1. News and Updates
Happy Monday! Yep, it’s that time of the week — again!
“AI Chronicles 02: Steve and Terri” is now finished and live on Literotica and Medium. There’s more coming, but I want to finish another project first. Stay tuned!
I’m over 4,100 words into my next story, which will be part of an Erotica Consortium collection that deals with “shifters.” This is a fairly new area for me, and I’m having a lot of fun with it.
This story takes place on another planet about 100 years into the future. But there’s more. Bill Jones, the main character in “The Kepler Incident” and “Tabitha Prime,” gets a mention, and his wife, Kyra, plays a small role.
The collection is set to go live on Amazon sometime in September, which isn’t very far off. Stay tuned for updates on that.
2. Featured Book of the Week
The featured book of the week for this week is the aforementioned “The Kepler Incident,” published on Amazon on July 22, 2023. This is the third book in that series.
In 2108, the faster-than-light science vessel USS Kepler suddenly went missing. An intense search found nothing, and the ship, with all 50 hands, was listed as "missing."
Four years later, a single communications packet from the doomed ship arrived at Starbase One, in orbit over Earth. After verifying the signal source, Star Fleet Command dispatched the USS Enterprise, commanded by Captain Bill Jones, to investigate the situation.
Upon arrival at Wolf 437, a red dwarf star with two planets, Enterprise found Kepler's damaged drive section. Hoping that Capt. Stewart, the commanding officer of Kepler, had somehow managed to land the rest of his crippled ship on a nearby planet, Capt. Jones sets out.
What he and the Enterprise find on planet Gliese 486c, surprises everyone.
Read an excerpt on my website, here, then grab your copy on Amazon, here.
3. Featured Free Story of the Week
The featured free story for this week is “The Armstrong Incident.” Published in 2021, this is the first story that features Bill Jones, the main character in “The Kepler Incident” and “Tabitha Prime.” In this tale, Bill is a lieutenant assigned to the USS Armstrong along with his first wife, Tabitha.
Bill learns that Tabitha is cheating on him with Bull Travers, the Executive Officer of the Armstrong. That revelation becomes a turning point for Bill’s life, which ultimately sees him assigned to the USS Enterprise, humanity’s first starship.
Read an excerpt of that story on my website, here.
4. Announcing a New Facebook Group for Authors, Readers
As regular readers know by now, I have a presence on Facebook. I’m also a member of several groups on Facebook which, unfortunately, have been inundated with “promoters,” many of whom aren’t exactly on the “up-and-up,” to put it tactfully.
I’ve written about this before, here, so I won’t go further into the details about that. Instead, what I would like to do is announce a new Facebook group set up for readers and authors that is… wait for it… “promoter-free.”
That’s right. Authors can post their books without being hit up for “promotion” services by questionable individuals with fake names and fake profile pictures, and readers can find new books to read.
The group is called Fiction Reader's Facebook Book Store and can be found here.
It was created by T.W. Robinson, author of “How To Self-Publish Your Book For Free And Not Get Conned” and “The Retirement.” Many thanks to T.W. for putting this group together and giving authors a place where they can post their work without being hit up by “promoters.”
4. Book Excerpt: Love Potion 69
Cinnamon: The Lothario
Copyright© 2024 by Saddletramp1956, All rights reserved
“That’s a beautiful set of rings, Mark. Cinnamon has always loved dolphins,” the all-too-familiar feminine voice whispered in my mind.
“That’s what I thought,” I replied mentally as the salesman watched me examine the ring in the small box. It sported two dolphins in a circle with a diamond set in the middle. The matching wedding band melded close to the dolphin design, so they looked like one ring when placed together.
“So, you’re finally going to let her make an honest man out of you?” the small voice wheedled good-humoredly. I could hear the smile in her tone and almost laughed out loud.
“Something like that,” I replied to myself, trying to play it cool.
“Are you taking her to Luigi’s for the big ask?”
“No. That was our place where I asked you to marry me, remember?” I replied.
“Thank you, Mark. That’s very thoughtful. How could I ever forget? So, where are you taking her?”
“I thought about that new Italian place over on Main, Manicotti’s. I hear they make food just like back in the old country.”
“Sounds wonderful,” the voice replied with a slight sniffle.
“What’s with the tears?” I asked.
“Weddings always make me cry. You, of all people, should know that.”
“I suppose I should,” I answered affectionately. Fortunately, the salesman couldn’t hear what was happening in my head. If he could, he’d probably have me committed. Now would be a good time to explain what’s happening.
The voice in my head belongs to my dead wife, Ginger. She was killed in a tragic accident the day after Thanksgiving last year. I met Cinnamon shortly after Ginger’s death, right before Christmas. Cinnamon was Ginger’s baby sister. But the mystery deepens. Cinnamon died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome at six months of age.
For some reason I have yet to understand, Ginger’s untimely death opened the door, life and death, miracles, cosmic scales, for Cinnamon to return. That, in turn, set the stage for considerable healing in my wife’s family. But, as the saying goes, there’s more to the story.
That first Christmas was the start of a steamy romance between me and Cinnamon. It was as if she slid effortlessly into Ginger’s place in my heart and home. I say almost because nothing or no one could ever really take Ginger’s place, and Cinnamon understood that.
So, apparently, did Ginger, who frequently makes her presence known to us, even though she’s dead and buried. Between Ginger’s often unannounced visits and the unconditional love Cinnamon showers on me regularly, I was able to finally deal with my wife’s passing.
I have to admit, though, it’s more than a little strange to have Ginger show up while Cinnamon and I are in the throes of passion. Little did I know that my first wife was something of a voyeur. And Cinnamon’s libido coach and cheerleader.
Looking up from the ring box in my hand, I saw the sales clerk patiently eyeing me, waiting for my decision. I nodded as I handed the box to him.
“I’ll take them,” I confirmed, prompting a wide smile.
“Excellent choice, sir,” he responded immediately, no doubt pleased to have made a sale. We concluded the transaction after he completed his paperwork. “If you need to have them sized, please feel free to come by. We offer sizing free of charge.”
“Thank you,” I said before leaving the store to drive home.
I wasn’t surprised to see that Cinnamon wasn’t home yet. I had taken half a day off from work to buy her ring and make reservations for dinner. She usually didn’t get home from her job until after 5:00.
That’s something else that happened on Christmas. Cinnamon refused to live under my roof without contributing to our living expenses. Sage, her oldest sister, runs an interior decorating company out of her home, and she offered Cinnamon a job as her assistant.
“But I don’t know anything about decorating interiors,” Cinnamon protested.
“Don’t worry,” Sage reassured her. “I’ll teach you everything you need to know. I was going to hire an assistant anyway, and this will be a great chance for us to get to know one another.”
And just like that, it was settled. I usually take Cinnamon to Sage’s house every morning on my way to work, and Sage drops her off in the evenings when they’re finished. Sometimes, they stop for an after-work drink to unwind and get to know each other a bit more.
So far, things have worked out well between the two sisters, and Cinnamon enjoys her work. She’s already used what Sage taught her to brighten my… well, our… house considerably.
At first, she wanted to give me over half of her paycheck, saying she didn’t want to take advantage of my hospitality, but I declined. Instead, I insisted she put most of it in the bank to save up for a car and refused to take more than ten percent. She learned how to budget, set goals, and save, and was catching up on all she had missed.
By now, I knew she had almost put aside enough for a down payment on a nice car. I was dreading the next step – teaching her how to drive. I hoped Sage might help me in that regard. Cinnamon was an innocent and trusting soul; teaching her the ‘rules of the road’ that many others took as guidelines, at best, would be an experience.
I went upstairs, showered, shaved, and dressed for the night, putting the box with Cinnamon’s rings in my pocket. By the time I finished, Cinnamon had gotten home.
“You look good,” she said when I got downstairs. “Are we going somewhere?”
I said, “I have a reservation for two at Manicotti’s and I thought we might go dancing afterward. You have just enough time to get ready before we have to go.”
“Oh, goody! A date,” Cinnamon squealed, a broad smile across her pretty face. She planted a wet kiss on my lips and ran upstairs. I watched her go upstairs, smiling as she nearly bounced from step to step. Her body was poetry in motion.
I knew it would take her a while to prepare, so I grabbed a bottle of cold tea, sat on the couch, and turned the television on to catch up on the news.
When Cinnamon returned, she took my breath away. Her sweet, angelic face always did that to me, but seeing her in a forest green wraparound dress that fell to mid-thigh and matching open-toe sandals practically had me gasping for air.
“You look good enough to eat,” I told her.
“Well, thank you, kind sir,” Cinnamon purred as she flipped her auburn hair. “And if you’re a really good boy, I just might let you,” she added with a mischievous twinkle.
“C’mon, gorgeous, your carriage awaits,” I said, offering my arm. Cinnamon smiled as she accepted my arm and walked to the garage. I opened the car door, letting her get inside, and that’s when I noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“Like what you see?” Cinnamon asked playfully. Her B-cup breasts were pert enough that she didn’t need a bra.
“Oh yes,” I replied, wondering if she was wearing panties. I’d find out later. Cinnamon was a bit of an exhibitionist, and she had become more daring as the weather warmed up.
“I thought you might,” Cinnamon replied smugly. I took a couple of breaths to get myself under control before climbing into the driver’s seat as I didn’t want to deal with rush hour traffic with a raging erection. At least not this early in the evening…
“So what made you decide to take me out on a date tonight?” Cinnamon asked while I drove. “Not that I’m complaining,” she added as she briefly opened her legs to give me a peek at her luscious thighs. I jerked my attention back to the road.
“Oh, I just wanted to start the weekend off right,” I said, trying to remain nonchalant.
“And you weren’t being a naughty boy?” Cinnamon asked with raised eyebrows.
“Who, me?” I playfully asked.
Cinnamon laughed as she slapped my arm. “Yes, you, goofball,” she quipped.
“Nope. I just wanted to spend the evening with the most beautiful woman in the world,” I replied.
“Aw. You’re so sweet,” Cinnamon responded, squeezing my thigh.
…
“Cinnamon: The Lothario” is just one of 13 stories in the summer collection, “Love Potion 69,” now available on Amazon.
6. Wrapping up
Well, that’s about it for this week. Thank you for taking the time to read this update. I appreciate all of you more than you know. So until next time, happy trails! Between now and next week, take some time off, snuggle up with a good read or two — preferably mine — and stay warm and safe.
While you’re at it, be sure to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Bluesky, Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, Spoutible, Pinterest, and Mastodon. And don’t forget to follow me on Amazon so you can get updated when something gets published!
All my best!
Saddletramp