Well, well, well…

When the excrement hit the rotary device, a ‘number’ of things changed…

There was the toilet paper, etc. hoarding (still don’t know why)

BUT, the oddity was the sudden upsurge in gun sales. It’s like people suddenly realized that ‘they’ might have to protect themselves, because LEOs and security services would have ‘other’ things going on.

Last Saturday NICS was running 3-3 1/2 hours behind and finally crashed completely early Saturday evening. I don’t know if they got it back up this morning or not, but talking to folks that are in the ‘bidness’, there is also a run on ammo that seems to almost match the 2008 run.

Ammo. com has done a dive on it, and their take is interesting!

While people stockpile toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and pantry essentials, they’re also purchasing ammunition at an unprecedented rate. Here at Ammo.com, we’ve seen a significant growth in sales that directly correlates with the rise of COVID-19 and its spread across the country. As we mentioned in a press release on March 6, 2020, we first noticed a 54% sales increase on February 23, as the search term “coronavirus” started to gain traction, according to Google Trends.

And this was just the start… Full article, HERE.

Really glad I’ve been building my stocks back up in the last few years!

Day whatever…

Writers are, by nature, solitary individuals by a large, so the whole don’t go anywhere is really no big deal for us…

However the month of March has NOT been good to us this year!

Some things you don’t miss. Others however…

And for those ‘kids’ out there who don’t remember the rules, it’s two red one white…

Have a good week and take anything the MSM says with a pound or so of salt…

Just sayin…

Books, books, and more books…

For cheep or free!

The book sale continues, here’s a link to my books on sale- JL Curtis

 

Amanda followed my example and put all her novels on sale. Here’s a link to her Amazon author page.

If you are looking for science fiction, check out Vengeance from Ashes, the first book in the Honor & Duty series.

First, they took away her command. Then they took away her freedom. But they couldn’t take away her duty and honor. Now they want her back.

Captain Ashlyn Shaw has survived two years in a brutal military prison. Now those who betrayed her are offering the chance for freedom. All she has to do is trust them not to betray her and her people again. If she can do that, and if she can survive the war that looms on the horizon, she can reclaim her life and get the vengeance she’s dreamed of for so long.

But only if she can forget the betrayal and do her duty.

If you like urban fantasy, check out Nocturnal Origins, book one in the Nocturnal Lives series.

Some things can never be forgotten, no matter how hard you try.

Detective Sergeant Mackenzie Santos knows that bitter lesson all too well. The day she died changed her life and her perception of the world forever.It doesn’t matter that everyone, even her doctors, believe a miracle occurred when she awoke in the hospital morgue. Mac knows better. It hadn’t been a miracle, at least not a holy one. As far as she’s concerned, that’s the day the dogs of Hell came for her.

Investigating one of the most horrendous murders in recent Dallas history, Mac also has to break in a new partner and deal with nosy reporters who follow her every move and who publish confidential details of the investigation without a qualm.

Complicating matters even more, Mac learns the truth about her family and herself, a truth that forces her to deal with the monster within, as well as those on the outside.But none of this matters as much as discovering the identity of the murderer before he can kill again.

Or check out Witchfire Burning, from the Eerie Side of the Tracks series.

!Long before the Others made their existence known to the world, Mossy Creek was their haven. Being from the wrong side of the tracks meant you weren’t what the rest of the world considered “normal”.
Normal was all Quinn O’Donnell wanted from life. Growing up on the “wrong side of the tracks”, she had been the only normal in the family. The moment she was old enough, she left and began life as far from her Texas hometown as possible. Now she has a job she enjoys and a daughter she loves more than life itself. Their life is normal, REALLY normal, until her daughter starts calling forth fire and wind.

Quinn knows they must go back so her mother can help five-year-old Ali learn how to control her new talents. But in Mossy Creek nothing is ever simple. Quinn’s mother has gone missing. Secrets from Quinn’s past start coming back to haunt her.

And the family home is more than a little sentient.

Can Quinn keep everyone — particularly Ali — safe? And will she ever get back her illusion of normalcy?


Here are some others from my fellow authors:

A Summer in Scarborough: A Pride & Prejudice Sequel

by Anna Ferreira

Miss Anne de Bourgh was delighted to receive a letter from her cousin Georgiana, explaining that she would be spending the summer by the sea, and requesting the pleasure of her company. A glorious few months of balls, shopping, and walking by the sea awaits- a wonderfully diverting holiday for Anne, who has rarely left Rosings before.

But Anne is a de Bourgh, and life is never simple. Before long, she finds herself caught between the attentions of two very different men, and must choose if she will follow her heart or disoblige her family. One must be disappointed, and Anne has never been very practiced in the art of disobedience. Must she give up everything she has ever known, will she find the strength to search for happiness elsewhere?


Cedar Sanderson has a permafree short story collection on her website. Check out Twisted Mindflow.

Snow in Her Eyes (Witchward book 1) is on sale.

Detective Amaya Lombard is a witch hunter and a damn good one. Hated by the magical because she works with cops, feared by cops because she works with magic, she walks a fine line between malice and murder. When an entire family dies in magic and blood, only Amaya can find the truth that lies behind the seemingly senseless mayhem…because even the dead deserve answers.

This title is a novella.

Cedar has also lowered the prices of Lab Gremlins and Jade Star. Check out her Amazon Author Page here.


Dave Freer has put several of his books on sale.

Morningstar

Across the one human colony world, a place technologically regressed to near medieval, possibly the last place humans still survive, a desperate search continues. Scattered across the deserts, tangled jungles, and alien fortresses, lie the core sections of the matter transmitter.

These sections hold the key to vast wealth, power, or… the fulfilment of the colony’s purpose: to help humankind survive the rabidly xenophobic alien Morkth who will tolerate no other intelligent species. The Morkth managed to follow the colony ship, and, despite their mothership being shot down and their queen being killed, they continue their relentless struggle to destroy humankind… and to reconstruct that incredibly valuable matter transmitter. If they succeed, they’ll be able to return to the hive with the location of the colony of vile humans, and have a new world to occupy. If they fail, they’ll destroy the planet.

The search has gone on for centuries, and it is all reaching an end point. The future hangs in the balance.

The Morkth have lasers, aircraft, nukes. Those who want the core sections for their own ends… have vast armies. Against them are three unlikely reluctant heroes: A street child thief, a dispossessed spoiled brat of a princess, and a confused, amoral Morkth-raised human, armed only with 14th century weapons and their own wits.

It’s a lost cause, a forlorn hope.

But it’s all humans have.

Dave has also put StardogsTomA Mankind Witch, and Bolg, PI: The Vampire Bride on sale. Check out his Amazon Author Page here.


Pam Uphoff has dropped the price on titles in her Barton Street Gym series (YA).

The Barton Street Gym (Doors into the Dimensions, book 1)

In a future where no one needs to sleep, homes are unnecessary. A simple dimensional cubby in a hi-rise gymnasium is all anyone needs.

Perhaps the designers ought to have considered the possibility of unintended effects from thousands of multi-dimensional bubbles in close proximity to each other. But they weren’t physicists . . .

Joe is independent, his divorced father a bit absent minded. Joe and his “bio-model” friend were exploring the pedestrian tunnels under the Barton Street Gym when they found themselves trapping in a strange landscape with a hungry dinosaur.

Alice Brown is used to getting in trouble; her parents are quite strict. But being attacked by a Tyrannosaurus Rex in a strange dimension just a step across a malfunctioning D-door is not her usual sort of trouble.

Pam has also put Chicago and Atlantis + (books 2 and 3 in the series) on sale.  Check out her Amazon Author Page here.

And DaddyBear also has a list of discounted/free books HERE.

Go check them out please. We’re trying to give a little back in this ‘interesting time’…

Thank you!

He/She who…

Has the gold, rules…

As Hollywood stars, politicians and professional athletes revealed this week that they had been tested for coronavirus — despite not always having a fever or other tell-tale symptoms of COVID-19 — they faced backlash.

Full article, HERE.

C’mon can anyone honestly say they are surprised by this? I sure as hell am not. I’m just like the rest of us peons. Praying I don’t get it and have to rely on the VA/Medicare to get tested. I don’t have $1000 to drop on a test, much less know where to find a doc that would contravene the rules for that. But then again, I’m NOT important…

The other question is how much human capital is going to be wasted on these mandatory lockdown/shelter in place requirements? And how many that aren’t infected are actually going to OBEY those requirements? Social distancing, sure. Not go out to get food, not support those local restaurants who’s lifeblood depends on the community?

What will happen in this lasts longer than a couple of weeks? Anarchy? REAL panic? Beats the hell outta me. Glad I live in a small town. SMDH…

TBT…

I can’t help but wonder how the folks that own this little restaurant in Sicily are doing…

Bouganstia, up in Motta, Sicily. First walked in there 26 years ago. The old man who ran it spoke NO English! He called and his little 10 year old granddaughter came running down and was our waitress the first time. In 2010, the last time I was there, she was now married and the owner with her husband doing the cooking! 🙂

They could seat about 24-26 people total, and the food was outstanding! I think we were some of the first Americans to try the place, and the folks on base probably kept them going through some hard times in Italy.

Posted in TBT

Corona sale…

Due to the stay at home/work from home/sequestration that is becoming the norm rather than the exception, I’m trying to do my part to alleviate some of the ‘pain’… sigh

I’m putting all of my Kindle books, shorts, and novellas on sale for the next week. 30-67% off, depending on the title. The reason for the spread is Amazon’s promotion pricing…

Anyhoo, HERE is the link to my author page, which has all my books listed. You can also select the links on the left and that will take you to specific books.

I know it’s not much, but maybe I can help alleviate some boredom.

Mondaze…

Being a man ‘of an age’, the time has come once again for ye olde colonoscopy…

Of course all I had to ‘eat’ yesterday was broth… And what did PP send me a picture of?

Both the grandkids love fruit, and they go through a lot of it. But that was NOT what I needed to see as my stomach grumbled… And then she said she had to buy tri-tip since they were out of hamburger.

Grrrr…

O.M.G. Watched the first 10 minutes of the Dems debate last night… TDS is alive and well with those two. All they wanted to do was throw money at the problem and ‘save the people’ with free everything… Turned it off before I shot the TV…

By the time you read this I will be hungry, grumpy, and heading for the doc’s office.

Sigh…

It’s turning into one of THOSE weekends…

And this one is an old Texas saying… Actually probably anywhere there are cowboys… 🙂

Hopefully tomorrow will have some semblance of sanity…

OMG Eleventy!!!

So… REEEEEE we’re all gonna DIE! Eleventy…

The MSM/Dems/Left is melting down over Wuhan Flu. No, I’m not politically correct. That is where it started. Just like Middle East respiratory syndrome, MERS. The B-boys, Bernie and Biden have come out with all kinds of statements blaming everybody but themselves and their cohorts for the current situation.

Hospital count is down by 16% or 984ish hospitals from the 1970s. Why? Conglomerates for one, HMOs for another, and lastly, insurance companies. Most of the hospitals ‘closed’ were rural or smaller institutions that couldn’t compete with the big boys for doctors, nurses, or insurance contracts.

Of course the B-boys are screaming about the lack of ICU beds/ventilators/respirators, saying there needs to be an ‘immediate ramp up’ of production. So… who is going to PAY for that?

And one of them (Bernie, I think) was all for MANDATORY recall of retired doctors and nurses, forcing them back into practice (umm… wouldn’t the older/retired doctors/nurses be in the group that is MOST in danger from Wuhan Flu?) and the ‘government’ would pay them.

President Trump has put travel restrictions in place, first from the far east, now from Europe to the screams of the left/MSM about (insert your favorite ism here). He is also being blamed for the CDC’s lack of test kits, a vaccine, etc.

He declared a national emergency yesterday for $50B for states and territories to set up operations centers, and hospitals to activate their emergency command centers to handle the expected influx of patients. HHS will have permission to waive certain laws in the face of the projected emergency, including telehealth, allowing doctors to move across state lines to service the highest need areas. The national emergency allows the U.S. to activate operational plans, such as moving emergency rooms offsite to keep those infected with the virus away from other emergency room patients.

Commercial labs have been freed up to provide test kits, FDA has now approved Roche, LabCorp, and Quest for a new testing protocol in the last week, shortcutting the normal lead time by months.

Dr. Fouci from the NIH has also been allowed to remove many of the ‘constraints’ to working with them and the CDC to try to drive the expected pandemic ‘curve’ down as flat as possible by being proactive rather than reactive.

It appears that Roche, LabCorp, and Quest will be deploying testing capability to their labs this weekend in response to the meetings last week. Google is apparently doing a website that will direct people to ‘drive by’ testing in various locations nationwide with the labs to be providing results within 24 hours.

CMS is also being allowed to wavier a number rules/regulations with respect to hospitals, nursing homes, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Just for clarification, the previous administration’s response to H1N1 was as follows-

Obama declared a public health emergency on April 26, 2009 and declared a national emergency in October 2009

Trump’s administration declared a public health emergency related to the coronavirus on January 31, 2020 and a national emergency on March 13, 2020.

Wash your hands, use common sense, and don’t panic. (And I’d almost say don’t pay attention to the MSM, or take anything they say with a LARGE (maybe a pound or so) grain of salt.)

Book promo…

First up is Alma Boykin with another Familiar tale- Furiously Familiar

As always, click on the cover for the link to Amazon!

The blurb-

Ah, the holiday season. Peace, quiet, rest, and . . . were-creatures?

The perfect Halloween and Christmas gift for a pair of shadow mages? A fat holiday pay-check and no excitement. Lelia Chan and her fiancé survived enough excitement already for the year. Unable to work magic, André needs time to rest and recover. Lelia just wants to survive the goth sales rush of Halloween through Christmas.

But a young man looking for a were-wolf belt leads Lelia and her Familiar Tay onto a dark and deadly road.

Winter brings darkness and shadow. Evil also walks the long nights, stalking innocents. Evil also watches Lelia, patient, waiting . . .

Next up is Amanda Green/Sam Schall with the sixth book in the Honor and Duty series- Risen from the Ashes

The blurb-

As a Marine, Ashlyn Shaw knows the day might come when she would not return from a mission. As an officer in the Fuerconese Marine Corps, she’s faced the difficult duty of sending the men and women under her command to their deaths. Both are nightmares she, and so many like her, live with. War is a cruel and costly endeavor, but one well worth the cost if it means keeping their homeworld free.

What Ash wasn’t prepared for was betrayal. Betrayal by members of her own government. Betrayal by certain members of the military. Betrayal by supposed allies. Betrayals that cost the lives of too many she cared for.

Unluckily for her enemies, that betrayal has cut too deeply to be allowed to go unpunished. Her enemies will soon learn how foolish they were to push her too far.

A new novel from Martin Shoemaker is out, the first in a new series- The Last Dance

The blurb-

At the heart of a mystery unfolding in space, the opposing forces make a treacherous journey between Earth and Mars.

In space, mutiny means death—that’s why Inspector General Park Yerim is taking her investigation so seriously. The alleged mutineer is Captain Nicolau Aames, whose command of the massive Earth-Mars vessel Aldrin has come under fire. The vast System Initiative says he disobeyed orders, but his crew swears he’s in the right.

En route to Mars, Park gathers testimony from the Aldrin’s diverse crew, painting a complex picture of Aames’s character: his heroism, his failures, even his personal passions. As the investigation unfolds, Park finds herself in the thrall of powerful interests, each pushing and pulling her in a fiery cosmic dance.

Corruption, conflicting loyalties, and clashing accounts make it nearly impossible to see the truth in fifty million miles of darkness, and Park faces danger from every direction. All eyes are on her: one way or another, her findings will have astronomical implications for the Aldrin and the future of space travel.

 

And last, but not least, Cedar Sanderson is in an anthology- The Heart’s Enchantment

The blurb-

Hearts’ Enchantment brings together 12 fantasy and romance authors to spin stories of love and romance set in medieval worlds. From retired warriors to spies and nobles, romance and love finds a way.

Authors include Cedar Sanderson, Misha Burnett, Mel Todd, Nico Murray, and more!

From sweet to spicy, there’s something to satisfy any fan of fantasy, romance, or both!