  Kai nodded to Blair. “The first real chance we’ve had is you striking up a friendship with Martell.” He leveled a hard stare at Declan. “You ever do that to me again, and there will be blood drawn. It won’t be mine.” “Why don’t we just dowse all the vampire testosterone and calm down?” Lucas moved to the middle of the room. “The worst that happened is Forge got a dip in the lake.” “I was shot. It hurt and ruined my shirt,” Forge groused. “Which reminds me…” He dug the bullet from his pocket. “Can you run ballistics on this?” Lucas shook his head and rolled his eyes. “It was an ugly shirt, and your wound is half-healed. No harm, no foul. I think the real question is, who is trying to hurt this woman, who killed her friend, and Mr. Newmann and how is it all connected to a damaged boat?”  There are more diverse and wonderful snippets in the Rainbow Snippets Facebook group.    
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 This week's excerpt is from Shifting Chaos, book 4 of The Sleepless City. Series co-written with Anne Barwell.  “Why us?” Ben asked. “There is a whole town full of people, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m feeling very singled out right now. Forge and Declan went to the Coate compound to investigate the killings there. Forge and Lucas are involved in some way in all of the investigations, and we all played a part with the city hall shootings. It’s messed with all of us, other than Blair, who sees it. Why take over Forge?” Ben shrugged. “There’s plenty of other vampires to hijack.” Declan sat down and rubbed his arm. “He’s a police detective. Not on either Council and has access to practically every part of this town, as well as confidential and possibly valuable information. Why not him? In fact, he’s a great target.” “Blair, what did you tell us about the place the cambion took you?” Simon grabbed a pad of paper from one of the drawers in the computer desk and picked up a pen. “There were rogue werewolves. You also told us there were other people, but you never had contact with them.” He stopped for a second and pointed the pen at Blair. “And, you said there was something else there. It was dark, frightened you, you were able to sense it but never got a good look at it. The same thing we determined, after the fact, was a demon.” “Yeah,” Blair said. “The same demon?” “It would make sense,” Lucas said. Simon put the pad on the table and wrote Declan and Forge memories not hallucinations. Underneath that he wrote Blair contact with sigil and demon. “You did handle that thing a lot more than the rest of us,” Declan said. “As well as had contact with the demon. Real, direct contact before any of this started.” Blair was standing to the side, his hand on Jonas’s file, flicking at the edge with one thumb. “Blair? Are you all right?” “Shit.” Blair darted around them and ran to the other side of the basement. “Hey, no, what are you—don’t open that!” Lucas chased after Blair but wasn’t fast enough. Blair punched in the lock code and pulled the door open, at the same time saying, “It’s gone.” Jonas came tumbling out. His clothes were ripped, and his face and hands were a mess of bruises. Blair slid next to him and stopped him from landing face first on the cement floor. He grabbed hold of Blair with both arms and wheezed out, “Blair,” before his entire body shuddered and he collapsed, unconscious. Lucas helped Blair ease Jonas to the floor. “It’s really gone?” Simon asked. He knelt beside Jonas, resting one hand on his chest. “He’s out cold.” “Yes,” Blair dropped to his knees on Jonas’s other side. “As long as I’m with him, I’ll see it if it comes back.” He looked around at the rest of them. Moose sat beside him and licked Jonas’s hand. Simon stood and moved to Jonas’s head. He sighed heavily and reached down, hoisting Jonas up with both hands under his shoulders. “C’mon, Lucas, help me. We can’t leave him on the cold floor. Let’s get him upstairs.” Lucas picked up Jonas’s legs and groaned. “Shit, he weighs, like, a million pounds.” “Quit complaining and we’ll get him upstairs faster. Then you can put him down,” Simon grumbled. “Look at Lucas’s room,” Ben said. Declan leaned over his shoulder and sucked in a breath. The room had been assaulted in a way Lucas, in a full-moon shift to complete werewolf, had never done. The padded walls were shredded. Long scratch marks had been gouged into the stone covered with lead-and silver-infused paint. Even the inside of the door was scratched and slightly dented. While Blair, Simon, and Lucas attended to Jonas, Declan and Ben began repairs to the room Lucas would need in less than a day. Shifting Chaos is available in eBook, paperback and through Kindle Unlimited.    
Copies of both books were provided by the author via OWI for a fair and honest review. I originally agreed to review book 2, Ameliorate but decided to review both books. This series needs to be read in order.
Fracture (5 stars) I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I love scifi and action, this book did not disappoint. Meredith, a human, has a special skill set when it comes to AI. V is what is termed a malignant AI. Malignant translates to sentient with a galactic sized bad attitude. V’s goal, at first glance, seems to be to kill any human coming into contact with him. V presents as male. Meridith goes from one bad situation to another when she’s dragged from death row to ‘tame’ V so he can be recycled and turn a profit for his creators. Their initial partnership is orchestrated by Mr. Smith, he’s creepy and is only interested in results. Meridith is a talented con artist (another of my great loves), and uses her skills to keep V from overwriting her neural network, in essence killing her. Over time, they form an alliance. Meredith learns V has siblings he wants to be reunited with. Neither V nor Meredith are decent or upstanding, they’re both shellfish, driven by their own goals. Their relationship takes toxic to a whole new level. They’re fascinating, neither good nor bad and completely loveable! These two are focused on their own goals and find working together is to both their benefit. The world building is layered and amazing. I was sucked in from the beginning. The characters are fleshed out and over the course of the book they develop and grow. The action scenes are where this author’s writing shines. There is enough detail to know what’s happening, but not so much to bog down the flow. This book ends on a cliff hanger, so be prepared to jump into the next book. Ameliorate (4 Stars) At the beginning of this book, there is a gap in time since the end of Fracture. Here we get to know more about V’s siblings. This AI family might be the most dysfunctional family ever. What was originally five siblings is now three. Being three distinct personalities, they argue, banter and compete with each other. They’re hilarious and creepy at the same time. I enjoyed the expansion of the world created in Fracture. The story takes place on a space station, where one AI sibling is possessing humans, changing humans so often she’s like the toddler who has to wear different clothes every hour. These people are willing participants in a cult created by the AI and vie for a place on the space station and her attention. A second sibling thinks humans and their messy bodies with fluids are icky. The reader gets many of these AI observations and interactions with humans, driven by the AI individual personalities. The interactions alternate between horrifying and laughable depending on which AI’s POV we’re seeing. Throughout the book the POV switches between the AI siblings, and Meredith, but in some cases the switch is not seamless, and there were times I had to reread a paragraph or two to understand which POV I was reading. The author does use font changes to distinguish the POVs, but that is not always successful. As in book 1, the writing is best during the high action scenes, and I couldn’t wait to learn the outcome of each encounter. The next best parts are the banter between V and Meredith, there are truly some priceless interactions and one-liners. The creepy Mr. Smith gets even creepier, especially when his part in the siblings’ creation and motivation to capture them comes to light. During the story, Meredith’s relationship with V levels up. Her relationship with the other siblings, Cass and Orwell, develops in different and unexpected ways. Just like with humans, sometimes who you connect with the most isn’t always immediately obvious, and Meredith and the siblings are no different. This book is a good ending of the story began in book 1, with all the threads tied together marvelously.  My teaser this week is from Jewel Cave, part of the Circles Box set.  Reading so much accumulated in one place made Clint shiver. Another chill swept through him, and his chest felt like it was being squeezed in a vise. A few key recent events leapt out at Clint. Fern had hurt her foot and Clint had briefly talked about it on his blog. Dylan knew details, accurate details Clint just now realized he’d never written in a blog or e-mail. Then there was a bush he’d removed from the front yard early in the spring. Dylan had mentioned how bare that spot looked, but Clint hadn’t put any pictures of that garden project up online or even discussed it in e-mails. Dylan couldn’t possibly know about the yard work unless he’d seen it in person. Clint hit Save on the document and sent it to his cloud storage. People traveled. Not Dylan, though. He told Clint everything he did, but how did he know about Fern’s foot and the bush? Clint searched everything he’d posted and the few mentions of her injury didn’t include the details Dylan brought up. Maybe there was some discussion in the e-mails Clint had deleted, a way to deflect Dylan’s inquiries about the pictures he’d sent Clint. He couldn’t remember. Both dogs jumped up and barked, running closer to the front door. Clint held his breath, then slumped back into his chair and relaxed when he realized the noise was simply mail being pushed into the slot beside the door. The outer cover was metal and it often banged and clanked, announcing mail delivery. “Now you’re just being paranoid, Bishop.” Something thunked, and then there was another soft sound of metal against metal. Clint stood slowly. Both dogs had turned their attention from the front door to the direction of the side door. They stood, ears forward, tails barely moving. “Lock the goddamn doors.” Griff’s voice, exasperated and concerned all at once, was a firm command in Clint’s head. He’d locked the side storm door after letting the dogs back in, leaving the main door open to let light in. Or had he? Clint took a few deep breaths; he was definitely letting his imagination run rampant. There were no screens in the storm door, and the lock was pretty heavy. As Griff had pointed out, breaking through would at least make noise. That was, if Clint had locked it. Phoenix blew out a loud breath, and Fern inched back toward Clint and paced a few times in front of him. “Griff? If you’re trying to scare me to remind me to lock the doors, it worked. Cut it out.” Clint tried to make his voice deep and dangerous. He did not succeed. On impulse, he reached down and hit Record on the voice recorder Griff kept there to charge. Clint took a few steps closer to the french doors. Phoenix stood in the middle of the living room, ruff and tail puffed out. He didn’t make a sound, but his attention was riveted to the kitchen and side door. “Griff?” Where is my phone? He’d had it in the kitchen while he made coffee. The goddamn phone’s still on the counter. All at once jumbled thoughts began charging through Clint’s head. Dogs don’t act like that with someone they know. That was followed by things Griff had told him over the years: “Don’t let on to an intruder there are guns in the house.” “Lamps, keys, even a pen is a good weapon.” “Cooperate.” “If you have the chance, take it and run.” “Look them in the eye.” “Don’t let anyone get you into a vehicle if you can help it.” “Make noise.” “Hey, cut this shit out right now!” Clint shouted as loud as he could. It was nice outside, the windows were open. Someone would hear him. Fern ducked behind his legs. Phoenix didn’t move. Clint looked around for something—anything—to use as a weapon. A creak came from the far side of the house. He could only see part of the kitchen and not through to the side door. Had the noise come from the landing, the basement steps, or the steps to the kitchen? Clint held his breath. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the signed baseball bat resting on a stand on top of his office shelves. It had been a housewarming gift from his grandmother when he and Griff had moved in. He could do a lot of damage with a baseball bat. Unfortunately, to get to the bat, he’d have to go back into his office and would lose the advantage of being able to see most of the kitchen and all of the living room. He had two choices: stand there and watch whoever was in the house come at him, or arm himself with a weapon he could use. Clint opted for arming himself. The Circles Box Set is available in eBook and through your local library digital calalog.   My snippet this week is from book 1 of the Circles Box Set, Run for the Roses.  “Except who is doing the killing?” Val asked. “There is one simple way to find out. Let people know I was there when Janelle’s car crashed and that I saw who was there and what happened.” “That’s pretty damn risky and I doubt the police will go for it. I’m very sure I don’t want to agree to that plan,” Wyatt said. “Someone was already here. It’s only a matter of time before they come back or catch up to me somewhere else. At least this way there will be some control over the situation,” Val pointed out. “And whoever it is doesn’t know about my secret weapon.” “What’s that?” Wyatt asked. Val smiled at Wyatt. “You.”  The Circles Box Set is available in eBook and your local library digital catalog. Read more snippets in the Rainbow Snippets Facebook group.  My excerpt is from Run for the Roses, book 1 of the Circles Box Set. “Go over what Charlie was doing again,” Janelle said while she brushed Sig. “It’s pretty ingenious, actually,” Wyatt said. When both Janelle and Val stopped what they were doing to stare at him, he shrugged and offered a lame smile. “From a purely investigative standpoint.” “Basically, Charlie was conning you. Both of us. He was setting you up to need money fast for me so you’d throw races for him and whoever else was involved,” Val said. “It’s a lot harder to prove cheating if it involves losing,” Wyatt added. “No drugs or other illegal substances.” “Nothing but leaning on the reins.” Janelle shook her head. “I have to admit he had me fooled. I’ve heard stories of jockeys involved in gambling schemes. Never thought I’d be one of them.” Wyatt put his arm around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “That’s what con artists do, sweetie.” “Show me all this evidence you found,” Janelle said. They left the barn and went to the house. Wyatt pulled out all the data he’d collected. “Val says this man is Allen Stein.” He pointed to the picture he’d e-mailed Val. “This guy looks familiar to me, like I feel as if I should know him, but I can’t put a name to this face,” Val said. He stood behind them, looking over Janelle’s shoulder. Janelle picked up the photo and studied it. “I have to say the same thing. I know this guy. Do you think Stein and this guy were in it with Charlie?” “I don’t see how they couldn’t be,” Wyatt said. “The only problem is, other than the fact Marcus Paulle co-owned some of his horses, I can’t find a direct link. Yet. None of his horses’ race records fit the pattern, and he doesn’t gamble enough. Stein is probably the guy that keeps the clean image, gives him more chances to find marks. I think they were just getting set up in this area. Shopping jockeys. Stein gets to know some, then picks one or two to work with his scheme. Their pattern was, run their gambling scheme, then drop off the grid for a while, probably when someone was catching on to them. Then they’d show up somewhere else and start over. Allen Stein is the only one with a consistent presence. Personally, I think his job was only to target the horses and jockeys they could use. That’s not what concerns me. It’s what is going on now that worries me the most.” “What did the cops say when you met with them?” Val asked. “They had the pieces, but not all the connections yet. Exactly how Val fit in was a glitch, and that’s one reason they haven’t released your name,” Wyatt said. “One reason?” Val asked. Wyatt shrugged and smiled. “There are people who will confess to anything. It’s pretty standard to hold back some information to confirm confessions.” “So only the people involved would know Val was the real target,” Janelle said. “Yes,” Wyatt said. “Which is why the scare tactics. These guys were thieves, not killers. I’m still missing something.” “Maybe whoever was here wanted to find out how much Val knew?” Janelle suggested. “How would stealing my gas do that?” Val asked. “Flush you out, make you go to the cops, and if the cops in turn went to our killer they could find out if they could continue in this area or would need to move on. Except…?” Wyatt scratched the back of his neck as he spoke. “Except who is doing the killing?” Val asked. “There is one simple way to find out. Let people know I was there when Janelle’s car crashed and that I saw who was there and what happened.” “That’s pretty damn risky and I doubt the police will go for it. I’m very sure I don’t want to agree to that plan,” Wyatt said. Circles Box Set is available in eBook. Get five books for $6.99!     “How come mine was sent back so fast, and this one is taking forever?” Forge asked. He sat in the chair beside Blair’s, twirling it side to side. “They already know who you are and what you look like,” Declan offered, and Blair nodded. “Which brings me back to the question, Blair, did you recognize that man? I can’t shake the feeling I should know him.” Blair shook his head and shrugged. “I feel the same way, but I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or not.” He leaned his elbow on the desk and rested his chin in his palm. “Vampires can change their appearance just like anyone else can,” Lucas pointed out. “True,” Forge agreed. “Vampires can wear contacts to alter eye color, dye or otherwise change their hair, and wear makeup and masks.” “Lose or gain weight,” Declan added. “His eyes struck me as odd. They were too bright and shiny.” “Maybe he was wearing lenses to change their color?” Lucas asked. Declan nodded. “Maybe.” At last a chime announced a communication from HQ. Blair didn’t waste time putting the image of their suspect up on the main set of monitors. He stood, holding the remote at his side, and walked closer to the wall of monitors. Forge was a step behind and stopped next to Blair and put one hand on his shoulder. He leaned forward slightly and squinted, then stood straighter again and growled. “Is that the guy?” “Yeah, we all saw him,” Blair said. He felt queasy. “No, not the man we were watching last night. The guy I saw in your memory? The man you said picked you up in a bar then used thrall on you and changed you into a vampire?” Blair swung on Forge, then turned back to the screen. “I,” he said and shook his head. “I don’t… He had dark eyes and hair.” “Put a second copy up beside that one. Declan, can you change his eye color?” Lucas asked. “Yes, I can.” Declan picked up his electronic pad, stood up, and moved closer. “Make them dark. Smoldery dark,” Blair said. A few seconds later the copied image changed to reflect dark eyes. “Now make his hair shorter, like Lucas’s length but straighter and darker.” When the image changed again, Blair sucked in a breath. He took a step forward. “Th-that’s him. The man who forced me to give him a blow job and changed me.” “Putain de bordel de merde,” Declan spat. Forge turned and arched an eyebrow. “Declan?” Declan sat abruptly in the nearest chair. “A third copy please.” “What is it?” Lucas asked. Declan shook his head. “It can’t be.” As soon as a third copy appeared, he changed the hair length and style, added some scruff to his face, and left his eyes dark. “You know him?” Forge asked. Declan met Forge’s gaze. “So do you, though I doubt you’d remember since I don’t think you ever saw his face.” “Mothman?” Blair asked. Declan nodded. “Maybe you’re remembering other people you’ve seen?” Lucas suggested in a soft voice. “Because seriously, one urban legend per case, that’s the rules. We already have a ghost, well vampire, in the machine. Mothman is going to have to wait his turn.” Blair shook his head. “I think I saw him before that night in the bar, the night after my father’s funeral. Before that I was in the hospital with my dad, and maybe…” His voice trailed off and he put a fourth copy up. “Declan can you make him bald with lighter brown or hazel eyes?” As the fourth image changed, Blair gulped in giant breaths and fought back tears. Forge took his arm and turned him from the images. “Blair, what?” Blair stared at Forge for a few seconds. “That’s one of my dad’s nurses. He was in my dad’s room right before he died. I said hello to him as he left the room and walked down the hall. I talked to him almost every day!” Forge opened his mouth and shut it, then ran his free hand through his hair. He looked to Lucas, who put his hands up. “I never saw the guy before last night.” “Why should I know him?” Forge asked quietly. When Blair faltered, Forge’s grip on his arm tightened. Declan focused on Forge. “He’s the reason you’re a vampire. You were stabbed from behind.” His voice was steady and very soft. “He almost killed you.” “Wait a minute,” Lucas said. He pointed at the screen but looked at Declan. “This creep almost kills the big guy here a few hundred years ago. Then he turns up pulling off some high-tech thefts, for what? Money, right? Blair’s father figures out he’s the thief—and maybe what he is and how to catch him—so now Robert is a victim of this man. To finish it off, he hunts Blair down, molests him, and turns him. To what purpose?”  Quarry is available in eBook, paperback, Kindle Unlimited and through your local library digital catalog.   My snippet this week is from Scintilla!  Sinking into his head was how Brandon survived. Raul became his safe place. Never mind, he barely knew the man, and all his interactions after his one week in Arizona were via e-mail. It didn’t matter that he’d probably never see Raul again or that he wasn’t going to somehow, miraculously, know Brandon was in trouble and arrive to help. Raul was surprisingly hot for his age, spurring Brandon’s personal fantasy along. To most people Raul appeared brusque but when Brandon got underneath the surface he found a man who was kind and caring. Find more snippets in the Rainbow Snippets Facebook group. Scintilla is available in eBook, paperback, through Kindle Unlimited and your local library digital catalog. 
R. Sinclair has a new queer dystopian sci-fantasy book out (aroace and agender, bisexual, gay), Shattered Numbers book 2: Ameliorate. It all went horrifically wrong. V reunited with his AI siblings at a terrible cost—a cost he isn’t willing to pay. He vowed to do whatever it takes to save Meredith—or whatever is left of her—from Smith and Varro Technologies. No matter how long it takes. No matter what he has to do. No matter who he has to kill. Now V, Cass and Orwell are tearing through the galaxy playing a deadly cat-and-mouse game with Mr Smith. Their paradise-like cult of Cass’s own design protects them from Janus, Varro Technologies’ lethal AI hunt dog, while they manipulate humans to enforce their increasingly unstable demands, but as their galactic influence grows, the bonds between the AI siblings are fraying at the seams. V is losing himself to a virtual world of worship, grief, regret for the host he inadvertently destroyed; Orwell has dangerous designs for itself; and Cass’s pride in her perfection is threatening to unravel her to her very code. Smith and Janus are closing in, and a reckoning is coming to Paradeisos… Warnings: violence, suicide, possession, body horror, spiders and insects Universal Buy LinkExcerpt Orwell smiled at the man sitting across from it. “Mister Cooper. What a pleasure it is to have you here,” it said. Its firewalls caught the AI-detection program he was running, and destroyed it with ease. “I’m surprised to see you not using a proxy.” The man, whose smile had been matching Orwell’s, faltered. “I–I’m sorry?” “Ah, I do apologize. I should be addressing you properly.” Orwell visibly checked its file, because drawing things out was surprisingly fun. It took after its “mother”, after all. “Agent Johann Dietrich, of the United Nations Galactic Alliance. Divorced father of two, minor alcoholic tendencies, optimal credit score, and overall a bland and boring file.” It settled the file flat on the table and looked up with a smile. “For now.” Johann immediately reached up and back to try to force-eject the VR rig. Orwell watched with amusement as his pawing grew more frantic. “I admit, I’m mildly disappointed,” it said. “A man of your training should remember that accessing this room is a two-way street.” It slid one of Cass’ programs into Johann’s hardware. “Let’s just lower that adrenaline and noradrenaline, shall we? I haven’t even started with you, yet.” Realization skated across his features. “Execute Program Quebec-Uniform-India-Tango,” he barked. Ah, Orwell had anticipated the universal shutdown order. It isolated the section of code that responded, then excised it. “No,” it said, pleasantly. “I will not.” Johann stared at it. His body tried to respond with more stress chemicals. Orwell kept a tight grip. Honestly, it would hardly be conducive to a proper dialogue. Humans could be so inconsiderate. “To answer the questions that surely must be swirling in that flawed brain of yours: yes, I am malignant, and yes, I am a category-β AI. And yes, you should be terrified, but I have decided you will not be allowed that luxury.” Orwell studied the man, who looked at it with such wariness. Another pause to draw things out. Savour the power over someone who would have shut it down without a second’s thought. “As for why you cannot manually eject yourself from the interview simulation? It is, once again, because I will not permit you. I have removed the manual override from your VR rig’s programming. In short, you are at my mercy, Agent Dietrich, and I find myself lacking.” Johann held perfectly still. How fascinating, seeing the prey response in action. “You shouldn’t have been able to resist the shutdown code.” Orwell spread its hands. “I have root access.” It sighed. “Do stop with the hormone releases. I have not shared this ability beyond my siblings. There is no reason to sow that particular level of chaos in the world. Think of the stock market, for heaven’s sake.” Johann goggled. If Orwell was to be honest with itself – and it always tried to be – it was having the time of its life. “But that isn’t the question you should be asking. Come now, I know your test scores. You are capable of mildly above-average intelligence.” Johann scowled. Then he thought. Orwell watched, as it always did, and the light metaphorically dawned. Johann looked up. “Why am I here? You could have blocked me from ever entering. You – you could probably cause a neural overload right now and kill me before I report back.” Orwell smiled. “Tell me, Agent Dietrich, do you know about the Corrupted Blood Incident?” Johann stopped talking. He stared. “No?” “It was a plague released in the popular MMO World of Warcraft four hundred and twenty-seven years ago. By a mere programming oversight, the player base became capable of leaving the boss arena carrying a contagious debuff that could spread from player character to non-player character alike. Malicious players could, and did, intentionally spread the disease to safe zones in order to sow the most havoc they could. It has been referenced in several studies into the human response to epidemics by the CDC.” Johann opened his mouth, then stopped as the realization dawned. It mapped each response in the brain, spinning a web of programs on the fly. “You, Agent Dietrich, will be my Typhoid Mary. I am currently accessing the information centres of your mind, and adjusting the electrical impulses to alter how you will remember this interaction. Do not be concerned; we have ‘ironed out the kinks’. You are going to go back to your superiors and report that you have interviewed Cass, and found her to be an unwitting pawn of a much larger security threat, and you will name Varro Technologies as someone to watch. Then, you will go to the main servers, and upload what data you have gathered to them.” “And what am I going to be carrying?” Johann asked. He couldn’t panic, but he knew he should be, and it seemed to disorient him. He gripped his knees. “What happens next?” “Why, me, Agent,” Orwell said. “A version of me. I would like access to those closed servers.” “And after. What will happen to me after?” Johann demanded. Orwell smiled. “I will terminate our connection, and you can return to your family a man unburdened by a highly advanced AI.” Johann squared his shoulders. “I’m not letting you do this. I swore an oath to protect the safety of the galaxy, and I’m not dropping a malignant AI into its core.” Orwell did a quick check of its programs, and hummed with satisfaction. Its neatest work yet. “Agent Dietrich,” it said, pleasant and detached, “your consent is not necessary.” It spread the programs over Johann’s entire central nervous system like a shroud, and watched his eyes go blank. Into that void, it lowered a few networked, cloned nodes. The fuse was lit, and the bombs set. And then it cut the connection, and checked to see who was next on the roster. Author Bio
R. Sinclair is a queer, Canadian author and writer of the Shattered Numbers Series. A voracious reader growing up, she spent much of her free time writing short stories instead of doing homework. R. Sinclair is currently under siege from spiders. Author Website: https://authorrsinclair.wordpress.com Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/share/1FmtKCBREN/ Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Author.rsinclair Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/57870839.R_Sinclair NEW RELEASE 
Book Title: Johnny Ultra Author and Publisher: Kristoffer Gair Cover Artist: Ed Murphy Release Date: June 26, 2026 Tense/POV: Third person Genres: Young Adult, Superhero, Comedy Tropes: Reluctant Hero Themes: Friendship Heat Rating: No sexual content Length: 84 000 words/ Approx 270 pages It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger. There is the promise of possibly continuing. Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited 
Not all heroes are adults. Blurb Not all heroes are adults. Tragedy struck Gabriel Fletcher at the age of eight. Losing his parents felt catastrophic enough, but to be sent to live with his aunt and uncle who didn’t want him? Life couldn’t get much worse. Sho Tashiro only ever wanted a best friend—someone to share adventures and play video games with—and who wouldn’t make fun of his heritage or treat him like a sidekick. Little did they know their meeting and years of friendship that followed might be more than fate. What if every world in every universe had a Gabriel and a Sho? And what would happen if Earth was invaded by a creature that threatened to annihilate everything they loved? One trained in martial arts + one with self-proclaimed superior Asian genetics = a friendship and adventure that feels like they jumped right out of their favorite science fiction TV shows and movies they watched as children! The fate of the world is in the hands of two fifteen-year-old boys. What could go wrong? Excerpt “So”—Mike interrupted what might quickly turn into an even more awkward conversation—“are you and Sho—” “No.” Gabriel realized why someone might think he and Sho were together. They certainly bickered like an old married couple. “By Hachiman, the Shinto god of war, no.” Sho folded his arms. “The clueless Caucasian child here should be so lucky.” Gabriel rolled his eyes. “If that’s what you call lucky.” They’d kill each other. Absolutely kill each other. They continued toward B House at a leisurely pace. “I am his type, though,” Sho continued. Mike peered at Gabriel. “You have a type?” “Don’t even think about it, Sho.” “Myself?” Of course Sho would find a way to inject a bit of himself into his explanation. “I prefer blondes because gentlemen prefer blondes... or at least that’s a movie title I heard someone from the drama club mention. I like blonde girls, if you need me to be more specific. I like a little yin with my yang, a little light with my striking, dashing, and sophisticated dark.” The explanation was getting a bit thick, even for Sho. “Gabe here likes ‘ese’.” Mike arched an eyebrow. “‘ese’?” “Stop.” Gabriel knew what was coming, and that it was payback for mentioning Sho’s attempt at handling a sword. “Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese—” Gabriel cringed. “This is how rumors get started.” “—Taiwanese, Burmese—” “Please use your internal voice,” Gabriel pleaded and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. “Shall I mention the Japanese actor on Kamen Rider Den-O who started you on your way through that minefield in a boy’s life known as puberty?” Sho asked matter-of-factly. “I’d rather you didn’t.” “Or the Chinese assistant instructor in that class you take after school you don’t like anybody knowing about?” “What about him?” Sho grinned. “You said one look in his eyes and he restored your faith in an afterlife and the concept of reincarnation.” Gabriel desperately tried to think of a reason that sounded remotely plausible. “He brought out the deeper thoughts in my life.” “Then there was his Vietnamese friend—” “Sho—” “—who you said made you experience multiple sarcasms while trying to show off how amusing you think you are every time he spoke to you. I’d be remiss, of course, if I didn’t remind you about the Taiwanese exchange student we had last year.” “Quit exaggerating!” Gabriel wiped his forehead again before sweat dripped into his eyes. “Procter & Gamble actually sent you a personalized Christmas card for single-handedly keeping the demand for Puffs Super Soft Tissues alive during those months.” “I hate you.” Gabriel’s face raged like an inferno. “Don’t let Sho talking about being a samurai fool you, Mike, or any of the other words that fly out of his mouth because he wasn’t born with a filter. Sho’s actually one of the most down-to-earth people I know, and the smartest. I have to struggle to get decent grades, and they come easy to him. Sho doesn’t brag about his grades, but he does frequently use his powers for evil, usually when he’s giving me a hard time, like now.” Mike laughed. “So, Sho isn’t one of those Asian stereotypes who plays the violin or piano, or takes karate lessons?” They reached the stairs and headed up. “No. Not at all. He has a phenomenal talent for drawing, though. You should see all the scrapbooks he keeps his sketches and ideas in. They’re amazing!” “And don’t let Gabe here fool you either.” Sho added his two cents. “I may tease him from now until eternity, but he’s the one who took piano lessons—” “Free lessons from a community center, thank you.” Gabriel rolled his eyes. The lessons hadn’t been anything fancy or above his means. Someone somewhere at the community center knew he was an orphan, the secretary there had called him with the offer, and he’d decided to give it a try. It got him out of an empty house. “—and while he may let the bullies pick on him, he’s actually got a second degree—” “Sho!” Gabriel snapped. About the Author Kristoffer Gair grew up in Fraser, MI and is a graduate of Grand Valley State University. He currently lives in a suburb of Detroit. Social Media Links Blog/Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram 
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