The Devil's Game Featured Today!

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A look inside Rachel Pendelton's Head!

Ever want to get inside Rachel Pendelton's head (lead character of The Devil's Game)?  Stop by here and read the character interview.

Sample Sunday The Devil's Game

CHAPTER 1

“I found another one.”

“It’s hardly a surprise that you would find something you spend your days looking for,” Dr. Gloria Pike said, setting down her pen and leaning back in her chair. They had been through this before.

“I don’t.”

“Let’s not pretend. Aren’t we past this?”

Patient X didn’t answer, and Dr. Pike knew there would be no more talking until she apologized.

“Sorry, please continue.”

“It was a man and woman. Too old to be students. Maybe training. Maybe working on a project. Anyway, it was clear she was the boss, and he was in love with her.”

“What made you think that?”

“It was so obvious. The way he kept looking at her. Hanging on every word. His eyes all over her face. Desperate and waiting for something, some sign. Even when he was laughing, moving closer, it was there. He wanted her so much.” The patient paused, staring out the window. “His eyes were blue. So blue.”

“And her? In love with him?”

“No. Definitely no. It was like a sad little dance. He would move in; she would move away. She never touched him. Even when he gave her many openings.”

“How did you feel, watching them?”

The patient paused as if the answer required thought. “Excited.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

“Yes, I do. Do you?”

No answer.

“What did you do?” Dr. Pike asked.

“What I always do. I followed them.”

CHAPTER 2

“And the Academy Award for the best animated short film produced by a hungry grad student goes to…” Rachel could hear her heart rushing through her ears. This was it; it had to be. She was the only hungry grad student nominated this year. This was her best film. All her hard work was about to pay off in spades. But why was it taking so long to open the envelope? Wait, why is Gwyneth Paltrow making out with Billy Crystal? Open the envelope! Open the damn envelope!

The sound of Billy and Gwyneth giggling into the microphone was slowly replaced by the low hum of an alarm clock. Rachel swore several profanities as her hand slapped at the snooze button in an attempt to put an end to the irritating sound.

“Coffee,” she said out loud to her empty room. She decided to bypass her usual morning routine of fresh fruit and yoga in light of her heartbreaking loss. Especially since it was probably the only award nomination she would ever get, awake or asleep.

As she sat at her desk/art space/kitchen table savoring her heavenly cup-of-joe, her day slowly began to jell inside her brain. Today was Tuesday, which meant video production and calculus. One she loved, the other she loathed. It was heaven and hell in the span of four hours. This was her third attempt at advanced calculus, and without it, there was little hope of getting a full-time position at Mad Media Animation Studio. She was determined to get a “real job” before she turned twenty five, if for no other reason then to hold her head a little higher when her dad asked her if she needed a little extra cash, you know, to help pay for those two “artsy-type” degrees she got.

If it weren’t for Justin, there would be no hope at all. He had come to her rescue in the second week of the class, sensing her utter panic. He was incredibly gifted at translating calculus. He was also incredibly gifted at annoying her. It was so strange the way he stumbled over every word when he was talking about nothing. But open up a math book and he transformed into a loquacious chatter-box.

“Speak of the devil,” she said when she heard Sonny and Cher sing out “I got you babe” from her cell phone. Justin’s ringtone was her private joke. It referred to the movie Groundhog Day and Bill Murray’s reaction at hearing it every morning at the same time. Reluctantly, she picked up the phone and punched the little green button.

“Hey, Justin, you’re up early.” She could hear his thick nasal breathing on the other end.

“I just wanted…um.. Hi Rachel,” he said in his usual disjointed manner.

“Hi, Justin,” she said. “You wanted to ask me something?” she prompted when he didn’t respond.

“Yeah, I…how are you…I mean are you ready for the test?”

Rachel knew she was dipping her toe in dangerous waters with Justin. He was obviously not tutoring her for the fifteen dollars she made him take each time. And he wasn’t the type to come right out and ask her for a date so that she could politely refuse him and they could move past it. Oh, no. He just kept the possibility of it dangling out there like a smelly gym sock she was constantly having to politely side-step.

I’ve been completely honest! she told herself over and over. But deep down she knew it was going to end badly. It was going to end badly because as annoying as he was, he had a heart of pure gold. He loved kids and dogs. He was finishing some kind of new teaching program designed for inner-city school kids. He was funny sometimes, though not usually on purpose. And under all that God-awful geekines, he was actually kind of cute.

Don’t go there, Rachel, she told herself.

“Yep, I’m good, Justin. But thanks for calling,” she said in an I’m going to hang up now kind of way.

“Do you eat? I mean have you…or are you going to eat breakfast…do you want to meet… for coffee?” By the time he had gotten that all out, Rachel had finished her cup and was working on a second.

“Is something on your mind, Justin?” Be direct, be honest.

“Yeah… well…I mean no…not really.”

“Well, I’m glad everything’s okay. I’ve got to get going; tons stuff I’m way behind on. But I’ll see you later at class, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” he stammered.

She ended the call not waiting for his reply. She took a deep breath as she felt the caffeine pumping through her veins, accelerating her heartbeat. She walked over to the huge living room window and looked out onto the busy metropolitan street she lived on. It was a gorgeous spring day, perfect for a jog. She knew that her calculus class always went better when she’d had a good workout before hand. It helped keep her calm and focused. Not to mention the fact that she’d wimped out on her yoga this morning. If only she could muster up some motivation. Maybe a jog to the Steam Punk Café for some iced Chai. Yes, that would do it. There had to be a reward in there somewhere or she’d never make it out the door.

“Oh crap!” she said out loud. Justin. He loved the Steam Punk. As a matter of fact, he was the one who dragged her in there for her very first cup of iced Chai.

“I don’t drink weed water,” she had politely explained under her breath as they stood in line.

“Just trust me,” he had said to her with an ear-to-ear grin. Since there wasn’t much else on the menu that was fit for human consumption, she let him order – and pay.

“Here, try this,” he said, his puppy-dog face bright with anticipation. God, he could be so annoying!

The taste was unlike anything she had experienced. The exotic spices were smooth, sweet, and spicy all at the same time. And after a four-mile jog, there was nothing more refreshing. She gave a heavy sigh as she imagined the sweet luscious taste.

“Screw Justin!” she said. “I have every right to do whatever the hell I want!” And, of course she could always pretend she was happy to see him.

She began her usual pulling of dirty clothes from the hamper in search of some decent sweat pants and matching gym socks. As she was rummaging, she noticed a pungent order coming from something in her hand. It was a pair of underwear and a bra that smelled bitter and musty, but strangely familiar. She tried to remember the last time she had been out bar hopping. It had to have been at least three weeks. Note to self, she thought, tomorrow is laundry day.

As she was closing the door on her way out, she felt hot breath on her neck right before a strong hand grabbed her shoulder.

The Devils Game is available for 99 cents  from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Flash Fiction Savior

Co-Written by Maren Kaye.  Something a little different this time.  Enjoy.

 “How'd you get in here?” President Madeline Winters asked the man standing in front of her. A moment ago she had been alone in the oval office, reading the day’s briefings. She had been specific about not being disturbed. This issues of the day were too important to her to let anything slip by.

“Please, don't be alarmed. We're here to save you,” the taller, darker man said.

“I'm not alarmed,” the president said, pressing the silent panic button on her wrist.

“We are here from the future, to save you,” the other one, the blond one said.

“I see,” she said, pressing more urgently.

“It won't work. We're blocking the signal,” the first man said, holding up a pen like device. “Please, if we were going to hurt you, we would have done it already.”

They had a point. And, since armed guards hadn't stormed in, they must be telling the truth about blocking the signal. They also hadn't made a move to get any closer. They remained standing in front of her desk.

“Tomorrow, at your 'spontaneous' stop in Virginia, you will be assassinated.”

Madeline couldn't keep the surprise from her face. Almost no one knew about that stop. It wasn't on any agenda.

“I know you don't believe us but just let me show you something.” He carefully placed what looked like a clear marble on the center of her desk. He tapped the center and the area above the device filled with a flawless holographic image. She couldn’t stifle a slight gasp, the quality and definition were identical to reality. She swayed a bit as her mind worked to organize and make sense of what her eyes saw. She couldn’t resist putting her hand through the image and as she did, it responded like liquid glass. Was this possible? Time travel?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the images in front of her. It was news coverage of her being shot and killed in Virginia!

“But this is... it's impossible.”

“It's completely real. I wish we had more time to explain, but we don't. There are people coming right behind us. They tried to stop us. To keep us from warning you.” He looked behind him, like he'd been startled by a noise.

“Please listen,” he said turning back to face Madeline. “They are your enemies. They came to power after you were killed and they don't want that to change.”

“You must not listen to them!” the second man said.

They both closed their eyes and two women appeared, one behind each man. The women were tall and lean with hard muscles. Combat muscles, not muscles from a gym.

They had the men on the floor, hands restrained, before the president could even process the fact that people had just APPEARED in front of her. The taller woman pushed a button and the two men evaporated. This wasn't real. It couldn't be!

“Madam President, it's an honor to meet you, a great privilege,” the first woman said.

“Stay back,” Madeline said, picking up a letter opener. “I may be old but I will defend myself.”

“We are well aware of your history, Madam President,” the taller woman said. “Ten years military, a decorated war hero, six years as a Senator. Even with a minority in the Senate you were able to push through sweeping reform for women's rights, the best negotiator of your time, elected President in a landslide.” Genuine admiration filled the woman’s eyes as she spoke. Madeline recognized the look from her most ardent supporters. She relaxed slightly.

“Then what is this? Why are you here? What has happened and who were those two men?”

“What did they tell you?”

“They said I would be assassinated tomorrow, in Virginia. They said someone would come and try to stop them. Someone who came to power because of my death.”

The two woman looked at each other, then back at Madeline.

“They were lying? But they showed me footage. Oh,” she said sitting back down, “of course. If you can travel through time, you could doctor some video footage.”

“I'm sorry Madame President, but what they told you was one hundred percent true.”

“But, I don't understand. You are here to stop them from stopping my assassination?”

“You're so beloved. You have no idea,” the woman said with a pained expression.

“My death...Oh,” the President said, the truth crashing down on her.

“Yes, I'm sorry. But after your assassination, there was so much outrage from women of all stripes. Conservative, liberal, religious... even the Amish women broke with tradition and marched in protest. No one dared fight your platform. Sweeping reforms were passed for women and family rights.”

The president couldn’t help smiling as she pictured the hooded Amish women arm-in-arm with atheists, and baptists alike. She had often been baffled as to why so many women were complacent in their own repression.

“Your death leads to an equality, never before seen,” the woman continued. “But... unfortunately...”

“Not everyone was thrilled with the changes,” Madeline said, finishing the sentence.

“That’s right, Madam President. Men lost a lot of power. And it turns out, a lot of them don't like it.”

“Like the two that preceded you.” The two women nodded somberly.

“I,” Madeline swallowed hard,” understand.”

“We know you'll do the right thing.”

“The good of the many...I will go to Virginia.”

Maren and I don't write Science Fiction but if you like the style of the story why not check out The Devil's Game; a psychological thriller about what happens when a stalker stalks a stalker. Just 2.99 at all major ebook sellers.

The Devil's Game is Almost Here

As of 10:45 Mountain time, The Devil's Game is uploading on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords!!  I will let everyone know as soon as it's live.

Cover for New Book

Here is the cover and title of my new book, co-written with a fantastic writer, Carmen Courtney.  Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should be releasing in two weeks.