My feature today is a blog that belongs to a dear friend of  mine.

                                                                                      

 Yes, you guessed it, Author Nik Barnabee!

Or, if you run in twitter circles, you can call her @GargoylePhan.

You won't find her out and about early in the day, because she runs with her pals Max and Jake.....at night and like Max and Jake, sleeps in until all hours of the afternoon. Yep, they are night owls. Or maybe night cats would be more suitable. :-)

I guess that's when Nikki hits her creative stride. When she gets on a roll, there is no stoping her.

Her short stories will intrigue you! Her latest is called "POOF!" It's about a four year old little girl..........to die for! And then there is "Becca" once a very sweet girl.....not so sweet any longer!

Well, you get the picture, don't you?

Nikki has a very unique voice and you will love the way she can spin a tale!

If you'd like to know more about Nik Barnabee, click here. Leave comments on her blog and she will actually answer you And while your at it, read the excerpt of her WIP...."NAILS" crime/thriller novel. Want to learn more about Max and Jake? Read her "CatWorld" page. You'll learn how Jake came about and how much Max misses Scully. Nope, I'm not saying another word....you'll have to read their story.

Living Soul by S.B. Niccum

Living Soul (Veiled Series) by S.B. Niccum

The first book of this series is Veiled,  one of those books you can't put down. Living Soul is the sequel and does not disappoint. But be ready to read because you aren't going to stop until you finish. This is a series you are going to get hooked on.  Niccum's style is enchanting, engaging and emotionally riveting.

Veiled from her previous existence as a gifted Angel, Tess is now a mere mortal growing up in foster care with her autistic foster brother, Dorian, and a twisted foster sister, Agatha—whose main goal in life is to torture them both.

Tess’ life has been dull and average at best; but all that changes with one look. When she inadvertently gazes into the eyes of the most popular guy in school—Alex Preston—Tess sees a glimpse of her previous existence.

Uncomprehending, Tess, wonders what those memories are and why she now feels like she knows Alex better than anyone in this world. More importantly, why is he haunting her dreams? Dreams so vivid, that they blur the lines of reality, awakening a slew of inexplicable paranormal abilities she didn’t know she possessed.

Frustrated and confused, Tess lives a double life… one where Alex has a girlfriend and Tess is a normal high school girl. And another, where spirits, visions, and dreams are true.

Is she going crazy or is she secretly dating Alex in her dreams?


Available on Amazon....Kindle and Paperback. 

Short story/ Chapter 3

For Chapters 1 and 2 refer to my earlier posts. Enjoy!

Tech-nesh

3.

            Stacy sat in her usual shady spot out side her work, eating what appeared to Ben to be a tuna sandwich on wheat and baby carrots. A few days ago she ate in a different location and he had nearly called the police before he found her in her parked car. He knew he couldn’t just continue stalking her like this but he hadn’t worked out a better plan yet. His search for the name and whereabouts of the Black Widow Killer wasn’t going well, which still left Ben with no real evidence other than the self incriminating files in his apartment. He hoped it wouldn’t come to it but he wouldn’t let Stacy get murdered to keep him self out of jail. So for now he kept close tabs on her in the hopes of keeping her alive. Fortunately for him, she led a pretty predictable schedule.   

            She took her time, taking delicate bites, alternating between the two victuals; always setting the food down between bites.  He wondered if her eating behavior had anything to do with her excessive exercising. From what he could see from her partially opened drapes at her apartment, she spent nearly all her free time on her treadmill. 

            Ben’s interest in her complex character had only heightened in this last couple of weeks watching over her. She was beautiful and successful; carrying her self in a confident way that told most nerdy, lanky guys like him self to crawl in a hole and die rather than try to approach her. But Ben knew her better than that. Inside she was uncommonly kind, unsure of everything and generally lost.

            In his further study of her, he found a news paper article from her small home town near Butte. He learned that she was thrown into foster care after her parents and older brother, Mark were killed in a bear attack while camping in Montana. A toddler at the time she was being watched by a neighbor, which became her first of many short term homes. The credentials of her resume suggested to Ben that she pushed herself beyond her unfortunate upbringing. Ben often wondered why she couldn’t seem to see what an amazing accomplishment that is. Sometimes he wished someday, somehow he’d have a chance to tell her what an incredible person he has found her to be.

            As he watched her pack up her belongings through the screen on his phone; her soft brown hair brushing off her shoulder by a breeze, He forced himself to recognize that she was not the only one in danger. He was falling in love with her.    

To be continued... 

It's only fitting that my new up and coming book Living Soul will be released on a week were we honor and commemorate those who have fought for our freedom. As a naturalized citizen, one who has worked hard at trying to become an American, am particularly proud and thankful to all those who choose to put their lives in jeopardy so that I could have the freedoms that all of God's children should enjoy, yet don't seem to be able to in other lands. America has stood for freedom since its beginning. For those who feel oppressed and want to rise above their current circumstances, America has been as a hope, a dream, a goal. From all of us natural-born or naturalized citizens who enjoy the blessings and freedoms of this country: Thank You. "America is free, because of the Brave." Please join me this week as I celebrate the release of LIVING SOUL! Available for purchase on Amazon.com May 31st. http://www.sbniccum.com Sil~ The Supernatural Chick.

Live Life: The Daydreamer's Journal

My feature for you today is one that is dear to my heart. An anthology of short stories and poetry made possible by the University of Wisconsin Stout Honors Program, edited by Sir Ricky McGentleman, along with associate editor, Jessica Morrison. It's listed with the Library of Congress for being the first book to hold 150 authors world-wide, in one anthology.

"Live Life: The Daydreamer’s Journal has over 150 authors and artists from 22 different countries contributing. Some of the contributors include Rita Dove and Marv Wolfman. Rita Dove is an award winning poet and former United States Poet Laureate. Marv Wolfman is an award winning comic book writer, who created the series Blade for Marvel comics and The New Teen Titans for DC comics. Other award winning authors include: Gwyneth Jones, David Brin, Judith Skillman, and Marilyn L. Taylor." 

The many stories and poems are of all different genre's. Over 500 pages of words to wallow in. Isn't that exciting?

It's very special to me for a couple of reasons. First, I happen to be lucky enough to have one of my stories published in it by the name of Candlewick. I hope you enjoy it. Also, The Scribe of Rashid by Sharon Cathcart, one of my cyber buddies is published in it, as well. The second reason, even more important than the first, is that it's a work of hope for cancer patients across the world. All of the proceeds go to the  American Cancer Society.

We all have someone in our lives, a family member, a friend or an acquaintance down the street, whose smile we will miss, because of this dreaded disease. I have two brothers battling cancer and have lost one of my aunty's to cervical cancer, along with more than my share of dear friends.

For more information about this book, click here and to purchase, click here. 
It's for a great cause!!!

Short story/ Chapter 2

(You'll find chapter one in my previous post.)

Tech-nesh

2.

            About a month ago, Ben was given the grueling duty of debugging the computer systems of the Steiner Marketing co. As he was the only technician with the experience to handle an on sight job of that size and difficulty he really just got the job by default. He wasn’t happy about it. The general departure from normal and predictable things left him with a debilitating knot in his stomach that only the prospect of all the personal information he could extract from a building full of computers could give him the drive to attempt it. Unfortunately the company refused to allow him to work on their system after their working hours. But even under the impatient watchful eyes of the employees he somehow managed a timely repair for the company and a nearly full hard drive for himself.

            Now Ben sits in at home in a new desk chair that he purchased with the bonus that his boss had given him. Though it was appreciated it seemed a little unnecessary; he had his prize. With delight at his new material, Ben spent every possible moment organizing and studying it, paying special attention to destroy any thing of importance to the business. With his feet propped up on his old college psychology books, he had just finished reading a long file of short, undated comments and thoughts that had been kept by one of the managers, Stacy Attwood.

            It expressed deep grief at the loss of her husband and the subsequent sorrowful, empty life. She worried insecurely over the interactions she had with those under her authority. Ben was intrigued by this find because it was in complete contradiction to a long office gossip chat that an employee had saved on his computer. From the comments made by the many people working under Stacy, it seems they respect her and enjoy her company a lot. A reference to a company party where Stacy pleased the crowd with a drunken dance to the jukebox, lead Ben to think that they even saw her as friend.  But the fact that Stacy was under the opposite impression was very interesting to Ben. In his expertise most people carried a certain amount of contradiction between their personal and professional lives but this woman was an extreme he had never encountered before. Her excerpts were so compelling and raw he couldn’t help but be mesmerized by everything she had written.

            In the midst of his marveling, Ben realized there was another reason for his deep interest in this woman; there was something very familiar about her name. This haunted him for a moment while he scoured his mind for the connection. Then it came to him. Gasping he jumped up and raced the short distance across the immaculate apartment to where he stored past pilfered records. The collection was quite extensive but his pale fingers knew right where to find what he was looking for. He vaguely remembered studying this nameless subject about four months ago. It was a man who had returned his computer after wiping the hard drive himself, or so he had thought.

            Ben uploaded and quickly searched the small number of retrieved files on the disk for her name. Each one revived his memory of why he didn’t enjoy studying this particular person. Most of the files were filed with scanned and copied news paper articles of horrible murders that had been committed in the last eight years; all were said to be connected to the Black Widow killer, who reportedly targeted young widows.

            Other files contained notes about the women from those articles; all their personal information and pictures. Ben’s eyes widened, teeth grinding with anticipation as he finally found it. A chaotic mess of unfinished information and unconnected details about Stacy opened up on his screen. Ben had disregarded the entire disk before because he didn’t understand what all these things meant. But now as he took this second glance it was obvious; Stacy was this mans next target.

Matched

BY: Ally Condie

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.


My Review: If you are a fan of George Orwell's "1984" novel or Lois Lowy's "The Giver", you will love this fun YA version of dystopian society where a young woman is matched with her perfect mate. ...Only, Cassia gets matched with two. The society is well explained and you soon find yourself trapped in it, right along with Cassia. It makes you wonder about some of the simple pleasures we take for granted, pleasures that Cassia knows nothing about, because the society takes them away, with the exuse of making life easier for all. I found the story fun and the world that author Ally Condie created, extremely addicting. The good thing is: There's more! "Crossed" is the sequel that I'm currently half way through and enjoying just as much.

About the Author: Ally Condie is the author of the international bestseller MATCHED, and its sequel, CROSSED. MATCHED was chosen as one of YALSA’s 2011 Teens’ Top Ten, named as one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2010, selected as the #1 Pick on the Winter Kid’s Indie Next List, and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly. In a starred review for the sequel, CROSSED, Kirkus called the Matched series an “addictive, layered dystopic trilogy.” A former English teacher (who still keeps her license current, just in case!), she lives with her husband and four children outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, writing, running, and listening to her husband play guitar.