Coming Soon, Seven Deadly Sons

Someone is killing retired Nazi Hunters around the world. They leave no trace of their coming or going and no clue to their identity. But when the murderers begin to strike in America, Detachment 1039 investigates, and the Stone Soldiers discover Germanywase working on their own super soldier program before and after the Reich fell. The hunt for the last of these Nazi Supersoldiers leads the Stone Soldiers on a globe-hopping journey to the coldest place on Earth and something very unexpected buried beneath the polar ice.

Coming in 2014

SNEAK PREVIEW 2014

A new year is just around the corner, and the Stone Soldiers will return.

After meeting my own goal for readership in 2013, I've decided to extend the Stone Soldiers at least one more year, in the form of at least three more pulp-horror adventures and one new spinoff book that will be lighter on the horror and heavier on the pulpiness.

Stone Soldiers #7, Seven Deadly Sons

Currently still in the outlining phase, Book 7 will see the Stone Soldiers tracking down a furry enemy intent on slaying senior citizens--Nazi Werewolves operating from a remote base, hungry for revenge on the Nazi Hunters that kept the Fourth Reich from ever forming. Hopefully completed for a February release.

Stone Soldiers #8, Terrorcota

Little more than a premis now, Book 8 will feature a mad Chinese General steals ancient imperial secrets from the bowels of the Forbidden City and plans to trigger a war with the U.S.. Chief among his supernatural weapons: a bomb capable of turning humans to clay statues. Look for this one in May or June 2014.

Stone Soldiers #9, Pale Horseman

Again, its early in the outline phase, but this one will feature Soviet super soldiers, an underground city and Centaurs.

For the spinoff, 2014 will have at least one book in a new Kingdoms of Perdition trilogy. Tentatively titled Shadow of Perdition, Book 1 will take some of the Stone Soldiers team to an alternate reality ruled by demons, where most humans are slaves forced to do manual labor. Featuring cowboys, dinosaurs, steamships and more, the Kingdoms of Perdition will run longer than a Stone Soldiers novel and feature a lot more of the exploratory adventure pulp is so well known for as a new world is added to the Stone Soldiers universe.

Want to see more? Spread the word. With two worlds to choose from, Stone Soldiers is a big universe, with lots of possible foes and plenty of story telling potential. The series can only continue if people keep reading.

Omnibus #2 is here!

A second collection of Stone Soldier novels, including Shades of War, Black Knight Down and Armageddon Z.

3 tales of the military battling mystic monsters—for the price of 2!

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Coming soon in 2014: Kingdoms of Perdition

It may sound off to do a spin off of the Stone Soldiers when the series has yet to catch on, but for 2014, Colonel Kenslir and his granddaughter leave earth behind and travel to another world: Perdition.

Book 1 of the Kingdoms of Perdition trilogy will take some of the members of Detachment 1039 into a world ruled by demons. Steampunk sorcerery will meet modern supersoldiers as the Kenslirs try and free an entire world from the bonds of demonic slavery.

The Sub-Genre Grows!

Good news for fans of squad-level, military vs monsters novels.

 

Seal Team 666, by Weston Ocshe (Thomas Dunne books) has been greenlit for a movie starring Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson.

 

Seal Team 666 has two books out, and is available on Kindle. It seems to follow a SEAL team battling demons or something.

 

Combined with Stone Soldiers, Bob Meyer's Area 51 Nightstalker series and Myke Cole's Shadow Ops series, it appears that Seal Team 666 isgoing to bring the military vs monsters sub genre to the popular forefront. We just need to come up with a clever name for it. Milfic?

 

If you know of any other similar series, list them in the comments.

Armageddon Z, now on Kindle

Kenji Nakayama has seen the end of the world--and it isn't pretty. Those killed by a horrific plague have risen up, reanimated and eager to kill. Those that have survived struggle to find somewhere safe. For Kenji, this nightmare never ends--no matter how many times he dies.

That all changes when the young precog encounters the Stone Soldiers, rescuing survivors and slaughtering zombies. Kenji learns that the petrified super soldiers could have prevented the apocalypse with a little forewarning. Luckily for them, Kenji can do just that--by going back and experiencing it all one more time.

Can the men of living stone save the world with Kenji's help, or will the monster behind the undead apocalypse prove more than even a super psychic can handle?

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MONSTER MONDAY: Vampires!

What would a horror series be without the Big Three- Vampires, Werewolves and the other Undead?

Stone Soldiers does indeed have Vampires- but they're not quite what you might be used to.

When I considered adding a vampire to the series, I struggled with what kind to go with. Classic, B&W, Bela Lugosi camp, with opera capes, fangs and a penchant for long, hypnotizing stares? Or maybe trailer-trash bandidos out to enjoy an eternity on the run, like those from the awesome movie Near Dark?

In the end, I decided to just take the most interesting characteristics of all the cinematic vampires and mix them up with a healthy bit of parody of the more sparkling, hedonistic vamps popular in the past couple of years.

In Book #3, Blood and Stone, we read about the origin of the Stone Soldiers' undead Doctor, Laura Olson. A college student in 1972, Laura was turned into one of the Undead by a vampire being pursued by then-Major Kenslir. Instead of killing Olson, Kenslir recruited her to work for the military- using her empathic link with other vampires to track their movements around the globe.

In the Stone Soldiers Universe, many Vampires may exist, but Dr. Olson falls into a basically-European classification. Her undead abilities are the result of having her lifeforce, not just her blood, drawn from her body to the point she was killed. She was then reanimated by the cursed lifeforce of the vampire who attacked her. As a result, Olson now requires human lifeforce to stay alive.

But not from drinking blood.

As Dr. Olson points out in Blood and Stone, she'd have to drink enormous amounts of blood to stay alive- meaning she'd be bloated and urinating all the time. Instead, her kind of Vampire severs veins to open up a path to the human heart- the organ most charged with lifeforce in the body. Blood swirling through the human body constantly picks up a kind of static charge- which is then transferred to the heart. The blood in the body acts like a conductive circuit for the vampires, allowing them to drain energy from the heart and the whole body. Very little blood is actually drunk by those vampires who've been around any real amount of time.

When a vampire is skilled enough, they then gain the ability to draw the lifeforce from the mouth of the victim- pulling it up and out of their body in a flashing, static discharge of blue, lightning-like energy.

In her many years serving as a Doctor at Alcatraz, Olson learned that such energy could be held within her and then passed on to others- healing their injuries in the same manner vampires heal their own bodies. Using this ability to heal with her hands, or lips, Olson is able to bring the non-petrified members of the team back from the brink of death and to regenerate their very flesh.

When facing off against superhuman opponents, Dr. Olson can also use her vampiric ability to drain the lifeforce from foes, momentarily depowering them. Or she can rely on her supernatural strength, speed and agility to engage in hand-to-claw combat. Vampires, it seems, can also control their bodies, and cause both fangs and long claws to grow from their mouthes and fingertips.

But physical enhancements aside, vampires possess one other abiltity shared in the supernatural world- an awareness of the mystical. Like other cursed creatures, or resurrected beings, Dr. Olson has shown the ability to see things an ordinary human cannot. And an ability to interact with intangible beings, like the rampaging spectres of Book #4, Shades of War.

Further, Dr. Olson has demonstrated a remarkable resiliance and resistance to physical injury- surviving impalements, gun shots, and even having every bone in her body broken. She has even survived having her heart ripped out.

All in all, the good Doctor is a formidable fighter and a great asset to Detachment 1039.

But not all vampires are so helpful. In fact, Dr. Olson may be the only vampire in the world that can be considered one of the good guys. if vampires do roam the world of Stone Soldiers, how would you kill them? Dr. Olson revealed that vampires aren't killed by the sun- that they instead suffer migraine-like headaches when exposed to ultraviolet light in their eyes. Sufficient exposure could kill them, but as long as their eyes are shielded, they can move about in the daylight with no problem. Some new vampires also are allergic to sunlight, but if their healing powers were at play, they would be able to resist.

The one effective means we've seen for killing a vampire so far in the series is to remove their head from their body, while their heart is damaged or destroyed- thereby cutting off their supply of stolen lifeforce needed to repair the damage.

Given that only Dr. Olson and the vampire who turned her have been seen in the series, it's a safe bet that vampires, despite their supernatural abilities, do not pose much of a threat to the modern military. 

WEAPONS WEDNESDAY: UMP-45

 

 

While H&K's MP5 is an acknowledged leader in the submachinegun category, used around the world by police and military, it does fire a fairly small caliber round- the 9mm Parabellum. This is great if you happen to be carrying a 9mm handgun- you have interchangeable ammunition (remember Die Hard- Bruce Willis was able to take ammo from a seized MP5 and use it for his Beretta 92 pistol).

 

But sometimes you might want something that packs more of a punch- and that's where the UMP-45 comes in.

 

Firing the .45 ACP cartridge, which is half again as heavy as the 9mm, the UMP incorporates a lot of the MP5's features, but in a much more target-stopping round. (There's also a variant that fires .40 S&W)

 

With more power though, there's more recoil, which meant the cyclic rate had to be dropped to only 600 rounds/minute (less spraying, more praying). The UMP can fire single shot, 2-round bursts and full auto. It features many polymer parts, reducing corrosion. It accomodates a number of attachments, from different sights to aim lights and more. There are versions that will accept silencers. And its straight-magazine holds 25 rounds.

 

For the Stone Soldiers, the UMP offers superior stopping power for light targets, like parahumans. Weight and recoil aren't much of a consideration for the stone soldiers, but as they are trained to be accurate, the reduced cyclic rate is not a factor. Additionally, the .45 ACP round is interchangeable with that used in their Mk23, Mod 0 sidearms.

 

All in all, an effective weapon, introduced into the series in Book #6, Armageddon Z. 

 

 

WEAPONS WEDNESDAY: The Mk 23, Mod 0

 

Used by U.S. Special Forces today, the MK23, Mod 0 handgun is a .45 caliber weapon designed for Special Operations use, built by H&K. Based on previous H&K models (the VP 70z, P-9 and P-7) the handgun incorporates a variety of features and precision manufacturing.

 

The match-grade pistol was adopted by SOCOM in the 1990s and incorporates a laser aiming module and removable suppressor. It also features a twelve-round magazine, expanding the MK 23's ammo capacity to thirteen- a significant inprovement over the M1911's 7+1 (seven round magazine, plus one chambered round).

 

The pistol features an ambidextrous safety and magazine release, and a decocking lever on the left side of the weapon. The magazine release is larger than some other handguns, to accomodate users' gloves. The pistol is waterproof and corrosion resistant.

 

The MK 23 further offers excellent accuracy, able to make a 2-inch group at 50 yards. It can also use a wide variety of .45 caliber ammunition, including .45 +P ammo, which packs more punch than a standard .45 ACP round.

 

In Stone Soldiers, the MK 23 is the back up weapon for most, the main sidearm for others. When used in conjunction with the H&K UMP-45, the Mk23 offers a common ammunition for light targets, such as paranatural humans.

The Zombies are Coming!

Just in time for Halloween, Stone Soldiers #6, Armageddon Z, will be releasing as a Kindle exclusive!

When a psychic who can only see his own future begins experiencing visions of a zombie apocalypse, he sets out to discover the source of the zombie plague and travel back to before it is unleashed on America. Can the Stone Soldiers help prevent the end of the world, or have they finally met an enemy even they cannot stop?

FREE!

Load up on over-the-top Military Scifi Action with a Horror Twist! Collect as much of the Stone Soldiers Series this week as you can!

Stone Soldier, http://amzn.com/B00D02YE8Y
and
Stone Soldiers: Catching Fire, http://amzn.com/B00D4XUUS2

(Prequel short stories)will both be free on 8-21 & 8-22.

Stone Soldiers: City of Bones, http://amzn.com/B00DE22J46 (another prequel short) will be free 8-22 & 8-23

Shades of War (Stone Soldiers #4), http://amzn.com/B00CVFB5HY
will be free 8-23 & 8-24

Black Knight Down (Stone Soldiers #5), http://amzn.com/B00EJWD31S
will be free 8-24 & 8-25

WEAPONS WEDNESDAY: The Desert Eagle

 

Ever since it was first introduced, the semi-auto magnum from Israeli Military Industries has been a favorite for film and books. It's appeared in the hands of darn near every action hero and heroine to grace the screen and comics.

 

The pistol has been in production since the 1980s, in over twenty variants and at least five different calibers. It is a magazine fed, semi-automatic handgun boasting a unique triangular-shaped slide and utilizes a gas-blowback system normally found in rifles.

 

For the Stone Soldiers, the Mark XIX variant is used, in .50 Action Express caliber- a round sufficiently strong enough to drop any human, and most inhuman targets (which is understandable given the round's design for use in medium to big game hunting). With a seven round magazine, plus one in the chamber, the XIX offers a much larger, and far more powerful round than the aged M1911 once used by the Detachment. Weighing in at over 4 pounds, the Desert Eagle is a heavy weapon best left for use by super soldiers.

WEAPONS WEDNESDAY: The Bowie Knife

Like any tool, there are a wide variety of different designs for the knife. Some are for cutting, some for skinning, some for stabbing. Knives have been an integral part of a soldier’s kit for many centuries.
The Bowie Knife is a multi-tool of sorts, designed in the 1800s for the famous explorer/adventurer Jim Bowie. The knife rose to popularity after the Sandbar Knife fight.

A Bowie knife is wider than most other knives of the time- it is able to be used to chop wood, and it has a clip point ideal for stabbing. Modern Bowies often incorporate a serrated or sawtooth edge on the top of the blade, further adding to the knife’s versatility.

Most modern US Military forces use the M9 Bayonet as a knife. While similar to a Bowie, the M9  is more designed for use as a stabbing weapon, attached to the end of a rifle, or as a simple knife.

The Stone Soldiers need something considerably more durable. A Bowie knife with its wide, heavy blade, available in lengths rivaling the gladius of ancient times. The Bowie can be thrown, used to slash or stab opponents, and is of thick enough construction to withstand the heavy abuse a superhuman soldier might inflict upon it while dispatching monsters.

WEAPONS WEDNESDAY: The USAS-12

Time for another installment of Weapons Wednesday when we examine the weaponry of the Stone Soldiers series...


I consider there to be two kinds of firearms in the world: those intended for killing people, and those not intended for killing people. The shotgun seems to fit nicely into both categories. With variable loads, the shotgun can be used for taking out human and animal targets, and, on occassion, vehicles. That makes the shotgun a likely choice for battling the inhuman enemies of the Stone Soldiers.

And King among shotguns is the Atchison AA-12. A stainless steel, plastic-enclosed, magazine-fed monster, the AA-12 can unleash a devastating amount of firepower in the form of .12 gauge rounds. It is fed by either removable magazines (8 round) or a drum (20 or 32 round). With a fire rate of 300 rounds per minute, the AA-12 is easily capable of felling human and inhuman alike- and it’s the longarm of choice of Adrien Brody’s character, Royce, in the 2010 movie Predators.

Not only can the weapon’s recoil-absorbing design allow it to be fired by even the most delicate of shooters, but its stainless steel construction means it will stay cleaner, longer, with no oil needed.

Alas, the U.S. military seems to have instead adopted a derivative of the AA-12 for use- the USAS-12. Produced by DaeWoo Precision Industries, the USAS-12 features a more familiar design, with an M-16-style grip and carry handle. It’s .25 kg heavier than he AA-12 (at 5.45 kg). But, it does pack a little more whallop though, with a 10-round magazine or a 20-round drum. However, the stats I’ve found list it as only firing 260 rounds a minute.

Why then did I choose the USAS 12 over the AA-12 for Colonel Kenslir? Well, I don’t believe the AA-12 made it into regular U.S. inventory. And a semi-auto only version of the USAS-12 is made in my home state of Indiana.

You can see the USAS-12 in a number of Stargate SG-1 episodes- particularly in the Replicator episodes where it rains pellets of destruction down on swarms of the little robots.





Celebrate Indie Pendance Day!

This Fourth of July, you don't have to be American to celebrate.

 

The Stone Soldiers prequel short stories are all FREE on Kindle.

 

   

WEAPONS WEDNESDAY: The OA-93

Beginning June 26, 2013, every Wednesday is Weapons Wednesday at Stone Soldiers. A brief introduction to the weapons of the Stone Soldiers series and how they relate to the world of Stone Soldiers...

 

 

 

THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL HANDGUN SHOULD BE FULLY AUTOMATIC

 

 

 

Built by Olympic Arms, the OA-93 is a scaled down version of the AR-15/M16/M4 used by the U.S. Military and forces around the world.

 

Firing a 5.56mm rifle cartridge, and using AR-15/M16/M4 compatible magazines, the weapons weighs in at a little over 4.5 lbs. It has been featured in a number of films and is actually intended as a two-handed submachine gun, rather than a handgun.

 

Two other, similar weapons were made by Olympic Arms, the OA-96 and OA-98.

Now Available on Kindle: CITY OF BONES

The military has succeeded in turning four men into living stone soldiers--and just in time. At a remote Nigerian oil site, the population of a small town have all vanished--except for their bones. The World Health Organization sends a team to assess the situation, but they are killed as well, the flesh stripped from their skeletons in minutes.

The Stone Soldiers are an inedible force deployed to the site, ready to fight the invisible enemy. But it turns out the billions of microbes hungry for flesh are working for someone, or something, else.


(The third in a short story prequel to the Stone Soldiers book series)

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Stone Soldier

A Prequel short story to the Stone Soldiers series, Stone Soldier tells the tale of the first man of living stone, Captain Mark Kenslir, who is transformed in a secret government research site into something far more than human. Killed in fire, Kenslir returns to life with the ability to resist physical injury and heal nearly any wound.

Returning to duty, he finds himself deployed to 1962 Laos, where a MAC-V SOG team has vanished without a trace. Kenslir searches for the missing men and finds more than he bargained for: a Chinese Sorcerer and a Water Spirit--working for the Communists!

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STONE SOLDIERS: Catching Fire

Lt. Commander Daniel Smith, Navy SEAL, sacrifices himself to save his team--only to awaken in a secret government lab where he's offered the chance to serve his country again as a man made of living stone. Impervious to physical injury, without the limitations of the flesh, Smith begins training to use his new stone body to fight America's darkest enemies. But that training is cut short when reports come in of American soldiers in Iraq being burned alive by an enemy hungry for revenge. Together with his new commander, Smith journies to the middle east to extinguish an enemy made of living flame.

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Shades of War FREE today on Kindle

Shades of War is up as a free download on Kindle Today. http://amzn.com/B00CVFB5HY

When a spectral army rises up and marches on Washington, it's up to America's supersoldiers, the men and women of Detachment 1039 to try and find a way to defeat a foe that is already dead.

Sneak Peek: Catching Fire

Coming soon, a Stone Soldiers short story set in 2009...

On sale now! Shades of War (Stone Soldiers #4)

Colonel Mark Kenslir has defended America from the supernatural for over fifty years. In that time, he's killed many men. Now one of those vanquished enemies has come back from the grave--and is raising a spectral army from Civil war battlefields for revenge.

Kenslir must find a way to stop an army that is already dead, before they reach Washington and plunge the country into chaos. Aided by his cryokinetic granddaughter, an amorous vampire M.D. and his stone soldiers, can the Colonel stop the forces of darkness or will Washington fall to the shades of gray?

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Book 5, BLACK KNIGHT DOWN

When a coven of witches conspire to bring down a prehistoric satellite orbiting the earth for millennia, the Stone Soldiers spring into action, encountering a mysterious, superhuman priest spouting dire warnings that the Black Knight satellite must not be opened. 

Defying orders to leave the satellite in the hands of the Air Force, Colonel Mark Kenslir launches his own investigation into the satellite's origins and finally discovers the dark forces it contains.

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New Medusa

One of the many graphics made for the Stone Soldiers series is the one-eyed Medusa Spec. Forces crest. It's something that might be found on a beret- if the Stone Soldiers wore them. For now it's just a neat graphic to put on the spine of print editions and anywhere else a symbol like this might look good. I drew the original myself, but didn't feel it was quite right. Thanks to Fiverr.com and artist Rossowinch, I've got a spanking-new, one-eyed Medusa crest that looks much better.

 

Moms Read Free!

In honor of the upcoming holiday, May 12, 2013, Mother's Day, Stone Soldiers is going free. Books 1, 2 and 3 will be free from Smashwords.com using the following coupon codes, valid through May 17, 2013. That should give the Mom in your life that likes to read pulp-horror plenty of time to download some supernatural mayhem for the ereader of her choice.

 

 

Book 1, Mythical, http://tinyurl.com/Det1039, Coupon Code UG98X

 

Book 2, Brothers in Stone, http://tinyurl.com/MBISSmash, Coupon Code LS93F

 

Book 3, Blood and Stone, http://tinyurl.com/MBASSmash, Coupon Code LX32V

 

 

Please note, these are action-packed tales with dashes of super violence as super soldiers battle the supernatural. They may not be for every mom out there.

REBRANDING!

After one year in publication, the Mythical series is a gitting a facelift. More of a nip & tuck actually.

The series will now be named for the men of living stone that fight on the front lines against the magical and the mythical to protect America.

Follow the series as three new novels launch in 2013 and a series of short stories are released revealing the history of America's toughest soldiers.

The Shades of War are coming

They always said the South would rise again...


(Book 4 in Mythical, the Series)
A mysterious man from Colonel Mark Kenslir's past is raising the spirits of the dead at battlesites around the country and leading them against the living. Can the Colonel and his team of Stone Soldiers and parahumans track down this resurrected necromancer before he can march on Washington, or will America be plunged into a War Between the Living and the Dead?

Coming very soon....

There's no such thing as bad publicity, Part 2

Well, it's happened again- bad feedback. At least, I think it's supposed to be bad. I've been called a copycat by the fine folks at Kickfailure. Because of those challenge coins I was trying to get funded. I got the idea from author Myke Cole's site. And the idea to kickstart them.

Alas, the project didn't fund.

Oh, well, I'd rather sell books than coins.

And it did get me some free traffic. Kickfailure was generous enough to put the link to my Amazon Author page and this blog. So folks curious can check it out.

Kickfailure, thank you. I'd love to send you a free copy of the book, but I haven't figured out the contact info for your site yet.

I wonder if they'll feature me again when I relaunch the coin project?

The Stone Soldiers are on their way...

With Book 4 of Mythical nearly done, I couldn't help but look ahead. Or rather, behind. Starting in April, monthly releases of Stone Soldier short stories- telling the tale of the men of stone before 2013.

Here are the covers for Shorts 1 & 2:

STONE SOLDIER:
From the bowels of a secret government research base in Florida to the jungles of Laos, Mark Kenslir becomes a changed man in 1962. Cursed to live forever, Kenslir becomes a super soldier then faces his first mission as a changed man: stop a water spirit killing American advisors in Southeast asia.


STONE SOLDIERS:
At long last, the military has deduced how to make men of living stone. Their first candidate is a fallen hero given a chance to live, and fight, again. In 2008, Captain Daniel Smith, Navy SEAL, died in Iraq only to awaken in Florida and become a stone soldier. Can his new stone body be useful in combat, or will the transformation he's undergone prove to be nothing more than a novelty?

The South will rise again...

Work on Book, 4 is proceeding well. 72 pages in and I ended up changing the ending i had planned out. I went for something more epic. Also came up with a better epilogue idea, that teases at book 5's villains.

May find myself stopping soon, though. Have to decide if the civil war ghost army would use their era's tactics in battle, or smething entirely new now that they's invincible spectres.

And dang it, the new plot calls for the destruction of not one, but two cool, multi million dllar aircraft. I hope that doesn't become a thing- destroying expensive equipment every book.

Challenge Coins Are Coming

If Kickstarter pans out, you'll soon be able to get a stone soldier challenge coin- as described in the upcoming Book 4, Shades of War

A Broken Hearts Sale for Valentine's Day

On Sale for Valentine's Day: Mythical: Blood and Stone, only $.99 through Smashwords.com, using coupon UC73C.
  

Dr. Laura Olson has saved her heart for a very special man for the past forty years. The man that captured her and imprisoned her in alcatraz after she was turned into a vampire. For all these decades, the Doctor has served her country, feeding off the most dangerous of paranormal criminals to keep them in check.

But now, someone has stolen her heart.

A prehistoric shapeshifter has come to Alcatraz, ripping out and devouring the hearts of the inmates to steal their memories and their special abilities. With Dr. Olson's heart, the shapeshifter has unlocked the powers of the undead. Now possessing a multitude of amazing abilities, the shapeshifter heads to Mexico and poses as the Mayan blood god Kukulcan, demanding sacrifices and followers.

Dr. Olson must join a team of America's finest supersoldiers, led by the immortal commando who imprisoned her. Together they will head south and try to put an end to Kukulcan's reign of terror. 

Fringe Fans Read Free!

Fringe is over- what will fans of episodic, arcing SFF stories do now?

You might want to consider reading. If the monster-of-the-week format suits your tastes, consider Mythical the Series. Better still, you can read the first two novels in the series for free.

Just email mythicaltheseries@gmail.com and give me the title of your favorite Fringe episode and you'll receive a code to download Book1 and Book2 in the Mythical Series for FREE, from Smashwords.com.

The Mythical series features supersoldiers battling the supernatural to keep an oblivious public safe. There are three novels completed so far, with three more planned for 2013.

Destroyer Fans Read Free!

The writing bug didn't really hit me until the 1980s, when I used to read the amazing Destroyer series by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. Those books were so great I just knew I had to try my hand at writing as well. Over the years i've bounced back and forth from that endeavor but I've always enjoyed The Destoyer. Without the support of the fans of the series, I never would have kept on trying. So to that end, DESTROYER FANS READ FREE.

 

Just email mythicaltheseries@gmail.com and give me the title of your favorite Destoyer novel and you'll receive a code to download Book1 and Book2 in the Mythical Series for FREE, from Smashwords.com. After all, Chiun deserves your money more than I do.

Filling the Void After Fringe

It's a terrible time for SFF fans- yet another wonderful series has ended. Fringe is no more.

The impact of that didn't really hit me yet- I just discovered Fringe a few months ago when the Science Channel started rerunning it. But now I'm hooked. It's everything I liked about Kolchak, X-Files, Smallville and Lost. Episodic mysteries, all linking toward a greater story.

Supernatural will soon join that list. It's in its eighth season- statistically speaking, it's bound to get cancelled within the next couple of years. Then what will we do?

It dawned on me the other day that my own book series, Mythical, might fit the bill. It's episodic, in that each book lays the foundation for a larger story, but is also a self-contained episode of supernatural mystery. Much like Murphy & Sapir's awesome Destroyer series (which is making its return this year!)

Mythical has science fiction. It has horror. It has action. It has soldiers, monsters, and even teenagers. It just doesn't have readers. Which sucks. Not because I couldn't just find something else to write that people might enjoy, but because I like episodic SFF like this. I need something Kolchakish in it's structure. Maybe the new Destroyer novels, or the new Destroyer spin off (Legacy) will work.

In any event, if you like Fringe, X-Files, etc, check out Mythical. It's more of the same.

Alphas is cancelled? Mythical Lives on...

Fans of the Syfy show ALPHAS got  real kick in the teeth this past week- their show has been cancelled.

It shouldn't hve been a surprise- any show with male leads that builds a strong audience seems to go under the axe at Syfy, the channel by womyn, for womyn. No seriously. Look at their track record. Stargate, Farscape, Tremors, Eureka... Syfy has an annoying habit of killing great shows with large followings. And replacing them with reality TV.

Alphas was a great show. It used a time-tested set up: elderly leader teaches folks with special abilities to use them in the ame of the greater good. We've seen it before, and we'll likely see it again. And if it's on Syfy, it'll get cancelled again.

In the meantime, I suggest any ALPHAS fan fill that void with something Mythical...

MYTHICAL vs ALPHAS

When you think about it, the two are very similar. Mythical is a series of pulp-styed novels about a military unit fighting the supernatural to protect America. Alphas was a TV series about people working for the government, fighting the paranormal to protect America.

Alphas had an elderly scientist who helped those with special abilities to control them. Mythical has an immortal Cold Warrior who is molding the next generation of supersoldiers.

Alphas had the super strong Bill, the never-misses soldier, the telepathicish pusher, the hyper sensed investigator, the boy who communicates with computers and a girl who can learn anything.  Mythical has telepaths, precogs, postcogs, astral projectors, werewolves, vampires and soldiers turned to living stone.

But best of all, Mythical can't be cancelled by the Syfy executives. It'll continue on as long as people keep reading. So hang in there ALPHAS fans, until the next show comes around, switch to reading. With three books out and three more in 2013, Mythical is just beginning.

Not all vampires suck

Imprisoned at Alcatraz for over forty years, Dr. Laura Olson dreamed of two things: freedom and meeting back up with the man who spared her life and gave her a chance to serve her country.

All that changes when a shapeshifter comes to the Rock, ripping out and eating the hearts of the inmates to steal their memories and paranormal abilities. The shapeshifter sweeps through the prison and finally attacks Dr. Olson, stealing her heart and undead powers as well.

When the shapeshifter declares himself to be the second coming of Kukulcan to the people of the Yucatan, America's anti-supernatural firces spring into action, recruiting Dr. Olson and giving her a chance for payback.

The vampire now must work with a team of living stone soldiers, a teenager who can freeze objects with her mind and the super soldier who captured her. Can the vampire keep her new team alive long enough to get revenge, or will she succumb to her blood thirst?

Blood and Stone, now available on Kindle, Nook and Smashwords.

Http://tinyurl.com/MBASKindle