Jeffe's Favorite Holiday Meme

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is our fave holiday gif, image, etc. Love an easy assignment in this busy season! Here's mine :D 

BOOM! done. 

Happy Holidays everyone!

Three Things About My New Release Jamokan

 

Our topic this week is to name three things we like in any area or topic. Since I just released a new book, here are the top three things that make me happy about JAMOKAN:

1. That I wrote it at all in this crazy pandemic year. I really struggled and then finally...finally the Muse relented and agreed to be creative despite all the stress, social distancing, lack of time with the grandchildren,sad things going on in the world...85K words later - the book!

2. I particularly enjoyed exploring this character who had kind of gotten shunted aside since the series began. He had quite a mix of emotions going on...

3. The reader who PM'ed me they'd sat on the couch for five hours straight and read the book as soon as it downloaded to their kindle because they could not stop reading. WOOT!

The story:

Badari Alpha Jamokan and his pack are growing discontented in the sanctuary valley, tired of coming in second place to the pushy new South Seas pack when it comes to assignments and everything else. On top of the discord within his pack, Jamokan is distracted by the search for the right woman to be a proper Alpha’s mate to partner with him in combat and in everyday life. Even the Badari goddess is warning him in visions that he and his pack are on the wrong path for a happy future. In desperation, he receives permission to take his entire pack north to the mountains for a two week hunting expedition, where he hopes to use the time and rugged surroundings to settle the soldiers down and restore order and discipline.
And figure out his own future.

When his men unexpectedly locate a hidden Khagrish lab, he goes to investigate and see if there are humans to be rescued. Little does he suspect he’ll be called upon to break one of the highest commandments of the Badari packs and bring a new disaster to those who look to him for leadership.
Before she became a Khagrish prisoner, 

Rosemari Parcher was a hydroponics technician on a gritty colony world, who unexpectedly won a planetwide contest. Tapped to receive her heart’s desire and move to a totally different life in the luxurious Inner Sectors, her life had become a happy dream. Kidnapped in space by enemy aliens and given to the Khagrish, she and other humans are the unwilling subjects of a bizarre medical experiment where a quick death seems to be her only hope. Rescued by Jamokan and his pack, she finds herself deeply attracted to the Alpha but the devious Khagrish aren’t through with Rosemari or the experiment.

This is the fifteenth book in the Badari Warriors world (and the thirteenth book in the numbered series) and each novel or novella has a satisfying Happy for Now ending for the hero and heroine, not a cliffhanger. Genetically engineered soldiers of the far future, the Badari were created by alien enemies to fight humans. But then the scientists kidnapped an entire human colony from the Sectors to use as subjects in twisted experiments…the Badari and the humans made common cause, rebelled and escaped the labs. Now they live side by side in a sanctuary valley protected by a powerful Artificial Intelligence, and wage unceasing war on the aliens. Some overarching issues do remain unresolved in each book since this is an ongoing series but romance always wins the day in my novels!

Amazon      Apple Books      Kobo      GooglePlay      Nook coming soon

Top Three Reasons Not to Take the Cat to the Vet

 

Top three reasons? 

There are that many water bowls. All over the house. Not to mention how many massive puddles (and water flung 3/4 of the way up walls, thank you very much) I had to try to clean up for the first eight hours this little monster came down off the vet's laughing gas. 

I asked the vet tech who called the next morning to check on him what the hell they give cats nowadays to put them under for surgery. Cause this is the second time I've had cats who are normally mortally offended by water decide they were mercats after a little happy juice. She laughed.

Corvid had some bad teeth. They're gone. He's fine now. I didn't even ruffle his fur after the shower he gave at the end of this video.

my favorite things...aren't things

 

It’s the holidays and Christmas is approaching…so I’m going to get sentimental on you all today. 

This week we’re picking our three favorites. I have a lot of favorites. Favorite champagne: Le Mesnil, favorite pie: peach, favorite book: wait—I can’t answer that because there’s too many! But this year when I think of my favorites, the only thing that comes to mind is what really matters most. And they’re not things. 

My favorites are my family. No matter which direction I’m going, or where I’m hiking off to, I know they’re always behind me. 

My favorites are my friends. The right ones know when I need a call or a friendly message. They know how to pick me up and they’re always down for a bourbon tasting evening. They’re worth more than their weight in gold.

My favorite is my pup, Ullr. Being loved unconditionally is a difficult thing to grasp, especially when your own sense of self worth and success are strained. So having a physical reminder, every day, of that kind of love in the form of a fluffy fur-ball is amazing. 

Those are my favorites. What are yours?

Top Three Apocalypse Scenarios I Don’t Want to Live

Up until about a year ago, disaster movies and post-apocalyptic books were my personal happy place. Maybe Alas, Babylon converted me at an impressionable age or something. That Contagion movie, for instance? Man, I don’t even care how well it was (or wasn’t) researched, I watched the thing like eleventy billion times. Same thing with Station Eleven (did you read that? I loved it) and, of course, The Stand.

Fast forward to today, and guess what I did at lunch time? Or don’t. I went and got a Covid test. My kid’s school sent around one of those fun “we’ve had an exposure on campus” emails, so I took all our temperatures, and lo! there was I with a very low-grade fever. Combine that with a little scratchy throat and cough and boom, people poking brain-deep sticks up my nose. Fun!

Except, not. 

So, in light of recent experiences, here are three end-of-world scenarios I am no longer interested in reading about:

1. Asteroid impacts. Despite the fact that I could totally dig Morgan Freeman as president and Mary Robinette Kowal’s opening bit in her The Calculating Stars was just brilliant, I’ll take a pass on E.L.E. impacts, thanks. (You hear me, Apophis?)

2. Nuclear incidents. I’m not even re-watching Chernobyl. Honest.

3. And of course, pandemics. You’d think this one would be a given, but... so, there’s a board game called, amusingly enough, Pandemic, and it is actually kind of fun right now. Unlike passive entertainment like books and movies, in this game, players can work together and end the virus. That together part is the magic and the thing that humanity has so desperately failed at in real life. I guess I find it inspiring. Or hopeful?

So maybe I won’t be reading or watching the world end anytime soon, but the fantasy of humanity coming together is still alluring enough that, yeah, I will play the damn game. And win.

Three Artists Whose Works are My Current Obsession

Three Artists Whose Works are My Current Obsession:

Candy Cane Dragon by Rebecca Golins

1. Rebecca Golins of Dragons & Beasties
I've got a thing for dragons. When they're cute, I have no willpower. From coffee mugs to t-shirts to greeting cards, I have a whole lot of Becca Golins's dragons brightening up my days. I discovered her work on Redbubble, which led me to her Facebook page and then to her website.

Dance with the Devil by Abigail Larson

2. Abigail Larson
Winner of the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Pro Artist, Abigail Larson's fantastically macabre works caught my eye on Twitter. Since then, I've been trying to convince myself that curtains from her Society6 store showing her demons and devils series are too indulgent. For now, I'll have to content myself with her Court of the Dead card game.

Black Dragon by Sandara

3. Sandara

Feeding my dichotomous needs for works cute and menacing, artist Sandara's creations are inspiration pieces for one of my high fantasy series. Her dragons on DeviantArt got me hooked on the variety of illustrations she does. From dragons to angels to anthropomorphic forest creatures, Sandara doesn't stick to one style, but she is firmly in the fantasy genre. Skinning my laptop in with the black dragon from her Society6 store wasn't enough, I had to decorate my sister's tech too. Fairys riding Corgis, anyone?

Top Three..

 This week's topic is the Top Three Subject of your choice. ,]My subject? The top three things I'm working on right now.

Well. first, I just turned in Book Five of the Seven Forges series.  The tentative title, staying unless the publishers want it changed, is THE GODLESS. As soon as I can, I'll be starting book six of the series. 

Second up on the list of projects, I need to continue my collaborative novel with Charles R. Rutledge, THE TOURISTS' GUIDE TO HAUNTED WELLMAN. I'm enjoying the heck out if this project, as I virtually always enjoy working with Charles. It's a fun book and should be ready for release by October of next year. that sounds like a lot of time. It's really not. First thing I learned: There's never enough time. 

Third up, there's my collaborative novella with Christopher Golden. The third and final book in our BLOODSTAINED series, BLOODSTAINED NEVERLAND. We've already started, but we're nowhere near finished. As that one finishes the series, we need to wrap up a lot. And, of course, we're doing this with other projects going.

What other projects?  Well, in addition to what I've already mentioned, there's the short story promotional piece(s) that I'm writing to go with THE GODLESS, there are a few books to read for possible blurbs, there's the move. Yes, I'm moving. the truck should be here in two days and I've only just started packing my insanely crowded office. 

There are a  dozen more short stories I want to write, a novel proposal, a series proposal, a few things I need to edit for possible rerelease...

And somewhere along the way, I'd like a little downtime, but with the move going g on, the holidays right here and starting at a different Starbucks location in my near future, I'm kind of busy...

I hope you're all having amazing holidays!

Keep smiling,

Jim

CHRISTMAS PRESENT by Kim Fielding Is a Holiday Joy to Read

Our topic this week is to promote something we’ve written or a book by someone else. My new novel won’t be out for another week or so (and I don’t do pre-orders because they stress me out) soooo, let me share one of my favorite holiday fantasy novellas, CHRISTMAS PRESENT by Kim Fielding, released in 2019. I re-read it when I need a happy little pick-me-up. It’s a very charming story and quite different. Heart warming.

The blurb: A modern gay-romance twist on Dickens.

Lewis loves his holiday job. As the Ghost of Christmas Present, he guides people to improve their lives. Sure, he’s a little lonely at home in Minnesota, but Fezziwig the cat keeps him company.

When Lewis is spirited to California one Christmas Eve, he meets Sammy, an ex-lawyer who seems to already have his life in order. Lewis and Sammy share Korean fried chicken and a brief fling, but distance and career obligations appear destined to thwart anything permanent.

Maybe this year, Lewis is due for a special gift of his own.

Ms. Fielding writes an ongoing gritty M/M Urban Fantasy series entitled The Bureau, as well as other standalone novels and I really enjoy those stories, but there’s something so special about the contemporary holiday romance short reads she does.

I first discovered her books when I was assigned to judge  THE LITTLE LIBRARY a few years ago for a now defunct contest. I loved it and immediately went in search of all her other books. Lots of good reading to be had.

They say to go with your first answer and as soon as I read this week's topic, her book came to mind, so let me wish you a peaceful and safe holiday season and happy reading!