A land of vast beauty and constant change, Yosemite National Park never ceases to amaze and inspire its visitors. And fiction writer Jonathan Williams, an avid camper and fan, is no exception. In four charming short stories, he captures the Park’s diverse landscape and unique wilderness, using it as backdrop in all its glory to tell his tales.
“The Condor Suit” tells the story of Tim whose life-long dreams of flying prompts him to move to a small town in the foothills of the Sierra to pursue his quest: building a bird suit and flying into the Park. In “Dog Lake,” a young boy on a Yosemite camping trip falls into the lake and disappears, only to discover another world lurking beneath its surface, and the lake magically comes to life. “The Rescue” tells the story of a hiker, and the unusual relationship he forms with a bear and her cub in the park. And with “The Old Man in the Sierra,” visitors in Yosemite National Park encounter a strange man leaving them wondering if he is the Park’s notorious mystery man? Does he exist, or is he the stuff of everyone’s imagination, and simply part legend, part ghost?
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Enjoy the excerpts
Condor Suit: “Tim was about twenty four miles into the flight and passing the main Park entrance when he noticed something strange. His vision became clearer, and things became brighter.”
Dog Lake: “Nathan found himself in a large empty room surrounded by water. He carefully touched one of the glass walls, and his fingerprints smeared.”
The Rescue: “Instinctively, I made as much noise as possible, and blew my whistle but the mountain lion continued toward me.”
The Old Man and the Sierra: “The Old Man stood drenched, his outback hat offering little protection. His eyes closed, he faced the gales, the rain striking his weathered face, and he opened his mouth to the downpour.”
~~~~~
Author Jonathan Williams
Jonathan Williams has worked in Information Technology for over twenty years. He has spent most of his career working in the Financial and Pharmaceutical \ Biotech sectors. He specializes in Database Management Systems.
Welcome to My Monday Minis where I share short reviews, mostly, about books I’ve read.
For today I’ve got another chapter in the story of Mike Beem. If you’ve read Anthony Renfro’s other zombie books, you’ll recognize him. If you haven’t read them, no worries, as the stories can stand alone.
Flesh For The Zombies
by Anthony Renfro
Genre: Horror
My Review
I’m a fan of short stories and zombies so it was an easy decision for me to read this book. Plus, I’ve been following the story of Mike Beem from the first book the author wrote about him.
Mike Beem is a hero, but he doesn’t think so. He thinks he’s just a man doing what anyone would do to help people and survive the zombie apocalypse.
Things are looking pretty good for the community. They’ve managed to build some kind of life. But it doesn’t last. A darkness comes calling and tragedy strikes. Seeing the destruction and loss of loved ones and friends, Mike snaps. The question isn’t just whether he’ll get his revenge, it’s also, will he be recognizable afterwards.
Anthony is a master at making his characters three dimensional with just a sentence or two to describe them. They become living characters that you can see and come to care about. Or despise, depending on their demeanor. I should know by now that not everyone can live in a zombie apocalypse. It’s horror, after all. But, it gets me every time when someone I only got to know for a brief time, dies. That’s how quickly you can become attached to them.
What happens to Mike’s community is so terribly sad. What Mike does to right the wrong is horrific. I hate that Mike has to go where he does. I can’t see a happy ending. And, if he survives, what he will be afterwards is a looming question as you read this short story.
Big feelings in a short bite of horror.
5 Stars
~~~~~
Synopsis
When Mike Beem’s community is savagely attacked, he must exact revenge on those who wronged him. He must put aside all the good he has ever accomplished in order to become someone else. A man without a moral compass. A man without right or wrong. A man who is a cold blooded killer. Will he get his justice or will he die trying? The answers lie within the pages of this short story.
He’s getting old and cranky. We’ve never really seen eye to eye. And I’m ready for a change. It’s time for someone new. But what to do with him? He’s still functional. Still handy. I could smash him with a hammer. It would feel good, for a while. Then I’d feel ashamed….sad, wonder why I didn’t keep him around for emergencies. I better think about it.
Guess what! I’m getting a new computer. A new engine to drive my thoughts and ideas. Yes, I refer to my old computer as a he. Didn’t give him a name though. We’re like Venus and Mars in a lot of ways. LOL But he kept going and going, so I’m thinking I’ll keep him. Just in case.
What do you do with your old computer? Do you laugh maniacally as you smash it to bits like you wanted to so many times? Or do you keep it?
And did I get you in the beginning? What did you think I was referring to, or whom?
*****
My new books this week.
*****
And here are some freebies for ya. Click on the covers to get your copies. Remember to make sure they’re still free before you hit that buy button.
*****
Books I reviewed this week. Click on the covers to read my reviews.
The story picks up about a month after John killed the demon that stalked their town. He’s having a tough go of it.
You see, John has unnatural urges. Urges to torture and kill. He has a set of rules that he follows to stop himself from acting on them. After killing the deem, those urges are building. He’s tasted death and fights to stick to his rules.
So he burns. He burns things to feed Mr. Monster, the thing inside him. It works, kind of. At least after he burns something he can go home. Go to bed. But then the nightmares start. “When he wasn’t using his mind, Mr. Monster was.” And the monster had him killing.
Now, something is killing again. And it’s not John. Perhaps John can let Mr. Monster out to play. Hunt and kill again.
Oh boy. I was only five chapters in and the suspense was really revving up. A school bully pushes John’s buttons and he pushes back. His mother hovers, reminding him to keep his rules. Questioning him constantly about how he feels. The FBI agent from before calls him in repeatedly to repeat his story about the killings from the winter before. An unassuming man with lots of questions. And Brook. The beautiful neighborhood girl his mom insists he drive to school. She strains his ability to keep his rules.
When John’s sister, Lauren, who never comes to visit, shows up for dinner on Mother’s Day with a boyfriend in tow, things get very interesting. He’s a bully, loud and abrasive in his comments. Downgrading Lauren all the time. It was chilling to listen to John’s thoughts on what he’d to to the guy. After listening to the idiot go on and on, I agreed with some of those ideas myself.
It caught my attention when it became apparent that John’s mother was fighting some thoughts of her own. She clearly was upset by the guys treatment of her daughter. There’s one scene where she used one of John’s rules for herself, and made me laugh…and wonder about her.
And there’s the cat. It wouldn’t leave a warehouse John had targeted to burn down. Rule One kept him from it. Don’t harm animals. Every time he went to burn the building, the cat was there. It didn’t leave, no matter how long he waited. What’s up with that cat?
There is so much suspense. I wondered if John would give in to Mr. Monster. And if one of the people that was causing him so much grief would be a victim. They say many kids that show sociopathic tendencies never act on them. Will John be able to resist. He’s already killed once. And listening to his thoughts, I can’t see him fighting the urges for much longer.
Chilling, in parts very disturbing, yet also fascinating, I loved being inside Johns’ head again. I couldn’t wait to find out what he’d do and to who. The fact that the author took this story into such a dark place without using profanity or sex earned my high regard.
5 Stars
Narrator Kirby Heyborne
This second story about John Cleaver has a new narrator. I was impressed by Kirby. He did an excellent job portraying all of these characters, sounding convincing as a woman or a man, and adjusting for their ages. He drew me in, and it felt like I was watching a movie without looking at the screen. I watched the movie for I Am Not A Serial Killer: John Cleaver Book One, and that gave me lots to draw upon. Well done, Kirby.
Thanks so much to Tantor Audio for a complimentary copy. My review is voluntarily given.
~~~~~
Synopsis
I killed a demon. I don’t know if it was really, technically a demon, but I do know that he was some kind of monster, with fangs and claws and the whole bit, and he killed a lot of people. So I killed him. I think it was the right thing to do. At least the killing stopped.
Well, it stopped for a while.
In I Am Not a Serial Killer, John Wayne Cleaver saved his town from a murderer even more appalling than the serial killers he obsessively studies.
But it turns out even demons have friends, and the disappearance of one has brought another to Clayton County. Soon there are new victims for John to work on at the mortuary and a new mystery to solve. But John has tasted death, and the dark nature he used as a weapon—the terrifying persona he calls “Mr. Monster”—might now be using him.
No one in Clayton is safe unless John can vanquish two nightmarish adversaries: the unknown demon he must hunt and the inner demon he can never escape.
Dan Wells is an American horror fiction writer and the author of the John Cleaver series. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University, earning his bachelor’s degree in English with a writing and editing emphasis. He currently resides in Orem, Utah, with his wife and four children.
Narrator Kirby Heyborne
Kirby Heyborne is an accomplished actor, musician, and comedian who has received a number of Audiofile Earphones Awards for his audiobook narrations. He has had starring roles in over a dozen features and many short films. Kirby is also a cofounder and director of the Los Angeles-based improv comedy group The Society.
The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Then go over to Freda’s Voice and leave your link so we can visit your 56!
My 56 for this week is from:
Bone White
by Wendy Corsi Staub
Genre: Mystery
My 56 from the paperback.
“Your turn now, Jane. I’ll do for you what I did for the Beauties. I’ll find out who you were, and what happened to you.”
~~~~~
Read on if you want to know more.
Synopsis
New York Times Bestselling Author Wendy Corsi Staub revisits Mundy’s Landing—a small town with a blood-soaked past.
The town of Mundy’s Landing was founded on a horrifying secret, but stark white bones of the dead never lie…
“We shall never tell.” Spurred by the cryptic phrase in a centuries-old letter, Emerson Mundy travels to her ancestral hometown to trace her past. In Mundy’s Landing, she connects with long lost relatives—and a closet full of skeletons going back centuries.
In the year since former NYPD Detective Sullivan Leary solved the historic Sleeping Beauty Murders, she—like the village itself—has made a fresh start. But someone has unearthed blood-drenched secrets in a disembodied skull, and is hacking away at the Mundy family tree, branch by branch…
I enjoyed the first book in this series and I’ve been following Lauren’s Mac Faraday series too. It’s fun to have the character’s cross back in forth in both of them.
This story focuses on Jessica Faraday and Murphy Thornton, recently married and getting used to life together.
Jessica is having a recurring nightmare, like a night terror, and they decide the only way to rid her of them is to revisit the scene from whence they come, a horrible crime from her youth. Several people were brutally murdered in Pine Bridge and she had spent the summer there at her relative’s inn.
Jessica and Murphy, along with their dog, Spencer/Candi, arrive at the inn and start to sniff out clues. The deeper they dig, the more dangerous it becomes as bullets fly from in and from all directions.
Boy, this is one tangled up bunch of shenanigans. There’s lots going on and plenty of suspects. I really didn’t know who was guilty of what until right near the end. That’s always a good thing for me.
And, as usual, Lauren drips beloved characters from past stories into this one, just like I’d hope. Bumping into them is always fun, as they stay in my mind from earlier adventures.
I also enjoy the non human characters, of which there are many. Lots of critters romp through all Lauren’s books. One in particular I was hoping to meet again. Monica. She made an appearance. Did she ever.
And I met a new character that quickly became another favorite. Nigel. He’s not a breathing entity. He’s Jessica’s and Murphy’s virtual butler, designed by her brother, Tristan. Nigel comes in very handy with his ability to go anywhere on the internet, plucking out info no one else can. Fun occurs when he starts to become a bit big for his britches.
Another fun, convoluted mystery from a talented author. I’ll always be waiting for the next one.
5 Stars
~~~~~
Synopsis
After months of marital bliss, Jessica Faraday and Murphy Thornton are still discovering and adjusting to their life together. Settled in their new home, everything appears to be perfect … except in the middle of the night when, in darkest shadows of her subconscious, a deep secret from Jessica’s past creeps to the surface to make her strike out at Murphy.
When investigative journalist Dallas Walker tells the couple about her latest case, known as the Pine Bridge Massacre, they realize Jessica may have witnessed the murder of a family living near a winery owned by distant relatives she was visiting and suppressed the memory.
Determined to uncover the truth and find justice for the murder victims, Jessica and Murphy return to the scene of the crime with Dallas Walker, a spunky bull-headed Texan. Can this family reunion bring closure for a community touched by tragedy or will this prickly get-together bring an end to the Thorny Rose couple?
Five women with seemingly nothing in common are found brutally murdered in a townhome outside Washington, DC. Among the many questions surrounding the massacre is what had brought these apparent strangers together only to be killed.
Taking on his first official murder case, Lieutenant Murphy Thornton, USN, believes that if he can uncover the thread connecting the victims, then he can find their murderer.
The case takes an unexpected turn when Murphy discovers that one of the victims has a connection to his stepmother, Homicide Detective Cameron Gates. One wintry night, over a dozen years before, her first husband, a Pennsylvania State trooper, had been run down while working a night shift on the turnpike.
In this first installment of the Thorny Rose Mysteries, the Lovers in Crime join newlyweds Lieutenant Murphy Thornton and Jessica Faraday to sift through a web of lies and cover-ups. Together, can the detectives of the Thorny Rose uncover the truth without falling victim to a cunning killer?
Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!
Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, romance, and humor.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, son, and four dogs (including the real Gnarly) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
What do an anthropologist, a televangelist, a beautiful young woman, a shaman, and a drug lord have in common? Rumors of ancient chronicles somewhere in Mesoamerica draw them all into a race to uncover the secrets. Whether for the thrill of discovery, money, power, they will all be put to the test. The jungle is unforgiving and reluctant to give up it’s secrets.
It took a while for the plot to thicken. The beginning had a lot of detail that slowed the pace, though it’s well researched. Once it got going, it was a thrilling adventure. Lots of intrigue and plotting to keep you turning the pages.
There’s a mixed bag of character’s. Some good. Some bad. The one that drew the most emotions out of me was the man that funded the expedition, Brother Luke. What a warped excuse for a human being and holy man. And the shaman had some surprises for me too.
This is a suspenseful adventure with an exciting ending. I’d recommend this to fans of treasure hunting, anthropology, and plenty of characters with their own agendas.
4 Stars
Synopsis
The Da Vinci Code unsettles. SEALED UP shakes to the core!
UCLA anthropologist Nathan Hill, in a funk since his young wife’s death, learns of staggering millennia-old chronicles sealed up somewhere in a Mesoamerica cliff. This bombshell rocks him out of his gloom, and he leads a clandestine expedition to uncover them. What are they? Who put them there? No one knows. But, self-absorbed televangelist Brother Luke, who funds the expedition, thinks he does. If he’s right, his power-hunger will have off-the-charts gratification.
Striking Audra Chang joins Nathan in his pursuit and brings her own shocking secret. As they struggle through an incredible jungle of puzzles and dead ends, she finds herself falling in love with Nathan. Her secret, though, may make that a non-starter.
When a shaman with a thirst for human sacrifice, and a murderous Mexican drug lord with a mysterious connection to Brother Luke emerge, the expedition appears doomed. Yet Nathan is convinced that fate—or something—demands these inscrutable chronicles be unearthed.
And if they are . . . what shattering disruption will they unleash?
Intricately layered and remarkably researched, this enthralling suspense thriller begs a startling question: Could it happen?
“How much farther?” Paul’s shirt was soaked from sweat.
Itzel looked at him and laughed. “Just like Torrance, huh?” Paul rolled his eyes.
“The cenote.” Ichika pointed to a three-foot-wide path that was recently cut through the brush. They followed it as it turned to the left then sharply to the right. The sinkhole loomed in front of them. The water, a huge blue sapphire, sparkled 15 feet below. Thick emerald-green growth reached down the sinkhole’s sides, but where they were standing, the vegetation had been cleared all the way to the water’s surface.
Paul stood at the cenote’s edge and stared down into the bowl. “You slipped here, you’d go all the way in.”
Itzel shuddered and pulled back; thoughts of her father overwhelming her. Was this what it was like where he fell? She trembled and turned away from the cenote. “Let’s leave.”
Paul looked at her and understood. He almost said something about his stupidity, but decided one foot in his mouth was enough. He motioned for Ichika to take them back the way they came. He put his arm around Itzel, and she leaned her head against him.
“Where are the ruins?” Paul asked. Ichika didn’t say anything, just pointed ahead. The brush and ferns that surrounded them were head high and prevented their seeing anything except along the trail. As they turned to go to where they first entered the path, Kish’s men stood waiting. Ikan, Muluc, and Yochi had machetes, and Gukumatz held a tranquilizer gun.
Paul and Itzel stopped. Ichika, her eyes fastened on the ground, kept going until she stood on the other side of the men. She turned back toward Itzel but wouldn’t look at her. “What’s going on?” Paul demanded in Spanish as he stepped in front of Itzel. Gukumatz raised his gun and shot a dart into Paul’s stomach. Paul flinched at the pain and looked down at his stomach. “What the ….” Paul yanked the dart out and threw it on the ground. A small circle of blood soaked through his shirt. He lunged at Gukumatz and swung his forearm around catching him on the bridge of his nose. Blood spurted from Gukumatz’s nostrils as he fell to the ground; a gash flaring open on top of his nose. Ikan and Yochi dropped their machetes and jumped Paul.
“What are you doing?” Itzel yelled in Lacandón. “Where is Kish?” Muluc grabbed her and threw his arm around her neck, holding her from behind.
“Don’t you hurt her!” Ichika screamed, as she advanced on him. Gukumatz stood up and wiped his nose with his sleeve; blood soaking through his shirt to his skin. His stare at Paul was chilling, and he swore at him in Spanish. Paul tried to get up to come at him. It was all the two men could do to keep him down even though his strength was ebbing. Gukumatz turned away from Paul and pulled a cartridge and a dart from the bag on his shoulder and loaded them into his gun. He walked to Itzel and shoved Ichika aside. He lowered the gun and shot the dart into Itzel’s stomach. She flinched at the pain and stared at Gukumatz. “You pig!” she spat.
Within a few minutes Paul and Itzel were unconscious. Gukumatz pulled the GPS trackers from their belts, turned them off, and slammed them against a rock. He grunted as he picked up Itzel and slung her across his shoulder. The other three men lifted Paul. They headed to the platform ruins.
The place of sacrifice.
~~~~~
Author Steve Dunn Hanson
I’ve lived in places that grew me . . . from a small Idaho farm town, a run-down neighborhood in St. Louis, and a middle-class southern California community, to Sydney, Australia, and Bucharest, Romania. My experiences are as varied as the places I’ve lived. I have a hopper full of “reality” including being a volunteer jail chaplain and flying with a U.S. presidential candidate in his small plane when an engine conked out. And all of this is fodder for my writing.
My latest book is the action/adventure/suspense novel, Sealed Up.
Got a couple of fun ones to share today. Both of these had some fun illustrations and made smiles grow on my face.
~~~~~
My Pet Yeti
by Clarke Baldwin
Age Level:9 and up | Grade Level:3 and up
My Review
I love stories about the Yeti. This sounds fun and I couldn’t resist the cute cover.
Chance can’t wait to show his friend, Nick, the snow fort he built. And Nick can’t wait to see it. After showing off the fort, Chance helps Nick build his own fort and shows him a nifty trick that will keep the forts from melting. As kids we used this trick and it worked great.
Next up, snowball fight! After epic battles, the boys grow cold and it’s time to go home. But Chance makes one quick trip to check on his fort, thinking of ways he might improve it. He’s shocked when he finds the fort demolished, and whoever destroyed it left huge footprints for him to follow.
Not knowing what left the tracks but having a sneaking suspicion, Chance sets off to find the culprit and the tracks lead him to a dark cave. He enters cautiously and discovers something astonishing.
This story brings back so many happy memories from my childhood. Growing up in the north, we had long winters and lots of time on our hands. The neighborhood got together and built forts, has snowball, fights, went sledding and skating, and trekking in the woods. It’s so silent in the winter. And kind of scary. I’m sure we wondered what might be lurking in them woods.
Chance is a brave, but impulsive boy. I don’t know if I’d have ventured into that cave by myself. Making friends with a yeti sounded fun, but Freddy the yeti wasn’t meant to live with people. They wouldn’t understand him. Would be afraid of him.
It was sweet and sad, the way this ended. But the author showed that, while making a decision may be painful, its sometimes the best thing for everyone.
4 Stars
~~~~~
Synopsis
Chance Bradley is enjoying his winter break to the fullest. The snowfall is heavy and he’s doing all the winter activities with his friends to the max. But when his snow fort is wrecked, Chance sets out to find the mysterious culprit. Could the legends be true? Can Chance find and tame the Yeti?
A fun action-adventure middle reader kids book for ages 9-12 and adults. Children’s middle reader with 9 Color Illustrations
The Chance Bradley Adventures Series are action-packed stories filled with action, science fiction, adventure and a hint of fantasy.
A poor little owl who couldn’t fly right. No matter how he tried, he flew upside down, backwards, and any way but the way he should. When he flew into a tree, a little girl rescued him, nurtured him, loved him, and encouraged him to try flying again.
It was adorable when the little girl took the owl home and, with a little TLC, gave him confidence to try again. The pictures are cute too. Looks like children drew and colored them. You might want to have drawing paper and crayons handy, as your youngsters might get a hankering to try to draw this cuddly little owl.
With simple illustrations and such a cute little owl, this is sure to delight the young ones. It has a message too. Don’t give up on yourself. If you fail, try and try again.
4 Stars
~~~~~
Synopsis
When a little owl has difficulty flying, he needs an extra boost of confidence to try again. It takes the loving care of a little girl to help him overcome his awkwardness and take to the skies. A sweet and funny story for bedtime or anytime.
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