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Testing of the Stars: Free on 11/15-11/19/2021

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Thanksgiving weekend 11/25-29/2021:

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The Villian's Hero: Free

Nicholas Bishop: $0.99

Wandering (of the Stars book 2) Releasing 11/27/2021

 The attack on the Academy was only the beginning of the adventure for Max O’Brian.  Two months later, he finds himself placed back on active duty.

Max knew things would change after their early graduation, but being summoned to speak before the Council was not anything he expected. And definitely not the meaning behind the summons.

From the Alliance base in D.C. to the distant plains of an alien planet, Max soon learns the Galaxy is becoming a small place. 

The Novens are closing in, and nowhere is truly safe anymore. Either in this star system or another. 

Wandering (of the Stars book 2)

Preorder here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094NZG5LF?pf_rd_r=TJX18T6NPD6C0ZS32014&pf_rd_p=5ae2c7f8-e0c6-4f35-9071-dc3240e894a8&pd_rd_r=7b6bb246-afff-4838-b060-

ba25065d841a&pd_rd_w=6Mzpg&pd_rd_wg=L6Kz0&ref_=pd_gw_unk

THEY made him. THEY own him. THEY control him.

ReGen is this generation's Manhattan Project, and Sepp is their atomic bomb. On the outside, he’s an average teenager, but underneath, he is anything but. For as long as he can remember, he’s always taken his orders and completed his missions. There’s nothing else for him, and he knows no one outside of the project.

That is, until his mission is to deliver a vial of mysterious content to a military research base in Montana. Things go south when the caravan is attacked, and Sepp is forced to hand the vial over to a teenager that isn’t enhanced. A decision he soon learns will turn everything upside down and will start him asking questions he’s never dared ask before.

But one thing is for sure, this mission changes everything.

Preorder here: Amazon

T.H.E.Y (THEY book 1)

Chapter 1 preview:

Chapter 1

Sepp sat with his feet propped up on the dashboard of the cargo van as he played on his phone, acting very much like the thirteen-year-old the world saw him as. He half-watched as the trees and mountains passed by the passenger window in a blur.

Slowly, the day slipped by as they crossed the border into Montana.

There was only an hour to go until they reached their destination, and so far the transportation had been pretty quiet. Sepp should have known something was going to happen before the windshield shattered.

The next second, they slammed into the guardrail and skidded out of control. They slid off the road and came to a stop in between the highways. His phone forgotten, Sepp was on high alert and quickly grabbed for the gun on his hip. Instinct from his years of training and from the field instantly kicked in.

“Walter? What happened?” he asked, turning to the side. Sepp silently cursed as he realized the driver was dead. “Never mind,” he grumbled under his breath as he quickly grabbed for the radio between them. He checked the mirrors and spotted three hummers as they moved to surround them, no doubt filled with six men each. 

Eighteen men, great. Shaking away that thought, he turned on the radio.

“This is Sepp in caravan five.” He spoke into the radio as he flicked the safety off of his gun and quickly shut the van off, knowing he couldn’t get away in it now. “I need backup, now! We were run off the road by three hostile vehicles, and Walter is dead. But will proceed as planned.”

Without waiting for a response, he flicked off the radio. 

He knew he needed to get to the package before the men from the hummers arrived, which would only be a couple of seconds. Grabbing his backpack off the floor, Sepp scrambled over the seat and into the back of the van.

In the center of it was a metal container, which Sepp quickly moved toward and knelt beside. As he placed his hand on top of it, a light flickered across it and he winced when it pricked his hand to check his DNA.

A green light appeared on the side as it started to open, revealing a glass, frosted canister. Moving quickly and carefully, he pulled the canister out and slid it into his backpack before snapping the lock into place, zipping it, and pulling it on. 

Outside the van, Sepp could hear the sound of pounding footsteps moving toward him. Glancing around him, he made a split-second decision and moved toward the back corner of the van.

He dropped down, keeping his gun in his hands as he bent forward, tucked it against his chest, and wrapped his other arm around his knees. Sepp had just made himself comfortable when the door was yanked open and light flooded in from the men shining their flashlights inside.

“Please, don’t hurt me,” Sepp whimpered, wrapping himself tighter into a ball as three of them climbed inside. The second he spoke, they whipped around and aimed their flashlights and guns at him. 

Letting out a small yelp, he buried his face deeper between his legs. He could still see through them as one of the men moved toward the metal container in the center of the van. “Sir,” the man said, placing his hand against his ear. “The canister is empty. There’s nothing inside the van; there’s just a child.”

Sepp silently snorted at that as he made his body tremble. If only, he thought. If he was ‘just a child’, he wouldn’t be there.

“This delivery really was low profile,” one of the other men said, shaking his head as he scanned the front of the van. “Looks like, other than the child, THEY didn’t send anyone with the driver.”

A second later, Sepp made out the sound of cursing on the other end of the radio. “You idiots!” the man on the other end hissed. “That’s not a child!”

But the warning came too late. Whipping his gun out, Sepp took the three men down within a matter of seconds. He bolted forward, leapt out of the van, and took off running.

He was barely five feet away from the van before the yelling began, followed a second later by gunshots as the men from the other hummers came at him and started to enclose him in a circle.

Obviously, they’d all been warned about him now. 

Picking a random direction, Sepp didn’t pause as he ran toward one of the men with a gun. Aiming his own gun, Sepp fired at him. The man cursed as he dropped his gun and cradled his now bleeding hand. 

Quickly tucking the gun into his belt, Sepp flicked his left wrist and a knife slid out of his sleeve. As he drew nearer to the man, Sepp leaned back and fell, still sliding forward across the ground and between the man’s legs. Bringing his knife up, Sepp slashed the man across the knee.

“Take him out! Take him out!” the man yelled felling to the ground, clutching both his knee and his hand. “Shoot the stupid kid!”

A thudding sound followed a second later as a bullet pounded the ground near him, missing him by mere feet. Ducking down to make himself a smaller target, Sepp continued to run across the grassy field between the two sides of the highway. 

One of the three hummers skidded to a stop five feet in front of him, trying to block his way. But Sepp didn’t slow his pace as he came upon it, he jumped up and onto the hood.

Sliding across the hood of the hummer, Sepp fell to the ground on the other side, rolled back onto his feet, and went at it again. White heat tore through his left leg as a bullet cut through his skin.

With a wince, Sepp shoved down the pain and kept running, keeping his mind focused on staying alive and the consequences if he was caught. He felt the difference in his footfalls the second he hit the pavement, timing his dash so a car barely missed hitting him as it cut in between him and the men after him. 

The car gave him a couple of seconds of reprieve from the gunshots as the car blared its horn and he reached the other side of the road. Lunging forward, he rolled down the hill, landing on his feet at the bottom.

Sepp stood there for a second, trying to catch his breath as he glanced around him. He wasn’t too far from the nearest town, but it wouldn’t be easy to get there on foot without the men catching up to him.

That’s when something yellow in the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was a school bus, traveling roughly 25MPH, and it wasn’t far from a stop sign. Sepp just needed to catch up to it before it reached the sign.

With one last gulp of the evening air, he took off running again, this time parallel with the road the bus was taking. His feet pounded across the pine needle-covered ground as he darted between the trees, moving a little bit closer to the road with every step.

Soon, only a creek separated him from the road. Keeping his pace even, he grabbed onto the bottom branch of a tree beside the creek. Then Sepp swung himself forward and let go, flying over the creek and landing on his feet on the other side a second before the bus swept past.

Jumping onto the paved road, Sepp jogged down it toward the stop sign where the bus had just pulled up.

Running at the bus, Sepp leapt forward, catching his right foot on the rear bumper. Pushing himself upward, he placed his left foot on the emergency door’s handle, propelled himself up, and caught the roof of the bus.

He pulled himself up and onto the top just as the bus pulled away from the stop sign to start turning left. Crawling forward, Sepp stuck his head over the side of the bus and glanced through the window.

The bus was pretty full, but luckily for him, the back seat only had one kid sitting in it, and he wasn’t next to the window. 

Grabbing onto the edge of the roof, Sepp flipped down and around, sliding through the small opening at the top of the school bus window. The second he was through it, he flopped down onto the bus’s back seat.

“What the…” Before the boy sitting next to him could say anything else, Sepp quickly clasped his hand over his mouth.

“I’ll pay you a hundred bucks to pretend I’ve been sitting here all day, or that I’m not here at all,” he whispered into his ear before he let him go.

The boy looked at him, blinked, then shrugged. “Okay.”

“Great,” Sepp huffed, scooting down in his seat. He slid his backpack off and set it on the floor. “I assume you guys are headed home?”

The boy nodded. “Yeah, we are. How did you get in here anyway?”

“Through the open window, obviously,” Sepp said, glancing out the window behind them and frowning when he spotted the hummer trailing behind them. Slipping his hand into his pocket, Sepp slid his wallet out and opened it, shooting another glance out the window.

“Hey, kid,” he said, sliding two hundred dollar bills out of his wallet. “How would you like to make another hundred dollars?” 

“Micheal,” the boy said, grinning as he held out his hand.

“What?” Sepp squinted at the boy.

“My name’s Micheal, but everyone calls me Mickey,” he said. “If you’re going to give me money, we should probably know each others’ names.”

“Ok, right,” Sepp said, shaking himself. For a second there, he’d forgotten he was dealing with a child. Even though most people would think he was a child, Sepp knew that he was far from it. “I’m Sepp, and I need you to switch backpacks with me.”

Random short story.

 Incline fidgeted with the gas mask covering his face as he waited for the gates into the city to open, hoping none of the Sageguards sitting around him noticed his unease. This was his only chance to get back inside after his exile, and it had to work.
The gates slid open and the truck lurched forward. Several minutes later, the truck came to a stop, and Incline and the other Safeguards were ushered out, where they were handed a Dusting Staff and a power pack was strapped to their backs.
His heart thudding, Incline forced his hands not to tremble as he took the staff and power pack.
Just keep calm, he told himself. For Fryia.
Unsure of what else to do, Incline fell into step behind one of the other Safeguards as they hurried to surround a building. And when they stepped around the corner, Incline knew this was his opening.
Ignoring the feeling of nausea, Incline steeled himself. “Hey,” he called. Before the other guard could turn, Incline swept the staff around and slammed it into him. 
The guard crumpled to the ground, and Incline quickly hooked his staff to his back and grabbed the guard's arms, pulling him down an alleyway. With that finished, he glanced around. 
Once he was sure it was clear, he turned and bolted down the street. 
The further he went, the cleaner the streets became. The trash that littered the ground slowly vanished, and the dirt-covered ground was soon replaced with white stones and steel as he left the Outerring behind, and he entered the Innercircle. 
He knew the moment he crossed the line because everything became familiar to him, and he started his search for Elms Street, staying in the shadows as he knew his Safeguard riot gear would draw attention now that he had entered the Innercicle. 
Time seemed to drag as he made his way to the light blue house on the end of Elms Street. He crept up to it and moved around the back. He swept his gaze around,making sure he was alone as he unhooked the staff from his back.
Holding the rod firmly in his hands, Incline stepped toward the back window and thrust it forward. The glass rained down, both inside the house and onto the fake grass that surrounded the house. 
Knowing he didn't have much time now, Incline slung the staff back over his shoulder and hoisted himself through the window, the glass crunching under his boots as he landed inside the house and glanced around the small library. 
He clenched his fists at his sides as he realized how much had changed in that room since the last time he was there. But now wasn't the time for that; he had something important to retrieve before they realized he was there.
Carefully stepping over the glass, he exited the library and headed for the stairs, quietly creeping across the floor as he realized the light in the kitchen was on. For a second, he thought about going and making whoever was living in his house pay, but... What was upstairs was far more important. 
He pulled his gaze away from the light and slipped up the stairs, making his way toward the door at the end of the hall. He tested the door and it easily slid open, revealing a child's bedroom. 
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Incline edged his way toward the bed and knelt beside the small figure wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket. Hesitantly, he reached out and gently shook the little girl.
She opened her eyes, still half asleep until she turned over and saw him. She squealed and scrambled away from him. “Please, don't take me away too,” she cried.
Incline's heart clenched as he scrambled to pull the pink bunny out from under his jacket, and he held it out to her.
Hesitantly, she took it from him, her eyes growing wide as she looked from it to him. “Daddy? Daddy!” She flung herself forward, and he gladly caught her up in his arms. “You came back for me!”

“My little Fryia, ” he whispered. “I’ll always come for you. Now, hurry and get your coat. We've got to go.”

Two years of a sneaky teenager.

 

In celebration of the two year anniversary of the Phantom Thief, here a Q&A with my MC Simon Lee, and a new short story. Both can be found in the Top Secret tab above. 

Talking about myself

So, I recently had the honor of being interviewed on Kristina Hall's blog, if you want to check it out, here's the post.

They Call Her Ella: releasing in 30 days-and preview of the first chapter.

 

Ella Morris was an average teenager, or so it seemed. In truth, she was better known as Agent 428 of the Grimly Family, a third party, covert operations group.

Taken in by the G.F. at the age of six, by thirteen, she became one of the youngest operatives to be placed out in the field.

But on her first high-level mission, she is plunged into the confusing reality of deciphering outward displays of loyalty, where the wrong move could mean losing everything.

Everyone has their secrets. Some shape others.

They Call Her Ella (The Grimly Family book 1) 

Trailer:

Prologue

The gun pressed against her forehead was as steady as the gaze of the man holding it, but it didn’t make her as uncomfortable as most people would expect. “I’m going to ask you one last time,” he growled, bending down so he was face-to-face with her. “Who sent you? Or things are going to get… very uncomfortable for you.”

Tilting her head, she pretended to think the question over as her nails tapped on the armrests of the chair her arms were tied to. There were four of the men, one standing in front of her, and his three buddies behind her. 

Once she made her move, she was going to have to neutralize them all before they could fully react. But from what she’d seen of them so far, she wasn’t too worried.

“You want to know who sent me?” she repeated, glancing around as tears began to form in her eyes. “I… I can’t tell you that. They’ll… they’ll kill me.” She let a small whimper escape her, and the man moved a little closer. 

“But… but I can tell you that… that you’re an absolute idiot.”

Without warning, she slammed the top of her head forward and into his face. From the cry of pain, she guessed she’d probably broken his nose. But she didn’t want to find out as she twisted her arms and yanked them free.

The next second, she brought her feet up and stood on the chair, then with a quick twist, she pivoted the chair around and threw herself at one of the other men as he took a step toward her.

She wrapped her legs around his neck, then she twisted around and brought him to the ground. She wasn’t surprised when he fought back and pounded his fists against her legs. But she barely paid him any attention as she reached over and grabbed his assault rifle off the ground and proceeded to sit up and smack him on the head with it, knocking him unconscious.

Barely pausing, she rolled across the ground and back onto her feet. Dodging to the left as one of the other men came at her, she dropped down into a squatting position and brought her leg around, sweeping the man’s legs out from under him.

Using the momentum of the kick, she spun around and back onto her feet.

The next second, she felt one of the men grab her from behind, wrapping his arms around her and pinning her arms to her sides. Twisting to the side, she propelled herself up the nearest wall, breaking out of the man’s grip and throwing herself over the top of him.

As soon as she got her footing again, she slammed her foot down against his knee, causing him to curse as his other knee buckled. Pivoting around, she picked up the chair she’d been tied to and smashed it over the man.

Picking up two of the broken legs of the chair, she spun them around like batons as she turned toward her last two opponents. “So… which one of you wants to go first?” she asked, giving them a sweet smile. 

Then she attacked, and within a matter of seconds, both men were on the ground moaning from their most likely broken bones with her kneeling between the two of them. She blew her hair out of her face, stood up, and brushed the dirt off her pants. 

There was a low groaning sound a second before the walls around her started to rise up, revealing at least a dozen or so men and women in suits, surrounding the small ‘interrogation’ room.

One of the older women, wearing a gray pinstriped dress suit, stepped toward her, smiling. “Well done, Agent 428,” she said. “Your conduct during this training session was exemplary, I must say!”

Agent 428 gave her a small smile. “Thank you, Godmother,” she said, running her hand through her hair. “I’m glad it was up to your standards.” She huffed. “Though they did give me a good workout.”

“Indeed!” Godmother said, nodding. “Agent 384, water please.”

Without any warning, a water bottle came flying through the air toward Agent 428, who caught it, twisted the cap off, and gulped down half of it in one breath. She hadn’t realized until then how thirsty she’d gotten during the RTI (resistance to interrogation) training.

Godmother laughed as several of the other agents went to help the men Agent 428 had… taught a lesson to. “I’m just glad these were hired men and not my own agents you wiped the floor with,” she said, shaking her head. 

“If they were your agents, I would hope they would have done a little bit better than that,” 428 said, rolling her eyes as she nodded toward the men. “They could learn a thing or two while they’re here.”

“I have no intentions of them staying that long,” Godmother said, frowning. “Come, 428, I would like to speak to you privately in my office.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Agent 428 said, saluting her before she clasped her hands behind her back and took a step back, out of Godmother’s way. Godmother stepped past her and headed out of the large room and toward one of the exits, expecting 428 to follow without question or hesitating, which she did.

A minute later, 428 found herself sitting in front of Godmother’s desk as the older woman seemed to be studying her. Finally, Godmother’s face broke into a smile again. “Agent 428, it brings me great pleasure to inform you that I do believe you are ready to be put out in the field.”

428 perked up at that. “Ma’am?”

“Congratulations, you are now Ella Maria Morris,” Godmother said, handing her a file from a pile on her desk. “I know, not your typical thirteenth birthday present, but happy birthday anyway, Agent. You leave in the morning.”

428 grinned at her as she took the file and stood up. “And what about the Grimly Family is ever ‘typical’?”

Preorder here: They Call Her Ella