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Edward C. Patterson announces the release of his thirteenth book, Look Away Silence, available in Trade paperback and Kindle ebook editions.

Martin Powers wanted an ironing board for Christmas. Instead, he got . . . Matthew Kieler, a non-returnable gift, but a gift that kept on giving. Chance encounters are sometimes the ones that most change our lives. He sold Matt a tie, but got more in the bargain -- more than most people would want and more than anyone deserved. Although these lovers may not have had the pink American dream, they had it better than most, even as they faced a crisis that would change us all.

Look Away Silence is a romance set in the time of AIDS, when ignorance could spell trouble and often did. It encompasses the author's experiences in volunteer community service and personal friendships during a tragic period in American history. The novel is
dedicated to the Hyacinth AIDS Foundation, the NAMES Project and to the author's own fallen angels. "Mothers, do not shun your children, because you never know how long you have to revel in them".

Purchase Look Away Silence

Today I am researching book writing methodologies (how to actually write my forthcoming book about How I Changed Careers). I am passionate about this topic and feel it is timely, given the economy and that many are considering a career change.

I've found a variety of sources but it seems like it comes down to "whatever works for you."

I am pretty organized (I am actually recovering type A so I am super organized) but I like to put my ideas on how things should be done on paper and then see what others have to say.



I am reminded to:

Keep my main message in focus,
Be able to summarize each paragraph, succinctly,
Remember my audience,
Keep each chapter as a separate file
Write on a schedule with a fixed daily goal

I keep thinking I should be more concerned about a schedule but , the former attorney that I am, I know I can sit focused for hours and complete tasks. The other details I have obsessed about and the above are things important intangibles that I need to be mindful of.

In doing this I realize that I am adding "author" to my resume. I like the french, auteur better...does this make me sound like Frasier. I've written for the Travertine Spa blog, magazines and other outlets.  I even consult on writing.  But this is the first endeavor...and I'm excited about it.

I don't think that you have to have just one career.  I think as we grow and change our interests do as well.  For me I see this book as a natural step on the continuum of Terry.

Learn more about my project and get inspired at howichangedcareers.com

"One morning he woke up and for no good reason, his legs didn't work. He should be sad, but it's inspirational and heartbreakingly funny"...Jimmy Kimmel, People Magazine.

Allen Rucker was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and has an MA in Communication from Stanford University, an MA in American Culture from the University of Michigan, and a BA in English from Washington University, St. Louis.

He is the author or co-author of nine books of humor and non-fiction. "The Sopranos Family Cookbook," one of three books he's written about the Sopranos, was a New York Times #1 bestseller. The memoir co-written with country music star, Gretchen Wilson, "Redneck Woman," is currently #29 on the New York Times bestseller list.

As a TV writer-producer, he co-founded the experimental video group, TVTV, and has written numerous network specials, documentaries, and teleplays, including the series, "The History of White People In America," with Martin Mull; "Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope" (Emmy nominee); the original HBO movie, "Hometown Boy Makes Good," starring Anthony Edwards; "CBS: The First Fifty Years;" "Big Guns Talk," a history of the Western; and "Family Values: The Mob & The Movies."

His most recent TV project is an adaptation of David Maraniss's bestselling book on Vietnam, 1967, "Two Days in October," originally broadcast on PBS's "American Experience" in October, 2005. The highly-acclaimed program won both the 2006 George Peabody Award and the 2006 Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking.

He is the recipient of the duPont-Columbia Journalism Award, the Writers Guild Annual Award, and two CableACE Awards, among others. In 2005, he received the special WGA Joan Young Award for career distinction as a writer with a disability. "The History of White People In America" was honored by the Museum of Television & Radio in 2001 and TVTV was given a full MTR retrospective in 2004.

He also teaches at the USC School of Cinema-TV. He lives in LA with his wife, Ann-Marie. They have two sons.  Allen is currently co-writing a memoir with former #1 ranked women's doubles tennis champion, Corina Morariu, who got leukemia at the peak of her career in 2001. It's called "Living Through The Racket" and will be out next year.

Visit www.allenrucker.com. To purchase: The Best Seat in the House: How I Woke Up One Tuesday and Was Paralyzed for Life.

John (Jack) Rooney was born and educated in Springfield, Massachusetts (Classical High School and American International College). He wrote book reviews and feature articles for the Springfield newspapers.

After receiving his M.A. in Arts and Science from Columbia University, he worked for the Cunard Cruise Lines as a business correspondent at 25 Broadway, went on to serve in the U.S. Army as a military policeman in the Times Square detachment, in civies in AWOL apprehension, and in Vienna, Austria. At various times he was an advertising manager, a real estate broker, and an expeditor in a magneto factory.

He completed his course work for his Ph.D at NYU, and worked as a teacher, a department chair, and a curriculum coordinator in the Farmingdale, NY, public schools.

He has published travel articles, feature articles, and five novels. His writing has included  seven screenplays and a stage play. He is the author of the terrorist thriller NINE LIVES TOO MANY featuring his series detective Denny Delaney and the arch-terrorist Felix the Cat. His novel CLAWED BACK FROM THE DEAD is a suspense thriller sequel to NINE LIVES starring Delaney.

In 2007 he published the gay erotic novel THE RICE QUEEN SPY about a veteran British spy who faced a life crisis and thumbed his nose at the intelligence establishment. It pleased readers across a wide social spectrum. Also in 2007 he published the suspense novel THE DAEMON IN OUR DREAMS, a blend of the naturalistic and the supernatural. His latest book is a gripping suspense novel about a sea journey from Buenos Aires to Santiago around Cape Horn entitled LAST PASSAGE TO SANTIAGO. His future work schedule includes a new Denny Delaney effort.

Rooney is a world traveler and cruise ship enthusiast whose favorite cities are New York, London, Venice, and Sydney, Australia. He is an avid theatergoer, movie buff, and reader of British procedural mysteries. His favorite drink is a vodka martini on the rocks, extra extra dry with a twist of lemon, which for the most part, he drinks in moderation.

The novel, Last Passage to Santiago, begins with a kidnapping and then takes readers through a fascinating journey of love, discovery, and marital and political deceit.

Stephie Ably-Ranier and her husband Ben were looking forward to their three-week trip to South America which included a week in Buenos Aires and a two-week cruise around South America from the Argentinean capital to Santiago, Chile.  This turned out to be a life-threateing and life-altering experience for Stephie.

It was an exciting trip for Ben, too, because he decided on an audacious sheme-to bring his mistress along on the trip-without his wife's knowledge.  When Stephie gets to Buenos Aires, she soon learns she is being stalked.  The reader wonders whether it relates to her job with the highly secretive intelligence-gathering National Security Agency or whether her cheating husband is involved.

To purchase: Last Passage to Santiago

Chic Galleria and Jack Rooney are giving away a copy of Last Passage To Santiago to one lucky reader. Be sure to subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter to be automatically entered in all giveaways at Chic Galleria.

D.E. Boone says, "Instead of crying about being alone, let's reflect, laugh, and throw a party." That's why the New York City native created, Legs Talk: A Modern Girl's Dating Tale. It all began a few years ago, when author Boone realized that when it comes to some relationships, there are more downs than ups. "Not everyone can relate to the unbelievably sweet sayings we often read in most gift books and greeting cards," says Boone. "In fact, most people never talk like that." 

"Many men are obsessed with a woman's body," declares Boone. Dating a man with a one track mind is tricky enough; add to the mix, a man with a leg craze, and you have a special kind of relationship book. 

Inspired by the edgier side of dating, Boone reveals what women encounter when faced with a man's outrageous obsessions. As a result, Boone departs from the typical sweet dialogue; in its place, are animated exchanges with lots of attitude. "I wanted to confront the realities of our less than fairy-tale like relationships," says Boone. "But do it in a distinctive and entertaining way." Most couples bicker from time to time - hopefully they can work it out. On the other hand, if they cannot, maybe they should split up.

"Women are actually using the book to laugh about their break ups," explains Boone. They buy the book for their friends; it is a fun get-over-him gift. Many are buying it for their boyfriends, in the hopes of getting a message across in a visual way.

At first glance, the tale combines comical banter alongside classic black and white photos. Visually, the story is told by a pair of sassy legs. However, Boone never reveals the character's faces, thus the title Legs Talk. "Leave it to up the readers imagination," says Boone. "It's like Sex and the City from the waist down."

Laced with body language, humor and rants, the most popular one includes a picture of a woman who is obviously not answering her phone. The text reads: "Every night he called me to ask if I missed him. How can I miss you, if you won't go away?"

There are thousands of people who are not happy with their relationships. At the same time, they would rather laugh than cry about it," says Boone.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, D.E. Boone is the winner of the 2001 Lou Rivers Drama Award in Playwriting from CUNY's New York City Technical  College. He studied graphic design at Touro College and earned his MBA in media management at Metropolitan College.

D.E. Boone often looks at why our field of dating is so bumpy.  He writes about life's personal challenges with a blend of sincerity, candor and of course, humor!  Legs Talk is a quirky offbeat gift book for adults. The book is a visual tale of girl meets guy, falls for guy, and finds out guy is not what he said he was. As normal as this story sounds, it's anything but. This sassy black and white picture book is told from the waist down. Photographs of a model's legs take you on this voyage from beginning to end. The pictures tell the story, but the captions pack the wallop!

"I always had a passion for writing and creating silly stuff. I used to scribble jokes and bad illustrations on napkins," said D.E. "My friends always got a good laugh from this. One day my friends and I were at a café. We were sitting next to a squabbling couple. They were talking way too loud, so I pulled out a napkin and recorded their heated one-liners. Then I put it side by side with my awful drawings."

"Who knew this screwy idea would eventually take on a life of its own?"

"The idea came when my friend was complaining about her boyfriend for the thousandth time.  Suddenly we realized that when it comes to some relationships, there are more downs than ups. At the time, my friend and I joked about creating a series of greeting cards with a theme of 'you need to do better, or you will lose me' message."

"Afterwards, we looked at tons of gift books and greeting cards. They were overwhelmingly sweet and sentimental. Greeting cards always say things like, "I'm glad I met you."  And, "Everyday I wake up and thank the heavens for you." Women don't talk like that. They say, "Why didn't you call me?""

"With pen and paper in hand, I gathered relationship stories from my female friends. At the end of the day, there was a consensus--many men just don't get it. I went back to the original napkin narrative (for some strange reason I kept it), and combined it with my friend's stories. After a while the greeting cards idea morphed into a storyline."

"In the end, I wanted to show people they can laugh at their bad relationships--so I put a gift book together. We all have experienced break-ups and failed relationships, but sometimes you don't want to deal with in a serious way. I decided to confront the realities of our less than fairy-tale like relationships -but do it in a distinctive, entertaining and invigorating way."

"As for the legs, I was inspired by old black and white film noir characters and Hitchcock movies. I noticed that women's legs were used to communicate something, especially when they were walking away. To stimulate the reader's imagination, I chose to have a pair of playful legs narrate the story."

"After a lengthy leg search for a model, I decided to go with the beautiful and lively Natsuko Koizumi.  The photo shoot with photographer Marc Burgess was more fun than effort.  We were actually laughing while we were working."

"Ironically, I didn't even consider going to a publishing house, I knew enough about design to create the book. As for publishing, I simply formed my own publishing company. Looking back now, it seems like someone else did it."

"Personally, I always thrilled when someone tells my book put a smile on their face. I am also delighted to learn that some women are buying the book for their girlfriends as a fun get-over-him gift."

"Professionally, I knew I had a quality product when I signed a distribution deal with Blu Sky Media Group. I still have the acceptance letter taped to my computer. I hope to follow Legs Talk with journals, prints, calendars, posters and similar books."

If you're fed up with the dating scene and need a good laugh about it, Legs Talk is the book for you. Give Legs Talk as a gift to women you know who have experienced love found and lost, on their own terms!

Visit http://www.legs-talk.com/

To purchase: Legs Talk: A Modern Girl's Dating Tale (2009 IPPY Bronze Award Winner - Best Gift Book )

Chic Galleria and D.E. Boone are giving away an autographed copy of "Legs Talk". Leave us your comments!  Be sure to subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter to be automatically entered in all giveaways at Chic Galleria.

Hedge Fund is Holger Berndt's debut novel.  Holger has more than a dozen years experience in the investment management business as a trader, research analyst, and successful hedge fund portfolio manager for both equities and convertible securities. He's a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) who lives in San Francisco.

The book draws heavily from his years of experience in the money management industry.  Holger's goal was to make it entertaining and easy to understand, while adding a level of authenticity that's frequently missing from fiction centered upon the financial world.  Hedge Fund's engaging plot and realism combine to make it appeal to a broad audience.

 

Excerpt:

Jasper left feeling upbeat. This was by far his best meeting of the trip, making the whole journey feel worthwhile.

For the meeting in Connecticut, he took a cab to Grand Central Station, where he ate a tuna fish sandwich on the run before boarding the train for the forty-minute ride to Greenwich. After settling in on the train, he started going through his email until his BlackBerry died. The recharger was the one thing he had somehow forgotten to pack, and this oversight now caught up with him. He had planned to call the office next to check in again, but that wasn't going to happen, either. However, this wasn't of great concern to him, since he was flying home after this meeting and would be back in the office on Monday. Angie he could call on a pay phone from JFK. Having just had a great meeting, with only one more to go, he was in a cheery mood, like a marathoner who had turned the final corner and now had the finish line in sight.

From the train station in Greenwich, he took a taxi to the client's house. Along the way, he was impressed by the elegant estates he passed. Jasper had been to Greenwich before, but not since he was a child. Today's captains of industry had taken opulence to whole new levels. Ultra-successful hedge fund managers and high finance magnates had overrun the little town with new money. Lavish mansions of immense dimensions with excessively manicured grounds endeavored to one-up those around them. A few old estates they passed were being torn down to make way for the newest monstrosities and symbols of decadence. Jasper was filled with mixed emotions about the past needing to be destroyed to pave the way for the future. The ride also reminded him just how much the Wall Street crowd were now the masters of the universe, the upper echelon, which he was striving to join-minus the vulgar mansion.

It occurred to Jasper that the driver was probably taking the longest possible route to jack up the fare. He didn't really mind, but to show that he was on to the guy's game, he said, "Do you always take the scenic route?"

"Actually, it's the quickest way to go these days, sir...they're doing construction on the main road."

"Are you charging me extra for the tour?"

"No, sir, it's on the house."

Hedge Fund is available at www.UnfungibleBooks.com and the ebook version can be found at Hedge Fund, Mobipocket.com, and Smashwords.com.

Chic Galleria and Holger Berndt are giving away an autographed copy of Hedge Fund to 1 lucky person!   Interested in money management?  Leave us a comment and let us know!   1 lucky Weekly Newsletter subscriber will win!

Chris Wood, author of new book, "Sherlock Holmes and the Underpants of Death," is one of England's least distinguished writers, with stories and articles in some highly obscure publications and also The Guardian, once. None of whom paid him very much. He has written for a wide variety of publications and has a broad range of teaching experience. He has written about film and books for a variety of publications. He lives in Manchester, England with two cats and too many guitars.

Enjoy this excerpt from "Sherlock Holmes and the Underpants of Death," a collection of Sherlock Holmes' spoofs:

   During the many years in which it has been my privilege and honour to report the cases of my celebrated friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I have never known him bettered by any opponent, no matter how clever or well written they may have been.

   In his heroic exploits against the underworld, I have known Holmes carry out tests of endurance which would exhaust the stoutest. The case of the museum deaths involved Holmes wearing the same socks for over a fortnight, and to crack the devious mystery of the General's missing armour Holmes went without illustrations for two entire pages; a feat which robbed him of much vital exposure. After that particular incident he had to spend a whole fortnight recovering in the pages of Victorian Hello! magazine. 

   Despite his efforts and considerable, nay unmatched, success in the field of criminal investigation, Holmes is relatively unknown, as befits one of the most modest men in the entire city. He can spend hour after hour unapproached at his club, The Enigmatic Mind, despite his best efforts.

   On a dark night these sinister and mysterious affairs first entered our lives, like a hideous beast weaving its way through the London mists, waiting to embroil the finest analytical mind of his age.

   Holmes had been sitting by the window, a pipe in his hands, the glow warmly reflecting against the grey night we saw through the glass. The agitated figure could scarcely be seen ascending the steps outside our chambers, so great and sinister was the night's fog. I felt a tingle in my bones and the unmistakeable thrill of adventure hung heavy in the evening's atmosphere.

   There came a knocking at the door.

   Mrs. Hudson could be heard telling somebody that we didn't want any insurance and that Mr. Holmes was off in Hollywood being filmed. However, the lady would have none of it and soon found her way into our presence.

   The late night London mists must have made a cruel travelling companion. Yet the young lady who made her way to our rooms so late into the night made no complaint of this when she settled into a chair. Her manner was of one who had been through much, and she stood before us with the imploring expression of one in profound need of assistance.

   "You must help me, Mr. Holmes. I am in direst need."

   Holmes motioned for her to continue.

   "I fear sir, that I must confide in you and you alone. So if your friend would not mind excusing us-"

   "Oh, very well," I said rather testily, and got of the bathtub and made for the towel hanging on the door.

   With a dramatic utterance she clasped at her head and fell to the floor in a dead faint.

 
"Not another one," said Holmes as he lay aside the paper with a groan.

   "What shall we do?" I queried.

   "Stick her in the cupboard with the other unconscious clients."

   After a time she came round, and Holmes stopped going through her handbag and I regretfully put down her lipstick.

   "Oh Mr. Holmes. Forgive my nerves, but a most jarring incident has befallen me. My fiancé, who has recently arrived on these shores, is in gravest danger. He inherited recently, you see, an enormous and rambling estate on the edge of an appalling dark moor called Edward Heath."

   Holmes hiccupped on his pipe and turned to raise an eyebrow at the camera.

   "And then a most amazing thing occurred. My mother, Lady Boyd-Peterson, recently had a pair of her, oh excuse me sir, her undergarments stolen."

Learn more about Chris and his book at www.ldbpublishing.com  Purchase: Sherlock Holmes and the Underpants Of Death.

After 30 years in the Making, The Academician - The Southern Swallow - Book I is now available at Amazon.com. The author of Jade Owl Legacy Series, Edward C. Patterson, has released the first book in the Southern Swallow Series - The Academician on Amazon.com. This novel of 12th Century China, the product of 30 years work, is a real eye-opener.

"A bigger fool the world has never known than I -- a coarse fellow with no business to clutch a brush and scribble. I only know the scrawl, because my master took pleasure in teaching me between my chores. Not many men are so cursed . . ." Thus begins the tale of Li K'ai-men as told by his faithful, but mischievous servant, K'u Ko-ling -- a tale of 12th Century China, where state service meant a life long journey across a landscape of turmoil and bliss. A tale of sacrifice, love, war and duty -- a fragile balance between rituals and passions. An epic commitment between two men to define the indefinable in their own world and time. Here begins the legacy of the Jade Owl and its custodian as he holds true to his warrants.

The Academician is the first of four books in the Southern Swallow series, capturing the turbulence of the Sung Dynasty in transition. Spanning the silvery days under the Emperor Hui to the disasters that followed, The Academician is a slice of world events that should never have been forgotten. Still, there are things more important than invasions and empires. The world's fate rests in the warrants of Li K'ai-men, this young scholar from Gui-lin, called master by his faithful servant, but known as Nan Ya to the world."

The Academician is a fictional account of a twelfth Century Chinese scholar-official, who readers of The Jade Owl Legacy first encounter in The Third Peregrination. Although this series serves as an historical adjunct to The Jade Owl, it has been in development longer than any work from the author's pen. The character of Li K'ai-men first came to light over three decades ago in Patterson's first China-themed work, Vagrant Hollow, a work which, unlike Li, will never come to light. Still, Mr. Patterson's great desire to novelize a seminal epoch in Chinese History, the founding of the Southern Sung Dynasty, sprang to life even earlier in his Masters' thesis, "The Restoration of the Southern Sung Dynasty: The Reign of the Emperor Kao-tsung: 1127 - 1167." While entrenched in this period's amazing details, Patterson visualized the tug and tussle of events that every Chinese schoolchild knows, but few in the West can fathom.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/144149975X (Paperback)

The Academician - Southern Swallow Book I (Kindle)

After retiring from the NYPD, Mike Monahan worked as a Private Investigator for several years.  He was offered a chance to work in Bosnia as part of an International Police Task Force (IPTF) as a Captain in the IPTF and worked as a liaison officer with the United Nations and the various army units assigned as part of a Multi-National Peace keeping force.
"After a year of seeing mans inhumanity, and the mass graves from ethnic cleansing, I returned home to my PI work,"  says Mike. "Several work related injuries finally took their toll, so now I am an aspiring author. Barracuda is the first of, I hope, many novels. I live in NYC and and I'm an avid scuba diver, sea kayaker and cruise on my full dressed motorcycle."
 
An excerpt from Barracuda: Bill looked at Bob in bewilderment and shrugged. Bob unclipped his wreck reel from his weight belt, pushed the brass clip through a porthole, snapped it back onto the line, and pulled it taut. He gave his brother the okay signal, and Bill turned his flashlight on.

The first four-foot section into the hatchway was littered with an assortment of debris hanging like stalactites from the ceiling. Bill shone his light up at the ruins and dove under the entanglements lest he be snared. Bob followed carefully as he played out line from his reel.
 
Bill swam through two compartments congested with dangling wires and cables until
he reached the third. This compartment wasn't draped with overhanging debris and spread out into a huge corridor. Bill's light danced off the walls and floor, which were covered in rich colorful soft corals. Nature's very own mural of sea life was displayed before him. Bill turned to see that his brother didn't get caught up in the cobweb of cables. Bob was right behind like a good dive buddy. The pair dove down stairwells to lower levels, stopping only to tie a bandana around some interesting piece of war machinery.

The forward section of the carrier also housed the bow torpedo room. Bill was frenetic, attaching Renegade rags to live bombs everywhere. Bob was uneasy with his brother touching these explosive devices that were corroding before their very eyes.

Checking his dive computer, he realized that they had only eight minutes to reach the surface, otherwise they would go into decompression mode. He tapped Bill on the arm, pointed to his computer, and gave the diver up sign. Bill nodded in the affirmative, and the pair retraced their steps out of the various compartments.

Bill was amazed at the immense size of the interior of the carrier, but apprehensive that there were no ways in or out except through the hatchway they had entered. Bob was doing a fine job of reeling them back toward the safety of the hatchway out from this historic but deadly tomb.

Suddenly, Bill grabbed his brother's fin and pointed to the left corner of a massive room. The pair swam over to what appeared to be a huge nest. Gigantic girders, lockers, and machinery were arranged in a wide circle. In the middle of the circle was a mammoth pile of fish bones and gigantic empty eggshells. They knelt down on the floor, looking at the strange fabrication before them.

Bill looked at Bob, who had a quizzical look on his face. Then as if in slow motion, Bob's eyes widened to the size of hubcaps. Bill saw a bright flash of silver zoom past. His flashlight beam mirrored off the silver with such intensity that he was temporarily blinded. The silver bullet rocketed between him and Bob, and Bill was stunned by its speed and brightness.

Bill turned his flashlight off while he once again tried to adjust his eyes to the dark. Once his vision cleared, he saw that Bob was still kneeling across from him. Bill turned on his light and motioned to his brother to lead the way out. Bob didn't respond, and his hands dangled at his sides at an odd angle.

Since the bright flash had blinded him, Bill was seeing everything in slow motion as his sight gradually returned. Still, there was no response from Bob, so Bill did the universal diver attention action by flashing the beam of his flashlight back and forth. Again, there was no reaction, so Bill played the beam toward his brother's face. He shrieked a garbled scream that made his regulator fly out of his mouth. His brother's head was missing! A steady stream of dark fluid leaked out of the top of Bob's torso like smoke from a freshly extinguished candle. When Bill's light beam illuminated the liquid, it reflected a crimson color.

Bill continued to stare at the grotesque figure that knelt where his brother had been just moments before. His cries made him swallow mouthfuls of water, and he began to gag on the salty brine. In his panic to replace his mouthpiece, Bill dropped his flashlight. With the regulator dolling out mouthfuls of precious air, he made a mad dash to swim out of the house of horrors. He swam over Bob's still-kneeling torso and raced back into the previous compartment.

Without the wreck reel or his dive light, however, the hysterical diver swam straight into a spider web of pendulous cables. He was caught in the trellis of wires, and in his panicky state, spiraled into further distress. Soon he was corkscrewed into place, suspended from the ceiling in an impossible maze of unforgiving circuitry.

Bill was sucking up air at an exorbitant pace. His struggling only caused him to become more tangled until he could move no more. Suddenly he was able to see much clearer. The sun must have poked through some clouds, and the ambient light was penetrating the depths, illuminating his mausoleum. He could see straight ahead since the tentacles that held him were from the rear. He understood that this was the end, and he felt at ease as a wave of tranquility washed over him. Drowning isn't too bad, he thought. It's painless and it will be over in a few minutes.

His peacefulness was broken by a slight movement ahead. Bill strained his eyes to see what was stealthily approaching. The sunlight that reached this depth refracted and splintered, causing visual distortions. The advancing being was shrouded in a ghostly silver hue. The surreptitious movement of this shimmering shroud had a hypnotic force on Bill until it got right up into his face. He screamed with such velocity that his regulator once again flew out of his mouth and he inhaled a mouthful of water. He could not yell again, only choke as a steady stream of bubbles rose from his free flowing second stage.

Bill was barely able to reach his octopus and gobble a mouthful of compressed air and regain his composure. The creature went eyeball to eyeball with him, and Bill knew he was looking at a disciple of Lucifer. It hovered in front of him, the huge, angular teeth gleaming. Worse was the coldness of the colossal black eyes that studied him.

Without apparent movement, the devilish beast backed up a few feet and studied its prisoner with those unblinking orbs of doom. A slow wave of panic gripped Bill in a death hold. He was trapped like a fly in a spider's web as he watched his captor casually eat his brother Bob.

Making a decision, he spit out his air supply and hungrily drank the salt water of death. This would be a quicker, less painful fate than hanging around waiting for the fiend to tear him apart. The last thing he saw was the demon looking over at him with Bob's leg dangling out of
its mouth. That abominable image floated with Bill into his serene afterlife.

To read more about Mike Monahan and purchase a copy of Barracuda, visit www.barracudabook.com and Amazon. Kindle:Barracuda

Chic Galleria and Mike Monahan are giving away an autographed copy of Barracuda to 2 lucky persons!  Are you scared of the water and it's haunting creatures?  Leave us a comment and let us know!  2 lucky Weekly Newsletter subscribers will win!

It's all here in one puzzling page-turner of a novel: conspiracy, codes, secret societies, ancient mysteries, the prophetic Mayan calendar end-date of 2012, alternative interpretations of Biblical events, mystifying metaphysics, good guys, bad guys, murder most foul and, yes, even a touch of romance. All of this, and more, is intricately woven into the multifaceted storyline of THE EZEKIEL CODE.

Gary Val Tenuta - former contributing writer for Fate Magazine (U.S.) and Beyond Magazine (U.K.) and a guest on numerous radio programs (including Dreamland, hosted by best selling author Whitley Strieber and The X-Zone hosted by Rob McConnell) - has crafted an exciting mystery novel with an esoteric edge that may upset certain segments of the population while at the same time enthralling others with it's alternative perspective on reality and its vision for the future.

From its cliff-hanger prologue to its dramatic climax, THE EZEKIEL CODE is a skillful blend of fact and fiction with likable, vividly developed characters:

Zeke Banyon is a handsome Catholic seminary dropout who now runs a homeless shelter in Seattle's old waterfront district and Angela Ann Martin is an attractive young widow who just wants a simple part-time job at the shelter. But a single twist of fate turns their simple lives upside down when together they stumble onto a mysterious code and a rumor about a lost scroll penned by the prophet, Ezekiel, thousands of years ago. They soon find themselves thrust deep into a world of secret societies, metaphysics, mystery and murder as they jet across continents in a race to understand the code that will lead them to an ancient artifact of profound importance. Dodging rogue Jesuit priests at every turn, they soon discover it's not just their own lives that are in danger but also the lives of everyone on the planet.

Is Zeke Banyon the Chosen One of an obscure ancient prophecy? And if so, can he successfully accomplish the mission fate has in store for him? Nothing in seminary school could ever have prepared him for this.

2012 is coming... The clock is ticking... the code must be deciphered... and only one man can save the planet - if he can just figure out how - before it's too late.

Visit www.ezekielcode.com.

Purchase: The Ezekiel Code