Today's post deals with a few real winners and a controversial question about what some may think of as a "win" but I'm not totally sure that this is the case. Stay with me now as I participate in the cover reveal for the the next installment of what has been one of my favorite book series. Then I will announce the outcome of last weeks Battle of the Bands on Tossing It Out. Recognition of a winning blogging debut. And more questionable government actions where one has to wonder what exactly is the cost of winning.
ESCALATION is on its way!
I discovered author Stephen Tremp early in my blogging career and soon became a champion of his book Breakthrough. This contemporary action sci-not-so-fi adventure is the first of a trilogy featuring professor Chase Manhattan. The second book Opening raises the stakes in an international intrigue that threatens the existence of the world as we know it. The upcoming third and final book of this series has a title that indicates that we are in for even bigger things. This book is Escalation. The nuclear blast on the cover hints at something scary. I'm looking forward to the release of Tremp's Escalation to see how this whole thing ends up.
Escalation Synopsis:
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones” - Albert Einstein
In Escalation, the final installment to Stephen Tremp’s Breakthrough Trilogy, a seemingly innocent discovery in Einstein-Rosen Bridges, or wormholes, becomes a Pandora’s Box—opening doors to other unexpected and unpredictable realities such as parallel universes, time/space travel, and an evil hitchhiker from another dimension.
Chase Manhattan has survived attempts on his life from numerous sources in his effort to destroy the technology. But he is far from safe. Now Chase and his cohorts must not only break world renowned physicist Professor Nicholas Fischer out of prison a second time, but also smuggle him across hostile borders in Europe and the Middle East to prevent events threatening to spiral into World War III.
At stake: an end to Western civilization as we know it. The result: an epic clash where science and the supernatural take center stage, vying for mankind’s destiny. The setting is global as the world divides into an East vs. West climactic battle. The action is swift, adrenaline-charged, and non-stop. Unending twists and turns will keep the reader turning pages and wanting more.
Together, Breakthrough, Opening, and Escalation follow the lives of the unlikely participants from innocence to a coming of age through sacrifice, betrayal, passion, lust, unconditional love, and hope. Escalation will appeal to fans of modern-day science fiction, action, and horror.
If you haven't read Breakthrough and Opening yet, you still have time to catch up to the action that precedes Escalation. Find out more at Stephen Tremp's Blog.
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I was somewhat surprised at the outcome of this song battle. If you missed the entries you can listen to the songs here. My Battle pitted Dee Dee Warwick's version of "You're No Good" against the hard rocking rendition recorded by the band Potliquor.
Even before Linda Ronstadt made her version of "You're No Good" a hit in 1975, I heard this song on an album by Potliquor. This group's album blew me away with a powerhouse line up of tough rock and roll songs. The version of "You're No Good" by Potliquor is the one I was most accustomed to hearing before Ronstadt took over the airwaves with it and essentially made the song her own. Potliquor's version is still my favorite and that's the one I'd pick over Warwick's very pleasant and listenable original take which I'd never heard until I was trying to decide on the match up for Potliquor.
Despite my vote, Dee Dee Warwick's old school pop version of this song wins with 11 votes to Potliquor's 10 votes. Close but no good enough. Three write in votes (2 for Ronstadt and 1 for Swinging Blue Jeans) might have swayed things but since I had no indication which way to go regarding the official candidates, we don't know what could have been. One thing I'm pretty sure of though is that Ronstadt would have probably won if her version had been included.
The official winner of this round on Tossing It Out is Dee Dee Warwick.
For the winners of the Battles on the other participating sites:
A Winning Blogging Debut
If anyone hasn't heard of Alex J Cavanaugh or the Insecure Writer's Support Group then welcome to my blog. Alex's group has been so prevalent in the world of blogging that they'd be hard to miss. So just in case you missed it, The Insecure Writer's Support Group has it's own web site that is an ever growing compendium of helpful information for all writers. There is also a new FaceBook group that has been all abuzz since opening up. Check it out if you haven't done so already.
U.S. Government: Losers!
Lots of bloviating buffoons on all sides are claiming that they're winning the debacle of the shutdown and financial crisis that looms ahead. They're all idiots are far as I'm concerned. Logic and common sense are being tossed out along with the baby, the bathwater, and all of the rest of us citizens. Nothing is making much sense anymore as smoke screens and misdirection are being used to divert our attention from what's really happening.
For example over the weekend we received the news about raids in Somalia and Libya where Navy Seals killed one of the alleged perpetrators of the Kenyan mall massacre and captured a high profile terrorist in Libya. Yay!
But wait, how much did these operations cost the U.S. and how valuable was it all to us? I don't know that much about all of this but it sounds suspicious to me and not very impressive when you really start thinking about the facts. Besides, we are bringing the captured terrorist back to the U.S. to stand trial? How much will all of that cost us in the end? If we keep him in a prison, how does that benefit most Americans? How many other terrorists will be shaking in their boots and deterred from other acts against those they deem as their enemies?
I don't know what's coming in the weeks ahead, but Stephen Tremp's Breakthrough book series is probably closer to the truth than anything we'll get out of our self-serving government.
Winners in the Government Shutdown Fiasco
There have been many individuals and groups who have been fighting for all of us who are not part of the elitist government. The Obama administration has been playing politics to get their way and won't listen to reason where it comes to things like keeping parks and historic sites open. There are places and agencies that have little to do with anything concerning this government show that have been shuttered for the rest of us.
Kudos to people like Ed Mitchell, mayor of my adopted hometown of Maryville, Tennessee. He and his county government are offering to pay to keep the Great Smoky National Park open during the shutdown period. There have been other stories out there of various entities offering to step in to keep things going where it affects the livelihoods of businesses and employees who just want to keep their own heads above water. Ed Mitchell and others like him are the real winners during this time of American political stupidity.
Have you read any of Stephen Tremp's Breakthrough series? Were you surprised by this Battle of the Bands outcome? Have you heard of any heroes trying to step up to keep open the places the federal government has shut down? Where do you think this whole government fiasco is heading?
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