by Sarah Noffke
Last night I woke up at my normal “witching hour” at around three o’clock in the morning. Many spiritual gurus think that this is when we’re “awoken” by the universe because it’s the quietest time during the day. Spirit or inspiration or whatever we want to call it is trying to send a message. Rumi, the great poet, said, “The morning breeze has secrets to tell you. Do not go back to sleep.”
I listened to the poet while writing many books and actually wrote my first series, the Lucidites, between three and five o’clock in the morning. My infant would then wake up at six and I’d realize how very wrong Rumi was. But also so very right. I’ve had some awesome ideas during the “witching hour.”
This is when you begin to wonder what the eff I’m getting to. Hold on. I’m almost there.
So I woke up today at three o’clock in the morning. This is when I usually check emails and messages, many of which I’ll forget I’ve looked at during this ungodly hour, and then later forget to respond to them when it’s a descent time of day. I need better work habits.
Anyway, this morning, I thought that inspiration had woken me up yet again when I heard a bump downstairs. The noise had woken me up. Not inspiration.
Unlike Liv Beaufont, I totally tensed. That’s when I pictured the absolute worst, which is how my convoluted brain works. I imagined that the drug cartel had broken into my house because... A masked murderer had gotten so bold as to break into my house because… The hoodlums down the street were downstairs, wishing they’d broken into a house with electronics from this century. As the potential realities poured through my brain, the loud noises outside my bedroom continued.
I armed myself with the many weapons I keep in my bedroom. I can’t tell you what those are because a Warrior never discloses her secrets. Anyway, I was about to yank back my door to assault this evil-doer, when I realized how much I wasn’t like Liv Beaufont. I’m certain that when facing actual danger, I’d not swing the sword properly or thrust kick the jerk in the chest or do any of the awesome things that Liv does.
Accepting this reality, I pulled back the door to find my cat had taken a liking to the laundry basket and was thrusting his head against it, making it knock into the wall beside my bedroom.
So the good news was there was no masked murderer downstairs. The bad news was that my cat has the same affliction as me during the wee hours of the night.
I might not be Liv Beaufont, but I’ve got the cat who inspired Plato and although he doesn’t talk, I’m pretty sure he’s plotting to end my short reign of sanity.
Speaking of plotting, Michael had many of the great ideas for the end of this arc. The graveyard scene was something he was passionate about when we were discussing this book and I think it worked really well to end the arc right. Also, the last scene with Adler was something he really thought would round out the book. It’s that kind of collaborating that I believe is keeping this series going strong and I hope continues for a long, long time.
Michael’s Author Notes
March 25, 2019
THANK YOU for not only reading this story but these Author Notes as well.
(I think I’ve been good with always opening with “thank you.” If not, I need to edit the other Author Notes!)
RANDOM (sometimes) THOUGHTS?
So, I’m reading Sarah’s notes, and I get to this line:
“This is when you begin to wonder what the eff I’m getting to. Hold on.
I’m almost there.”
But, the first time I read that, I read ‘eff’ as ‘elf’ and had a slight concern starting that Sarah was starting to play footsies with the unreality on the other side of her stories.
Was Sarah starting to live LIV?
Then, of course, I read she meant the word which also could mean horizontal Olympics, not the girl with pointed ears and all was right with the world.
For a moment.
It’s Sarah, one should never assume the world is right around her - it’s just how she rolls.
As a collaborator, what else would I want?
Sarah can claim that she is a scaredy cat (and perhaps she is) but she didn’t hide UNDER the covers, she found Batman’s weapons (see, totally shared your weapon stash) and then proceeded to walk over and whack-the-shit out of her loving and faithful cat.
I’m sure fluffy-kins would have looked up at Sarah with a ‘why me?’ expression as it conked over, but I digress from my point.
My point was she DID get up and go for the door.
A hero isn’t someone who isn’t scared. A Hero is someone who acts through their fear.
Well done, Sarah, you are a Hero!
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
One of the interesting (at least to me) aspects of my life is the ability to work from anywhere and at any time. In the future, I hope to re-read my own Author Notes and remember my life as a diary entry.
La Puente, California - about 30 minutes (on a good day) from downtown Los Angeles.
It’s 7:20 AM here, and I’ve been out of bed about for an hour and fifteen minutes. I’ve spoken with Stephen Campbell (of Zen Master Walking™ fame) while he was at the airport, getting on a plane in 30 minutes for his trip back to Florida.
One of his and wife’s sons pulled together a very romantic proposal and wanted to have family all around and surprise his fiancé.
(I’ve no idea how that went down except she said ‘yes’ - a good result I think.)
There are so few storms in this part of California (because there is so little rain in the last few years) that it should come as no surprise we have a significant water leak in the dining room.
I’d provide a picture, but it’s kinda ugly.
Imagine that you painted a ceiling about a year ago. The paint is still pretty elastic, so when water congeals above it, it doesn’t split, but rather starts creating a water-filled puss pocket on the bottom of your dining room ceiling.
Finally, with enough water, it splits the paint and all of that white water (from the gypsum board) comes down on your wood dining room set, warping it and spraying white splatters everywhere.
It looks like I have a two foot white popped pimple above me…
GROSS!
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Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Acknowledgments
Sarah Noffke
My favorite part of writing any book is creating the acknowledgements page. It reminds me that writing a book is not a solo task. I might sit alone and write, but the finished product is a result of the support and encouragement of a tribe of people.
Thank you to the readers who buy the books, read them, review and recommend. YOU are the one who keeps us writing. I’m always inspired by the messages I receive from readers. Thank you supporting the books and offering so much richness to my life.
Thank you to my LBMPN family for all the support. Steve, Michael, Lynne, Moonchild, Jennifer and so many others who help champion the book to publication and beyond.
Thank you to the beta readers who offered so many valuable insights early on. Thank you to John, Chrisa, Kelly, Martin and Larry.
Thank you to the JIT team for all the awesome feedback. A new series is always exciting and nerve-wracking. Michael and I thought we had a great idea for a new world, but we don’t really know until we get objective feedback. What would I do without all you awesome readers?
Thank you to my friends and family. Writing is a strange profession. I work weird hours, talk to myself, have a strange diet, get antsy about deadlines. But the wonder
ful people in my life continue to show their encouragement and thoughtfulness no matter what. It is never lost on me because I know that I wouldn’t be doing what I love without all you amazing people, cheering me on.
And as with all my books, the final thank you goes to my muse, Lydia. I wrote my first book so that I could make my daughter proud, and it’s never stopped. I write every book for you, my love.
Books By Sarah Noffke
Sarah Noffke, an Amazon Best Seller, writes YA and NA sci-fi fantasy, paranormal and urban fantasy. She is the author of the Lucidites, Reverians, Ren, Vagabond Circus, Olento Research, Soul Stone Mage, Ghost Squadron and Precious Galaxy series. Noffke holds a Masters of Management and teaches college business courses. Most of her students have no idea that she toils away her hours crafting fictional characters. Noffke's books are top rated and best-sellers on Kindle. Currently, she has thirty-three novels published. Her books are available in paperback, audio and in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. http://www.sarahnoffke.com
Check out other work by this author here.
Ghost Squadron:
Formation #1:
Kill the bad guys. Save the Galaxy. All in a hard day’s work.
After ten years of wandering the outer rim of the galaxy, Eddie Teach is a man without a purpose. He was one of the toughest pilots in the Federation, but now he’s just a regular guy, getting into bar fights and making a difference wherever he can. It’s not the same as flying a ship and saving colonies, but it’ll have to do.
That is, until General Lance Reynolds tracks Eddie down and offers him a job. There are bad people out there, plotting terrible things, killing innocent people, and destroying entire colonies. Someone has to stop them.
Eddie, along with the genetically-enhanced combat pilot Julianna Fregin and her trusty E.I. named Pip, must recruit a diverse team of specialists, both human and alien. They’ll need to master their new Q-Ship, one of the most powerful strike ships ever constructed. And finally, they’ll have to stop a faceless enemy so powerful, it threatens to destroy the entire Federation.
All in a day’s work, right?
Experience this exciting military sci-fi saga and the latest addition to the expanded Kurtherian Gambit Universe. If you’re a fan of Mass Effect, Firefly, or Star Wars, you’ll love this riveting new space opera.
*NOTE: If cursing is a problem, then this might not be for you.
Check out the entire series here.
The Precious Galaxy Series:
Corruption #1
A new evil lurks in the darkness.
After an explosion, the crew of a battlecruiser mysteriously disappears.
Bailey and Lewis, complete strangers, find themselves suddenly onboard the damaged ship. Lewis hasn’t worked a case in years, not since the final one broke his spirit and his bank account. The last thing Bailey remembers is preparing to take down a fugitive on Onyx Station.
Mysteries are harder to solve when there’s no evidence left behind.
Bailey and Lewis don’t know how they got onboard Ricky Bobby or why. However, they quickly learn that whatever was responsible for the explosion and disappearance of the crew is still on the ship.
Monsters are real and what this one can do changes everything.
The new team bands together to discover what happened and how to fight the monster lurking in the bottom of the battlecruiser.
Will they find the missing crew? Or will the monster end them all?
The Soul Stone Mage Series:
House of Enchanted #1:
The Kingdom of Virgo has lived in peace for thousands of years…until now.
The humans from Terran have always been real assholes to the witches of Virgo. Now a silent war is brewing, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Princess Azure will soon be crowned queen of the Kingdom of Virgo.
In the Dark Forest a powerful potion-maker has been murdered.
Charmsgood was the only wizard who could stop a deadly virus plaguing Virgo. He also knew about the devastation the people from Terran had done to the forest.
Azure must protect her people. Mend the Dark Forest. Create alliances with savage beasts. No biggie, right?
But on coronation day everything changes. Princess Azure isn’t who she thought she was and that’s a big freaking problem.
Welcome to The Revelations of Oriceran. Check out the entire series here.
The Lucidites Series:
Awoken, #1:
Around the world humans are hallucinating after sleepless nights.
In a sterile, underground institute the forecasters keep reporting the same events.
And in the backwoods of Texas, a sixteen-year-old girl is about to be caught up in a fierce, ethereal battle.
Meet Roya Stark. She drowns every night in her dreams, spends her hours reading classic literature to avoid her family’s ridicule, and is prone to premonitions—which are becoming more frequent. And now her dreams are filled with strangers offering to reveal what she has always wanted to know: Who is she? That’s the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out. But will Roya live to regret learning the truth?
Stunned, #2
Revived, #3
The Reverians Series:
Defects, #1:
In the happy, clean community of Austin Valley, everything appears to be perfect. Seventeen-year-old Em Fuller, however, fears something is askew. Em is one of the new generation of Dream Travelers. For some reason, the gods have not seen fit to gift all of them with their expected special abilities. Em is a Defect—one of the unfortunate Dream Travelers not gifted with a psychic power. Desperate to do whatever it takes to earn her gift, she endures painful daily injections along with commands from her overbearing, loveless father. One of the few bright spots in her life is the return of a friend she had thought dead—but with his return comes the knowledge of a shocking, unforgivable truth. The society Em thought was protecting her has actually been betraying her, but she has no idea how to break away from its authority without hurting everyone she loves.
Rebels, #2
Warriors, #3
Vagabond Circus Series:
Suspended, #1:
When a stranger joins the cast of Vagabond Circus—a circus that is run by Dream Travelers and features real magic—mysterious events start happening. The once orderly grounds of the circus become riddled with hidden threats. And the ringmaster realizes not only are his circus and its magic at risk, but also his very life.
Vagabond Circus caters to the skeptics. Without skeptics, it would close its doors. This is because Vagabond Circus runs for two reasons and only two reasons: first and foremost to provide the lost and lonely Dream Travelers a place to be illustrious. And secondly, to show the nonbelievers that there’s still magic in the world. If they believe, then they care, and if they care, then they don’t destroy. They stop the small abuse that day-by-day breaks down humanity’s spirit. If Vagabond Circus makes one skeptic believe in magic, then they halt the cycle, just a little bit. They allow a little more love into this world. That’s Dr. Dave Raydon’s mission. And that’s why this ringmaster recruits. That’s why he directs. That’s why he puts on a show that makes people question their beliefs. He wants the world to believe in magic once again.
Paralyzed, #2
Released, #3
Ren Series:
Ren: The Man Behind the Monster, #1:
Born with the power to control minds, hypnotize others, and read thoughts, Ren Lewis, is certain of one thing: God made a mistake. No one should be born with so much power. A monster awoke in him the same year he received his gifts. At ten years old. A prepubescent boy with the ability to control others might merely abuse his powers, but Ren allowed it to corrupt him. And since he can have and do anything he wants, Ren should be happy. However, his journey teaches him that harboring so much power doesn’t bring happiness, it steals it. Once this realization sets in, Ren makes up his mind to do the one thing that can bring his tortured soul some peace. He must kil
l the monster.
*Note* This book is NA and has strong language, violence and sexual references.
Ren: God’s Little Monster, #2
Ren: The Monster Inside the Monster, #3
Ren: The Monster’s Adventure, #3.5
Ren: The Monster’s Death
Olento Research Series:
Alpha Wolf, #1:
Twelve men went missing.
Six months later they awake from drug-induced stupors to find themselves locked in a lab.
And on the night of a new moon, eleven of those men, possessed by new—and inhuman—powers, break out of their prison and race through the streets of Los Angeles until they disappear one by one into the night.
Olento Research wants its experiments back. Its CEO, Mika Lenna, will tear every city apart until he has his werewolves imprisoned once again. He didn’t undertake a huge risk just to lose his would-be assassins.
However, the Lucidite Institute’s main mission is to save the world from injustices. Now, it’s Adelaide’s job to find these mutated men and protect them and society, and fast. Already around the nation, wolflike men are being spotted. Attacks on innocent women are happening. And then, Adelaide realizes what her next step must be: She has to find the alpha wolf first. Only once she’s located him can she stop whoever is behind this experiment to create wild beasts out of human beings.
Lone Wolf, #2