Differences in the Army, Navy, ETC

This was sent to me by a Navy Vietnam war Vet.




Will Rogers, "Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."



Marine Corps Rules:

1. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
2. Decide to be aggressive enough, quickly enough.
3. Have a plan.
4. Have a back-up plan, because the first one probably won't work.
5. Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
6. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber does not start with a '4.'
7. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
8. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal preferred.)
9. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
10. Flank your adversary. When possible, protect yours.
11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. In ten years, nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
13. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating your intention to shoot..


Navy SEAL Rules:

1. Look very cool in sunglasses.
2. Kill every living thing in sight.
3. Adjust Speedo.
4. Check hair in mirror.

US Army Rangers' Rules:

1. Walk in 50 miles wearing 75 pound rucksack while starving.
2. Locate individuals requiring killing.
3. Request permission via radio from 'Higher' to perform killing.
4. Curse bitterly when mission is aborted.
5. Walk out 50 miles wearing a 75 pound rucksack while starving.

US Army Rules:

1. Curse bitterly when receiving operational order.
2. Make sure there is extra ammo and extra coffee.
3. Curse bitterly.
4. Curse bitterly.
5. Do not listen to 2nd LTs; it can get you killed.
6. Curse bitterly.

US Air Force Rules:

1. Have a cocktail.
2. Adjust temperature on air-conditioner.
3. See what's on HBO.
4. Ask 'What is a gunfight?'
5. Request more funding from Congress with a 'killer' Power Point presentation.
6. Wine and dine ''key' Congressmen, invite DOD and defense industry executives.
7. Receive funding, set up new command and assemble assets.
8. Declare the assets 'strategic' and never deploy them operationally.
9. Hurry to make 13:45 tee-time.
10. Make sure the base is as far as possible from the conflict, but close enough to have tax exemption.
11 Always have ICE CREAM

( And I Love This Next One)

US Navy Rules:

1. Go to Sea.
2. Drink Coffee.
3. Deploy Marines
Go Navy!

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR, GOD BLESS EVERYONE!!!

Press Release for BLOOD ETERNAL

I wanted to let you know that the third installment and epic conclusion to the bestselling Gothic series, about an ancient order who speak the truth behind Christ’s miracles and strive to protect the world from evil - from New York Times bestselling authors James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell, BLOOD INFERNAL (William Morrow, on sale 2/10/2015, $27.99, ISBN: 9780062343260).



In BLOOD INFERNAL an escalating scourge of grisly murders sweeps the globe, archaeologist Erin Granger must decipher the truth behind an immortal prophecy, one found in the Blood Gospel, a tome written by Christ and lost for centuries: The shackles of Lucifer have been loosened, and his Chalice remains lost. It will take the light of all three to forge the Chalice anew and banish him again to his eternal darkness. With the Apocalypse looming and the very barriers of our world crumbling, Erin must again join forces with Army Sergeant Jordan Stone and Father Rhun Korza to search for a treasure lost for millennia, a prize that already has fallen into the hands of their enemy.



But the forces of darkness have crowned a new king, a demon named Legion, who walks this Earth wearing many faces, whose reach is beyond measure, where even the walls of the Vatican fall before him. For any hope of saving the world, Erin must discover the truth behind man’s first steps out of the Garden of Eden, an event wrapped in sin and destruction, an act that damned humankind for eternity.



The search for the key to salvation will take Erin and the others across centuries and around the world, from the dusty shelves of the Vatican’s secret archives to lost medieval laboratories, where ancient alchemies were employed to horrific ends. All the while, they will be hunted across the breadth of the globe, besieged by creatures of uncanny skill and talent. As clues are slowly dug free from ancient underground chapels or found frozen in icy caverns high in the mountaintops, Erin will discover that the only hope for victory lies in an impossible act, one that will not only destroy her, but all she loves. To protect the world, Erin must walk through the very gates of Hell and face the darkest of enemies, the adversary of humankind, the very serpent in the garden. She must confront Lucifer himself.



With The Blood Gospel, the first novel in the Order of the Sanguines series, James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell breathtakingly combined science, myth, and religion and introduced a world where miracles hold new meaning and the fight for good over evil is far more complicated than we ever dreamed. And now in this conclusion to the Sanguines trilogy, BLOOD INFERNAL, they take us to the very pit of Hell itself, making us peer into the abyss and face our greatest fears, answering the ultimate question: What price will we pay for true salvation?


Author Bios:

JAMES ROLLINS is the New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers translated into more than forty languages. His Sigma series has been lauded as one of the “top crowd pleasers” (New York Times) and one of the “hottest summer reads” (People Magazine). Acclaimed for his originality, Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets--and he does it all at breakneck speed and with stunning insight. Find James Rollins on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and at www.jamesrollins.com.



REBECCA CANTRELL is a New York Times bestselling thriller author. Her novels include the award-winning Hannah Vogel mystery series, and the critically-acclaimed YA novel, iDrakula, was nominated for the APPY award and listed on Booklist’s Top 10 Horror Fiction for Youth. She, her husband, and son have left Hawaii’s sunny shores for adventures in Berlin. Find Rebecca Cantrell on Facebook, Twitter, and at www.rebeccacantrell.com

Agent Orange

Inspector General Admits that VA Reports are Wrong

VA Misled Congress on Its Own Audit, Watchdog Report Finds

Veterans Department Provided Incorrect Information About a Review of Unresolved Appointment Requests
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller said lawmakers may never know the actual number of veterans affected by gaps in the VA system.

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller said lawmakers may never know the actual number of veterans affected by gaps in the VA system. Associated Press By Ben Kesling

Dec. 16, 2014 4:05 p.m. ET

The Department of Veterans Affairs provided misleading or false information to Congress and the media multiple times this summer about a year-plus review of unresolved patient consultation requests, according to an internal watchdog’s report issued Monday.

The VA’s inspector general said the department misled or provided incorrect information earlier this year about an audit of unresolved requests for consultations with specialists. Some of those requests remained open for years, and some patients died while waiting for appointments. The scope of the VA audit was overrepresented, the inspector general said, and the ultimate resolution for millions of those consults remains unknown.

The Veterans Health Administration “lacks reasonable assurance that facilities appropriately reviewed and resolved consults,” the inspector general wrote in the report. “At one medical facility, consults were inappropriately closed while veterans were awaiting requested services in an effort to meet VHA’s early May 2014 deadline for reviewing and responding to unresolved consults. Similar events may have occurred at other VA facilities.”

In the VA’s response to the findings, Carolyn Clancy, VA interim under secretary for health, said the department agrees with all of the inspector general’s findings and aims to resolve them by mid-2015.

The review stems from a 2012 initiative by the VA to resolve a backlog of consult requests that had accumulated since 1999, when the department instituted a new system for health-care providers to request advice or expertise of a specialist in treating patients. By 2012, the system was bogged down by more than two million unresolved requests, including rescheduling appointments and ordering basic tests—things the system wasn’t designed to include.

The VA told Congress and the media that it instructed its medical centers in 2012 to review all consults unresolved for more than 90 days and to complete all reviews by May 2014. According to the VA, the number of backlogged consults dropped from two million to just under 300,000 by April 2014.

“These internal, proactive reviews were conducted with the express purpose of improving veteran care,” a VA spokesman said in a statement Tuesday. “VA is committed to keeping all of our stakeholders, including members of Congress, accurately informed.”

But according to the inspector general’s report, the VA didn’t routinely use internal quality controls to determine how or why employees closed some 1.7 million cases, or if patients received requested services before the cases were closed out. The VA also told reviewing authorities that they could close cases that were more than five years old without reviewing them.

The inspector general also found errors in a fact sheet the VA presented to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in April. In it, the VA incorrectly reported it had reviewed unresolved consults going back to 1999 and that it said the “vast majority” of unresolved consults were due to paperwork problems rather than true delays in care—a statement the VA cannot now verify.

“VA inadvertently caused confusion in its communication on this complex set of reviews that were ongoing at the time,” said a VA spokesman in his statement Tuesday. ”While all open consults were identified going back to 1999, based on subject matter expertise and recommendations, facilities were given the option of administratively closing consults greater than five years old, as consults may be beyond a clinically significant time frame or are outdated and are no longer relevant to the patient’s care.”

The inspector general recommended the VA conduct an assessment of its review program and confirm patients received adequate care as well as take “appropriate administrative action” after reviewing “any inappropriate resolution of consults.”

“VA’s statistics regarding the number of veterans harmed by department delays in care are almost certainly wildly inaccurate, and we may never know the actual number of veterans affected by gaps in the VA system that existed for years,” said Rep. Jeff Miller (R., Fla.), chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in a statement Tuesday.

Latest Donald Grant Newsletter

Welcome to issue #92 of the Donald M. Grant Newsletter

17 December 2014

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. TWTTK: BRITISH LIMITED EDITION
2. THE DARK TOWER VI: REMARQUED COPIES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note - If your order is over $300.00 you may pay in 3 monthly
installments. Please say so in the Comment box when you check
out. Your order will be shipped to you after the final payment is
made.

1. TWTTK: BRITISH LIMITED EDITION

We have Sold Out of our copies. Thank you and sorry to those who have missed out.

2. THE DARK TOWER VI: REMARQUED COPIES

The web page below didn’t get updated until several hours after
we sent out our Newsletter #91 this morning. We apologize to
anyone who went to the link and then wondered what the heck
we were talking about. If you go to it and still don’t see Darrel’s
remarques please click “Refresh”.

Darrel Anderson has has remarqued copies of both the Deluxe
Edition and the Artist Edition of THE DARK TOWER: SONG 
OF SUSANNAH. The images can be seen and orders placed at:

https://secure.grantbooks.com/DT2-Remarqued.html

You can choose the illustration you want and they will sold in
the order that we receive the on-line order (please do not
phone our office). If the book you want has been sold you will
be offered alternatives (putting second and third choices in
your order won't hurt).

Thank you.

Robert K. Wiener, President
Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc.

Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs now in paperback

Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs
edited by Mike Resnick and Robert T. Garcia
Baen Books, $7.99, 9781476737072

reviewed by Barry Hunter

There is a lot to be said about Edgar Rice Burroughs. He was the creator of Tarzan and John Carter and a host of other characters that have filled a plethora of books and have been read by generations and now are into their second century of readership. This wonderful volume of stories should only add to the popularity of his creations.

Kristine Kathyrn Rusch gives a story of “Tarzan and the Great War” that takes place in Algiers while Tarzan was searching for Jane after the Germans had burned the plantation and kidnapped her. Mercedes Lackey gives a tale of Pellucidar and girl who has fallen from the moon. “The Forgotten Sea of Mars” is a reprint from ERBdom in 1963 by Mike Resnick that is extremely hard to find.

Richard A. Lupoff writes about the “Scorpion Men of Venus,” Ralph Roberts takes us out west with “Apache Lawman”, Peter David tells us of “Moon Maid Over Manhattan”, Todd McCaffrey returns us to Poloda with a new adventure of Tangor, Kevin Anderson & Sarah Hoyt channel H. G. Wells and Burroughs in “Tarzan and the Martian Invaders”, while Max Allan Collins & Matthew Clemens return us the Chicago of The Mucker.

Kudos go to F. Paul Wilson for his different take on Pellucidar in “The Dead World” – related by David Innes via Gridley Wave and Joe Lansdale gives us a lost adventure of “Tarzan and the Land That Time Forgot”.

Each of the writers involved in this project deserve credit for showing the spirit of Burroughs and doing credit to his creations. There are more lands that could be explored in another anthology of this caliber. I don’t know if there is a volume two in our future, but I would love to see it.

Thanks to Baen and all the fantastic writers who made me feel like a teenager again as I was able to revisit with a bunch of old friends.

All this while, Matilda’s shadow had been growing larger and larger. Suddenly, it lunged out of the ground and swallowed her, like a python does its unsuspecting prey.


SCEADU, Your Shadow Holds a Secret by Prashant Pinge intricately weaves together elements of psychology, mythology, and fantasy to offer young adult readers a thrilling adventure that takes place within the human shadow.


Nine-year-old Matilda ends up with a century old book through a series of strange coincidences. And disappears. Her brother and cousins are forced to suspend their hostilities and pursue her to Sceadu, a land inside the human shadow. Once there, the reluctant visitors find themselves chased by the vicious Hefigans, creatures of Sceadu. However, everything changes with the revelation of an ancient prophecy that foretells the doom of the world they left behind.


With the stakes suddenly raised, the children must now navigate the dangerous terrain, overcome grave challenges, and unlock the secrets of the shadow. But can they do it in time to thwart the plans of the treacherous Hefigans? Or will they succumb to the guile of a ruthless enemy who is equally determined to destroy mankind?


Prashant Pinge is an acclaimed author of children’s fiction from Mumbai, India. He has been writing for over a decade with four books and two short stories to his credit. His books have been nominated for the Crossword Book Awards, with Raja & the Giant Donut being shortlisted in the Children’s Writing category in 2011.


Take a quiz to see what you would be in the world of Shadows.

Monday, December 8, 2014

MASTER SERGEANT (Harper Voyager, paperback, on sale 1/27/2015).

MASTER SERGEANT (Harper Voyager, paperback, on sale 1/27/2015).


This is Odom’s first installment in his new military science fiction series. His previous work includes the Alex-award winning novel THE ROVER and many movie and computer game tie-ins, including Forgotten Realms, Mack Bolan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.


After being wounded in combat during the Phrenorian War, Terran Military Master Sergeant Frank Sage has been reassigned—that is to say, shifted into a less important post—to the planet Makaum (better known as the Green Hell because of its unending jungles and predatory insect and reptile life).



While his superiors had hoped the planet would remain on the fringes of the war, it inevitably spills over…and now Makaum may become a major supply point for the enemy. If that scenario plays out, it would mean devastation for Sage’s troops. That is, unless Sage can stop enemy officers from staking claim on the planet—while he also fights against his own people’s drug cartels, corruption within his ranks, and a civil war brewing on Makaum.



About the author

Mel Odom is the bestselling author of many film and computer game tie-ins, including Forgotten Realms, Mack Bolan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. He won a prestigious Alex Award for his YA fantasy novel The Rover. He currently lives in Oklahoma.

GOVERNMENT WARNING

Subject: Important Information_Situational Awareness - FBI Bulletin to Current and Former Military Members



Good Morning,



Please see the message below to share with your VSO networks.



This email is being forwarded for your situational awareness.



Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)



Subject: SITUATIONAL AWARENESS - 01DEC14: (INITIAL) FBI Bulletin to Current and Former Military Members, Nationwide, DTG 01DEC14 / 1318 EST



Incident or Event Details:



The FBI is advising current and former members of the military to review their social media accounts to avoid posts that might attract attention from the group calling itself the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and its supporters.
The FBI and DHS notes that the Islamic State group already has publicly encouraged attacks against law enforcement and military service members.
The bulletin includes a concern that ISIS members are "spotting and assessing" individuals in the U.S. who they believe may be interested in carrying out attacks on US soil against members of the U.S. military.
Where: Nationwide

ON HER MAJESTIES bEHALF BY jOSEPH NASSISE

Inglourious Basterds meets Dawn of the Dead in

ON HER MAJESTIES BEHALF

The Great Undead War: Book ii

BY JOSEPH NASSISE


"Nassise's apparently boundless imagination and thoroughly engaging storytelling make even the most unlikely of stories compelling. This second entry in The Great Undead War series is one in which fans of horror and history alike will revel. Nassise taps into something essentially human in each of his characters and their relationships, making this bizarre, pulse-pounding journey into something intensely absorbing and suspenseful. The historical details put a refreshing inventive spin on this particular apocalypse—and it all adds up to a story that won't be easy to put down or forget."

—RT Book Reviews, 4 ½ Star “Top Pick” Review


Zombies are undying—in more ways than one. Apart from the obvious “eternal life-after-death” thing, zombies have taken on an increasingly active role in pop culture—from the critical success of TV and graphic novel franchises the likes of Walking Dead, to the terrifying, award-winning joyride that is The Last of Us videogame, to the double-whammy success of the book and film adaptations of World War Z, it is clear that there is something about zombies that has sunk its teeth into society, and won’t be letting go anytime soon.


On Her Majesty’s Behalf is award-winning author Joseph Nassise’s answer to the undying trend. The international bestselling author splices the humor/ horror hybrid that is a signature of the zombie “genre” with something equally cool and trendy: steampunk. The copper-clad alternative history of steampunk provides a perfect twist on the undead. Nassise’s Great Undead War series takes readers on an “adrenaline-fueled” and “audacious” (Publishers Weekly) ride through a zombie-filled World War I, complete with some of its most celebrated and most notorious figures.


The lynchpin of Nassise’s alternate history is T-Leiche—also known as corpse gas. It’s a deadly, airborne weapon developed by the Germans in 1917, which can reanimate the dead…thus giving them an endless supply of horrifying soldiers, known as “shamblers.” In Book II of the Great Undead War Saga, we pick up with our heroes once again. “Madman” Burke and his company of soldiers—not unlike the “Howling Commandos” of Captain America fame—have survived the brutal killing fields of France, but time waits for no man, and they’ve got another mission. In classic SF/F fashion, their new mission is to rescue a princess. Except instead of getting her out of a medieval castle, Burke and his unlikely crew of heroes must foray into London: a city completely overrun by the undead.


Nothing is ever easy for the good guys, though (in case the army of the undead didn’t give it away). In this case, Madman Burke and his team are facing opposition from the head bad guy: Kaiser Richthofen, the undead Red Baron, and leader of Germany (Note: Nassise had Richthofen’s crest designed, and it appears above). Burke’s goal is to rescue the British royal family—but Kaiser Richthofen will stop at nothing to keep him from his goal…including sending the undead to foil his every move.


Action, adventure, and pure SF/F fun combine in Nassise’s amazingly imaginative novel. On Her Majesty’s Behalf is a wild ride, designed to more than satisfy any number of cravings: steampunk lovers, zombie-fans, and World War aficionados alike will love the story of Madman Burke, and his crew of soldiers.

About the Author:

Joseph Nassise is the author of more than two dozen novels, including the internationally bestselling Templar Chronicles series, as well as the first Great Undead War book, By the Blood of Heroes, and several books in the Rogue Angel action/adventure series from Gold Eagle.


He’s a former president of the Horror Writers Association, the world’s largest organization of professional horror writers, and a two-time Bram Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Award nominee.

You can visit him on the web at josephnassise.com.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving and the beginning of a Joyous Holiday Season. Peace and love to everyone and don't eat too much.

Letter from Iraq Veteran to the Commander in Chief

Senior Airman Brian Kolfage is a United States hero. He is a triple-amputee veteran of the War in Iraq who has surpassed all odds and made the most incredible recovery of any veteran to ever survive his injuries. He is a patriot – the kind of man you want your son to grow up to be. This is his letter to Obama.

My Open Letter to Obama.

I nearly died in a war that you and most of your colleagues supported overwhelmingly, including the two presidents who came before you. Many citizens may not agree with waging war in Iraq to free the oppressed Iraqi citizens, but it’s something that warriors like myself have zero control over. I joined to serve my country and to better my life. I’ve seen things that you could never imagine, and they have made me the person I am today.

Mr. Obama, even though we share extreme opposite views, we have one thing in common, we both attended school in Hawaii. However, that’s where the similarities end. You see, as you attended your exclusive, private school, I would ride my bike to Kaimuki High school in one of the roughest areas in Hawaii every morning and would ride past Punahou, the exclusive private school you attended. I would notice the Bentleys, Maserati’s, and fancy foreign cars that all the kids were dropped off in; wow it must have been extremely rough in Hawaii living that life, right? I could only imagine what it was like to have that kind of money. Fortunately for you, not many people are aware of the school and the upper class citizens who attended it. The tuition to attend your exclusive, private school was more than it cost me to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Arizona. You talk a big game when it comes to financial inequality, yet I’m quite sure you have no idea what it’s truly like to have sacrifice. You were one of the elitist children in Hawaii.

After High School, we each chose very different paths. You were able to attend Ivy League schools, and I sought out a military career to in hopes of earning a degree. What we have in life as children usually sets the tone for what we will face later in life that will make us successful. I worked to get where I am today, and YOU WERE HANDED IT….Mr. Inequality.

I volunteered to go to Iraq on both of my deployments, and the second time I begged to go even after I wasn’t selected, which ultimately got me placed on the team where I would lose both legs and my dominant arm. I’ve never asked myself was losing 3 limbs in a war worth it, even though many Americans were against it.

I am frequently reminded of the many young Iraqi children who would beg me for water, food, and toys while I was stationed in Iraq. Children, who in all aspects made the poorest of poor American children look rich. You have no idea what it really means to be poor. It’s laughable that you, who would have no idea what it means to be poor would so frequently play the inequality card.

While I was in Iraq, our mission was to liberate the Iraqi citizens from a tyrant and that’s what we did. Never forget, it was your people who sent us there, like the Clintons, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi & Carl Levin. However, since the day you busted onto the scene you’ve been talking about ending the war and pulling the troops out, not understanding the blood sweat and tears that so many Americans and Iraqi’s invested. And with complete disregard for every life sacrificed, every limb lost, and every broken family, you bailed on our mission to pursue an agenda that was completely centered on your re-election in 2012. If you didn’t bail on Iraq you were worried that you may not get re-elected and that’s a fact. Just before elections on Oct 11, 2012 you said “Al Qaeda is on the run and Osama bin Laden is dead.” Look at Iraq now, they are in shambles and the Al Qaeda flag is flying freely. Clearly, you’re unfit for duty as a Commander in Chief. You put your own agenda ahead of America’s agenda, and now you have single handedly ruined and destroyed nearly everything we gained in Iraq. It clearly means nothing to you, because the only thing that you’ve personally invested in that country was a promise to bail on them. However, people like me gave limbs, friends have died, and we’ve watched families destroyed by war’s aftermath.

I’m not placing blame on you for the war, I’m placing blame on you for destroying what we’ve worked so hard to build. You’re not a leader, you’re a community organizer. A leader would have stood up regardless of the situation and put America’s agenda first and that is ensuring a secure Iraq even after 10 years of war. But, you placed Barack first, just as Robert Gates confirmed in his new book. I can’t help but think of those poor kids who I gave water and toys to 11 years ago. They’re probably 15 or 16 years old now, and I can only imagine what it’s like for them to have their nation being torn apart yet again; all because of your poor leadership qualities. Regardless of why we went to Iraq, its water under the bridge. We went there, we waged war, and we not only owed it to our KIA’s but we owed it to the citizens of Iraq. We invaded their country and turned it upside down, and you bailed on them. You bailed on our soldiers and you’ve wasted every death and every limb, it’s all for nothing. And to make matters worse you blame others for your failures.

You’re just another elitist rich thug who’s pretended to live the rough life growing up in the inner-city. You’re only worried about your own agenda and furthering your party instead of taking care of Americans. Your inability to be a leader at some of the most critical points has caused both of our wars to fail. You’ve been a joke to most of our veteran community and we have no faith in your ability to lead.

Senior Airman Ret Brian Kolfage USAF

Solaris Press Release

A SOLARIS PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
WWW.SOLARISBOOKS.COM
Solaris Books™ is a trademark or registered trademark used by or under the licence of the Rebellion Group or its associated companies.

The James Lovegrove
Collection: Volume 1
By James Lovegrove

UK: 9781781082669 | 4th Dec 2014 | £11.99
US: 9781781082676 | 2nd Dec 2014 | $12.99

Available in paperback and ebook

Experience the early works of NYT best-selling author James Lovegrove, brought together for the first time in a new trilogy volume release from Solaris Books.
Solaris Books is delighted to announce the publication of the first in a three part volume release of bestselling author James Lovegrove’s celebrated early works.

Lovegrove’s early writing saw him hailed as an exciting and distinctive new voice in SF, one which drew comparisons to J.G. Ballard and was quickly to be recognised with an early rush of prominent award nominations.

The James Lovegrove Collection launches December 2014 with Volume 1 featuring Days (Arthur C Clarke Award nominated) and Untied Kingdom (John W Clarke Memorial Award nominated):

Days
Days is a gigastore the size of a small city, whose security are licensed to kill and whose seven owners brood in the penthouse, far removed from the desperate scramble of consumerism. But at what price commerce? Security man Frank has lost his reflection, Books are entering a localised war with Computers, and there is a riot in Third World Instruments. Time for another flash sale...

Untied Kingdom
When the village of Downbourne is raided and schoolmaster Fen Morris’s wife Moira is snatched, there are no authorities to turn to. In the absence of its government – in exile in the Caribbean following the ‘Unlucky Gamble’ – and subject to random bombings and leaflet drops, the UK is lawless and falling apart. Their marriage was a disaster, but Fen sets out to recover her anyway; but does she even want rescuing?

Volume 2 and Volume 3 will publish in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

About the Author

James Lovegrove was born on Christmas Eve 1965 and is the author of more than 50 books. His novels include The Hope, Days, Untied Kingdom, Provender Gleed, the New York Times bestselling Pantheon series – so far The Age Of Ra, The Age Of Zeus, The Age Of Odin, Age Of Aztec, Age Of Voodoo and Age Of Shiva, plus a collection of three novellas, Age Of Godpunk – and Redlaw and Redlaw: Red Eye, the first two volumes in a trilogy about a policeman charged with protecting humans from vampires and vice versa. He has produced two Sherlock Holmes novels, The Stuff Of Nightmares and Gods Of War, with more on the way. His latest series is the Dev Harmer Missions, an outer-space action-adventure series, beginning with World Of Fire.

James has sold well over 40 short stories, the majority of them gathered in two collections, Imagined Slights and Diversifications. He has written a four-volume fantasy saga for teenagers, The Clouded World (under the pseudonym Jay Amory), and has produced a dozen short books for readers with reading difficulties, including Wings, Kill Swap, Free Runner, Dead Brigade, and the 5 Lords Of Pain series.

James has been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the British Fantasy Society Award and the Manchester Book Award. His short story “Carry The Moon In My Pocket” won the 2011 Seiun Award in Japan for Best Translated Short Story.

James’s work has been translated into twelve languages. His journalism has appeared in periodicals as diverse as Literary Review, Interzone and BBC MindGames, and he is a regular reviewer of fiction for the Financial Times and contributed features and reviews about comic books to the late, lamented Comic Heroes magazine.

He lives with his wife, two sons and cat in Eastbourne, a town famously genteel and favoured by the elderly, but in spite of that he isn’t planning to retire just yet.

Health Update

Hopefully I can get my health problems will be straightened out soon. My diabetes is bottoming out too often, my blood pressure is staying way to high, may have to get hearing aids and have venous statis in my legs. Taking too many pills as it is. So I'll post as I can and keep me in your thoughts.

Veterans Day 2014

World War I
World War II
Korea
Vietnam
Iraq/Afghanistan

Special pictures paying tribute to the five wars we have fought in since 1900. This is the reason for Veteran's Day and the origin of the Wearing of the Poppy on this day.

In my job I get to interact with Veterans everyday an do my bes to help them get the benefits that are due them.

I am full of hope for the correction of the problems in the VA.

God Bless Our Veterans!

God Bless the USA!

Countdown to Veterans Day

Veterans Day is 11-11 and the annual memorial service will be held at Myrtle Hill at the Tomb Of the Known Soldier.

Veterans Administration News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 6, 2014

Progress on the “Road to Veterans Day” Sets Conditions for Long-Term Reform at VA

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced that the “Road to Veterans Day” initiative, announced on September 8th by Secretary Robert A. McDonald, has resulted in significant progress for Veterans over the past 3 months. During that time, VA has taken deliberate actions to improve service delivery for Veterans, rebuild trust, increase accountability and transparency and put the department on the path to long-term excellence and reform.

“Over the past three months, we've been taking a hard look at ourselves, listening to Veterans, employees, Veterans organizations, unions, members of Congress, and our other partners. Their insights are shaping our work to chart the path for the future,” said McDonald, who has traveled extensively during his first few months in office, visiting 41 VA facilities in 21 cities while also making 11 recruiting visits to medical schools. “While more work remains, our dedicated employees are making progress to better serve Veterans.”

To improve service delivery, VA has prioritized efforts to accelerate Veterans off of wait lists and into clinics through the Accelerated Care Initiative begun by Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson this summer. Through this initiative, VA medical centers have increased access to care inside and outside of VA, added more clinic hours and work days, deployed mobile medical units, and shared their best practices from VA’s high-performing facilities throughout the organization. Significant improvements have resulted nationally:

· Scheduling more than 1.2 million more appointments in the past four months than in the same period last year. In total, VA medical centers have scheduled over 19 million Veteran appointments from June to October 1, 2014.

· Reducing the national new patient Primary Care wait time by 18 percent.

· Completing 98 percent of appointments within 30 days of the Veterans’ preferred date, or the date determined to be medically necessary by a physician.

· Authorizing 1.1 million non-VA care authorizations, a 47 percent increase over the same period last year.

On his second day at VA, Secretary McDonald addressed all employees via Video Teleconference, where he directed each employee to reaffirm the mission and core values of the Department. All senior leaders were responsible for ensuring this was carried out in all facilities across the country, and this re-affirmation has been confirmed. Moving forward, this will happen each year on the anniversary of VA becoming a Cabinet-level agency, and a new award program has been initiated to highlight employees who truly embody VA’s ICARE values – Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence. The first nominations for this new incentive program will be accepted in January 2015.

Over the past three months, VA has focused on identifying the scope of the problems facing the department and taking significant actions to correct deficiencies, to include holding employees accountable. Since June 2014, VA has proposed disciplinary action against more than 40 employees nationwide related to data manipulation or patient care. VA is also working diligently to cooperate with the over 100 investigations currently being undertaken by the VA Inspector General, the Justice Department, and the Office of Special Counsel (OSC).

On October 3rd, OSC certified VA under their Whistleblower Protection Certification Program after VA worked to achieve compliance and protect employees who identify or report problems from unlawful retaliation. VA also worked closely with OSC to successfully resolve whistleblower retaliation complaints filed by three individuals from the VA Phoenix Health Care System. The Department’s transparency is critical in rebuilding the public’s trust. VA has posted data online on a regular basis since the beginning of June showing the number of appointments on waiting lists and the average wait times at each medical center across the country.

Additionally, each medical center and benefits office has conducted a town hall with Veterans and the public to collect feedback. These town halls will continue at each facility every three months.

As we march forward on the “Road to Veterans Day,” we recognize that VA needs significant reforms to meet the expectations of Veterans well past Veterans Day. VA is reviewing options to reorganize the department for success, guided by ideas and initiatives from Veterans, employees, and all of our stakeholders. This reorganization will be known as “MyVA” and is designed to provide Veterans with a seamless, integrated, and responsive customer service experience—whether they arrive at VA digitally, by phone, or in person.

Another component of the “Road to Veterans Day” initiative that will continue past Veterans Day is the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) “Blueprint for Excellence,” which lays out strategies for transformation to improve the performance of VA health care now —making it more Veteran-centric by putting Veterans in control of their VA experience.

Long-term reform of VA also means making sure VA has the medical professionals we need to best care for our patients, which is why Secretary McDonald launched a national recruiting effort in August, visiting medical schools in an effort to bring the best and brightest to work at VA. On September 17th, VA announced an increase in the salary pay scale for VA doctors and dentists to aid in recruiting and retention.

As part of the “Road to Veterans Day,” Secretary McDonald has reaffirmed VA’s homelessness program and the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Claims Transformation Strategy. VA remains committed to working with its federal, state and local partners to end homelessness among Veterans, which has been reduced by 33% since 2010. With the backlog of disability claims reduced by 60% since its peak in March of 2013, VA is also on track to eliminate the backlog in 2015 and will continue to expand online claim-submission capability in all programs.

“VA exists to serve our Nation’s Veterans and their families. I'm convinced that our comprehensive reforms will enable us to better meet the needs of our Veterans because we will be looking at everything we do through their eyes. We owe them nothing less,” McDonald said.

For access to the full “Road to Veterans Day” report, see:

http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/RoadtoVeteransDay_ActionReview.pdf





####

TIDES OF MARITINIA

TIDES OF MARITINIA is a fast-paced standalone sci-fi novel in the vein of Scalzi’s OLD MAN’S WAR and Walter Jon Williams’ CONVENTIONS OF WAR (full press release below).

The newest sci-fi novel from Warren Hammond (author of the KOP series), called TIDES OF MARITINIA (on sale in e-format Dec 2, in print Jan 6).



ABOUT TIDES OF MARITINIA

In TIDES OF MARITINIA, author Walter Hammond thrusts readers into Maritinia, a far-flung planet on the outskirts of the omnipresent Empire. Maritinia is a planet of little consequence; its people are purposefully deprived of technology as a means of government control, its economy rests precariously on the export of kelp… and a group of rebels have just staged a coup.

In spite of the planet’s status, the Empire needs to regain control. Naturally, they send Jakob Bryce, a hapless paper-pusher who has somehow become a secret agent of the Empire, with a simple mission: assassinate and replace one of the rebel conspirators, immerse himself in the inner circle of “New” Maritinia, and sow enough discord to bring down the unstable rebellion and make way for Empire troops to come in and clean house.

Hammond expertly constructs a vibrant world in TIDES OF MARITINIA, filled with brilliant detail, colorful characters, and a layered universe of class, politics, religion and warfare.

Vote

Everyone needs to get out tomorrow and vote. Vote for whomever you please, but be sure to use the right to vote before we lose it

Wonderful World of Baryon Available Now

I would like to announce a project I have been working on for a while and it now available from www.whortleberrypress.com Jean Goldstrom was the inspiration,did the editing and picked out the fantastic packaging.She did all the hard work, all I did was the writing. If you would like to know my life in fandom and as an interviewer. So if you are interested in learning more and order a copy using the link to Whortleberry Press.

Alabama VA Director FIRED

Central Alabama VA Healthcare System Director Removed

Permanent Director Sought



Montgomery, AL – Today the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) formally removed the Director of the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHCS) from federal service. This decision followed an investigation by the Office of Accountability Review (OAR) in which allegations of neglect of duty were substantiated.
This removal action underscores VA’s commitment to hold leaders accountable and get Veterans the care they need. OAR, which reports directly to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, assists VA facilities in accelerating leadership accountability actions and ensuring that such actions are applied consistently across the Department.
The Veterans Health Administration will begin recruiting a Director for CAVHCS. To ensure continuity of care for Veterans and leadership for VA employees during the recruitment period, Dr. Robin Jackson, Deputy Network Director, VISN 7, has been designated acting CAVHCS director.

Statement from new VA Chief

From the Baltimore Sun: VA is critical to medicine and vets

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-va-secretary-20141023-story.html#

By Robert A. McDonald

October 23, 2014

During preparation for my confirmation as secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), I was repeatedly asked, "Why doesn't VA just hand out vouchers allowing veterans to get care wherever they want?" For a department recovering from serious issues involving health care access and scheduling of appointments, that was a legitimate question.

After nine weeks at VA, travel to 31 VA facilities in 15 cities, discussions with hundreds of veterans and VA clinicians, meetings with 75 Members of Congress, two hearings before the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs committees and dozens of meetings with Veterans Service Organizations and other stakeholders, I can answer that question.

Veterans need VA, and many more Americans benefit from VA.

Almost 9 million veterans are enrolled to receive health care from VA — a unique, fully-integrated health care system, the largest in the nation. The VA stands atop a critical triad of support — three pillars that enable holistic health care for our patients: research, leading to advances in medical care; training that's essential to build and maintain proficiency of care; and delivery of clinical care to help those in need.

VA's accomplishments on all three pillars and contributions to the practice of medicine are as broad, historically significant and profound as they are generally unrecognized.

VA is affiliated with over 1,800 educational institutions providing powerful teaching and research opportunities. And our research initiatives, outcomes and honors are tremendous. Few understand that VA medical professionals:

•Pioneered and developed modern electronic medical records;

•Developed the implantable cardiac pacemaker;

•Conducted the first successful liver transplants;

•Created the nicotine patch to help smokers quit;

•Crafted artificial limbs that move naturally when stimulated by electrical brain impulses;

•Demonstrated that patients with total paralysis could control robotic arms using only their thoughts — a revolutionary system called "Braingate";

•Identified genetic risk factors for schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and Werner's syndrome, among others;

•Applied bar-code software for administering medications to patients — the initiative of a VA nurse;

•Proved that one aspirin a day reduced by half the rate of death and nonfatal heart attacks in patients with unstable angina;

•Received three Nobel Prizes in medicine or physiology; seven prestigious Lasker Awards, presented to people who make major contributions to medical science or public service on behalf of medicine; and two of the eight 2014 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America medals.

No single institution trains more doctors or nurses than VA. More than 70 percent of all U.S. doctors have received training at VA. Each year, VA trains, educates and provides practical experience for 62,000 medical students and residents, 23,000 nurses and 33,000 trainees in other health fields — people who go on to provide health care not just to veterans but to most Americans.

The 278,000 employees of the Veterans Health Administration work in a system spanning all 50 states and beyond, providing — from Maine to Manila — a high volume of quality, clinical care. Our 150 flagship VA Medical Centers are connected to 819 Community-Based Outpatient Clinics, 300 Vet Centers providing readjustment counseling, 135 Community Living Centers, 104 Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Centers, and to mobile medical clinics, mobile Vet Centers and telehealth programs providing care to the most remote veterans.

That network of facilities allows VA to deliver care to veterans from the greatest generation of World War II to the latest generation from Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2013, VA provided over 90 million episodes of care; that's an average of over 240,000 each day. And since 2004, the American Customer Satisfaction Index survey has consistently shown that veterans receiving inpatient and outpatient care from VA hospitals and clinics give a higher customer satisfaction score, on average, than patients at private sector hospitals.

Finally, VA is uniquely positioned to contribute to the care of veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI), prosthetics, PTSD and other mental health conditions, and the treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hepatitis. The work we do in these areas, as well as many others, produces results and life changing improvements in care for veterans — and for all Americans and people around the world who suffer from these conditions.

Fixing access to VA care is important; we have a plan to do that and are dedicated to implementing it. That process will take time — but it must be done, and we will be successful. Those who fully understand the value of the department in research, training, and clinical care understand that veterans and all Americans need and deserve their VA to continue providing exceptional care to those we serve.

Reviews

Sorry to be so lax in posting. Am trying to get better at Posting, and physically and mentally as well



Lost Covenant
Ari Marmell
Pyr, $17.99
ISBN: 9781616148119

Several months have passed since teenage orphan Widdershins and her god Olgun, of whom no one else reveres, fled Davillon. During their journey, the former relatively successful thief and failed ex tavern-keeper learns that the family of her deceased savior Alexandre Delacroix is in trouble from the machinations of a rival house.

Feeling she owes a debt from when she an urchin called Adrienne Sati before and during the time kind Alexandre removed her from the streets; Widdershins decides to protect the Delacroix house. Thus she and the tiny god inside her investigate the insidious plot. The late Alexandre’s family distrusts his adopted daughter, which makes her efforts more dangerous to her, Olgun and the Delacroix clan.

This Widdershins thriller (see Thief’s Covenant and False Covenant) is an entertaining investigative fantasy due to the schizophrenic-like antics of the protagonist. Though there remains plenty of magic, the fun is with Widdershins’ debates with her deity and her (and us) hearing people’s casual phoniness and transgressions. Fast-paced with humor from a persistent suitor and satirizing hypocrisy, readers will enjoy Widdershins to the rescue of those who scorn her.
Harriet Klausner


1920: America's Great War
Robert Conroy
Baen, $25.00
ISBN 9781451639315

In 1914 Southern France, the British Expeditionary Force’s dejected soldiers sit in mud as their officers surrender to the Germans. Their only solace is the French suffered worse at the Battle of the Marne when their ally’s army collapsed in its entirety while these brothers in arms remain defeated but intact. The German western front has become quiet too as the powerful army is devastated the Russians. The Kaiser owns Europe as the world’s only superpower.

By 1920 Russia remains embroiled in a long-running terrible civil war and almost all the rest of Europe allied or totally consolidated under German rule. Kaiser Wilhelm II knows the only threat to his dynasty is the United States with its incredibly growing economy. The Germans also know militarily their foe is weak as ailing President Wilson believes in peace so spends little money on an offensive fighting force. Not wanting to risk that a White House successor will prove formidable by using the industrial complex to create a powerful modern day military, the Germans persuade Mexico to join them in a blitzkrieg through California and Texas with plans for their ally to annex what was once their territory.

Though there is similarity to Robert Conroy’s 1901, the major differences include changed invasion locale with Mexican support; the motivation to defeat a sleeping giant before it awakens vs. colonization; and the blitzkrieg victory in Europe. Filled with action and real persona like an overbearing Churchill, this fast-paced alternate history uses the Battle of the Marne as the key pivotal moment to change our reality. Although the aftermath of the climactic Battle of California seems abrupt, readers will enjoy Mr. Conroy’s exciting tale. Harriet Klausner

Alien Research
Gini Koch
DAW, $7.99
ISBN 9780756409432

While completing Operation Sherlock A-C Ambassador Jeff Martini was named to fill the vacant New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District seat (see Alien In The House). His wife Kitty Katt-Martini remains the A-C Ambassador, a position they shared.

Protestors spoil breakfast with her daughter Jamie and their friends by a garbage assault on their limo followed by the new leader of Club 51 in her face telling her that the aliens and their human Quislings will soon die. Kitty returns to the Embassy only to learn some Congressional reps want the FBI to launch an inquiry into the events at Gaultier Enterprises and Titan Security. However she has no time to react to that undesirable news as A-C Embassy Security Chief Walter from his training site contacts Kitty with the fact that he and his staff are in trouble. The situation turns further dire when the impossible occurs with the hacking of the highly protected Centaurion files culminating with the destruction of the in-house data. Kitty knows that only the legendary rumored to exist Chernobog the Ultimate could have performed this task.

Although the trademark cultural misunderstandings humor is much less than normal in this darker than usual entry, readers will enjoy the latest Alien science fiction (see Alien Diplomacy). Once again the size of the cast expanded making the need of a Cecil De Mille sized cast scorecard a necessity while the paranormal rescues feel overused. Still series fans will appreciate this exhilarating thriller as Kitty Katt and company face several dangerous attacks.
Harriet Klausner

Launching BURN FOR ME, start of #1 NYT Bestselling Ilona Andrews new HIDDEN LEGACY series w/HarperCollins

Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for an immensely talented writing duo (Ilona and Gordon Andrews), who live near the Austin/San Antonio markets. Ilona is Russian born, and beautifully paints the pointed, take-charge heroine’s POV; while the husband half of the author pair provides the alpha male perspective. And their partnership works so well on paper.



BURN FOR ME is so good. It’s the perfect urban fantasy for the market right now – with so many series ending, readers are desperate for the start of something new. This is perfect for fans of Kim Harrison, Jeaniene Frost, JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Charlaine Harris. Just to prove that I’m not the only one burning up over this book – early reviews are starting to trickle in, from reviewers and bloggers, and I’ve seldom seen such excitement for a new project:



THE BOOK SWARM: Action, magic, chemistry and plenty of heat — what else could you ask for? I’m hearing that this is only a trilogy, which makes me terribly sad. I want ten books, minimum. Maybe more.

PARAJUNKEE: Fantastic plot, ridiculously meticulous world building and characters that will burrow inside you and take up residence. Don’t miss out on BURN FOR ME.

ANGIEVILLE: Burn for Me is just a cracking good read. The action, mystery, romance, and humor are all entwined in just such a way as to make the reading of it a nonstop pleasure. My interest never flagged, and I liked Neva and Rogan every bit as much as I hoped I would.

BEWITCHED BOOKWORMS: Burn For Me was an absolutely fantastic kick off into a new series, which I am sure will be one of my favorite series to follow from here on! It comes with an incredible kick ass heroine, which I love to pieces and who is easily to be admired for her strength and awesomeness…If you love Urban Fantasy with action and romance mingled perfectly together – then this is a Must -Read!

GOT FICTION?: If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. You know what? It’s my blog. I will give this book all the stars! You hear that people? All. The. Stars. Read this book. Read it and you can thank me later.

WICKED SCRIBES: Bottom Line: Exceptional story, multi-layered plot, intriguing characters that you really want to see more of, add all that to some nice little perks for veterans and you have a story that is hard to beat with enough similarity to our own world to make you feel at home just a bit (well a small bit minus the magic). 5 Stars, highly recommended which is actually more than I think I gave the first Kate Daniels book.

RT BOOK REVIEWS: Intriguing, multilayered characters and a fresh, imaginative alternate reality based in Houston help round out the heart-stopping, kick-butt action. Seeing Andrews’ name on a book is an iron-clad guarantee of an outstanding reading adventure!

BOOKLIST: Readers will burn for the next installment.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: This series start from popular author Andrews serves up a refreshing new magical society, excellent world-building, beguiling characters, and strong storytelling… a lively, impressive series debut.

Halloween Reading Material.

Order from WWW.whortleberrypress.com

SOLARIS PRESS RELEASE

A SOLARIS PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release

WWW.SOLARISBOOKS.COM
Solaris Books™ is a trademark or registered trademark used by or under the licence of the Rebellion Group or its associated companies.

Dangerous Games: An anthology of original short stories
Edited by Jonathan Oliver

UK: 9781781082652 | 4th December 2014 | £7.99
US: 9781781082683 | 4th December 2014 | $7.99
Available in paperback and ebook

In recent years, no one publisher has done as much for the short form of speculative fiction
in Britain as Solaris. – tor.com

In a world ruled by chance, one rash decision could bring down the house, one roll of the dice could bring
untold wealth, or the end of everything.

The players have gathered around the table, each to tell their story—often dark, always compelling. Within
you will find tales of the players and the played, lives governed by games deadly, weird, or downright
bizarre.

In this anthology of the weird and the macabre, multi-award-winning editor Jonathan Oliver brings
together a diverse collection of voices from some of today’s finest writers, to create an original and fresh
collection that’s unlike anything you’ve read before.

Dangerous Games features new works from Hugo award-winners, brilliant new talents and best-selling
authors, including: Chuck Wendig, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Lavie Tidhar, Benjanun Sriduangkaew, Paul
Kearney, Libby McGugan, Yoon Ha Lee, Gary Northfield, Melanie Tem, Hillary Monahan, Tade Thompson,
Rebecca Levene, Ivo Stourton, Gary McMahon, Robert Shearman, Nik Vincent, Helen Marshall, and Pat
Cadigan.
Roll the bones at your own risk December 2014…

Table of Contents:
Introduction, Jonathan Oliver
Big Man, Chuck Wendig
The Yellow Door, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Die, Lavie Tidhar
Chrysalises, Benjanun Sriduangkaew
South Mountain, Paul Kearney
The Game Changer, Libby McGugan
Distinguishing Characteristics, Yoon Ha Lee
Captain Zzapp!!! – Space Hero from 3000 AD, Gary Northfield
Death Pool, Melanie Tem
The Bone Man’s Bride, Hillary Monahan
Honourable Mention, Tade Thompson
Loser, Rebecca Levene
Two Sit Down, One Stands Up, Ivo Stourton
Ready or Not, Gary McMahon
The Monogamy of Wild Beasts, Robert Shearman
The Stranger Cards, Nik Vincent
All Things Fall Apart and Are Built Again, Helen Marshall
Lefty Plays Bridge, Pat Cadigan

About the Editor

Jonathan Oliver is the multi-award winning editor of The End of The Line, Magic,
House of Fear, End of the Road and Dangerous Games. He’s also written a couple of
novels and a bunch of short stories. He lives in Abingdon with his family and their
cat.

Ellison In Hospital Following Stroke

This is taken from FILE 770 by Mike Glyer. I take no credit for it.


Ellison In Hospital Following Stroke
Posted on October 12, 2014

Harlan Ellison suffered a stroke on Thursday, October 9 and is hospitalized. Harlan’s right side is paralyzed, his wife Susan told readers of his forum.

Mark Evanier adds he has been told Susan says Harlan’s mind is sharp and the rest of him seems unaffected.

Josh Olson commented on The Harlan Ellison Facebook Fan Club that a specialist visited Harlan on Friday: “She’s checking for slurring and loss of memory, and he’s being quintessential Harlan – talking a mile a minute, and throwing out more obscure references per minute than anyone can possibly keep up with.”

Ashley Monroe conceert at The Brewhouse in Rome

Ashley Monroe put on a fantastic show in Rome Friday Night at The Brewhouse in Rome, Georgia. Thanks go to Jay Shell for going out of his way to bring top rated talent to Rome.

Baryon129

If you have not received your copy of Baryon 129, please drop me an email and I'll get one out to you.

Heads begin to roll at VA Hospitals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2014

Carl Vinson VA Medical Center Director Proposed for Removal Interim Director Named as Search for Permanent Director Begins

Dublin, Ga. – Yesterday, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposed removal of the Director of the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center (CVVAMC) in Dublin, Georgia, following an investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General, and a follow-up review by the Office of Accountability Review (OAR), in which allegations of data manipulation were substantiated.

The proposed removal of the director underscores VA’s commitment to hold leaders accountable and get Veterans off waiting lists and into the care they deserve. Relying on new statutory authority, the Deputy Secretary took this action in coordination with OAR, which reports directly to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and assists VA facilities in accelerating leadership accountability actions and ensuring that such actions are applied consistently across the Department.
To ensure continuity of care for Veterans and leadership for VA employees, Dr. Shirley Warren, RN, is designated acting director of the CVVAMC until Monday, September 29, when Thomas Grace, associate director for the Atlanta VA Medical Center, will assume the duties. The CVVAMC is actively recruiting for a new permanent director.

More Reviews, Sorry to be lax in posting

Cain’s Blood
Geoffrey Girard
Touchstone, $25.99
ISBN 9781476704043

In Pennsylvania, six young subjects escape from the Dynamic Solutions Technology Institute, but not before they massacred most of the staff and took a few as prisoners. Also missing is Dr. Gregory Jacobsen who led the cloning experiment and probably abetted the escape by the six clones of notorious serial killers.

Special Ops veteran Shawn Castillo leads the search for the murderous clones starting at the DSTI facility and then Dr. Jacobson’s home. He quickly learns that the scientists created more subjects than they reported with some adopted by unaware caring families. Jacobsen kept one child with him, Jeffrey who recently learned that his true sire is Dahmer. With Jeffrey as his sidekick, Castillo hunts the killers.

This is a taut DNA thriller filled with insight and asides into cloning that enhance the horror of what Jacobson and others have wrought though the lead geneticist is no regretting “Modern Prometheus” (Mary Shelley). Once again as with the YA companion piece Project Cain, the underlying premise that the military would consider using serial killers seems wrong; as besides being loners psychologically unfit for a cohesive unit, consider the PR from news media telling grieving moms that their child died from a Dahmer clone in a friendly fire incident. Still this is an action-packed suspense that makes a strong cautionary case when it comes to cloning humans. Harriet Klausner

White Trash Zombie Apocalypse
Diana Rowland
DAW, $7.99
ISBN 9780756408039

In Tucker Pont, Louisiana, Angel Crawford drives the St. Edward’s Parish coroner’s van for a living though she is dead. She notices zombies smoking cigarettes and realizes like her no living zombie would be caught dead smoking or drinking as brain matter is not easy to replace; ergo these idiots are wannabes.

Her latest corpse retrieval is at the prime location of the filming of High School Zombie Apocalypse. Brent Stewart was walking when a pole broke and fell on his head at Tucker Pont High School. As she bags the body, she notices Philip, who she was forced to change as part of a military experiment to create a super zombie soldier, but she had not seen him in months. He rescues her from a car seemingly deliberately trying to run her over; her “baby” flees immediate from the near fatal incident. Angel investigates who wants her dead with all answers leading to her boyfriend and “sire” Marcus Ivanov’s powerful Uncle Pietro.

The latest Angel Crawford Louisiana white trash zombie (see My Life As A White Trash Zombie and Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues) is an amusing bayou investigative fantasy. Readers will continue to root for the heroine who ironically lives a morally productive lifestyle as a dead head than she did when she was alive; while her past as an impoverished druggie neglected by her mom and living with a drunken dad still haunts her. Fans will enjoy this fun metafiction with a zombie movie filmed in the midst of zombie parish. Harriet Klausner

Claimed by the Immortal
Rachel Lee
Harlequin Nocturne, $5.75
ISBN: 9780373885763

Police Captain Malloy informs Police Sergeant Carolyn Hamilton that he placed her on indefinite medical leave because of her insistence that she saw Andrew Pritchett lifted six feet in the air by nothing visible and tossed across the room on to a stuffed elk’s horn. None of the other cops on the scene saw any of this nor can anyone explain what happened to the battered murdered family of five. Her mentor Detective Matthews tells her to take the leave, come back in a week or so, never mention the impossible here, but visit Messenger Investigations to tell what she witnessed to Jude Messenger who handles the eerie that the cops claim do not exist.

With some limited psychic ability like reading auras, Carolyn senses someone watches her; a feeling she has had since she saw the unreal happen. She meets Jude and his associate Damien Keller; noticing each shares the same golden eyes and odd auras like none she ever saw before. To her amazement, they believe her story. Attracted to the mortal witch and amused by her being unaware of what she is, Damien the German vampire vows to keep Carolyn safe from what is watching her.

The latest Claiming urban romantic fantasy (see Claim the Night for Jude’s tale) is an action-packed investigative thriller that never decelerates from the moment that Carolyn arrives at the weird Messenger Investigations office and never misses a beat until the final confrontation. Readers will appreciate the vampire and the witch falling in love while hunting an invisible stalker amidst numerous viable suspects. Harriet Klausner

Reviews from Harriett

Shadow's Edge
Jami Gray
Black Opal Books, $12.99
ISBN: 9781937329150

In Portland, Taliesin Security Wraith, Kyn-human hybrid, Raine McCord kills purebred Quinn, who murdered two college students, but not before she took a wound from his magically enhanced blade. Her biggest fear is when she reports his death to their boss, Type A control freak Ryan Mulcahy the head Fey in the Northwest, who told her bring him in.

She arrives home, but has no time for respite as her Wraith co-worker Gavin Durand arrives with a message from Mulcahy that they will team up on an inquiry into Jonah Talbot of the Talbot Foundation who insists someone murdered seven of his associates in seven years and he is next. Mulcahy distrusts Talbot who might be using a ploy to conceal he is the killer; but if innocent one of the Wraiths would be the next best suspect.

The first Kyn Kronicles’ urban fantasy is an exciting action-packed paranormal investigative thriller that deftly enables the audience to believe in the existence of the magical community’s four sentient species. Raine is a fabulous lone wolf protagonist saddled with a partner she does not want especially since she suffers an undesirable attraction towards Gavin. On the other hand Gavin is a typical hunk with a bad boy attitude that irritates the heroine and the reader for the same reason: he distracts her and us from a walk on the dark side of the mean streets of Portland. Harriet Klausner

The Lost
Vicki Pettersson
Harper Voyager, $14.99
ISBN: 9780062064653

Five decades ago someone murdered private investigator Griffin Shaw and his wife Evie; the case was never solved. On the bottom rung of the celestial ladder, Griff assists the purebreds by collecting the souls of murder victims; in exchange for his cooperation he has permission to investigate the homicides of him and his spouse. Recently, he met Las Vegas reporter Katherine "Kit" Craig when he was to collect her soul; but he broke the rules by failing to do so as he fell in love with the mortal after Anas clipped his wings due to defiance (see The Taken).

A new deadly drug eats away the flesh of the krokodil users. An obsessed Kit believes she and her beloved angel need to prevent further deaths, but Griff must collect the soul of krokodil user Jeap Yang, which angers his mortal girlfriend. Kit interferes, which leaves her vulnerable to fallen angel Scratch. Still, as is her personality, she leads the charge against the powerful Marielitos Cartel.

The second Celestial Blues bittersweet romantic urban fantasy (see The Taken) is a strong tale starring a hard boiled 1950s detective with a soft boiled heart and the “Impossible Dream” reporter “… willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause”; as defined by her and not heaven. With the angelic hierarchy seemingly real, fans will enjoy this super thriller; as the cold case murder mystery, Scratch and the drug war deftly come together. Harriet Klausner

I Left My Haunt In San Francisco
Mark Everett Stone
Camel, $15.95
ISBN: 9781603819275

After a decade plus as the top agent and only still living member of his graduation class at the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation, Kal Hakela faked his death so that he could kill the invincible Finnish monster Iku-Turso who murdered his sister (see What happens In Vegas, Dies In Vegas). His BSI boss BB re-recruits him to train the Green Peas in protecting the World At Large where humans dwell from the denizen of The World Under. Once his current term ends, Kal considers retiring with his beloved WWII MI-7 agent Jeanie whom he met in 1943.

BB tells Kal that former BSI agent Thomas Mace jumped to his death in San Francisco. Someone had ripped apart his intestines, but somehow Mace ran up thirty flights of stairs in five minutes, and opened and closed steel doors before leaping off the roof of a building. Kal leads the inquiry in a city where he years ago eliminated a psychopathic serial rapist magic practitioner but left innocents dead and the Bay’s protector Emperor Norton irate.

The third Hakela urban fantasy (see Things to Do in Denver When You're Un-Dead) is a superb entry as the lone wolf goes into the field with no additional support from a depleted BSI and three major changes in his life. He no longer obsesses with rage over killing monsters; he has Jeanie in his life though she currently works a case in the Bayou; and he learned people care about his well-being after volunteers joined him in Vegas. One thing remains the same; Mark Everett Stone provides another intelligent, wry action-packed satire that will have fans waiting for the next stop on the Hakela Americana tour. Harriet Klausner

Jack Bertolino is back in Blonde Cargo

About Blond Cargo, the 2nd Jack Bertolino thriller:

I am so pleased to share the highly anticipated second Jack Bertolino installment from New York native and now Los Angeles author John Lansing, BLOND CARGO (Gallery Books/Karen Hunter Publishing eBook; October 20, 2014), which is $1.99 now through November 2, 2014, $5.99 after November 2, 2014. This gripping eBook from the former writer/producer of Walker, Texas Ranger and Co-Executive producer of the ABC series Scoundrels continues the story that began in The Devil’s Necktie.

Jack Bertolino is back…in the sequel to John Lansing’s bestseller The Devil’s Necktie!

Jack’s son, Chris, was the victim of a brutal murder attempt and Vincent Cardona, a mafia boss, provided information that helped Jack take down the perpetrator of the crime. Jack accepted the favor knowing there’d be blowback. In BLOND CARGO, the mobster’s daughter has gone missing and Cardona turned in his chit. Jack discovers that the young, blond mafia princess has been kidnapped and imprisoned while rich, politically connected men negotiate her value as a sex slave.

John Lansing taps into the real life world of cops, crime, drugs and murder in BLOND CARGO to deliver another sizzling whodunit.

About the Author:

John Lansing spent five years writing for TV hit Walker, Texas Ranger, and another three years studying the life of an NYPD Inspector. What emerged from his combined writing about a cop and time spent with an actual cop was Jack Bertolino—a fictional character with very real-life stories. Lansing was also a Co-Executive Producer for ABC's Scoundrels. John's first book was Good Cop, Bad Money, a true crime tome with former NYPD Inspector Glen Morisano. The Devil's Necktie was his first novel. A native of Long Island, John now resides in Los Angeles.

“A fantastic read…This extremely fast and well-thought-out thriller will remind some of James Patterson’s early works. The action is great right up to the end and, luckily, Jack Bertolino will be staying on the fiction scene to continue his search for any and all bad guys to come.”

—Suspense Magazine (Blond Cargo, Jack Bertolino #2)

Price discounts:

2nd Jack Bertolino thriller: Blond Cargo is $1.99 now through November 2, 2014,$5.99 after November 2, 2014.

1st Jack Bertolino thriller: The Devil’s Necktie is $1.99 from October 6 - 19, 2014!

Forever The Road avalable now

Eugene, OR – Travel. Destiny. Beer. Three travelers in India battle their hearts and their destinies as an awakened evil prepares to destroy all life. The third book in Anthony St. Clair’s ongoing, non-sequential Rucksack Universe fantasy series, Forever the Road is available for pre-order at select stores. This fantasy novel will be released worldwide as an e-book and trade paperback on Sept. 8, 2014.

“Forever the Road takes the world to a pivotal moment of destruction or renewal,” says St. Clair. “Yet this story, like travel and like life, is ultimately about connection: our longing to connect with others, and what happens when we don’t.”

Set in the fictional city of Agamuskara—which means “smiling fire” in Hindi—the book tells us more of the story of Jay (the world’s greatest traveler), Faddah Rucksack (the world’s only Himalayan-Irish sage), and the mysterious more-than-a-bartender Jade Agamuskara Bluegold. Forever the Road has been described as a seamless blend of “an intimate story of friendship and romance with an epic, mythological tale on the scale of Tolkien.”

Official webpage: http://anthonystclair.com/forevertheroad

About the book: 442 pages. Travel. Destiny. Beer. The world’s greatest traveler never thought he’d be staying put.

Jay had planned to move on after marking Agamuskara, India, off his list of places to see. Then two strange men steal his passport, and the long-roaming loner stays in Agamuskara to find it. After years of globetrotting with no companion but his trusty big backpack, Jay befriends the stout-quaffing, ever-grinning Faddah Rucksack, the world’s only Himalayan-Irish sage. Now Jay finds himself being steered toward an unknown fate by a man who lost his own destiny long ago.

No Jake or Jade is better than Jade Agamuskara Bluegold at slinging drinks, destinies, and decisions. Yet after spending ten years helping The Management keep the world turning, the solitary, mysterious bartender at the pub at Everest Base Camp has begun to doubt the life she chose over another path. When Jade’s uneasy friendship with Rucksack leads her to help him unravel the mystery at the heart of the city, Jade finds her loyalties changing in ways she never could have imagined.

When the bartender and the backpacker meet, forces are set in motion that won’t just change the world forever—they might end it. Then Jay accidentally awakens an ancient evil, and only Jay, Rucksack, and Jade stand between it and its terrible purpose: destroying all life in a smiling fire.

HURRICANE FEVER IS HERE

For Immediate Release:
Contact: Leah Withers – Tor Publicity

A storm is coming…

Hurricane Fever
Tobias Buckell


“Buckell has written a smart and well-constructed tale that’s filled with excitement and the flavor of the Caribbean isles… So don’t wait for a dark and stormy night to read this novel; you'll have plenty of fun.”

—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review


Tor Books is proud to publish HURRICANE FEVER, the latest pulse-pounding techno-thriller by New York Times bestselling author Tobias S. Buckell. In Buckell’s high-octane 2012 thriller Arctic Rising, readers met an intriguing espionage agent by the name of Prudence “Roo” Jones. Now, in HURRICANE FEVER, a stand-alone novel set in the same near-future, Roo takes center stage as a plot for world destruction threatens life as we know it.

The seas aren’t always calm for an ex-spy living in the Caribbean, particular as hurricanes come fast and hard against the shores of the islands he calls home. But any peace he might have had is shattered when an old spy buddy sends him a mysterious message as his dying act. Suddenly Roo is in a race against the weather and the clock to stop a plot intent on releasing a chemical weapon across the world.

Buckell is the author of Halo: The Cole Protocol which saw eight weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. Arctic Rising sparked interest with its themes of the effects of global warming and its sharp and pointed projection of our very likely future if we continue affecting the environment at our current rate. These themes return in HURRICANE FEVER and with this novel Buckell is in fine form with a carefully crafted kinetic techno-thriller, perfect for fans of action-packed espionage within a smartly drawn geo-political landscape.

“Buckell solidly links the political and the personal… The scenes of sailing and spying action move quickly, and the climax, set on a supersized satellite-launching cannon, is one white cat shy of a Bond movie.”
—Publishers Weekly on Hurricane Fever

“The sf in this thriller is subtle but packs a punch as the author imagines how climate change might affect the fragile ecosystems (and political systems)
of the Caribbean. The thriller elements are strong with action, danger, a sexy but duplicitous blonde, and a hugely appealing hero.”
—Library Journal on Hurricane Fever

“This one will give you the shivers, even as it makes you sweat.”
—NPR, All Things Considered, on Arctic Rising

“A fast-paced SF action thriller that presents a multifaceted look at the global warming crisis.”
—Library Journal, on Arctic Rising

“Buckell focuses as much on action-thriller set pieces as he does on teasing out a plausible future, placing the novel somewhere around the intersection of Michael Crichton and William Gibson.”
—Kirkus Reviews, on Arctic Rising

TOBIAS S. BUCKELL is a New York Times bestselling author whose books and fifty-plus short stories have been translated around the world. He is the author of the novels Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, Sly Mongoose, Halo: The Cole Protocol, Arctic Rising, and now Hurricane Fever. Buckell hails from the Caribbean, where as a child he lived on boats in Grenada and the British and US Virgin Islands. When he was a teenager, a series of hurricanes destroyed the boat his family was living on and they moved to Ohio, where he still lives today with his wife and daughters.

HURRICANE FEVER
Tobias S. Buckell
A Tor Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1922-7
$24.99/272 pages
On-Sale Date: July 1, 2014