Daily Archives: November 9, 2021

Cryptofaunaby Patrick Canning

Off the coast of Norway, in the underwater bachelor pad of a dead millionaire, the apocalypse is about to begin. Somehow, this all started with an innocent can of root beer…

Jim works as a janitor at an insane asylum in rural Idaho. Just as he’s (understandably) preparing to take his own life, he’s rudely interrupted, and tossed into a game called Cryptofauna. The bizarre contest of worldwide influence is rife with danger, like shape-shifting imps and a snake-monster the size of a city bus. But there are also lessons to be learned and friends to be made. In addition to stopping that whole apocalypse thing, playing Cryptofauna might also help Jim discover a reason to live—assuming it doesn’t kill him first.

Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internetby Yasha Levine

The internet is the most effective weapon the government has ever built.

In this fascinating book, investigative reporter Yasha Levine uncovers the secret origins of the internet, tracing it back to a Pentagon counterinsurgency surveillance project.

A visionary intelligence officer, William Godel, realized that the key to winning the war in Vietnam was not outgunning the enemy, but using new information technology to understand their motives and anticipate their movements. This idea — using computers to spy on people and groups perceived as a threat, both at home and abroad — drove ARPA to develop the internet in the 1960s, and continues to be at the heart of the modern internet we all know and use today. As Levine shows, surveillance wasn’t something that suddenly appeared on the internet; it was woven into the fabric of the technology.

But this isn’t just a story about the NSA or other domestic programs run by the government. As the book spins forward in time, Levine examines the private surveillance business that powers tech-industry giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon, revealing how these companies spy on their users for profit, all while doing double duty as military and intelligence contractors. Levine shows that the military and Silicon Valley are effectively inseparable: a military-digital complex that permeates everything connected to the internet, even coopting and weaponizing the antigovernment privacy movement that sprang up in the wake of Edward Snowden.

With deep research, skilled storytelling, and provocative arguments, Surveillance Valley will change the way you think about the news — and the device on which you read it.

The Gods of Menby Barbara Kloss

Sable hated the gods. She hated what men did in their name.

Magic is forbidden throughout the Five Provinces; those born with it are hunted and killed. Sable doesn’t know her music holds power over souls–not until, at age nine, she plays her flute before the desert court and accidentally stops her baby sister’s heart, killing her. Horrified by what she’s done and fearing for her life, she flees north, out of Provincial jurisdiction and into the frigid land of exiles and thieves, known as The Wilds. There, Sable lives in hiding, burdened by guilt, and survives as a healer. But now, fifteen years later, someone–or something–is hunting her.

On the run again, Sable’s best chance for survival is Jos, a lethal man from the Five Provinces, who claims to need her skills as a healer to save his dying father, and she needs the large sum of money he’s offered. There’s something about him Sable doesn’t trust, but she doesn’t have many options. A spirit of the dead is hunting her, summoned by a mysterious necromancer, and it’s getting closer.

Sable soon discovers she’s just the start of the necromancer’s plan to take over the Five Provinces, and she’s the only one with the power to stop it. But harnessing her forbidden power means revealing it to the world, and the dangerous Provincial, Jos, she’s beginning to fall for.

Star of Wonder: A Historical Romance Collection #1 (2021 Holiday Romance Collection)by Multiple Authors

A MASTERPIECE OF HOLIDAY STORYTELLING…

Star of Wonder

Star of Light

Star of royal beauty bright…

Dragonblade Publishing brings you not one, but two beautiful collections of holiday cheer for 2021. STAR OF WONDER is Collection #1 in this glorious holiday gathering of tales from some of your favorite Dragonblade authors.

Imagine, if you will, that it is Christmas Eve. The candles are guttered, one by one, and a hush falls over the parlor. The children have gone to bed, and a tall, gloriously decorated Christmas tree looms in the shadows of the hearth’s dying embers.

The clock on the wall chimes midnight.

Now, the holiday magic happens.

Oh, come all ye faithful and feel the holiday spirit of Historical Romance inspired by classic holiday carols that will warm your heart and soothe your soul.

Authors in this collection include:
Chasity Bowlin
Caroline Lee
Meara Platt
Alexa Aston
Emily E K Murdoch
Elisa Braden
C.H. Admirand
Nicole Locke
Elizabeth Ellen Carter
Abigail Bridges
Veronica Crowe
Verna Cyril
E. Elizabeth Watson
Anna Markland

Make sure to pick up your copy of STAR OF LIGHT, Collection #2, to complete your holiday reading.

From Dragonblade to you, we wish you a very happy holiday season!

Star of Light: A Historical Romance Collection #2 (2021 Holiday Romance Collection)by Multiple Authors

A MAGNUM OPUS OF HOLIDAY STORYTELLING…

Star of Wonder

Star of Light

Star of royal beauty bright…

Dragonblade Publishing brings you not one, but two beautiful collections of holiday cheer for 2021. STAR OF LIGHT is Collection #2 in this glorious holiday gathering of tales from some of your favorite Dragonblade authors.

From the bedecked halls of Regency England to the cold and crisp air of Medieval England, and everything in between, welcome to the magic of a holiday collection inspired by classic Christmas carols that will bring the joy of the season into your heart and into your home. Holiday Historical Romance has never been so heartwarming.

Authors in this collection include:
Paula Quinn
Mary Lancaster
Hildie McQueen
Maggi Andersen
Maeve Greyson
Emily Royal
Sandra Sookoo
Charlotte Wren
Mia Pride
Lynne Connolly
Melanie Rose Clarke
Rachel Ann Smith
Elizabeth Johns

Make sure to pick up your copy of STAR OF WONDER, Collection #1, to complete your holiday reading.

From Dragonblade to you, we wish you a very happy holiday season!

The Earthsparkby Vanessa Thurgood

Earth destroyed her family’s past. Will Fire destroy its future?

The Earthspark, a cursed power that nearly destroyed Nienna’s family a thousand years ago, has appeared once more, and she’s the one holding the knife.

As her ill-fated power grows, so does the number of dark creatures bent on seeing her dead. Now she must choose to embrace the Earthspark or live the rest of her life like a hunted animal. But by accepting her power, her family’s greatest enemy will be her only ally in the fight against the rising evil of the Fire Witch.

Can she betray her family to gain the peace she so desires? The fate of her people rests on the untried shoulders of Tellidus’s secondborn and the infamous Guardian of Earth.

“The Earthspark” is the first novel in the Comstock Chronicles. It’s a clean Young Adult epic fantasy that will take you on a journey of magic and family through the wild landscapes of Tellidus. Fans of “The Mark of the Raven” and “Issaura’s Claws” will find a new favorite in “The Earthspark.”

Payback's a Niche: An All-In-One Advertising Book for a Startup or Small Business Ownerby Ryan Pankoke

An All-in-One Advertising Book for a Startup or Small Business owner. This book will teach people about advertising the most effective ways to use advertising to grow their business.