Snippet of "Drums" Chapter 3//Free Item Still Offered With Pre-Orders

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