There’s a crazy big giveaway going on that you all need to know about! Bestselling thriller writers J.A. Konrath, Blake Crouch, J. Carson Black, Lee Goldberg, and Scott Nicholson team up to give away 10 Kindle Fires, 75 ebooks, $300 in gift cards, and a $500 library donation. Here’s the info:

The contest is international, no purchase necessary. You can also join the
Facebook party at www.facebook.com/BigKindleBoogie.

Entries for 10 free Kindle Fires are already underway at http://bigkindleboogie.blogspot.com and gift cards are being randomly awarded on Twitter for those who tweet about the Big Kindle Boogie.

Three easy ways to enter:

* Use the entry counters at http://bigkindleboogie.blogspot.com
* You can also enter manually by tweeting to be eligible for Kindle Fires and Amazon gift cards: 10 free Kindle Fires. 75 free ebooks. http://bit.ly/xWOoKN #bigkindleboogie RT to enter for a Fire!
* You can email bigkindleboogie@yahoo.com ONCE PER DAY with “Boogie entry” as subject line

But don’t wait to see if you’ve won the Fire before you grab all the free ebook! They will only be free through the end of tomorrow, February 2. So enter the contest, then spend some time on Amazon, grabbing all the freebies! You’ll find them all listed here: http://bigkindleboogie.blogspot.com/p/free-kindle-thrillers-feb-1-2.html

Happy reading.

I am excited to be taking part in the Christmas blog hop on The Blog Hop Spot! My giveaway is winner’s choice. One person will receive his/her choice of any one of my eight titles in print, along with a new mousepad! Here is a look at your choices. Click on the covers to read an excerpt, or go to my website: www.QuietFuryBooks.com

Here are the rules:

1. Leave a comment here on this post, with your name and email address.
2. All comments/entries must be received between 7 a.m. EST Friday, December 16 and midnight EST Sunday, December 18.
3. One entry per person.
4. You must be 16 or older to enter.
5. You can live anywhere.

I’ll email the winner for his/her title choice and mailing address, so please be sure to keep an eye on your spam folder.

If you came here via The Blog Hop Spot, you’ve seen what all the excitement is about. Hundreds of prizes are being offered by 195 authors! If you haven’t been to the main site yet, be sure to hop on over to find and enter as many contests as you like: http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page

But, wait! Before you go, be sure to leave a comment with your name and email address for a chance to win your choice of one of my titles plus a mousepad!

Good luck!

Whether you worship God, Allah, Mother Earth or nothing at all, the holiday season has the same basic meaning – love and be kind to one another, and give what you can to those who are less fortunate. We shouldn’t need a holiday to remind us. We should behave this way all year.

Enough said. I shall not step up on my soapbox today. It’s the holidays!

I am excited to be helping Santa out this year. I don’t have a lot to give. (In fact, my bank would probably argue that I have nothing. ) But even the little stuff counts, right? In my role as Santa’s Helper, I need your help. What I have to give is books. And I’m looking for someone who loves to read and is in need of a boost this holiday season. Here’s the deal…

Are you having a difficult year and can’t afford to give gifts to all the people you love? Do you know someone who doesn’t have much, who probably won’t get much, and you’d like to make that person smile? Do any of these people love to read? If so, tell me about them! Choose one person and tell me why you think he/she deserves a gift. You don’t have to give me a lot of personal details. Maybe you lost your job and can’t afford to buy your best friend something. Or you’re buried beneath a heap of medical bills (I can relate to that!) and you need a gift for your child’s teacher. It could be someone you know who lost a job, a house, is going through a divorce, and that person is special to you. Tell me why!

I’ll pick two ‘winners’ from the comments. If your nomination is picked, I’ll send you an email requesting the person’s name and mailing address, as well as your choice of one of my eight titles for that person. I’ll wrap the book, include a card letting the person know the gift is from you, and ship it – all free!

Sound good? I hope so! Here are the guidelines in simplified form:

1. Submit your nomination of one person who deserves a surprise gift this holiday season. You do not need to give this person’s name.
2. You cannot nominate yourself. (But you can get someone else to!)
3. Include your name and a valid email address.
4. Nominations are open between 8:00 a.m. EST on Saturday, December 3 and midnight EST on Wednesday December 7.
5. Due to shipping time, I have to restrict this to people living within the U.S.
6. The person you nominate needs to be at least 16 years of age.

That’s it. Please help me be a Santa’s Helper this year by nominating someone you care about.

Or is it a first birthday?

Either way, it’s exciting news! BestsellerBound has grown into an incredible community. I am astounded at the talent of the authors. And, even better, they are truly among the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of calling friends.

Celebrations need prizes, right? Of course! In honor of our anniversary/birthday event, a bunch of our members have gotten together to offer their books to interested readers. We have 11 prizes – 10 ebooks and 1 very special, not yet released, print book. Here is the list:

1 coupon code for a free ebook copy of The Dream by Maria Savva from Smashwords

1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of any one title by Darcia Helle

The Choice by Sydney S. Song (my pen name for fiction, only) from Smashwords giving free e-book coupon

1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of Echo Falls by Jaime McDougall

1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of any one title by Gareth Lewis

1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of The Other Room by James Everington

1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of any one title by Susan Helene Gottfried

1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of Nexus Point by Jaleta Clegg

1 coupon code from Smashwords for a free eBook copy of 2010 Hindsight: A Year of Personal Growth, In Spite of Myself by Sharon E. Cathcart

1 coupon code from Smashwords for a free eBook copy of Caraliza and also Breathing into Stone by Joel Kirkpatrick

and…

1 free hardbound, signed copy of Joel’s secret 5th novel, shipped the week it is released.

Want a chance to win? All you have to do is leave a comment here, with a valid email address. You need to be 16 years or older and can live anywhere in the world.

Want a few more chances to win? Five other BestsellerBound authors are also running features on their blogs. Visit each one and leave a comment. You’ll receive one entry for each blog you comment on. Here is the list of participating authors, along with the link to their blog post:

Maria Savva: www.goodreads.com/author/show/1418272.Maria_Savva/blog

Cynthia Meyers-Hanson: http://mchanson714.blogspot.com/2011/09/year-anniversary-celebration.html

Susan Helene Gottfried: http://westofmars.com/2011/09/06/its-the-bestseller-bound-birthday

Jaime McDougall: www.inkyblots.com/bestseller-bound-turns-one-giveaway

Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick: www.thetaleisthething.blogspot.com

The deadline for entry on all the blogs is midnight on Saturday, September 17. Winners will be notified via email, so please be sure to include a valid email address in your comment. The only other rule is that you need to be 16 or older.

Good luck!

A collection of short stories written by authors from the BestsellerBound group.

1. What Was Lost by James Sophi
2. The Art of Breathing by Jaime McDougall
3. Soul Windows by Jaleta Clegg
4. I Didn’t Know His Name by Darcia Helle
5. Red Route by James Everington
6. Make A Wish by Susan Helene Gottfried
7. The Last Chance Motel and Mausoleum by Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick
8. Isolation by Maria Savva
9. Beyond The Green Hills by Tom Gahan
10. From Joy We Come, Unto Joy We Return by Ami Blackwelder

As I put this anthology together, I was struck by the incredible talent we have in our BestsellerBound group. You’re welcome to join us there on our message board at any time.

Volume 2, as well as the BestsellerBound Short Story Anthology Volume 1, can be downloaded free in the following places:

My website, on the Free Downloads page, in PDF format: www.QuietFuryBooks.com/freedownloads.html

Smashwords, in formats for all ereaders and computers:
Volume 1: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/62029
Volume 2: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/78449

Volume 2 is available on Amazon for Kindle but is currently 99 cents. Amazon does not allow authors to upload our own work and offer it free – only publishers are granted that right. We’re working on pushing Amazon to match the free “price”. You can help us by reporting it! Go to the Kindle page for BestsellerBound Short Story Anthology Volume 2. In the ‘Product Details’ section, you’ll see a link that says ‘tell us about a lower price’. Click on that and report it as free on Smashwords. (Just copy and paste the Smashwords link above.) That’s it! Every report helps us push it toward free!

Volume 2 will soon be available free in a variety of other places, including Barnes and Noble for Nook, Sony’s Reader store and Apple’s iBookstore.

The other thing I want to share is that I am giving away a copy of my new novel Into The Light, as well as a tote bag, in my August Book Giveaway. This contest is international! All you need to do is fill out the form on my contest page: www.QuietFuryBooks.com/contests.html

That’s my news! Head on over to my free downloads page and grab some free reads. Then enter my contest for a chance at another!

If you’d like to be among the first to hear about new releases, contests and assorted news, you can subscribe to my QFB News newsletter:

Thanks for reading.

Max Paddington refuses to go into the light until he finds his killer. This presents a dilemma, since Max is even less competent as a spirit than he was as a live person. No one sees or hears him and he can’t manage to get anywhere or do anything on his own.

Joe Cavelli is a private investigator, living an ordinary life. Then one day he walks across a parking lot, gets yelled at by a ghost, and his life only gets stranger from there.

Max and Joe team up to find Max’s killer. In the process, they form an unlikely friendship and change each other’s lives in ways they never expected.

Lynne cannot shake her feelings of dread; her dreams tell her she is making a terrible mistake, she must not marry Adam. But, how can she believe the dream? Lynne and Adam have shared their lives for three years now. She is certain she loves him.

It is not that love, which her dream warns against.

It doesn’t matter that she loves this man she will soon marry. If she marries him, the voice in her dream says her soul mate will die. Her true love will perish.

Soon, Lynne’s world is transformed and becomes almost unrecognisable, except for the déjà vu. Time doesn’t seem to mean much anymore, and
things are not quite as they seem. As her world spins out of control, Lynne must sort out what’s real and what isn’t to fulfill her destiny.

The Kindle format of my book is available and the paperback will be available on Amazon any moment! In the meantime, you can order the print copy from me on my website and you can find the ebook in all formats on Smashwords.

Here are both formats on Amazon:

Maria’s book will be available in print and Kindle format on Amazon very soon, as well. For now, you can find the ebook in any format on Smashwords. And you can order a print copy from Lulu.

How about a little video entertainment? Here’s my trailer for Into The Light. You can find it on YouTube and my website:

You can also watch the very cool trailer Maria made for her book. Take a look here or check it out on YouTube:

Now let’s talk giveaways! As I mentioned at the start, Maria and I are giving one print copy of each of our books to one lucky winner! This is a 48-hour giveaway, running from 9 AM EST today, July 18, to 9 AM EST on Wednesday, July 20. You must be 16 or older to enter. This is an international giveaway! The only restrictions are that you must be 16 or older to enter and you can only enter once per person. To enter, all you need to do is fill out the form on the contest page of my website.

On my contest page, you will also find my regular monthly contest. This month I’m giving away a copy of my novel No Justice. You are welcome to enter both contests.

Go to my contest page to enter: www.QuietFuryBooks.com/contests.html

Maria and I hope that you’ll take the time to check out our books and enter the contest. We’re both quite excited about sending our babies into the world on their own!

Thanks for reading and good luck.

Many of you know that a character by the name of Max has been chattering in my head for some time now. The book Max stars in is called Into The Light. Max is a ghost, you see. A stubborn, somewhat clumsy middle-aged man who is not at all happy with being dead. Max’s story is not what I’d set out to write. He had other ideas. (Hence, the stubbornness.) Then again, I hadn’t set out to write his story at all. I was working on something entirely different but he popped into my head and refused to go away. He talked to me constantly, kept me up at night. The other characters were forced from my head, that project was put aside, and Max took center stage. I’ve got a very cool cover design in the works and will be unveiling that, along with the book’s blurb, soon. I hope to have Into The Light out in July.

Next up: Free books! May is International Giveaway Month over on my contest page. Joining me in this giveaway is friend and author Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick. I’m offering two print copies of my novel Hit List. He is offering two print copies of his tantalizing novel Breathing Into Stone. Have you entered? If not, what are you waiting for? This is international. You can live anywhere. We’ll send the book as long as you have a mailing address, even if it’s a igloo in Antarctica! You need to enter by midnight EST on May 31. All you need to do is fill out the form: www.QuietFuryBooks.com/contests.html

Wait! don’t run over there yet! I have one last piece of news.

I’ve remodeled my website. The look is a little different and I’ve added a bunch of new stuff. You’ll find a Free Downloads page, where you can download short stories and anthologies. And you’ll also find a Things of Interest page, with a bunch of random nonsense written by me. I’ll be adding to these pages and, hopefully, keeping you entertained. I hope you’ll check out the site and let me know what you think. In case you’ve forgotten the directions there: www.QuietFuryBooks.com or www.DarciaHelle.com (Same building, different address. Weird, I know.)

As always, thanks for hanging out with me!

I mean that figuratively, of course. Maria would never bop her readers on the head. But reading her work can feel that way, except without the resulting headache. Her writing has a subtle flow. She lays her characters bare, allowing us to see both the good and the bad. In doing so, she holds up a mirror, showing us the good and bad in ourselves as well.

Maria has a new book out called Fusion, which is a collection of short stories. Each story is a unique experience; a moment in time captured by an author who understands human nature. I read the book – loved it – and, as is typical of me, asked questions. Maria graciously answers me today. She has also given my 2 ebook copies of Fusion to give away! All you’ll need to do is leave a comment here. We’ll get back to that soon. First, let’s take a look at Fusion:

Crime, passion, ghosts, obsession, hope, faith, and new beginnings—you will find all these things, and more, within these pages. A mixed collection of short fiction, by the prolific writer, Maria Savva, who has been praised for her story telling abilities by fellow authors as well as her fans. Sit back, relax, and begin your journey with a story of deep love, and follow through to read insightful tales reflecting our world today, but at the same time taking you away to a world of fantasy. Thought provoking and eventful stories written to entertain and inspire. Maria Savva’s latest collection is sure to please, with haunting and psychological tales, blended with romantic and humourous ones. A diverse assortment, brought together by ‘fusion’.
***

Now let’s chat with Maria:

Over how long of a period of time were these stories written?

Maybe about 13 years or so. I’ve written lots of short stories over the years and these have been stored either on my computer or in piles of papers in my house. When I was made redundant a couple of years ago and started concentrating more on my writing, I thought it would be a good idea to try to put some collections together. I think the idea came to me after I’d written ‘Pieces of a Rainbow’, which was a new collection of stories I wrote when I first lost my job and had a lot of time on my hands. When I saw that the stories were being well received, I thought it would be an idea to publish some of my other short stories. I went on to publish Love and Loyalty (and Other Tales) and found that I still had many short stories unpublished. That’s when I decided to read over and edit some more stories for ‘Fusion’. Some of the stories in Fusion are quite new, but others, for example ‘The Reunion’ and ‘The Valentine’s Card’ were first written in the late ‘90s. With all the stories in this collection, I read over the originals and edited them, updating them where necessary.

Do you sit down with the intent to write a story, then work on characters and plot? Or do ideas randomly pop into your head and you write when the mood strikes?

When I write a novel, I will usually have a plan written about what I expect to happen. With short stories, I just sit in front of the computer or with a pad of paper and a pen, and write it, working out the story as I go along. I can usually write a story in less than an hour. But of course, there is the inevitable editing that is required and stories often go through a few changes before I’m happy with them. I think with short stories the endings are always a difficult part because you want to complete the story without leaving any loose ends. You don’t have the luxury of too many words in which to tell the tale, so it’s important to find a way to include everything you want to say, and put your message across in a very succinct way.

I loved all the stories but a few stand out for me. The Legacy is one of those. Do you remember what the inspiration was for that story?

When my sister finished reading the book, she also said that ‘The Legacy’ was one of her favourites. I didn’t think it would be one of the standout stories. It must strike a chord with people in a way that I’m unaware of.

I wrote that one many years ago, so I can’t really remember if there was anything significant that inspired it. What I do remember was that I wrote it for a competition where the theme was ‘saving’. So it turned out to be a story about an old man who saved his pennies, and the relationship between the man and his carer developed from there. In my day job as a lawyer, I often deal with Wills and Probate, so I suppose there could have been something in my mind at the time — maybe from a conversation with a client about a Will, or something that had captured my imagination when administering an estate — that led to the idea behind the story.

The Time Machine made me think about all the difficulties of being a teen and how I‘d like to take back some of what I did and said. If you could go back in time, would you change anything? Why or why not?

I always say that I wouldn’t change anything because everything in life happens for a reason, to teach us something and to make us who we are. When we go through hard times, we often come out wiser. Of course, we will all look back at some situations and wish they’d turned out differently, but then you have to ask yourself whether if those things had changed, would we be the people we are today? I often get my inspiration from the things that I would, in an ideal world, like to change about my life. So, without the regrets and angst, I probably wouldn’t have anything to write about.

I loved Me and My Dictionary. That story made me want to dust off my dictionary and start reading! Does a little of that character live within you?

I do have a slightly obsessive personality, definitely. Not to the extent of the character in ‘Me and My Dictionary’. That would be something to worry about! I remember that when I was a child I used to try to learn definitions of things in the encyclopedias we had at home, so there’s a bit or a correlation there with what the character in this story was doing. I’m sure there is a bit of me in all the characters I write about.

What is your favorite part of writing short stories, as opposed to full-length novels?

Short stories are fun to write because they don’t take much time to complete. You don’t have to plan them. The feeling of accomplishment comes a lot quicker with a short story than a novel, which in most cases take years to finish. With short stories, apart from a few tweaks here and there, there’s not too much editing required. Editing has to be the worst part of a writer’s job.

What do you find more difficult about writing short pieces over longer pieces?

There’s not much room to develop characters or to describe things with a short story, so much more will depend on the imagination of the reader. With a novel you can almost tell the reader everything, but in a short story you just give them snippets of information, they have to fill in the background, but you have to give them enough information to be able to do that. It can’t be too verbose. The whole idea of a short story is that it should contain fewer details, but still tell a story in a way that will keep a reader’s attention. There is definitely an art to writing the shorter form. Over the years I have become more adept at this. I suppose the most difficult thing is trying to satisfy the reader. Where you are serving up such a small chunk of writing, you have to make sure you’ve put enough drama, suspense, intrigue in there to make the reader feel that they got something out of reading the story. When it’s only a few pages in length, the concern is always that the reader might feel that they wanted to know more or have something explained. The trick is to find fewer words to say what you want to say, almost like summarising a novel, but in a way that contains enough of the substance so the reader can fill in the blanks.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently editing my first novel ‘Coincidences’ which was originally published in hardback in 2001. It is now out of print, although I do still have some copies which I sell through the Amazon.co.uk marketplace. I would like to get the book onto kindle and perhaps republish it as a paperback. I don’t have an electronic copy of the book and I don’t have a scanner, so I decided to use the opportunity to totally rewrite the book. I’m copy typing it, but editing it at the same time. I’ve learnt a lot about editing over the past 10 years and although ‘Coincidences’ is well written, it could, in my opinion, use some editing to make the prose flow more easily; sentence structure needs working on. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and would like to rework the book before I republish it so I can feel that it’s the best that it can be. I’m not going to change the story, but there may be a few extra twists or additional scenes added that don’t appear in the original. That way, it would be interesting for people to read the original and then read the new version to see how my writing has changed over the years. We all develop as writers, and when I wrote ‘Coincidences’ it was my first full length work. Many people have read it and enjoyed it, so I don’t want to change the story, I just want to fine-tune it. The problem with knowing too much about editing is that it can spoil your enjoyment of a story. Whereas I read ‘Coincidences’ ten years ago and was very happy with it, I now read it and think ‘That could be improved’.

I’m also working on proof-reading my fourth novel which is a fantasy/paranormal tale. The book will then have to go out to someone else for proof-reading before I can publish it. I’m hoping to publish that by the end of this year.

I’m looking forward to both!

Time to discuss that giveaway I mentioned earlier. I have two PDF copies of Fusion to give to two lucky winners. I know you’re expecting rules. Contests always have rules. So here we go:

1. You can live anywhere in the world.
2. You can only enter once.
3. You need to enter before midnight EST on Monday, February 28.

That’s it! To enter, just leave a comment here along with a valid email address. Please keep an eye on your spam folder. I’ll announce the winners here and send the PDF to the email address provided within the entry.

Fusion will soon be available on Amazon. For now, you can find it on Lulu: http://stores.lulu.com/MariaSavva

You can learn more about Maria and her work on her website: www.MariaSavva.com

And here’s a look at all of Maria’s books on Amazon, in both print and Kindle format:

Don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a PDF copy of Fusion!

Thanks for reading.

Okay, more on the contest soon. First, here is an excerpt from chapter 1 of No Justice: A Michael Sykora Novel

Let him laugh. One more hour and he’d be dead.

Michael Sykora put the binoculars down on the empty passenger seat. The man he’d soon be killing went by the name Alan Nystrom, an alias, of which he had three others. His real name, the one he hadn’t used in over 20 years, was Bruce Renwick.

More laughter. Good to know that Renwick was enjoying his last day. Soaking up the sun on the golf course, making jokes with his buddies. Would Renwick, if given the choice, pick golf as his last hurrah? Doubtful, though the choices people made often baffled him.

Michael was being paid $40,000 to dispose of Bruce Renwick. Twenty of that had already been deposited into his offshore account. The other half would be received upon completion. His price had been a little higher for this job since the client had chosen the method of death. An indulgence Michael had allowed this time. Though after what he’d found while rummaging through Renwick’s home last night, Michael would gladly take this trash out for free.

Calling Renwick an animal would be a grave insult to the non-human world. Renwick was a pedophile. A predator of the lowest sort. The last child he’d raped, an 11-year-old boy, had hung himself afterward because the shame and trauma had been unbearable. That boy had not been Renwick’s first victim. He would, however, be the last.

The next day Michael had been contacted. The boy’s father did not want Renwick given the chance to walk away. Not ever. He had to be wiped off the earth before the police finished their investigation. That call had come five days ago. Michael had inside information that a warrant would be issued for Renwick’s arrest tomorrow morning.
Renwick would be dead this afternoon.

Bruce Renwick, as Alan Nystrom, strode confidently toward the clubhouse. The man had an odd stoop, like he was training to be the hunchback in a play or something. His hair was that shade of brown that women called mousy and his eyes were covered by small round glasses reminiscent of John Lennon. He wore tan shorts and one of those polo shirts in blue. To all the world he appeared as a harmless geek.

The locked metal storage unit in his garage had told a different story. Michael had checked. He liked to be sure before he killed. Death wasn’t something he could take back. The pictures had confirmed more than he’d needed to know. Renwick would not be a mistake.

Michael set his binoculars on the seat beside him and did his best to stretch in the cramped car. He’d been sitting in this parking space for 11 minutes, having moved once Renwick had finished the 18th hole. Now he had a perfect view of the clubhouse, as well as Renwick’s silver Saab.

The clock continued to tick on Renwick’s life.

Eighteen more minutes passed. Then Bruce Renwick, golf bag slung over his shoulder, emerged from the clubhouse. One of his golf buddies walked beside him. They headed toward the parking lot.

The other man, a 40-something balding executive type, parted company with Renwick as they moved toward their respective cars. Michael turned the key in his ignition. He pushed the gear into reverse, kept his foot on the brake.

The executive climbed into his car. A bright yellow Volkswagen. He tooted once, then pulled out. Renwick lifted his hand in a wave as he kept walking. Fortunately for Michael’s purpose, Renwick liked to park his Saab in the back of the lot, far from everyone. He was also one of those guys who parked diagonally across three spaces at the grocery store so that no one would ding his car when opening his or her door.

Michael glanced around him. The strip mall had been fairly busy this morning. Right now, however, he was alone. No one had parked close to him. No one was outside. The timing couldn’t have been better. He tucked the binoculars under his seat. He would no longer need them.

His heart sped up. Just a slight increase but enough for him to notice. His breathing remained even. He watched.

Bruce Renwick held his key chain. He pressed the button on his remote to unlock his doors. The alarm chirped off. Then the trunk popped open. He slid the golf clubs off his shoulder and placed the bag inside the trunk. Then he pushed the trunk lid closed.

Back around to the driver’s side. Renwick reached out, gripped the door handle and pulled. A grimace, probably from the heat inside the car. He smoothed his hair back, adjusted his glasses, then slid inside.

Michael eased his foot from the brake. Renwick yanked his door closed. A moment passed. The engine caught. Then a deafening blast that shook the pavement. The vibration reverberated through Michael’s hands as he gripped the steering wheel. Thick smoke, orange flames. Bits of metal rained down around the blaze that had once been Renwick and his car.

Screams from the golf course. Michael calmly backed out of his parking slot. No one looked his way. The billows of smoke were far more entertaining.

Once out on the main street, Michael took his cell phone from his pocket. Not his usual phone but the disposable one with the prepaid card. The boy’s father had one just like it. Michael dialed his number. When the father picked up, Michael said, “It’s done.”

The squeal of young children playing sifted into the silence through the connection. The father had taken his advice, making sure he had a solid alibi. Yesterday he and his wife had driven up to Georgia to stay with family. They had told police that they needed to get away from their house and the memories. No one could blame them. Their son had hung himself in their garage.

Now the father said, “Good. Thank you.” A pause, then, “How did it go?”

His voice had that gravelly quality that came from too many cigarettes and sleepless nights. There was also something sadly robotic in the way he pronounced his words. Michael had killed the monster but he could never bring the child back. The man and his wife would never be okay.

Michael said, “You don’t want details. It’s better that way.”

The client hadn’t been after the usual vengeance of extreme pain and suffering. He’d wanted Renwick’s body ripped apart. Shredded, was how the client had put it. He’d wanted to be sure there was nothing left for Renwick’s family to mourn over.

Michael would have liked to give the man the details. He deserved that much. But he’d explained from the start, knowing too many details wasn’t a smart idea. The cops would inevitably question him. After all, Renwick had raped his son. Caused his suicide. Therefore, the less detail he was sure of, the easier it would be to lie.

“Right,” the father said. He cleared his throat, probably wiped away tears. Then, “The balance will be taken care of today.”

From the client’s offshore account to Michael’s. No paper trail for the police to trace. “Thank you,” Michael said.

Sirens wailed in the distance. Michael said, “I’m sorry. I hope you find peace.” Then he flipped the phone shut and rode the rest of the way in silence.

You can find No Justice in both print and Kindle format on Amazon:

You can also find it in print and ebook format in a variety of other places, including all ebook formats on Smashwords. As a thank you to all my readers, you can now download No Justice on Smashwords for just 99 cents, using the coupon code NT64H. The code is good until March 1.

Now, about that t-shirt. You have a choice between medium or large only. Here are those pesky contest rules:

You must live in the U.S. or Canada
You must enter before midnight EST on Friday, February 25
You must have a secret crush on Michael Sykora
You must love ice cream

Yes, I know, that’s not fair to those who are lactose intolerant. Seriously, only the first two rules stand. The other two, well, I’m probably talking about myself there.

To enter, leave a comment, a rant, an opinion, a passing thought on why Starbucks insists on making us speak Italian, or a love letter to Michael Sykora. Include a valid email address and keep an eye on your spam folder. That’s it. Oh, and you can click your heels 3 times if you think it’ll help.

Thanks for reading!

Good luck!

Today it’s all about giveaways. I’ve got lots of prizes to offer you. Books, ebooks and assorted other stuff! Ready?

First up, we have print books with added extras up for grabs:

My novels:

The Cutting Edge, along with a notebook and pen

and

Hit List along with a new hat

And we have the print novel Breathing into Stone by Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick

Then we have a bunch of ebooks, listed here by author and the title(s) he/she is offering:

Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick: 1 ebook copy each of Breathing into Stone, Shared, and Harmony’s Passing

Jaleta Clegg: 1 ebook copy of Nexus Point

Jason McIntyre: 1 ebook copy of THALO BLUE

Stacy Juba: 2 ebook copies each of: Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim

Sylvia Massara: 1 ebook copy of her brand new release Like Casablanca

Susan Helene Gottfried: 1 ebook copy each of ShapeShifter : The Demo Tapes — Year 1, ShapeShifter : The Demo Tapes — Year 2, and Trevor’s Song

Sharon E. Cathcart: 1 ebook copy of You Had To Be There

Darcia Helle: 1 ebook copy each of The Cutting Edge, No Justice (A Michael Sykora Novel), Beyond Salvation (A Michael Sykora Novel), Miami Snow, Hit List, and Enemies and Playmates

Here’s a look at all the books on Amazon:

There you have it – 24 separate prizes for 24 winners! Now, as much as I dislike rules, a few need to apply here:

You must live in the U.S. or Canada
You must be 16 or older
You must have a passion for indie authors (Okay, this is negotiable, though appreciated.)
You must enter before midnight EST on Monday, February 28

That’s it for the rules. Now all you need to do to enter is leave a comment, along with a valid email address. Please keep an eye on your spam folder to be sure your prize information doesn’t get lost there.

Good luck!