TRACKER

This is an excerpt from a novel I am currently working on - It is a mystery suspense titled TRACKER.

A police officer’s heart attack freed convicted killer Jeddah Close, a tornado, Briana Strong and her bloodhounds, will not force him to relinquish this freedom.

We are in chapter fifteen - a tornado has leveled Porterfield Mansion where Briana sought cover with her wounded bloodhound after a bear attack and the murder of her policeman escort - and Jeddah Close apparently has also sought cover from the horrendous storm preceding the tornado.

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN (unedited - not proofed)

“It feels like there’s no air left—please—please dig faster,” Jeffery called. His voice sounded weak to Briana. She paused for a minute to take the gun out of her belt it was so uncomfortable while she tried to dig. She slid the gun onto the wine rack she had removed from the spot where she was digging. Then, she checked on Shadow. His breathing was shallow, but steady. He seemed to be holding his own.

“Hang in there boy. We’ll get you some help soon,” she stroked him gently. His eye lids flickered and a loud sigh heaved his side momentarily, then he went back to the shallow labored breaths.

“Briana,” Jeffery hollered, his voice had gained strength. “Briana are you still there? My air…”

Obviously his air wasn’t as depleted as he tried to make her think as she heard him clawing frantically on the other side of the wall.
Shadow emitted a low growl. Briana wondered if the man’s voice had alerted him or if Shadow was dreaming of the bear attack. Whatever the reason it made her feel uneasy. She pulled the gun from the shelf and slid it in to the pocket of the jacket wrapped around Shadow before she returned to digging.

“I’m here, I was just checking on my dog,” she called through the wall. She could tell they were close to a break through as the sound of his digging became louder. She wished somehow she could quiet her anxious, always over cautious mind. The man behind the wall was hurt. It didn’t matter who he was, he needed help. Apparently, he was a stranger to these parts as she couldn’t remember hearing his name before. As she dug the frantic clawing from the other side grew nearer. Suddenly, the dirt and debris gave way and a rush of stale air forced its way into her face. She coughed at the assault on her lungs.

Gasps from the man on the other side of the wall told her the stale air had been replaced with breathable air from her side. “Th—thank you—“ the feeble voice from the other side of the wall croaked. They continued pulling at the dirt enlarging the opening steadily until it was nearly large enough for a man’s shoulders to squeeze through.

“Wait, don’t make the opening too large. It may cause the wall to collapse further. Let’s just get it large enough for you to crawl through,” Briana urged when she noticed marble sized pieces of dirt and debris rolling down her side of the collapsed wall. “The weight of the structure above could collapse and trap us both if we aren’t careful.”

“Right, right,” Jeffery coughed out his raspy answer. “A little bigger. I can squeeze through.” A few minutes later they had an opening a little more than a foot wide and high.

“Can you pull yourself into the opening?”

“I’ll try. I’ll try.” His voice anxious and hurried now. He no longer sounded weak and scared.
Having another person to help find a way out or at least keep her company felt good. The darkness of the interior, the dirt covering the man squirming through the hole prevented her from getting a good look at his face as she helped him squirm through the small opening. Jeffery’s broken leg jutted at an odd angle from his hip as Briana tugged him through the last few inches of the gap in the wall. As he shoved with the one boot of his good leg Briana noticed the leg irons.

Her heart squeezed in her chest. She had just helped the serial killer she and the dogs were hunting to freedom on her side of the collapsed wall. Stumbling backward as the man who called himself Jeffery -that turned into Jeddah Close, tumbled the rest of the way down the small pile of dirt into her space, the wall behind him trembled and collapsed sending an avalanche down and around them. She scrambled further back toward Shadow’s side. Jeddah followed her lead dragging the crooked leg in a painful rush for safety.

The rock slide stopped. A tiny pebble tumbled down the cone of dirt and rolled to her feet reminding her every breath she took could be her last. Not only was the mansion unstable, but she had rescued a murderer with no since of right and wrong, with no compassion for humanity or favors rendered. Cautiously, she felt her jacket for the gun. Now, afraid that it might be a weapon used against her rather than saving her life, she wasn’t sure if she should try to pull it free and use it against Jeddah or just let it be hoping he didn’t notice the bulge in the jacket. Calm, stay calm, if you panic you’ll blow it. She could feel the hairs on her neck prickle as her mind raced through alternatives and escape routes, salvation ideas eluded her.

Jeddah couldn’t run in the shape he was in, but where would she run to? She didn’t want to leave Shadow with this madman. There was no telling what he might resort to if she angered him.

“Don’t even think of leaving me here,” Jeddah’s hot breath blew tufts of her hair as he whispered a throaty threat inches from her ear. “So you know who I am,” he said as his hand swept down the arm he held in a vice grip to the hand she had over the pistol in her jacket pocket that covered Shadow. Shadow growled low in his throat and struggled to move. “What have we here?” he grinned showing yellowed coffee stained teeth, his breath reminded her of death laced with garlic.

Jeddah jerked her hand out of the way without releasing his grip on her arm and slipped his hand into the jacket pocket. Shadow stirred at the disturbance, but he couldn’t pull his head up to come to Briana’s aide. Jeddah pulled out the pistol. A broad lecherous smile crept across his dirt covered face. “Oooo lookie here,” he made clicking noises with his tongue in the roof of his mouth. “And just what are you doing with a policeman’s special?”

With his face inches from her own, it made her stomach roil. Bad breath, narrow, mean eyes and crooked yellow teeth made her skin crawl. He looked like some swamp creature from a horror movie. Control, get control of yourself. She tried to quell the urge to vomit. Finding a way to over power him, crossed her mind—or make herself valuable enough that he wouldn’t kill her on the spot were the only two choices she saw in the few seconds it took him to pull her to her feet and put the gun against her temple. Which would be the better choice. Brianna’s mind raced, a cold sweat trickled down between her breasts while icy fingers walked her spine. Was this going to be the last day of her life?

Author Tour G.M. Masterson

I'd Like to Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed on my blog today. So, without any further ado let us get to it...

1. Q. Please tell us a little about you, the writer. Who is G. M. Masterson? What is your background? What do you do in your spare time when you aren’t writing?
I am a scientist by profession, working in the field of cancer research. These days, when I am not writing, I am doing research for the second novel in the Alexander series.
2. Q: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I have published extensively over the years in scientific journals. As far back as I can remember I have wanted to write a novel. About five years ago, I finally grasped the bull by the horns and started writing ALEXANDER: HALL OF THE GODS.
3. Q: How and when did you make this dream a reality?
As I mentioned, it all started five years ago. In the beginning I only wrote a page or so a week, with the main focus on researching ancient Egypt. After about three years, however, the novel suddenly seemed to take on a life of its own. It was almost as if it started to write itself.
4. Q. Are you able to write full time now? How long did it take you to become a full-time writer? How supportive was your family in the initial years?
Unfortunately I am not able to write fiction full time. Much as I enjoy the incredible realm of fiction writing, I need to pay the mortgage. The people that I know, both professionally and personally, doubted that I would finish the novel. It was such a radical departure from my scientific papers. They were pleasantly surprised when the book finally rolled off the press thanks to Starpublish.
5. Q: What's the most important lesson you've learned so far in your writing career?
Keep at it, come rain or shine. Try to write something every day, even if it is only a paragraph.
6. Q: Name some authors or books that have influenced your writing life in a positive way.
Dan Brown's writing has given me a lot of inspiration. He proved that you do not have to be Charles Dickens to author a great novel. By keeping it simple and writing compelling stories, stories based on fact, he has been able to achieve fantastic things. Other authors I admire include, Dennis Wheatley, Suzan Hill and Michael Crichton.
7. Q: What have you recently read or what are you reading right now that you would consider an outstanding work?
I am reading factual books at the moment in connection with the second novel that I am writing. They concern the Knights Templar, the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail. LOST SECRETS OF THE SACRED ARK by Laurence Gardner is an excellent book.
8. Q: What excites or ignites your soul?
Writing fiction. I never tire of what I write in this realm. With fiction my imagination soars like it never could before. I have to confess to liking fast cars also.
9. Q. To start, will you please tell us a little bit about your current project(s) What are you working on right now?
I am working on the second novel in the Alexander series. The title of the book is ALEXANDER: BLOOD OF THE PHARAOHS. It deals with Alexander's continuing attempts to unravel the secrets of twelve mysterious crystals, the hidden treasures of the Knights Templar and a plot by eco-terrorists to destroy the eastern seaboard of the United States
10. Q. I love the title of your book. How did you come up with the title?
Thank you. The principle subplot in Alexander: Hall of the gods involves a quest to unearth the fabled lost Hall of Records in Egypt. The ancient Egyptians believed it contained a record of the achievements and technology of a god-like race that existed long before the Old Kingdom.
11. Q: Tell us a bit about Alexander: Hall of the Gods?
The novel is about a boy called Alexander with a very high IQ who finds himself at the University of Oxford at age thirteen. Hall of the Gods was inspired by a true story and exciting recent discoveries in the fields of parapsychology and archaeology. Set between the late nineteenth century and the present day, it is a tale of obsession and revenge that revolves around the themes of the paranormal, the occult, Freemasonry and Egyptology.
Present day: Alexander, orphaned under mysterious circumstances, unearths a terrible truth. Here begins a fateful relationship with tempestuous accident-prone Irish academic Frank Malone. The Irishman's volcanic temper gets him into a lot of trouble. A road-rage incident leads to his abduction. Narrowly escaping with his life, he stumbles upon a deserted house and finds an object that will ultimately lead Alexander on a strange and disturbing quest. The boy manages to discover the location of his ancestral family home and journeys there with his tutor, Frank Malone. Breaking into the eerie abandoned mansion they stumble across the journals of a Victorian Baron. The journals tell a compelling story.
Nineteenth century: Baron Algernon Northgate learns of the fabled ‘Lost Hall of Records’ in Egypt. The Hall is believed to contain the secrets of a highly advanced civilisation, destroyed during the catastrophic global changes that occurred at the end of the last ice age. Determined to find the Hall of Records, the Baron spends many years in Egypt where he makes a number of remarkable discoveries. Unfortunately for Baron Northgate, his uncovering of an ancient Egyptian tomb unleashes a deadly curse. Ultimately, Alexander finds out that he is the last surviving descendant of the Baron, and must battle the curse or die. In a desperate race against time the boy must discover the origin of the curse and a way to defeat it.
On one level, Hall of the Gods is a fast paced action-adventure thriller. On another level, Hall of the Gods is a thought-provoking exploration of the mysteries associated with the enigmatic Gizza plateau.
12. Q. Do you have any tips for beginning writers?
Well, I'm stating the obvious here, but the best advice that I ever got was to try to write something, even a few lines, every day.
13. Q. Do you miss your characters when you are finished with their tale? Any that you wish you could write about again?
I am very fond of the Professor, Frank Malone and a female private eye in Hall of the Gods. But at the end of the day, in a fast-paced action adventure book, there is little room for sentiment.
14. Q. What is your favorite part of writing? What about your least favorite part?
Rereading what I wrote the day before, and editing it as required, is what I like best. Proof reading is what I like least - no surprise there!
15. Q. What about the one habit you have that you know you’ll never change?
Pulling my eyebrow, when I have to think hard is a habit I can't break.
16. Q. Every writer dreams about receiving “the call” from a publisher or agent. What will you do—anything special to celebrate?
It would have to be a very large publisher with a big publicity budget to get me excited. I am happy to be at Starpublish. Not only do they do a first rate job in producing the book, they work very hard to help you get it noticed in a very crowded book world.
17. Q. Anything you'd like to add?
Thank you very much for your questions and for hosting me on your blog.

It was such a pleasure to have you here today - and thank you so much for your engaging responses to our questions. I wish you many sales with your book and the up coming one. Guaranteed if the second is as good as the first you will have people talking about your books and buying them the minute they hit the shelves.

Merry Christmas = )

Dear Friends—Merry Christmas —


Well okay it isn’t yet, but I had a thought. (Ouch! I know it hurt me too! ) With the recent steamy hot weather perhaps you needed to think about the coming winter and the Christmas Season to cool down.

If you haven’t made out your Christmas list yet – I have a wonderful idea for you. [Well to me it sounded pretty darn good] How would you like to help a struggling author who is working her tail off, busting her back and the legs her mother told her could never dance in a chorus line because they were too weak, doing dishes and waiting on other people’s demands, stocking 30 pack cases on top shelves to hands and knees shelving of booze on the bottom shelves—to stocking coolers and grocery shelves, bagging ice, to selling lottery tickets (ugh!!!) so that she can afford to stay home and write? [Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Now that is a joke if I ever heard one]

So my idea was this, if everyone my relatives and friends bought one book to give to someone else as a Christmas gift, that would be at least a start to get my books noticed by New York and an Agent so that I really could make it to the New York Times Best-Seller list. I can’t get there if I don’t sell any books. So – buddy can you spare me a dime?

January 2008 my newest release from Wings, Small Town Secrets, will be available, but if you’d prefer not to wait that long — and I hope you won’t— you could get one of the other titles. They are listed on Amazon.com now but they are still cheaper at my publishers http://www.wings-press.com/ (at least the Wings books) I’ll enclose a list. [A re-release of Knapsack Secrets (May 2008) and a sequel to Skull Music – titled Ghost Music of Vaudeville, (November 2008)]

Tung Umolomo, A Shutting of the Mouth is still available either from http://www.publishamerica.com/ or Amazon.com.

I have several titles available from http://www.lulu.com/ including a cookbook, (Bed and Breakfast Murders Cookbook and Extras) two poetry books (Feather’s in the Wind, and Meanderings Most Museful, an essay/short story book (Adrift) and a children’s book (Magic Carpet Ride.)

If you would like something for a writer friend or wannabe writer: Writing Wide, Exercises in Creative Writing, or Characters In Search of an Author are both available from http://www.filbertpublishing.com/ or Amazon, Barnes and Noble or any bookstore – just ask them to order it if it isn’t on their shelves (actually this is true of any of my books they all can be ordered for you – and do tell the bookstore they are ALL returnable in good condition.)

Now, I have other books coming out next year but I would really, really like to see you fill some of your Christmas gift giving needs with a trip to my website to look at the books I have – if you like I can send you a PDF (electronic) Sampler of the first chapters of all my books for FREE. Just email me and I’ll send it right off – feel free to copy this PDF Sampler, share it with everyone you know, even print it off and leave it in your Doctor’s or Dentists, or hair dressers lounge/office.

If you haven’t heard and you know of anyone or any group that will be doing a Christmas Play this season A CHRISTMAS DREAM a 3-Act Play for small to medium theatrical groups from church, to school, to community theater and everyone else is available. It is my first attempt at writing a play and it has been getting some good reviews —It is available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble or any bookstore just for the asking – I’ll include the ISBN of all the books on a second sheet here so you can take it with you when you go to a bookstore or get onlineJ

Some books I have had a hand in are on the steamy side – Written by Cricket Sawyer or Logan Blue – some you will find at http://www.silksvault.com/ [Angeni, Irish Whiskey, Great White Bull, and Beyond The Shadows] or http://www.erotiquepress.com/ [Valentine Express].

A new publisher will be re-releasing several titles in January – two of the publishers who had published these books closed their doors so those books will be re-released from other publishers. Look for re-releases and new names for (Black Knight)Dark Knight (Logan Blue), Blue Interlude (a Billie title), Comfortable Shoes (Cricket Sawyer) From Echelon and Erotique.

Firedrake Weyr is a new publisher that is publishing a Cricket Sawyer book, Lavender Lust and several from me. The Power Stones of the Goddess Ebony, Write to Entice, Spice up Your Writing. They should be available in January, February, and March of next year.

So I hope you are enjoying thoughts of back to school, beautiful and cool fall colors, and looking forward to a wonderful Christmas Season. If you have any questions, comments, want signed copies or book plates for your purchases please shoot me an email or drop me a snail mail line. We really want the Post Office to know we haven’t forgotten them just because technology is faster then they are —most times.

Thank you so much for your time, consideration and purchases.

Love & Prayers and good old fashioned hugz.
And of course MERRY CHRISTMAS (albeit a tad early)

Billie A Williams

www.billiewilliams.com

[And Cricket and Logan say thanks too even though their books are only electronic and available online – they still make affordable sassy choices for some.]

A Letter From a Friend

I received the following from a friend--my heart goes out to her and her fur babies and begs me to caution you when you administer any medication to your pets. Please read and forward to all your animal loving friends. And then take action yourself!

Thank you!

Stop the Slaughter

Returning home from a routine trip to the library on Friday, July 13, 2007. I found one of my beloved cats lying on the floor in a pool of blood, her tiny body wracked with convulsions. Checking on the others, I found two more unable to stand, their legs too shaky to hold their bodies, their bodies trembling fiercely.

Wrapping these three in towels, we headed for the Pet Emergency Hospital, where one of the first questions was whether I had recently given the cats a flea treatment—I had, that very afternoon. The next question: “Was it Hartz?” Again, my answer was yes. This was my first year using this particular brand.

When I left the hospital that night, it was without my three cats. They were too far gone to make it through. I left with instructions to bathe the remaining four and watch them closely. I followed this. They were quiet and nervous that night. By the next morning, another cat was in full-blown seizures and the other three were blinking rapidly and jerking, their muscles starting to be affected. Another trip to the Pet Hospital. When I left this time, one more of my babies was gone and the other three had been admitted. I was scared they would not make it. These three did come home. They survived physically, but my heart goes out to them as they wander through the house crying for those who are gone.

The look on the vet’s face got me thinking and I started to research. This was not the first tragedy caused by Hartz flea treatment. Cats have been dying from this product for years---yet the product remains on store shelves. Unsuspecting consumers, wanting to protect their pets and trusting the Hartz name buy and use it—sometimes it is fine, all too often it ends in tragedy.

I am asking you today to take a stand with me and demand that Hartz remove their flea treatment for cats from the shelves. Hartz knows the danger, they are aware of the record, yet they continue—this slaughter must stop!!

The warning on the box states simply the product should not be used on cats under five pound, pregnant or ill. None of my seven fell into any of those categories—all were over five pounds, five over ten pounds. None were pregnant. All were healthy. The youngest was just over two years old and the oldest six—not kittens. Yet EVERY SINGLE ONE had a reaction!!!

How can you take a stand? The first step is to make a copy of this letter and post it anywhere and everywhere you can. Let people know the danger of this product. Next, contact Hartz at:
Consumer Relations DepartmentThe Hartz Mountain Corporation400 Plaza DriveSecaucus , NJ 07094 USAConsumer Hotline1-800-275-1414 Monday – Friday 9 am – 5 pm EST

And insist they remove their product from the shelves. If you see the cat flea treatment on a store shelf, talk to the store manager, let him or her know the danger and ask that it be removed.

Hartz, how many more lives must be lost before you stop this needless slaughter? Is it going to take you seeing the pain and horror in your child’s eyes when they watch a beloved friend die? Is it going to take looking into a pair of golden eyes that are begging for help as you hold the convulsing body that just hours before ran and played? If there is any compassion at all within you, you will see the need to remove this product immediately.

I panic every time one of my remaining three moves quickly. Hundreds of others out there do the same. It is too late to save so many—it isn’t too late to save the rest!!! I ask each and every employee at Hartz to stop by the pet shop on your way home tonight—or maybe you have a cat at home –really look into that cat’s eyes and ask yourself this: Doesn’t that cat’s life mean anything? Is the money worth the pain and suffering?

If that doesn’t change your mind, look into your child’s eyes. What would you do if you gave this precious child medicine to help him or her and instead of helping, the medicine attacked every muscle, caused convulsions – and death?

My cats were my children—just as so many others are to those who love them. Find your conscious, search your hearts---and stop this senseless slaughter!!!

Joyce A. Anthony
rainbow@velocity.net