Who Is Mistral Dawn?

Mistral Dawn is a thirty-something gal who has lived on both coasts of the US but somehow never in the middle. She currently resides in the Southeast US with her kitty cats (please spay or neuter! :-)) where she works as a hospital drudge and attends graduate school. Taken By The Huntsman is her first effort at writing fiction and if it is well received she has ideas for several more novels and short-stories in this series. Please feel free to visit her on FaceBook or drop her a line at mistralkdawn@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

#NewRelease #Announcement: Alpha Tales 2044: Beta-Earth Chronicles By Wesley Britton!


Hey Everyone! :-)

My friend, Karina Kantas, is here, today, to tell us all about a new release from a friend of hers. Karina, take it away! :-)

Karina: 

Alien Vision presents a collection of short stories and sketches from the Beta-Earth Chronicles by Wesley Britton.




Alpha Tales 2044, opens on Beta-Earth when two genetically-enhanced mutants are forced to recover a stolen secret, the cure to the ancient Plague-With-No-Name that defined a planet for millennia.
Then we jump across the multi-verse to our earth, Alpha-Earth, where police Captain Mary Carpenter infiltrates a gang of White Supremacists who want to purify Texas after decades of climate change and weaponized plagues.

Still on Alpha, we leap ahead in time to 40 years in the future where Mary Carpenter joins up with four aliens, two from Beta-Earth, two from Serapin-Earth. All four share the same father, The Blind Alien from Alpha-Earth. They’ve traveled across the multi-verse to tell us about their worlds.

But Alphans, scarred by the devastations to our world, are unhappy about learning about very different cultures from anything we’ve ever known and especially hearing about multiple deities. So the alien band are forced to go on the run and take sanctuary in a First Nation domed city in British Columbia.

But their sanctuary doesn’t last long. Forced to travel further into the Canadian wilderness, the family encounters a pair of Sasquatch who change everything for them. They learn about the many definitions of what it means to be human.

Alpha Tales 2044, is a collection of stories that are part sci-fi, part murder mysteries, part horror, and part social commentary. But completely full of the unexpected, surprises, and tales, unlike anything you’ve experienced before.


Official Released 12/8 price $0.99
iBook, Nook and Kobo: https://www.draft2digital.com/book/392281
Where to buy Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Psedn2


About the Author:
Immerse yourself in an extraordinary universe revealed by the most original storytelling you’ll ever experience. “Science fiction yes, but so much more.”

Besides his 33 years in the classroom, Dr. Wesley Britton considers his Beta-Earth Chronicles the most important work he’s ever done. “I suppose an author profile is intended to be a good little biography,” Britton says, “but the best way to know who I am is to read my novels.”

Still, a few things you might like to know about Wes include the fact he’s the author of four non-fiction books on espionage in the media, most notably The Encyclopedia of TV Spies (2009). Beginning in 1983, he was a widely published poet, article writer for a number of encyclopedias, and was a noted scholar of American literature. Since those days, for sites like BlogCritics.org and BookPleasures.com, Britton wrote over 500 music, book, and movie reviews. For seven years, he was co-host of online radio's Dave White Presents for which he contributed celebrity interviews with musicians, authors, actors, and entertainment insiders.

Starting in fall 2015, his science fiction series, The Beta-Earth Chronicles, debuted with The Blind Alien. Throughout 2016, four sequels followed including The Blood of Balnakin, When War Returns, A Throne for an Alien, and The Third Earth. Return to Alpha was the sixth volume of this multi-planetary epic.

Britton earned his doctorate in American Literature at the University of North Texas in 1990. He taught English at Harrisburg Area Community College until his retirement in 2016. He serves on the Board of Directors for Vision Resources of Central Pennsylvania.



Where to find Wesley online:
Website: https://drwesleybritton.com/books/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BetaEarthChronicles/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wesley_britton
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wesley-Britton/e/B001HD455U
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/295635.Wesley_Britton
Mailing list sign up: http://eepurl.com/dwvfQr


EXCERPT: From Last Night Of The Collective:

I vividly remember the afternoon when Jrin Rol, the second-in-command of our security unit, and I stepped onto the ground floor of the Hotel Domino in the new city called Monte Carlo. The hotel was an entertainment center named after yet another Alpha game Malcolm Renbourn had brought to our planet. It should have been named Hotel Backgammon for all the pointed spikes of alternating colors on the floors and walls.

On this day, I was listening to Jrin's wistful hopes for an extended leave from service so she could deepen her studies in linguistic morphologies, geographic spatial patterns, and other analytical investigative techniques that would make her far more than a skilled expert in stealth and counter-espionage operations. I was becoming more and more impressed with what I heard as we walked into the dining hall.

Then, my blood chilled. In one moment, I felt as if I'd drank a bath shell-sized cocktail of adrenaline and dread. Sitting alone at a table in the corner was First Helprim Kiem Holenris from ital, the supreme head of the Munchen Collective. The last I'd seen of this seeming old crone had been in my offices in Bercumel. On that day, Holendris had let me know my life was on the line if I continued my then-pointless, personal war with my bond-family. For, like her, my genetically-enhanced mutations had come at a cost. The little pills the Collective now provided me slowed the metabolic rushing of time that aged such as us much faster than our years. If I wanted to live a healthy and beautiful life and for a good long time, I needed the pills only the Collective could provide me.

Holendris looked like a woman who'd seen four generations of descendants from her womb. But she was merely the age of my own mother. Like me, her appearance concealed a body of extraordinary gifts. Unlike me, she had started her pill regimen much later in her life than I had, hence her aged face and deceptively marked skin. On this day, while her lips were twisted in an almost skullish smile, her eyes sent a clear message to me across the wide hall of tables and happy noises.

"Child," they wordlessly told me, "bring your sun-drenched bronze skin and bright, blonde hair over here to me. You must come to me now. A matter of dire importance awaits you. Awaits us."

I looked to Jrin, who understood my own silent signal. We slowly made our way to the Helprim's round, polished white table where Kiem studied our movements with practiced eyes. She nodded as we came close and indicated two chairs.

"Sit, little kitty," she cooed. "Sit, Jrin Rol of the Mask-Painters."

Wordlessly, we took our places as serving hands quickly brought us trays of beverages. Kiem waited until the hands departed and took a sip of her own red pravine, then said softly, "Thank you for your quick compliance, as what I am here to discuss requires some delicacy."




Monday, January 7, 2019

Something Worth Watching?


Hey Everyone!! :-)

I'm back today with another video I want to share. This vote has already happened, and this terrible rule has already passed, but I thought it was important to point out exactly why it matters which Democrats we vote for and why "any old Blue won't do." Neolibs like Pelosi are going to kill the Democratic party.

Also, even though this vote has happened, you can still contact your elected representatives and tell them what you think about stunts like this. And you can also tell them you want them to have another vote and change it. Because that is possible.

Democrats in Congress need to know that we're watching if we want to keep them honest. Yeah, I know it's annoying that we can't depend on Democrats to do the right thing without constant pressure from the electorate, but that's the reality. Time to roll up our sleeves, again, my friends, and wade into the fray. It's going to be a long, hard fight to get the progressive policies this country needs, but it's one we can win if we work hard enough. And we need to let our elected representatives know we aren't going away and we will hold them accountable. Peace!




Sunday, January 6, 2019

Easy Lentil Soup In A #Crockpot #Recipe!



Hey Everyone!! :-)

This soup recipe is delicious and easy to make, but also healthy and low-fat. Perfect for a cold, winter night, but also easy on the waistline. ;-)

Ingredients:
2 cups dried lentils sorted and rinsed
8 cups water
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery cleaned and chopped
2 onions chopped
1 cup spinach chopped
2 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp dried basil
4 cloves garlic minced fine
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup red wine (your choice)
Salt and pepper to taste


Put the water, salt, pepper, tomato paste, bay leaf, and lentils in the crockpot and set the temperature to high. Put the carrots, onions, celery, and olive oil in a saute pan and cook until the vegetables wilt. Add the garlic, dried herbs, and spinach to the pan and cook until the vegetables start to caramelize. Transfer the contents of the pan to the crockpot and deglaze the pan with the wine. Allow the wine to simmer until it reduces and add it to the crockpot. Stir, taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Cook the soup on high until the lentils are completely soft, tasting occasionally for seasoning. Serve piping hot with a side of crusty bread.

Bon appetit!




Saturday, January 5, 2019

Truth In Concept


Hey Everyone!! :-)

I've got a little more of Alyce's adventure to share with you, today! Enjoy! :-)

Excerpt from Answers From Alyce:
"They all do little besides seek to blame others for the failings of your society and avoid being stuck with any blame themselves. Just listen to them speak! In fact, between those of us who have been working on this project, we've termed this the Committee For Assigning Blame, for that is all they seem to do. When do any of them ever say anything that might result in any meaningful change or productive solutions?"

I stared at him for a few heartbeats, and then what he said hit me and I snorted. That snort led to a guffaw, which just opened the dam and the giggles poured forth. I laughed so hard my sides started to hurt bad enough to rival my head and tears flowed from my eyes. When my hilarity subsided, I wiped my eyes and said, "'Committee For Assigning Blame!' Well now, sugar, that is certainly the God's honest truth, there, isn't it?"

Squid-boy's arms settled back around him and he said, "I believe so. Though, what a divine being has to do with it escapes me."

I waved it away, still wiping my face. "It's just an expression." I looked at the representation of our government again ̶ the apoplectic expressions on those small faces, the pointing fingers and angry voices, those tiny, orange hands still gesticulating wildly ̶ and snickered. "'Committee For Assigning Blame', I don't think I've ever heard anything so appropriately named."

Yax stepped up and put a hand on where the shorter alien's shoulder would be if he were human. "We did ask her to critique our work for accuracy. Just because you, personally, find this tendency of her species to be more irritating than their other foibles, that's no reason not to listen to the feedback Alyce is kind enough to provide to us."

Squid-boy let out a gurgling squawk and then turned and bowed to me. "My esteemed colleague is correct. I have been irrational and discourteous; I beg your pardon."

I shrugged. "No problem, sugar. I guess I've been rude a time or two since you brought me here, too."

Yax smiled. "Then, perhaps we can all try to resolve to be more temperate in our words. Alyce, will you, please, try to explain why it seems that your elected representatives spend so much time trying to apportion guilt rather than trying to fix problems?"

"Because almost none of them are worth as much as a three dollar bill?"

The tall alien blinked at me. "I beg your pardon?"

I waved it away. "Nothing, just an expression. There's no such thing as a three dollar bill in our currency, so any that exist aren't real money."

"And so they're worthless."

I nodded. "Just like most of our politicians."

Now Out:
Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/2J40wLq
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2UODFWv





Friday, January 4, 2019

#Animal #Rescuer's #Guide To #Staying ( #Relatively ) #Sane! #Free! :-)



Hey Everyone!! :-)

Just a reminder, for those who haven't checked it out yet, I've collected all my animal rescue/care posts together and published them as a small book.  If you'd like, you can download the book for free from Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, Kobo, and iTunes.



Thanks for stopping in today, and don't forget to check back tomorrow for the next installment of Mistral Dawn's Musings! :-)


Thursday, January 3, 2019

#APC #Spotlight: The Rite of Wands By Mackenzie Flohr!


Hey Everyone!! :-)

I've got Mackenzie Flohr (Ami Lutkus-Phillips) in my APC spotlight, today! Mackenzie is an active and supportive member of the  Authors-Professional Co-op Facebook group and her coming of age, young adult, action-adventure, fantasy novel, The Rite of Wands, looks great! Here's the description:
One boy…one Rite… And a world of deadly secrets that could change the course of history—forever
And so begins the tale of Mierta McKinnon. When a horrible fate reveals itself during his Rite of Wands ceremony, he must find a way to change not only his destiny but also the land of Iverna’s.

Forbidden from revealing the future he foresees to anyone, he is granted a wand and his magical powers, but still must master the realm of magic in order to save himself and those he loves.

But Mierta is not the only one with secrets…especially when it’s impossible to know who to trust.
 If you think this sounds like something you might enjoy, go ahead and grab your copy here:


Thank you all so much for stopping by! Happy reading! :-)



Wednesday, January 2, 2019

#Agent Thoth's #Personal Log: Day 897


Hey Everyone! :-)

Agent Thoth discusses more of the trials and tribulations associated with living with hominids. Incidentally, if you've missed Agent Thoth's earlier entries, you can find them here: Thoth's Journal


Department for the Preservation and Confirmation of Intelligent Life (DPCIL)
Agent Thoth's Personal Log

Day Eight-Hundred-Ninety-Seven:
The night before last, the nearby hominids set off the gunpowder explosives they're so fond of. My hominid-servant informed me that it was because it's a "new year," but why that should necessitate a bombing festival is beyond my comprehension. In spite of the racket created by the unhinged hominids, it was an otherwise pleasant evening.

My hominid-servant consumed copious amounts of the sharp-smelling beverage she occasionally indulges in, which affects her behavior in much the same way the pernicious herb affects my own. It makes for an amusing interlude when she consumes enough of the beverage to put on music and accompany it with slightly spastic motions. Though, her attempts to vocalize in harmony, a term I use loosely, to the music are less pleasing.

But, once the beverage fully takes effect, she usually will settle down and allow the juvenile felid and myself to recline on her lap. For some reason, the beverage seems to cause her to emit even more waste heat from her body than usual, so the opportunity to bask in the warmth is even more appreciated. And the after effects of the beverage tend to make her drowsy and lethargic, so she is less inclined to disturb us by moving about. Overall, I believe it is a fair tradeoff for the noise the beverage tends to inspire initially.

Aww! Hominids can be so cute when they're drunk. ;-) You may have noticed that Agent Thoth has a new look. I hope you like his new picture as much as I do, but I'd love to hear your thoughts, either way. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. ;-) Happy reading, everyone!