Beyond the Sample -- Teaser Tuesday for The Allegheny Chronicles: Eden and the Alchemist and Could've Been Something

Hey everyone! I hope you are doing well. It has been snowing for nearly two weeks solid and, for a location that hasn't seen snow like this in 40 years, it's a bit much. I am aware other places get a lot of snow, all the time, every winter, but where I live, 12-18 inches of snow, in a two day storm that melts within the week is what we've been accustomed to. We have easily gotten nearly 4 feet of snow. It makes for an interesting time. We were without electricity for five days (others in the area were without for six, and I'm sure some are still without) so I missed posting much last week. Today shall be different! 

So how has your week been? 

Last week I told you that I planned on teasing you with the upcoming release of "Could've Been Something," a collection of short stories. I also said I wanted to go into another Author Commentary for "The Allegheny Chronicles." Today, you are fortunate to get both!!!

First, let's do the Chronicles. Now, if you are unsure, "The Allegheny Chronicles: Eden and the Alchemist" is really a stand alone novel. It is connected to my Portrait of an Unlikely Affair series but it is not revealing of the plot of the series. Some of my readers have actually wondered how to put the Chronicles into the series, for instance: do you read the series first or do you toss the Chronicles in between books 3 and 4 or do you read the Chronicles firs? The answer lies with you in 'personal preference' but you don't necessarily HAVE to read the series in order to read it. I hope that clears up any confusion. 

Now, let's take another look at the sample. Last time I discussed how I came up with the names and places. This time around, I'll take a look at the emotional side of the whole thing. We open up the sample to find a very capable and strong woman, chosen above her counterparts to do this assignment. We know she is strong because their teenage prodigy she is dealing with respects her greatly. Colonel Eden Magnuss has a lot on her mind. She's at a cross roads where she knows she has to make a decision about her life, and it is an emotional decision that she really doesn't want to face. A lot of people have been there for various reasons. All of a sudden, she gets blindsided by the Alchemist.

Her immediate reaction at seeing the Alchemist is anger. His immediate reaction back is to tease and disarm. There is obvious history between the two of them. But she is not going to be forgiving for whatever their relationship had been before this point. At this point you can consider a lot of possibilities for them: a former romance, a former colleague, or maybe a constant rival? It could be that the Alchemist is a part of the reason for her emotional decision. 

Regardless of the reason, she is not having any of it from the Alchemist. When he leads them to the small cabin or shack, she is still not impressed. Once inside the bunker, it is very obvious she wants nothing to do with him. It is only after he retreats to his own quarters do we discover that Eden and the Alchemist had once been husband and wife. 

This is now where we get their inner feelings as to how they feel about one another. As the sample continues, you get more of a tease of their life together, what their relationship was like. We also get more involved the mystery as to what brought them to this point. How would you react, put in a situation like theirs? 

Anyhow, that's as far as I'll get for today's commentary. If you haven't read the sample yet, go for it! Download it today. If you have Kindle Unlimited, the Allegheny Chronicles: Eden and the Alchemist is available on that. If not, you can purchase it. It is priced less than the other books only because it is my shortest novel to date, coming in at under 300 pages. 

Now, moving on, let's tease you with some content from Could've Been Something: 

These two stories are going to a fun read. 

Steam Cleaned Society is a short story I wrote back in college. It was an assignment for one of my criminal justice classes and I had a lot of fun writing it. The topic was to write a short story as to what happened if our criminal trial process was altered. So, I wrote a murder sci-fi thriller for it. Our instructor for this was a retired female homicide detective for one of the surrounding counties and she told me that with my talent, I should give up criminal justice and just be a writer -- I'd make more money. Of course, when I told her why I was taking criminal justice classes, she gave a laugh and said, "I can't wait to read your novels!" 

Morgue is a story spawned from my interest in the 1920s era mobs of Chicago. It's about a hitman, who is good at his job, employed to do a complicated task for his employer, without letting anyone know that his employer is behind it all. But Morgue has a strange humanity about him and holds a reason for doing what he is doing. But will his 'why' actually save him or will it be his end? 

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed reading this today. Have questions? Comments? Random remarks to make? Make sure to comment below! Thank you for hanging out with me, I appreciate it. And I know there are millions of books out there so I am humbled that you choose to read mine! Have a great day and a wonderful rest of your week!