Monday, July 1st, 2013 Jason Kahn and I go way back, published by the same small press several years ago, where we both ‘discovered’ each other’s work. His stories have continued to intrigue me. His latest work, Badge of Lies, is no exception.
Rather than do the standard guest interview, I’ve asked Jason to provide an excerpt to whet your appetite, and he’s rather handsomely obliged. I hope you enjoy it. Once your’re done, read more about Jason in my original interview with him here.
Badge of Lies is a story of trust and betrayal, of a good cop who has to do bad things to make things right. Thanks to Pro Se Productions for making this possible, and I hope everybody enjoys the ride!
~ Jason
From Badge of Lies by Jason R. Kahn:
I worked it out as I inched ahead, thought about the layout of the place, figured where I’d lay an ambush if it was me. A grim smile spread on my face as I paused at the entryway to the kitchen. There’s Ronnie, head down at the table, top of his head pointed at me, but I’m not focusing on him. I take a single long stride into the middle of the kitchen and pivot left, pointing the Glock. A moment of shock, even though I expect it. In the open window off the inside courtyard, a shadowy figure crouches, waiting. It was a big shadow.
He raises his arm and I don’t need to see the gun as I squeeze the trigger on my Glock and dive. Muzzle flares explode as multiple shots reverb like canon fire in the confined space. I squeeze off a few rounds at the same time as the other guy and feel a sting in my shoulder as my hurtling body crashes into a refrigerator. I go down for a moment, sprawling on the cracked tile floor. Panic spurs me as I scramble to my feet expecting another volley, but he’s gone.
I stood there motionless, gun pointed at the open window for several long seconds as left-over nerves washed through me. My chest stopped heaving as I shakily lowered my arms and re-holstered my piece, moving quickly to the window. I stuck my head out, cool drizzle pattered against my face as I noted the fire escape leading down to the alley behind the building. Doubtless the guy was long gone. I stumbled away from the window, aches and pains starting to radiate through my body as the adrenaline wore off.
Badge of Lies is now available in paperback and Kindle electronic. Buy it now:
Also available: The Killer Within (Kindle) which continues to get great reviews!
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt! For a bigger taste of Jason’s work, you might try listening to one of his previous novels, Dark InSpectre, on audio. Jason makes them available for free – linked from his Web site, here.
Learn more about Jason:
Website: www.jrkahn.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jrkahn
Blog: http://jasonkahn.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jkahn1
Friday, June 28th, 2013  Most people work to earn a living.
So, unless you write about fabulously wealthy people all the time, I’m going to assume that your characters are working-class folk.
And even if you write fantasy, your character is going to have to make a living somehow–whether it be by herding sheep or in the castle guard–so I think you might find this useful.
For most people, work defines who they are. When you meet someone at a party, you’re inevitably asked, “What do you do?” We’re slotted into pigeonholes at first meet: he’s a computer programer, she’s a lawyer, he owns a plumbing and heating company…
This works for fabulously wealthy people who spend their time on good causes, too: She does books for a soup kitchen, he’s a doctor at a free clinic, she reads to the blind.
And like it or not, what we do for a living–or to fill the time–shapes us. We spend a huge amount of our time in pursuit of it: exposed to the politics, embroiled in projects, learning our pecking order, gaining experience both good and bad.
So knowing what your character does for a living is important–even if it’s never mentioned in the book. Because what he learned on the job is a takeaway to his life. Keep this in mind when creating new characters.
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Write a scene or a story about an important event in a person’s life…but come at it from the perspective of work: you can only reveal things as they are happening on the job.
- Write a story about a person who keeps making the right decisions at work, but keeps landing in deeper and deeper trouble for them.
- Write the scene (or an entire story) about a bitter person who’s got the dream of a lifetime–her dream of a lifetime–and how it ruined her.
- Go large on the work idea: write a story that takes place at a business. The characters can only be seen as how they act on the job – no scenes away from the workplace.
- Write a story where your main character is having trouble keeping his job. This difficulty can be central to the story or not.
- If you Journal…
- Write about the loss of your job.
- Write about all the summer jobs you’ve had, or about your favorite summer job.
- Write about your Worst. Job. Ever. (Or worst boss!)
- Have you ever been profoundly effected by someone else’s job — or job loss? Write it.
Good Luck!
Friday, June 21st, 2013  I attended a family member’s funeral on Monday.
It was not unexpected, and I’ve been thinking a lot about death in the last weeks or so. I’m the unofficial genealogist of the family, and have a collection of death memorabilia — so it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that I’ve been paging through albums of tombstone photos this week.
I love tombstones.
I’ve always wanted something really cool to mark my spot in the acreage where generations of my family are buried. (It’s unfortunate that we’ve become so lazy as a society that many cemeteries are no longer allowing upright stones since they’re harder to mow around. If I want to be buried with my family, then no stone for me…)
I’ve thought long and hard about what I want my epitaph to read.
Epitaph: a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site.
(You should know: most epitaphs are composed not by the deceased prior to his or her demise, but by the person who buries him. Not a rule, it’s just how it happens…)
Sadly, like a tattoo, I can’t seem to find the phrase I want to be stuck with for eternity. But I keep trying.
Long ago, pre-teen, I heard a (trite, pithy, silly) poem about death which has always stuck with me:
When I’m gone
Bury me deep
Lay two speakers
at my feet
Put some headphones
on my head
And Rock and Roll me
When I’m dead!
Yes, please! And make it heavy metal. I want to rock through eternity!
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Write your own epitaph! Be known how you want to be known for eternity.
- Write the epitaph for the characters in your WIP.
- Create a character for a new novel or story. Start by writing the character’s epitaph. Work backwards to fill in the details of the person’s personality based on the slogan. Here is a list of famous epitaphs to give you some ideas.
If you write an epitaph, please leave it in the comments. I’d love to read them.
Good luck!
Friday, June 14th, 2013  June 14th in the United States is Flag Day, commemorating the day the 2nd Continental Congress adopted the flag. This happened in 1777, though Flag Day wasn’t officially celebrated until 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation.
Congress officially sealed the deal in 1949 by establishing National Flag Day.
Originally, flags were used in military maneuvers for coordination on the battlefield and identifying sides. In environments where other types of communication are hampered, flags have served as basic signalling devices.
Here’s a link to an article on International Maritime Signal Flags.
Today, flags are still used for communication and messaging, but can be seen in advertising or used for decorative purposes.
Here’s Your Prompt:
Good luck!
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Have you read The Dragon’s Clause?
For hundreds of years, San Marino paid tribute to the dragon living beneath their mountain city. But no one alive remembers him. Despite the existence of a contract, the town refuses to pay this year. When the residents renege on the deal, they must face the wrath of the beast.
$2.99 at Amazon.com | $2.99 at Barnes and Noble |
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Flag Poster from the Library of Congress Collection.
Friday, June 7th, 2013  It’s raining, it’s pouring
The old man is snoring
He went to bed and bumped his head
And didn’t get up until morning!
It’s raining today where I am, just hard enough for me to hear the commotion, but gentle enough to qualify it as a spring rain. It’s been raining for hours, too, watering my plants and greening things up all over the yard.
I love it when it rains on the days I’m able to sleep in. The room stays dark and cool, I hear the pattering of the rain on the eaves, and I can pull my feather pillow closer and snooze a little longer.
It’s apparently not bothering the birds, who are our in murders, chimes and parties (crows, wrens, and blue jays) searching for worms.
(Really, they ought to try the driveway, because that’s where all the worms hang out on rainy days. Up on the hill is so last week.)
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Write about a group of employees stuck at work, because the rain (the storm) is so bad they can’t get home.
- Similarly, write about a group of people huddled together in a bus stop shelter. What happens when they’re there for an “extended” period of time.
- Write from the point of view of the storm: are you the tiny raindrop, the dark, thundering cloud, or the bolt of lightening? Are you something else?
- Write about the best time your were trapped out in the rain. Write about the worst.
- Write how you feel about rain. Do thunderstorms affect you more than gentle spring rains? Do you hate all rain? What would be better in your life without it? What would be worse?
- Consider:
Kase here am facts days mighty plain, An’ any time you sees ’em you kin look fuh rain… ~ James Weldon Johnson, ed. The Book of American Negro Poetry. 1922.
Do you (or your character) always look for rain? Write about a time you (or your character) were looking for rain–as usual–and were surprised not to find it.
- Re-write an important scene in your current work in progress so that it happens while it’s raining. How can the intrusion of rain make your scene more dramatic?
- Write about:
Dusk in the rain-soaked garden, And dark the house within. A door creaked: someone was early To watch the dawn begin. But he stole away like a thief in the chilly, star-bright air… ~ Siegfried Sassoon, The Dark House, 1920
- Write a story where record-breaking floods (caused by rain) destroy someone’s life. (This isn’t about killing a character, this is about the flood waters taking away the most important part of his or her life: his family, his lover, her livelihood, etc.)
Good Luck!
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Photo Copyright © Tiffany Toland | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Friday, May 31st, 2013  I attended Balticon this past weekend. (Had a terrific time, as usual.)
Balticon takes place at a hotel in Hunt Valley, Maryland and gets booked solid by the time the event rolls around. On the opening day, the hotel entrance is over-crowded by folks who come from all around loaded for bear with all the things they can’t live without for four days.
It’s amazing to see what folks travel with, and how they travel: like the eight folks that traveled together down from New York in a single car, but got separate rooms because they needed the space.
Then there’s the dichotomy of those who will travel as light as possible, forgoing even a change of clothes (I hope they brought their toothbrush!) so they’ll have room in the car for all the treasures they’ll take home; and those who travel with trunks filled with costuming gear, and you’ll see changed several times a day.
I’ve seen folks come in with several coolers and (little red) wagons loaded with food so they never have to leave the hotel in search of a less-expensive meal. (And NOT at Balticon, I’ve seen these same folks pull their wagons and coolers up to a gaming table so they can play all night without having to leave their chair!)
Here’s Your Prompt:
Good Luck!
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Photo Copyright: © Clarita | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Friday, May 24th, 2013  I’m heading over to Balticon later on today, and it’s been a frenetic week preparing. Not because I’ve got such a large schedule — I deliberately don’t have much of one at all this year — but because life just got in the way.
I’m sure there’s a blog post/writing prompt for “life getting in the way” but that seemed kind of vague to me this morning. Watch for it later, I’m certain.
So, today’s prompts are rather random. Just some ideas I’ve been playing with that haven’t gone together for one huge post…and they all start with the photo.
Your options: choose the photo for the prompt, one or some of the prompts, or all of them (that might prove interesting!) and write away.
The Random Prompts
- A woman on her honeymoon is shocked to learn a major secret from her husband’s past.
- “Uncle John, I don’t like this.”
- I loved her with all my heart – but every day she became more of a leech.
- While driving to work one day, you decide to drive by the office, and just keep going.
- A woman on her honeymoon is shocked to learn a major secret from her husband’s past.
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013  I have a new story for sale! Yay!
Sky Lit Bargains was first published in the anthology Hellebore and Rue, and now it’s available as a single.
It’s also available in paperback!
The paperback copy is only available in the CreateSpace store right now, but it should arrive at Amazon.com shortly. It’s listed on the sight, but not available for purchase yet. When the buy button shows up, I’ll post here. (Same goes for B&N.)
If you want a shiny signed copy, I’ll be at Balticon this weekend. Just drop by the BroadUniverse table where I’ll be spending most of my time. I opted not to be on any panels this year — I wanted a relaxing weekend. You should be able to catch me at the table at almost any time of day.
More of my stories will be released in paperback soon, starting with Blood Soup. If you’ve got a favorite you’d like to see after that, drop me a line.
Here are the buy links for Sky Lit Bargains:
Sky Lit Bargains – Kindle
Sky Lit Bargains- Paperback via CreateSpace
Sky Lit Bargains – Nook
Very shortly it should be available at Kobo and iTunes. I’ll keep you posted.
Monday, May 20th, 2013  I’m smack in the middle of reading Ted Nowak’s Mother’s Curse. Like a lot of ‘young adult” novels being published these days, it appeals to the adult sense of excitement. This one’s not just for “the youngsters.”
Ted’s embarked on a blog tour to promote Mother’s Curse, and the sequel, Daughter’s Justice — both available now. Read on after the excerpt to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of each book.
Feeling slightly better for having a bit of light to keep with her, she continued down the street, occasionally looking through a window to see the remains of a room. After the third storefront she passed, she wondered at the reason all of the furniture and even drapes, carpets, and accessories had been left behind. Even in the desperate flight from Antar, people were still taking their belongings. They removed their drapes, even ones far less decorative then what Stephenie suspected were here. Why would everyone desert a city and yet leave almost everything behind as if they were simply going across town to visit a friend? She was hesitant to consider an answer. This city had been deserted and abandoned for a long time. Antar castle and city above had been there for as long as memory could recall and the original castle even before then. Had any of those above known about a city deep in the rocks under their feet, there would have been stories.
Stephenie used her stolen crystal to look into a shop that reminded her of a bakery, with a large oven in the back wall and the remains of shelves still partially attached to a side wall. The sparkle of something shiny and shaped like a pendant caught her eye. Looking closer at a mass on the floor, she paused and then stepped quickly away from the window as a shiver of fear rolled down her spine.
She closed her eyes, but the unmistakable image of a human skull laying on the floor would not leave her sight. She shivered again and looked up and down the street. Perhaps they didn’t leave.
Mustering her courage, Stephenie slowly approached the window again. She forced herself to look at the mass on the floor. Wiping away some of the dirt on the window, she could make out the arms and runners of a rocking chair mixed with what was likely clothing and the decayed bones of the person who’s head had rolled several feet away after the chair had collapsed. Bits of hair and desiccated skin clung to the skull, which was fortunately staring away from the window. The person died sitting in a chair and no one came to remove or bury the body?
Stephenie sniffed the air and thought about the strange odor she had been noticing since she had entered the city. It was a musty sweet smell. “Is this a plague city?” She felt her throat tightening with each breath and again quickly retreated from the window. She turned toward the way she had entered the city, ready to run back to the large doors and flee, but the dryness of her throat and the sound of water stopped her. If this is a plague city, then I am as good as dead and I might as well die after I’ve had something to drink.
Slowly, she turned around and continued down the street, no longer bothering to look into the store fronts. The rot and death they held did not interest her anymore.
She passed several side streets, but continued following the slowly turning main street because the sound of water was getting louder in the direction it was heading. After a short time, the street opened into another large plaza at least a hundred feet in diameter. Several streets exited the round plaza, but at the very center, lit with several points of glowing light was a fountain. Its water pushed up from a center mound and cascaded down several stone statues into a series of white marble bowls. The fountain was a dozen feet high and thirty feet across.
Drawn by thirst, Stephenie quickly reached the edge of the fountain and could feel a cool mist splashing over her. Knowing she would die slowly and painfully from whatever disease had killed the residents of this city, she did not care if the water was poison as long as it tasted fresh. Taking a small sip, she tested the flavor and found it cleaner than what she was used to in the castle. Scooping up more water with her hands, she drank deeply before noticing how dirty her hands had become. After quickly rubbing away the dirt, she moved a couple feet away and continued to drink until her stomach felt full.
Relieved of her thirst, she sat down next to the fountain and buried her face in her wet hands. She sobbed with frustration and relief in one confused wail. While she would not die of thirst, how was she going to get out and warn her father and Joshua about her mother’s betrayal? She cradled her cut arm in her lap and leaned back with her eyes closed. I’ve got light and some water, but what good would warning everyone do if I bring a plague to them? She shook her head. Damn it, why do the gods hate me so? Fundamentally, she knew her tie with Elrin, even if a result of her mother’s doing, was her real damnation. She could not bring herself to worship the demon god and she dared not seek out the other gods for fear the priests would sense her connection to Elrin.
Opening her eyes, she stared at her foot prints along the cobbled street. A lone trail to remind her that she had to do whatever it was she was going to do on her own. There was no one to help her.
She sat silently staring into the distance for some time. Then she blinked her eyes, uncertain that she was not imagining it, but after a moment, there was definitely a strange luminescence moving down the street. As it grew closer, she scrambled to her feet, recognizing the dim outlines of a human form. The apparition was moving in her direction. She quickly moved away from the fountain, but as it closed on the fountain, it appeared not to notice Stephenie at all. Instead, it held its, or her, hands as if carrying something. When it reached the fountain, it leaned over as if scooping up water.
 As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Mother’s Curse and Daughter’s Justice eBook editions are just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing either or both of these fantastic books at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes.
The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of each book.
All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!
To win the prizes:
- Get your copy for just 99 cents
- BONUS: The sequel is also discounted to 99 cents
- Enter the Rafflecopter contest below
- Visit the featured social media event
Mother’s Curse is a coming of age story about the youngest Princess of Cothel and her efforts to save her father and brother from her mother’s schemes, while at the same time, coming to terms with what it means to be a witch. Get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes.
Daughter’s Justice continues Stephenie’s journey of discovery, where she must overcome national opposition to her being a witch as well as lead her friends and protectors on a mission to stabilize her countries finances. Get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes.
Thaddeus Nowak is a writer of fantasy novels who enjoys hiking, photography, and the outdoors. Visit Ted on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.
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Writers - Maryland Writer's Assn.
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