Category: Newsletter

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Your Twenty-Fourth Literary Gift of 25 Gifts

Gospel Medley Writer's Block: My Experience

Your Twenty-Fourth Literary Gift of 25 Gifts to Christmas. Merry Christmas, you’ll enjoy this Christmasy excerpt from my non-fiction book, The Gospel Medley.

What happened between the visit of the shepherds to the manger and the visit of the wise men to the house? In this two-part series, you’ll find out! Both parts are coming out today, as my final two gifts to you!

That’s not all–my other twenty-three gifts are below for your reading pleasure, not just my twenty-fourth literary gift! You don’t have to unwrap them–just click on them.

Let me know what you think by clicking here or emailing me at [email protected]. As always, everyone who responds with a comment or email will get a free book from me.

My past gifts to you are here:

If you want to keep track of all my blog posts and get free books you can subscribe to my newsletter by clicking here.

Your Twenty-Fourth Literary Gift: From The Gospel Medley

Your Twenty-Fourth Literary Gift
The Gospel Medley back cover

 (Where the shepherds left us.)

20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.

21 When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, His name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

22 When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him up to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord 

23 (as it is written in the law of  the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be holy to the Lord”),[1] 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”[2]

25 Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning Him according to the custom of the law, 28 then he received Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

Simeon’s Proclamation

Your Twenty-Fourth Literary Gift
The four icons of the four gospels

“Now You are releasing Your servant, Master, according to Your word, in peace; 30 for my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 which You have prepared before the face of all peoples; 32 a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel.”[3]

33 Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning Him, 34 and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, His mother, “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against. 35 Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

[1]Exodus 13:2, 12, 15 –”Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It is mine.” 12 that you shall set apart to Yahweh all that opens the womb, and every firstborn which you have that comes from an animal. The males shall be Yahweh’s. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, Yahweh killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of animal. Therefore I sacrifice to Yahweh all that opens the womb, being males; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’

More Footnotes from This Section

Your Twenty-Fourth Literary Gift
Back cover detail

[2] Leviticus 12:2-4, 8 – 12 Say to the Israelites, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be unclean seven days, unclean as during her monthly discomfort. 3 And on the eighth day the child shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall remain [separated] thirty-three days to be purified [from her loss] of blood; she shall touch no hallowed thing nor come into the [court of the] sanctuary until the days of her purifying are over. 8 If she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons; the one for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.’”

[3] Isaiah 42:6-7 –“I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations; 7 to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison. Jeremiah 2:11 – Has a nation changed its gods, which really are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Zechariah 2:5 – “For I,” says Yahweh, “will be to her a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory in the middle of her.”

Your Twenty-Fourth Literary Gift Concludes

Gospel Medley cover spread

What do you think of your Twenty-Fourth Literary gift? Let me know right here. Don’t forget I’ll give you a free book after I get your email.

If you like The Gospel Medley you can subscribe to my newsletter here to see all my blog posts and get free books every month. Or you can just stay at my blog, checking back every day until Christmas.

Psst! Audible lets you listen free to my books. Click here right now to find out how.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Your Twenty-Third Literary Gift of 25 Gifts

Your Twenty-Third Literary Gift of 25 Gifts to Christmas. Just in time for Christmas, you’ll enjoy this exciting excerpt from my recent book, My Undead Mother-in-law. Middle-aged, overweight housewife Diane Newby stars as an average woman who becomes a powerful zombie with glowing red eyes, super strength, and regenerative power.

Let me know what you think by clicking here or emailing me at [email protected]. As always, everyone who responds with a comment or email will get a free book from me.

My past gifts to you are here:

If you want to keep track of all my blog posts and get free books you can subscribe to my newsletter by clicking here.

Your Twenty-Third Literary Gift: From My Undead Mother-in-law

Your Twenty-Third Literary Gift

 

George hacked at a katana-wielding woman, who barely came to his chest, with his four-foot claymore. She neatly deflected the blow, and her counter slash cut through his body armor to his ribs.

“Crap.” He sighed as he spun away from another katana slice, spraying blood and barely deflecting the blow. These gals were much worse than the zombie gorillas. They were faster than he was!

Enraged that her husband had been injured, Diane beheaded the female zombie from behind with her glaive. Two other bodyguards, in turn, attacked her from behind. George jumped between them and her, catching both katana blades on his claymore. The force of the double blow deflected him into Diane, who tumbled backward over him and rolled into the two attackers, knocking them over.

Screaming in rage and grabbing and lifting each girl by her steel-wired bikini top, she jumped to the railing and hurled them into the sea, off the stern of the yacht. Then a naginata hit her in the back and came out her sternum, pitching her into the brine.

George roared “Diane!” and raced to help her.

Four zombie bodyguards assaulted him, and he was hard-pressed to stay alive himself, let alone help Diane.

Diane in the Drink

Your Twenty-Third Literary Gift My Undead Mother-in-law back cover
My Undead Mother-in-law back cover, no blurb.

Hitting the sea, Diane reached behind her and pulled out the naginata. It was just like unbuttoning dress buttons down her back, except her chest exploded with pain, and clouds of her blood filled the water. I’d better hold on to this, she thought. She’d left her glaive on the deck when she’d grabbed her assailants.

She needed the naginata immediately. The blood in the water, from her and other zombie women, corgis, turkeys, and bulls attracted hundreds of sharks around the ship. One zoomed directly at her.

“Ah! Take that!” she shouted, filling her mouth with water as she plunged the eighteen-inch blade into the shark’s mouth. It bit down on the wooden shaft, severing it, then slowly rolled away, bleeding copiously from its mouth.

Back to the Boat

I’d better get back into the boat, she thought urgently as she spat water, blood, and air from her mouth and swam quickly to the surface. Good thing I swim like a fish—with zombie speed.

Porpoising her whole body length out of the water, Diane gasped in pain. Her chest and back wounds still sucked air. The ship’s wet dock was twenty feet away to her right, but ten feet ahead of her, closing fast, was the triangular fin of another, bigger shark. Diane had no weapon, her chest wound hindered breathing, and she was weak from the naginata blow.

She swam toward the shark, meeting it head-on. That was the only way she knew to deal with trouble. It rolled over, exposing rows of teeth in a gaping mouth seeking to swallow her whole. Diane grabbed the lower jaw in one hand and the upper jaw in the other and tore off the lower jaw. Diane was startled; it was harder than she expected. Her fingers were cut to the bone on the razor-sharp teeth.

Into the Slaughterhouse

Your Twenty-Second Literary Gift SciFi Story Fuel My Undead Mother-in-law
My Undead Mother-in-law cover. Click to get yours.

Bleeding like a slaughterhouse, the shark rolled upright and slowly swam away to be eaten by its fellows.

Painfully, Diane swam to the transom dock. She hadn’t felt this bad since before she’d become a zombie. Her chest wound was barely closed. The bone and muscle had healed, but her skin gaped open red and ugly. She’d have a doozy of a scar. Her fingers still were cut to the bone and bleeding. She didn’t know how effective she’d be battling these zombie girls. Hunger gnawed her gut as her zombie tissues transformed themselves to repair her wounds, cannibalizing her body tissues. I should have taken a bite of that shark, she thought ruefully.

She gasped for air as she hauled herself up on the transom dock, and she tasted gulf water. Salt water! Her zombie bacteria were dying! As soon as she stood up, two zombie ninjas charged her, one with a katana and one with a naginata. And she was weaponless. The lead one called to someone behind her, “Get her!” Glancing behind her, Diane saw the two woman bodyguards she’d thrown in the water coming up behind her. They didn’t have weapons, so she turned her back on the two killer women in front of her and charged the two behind her, slowly, painfully.

Your Twenty-Third Literary Gift Concludes

Your Twenty-Third Literary Gift

What do you think of your Twenty-Third Literary gift? Let me know right here. Don’t forget I’ll give you a free book after I get your email.

If you like My Undead Mother-in-law you can subscribe to my newsletter here to see all my blog posts and get free books every month. Or you can just stay at my blog, checking back every day until Christmas.

Psst! Audible lets you listen free to my books. Click here right now to find out how.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Your Twenty-Second Literary Gift of 25 Gifts

Micro-hippo

Your Twenty-Second Literary Gift of 25 Gifts to Christmas. Just in time for Christmas, you’ll enjoy this unique excerpt from my recent book, Zombie Detective. This is perhaps Sam Melvin’s oddest case as a zombie detective.

Let me know what you think by clicking here or emailing me at [email protected]. As always, everyone who responds with a comment or email will get a free book from me.

My past gifts to you are here:

If you want to keep track of all my blog posts and get free books you can subscribe to my newsletter by clicking here.

Your Twenty-Second Literary Gift: From Zombie Detective

Your Twenty-Second Literary Gift New Science Books
Andy Zach’s new scifi detective mystery.

 They sat in a nearby conference room. “How much do you know about Vegan Inc., Sam?”

“They’re a big ag firm that competes with Corn-All. They provide garden seeds for farmers and home gardeners. They sell a line of vegetables. That’s about it.”

“Right. I was recently tasked with a secret project to diversify into pig breeding.”

“OK. That’s a big leap.”

“Yes. It was high risk, high reward, so they threw it to me. I’m fresh from college and too dumb to know something is impossible.”

“So where do I come in?”

“Let me finish with the background. We wanted a fast-growing, healthy strain of pigs. I thought, Wouldn’t it be great if they grew as fast as zombie turkeys?”

“Uh-oh.”

“Right. I created a pig modified with zombie turkey and hippo and mouse DNA.”

“What?” Sam’s stomach clenched.

“I won’t go into all my failures with other combinations. This one worked. I get pigs that grow from piglets to full grown in four weeks.”

“But what’s the catch?”

“They look like hippos. And they grow only to about one pound.”

“Sounds more like a failure than a success.”

“They do taste like pork. And they reproduce fast enough to make up for their lack of size. But―” Bryce stopped and sighed.

“Tell me the worst.”

“They escaped my lab. They’re infesting the whole building. People keep finding them in the toilets. It’s very upsetting.”

“Are they zombies?”

The Threat

Your Twenty-second literary gift Micro-hippo
Micro-hippo

“No, I couldn’t get that to work with pigs, hippos, or mice.”

“Whew. That’s a load off my mind. Sounds like you need pest control.”

“Right. I couldn’t find any who would tackle it, so I called you.”

Sam rubbed his head. “I don’t know, Bryce.”

“You’re my last hope. If you don’t catch them all, I’m fired.”

“OK, I’ll give it a try. Just tell me one thing. Why is Vegan experimenting with pigs? Isn’t that against their image of a pure vegan, non-GMO food source?”

“Well, yes. That’s why the project was top secret. If I can get it to work, it’ll be a spin-off company, Perfect Pork.”

“All right. Let me take a look at the hippo-pigs, or whatever you call them.”

“Right now I’m calling them micro-hippos, but I’m sure the marketers will think of something more appealing.” Bryce stood. “Let’s go to the restroom.”

“You have to go?”

“No, that’s the quickest way to find them.”

They walked in. “Check every stall and toilet.”

Sam looked in the first toilet. A cute hippo looked at him and then disappeared down the drain with a swirl.

“I found one!”

“Good. Now let’s go to the cafeteria. That’s where they feed.”

“Yuck.”

“Right. That’s one more reason why we need you.”

Non-Standard Salad

Your Twenty-second Literary Gift Your Thirteenth Literary Gift

Lunch hadn’t started, so there were just a few people scattered across the large cafeteria.

“First, we’ll go to the salad bar. Ah. They’ve been here. Don’t step in the hippo droppings.”

“How do they get up to the salad bar?”

“They climb as well as mice. Their feet are the least hippo-like. They’re more like rats or mice.” Bryce stirred the salad greens, then the fruit salad. Out popped two eyes peering above the strawberries, pineapple, and melon.

Your Twenty-Second Literary Gift Concludes

Your Twenty-Second Literary Gift Kindle Publishing
Sam Melvin, Zombie Detective

What do you think of your latest gift? Let me know right here. Don’t forget I’ll give you a free book after I get your email.

If you like Zombie Detective you can subscribe to my newsletter here to see all my blog posts and get free books every month. Or you can just stay at my blog, checking back every day until Christmas.

Psst! Audible lets you listen free to my books. Click here right now to find out how.