Today is the third day of my promotion of Refuge: The Arrival: Book 1. So far I am getting the same results I got from my promotion of The Shadows of the Multiverse, Friday and Saturday are kind of slow days, and I gave away about four hundred books as of Sunday Morning. With Shadows I noted that Monday and Tuesday were actually the big give away days. I am thinking that people are doing other things on the weekend, and then checking their computers again the evenings of their work weeks. If the pattern holds true I will adjust my days slightly, starting on Saturday and going through Wednesday to give the book three weekdays after a weekend promotion.
Also received my first one star review, this for the first book of my Exodus series, Exodus: Empires at War: Book 1. Now I don’t really like one star reviews, as I learned when I looked at this one. There was really very little information in the write up, sort of like the reviewer just wanted to give the one star and wrote something so it would be accepted. The two major complaints were that there were too many inside references to other science fiction (and I think there were four or five in the whole hundred thousand word book) and that I didn’t seem to have a real grasp of how military discipline worked. I actually have a very good grasp, across multiple time periods. Now the real problem I had with this review was that it received one star for the reasons stated. To me a one star means there was absolutely no merit to the book. That it was so poorly written that it was barely understandable, with so many mistakes and typos that the storyline was impossible to follow, if there even was a storyline. Not because you didn’t like a character or characters, or you didn’t agree with the premise or the politics. The reasons he gave for not liking the book would rate a three star at worst. Again, it seemed that the reviewer wanted to derail a book which has sold 569 copies in less than four weeks. I will move on from that review and take nothing from it, since nothing was offered that helps me to become a better writer.
Refuge: The Arrival: Book 1 will continue to be free through Tuesday, 10/20/2012, then will be back on sale for $2.99. Book 2 is also on sale for the same price, and if you like the story and want to continue it you can go to Amazon and buy the second book. If you like lots of action and don’t mind a whole bunch of characters to follow then this it the book for you. If not, then maybe it isn’t. But don’t leave a one star review just because you can’t stand one of the characters. Remember, one stars are for people who can’t speak or write in the language they are trying to use in their book. And now for an excerpt: two sectons involving the German Army fighting something they never expected.

“What in the hell is that,” yelled the Private, swinging his rifle down from firing position as another of the Orc’s fell to the ground with a burst skull.
Sergeant Tomas Mier turned at the exclamation, his own last victim falling dead to the ground. He was not sure what he saw striding from under the trees. Only that it was very large and very ugly. And that it held an enormous mace in one hand and a great round shield in the other. The next thing he noticed were the three other creatures moving with it, each as big and ugly as the first. All were wearing metal armor, open faced helmets, breast and back plates, shoulder guards and forearm guards, chain skirting below their waists, and metal shod boots. The armor boasted a ridge of plates down the back, and spikes from the helmet and shoulders. The handle of another mace thrust above the left shoulder of each of the monsters.
The lead monster tilted his head back and roared to the heavens, a sound like a dozen lions coming from his lungs. Mier felt his legs turn to jelly at the sound, and all he wanted to do was drop his rifle and run away. But he was a German soldier, the men looked up to him, and he would be damned if he would let them down. So he looked on when the creature pointed his mace toward the nearest armored vehicle and yelled something incomprehensible. The monster moved toward the vehicle in a shuffling gait that covered a surprising distance, his fellows at his side.
“Fire,” yelled Sergeant Mier, bringing his auto-rifle to his shoulder and sending a burst of 6mm rounds into the nearest creature. The rest of the stunned Germans obeyed the order, their training and instincts taking over for their frightened minds. Scores of tracers, indicating hundreds of rounds, flew into the creatures. And bounced off into the air as they hit the thick armor on the monsters.
Mier adjusted fire, aiming into the uncovered knee of the creature where wrinkled yellow skin showed. He gasped as he watched his tracers bounce from the skin as from the armor, and the creature turned its attention toward him, something he had neither wanted nor expected.
One of the monsters got within range of a German soldier who was trying to bring the creature down with his rifle. The mace came in quickly and the soldier’s head disappeared into a mist of blood and gore, and the body was flung to the side by the momentum of the strike. The monster brought the mace back the other way and hit another soldier in the lower chest. Body armor crumpled and the soldier was flung away like a boneless doll, to land near the trees a hundred meters away.
“They’re fucking Trolls,” yelled one of the troops, backing away from the creatures, then turning to run. The Sergeant backed up himself, reaching for another magazine and wondering why, since the bullets didn’t seem to be doing much good. A dozen soldiers were down, and to be down to these creatures meant you were dead. He pushed the magazine in and looked up to see one of the creatures towering over him, raising the huge mace into the air. It has to be three meters tall, thought the Sergeant in what he was sure was his last thought. Taller. He raised the barrel of his rifle and fired from the hip toward the head, blazing through the entire magazine in less than two seconds. As the weapon clicked on empty the NCO tensed, waiting for the impact of the mace that he knew would destroy his body.
A ripple of small explosions spackled across the head and shoulders of the creature. The Troll rocked back as small spurts of blackish blood flew into the air. Mier jumped back as he recognized the sounds of a thirty-five millimeter cannon ripping into the monster. He was splashed with foul smelling black blood as he moved away, reloading his rifle and looking for cover. The Troll fell back, then went to one knee as the armor piercing rounds tore through its body. With a plaintive grunt the creature fell forward into the dirt and lay still.
Sergeant Mier dropped behind the body of the Troll into a kneeling position and brought Orcs, creatures he knew he could kill, under fire. The auto cannon on the APC continued to hammer away, then went silent. Mier turned his head and felt the next shock of the day. One of the Trolls had jumped onto the APC and was hitting the turret with his mace, rocking the movable capsule back and forth. With a two handed swipe the Troll smacked the mace into the turret and tore it from its mount, breaking the haft of the mace at the same time. The turret tilted over to the left and it was obvious to the Sergeant that the weapon in it was out of action. And the other two Trolls were still moving among the Germans, swinging their heavy maces and killing men with every swipe.

Sergeant Mier couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The American officer was battling the two Trolls, keeping them occupied. She was moving with unbelievable speed and coordination, making the huge creatures seem even clumsier than they were. They were missing her with every strike, while she moved like the hero in some Oriental martial arts flick. Then she hit the one Troll with a kick and injured herself. The injury couldn’t have been too bad, because within moments she was back to moving like a superhero.
Mier felt the shock of the arrow piercing the young black woman as if it had hit him. She staggered from the obviously mortal blow. One of the Trolls then lifted her from the ground with a swing like a golf stroke, sending her flying through the air fifty meters to land hard on her back.
Mier looked around for a moment, spotting the Elf who had fired the arrow. The man was drawing back another long shaft and sighting in on something. Mier brought his rifle up to his shoulder, developed a good sight picture, and send a short burst at the Elf. One round impacted the bow and knocked it out of alignment just as the Elf was releasing the arrow. The other two rounds hit in throat and lower face, killing the Elf instantly. Mier sprayed bursts at the other Elves moving past the bowman, scoring a couple of hits and making the others drop to the ground. He then turned his attention back to the woman and the Trolls.
The Trolls were walking toward her with their ponderous gait, waving their maces and roaring their anger and hate, while she lay unmoving on her back. Mier dropped the magazine from his rifle and slapped another in as he ran toward the Trolls. As soon as he snapped the mag into place and released the bolt forward he stopped, brought the rifle up, and sprayed the magazine at the monsters. Sparks flew where the 6mm rounds hit the heavy armor. The Trolls screamed and one turned to the others to grunt out something in their language. One Troll turned back and continued on to the woman, while the other strode toward the Sergeant with blood in its eyes.
Mier slapped another mag in the rifle and aimed carefully, sighting in on the face of the creature, determined to do some damage before the monster took him out. The Sergeant felt the rifle recoil gently into his shoulder as he fired on sustained full automatic, striking most of the rounds into the face. The creature roared as it brought its hand up over its face. Some blackish blood spurted into the air and the creature roared again. The monster pulled its arm down and shuffled toward the Sergeant, the orbits where its eyes had been now blood filled holes.
Mier ran to the side of the now blind creature and looked over at the woman. She was unmoving on the ground, and the other Troll was standing over her, mace gripped in both hands and raised overhead. Mier fired off his remaining three rounds, striking the creature on the back. It hesitated for a second, then brought the mace down. The Sergeant opened his mouth to scream, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop the monster. That was when the second superhero struck.