He pulled the headphones off and set them aside. “I think I can confirm that Anton is in Argentina.”
Lance smiled at the news. “Why is that?”
“Because I just heard someone I think is Anton on a short call with Congressman Pepper. Anton uses throwaway cell phones, so that makes my tracking him extremely difficult unless I know one side of the conversation. I was able to capture a comment about the SNAFU in Costa Rica and that he had another one to deal with in Argentina. The Argentinian government just changed hands and he was going to have to meet with a few politicians he hadn’t had conversations with so far. Apparently, he had expected the female incumbent to win.”
Lance took a roll the waiter delivered and bit into it. He loved steakhouses, they all seemed to know how to bake a good roll to go with the food. After finishing his bite he said, “Argentina has been politically messed up since World War II. If he’s been a part of the influential elites, it makes sense why they’ve made so many bad decisions and focused on the elite and not the people over the years.”
Frank thought about that for a second. “I imagine he is the ‘influential’ in influential elite.”
“Good point.” Lance reached for the butter.
“So, we can tell Bethany Anne that we have him narrowed down to one country. It will take surveillance to find him now. He has to come out to work with the people.”
“Not if he has them come to him.” Lance looked up in surprise after that comment came out, unbidden.
“That, my good sir, deserves a toast.” Frank reached over to get the wine menu.
Lance waved to a nearby waiter. “I agree. I know a few good wines that would work very well.”
“Really? Would this have anything to do with that last goodbye night on the town before Bethany Anne left with Michael?”
Lance grinned. “God, that was a hell of a night! Yes, it would have to do with that night.”
“Care to tell me more of that story?” Frank raised an eyebrow.
Lance reviewed the wine list. “I don’t mind telling you more of that story at all. You need a second to…”
“Get out my notebook, yes I do.” Frank dug into his notebook bag for his notepad and pen.
The next hour, Frank and Lance enjoyed two wonderful steaks as Lance regaled him with the night he and Bethany Anne went out tasting the best wines they could afford on credit cards she wouldn’t be around to pay off.
22
Frankfurt, Germany
Stephen closed out his stay at the hotel. He talked with the day manager and gave him instructions on changes he desired to his suite. He wanted a new fridge and microwave to be added and large flat screen TVs to be added to each room.
He needed the suite updated since he would be in Frankfurt to engage with the Wechselbalg council more often.
Stephen went and picked Terry up, in order to both take her to the apartment and be with her when the new mattress and linens were delivered.
It didn’t take long for her to get the room set up how she wanted it. She never asked exactly what happened, and Stephen didn’t offer any explanations.
He asked if she had any issues staying in the apartment considering the events. She was happy to keep her apartment, it was home. Stephen made sure she had the contact information for both he and Ivan.
Stephen said his goodbyes and caught up with Ivan who had stayed at Hotel Hessischer Hof. Ivan jumped into the taxi with Stephen and the two of them went to the airport. Stephen was going back to Romania to meet Clarita’s kids. The situation in Paris could wait until after his discussion with them.
Europe wasn’t finished as far as he was concerned, but it was on its way to being a better place for his Queen.
Buenos Aries, Argentina
Anton grabbed the throwaway phone he had used earlier to talk with Pepper. His face was a moue of disgust. What a pompous American ass that congressman had become. Pepper had visited Argentina years ago and had been invited to one of the parties held at his house. While Pepper was there, he took the opportunity to enthrall him. He couldn’t make the man do everything he asked, that would require him to meet with him more often. But he had been able to make him highly suggestible to Anton’s requests.
He dialed a number that didn’t exist on any piece of paper or was saved on any digital piece of equipment: Anton was a security freak. After the fall of the Third Reich and his own close call with death leaving Germany, he had been very particular about his own protection.
Now, he had all sorts of problems occurring in his area.
The phone was ringing. A cultured voice spoke on the other line, “Hello.”
“David, it’s Anton. I’m losing top-level people here. Are you positive you have him under control?”
“Yes Anton, I am sure. The human computer support person with him gave me enough information to figure out what he does to disappear.”
“Can you confirm with the human once more?”
“Sadly, no. It seems the instruments I used were not calibrated as effectively as I had hoped. What did you expect? I haven’t used them since the war.”
“Ok, if he is in your glass prison, then the rumors of another powerful vampire—this Bethany Anne—are true.”
“Then you need to take care of her, Anton. We’ve been working on this solution for over seven decades. I would be very annoyed if we had to start all over. I’ve got Michael—who was supposed to be the hardest part of our plan— under control. This female is a wild card and I really don’t like to hear whining about it.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, David. You keep dear old Dad out of this, or kill him if you can and I will deal with this Bethany Anne.”
“I can’t kill him if he won’t become corporeal. I don’t know how long he can stay in this gaseous form his servant was guessing he used. He can’t get out of the glass cage, it is airtight. He is only safe if he isn’t in his body. If he shows himself, we will be able to destroy his body. That would be a satisfying end to the problem.”
“Good enough. Have a good night, brother.”
“Same to you, good night.”
Anton hung up and crushed the phone. Making sure the sim card was destroyed, he took the pieces to a special furnace he used to destroy any technology he got rid of. He watched the pieces melt.
Thousands of miles away, on a computer under an old building in Washington D.C., a computer software program closed out the recording and sent a message to notify the programmer that new information was available.
FINIS
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
Written December 11, 2015
PLEASE NOTE, this is a MUCH longer note as I go into a rant at the end. Please ignore that part if the thoughts of an Indie Author aren’t interesting :-)
Thank you, I cannot express my appreciation enough that not only did you pick up the fourth book, but you read it all the way to the end and NOW, you’re reading this as well. Since this book is part of a series, I am presuming you have blessed me by reading them all and what a fantastic feeling that is for me!
So, in my notes in Love Lost, I mentioned the third book took 13 days. I am on a more reasonable writing timeline and this book (I am writing this note on the Dec 11th, for putting it online on the 15th) took 11 days to get through the core writing, leaving myself and my advance read team 4 days to review, make changes and get it online. (Mind you, at this time my ‘advance read team’ is one awesome fan in Australia.) I took a week off from writing after Love Lost before I started this book (editing effort etcetera).
I mention on my website that I have engaged an editor who is presently working on the first book. From there, Queen Bitch and so on through the series. Death Becomes Her was edited and the new version placed online. Only problem? You have to DELETE your existing file to get the new download.
A personal preference of mine, as a reader, is that I would rather read through the small (hopefully) editorial glitches rather than wait the extra month for th
e editing. I completely understand how it can drag you back out of a story for some readers who would prefer to wait for the professional editor. So, I am going to add a conversation thread on my Author Page (http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Anderle/e/B017J2WANQ) to get your input.
I have had one stalwart fan from down under (hint hint) that has already helped immeasurably with insights into military (Navy) life. I am hoping he will permit me to put the information he has shared up on my website. I think all of us who enjoy this type of military fiction would find his insights fascinating and appreciate the significant amount of time he has already spent providing me with a better grasp of the realities of working on a submarine.
I mentioned on my blog post (http://kurtherianbooks.com) that an author’s success usually entails LOTS of pre-work before you release your book. However, I just put Death Becomes Her and Queen Bitch out in the wild with no notice and no advertising. I really hope that if you enjoy reading these stories, you will share with your friends the link and encourage them to read them as well.
Purchased vs. Kindle Unlimited update. As we go into book four, the purchased side is ahead in gross sales vs. The Kindle Unlimited group. Even after we pull the 30% that Amazon takes for purchased sales, the total is still 10% higher. So, my best guess being so new to this author business might have to do with the reviews making the difference. I am assuming that Amazon is going to pay the same amount per page (.0048) as they did to authors in November, if they drop it again for December then full copy sales vs. Kindle Unlimited will only be that much more ahead.
Feel free to jump on the Facebook page to ask me any questions about being an author on Amazon. I’m happy to share what experiences I can.
Here is my regularly scheduled comment related to my type of writing: I’ve mentioned before, my writing is more escapist. I love a good action story, but more than that I want to engage with the characters. I want to feel what they are going through if possible. I want situations that make me get excited, worried, laugh and say ‘take that, sucka!’ out loud. The challenges faced by the protagonists don’t have to be life threatening, it could be a challenge to ask that special someone out for a date that keeps the story flowing. I’m not really into books that keep you constantly afraid for the characters. If I care about a character, I’ll turn the page, and buy the next book, just to see them reach a personal milestone that is challenging to that character. Having said all of that, action is still what drives the story forward.
In this story, we find the team working to locate Anton, and cleaning up some of the Forsaken crap that is lying around Europe and South America. We finally get insights into Michael’s situation leading us to Never Forsaken— TKG05 (Ok, so I’m not exactly hiding whether Bethany Anne will ignore Michael’s plight.)
Then, as always, there is the emotional side to the story. I’m not sure WHAT the thoughts of my readers will be to Bethany Anne’s cycle coming back and her reactions. Will the guys who read the story be too uncomfortable with the subject? Personally, I have always believed that great accomplishments meant huge challenges and often the heroes have lost significantly in other areas of their lives. One of the biggest areas of loss for Bethany Anne had been related to her not having children. When she was dying, she was happy to know she wasn’t going to leave a child behind who would go through life like she had. Now what will her decision be? I think I know, but until I write that part of the story I can’t be sure. I think as an author I can’t have that large of an issue be brought up without a significant introduction. Hopefully, I didn’t offend anyone in the interim.
What would you do if you needed to save the universe, but wouldn’t leave any children of your own to appreciate your sacrifice? I’ve got the utmost respect for what Bethany Anne has to go through. It isn’t easy, I understand, but that just makes me want to support her even more. One piece I had not considered was the relationship with Gabrielle and Ivan, and Gabrielle’s expected change to be able to conceive again after hundreds of years. What will Ivan think? What will Gabrielle think?
Wouldn’t it be hilarious if Ivan & Ecaterina’s mom (who I am NOT fond of) had to burp a little vampire child? (Edit scene: little cute baby is being held with such loving care by Grandma, Grandma is cooing about how cute the baby is, snuggling down and kissing Grandma’s neck, Grandma’s eyes fly open in alarm… the little vampire baby is KISSING HER NECK!!!)
Ok, that makes me smile. Would Ivan’s mom still be the raging… something… that we left behind in Queen Bitch? I’m not sure.
Personal favorite scenes in this book include Stephen and Ivan in Frankfurt, and the scene at the end where Bethany Anne goes postal on the Forsaken. Is postal a U.S. term only? The term had to do with U.S. Post Office workers getting so stressed out they would go home, get a gun and come back and shoot their co-workers. Since the whole beginning of the term started with a U.S. POSTAL WORKER, it makes the term rather localized. I’m curious if the phrase has caught on around the world?
There are presently 13 titles sketched out and I expect more after that. Bite This is the fourth in the series.
Please, if you enjoyed this book give it a good rating on Amazon? Your kind words and encouragement help any author. I will continue to the next story whether you provide an OUTSTANDING review or not. But it might get done a wee bit faster with the encouragement (smile).
As of today (12/11/2015), 39 days since I released the first book I have three 5-Star ratings and two 4-Star rating on Death Becomes Her, four 5-Star and one 4-Star Rating on Queen Bitch, and the same four 5-Star and one 4-Star Ratings on Love Lost. Some of the reviews make ME stand up and cheer. Your insights and comments on what makes you laugh, grin, cheer, and feel about the story edify me as I continue to write the next in the series. I read every one of your reviews (often multiple times) and take your comments to heart. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to both praise the story and describe the issues.
A quick note about authors responding to reviews. I responded to an early reviewer that I would be going back to edit a book. Not an hour later, I read on the Amazon Authors forum where the suggestion was NOT to get involved in reviews in any way, shape or form as an author. It is the reader’s area and shouldn’t be touched. So, I’m not doing this however much I WANT to talk with you regarding your amazing input. However, I would LOVE to have a conversation with you and suggest the Author’s Page as a great place if you want to converse in public, or hit me up on Facebook or email. Your choice!
Unless I go back and fix something huge, then all bets are off.
All of the links to the different areas (email, Facebook, website etc.) are below the rant ;-)
So, finally my soapbox comment related to Indie Authors. This discussion has to do with something I read last night on the Amazon Author forums that the original poster claimed, with absolute assurance, that a black and white way to tell if an author was professional was whether they paid to have a professional cover done.
I don’t pay to have my covers done. Will I in the future? Probably. Possibly not for this series, but another one wouldn’t make me cringe. Why didn’t I, and the tangential, why didn’t I have a professional editor work on Death Becomes Her before I released it?
It has to do with a lot of different reasons, but one of them is the MVP concept. MVP is ‘Minimally Viable Product.’ The idea started, (I believe) with the software profession where programmers and small software companies would build just enough of a solution to test the waters. As it can be expensive and take a long time to accomplish a full and robust software program you don’t want to invest a significant amount to find out the whole thing is a bust.
Similarly, as a brand new, wet behind the ears author who had dreamt of putting something out since he was in high school, I didn’t want to invest the expense and effort of a professional cover and professional editing if no one was going to buy the book in the first place.
Most of the author biz stuff I was readin
g before I released my first book or listening to on podcasts said most authors might be lucky to sell a book a day. That meant they would be bringing in $60 a month. It would take me almost a year to recoup the income for testing the waters if this happened. The MVP strategy would put the book out and find out if any interest and sales in my books occurred and fix anything else if it became successful. Basically, try to fix fast. This is the industry I came out of after twenty years.
Now, I’ve learned a lot. You can buy a cover for somewhere between $35 to $100 and up. An editing job usually starts at $400 for simple spelling and grammatical effort for 70k words to $1,000s for help fixing your story. Only recently have I found an editor in England who will go through a manuscript and charge you by the pass (making it 1/3 as expensive).
So, the MVP strategy is what I followed. Guess what? There was a much bigger desire for Bethany Anne’s stories than I thought. It will still take me a little while to recoup the investment, but I don’t feel like it will take a freaking YEAR to accomplish. Now, I’m behind the eight ball getting caught up. I’m ok with that, and the greatest fans in the world (you!) are helping me deal with it.
As for the cover image, I know enough to be ok with Photoshop. Would a professional do better? I’m sure they could. But now, my cover brand is stuck so I guess I’ll just be an unprofessional Indie Author doing something I love.
Personally, I always thought a professional was someone who got paid to do something. I get paid to write these stories, ergo, I was a professional.
So, I checked out the definitions of professional. Seems that the closest definition states a professional is someone ‘engaged in a specified activity, especially a sport or branch of the performing arts, as a main paid occupation rather than as a pastime.’
Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Set One: Books 1-7, Death Becomes Her, Queen Bitch, Love Lost, Bite This, Never Forsaken, Under My Heel, Kneel or Die (Kurtherian Gambit Boxed Sets) Page 83