Leaping Through the (Cyber-)Fire…the SFR Brigade Summer Blog Hop

Happy midsummer,
and welcome to my website!

I’m T.K. Anthony, and I’m thrilled to be a hosting author for the Brigade’s Midsummer Blog Hop.
My first novel, “Forge: Book I of the Thrall Web Series” will be out as an ebook on July 13th! You’ll be able to get it at Amazon or at Decadent Publishing.

In ancient days, maids gathered St. John’s wort on Midsummer Eve’s, hoping to divine the identity of their future husband. Youths would leap through the flames of the watchfires, set to ward away evil spirits—a test of courage, a call to the gods for good luck.

These days, the closest source of light may be the glow of our computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. But however you accessorize it…the basic humanity remains the same. Leaping through our cyber-portals, we undertake journeys of great distances, coming together to celebrate a genre that defies space and time, playing with culture and mores…only to reveal the vast landscape of the human heart, where love, courage, and a little bit of luck still matter.

In the spirit of the occasion, you have a couple of opportunities to try your own luck:

1. Enter the SFR Brigade Midsummer Blog Hop Contest by leaving your comment with email address at the end of this post. All comments must be made on June 22nd.

2. The same comment on my post will enter you into a drawing for “Forge” in your preferred eformat, and a $10 gift card from Amazon.com. Good luck, everyone!

Good luck is in short supply for the hero of “Forge,” Tazhret. When the book opens, his luck comes only in the hard variety. Tazhret was discovered hung over and crashed down from the illegal hallucinogen that stripped his memory, leaving behind visions of dire enslavement in chains. Convicted of vagrancy and sentenced to indentured servitude on the colony planet Forge, Tazhret lives out his dark dreams. Chain-hobbled and laboring under the whip of his abusive master, he wonders if another of his visions might be true: a beautiful woman who whispers to him he is not “nameless.” He has a good name. A good life. Tazhret endures, surviving on hope and the scraps of kindness thrown him by his master’s mate. When another human shows up, Tazhret thinks his luck might have changed at last. Or, maybe not…

~~~Excerpt~~~

The wagon compartment was hot, dusty…and far more cramped than the shed. Tazhret sagged in the grip of his chains, too weak even to laugh at his delusions of hope. Even she was silent, although he felt her presence like a prayer for mercy. He twisted his wrists in his shackles. Apparently, Trinity didn’t listen to her prayers, either. The dark gods of the Xern, the Te, were toying with him. Or Trinity’s angels were visiting new punishment upon him for the depravity of sins he couldn’t even remember. Oh, Trinity…. The wagon trundled forward, taking him away from the Paggett Farmhold. Away from Zinderz Paggett—and away from Holdwife Sarvy. The frying pan looks pretty good when you’re in the fire. The depth of his despair swallowed even his bitter prayer.

Blurb and another excerpt here.

Memorial Day…So much more than a picnic

Those of us who live in freedom owe a debt to those who gave their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, so that we could enjoy the blessings of liberty. There is no way to repay this debt to those who have given so much for us and the cause of liberty here and around the globe–except by honoring their memory and their service; and by preserving their gift in our own day, and for our children down through the generations.

Thank you…

…to all those who gave their lives.
…to all those who gave their health of mind and body.
…to all those serving in the Armed Forces, answering today’s call.
…to all the families whose hearts are sorrowful with loss, or troubled with anxiety for a loved one serving in harm’s way.

You are often in my thoughts and prayers.

Easy as iPie…

I’m not exactly a tech-savant, and I tend to take a “grab it and growl” approach to learning my way around a new device or software. So, I’m very pleased to announce that this post is the first one made from my new iPad–a gift from my wonderful husband, who got a little tired of watching me struggle in airport security with my laptop. We travel quite a bit, so he had ample opportunity to see the show. It’s taking me awhile to figure it all out (and I still can’t find the games my sister has on hers), but the journey’s been fun…and traveling will be better than ever.

Thanks…

…to all those who came out to join me in The Romance Studios’ chat room last night, with other Decadent authors, for repartee, laughter, and prizes–free books! I was happy to see some familiar “faces” in the room, for my inaugural authors’ event. Thank you for your support!

Apparently, there were also some access issues–I heard from a couple of folks about getting bounced at the door. I was bounced the first time I tried to get into the chat, myself. I tried one browser, but got a message about Java not being enabled in my browser…? I’m just this side of a techno-peasant, but for some reason, something in the message clicked in my back brain, and I used a different browser, instead. Et voila! Just in case TRS hasn’t fired the bouncer–or if he shows up at the door to other chat rooms–I guess I need to figure out how to update Java and enable it in my browser to avoid future panic attacks on the brink of chat room appearances!

I’m very glad I made it to the chat, because that’s when I learned that “Forge” is scheduled for release on July 13th!

Thanks again for coming out to see me at TRS! And watch the Events page here for news of an upcoming “blog tour” to promote the release of “FORGE: Book I of the Thrall Web Series”!

Cheers,

+ TK

Come on in…

Image

…and set yourself down!

Welcome, and thanks for stopping by my still-under-construction website. Watch out for head bumps and falling objects…

I’m T.K. Anthony, about-to-be-published author of “Forge: Book I of the Thrall Web Series”–coming soon from Decadent Publishing.

!!!!

Yes, I am just a little excited…could you tell?

Hope to see you around here often!