I’m delighted to announce Kitty Roads has won the drawing for the $10 Amazon gift e-certificate and a copy of “Forge: Book I of the Thrall Web Series.”
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented for the SFR Brigade Midsummer Blog Hop.
I hope you’ll join me in counting down the days to July 13th, and the publication of “Forge”!
Happy midsummer,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.
I’m looking forward to participating in the SFR Brigade’s Midsummer Blog Hop on June 22nd!
What is the SFR Brigade, you ask? The SFRB is a collection of authors who write science fiction romance, where anything can happen to characters you care about…anyplace and anywhen the imagination can concoct.
In celebration of the summer solstice, on Friday 22nd June (Pacific Time) the SFR Brigade will be holding its first-ever Midsummer Blog Hop. Thirty-seven fabulous science fiction romance authors will be telling you mystical or scientific stories related to the event, and they’ll each be giving away a prize – books, gift cards, swag bags…and lots more!
My addition to this prize-fest: Anyone who comments on my Midsummer Blog-Hop post on June 22nd will be entered into a drawing for a free copy of “Forge”** (in the winner’s preferred electronic publishing format) and a $10 Amazon gift card.
**Remember, “Forge” doesn’t come out until July 13th!
Plus there’s TWO GRAND PRIZES
1st Prize – a Kindle Touch or Nook Touch
2nd Prize – a library of science fiction romance titles from more than 20 authors (mostly in ebook format, with one print anthology) and an Anabanana gift card.
To enter, visit as many blogs listed below as you want to (like mine! ;D) and leave a comment. Each time you comment at a stop, you’ll earn one entry for the grand prizes–so, the more sites you visit, the greater your chances of winning.
Winners will be drawn at random on the 24th of June and announced on this site. The list of participating authors follows, below. Spread the news!
Rest in Peace, Arthel “Doc” Watson, 3/3/1923–5/29/2012.
This was supposed to be a post about enjoying a beautiful day.
My husband and I were supposed to head to Cape Vincent, NY to spend a weekend with a few aunts, uncles, and cousins. But Life intervened. The weather couldn’t be nicer here in North Texas, and I’m taking it as a consolation prize. Sunny, warm (not hot!), with a nice breeze blowing. Made me think of one my favorite tunes, “Windy and Warm,” as performed by Doc Watson.
Hardly anybody really knows about Doc Watson, outside hardcore bluegrass/old-time music fans. We live in a world where razzle-dazzle often trumps true talent, and the two (Lady Gaga notwithstanding) are seldom found together. Doc’s humility precluded razzle, although to hear him play “Black Mountain Rag” you could only be dazzled. At 89, Doc was still traveling and performing, not missing a lick on his hot guitar.
In the interest of widening musical horizons, and celebrating a beautiful day, I decided I’d add a youtube vid of Doc, along with a few lines to describe him. And in the search for some information to share (eight-time Grammy winner–the eighth a life-time achievement award; the man who virtually invented flat-picking fiddle tunes on a guitar–making even intimidating tempos appear effortless; recipient of the National Medal of the Arts)–I came across his obituary. And I teared up.
His music has been there for me since I was in grade school. Good times, and bad. A lot of family memories are wrapped around his music. I’ve tried to learn how he plays “Deep River Blues”; my brother and my niece do a better job of it!
But words are nothing compared to Doc himself. Here are two samples of his work.
The first, Doc in his prime at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival. I saw him perform the second tune, “Black Mountain Rag” at a little tavern in a Philly suburb back in the mid-’90s, and he had us all pounding the tables with his blistering pace. (Faster even, than this recording).
The second is a video from last year. Doc kicks off the gospel set with “Beautiful Golden Somewhere.” In this one, you might notice he’s blind. He lost his sight at the age of one, due to an eye infection.
Doc has found where Somewhere is…may he rest in peace.