Demons and DNA: Chapter One, Part One

September 2018.

A sorcerer pushed open the door of the diner, both of his hands on the metal handle that bisected its glass. Holding himself upright. He raised his shockingly blue eyes, seeking out and pinning me into place in the red-vinyl booth situated at the far corner. 

My heart fluttered oddly, even as my rational mind immediately snapped to assessing the situation.

Three exits.

The first required a vault over the stools and the laminate counter, then a quick dash through the kitchen beyond. This had the added advantage of putting me within reach of the shotgun gathering dust under the cash register. A shotgun I was fairly certain was illegal in Canada. I hadn’t researched the country’s gun laws, though, because guns rarely worked against the magically inclined. The Adept.

So even with his magic as drained as it felt, a gun might backfire if I tried to use it against the sorcerer currently blocking the second exit.

His hair was dark brown, his chiseled jaw shadowed with stubble. His black suit and rumpled white dress shirt were streaked with dirt. No tie. No objects of power on him. Not that I could feel, anyway. But I picked up magic in people more consistently than I did in artifacts.

The sorcerer looked as though someone had tortured him, drained his magic, then just tossed him from a vehicle and sped off — including a scrape on one of his cheekbones that was so sharply defined it might have cut glass.

Cheekbones? Cut glass?

That was an absurd thought.

The second exit was through the sorcerer himself. And by the way he stumbled as he stepped into the aisle between the booths along the windows and the red-vinyl-topped metal stools that lined the counter, he was slow. Likely so drained that I’d be on the sidewalk before he even reacted to my passing.

He placed his hand on the back of the nearest booth, earning a disconcerted glance from Harry Morris, co-owner of Cowichan Kayak and Tubing. Harry had just started eating his lunch — a burger with all the fixings, including bacon. He ordered the exact same thing every Friday.

The sorcerer straightened, visibly reining himself in, smoothing his demeanor. But he stood out among the small-town locals even more than I did, and I’d put a lot of time and energy into being accepted, even if I couldn’t truly fit in. He was going to draw the attention of everyone in the packed diner. And then I’d be forced to make a choice instead of just sitting in the booth and gazing at him as if in awe. As if struck by … something. 

It was his magic, or lack of it, that intrigued me.

Yes. That had to be it.

Of course, that didn’t explain the way I felt. Amped up, stomach churning, heart rate spiking. But at the same time, sedate, easy … languid.

He flexed his hands. His fingers were long and unadorned, though distinct tan lines indicated that he’d recently worn rings on each finger, as well as spent significant time in a sunny climate. The rings had most likely been filled with his power. Practical adornments that had been stripped along with his magic.

I forced myself to focus on everything that was wrong about the situation and what my options were now that I’d allowed the sorcerer to close the space between us. I was down to my third possible exit. I could go through the window. A relatively easy move, which would in no uncertain terms let every Lake Cowichan local currently lunching in the diner know that I was more. More than human. More than I wanted them to know.

It would draw far too much attention, though it wasn’t the mundanes — those without magic — that concerned me. Rather, such actions might allow the powers that enforced the secrecy of the Adept world — or the members of the Collective themselves — to become aware of my continued existence. Gaining the notice of either would mean a prison sentence. Just not necessarily one that came with a barred cell.

All three exits required me to run. Through the town, north along the lake, all the way home. Grabbing our go-bags, climbing into the Mustang, and leaving.

Leaving.

Leaving everything I’d spent the last ten months cementing, the previous five years making possible — risking exposure, and occasionally my life, to earn the money necessary to build … a new life. An actual life.

The sorcerer took two more steps my way and his expression shifted, causing him to falter as if he’d just gotten a read on my magic. He had just figured out that I represented everything he’d lost, every iota of power that had been stripped from him. He stumbled, resting his hand on the back of another booth.

“Can I help you?” Mary Davis asked him, still chewing a bite of her chicken salad. Mary, along with her husband, Brett Davis, was a local real estate agent. They had held the listing on the property I’d purchased over eighteen months ago, even before the disastrous job in San Francisco that had nearly been my last.

The sorcerer ignored Mary. I was his sole focus. His sole desire.

In his obvious state of need, he might kill me to get the power running through my veins. And I realized with something like shock that I was fully capable of just stepping out of the booth and letting him have me. Letting him consume me.

At that ridiculous thought, my strange physical reaction to the sorcerer’s appearance resolved into unmistakable, unbidden desire. That warmth curled through and settled in my lower stomach, informing me instantly that I’d only ever felt a shadow, the barest hint, of lust before.

I knew I should have been reacting. I should have been moving. Instead, I was just sitting there, staring at him as if he was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. As if his beauty had knocked every rational thought right out of my head, dampening every instinct.

Behind the long counter, Brian Martin, co-owner and operator of the Home Cafe, paused after placing a piping hot plate of tuna casserole in front of Lani Zachary. The ex-air force technician, now a mechanic, had cropped her dark hair short at the beginning of the summer, and her bangs were just long enough to brush her eyebrows now. She was perched on her habitual stool, eating at the counter. Brian, a barrel-chested and balding, soft-spoken man in his early fifties, frowned at the sorcerer, wiping his hands on his white cotton apron.

Lani swiveled on her stool, following Brian’s gaze. Her hazel eyes narrowed as she traced the sorcerer’s focused intent back to me in the corner booth.

I was going to have to act. I was going to have to make a choice. Otherwise, people were going to get hurt. Hurt in a way that would draw unwanted attention.

I wasn’t ready.

I just wasn’t ready. I’d wanted more than ten months. I’d been hoping … thinking that we might be able to stay. That Christopher, Paisley, and I might be able to put down roots in this small town, tucked away from all the powerful Adepts who’d want to use us, to control us if they knew we existed. If they knew what we were capable of doing.

The sorcerer was five steps away. He didn’t seem quite so unsteady on his feet now.

Was this what looking into your future was like? A slow, torturous stroll punctuated by indecision, and yet … desire? A dreadful aching desire to reach forward and embrace what was coming, no matter where it took you.

“Can I help you?” Brian asked from behind the counter.

Lani plucked her napkin from her lap, placing it down beside her plate. Her own latent, untapped magic was coiling within her, but so quietly that the sorcerer wouldn’t be able to feel it under everything emanating, beckoning from me.

I naturally and continually dampened my magic, of course. But a sorcerer of his power level would be able to trace any residual, even subconsciously. He could have followed the path I’d inadvertently laid along the roads I walked every few days in my almost obsessive need to create habitual routines.

Lani was going to reach out. She was going to touch the stranger’s shoulder, holding him back from closing the space between us.

Then the violence that the sorcerer was barely keeping contained was going to explode all over the diner — taking those with whom I was building tentative relationships with it.

I set down my soup spoon, unaware that I’d still been holding it. I slid out from the booth.

The sorcerer hesitated, sweeping his hungry gaze down to my ankles and white sneakers, then up all the five foot ten inches of me — pale bare legs, sundress, wide shoulders. Long neck and green eyes, and red hair that fell in a straight sheet down to the middle of my back.

“Hello.” I spoke as if I knew him. As if I’d been waiting for him.

And for the moment that the word hung between us, I thought it might just be true. I might have known him forever, though I was just meeting him for the first time.

Brian and Lani exchanged glances, their combined concern easing from protective to simply wary.

Oblivious to everything around him, the sorcerer closed the space between us far quicker than he’d been moving previously. He was taller than me, maybe six foot one. I had to tilt my head to maintain eye contact.

He reached out, wrapping his hand around the back of my neck, his thumb across my throat. His grip was harsh.

But though I was completely unaccustomed to being touched, even gently, I didn’t break his hold. I didn’t try to step away.

Frustration, restlessness, and a fierce need filtered through his touch, picked up through my latent empathic ability. I kept my gaze locked to his, slowly raising my hand and hovering my fingertips by the road rash on his cheek. “You’re hurt.”

His frustration turned to confusion. Then, as he felt the magic that hummed through my skin no matter how tight a rein I kept on my power, it shifted into amazement. Even awe. He gasped, his pupils expanding and his expression softening into a different sort of hunger.

A hunger much closer to the need, the desire, that was already brewing in my lower stomach.

“Hey!” Brian shouted.

“Are you here to kill me?” I asked in a whisper. “Or am I supposed to kill you?”

The sorcerer frowned. His grip loosened, hand falling away from my neck, severing our empathic connection. “I’m … I don’t know.”

(END OF PREVIEW)

Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1) releases tomorrow, April 30, 2019!! YAY!

Cover design by: Gene Mollica Studios
Models: Devon Ericksen and Jonathan Cannaux 

BUY LINKS

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MCD: Spring 2019

Posting my spring schedule/upcoming releases, etc so I have it all in one place instead of just occasionally mentioning it whenever I’m asked in various places online.

If you have any spoiler-free questions, let me know in the comments and I will endeavour to answer them and/or add the answers below.

NOVELS

Current release: The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0) and Close to Home (Amplifier 0.5) (bundled together).

Upcoming release: Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1) – April 30, 2019

Next release: Amplifier 2 – late-July 2019

AUDIOBOOKS

Catching Echoes (Reconstructionist 1) is currently in production. Expected release is late May.

CURRENTLY WRITING

I’m brainstorming and outlining the first book in a new series, Jasmine Bytes (21st Century Vampire 1), while SFG (aka the editor) has Amplifier 2 for story editing. Then I’ll be alternating editing A2 with writing the first draft of Jasmine’s first book.

Make sure you’re signed up to my new release list (and that you open the emails, otherwise your email provider will start putting them in your junk folders) so you don’t miss any releases. When you sign up, check your spam/promotions/junk folders for the welcome email, pretty please.

SIGNING

I’ll be at the Nebula Conference from May 16 to May 19, 2019. There is a large, free mass autographing event (<<< click link for more info) on Saturday, May 18 with a 100+ authors attending. I’ll have postcards with me, but you can also bring anything (paperbacks, etc) that you’d like me to autograph. Or just drop by and say hello.

Digging deep into all my notebooks today, putting together background for the 21st Century Vampire Series!!

Other places to find me: FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM

Amplifier Series: tea and ginger snaps

Emma (aka Socks aka Amp5) from the Amplifier Series has a bit of a thing for ginger snaps and tea.

The ginger snap obsession comes from her first Christmas party (see The Amplifier Protocol) and she has two go-to recipes: hand-rolled and sliced. I’ve also added the hand-rolled Chewy Ginger Snaps recipe to the Adept Universe cookbook.

Emma’s tea obsession comes from her third obsession, Downton Abbey. A TV show that the amplifier relates to because of, among other things, the stricter structure of society it portrays, specifically the rules of relationships. Emma likes rules. She doesn’t necessarily follow them, but she likes to understand that they exist, including the ritual of ‘afternoon’ tea.

If you want to sip tea (etc) while you read the Amplifier books here are the types Emma drinks/serves in the books (I’ll try to keep this list updated). There are some repeats, for example, Emma defaults to the Iced Tea Fruit Blend when making … you guessed it … iced tea.

Close to Home (Amplifier 0.5): Tea:

Tanzania Estate – finer cut black tea
Quanzhou milk oolong – bright and buttery

Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1): Tea:

Mim Darjeeling (second flush).
Iced Tea Fruit Blend (cold brewed). Pineapple, orange, lemon, strawberry, cranberries, currants, apple pieces, and hibiscus.

Bonds and Broken Dreams (Amplifier 2): Tea:

Darjeeling Castleton (first flush). A high-grade premium tea with thin, whole leaf and high bud content.
Orchid Oolong – grown among orchids and harvested when the flowers are in bloom.
Lavender Mint (not currently available on Granville Island Tea?)

Mystics and Mental Blocks (Amplifier 3): Tea:

Organic Bangladesh black tea. Medium bodied.

Idols and Enemies (Amplifier 4): Tea:

Organic Doke Black Fusion, first flush 2019. Very limited edition and not currently available

Instincts and Impostors (Amplifier 5): Tea:

Lemon Ginger. Lemongrass, Ginger, Licorice Root, Orange Peel, and Black Pepper.

FYI – all the tea links lead to the Granville Island Tea Company because that is where I buy my tea. But this post is not sponsored in any way, nor are the books. I’m simply having fun with Emma’s obsessive tendencies aka ‘doing research’.

Amplifier Series: preorder giveaway

The novelette, Close to Home (Amplifier 0.5) falls between the prequel, The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0), and the first book of the main series, Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1), in the reading order of the Amplifier Series.

I have bundled Close to Home (A0.5) with the prequel, which releases on all retailers tomorrow, Tuesday, March 26. But! I also wanted to offer it as the preorder giveaway for Demons and DNA (A1) for anyone who has already read the prequel on my blog and isn’t inclined to purchase it to reread.

Clear as mud? Ha.

To be clear, if you DON’T buy The Amplifier Protocol, but still want to read Close to Home all you need to do is preorder Demons and DNA and follow the instructions below to submit your receipt/screenshot. If you DO buy The Amplifier Protocol, then you get Close to Home as a bonus.

– AMAZON – KOBO – APPLE BOOKS – B&N – SMASHWORDS –

To receive the short story, Close to Home, email proof of preorder of Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1) or library request/reservation as well as your preferred email address to preorder@madebymeghan.ca

Proof of preorder: email a screenshot or forward your actual electronic receipt (with any personal information struck out, if you wish). DO NOT SIMPLY SEND ME A LINK (they don’t lead to anything on my end). Please include your preferred email address, and check your spam folders if you don’t hear back within 72 hours. Email is the only way that preorders will be accepted.

Library reservation/request option: it may take a couple of weeks for your local library to get access to the preorder of Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1) via Overdrive (or wherever else they get their ebooks). If that is the case, please feel free to email proof of reserving/requesting the prequel, The Amplifier Protocol. All my ebooks are available to libraries for free via Library Direct, Baker & Taylor Axis 360, and Odilo. As well as Overdrive (though they charge libraries a minimum price).

Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Every entry that follows the above guidelines will receive an ebook copy of the novelette, Close to Home. One entry per person. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than sending the download links. No purchase necessary (see library reservation option).

Each email will be acknowledged within 72 hours. If you do not receive an acknowledgement please feel free to resend.

Giveaway closes TUESDAY APRIL 30, 2019 at midnight PDT.

– AMAZON – KOBO – APPLE BOOKS – B&N – SMASHWORDS –

Are you new to the Adept Universe and/or the Amplifier Series?

Start with: The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0).

Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.

Amplifier 0 – serialization complete!

It’s a gorgeous Spring day here in the Pacific NorthWest – the sun holds a gentle kiss of heat, the garlic is sprouting, and Michael is building three, yellow cedar containers for the two new apples and the second grape we’re adding to our mini orchard.

I’m working on the 1st draft of Amplifier 2 while the proofreader has Demons and DNA (Amplifier 1). The preorder of A1 should start showing up on all retailers next week.

The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0) will ONLY be available in its serialized form on the blog for another few days, then I’ll remove it and officially release it on all retailers on March 26, 2019 (the preorder is already live on all retailers but Apple Books). I’ve bundled the novelette, Close to Home (16k) as a BONUS with the novella (40k), and also included a preview of A1.

Close to Home (Amplifier 0.5) will also be available as the preorder giveaway for A1, if you’ve already read The Amplifier Protocol. More on that when I launch the preorder giveaway.

I’ll send out a new release email on March 26 and include the info about the preorder and giveaways. That Tuesday I’ll also host my traditional release day party on Facebook, and I’ll be giving away an oracle card postcard (they are gorgeous), randomly, to twenty-two people as well as reading from the novel.

Okay! If you haven’t read The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0) yet start here: Chapter One, Part One. You’ve only got a couple more days to read for free!!

If you’ve been reading along with me, thank you for your comments and your encouraging words. It was terribly fun sharing a story with you in this format. I’m glad you were along for the ride. And I hope you’re ready for more Amplifier Series!!

Book Club: Amaskan’s Blood by Raven Oak

The second book in the Kick-Ass Heroine Fantasy Book Club is Amaskan’s Blood by Raven Oak! I will start a discussion thread in my reader run fan group as well, but feel free to comment on this post if you aren’t on Facebook.

FYI – Amaskan’s Blood can currently be found in the 2019 SFWA Fantasy Storybundle but only until Feb 14, 2019 <<< ends tomorrow!

Short Synopsis: Two sisters. Two loyalties. One path together.

About the Author: Award-winning and bestselling speculative fiction author Raven Oak is best known for Amaskan’s BloodClass-M Exile, and the collection Joy to the Worlds: Mysterious Speculative Fiction for the Holidays. She also has several published short stories in anthologies such as Untethered: A Magic iPhone Anthology and Magic Unveiled. Raven spent most of her K-12 education doodling stories and 500 page monstrosities that are forever locked away in a filing cabinet.

When she’s not writing, she’s getting her game on with tabletop games, indulging in cartography, or staring at the ocean. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband, and their three kitties who enjoy lounging across the keyboard when writing deadlines approach. You can find Raven at: Twitter, Instagram, or her website.

MCD’s thoughts/notes (as of Feb 13): again Amaskan’s Blood is a different read for me – a fantasy setting and written in third person POV (that occasionally shifts). But I’m halfway through already and I only started reading yesterday so I’m obviously enjoying the book. The lead character Adelei is engaging and her background/ current situation is intriguingly layered.

Let me know your favourite parts in the comments below or over in the fan group discussion. We have two weeks to read and chat. Also please feel free to chat amongst yourselves!!


Kick Ass Heroine Fantasy Book Bundle (& giveaway)

LAST DAY TO GRAB THIS OFFER!!! Also the giveaway is closed.

Actually … with the box sets included I think it might be more like 19 full length books!!

I’m so pleased to announce that Catching Echoes (Reconstructionist 1) was selected for the SWFA fantasy book bundle along with eleven other incredibly successful and talented authors. The bundle was curated by author Terry Mixon and you will see his ‘curator’s notes’ for each book in the blurbs below.

You can click here to purchase the bundle – starting at $5 for the primary bundle or buy the full package starting at $15 for all 19 books (move the slider at the bottom of the linked page to pick your price).

Continue reading for more details, the curator’s notes – I adore the blurb and one liner for Catching Echoes – and the giveaway!!

***

A bundle so packed full of fantasy, we needed the elves to assemble it.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) joins with 12 different Authors in a massive storybundle to twist time and space with magic, blade, and wit. Featuring Annie Bellet, Lindsay Buroker, Jeffe Kennedy, Ursula Vernon, and more.

StoryBundle is a way for people to discover quality books written by indie authors. You know how it’s always hard to find something good to read? StoryBundle can solve that. We take a handful of books and group them together to offer as a bundle. Then you, the reader, take a look at the titles we’ve chosen and decide how much you’d like to pay. We mean it; you set the price that you pay for the primary titles or kick in a little extra and reap the bonanza with all the books!

https://storybundle.com/fantasy

Primary Books included in every bundle purchase:

Blade & Rose by Miranda Honfleur – A perfect blend of fantastic action, menacing intrigue and riveting romance.

Curator’s notes: Miranda Honfleur’s Blade & Rose’s begins with a mismatch romance and blossoms into an adventure that is nothing short of epic. Rielle earns the title of kickass Heroine over and over again despite her flaws.

Amaskan’s Blood by Raven Oak – Two sisters. Two loyalties. One path together.

Curator’s note: A fantasy adventure with a sharp edge. I hope you find Adelei and Ida as compelling lead characters as I did. There’s so much going on, don’t try to skim this book. Read it and savor it like a well-aged single malt Scotch. 

Genrenauts, Complete Season One by Michael R. Underwood – A kickass extra-dimensional adventure through the stories we love. 

Curator’s note: Genrenauts is a tough book to classify. Its heroes don’t simply exist within a story, they travel into series! Trouble is they have to edit them from the inside while dodging bullets figurative (romance world) or real (hello scifi world).  Strap in for a meta adventure to save the Tropes!

The Twenty-Sided Sorceress, Books 1-3 by Annie Bellet – Gamer. Nerd. Sorceress. After twenty-five years fleeing from a powerful sorcerer, a mostly-human woman is finally safe – if she can resist using her magic. Or can she?

Curator’s note: A fantastic deal, the first three books in Annie Bellet’s wildly popular, bestselling Twenty-Sided Sorceress urban fantasy series, this omnibus includes Justice Calling, Murder of Crows, and Pack of Lies. With a deft and original interweaving of role-playing games and magic, this series has delighted and captivated readers. 

Ashwin by Kit Rocha – Can a genetically manipulated soldier be a hero? A healer finds a way to love a man without feelings—and fight for brightness in a dark world.

Curator’s note: Kicking off a new phase in the epic and much-loved post-apocalyptic urban fantasy cycle by Kit Rocha, Ashwin introduces the people of Sector One, and the ragtag collection of misfits seeking shelter there—and absolution following terrible deeds. With a brotherhood of guardian warriors, priestesses and healers, this story takes readers on a blood-stirring ride for redemption. 

Bonus Books included with an additional contribution:

The Arrows of the Heart by Jeffe Kennedy – What do you do when your boyfriend is an animal? Really. An animal.

Curator’s note: This is a beautifully crafted tale of love and sacrifice. The poignant duet between magic and mundane echoes from the first page to the last. I’m not a fan of shifter romance, but this lush fantasy goes so far beyond werewolves that I’ll be watching for the sequel.

The Dragon Blood Chronicles by Lindsay Buroker – A dashing Pilot, a comely Sorcerous and smart mouthed Soulsword all come together in a world intent on killing them.

Curator’s note: A delightfully entertaining tale drawing together the worlds of magic and steampunk into a romantic adventure. The characters pull you into their story and help you lose yourself, as you imagine watching them triumph over adversity, finding love along the way.

Radiance by Grace Draven – A marriage between alien kingdoms – and two “spares” who find beauty in each other, and that heroism comes in many forms.

Curator’s note: Grace Draven’s brilliant, bestselling opening to the Wraith Kings fantasy romance series has dazzled readers with its tale of a human woman married to a Kai warrior. She learns to find a way past his razor sharp teeth and fearsome claws and together they forge an alliance that provides a guiding light for both their peoples. 

The Raven and the Reindeer by Ursula Vernon – A enthralling remix of a classic fairy tale, with a practical heroine who follows her heart to a very different ending.

Curator’s note: Ursula Vernon’s writing under her adult penname T. Kingfisher continues to prove why she is among my favorite authors with the Raven and the Reindeer. This retelling of the classic Snow Queen fairy tale  is equal parts humor and pathos with character that are sheer delight. 

Catching Echoes by Meghan Ciana Doidge – What could go wrong when a no-nonsense witch with family issues is forced to work alongside a powerful and obnoxious vampire to solve a murder?

Curator’s note: Meghan Ciana Doidge deftly manages to create a world with depth and color that clearly shows the stories going on just out of sight, just like the real world. This book is easily one of the most captivating urban fantasy novels I’ve read in years.

Al-Kabar by Lee French – A young woman is chosen by powerful supernatural forces to bring justice to a desert land of oasis kingdoms. 

Curator’s note: Lee French’s Al-Kabar is a rollicking adventure fantasy set in a richly imagined world inspired by medieval Arabia. Fakhira must like the phoenix rise from the ashes of her village and learn to harness the powers bequeathed to her by the mysterious Waters. Action and romance in a unique desert setting!

The Glass Gargoyle by Marie Andreas – A spate of dead patrons forces archeologist Taryn St. Giles to become a bounty hunter. Needless to say, things don’t go well.

Curator’s note: Marie Andreas writes a raucous and exciting world that grabs you by the shirt and drags you into the bar brawl the protagonist’s life has become. This book and the characters in it don’t let up, so hang on.

https://storybundle.com/fantasy

SFWA is an organization for published authors and industry professionals in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and related genres. Founded in 1965, SFWA informs, supports, promotes, defends, and advocates for its members. We host the prestigious Nebula Awards at our annual SFWA Nebula Conference, assist members in legal disputes with publishers, offer the Speakers Bureau, administer grants to SFF community organizations and members facing medical or legal expenses.

Novice authors benefit from our Information Center and well-known Writer Beware site.  Between online discussion boards, private convention suites, and a host of less formal gatherings, SFWA is a source of information, education, support, and fellowship for its members.

SFWA Membership is open to authors, artists, editors, and other industry professionals who meet our eligibility requirements.

For more information, review requests, or interviews, please email Daniel Potter, the SFWA Self-Publishing Committee chair at danpotter@fallenkitten.com

The storybundle will be available from January 23, 2019 thru February 14, 2019.

GIVEAWAY!!

Interested in winning one of these bundles? Well, cool, because I happen to have one to give away!

To enter: comment below and let me know which of the books in the bundle you are most looking forward to reading.

Fun! Fun!

Likes and shares are always welcomed and appreciated.

Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. One entry per person. One winner will be selected by random number generator. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than to contact the winner. No purchase necessary.

Giveaway closes THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 after 8pm PST.


The Amplifier Protocol: Chapter One, Part One

Chapter One, Part One

March 2011.

I exited the building onto the roof thirteen minutes after I’d entered via the ground floor. In that time, I had disabled all magical and mundane security, eliminated any resistance, and retrieved the package on the fifteenth floor. Now I was arriving at the extraction point, two minutes ahead of schedule.

A transport helicopter blew past, circling the building. The sound of its blades was magically dampened, but the obfuscation spell coating its black hull was doing a terrible job of obscuring it from sight. And it wasn’t going to hold in broad daylight for much longer.

Nul5 and Tek5 darted ahead. The nullifier and telekinetic systematically swept the rooftop, visually checking that the area was clear of adversaries. I could sense that it was, but relying solely on magical senses was negligent. And we were anything but inept. The black armor they wore was stark against the landscape of pale gray, blue, and white buildings that occupied the downtown core of Los Angeles. It was the same armor I wore, magically fortified and flexible, but neither of them carried the twin blades sheathed between my shoulder blades.

The sky was hazy, the temperature typical for early spring. At least that was what had been highlighted as need-to-know on the mission brief. Some spells were affected by extreme changes in temperature or an excessive amount of sunlight. 

Bristling with magic, the remainder of the extraction team flanked me, ready to protect the package at all costs. After more than two years together, we had little or no need for comms, magical or mundane. We would often move in silence, instinctively working together without the need for verbal orders. When orders were necessary, I had the final say. But I usually deferred to the commanding officer, Mark Calhoun.

We cleared the egress, hunkering down to the side of the upper stairwell to wait for a direct path to the pickup.

Jackson peeled away from the group, stepping back to the steel exterior door. She pulled a roll of red tape from the zippered pocket on her upper left thigh. Starting at the bottom right corner, she ran the tape up and then across the edges of the door, revealing a series of inked runes. Adhering the tape to the steel and concrete, she activated a barrier spell with a bluntly uttered command.

Energy flashed through the inked runes, sealing the door behind us. Sorcerer magic. Becca Jackson, aka X3, was the team’s demolitions expert, but her magic worked both ways — securing or shattering as needed.

Sunlight cut through the permanent haze that hung over the city, momentarily blinding me as it reflected off something to the west. I angled my head, clearing my sight line but sensing nothing magically amiss. Though securing the extraction point wasn’t my task. It was exceedingly unlikely that an adversary could have gotten any threat — magical or otherwise — past Cla5 or Tel5. And the clairvoyant and the telepath were monitoring the mission from the roof of a neighboring building.

The helicopter circled to set down. I reached back for the package, ready to run with him. He’d been tortured by magical means, but had made it most of the way up the stairs on his own two feet, supported between Piper and Hannigan. As a werewolf, Sasha Piper, aka X5, was the enforcer for the team — stronger, faster, and more brutal than everyone but me. The sorcerer Tom Hannigan, aka X4, was a shield specialist.

The team huddling around me were all weapon wielders, but I preferred to keep my hands free. I was more effective in close contact situations. So in corridors and stairwells, I’d lead with Nul5, who would nullify any offensive spells. But in an open area, such as the rooftop, the team would take the lead.

The package shifted closer to me. Cool fingers sought out and found the naked skin between my glove and sleeve, wrapping around my wrist. I glanced down. His own skin was medium brown, fingernails manicured into a smooth shine. A prickle of energy shifted between us — my empathy power, bringing his heightened emotions with it. I felt his lingering fear, coupled with relief. Pain and weariness. He’d been lashed to a chair, barely conscious when I’d found him.

I had drained two of his shapeshifter captors myself, taking the first before the other had even known I was in the room. The second fell while she was still staring at her partner in morbid terror as I’d incapacitated him. Or perhaps it had been specifically me who’d terrified her. Which was ironic, since she was the one who could transform into a six-and-a-half-foot-tall, razor-clawed, half-human/half-beast warrior form capable of rending someone limb from limb with minimal exertion.

In an effort to revive the sorcerer I’d been tasked to rescue, I had channeled the stolen energy from the shapeshifters into him. It wasn’t possible for a nonshifter to transform, of course. That ability was rooted in shifter DNA, in their blood. But the stolen energy was enough to get the package on his feet.

A fierce satisfaction flooded through me. It wasn’t my own emotion, though.

It was the sorcerer’s.

Touching me had been deliberate. And risky, since he’d witnessed what I could do with skin-to-skin contact. Twice.

My latent empathy picked up a smugness in his satisfaction. A possessiveness.

He knew me.

I met his dark-eyed gaze. The wind picked up from the helicopter landing on the roof, lifting the sorcerer’s dark-brown hair from his high forehead. It was silvered at the temples. Strong, straight nose. Narrow chin. The fine lines around his dark, defiant eyes had been exacerbated by dehydration and sleep deprivation.

I didn’t recognize him.

He twisted his lips into a proud sneer. His accent was lilting and precise. “You are as magnificent as I always intended you to be, amplifier.”

Shock slammed through me. My own emotion this time, triggered by a burst of adrenaline. I twisted my wrist in his grasp, breaking his hold. Even if he hadn’t been magically drained, he couldn’t have held me. Not with physical force.

Few people could hold me, even with my magic at normal levels. And despite what I’d shared with the sorcerer, the act of draining two shapeshifters of their magic had let me momentarily harness their innate strength on top of my own permanently stolen power. Power that amplifiers didn’t simply inherit. At least not other amplifiers, even as rare as they might be among those who possessed magic. The Adept.

I wasn’t just an amplifier, though. I’d been genetically constructed. I was the result of over a century of magical and scientific experiments. And over the past twenty-one years, I’d been forced to siphon magic from others. Forced to claim strength, heightened healing, and other abilities for my own — and often killing those I plundered in the process. 

The empathy I’d inadvertently stolen from my birth mother — my first victim — never allowed me to become fully numb to the process.

I focused on the present situation. The sorcerer knew me.

He claimed responsibility for me.

So he was one of the Collective.

I’d been sent to rescue a nameless asset, though obviously one of high value. And I had wound up retrieving one of the architects of my conception — the Collective who had begot the Five.

A chill ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the warmth of the day, and everything to do with the disconcertion of meeting — 

Incoming! Tel5 screamed through the telepathic connection that bound the core team together.

A deafening roar accompanied by a bright wash of light — some sort of magical, mental backlash — assaulted all my senses, sending me face first toward the concrete roof. Tel5’s near-constant presence in my mind was wiped away, leaving me mentally shaken in a way I’d never felt before.

“Calhoun!” I barked. I managed to hold myself upright, but just barely. “Do you have comms?”

Mark Calhoun, situated to my left and slightly ahead, flicked his hazel eyes my way briefly, shaking his head sharply. The commanding officer’s automatic weapon remained raised and ready, scanning the rooftop. “We’ve been cut off,” he said, referring to the electronic comms he and most other members of the team carried. None of them were mentally linked and bound to the telepath as Nul5, Tek5, and I were through our blood tattoos.

Like the weapons the others carried, Calhoun’s was modified to shoot magically imbued silver rounds. The extraction team had been well briefed about what and who we’d be facing. We had armed ourselves accordingly. Unfortunately, there was a new adversary on the field. An Adept who was capable of knocking out magical and electronic communication with equal ease. Or perhaps more than one Adept.

The exterior door blew open, taking Jackson with it and nearly decapitating the members of the extraction team on my right.

Shapeshifters in warrior form swarmed the roof. Six-and-a-half-foot-tall half-human/half-beasts with three-inch-long claws and deadly sharp teeth. Physically stronger and faster than over two-thirds of my team, and with an innate resistance to magical assault. Thankfully, the specialty rounds we were carrying would even the odds.

Flynn and Hannigan raised their weapons, taking the first three shifters down with headshots.

I grabbed the package, heaving him across my shoulders, and ran toward the helicopter. Leaving Jackson to fend for herself, the core of the extraction team moved with me, systematically taking down any targets that attempted to impede our progress.

Sasha Piper was ripped away into a swarm of claws and teeth on my right. Even magically muffled, the gunfire was compromising my hearing. But I didn’t need to be able to hear to reach my objective.

As I moved, I felt the magic of the sorcerer across my back collecting, coalescing as he readied some massive spell with the last vestiges of his power.

Tek5 stood with her back to the open side of the helicopter, its rotor blades whirling overhead. She flung her hands out, stretching toward a rooftop ventilation unit to my left. Her dark-brown skin glistened, glints of her telekinesis seen in the sheen of sweat that slicked her face from having stood in the sun for too long.

Nul5 was down, sprawled at the telekinetic’s feet, but shaking his head. The psychic blast had apparently hit the nullifier much harder than it had me or Tek5.

That was unexpected.

The ventilation unit ripped free from its bolted base, metal twisting, denting. With a flick of her hands, Tek5 launched the unit across my path, slamming it into and clearing any combatants that had gotten ahead of my charge.

With the first wave knocked off the field, the shapeshifters tearing at the edges of the extraction team changed tactics. Moving as if they were also telepathically linked, they swarmed to intercept Tek5 and the helicopter. They instinctively perceived her to be the biggest threat.

And they weren’t wrong.

They were simply ignorant, placing themselves between me and my goal. It was always foolish to get between me and an objective.

I ripped my left glove off with my teeth, reaching over my shoulder to press my hand to the sorcerer’s face. He wrapped both of his hands around mine, giving me permission just by touching me.

Just by knowing what I could do.

That thought, that development, would have to wait to be explored until I had the package safely on the helicopter and my team back at base.

Flynn fell, leaving an opening at my left flank that Calhoun immediately filled. The commanding officer’s shift of position opened me up to a frontal attack. But whatever I faced directly would always go down, so guarding my rear was the priority.

I took the sorcerer’s magic. I took the spell he murmured against my ear. I harnessed the power he’d called forth, conducting it as it willed. I thrust my free hand forward. A spiral of darkly tinted energy flowed down my arm.

“Your left!” I screamed. Then I pumped my own power into the sorcerer’s casting to double it … to triple it in strength.

Ahead, Tek5 and Nul5 dropped to the concrete, each rolling to their left.

I released the spell. A spell I had no actual ability to call, command, or control. Dark energy streamed from my splayed fingers, hitting the five nearest shapeshifters. They dropped, writhing and howling in pain.

Calhoun and Hannigan eliminated the last two shifters between the helicopter and our charge. But there were still a half-dozen or more behind us. Shifter magic was difficult to distinguish when they were grouped together, and I couldn’t take my focus off my objective to glance back.

Nul5 darted around the helicopter, wrenching open the pilot’s door and yanking him out of his seat. A prudent decision. We’d been telepathically cut off from Tel5 and Cla5, as well as from the comms. That was a feat I would have declared impossible — if I ever entertained the notion of impossibilities. Which I didn’t.

There was no way of knowing who was loyal, except for the Five. And two of us were already unaccounted for. Not knowing what had happened to Cla5 and Tel5 meant that everything and everyone but the package was expendable.

But that had always been the case.

It would always be the case.

The Five were an arm, a weapon, of the Collective. We went where we were ordered, did what we were told to do. And the team of specialists backing us was even more expendable than we were.

The pilot rolled to his feet, palming a weapon and firing at the nearest shifter as he ran toward us. Also a prudent move. Even if he wasn’t a regular team member, there was strength in numbers. And the extraction team was the second-largest grouping on the roof.

Tek5 appeared out of nowhere, perched suddenly on the edge of the helicopter’s side door. She had triggered her short-range teleportation ability to move into place swiftly. She kept her gaze glued to me, ready to grab the package.

The space between us was clear of adversaries.

To my immediate right and without any warning, Hannigan turned his automatic weapon on me. 

Tom Hannigan. Shield specialist. He’d been with us for two years.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t fast enough to both aim and pull the trigger. Not even at point-blank range.

Still running, still carrying the sorcerer, I grabbed the weapon, smashing it back into Hannigan’s face and dropping him. The harsh double bark of a weapon behind me informed me that Calhoun had finished off the would-be traitor without even pausing.

Steps away from Tek5, I shifted the sorcerer from across my shoulders. The telekinetic grabbed his arm, hauling him up into the helicopter.

I followed, getting the sorcerer settled in a seat and belting him in as quickly as I could without hurting him.

Calhoun and the pilot stayed on the roof, guarding our backs.

“Took you long enough, Socks,” Nul5 shouted from the pilot’s seat. His hands were flying over the controls, double-checking everything. A sensible precaution, since some sort of betrayal was apparently in the process of unfolding.

Tek5 laughed wickedly, flush with energy and magic as she tugged on a headset.

I ignored them both.

The sorcerer’s fingers ghosted my cheek.

I met his dark-eyed gaze.

Tek5 caught the exchange. A deep frown instantly replaced her former playfulness.

The sorcerer held a headset in his other hand, having already put on another pair. I took it from him and put it on.

“Socks?” The sorcerer’s tone was weary but amused, even through the headset speakers. He touched my face again. “Is that your name, amplifier? I’m Kader Azar. I would have you know me.”

“I have no name, Sorcerer Azar. I am simply a designation. Amp5. As you well know.”

He dropped his hand, but not before I’d felt a spark of his anger.

***

Buy links: The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0)

The Amplifier Protocol: a brief explanation

The first chapter of the Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0) releases today on my blog at 8:01am. I’ll be posting a new chapter at 8am PST every Tuesday and Thursday from January 8 to March 14, 2019. At which point, the entire novella (40k) will remain on the blog for one week, then be taken down and put up for sale on all retailers.

When I came up with the idea for the Amplifier Series, I knew that the main character had a deep background that would need to be explored as I was developing the core, present day story. And if I was going to do the work busting it all out anyway I decided I would write a prequel and share it with my readers for free – as a thank you for reading this far along in the Adept Universe with me, but also as an introduction to a new character.

Things you might like to know:

The prequel is set in March 2011 seven years before the main series – over two years before Dowser 1 in the Adept Universe timeline. The first book of the series is set in September 2018, after Dowser 9. I’m anticipating publishing book one in April 2019, and there will be a short story available for those who preorder.

The series and the prequel are definitely PG-13. Warning for fairly mild profanity (in my opinion, though Michael says sometimes I swear like construction worker) and violence in the novella.

The Amplifier Series is completely standalone for the first three stories – Amplifier 0, Amplifier 0.5, and Amplifier 1. Some crossover might happen in Amplifier 2, but only for readers who know the Adept Universe characters (as in they will be reintroduced from the Amplifier’s POV)

Each chapter/part will be paired with an oracle card meme. The oracle cards were designed by Elizabeth Mackey and will be further explained in the next books/stories.

Please feel free to comment and discuss the chapters/parts in the blog comment section. Please feel free to share the blog posts and/or the memes. I’m hoping that gathering to read the novella and discussing the story as it releases will be part of the fun!

The blog posts are shared on my Twitter and Facebook feeds but you might wish to also follow the blog itself so you don’t miss a post.

Okay, without further ado, here is The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0) Chapter One, Part One.

I hope you enjoy the read!

Are you new to the Adept Universe? The Amplifier Protocol can be read separately, but the first book in the universe, Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1), is currently free as well! Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.

How to subscribe to MCD’s blog

Just one last administrative post before The Amplifier Protocol (Amplifier 0) launches at 8:05am PST tomorrow! I’m so excited, but I’m trying to make sure I have everything set up and sorted. To that end, I need to link to a ‘how to subscribe to MCD’s blog’ for the new release newsletter.

So here, with pictures, is how to subscribe.

On a computer/desktop. Type your email into the box on the top right hand corner of your screen. You can unsubscribe at any time. You’ll need to confirm your subscription. If you can’t find the email in your inbox, check your spam/junk/promotions folders. If you find the confirmation there, please drag it into your inbox to ensure that future emails arrive directly in your inbox. After you subscribe you will get an email each time I blog.

On a mobile device. Scroll all the way down past the blog posts. Type your email into the box situated between the ‘older’ button and the cover image for Dowser 9. You can unsubscribe at any time. You’ll need to confirm your subscription. If you can’t find the email in your inbox, check your spam/junk/promotions folders. If you find the confirmation there, please drag it into your inbox to ensure that future emails arrive directly in your inbox. After you subscribe you will get an email each time I blog.

There you go!