Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

August 14, 2015August 13, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 22 Comments

Friday YAY. Yes, I’m glad it is here. I spent most of the week working on the various cover submissions for the second book in the John Cannon Trilogy titled His Revenge. It is a daunting task in that I had four designers competing for the business. They came up with over 60 designs, and I must say all the artists were good. I will withhold final judgment on the service until I have the finished product. So far I have been pleased with the results. As a reminder, you can still vote for the cover that you think works by going to this link. http://99designs.com/book-cover-design/vote-uyatn3

I will say one designer took me to a final design and then had to change it because he was not authorized to use the graphic he presented. That was not forgivable as far as I’m concerned. Total time waste. The design was great and in the final four, and then it disappeared and he substituted another. This week’s JohnKu is about honesty. I hope you like it.

Believing the words,

Based on the integrity. . .

At last finding none.

On Tour – Jason Zandri -Author of “I, Hero: Nathan Returns” #RRBC

August 13, 2015August 13, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 28 Comments

I am pleased to welcome Jason Zandri to Fiction Favorites. Jason is on tour to promote his book I, Hero: Nathan Returns. Jason, welcome.

Thanks, John. It is with great pleasure that I introduce to everyone, via the blog tour, the very first look at “I, Hero: Nathan Returns”.

I, Hero: Nathan Returns – Excerpt I

PROLOGUE

The morning sun rose over the horizon and immediately began to heat the crisp morning air.

A middle-aged woman sat on a park bench with a small, mixed breed dog on a leash. The dog sniffed around at the grass to the left rear of the bench and the woman turned her back to face her dog.

She was holding her smart phone and had ear buds in her ears. She listened to music that played while an older gentleman with white hair, dressed in a long suit coat, came along. He moved alongside the park bench in the grassy area off the paved path. The smaller dog immediately tugged on the leash to see the other dog.

The woman casually lifted her hand to her left ear, dropped the ear bud out of it, and glanced over at the pure-bred Labrador Retriever. “We might as well be having that affair we’re always accused of, meeting up like this as often as we do,” she said quietly without taking her attention off her dog.

“It’s better that the talk is of an affair that we’re not having than what we’re actually doing,” the man replied, turning his back towards her and allowing the dog to move him a couple of steps away. “Status and update?” he asked plainly.

“We still have no way to track him,” she said while getting up from the bench to pick up after the dog. She took the opportunity to scan the area for other people. There were none. “His powers… change, for a lack of better description. We are following a given signature then it disappears entirely. When it does come up again it registers differently. We track that for a while and then he just falls off the radar.” She dropped the small bag into a nearby pail and walked her dog near his so they could sniff each other. “He generally seems to head west before he drops out of sight. We’ve eliminated California, Oregon, and Washington because of the number of occasions he disappears heading east from those states. Intelligence is liking Nevada, but it’s still too loose and just a guess.”

“Do you think it’s deliberate? Do you think he knows we are trying to track him and he is masking his movements?” he asked tugging slightly at his dog’s leash.

“I can’t know for certain,” she said looking up at him and smiling slightly. She reached into her coat pocket to make sure her identification badge was still there. “His movements are too casual; if I had to guess I would say ‘no’. He’s young, not skilled or trained, and he trusts easily. Why his signature disappears and then shows up differently is something we haven’t figured out. It does repeat; there are times it matches prior signatures and we have a catalog of nine distinct ones to date, but why they are constantly changing is another unknown. We also see no detectable pattern in the changes. It appears random.”

“We know Senator Kelly is the direct link between Nathan and the President; have we had any luck with that route?” the man asked looking directly at the woman.

“No. He’s tight-lipped, he won’t budge, and he has to be the cleanest politician I’ve ever seen too; we can’t even find anything to leverage on him,” she said withdrawn.

“Everyone has a closet and there are always skeletons. I don’t want to have to go that way with him, but if I have to I will, even if I have to fabricate something. We need to figure out what is going on. It’s a matter of national security,” the man said looking over at his dog as it began doing its business in the grass.

The woman glanced over and then tended back to her dog. “I’ll put some more people on it but eventually it’s going to leak. The people like Nathan; once it gets out that the CIA and Homeland are trying to track him it’s not going to be good.”

“The CIA and Homeland are not tracking him,” the man responded matter of factly.

“Yes, two rogue groups within each organization are; without authorization, and without Presidential backing. That will go over so much better with the public,” she said in a sarcastic tone. “Is it such a smart idea to engage tonight on World News with Mark Daniels?”

“America’s Roundtable is the place for a discussion like this,” the man turned and stepped over to her near the edge of the paved walkway. “The top thirty-five most populous cities in the United States, with a total population that exceeds 40 million souls. Offshore, shell companies, buying, leasing, or otherwise occupying property in the dead center of each of those cities. We have been stymied on just about every legal front, trying to gain access to some of those locations, and others that we have been able to access have not produced anything worthwhile to date.”

She looked up at him with a steely look in her eyes. “I am as much a Patriot as you are. Have you ever considered that there is no conspiracy there? Even if there is one, how can you be so sure it has to do with him? Nathan has no income that we’ve been able to detect. We have no idea where he lays his head at night. As far as food goes, there are millions of families that would offer him dinner, if he even needs to consume food anymore with respect to the powers he has. He just doesn’t have the means for anything nearly as grand as what you’re assuming, based on all of our intelligence.”

“You’re naïve, Jane,” the man said in a stern tone. “His capabilities are unmatched. There are governments that would pay a fortune to exploit them. He has a commodity that no one else can provide in his abilities.” The man tugged at his dog slightly to bring him out of the grass and onto the paved path. “Everyone has a price and everything can be bought.”

“Said the man who has brokered his share of said deals,” Jane replied plainly. She pulled the other ear bud out and put the unit in her purse.

“It is exactly because of that, I know something is going on. I will get to the bottom of it,” he said as he took a couple of steps away from her.

“If you are right about this, then hopefully the people will understand the need for some of the illegal activity…”

“We are covered under the Patriot Act,” he said, stopping his departure abruptly and cutting her off mid-sentence.

“That’s a load and you know it, but if it helps you sleep at night, so be it. Sooner or later it’s going to surface, whether we want it to or not, Congressman Johnson, and I hope you’re ready for that.”

“I’ll be ready because there is just no way I’m that far off base on this. Those properties in those cities… they all tie back to Nathan somehow and I am going to figure it out. All that power he has and it’s not enough. Now he’s involved with something in the middle of all those cities…all those lives. I will find out what that is,” he said turning to walk away.

Jane turned back to where the Congressman was exercising his dog. “You going to pick that up?” she asked plainly.

“The park has paid caretakers; they’ll tend to it,” he said without turning around.
About I, Hero: Nathan Returns

Nathan is back in New York City; the place where it all started, nearly one year later. While he has been away, he has been establishing a base of operations and trying to follow the direction his life has taken – making a difference and answering the call for help where and when he is needed.

He has returned to this birthplace of his powers with more questions of why he is on the path he is on and what is expected of him.

During a dangerous rescue, his powers dissipate, and leave him critically vulnerable.

He connects back with old friends who help him rediscover the man he used to be to in order to help him be the man he has become and the man who he must be.

Magical forces come into play, pulling on nature itself, which introduces an unexpected challenge to Nathan while he is at this perilous juncture.

The pendulum swings even farther out of alignment; it is up to Nathan to respond before forces are set into motion that cannot be countered.

I, Hero: The Beginning – Links to Excerpts

“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt I http://bit.ly/1MKrwsF
“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt IIhttp://bit.ly/1CCp4Sl
“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt IIIhttp://bit.ly/1HlZEYo
“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt IVhttp://bit.ly/1CwNg3l

I, Hero: Nathan Returns – Links to Excerpts

COMING ON DAYS FIVE AND SIX ON THE TOUR!

Books and links

Before Another Sunset (The Sunset Series Book 1)
http://www.amazon.com/Before-Another-Sunset-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00T11GKYE

Another Sunset (The Sunset Series Book 2)
http://www.amazon.com/Another-Sunset-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00QD2FQU8/

I Hero: The Beginning
http://www.amazon.com/I-Hero-Beginning-Jason-Zandri-ebook/dp/B00Y3LA41M/

I Hero: Nathan Returns
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011AOPE64

As Life Goes: Elementary
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Goes-Elementary-Jason-Zandri-ebook/dp/B00ZXVB7SK/

As Life Goes: The End of the Innocence – (expected November 2015)
As Life Goes: The Reunion – (expected April 2016)
As Life Goes: The Wedding (expected July 2016)
As Life Goes: The Funeral (expected October 2016)

I Hero: Untitled Book 3 (Expected first half 2016)
I Hero: Untitled Book 4 (Expected second half 2016)
I Hero: Untitled Book 5 (Expected first half 2017)

Social Media links

Twitter – @GUNDERSTONE https://twitter.com/gunderstone/
Facebook Author page – https://www.facebook.com/jzandri
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonzandri
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/+JasonZandri/
Author blog – The GUNDERSTONE Review https://gunderstone.wordpress.com/

ABOUT JASON ZANDRI

Jason has been working in the information technology field in one form or the other since 1996. He is currently employed full time at Bloomberg LP as a Systems Engineer in the R&D group. Jason lives in Wallingford Connecticut, with his wife Renata. He is the father to four children, three boys and 1 girl – 11 years (Andrew), 9 years (Angela), 7 years (Adam) and 6 years old (Alex).

“This tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com.”

Thursday – A Little Personal

August 13, 2015August 12, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 25 Comments

I thought I would give a view of our shipping channel which I took this last week.

This is a large oil tanker moving toward the Port of Corpus Christi to pick up a load of Oil that has come from the Eagle Shale oilfield. This is oil that has been extracted from the shale by the process called fracking. This fracking process is responsible for the low price of oil these days. It is not because of the abundance of oil from the process but the decision of OPEC to reduce the price of oil to make this process too expensive to be practical. The potential for fracked oil was over 30% of the use in the US. That strategy is working since exploration and building of new facilities has been slowed considerably.

On the left is the tail end of a ferry that connects our island to the mainland. The ferry cuts across the shipping channel and usually has to yield to the large tankers.

You can see the ferries better with this longer shot. Also, you can see a drilling platform to the right. These are built locally and then shipped all over the Gulf. This one has been brought back for rehab and retrofit for another deployment.

Here is a picture taken from this same spot of a platform heading out to sea after it was manufactured. This was taken a couple of years ago.

And finally a close up. You can see the size as compared to the people on the dock.

Wednesday Story Day – AKA Hump Day

August 12, 2015August 11, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 23 Comments

Wednesday Story Day again. Last week we had another confusing session with Robert, Bob and Charlotte. Bob finally came back, and he and Charlotte were discussing his delusion. Charlotte asked him if he knew her, and he said he did but called her mother. I almost don’t want to go back there but since it is Wednesday, I guess I’m forced. You go ahead of me okay?

“Yes, Charlotte you know you are my mother.”

“Bob for heaven sakes what will it take to convince you I’m not your mother?”

“Charlotte you can talk all you want and you can make me out to be crazy, but I know you are my mom.”

“How do you know that?”

“You and my mother have never been in the same place at the same time.”

“Bob, please. There are hundreds of people who I’ve never been in the same place with them.”

“None who have an interest in seeing me fail.”

“Why do you think I want you to fail? I’m your mentor. Your mother hired me to help you publish your book.”

“The same book that will show you to be a fraud? Mother.”

“Bob. You quit that. I’m not your mother.”

“Sure Mother.”

“I’m warning you, Bob.”

“Oh yeah and what are you going to do?”

“Robert. Come back.”

“Yes, Charlotte I’m here.”

“Is there a way for you to reason with Bob?”

“I could hurt him.”

“How would you do that?”

“I can call him names.”

“Thanks, Robert. Let me see Bob again.”

“Yes, mother.”

“I’m not your mother.”

“Robert called me a name.”

“And let me guess. It hurt?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“He told me. What was the word?”

“I can’t say. It’s a bad word.”

“Can you spell it?”

“No, it is too bad for that.”

“Give me a hint then.”

“It’s a modern word describing what Oedipus did.”

“Oh, my gosh.”

Cover Poll for MY Next Book – You can Help!

August 12, 2015August 12, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 28 Comments

Uncle John Needs You. I have engaged 99 Designs to create a cover for the sequel to My GRL titled His Revenge. ( to be released later in the Fall) As part of the process, I would like to engage you to provide your opinions. It is real easy. All you have to do is click this link and vote on three covers using one to five stars on each. This is a thriller so the cover needs to convince you to want to find out more about what is going on.

Here is the link. http://99designs.com/book-cover-design/vote-uyatn3

I appreciate your help

Tuesday – Anything Possible

August 11, 2015August 10, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 25 Comments

Keith Channing has a prompt each week he calls Kreative Kue. He posts a picture and has these instructions. “ Using this photo as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; and either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithkreates@channing.fr.” Here is the link to his post http://channing.info/wp/2015/08/10/kreative-kue-37/

Here is this week’s photo and my interpretation below it.

“For heaven’s sake can’t you see I’m on holiday?”

“Yes, sir but you see my wife here just absolutely adores your work.”

“She does? Hello, I’m Reggie. What’s your name?”

“My name is Helen Mr. Trueforth.”

“Oh please call me Reggie.”

“Oh, I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“You are the Prime Minister and a star and it wouldn’t be right.”

“Star? Well, I like the sound of that. Don’t you men?”

“Mr. Trueforth?”

“Yes, son what is it?”

“About that autograph?”

“Oh yes, it would be my pleasure. What do you have for me to sign?”

“A petition sir.”

“Oh, I would be delighted. I even have a new pen. Here you are. What is the petition against or for?”

“Your removal sir.”

“Oh. Well, I certainly wish you luck. Come on men let’s go play volleyball.”

Ten Things Not to Do On a Monday

August 10, 2015August 8, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 42 Comments

This list was inspired by facing Monday over 3800 times so far. Each and everyone was a little different, and it was not because of the day but rather because of the day before. Hope you enjoy it.

Ten Things Not to Do On a Monday

10 On Monday, do not bustle into the office as if you don’t have a hangover. If you do, at best you will broadcast your desperate condition. At worst, you may just burn out by ten o’clock and will have a rough time explaining how you managed to sleep at your desk until after everyone went home. (And you were drooling too)

9 On Monday, do not go into your boss’s office with a demand for higher pay. If you do, at best you can expect a locked door next time. At worst your boss is fighting a bad headache, and you are now considered a pain in another part of the body. (We are too gentrified to mention what that part is)

8 On Monday, do not get near fellow workers. If you do, at best they will thank you for moving further away given the garlic fumes from your midnight Caesar salad that surround you. At worst, you will confirm to them you just had to have one more round of fire water before last call at 2:00 am. (Funny how two hours of sleep and gallons of coffee won’t get rid of the alcohol vapor)

7 On Monday, do not use a laser pointer during your presentation. If you do, at best your shaking hands will be magnified by the frantic little dot moving around the screen. At worst, you will accidentally point the laser out the window just in time to catch the eye of a 747 pilot on final approach to the airport. (The next thing you will face is an interrogation by Homeland Security)

6 On Monday, do not volunteer to be homeroom, parent. If you do, at best the kids will whisper to the teacher you smell funny. At worst, as you realize you need to visit the restroom, quick you stumble over little Johnny sliding into the hallway and involuntarily render the trip to the restroom redundant. (You also notice how each child can say “eeewww” at a different pitch. (And you thought there would be no teaching moment out of the situation)

5 On Monday, do not meet with friends unless they were with you the night before. If you do, at best they will not understand your current state. At worst, since they are friends, you can expect an interdiction even though you think you will live. (As luck would have it you decided you were going to live after that first glass of wine)

4 On Monday, do not operate any dangerous equipment. If you do, at best you will harm the machinery and not yourself. At worse, you will be screaming for help as the piece of equipment you forgot to turn off heads down the street. (Don’t worry a runaway steamroller can’t cause much harm)

3 On Monday, do not walk the dogs. If you do, at best you will forget where you live. At worst, the dogs will sense some weakness and will take the opportunity to haul you on your stomach through the neighborhood in pursuit of the neighbor’s cat. (Too bad you put on your best outfit for the presentation this morning)

2 On Monday, do not take the carpool to work. If you do, at best you will be asked a hundred questions about your appearance. At worst, your fellow carpoolers will decide to let you off after a couple of miles, and you’ll have to make your way to work anyway. (And you thought that dime store cologne was going to cover up your night before reek)

1 On Monday, do not get out of bed. If you do, at best your college try will get you an F. At worst, you will expose yourself to any one of the nine things on this list. (Trust me it is safer in bed)

Sunday – Fifty Two Views of the Gulf

August 9, 2015August 9, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 26 Comments

As you can see, the wave action is back. The wind has been consistent at about 15 MPH for the last four days. The wind seems to naturally lead to higher waves and since last week there were almost none I guess you can correlate wind velocity with wave action (DUH. Big science going on here). The yellow flowers are barely visible and the purple morning glories have been replaced by white. Don’t ask me why cause I don’t know why. High today about 90 degrees which are 10 degrees cooler than inland. The nice thing about the gulf it keeps you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. The water is 88 degrees today.

Last week’s photo

you can see the lack of waves. Have a good week.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “Enthuse”

August 8, 2015August 7, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 32 Comments

It is “Steam of Consciousness Saturday time again. This week’s prompt is “enthuse.” It can be used with a prefix or suffix. I was trying to think of a prefix but could not come up with one so I’ll go with the original and suffixes. If you would like to join in go to Linda Hill’s site and learn more. Here is the link http://lindaghill.com/2015/08/07/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-august-815/ Here is my interpretation of the prompt.

“All right team we are going to practice our enthusiasm today.”

“Oh goody, I just love to enthuse before lunch.”

“Who said that?”

“I did.”

“So what’s wrong with enthusiasm? We all need it sometimes.”

“Oh, nothing is wrong with enthusiasm. I just don’t think it is something you can just gin up at will. You either are enthused, or you’re not. You can’t make it up.”

“Nonsense. Enthusiasm is like any other emotion. You can practice being enthusiastic and before you know it you are enthused.”

“I’m sorry I just don’t believe its right.”

“ENTHUSE.”

“Wait. You scared me.”

“Do it.”

“Yay.”

“Bigger. Put your heart into it.”

“Yay?”

“Come on you wimp. Push it.”

“Yay!”

“Better. One more time with gusto.”

“YAY!!”

“Now you are talking. You sound enthusiastic. How do you feel?”

“Enthused sir.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about now. Carry on enthusiastically.”

“Yes, sir. May I be excused?”

“Excused? What for may I ask?”

“I want to prevent enthuse in my pants, sir.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

August 7, 2015August 6, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 27 Comments

Friday is finally here. I don’t know about you, but it seemed to be a pretty long week. I was full of productivity this week. I got my manuscript for His Revenge off to the editor. I will be holding my breath until the surgical procedure is finished. I also launched a cover design contest and so far the covers look amazing. My last beta readers checked in and between being too busy and having computer troubles I learned a lesson about reliability. In spite of some participation disappointments, the beta results were very good, and I’ll run with what I have. The beta reader situation gave rise to this week’s JohnKu. It is about expectation and I hope you enjoy it.

Reaching out for help,

The expectation runs high. . .

Trumped by agenda.