October 10 is almost upon us!  Hope you’re enjoying the excerpts – leave a comment, I’m still giving stuff away  and Book 1 – The Infection is still on sale for $.99 — Amazon

Excerpt 3 – Book 2

Amanda sat back on her heels and wiped her forehead. The gardens had been neglected for a while before they arrived, but there was still plenty to harvest or use as seed, and they wanted to get it in before a frost. They had been eating fresh foods the last couple of days and it was been wonderful after all of the canned food in Atlanta. Even Lorene and Becky couldn’t make that stuff taste fresh.

A couple of the plots, there was no way to refer to these gardens as fields, had been cleared and David and Joe had turned them with the small gas powered tiller kept in what they referred to as the “barn.” There were no animals at this time, but that might happen—at least rabbits. They seemed to be in abundance. She’d seen David and Joe looking at snares in the book last night. The barn was where construction materials had been housed as well as a large collection of bicycles. The majority were mountain bikes and David had admitted that while he was confident he could bike down to the village, it might take him several days to get back. Still it was nice to have a sustainable mode of transportation for nearby destinations.

They still needed to check out the closer homes to see if anyone else had survived and to scavenge what they could. There were several farms within easy biking distance.

Amanda was learning to can the vegetables they harvested. They had found the supplies and with Joe’s help in the beginning, she had done several cookings. With the pressure cooker they had picked up at the last house, there were three in use. The few left overs were being composted and David had turned that area again this morning. Her cooking skills had, of necessity, improved by leaps and bounds.

Being a farm wife hadn’t been as hard to get accustomed to as she had thought, and at least she was able to wear jeans instead of long skirts. She laughed at that image of herself and was surprised when muscular arms went around her.

“What’s so funny?” That gravelly, infinitely sexy voice whispered in her ear.

She turned enough to meet his lips. “Thinking of me in a dress doing this work.”

“Mmm, a short sexy little black dress?”

She cut her eyes at him. “No, a long pioneer skirt with lots of pantaloons and such underneath.”

He shook his head. “Nope, not my idea of sexy. Of course seeing you in a burlap sack would still turn me on, so if it’s what you want . . . ”

“A satyr. I should have realized you were really a satyr.”

“You didn’t know?” He pulled her to her feet and took one side of the basket she had filled. Laughing they carried it back toward the big house.

“Where’s Joe?” She asked as they finished emptying the basket.

“He went into town.”

She stopped dead and looked toward the front door. Of course, the van was gone. She hadn’t even noticed. “Is it safe for him to go alone? I thought we were going to check out the clinic.”

“We still haven’t seen any people around and there were things we might need down there. There aren’t enough of us to double-team all the time. I’m sure he’ll save the clinic for your expertise.”

“I would have been okay here alone.”

“I know, but neither of us was willing to take the chance. I offered to go, but he volunteered. Kind of insisted really. Maybe he needed some time alone.”

“I know.” But she looked in the direction of the entry to the compound.

“He’ll be back before dark. He doesn’t like that road any better than you do.”

“There’s a good reason for that.”

David nodded. “It gets dark quicker now, that’s why he left at first light. Come on, let me get these seeds in containers. With all this privacy we could . . .”

Amanda’s lips twitched. There weren’t many places they hadn’t christened despite the lack of privacy. “You’re not going to suggest the ice house?”

“No, even I draw the line there. Shrinkage you know.”

She laughed out loud. She did that a lot more here. There was a free feeling lacking in Atlanta. Yes, it was just the three of them, but David kept talking about other survivors and she was willing to listen.

Her lips took his as she unbuttoned his shirt.

Good news!! Rebel Ink has put The Melting, Book 1-The Infection on sale for $.99 to get you ready for Book 2 – Go check it out!!

Amazon

Excerpt 2 – Book 2

“It’s getting worse,” Celine said as she leaned on the counter next to Vic in the back of the kitchen area.

“What happened?” He looked down at her.

“Same old, but under better cover after that little meeting. The one where everything was tabled. I knew they weren’t going to address anything for real, but damn it!”

“I think Joe and David had the right idea. They knew how dangerous it was for Amanda and them. Taking off was the right thing to do.”

“I wish I’d known they were going, I’d have hitched a ride,” Celine said. “According to Joe, David was a resource we couldn’t afford to lose. I wonder where they went and if we could join them now.”

Vic thought about the book hidden in his room. “I can’t blame them for keeping it a secret. Those guys beat David pretty bad and it would’ve been worse if some of us hadn’t shown up. After they hit Amanda . . . Wish I’d been there for that. They wouldn’t have to worry about solid food ever again.”

Celine looked up at him. “Where would you go?”

“Me? Good question. I’ve lived in Atlanta since I was a kid. I suppose some place warm, Florida, Texas.”

“Too warm and there’re hurricanes, which aren’t going to be announced in advance anymore.”

“Well where would be safe? They’ve got earthquakes in the west, tornados in the middle, snow in the north.”

“So Tennessee maybe. Not too close to the ocean, no earthquakes.” She shrugged. “I’ve never thought about it either, but maybe we should.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “Do you want to leave?”

“Yeah, I think I do. If there was a bunch of us, you know, enough to help each other. If we could build a community, hell yes. When’s the last time one those society ladies came down here to help in the kitchen? After the first couple of times, they always had something else to do. One of them honest to God asked Brenda to look after her kids. What, she was going shopping or something? I did hear they tried to work on menus with Lorene.” She laughed. “I wish I’d been there to see that.”

Vic chuckled with her. “That would have been good. Don’t suppose they came back for a second dose?”

“No way.” She straightened up. “Seriously, do you want to do this?”

“Yeah, I think we should float the idea anyway. It’s gonna get worse here. Maybe they have food for a while, and lights as long as they keep those generators working, but I’m already tired of being a second-class citizen. I didn’t vote for any of them and don’t want to shine their boots now. We’re gonna have to be real discreet if we want to pull something like this off.”

Celine nodded. “I’ll see what part of the country looks hospitable.”

“And I’ll see if I can feel out some of the others without giving too much away.” She started for the door but he touched her arm, not grabbing her. “Did something happen?”

She didn’t turn back to face him. “They like to touch now. There aren’t enough high-class white women to go around. For some things, it’s okay to slum.”

“Not enough women? Another thing Amanda warned them about. Between David and her, we lost a lot when they had to escape. Who was it?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

The look on his face made her look down, but then she met his eyes. “One of the senators from one of the Carolinas, I don’t know which, is preaching the old ways should be back. Nash is his name. This is the wrath of God upon us for allowing women to walk upright and accepting gays and all that shit.”

“He’s a minister?”

“No. He doesn’t minister to anyone but himself, he’s a preacher.” Celine’s look said it all. “Anyone that can get Lorene to think a Bible-thumper is full of it must be doing something wrong. I think his daddy was one of those big TV preachers, so he knows the drill. I need to get back to work.”

Time to start on The Melting, Book 2 – The Progression.  The official release is October 10, but you’ve got time to read some excerpts before that.  Remember, leave a comment, I’m giving away stuff…

Excerpt 1 – Book 2

Joe Dula shifted in the small space left for him to sit in the back of the loaded minivan as David pulled to a stop. “I got the Verde, that’s green, but I never learned a bunch of languages. What’s Vida?”

David grinned, his hazel eyes less wary now that they had arrived. “Life, green life is what they decided on. They’ve completed a couple more houses since I was here,” David looked around. His smile faded.

“Do you think they’re watching us? What if they don’t want us here? It might not be your friends and they’re afraid to come out.” Amanda looked up and down the row of houses. It was like one side of a street with very eclectic buildings. A log cabin stood beside a geodesic dome beside a house with one wall of glass.

“No one’s here. It’s deserted.”

There were no cars, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t watching them from inside one of the houses or . . .

“It’s a ghost town.”

“What?” Amanda looked back at Joe, who only shrugged.

“I was hoping someone else would have made it.”

“You can’t be sure.” She was feeling exposed. But none of his friends were emerging to check on visitors. Shit, now the place felt creepy.

David reached for the door handle and she grabbed his arm. “I have to check, Amanda. Maybe I’m wrong.”

That’s what she was afraid of. Until just now the fact that the three of them were totally alone hadn’t really sunk in. Like David, she had imagined this place with people. Even not knowing any of them, she mourned them now.

Amanda tried to shake off the tension. She needed to breathe. There was no movement, no sound. David stepped from the van, his hands out, not over his head, but showing that he was unarmed. “Jerry?” He called.

Amanda jumped at the sound of his voice, but there was no other reaction. She looked back at Joe who shrugged. “Jerry! Stan? Sid? Is anyone here? I’ve brought more supplies.” There was no answer and David moved toward the largest building, a post and beam structure in front of where he had parked. The door was locked, but David moved to the front porch and did something she couldn’t see. He came up with the key and unlocked the door. “Jerry?”

After a quick tour inside he returned and headed to her side of the van. “There’s no one in there.”

“They leave a key under a rock?” She tried for a light tone. No one had attacked him at least.

He gave a small smile then. “No, in one of those little lock-boxes bolted under the railing. I knew the code. Come on inside.”

“What about the other houses?”

“We’ll check all of them.”

Another double celebration – last excerpt from Book 1 (we start Book 2 tomorrow) and my half birthday!  Remember when you said “I”m 6 and 1/2!” – well, now I will admit to the 1/2 but not the first part…  Leave a comment, I’ll be giving away something!

Excerpt 5 – Book 1

David knew he should never have waited this long to check out Amanda’s apartment for some clue. There had still been no contact from her. Over seventy-two hours. None of his contacts had called back either. Were they too busy or was he persona non grata everywhere now?

The no-contact could not be Amanda’s choice. He was confident of that. Somehow he could feel it. He knew she hadn’t returned to her apartment, therefore he’d thought there was no need to come over.

He should have checked it out anyway. Her car sat in its normal slot, which had to mean she’d been taken rather than joining of her own volition.

Damn, he could feel her missing deep in his very soul. His numerous attempts at getting past the guard at the Walter Reed project, and then his attempts to reach someone at the CDC and WHO had been as completely rebuffed as his government contacts. They had been respectful at first, but that had changed as things had worsened. This global warming flu—David liked the name at least—was so much worse than the mainstream media had let on. Even the short time Amanda had been missing things had worsened beyond his imagination. At least the information had. Some news agencies were leaking the incredible death toll figures and if they were even half way accurate, this was beyond scary. He’d seen unofficial photos of mass graves on one website before it was yanked. He didn’t have to stretch to believe they were real. He had a stiff neck and headache himself, but ignored it in his need to locate her.

The news had broken officially that the contagion began on those cruise ships when they had been exposed to some thawing virus. It wasn’t what he’d anticipated in his studies, but he wasn’t surprised as so many of his fellow academics tried to pretend to be. Where did you send an “I told you so” this big? He hadn’t been contacted for any quotes either, which grimly amused him at least. His popularity with the remaining administration was no doubt suffering even worse, since he’d been proven more right than even he had seen coming. Rising water levels weren’t nearly as immediate.

David was unable to reach Scott any longer. The situation had worsened at all hospitals,. Pathology had been closed down to free up all health care workers to aid in the pandemic. Cause of death wasn’t as important as treating the still living, though it had been a jolt to reach an answering machine at the morgue. He could only hope his friend was still alive.

He’d watched a run on a pharmacy on the news last night. Things were degenerating into fear-induced riots in some cities. Regular looting of unimportant things, like TVs, happened as well, but less than he would have thought. Food and drugs were the items of choice now.

At least one small town in the upper mid-west had instituted a mass grave. That news report had aired once, then been removed, but there wasn’t time or space for anything else. No one had said cholera, at least on the news, but that would be next if anyone survived. David was sure more than one place had begun the same grim practice.

He ignored the headache, which had increased even since he’d arrived at her complex. He wasn’t sleeping well and not only from lack of Amanda. He had dreams of people wandering lost. He tried to herd them to him, so they could at least be together, but so many weren’t listening.

He didn’t have time to get sick. He had to find Amanda. She would not have remained silent this long of her own free will. While being held prisoner sounded harsh, he had no doubt that’s what the government would do. He let himself into her apartment. Things didn’t look disturbed, at least there had been no fight, but she hadn’t taken the time to get ready to be away either. The trash hadn’t even been emptied. Of course regular pick up of trash had halted a couple of days ago.

He headed into her bedroom. The bed had been hastily made and her small suitcase gone. She hadn’t expected to be away this long, or she would have taken the larger suitcase and more clothing.

He turned toward the dresser and something shiny on the floor caught his eye. He bent over, causing his headache to grow, but not as much as recognizing what lay in front of him.

Her cross lay on the carpet. She had gone with them, but under duress. She had to have left this for him to find. How the hell had he allowed himself to be lulled into . . . Fuck! He grabbed up the chain and with shaking hands shoved it into his pocket.