Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author H. Meadow Hopewell for their latest release, Rage Against the Machine.
Book: Rage Against the Machine Author: H. Meadow Hopewell Series: The Given Path Trilogy (Book #1) Publication Date: November 22, 2024 Genres: Science fiction, Speculative fiction, Spiritual Science fiction Page Count: 345 pages Publisher: Elk Lake Publishing
About the Book
Award-winning director, Roare Murdock, is approached by a private group of investigative journalists who invite her to spearhead a documentary. She agrees to join the project to expose the dark side of transhumanism. With the assignment comes grave danger to herself and those around her. And someone in her close circle of trusted associates is not what he seems. She wonders why God would choose a wayward follower like her to warn the masses of an imminent threat to humanity.
Amid the challenges and dangers of research and filming, Hunter Barraclough, Roare’s biological father, enters her life for the first time. When Roare reaches her breaking point, help comes from an unlikely source, Sloane McInerney, Roare’s bodyguard. Sloane has his own reasons to join forces with Roare to unmask a malevolent AI lab whose CEO plots to destroy human souls through AI and other-worldly technology. As she battles demonic forces, Roare uses fear and anger to her advantage. But how long will she last before she questions her own survival?
You can find Rage Against the Machine here: Amazon | Goodreads
About The Author
H. Meadow Hopewell
H. Meadow Hopewell discovered a love for creative writing in college. A move to New Zealand reignited the flame. Between her love for science, pursuing God, and writing, her first novel An Emerging Star was born. When not writing, she maintains a photography blog. She lives on the North Island with her husband, two spoiled cats, and a farm dog who wants to be a house pet.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Harrison F. Kraustoday, who will be unveiling an exciting excerpt from his latest release, Of Gods and Men Book 1: Men. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into this superb book!
About the Book
Of Gods and Men Book 1: Men
The war to end all wars has already been fought—and darkness has won. In the realm of Aezigar, gods clashed, dragons roamed, and mortals fought for survival. But when the war between light and shadow reached its end, the god of darkness, Umbra, emerged victorious. His dominion is unchallenged, his hunger insatiable. Now, even as the land of Aezigar suffers beneath Umbra’s shadow, the god of darkness turns to a new world to conquer: Earth. But Umbra’s conquest is far from assured. On Earth, unexpected powers awaken in the unlikeliest of Earth’s inhabitants: an uncertain younger brother, a fiery older brother, an ignored son, an aspirant student, and a hardened military captain. Soon these heroes begin to discover their extraordinary connections to their parallel selves in Aezigar.
Meanwhile, in his arrogance, Umbra has left embers of rebellion still smoldering in Aezigar. In that alternate universe, the heroes begin to stand against a world dominated by the forces Umbra left to rule in his absence: a hunter in service to the darkness, two brothers fleeing for their lives, a coward hiding in enemy lands, a leader of a shattered people, and a reaver seeking plunder in the chaos. Now, the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance. Will the heroes of two worlds be able to stop the darkness that the heroes of Aezigar alone could not? Or will the light of both worlds be extinguished forever? … Of Gods and Men is a sweeping blend of fantasy and superhero genres, crafted for those who crave epic tales of courage, sacrifice, and hope. Spanning two worlds—modern Earth and the fantastical realm of Aezigar—it weaves multiple interconnected storylines into a grand narrative of rebellion, redemption, and resilience. With heroes shaped by their struggles and choices that echo across realities, this is a story where every action carries weight, every bond is tested, every sacrifice matters, and the fate of entire worlds hangs in the balance. Prepare to embark on an unforgettable journey of parallel worlds, godlike battles, and the enduring fight against darkness.
You can find Of Gods and Men Book 1: Men here: Amazon | Goodreads
Excerpt
Prologue: The Man
Before the turn of the millennium, there was a man. He was tall, about 6’4”, with a skinny enough build that he nearly gave off the impression of being malnourished. However, if he wasn’t eating enough, his clothing gave enough indication to assume that it wasn’t due to a lack of financial means. He sat at a desk in an office overlooking New York City while wearing a three-piece suit. His pants, socks, shoes, jacket, vest, and tie were all black, as had been most of his clothing since he was a teenager. At the moment, he had his feet propped up on his desk. He held in his hand an audio recording device that he had purchased the evening before.
He spoke. “Today, I have resolved to stop.” The audio device had been recording for hours, but he hadn’t said a word. He wondered if it was even storing anything anymore.
He erased the recording and started again. “Today, I’ve made up my mind to put an end to the madness. Certain practices have been going on here, in the very company I founded, that can only be described as shameful, cruel, and downright evil. I’ve tried to stop this many times, but I failed. For the past three months, I’ve lain awake every night thinking about what’s been happening here, and every night, I’ve promised myself I’d put a stop to it. But every day, I’ve failed. It always pulls me back in. So today, I’ve decided to end it tonight. The truth is, I’m the one responsible for every crime, every cruel act, and every wrong done. I’ve given the orders, and I’ve pulled the trigger. I’ve dragged others into this life, and I’ve brought them down to the point where they’ve begged for mercy. I have to admit, I enjoyed the power and control. I’ve ruined lives and hurt people I claimed to love. To be honest, I don’t know if I’m capable of that… love. I never thought I was, but I thought that if I said the words, maybe they’d become true. Maybe if I pretended to be a trustworthy person, I’d become one. But I haven’t. To those who followed my lead, I lied. This life is destructive. But it might not be too late for you. It’s certainly too late for me. I have one honorable option left. I’ve tried to quit, but I can’t. As long as I’m alive, this will never end. I’ve lost control. So, I’ve decided to end the madness, stop the injustices, and kill the villain.”
About The Author
Harrison F. Kraus
Harrison F. Kraus has always been drawn to complex, multi-character narratives. Though he holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering, storytelling remains his greatest passion. He spent many weekends in college library study cubbies crafting his novel, balancing scientific rigor with creative worldbuilding. His stories often begin with a hand-drawn map, a habit that extends to his Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. Exploring themes of internal struggle, unity, and consequence, his work is subtly shaped by his Christian faith. Now residing in Greenbelt, Maryland, with his wife, Nisha, and their cat, Mika, he continues to write stories that reflect his lifelong love of epic storytelling.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Miles Joyner today, who will be unveiling an insightful excerpt from his latest book, Bazaar, an action-packed techno-thriller with a heart. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into this superb book!
About the Book
Bazaar
A high-profile homicide of a former ambassador’s son in the nightlife district of the nation’s capital gets connected to an assassination market on the dark web, turning the DC area into a battlefield over a new generation of class warfare. When the ex-diplomat, Chiedu Attah, hires an elite executive protection team headed by siblings Yemi and Karen Uzunma to guarantee his safety, the security firm realizes they are going up against a young inventive contract killer who is determined to finish off the political VIP by any means necessary.
Bazaar is the first book in a series that follows the security contractor Raptor as it deals with the ramifications the prediction market has on the political celebrities of the capital region.
The only lighting inside the dark room was a couple of red LED lamps. They didn’t bother the eyesight of eighteen-year-old Aaron Williams, who was wide-eyed in fascination at his Ultramaker XT 3D printer going to work. The last of the white filament flew out the extruder onto the print bed, and he couldn’t have felt any more like a father watching his wife through the glass, holding their newborn baby.
He reached onto the platform and gripped his new plastic handgun that shot real, metal bullets. Like its predecessors, the Mini Talon had been banned from all sites hosting 3-D printing design files. However, Aaron was able to obtain it through torrents online, and now he had the opportunity to add it to his family of firearms that lay around the room, including an assault rifle with a lower receiver printed with the same material. But unlike the rest of its siblings, the MT wouldn’t be another one of Aaron’s toys to fire off rounds at tree targets deep in the woods. Some of the former models exploded on tests from the videos Aaron watched online, but he was confident the new version would not fail to take out his intended target in a few days with its untraceable ballistics.
Danny would be his escape. The son of a local pho restaurant owner was Aaron’s only friend outside the digital realm. Danny Phat took very little in life seriously, but for all the flaws, he knew every back road of the entire DC, Maryland, Virginia area. He could whip his raggedy-ass decade-old Nissan Altima pretty well. Either way, Aaron had no driver’s license and he wouldn’t risk getting pulled over or traced to a rideshare app. The young 21st-century gunsmith couldn’t take his eyes off his latest creation. He loaded a magazine, cocked the weapon, and listened satisfyingly to the crisp click. It blew Aaron’s mind to think the ammunition clip had fit perfectly into a gun made from the same material as his storage cabinet.
He was ready to test the gun. Would it fire smoothly? He had two days to test it and find out before he had to execute his assigned job.
August 20th, 2024. 1:30 AM. Washington, D.C.
Liquor-induced shrieks and screams of laughter carried over the bass thumps throughout a bumping Adams Morgan, the corridor of D.C. that served as one of the city’s nightlife hot spots. Neon lights shined on the designer-brand, clean-cut, modern-day yuppies who strut out of the nightclubs and the plaid-shirt bearded hipsters who stumbled out of the brewing taverns. A lot were on their nights off from studying, but the cost of drinks was far higher than college town prices so the professional class of everyone from policy aides to software engineers got just as wasted. Regardless of education or socioeconomic background, many women looked for their best friend whom they lost in the partying, and many male counterparts hoped to be that lucky dude they might have run off with.
Isaiah knew that’s what his best friend Adamu Attah wanted to be at that moment. But it was past Last Call, and Isaiah had put pressure on him for them to start heading back to their university dorms. He could tell Adamu didn’t get it. The youngest patriarch of the politically rich Attah family from Nigeria had no issues getting cheeks back home, butAmerican girls apparently weren’t as impressed with his super-forward approach. Isaiah tried to explain this to Adamu outside the Astro Lounge on 18th Street with neither a female around his arm nor a single new contact in his phone, but before he could bother to listen, a tipsy trio of curvy young women strolled out after him and caught his eye. Long braids, luscious shapes formed from their Lycra dresses, flawless different shades of ebony skin. Isaiah just knew Adamu would try again.
“AY!” The belles reluctantly turned toward the source of the attempt at a mating call. “Where we goin’ tonight?”
“Nowhere that involves ugly!” The tallest out of the three formed a smirk under her glasses, her two graduate degrees having only enhanced a life’s worth of sharp rebuttals to catcalling in her neighborhood. She laughed, and the pack began to leave the scene. No different than a kid eyeing the milk chocolate bar right before checkout, Isaiah knew Adamu just couldn’t take no for an answer. The shorter one with the most voluptuous figure became the unlucky winner to have her hand grabbed without permission.
“C’mon mami, ditch these bitches—” Adamu was snatched mid-sentence by a bouncer whose neck rolls formed a poop emoji and got tossed like a rag doll into the hands of Isaiah a few feet away.
“Dumbass!” screamed the short one as the three marched off down the street.
“I’m royalty, hoes! Some other BITCH will get blessed with this big dick tonight!”
“HEY!” The head of Astro Lounge security had enough. So had Isaiah.
“I’m so sorry, sir, he’s drunk.”
“Get him the fuck outta here before I break his jaw.”
“Yes, sir. Again, I’m sorry!”
The situation was all too familiar to Isaiah. Except now, instead of guiding a destroyed Adamu down the Terrapin-flagged residential streets of College Park, Maryland, from one frat house to another, they had graduated to bar hopping in D.C., where the young bachelor had been able to finally drink legally for the past ninety minutes.
“Sometimes you’re a freaking embarrassment, Adamu.”
“Shut the hell up and get an Uber. We’re going to Starline.”
“Starline?”
“Strip club.” Adamu gulped down a wad of vomit from coming out. Isaiah looked away in disgust, but something else caught his eye as they turned the corner.
A Metrobus stop bench rested thirty yards from their position. He figured that was where they could gather themselves after such a night. He used the remainder of his stamina to finally reach the bench and slap the back of Adamu to the hard rubber as if to try to wake him up. Isaiah checked his phone. 2% battery.
“Dammit…Adamu!”
His eyes opened, barely able to comprehend where he was even at, let alone being able to give Isaiah a response.
“Your phone. Mine’s about to die.” Body in total slow motion, Adamu managed to tap his pockets.
“Sh-Sh-Sh-Shit” eeked out of Adamu’s mouth.
“WHAT?!” Isaiah tapped his friend’s pockets. “Where is it?! Or your wallet?” Another tap. Wow. Alcohol and a night of partying caused his buddy to lose track of his valuables. Unbelievable.
“The hell is wrong with you? This isn’t Saint Catherines anymore!” Isaiah yelled at him, referencing their boarding school back in Victoria Island.
Vomit rose through his esophagus, except Isaiah could tell from the lump in Adamu’s throat that this batch was going full projectile. Isaiah jumped out of the way right in time for only a chunk to get on his shoes. The rest of Adamu’s day’s intake became a red-yellow puddle at the side of the bench. The gross site, as well as the realization that their options were fading, prompted Isaiah to throw his fist and scream a few “fucks” to himself. He looked up at the bus stop sign and saw that the 92 bus had a destination of SHAW-Howard, a Metro station. Maybe the route was their best bet if the bus got there within fifteen minutes and they made the last train, figured Isaiah as he composed himself.
He looked away, and something else caught his eye. Several blocks down Marion Street walked a hooded figure. Not too brisk, but certainly with purpose right toward their position. Isaiah squinted, and the street lamps revealed a teenager in a dark blue hoodie with jeans. The getup, time of night, and even the location were enough for Isaiah’s nerves to merge into his skin. Yeah, they were in the “nice part” of D.C., but Isaiah’s classmates had been robbed on campus, so it could happen anywhere. The young male got closer. When he was thirty feet away, Isaiah was still unsure of how to react or whether to react at all. The feeling might have been what his student counselor emphasized as overthinking.
“Com’on now.” Shifting from foot to foot, Isaiah sunk his hands deep into his pockets, a reflex move he made whenever he was nervous. At the same time, he heard his parents’ judgmental biases about inner-city youth, fighting to stave off his own similar thoughts.
“Hey, bro,” the figure said once he reached the bus stop. They traded ‘sup’ nods. Isaiah’s was way more reserved. “My phone’s dead. You got the time?”
“Mine’s dead, too. Sorry.”
“Hate when that happens out of nowhere.” Isaiah started to ease up to the source of the voice that seemed extra friendly with a hint of anxiety. The jitters he noticed from the kid were probably from him panicking over his phone being dead, figured Isaiah. Something he clearly could relate to, given his own situation. The original image shaped in his head was starting to look too judgemental. The teenager looked at Adamu who hung over the bench, motionless and barely conscious. “I’d ask him, but he looks done.”
“Yeah, he lost his at the club. Long night.” Isaiah gandered at his friend draped over the bench, now sharing sympathy with his comrade.
“Ah, so THAT’S why the phone is dead. Had it out the whole time booking them females. Can’t even be mad at him.”
“Not even,” laughed Isaiah, trying to shake off whatever anxiety he had left. “Word, y’all heading to Howard?”
“Nah. We go to Maryland. Trying to figure out a way back, actually.”
“Shit, I’m in the same position. Know where the closest metro is? Wonder if we can make the last train…”
The sign, Isaiah remembered. They had to just keep walking down Marion.”Yeah, I think—” POP POP. The friend of the target was not getting up from the two .380 caliber bullets that were just blasted through his skull with the utmost precision and professionalism. Aaron didn’t waste a beat as he tactically shifted the open sights of his plastic 3-D printed pistol to a groggy Adamu struggling to get his words out. “Please,” he cried. “I-I don’t have my wallet, but I can give you anything. I’m rich as fuck I swear— ” POP. Three total gunshots.The first one might have caught attention, but the second one was supposed to send any potential eyewitnesses running. At least, that’s what he learned from observing the few shootings he witnessed around his way. Aaron stowed the pistol away in his waistband holster. He checked the surroundings for the fifth time that night. There was no sign of anybody. He picked the right spot and predicted Adamu’s every move since the club perfectly. But where the hell was Danny? His Altima was supposed to be turning that corner before the first shot. VROOM. SCREECH. There it was. Revved and making too much damn noise as it peeled from an alleyway to scoop Aaron. The passenger door flew open, and Aaron jumped in. They took off before any sirens could be heard.
“Woo!” yelled Danny as he whipped around another corner. The two dressed pretty similar but everything Danny did was exaggerated in an attempt to blend into the projects they were heading back to. Everything from the Commander’s fitted hat to his Foamposite pressed against the gas pedal contrasted the plainer attire of Aaron, who didn’t care at all about the brands his former classmates worshipped on a daily basis.
“Fool you a BEAST!”
Aaron needed a moment to gather himself. Despite his success so far, taking someone’s life for the first time was a difficult realization to settle into. Let alone two lives. His parents never intended to raise a killer. His dyslexia limited the options the school offered. Danny’s advice about selling drugs or sketchy affiliate marketing plans wasn’t a solution either. He knew what would end up to him down that familiar path. He also took note of how naive Danny’s hype was in the latest additions to the district’s homicide rate.
“You were late” was the first thing out of Aaron’s mouth.
“Chill, fam. Traffic around the corner was O-C. Stop acting like I ain’t do my job.” Aaron’s eyes just rolled in response. Maybe if it was another debate at Danny’s spot about Harden Vs. Curry over some french fries drenched in mambo sauce, he’d entertain the bickering. But not after carrying out his first homicide. He wanted silence.
“But yeah, slim, you did the damn thing. How much did those lames have anyways? Real live starving in this bitch.” Aaron’s eyes widened. Unbeknownst to Danny, Aaron was just supposed to make it only look like a robbery.
“Shit, I forgot to run through their pockets.”
“The fuck you mean forgot? Nigga what was the whole point of tonight?”
“I still got you…and I told you not to use that word around me.”
“Imma call you a whole lot of other things if you don’t get my bread, muh fucka. Fuck type shit you think this is—”
“DANNY! SHUT THE HELL UP! Please.” Aaron didn’t yell often, but the authentic rage in his voice shut down whatever gangsta persona Danny was going for. By then, Aaron knew Danny finally realized it wasn’t another discussion about the NBA playoffs.
“Just get us to P-G,” Aaron said. P-G was the county of their home right outside the nation’s capital, Prince George’s. “Stop somewhere, and I’ll cover, but I can’t talk right now.” Nothing but the sound of road bumps and night traffic until Danny began to piece together a hint as to what the real motivation for that night had been.
“Aaron.” Danny had to pause for a moment. “Are you saying this was a hit?” Aaron didn’t care to answer Danny’s curiosity. He stared at the night-lit city outside the car window. He had just clocked out, and there was no desire to talk about work. The murder of Adamu happened two hours after midnight, meaning his death landed on the date Aaronhad bet on the assassination market called the Bazaar.
About The Author
Miles Joyner
Miles shifted to novels after years of filmmaking and editing television in the Washington, DC area. He particularly loves the technothriller genre at the moment and is an active member of International Thriller Writers where his first novel, Bazaar, was selected for their Debut Authors program. He also attends monthly meetings for the writer’s group, Novels in Progress DC.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Bernt Erik Bjontegard today, who will be unveiling an insightful excerpt from his latest book, History Rules My Tomorrow. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into this amazing book!
About the Book
History Rules My Tomorrow
A question to ponder: are we as humans pre-programmed to “follow in our father’s footsteps?” Is there something inherent in our heritage? Do we repeat what our forefathers and mothers did? And if so, can we apply these inherited cross-generational learning methods as we invent the next generations of intelligent systems? Rather than creating AI that is artificial and intended to replace human work, can we create intelligent systems that AUGMENT the human’s work and support him or her? Can we invent intelligent systems that learn and improve themselves with the mind of creating betterment for all humans as well?
Erik Bjontegard left Norway when he was 18 to study in the UK, then moved on to California. Not realizing until later in life, his actions and behavior, his quests for new discoveries, and his desire to invent followed his father and grandfather on his mother’s side. Now an accomplished inventor, former NASA rocket scientist, deep sea robotics, and submarine explorer, he is now navigating the new Phygital realms connecting the physical and digital.
In this engaging and inspiring autobiography, Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard narrates his life filled with the stories of his grandparents’ sacrifices during WWII, his own mistakes and discoveries, and poses important questions on how to engage the listeners and their families to assist in creating and inventing better human-technology interfaces. Learning from his history, he is embarking on the journey to make his tomorrow better than today.
While my own life story does not include war, Mayan Indians, Nazis, or building new countries or nations, you may start to see some interesting trends that I have only now started to understand as my hair is turning gray.
I left Norway to study in the UK at 18 instead of attending the university in Norway where my father was a visiting professor. I had been accepted, and staying in Norway would have been easier. All the education was in Norwegian. In England, they speak English a lot, even more so in the university classes.
I worked on subsea engineering and robotics. I got stuck in a submarine at the bottom of the North Sea. It made me look into space and explore other paths, which eventually brought me to the USA. So, I shifted from subsea robotics to aerospace and worked with NASA on their space shuttle at one of their big sub-contractors.
I had great success and was on the corporate ladder, supporting Boeing and Airbus in certifying their aircraft for the FAA, but I wanted more adventure. So, I ventured into a completely different realm, from deep-sea robotics, aerospace, and deep space to the equally mysterious world of make-up and fashion. As you may be able to tell, it is not a typical employment path.
From there onward, I moved into another entirely different business sector: building new homes and communities and becoming a real estate broker and land developer. Once that wasn’t exciting enough, I went onto something brand new.
Mobile technology. Another brand new frontier. I came into telecommunications, looking for new ways to connect the physical and digital worlds and build a way to enhance daily experiences.
As an American sci-fi author, Kage Baker said, “I don’t think humanity just replays history. We are the same people our ancestors were, and our descendants are going to face a lot of the same situations we do. It’s instructive to imagine how they would react to different technologies on different worlds.”
You must have figured by now that I am somewhat unusual. I don’t choose the road that most take. Instead, I create new paths. While different from my forefathers and parents, we will explore some remarkable similarities.
I am a patented inventor. I have started new companies and have also gone bankrupt.I have made a fortune and have lost it all. I’ve lived in tiny apartments and huge mansions. I have had a large family to feed and have sometimes been alone with my boy with little support.
But throughout it all, I seek answers to new questions! I ask, then paint visions of the future in my head. I think outside the box. I have been recognized by the high-tech giant CGI as one of the top technology visionaries in the world and have won numerous awards and accolades, from recognition at the White House to magazine cover stories.
I choose to do things differently. I’m an idealistic inventor and fascinated by technological and scientific innovation. I have conceived and invented things that affect millions of people and more to come. The common thread between all these various industries has been my desire to do something different and deliver better outcomes. I model, recreate, build, and deploy, and then I seem to get bored and go to the next challenge!
Weird, huh?
I have traveled the world and met key political figures across the globe, from 10 Downing Street in the UK to the White House in the USA, from Abu Dhabi to Norway, and from Hong Kong to Thailand.
As I look to the future, I wonder what we can learn about the past. Can we look at my family’s history and see how this can be used to improve the algorithms of augmented intelligence systems of the future? Is this my next destination? I am building solutions that connect the physical and digital, creating new worlds—Metaverses and Phygital spaces.
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, I discovered my interest in the lost art of storytelling. My family, our four kids, and my fiancé had conversations around our dining table and shared ideas. I have observed my kids’ changing use of technology over the years. Now, we sat down and talked about it instead of using it. This made me realize that technological advancement has challenged the human transfer of knowledge and experience. Before, it was the tech that enabled us to talk. Now, we sat down at the table and spoke.
It was as if we had rediscovered something powerful. The COVID pandemic made us pause and observe how we had become dependent on tech for tech’s sake. We had lost the art of storytelling.
Personally, as you may be able to tell, I’ve always been driven by the challenge of combining science and innovation in ways that improve our lives. This is especiallysignificant in today’s ever-changing digital world, but we must keep the human elements.
It’s about taking advantage of the latest communication innovations delivered to everyone’s hand, wrist, and pocket. We all walk around with these connected “supercomputers” —our mobile phones. They are far faster and superior to those my grandfather used at UCLA or those my father used to find oil. Better than those used to build and used to operate the Space Shuttle to deliver people to space and back! Vastly more powerful than those I used to ensure we are all safe when we fly commercial airliners. We have enabled businesses and organizations to drive dynamic marketing, services, and communications. The result is the ability to easily bring real-time, relevant experiences to people in places like convention centers, universities, airports, medical centers, hospitals, events, office buildings, and tourist destinations. We even use these computers to play games when in the restroom! With my patented platform, we even deliver a layer of contextual intelligence to communications, turning engagements into relationships. Today’s norm was crazy science fiction only a few years ago. Imagine what we will consider normal 5 years from now?!
An excerpt from Yuval Noah Harari’s book, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow, reads, “If Kindle is upgraded with face recognition and biometric sensors, it can know what made you laugh, what made you sad, and what made you angry. Soon, books will read you while you are reading them.”
This is possible today. My platform can do this and more… much more. Even when shopping, stores can read people’s reactions to products and ads served on shelves in real time. Creating experiences like those in the SciFi movie “Minority Report” with personalized ads and offers to those in front of the signs is quite easy with my platform. We can even do more. We can send that offer to your phone there and then, and with a single button, ship it to your home! Why is it not everywhere yet, you may ask? Sometimes, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. The creepy factor of these interactive AI displays is rather high. But soon, this will be common. Imagine a flight display at an airport changing the flight and gate information to your flight as you approach it and then sending the gate information to your phone’s indoor navigation system so the phone will tell you where to go. This is possible now with contextually intelligent signage systems, integrated indoor navigation, and hybrid mobile app interfaces. It’s all part of a Contextually Intelligent Communication Platform ecosystem.
Nowadays, technology is all around us; as we fast forward deeper into the territories of intelligent computers and brain interfaces, the question of whether technology isneutral or not arises. One can argue that no moral value can be accredited to technology.
Technology is blind, is the thought. Thus, tools only have value when a person with their value system applies them, and thus, the technology is dependent on the value system of that individual.
Hence, this outlook advocates that the operators are responsible for the ethical use of technology. This argument is used all over. Crypto itself doesn’t cause terrorism. Terrorist do. Another such argument is that we shouldn’t blame guns for killing people. It’s not the gun that kills in and of itself. It’s the person pulling the trigger. Guns are neutral; people aren’t. But isn’t the fact that the gun enabled the killer and that crypto enables terrorists to do their horrible acts of violence? So, then, the tech enables actions. In fact, in a way, with this mindset, the technology augments the human’s actions.
When evaluating technologies and what to invent, should we consider why and what they can be used for? Surely, the invention of the atomic bomb had these diabolic considerations—if you drop one bomb, hundreds of thousands will die. But if you don’t drop the bomb, the war will continue, and many more will be lost. Is it our values that determine what technology to build? It’s the consideration of what is good and what is right. If a choice to invent something may be used for evil and wrong reasons versus not inventing it at all, I would suggest that it’s better to invent and then invent ways to control it. Someone else will eventually invent something similar and may not have the same moral considerations as you do!
While the actual value for the technology users will determine how the technology is used, the fact that it only exists because of our values makes them inseparable. Thus, we can debate that technology can be maneuvered. It can add choices or improve processes that point in a specific direction.
In addition to that, when we get too used to how things are, it takes a greater struggle to see how things could be different. It takes a more creative mind to see it in any other way. As time passes and familiarity grows, the technology and its functions become so entrenched as to be hardly thought about or questioned.
In 1986, Robert J. Welchel wrote in IEEE Technology and Society Magazine:
“This moral neutrality is based upon viewing technology purely as a means (providing tools for society to use) with the ends (the actual usage of technology) lying beyond and outside the realm of engineering; this position also assumes that available means have no causal influence on the ends chosen. If technology truly is only a means, then engineering is a second-class profession since we are the mere pawns of the real power brokers. We buy our innocence at a tremendous cost: To be innocent, we must be powerless.”
A vital impediment here is our inherent acceptance of the failure to predict the future. If no designer, inventor, or company can foresee the future benefits and costs of what they build, how can they ensure they embed good values?
So, using the information we have, we must find the best explanations or predictions we can. We can learn from our mistakes and make better decisions if we consider how different technologies progress and their consequences.
This is important, as future technologies will likely be much more powerful and consequential than today. Can we find ways to ensure these systems are based on knowledge of what works elsewhere? What worked before? Is there a way to learn from this transfer of knowledge that passes from generation to generation when the ages cannot physically meet? Naturally, I cannot meet and talk with my great-great-grandfather; he passed away long before I was born. How am I following his path so closely?
So, we are heading into a future where it is important to start asking strange and new questions. When intelligent machines make their own ethical choices, it will make no sense to say that technology is neutral, and aligning our values will be tremendously important.
Now it is getting interesting, isn’t it? There is much more to ponder and think about. We all know that there are consequences to our actions. Now, we must consider that there are consequences to our thoughts, dreams, and visions.
About The Author
Bernt Erik Bjontegard
Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard is the inventor of the patented, award-winning Spark Compass™, a Contextually Intelligent™ communication platform used globally to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time and place. As founder and CEO of Total Communicator Solutions, Inc., Erik has led innovative deployments at events like Wimbledon and America’s Cup, for brands like Puma and Coca-Cola, and even for public health initiatives in the UK. He holds multiple pioneering patents, many of which have been cited by industry giants, including IBM, Apple, Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm. Originally from Norway, Erik began his journey as a snow shuffler and windsurf instructor, later earning a full scholarship to the University of Salford in the UK. He became a mechanical engineer, designing deep-sea robotics before working with NASA on the Space Shuttle program—something he proudly recalls with his favorite phrase: “I used to be a rocket scientist!” He later certified aircraft designs for Boeing and Airbus and has contributed to technologies that are now part of 5G infrastructure.
Erik’s career path has been anything but conventional, spanning fashion, real estate, and advanced telecommunications. His time with Qualcomm’s Corporate R&D team saw him contribute to emerging platforms like Vuforia and Gimbal, and it was there he learned to write patents and began his deep dive into innovation. Erik is also an honorary Fellow at the University of Salford and serves on advisory boards for several universities, sharing his visionary insights with future generations. In his autobiography, Erik reflects on his life journey, his family’s sacrifices during WWII, and the inherited spirit of innovation that connects generations. He explores how human experiences can shape the development of intelligent systems that enhance rather than replace human work. Through personal stories and big-picture questions, Erik invites readers to imagine a better future—one where technology supports humanity, not the other way around.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Suze Leonie for their latest release, Yonah and Devorah’s Traveling Music Theatre.
Book: Yonah and Devorah’s Traveling Music Theatre Author: Suze Leonie Publication date: 1 October 2014 Genres: General Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction Page Count: 157 pages Publisher: Fidessa Literary
About the Book
When famous new media artist Eli Schmidt inherits a mysterious chest from his emotionally detached grandmother that he is instructed not to open, he can’t curb his curiosity. Inside, he finds a lost and lonely doll named Devorah, who begins to heartbreakingly scream for the love of her life, Yonah. Wishing he had obeyed orders, Eli has no choice but to go on a journey to reunite the pair. To his great distress, this means he must give up his treasured peace and quiet and do what he loathes the most: interact with other people. While Eli desperately tries to break free from this burden, Devorah amplifies her control, embroiling him in a battle that will forever change the course of his life.
You can find Yonah and Devorah’s Traveling Music Theatre here: Amazon
About The Author
Suze Leonie
Suze Leonie is a literary fiction and children’s fiction author and illustrator from a Dutch coastal town. She has a passion for literature and philosophy and when she isn’t writing or drawing, she’s usually found with a book in her hand. In the spring of 2024 Suze Leonie made her debut with the novel Ivan, Boris and Me, which is the first book in a collection of literary works that heavily focus on human psychology. When Suze Leonie is able to let go of her precious books she enjoys going to museums, good food, board games and long walks on the beach.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Bernt Erik Bjontegard for his latest release, History Rules My Tomorrow.
About The Author
Bernt Erik Bjontegard
Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard is the inventor of the patented, award-winning Spark Compass™, a Contextually Intelligent™ communication platform used globally to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time and place. As founder and CEO of Total Communicator Solutions, Inc., Erik has led innovative deployments at events like Wimbledon and America’s Cup, for brands like Puma and Coca-Cola, and even for public health initiatives in the UK. He holds multiple pioneering patents, many of which have been cited by industry giants, including IBM, Apple, Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm.
Originally from Norway, Erik began his journey as a snow shuffler and windsurf instructor, later earning a full scholarship to the University of Salford in the UK. He became a mechanical engineer, designing deep-sea robotics before working with NASA on the Space Shuttle program—something he proudly recalls with his favorite phrase: “I used to be a rocket scientist!” He later certified aircraft designs for Boeing and Airbus and has contributed to technologies that are now part of 5G infrastructure.
Erik’s career path has been anything but conventional, spanning fashion, real estate, and advanced telecommunications. His time with Qualcomm’s Corporate R&D team saw him contribute to emerging platforms like Vuforia and Gimbal, and it was there he learned to write patents and began his deep dive into innovation. Erik is also an honorary Fellow at the University of Salford and serves on advisory boards for several universities, sharing his visionary insights with future generations.
In his autobiography, Erik reflects on his life journey, his family’s sacrifices during WWII, and the inherited spirit of innovation that connects generations. He explores how human experiences can shape the development of intelligent systems that enhance rather than replace human work.
Through personal stories and big-picture questions, Erik invites readers to imagine a better future—one where technology supports humanity, not the other way around.
A question to ponder: are we as humans pre-programmed to “follow in our father’s footsteps?” Is there something inherent in our heritage? Do we repeat what our forefathers and mothers did?
And if so, can we apply these inherited cross-generational learning methods as we invent the next generations of intelligent systems? Rather than creating AI that is artificial and intended to replace human work, can we create intelligent systems that AUGMENT the human’s work and support him or her? Can we invent intelligent systems that learn and improve themselves with the mind of creating betterment for all humans as well?
Erik Bjontegard left Norway when he was 18 to study in the UK, then moved on to California. Not realizing until later in life, his actions and behavior, his quests for new discoveries, and his desire to invent followed his father and grandfather on his mother’s side. Now an accomplished inventor, former NASA rocket scientist, deep sea robotics, and submarine explorer, he is now navigating the new Phygital realms connecting the physical and digital.
In this engaging and inspiring autobiography, Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard narrates his life filled with the stories of his grandparents’ sacrifices during WWII, his own mistakes and discoveries, and poses important questions on how to engage the listeners and their families to assist in creating and inventing better human-technology interfaces. Learning from his history, he is embarking on the journey to make his tomorrow better than today.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Adam Knight today, who will be unveiling an insightful excerpt from their memoir, Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into this beautiful book!
About the Book
Made of Iron
Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story 1939, Southern Poland. Dina was a young Jewish woman. She anticipated getting married and raising a family in the same small town where she had grown up. War broke her life. But it would not break her. Dina endured years of suffering in Auschwitz concentration camp, then more years of homelessness after the war. She finally settled in America where, after finally raising that family, she dedicated her life to sharing her story with young people. I was one of them.
Stepping into the lecture hall of my high school filled me with a sense o freverence and awe. Ordinary classes on ordinary days took place in ordinary rooms, but the lecture hall was for special events. As a freshman, I had never been inside. I scanned the banked rows of hard-backed plastic seats and the laminated tables that curved in a semicircle around the lighted stage. A pair of chairs sat in the middle of the stage. One, I knew, was for my teacher; the other was for the guest—the guest for this special event.
I took a seat in the second row. I didn’t dare sit in the back row. People who sit in the back row send a certain message to the speaker. I also didn’t sit in the front. That was too close. I was, and will always be, a sit-in-the- second-row type of person. I set my overloaded backpack down by a seat, then plunked myself down. The seat swiveled. How fancy! How collegiate! I could hear the squeaks and groans of all of the other seats in the hall. My classmate who sat next to me commented about how we should have class here every day. I smiled and agreed. It’s just a thing to say.
Recently, in history class, we finished a unit about the Holocaust and genocide. It was the first time I learned about these topics, and as always, I studied and did well on the test. Our teacher, Mr. Adessa, invited this guest speaker to give us a better understanding of the material. Since I had already gotten an A on the test, I did not see how much better understanding I could have, but I welcomed any assembly that broke up the monotony of the school day. I was 15 years old.
Mr. Adessa stepped onto the stage. He was tall, over six feet with a military bearing that made him seem taller still. Mustachioed, hair swept back, he was a man who rarely smiled, I had come to recognize him as a teacher who was tough and demanding and expected more of his students than they realized they could handle. A teacher who would give a B+ to an A student, so the student worked harder to realize what an A requires. Me.
He welcomed us and invited us to sit and pay attention. His students obeyed.
“I have with me here an important guest to our school. She is also a dear friend of mine. In class, you have learned about the Holocaust. You have heard of the Auschwitz concentration camp. You have learned a little bit about what happened to those who survived. I want to introduce you to my friend, Dina. She lives in Elmira, about an hour from here. She has a family there and has lived here in upstate New York for almost 50 years. But before that, she grew up in Poland and—well, I will let her tell her story.”
He escorted a woman to the chairs on the stage. He stooped down to offer an arm, though she did not need it. This woman could not have been more than five feet tall, with curly white hair and piercing eyes. She seemed old, the age of my grandparents, but she moved with a sense of strength and surety that made her seem like she could live forever. She sat in one chair. Mr. Adessa took the other.
“Thank you,” she said, and I immediately heard the Eastern European accent. She faced the audience. “My name is Dina Jacobson, and I was in Auschwitz concentration camp.”
I listened, silent and respectful, as Dina spent the next hour telling us about her life. She told us a few details about growing up on a farm in Poland. She told us about Nazis coming to her hometown and taking her family away, then eventually taking her. Much of her talk consisted of stories about her years in Auschwitz. She told about the abuse she suffered at the hands of guards, about living off of no more than a cup of ersatz coffee and a thin slice of bread each day. She rolled up her sleeve and showed us her forearm, where a number was written in blue ink. I couldn’t see the number clearly, as I was two rows back. Mr. Adessa told us that if we want to come up and see the tattoo up close at the end of the talk, we will have an opportunity. I already knew I would not. That would be too close.
Dina finished her talk by telling us a little about liberation from the camp, and about living in Elmira. Then she took questions, and students wanted to know more about the concentration camps. They wanted details. They wanted to know how terrible it was, and Dina did her best to explain. I asked no questions. I was moved, though not to tears, like some of my classmates. I assumed that this talk, like most educational experiences, will settle into my memory and stay there. I assumed that between the unit in history class and the presentation that day, I learned most of what I needed to know about the Holocaust. I assumed my relationship with Dina would end after the talk, and my relationship with my history teacher would end in June.
About all of these assumptions, I was completely wrong.
About The Author
Adam Knight
Adam Knight is an author and teacher in northern New Jersey, USA. His novel, At the Trough, was published in 2019 by NineStar Press. His memoir, Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story, was published in 2024 by The Wordsmithy. His short fiction and essays have been published in a number of anthologies and online venues, including Arcturus Press, Daily Science Fiction and Escape Pod. He is currently seeking publication for a cosmic horror novel about the sinking of the Titanic.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Miles Joyner for his latest release, Bazaar.
About The Author
Miles Joyner
Miles shifted to novels after years of filmmaking and editing television in the Washington, DC area. He particularly loves the technothriller genre at the moment and is an active member of International Thriller Writers where his first novel, Bazaar, was selected for their Debut Authors program. He also attends monthly meetings for the writer’s group, Novels in Progress DC.
A high-profile homicide of a former ambassador’s son in the nightlife district of the nation’s capital gets connected to an assassination market on the dark web, turning the DC area into a battlefield over a new generation of class warfare. When the ex-diplomat, Chiedu Attah, hires an elite executive protection team headed by siblings Yemi and Karen Uzunma to guarantee his safety, the security firm realizes they are going up against a young inventive contract killer who is determined to finish off the political VIP by any means necessary.
Bazaar is the first book in a series that follows the security contractor Raptor as it deals with the ramifications the prediction market has on the political celebrities of the capital region.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Bernt Erik Bjontegard for his latest release, History Rules my Tomorrow.
Book: History Rules My Tomorrow Author: Bernt Erik Bjontegard Publication date: 12/5/23 Genres: Memoir, Biography Page Count: 366 pages Publisher: –
About the Book
A question to ponder: are we as humans pre-programmed to “follow in our father’s footsteps?” Is there something inherent in our heritage? Do we repeat what our forefathers and mothers did?
And if so, can we apply these inherited cross-generational learning methods as we invent the next generations of intelligent systems? Rather than creating AI that is artificial and intended to replace human work, can we create intelligent systems that AUGMENT the human’s work and support him or her? Can we invent intelligent systems that learn and improve themselves with the mind of creating betterment for all humans as well?
Erik Bjontegard left Norway when he was 18 to study in the UK, then moved on to California. Not realizing until later in life, his actions and behavior, his quests for new discoveries, and his desire to invent followed his father and grandfather on his mother’s side. Now an accomplished inventor, former NASA rocket scientist, deep sea robotics, and submarine explorer, he is now navigating the new Phygital realms connecting the physical and digital.
In this engaging and inspiring autobiography, Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard narrates his life filled with the stories of his grandparents’ sacrifices during WWII, his own mistakes and discoveries, and poses important questions on how to engage the listeners and their families to assist in creating and inventing better human-technology interfaces. Learning from his history, he is embarking on the journey to make his tomorrow better than today.
Bernt “Erik” Bjontegard is the inventor of the patented, award-winning Spark Compass™, a Contextually Intelligent™ communication platform used globally to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time and place. As founder and CEO of Total Communicator Solutions, Inc., Erik has led innovative deployments at events like Wimbledon and America’s Cup, for brands like Puma and Coca-Cola, and even for public health initiatives in the UK. He holds multiple pioneering patents, many of which have been cited by industry giants, including IBM, Apple, Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm.
Originally from Norway, Erik began his journey as a snow shuffler and windsurf instructor, later earning a full scholarship to the University of Salford in the UK. He became a mechanical engineer, designing deep-sea robotics before working with NASA on the Space Shuttle program—something he proudly recalls with his favorite phrase: “I used to be a rocket scientist!” He later certified aircraft designs for Boeing and Airbus and has contributed to technologies that are now part of 5G infrastructure.
Erik’s career path has been anything but conventional, spanning fashion, real estate, and advanced telecommunications. His time with Qualcomm’s Corporate R&D team saw him contribute to emerging platforms like Vuforia and Gimbal, and it was there he learned to write patents and began his deep dive into innovation. Erik is also an honorary Fellow at the University of Salford and serves on advisory boards for several universities, sharing his visionary insights with future generations.
In his autobiography, Erik reflects on his life journey, his family’s sacrifices during WWII, and the inherited spirit of innovation that connects generations. He explores how human experiences can shape the development of intelligent systems that enhance rather than replace human work.
Through personal stories and big-picture questions, Erik invites readers to imagine a better future—one where technology supports humanity, not the other way around.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Adam Knight for his latest release, Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story.
Book: Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story Author: Adam Knight Publication date: September 2024 Genres: Memoir Page Count: 259 pages Publisher: The Wordsmithy LLC
About the Book
Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story 1939, Southern Poland. Dina was a young Jewish woman. She anticipated getting married and raising a family in the same small town where she had grown up. War broke her life. But it would not break her. Dina endured years of suffering in Auschwitz concentration camp, then more years of homelessness after the war. She finally settled in America where, after finally raising that family, she dedicated her life to sharing her story with young people. I was one of them.
Adam Knight is an author and teacher in northern New Jersey, USA. His novel, At the Trough, was published in 2019 by NineStar Press. His memoir, Made of Iron: The Dina Jacobson Story, was published in 2024 by The Wordsmithy. His short fiction and essays have been published in a number of anthologies and online venues, including Arcturus Press, Daily Science Fiction and Escape Pod. He is currently seeking publication for a cosmic horror novel about the sinking of the Titanic.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Miles Joyner for his latest release, Bazaar.
Book: Bazaar Author: Miles Joyner Publication date: March 24, 2025 Genres: Crime, Thriller, Suspense, Technothriller Page Count: 355 pages Publisher: World Castle Publishing
About the Book
A high-profile homicide of a former ambassador’s son in the nightlife district of the nation’s capital gets connected to an assassination market on the dark web, turning the DC area into a battlefield over a new generation of class warfare. When the ex-diplomat, Chiedu Attah, hires an elite executive protection team headed by siblings Yemi and Karen Uzunma to guarantee his safety, the security firm realizes they are going up against a young inventive contract killer who is determined to finish off the political VIP by any means necessary.
Bazaar is the first book in a series that follows the security contractor Raptor as it deals with the ramifications the prediction market has on the political celebrities of the capital region.
Miles shifted to novels after years of filmmaking and editing television in the Washington, DC area. He particularly loves the technothriller genre at the moment and is an active member of International Thriller Writers where his first novel, Bazaar, was selected for their Debut Authors program. He also attends monthly meetings for the writer’s group, Novels in Progress DC.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Morgan Hatch today, who will be unveiling an intriguing excerpt from the first installment of their new suspense-thriller trilogy, Gone to Ground. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into the intriguing plot they’ve crafted in their latest work!
About the Book
Gone to Ground
The first in a suspenseful new trilogy, a fast-paced thriller set in the streets of Los Angeles, featuring a Mexican American high school senior embroiled in a conspiracy that threatens to destroy his neighborhood.
Javier Jimenez is on a glide path to college while his brother, Alex, has done a 180 and is heading for trouble. Neither, however, have any idea what’s coming their way when George Jones sets in motion his plan for their neighborhood. “Some people flip homes. I flip zip codes.” It’s a cataclysmic vision of urban renewal replete with manmade disasters, civil unrest, and a tsunami of ambitious Zoomers.
Meanwhile, Alex and Javier’s feud quickly escalates, even as Alex finds himself in way over his head with Denker Street, the local gang. The bodies start falling, and Javier soon realizes Jones has put a target on his back. It’s time to go to ground. Can he keep Alex from falling further into the streets? Can he outplay Jones at his own game? All this and his own hopes, once so bright, now fading like a smog-shrouded LA skyline.
Halfway through lunch, the pair from Denker would arrive, Itchy and Scratchy, the former notable for his insistent, vacuous smile and the latter for his slightly forlorn appearance. They’d take the bleachers two at a time, stepping over lunch trays on their way to the back row. Itchy always had on a pristine ball cap turned at a jaunty angle, a shiny decal still affixed to the bill, and Scratchy, hands shoved deep in his pockets, wore a hoodie that bisected his skull and swung off the crown of his head as if glued in place. Itchy would plop down next to Alex, stick one hand in the bag of chips, then drape an arm over Alex’s shoulder, a telling combination of coercion and brotherhood that had grown over the first semester. Three months ago, Alex would have given the boy all shoulder, kept his eyes on his phone. Here it was October, now with the dap and the head nods, a steady drip of street-love like water for the thirsty. Itchy, the salesman, brought the hype, and sad-sack Scratchy brought the promise of violence. Javier held the most contempt for guys like Scratchy, follow-ons who kept the whole charade going. Javier had known a handful of Scratchies—his friend, Chuey, exhibit A—and knew they had more choice in their lives than the Itchys of the world who couldn’t help but inspire the worst in others. Scratchies lacked imagination, and without them, Itchys were just gas.
The Gaither lunch bell rang. Scratchy scanned the quad like a farmer looking for a good place to plant corn. He clutched the side of his jeans and climbed down the steps, a pop-and-lock that gave him the appearance of old age. Then Itchy stood, having sold Alex a vision of vidaloca now for ten minutes, and offered the cherry-on-top out of view of the school cameras. His hands, belt-high and with the fluid grace of an interpreter for the deaf, flashed the Denker trademark S-R-V: the first letters of the three street names, Sepulveda, Roscoe, and Van Nuys, which bounded their neighborhood, Barrio Horseshoe, or as everyone called it, the Shoe.
There was no fourth street because the southern boundary of the Shoe was a lunar landscape called Dogtown, a 500-acre vacant lot in the middle of East San Fernando Valley big enough to site a football stadium. Fifty years ago, when this part of Los Angeles had been mostly farmland, the area had been a man-made lake. Seen from above even today, it resembled an enormous footprint minus the toes. On Google Maps, it was cryptically referred to as a hazard abatement area, a lake long since dried up and now a tent city for the Valley’s destitute. Both code and law enforcement took a hands-off approach, certain that a close look would trigger enough paperwork to keep everyone behind their desks for months.
Javier watched Alex slow-walk to class like he was underwater. Another bad sign.
“Dumb and Dumber come by?” Raffa broke in.
Class was ending, Patel now returning to the mundane world of homework and Friday’s quiz. Javier looked at the whiteboard and made a mental note of the page numbers to read and the problem set to finish. Raffa knew Javier had been watching Alex and the daily ritual. “He’s in eighth grade, big brother. They’re all stupid.” Raffa zipped up his backpack. “Trust me. Jocelyn belongs in a cage.” Jocelyn was his sister. “I say put ‘em all on an island, come back in a year. Whoever survives gets to go on to high school.”
Javier thought of smiling but couldn’t. “Kid’s a follower, and he’s angry about something.” He stuck his notebook in his backpack and watched Alex disappear around a building. “Those two mooks been working him since August.” He couldn’t shake the fact that it was Alex, not Beto or Augusto, who’d been the target these past three months.
The bell rang, and the class stood to leave. Javier nudged Gio who was now staring at McRibbs, the skeleton parked in the corner, its head tilted toward the floor as if he’d dropped a set of keys. Enrique was already macking on the girl next to him who had the hunched posture of someone expecting a bomb to go off. Javier, Raffa, and Gio left him there and walked into the hallway traffic, a human salmon run after fourth period.
Raffa turned to Javier over his shoulder. “Relax. He’s gonna join a tagging crew, throw up his placa three times, get busted on the fourth when he shows up on camera.” They wound down the stairwell and outside to the quad. “Then Mendez’s gonna turn the jets on his ass.” Raffa took out his water bottle, offered a sip first to Gio then to Javier; both declined. “Then you’ll take him to Walmart to buy a new set of chones.”
Officer Mendez was the school police officer who’d made it his life’s mission to put wayward boys like Alex back on the path their mothers wanted them on. Twice a year he’d round up the Gaither frequent fliers and put them into a room with a group of veteranos who’d lived the life, done the time, and now put the fear of God into boys like Alex. Their facial scars webbed with stitch lines belied a history of violence, their jailhouse tats now blurred and illegible. Eight of them would put their chairs in a row, a firing squad for each of the Gaither bad apples.
See this paperclip? That’s what Papi will use to ink his initials on your neck, entiendes? Then another would push in closer, an ugly, staring face with dead eyes. Each fatherless boy, an unexpected spark of need suddenly welling up, as if summoned by this stranger, so close now, he could hear the man’s breath whistling through his nose. One by one, their chairs scraping the floor, until they formed an OG semicircle. One of them—whichever one still had his prison swole—would whip off his shirt to reveal a torso slabbed with muscle.
Gonna put salt on yo ass. Hahahahahaha. Yo ass taste better with salt. More riotous laughter then Mendez would get up and leave the room to take a call, and that’s when some of the boys would pee themselves.
About The Author
Morgan Hatch
Having been a teacher for thirty years in the public schools of Los Angeles, Morgan Hatch now writes about the people and places he’s encountered in the classrooms and neighborhoods in which he’s worked. Inspired by true events detailed in his blog, Gone To Ground is his debut novel. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife where he is forever trying to learn his mother-in-law’s dal dhokli recipe.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Robert A. Walker today, who will be unveiling an intriguing excerpt from their new series, The Legends of Baelon. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into the intriguing world they’ve crafted in their latest work!
About the Book
Two Crowns, Three Blades
“Revenge is a temptress, full of promise, but she rarely satisfies… and almost always exacts payment.“
Still grieving over the loss of his wife and daughter, King Axil of Aranox declares war on The Guild of Takers. The GOT’s High Order responds, strengthening its efforts to kill both of Baelon’s monarchs. Tristan Godfrey seeks his brother’s murderer, and true love is made to wait again as Sibil Dunn embarks on a solitary crusade. Saved from the guillotine, Overseer Reynard Rascall looks to avenge Spiro’s death, while retired Royal Guard, Rolft Aerns, recovers from his wounds and puts away his sword—until, that is, he learns of Sibil’s quest.
By mid-morning, they were deep in what Gradi repeatedly referred to as “the wicked woods,” surrounded by coniferous evergreens, patches of smokewood, and masses of joining trees so closely knit the sun could not find the forest floor. Overhead, the only visible patch of sky mirrored the trail they followed, like a ribbon of blue framed by the tips of tall trees on either side.
Warm air enveloped them, prompting conservation of movement. Their horses plodded along, side by side, hooves nearly silent on a carpet of duff.The lush forest undergrowth captured other noises, quickly suffocating them. But each snap of a twig, every rustle of dried leaves, reminded Sibil that the bortok thought itself the king of the Dark Woods, and its subjects all fair prey.
There was little in the landscape to spark interest, or to distinguish one stretch of trail from the next, until the sudden appearance of a fork in the road.
“Corpse’s Choice?” she asked.
Gradi nodded. “Decision time. You’re sure you won’t turn back?”
Before she could answer, the old man raised a hand, suggesting she stay silent. What sounded like the faint patter of rain caused her to look back down the trail, her gaze fixed there until three bare-chested riders turned a corner into view.
The biggest of them, a heavy, burly man, sat atop his horse like a large soup kettle. Or is he half beast? Thick, dark hair covered his bare arms and chest. A dozen or more coarse braids dangled past his shoulders, a few resting on his untrimmed beard. A string of white shells encircled his neck. Two leaner riders followed, their faces hidden from Sibil’s view until Black Braids stopped his mount to gawk at her and Gradi. His companions sidled next to him, one bald with a square, clean-shaven face and sunken eyes; the other was clearly younger than his counterparts, despite his scraggly beard. Even sitting in the saddle doing nothing, he appeared wild-eyed and agitated.
Just the type one might expect to inhabit the Dark Woods!
Wherever they were headed, the leader seemed in little hurry. Black Braids cast a look at Corpse’s Choice before cultivating his interest in Sibil. The way he stared reminded her of the king’s steward, and she glared back at him. He would have to do or say something especially pleasant in the very near future to change her first impression of him.
He spat into the woods. “Lost, are you?” His bald companion circled slowly behind Gradi. The youngest, all too interested in Sibil, coaxed his mount so close to Shadow the two horse’s flanks rubbed against one another. Sibil’s hand crept inside her shirt.
“Listen to me, friend.” Gradi leaned forward in his saddle to capture Black Braids’ attention. “Where we’re going is of no concern to you.” The words came slowly, as though meant to be digested just as carefully. “But as I can see what’s on your mind, I’m going to do you a favor and tell you what you need to know. The young lady is to be received by someone of importance. I’m not at liberty to say just who has sent for her, but given our location and the direction of our travel, I think that you might guess. If she does not arrive when expected, and in sound condition, whoever is to blame for that will live just long enough to regret his actions a thousand times over.”
“Is that right?” Black Braids snorted. “Someone special, is she? And yet…” His eyes spent a few moments studying Gradi and his rusted sword. “Whoever waits for her trusts the likes of you to protect her?”
“I’m not here to protect her,” Gradi said. “I’m merely her escort, and that should tell you something about the degree of trouble we are expected to encounter from others. You could easily dispense with me, no doubt. Just know that would offend the one who waits for her. She’s not to be touched. Not by me. Not by anyone. No one in their right mind would dare.”
One of Black Braids’ little fingers barely twitched, but its message was as clear to Sibil as it was to its intended audience. The youngest rider removed his hand from Shadow’s rump.
Gradi cleared his voice. “You’ve been warned.”
Clearly weighing options, Black Braids tried a different tack. “You don’t say. Perhaps whoever’s waiting for her would appreciate our joining you. Might they not be grateful for our protection?”
“They would not,” came Gradi’s curt response. “I’m to report any contact or unpleasantness upon our arrival. I trust I shan’t have to mention you, and that we’ll not cross paths again.” One of Black Braids’ nostrils began to twitch. Gradi’s expression did not waver. “I’ll close my eyes for a silent count of ten, shall I? And when I open them, I’ll pretend you were never here.”
Sibil’s fingers curled around the hilt of her knife. Her heart pounded as Gradi’s eyelids lowered.
Black Braids gave her a last look, and she returned it impassively. He spat toward the ground before digging his heels into his horse’s ribs. “Hyah!” All three riders took the left fork and trotted out of sight.
Sibil’s hand relaxed.
Gradi opened his eyes, and for a long moment, he just stared at her. “We’ll stay put for a bit, and let them put some distance between us, shall we?” Sibil nodded. “Though I seriously doubt they’ll trouble us further.”
“You’re shaking,” Sibil said.
“Am I?” Gradi held a hand out and watched it tremble. “So I am.”
“That was…” Sibil struggled to find the right words.
Gradi gave a nervous laugh. “Yes, it was.” He exhaled a heavy breath. “But I know the type.”
“Which is to say?” asked Sibil.
The old man smiled. “There are men whose courage is bound to their heart. It’s as much a part of them as any limb or bone. You cannot tame it, nor can they, not even in the face of certain death. It’s in their blood, you see, and will remain there until the last drop is spilled.”
Like Rolft, wounded and unarmed, challenging the knife-wielding “cat” to attack him during the celebration of Six Moons!
“These were a different breed,” Gradi said. “Their courage comes and goes like water from their bodies. If they think they hold the high ground or sense a weak opponent, they drink it in and swell like a sponge. But if they sense the slightest threat or danger, their courage leaks from them as easily as sweat or piss until there’s nothing left. A baby lamb could be attacking them, but if they’re made to believe it is a bortok, if they see it as a bortok, they’re going to run and hide.”
“What told you they were this breed?”
Gradi shrugged. “It was a gamble, to be sure. What I could see without a doubt was their intent. What else was I to do?”
Sibil nodded slowly. “I see.”
“You know the kind of man I’m talking about?”
“I do. And now I know the kind you are as well.” She tilted her head toward the left fork of Corpse’s Choice. “Shall we?”
About The Author
Robert A. Walker
I grew up in a small Northwestern town in Massachusetts. My father was a professional editor, so I’m sure the itch to play with words is something I inherited from him. I was always writing stories as a youth, and my dad would scribble all over them before handing them back to me. When I graduated college, I packed everything I owned into a small car with a rusted-out floorboard and headed west. I wound up in California where I found not only employment, but a wife, and we have lived here happily with our dogs and a view of the Pacific Ocean ever since. When I’m not fabricating tales, I can be found competing on local tennis courts or working on a never-ending list of DIY house projects.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Robert A. Walker for his book, Two Crowns, Three Blades.
Book: Two Crowns, Three Blades Author: Robert A. Walker Publication Date: April 30, 2025 Genres: Fantasy, Adventure Page Count: 394 pages
About the Book
“Revenge is a temptress, full of promise, but she rarely satisfies… and almost always exacts payment.“
Still grieving over the loss of his wife and daughter, King Axil of Aranox declares war on The Guild of Takers. The GOT’s High Order responds, strengthening its efforts to kill both of Baelon’s monarchs. Tristan Godfrey seeks his brother’s murderer, and true love is made to wait again as Sibil Dunn embarks on a solitary crusade. Saved from the guillotine, Overseer Reynard Rascall looks to avenge Spiro’s death, while retired Royal Guard, Rolft Aerns, recovers from his wounds and puts away his sword—until, that is, he learns of Sibil’s quest.
I grew up in a small Northwestern town in Massachusetts. My father was a professional editor, so I’m sure the itch to play with words is something I inherited from him. I was always writing stories as a youth, and my dad would scribble all over them before handing them back to me. When I graduated college, I packed everything I owned into a small car with a rusted-out floorboard and headed west. I wound up in California where I found not only employment, but a wife, and we have lived here happily with our dogs and a view of the Pacific Ocean ever since. When I’m not fabricating tales, I can be found competing on local tennis courts or working on a never-ending list of DIY house projects.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Raphael Pond for his latest release, Bell Tower.
About The Author
Raphael Pond
Author bio: Raphael Pond earned a degree in professional writing at York College of Pennsylvania. While there, he also studied the philosophy of technology and its effects on humankind. Raphael currently lives in Salem, Oregon where he is a personal trainer by day and a writer by night. In the summers, he and his wife like to go on adventures in nature. They are always looking for a good hike, hot spring, swimming hole, or rock wall to climb.
In a future where one phrase can heal any pain, there exists a meditation unlike any other: Solosis. It’s a practice that forms an empathetic bond between two souls, unlocking unparalleled healing power. But its secrets are fiercely guarded by Sasha Sumzer, a mysterious meditation teacher with a darker agenda. Sasha is determined to bring down Axiom, the social media giant that has reshaped society with its revolutionary Glow Domes—devices that have replaced smartphones and altered daily life forever. While Glow Domes captivate the masses, Sasha believes the human mind is the final frontier for true liberation. As an unsuspecting group of individuals stumbles upon Sasha’s teachings, they become entangled in a dangerous game that forces them to question whether Solosis is a tool for healing or a weapon for control. To discover the truth , they must confront their deepest fears and decide what they’re willing to sacrifice to save the nation’s collective consciousness. In this gripping thriller, the battle for the mind has begun—and the line between healing and manipulation is dangerously thin.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Raphael Pondfor his latest release,Bell Tower.
Book: Bell Tower Author: Raphael Pond Publication date: February 18, 2025 Genres: Science Fiction Thriller, Magical Realism, Hard Science Fiction, Dystopia Page Count: 304 pages Publisher: Vine Leaves Press
About the Book
In a future where one phrase can heal any pain, there exists a meditation unlike any other: Solosis. It’s a practice that forms an empathetic bond between two souls, unlocking unparalleled healing power. But its secrets are fiercely guarded by Sasha Sumzer, a mysterious meditation teacher with a darker agenda. Sasha is determined to bring down Axiom, the social media giant that has reshaped society with its revolutionary Glow Domes—devices that have replaced smartphones and altered daily life forever. While Glow Domes captivate the masses, Sasha believes the human mind is the final frontier for true liberation. As an unsuspecting group of individuals stumbles upon Sasha’s teachings, they become entangled in a dangerous game that forces them to question whether Solosis is a tool for healing or a weapon for control. To discover the truth , they must confront their deepest fears and decide what they’re willing to sacrifice to save the nation’s collective consciousness. In this gripping thriller, the battle for the mind has begun—and the line between healing and manipulation is dangerously thin.
Raphael Pond earned a degree in professional writing at York College of Pennsylvania. While there, he also studied the philosophy of technology and its effects on humankind. Raphael currently lives in Salem, Oregon where he is a personal trainer by day and a writer by night. In the summers, he and his wife like to go on adventures in nature. They are always looking for a good hike, hot spring, swimming hole, or rock wall to climb.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Today, we roll out the red carpet for the amazing Raphael Pond, who is about to unveil the beautiful cover of his new science-fiction dystopian thriller, Bell Tower.
Presenting…
About the Book
In a future where one phrase can heal any pain, there exists a meditation unlike any other: Solosis. It’s a practice that forms an empathetic bond between two souls, unlocking unparalleled healing power. But its secrets are fiercely guarded by Sasha Sumzer, a mysterious meditation teacher with a darker agenda. Sasha is determined to bring down Axiom, the social media giant that has reshaped society with its revolutionary Glow Domes—devices that have replaced smartphones and altered daily life forever. While Glow Domes captivate the masses, Sasha believes the human mind is the final frontier for true liberation. As an unsuspecting group of individuals stumbles upon Sasha’s teachings, they become entangled in a dangerous game that forces them to question whether Solosis is a tool for healing or a weapon for control. To discover the truth , they must confront their deepest fears and decide what they’re willing to sacrifice to save the nation’s collective consciousness. In this gripping thriller, the battle for the mind has begun—and the line between healing and manipulation is dangerously thin.
Author bio: Raphael Pond earned a degree in professional writing at York College of Pennsylvania. While there, he also studied the philosophy of technology and its effects on humankind. Raphael currently lives in Salem, Oregon where he is a personal trainer by day and a writer by night. In the summers, he and his wife like to go on adventures in nature. They are always looking for a good hike, hot spring, swimming hole, or rock wall to climb.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Robert A. Walker today, who will be unveiling an intriguing excerpt from their new fantasy series, The Legend of Baelon, Six Moons, Seven Gods. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into the intriguing world they’ve crafted in their latest work!
About the Book
Six Moons, Seven Gods
“One must be careful practicing deception. The easiest to deceive will always be one’s self.”
The skilled thieves of the Takers Guild plot to overthrow the kingdoms of Baelon, but when their plans are thwarted by a prescient woman and her brooding daughter, they must turn to the League of Assassins for assistance. Meanwhile, retired royal guard Rolft Aerns returns to the palace of King Axil with an old score to settle. When they all cross paths–and swords–in the dark shadows of Fostead’s south end, nothing is as it seems and the murder count rises quickly.
The long fingers of the Guild reach everywhere, and one overly ambitious thief is all it takes to spark a chain of events that will haunt the world of Baelon for many years to come.
Six Moons, Seven Gods is book one in The Legends of Baelon.
Night was falling as Sibil left the cobbler’s shop. She turned to watch its front door close, managing to wave before the cobbler’s wrinkled face and long leather apron disappeared inside. The small shop was, as the abbot had said, but a short walk from The God of Children’s House; she had had no trouble finding it following his directions. The abbot had given her a metal amulet in the shape of a rectangular shield the size of her palm. Its leather thong enabled it to be worn around the neck, but the abbot had told her to present it to the cobbler with one of her mother’s worn shoes upon arrival.
She had done so and, as predicted by the abbot, the cobbler—a kindly old man with a mop of white hair—had simply asked, “How do you come by this, my dear?”
And though it seemed a bit odd to her, she had responded as instructed: “Thank you for asking, Master Nash. Father Syrus prays for me.”
The cobbler had returned the amulet to her hand, folding her fingers around it. “Then I am at your service, madam. What can I do for you?”
When Sibil had explained her predicament, the cobbler had assured her that if she would return on the morrow at sunrise, he would have ready for her mother a pair of new turnshoes made of soft leather goatskin. There would be no charge.
Sibil retraced her steps down a narrow alley as her thoughts returned to her mother’s strange behavior. She had purposely ignored previous impulses to reconstruct the day’s events, telling herself she had more important things to pursue. She had first focused her energies on finding shelter, and then busied herself with the abbot’s offer of new shoes. Those would help her mother’s immediate plight, no doubt, but the woman’s physical ailments were clearly nothing compared to what was plaguing her mind. Things had not been right with her since Sibil’s father died. And they had gotten progressively worse. It was as though she had drifted away from her old self, and from those she had been close to. Sibil had not had a meaningful conversation with her for almons. There were sparks of life here and there, moments when Sibil dared to hope that her mother might be released from whatever enthralled her, but today’s events had seriously dashed any such dream. Aloof and withdrawn was bad enough. Now it seemed her mother was drifting from reality as well. Her irrational rants about the king and Sibil’s own safety were a new—
A violent force slammed into Sibil’s shoulder, knocking her sideways and into the alley wall. She lost her footing, falling to one knee, dazed. There was the sound of gravel grating under foot.
“Well now, lass, jest where might you be goin’?”
Sibil’s heartbeat quickened. She should have known not to take the alley. It was dark, but not so dark that she could not make out the shape of a tall man standing over her. She could smell him as well. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head toward his crotch.
Sibil still held the amulet. Instinctively, she drove it as hard as she could up between the man’s legs. He gasped and released her hair.
“Bitch!” The man reached once more for her, but Sibil had already drawn her arm back. She struck him again with the amulet, in the same spot, only this time with more purchase and resolve. “Agh!” Too late, the man struggled to shield his privates.
Sibil stood, dropping the amulet as she reached frantically for the dagger beneath her coat. Her fingers trembled as they curled tightly around its hilt. She brandished the blade menacingly, panting as she sought to ward off her attacker.
“Bitch!” The man drew his own, much larger, knife. He lunged as Sibil turned and ran straight into the arms of an even larger man she had not seen approaching from the other end of the alley. She tried to push away, but already he had wrapped a strong arm around her, pinning both of hers and lifting her off her feet. Still holding her, the big man grabbed her oncoming assailant with his other arm and threw him headfirst against the alley wall.
Sibil squirmed, but the big man held her tightly with one arm. With the other, he pried the dagger from her hand.
“I’m going to let you go now. No further harm will come to you.”
Sibil found herself standing on her own, unsure of what to think. The big man held her dagger by the blade and offered it to her. “Take it and be off.”
What’s happening? Sibil hesitated before instinct overrode all else. With another surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins, she snatched her knife and ran.
About The Author
Robert A. Walker
I grew up in a small Northwestern town in Massachusetts. My father was a professional editor, so I’m sure the itch to play with words is something I inherited from him. I was always writing stories as a youth, and my dad would scribble all over them before handing them back to me. When I graduated college, I packed everything I owned into a small car with a rusted-out floorboard and headed west. I wound up in California where I found not only employment, but a wife, and we have lived here happily with our dogs and a view of the Pacific Ocean ever since. When I’m not fabricating tales, I can be found competing on local tennis courts or working on a never-ending list of DIY house projects.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Andrew Goliszek today, who will be unveiling an intriguing excerpt from their new fantasy series, Like Embers in the Night. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into the intriguing world they’ve crafted in their latest work!
About the Book
Like Embers in the Night
During Stalin’s brutal reign of terror, Janek, a Polish soldier, and his wife, Wanda, endure the horrors of Soviet labor camps and Siberian gulags as World War II rages across Europe. While millions perish, they endure the invasion of Poland by Germany and Russia and then miraculously survive mass deportations, imprisonment, torture, and starvation. Broken both physically and emotionally by their near-death experiences and the unspeakable atrocities of dictatorships and of war, Janek and Wanda are reunited seven years after he marched off to defend his country. They must begin a new life and try to forget the many scars of their past, but where? And can they ever truly forget all that happened to them while they were apart…
You can find Like Embers in the Night here: Amazon
Excerpt
Slumped almost lifelessly against the tufts of her chair, Wanda stared out an open window overlooking a lovely garden. Warm August rains had colored the grounds with a sea of vibrant flowers, their scent filling her room like a bouquet, though she barely noticed. Occasionally, even the most insignificant events would trigger memories from a time long gone: a soft whisper, a faint smell, the delicate warmth of a child’s breath against her face, the soothing melody of a Mozart sonata. It was at those moments that Wanda would waken from her darkness and, with a look of fear spreading across her face, remember her family in Radom, who had no idea that a hundred miles south, the skies rained gray with the ashes of a thousand souls. On most days, they hardly detected the grainy soot around them, or even witnessed an evening sunset because the five incinerators in Auschwitz burned bodies day and night. Before long, everyone in Radom simply got used to it—a lingering grit that filled the air and settled upon the smallest things: a blade of grass, a delicate flower, a pat of butter spread on toast, a tongue that flicked unconsciously to rid itself of a strange and fleshy taste that hours earlier had been someone’s husband or wife.
Wanda’s memories these days came in and out, bubbling to the surface, then vanishing as if someone had reached in and wiped them away. On especially bad days, her world was a blank slate. No parents or grandparents to remember. No children or grandchildren to bring joy into her life. Not even a husband to keep her warm at night as she slept. The good sisters of Saint Francis who ran the Catholic nursing home tried as best they could to ease the bouts of anger and depression that overcame her. It didn’t help that Wanda, afflicted with worsening dementia, had, on some days, reverted to speaking Polish to everyone around her.
That particular day in early August started out as a good one. Perked up and searching the room for anything familiar, her eyes sparkled as she caught glimpses of happier days, but suddenly turned despondent when she remembered the day she’d seen her beloved Janek for the last time. He was eighty-six years old when she walked into his hospital room in Pensacola, Florida—a gentle shadow of a man with a Polish accent, a kind but stoic face, and such remarkable stories of love and suffering and war that they’d forever changed the way his children and grandchildren looked at life. The few friends he had knew him as John, but he preferred Janek, one of the few reminders he had of his beloved Poland. His hazel eyes, so animated they seemed to dance, would glisten with tears whenever he spoke of what his wife and daughter had endured in the brutal labor camps of Siberia; and it was at those moments when Janek’s eyes would harden and expose the very depths of his soul.
Wanda remembered that morning like it was yesterday, picturing the ventilator tube snaked down his throat, his frail chest rising and falling to the rhythm of oxygen that kept his heart from stopping until his family could all gather and say goodbye for the last time, staring at his ashen face as she thought back to a life that most people would find unimaginable. Her bony fingers clenched as if holding onto something precious, she looked at a small painting of the Virgin Mary, then glanced around the stark room. Something familiar pervaded the silence. She felt alone, as she did on most days, though she rarely knew it or even cared, until her memory suddenly returned and she would whisper, “Janek. Where are you, my love?”
For the entire minute she was lucid, Wanda remembered pressing Janek’s cold hand into hers, thinking that he had no business being alive; that his children and grandchildren should not have been born; that whosever’s life he’d ever touched or changed, made better or worse because of his existence on earth, would be as different as night and day. And that whatever he’d done in his next forty-six years, whatever contributions he’d made, significant or not, would have vanished like dust in the wind were it not for the fateful day he’d risked his life and walked to freedom while twenty-five thousand other Polish soldiers marched in lockstep to Stalin’s execution order and on to their graves in the Katyn Forest.
Over the years, Wanda had heard the tragic story of Stalin’s Katyn Massacre and the Polish soldiers executed and thrown into mass graves where they lay buried and forgotten for decades. Though she’d never spoken of it herself, and it pained her to listen to Janek’s heart wrenching tales of war, she’d accepted that, for him, it was cathartic. But as she grew older, and because she’d experienced more pain in seven years than most women would suffer in a lifetime, she prohibited even a mention of anything Russian, especially when Janek would describe a time in history when hell, in all its fury, had made its home on earth.
Wanda’s Poland, with a population of only thirty-five million, was the only Allied nation that fought in World War II from the opening salvos of Nazi occupation and Russia’s invasion in 1939 until Germany’s surrender a week after Adolf Hitler had committed suicide in 1945. For its size, no other nation on earth had given as much or had suffered more than Poland: millions sent to gulags or deported to labor camps in Kazakhstan and the frigid regions of Siberia; millions more exterminated in concentration camps dotted across the Polish landscape; countless men, women, and children starved, tortured, murdered, and worked to death simply because they were Poles. By the time the war ended, its population had been reduced by at least ten million. To survive six years of the two most brutal regimes in modern history was not only unlikely, it was truly a miracle. But amongst the ashes and smoldering ruins, broken lives and unspeakable horrors of war, miracles did happen; survivors who’d lived to tell their children of war and gulags, of victors and unlikely heroes, trying in vain to forget the shocking cruelty of a world that had taken everything they had from them, living their lives in the shadows as if no one else in the world cared. It’s said that these heroes are like embers in the night, glowing brilliantly in the darkest moments of history, forever changing the course of humanity, and then, just as suddenly, vanishing as distant memories fade and the world forgets what ordinary men and women did when hope was gone and all seemed lost. Wanda and Janek were two of those seemingly ordinary people, and on that day and at that moment in Sandusky, Ohio, Wanda remembered.
About The Author
Andrew Goliszek
After receiving a Ph.D. in Physiology from Utah State University, Dr. Andrew Goliszek was a research associate at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in both the department of Physiology and the department of Medicine. Following that, he was Associate Professor of Biology and Human Anatomy & Physiology at North Carolina A&T State University where he developed and taught 6 undergraduate and graduate course. He has written numerous books and articles, was principal investigator on several NIH biomedical research grants, and was recipient of the prestigious College of Arts & Sciences Faculty of the Year Award for excellence in teaching, research, and student advising.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Robert A. Walker for his book, Six Moons, Seven Gods.
Book: Six Moons, Seven Gods Author: Robert A. Walker Publication Date: November 1, 2023 Genres: Fantasy, Adventure Page Count: 305 pages Publisher: –
About the Book
“One must be careful practicing deception. The easiest to deceive will always be one’s self.”
The skilled thieves of the Takers Guild plot to overthrow the kingdoms of Baelon, but when their plans are thwarted by a prescient woman and her brooding daughter, they must turn to the League of Assassins for assistance. Meanwhile, retired royal guard Rolft Aerns returns to the palace of King Axil with an old score to settle. When they all cross paths–and swords–in the dark shadows of Fostead’s south end, nothing is as it seems and the murder count rises quickly.
The long fingers of the Guild reach everywhere, and one overly ambitious thief is all it takes to spark a chain of events that will haunt the world of Baelon for many years to come.
Six Moons, Seven Gods is book one in The Legends of Baelon.
Winner of Book Excellence Award for Best Medieval Fantasy, Chick Lit Cafe, November, 2023
Winner of Literary Titan Book Award, December, 2023
I grew up in a small Northwestern town in Massachusetts. My father was a professional editor, so I’m sure the itch to play with words is something I inherited from him. I was always writing stories as a youth, and my dad would scribble all over them before handing them back to me. When I graduated college, I packed everything I owned into a small car with a rusted-out floorboard and headed west. I wound up in California where I found not only employment, but a wife, and we have lived here happily with our dogs and a view of the Pacific Ocean ever since. When I’m not fabricating tales, I can be found competing on local tennis courts or working on a never-ending list of DIY house projects.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Andrew Goliszek for his latest release, Like Embers in the Night.
Book: Like Embers in the Night Author: Andrew Goliszek Publication date: December 16, 2024 Genres: Historical Fiction, General Fiction, Women’s Fiction Page Count: 333 pages Publisher: Wild Rose Press, NY
About the Book
During Stalin’s brutal reign of terror, Janek, a Polish soldier, and his wife, Wanda, endure the horrors of Soviet labor camps and Siberian gulags as World War II rages across Europe. While millions perish, they endure the invasion of Poland by Germany and Russia and then miraculously survive mass deportations, imprisonment, torture, and starvation. Broken both physically and emotionally by their near-death experiences and the unspeakable atrocities of dictatorships and of war, Janek and Wanda are reunited seven years after he marched off to defend his country. They must begin a new life and try to forget the many scars of their past, but where? And can they ever truly forget all that happened to them while they were apart…
You can find Like Embers in the Night here: Amazon
About The Author
Andrew Goliszek
After receiving a Ph.D. in Physiology from Utah State University, Dr. Andrew Goliszek was a research associate at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in both the department of Physiology and the department of Medicine. Following that, he was Associate Professor of Biology and Human Anatomy & Physiology at North Carolina A&T State University where he developed and taught 6 undergraduate and graduate course. He has written numerous books and articles, was principal investigator on several NIH biomedical research grants, and was recipient of the prestigious College of Arts & Sciences Faculty of the Year Award for excellence in teaching, research, and student advising.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Today, we roll out the red carpet for the amazing Andrew Goliszek, who is about to unveil the beautiful cover of his historical fiction novel, Like Embers in the Night.
Presenting…
About the Book
During Stalin’s brutal reign of terror, Janek, a Polish soldier, and his wife, Wanda, endure the horrors of Soviet labor camps and Siberian gulags as World War II rages across Europe. While millions perish, they endure the invasion of Poland by Germany and Russia and then miraculously survive mass deportations, imprisonment, torture, and starvation. Broken both physically and emotionally by their near-death experiences and the unspeakable atrocities of dictatorships and of war, Janek and Wanda are reunited seven years after he marched off to defend his country. They must begin a new life and try to forget the many scars of their past, but where? And can they ever truly forget all that happened to them while they were apart…
You can find Like Embers in the Night here: Amazon
About The Author
Andrew Goliszek
After receiving a Ph.D. in Physiology from Utah State University, Dr. Andrew Goliszek was a research associate at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in both the department of Physiology and the department of Medicine. Following that, he was Associate Professor of Biology and Human Anatomy & Physiology at North Carolina A&T State University where he developed and taught 6 undergraduate and graduate course. He has written numerous books and articles, was principal investigator on several NIH biomedical research grants, and was recipient of the prestigious College of Arts & Sciences Faculty of the Year Award for excellence in teaching, research, and student advising.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Lisa A. Moore for her latest release, Whispers of the Selkie.
Book: Whispers of the Selkie Author: Lisa A. Moore Publication date: January 21, 2025 Genres: Urban Fantasy, Mystical Realism, Contemporary Fantasy Page Count: 306 pages Publisher: –
About the Book
Some secrets refuse to stay buried-especially when the ocean itself seems to be keeping them.
When Morwenna Willowheart Brightwood receives a mysterious letter shimmering with an otherworldly pull, her carefully controlled life begins to unravel. She’s content in her weathered lighthouse home on the Maine coast, weaving stories for others and tending her wind-battered garden. But this letter isn’t just a piece of paper-it’s a summons. One that carries her across the sea to the mist-shrouded Scottish Highlands, where ancient legends breathe, magic hums just beneath the surface, and family secrets refuse to stay silent.
Thrown into a world she barely understands, Morwenna is forced to confront the legacy she’s unknowingly inherited-a tangled web of selkie folklore, forgotten power, and a curse that stretches back generations. With her fiercely protective sister Ava by her side and the guidance of mysterious allies with motives as murky as the sea itself, Morwenna must navigate a path filled with danger, deception, and choices she’s not ready to make.
But legends don’t care about readiness. They don’t care about fear. And the tide waits for no one.
Whispers of the Selkie is a story where urban fantasy collides with mystical realism, set against the haunting beauty of the Scottish coastline. Rich with contemporary fantasy flair, it’s a tale of family loyalty, reluctant destiny, and the pull of magic that refuses to let go.
Perfect for fans of Karen Moning, Deborah Harkness, and readers who crave sharp-witted heroines, atmospheric worlds, and secrets wrapped in salt and shadow.
Lisa Moore juggles more storylines than her pilot husband does flight schedules. Specializing in urban fantasy and psychological thrillers, she occasionally dabbles in gothic and paranormal for a fun plot twist. A master of multitasking, she keeps several stories brewing at once—one as her main obsession and the others as creative pit stops when her imagination needs a stretch. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her chasing after her energetic dog, Violette, or splashing vibrant watercolors, adding a little color to the chaos.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB! We are really excited to have you over. Please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself before we begin.
*stares at you for a moment as if she is trying to see the bottom of your soul* Siff Braghor, Commander, first officer on the Herald Petrel, ship number 3342 of the Company Cargo Fleet (CCF). The type is a Stargazer Mark V.
What is your age and what do you do for a living?
35. As I just said, I am the first officer on the Herald Petrel.
How you like to spend your free time?
Exercising. I do a lot of sports. Won some competitions. I also hold the current title in Pokaran Procat Pull.
What’s that?
*rolls eyes* The most important skill competition for heavy equipment drivers. Are you Earthlings never educating yourself about what goes on in the universe outside of that ridiculous small blue planet? You are so pathetic!
I also heard rumors that you read books?
Who said that? *raises suspicious eyebrow* Are you trying to lure me into a trap? *cracks knuckles*
Let’s skip that. Please share some of your beliefs, principles, motivations and morals (can be social, religious or political or, etc. Anything that will help us get to know you better.)
I believe I shouldn’t trust strangers asking too many questions.
We already had Captain Galahad and Raffi answering the same question.
Did they, now? And when two of your crew mates are eating toxic trappel berry jam with pietec feet you do the same just because they did?
Let’s skip that as well, then. Tell us something about your family and childhood.
The crew is my family, now. They are all that matter. Everything else is in the past and doesn’t mean anything.
Tell us something about your dreams and aspirations? Were you able to achieve them or are you planning to?
I am very happy to be the Commander of the Herald Petrel. I don’t need anything else.
What is your biggest fear in life?
I don’t fear anything in this universe.
How would you describe your life in one sentence?
Good, considering the circumstances.
What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?
You have no idea. Be glad you have no idea. *stares at you as if she sees all the bad things that ever happened to you and all the terrible things you ever did in your life and judges you for them*
Did it change you for the better or the worse?
People constantly change. Better or worse are dubious concepts that depend hugely on viewpoint.
What are your plans for the future?
Fly to Providence 5. Then see who the new captain is going to be. Because they can’t seriously keep that lame excuse for a captain around for much longer. I have no idea what they thought when they made Galahad captain, but he is not able to run a ship. He says he was a captain before, even claiming that he led missions in dangerous territory, but I don’t believe one bit of it. He just doesn’t have it. Being a captain needs grit, confidence, quick thinking and most of all passion. I sense nothing of that in Galahad.
So, you want to be a captain?
*spits out* Mother Goddess, no! I am not that stupid. I want to be first officer under a capable captain, that’s all!
Is there anything else you want to tell us?
No. Can I go, now? I have a ship to run.
Wow, thanks a lot, Siff, for your… enlightening answers. I look forward to knowing more about you and your adventures in the future!
Herald Petrel
If you ask Harold Galahad, he isn’t fit to lead the crew of the half-destroyed cargo spaceship Herald Petrel back home. But nobody asks Harry.
An explosion leaves the ship helplessly floating in space and Harry reliving his own personal nightmare. He doesn’t want to be a captain anymore, and nobody trusts him as captain—least of all himself. The crew behaves strangely, his first officer is less than helpful, and the more he finds out, the more Harry has to challenge his own beliefs. While forced to relive the darkest part of his past, Captain Harold Galahad needs to figure out what happened and find a way back home.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB! We are really excited to have you over. Please—
Oh, I am also very excited to be here. Like: big time! I got so many questions for you. Like, how is it to have a book blog? I think that must be totally exciting. But also exhausting, I imagine. I mean, all those reviews, you must read, like, superfast, like, at lightning speed or something. And then—
Uhm, this is a character interview. So, we are asking the character from a book questions, not the other way round. But before we begin with that, please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself.
Oh, yes, of course that makes so much more sense. Okay, my name is Rafaela Louise Sanchez Gomez but everybody calls me Raffi. I like that better, too. Like, you can totally trip over every single part of my full name, but Raffi is something straightforward and easy to say, right?
Right. What is your age and what do you do for a living?
I’m 19, will turn 20 this year. I work as Mister Galahad’s assistant. Have you met Mister Galahad already? He’s like, the cutest boss ever. Oh, wait, no, not what you are thinking. Not like that. I’m asexual, you know? That’s actually why I am Mister Galahad’s assistant. Okay, no, that sounded better in my head than when I said it out loud. But, yeah, matter of fact, I am assistant to the Head of Logistics at the Company but right now it is nearly like I am unemployed because we are on this spaceship and, let me tell you something, a cargo spaceship is like, the most boring place ever. Like, nothing happens round here. Like, if you think watching your toenails grow is boring try being on a spaceship where everybody but yourself has work to do. I had imagined this being much more fun. Ah, well, live and learn, huh?
That ties in well with our next question: How you like to spend your free time?
Oh, I love playing games on the entertainment system. Doesn’t matter what, really. Horror, fantasy, mystery, I do them all, action, strategy, shooters. I hate when they force a romantic sub-plot on your character, though. Seems nobody keeps the aromantics in mind, really. Same with movies. And most of the plot lines are somewhat dull. But it’s still fun. I mean, some of the Company productions are so plain stupid it is just too much fun criticizing them to the ground. We do that sometimes, Mister Galahad and me. We get some snacks and watch a movie together, the more stupid, the better and then we laugh our heads off.
Please share some of your beliefs, principles, motivations and morals (can be social, religious or political or, etc. Anything that will help us get to know you better.)
Okay, so…bear with me. I think religions are just a load of crap but also, it’s okay when people believe in stuff. Like, you know, whatever you need to keep you upright and get you out of bed every day, right?
I myself, I think justice is important and that everybody should be treated equal, no matter the species and rank. You know, nobody is less than the other. But I see that a lot. You know, look who is promoted in the Company and who stays in the entry level positions. Notice something? Yeah, the higher in the hierarchy you get, the more it is exclusively Earthlings. Or look how people are exploited because they are from a certain species. Like, Handorians only doing the menial work like cleaning the offices or Blunkarians being put into jobs they have to perform without breaks just because they have two heads and therefore one can sleep while the other is awake. But that’s not right. Everybody deserves breaks and vacations! And also doing stuff they enjoy! There is so much injustice in this universe. And that’s just not right!
Tell us something about your family and childhood.
Woah, you have to come visit and meet them all! We are one big family, it is amazing! Like, I do have a brother and three sisters, although two of them are technically just my half-sisters but I have so many cousins I can’t even count them! And we all lived together until I moved out to be closer to work. It was like, yeah, several houses which all belonged to my family. And several moms and dads. So, yeah, I do have a biological mom and dad, that’s where I got the Sanchez and the Gomez from but emotionally there is also Pá Ramírez and then there is dear Mommy Matii and Bantak and… I am starting to bore you, right? Well, you can just write down that I had a happy childhood and I love my family very much. Every single one of them. Even the weird ones like uncle Albi. Perhaps especially uncle Albi. But, yeah, don’t get me started…
Tell us something about your dreams and aspirations? Were you able to achieve them or are you planning to?
You know, that’s a good question. I mean, if you think what I really would like to do it would be becoming a game designer or an author for entertainment system series. I could write much better stuff than the crap that is on, you know? But at the same time, I know it isn’t possible. My ideas of a good story just don’t align enough with company’s values. They’d never let me do what I want to do. Might do some *looks around, lowers voice* independent stuff. But you better not write that.
*Continues with her usual cheery, bubbly, excited voice* I think working corporate is okay for the time being. The money is okay. Not much excitement. But I am glad that I now work for Mister Galahad. The team before that was a disaster. They had exactly two topics: romantic relationships and sex. It sucked!
But I think in the future I want to do something different. I like people and I want to have a job that is actually meaningful, you know? One that makes a difference. Still not sure what it could be, but it certainly isn’t what I am doing right now.
What is your biggest fear in life?
Something bad happening to my family or my friends.
How would you describe your life in one sentence?
Ready for my next adventure.
What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?
When my Granddaddy died. It was so unexpected and so hard for all of us, for Grammy, especially. It was nearly as if the house lost its soul. Nobody knew he was so sick. He always tried to conceal it so we wouldn’t worry. If he had just said something earlier. *gulps* I mean, probably, there was nothing that could have been done but still, why didn’t he say something? He denied us to take care of him, you know? *gulps*
I’m sorry for your loss. Did it change you for the better or the worse?
I think it made me cherish life more, you know? Like, it showed me how fast life can be over and that doing stuff I don’t want to do is a waste of precious time. Also, that we have to watch out for each other and you can’t always see what is going on in people. I try to be more aware of the people close to me, now.
Okay, last question: What are your plans for the future?
Oh, well, I am excited to see Providence 5. I have never been there, have you?
I am not thinking farther ahead because, yeah, as I said, life is precious and I like to see what opportunities arise and just, you know, grab them and see where they take me.
Since this was the last one: Can I ask you some questions, now?
Well, thanks a lot, Raffi, for your intruiguing answers. I look forward to reading more about your adventures in the future!
Herald Petrel
If you ask Harold Galahad, he isn’t fit to lead the crew of the half-destroyed cargo spaceship Herald Petrel back home. But nobody asks Harry.
An explosion leaves the ship helplessly floating in space and Harry reliving his own personal nightmare. He doesn’t want to be a captain anymore, and nobody trusts him as captain—least of all himself. The crew behaves strangely, his first officer is less than helpful, and the more he finds out, the more Harry has to challenge his own beliefs. While forced to relive the darkest part of his past, Captain Harold Galahad needs to figure out what happened and find a way back home.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to The Reading Bud! We are really excited to have you over. Please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself before we begin.
Thank you for having me. My name is Harry Galahad. I was born on Earth. Current residence Charkovaya. I have a background in Space Navigation and Intergalactic Law. I was navigation officer and later captain on exploratory missions to the outskirts of the universe for my university. Later I worked as a captain for the Company.
Which brings me to my next question: What is your age and what do you do for a living?
I am 47 and I’m Head Logistics Planer for the Company. Well, actually, right now I am captain on a delivery flight to Providence 5, on the cargo spaceship Herald Petrel but that is… it is not what I do for a living, usually. I’m not a captain any longer. It is just… just… because my friend Singh can’t do it anymore. He was the captain. I have just taken over because nobody else was available. And also… I mean, he was my best friend. There are some things that are just… a moral obligation, I guess?
What happened to your friend?
He’s dead.
Oh, very sorry to hear that. Let’s change topic. How you like to spend your free time?
Oh, I love listening to music. Beethoven, mainly. Sometimes Bach and Tchaikowski. Some Jazz as well. I also… *looks around as if to make sure nobody is listening in and lowers voice* …read.
Oh, interesting, what do you read?
Not so loud! People could hear us! *whispers* I have a soft spot for Earth’s ancient literature. They called it Science Fiction, back in the 20th and early 21st century. It is endearing to see how they envisioned the future back then. Nearly cute. I mean, now, 500 years later, of course it is easy to see how wrong they were. I mean, yeah, intergalactic space flight became possible, and Earth rules the universe but… let’s not go into this further.
Alright. Please share some of your beliefs, principles, motivations and morals (can be social, religious or political or, etc. Anything that will help us get to know you better.)
Oh, I am just a normal bloke, I guess. I’m not especially religious or anything. I guess when you are traveling the outskirts of the universe and work with a lot of people from different planets, all kinds of species, you know, Blunkarians, Gathesians, Laharians, even some from Phtat’Grthak… you kind of…lose the faith that there is one true religion. I think there are some moral principles that would be good if everybody adhered to them. You know, things like: Treat others like you yourself want to be treated. Help others if you can. When in a stronger position, protect the ones who can’t protect themselves. Common sense, really.
Hm, sounds plausible but also rather generic. Perhaps tell us a bit more about your motivation?
Generic? *scoffs* Universally true and applicable, more like it. But this is your space, so I am not going to argue. Motivation, you say? *exhales* I don’t have much motivation to do anything lately, truth be told. I mean, I want to get over this mission, land that damn thing on Providence 5 and take the next flight back to Charkovaya to get behind my desk again. How’s that for a motivation?
Uhm…enough to understand you don’t want to dwell on that subject. So…Tell us something about your family and childhood.
Ah, yeah, that’s better. I had a happy childhood. My parents were great people and paved the way so I could study. They were a bit disappointed that I didn’t become a priest like they originally intended, but I hope I made them proud with my career. So, sorry, no tragic backstory to unearth here.
Oh, that’s okay. Not every character needs a traumatic childhood, although we see that a lot. Tell us something about your dreams and aspirations? Were you able to achieve them or are you planning to?
Oh, you know, I lived my life. I still know how excited I was as a newly appointed navigation officer. I also know how proud I was when I earned my stripes as a captain. But that’s in the past. Nowadays, those things don’t matter to me anymore. Nothing matters anymore. *stares ahead as if he sees something no one else sees*
What is your biggest fear in life?
I have lost the ability to be scared of anything. When death comes to take me, I am more than ready. *flinches* Oh, wait, no, that’s not true. If something bad happens to Raffi, that would be horrible! And likely. She’s so nosy! She always wants to find out. I just hope she keeps out of trouble.
Who is Raffi?
My assistant. Perhaps you should interview her, too. She sure would enjoy that! And talk your ear off. Be warned. *smiles for the first time during the interview, a very warm smile, his eyes twinkling*
Perhaps we’ll do that, thanks for the hint. How would you describe your life in one sentence?
I can even do in one word: pointless.
What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?
*mumbles* I have lost my wife. Three years ago. On the 25th of March 2519.
Oh. I am sorry for your loss. What happened?
An accident. I don’t want to talk about it. *brushes over his eyes*
Did it change you for the better or the worse?
*stares at the interviewer for several seconds before asking* Who can tell?
What are your plans for the future?
Bringing this ship to Providence 5 with as little disruption as possible. Get back behind my desk. I hope my life doesn’t last too long.
Well, thanks a lot, Captain Galahad, for your frank answers. I look forward to reading more about your adventures in the future!
Herald Petrel
If you ask Harold Galahad, he isn’t fit to lead the crew of the half-destroyed cargo spaceship Herald Petrel back home. But nobody asks Harry.
An explosion leaves the ship helplessly floating in space and Harry reliving his own personal nightmare. He doesn’t want to be a captain anymore, and nobody trusts him as captain—least of all himself. The crew behaves strangely, his first officer is less than helpful, and the more he finds out, the more Harry has to challenge his own beliefs. While forced to relive the darkest part of his past, Captain Harold Galahad needs to figure out what happened and find a way back home.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge! We’re thrilled to host author Allen Whyler today, who will be unveiling an intriguing excerpt from their newest release, Deadly Odds 7.0. Dive in and get an exclusive sneak peek into the intriguing world they’ve crafted in their latest work!
About the Book
Deadly Odds 7.0
In Wyler’s 7th installment of the Deadly Odds techno-thriller series, reformed hacker Arnold Gold and his team are contracted to come up with a daring plan to sneak past the building’s newly installed AI-enhanced security systems to hack the computers and offices a high-profile Seattle law firm in an ultra-secure downtown office building while squaring off against the clock and a hard-driving, paranoid Head of Security, Itzhak Mizrahi.
Excerpt
EXCEPT FOR OCASSIONAL intense sapphire glints from her eyes, low sweeping cedar branches formed an island of impenetrable layered shadows in a lake of harsh mercury-vapor streetlight, cloistering a petite female in black jeans, black wool turtleneck, black shoes, and a black ski mask over her pale white skin and regimented coif of platinum-blond hair. She sat cross-legged in a roughly triangular patch of weed-infested ivy, back propped against the scaly red strips of cedar bark. Her third consecutive night of surveilling Arnold Gold’s home from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Precisely. And like the prior nights, no one appeared to be inside the ultra-contemporary cube despite various lights that turned on at the same time each evening. Alexa smart switches, she assumed.
Another glance at her watch. Another sixty minutes had just snailed past. Amazing. The time just seemed to… dissipate. Another sixty minutes of her life had evaporated doing… what, exactly? Surveillance. There was, however, a bright side. Those sixty minutes were billable. The not-so-bright side, however, was that the time could never be recaptured. Oh well, it was a job, and like certain orifices, everybody needs one. If she weren’t doing this, she might be wiping tables and slinging hash browns at a Denny’s. She stifled a yawn. Enough. She had fulfilled her commitment for the evening.
According to the property records, this was indeed Gold’s home. But he wasn’t inside during the specified hours on these specified evenings. Where was he? On vacation? At a girlfriend’s? Or perhaps a boyfriend’s? No idea and not her problem, for she hadn’t been asked to address that question. Adhering to her well-established reputation as a diligent and rigorous investigator, she intended to write up the exact details outlined in the assignment and that would be that. Then on to the next job.
She stood, swatted debris from her black pants, did an about-face to ruffle the matted ivy back into some semblance of natural confusion, then stepped back to inspect how well she’d disguised her presence. Not quite perfect. Bending over, she messed up an edge that didn’t look quite right. Surveyed her work again and nodded silent approval. Now it was perfect.
Three full strides and she was standing on the edge of the narrow, windy, asphalt side street. Stood still for a moment, scanning the immediate vicinity. No vehicular nor pedestrian traffic. No one in sight. Off came her ski mask, which she quickly wadded into the back pocket of her jeans, then slid from the concealing shadows up the sidewalk of the deserted street. Turned right at the corner, continued straight ahead for half a block, then another right turn into the alley that again shrouded her in the dense shadows of shrubs and fences. Silently she navigated an obstacle course of color-coded recycling, garbage, and compost bins, all the while concealed in the darkest areas. Her contracted three hours finished, she was now working on her own time. But true to her reputation for scrupulous thoroughness, she felt it necessary to add a trademark garnish to her report. Lest anyone should ever accuse her work of being shoddy. And besides, it cost only a handful of minutes. Salve for her conscience. This job, after all, had turned out to be less of a challenge than originally thought, so anything to spice it up…
About The Author
Allen Wyler
Allen Wyler is a retired neurosurgeon who lives in Seattle.
Allen’s thrillers have twice been nominated for the prestigious Thriller Award. He has served on the Board of Directors of the International Thriller Writers and is also an active member of the North American Crime Writers and Mystery Writers of America. He lives in Seattle.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Solveig Larssen for her latest release, Don’t Feed the Beast: But Do Punish the Free-Riders (Triumvirate Book 1).
Book: Don’t Feed the Beast: But Do Punish the Free-Riders Author: Solveig Larssen Publication date: March 1, 2024 Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Political Fiction, Thriller Page Count: 152 pages Publisher: Ostkorridor Books
About the Book
Mountainland, the richest, proudest, and freest nation in the world, has resorted to forming a militia and creating incarceration camps to stem the influx of migrants… Fjordland, the most civilised, equal, and just nation in the world, is falling apart, unable to accommodate its newfound diversity… Meanwhile, life is getting worse on the Savannah and in the Jungle, with autocratic high-tech city-states and abundant cheap labour to exploit. Somewhere, amidst it all, only the rootless global technology organisations seem to prosper. Eskild, the sympathetic Brotherhood bear, expelled and humiliated—is on his journey to visit his younger, liberal siblings, Dag and Selma. Justice has deteriorated in the world because Selma, to navigate the changes of globalisation, has abandoned her old ways. If Eskild cannot persuade Selma to support a new order that promises peaceful coexistence among all parties, even with the sinister C-Cult, Fjordland will cease to be a liberal democracy. Globalisation will grind on, forcing most people to join the workforce of the disruptive transnational platform organisations. Don’t Feed the Beast is the first book in the Triumvirate series, featuring delightful fable animals in a dystopian world. It’s a fast-paced story, perfect for readers who want to explore our changing world.
Solveig Larssen is the pen name of Sune Larsen, a transportation policy advisor, and co-founder of Almenr, a co-living business. Sune lives with his spouse, Regitze, in Copenhagen.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Today, we roll out the red carpet for the amazing Solveig Larssen, who is about to unveil the beautiful cover of her newest dystopian novel, Don’t Feed the Beast: But Do Punish the Free-Riders (Triumvirate Book 1).
Presenting…
About the Book
Mountainland, the richest, proudest, and freest nation in the world, has resorted to forming a militia and creating incarceration camps to stem the influx of migrants… Fjordland, the most civilised, equal, and just nation in the world, is falling apart, unable to accommodate its newfound diversity…
Meanwhile, life is getting worse on the Savannah and in the Jungle, with autocratic high-tech city-states and abundant cheap labour to exploit. Somewhere, amidst it all, only the rootless global technology organisations seem to prosper. Eskild, the sympathetic Brotherhood bear, expelled and humiliated—is on his journey to visit his younger, liberal siblings, Dag and Selma. Justice has deteriorated in the world because Selma, to navigate the changes of globalisation, has abandoned her old ways.
If Eskild cannot persuade Selma to support a new order that promises peaceful coexistence among all parties, even with the sinister C-Cult, Fjordland will cease to be a liberal democracy. Globalisation will grind on, forcing most people to join the workforce of the disruptive transnational platform organisations.
Don’t Feed the Beast is the first book in the Triumvirate series, featuring delightful fable animals in a dystopian world. It’s a fast-paced story, perfect for readers who want to explore our changing world.
Solveig Larssen is the pen name of Sune Larsen, a transportation policy advisor, and co-founder of Almenr, a co-living business. Sune lives with his spouse, Regitze, in Copenhagen.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Today, we are featuring Junis Sultan, author of Surviving Chaos: How I Found Peace at A Beach Bar by Harold Phifer to share his guest article.
About The Author
Harold Phifer
Harold Phifer was born and raised in Columbus, Mississippi. All of his first 25 years were solidly spent inside his home state. After graduating from Mississippi State University and Jackson State University, he went on to work for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for 23 years as an Air Traffic Controller. He left the FAA and began work as an International Contractor, where he has done numerous tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A story of a young man survived being reared by a schizophrenic mom and a greedy aunt yet having to deal with bullying, sexual assaults, self confidence, coming of age, an absent father, racism, and dating through his own vision of what life was supposed to be. For more than fifty years, Harold Phifer childhood living conditions remained a secret even to those who thought they knew him best. It wasn’t until an explosion in Afghanistan that his memory blasted back into focus. This book is the result of a long, cathartic chat with a stranger at a beach bar.
About The Book
Surviving Chaos: How I Found Peace at A Beach Bar
For more than fifty years, Harold Phifer’s childhood living conditions remained a secret, even from those who thought they knew him best. No one knew about his past growing up with a mother who suffered from mental illness; a greedy aunt; a mindless and spoiled older brother; an absent father.
It wasn’t until an explosion in Afghanistan that his memory was blasted back into focus. This book is the result of a long, cathartic chat with a stranger at a beach bar, where Harold finally found some peace.
If you are an author and wish to be interviewed or if you are a publicist and want to get your author interviewed on TRB, then please get in touch through direct e-mail: thereadingbud@gmail.com
The Reading Bud 