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Monday, October 14, 2013

October 14th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 


Sorry this is late again today, I wasn’t feeling very well this morning. Feeling a little better now, so…

It’s official, I will be at Canterbury Tales again on October 26th for a book signing and I will have two of my author friends with me, K. Edwin Fritz (aka Keith) a horror author, and Linda Rawlins a mystery author.

 

 
 

Keith’s book, Man Hunt, is a story about a matriarchal society who apprehends men who were not kind to women, bring them back to their island, and extract their own form of justice. Here’s the blurb from Amazon.com: “In the North Pacific Ocean there is an island that has been forgotten by mankind. Living there are men who have committed all manner of moral crimes. Deceived by an elaborate ruse, they wake deep within fortress walls where they are tortured, brainwashed, and then trained to physical perfection. When they are finally released to the island's hills and abandoned streets, they are told one simple rule: Survive long enough and you will be sent home. The island's only other inhabitants are women. In "Man Hunt", survival of the fittest means being literally hunted. It is "Lord of the Flies" meets hard-core feminism, because it tells both sides of the story.

 

As far as I’m concerned, Keith is our own Stephen King; an incredibly gifted writer, but his stories would keep me up at night so I avoid them, although I do own Night Storms which is a collection of short stories. A spoonful of horror I can handle. Keith also has two other books available, Cover of Darkness – “a collection of 13 tales that promise to unsettle your brain and tease your imagination”; and Bombardier – a creepy short story, that even after reading the book teaser, I doubt I could describe it accurately.

 

You have heard me talk about Linda’s books before, but I’ll give you a quick recap. The Bench and Fatal Breach are Father Dowling meets Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The stories are set in a picturesque town in Vermont near Burlington. The main characters are Dr. Amy, a transplant from a big Boston Hospital, and Father Michael, the local priest and therapist for other wayward priests. In the Bench they work together to solve a murder and in Fatal Breach they help unravel a cybercrime. If you want a more in depth background, you can either check out my full reviews on my website or you can go on Amazon. I was blown away by both of these books and I am chomping at the bit to get my hands number three, but it’s not out yet.

 

Anyway, all the books mentioned above are available on Amazon, and for my blog followers I have included the links. Sorry Facebook followers, I want this post to reach more than twenty-five people, so I am not including the links for you. I believe Keith will be bringing Man Hunt and Linda will be bringing Fatal Breach to the book signing, so if hard copies are what you prefer, please stop by, say “Hi” and pick up a signed copy.


 
Oh, in case you were wondering, I’ll be there too with both A Second Chance and TakingChances. Now all we need to do is keep our fingers crossed that the weather will be good.


OK, it’s now getting really late, so I should get this posted. Hope you have a wonderful day and happy writing!

 
Your Last Challenge was:




 
I’m sure many of you recognize this photo and some may even know the legend behind it of how a young man left his bike leaning against a small oak before he left for WWI. The soldier never did return from the war and over time the tree grew around the bike. What a sad yet heartwarming story, but total bologna.


In 1954 a kid, who received the bike as a charity gift after a house fire, road the bike into the woods to meet up with a bunch of friends. He was the only one who had road a bike, so when the boys were done playing, he walked off with his friends, completely forgetting he had ridden his bike. He never really cared for the bike, it was uncomfortable and too small for him, so when it was lost, he really wasn’t overly concerned. Fifty years later photos and the legend start circulating about the bike, the owner recognizes it, and sets the story straight. Well at least he tries to, but the rumors have proved far more compelling than the truth.


Granted, many rumors and legends are rooted with some truth; you just need to dig deep to weed out what is real and what is exaggeration, but then you find legends like this one that has absolutely not basis of truth whatsoever.


Another urban legend which had absolutely no basis in fact was the story of John Gilchrist, aka Mikey from the Life Cereal commercials, died from his stomach exploding after eating pop-rocks and drinking soda. You will be happy to know, John is now in his late forties, married with three children and is a tv ad exec living in New York. Obviously he is very much alive.


Which leads me to my questions, how did these rumors/legends get started? How, if they were completely false, did they take on a life of their own, so that literally people around the globe have heard them?

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

“Star Light, Star Bright, First Start I See Tonight…”

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

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