Happy Friday, y'all. I know a ton of people are going crazy because of quarantine, but hopefully, this will give you something to pass the time. Yeah, I know I'm going to go on and on here, but it's time we all started thinking about this. Grab your coffee or tea, get comfy, and let's get going.
To Whomever it May Concern (or to those folks that might listen),
It's time to stop reacting to things that are happening with the COVID-19 outbreak. Just. Stop. It. What's happened has happened. There's literally nothing you can do about it. No amount of complaining will fix it. No amount of saying it's not real will make it go away. It's very real. Those things that happened are done. Over. In the past. Untouchable.
How about you start looking to tomorrow? Or perhaps the next day? Next week, maybe? All of those?
Plan for what's coming, not what's already happened. I know you see it. You're not going into this situation blind. You have models from other countries that will tell you exactly how this virus will progress and what it will do. Think forward rather than backward. Put resources where they'll be needed tomorrow and not where they were needed yesterday. Yesterday is over. Tomorrow is coming.
We've known this was coming since December. And if someone like me, who's not as smart as so many others, saw it and planned for it, I have to wonder why you didn't. Why you didn't look at the people you govern and care like a mother does for her children? That's literally your job. It's not to make the right step or be infallible. You need to be human and care. Then take the steps to protect the ones you're supposed to protect. Admit when you screw up. We can handle that. Humility will get you everywhere. Then give us an actionable plan you've truly thought through and not some half-assed solution that addresses what happened before today.
Denying there's anything to worry about will make people lift their eyebrows at you. We're smarter than that. Give us some credit, will ya? Because you're not taking it seriously, there are thousands (possibly tens of thousands--I have no idea) on the beaches in Florida, tens of thousands (more?) still going out for dinner in crowded restaurants, and who knows how many traveling everywhere.
You have to convey the seriousness of the situation to the public, even if you have to eat a little crow along the way. Make people listen to protect them. That is your job.
There are so many states refusing to shut down. Do it before it gets out of control, or you won't be able to control it. That much, I can promise you. For every ten known cases, how many do we not know about? Think about that. We're smart enough to figure it out. Why aren't you?
People are hoarding because they're terrified. They know they don't have all the information. They're not freaking stupid. They know there's something y'all aren't telling us. Humans can handle the truth when you give it, but you have to be honest. If we feel like we're being lied to, we overreact and think the worst. It's hard to have conspiracy theories if someone is being blatantly honest and presenting you with a plan.
Yeah, I know, I know. You're being honest. You don't think there's anything to worry about. *insert eye roll* If that's true, then why declare a national state of emergency? Come on. We're not idiots. Stop treating us like we are. Please.
We have a hard time getting behind something we don't understand, and we don't understand this thing. What you're saying will happen here doesn't match what we're seeing happen elsewhere. Because of that, people are either all over the beaches in Florida or holed up in their homes, afraid to leave.
Do you see what I'm getting at?
Do what you need to do to get this crap under control. We won't hold it against you. Maybe if you're honest with the information and take needed precautions (huge thanks to all those counties in GA that have already shut down--appreciate y'all for caring--not sure it'll matter in the long run because of the other guys), we might actually have a chance. If you continue to lie, we're all screwed.
How about you start ordering ventilators today instead of the day you realize you need them. You know it's coming. Tomorrow is changeable. Yesterday is not.
For all you people calling this COVID-19 a hoax or a scare-tactic from the media: Do you think the whole world is in on some conspiracy to scare you? Come on. You're all smarter than that. And for what it's worth, every time you cite those things above? You're saying those lives lost already don't matter and the ones that will be lost in the coming months don't either.
Honestly, I've lost one parent, and if one of y'all acts stupid and causes me to lose the other because you didn't listen? Shame on you. Shame. On. You.
Look past what you're being told and examine other countries. There are plenty of case studies out there for you to look at. Don't be sheep. Think for yourselves. Then get your kids, siblings, parents, and friends on board. Get those college kids off the beaches. Quarantine them at home for a month after. This is what you're gonna have to do to keep this thing from spreading.
Y'all, wash your hands. Stay home whether you feel sick or not (if you can). You know this thing is contagious way before you show symptoms. Think of others. If you hoarded toilet paper out of panic, that's okay. Give a roll to an elderly person. Just leave it on their porch. They'll be grateful.
AND STOP FIGHTING. It's not worth it. Nothing is worth that, not even the last loaf of bread at Walmart. If you need to know how to bake bread, there's a video on my FB page that walks you through it. If you need to wipe your butt, use a rag and throw it in the washer with some bleach. It's what our great-great grandparents did. They made out just fine.
Also, please thank a nurse, doctor, truck driver, or EMT today. They're the ones keeping this country moving, and they'll be the ones that have to keep going, day after day, no matter how sick they get.
I'm disgusted at the blatant disregard for human life I'm seeing, but I'm also touched by the kindness I see happening everywhere. Be the kindness.
I hope someone hears this and we all start paying attention.
Peace and Love, Fellow Humans,
Jo
Friday, March 20, 2020
Friday, March 13, 2020
An Author and Reader Guide to StoryOrigin - Part One - Signing Up with SO and Integrating Mailing Lists
Hey all! I hope you're doing well and staying out of the way of the mess hitting the fan right now. Today, I'd like to introduce you all to a platform that's been getting a lot of traction called StoryOrigin. I'm not gonna lead in with a bunch of yakkity, so just grab your coffee or tea and let's get going!
*******AS ALWAYS, THERE IS NO COMPENSATION FOR ME TO DO THIS AND NO AFFILIATE LINKS ARE USED****** That being said, know that all opinions are my own, and I'm free to give them. ;)
First off: What is StoryOrigin?
StoryOrigin is a platform for authors to gain new subscribers to their newsletters through group promotions and swaps, give out ARC copies, have a universal book link page, and distribute audio codes. Newsletters are a huge part of most authors' marketing efforts, so you need to know how to make the most out of every tool available!
But there's more! I know, right? StoryOrigin is also a site for readers to find ARC copies and keep up with how they're doing on their reviews.
If you don't have a mailing list and want to use StoryOrigin for some other reason (ARCs, audio code distribution, etc...), this post isn't for you. Scroll to the bottom of this page and find the links to the next parts!
Best of all, right now, it's free, so let's get you enrolled!
There's a lot to go over, but we'll start with signing up, integrating all the mailing list types, and press forward from there. All posts will be listed and linked on all posts for easy navigation.
Start by going to the StoryOrigin homepage:
Click Login in the top right hand corner.
Click Signup! Where it asks if you're new to us. If you've already gotten this far, feel free to skip to the relevant content. :)
Enter Name and Email Stuffs. I'm making dummy accounts that will be deleted once this tutorial is done. If you have an author website, feel free to click to add it. You also need a privacy policy IF you have an email client that requires one, so go ahead and link it.
Next, you'll see a page that looks like this. We're gonna start at kinda the bottom and work our way up.
Go all the way to the bottom and click Author Profiles.
Right now, you have to have a new account to manage more than one profile, but hopefully, this functionality will be available soon. You should see your author name and website (if you added one) listed.
Let's go one higher and click on Integrations. This is where you'll connect your mailing list and a VERY important function of the site.
Sign in to your Mailchimp account and click Allow.
There you go! All done! You should be taken back to the page on StoryOrigin that shows your Integrations. Your Mailchimp account should be listed like so:
Your API key is found by clicking your name in the top right hand corner on MailerLite, selecting Integrations, then clicking USE next to Developer API. Will look like this:
Copy it. Go back to StoryOrigin and paste the string of letters and numbers in. Click save. MailerLite is now on your list. You should see it back at your Mailing List Integrations page.
Follow the directions (copyable text on ActiveCampaign is a little difficult to see, but it DOES copy):
and click Save. ActiveCampaign should be added to your Mailing List Integrations page.
Click Authenticate AWeber, log in to your AWeber account, click Allow Access, and it should appear on your Mailing List Integrations page (I couldn't do this one because they want a credit card up front).
Click on the hyperlink: Click here in the text. It will bring you to the page shown below. You can also get there by logging into ConvertKit, choosing Account, then Account Info. The arrows show where the info is on the page. You have to click SHOW to get the API Secret.
Click save, and ConvertKit will be added to your Mailing List Integrations page. And that's it! Super easy to add your mailing list(s)!
Next time, we'll go over the next two tabs up: Subscribers and Posted Mailing Lists.
Links to all other posts in this series will go below this line (I'll add them as they're completed).
Part Two - Subscribers and Posted Mailing Lists
Thanks for reading, and remember to WRITE ON!
Jo
*******AS ALWAYS, THERE IS NO COMPENSATION FOR ME TO DO THIS AND NO AFFILIATE LINKS ARE USED****** That being said, know that all opinions are my own, and I'm free to give them. ;)
First off: What is StoryOrigin?
StoryOrigin is a platform for authors to gain new subscribers to their newsletters through group promotions and swaps, give out ARC copies, have a universal book link page, and distribute audio codes. Newsletters are a huge part of most authors' marketing efforts, so you need to know how to make the most out of every tool available!
But there's more! I know, right? StoryOrigin is also a site for readers to find ARC copies and keep up with how they're doing on their reviews.
If you don't have a mailing list and want to use StoryOrigin for some other reason (ARCs, audio code distribution, etc...), this post isn't for you. Scroll to the bottom of this page and find the links to the next parts!
Best of all, right now, it's free, so let's get you enrolled!
There's a lot to go over, but we'll start with signing up, integrating all the mailing list types, and press forward from there. All posts will be listed and linked on all posts for easy navigation.
Start by going to the StoryOrigin homepage:
Click Login in the top right hand corner.
Click Signup! Where it asks if you're new to us. If you've already gotten this far, feel free to skip to the relevant content. :)
Next, you'll see a page that looks like this. We're gonna start at kinda the bottom and work our way up.
Let's go one higher and click on Integrations. This is where you'll connect your mailing list and a VERY important function of the site.
MAILCHIMP
Click the blue button to integrate and select your provider from the list. I'm going through each one, starting with MAILCHIMP, so if your provider is different, scroll down until you find that instruction. Select Mailchimp from the dropdown and click Authenticate Mailchimp.
MAILERLITE
On to the next one: MailerLite Click Integrate Email Provider and choose MailerLite from the dropdown. You should see this:
ACTIVECAMPAIGN
Now, we'll go on to ActiveCampaign. Click Integrate Email Provider and choose ActiveCampaign from the dropdown. StoryOrigin walks you through this one:
AWEBER
Now we're headed to the next one! AWeber! Click Integrate Email Provider. Choose AWeber from the dropdown.
CONVERTKIT
But we're moving on to ConvertKit! Integrate Email Provider. Choose ConvertKit from the dropdown.
Next time, we'll go over the next two tabs up: Subscribers and Posted Mailing Lists.
Links to all other posts in this series will go below this line (I'll add them as they're completed).
Part Two - Subscribers and Posted Mailing Lists
Thanks for reading, and remember to WRITE ON!
Jo
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Guerrilla Grannies and Upcoming Releases
Happy Wednesday, everyone! Like I said in my last post, I'll only be around the blog to discuss new and upcoming books. Well, I'm here! I have so many things in the works right now. Let's not get bogged down in leader fodder. Grab your coffee or tea, and jump right in!
My releases for the next few months are as follows:
Gray is the New Black - Guerrilla Grannies - Mission One -- December 9, 2019
'Twas the Night Before - A Magical Holiday Romance Anthology -- December 17, 2019
Vanquished - Angles and Vampires - Book One -- January 21, 2020
Pushing Up Posies - Guerrilla Grannies - Mission Two -- February 20, 2020
Breaking Bad-er - Guerrilla Grannies - Mission Three -- April 8, 2020
Here are the covers! Aren't they prettiful?
I have Diablerie, book two of the Angels and Vampires series, halfway done, and Breaking Bad-er is also halfway there. I'll be finishing the planned Guerrilla Grannies books first, and then I'll let you know when Diablerie will release.
Anyway, about Gray is the New Black and why I wrote it.
As many of you may know, I lost my mother a year ago in September. She LOVED The Golden Girls and Designing Women. I thought: Why not bring a bit of Charlie's Angles into the mix? and my Grannies series was born. I had the pleasure of reading my mom the first five chapters of Gray while she was sick in bed. She laughed so hard she lost her breath. Yeah, I've been working on that book for that long. I fell into a bit of a rut when she died, and I ended up writing Manipulation instead of finishing Gray. Every time I read that book, I'm reminded of her. It's both a good and a bad thing.
I miss her like crazy. She was the one I ran all my ideas past, and she was always the first to get a book I was working on.
That pug on the front of the book is featured heavily in the story. His name is Biscuit, and he was a real pug that belonged to a very good friend of mine. He passed not long before my mom did. To help ease the pain, I put him in a book so my friend would have a little piece of him forever.
Anyway, before I depress you some more, if you'd like to read chapter one of Gray, you may do so on my website here. If you're a subscriber to my newsletter, you'll get something really special this Friday, too.
If I don't talk to you before Thanksgiving, please have a wonderful holiday!
Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
My releases for the next few months are as follows:
Gray is the New Black - Guerrilla Grannies - Mission One -- December 9, 2019
'Twas the Night Before - A Magical Holiday Romance Anthology -- December 17, 2019
Vanquished - Angles and Vampires - Book One -- January 21, 2020
Pushing Up Posies - Guerrilla Grannies - Mission Two -- February 20, 2020
Breaking Bad-er - Guerrilla Grannies - Mission Three -- April 8, 2020
Here are the covers! Aren't they prettiful?
I have Diablerie, book two of the Angels and Vampires series, halfway done, and Breaking Bad-er is also halfway there. I'll be finishing the planned Guerrilla Grannies books first, and then I'll let you know when Diablerie will release.
Anyway, about Gray is the New Black and why I wrote it.
As many of you may know, I lost my mother a year ago in September. She LOVED The Golden Girls and Designing Women. I thought: Why not bring a bit of Charlie's Angles into the mix? and my Grannies series was born. I had the pleasure of reading my mom the first five chapters of Gray while she was sick in bed. She laughed so hard she lost her breath. Yeah, I've been working on that book for that long. I fell into a bit of a rut when she died, and I ended up writing Manipulation instead of finishing Gray. Every time I read that book, I'm reminded of her. It's both a good and a bad thing.
I miss her like crazy. She was the one I ran all my ideas past, and she was always the first to get a book I was working on.
That pug on the front of the book is featured heavily in the story. His name is Biscuit, and he was a real pug that belonged to a very good friend of mine. He passed not long before my mom did. To help ease the pain, I put him in a book so my friend would have a little piece of him forever.
Anyway, before I depress you some more, if you'd like to read chapter one of Gray, you may do so on my website here. If you're a subscriber to my newsletter, you'll get something really special this Friday, too.
If I don't talk to you before Thanksgiving, please have a wonderful holiday!
Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
So, I Did the Thing, Bit the Bullet, Whatever, and I'm Writing an Open Letter of Sorts
Hi all! Long time no see, eh? I've been a busy bee, publishing, writing, doing all the things, and setting up my first *gasp* real newsletter. Bet you're all wondering what happened to me, eh? Grab your coffee and settle in. Let's do this thing.
This blog is handy when you need information, and according to one reader, I wasn't doing enough about providing that information. Hence the death of new posts.
I usually don't let comments get to me, but that one was particularly nasty. If you're out there reading this, commenter, congratulations! You won. I stopped blogging altogether. Now where do you get your tips and tricks or general information? Was it worth it, being nasty to someone you don't even know? You not knowing what was going on in MY life at that time and typing out that comment was the literal last straw for me.
My husband was in chemo, and I was dealing with my own medical issues that I'm not going into here because it doesn't matter. I pushed through. I'm still around, just not here where I have to listen to your crap and have no way to block you.
Here I was, busting my fingers each day on a post when I was worn out, taking time to capture screenshots and/or make how-to videos (all free and with no ads, mind you) when it was all I could do to get out of bed and stay that way each day, and I was met with your crappy words.
I can't block you from my blog because you commented here anonymously (and I didn't approve said comment). Way to be brave, hiding behind your computer screen, tearing other people down, and telling them they aren't doing enough for YOU.
But I DO have control over other things: My Facebook (I do love that block feature), my IG (same block feature), and my books. That's where I've been spending my time. Not here, where you can make me feel small.
Now, I've started a newsletter, because I DO miss talking with the people that matter/care and come to me for news and advice on all things bookish.
Guess what? I can block you there, too, and that was my final deciding factor in making one. Oh, and I also got super fit with the time I got back from not blogging, so that's something I guess I should thank you for. #Winning
If y'all have made it this far, thanks for being staunch supporters of my blog (unless you were that commenter). I tried to help others more than I helped myself, and my newsletter will have news from the Indie world, some musings of my own, a great book quote, and information about books that have recently released (mine and others). Perhaps I'll even drop in a review from time to time. Who knows?
If not, no hurt feelings, but know I won't be back here unless it's to scream about my new releases, and ALL comments will be turned off on ALL posts thereafter. I don't need that kind of negativity in my life.
I wish you all the best.
Jo out.
This blog is handy when you need information, and according to one reader, I wasn't doing enough about providing that information. Hence the death of new posts.
I usually don't let comments get to me, but that one was particularly nasty. If you're out there reading this, commenter, congratulations! You won. I stopped blogging altogether. Now where do you get your tips and tricks or general information? Was it worth it, being nasty to someone you don't even know? You not knowing what was going on in MY life at that time and typing out that comment was the literal last straw for me.
My husband was in chemo, and I was dealing with my own medical issues that I'm not going into here because it doesn't matter. I pushed through. I'm still around, just not here where I have to listen to your crap and have no way to block you.
Here I was, busting my fingers each day on a post when I was worn out, taking time to capture screenshots and/or make how-to videos (all free and with no ads, mind you) when it was all I could do to get out of bed and stay that way each day, and I was met with your crappy words.
I can't block you from my blog because you commented here anonymously (and I didn't approve said comment). Way to be brave, hiding behind your computer screen, tearing other people down, and telling them they aren't doing enough for YOU.
But I DO have control over other things: My Facebook (I do love that block feature), my IG (same block feature), and my books. That's where I've been spending my time. Not here, where you can make me feel small.
I DID NOT STOP. I just stopped here.
Now, I've started a newsletter, because I DO miss talking with the people that matter/care and come to me for news and advice on all things bookish.
Guess what? I can block you there, too, and that was my final deciding factor in making one. Oh, and I also got super fit with the time I got back from not blogging, so that's something I guess I should thank you for. #Winning
If y'all have made it this far, thanks for being staunch supporters of my blog (unless you were that commenter). I tried to help others more than I helped myself, and my newsletter will have news from the Indie world, some musings of my own, a great book quote, and information about books that have recently released (mine and others). Perhaps I'll even drop in a review from time to time. Who knows?
You can subscribe here if you're interested.
If not, no hurt feelings, but know I won't be back here unless it's to scream about my new releases, and ALL comments will be turned off on ALL posts thereafter. I don't need that kind of negativity in my life.
I wish you all the best.
Jo out.
Monday, June 4, 2018
New Release - The House
Happy Monday, everyone! Today, I bring you the release of THE HOUSE! I'm super excited about this book for several reasons. I'll tell you why, but first, grab your coffee or tea! Got it? Awesome. Let's get going!
We'll start off with some fun facts!
Now for all the things like details!
Title: The House: A Killer Collection of Short Stories (Pen Pals and Serial Killers - Book Four)
Author: Jo Michaels
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Length: 218 printed pages
Buy Links: Amazon Kindle ~ Paperback
Blurb:
This house is cursed, and everyone who lives there is in grave danger.
Ever wonder what stories you’d hear if walls could talk?
What if those walls witnessed unimaginable horrors?
Inside these pages is the story of one such house. What it sees, the people it meets, and what happens when a terrified spirit is invited to stay.
Story 1 – The Butcher
Story 2 – Marna, Fred, and Kimberly McDade
Story 3 – Lacy Mae Ritter
Story 4 – Mark and Olivia Cullpepper
Story 5 – The Writer
The House is a collection of short stories that ties in with the Pen Pals and Serial Killers series by Jo Michaels. You’ll find a couple of those characters named, and discover how one grew the teeth he used on the women he captured later.
~~~~~~
Excerpt time!
My yellow paint; pretty, white shutters; and pristine porch were sullied by the first man who dwelt here. I call him The Butcher, but his name was Butch Campion, and he was thirty-seven. His face is one I’ll never forget, and the atrocities he committed are things I still shudder to think about. We met one month after I was born. He walked in, so proud and full of himself, his feet sending vibrations through my floorboards as he tromped through, checking every room like he was planning to bring a whole family in and bring them up. I thought we’d get along famously and was looking forward to warming the feet of small children as they played.
Once the papers were signed, and I was his property, things went well for a month or so. He’d go to work, come home, sit on the threadbare couch, and drink beer. To my chagrin, he didn’t seem to have a wife or children, so there was nothing for me to do during the day except sit here.
It was after that first month that I started to figure he might not be my ideal owner after all. My lawn was never cared for, and the ivy growing nearby was allowed to spring up, threatening to take over the cute porch the builders thought to add. Butch would go out and bring home booze of some kind, cigarettes, and fast food. He never cooked, and he left wrappers and empty boxes all over the place, making me smell like a trash can. Roaches scuttled in, intent on a good meal, and he’d squish the ones he saw, leaving their carcasses to decompose where they met their gruesome end.
~~~~~~
Teasers!
I hope you enjoyed this post!
Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
We'll start off with some fun facts!
- This book is written in first person. Not anything you've ever seen from me before (I'm a third-person writer), and it kinda skeers me because I've never done it.
- It's told from the house's POV, as though the house is speaking to the reader, so it's done as an observer--the house remembering watching the people living inside and telling you the stories.
- The House is a collection of short stories within one, longer, story.
- There are five shorts:
The Butcher
Fred, Marna, and Kimberly McDade
Lacy Mae Ritter
Mark and Olivia Cullpepper
The Writer - Guess who The Writer is!
- If you guessed Jo Michaels, you'd be correct. Yes, I wrote a book with a story in it about me writing a book for the entity telling us the story.
- Confused yet? It'll all make sense when you read the book. I promise.
- Now for the sucky part! I know, I know! Sorry.
- If you plan to read Intensification (the third story in the Pen Pals and Serial Killers series), you MUST read it first. The House gives too many things away about Intensification. They're tied and twisted together in several ways.
Now for all the things like details!
Title: The House: A Killer Collection of Short Stories (Pen Pals and Serial Killers - Book Four)
Author: Jo Michaels
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Length: 218 printed pages
Buy Links: Amazon Kindle ~ Paperback
Blurb:This house is cursed, and everyone who lives there is in grave danger.
Ever wonder what stories you’d hear if walls could talk?
What if those walls witnessed unimaginable horrors?
Inside these pages is the story of one such house. What it sees, the people it meets, and what happens when a terrified spirit is invited to stay.
Story 1 – The Butcher
Story 2 – Marna, Fred, and Kimberly McDade
Story 3 – Lacy Mae Ritter
Story 4 – Mark and Olivia Cullpepper
Story 5 – The Writer
The House is a collection of short stories that ties in with the Pen Pals and Serial Killers series by Jo Michaels. You’ll find a couple of those characters named, and discover how one grew the teeth he used on the women he captured later.
~~~~~~
Excerpt time!
Story 1 – The Butcher
My yellow paint; pretty, white shutters; and pristine porch were sullied by the first man who dwelt here. I call him The Butcher, but his name was Butch Campion, and he was thirty-seven. His face is one I’ll never forget, and the atrocities he committed are things I still shudder to think about. We met one month after I was born. He walked in, so proud and full of himself, his feet sending vibrations through my floorboards as he tromped through, checking every room like he was planning to bring a whole family in and bring them up. I thought we’d get along famously and was looking forward to warming the feet of small children as they played.
Once the papers were signed, and I was his property, things went well for a month or so. He’d go to work, come home, sit on the threadbare couch, and drink beer. To my chagrin, he didn’t seem to have a wife or children, so there was nothing for me to do during the day except sit here.
It was after that first month that I started to figure he might not be my ideal owner after all. My lawn was never cared for, and the ivy growing nearby was allowed to spring up, threatening to take over the cute porch the builders thought to add. Butch would go out and bring home booze of some kind, cigarettes, and fast food. He never cooked, and he left wrappers and empty boxes all over the place, making me smell like a trash can. Roaches scuttled in, intent on a good meal, and he’d squish the ones he saw, leaving their carcasses to decompose where they met their gruesome end.
~~~~~~
Teasers!
Are you ready?
I hope you enjoyed this post!
Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
Friday, May 4, 2018
New Release - Intensification
Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm excited to announce the release of the third book in my Pen Pals and Serial Killers series, Intensification. Read on for a snippet and other great info!
Title: Intensification - Pen Pals and Serial Killers - Story Three
Author: Jo Michaels
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Length: 232 printed pages
Buy Links: Amazon Kindle $3.17 ~ Paperback $19.99
Blurb:
Detective Hank Reynolds has just been handed the case of a lifetime. Another reality TV star has gone missing, and it’s up to the Atlanta police department to find her before it’s too late. While he’s digging around, he discovers there have been nearly twenty similar kidnappings in the surrounding areas over the last twenty years, and while trying to find out more—and a witness that’s still alive—he’s dragged into a past he wishes he could erase. His dreams become nightmares about the women, and his sanity unravels. Even his eyes begin to play tricks on him, but no hallucinations are as devious as the antics of the killer—who’s always one breath away—waiting for the chance to strike again.
NOTE: This is a stand-alone novel in a series with crossover characters and may be read independently of the other books.
~~~
Are you excited? You should be!! This is unlike any of the other books in the series, and I have my fingers crossed you enjoy it. For really, Claude will keep you up at night. He's worse than Tobias could ever have been.
SECOND NOTE: There's a book releasing on June 6th that ties in HARD with this book titled The House. You need to read this one before you read that one. Otherwise, it'll spoil the surprise. Ready for the excerpt? Awesome. Here's a teaser to start you out:
At six a.m. sharp, the alarm sounded, jolting Hank out of a deep sleep. He rolled onto his back, one hand absently slapping at the offending noise. Finally, it stopped, and he groaned. It was like he hadn’t slept in weeks, and it was starting to take a toll on him. A decision was made then and there that one of the sleeping pills the doctor had prescribed would be taken that night. Just one night of rest was all he needed to trudge on through another few weeks of restlessness.
He peeled himself out of bed, pressed the button on the coffee pot, and headed for the shower. Music poured out of his mouth, and he took the detachable sprayer and held it in front of his lips, filling the small space with crescendos and a strong, natural vibrato. It was his favorite time of day, before dealing with the people from the office, before having to get into it with victims calling about some bullshit that might or might not have happened in the middle of the night; in that moment, he was just a man with music in his soul and warm spray from his shower microphone.
Once he was clean, he stepped out and toweled off, going to the kitchen to pour a huge cup of the coffee he could smell from the bathroom. He gulped at it, loving the way it burned as it made its way to his stomach. A sigh tore out of him. Perfection.
His routine was firmly established, and the next half hour was spoken for as he trimmed his beard, brushed his teeth, and dressed for the day in slacks and a button down, strapping his gun holster over his torso. He always grabbed his wallet and badge as he left the bedroom, and those went in his back pockets. Then, he filled his travel cup with more coffee and left for the day. On the drive to the precinct, he checked his voicemail. There were three calls: One from his ex-girlfriend inviting him for drinks—delete, another from his partner about the upcoming softball game—save, and a third from someone he didn’t know from some online bullshit magazine asking for a quote about the rich-girl kidnapping—delete.
He sighed and threw the phone on the passenger’s seat, leaning back with two hands on the wheel, and finished driving to work while yelling at other drivers to pay attention to what they were freaking doing before they killed someone. Some days he was so tempted to hit the switch on the light bar so people would move the hell out of the way and he wouldn’t have to sit in traffic.
Pulling into the lot, he parked in his designated spot and got out, nearly empty coffee thermos in hand, to go up to his office. His partner was already there.
“Morning,” Hank said.
“Dude. Phones are still blowing up over that rich-girl model that went missing. Cap says we need to nail this bastard soon.” Tony thumped the desk with his forehead. “Sorry. Good morning to you, too.”
“Do we have any new information?”
“No. That’s the thing. There have been a million and one ‘hot tips,’ but none of them check out, ya know?”
Falling into a rolling chair behind a desk facing Tony’s, Hank shook his head as his anger bubbled. “Don’t know what Cap wants us to do about it if we don’t have any damned leads. The guy snatching these women might as well be a goddamned ghost! Unless there’s more than one, and if so, they’re goooood.”
“I know. You’re preaching to the choir, man.”
“I’m just so f*ing frustrated with it all.”
“Well, what do you want to do today? Beat the streets?”
“We’re gonna have to.” Frustrated, he pulled the file folder over and flipped it open. A pretty brunette smiled out of the photograph. Missing nearly a week, she’d disappeared while grocery shopping at a local store, one with no exterior cameras. He read over the report once again, but the only thing that stuck out to him was that she’d been on TV on some reality show about marriage. A few cases with eerie similarities had come over his desk the previous two years, but they’d already gone cold due to lack of evidence and witnesses, and his mind whirled. He wondered if anyone else had thought about that. I wonder if it’s a pattern.
Their captain stuck his head out the door and barked at them, “Get in my office. Now!”
With a sigh, Tony and Hank rose and went through the glass door into the chaos beyond.
“Take a seat, boys.”
They did, neither of them saying a word, Hank still clutching the file.
“I need you two on top of your game. This f*er has everyone terrified to take a step outside.”
Hank held up a hand. “Whoa. Hold on a sec, Cap. I was just thinking that maybe this isn’t random and isn’t linked with those other two sloppy snatch-and-grab jobs from Fulton County. It struck me a few minutes ago that Sharon makes the fourth young woman that’s been kidnapped in what might be a series. All four of the women I’m thinking of have been on one reality TV show or another, and all have gone missing over the last few years. That suggests a pattern, right? I’m not sure ‘Jane the Wife’ has anything to be afraid of—as long as she doesn’t live in Fulton county. My guess is, those two will be solved pretty quickly. They’re lacking the finesse of the Sharon one.”
“Right. Suggests. There’s no way to be sure of that, Reynolds. If all the women in your recollection had gone missing after being part of one show, we’d have something.”
Truer words were never spoken, and he knew it; he just didn’t really like it all that much. A kidnapper had to be established several years and have a definitive pattern, but the cases they were working had no links between all the victims, only four out of six that he could see. It also seemed the reality kidnapper had only been active a little while, but if Hank’s suspicions were correct, the guy had snatched three other women who were in the public eye, but lesser known than the most recent. Reality kidnapper. Damn, I’m f*ing clever.
“My gut tells me we’ll catch someone soon, so I want you boys looking into everything you can think of, okay? Get out there and get me some answers. I need to assure people that my guys aren’t complete morons.” Cap crushed his cigarette in the ashtray and waved his hands. “Get!”
Tony and Hank got up and left, neither of them with a spring in their step.
“Let’s go, big guy,” Tony said.
“Wait a sec. I’m gonna grab another cup and look at something on my computer.” Hank refilled his travel thermos, capped it, and then pulled up the previous three cases that were on his mind, scanning them quickly. He shut everything down and stood. “Okay. Ready. Let’s do this shit.”
They got into Tony’s black Impala and pulled out, headed for the grocery store the missing girl had been taken from.
~~~~ END EXCERPT ~~~~
So? What do you think? I edited out some bad language. Tried to catch them all. Sorry if I missed one or two!!! This section happens right after the opening, so you're familiar with the killer already.
Do you hope Hank and Tony catch the bad guy?
Did you pick it up? If not, what are you waiting for? Go!
Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
Title: Intensification - Pen Pals and Serial Killers - Story Three
Author: Jo Michaels
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Length: 232 printed pages
Buy Links: Amazon Kindle $3.17 ~ Paperback $19.99
Blurb:Detective Hank Reynolds has just been handed the case of a lifetime. Another reality TV star has gone missing, and it’s up to the Atlanta police department to find her before it’s too late. While he’s digging around, he discovers there have been nearly twenty similar kidnappings in the surrounding areas over the last twenty years, and while trying to find out more—and a witness that’s still alive—he’s dragged into a past he wishes he could erase. His dreams become nightmares about the women, and his sanity unravels. Even his eyes begin to play tricks on him, but no hallucinations are as devious as the antics of the killer—who’s always one breath away—waiting for the chance to strike again.
NOTE: This is a stand-alone novel in a series with crossover characters and may be read independently of the other books.
~~~
Are you excited? You should be!! This is unlike any of the other books in the series, and I have my fingers crossed you enjoy it. For really, Claude will keep you up at night. He's worse than Tobias could ever have been.
SECOND NOTE: There's a book releasing on June 6th that ties in HARD with this book titled The House. You need to read this one before you read that one. Otherwise, it'll spoil the surprise. Ready for the excerpt? Awesome. Here's a teaser to start you out:
Hank
At six a.m. sharp, the alarm sounded, jolting Hank out of a deep sleep. He rolled onto his back, one hand absently slapping at the offending noise. Finally, it stopped, and he groaned. It was like he hadn’t slept in weeks, and it was starting to take a toll on him. A decision was made then and there that one of the sleeping pills the doctor had prescribed would be taken that night. Just one night of rest was all he needed to trudge on through another few weeks of restlessness.
He peeled himself out of bed, pressed the button on the coffee pot, and headed for the shower. Music poured out of his mouth, and he took the detachable sprayer and held it in front of his lips, filling the small space with crescendos and a strong, natural vibrato. It was his favorite time of day, before dealing with the people from the office, before having to get into it with victims calling about some bullshit that might or might not have happened in the middle of the night; in that moment, he was just a man with music in his soul and warm spray from his shower microphone.
Once he was clean, he stepped out and toweled off, going to the kitchen to pour a huge cup of the coffee he could smell from the bathroom. He gulped at it, loving the way it burned as it made its way to his stomach. A sigh tore out of him. Perfection.
His routine was firmly established, and the next half hour was spoken for as he trimmed his beard, brushed his teeth, and dressed for the day in slacks and a button down, strapping his gun holster over his torso. He always grabbed his wallet and badge as he left the bedroom, and those went in his back pockets. Then, he filled his travel cup with more coffee and left for the day. On the drive to the precinct, he checked his voicemail. There were three calls: One from his ex-girlfriend inviting him for drinks—delete, another from his partner about the upcoming softball game—save, and a third from someone he didn’t know from some online bullshit magazine asking for a quote about the rich-girl kidnapping—delete.
He sighed and threw the phone on the passenger’s seat, leaning back with two hands on the wheel, and finished driving to work while yelling at other drivers to pay attention to what they were freaking doing before they killed someone. Some days he was so tempted to hit the switch on the light bar so people would move the hell out of the way and he wouldn’t have to sit in traffic.
Pulling into the lot, he parked in his designated spot and got out, nearly empty coffee thermos in hand, to go up to his office. His partner was already there.
“Morning,” Hank said.
“Dude. Phones are still blowing up over that rich-girl model that went missing. Cap says we need to nail this bastard soon.” Tony thumped the desk with his forehead. “Sorry. Good morning to you, too.”
“Do we have any new information?”
“No. That’s the thing. There have been a million and one ‘hot tips,’ but none of them check out, ya know?”
Falling into a rolling chair behind a desk facing Tony’s, Hank shook his head as his anger bubbled. “Don’t know what Cap wants us to do about it if we don’t have any damned leads. The guy snatching these women might as well be a goddamned ghost! Unless there’s more than one, and if so, they’re goooood.”
“I know. You’re preaching to the choir, man.”
“I’m just so f*ing frustrated with it all.”
“Well, what do you want to do today? Beat the streets?”
“We’re gonna have to.” Frustrated, he pulled the file folder over and flipped it open. A pretty brunette smiled out of the photograph. Missing nearly a week, she’d disappeared while grocery shopping at a local store, one with no exterior cameras. He read over the report once again, but the only thing that stuck out to him was that she’d been on TV on some reality show about marriage. A few cases with eerie similarities had come over his desk the previous two years, but they’d already gone cold due to lack of evidence and witnesses, and his mind whirled. He wondered if anyone else had thought about that. I wonder if it’s a pattern.
Their captain stuck his head out the door and barked at them, “Get in my office. Now!”
With a sigh, Tony and Hank rose and went through the glass door into the chaos beyond.
“Take a seat, boys.”
They did, neither of them saying a word, Hank still clutching the file.
“I need you two on top of your game. This f*er has everyone terrified to take a step outside.”
Hank held up a hand. “Whoa. Hold on a sec, Cap. I was just thinking that maybe this isn’t random and isn’t linked with those other two sloppy snatch-and-grab jobs from Fulton County. It struck me a few minutes ago that Sharon makes the fourth young woman that’s been kidnapped in what might be a series. All four of the women I’m thinking of have been on one reality TV show or another, and all have gone missing over the last few years. That suggests a pattern, right? I’m not sure ‘Jane the Wife’ has anything to be afraid of—as long as she doesn’t live in Fulton county. My guess is, those two will be solved pretty quickly. They’re lacking the finesse of the Sharon one.”
“Right. Suggests. There’s no way to be sure of that, Reynolds. If all the women in your recollection had gone missing after being part of one show, we’d have something.”
Truer words were never spoken, and he knew it; he just didn’t really like it all that much. A kidnapper had to be established several years and have a definitive pattern, but the cases they were working had no links between all the victims, only four out of six that he could see. It also seemed the reality kidnapper had only been active a little while, but if Hank’s suspicions were correct, the guy had snatched three other women who were in the public eye, but lesser known than the most recent. Reality kidnapper. Damn, I’m f*ing clever.
“My gut tells me we’ll catch someone soon, so I want you boys looking into everything you can think of, okay? Get out there and get me some answers. I need to assure people that my guys aren’t complete morons.” Cap crushed his cigarette in the ashtray and waved his hands. “Get!”
Tony and Hank got up and left, neither of them with a spring in their step.
“Let’s go, big guy,” Tony said.
“Wait a sec. I’m gonna grab another cup and look at something on my computer.” Hank refilled his travel thermos, capped it, and then pulled up the previous three cases that were on his mind, scanning them quickly. He shut everything down and stood. “Okay. Ready. Let’s do this shit.”
They got into Tony’s black Impala and pulled out, headed for the grocery store the missing girl had been taken from.
~~~~ END EXCERPT ~~~~
So? What do you think? I edited out some bad language. Tried to catch them all. Sorry if I missed one or two!!! This section happens right after the opening, so you're familiar with the killer already.
Do you hope Hank and Tony catch the bad guy?
Did you pick it up? If not, what are you waiting for? Go!
Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
New Release - The Blood King
Title: The Blood King (Book 1 of the Brighton Duology)
Author: Liz Long
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Cover Designer: Molly Phipps of We Got You Covered Book Design
Publication Date: April 10th, 2018
Blurb:
In the kingdom of Brighton, a President-turned-King offers poor teens the chance to join KEY, the King’s Education for Youth. Seventeen-year-old Reina Torres jumps at the chance to be of service to her country, wanting to learn more about Brighton’s history and future through the Media industry.
The King himself takes an interest in Reina, offering private interviews; he soon commands her to marry his cruel son. Reina, however, cannot ignore her growing feelings for Iris, a fellow KEY student, despite knowing the laws. Reina discovers refusal means punishment much worse than death, and why King Magnus hasn’t aged in decades, thanks to his KEY program.
Liz Long is a proud graduate of Longwood University and author of ten novels. Her inspiration comes from action and thriller genres and she spends entirely too much time watching superhero movies. Her day job as Associate Editor includes writing for a magazine publisher in Roanoke, VA. She is also the director of the Roanoke Regional Writers Conference and the annual Roanoke Author Invasion.
Comic book readers and fans of CW Network smash hits Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Netflix’s Daredevil will root for Liz Long’s bestselling YA summer series as the HoA’s gifted teen superheroes attempt to save their city from its impending demise. The Donovan Circus series has best been described as "X-Men meets the circus." Adult horror story Witch Hearts tells the tale of a serial killer hunting witches for their powers. New Adult PNR A Reaper Made is about a teen Reaper who gets caught between falling in love or saving her sister's soul. All titles are available for paperback or ebook on Amazon.
To learn more about Liz (including more information on her books, plus writing, marketing, and social media tips), visit her website: http://lizclong.com.
Author Links:
Newsletter signup (new subscribers get 2 free ebooks, including DC #1): http://www.subscribepage.com/lizlongauthornewsletter
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2DcsbmP
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0798JJH35
ONE
My grandmother once told me our country used to be a democracy. Years ago, when she was a little girl, a man became president. He loved the power so much he kept it, killed his opponents and dared others to come forward. Those who did lost, and with it, our free will.
The man declared himself a King, vowing to take care of the people who best served him. And he did keep his word–those who were loyal to him stayed in their own places of power, content to take orders from a megalomaniac. There were parties and festivals, food and drink and no expense spared.
I don’t know why she bothered. Everyone out here was too busy working to worry about breaking the rules. It’s not like anyone had any real technology, anyways. We had the newspapers and TV, but no one had those fancy phones city people flaunted in those strange commercials we saw on a staticky TV. The wars had taken technology out in most of the rest of the world, leaving King Magnus once again ahead of the curve in luxury. In our tiny part of the world, most of us felt lucky to have what little we did, and dared not ask for anything more.
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