Hey Tennis Shoes Fans!
As long as supplies last I've continued to offer a free item (
described in this link from another post) to everyone who pre-orders directly from me (Chris Heimerdinger) at 801-870-2070. If I don't answer for some
bizarre reason, send me a text and I will reply ASAP.
Pre-sales on
Tennis Shoes 12: Drums of Desolation have been wonderful, far snappier than I might have expected. I wonder if it's because I'm the last LDS author right now who has an ongoing series. Granted, "The Tennis Shoes Adventure Series" has been ongoing for a looong time, but there really isn't any other "Work and the Glorys" or "Prelude to Glorys" out there presently. My book series is the only LDS series with more than one or two volumes still going strong.
I wanted to offer a shout out/special kudos to Christy Steadman, one of the registered members of this blog, who--because of a glitch on Amazon--became the very first person to purchase and receive a Kindle copy of the book Drums of Desolation. The glitch was fixed very quickly, so I presume that Christy is ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD who has already purchased and possibly read the latest Tennis Shoes book. You're the envy of all my readers and fans, Christy!
The official release date for
Tennis Shoes 12: Drums of Desolation is confirmed for Oct. 1st. Paperback, Audio book, and Kindle version should be released simultaneously. This is also when I will ship the Paperback and Audio to all those who have pre-ordered through me directly. (Or within a day or two, depending on bureaucracy.)
I STILL hear from folks who are shocked that I actually answer the phone. Maybe I should feel embarrassed by that. If I was
that rich or famous, I guess I'd have a secretary to take pre-orders. I'm not, so I don't. Gotta deal with me. :)
Remember, you can also order
Gift Sets for all the Tennis Shoes Books and just about every other book I've written, including the paperback for
Extraordinary Comfort, by calling the same number as above.
Sincerely,
Chris Heimerdinger
Here's a snippet from Chapter 3, which is narrated by Marcos.
Chapter Three
Marcos
I was among the first soldiers of King Omer to emerge from
the cavern. King Omer, Queen Elorah, their newborn
child named Prince Emer, and most of the women of Omer’s followers
had remained behind as seven of us reconnoitered the passageway to the
exit.
All of the warriors of Omer had
rejoined us in the recesses of the cavern the previous night. There were about a
hundred of these defenders still alive, about a third of them wounded and of little
use as fighters. Fewer men had returned than mothers, wives, and children had
expected. Many were slain in savage battles with Akish, Nimrah, and
Akish’s sons by his second wife, Mizerath.
Sometime during the last few weeks or
months, Akish and his estranged sons had reconciled. Elam and Hathrom had
doubtless kissed their father’s feet with the ultimate goal to once and for
all exterminate the rightful monarch of the Jaredites, King Omer. Perhaps Elam and Hathrom had no choice
but to cede to their father.
Years of warfare across Jaredite
territory had ravaged the population. The struggle between Akish and his sons
had devastated the once-thriving kingdom. Suddenly King Omer’s army had become a
bona fide threat. So Elam and Hathrom had surrendered to Akish, if
for no other purpose than to preserve their lives. If this twosome was
anything like their father, they were already plotting how to turn the tables
against him. Heck, Elam and Hathrom were likely hatching secret plots against
each other. Murder was such a way of life among these men it was unlikely the
penchant could ever be cured.
Maybe there was another relative of
Akish presently consumed by this disease. I happened to be there when
Nimrah, the youngest son of Akish and Asherah, had shouted across a
fire-engulfed plain that his uncles, Prince Esrom and Prince Coriantumr, had been murdered.
The grief of Omer’s daughters-inlaw, Princess Hearthrah and Princess
Kimnah, had been inconsolable. Their husbands
had been betrayed and their murders witnessed—or committed—by someone
they’d trusted. For Akish, such double-dealing was nothing new—it
was par for the course. But Nimrah’s betrayal had demoralized Omer’s followers
severely.
I
wasn’t quite sure why anyone should have been so surprised. After the deception
of Asherah and her oldest daughters was revealed, the treachery of
Nimrah should have been a foregone conclusion. Still, for the oft-times sentimental
King Omer, the betrayal of his great-grandson hit him particularly hard.
He’d come to think of Nimrah as one of his most loyal subjects and had hoped that he might once again be
known as Prince Nimrah. It was a title the
king had seemed eager to re-confer. For the elderly Omer, the losses of his
beloved relatives—by treachery or murder or accident (as was the case of his
beloved relatives—by treachery or murder or accident (as was the case of hs
first wife, Ahi, who’d fallen into the flood)—had taken a substantial toll on
his spirits. After his warriors had rejoined us in the cave, I’d heard King Omer
mumble that all his efforts to salvage his kingdom had been in vain.
He
wondered if these last few years hiding out in the desert had been “a fool’s exercise”
and a “waste of irretrievable energy and time.” But
even murder, treachery, and accident didn’t exhaust the list of methods employed
to bring about his loved ones’ deaths. There was also execution. I had shot
Asherah, the first wife of Akish and the granddaughter of King Omer. I’d pulled
the trigger as she was about to slay the newborn Prince Emer. Asherah’s oldest
daughter, Teshebel, was also dead. After Asherah’s demise, the women of the
encampment turned on Teshebel like a pack of wolves, showing no mercy. This
brand of savagery was something I’d never witnessed among women. Teshebel’s
end was violent and barbarous. Her broken corpse was thrown into the
river, as was that of her mother, the former queen.
Uguleth,
the second daughter of Akish and Asherah, had escaped. She’d fled into
the hills before any of the women loyal to Omer could tear her apart. The death
of Teshebel and the escape of Uguleth struck me as unjust and unfortunate. I’d
never felt certain that Teshebel was truly a traitor. Her first loyalty did
seem to
be to her mother, but I’d witnessed more than one moment of hesitation and
regret. Maybe Teshebel could have changed. Maybe she’d have eventually granted
her allegiance to King Omer, like her younger sister, Hamira.
Uguleth,
on the other hand, was a hardcore subversive. She’d conspired directly
with her mother and brother to flood the encampment of the king. She’d
supported her mother’s plan to murder Prince Emer, hoping to assure the coronation
of Nimrah. Uguleth was every bit the same species of viper as her mother.
What she lacked was her mother’s beauty and affected grace. Instead, he’d
inherited the masculine, vampirish features of her father. As far as I knew, Uguleth
was still out there, plotting the destruction of King Omer, Prince Emer, and me--her mother's assassin.
However,
as I emerged from the cave at the base of the corridor of cliffs leading
to the ocean, I faced a more immediate threat. Five enemy warriors were
poised on the rocky platform just beyond the mouth. These men wore the black
uniforms and markings of Akish as well as the red uniforms and markings of
Elam and Hathrom. It was the final confirmation that our adversaries had united
against us. In fact, one of the soldiers beside me—a son-in-law of King Omer
named Rihah—pointed toward one of our adversaries and announced that
it was Hathrom himself.
The
fearsome son of Mizerath turned to face us. However, my attention was
drawn more keenly to the figure of a man dangling by the neck from a rope.
The rope had been tossed through a cleft of the moss-encrusted rocks and tied
off to a waterlogged trunk. My heart thudded with horror. It was Joshua!
@ Copyright August 2014 by Chris Heimerdinger
