and why the blog has been spotty. Ready? Grab your cup of Jo, get comfy, and let's get going!

As you all know, I don't talk about my personal life very often. This will be one of those rare times. You've invested your time and interest in my blog, so I'm gonna be honest for a moment.

And, no, I'm not apologizing. Missing posts when I have so much going on isn't anything I'll ever apologize for.

So, here's the skinny:

First, my health went to hell at the end of May. I've seen so many doctors in the last two months, I'm pretty sure I've earned a badge of some kind. No, I'm not gonna go into what happened or what's going on; just know that it's an ongoing thing, and I'm still trying to find ways to balance stuff. It WILL happen, and I'd love your patience as I figure it out. 2016 can suck it.
Second, I've been doing things offline for the new F5 collaborative project. Days when I can't look at my computer screen to write or blog are spent working on things we need (details will be coming SOON). Speaking of which, if you'd like to help us when we start rolling things out, fill out this awesome Google form! Thank you in advance!



Third, I've been doing a lot of stuff around my house, and my sons have been here visiting. It's time consuming.

I'm still on track to do a lot of things I wanted to do (and committed to do) this year, but I gotta get a handle on my health first. That and my family will always be priority one.

Today's a good day, so I'm able.

Sending you all light and warm wishes on this rainy Wednesday in Georgia. :)

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Enter an Anthology with Proceeds for Pet Charities

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today, I'm here to talk with you about an amazing opportunity you may want to take advantage of. If you're ready, let's get rolling!


So, if you didn't already hear about it on my radio show, Ozarks Indie Book Fest is happening in Springfield, MO, October 19-22, 2017. They're donating any and all proceeds from the conference to two charities:

Companions for Heroes

and
Loving Paws Rescue

But the organizers wanted to do even MORE for these two charities. They put their heads together and came up with the idea of producing an anthology with ALL proceeds going to the charities above.

Pretty amazing, huh?

Want to know how you can get involved? Well, here you go:




Fill it out now, later, or whenever! If you write a compelling beginning, there's a great chance of being chosen. No one will know who you are until the stories are chosen. Classy, eh?

Winners will also be announced on the Facebook event page. You can join in the fun here.

You have a few months before your full story will be due. Why not?

Will you be entering?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo