A Writer's Blog

A Special Edition Paperback - A Photo Example - Handwritten Original Installment in Back Pages

12/22/2015

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Cartoon - Fear and Loathing in #Vegas by @adamzyglis #GOPDebate #GOP #Trump

12/19/2015

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A NEW ELLA Paperback Special Edition Offer - 'The Missing Chapter'

12/17/2015

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SPECIAL EDITION ELLA PAPERBACK
THE MISSING CHAPTER

I'm introducing a NEW kind of SPECIAL EDITION Ella Paperback. Based on the popularity of the special editions - an Ella paperback with an original short fiction installment hand written in the blank back pages of the book - and feedback from readers that want another option - I've created a 'Missing Chapter' Special Edition.

Many of the chapter headings in the Ella novel are City names from Ella's journey from Massachusetts to Las Vegas. Now, a reader can get a 'missing' chapter hand written in the blank pages - the title being a city name of an American city not already in the book. If the reader chooses a city already represented, I will add a chapter to the existing narrative.

Several readers have requested this type of special edition - enough to post to the blog about the option. Get your city in the Ella novel as a 'MISSING CHAPTER'!

The price will be the same as a regular Special Edition - on sale for $15 for Christmas! Message me or email at StephenJohnMoran@gmail.com for more information or to purchase a Special Edition.

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In the Courtyard #Vegas

12/17/2015

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IN THE COURTYARD

Guards herd the men, numbering fifty, into a line against the wall of the courtyard. From a short distance, Saul supervises the activities, smoking a cigarette and casually picking at his teeth. The men grumble about the cold morning air and a few shout questions at him, but Saul ignores it all and flicks the cigarette away from the main path.

   Striding to a center spot, Saul clears his throat and waits for silence. The men stand at attention, backs pressing against the marble wall of the courtyard. Removing a cell phone, he taps a message and sends it, but still does not speak to the men. Instead, he lights another cigarette and scans the lot in front of him, moving his attention slowly from man to man until he looks over each of the fifty.

"Pull your shoulders back. At least pretend to be a man," Saul barks and points at a man in the middle of the line. Taking a drag on the cigarette, Saul checks the phone for messages. "We can begin."

A group of armed guards approach, twelve in total. Trailing behind, Ray Holden saunters towards Saul smoking a cigar. He wears a black evening jacket and a top hat, looking like something out of a movie.

   "These are the men Ella spared." Saul tosses the cigarette and moves aside to give Ray the center spot in front of the men.

   "Very good." Ray approaches the line of men and stops within an arm length. Puffing at the cigar, he scans the men. "What are you here for?"

   One near the center begins to answer, but hesitates and turns his gaze to Saul.

   "Answer the question," Saul says, voice echoing off the courtyard walls.

   "I'm a men's rights activist."

   Ray removes the cigar from his mouth and tilts his head to the side. "The fuck you say? Better start explaining yourself, real quick."

"Most of us here are activists. We fight for men's rights. Some of the others..." the man's eyes look down the line. "There are some Nazis."

     "Nazis in America?" Ray shakes his head and puffs at the cigar, analyzing the man in front of him. "How many Nazis do we have here?"

Saul spits and takes a few steps toward the line. "It's about half of each, though Ella didn't give me specifics."

   "Jesus. What am I supposed to do with this lot?" Ray waves his arm towards the group of guards and the men trot into a small line-up in front of the men against the wall. "Ella told me to...make some use of you men, but Nazis..."

   Fifty sets of eyes stare as Ray crushes the cigar with a leather shoe. "Speak up, where are these Nazis?"

Silence.

  "If nobody will speak, I will announce your fate."

A chorus of murmurs and whispers run like panic over the men. Ray lights another cigar and waits for silence. He lifts an arm into the air and the guards spread out, covering the line of prisoners with rifles.

   "As Master of Holden Farms, I sentence you all to death by firing squad. There will be no Nazis in America while I live. I bid you goodbye from this life." Ray lowers his arm and the guards fire multiple rounds. Most of the men are hit on the first volley, but those few not struck scream into the cold morning while the guards re-load.

   "Fire," Ray says and the guards let loose the second volley, hitting those remaining on their feet. A cloud of smoke from the rifles obscures Ray's vision. The wind carries the smoke into the sky and Ray steps forward to analyze the men. A few writhe in death throws and Ray raises his hand once more.

"Fire."

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No Tickets to the Gun Show @LauraBedrossian #GunSense #SanBernardino #2a

12/5/2015

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NO TICKETS TO THE GUN SHOW
GUEST POST
BY
LAURA BEDROSSIAN

Do you remember where you were when your first mass shooting happened?

Mine was Columbine.

Is that a question that you want to be asking future generations?

In a sea of social media posts rhetorically asking for changes to gun policies (or lack thereof) in light of the latest of the shootings, and others calling anyone who wants the shootings to stop “crazy liberals who want to take freedom away,” it occurred to me that some people don’t know how the U.S. government actually works.

Posting a sad post about how you want things to change or adding in the latest Facebook profile filter to show your support for X,Y,Z, is great in rallying support for with your friends, but doesn’t actually make change happen.

But here’s how they can change:

Think about how things can change. Read this amazing piece from Slate’s Will Oremus on how Australia immediately set a gun control policy after the 1996 Port Arthur tragedy when a gunman opened fire on tourists, killing 35 people and wounding 23 more by the time he was finished. Guess what—there was an immediate bipartisan deal. This can absolutely happen in the U.S., whoever says otherwise either wants to own a gun or is in the pocket of the NRA.

Make change happen—it’s your elected officials’’ job. Contact your elected officials by phone, email, and social media, and tell them you want changes now. If you have the time, call them once a day and be calm, but firm. Tell them what you want and that you want to know in real terms what they will do to make this happen. This website will help you to find your Congressional Representatives and Senators: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members.

Donations are real threats for politicians. Contact other officials by phone, email, and social media. This article will give you the tools you need to call every single senator who not only voted against a sensible gun control law (here’s a summary of that proposed law—and it’s not even strict enough), but also tells you who received money from the NRA. There are 46 senators on the list and it will be incredibly effective to call each and every one. Those who may not be your elected official, can be told how you will donate to their opponent in the re-election. Read and call—Shannon Coulter outlines everything you need to do, down to what you say to the people who are not your Senators.

Get angry that GunTV is a thing that is happening.

Watch this amazing bit from Jim Jeffries on guns:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OZIOE6aMBk.
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9UFyNy-rw4.

Here’s the Second Amendment: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment. Read it.

Here’s a little reminder on how this all works, School House Rock style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0.

Let’s make the future brighter for our country. All it takes are some phone calls and emails. Make our politicians do their jobs.

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Cartoon of the Day - Shells by @adamzyglis #SanBernardino #Gunsense #2a

12/5/2015

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Sample from COLOSSUS by @JettimusMaximus

12/4/2015

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I'm pleased to share a sample from the NEW Thriller from Moran Publishing - Colossus by Jette Harris. If you enjoy the sample and wish to view the book at Amazon, simply click on the book cover pictured below!

SAMPLE FROM COLOSSUS
BY JETTE HARRIS

By the time he was done sweeping the floors, the shame had bedded back down. Z gathered the trash bags, checked once more to ensure the building was empty, then kicked open the back door. He could not help but feel the irony that a brilliant mind like his–a mind accepted to MIT–was pouring coffees and taking out the trash. Hoisting the bags up, he tipped them one-by-one into the dumpster squatting in the back corner of the parking lot. Brushing his hands as he turned, he was surprised to find Witt’s pearl white Nissan Titan still sitting in the far corner of the parking lot, next to an old red Jeep Cherokee. His brow furrowed. He was sure he had checked and double-checked that everyone had gone.
That’s when he saw Witt.
Witt was lying prone next to his truck. Z thought at first he was playing a prank. Then he noticed the blood seeping from Witt’s forehead, staining his strawberry-blonde hair a deeper shade of red.
“Witt!” Z ran to crouch by his side. “Witt?” He pressed on his chest and shook him. “Witticus Maximus, wake up!”
“What’s wrong?”
He found Rhodes behind him. “Call an ambulance!” Z said, “He’s hurt–He’s bleeding.”
Rhodes already had his phone in his hand, and dialed 9-1-1. “What intersection is this?” he asked as it rang.
Z had to think for a moment before he could recall the street names he repeated every day. “Dallas and John Ward,” he finally stammered.
“Yes, medical emergency,” Rhodes spoke into the phone. “Please send an ambulance to Dallas and John Ward. There are two boys here, injured… They’re in great danger.”
“I’m not hurt; It’s just Witt,” Z tried to explain as Rhodes ended the call and tucked the phone into his pocket. Slowly, the pieces fell together in Z’s mind. He jumped to his feet, turning to confront Rhodes, but he was hit in the chest by a bolt of lightning.
He hadn’t noticed the Taser in Rhodes’s hand.

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A Special Edition Paperback - A Photo Example - Handwritten Original Installment in Back Pages

Cartoon - Fear and Loathing in #Vegas by @adamzyglis #GOPDebate #GOP #Trump

A NEW ELLA Paperback Special Edition Offer - 'The Missing Chapter'

SPECIAL EDITION ELLA PAPERBACK
THE MISSING CHAPTER

In the Courtyard #Vegas

IN THE COURTYARD

No Tickets to the Gun Show @LauraBedrossian #GunSense #SanBernardino #2a

NO TICKETS TO THE GUN SHOW
GUEST POST
BY
LAURA BEDROSSIAN

Cartoon of the Day - Shells by @adamzyglis #SanBernardino #Gunsense #2a

Sample from COLOSSUS by @JettimusMaximus

SAMPLE FROM COLOSSUS
BY JETTE HARRIS

THE TERRORIST OF PROVIDENCE STREET

SERVER

EXCERPT FROM SERVER
DAY ADVENTURE WITH MONKEY

EXCERPT FROM SERVER
KARL MARX: A REFUTATION

EXCERPT FROM ELLA
ROUTINE

EXCERPT FROM ELLA
THE INTERROGATION

REVIEW OF ELLA

Archives

Author

SPECIAL EDITION ELLA PAPERBACKTHE MISSING CHAPTER

IN THE COURTYARD

NO TICKETS TO THE GUN SHOWGUEST POSTBY LAURA BEDROSSIAN

SAMPLE FROM COLOSSUSBY JETTE HARRIS

Archives

Author

SPECIAL EDITION ELLA PAPERBACK
THE MISSING CHAPTER

NO TICKETS TO THE GUN SHOW
GUEST POST
BY
LAURA BEDROSSIAN

SAMPLE FROM COLOSSUS
BY JETTE HARRIS