A Great Week Related to Writing

Friends, it’s only Wednesday, but I have to say this has been a great week related to writing. So many magical and wonderful things have happened. I’m giddy with excitement!

First on the list is getting new covers. It has been raining covers in my world this week. The only one I can share with you at the moment is the new cover for Coming from Nowhere.


I’ve also re-released this book, so if you are interested, you can find it on Amazon. This is some of the other exciting news for this week. I’m also re-releasing Finding Eden. It’s a long story why I’m self-publishing these books, but I’m really excited to be able to have control. I like having control.

Finding Eden will also be getting a new cover, but it hasn’t been finalized yet, so I can’t share it with you. Don’t worry, you’ll know when it’s done.

I also received the cover for Humanity’s Hope. However, we’re planning a cover reveal, so I can’t share that with you yet either. I know, I know. It’s not nice to tease. I want to share it now too. It’s freaking amazing!

My friend (hi, Tamara!) and I are going to be co-authoring a work together. We met about it yesterday, and we’re both excited to get started on the project. All I can really tell you right now is that it’s going to be sci fi. I’m not trying to be obtuse, we just don’t have all the details worked out yet. We both love this genre, so we thought it would be the most fun to create a story in. I’m finishing some things up, then I’ll get to work.

So, speaking of finishing things up, I’ve been making a lot of progress on the sequel to Humanity’s Hope. I’m hoping to be done with the very rough draft by the end of the week. It’ll still take a lot of editing, but at least I’ll have something to edit. It feels so good to be making progress on this project.

Humanity’s Hope is getting closer to publication. As I said, I have the cover, and the text is going to the next stage of editing. I don’t know how long it will take, but I’m still hoping for an early 2017 release. Again, you’ll know when it comes out.

I’ve also received some amazing reviews for my work. One of them was for A Rancher and a Warrior, but Amazon took it down. Here’s what is said:

Intertwining history and a family saga, this book informs and delights. A man of many talents, Dale has survived WWII, although not unscathed, and goes on to flourish as a rancher and consultant. Well documented, the book focuses on Dale's contributions to the cattle industry and the state of Wyoming. Filled with archival gems, this book celebrates and honors a rancher and a warrior.


The other two were for Wucaii. If you’re inclined to check them out, you can find them here and here.


All of these amazing developments have got me jazzed. I’m riding the wave of creative excitement and can’t wait to see where the rest of the year takes me.

Seriously, Zombies Are Fun

Lately, I’ve been working on the sequel to Humanity’s Hope.  I’ve been making some really good progress. As of this blog post, I’m ready to start Chapter 15. At one point, I wasn’t exactly sure where the story was going, but after some brainstorming in the shower, I figured it out. I’m super excited where it’s headed.

There are so many fabulous things about zombies, but I think my favorite is the fact that they are fictional. This is great in many aspects, including the fact that we don’t have to fight them off on a daily basis. But the other point of this is that I can make them be anything I want. And that’s exactly what I’m doing in my book.

I’m super excited to get the words on the page and get this first draft done. Sometimes I lament not being able to write faster or that I can’t hook the computer up to my brain and think the story, having the words magically appear on the screen. Sigh. One day, maybe. Until then, I’ll just keep doing it the old fashion way.  

Humanity’s Hope should be out some time in the beginning of the year. I’ll let you know for sure. Until then, I’ll give you a little teaser of what you can expect. Enjoy!

One Nation Under Zombies

Caleb sprinted across the dirt road. His leg muscles burned. He was barely able to get his feet off the ground. The backpack slammed into his lower back with every step—the straps dug into his shoulders. As he approached the low wall, he slid into a crouch, turning so his back would contact the stones first. The pressure of the backpack pressed into his ribcage—squeezing the air out of his lungs. He pressed his lips together and let the stream flow out of his nose. He tried his best to keep it silent—a task that proved difficult with every pant. His lungs screamed for air. He wanted to draw in large, gasping breaths, but they would be too loud and attract unwanted attention. The undead were just on the other side of the wall, unaware of his presence, and he intended to keep it that way.

Caleb’s gaze drifted back to the road and fell on his sister, Nina, and Len, his chemistry partner from school. They ran toward him as fast as they could with their heavy backpacks that hunched them over. Or perhaps it was an attempt to make themselves smaller, so they were less noticeable—Caleb couldn’t tell. They slid up to the wall on either side of Caleb and attempted to control their breathing.

This was a terrible place to hide—they all knew it. It was too open, too exposed, but there weren’t any other choices. The squat wall was right at the edge of a fallow field, across the dirt road they had been traversing in the hopes of finding civilization. They found the wall in a vast, rural landscape. The three of them were lucky there was something. They had come around a bend in the road and up a small hill, and there they were—zombies—shuffling aimlessly through the countryside. Caleb had to suppress his shocked gasp. They came out here because the urban areas had become too dangerous. There were too many zombies. The supplies had either been pillaged or were too difficult to get to. The country was supposed to be their hope, their salvation. So far, it wasn’t. The farmhouse was still ways away, about 50 yards. At least that was what Caleb assumed. He was horrible at judging distances. It didn’t matter anyway. With the zombies in front of them, the house was as accessible as another planet. But they couldn’t stay out in the open, either.

The look on Len’s face reflected the turmoil Caleb felt inside. His eyes were wide, his face red from exertion. His head was cocked to the side, his jaw muscles tight. The look asked: “What do we do now?” Caleb had no answer.

When they set out that morning to look for food, they had told themselves the zombies had been confined to the cities. Why? Because they had to believe something. They had to think there was still a chance.

Caleb lowered his gaze to the ground. There was no way to respond to Len’s silent question. They just had to wait it out—make their move when they got the opportunity. Caleb glanced over his shoulder at his sister. She slumped against the wall, her legs sprawled out in front of her, her chin resting on her chest. His stomach tightened as he took in her pose. She wasn’t going to be able to move quickly from that position. She needed to be ready. Yet, he felt for her. What was the point of being ready if it meant they had to keep running? His legs shook underneath him as he held his crouch. It would have been such a relief to plop onto his butt and take the weight off his legs. He could’ve placed his arms around Nina’s shoulders and pulled her close. They could have relaxed in their misery. Instead, he gently backhanded her arm. When she looked at him, he thrust his thumb into the air. With an eye roll and deliberate movements, Nina moved into a crouch, removing the gun from the back of her waistband.

Caleb focused on the weapon in his hands. It was there so often, it was like an appendage. He rarely noticed it anymore. But neither of the guns would do them much good; there weren’t enough bullets to take out the threat. Even if they fired their remaining rounds, all it would do was draw more zombies to their location.

Caleb turned his attention away from his gun and stretched up to look over the wall. As soon as his eyes broke the surface, he scanned the area before sinking back down. His heart pounded against his ribs, his throat tightened. An undead lumbered close to the wall—too close. One wrong move or sound and they were spotted. He licked his lips and felt the sweat slide down his spine. If they stayed quiet, the zombies would keep moving. They just had to wait it out.

A low, soft grumbling filled the air. At first, Caleb wasn’t convinced he’d heard it. It was so low, he could have imagined it. He had hoped he’d imagined it. But then Len wrapped his arms around his midsection and squeezed. The rumbling grew louder. It was hard to hide the sounds of hunger. Caleb’s eyes grew wide. He shifted his stance so he could explode onto his feet.

The rotted hand reached over the wall and swiped the air between Caleb and Len. There were no other options. All of them sprang to their feet. The crowd of rotting flesh was converging on their position. Caleb extended his arms and lined up his sights. The crack of the gun echoed loudly in the country air; the corpse slumped onto the wall. All three of them jumped over the wall and ran toward the house. The path took them directly toward the zombies; they had to be fast enough to get by them.

Caleb’s extremities tingled with adrenaline, his footsteps thumped rhythmically on the hard, dry ground. He sucked in long gasps of air, but his lungs still burned for oxygen. He caught glimpses of the other two out of the corner of his eyes. The undead drew nearer. Their arms outstretched, waiting to snag their prey. Caleb zig-zagged across the field. He ducked under a pair of arms, then shouldered a zombie out of the way. Its bones crunched against his shoulder, teeth gnashed close to his ear, driving him forward with more urgency. The house grew larger with every step he took. Almost there.

A short yip followed by a grunt sounded behind him. He risked a glance over his shoulder. Len stumbled then fell. Caleb’s heart leapt into his throat. He skidded to a stop, turning to help his friend. Caleb was about to step toward Len, but he was stopped in his tracks. The action caused him to lose his balance. His arms flailed through the air to keep Caleb from falling over. An incessant, strong tugging kept him from moving forward. He turned to see Nina jerking on his backpack. Her eyes were wide and glistening with tears. She bit her bottom lip and shook her head violently. Caleb glanced again at Len, who reached for Caleb, his mouth open in a silent plea, tears running down his cheeks. Caleb reached toward him. Len’s plea turned into a scream as a zombie bit into his calf. A dark ring of blood stained his jeans and grew larger. Another zombie latched onto the fingers of his extended hand. The crunch as it bit through his bones rattled in Caleb’s skull. He pulled his hand into his chest.

Caleb turned at that point. There was nothing more he could do. His sister grabbed his wrist, and they ran into the house. They took the stairs two at a time and headed into a bedroom on the right. After closing the door, they scanned the area, checking under the bed and in the closet. Clear. His sister collapsed face first onto the bed. From the way her body shook, Caleb could tell she was crying. He leaned back until his pack connected with the door. His legs gave out, and he slid to the floor. Pulling his knees to his chest, he wrapped his arms around his head and tried to disappear into himself.

And then there were two.

And the Winner Is...


The winner of my giveaway, a signed paperback copy of Wucaii, is Holly Biggs.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Comfy Cozy Reading Weather Giveaway Hop. I enjoyed reading what you're looking forward to the most in 2017. I hope all of it happens for you and you have a fantastic year!




The Bio is Finally Done!

I haven’t done a formal blog post announcing this, so here it is!

The biography that I wrote for my grandfather-in-law is finished and now available for sale. You can find it on Amazon. It was an honor and a pleasure to be able to write this for him.

 
Lance Dale Robinson dreamed of one day owning his own ranch. Born and raised in a small town in Wyoming, ranching was all he’d ever known and it was all he ever wanted to do. But on his way to achieving that dream, WWII got in the way.

He was a heavy machine gunner for Company H of the 313th Infantry. He landed on Normandy Beach 6 days after D-Day, and tells a story of wading through bodies like seaweed to get onto land. He was part of the Battle of the Bulge, where he was almost court-martialed for thinking his sergeant’s life was more important than his weapon. He received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and a British Military Medal.

When he returned home after his service, he went back into ranching. During his career, Dale worked with the University of Wyoming and Colorado State University to improve artificial insemination of cows. He traveled and lectured about the impacts that were being made in the process, and he helped advance science and ranching.


This is the story of Dale's life in Wyoming and in WWII.

I’m also looking for reviewers, so if anyone is interested, please send an email to pembrokesinclar @ hotmail . com (remove the spaces) and let me know if you prefer mobi (for Kindle) or a pdf.

The Whole Collection

A few weeks ago, I posted a photo of the bat my mom knitted me on social media, and it got a lot of attention. I then posted a pic of the Baby Groot she made, and that went over pretty well too.

I thought I would share with you all of the creatures my mom has made me and my family over the years. They mean a lot to me, and I love that my mom makes them. Enjoy!


The sweet, sweet bat she made me. I was trying to figure out what to name it, and I decided on Ratu.

Adorable Baby Groot.

This is Lucinda the dragon. She sits on my bookshelf.


This is Pembroke the hedgehog. I've had him for a loooooong time. I've always wanted a pet hedgehog, but I don't really want/need another thing in my house to take care of or clean up after, so this was my mom's solutions to owning a pet. It works out well.


As many of you are aware, I'm a zombie fan, so my mom knitted me a zombie. This guy travels with me when I do my presentations. As you can see, he comes apart. He's part of a larger set where you can mix and match body parts with other zombies.

After I got my zombie, the boys wanted zombies of their own, but they wanted kitty zombies, so this is what my mom made.

I look forward to getting other creatures from my mom. They are so fun. Which one is your favorite?

Comfy Cozy Reading Weather Giveaway Hop


It's that time of year again when the weather gets questionable and the best thing to do is to curl up next to the fire with a good book.

If you're like me, that means a good story about the apocalypse. For this hop, I'm giving away a signed print version of Wucaii (open to U.S. shipping only). To be entered into the drawing, leave a comment telling me what you're looking forward to the most in 2017--and don't forget to leave me a way to contact you! The winner will be announced on the 16th. 


It has been 500 years since Aelana has been home, and a lot has changed in that time--including her. As a half-dragon, half-human hybrid, she has been traveling the universe destroying worlds. Both anxious and excited to return, she wonders what she will find. Her memories of home are filled with pain and loss, especially for her first and only love. She knows he won't be there, but will his memory? Will her anguish remain? What waits for Aelana on her home world? 

Find out in this exciting urban fantasy novel by Pembroke Sinclair.

Thanks for participating in the blog hop! Don't forget to check out the other blogs!
Pembroke Sinclair's books on Goodreads
Life After the Undead Life After the Undead
reviews: 55
ratings: 100 (avg rating 3.64)

The Appeal of Evil The Appeal of Evil (The Road to Salvation, #1)
reviews: 38
ratings: 63 (avg rating 3.54)

Wucaii Wucaii
reviews: 32
ratings: 35 (avg rating 4.11)

Death to the Undead Death to the Undead (Sequel to Life After the Undead)
reviews: 20
ratings: 39 (avg rating 4.23)

Dealing with Devils Dealing with Devils (The Road to Salvation, #2)
reviews: 22
ratings: 32 (avg rating 4.00)