Drone Games by M. Black, release date: Spring of 2019

Drone Games is a STAND BY ME meets ENDER'S GAME. Those who love 80's paraphernalia and music, a good coming of age or classic 80's books, Atari, Pac-Man, or video games in general, will love this novel set in a future Manhattan, New York, where four middle school aged kids find out the video game they are playing is more than just a game! 

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Simply comment on this blog thread and tell me what you think about the cover. Be honest! Winner will be picked at random.

INTERVIEW with author M. Black (that is me!)

When did you start writing stories? I have always written stories, since I was a young child. Firstly, they were in my head and then I wrote them into short stories which were read by the English teachers in class. Later, I wrote  series of shorts and then graduated into novels in my thirties. Been writing novels ever since!

What was your favorite book growing up? Now? Charolette's Web growing up and now I would have to say Divergent. 

If you could live anywhere in the world where money was not a factor, where would it be? Gosh, where would I live...I would have to say where I am because I chose this location to be near family. But if family was not an option, I'd probably pick Costa Rica. Lovely beaches, food and economical. 

How did you come up with the story? I was thinking about all the 80's video games I used to play and how I loved stories from the 80's like Goonies and Stand by Me and wanted to do a kind of remembrance of that time period while also telling a new story. 

What are your current writing plans? I am writing a novel called THE INSTRUMENT, a kind of Siri meets the apocalypse, and it should be finished by the release date of Drone Games in spring of 2019. 

One word answers:

Horses, sharks, or eagle? Horses.

Robots, animals, or people? All of them. 

Simon and Garfunkel, Metallica, or Queen? Simon and Garfunkel. 

Novels, novellas, or short stories? Novels. 

Morning, afternoon, or night? Morning and Night. 

Thank you and good night! 

*Book reviews will resume in January 2019. I am starting a new program called 1st Chapter Book Reviews which are reviews based on the first chapter of a book only. I will also post full book reviews periodically. 

Special Guest: Michael Shelton

Young Adult Fantasy  Click for website    When did you start writing stories? I stated writing stories when I was very young. In fact I still have my first book, in which I wrote in my third grade class. We found it up and everything. Of course, it’s not very good. I’ve been writing off and on ever since then. Then I finally got serious and began publishing in 2016. What was your favorite book growing up? Now? I don’t know if I had a specific favorite book growing up or not. I read all the time. I remember my mom taking me to the library almost every week and coming home with an armful of books. I read detective books, fantasy, and mystery. The first fantasy I really remember reading was The Chronicles of Narnia. Now I still love fantasy. I do read other genre’s occasionally, but always seem to go back to fantasy. Authors like Terry Brooks, Raymond Feist, and Robert Jordan, as well as newer authors like Jeff Wheeler and D.K. Holmberg. If you could live anywhere in the world where money was not a factor, where would it be? I’m not sure where I would want to live. Right now I live in the pacific NW and am only a short drive from a multitude of waterfalls, trails, and old growth forests so I really like that. If I could choose somewhere else, maybe in a castle somewhere in Europe. How did you come up with the story? My latest series, The Dragon Artifacts – book one being The Golden Dragon has characters that I used in a previous series (The Alaris Chronicles). Even though it is previous characters and is fun to read about their former adventures, the series stands on its own. I’ve always loved dragons and magic power. The story deals with the question of how much power is too much? IS there a limit to what one person should hold. And is it possible to be all powerful and still not have it go to your head.   What are your current writing plans? Currently I am finalizing editing on this newest series, and am thinking about my next book. Not sure of the story line yet, but it will definitely have lots of magic! One word answers: Horses, sharks, or eagle? Eagle Robots, animals, or people? People Simon and Garfunkel, Metallica, or Queen? Queen Novels, novellas, or short stories?  Novels

Animal Graph Paperback Giveaway

BUY HERE

What if in the future, a dictator name Truss took over North and South America? What if he grafted prisoners to perfect his own Graphed soldiers? What if some of this prisoners escaped? 

In this 6 book series of Animal Graph we explore the Amazon, Savannah, Orinoco River, Highlands, Plateaus. All the beauty of the Amazon forests, as well as some of its splendid flora and wildlife like Toucans, Howler Monkeys and Caiman. We also meet radiated creatures poisoned by the nuclear wars. 

JIN and ADAN have to run for their lives in the picturesque Amazon, because the are being hunted to train soldiers. But their grafts will aide them and as they learn to use their animal graph, they will turn the tide of this upcoming war.

If you enjoy stories like Dr. Moreau or Hunger Games, or even stories of survival with twists you don't see coming...this is for you! 

Immerse yourself in the gorgeous and dangerous Amazon, find new creatures, learn about new exotic countries, travel the highlands, savannas, and plateaus in this breath-taking, page-turning book, ANIMAL GRAPH.


"AN ACTIVE AND EXCITING STORY THAT WOULD BE ENJOYED BY YOUNG ADULTS AND MATURE READERS. M. BLACK PACKS IN A LOT OF INTERESTING CONCEPTS. FANS OF DYSTOPIAN FICTION LIKE THE HUNGER GAMES WILL ENJOY THIS VERY CREATIVE STORY." -Netgalley 

"WOW! WHAT A CONCEPT! I CAN SAY THAT THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK OF THIS KIND THAT I HAVE READ." -Amazon Reader 

"THIS WAS AN AWESOME STORY. IN THE APOCALYPTIC FUTURE THEY ARE EXPERIMENTING ON PRISONERS." -Amazon Reader 

"M.BLACK’S ANIMAL GRAPH IS MORE THAN A DYSTOPIAN TALE FROM THE CREATIVE GENIUS OF THIS AUTHOR’S MIND. IT RAISES THE QUESTION OF SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST, OF LIVING IN HARMONY AND QUESTIONING WHAT IF THE ODDS ARE ARTIFICIALLY STACKED AGAINST THESE NEW CREATIONS." -Netgalley

"ANIMAL GRAPH TAKES A FRESH AND INTRIGUING LOOK AT ANIMAL-HUMAN PAIRINGS" -Avid Amazon Reader 

"THE CHARACTERS HAVE EXTRAORDINARY ABILITIES FROM THEIR ANIMAL GRAPHS, BUT THESE ALSO COME WITH WEAKNESSES. IT'S A REALLY GOOD BALANCE." -Netgalley

"IT IS GOOD, VERY STRANGE ON ONE HAND YET THRILLING AND EDGE OF YOUR SEAT! I LOVE THE BEGINNING WHERE THE READER IS IN THE ACTION FROM THE START! I ALSO LOVE THE WHOLE IDEA OF THE GRAPHS." -Reader Review

"THIS BOOK HAD ME HOOKED FROM THE BEGINNING." Netgalley

"YOU ARE ONE OF THE FEW AUTHORS WHOSE BOOKS LEAVE ME WANTING TO READ MORE OF YOUR BOOKS." -Amazon Reader

"GOOD STORY! I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END!" Amazon Reader  

"I HAD ANXIETY ATTACKS WITH JIN. IT REALLY BOTHERED ME THAT I HAD TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN TO DO NORMAL THINGS LIKE EAT. LOL." -Amazon Reader




WIN a COPY OF THE PAPERBACK BY LEAVING A COMMENT and your EMAIL! 

Win Electric Gardens Paperback!

BUY HERE

After several world catastrophes, robots called 'Tins' have come to power.

Lexi019 knows them well. She's lived inside of a Compound ruled by Tins for the past twelve years, and maintains a strict schedule. After attending Electric Gardens classes, she learns that she will be transferred, as all eighteen-year-olds are, to serve the gardens for the rest of her life.

Instead, Lexi defies the Tins and looks for a way out. With her best guy Kyle53 at her side, and a couple of unlikely friends, Lexi eventually finds her way out of the Compound. 

But in the end, can she escape... or like all things in this artificial, apocalyptic world, will she be stuck under the Tins' power forever?

WIN THIS PAPERBACK by COMMENTING below and leaving your EMAIL! 

GRAPH WORLD paperback giveaway for the month of July

GRAPH WORLD books 1-6

The full paperback collection is up for grabs!

2 lucky winner will win the full paperback set

1 lucky runner-up will win the eBooks 1-6

Everyone who comments will win the eBook Animal Graph, the first book in the set. 

Just leave a comment!

Remember your eMAIL!

Winners will be selected randomly and notified via eMail at the end of the month!

Army of Tomorrow news with special guest Sophie Davis of Talented

Welcome to the Army of Tomorrow News!

We are excited to share with you the release of third book in the ELECTRIC WORLD series, ELECTRIC WARS. This is a four book series and you can click below all three books out now to sample or buy them!

We have special guest Sophie Davis of the Talented Saga today!

I will be sharing my review of the book FREAKY DAYS by AMANDA M. LEE.

The excerpt this week is from Electric Wars, book three in the Electric World series.

Lastly, I will share some information for Rosacea suffers.

Enjoy!

Electric Gardens is the first book in the Electric World series that takes place in a future controlled by Tins. Our main heroine Lexi019 is determined to escape because of the harsh treatment of the Compound she has lived in for twelve years, and because she wants to find her dad, if he is even still alive.

Fans of Terminator meets Divergent  will enjoy this YA Robot Post-Apocalypse.

Electric Grids is the second book in the Electric World series. Follow Lexi019 has she looses her number and becomes just Lexi! She escapes to the outside and now has to fight off the natural elements, Tins on her tail, and trust friends in unlikely places to survive.

Enjoy the adventure of a lifetime that will make you think, feel, and flip the pages to find out what happens next!

NEW RELEASE!

Electric Ends is the third book in the Electric World series. Lexi escaped, found her dad and now has been thrown back into the Compound by Tin 99099. This time, everything is on the line and she could lose those she loves most.

Find out if Lexi can escape the clutches of the demented lead Tin and free her dad and friends in this amazing sequel!












                                           Special Guest SOPHIE DAVIS of TALENTED!

With over Half a Million worldwide downloads and Millions of pages read in Kindle Unlimited, readers are raving about the Talented Saga: "X-Men meets Divergent in a new way." "Intoxicatingly good."

Block out thoughts. 
Talia Lyons has one goal at the McDonough School for the Talented: learn to use her Talent as a Mental Manipulator to kill the man who murdered her parents.

Block out pain. 
She'll deal with anything. The brutal physical demands. The emotional toll. Whatever it takes to reach her objective.

Block out friendship. 
With only one year left in the program, though, seventeen-year-old Talia is suddenly finding it harder than ever to ignore the rest of her life.

Block out love.
Even worse, she can't seem to turn off her psychic connection to her first love...or quit thinking about her fascinating new teammate.

Feel only vengeance.
Ian Crane. The man who destroyed Talia's life. The one she's determined to eradicate.

Now focus.
It's time to kill.

The Talented Saga is an award-winning Dystopian Romance series about the life of a girl with extraordinary psychic powers, and what happens when a heart is torn between love and rage...

When did you start writing stories?

We both started writing stories in elementary school.  Nine years ago we started co-authoring novels under Sophie Davis, starting with TALENTED.

What was your favorite book growing up? Now?

THE GIVER by Lois Lowery and PARABLE OF THE SOWER by Octavia Butler were our faves growing up. Now, we both love way too many books to declare just one favorite!  HARRY POTTER is a classic, and UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld is another favorite. I recently read NUMBERS GAME by Rebecca Rode and really loved it.

If you could live anywhere in the world where money was not a factor, where would it be?

We would travel to the world's beaches, hopping to a cool new place every six months or so (bad #wanderlust over here!). Australia, New Zealand, Bali, and Greece would all be on that list.

How did you come up with the story?

For the first book, we didn't want to study for the bar exam and realized it would be much easier if we could just read other people's brains.  We both love dystopian books, so of course that's where the world came in.

What are your current writing plans?

We're currently finishing up FATED, the eighth and final book in the TALENTED SAGA. It's so hard saying goodbye to these characters, and it's a lot of pressure to give them the ending their journey deserves. We've also been working on the fourth book in our TIMEWAVES series in the background after spending a month in New Orleans to do research .  Next up, we're writing a series called SHADOW FATE. The first two books have been drafted, but we're waiting to finish the third so we can do a rapid release of the whole trilogy.  Lots of releases over the next year, it's very exciting!

One word answers:

Horses, sharks, or eagle? SHARKS 

Robots, animals, or people? ROBOTS 

Simon and Garfunkel, Metallica, or Queen? QUEEN 

Novels, novellas, or short stories? NOVELS

Morning, afternoon, or night? NIGHT 

Thank you and good night! 

Get the final book in the saga now

This looks great! Will check out on my kindle unlimited! 

REVIEW OF FREAKY DAYS!

The book looks so much fun and there are plenty in a series, so I thought if I like this, the rest of my month will be easy picks to read!

I really wanted to like this. I really tried. 

But what I was wanting was some real mystery, some originality, and interesting characters that I can relate to and root for. 

What I got was more like driving through a McDonalds when you are expecting a steak dinner.

There is no real mystery here. Warning for mystery readers. 

Dialogue is trite. Mostly gossip and explaining the obvious and talking about guys. 

The shifters in the circus was a good premise, but I never get to see them do anything cool. It is mostly just talked about, not shown.

I could not really relate to the main heroin either. There are some good aspects about her, but overall the plot was so boring it basically made me uninterested in the heroine.

I guess if you enjoy fast food, this is your book. But I won't be reading any more. I had to plod through this one.

The writing quality and editing is good though! 

Sorry, Amanda M. Lee!

2 stars!

BUY HERE

Excerpt of ELECTRIC WARS

  “They’re coming!” I shout as we move faster. Several heads turn back for a quick glance at the hard metal. 

     Klynn is caught between me and Kyle, and I’m tugging at her as she hesitantly runs with us, confused, her pinched expression of fear at the felines a sure way to get her butt into gear. 

     “What the hell are those!” she yells.

     “Feline Tins!” I yell at her, like an angry sister. “If you don’t move your ass, they’ll kill you!”

     That seems to do the trick and she runs without my or Kyle’s aid. 

     By the time we’re three-quarters of the way to the lowered fence, a single feline has caught up and Zero jerks around for an attack. Most of us don’t stop running, only Zero and Strings.

     I keep my eyes on the hole in the fence, our only way out of this hell—with one hand over my heart, the sweaty notes that hold so many memories between Kyle and me like an umbilical cord from mother to babe. 

     Running is much easier without having to drag Klynn. I glance back a couple of times to see Zero fight alongside Strings, which only consolidates my trust in it. The second time I turn around, the first feline is dead on the ground and another is pouncing mid-air aimed at Strings. When Zero extends its arm, a perforated blade protrudes from its wrist and slices the feline’s neck before it lands headless on the ground in front of Strings. Then the two friendly Tins follow behind us. I guess Zero has some tricks up its sleeve.

Information for Rosacea suffers:

I started suffering from Rosacea myself in my forties. Had otherwise beautiful skin my whole life. Took about a year to realize it was not an allergic reaction to anything, acne or some other problem. Yes, this was real, permanent and something I was going to have live with and deal with the rest of my life. 

I have found some things that have worked for me that I want to share for those of you who do suffer or who might suffer later in life, because the onset is typically in your forties for many women even if you have amazing skin in your youth.

WHAT WORKS: 

Anti-inflammatory foods and topical skin treatments. 

Foods: Avocados, coconuts, Chamomile tea,  Algae oil pills or krill oil pills or fish oil pills (omega 3), olive oil. Anything with omega 3 is good for you. You may also try Selenium pills and Primrose pills to help skin/hair. It seems to work for some also. 

I like to take the algae oil, Selenium and Primrose daily. The foods I like to take weekly.

Topical Treatments: Warning! Only use all natural products! 

African Black soap morning and night (it is anti-inflammatory) on face, Sulfur Ointment is very good, Turmeric paste (mix Tumeric power with water and spread on face for ten minutes than wash), I like to then use a Hydrochloric acid serum on my face and let it dry and then use a moisturizing cream like all natural aloe vera or honey skin (Manuka hone is good inside and out). 

I do all of this each morning and night. 

Some other recommends are Dermalex and Rosex (this can only be bought in UK).

   

TO AVOID: Many suffers find that dairy, especially milk will cause an outbreak. Something in the Casein protein. Also, exposure to sun, saunas, alcohol and spicy food like biting into a hot pepper will cause an outbreak, and exercise like dancing in a club, sweating a lot. You also should be careful about washing your face with hot water. 

I learned the hard way about all of the above. 

I also would avoid all factory farmed meats. They are VERY high in omega 6 which is an inflammatory ingredient. You want omega 3, not 6. We get plenty of 6 in everything we eat. What we don't get enough of is omega 3.

Pasture raised animals are usually fine in the balance of 6 to 3. So, if you have to eat meat, eat only pasture raised. 

Salmon and other fish are high in omega 3. So, that meat is recommended. But you should flush your system out with a Chlorophyll pill weekly just make sure you flush out metal toxins. You can easily buy them on Amazon. I order everything from there to keep my face and health regime routine. 

Lastly, take care of your gut. Take a probiotic and/or digestive enzyme daily. This will help your digestion and kill bad bacteria that can cause inflammation on your face. Eat yogurt. usually it doesn't react the same way as other dairy does. It has many good bacteria.

People with sensitive skin develop Rosacea. The skin is very reactive to its environment and to the food you put in your body. So, observe how your skin reacts. 

I hope this helps you and if you do have a problem like Rosacea, Eczema or some other skin problem, even acne, all of the above will help you too! 

SECRET WEAPONS: Turmeric will help with skin problems and with ulcers and accesses. It is an anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial natural herb. Sprinkle on food and make paste to spread on skin. It will do wonders if used regularly! 

Until next time!

M.Black

Army of Tomorrow Blog News with Walter Rhein

Welcome to the Army of Tomorrow Blog News!

Today we are welcoming our spotlight guest: WALTER RHEIN, author of THE LITERATE THIEF.  

But before we introduce our spotlight guest for this week, we have the winner of the 4-book Robot Paperback Giveaway! Congrats SUZ READS!  The books EXOTIQA, THIRTY (novella), SPHERE, QUANTUM STATE, and ELECTRIC GARDENS will be sent to her next week! Don't be jealous, we have another contest the month too! 


Win a paperback copy of ELECTRIC GARDENS or QUANTUM STATE!  2 winners will be picked, one for each book! LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS BLOG and WIN! Leave eMail!

 

FAN TIME: I just want to say thank you for all the amazing emails I've received about Electric Gardens and I'm so glad so many of you love the story so much! Some of my favorite Fan eMails are below:

"Omigod!! I am LOVING this series!"

"Another great read!"

I loved this book.

 "It's crazy how real your stories feel!"

"This one put a movie in my head!" 

SPOTLIGHT with WALTER RHEIN

Read/Buy The Literate Thief 

When ignorance means slavery, knowledge must be stolen . . . 

The Reader of Acheron bid them travel: Quillion the scholar, Cole the swordsman, and Kikkan the once-enslaved. In Edentown, he promised, they would find a keeper of the sacred knowledge . . .

Though Kikkan remained resolute in the guidance of his mentor, Quillion could not escape the grip of encroaching doubt. Was it a fool's errand? Would their quest bring them to a champion? Or could they expect nothing more than a living husk, crushed by the burdens of unjust expectation, scurrying in the alleys, having risen to no higher station than that of a Literate Thief?

Who is Walter Rhein?

When did you start writing stories?

I remember going into a Waldenbooks or a B. Dalton when I was little and purchasing a Moleskin notebook when I was around ten. A spiral ring notebook was out of the question because I needed something that looked like a book. Telling stories is something I've enjoyed doing for as long as I can remember.

What was your favorite book growing up? Now?

I've always been a big fan of Roald Dahl. I recently read 'Danny the Champion of the World' to my daughters, and I was again impressed with how well written it is. These days I'm most inclined to pick up Charles Bukowski because I've always been impressed with the readability of Bukowski's work. It's a rare thing to write a book that appeals to people who aren't necessarily inclined to read. You have to fight for a reader's attention with so many different distractions these days that readability is vital.

If you could live anywhere in the world where money was not a factor, where would it be?

I've been fortunate in that I've been able to do a lot of traveling. Peru's Sacred Valley is a wonderful place to live, and the food is fantastic. I've also spent a fair amount of time in Germany which is also wonderful (although I'd like to spend more time in Europe). These days I'm living in Northern Wisconsin because I enjoy cross-country skiing and access to beautiful wilderness. I think I'd pick Italy or France, somewhere I could pick up another foreign langauge over a year or so, but I'm quite happy where I am right now as well.

How did you come up with the story?

I'd met Janet Morris on Facebook of all places, and after having some interesting discussions on my Heroic Fantasy group, I thought I'd come up with an idea for a book series. Morris is the type of publisher that doesn't shy away from intense, philosophical ideas, in fact, she embraces them. I've worked with other publishers who say things like, "Vampires are big right now, write something with vampires." Morris is the opposite. She is not interested in chasing after trends like a man chasing his hat, she wants something good and is content to wait for the general public to discover it. It's a good place for me.

What are your current writing plans?

I have outlined the third book in the series that began with 'The Reader of Acheron' and continued with 'The Literate Thief.' I hope to finish that in the next four to six months. I also have some pretty extensive notes for a project on education. That will be kind of a memoir style book with some anecdotes from growing up in Wisconsin that most people aren't going to believe.

One word answers:

Horses, sharks, or eagle?

Horses

Robots, animals, or people?

Robots

Simon and Garfunkel, Metallica, or Queen?

Queen

Novels, novellas, or short stories?

Novels

Morning, afternoon, or night?

Night

Thank you and good night! 

Thanks for having me!

I love to review books! I read a book a week, usually on Kindle unlimited. This week, my review pick is WITHER! 

Read/Buy WITHER

I read this as a paperback actually, instead of my usual KU reads. 

I got a Barnes N Noble gift card. Peppy!

So, the basic premise is that people are dying young and women are valuable because of this. Some are forced to marry and we follow the main character who is forced into her marriage. I really enjoyed this story and liked the world it was in. A bit dark, but very interesting too! If you enjoy apocalyptic types of scenarios, this one is good since it is not the usual world blowing up, rather it is our genes have gone bad. 

I liked most things about this first story and for those that want a good read to take them into another world, I would give this one a go!

I give it five stars out of five!

EXCERPT for the Week!

from new release: Electric Gardens

   My mind is too foggy to know if I’m hearing anything for sure, too foggy with images of Lucy717, of Mom and Dad, or Delsin, or my life before, but I think I heard the Class Tin say, that Grids are be- ing erected all over the country, to protect us, to keep the Compound and the Electric Gardens secure. I think it said that the Electric Grids will become our new maps and lines—that our old maps are gone, de- stroyed forever, and will now be called the Nets.

   In Electric Strings, I walk in like I’m a ghost of a girl, on autopilot—my mind reeling over everything I heard in Coms and Nets. It can’t be true. Can’t be true. Tins are, have, taken over everything. Even if we get out, where the hell are we going to go, run to? Where can we even hide? 

If you enjoyed this blog news or want to enter to win the paperbacks, please post a comment! Leave your Email!

Until next time!

M.Black