I am very excited to be hosting my good blogging friend, Craig Boyack, today with a peep into his new book, Tracks of Infinity. I have read several of Craig’s supernatural fantasy books and love them.

Take it away, Craig!

Guest post: Tracks of Infinity by C.S. Boyack

Thanks for the invitation, Robbie. I don’t get out much these days, but have a new story to tell everyone about.

If you know anything about me (Or even if you don’t), I always require something weird in my stories. I write science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural tales. This one is no different, but is a bit harder to pigeonhole. If I have to call it something, I suppose science fiction is the closest.

Years ago a dear friend named Staci Troilo taught me about mystery boxes. I tucked this into a far corner of my brain and always wanted to try it as a story method. I never wound up with the right plot until this one showed up.

This style requires a question to be asked, and the answer reveals an even bigger question. Readers can follow this trail of mystery boxes to a fairly exciting story. That is what I did with this plot.

In that regard this is also a mystery. We make covers and blurbs for a reason so let’s drop those here.

Blurb

Jenny’s life is in upheaval. Her only child, Cody, is getting on with his young adult life, and has a girlfriend Jenny is unsure of. Her career at the news station is in jeopardy in a push to get more diverse and younger at the same time.

She wants to be an investigative reporter, but it seems they’ve been relegated to the Stone Age. Gossip, celebrities, and local interest is the order of the day.

In desperation, she accepts an off-camera job to retain her paycheck at all. This is when she discovers that mergers and acquisitions over the decades have left the station with a long history of old news tales in the basement. Could a cold case be something she could focus on in her spare time?

She and her son glean through ancient manila envelopes to find something of interest. Cody needs to make a drive in the country to pass college geology, and decides they might as well go to the location in one of the old stories. Mother and son make a day of it.

What they discover isn’t something either of them expected. Who can she turn to for help and guidance in the dying art of investigative journalism? Will Jenny be able to market a story like this at all? Who are the strange thugs that seem to be tracking their every move, and what are they up to?

The answers to these questions and more are revealed in Tracks of Infinity.

Tracks of Infinity is at all your favorite booksellers.

***

The weirdness in this one comes from the question of whether there are aliens out there, and whether they have been on our planet. What is actually out there when we look up at the stars at night?

Aside from that, Jenny has to figure out how to market a story like this one. The deck is stacked against her.

I hope your fans will give this one a chance. I also hope we get some fun comments today. I’ll be checking them sporadically for the next few days.

About C.S. Boyack

Find C.S. Boyack

Blog: https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/stores/C.-S.-Boyack/author/B00ILXBXUY

X: https://x.com/Virgilante

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9841203.C_S_Boyack

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColdhandBoyack

Pinterest: https://za.pinterest.com/entertainin0737/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/c-s-boyack

My thanks to talented author, Stephen Geez, for host me with this post about The Abbot’s Kitchen, Glastonbury Abbey. One of the short stories in my short story collection, And the Grave Awaits, starts in this kitchen.

And the Grave Awaits by Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Thank you to talented poet, Dawn Pisturino, for this wonderful review of And the Grave Awaits.

Book Review: “And the Grave Awaits”

This poem is for Dan’s Thursday Doors Challenge and for Esther Chilton’s Surprise challenge.

Opening new doors, and a surprise

There is change. There is change. Change there is.

You don’t like change. You don’t like change. Change you dislike.

***

Do you see change as opening new doors?

***

No, you do not like change.

You do not see change as an opportunity.

***

Could you see change as being good?

***

You do not see change as being good.

You do not see any good in change.

You do not like change in any way.

Change you dislike, although change there is.

***

Could change you ever grow to love?

If it didn’t hit you over the head like a club?

***

Change you will never grow to love.

Even if it comes lightly and not as a club.

You do not like change in any way.

Change you dislike, although change there is.

You do not see change as an opportunity.

No, you do not like change.

***

Could you ever change embrace?

Is it possible you could do an about face?

***

Never will you change embrace.

Never will you do an about face.

Never could you change love.

Never see it as ought but a club.

You will not like change in any way.

You do not see change as an opportunity.

Change you dislike, although there is change.

***

Would you? Could you learn to understand?

Could change ever your mind expand?

***

You would not, could not understand.

***

I say give it a chance, it may be good.

Give it a try, you know you should.

***

You would not, could not try something new.

Not even a simple change, like a new hairdo.

Or a bigger room with a better view.

***

Could you, would you give change a go?

***

You could not, would not give change a go.

***

Would you? Could you learn to understand?

***

You could not, would not learn to understand.

You will not, will not, give change a go.

You will not try to make new friends

You won’t give it a try, ‘though you know you should.

You won’t understand, won’t give it a chance.

You don’t want change to embrace.

You don’t want to do an about face.

Never could you change love.

Never see it as ought but a club.

You will not like change in any way.

You do not see change as an opportunity.

Change you dislike, although there is change.

You do not like change. So you declare.

With your old ways, change does not compare.

***

Try the change, you may get a pleasant surprise.

What! You’ll give it a chance. Say it may be good.

You’ll give it a chance as you know you should.

(… And she tries change…)

You do like change. I can see your smile.

You do like change, as I knew you would.

You’re going to try out a new hairdo.

You’ll have a go at the room with the view.

You’ll try to make a new set of friends.

You’ll give away your unnecessary odds and ends.

You’ll see change as an opportunity.

Change is good. Change is good. Now you see.

Change you have learned to embrace.

Now you’ve done an abrupt about face.

Change you’ve learned to understand.

Your finally letting change your mind expand.

You’ve learned to give change a go.

Although your path to acceptance was slow.

The change has done you so much good.

The change has given you a pleasant surprise.

Hooray! Hooray! Change is very good.

You can join in Esther Chilton’s writing challenge here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2024/09/18/writing-prompts-32/

You can join in Dan’s Thursday Doors challenge here: https://nofacilities.com/2024/09/19/old-economy-village/

Amsterdam canal boat trip

These are some photographs and videos from our Amsterdam canal boat trip. There are lots of doors.

Picture caption: my acrylic painting of the Amsterdam canals. Lots of doors. Painting buildings is a lot of effort as I am pedantic about the sizing and had to measure everything with a ruler. That is why I’m painfully aware of just how many doors and windows are in the picture.

If you are interested in seeing some close up detail of this painting, you can view this YT short:

Picture caption: shots of the Amsterdam canals

Picture caption: The seven bridges of Amsterdam. Picture by Robbie Cheadle

Picture caption: a variety of houseboats on the Amsterdam canal.

A few videos of the Amsterdam canal:

Dora has given the prompt Undead to the world. The poetry form is a 44-word quadrille which must include the word vampire. You can join in the prompt here: https://dversepoets.com/2024/09/16/quadrille-208-undead-to-the-world/

You can read Dora’s poem here: https://pilgrimdreams.com/2024/09/16/quadrille-trifecta/

Some of you know I make cake and other creations as well as fondant figurines. My poem incorporates some of my fondant characters from my children’s book, Haunted Halloween Holiday.

Collapsed confectionary

Count Sugular starred with great delight

At the meringue tower, fluffy and light

Smacking his lips, he took a vampire bite

Looking up, he got a terrible fright

The confectionary had lost half its height

He knew with Witch Honey there’d be a fight

This is a fun video I made last Halloween called Haunted Halloween Safari:

What Amazon says

“Yeah, though I walk through the valley…”

Special Investigator Teri Altro is a hard-driving member of the Drug Interdiction Task Force. She is cold and aloof, with no room in her life for personal entanglements. No one is allowed to call her by her first name. No one is allowed to get close to her. Any form of physical contact is unacceptable to her, except when her body demands it. People who work with Altro respect her, but have learned to stay out her way. She carries a gun in her shoulder bag.

When Altro first notices the man staring at her, he doesn’t seem like anything special… just some guy in the drugstore. But when three men walk in the door to assassinate her, he kills them all with fluid ease, and so quickly that she doesn’t even have time to pull her own gun. The confrontation is so eerily violent that it leaves Altro wondering just who… or what… the man is.

Over the next four days she learns the man is John Walker Michaels, a man known to the Hmong of Laos as the Valley Walker, a man the army has classified as a deserter. He is an openly emotional man who draws her out of her shell and into the world of Hmong mysticism. At the end of this time… even after talking to him, learning his history and meeting his family… Altro can only shake her head when asked what he is like.

She had touched him and felt his warmth. She knew he was real. Or was he?

My review

The Valley Walker is the first novel I read by this author and it was an excellent read. The opening scene pulls you right into both the drama and the supernatural element of the story with a young soldier who is badly injured and who is being nurtured and cared for by an elderly woman. Her care is unorthodox and indicates the possession of the young man’s body by another power in the form of a Great Dragon.

From this highly exciting and evocative start, the story progresses to a setting in a pharmacy in the USA where a man is watching a woman he knows is named Teri Altro. He also knows that three men are coming to the pharmacy to kill her and he is there to intervene. The prospective killers are the soldiers of General Khun Pao, a drug lord who rules a heroine empire in Laos. From this point, the story plunges into a turbulent and fast paced battle between the man, called the Valley Walker who controls the Great Dragon in terms of Laos lore, and the drug lord and his soldiers.

Teri Altro is part of a team that has been appointed to try to track down and shut down the drug dealers. The entire team of interesting and specialised people become involved in Teri’s attempted murder and the aftermath. I particularly enjoyed Jessica Harmon, a young and beautiful woman who is part of the team. She is very clever, competent and hardworking and is also feminine and dresses beautifully. I enjoyed that presentation of female achievers as opposed to Teri who was the typical power dressing, ball-breaking woman who feels a need to present herself to the world in a masculine and unfeminine way. Hooray for Jessica as a great example of feminine and pretty females in high powered positions.

For the men, there is the mysterious Bill Mallory who appears to be a good man but does some strange and possibly questionable things throughout the book. There are also the two young men, Sam Lu and Doolee, who are both clever, innovative, loyal and good fun.

This book is imaginative, fast moving and packed with interesting characters who evolve and make surprising decisions. The Valley Walker has an influence over everyone he comes into contact with, both evil and working for justice. It is a fascinating storyline and, although complex, the story is well written and easy to follow.

Purchase The Valley Walker from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Z3U62C

Ocean Freedom – a haibun

The great expanse of water was captivating. It stretched on and on until it melded with the sky in a dark blue line far, far away. To the young girl, the light blue water that rose and fell, transforming into little waves topped with white curls as it neared the shore, looked welcoming and friendly. She had been warned that the water was not placid, it was like a living creature that had moods. There were strong back currents that could wash you right out to sea where you would drown. Sometimes, the happy wavelets turned into huge, towering water mountains that crashed onto the beach in a frenzy of swirling anger.

Despite the warnings, the ocean fascinated her. She watched it for hours, imagining that she was a mermaid swimming beneath its everchanging surface. So much space! So much freedom!

Endless blue expanse

Delights when in a calm mood

Symbol of freedom

Lillian’s d’Verse prompt is By the Beautiful Sea and Esther Chilton’s writing prompt is space. I have worked both prompts in my haibun.

You can join in the d’Verse prompt here: https://dversepoets.com/2024/09/10/by-the-beautiful-sea/

You can read Lillian’s beautiful contribution here: https://lillianthehomepoet.com/2024/09/10/from-our-provincetown-deck/

You can join in Esther Chilton’s writing prompt here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2024/09/11/writing-prompts-31/

Thursday Doors

This week, I’m sharing a few more photographs from my recent weekend away at Jaci’s Tree Lodge in Madikwe Game Reserve.

You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2024/09/12/ohio-river-blvd/

The door led to a long tunnel to the underground hide. It has a lovely view of the lake. What did we see in that creepy, underground space?

As this post is all water themed, I decided to share an extract from my short story, The Behemoth’s Rage.

May 1488

The sun breached the horizon, spilling brilliant light across the sky and ocean. The water, an expanse of silver satin encrusted with clusters of glittering diamonds, paid homage, gracefully rising and dropping into curtseys.

The light unveiled the dark grey behemoth, seated on the shore. It illuminated her edges, turning them into a froth of lighter grey lace. Shards of brilliance splashed across her sombre mourning dress. The aging face of the immobile matriarch disappeared into thick golden edged clouds, leaving a headless hulk.

The ships inched closer, hugging the greenish brown coastline.

“It’s a titan,” Bartholomew muttered under his breath. “A female titan.” 

As the bright disk moved higher into the pale blue sky, the beauty leached from the bulky figure, leaving it in gloomy shadow.

From the deck of the first ship, Bartholomew watched the glistening water. Inky shadows moved beneath its shining face. He gazed into the depths, face wrinkled with perplexity, as the dark forms slipped through the water. Hundreds of them. Great fish with swirling hair and female bosoms.

“What are they?” he asked the grizzled man standing next to him. António was also staring at the frenzied mass beneath the calm veneer.

“I’ve no idea,” António whispered. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

The water in front of the ships exploded.

WWWWAAAAAAHHHHHH!

One of the men let out a fearful wail.

Creatures, half fish, half women, shot into the air, shards of light reflecting off their gleaming skin and powerful tails. They looped elegantly and disappeared back beneath the waves.

The water seethed and frothed.

A sharp gale sprang up, expelling the gentle zephyr that had accompanied the dawn. It whistled, grasping at the boiling sea, and threw great handfuls into the air. Stinging spray whipped across the decks, slashing the men.

“Holy God,” whispered Bartholomew, “Holy, Holy God.”

The ocean foamed, swirling ferociously. Beyond the jagged rocks and white sand of the shoreline, the monster watched her children perform with vicious glee.  

Female heads bobbed on the churning surface, skin pale and perfect, long hair streaming with salt water.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” António gasped.

Bartholomew, gazing at the spectacle in growing horror, made no reply. The beauty of the creatures made his nerves tingle with anticipation, but they also repulsed him. Their overt sexuality was overwhelmingly desirable, but simultaneously bitterly objectionable.

The Behemoth’s Rage is included in Midnight Roost, compiled and edited by Kaye Lynne Booth. It’s available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Roost-Kaye-Lynne-Booth-ebook/dp/B0CL6FPLVJ

Tour Schedule

Monday Sept. 9 – Writing to be Read – Reading Excerpt by Joseph Carrabis & Guest Sylva Fae

Tuesday Sept. 10 – Roberta Writes – Guest Kaye Lynne Booth

Wednesday Sept. 11 – Carla Reads – Guest C.R. Johansson

Thursday Sept. 12 – Undawnted – Guest Paul Kane

Friday Sept. 13 – Writing to be Read – Guest Matt Usher

The Giveaway

Follow the tour and leave a comment at each stop you visit to let us know you were there and earn an entry in the giveaway for a free digital copy of Tales From the Hanging Tree.

About Tales from the Hanging Tree

There exists a tree that is timeless, spanning across all dimensions, which absorbs every life as those who are hanged as they die… and it remembers every one. The stories within are a select few of the Tales From the Hanging Tree. 

Tales from the Hanging Tree is a wonderfully dark, themed anthology which revolves around an ephemeral and timeless hanging tree that absorbs the memories of all hanging victims. This WordCrafter Press anthology was created by invitation only and includes stories from authors Kaye Lynne Booth, Paul Kane, DL Mullan, C.R. Johansson, Joseph Carrabis, Sylva Fae, and Matt Usher.

Purchase Tales from the Hanging Tree here: Purchase link

Inspiration for Tales From the Hanging Tree

When The Pretty Reckless came out with their long awaited album, Death by Rock & Roll, with the song “My Bones” there is one stanza which caught my attention:

               “The birds, they all know it.

               They showed it to me.

               Forgotten by man,

               there stands an old hanging tree.”

This got me thinking one morning . I had a boss once, who was fond of saying how interesting it would be to be a fly on the wall in her office to listen to everyone who came in to speak with her. That fly could tell some stories, and it occurred to me that like that elusive fly, so would a such a tree, if it absorbed the life memories of its victims. And so, the idea for Tales From the Hanging Tree was born.

My tree is ephemeral and timeless, so the scope of its stories spans throughout time, with tales from early times, such as that of Sylva Fae, “The Devil’s Mark”, which deals with the hangings of innocents accused of witchcraft, to a futuristic hanging tale, by new comer, Matt Usher, “Death for Sale”. I had never done a call for a themed anthology before, and I was pleased with the stories that it produced, although I had to put out a second call out, when I didn’t receive enough from the first one. I ended up with tales of cursed trees in “Mercy”, by Joseph Carrabis, and “Therion’s Heart”, by C.R. Johansson, and my own, “The Legend of Cottonwood Hollow”, and tales of cursed people in “The Hanging Men”, by Paul Kane and “Twelve Angry Dead”, by DL Mullan. To round things out, I threw in a short story, “The One That Got Away”, which is a retelling of the hanging of my character, Delilah, who hangs and lives to tell about it, but not before her memories are absorbed by the hanging tree.

These stories are dark tales of hangings, but they are so much more. They are stories of lives lived, and spirits beyond. I hope you will pick up a copy and give them a try. I think you may be surprised by what you discover in these eight original and unique Tales From the Hanging Tree.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

Kaye Lynne Booth lives, works, and plays in the mountains of Colorado. With a dual emphasis M.F.A. in Creative Writing and an M.A. in Publishing, writing is more than a passion. It’s a way of life. She’s a multi-genre author, who finds inspiration from the surrounding nature, her love of the old west, and other odd and quirky things which might surprise you.

She has short stories featured online and in several anthologies in addition to her published works mentioned above. She has served as a judge for the Western Writers of America and sitting on the editorial team for Western State Colorado University and WordFire Press for the Gilded Glass anthology and editing Weird Tales: The Best of the Early Years 1926-27, under Kevin J. Anderson & Jonathan Maberry. Her books are available in both digital and print editions at most of your favorite book distributors.

In addition, she keeps up her authors’ blog, Writing to be Read, where she posts reflections on her own writing, author interviews and book reviews, along with writing tips and inspirational posts from fellow writers. Kaye Lynne has also created her own very small publishing house in WordCrafter Press, and WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services, where she offers quality author services, such as publishing, editing, and book blog tours.

In her spare time, she is bird watching, or gardening, or just soaking up some of that Colorado sunshine.

Links

Writing to be Read:

https://writingtoberead.com/

WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services: 

http://writingtoberead.com/readings-for-writers/wordcrafter-quality-writing-author-services/

Facebook: Kaye Lynne Booth Author & Screenwriter: 

https://www.facebook.com/kayelynnebooth.screenwriter/

WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services: 

https://www.facebook.com/WordCrafterServices/

Women of the West Adventure Series:

https://www.facebook.com/Delilalh.Booth/

X: @DIY_Author

Thank you to Michelle from Hotel by Masticadores for publishing my poem, The Girls.

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Thursday Doors

For Dan’s Thursday Doors, I’m sharing a few pictures of the treehouses at Jaci’s Tree Lodge from our most recent trip to Madikwe Game Reserve.

You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2024/09/05/welcome-to-pittsburgh/

d’Verse prompt: Just for Laughs

Mich is the host of this d’Verse prompt, Just for Laughs. Thank you, Mich.

 Just write to the theme of laughter, wherever that leads you.

Well, my mind always goes in one direction, so today, I’ll introduce you to the very rare brown hyena which I managed to see and photograph during our recent trip to Madikwe Game Reserve.

You can read Mich’s post here: https://mishunderstood.wordpress.com/2024/09/03/grandpa/

I don’t laugh, a song parody

I never laugh

I seldom vocalise

I never laugh

I make grunts and growls and cries

***
Marked as near threatened, I’m rare

So, seeing me is rare

Recognisable due to my dark brown coat

With its long and shaggy hair

***
Some hyenas do laugh, it sounds maniacal

It’s not a real laugh, not happy or joyful

This method of communication is creepy

A loud high-pitched hee-hee-hee

Spotted hyena, loudest animal on earth

***

I live in a clan

Of solitude I’m a fan

A small family group

Is what I like best

***

Clan hierarchy maintained

Our offspring are trained

***

I am a nocturnal animal

Hunting and feeding at night

I cache excess food in shrubs or holes

Retrieving it within twenty-four hours

Being one of my main goals

***

I never laugh

I seldom vocalise

It’s only with family

I ever socialise

***

My communication

Includes aggressive displays

And mock fights

Which my status conveys

In case you didn’t recognise it, this is the song on which this parody is based:

I am behind with blogging as I was away for a long weekend and came home to a medical emergency with my aunt who was hospitalised during my absence. The ICU diagnosed her incorrectly as she was taken to a different hospital from our usual one and the doctors had none of her medical history. Anyhow, I discharged her yesterday as she was in a terrible state and she’s now recovering in her room at my house.

This poem came to mind for Lisa’s prompt from last Monday on d’Verse: https://dversepoets.com/2024/08/19/dverse-quadrille-monday-206-around-the-bend/

You can read Lisa’s poem here: https://tao-talk.com/2024/08/19/dverse-q206-royal-sisterhood/

Around the Bend

The dirt road stretches

Towards the distant horizon

What marvel lies beyond

The bend; long white fur

Catches the sunlight

Is it a honey badger?

No, its cheetah cubs

Their silvery-grey mantle

Effective camouflage

They’re enjoying breakfast

An impala kill by mama

Cheetah feast

Note: Cheetah cubs mimic honey badgers in appearance. They have a thick silvery-grey mantle running down their backs that gives them the appearance of a honey badger. This is a form of camouflage and makes the cubs look like an animal known for its fierce and fearless nature. Cheetah cubs are at risk of being eaten by most other predators so this honey badger disguise acts as a deterrent to potential predators giving them a better chance at survival.

Picture caption: Close up of one of the cheetah cubs that walked away from the kill for a short period.