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���Dz���’s comments from the Q&A with Noah Murphy group.

I'm giving away three free copies, go here for details:

Enjoy the following K23 Detectives books:

A Clear and Feathered Danger-
In the technological dystopia of New Delta, the Avian Syndicate, a criminal empire made up entirely of large purple birds, wants the one thing they can't steal. To get it, they recruit an abused goblin shaman, cast out from her people; with her help, they devise a daring plan that no one sees coming.

Standing in their way is Alfonso Deegan, a grizzled but happily married private detective, and his three associates: Quintanelle Fillion, a young elven mage far from home trying to overcome her racist upbringing; Mordridakon, a red dragon with few social skills and an endless appetite; And Trogg the Genius, the world's smartest ogre.

Together the detectives must work quickly to defuse the situation before the Syndicate destroys New Delta, or long standing prejudices do it for them.

What Lies Within-
New Deltan megacorp Biogenomics sends Alfonso Deegan, Quintanelle Fillion, Trogg the Genius and Eluna across Hominia to a remote city-state called the City of Sands to expose a dangerous blackmailer. Meanwhile, Mordridakon must stay behind to solve a related murder of a private detective.

But when it very quickly becomes clear who the real villain ultimately is, they all turn their focus to stopping Biogenomics. But taking on Biogenomics isn’t like taking on the Avian Syndicate. A megacorp has the political means to stop the detectives without resorting to destruction.

And if those avenues fail, they can really get nasty in order to prevent their horrifying secrets from being revealed��

The Impending Darkness-
The Cromag Underground is in chaos. The Krung, a gang of violent goblins from New Delta have taken over a valuable ore mine, and stabbed its owner, Mitch Harkin. The monarchs of the twin cities of Brocenback and Alkhan are facing constant death threats from various angry factions over their plan to unite the cities under one throne. Worst of all, the Armagdan Acolytes, the followers of the forbidden deity of destruction and disorder, have resurfaced after a thousand years.

Worst of all, the Armagdan Acolytes, the followers of the forbidden deity of destruction and disorder, have resurfaced after a thousand years. The mind controlled legion now led by a twisted shaman named Qub, they seek nothing less than the destruction of the entire world.

Standing in their way are the K23 Detectives. Called to the Underground to deal with the Krung and the death threats, they quickly find the Acolytes can become more powerful the worse situation deteriorates. Forming an uneasy alliance with Mitch Harkin, they must work quickly to find Qub and stop him before the Acolytes can launch a devastating attack on the cities.

But among the giant steam machines, clockwork automatons and twisting tunnels, the detectives find themselves out matched by an enemy with powers unforeseen. This time, not all of them will survive��

They are not alone, however. Joining them are:
The Cybernetic Dragon
The Hidden Chasm

These novels were written four to six years before K23 Detectives, they contain many of the same characters in the same general world, except are fantasy adventures. Never before published, these two novels can only be found in this collection.

Chris wrote: "Well, that was an easy one, probably due to a misspent youth watching every Dracula film that was ever made. Have the modern films stopped using Alucard?"
I'd also say its a homage to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Susan wrote: "Jeez, my next novel will be about REAL Vampires, you know, monsters who get AIDs, because they just cannot keep their teeth in their mouths, where and when they should. LOL"
You've got my attention!

Racheal wrote: "Antonio wrote: "very solid point Rachel, you put months or even years of work into this book, now you have my attention for exactly 1 paragraph to convince me to read it. am I more likely to buy ..."

I'm assuming you bought it correct? :) and you hit the nail on the head. Most authors are not salesmen, they are writers. We are expected to be both, which is why most books fail.

Well then, you've come to the right place!

Pete wrote: "the beauty of 99 cent novels. Funny guy like Noah comes along, gives a hilarious pitch, you can say "what the hell" and buy it, just cuz he's a little nutty. Love it.

I'll let you know what I thin..."
Thanks, you have to be a little nutty to write my stuff.

Dan wrote: "If you don't ask, you don't get.

And the thread is called 'Let's talk about you buying my books'

If you don't wanna, no worries. But they are good, promise.

Dan"

NO NO NO. Its you buying K23 Detective Books, my books. I'm kicking you from the group. You didn't follow the rules which clearly state post all ads in the "Authors sell me your books" thread. Obviously you don't care about buying mine.

Benjamin wrote: "They say opposites attract, and in 2066, Inspector Victoria Rhodes is a hard-working, mostly-honest cop serving the City of San Francisco. With the segregation of the upper classes in American soci..."
If it was out, I would buy it!!

Are you a book reviewer? Do you want to review my books?

Then post here what you want to review plus a link to your reviews, and I will send you a download code for the smashwords edition.

Once again in order for me to send you a copy, you must be a reviewer, either professional of amateur.

Just a note, this is my new mantra:

I was actually in a hurry when I wrote it.

The general idea is that in the past Terrall was your generic high fantasy universe. But over time they progressed technologically into the future so far, they could develop a cyberpunk dystopia in the middle of it, New Delta.

New Delta is a city made up of nearly 1600 mile-high towers on mile square plots. Its so big, the police can't patrol it effectively. Therefore, they privatized law enforcement to private detectives while the police took on more of an army role.

The K23 Detectives are the top detectives in the city, which usually means they're preventing the city from being destroyed.

They are from my own created fantasy universe that combines high fantasy, cyberpunk and steampunk, The world itself is called Terrall.

You can get a general idea of what this world is from the side stories thread and my Terrall in Depth feature on my blog:

Judging from the introduce thread, only authors seemed to be interested in replying and sending me to their own work and hopefully have me pay money for their stuff.
I'm a fair guy, I'll give you a chance to convince me why I should buy your stuff. Go read the "Let's talk about you buying my books" thread for an idea of what I'm striving for. Hard sell me, don't give me this soft garbage.
So authors, if you have work I'd be interested in reading, by all means sell away.

welcome to the group

Thank you very much!

very nice. How did you add the cover to your manuscript?

Arnoldo Kramer stormed into his local Stolen and Smuggled Goods Market, or S&S Mart for short, carrying a laser pistol.

The four specially armored avian guards standing towards the front lifted their own guns.

“No. Trouble,�� one said behind a specially made face-mask. Avians normally didn’t wear armor, it was too heavy to fly. The ones who guarded S&S Mart locations wore armor for added protection because they stayed on the ground.

“I bought this a few days and ago and it doesn’t work. ��

“Counter. In back.��

Arnoldo made his way past the purchasing kiosks. There were several people buying the array of stolen and smuggled goods the Mart sold. A few criminal types like himself, a few poor people looking for cheap goods, and even a well-dressed man who was probably looking to buy back what was stolen from him.

Half the goods were unloaded by thieves cashing in or others disposing evidence. The other half was stolen by the Mart themselves via a network of theft rings. The government would’ve loved to put them out of business, but they paid their taxes and provided needed food and goods to the poor. The Syndicate protecting them to protect their food source didn’t hurt either.

Arnoldo made his way to the laser-proof cage built into the back wall. Behind the clear barrier sat a bored looking troll female. S&S Mart like to hire orcs and trolls. There were fearsome, yet could actually speak clearly, unlike most ogres. Troll females had the added benefit of being gorgeous, which helped with most male shoppers.

“I’d like to return this,�� Arnoldo said through the intercom.

“Reason?�� The troll, named Grixla the Steady, asked.

“You sold me a defective weapon! I was going to shoot a defaulting borrower’s knee caps out, but it jammed and didn’t fire. One of my buddies had to do it. It was embarrassing.��

A drawer slid open. “Let me take a look.��

Arnoldo slipped the pistol into the drawer. Grixla pulled the drawer back. She took the pistol and typed the special S&S mart serial number into a console.

“Mr. Kramer, the Markok pistol you purchased was clearly marked as “Defective, good for parts.��

He banged his fist against the glass. The avians turned their heads. “It was not marked like that when I bought it two days ago.�� It was marked, “Good as new.�� The designation was burned into his mind, he wouldn’t have purchased an obviously defective weapon.

“I’m sorry, sir, its marked that way now and therefore cannot be returned. And I trust computer over you.��

Arnoldo put his face up to the glass. “Let me talk to your manager.��

Grixla did not flinch. “I am the manager on duty at the location, but if you’d like to go above my head, the Avian Syndicate members are over there.�� Grixla pointed while smirking.

Arnoldo took the pistol out of the drawer. “One of these days, I’m going to bring my buddies and teach you bastards a lesson.��

“You do that, sir,�� her eyes glimmered, “I look forward to it. Have a nice day!��

Arnoldo grumbled out of the store. Served him right for looking for a cheap gun at a place that didn’t give out receipts, even for the most obvious of reasons.

He should have known better.

Get up! Get up!

Nona the Rocket’s head was spinning from Tulma the Star’s overhead slam. Nona’s black shorts and sports bra were soaked in sweat. Her feet felt itchy and uncomfortable in her laced up boots.

Outside the chain-link cage, the massive Cloudplex crowd of seventy-five thousand was going wild; everyone, except for her parents.

Nona’s father and trainer, Knunc the Trunk, stood at ringside yelling, “Shrug it off and counter!��

Her mother, Borga the Rocket, a celebrated cage brawling powerhouse, former Ryland Aerospace CEO, and now PDRA Commissioner, stood next to her husband, glaring at Nona. If Nona lost the match, she would not become a professional cage brawler and would have to wait another year for the next Cage Brawl Association’s professional tryouts. Borga wouldn’t disown the sixteen-year-old troll if she lost, but she would be very disappointed.

Nona had been groomed to be her mother’s successor and wrestled with it every day. While she loved and respected her mother, she also didn’t want to be her mother.

Across the ring from her parents, two ring commentators, a troll and a near incomprehensible ogre, were yelling the play-by-play into headsets. Camera pods floats inside and out of the cage, capturing the action.

Tulma smirked at Nona’s parents as she went for the pin. The tattooed troll was twenty-five years old with an 6-13 record, which is why she was wrestling the tryout matches, the CBA wouldn’t give her any other fights anymore. But as Tulma had stated in an interview, while beating rookies wouldn’t normally help her much, beating this particular rookie would help her gain regular matches again. She had as much to gain as Nona did from winning.

The troll female referee counted: One�� Two�� Kick out!

The crowd booed as it was a tradition to boo the rookie at the tryout matches until they truly proved their worth.

Tulma huffed and picked Nona up by her long black hair hair. She tucked the teenager’s head under her arm for a DDT. Nona summoned her strength and kneed Tulma in the stomach.

Nona then grabbed Tulma’s arm and tried to whip her towards the ring ropes, Tulma wouldn’t budge.

Crap! I need to stop watching theatrical wrestling the night before a match.

Cage brawling had grown out of theatrical wrestling, still popular among humans. Theatrical wrestling was fake fighting, where everything was choreographed and set up for maximum drama. Most of the flashy moves that characterized it required the defender’s help to pull it off, or sell, the move. For example, a clothesline, or running forearm to chest, required the one taking the move to fall back and flail on the ground, pretending it did major damage.

Then ogres discovered it, and found they could pull off most of the same moves simply via their own strength, though some things, like whipping your opponent around the ring, could never be replicated. They held their first real matches inside crude wooden cages with both sexes competing. The ogres introduced what they called cage brawling to the trolls during the late 9800s. Once this happened, the sport became even more popular, prompting its organization and the flimsy cages were replaced with steel chain.

When Nona realized Tulma wasn’t budging, she kneed her again and grabbed her torso.

Nona looked over at her parents, who nodded.

With every muscle so tense they bulged under her soaked green skin, she lifted Tulma up above her head, dashed three steps and threw her in air across the ring, over the ropes and into the cage wall opposite the ring entrance.

The cage wall snapped and literally fell over, lying flat as it was supported by the heavy, solid barricade. The rest of the cage stayed up due to very smart construction. The four walls were free standing, and latched to each other.

Tulma was writhing, gritting her teeth through the pain, trying to stand.

The ref ran over and seeing the nothing was actually broken and Tulma wanted to continue, signaled the match would continue.

If they were men, the match would have been over, with Nona disqualified and possibly arrested. This was because the male lying on the fallen cage would’ve been dead. Male cage brawling during its early days had an in ring fatality rate of forty percent. Once it became professional, a huge list of banned moves and disqualifications were introduced. Since the fatality rate in original female version was negligible, it had far fewer restrictions on the action, so it was vastly more popular. The CBA loosening the latches during the women’s matches so the cages split open more often, didn’t hurt.

The crowd was deafening. “Nona! Nona!��

I might actually win!

Nona took deep breath, bounced off the ropes and leaped into the air to splash her opponent.

Tulma put her knees up just in time.

Nona had the wind knocked out of her and doubled over onto the chain.

Tulma kicked up and leg dropped her younger opponent. Then she stood up and elbow dropped Nona’s head.

The crowd sounded distant, the overhead lights blured and pulsed.

Tulma pinned.

One…Two�� Tulma pulled away!

Tulma wasn’t just going to beat Nona. She was going to humiliate a legend while doing it.

Borga had an impressive record of thirty-two wins and thirteen losses and held the CBA Female Troll Championship title three times in her fourteen year career. She also had two cage brawling gold medals from the 9993 and 9997 Hominia Athletics Large Hominid Games, and a silver from the 10001 Games. In 10005, she became pregnant with Nona, married Knunc, and retired at the age of thirty-one.

Tulma pulled a near unconscious Nona off the wall and walked her around the cage to her parent’s side.

Tulma hung Nona on the railing. Exciting onlookers tried to touch her but ogre security guards in the crowd quickly pushed them away. Tulma then picked up one of two steel folding chairs provided for Nona’s parents to sit on if they chose.

They glared at Tulma, but could do nothing.

“Watch her suffer!�� Tulma cracked the chair across Nona’s back.

Nona screamed in agony.

The commentators wondered if they were watching a cage brawl or theatrical wrestling match.

“Your legacy ends here, Borga!�� Nona didn’t scream the second time.

The ref checked and was about to end the match, when Nona stood up.

She turned, eyes burning with rage. “How dare you!�� Nona hissed.

“Little Borga is pissed, how sad!�� Tulma swung the chair, but Nona caught it, and pulled it away.

“I am not my mother!�� Nona roared as she slammed the chair into Tulma’s forehead so hard the impact echoed throughout the arena.

The crowd was silent once again.

Tulma stood there for a few seconds, and then collapsed.

Nona pinned.

One�� Two�� Three!

The crowd cheered as the referee held Nona’s arm high in victory. Tears rolled down face as she had done it.

Borga finally smiled and hugged her daughter by the side of the ring. “Congratulations,�� she whispered. “And you’re already not me because I lost my first tryout match.��

Nona pulled back, “Really?��

“Of course, you’ve seen that match several times along with the next one where I famously dived off the cage top and put my opponent through an announce table.��

Nona shook the ringing out of her head. “Sorry.��

“It’s alright,�� her father said. “Neither of us remembered stuff right after match.��

“I’ll keep that in mind.��

“Regardless, I’m proud of you,�� her mother said. “My cage brawling glory days ended long ago, while yours have just begun.��

Nona hugged her mother again. ”Thanks, mom!��

Her parents each draped an arm over their daughter and led her back to the locker room while medical personnel attended to Tulma and ring attendants repaired the cage for the next match.

Alba Mendez led his fleet of trucks along a barely visible road in the Kobold Steppes, the highland plain at the southern end of the Cromag Range. It was the early morning and the kobolds now occupying the land he wanted would still be sedentary, so it would be easy to find them, and give them their eviction notice.

Up ahead, he could see a large mound in the road. “There’s an ant hill up ahead,�� he said to his driver. The human nodded and took a long circular route around through the grass, which the others followed. Last thing they would want to deal with was a swarm of angry giant ants.

Despite its reputation as cold and desolate, the Kobold Steppes most of the year was the opposite, full of tall grasses and populated with various fauna, including foxes, antelope, buffalo, gryphons, giant insects and various types of oozes. The dominant intelligent specie was the kobold; large, bipedal and highly intelligent grey wolves. Most led a nomadic life, though many lived in Tirkvah, the only kobold permanent settlement, which revolved around their biggest export, cooked gelatinous cube gel. It was nutritious, delicious and a beloved dessert all around Hominia.

Gelatinous cubes were the only ooze that had been domesticated. Starting in the third month of the year, several groups of gel-herding kobolds would drive a single cube via fire behind the buffalo and sheep nomads. As the cube ate the herd’s waste, it would grow and split and so in the eleventh month the gel nomads would be driving thousands of cubes per group. The groups would bring the cubes into Tirkvah, where in the winter months, the cubes would be killed in giant kilns. Once dead, the gel because loose and runny. The gel would be bottled and sold in large markets where various hominid buyers would pay top credit for it.

It was an ancient way of life that was hadn’t changed since long before the start of recorded history. In prehistoric times, the kobolds simply kept the gel for themselves. Now, most was exported, and afforded the kobolds relative luxury. Tents became alcohol-powered trailers and torches became flame-throwers.

And where there was wealth, there were greedy people looking to steal it, like Alba Mendez, representing a group of wealthy New Deltan investors who wanted to mass market cooked cube gel. His plan was simple. First, he would evict the kobolds from their native lands. Then they would fence in the area and farm a stationary herd of buffalo and just send the cubes behind the herd and continually kill of the cubes to keep them manageable. This idea was so obvious; he was shocked the kobolds never tried it. While Alba would have loved to just send a bunch of cubes to the more accessible Deltan plains, but due to the soil and climate, the cubes would always die within a day or two and the gel would be inedible. They had to be farmed on the Steppes.

Finally, Alba had the kobold group in sight. As he suspected, the small caravan was stationary, a dozen trailers circled in front of a massive herd of a few hundred cubes in a large flattened area. The cubes were all clear, silent and just shimmered in the early morning air. The cubes were of various sizes, depending on how many other cubes a cube ended up absorbing, the average was about four feet to a side. While some worried about eating shit-fed gel, the truth was the cubes would eat anything, including unlucky kobolds, and all would be digested within hours, even the bacteria. The only thing the cubes didn’t eat was grass, which they simply flattened as they moved over it. The ecosystem relied on this.

Alba had his trucks form a semi-circle, pinning the kobolds against the herd. Alba then put on his wide brim hat and beige jacket and stepped out of his truck, slinging a laser rifled over his back. The rest of his crew were a mixture of ogres, dwarves and humans, all hardy, all armed to the teeth with guns and grenades.

Alba looked around and spotted the kobold males running through the cube herds on all fours with the flame throwers strapped to their back, doing a quick count of the herd. The females and the pups were in the trailers. Pregnant females or those with pups rode in the trailers when on the move, while non-mothering females also tended to the herd while not doing household chores. Right then, the females were cleaning up after a breakfast of dried buffalo and lamb meat as leftovers, solid waste and other garbage were being tossed out to the herd, with the lucky cubes getting an early meal.

Alba stepped forward and whistled Doors and windows opened and females and pups peered out. The males among the cubes came forth. When all the kobolds were looking at him, Alba said, “This is our land and our cube herd now. Get back in your trailers and leave or we’ll be forced to open fire.��

The kobolds laughed, which sounded like quick, rapid howling.

The largest kobold, the alpha male, stood up and walked over on two legs. His bumpy grey fur was streaked with silver. His face was scarred from years of hardship and danger.

“You want our property,�� he said, “you need to only pass a simple test.�� Kobolds spoke in barks, growls and howls, but could understand hominids and hominids could understand them.

“And what test is that?��

The alpha howled. Another male drove towards Alba a tiny cube, one foot to a side, with small controlled jets of flame from his thrower. The male shot the flame at a steep angle, hitting the dirt directly behind the cube, sending it forward. A female walked out of a trailer with a lit torch.

“See that boulder over there?�� The alpha pointed southwest to a large boulder sticking out of the grass. “Drive the cube over there and bring it back. If you can do so, the herd is yours.��

While the ogres in his group might fall for this if you could understand the bipedal wolves, but Alba wasn’t that stupid. Alba raised his arm and his group leveled their guns at the kobolds. “I don’t like being tricked.��

“No trick,�� the alpha said. “This is how pups learn to control the cubes. If you do not know how to control one small cube, then you stand no chance of driving a herd of much larger cubes.��

The kobold did have a point. “I’ll take your challenge.�� Alba dropped his rifle and took the torch. The kobolds and the hominids stepped back, leaving just him and the mindless but living gel.

Alba had read up on cube herding before he came. First, you never, ever touched a cube for any reason at all. If you did, it would suck you in and devour you. While the cube he had to take to the bolder was too small to eat his entire body, it could eat his hand off. Second, the cube would always move in the exact opposite direction of the flame. Third, one must control the flame with finesse, or it would light the grassland on fire, especially during the dry months.

Alba swung his torch low to the ground. The cube sprung into the air and rotated over his head and landed behind him with a nice loud splat. Maybe he didn’t do it right.

Alba bent down and slow pushed the torch forward. The cube slid to the left and circled around his body.

The kobolds broke out in laughter. “Now do you understand?�� The alpha said.

Alba groaned. “I’m new at this, give me a minute.��

Alba bent down again. This time he blew into the flame, sending it billowing out. The cube went the bolder. He continued blowing the cube forward, even into the tall grass. Eventually, he made it to the boulder. The herd would be his in no time.

But then he heard screaming and turned around. The herd had congealed into a humongous cube at least fifty feet high. His men turned and ran in terror. The cube spilled in an arc over the trailers and kobolds and landed directly on top of them and the trucks, doubling in volume as the gel enveloped Alba’s entire entourage.

His men flailed in the goo, but quickly went still and started to float. Everything inside the living gel would slowly disintegrate in full view.

Alba tossed the torch against the bolder, which the boulder enveloped. The boulder wasn’t a rock at all, but a mass of brown pudding ooze. The ooze shot through the air and surrounded Alba, crushing him to death. Then the ooze began to devour Alba’s remains.

The small cube returned to the kobolds and joined the massive cube.

The kobolds howled and danced in victory and would enjoy a nice day of rest while the cube ate its prey and split apart back into smaller cubes.

Hominids who tried to steal the cubes always fell victim in the same way. The cube to boulder trick had worked for millennia and the hominids never seemed to learn. This was because the hominids never respected the cubes, treating them simply as a commodity, not a living creature to be respected and cared for. The kobolds might have killed most of the cubes at the end of the year, but it was the way to keep the environment alive.

Without someone to tend the cubes, the most powerful of the oozes, the Steppes would become a lifeless wasteland in a matter of a few years at most, with even the grass being devoured. The greedy hominids always claimed they wouldn’t let that happen, keep the environment healthy, but the toxic sludge fed by trash the dead at the bottom of the New Deltan towers proved otherwise. The kobolds never visited New Delta for that reason.

But the kobolds didn’t direct the cubes to kill the greedy; the cubes did in on their own. The cubes might not have had a brain like other creatures had, but they weren’t stupid. They benefited from the symbiotic relationship as much as the kobolds did. They somehow knew that if they killed the environment, they would die along with it.

Alba Mendez wasn’t the first greedy hominid to die, nor would he be the last.

The circle of life would continue without him.