Monday, July 31, 2017

The Second Federal Witch Box Set is now Available!

http://amzn.to/2hiodDv

This is the Second collection of books.

Agatha Blackmore has grown. She finished her internship with the Magical Crimes Division of the FBI with flying colors. Now she and her team are on their own fighting magical creatures across the nation. Witches, Wizards and Dragons had better beware because nobody touches the witch!

This volume contains three individual books:

Special Agent in charge
Witness Enchantment
Night of the Unicorn

Get The Expanding Universe for $0.99 this week Only!

https://www.amazon.com/Expanding-Universe-Exploration-Science-Anthology-ebook/dp/B072LMWBWT

Join 23 Authors as we explore the Universe and beyond. I have a little something from my twisted mind in here too!  Get it on Amazon.com Here! 

I have a T-shirt related to my story in the Merchandising site. You can find that one HERE!

Friday, July 28, 2017

Who's ready for a Snippet? Here's #02 from the upcoming Space Cadet book.

<Unedited>


To me the hanger bay looked twice as big as it did the last time I stood here. I tried to remember when that was exactly, time seems to be moving a whole lot faster now that the we were loosing the war. “Artemis do you know when I first came on board this station?”

The CATT at Lina’s feet looked up at me and cocked her head. “When the Paney docked the first time after the mutiny. Records show that you and the other internees were transported to the colony from here via shuttle. You have been ground side since that time. Is there a problem?”

“No, not really. The hanger bay looked really large to me that’s all.” I waved at the ceiling and walls around us. Everything was decorated in bunting and welcome signs. This was the first time Admiral and Ambassador Athena Lee had been home since the attack upon Earth.

“This facility was enlarged by more than fifty percent during repairs to the station following the asteroid attack. The progenitor says that you humans are very inventive and creative to take something so broken and reshape it to your needs.” Artemis pretended to clean her non-existent fur.

“The progenitor is Wilson, right?” Looking down I could see that Artemis was walking away from us. CATTs!

Frustrated I complained to Lina. “Why does she do that?”

Lina only laughed at me. “You’re asking me why a robotic cat programmed by another robotic cat created by a slightly crazy artificial intelligence would ignore humans and do what it wanted?”

“Well, when you put it that way. I think she does it on purpose just to annoy me.” I searched the floor for the imperious female AI finding her next to Admiral Lee and Merlin.

“Just accept it and move on. Why do you think we were invited to this shindig?” The New Texas cadet smiled up at me.

“Another assignment maybe? I didn’t like that last one. I had to buy a brand new set of space boots after that one!”

“That was your own fault listening to that Ensign. Just because you thought he was cute wasn’t a good enough reason to go into that pipe after I told you not to!” Lina laughed.

“How was I to know it was the liquid waste disposal tube?” I stomped my new boots a few times.

“I don’t know, maybe the sign on the wall and over the door? The room was plainly marked, Tis. Just so you know the lieutenant in charge of the section told me that guy does that to every newbie.”

I groaned. “I figured it was something like that. That really stinks and not just my boots. We didn’t cause harm with our hazing rituals in the old Empire Navy.”

“You’ve mentioned that a few times. What sort of things did they do?” Lina turned in my direction and stared up at me. Her red hair peeking out of the stupid dress caps they made us wear for this event.

Smiling I remembered some of the funnier ones. “I had a Master Sergeant that used to make new boots to his unit put on a suit and go outside. He would tell them to count the number of meteors and OUD that floated by the ship. According to him, the lidar the targeting systems used was old and needed calibration periodically.”

Lina looked puzzled. “OUD? What is that?”

“Other unidentified debris. The Paney was the only place I’ve ever heard that one. The funniest haze I can remember happened to me. I was wise to the counting thing so they did something else. That Sergeant hand cuffed me to the rear wall of the main cargo lift. Most ships have a small rail that runs about waist high along the wall. It’s there for support and to hold onto if the ship loses gravity. The problem is it’s just far enough away that no matter how far I reached I couldn’t hit any of the buttons or reach the help speaker.”

Lina smirked and covered her mouth.

“Yeah. I was there all day until someone from engineering needed to move something and let me loose. According to the Sergeant it was a new record for the ship. At least unofficially.” I shook my head in remembrance.

“Did you ever take revenge on him?”

“Not officially. He was old school and liked everything in a certain place for every task he did. One night when he was on liberty, I may have used engineering cement to secure every object in his office.”

Lina gasped. “You what? Tis that stuff is like, permanent! The only way it can be removed is with a special solvent that is kept locked up in engineering. He must have been livid!”

“It was pretty funny. He ranted for a full day before he laughed with the rest of us. I never owned up to it. The engineering department had to replace about half his office fixtures. It was the great mystery of the ship for a long time. Who cemented the Sergeant’s office?”

Monday, July 24, 2017

There is a New book out in the Standard of Honor series!

http://amzn.to/2vDdgzs

Some days are just BAD. A couple of thousand feet in the air, hanging from eagle talons and bleeding out. Just a typical bad day for a rebellious cat. Meet Dascha, a perfect example of contrariness and smarts. This young Russian Blue is not interested in following the family business, at all! But a moment of inattention leads to danger and pain, and she is left with some hard decisions to make. Will she survive mage attacks, wolves, and, worst of all, her instructors?

Something new from Taki Drake! Here's a sneak peak at Familiar Shadows. A short tale of the origin of Dascha.

<Unedited>





“Meow! You have to be the most rebellious, stupid, idiotic kitten that I have ever had to raise or know!”
“Hiss-hiss! That just says that you’ve made a poor selection of the cats that you decide to know. Either that or you always pick complacent stupid cats,” retorted the young cat with flashing green eyes. Her fur was fluffed out, making her look three times the size that she actually was. At this moment, her face was twisted into a threatening snarl, and her fangs were showing.
The older cat, a majestic full-bodied feline with black and gold markings was equally angry. His anger was expressed more in his flattened years and crouched body. The casual observer would’ve thought that they were just seconds away from a full battle. That observer would not have been far from correct.
“All the other cats in our family line have been familiars! You come from a long line of magical cats, strong in their ability to channel, intelligent and brave. Why can you not see that this is the way we are supposed to be? What is it that is not clear to you?” the male flung in a yelling voice.
“Just because you live your life structured with ‘shoulds’ doesn’t mean that everybody has to. You say familiar, but to me, it looks more like a slave!”
“How dare you? No cat of our family has ever been a slave!”
“All I can do is observe how you behave. Nobody ever explains anything. You force every one of us to learn in our own way and so nothing gets carried down. If we really were a family line, then more would be taught, rather than forced on us.”
Crooking her tail overhead with a sharp bend, the small female cat leaped off the small ledge that she had been standing on and stalked out of the small, constructed shed. Carefully, she avoided the ramps and climbing posts that were scattered all over the chamber. With the ease of long familiarity, she avoided looking at any of the dangling feathers and tufts of fur that were there for play.
The last thing she wanted to do was to lose her position, lose her moral advantage, and get distracted by a stuffed mouse.
<< If he tells me one more time what a wonderful line we come from or how magical everyone is, I think I’m going to spit up a hairball! I am so tired of this! Why on earth should I be a slave to some stupid human? >>

Saturday, July 22, 2017

How about a sneak peek at Space Cadets? Check out Snippet #01

<Unedited>



“She’s not going to tell you. Even though she’s a robot she’s still a cat. They like keeping secrets. Even from us.”

The robot in question didn’t even look up at us. Instead it jumped up onto one of the benches and began pretending to clean it’s fur. The holographic system that provided the look of hair on the CATTs was almost perfect. It still amazed me how little people said about them. Especially those in the military. Both the CATTs and the ‘droids’ were very commonplace now. For me it didn’t matter where I ended up. It was true that I wanted ship duty or even special operations but anything would do. This Navy was so much more interesting than the Empires. Safer too. Internally I gave a little shudder at the thought of what could have happened to me if I had stayed with them after the revolution. Lunch for a bunch of clones wouldn’t be memorable.

“Just like a real cat. The ones we have at home are like that. My uncle Bart even has a couple living in his garage that catch rats. I wonder if I could send a CATT to him to help out around the place. Artemis can we do that?” Lina directed her question to the robotic feline.

Artemis cocked her head for just a moment. The CATT used to only respond by text on our tablets but something over the Summer had changed all that. She now either spoke to us through our links or allowed the  tablet’s limited  AI to read the responses to us. Either way she and all the rest were talking CATTs.  “There is a scout vessel inside of New Texas space. One of our units now designated Sabine will present itself to your Uncle Bart at his place of business. Is that satisfactory to you?”

I looked at the CATT with very wide eyes. “For real? Artemis how are you able to just do that? I thought the company that made you or that Wilson guy had to authorize new CATTs?”

Artemis pretended to groom herself for a moment, her brilliant green eyes peering up at us. Both Lina and I continued to stare at her. Making a visible sigh the CATT shook her head. “Any Queen can give orders. Merlin has to approve what we do, but it can be after the fact. Queens know best after all. Something you two should learn early.”

“Us? We aren’t ruled by a Queen.” Lina pointed out to the robotic feline.

“Aren’t you? I would advise you to get ready to depart.” Artemis tilted her head toward the main hatch.

Glancing outside I could see the shuttle was about to dock with Freedom Station. “We have about four minutes, Lina. These shuttles dock way faster than any of the ships.”

We actually had about three minutes. Just enough time to straighten our uniforms and quickly police the stateroom. Our hatch gave a whooshing noise as it opened. The former Major Lee now General, Admiral,  and Senator Lee stood in the opening the door left. She was holding onto a very large orange CATT. At her feet were several other robotic felines. They proceeded her into the room sniffing and scanning everything. Artemis sat regally upon the table and ignored them, and us. Training kicked in and we both came to attention.

“Before you even set foot on my station I want to make a few things clear. You two are trouble. Just like my sister, Athena, you seem to draw it too you. I want you to try. Try so very hard not to destroy what we have worked so hard to rebuild. With her free hand she waved behind her toward the station.” The Admiral smiled as she spoke. “Don’t look too shocked. You two are troublemakers. Despite what I said, I’m happy to see you two. Are you ready for some hard grueling work?”

We both only nodded. Standing at attention it was about all we could do. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Artemis pretending to groom herself. The Admiral peered at us with an instant scowl. “Did you lose your hearing or your tongues?

“No, Ma’am. Regulations state we aren’t supposed to speak while at attention.” I winced as I said the words. The regs could be pretty strict on things.

“Oops. Sorry girls. You can stand at ease. I forget about the stripes sometimes. This crazy war has left us with some holes in out beloved planet’s military. My sister keeps telling me to promote someone but trust is an issue with me. I think you both can relate to that one. Grab your gear. We need to get moving.”

The two dark colored CATTs scurried out of the room first leading the way as we followed our planets greatest commander.

Minerva looked back at us as she walked. “Lot’s of changes up here over the past few months. We finally have the station repaired from where the big rock hit us. The politicos down on the planet swear we still have a dent in the side but if it’s there I can’t see it. Engineering ended up moving the entire living quarters away from the exterior walls and moving them inward. The parks and recreation facilities are there now. Essentially we flipped the station inside out. I still get lost. Automation and security was increased tenfold in most of the public areas. Cadet Eberly, are you still interested in those sorts of systems? The instructors at the Academy tell me you like taking things apart.”

Lina turned a bit red. “I put them back together. I really do. Any mechanical position would do, Ma’am.”

“Cadet Tisiphone, what about you? Is special operations what you want, or is it ship duty? I would imagine you experienced all you could handle in the Empire’s Navy.” The Admiral stopped walking and turned to stare at me.

“Like Lina, I mean Cadet Eberly said. I’m OK with anything, Ma’am.”

“Hmm. That is not what your companion back there reported. For either of you. Come along. Much more to see.” The Admiral continued to walk.

Both Lina and I turned to stare at Artemis but she ignored us as usual. Just like a cat.


~~~~~~~




Freedom Station was much bigger than I remember it being. Nothing looked the same. The Admiral took us straight through to the heart of the Station. A tram was waiting for us. “Toss your bags on board and take a seat up front. We have things to discuss.”

Lina wasn’t strong enough for to toss anything so I did it for her. The tram looked a bit like one of dads field cutting machines. I resisted the urge to peek under it to look for a manufacturing label.

The Admiral yawned as climbed on board the machine. I was surprised to see one of the new droids driving it. I even said as much to her.

“It’s one of those improvements I mentioned. All non-essential positions are being filled by robotic soldiers unless it’s not physically possible. Everyone else is needed for the war effort.”

That shocked me. “Are we really that short handed, Admiral?”

Admiral Lee stared at me for a moment and shook her head. “Not really. We have a new fleet to staff as well as training facilities to man. The temporary lull in battle my sister achieved with her raid on Earth gave us a chance to really protect what is ours. It’s not really a secret but taking a page from Earth’s defenses, we towed many of the older asteroid bases to the perimeters of our galaxy. Automation upgrades are underway upon many of them but they are able to defend against surprise attacks and some of the convoy’s the clones have scattered around.”

Lina perked up next to me and asked. “I thought some of the Earth fleets weapons were better than ours?”

“Not really. Only stronger. We’ve captured a few of their smaller ships and examined chunks of the larger. They have more efficient power supplies and better focusing equipment. One of your new assignments Eberly will be to take a look at some of the captured equipment and see if you can duplicate it. You have a flair for Earth tech that many do not. Don’t even pretend you didn’t fix Tisiphone’s family combine.” The Admiral arched an eyebrow.

“But I’m not even graduated yet!” Lina stared with wide eyes.

“So? You have talent. We need talent. Simple math. Did the both of you really think I brought you up here as a reward?”

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Available in Pre-Order, the second Collection of Federal Witch Books




The Second Collection of Federal Witch Books.  
This is the Second collection of books.

Agatha Blackmore has grown. She finished her internship with the Magical Crimes Division of the FBI with flying colors. Now she and her team are on their own fighting magical creatures across the nation. Witches, Wizards and Dragons had better beware because nobody touches the witch!

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Book of the Week. CyberWar

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073Y343BN


 Ripped from the headlines - this anthology contains stories that explore the situations and dangers of the interconnected world of cyberspace. It shows areas that resonate with our deepest fears and scariest nightmares. Explore the intriguing world of the digital age and the imaginative stories of the Phoenix Prime authors. The writers that contributed their stories to this anthology are ones that have the ability to see into the dark and light places of human souls and how that blends with our cyber world. They have written stories that show us the flaws that make us human and the joy that make us more.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

New Covers going up for the Athena Lee series!

Lots of changes in the Athena Lee Universe. New Covers! 





Look for these and a lot more in the coming Weeks!

Sunday, July 9, 2017

Check out a New Athena Lee Story.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073TSJ2M5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499658212&sr=8-1&keywords=B073TSJ2M5
Check out a Brand new Athena Lee story that preludes the upcoming book. Just a little something that I wrote while on Vacation recently.  I hope you enjoy it. Get it HERE.