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My Most Romantic Story – and a Gift for You

My Most Romantic Story – this’ll be the first time I’ve shared this story with you. I wrote it especially for this weekend. But it isn’t your gift. Your gift is at the end of this blog post.

Go ahead. Scroll down past the romantic story to see it, if you want.

My Most Romantic Story – For Valentine’s Day

He was hyper. His dream of marriage was finally coming true. He couldn’t believe she’d said ‘yes’, back in February when he proposed. Now it was June, a week before their wedding day.

She was gorgeous. Red-haired and petite, she’d fit nicely in his lap.

Stock photo, public domain

They had to buy their marriage license from the courthouse. Their minister would sign it after their wedding. They’d do that this week on Wednesday.

But today was Monday. Now he’d activate his plan. He’d surprise his fiancee with a gift she didn’t expect. They’d already bought each other’s wedding rings and her engagement ring. They’d been practical, with the two of them looking over the jeweler’s wares, picking the rings they wanted.

She was really practical. He loved that, since he tended to be highly romantic. She’d be a good balance for him.

He called the store and give very careful, precise instructions for the coming week. She’d never expect this. Not only was he romantic, he had a wild imagination.

He waited eagerly for her call. She called him daily from her job as an office manager to his cubicle where he worked as a programmer.

After lunch, she called.

My Most Romantic Story – Part 2

“You mushball!”

“Did you like the rose and the poem?”

“Of course I did.”

“I wanted to do something special for you this week.”

“A single long stemmed rose.”

“And a poem. I’m an amateur, but sincere.”

“I know.”

My Most Romantic Story
Long-stemmed rose

The next day, she called again.

“Two roses! And another poem.”

“Were you surprised?”

“Yes. Am I going to get twelve roses, eventually?”

“Could be. You’ll have to wait and see.”

Then on Wednesday I answered the phone and heard, “I got your four roses and poem today. Everyone in the office is going nuts.”

“Good. I wanted to create a sensation.”

“Well, it’s working. Everyone says you’re so romantic.”

“What about you?”

“I think I’m getting a steal. I don’t know why the other girls didn’t go for you.”

“Probably because I was wearing off my rough edges on them. I was dating for ten years before I met you. I know I wasn’t ready for marriage.”

“I’ve got you. That’s all that matters.”

My Most Romantic Story

The Conclusion

The following day she called. “I got twelve roses today. And your poem. What’ll happen tomorrow?”

“Wait and see. Tonight’s the rehearsal.”

“Yes. I can’t believe we need to do all this.”

“Its traditional. And afterward we’ll have a nice dinner together, our two families.”

“Your family is so different from mine.”

“I think my family’s closer to normal than yours.”

“C’mon. My family’s normal!”

“Your mom and dad raised seven kids in eight and a half years. She breast-fed all of you through the 50s and 60s when that was not the thing to do. Your dad gave up promotions so he could come home and have lunch with you guys. That’s all unusual.”

“It didn’t seem odd.”

“Let’s see how odd we can be.”

On Friday, I picked up the phone and heard, “i think I liked this poem the most of all.”

“I worked the hardest on it. Poetry doesn’t come naturally to me.”

“I love it. All the girls are gushing in the office.”

“Am I impacting your productivity?”

“No. I can run this office in my sleep. What am I supposed to do with all these roses?”

“Whatever you want. Strew the petals over your bed.”

“Our bed. It sounds uncomfortable. And it’d be lot of work to take off the petals.”

“We’re getting married this weekend. Are you excited?”

“Of course.”

Your Own Valentine’s Gift from Me

My novel My Undead Mother-in-law begins on Valentine’s Day. I’ll give you a romantic excerpt I’ve never shared before.

George and Diane Newby are a normal, middle-aged couple who turn zombie. Note that my zombies don’t eat human flesh. Rather, they regenerate from injuries very fast, as their zombie bacteria copy their cells and replace them. As a side effect, their eyes turn bright, glowing red.

This excerpt falls between My Undead Mother-in-law and Paranormal Privateers. I tell it in the latter book as a flashback.

Through an unbelievable plot line, the Newby’s acquire a five-hundred foot superyacht in the first book.

Let me know what you think of my stories here, and I’ll send you a free Zombie Turkeys ebook. That’s the first in my series, The Life After Life Chronicles.

My Most Romantic Story
Back cover of My Undead Mother-in-law

I vividly remember the rechristening of the yacht, formerly named Rule Britannia, in January in New Orleans.

Diane had held the bottle of champagne at the boat dock and smashed it against the prow. The sheet covering the new name had slipped down, revealing Resolute Too—and the figurehead.

“George, is that supposed to be me?” Diane yelled in excitement.

“Of course, Diane. Can’t you see the resemblance?”

“Yes, in the face. She even has cat’s-eye glasses just like me. But she’s too buxom.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” I knew that part of her anatomy very well. The sculptor had actually made Diane’s waist narrower, which made her seem more buxom, but I hadn’t wanted to point that out.

From Paranormal Privateers
Back cover of Paranormal Privateers
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The Best Stuff on the Internet this week. Curated by Andy

“Best Stuff on the Internet this week? I don’t believe you, Andy.” So you say.

I can hardly wait to prove it to you. Let’s begin with this.

There are many famous doctors who aren’t on this chart: Doc EE Smith, of pulp science fiction fame, Dr. Crusher from Star Trek, and Dr. Smith from ‘Lost In Space’. Tell me more! Tell me where they should go on this chart. For each one you name, you get a free audiobook from me. My audiobooks are below:

Best Stuff
Andy Zach’s four audiobooks. More to come!

Next, you have this amazing technological breakthrough:

For a little context, I’ve been reading about fusion technology since my teens in the 70s. It’s always been 20 years away–even today. But this technology involves fusing boron hydride using laser beams. Once fusion starts, it’ll keep going. Will it work or will it be another dead end? You tell me.

On the wacky side of life imitating art, we have rocket propulsion by explosion. Let me know if you’ve read Jerry Pournelle’s book Lucifer’s Hammer and I’ll send you an audiobook of your choice.

Now I have two videos for you, both astonishing. First, check out this one:

What did you think? Would you like to fly a jet pack at 200 mph and 2000 feet high? I’d love to hear from you this week.

Next there’s this video.

Did you ever think you’d live to see a rickshaw pulled by a robotic dog? That sounds like a steampunk premise to me.

Best Stuff (Free) That I’ve Found

Let me give you some free stuff before I go, the best I’ve found. The next item is a free short fiction by fellow author Jane Jago. If you like ghost stories mixed with Urban Fantasy, you’ll love this.

I met Jane Jago on the SciFi Roundtable. Here you can get a sampling of the writers from that group for free:

More Stuff for Free

I won’t make you click through for the review. Read it here:

What happens when differently-abled people become super-abled? Andy Zach tells that story in this short (100 page) novel.

From the back of the book:

“Jeremy Gentle fell flat on his face at therapy. That was normal since he had cerebral palsy. But his new superpower wasn’t normal. Then things got weirder when his best friend, Dan Elanga, got a different superpower. But Dan was still blind.

Kayla Verdera and Aubrey Wilcosky, two girls in their middle-school special ed class, discovered they too had new superpowers. Kayla was mute and needed a walker. Aubrey lost two legs and used crutches. But they were as powerful as the boys.

What should the four friends do? Jeremy knew if the word got out, it’d be a media circus. Then they started fighting crime, as the Secret Supers. Who knew a disability could be a perfect disguise? No one would ever think of disabled kids as superheroes. Then they ran into problems they never expected.”

Secret Supers is perfect for kids, ages 8-12 who have special needs, siblings with special needs, or just live on planet earth. Along with diversity in race, income, and culture, we also work to introduce our kids to people who are different than them. This book tells the story of four amazing kids who gain superpowers and how they learn about themselves.

From Home Schooling Blogger, Little Earthling
Best Stuff
Get your gift below!

Your Final Best Stuff

What can I close the best stuff with? Enjoy your own copy of Secret Supers audiobook by clicking here and asking for it.

Test out the audiobook by listening to a sample.

Best Stuff
Click to listen to free sample of Secret Supers.
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New Books Just in Time for Christmas

I’ve got a list for you and I’m checking it twice: New Books Just in Time for Christmas. Some are ebooks, some print, some will cost you, some are free. Your choice.

Let’s start with the BIG ONE: my latest release: Oops! Tales of the Zombie Turkey Apocalypse. The paperback came out November 27th. You can get the ebook NOW for preorder.

This is my first collection of short stories. It includes some of your favorites: A Phoenix Tale, In A Pickle, and A Hamster’s Tale. In it, you’ll find many others that’ll tickle your fancy.

Do you want to know more?

Accidents happen. Especially around zombie turkeys. Then you add zombie humans, and problems proliferate. Mix in some ill-planned genetic engineering, and things get crazy.

The insanity continues, from the story where zombies are merged with cucumbers to the one where two basement-dwelling nerds gain access to all video content from the past two hundred years—from aliens.

Andy Zach pulls out all the stops on his imagination as he serves up this smorgasbord of silliness. Try it. Laughter is good for your soul.

From the back cover of Oops!
New Books
The full cover spread of Oops!

New Books – Free For You Follow This

But wait! You’ve got more coming to you! This Middle-Grade e-Book offer includes my own, Secret Supers.

New Books
Click to get your free copy!

In case you can’t read this blurb, here it is:

Jeremy Gentle fell flat on his face at therapy. That was normal since he had cerebral palsy. But his new superpower wasn’t normal. Then things got weirder when his best friend, Dan Elanga, got a different superpower. But Dan was still blind.

Kayla Verdera and Aubrey Wilcosky, two girls in their middle-school special ed class, discovered they too had new superpowers. Kayla was mute and needed a walker. Aubrey lost two legs and used crutches. But they were as powerful as the boys.

What should the four friends do? Jeremy knew if the word got out, it’d be a media circus. Then they started fighting crime, as the Secret Supers. Who knew a disability could be a perfect disguise? No one would ever think of disabled kids as superheroes. Then they ran into problems they never expected.

From Secret Supers back cover

Is that all? Nope! Read on for more free stuff.

If you’re a newsletter subscriber, I give away two books every month. I’ll give you a free book in exchange for a review. Just contact me here.

And I’ll give anyone that asks a free audiobook until all my codes are gone. Check them out below.

Free Books
Your first Free audiobook sample
Your next Free audiobook sample
Paranormal Privateers audiobook
The last Free audiobook sample

Goodbye for now from Chambanacon in Bloomington Illinois!