Last day, get ’em while they’re HOT

This is the last day of my three day giveaway. This time the book is called Arson. This is a return to science fiction and involves other planets and aliens. The expansion into space has caused a return to colonialism.

Perry Wolfe is a member of an elite team that fights fires in space. During a huge space liner fire, he receives a minor wound, but it is career ending. Rendered uninsurable, he can never be a firefighter again.

Perry enters the ATF firefighting school and gets shipped to a small moon called Quantico Two. His training facility is in the city of Glynco. He uncovers clues that link his sister’s murder to a string of arsons, but the FBI doesn’t welcome interference.

Perry can’t let go of being a firefighter. Maybe there is something else he needs in Glynco.

***

This story includes the most fun supporting character I’ve ever written. Curious?

This one has never been the subject of a giveaway or a countdown deal. This is the first promotion for Arson. It needs more reviews, and maybe I can gain a few from my giveaway. Here’s what my one review says:

“This SciFi thriller has plenty of action to keep your heart pumping. C.S. Boyack does a good job of pulling you into the story. I especially like the way he integrated alien species into the story as friends and co-workers. That aspect reminded me a bit of the Star Wars movies, but this story is much more sophisticated.”

Here’s the link one more time, if you want a free book: Arson.

Meet the Main Character Blog Tour

Ali Isaac passed the baton to me for this blog tour, and I’m pretty excited about it. She just released Conor Kelly and the Fenian King, and has been blog touring like mad. I read the first book in this series, Conor Kelly and the Four Treasures of Eirean, and thought it was wonderful.

She has a wonderful blog where she writes about the history of Ireland along with her writing adventures. It’s worth reading too, and is one of my favorite blogs: Ali’s Blog

She decided since I’ve just released Arson, it might be a good tour for me to participate in. I’m thrilled, and thanks Ali.

***

“Hi, Perry, and welcome back to the writing cabin. Have a seat and we’ll get started,” I said. “It looks like I have seven questions to ask you. The first one is, your name and are you fictional or historical?”

“Perry Wolfe. Arson is a science fiction story, so fictional, I guess.”

“So when and where is this story set?”

“It moves around a little. It starts out in the Pacific Northwest, but moves to a secure planet called Quantico II. The government owns it and all the cities are training facilities for different agencies. It was just too far from Earth to provide services without another base. I wind up living in Glynco II as an ATF cadet.”

“What should the readers know about you?”

“I’m one of those guys who lost everything. I was an elite space firefighter, called a space walker. One stupid accident, and I’m uninsurable.” Perry pulled the collar of his tee shirt aside and showed me the scar, about the size of a silver dollar. “I’m too young to spend my days watching GNN and talking about the good old days, so I applied for my sister’s old job with ATF.”

“You’re setting me up for the next one. What is the main conflict, or messes up your life?”

“You saw the scar. That’s an ebullism, there’s no pressure in space. If you get exposed to that, you can boil in your own gravy. Mine was a routine oxygen tank change. We practice this stuff, it just happened while I was in a zero G environment. My sister was murdered, and I applied for her job at ATF. I can’t fight fires, but maybe I could investigate them.”

“So you made a career change, based upon your accident?”

“Yeah, the insurance company didn’t even give me a physical or an interview. They just stamped me as uninsurable, and my fire fighting days were over.”

I leaned forward and asked, “So what’s your personal goal?”

Perry leaned back against his chair and smiled. “There’s nothing like being a fireman. I’d give anything to get back to that. I even thought about moving to a different country where the insurance laws weren’t so tight.” He pointed an accusing finger at me and said, “But you seemed to think I need something else. Like I was wrong for wanting to be a fireman. I even passed the Captain’s exam and everything. I knew I couldn’t do the physical stuff forever and I planned to move up.”

“Sometimes characters are wrong about what they need. What can I say? Okay there are two more questions about the working title and when the story might be published. I published Arson last weekend, so we get two freebies. Who should read this book?”

“Everyone.”

“Come on, Perry. Give a reasonable answer.”

“This is for lovers of science fiction adventure. I get to visit a couple different planets, examine some fires, and chase my sister’s killer too. That was a pain. Her case is an FBI case, and I’m an ATF cadet. So, adventure, science fiction, a mystery. It’s a wild ride.”

“It seems to me there was a bit of romance too.”

“Um, yeah. That caused it’s own problems. Maybe not a story for kids on that basis.”

“Okay, we get one more freebie. Hot dogs or hamburgers?”

“Yeah! I’m kind of a big guy, can I have one of each? And maybe something cold to wash it down?”

“We can do that.”

***

 It’s time for me to pass the baton. D. S. Nelson is another one of my blogging friends. Regular readers will remember when she read my tea leaves. She’s the author of the Blake Hetherington Mysteries. Make sure to visit her and learn about one of her characters.

Website
Blog
Twitter: @WriterDSNelson
Facebook

Some Arson Spoilers

Lisa* brought me my coffee while I was creating a few Twitter masterpieces this morning. She and Lindsay** were in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil.

I took a sip and saw them entering the paranormal room. I have no idea what Lindsay could do with alchemy tools and ancient scrolls, and I didn’t want to find out. I carried my cup to the doorway.

“…stone flooring is perfect for something like this,” Lindsay said. “If an ember escapes the fireplace it’ll be safer.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said. “What’s going on here?”

“She’s showing me some covert ways to start a fire,” Lisa said.

“Why exactly?”

“Because it’s interesting,” Lindsay said. She fluffed up a piece of fine steel wool and sat it inside the fireplace, then she took out a simple battery. Lisa back pedaled and moved behind the couch.

“I’ve had some bad experiences with electricity,” Lisa said. “I can zoom in and see from here.”

Lindsay shrugged and touched the terminals to the steel wool. It immediately lit on fire. It looked something like this video.

We watched the steel wool burn, and Lindsay said, “It’s about twenty five hundred degrees.”

Then she took out an ordinary ball of cotton, fluffed it up, and placed it on the opposite side of the fireplace. She pulled a small tube from her purse. “Simple nail glue.” She poured the entire tube over the cotton and sat down. “This one takes some time.”

It took a few minutes and spontaneously burst into flames. It looked something like this video.

“The best part, is all the evidence burns up in the fire. Imagine trying to find one burnt cotton ball at the bottom of a house fire.”

She took out a tiny perfume bottle and sprayed it on the burning cotton. The interior of the fireplace burst into flames and faded. “All kinds of things will accelerate the fire, hairspray, baby powder, some eye shadow. Do you want to see?”

My iPhone vibrated, and I looked at the message. “Nope. We have to figure out how to get Perry out here.”

“Why?” Lisa asked.

“I’ve been invited on the Meet My Character blog tour.”

Lisa gestured toward Lindsay. “We’re both characters of yours, and I’m a main character.”

“I know, but all the bloggers know you. They ought to meet Perry on this tour.”

Lindsay slid out a credit card thin cell phone from her wallet. “I promised to call him today anyway. Maybe he can take me home when we’re finished.”

* Lisa is the main character in Wild Concept. She’s a robot and helps me around the cabin these days.

** Lindsay Pennington is a supporting character in my newest book, Arson.

Note: Links for all my books are in the sidebar.

Meanwhile, back at the writing cabin

I tried to sleep in this morning, but I was pretty uptight about the formatting on Arson. I fed the old pit bull, made the coffee and logged in. The book looks awesome. The promo pages in back don’t look like what I uploaded. They’re serviceable, but not how I wanted.

I started on a task list when Old What’s Her Face* said, “Oh no you don’t. We’re going to the farmer’s market today. I want to find some fresh green beans”

I didn’t panic, I always enjoyed the farmer’s market. I may have to chock it up to a fond memory though. See, some of the vendors stared fighting with the establishment, and with other vendors. They branched off and opened a different farmer’s market. This is about the third time this has happened.

The old farmer’s market just isn’t as good as it used to be. I don’t care to spend forty bucks driving all over the valley to check out all the other options. I’m willing to visit one good location in hundred degree heat, and that’s it. One of the others might even be better now, but I like everything in one place. We never found any green beans either. No problem, the Boise Co-Op had plenty. Sorry farmers.

I didn’t get to the cabin until about 11:30 today. Lisa** and Lindsay*** were outside having tea on the porch. They both wore billowy summer dresses and huge straw hats. The tiny insects were reflected the sunlight across the meadow like a scene from a beautiful old movie. Awesome background for the tea party.

“What are you two doing?” I asked.

“We stayed up all night gabbing,” Lindsay said. “I never realized Lisa is a robot. The fact that she can drink tea is amazing. All the robots in my world a just data servers or vacuumes.”

“She was set up to pass for human. The tea goes–

“Stop.” Lindsay held up her hand. “I don’t want to know. She’s cool, and that’s enough for me.”

“And Lindsay hasn’t tried to burn down the cabin, or to burn anything really,” Lisa said.

I went inside and brought back a coffee mug. “Hit me with a snort of that, then I’ve got to get to work.”

Lisa poured the rest of their tea in my cup. Lindsay’s face sank.

“It’s okay, I’ll make us a fresh pot,” Lisa said.

“Maybe later. I still want to go for a ride in your motorcycle,” Lindsay said.

I left them to their fun and got down to business. There are plenty of things to address after a new book publishes.

I spent an hour trying to remember how I loaded a cover image on my blog that allows folks to download the book. It’s all set up and works now. Go ahead, you know you want to try it. Maybe I screwed up, you’ll never know if you don’t click on the cover image. (Subliminal message, click on the cover art. It will make you happy. It will make me happy)

I updated my Gravatar, but I’m not real happy with it. I added links to the bio section and posted cover images as art only. You still can’t shove a rectangular image in a square hole. I’m not too happy with the results, but I’m thinking about what to try to improve it. I’m open to suggestions.

The Harley rumbled down the road and I went to work on my “about me” page. I changed the fact that Arson was coming soon to “available now”.

Then I checked my Amazon author page and made sure Arson was listed. That went well, but it can take up to five days to display my author link on the Arson book page. I don’t understand such things and deserve instant gratification at all times. Guess I’ll have to be patient.

I also sent an update to the Rave Reviews Book Club. I’m allowed three books in their catalog, but only two with cover art. Seems odd, but Them’s the rules. I told them to strip the cover off Wild Concept, leave Panama alone, and add Arson in all it’s glory. (Don’t tell Lisa, she’s stronger than I am.)

I didn’t get everything finished. Now that I have an Amazon link, I need to add a page to the back of Panama and Wild Concept to tell future readers about Arson. I’ll work on it, but I think I’m done for today.

I filled up the old kettle and put it on to boil. The girls would appreciate more tea when they returned. I sat outside with my iPad and watched them wander across the meadow. They made floral decorations for their hats. It really was a soothing and beautiful scene. Good clean fun, not a fire in sight.

* Not my wife’s actual name.

** Lisa is the main character in Wild Concept. She’s a robot and helps me at the cabin these days.

***  Lindsay Pennington is a supporting character in Arson, available via that awesome cover art on the right. There is more to her than meets the eye.

I’m thinking of deleting some of the widgets in my sidebar. I’d like some comments from my blog friends. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a regular to offer an opinion. Does anyone think the monthly posting roster adds anything? Does anyone think the most popular posts is worth keeping? I’ll leave them if they’re uber awesome for some reason. I suspect new people may click on the most popular posts.

In my mind, the categories have to stay. Most of you like the Muse category, but some people are more interested in finding morels or cooking with sourdough. This lets them find what they prefer in a hurry.

I’m thinking about a bit of a redesign and would like to hear from you. I’ll give myself a day to bask in the glory of my accomplishment, then I have to start on my epic fantasy, The Cock of the South.

Ready for some final edits

I filled up the enchanted beer horns and carried one out to the porch. The other one ran happily behind, and I held the door for it.

Lisa* paced back and forth across the porch and stared off into space.

“What’s with you?” I asked.

“Watching for company,’ she said. “I invited Dr. Pennington** to visit.”

“That’s cool, I suppose. Do we have room for both her and Perry?”

“She’s by herself.”

“But she never travels alone. Who’s going to keep an eye on her?”

“She can stay in my bedroom, I don’t really sleep anyway. I downloaded special software and I’m responsible for her.” She gazed into the sky again and pointed. “There she is.”

I couldn’t see anything. I shaded my eyes and looked harder.

“I can detect the tracking chip. It’s about the same as seeing, at least to me.”

I leaned against the rail and took a swig on my beer. The other horn rubbed on my legs like a cat. A bulbous blue sedan appeared in the sky. “I can’t believe they let her drive the skyway.”

“The car’s all pre-programed. She can’t drive anywhere else. I have to talk to the car and send it back.” She turned towards me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Did I screw up? What if she wants to test me and burns me up?”

“She’s with ATF, not CPSP. The fire sciences lab isn’t about product testing, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

The car descended and slowed. It touched down near the cabin and drove to the porch. The door opened and Lindsay Pennington stepped out. She wore a blue button up blouse and some khaki pants. Her hairstyle never changed, auburn, pulled up tight with curls pouring off the top to one side.

“They wouldn’t allow me a stop along the way,” she said. “Can I use your bathroom?”

I held the door open and led the way to the facilities. The beer horns followed us inside. Lindsay moved pretty fast and closed the door. Lisa hustled in behind us.

When Lindsay stepped out she said, “What’s with you two? Can’t a girl go in private?”

“I still have some things to sort out,” Lisa said. “We need to unload your bags and send the car back.”

Lindsay picked up the other beer horn and took a drink. “I’m pretty dangerous. You’d better keep an eye on me.”

“It, um it isn’t that–

Lindsay stomped her foot and lunged. Lisa and I both flinched backward. Lindsay laughed and headed for the car.

I unloaded several bags, including the rolling trunk with a pink fire helmet lashed across the top. A plush pink bunny head was secured to the shield area. Lisa connected her umbilical to the car’s dashboard and told it to go home.

Lindsay grabbed a bag and said, “Come on, Lisa. I’ll tell you all about my fire projection studio.”

“That sounds really interesting,” Lisa said. “I’d love to see it in person someday. Is it really just like standing inside a burning building?”

“Yes, and verified by many real firefighters.”

“I need you to look over my notes about the projection room. Make sure I’m describing it right,” I said. “That, and about a hundred other things.”

We stepped inside and headed for the upstairs room. I flicked the gauge on one of the fire extinguishers, pointed at my eyes and then at Lindsay. Lisa gave me a nod and a thumbs up.

“You guys are too nervous,” Lindsay said. “I know the sound of flicking a gauge. Besides, it’s hard to burn a log cabin. You need smaller sticks to get the logs to light. When you see me carrying brush inside, then you can panic.” She took another drink and clunked her horn against mine. “Let me get situated and we can get to work.”

*Lisa is the main character in Wild Concept. She’s a robot and helps around the writing cabin these days. Her story is available on Amazon right now.

** Dr. Lindsay Pennington is a supporting character in Arson. (Coming soon to a Kindle near you.) She runs the fire sciences lab for ATF, and may be the most fun supporting character I’ve ever written.