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Release Blitz: Echoes by L.A. Ashton
Title: Echoes
Author: L.A. Ashton
Genre: Paranormal, LGBT, Vampires, werewolves, paranormal, romance, friends to lovers, immortal, reunion, Viking
After one thousand years of listless eternity, Oskar is used to his particular brand of loneliness. But a long walk through Middle America and a few chance encounters will lead him straight to a man he'd known to be long since dead―his childhood best friend, Aranck. Being undead hasn't stopped Aran from living life to the fullest. He has all the money and power his charm and business savvy could earn him, and plenty of friends. Lately, though, something seems to be missing. After a millennium, perhaps the world's shine has worn off—and that's when Oskar stumbles back into his life, reminding him of who he used to be. Together the two vampires remember what it felt like to live, all the while navigating a conflict with the local pack of werewolves. A lot has changed in a thousand years, and only time will tell if those changes will bring Oskar and Aranck closer together, or ensure they remain apart. Join NineStar Press Authors Alex Harrow, L. A. Ashton, and Tash McAdam on FACEBOOK for a virtual launch party of their releases, EMPIRE OF LIGHT, ECHOES, and WE ARE THE CATALYST! Find the party HERE. The event is February 25th from 8-10 PM CST, but feel free to drop by and stay as long as you wish! For more info on each author and their books, visit: EMPIRE OF LIGHT by Alex Harrow ECHOES by L.A. Ashton WE ARE THE CATALYST by Tash McAdam Stop by for exclusive snippets, character takeovers, prizes, and swag!
Echoes L.A. Ashton © 2019 All Rights Reserved Prologue Ana's eyes opened, unseeing. Her limbs were heavy, anchored to the floor by her own weakness and fatigue. And yet, she was alive. That confused her. The rough punctures of a bite burned at her neck. Blood dripped slowly from the wound, traveling the few short inches from her throat to the hardwood. Everything else felt fine; no broken limbs, no gashes or extraneous injuries. Her head rang, a high trill in the dark―perhaps a minor concussion sustained while collapsing. The room smelled like blood, wolves, and a bit of spilled beer. But shapes were still hazy black masses in dim red lighting, and even with her superior sight, she couldn't discern foreground and background, solid artifacts and darkness. She closed her eyes. What would be more useful to grasp first, memory or sight? She could recall vague things: the laughter of her brother beside her as he beat them at another hand of poker, the limited light of the room, and the shuffle of cards against skin. Then there was… She tipped her head, pressing her cheek against the coolness of the floor. A vampire. A vampire had charged into the bar―their bar―and attacked. After all the work she and Jackson had done, after all the effort they'd put into pack and vampire relations… She opened her eyes again. There was movement, slow and deliberate as if the person wasn't entirely coherent. She could barely see her packmates around her. Four of them were strewn about the floor, unmoving. They were alive, though, and that confused her as well. Their heartbeats and breaths filtered into her range of hearing as her mind cleared, and she could see the steady rise and fall of her brother's chest. Why would a vampire attack them? No―why would a vampire attack them and leave them alive? She attempted to track the motion. There was a figure moving above them, heavy boots clomping against the floor. She looked toward their face and they paused, gazing down at her with a face swathed in shadow. Her focus was bleary. She wouldn't have been able to make out their features even if they'd looked at her full-on, dead in the eyes. They were all outlines… short or close-cropped hair… average height… They had no heartbeat. Her lips parted. She wanted to ask them why. Here lay five of her pack, drained to the point of immobility but not death. They would heal fast, as werewolves do, and they would track this assailant, as werewolves do. And then, without trial, they would kill them. What kind of fool are you? But she didn't ask; her mouth was too dry and her body too slow, and by the time her mind had formed a proper question, the vampire was walking toward the entrance. The door opened up―a single rectangle of blue-black cut into the red-black of the bar―and bright stars shone quietly, like everything in the world was at peace. The vampire sent one last look at her pack. Then they closed the door―softly, as if to not disturb. Ana stared at the doorway in sedated wonder. Eventually she closed her eyes. The rest of their pack would find them, or their hearts would slowly beat them back to health, and the hunt for a vampire would begin.
L.A. Ashton is an LGBT+ author writing LGBT+ fiction. They enjoy rock music, traveling, and anything else that adds color to their daydreams. They believe in the healing properties of art and of having a cat firmly stationed on one's lap. Their official site can be found at www.LAAshton.com.
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Release Blitz: Empire of Light by Alex Harrow
Title: Empire of Light
Series: Voyance, Book One
Author: Alex Harrow
Genre: Science Fiction, LGBT, gay, pansexual, demisexual, sci-fi, romance
Damian Nettoyer is the Empire's go-to gun. He kills whoever they want him to kill. In exchange, he and his rag-tag gang of crooks get to live, and Damian's psychokinetic partner and lover, Aris, isn't issued a one-way ticket to an Empire-sanctioned lobotomy. Then Damian's latest mark, a suave revolutionary named Raeyn, kicks his ass and demands his help. The first item on the new agenda: take out Damian's old boss—or Raeyn will take out Damian's crew. To protect his friends and save his own skin, Damian teams up with Raeyn to make his revolution work. As Aris slips away from Damian and his control over his powers crumbles, the Watch catches on. Damian gets way too close to Raeyn, torn between the need to shoot him one minute and kiss him the next. With the Empire, Damian had two policies: shoot first and don't ask questions. But to save the guy he loves, he'll set the world on fire. Join NineStar Press Authors Alex Harrow, L. A. Ashton, and Tash McAdam on FACEBOOK for a virtual launch party of their releases, EMPIRE OF LIGHT, ECHOES, and WE ARE THE CATALYST! Find the party HERE. The event is February 25th from 8-10 PM CST, but feel free to drop by and stay as long as you wish! For more info on each author and their books, visit: EMPIRE OF LIGHT by Alex Harrow ECHOES by L.A. Ashton WE ARE THE CATALYST by Tash McAdam Stop by for exclusive snippets, character takeovers, prizes, and swag!
Empire of Light Alex Harrow © 2019 All Rights Reserved One: Shootings with a Chance of Explosions Funny how I always had to be the guy who ended up with a gun to his head. "I thought you said this was going to be easy," Aris said somewhere to my right. His voice was thick, the words choked out past the gun shoved underneath his jaw. The two Reds who kept us pinned were all broad shoulders and raw muscle. Huge white guys. Buzz cuts. Built like fucking tanks. In the low light of a fading sunset spilling into the empty warehouse, their leather coats gleamed like congealing blood. The run had started out simple enough: get in, dump the cargo—a couple dozen barrels of diesel and some tech we'd snatched off a derailed train—and get the hell out. The place'd been abandoned for years, just another slouching ruin on the outskirts of Low Side. The perfect hiding spot to stash away things you didn't want the Watch to find, while waiting for the highest bidder to jump the gun. A surefire way to some quick and easy cash and still get to my real job for the night. Standing there with my face mashed against the crumbling brick wall, a gun barrel against my skull, it looked more like a surefire way straight to a cell in the Finger of Light. If we were lucky. The guy above me seemed happy to put a bullet into my brainpan and chalk both Aris and me up as "casualties, resisting arrest." The Watch, safeguards of the Empire, the Consolidated Nations at their best. To protect and serve. Right. I couldn't just tell our dear upstanding Reds to go ahead and stick their guns and handcuffs up their asses because we kind of were on the same team. I might be running the Empire's off-the-books hits for extra cash, but officially, I didn't exist. Blurting out I was on their boss's payroll wouldn't get me anything but a bullet to the head and my body dumped into the East River. Talk about employment perks. That's what I got for double-booking myself. Fucking Murphy's Law. And worse, I'd dragged Aris into it. "Guess Jay was sugarcoating it a little when she said there might be slight complications." Someone ratted us out. No way the Watch had just shown up here, far from their usual patrol routes, without any reason. The whole thing'd been a sting from the get-go, and once I found out who'd set us up— My fingers twitched for my Colt. My Colt that lay cold and useless five feet away from me. Slim chance I'd be able to shoot both Reds before one of them got to either Aris or me, but I might get lucky and get the drop on one of them. Especially if I could piss him off enough he got stupid. At the very least I could distract them from Aris. "You know, I kind of need to be somewhere. And I'd appreciate a little more leg room here," I said and squirmed under the Red's grip. Honestly, by now I probably should've memorized some of the regulars' names or something. To me, they all looked the same. All fists ready to punch and guns ready to fire; neatly wrapped in black uniforms and their trademark red coats. Not like this was the first time either. By now, the Watch should issue us a punch card for frequent visits, maybe something with a rewards program. "Shut up." The Red jerked me around and slammed my head into the murky stained-glass window to my right. Point taken. A distant rushing filled my ears. Spots started to slow-dance in front of my vision. I went down hard, twisting away from the Red's reach and blindly fumbling for my Colt. I'd barely moved before his boot came down on my fingers with a dry crunch. I bit back a grunt that came out more like a breathless scream. "Next time it'll be your head," the Red—I mentally tagged him as Captain Crunch—said, towering above me, gun aimed at my forehead. If he shot me from that angle, there wouldn't be enough of my head left for Aris to scrape out of the wall cracks behind me. Here was hoping he had more fun beating the shit out of me than making shooting me look like it'd been his only option. The Red didn't shoot me. Instead, his knee dug into the small of my back, his free hand going for a pair of handcuffs. "In the name of the Empire of Light, I hereby place you under arrest for—" "Oh, I don't think so," Aris said. He'd been standing perfectly still, his head slightly bowed, a model of the "hands above your head and don't make a move" arrestee. The unthreatening kind. The kind who came quietly and wouldn't even think to make any trouble for our dear upstanding officers of the Watch who only did their job. When he straightened, brushing away a few errant blond curls that'd slipped out of his loose ponytail, a slow smile curved his lips. A dangerous smile, turning positively radiant until it teetered on the edge of manic as he glanced from the guy above me to the one holding him. "In fact, I'd suggest you two start running. This is going to get messy." His eyes flicked to me. "Damian, stay down. And get out." And like that, all color drained out of his eyes until they were a stark, milky white. Oh shit. "Aris, no!" Too late. The Red pinning me tensed. He slapped his hand on his right ear to call out for reinforcements. His headset shorted out with a buzz and the burned-copper smell of fried electronics. The guy holding Aris cursed and flinched away, as if he'd been zapped by a high-voltage fence. Aris didn't move. His expression wiped completely blank, like someone'd snuffed out the lights behind his eyes, now fixed on some point far above me. Then he blinked. I felt the zing of the Voyance crack through the air like a power surge. The window wall at my back blew up in a shower of broken glass and toppling bricks. Sacred, bleeding fuck! I managed to duck and roll away before half the wall collapsed on top of me. I flattened myself onto the ground and then scrambled to my feet, cursing and coughing through a cloud of red-brick dust settling on the crumbling remains scattered all over the cement floor and the cracked pavement outside. The explosion hit the Red above me completely by surprise. I only spared him a quick glance to make sure his hunched form wasn't moving, and he wasn't faking being unconscious. Or dead. A slow trickle of blood ran down his temple where one of the flying bricks must've hit him. People died from less. I didn't push my luck. I grabbed my Colt, its weight solid and familiar against my stiff, throbbing fingers. "Aris?" "Over here." His voice was a thin thread, fraying at the edges. "Told you to get out." I ignored that last bit. Aris stood only a few feet away from me, his back pressed against the remnants of the wall. His face was gray, and he was trembling badly; he probably would've fallen over if not for the second Red who kept him pinned. "Fucking Voyant," the Red snarled, gun shoved against Aris's temple, ready to put him down. As if Aris was nothing but a rabid animal. Aris stood perfectly still, blood running out his nose—a steady drip down the collar of his shirt. Looking at him, knowing how easily I could lose him, hurt worse than all the bruises and broken bones any Red could ever give me. "Damian—" The Red's finger tightened around the trigger. I shot him in the head. His body sagged sideways and hit the ground with a meaty thud, his gun slipping uselessly from his fingers. "Just to be clear," I said to the body at my feet. "He's my fucking Voyant, so back the fuck off."
Alex Harrow is a genderqueer, pansexual, and demisexual author of queer science fiction and fantasy. Alex' pronouns are they/them. When not writing diversity with a chance of explosions, Alex is a high school English teacher, waging epic battles against comma splices, misused apostrophes, and anyone under the delusion that the singular 'they' is grammatically incorrect. A German immigrant, Alex has always been drawn to language and stories. They began to write when they realized that the best guarantee to see more books with queer characters was to create them. Alex cares deeply about social justice and wants to see diverse characters, including LGBTQ+ protagonists, in more than the stereotypical coming out story. Alex currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with their equally geeky wife, outnumbered by three adorable feline overlords, and what could not possibly be too many books.
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Two Weeks Until A Harmony of Fire and Earth!
About A Harmony of Fire and Earth:
[Note: The following blurb contains spoilers for book 1, A Dance of Water and Air. Read at your own risk if you haven't read that book!]
Prince Edmund of Thalassa and Prince Arden of Aither are eagerly anticipating their upcoming wedding, but the danger to their kingdom hasn't lessened. They have a plan, but they won't be able to carry it out alone: they need a strong wielder of each Element, whom they can trust implicitly, to carry out the magic.
Rhys is a commoner and wielder of Earth magic. He and his sister have made a living from the use of their magic for years and have become highly respected in scholarly circles, though he prefers a more simple life with his plants. When a message from Prince Arden reaches them asking for their help, they don't hesitate. They stop only to request that Gaz, a strong Fire wielder and the man Rhys has long been enamored of, accompany them on the journey to Thalassa's royal palace.
What no one knows is that Gaz was once known as Prince Gareth of Thalassa and is Edmund's younger brother, long believed dead. He fled his home after his Fire Affinity made itself known and put him in danger, and he had no intention of ever going back. But he can't keep himself from going to his brother's aid, despite the risk of discovery and of the weight of his secrets potentially crushing his fledgling relationship with Rhys.
Working against time, they must find a way to come together in a magical working the likes of which none of them has ever imagined, or their homelands will surely burn.
Add A Harmony of Fire and Earth to your Goodreads shelf.
Preorder A Harmony of Fire and Earth from NineStar Press
We're getting so close to release day for A Harmony of Fire and Earth! It will be out on March 11th from NineStar Press. Harmony is Elemental Magicae book 2 and the sequel to A Dance of Water and Air. Dance was the story of two princes as they fell in love (even when they shouldn't have) and tried to save they're kingdoms. Harmony finds them getting married and still looking for a way to ensure the safety of their home. To that end, they need wielders of each Element to work together in magic no one has ever performed. And the Earth and Fire wielders, Rhys and Gaz, will have a romance of their own. Dance and Harmony have main characters who are demisexual, bisexual, trans, and gay. I've been sharing snippets for the last couple of weeks about Gaz and Rhys. I thought I would give you a glimpse of Arden on his wedding day. He's having a conversation with his friend Larkin (she speaks first).
"Are you happy?"
Arden stared at her for a moment.
Her smile gentled a little more. "I think you are. You look as if you are. You schemed your way into this marriage as a way to salvage an alliance between Aither and Thalassa and prevent a war or two—"
"And to be with Edmund," he said firmly. The rest should have been the most important part. He was a prince, and his whole life had revolved around the good of his country, but in this, everything was secondary to finding a way to be with Edmund.
"Good. I wanted to make sure you remembered that." She took one of his hands. "I know you'll always do your duty, but you deserve happiness. Edmund too. He might just deserve you."
Arden laughed. "He does, and I deserve him. It's an excellent match."
"There's my Arden."
If you'd like to know more about A Harmony of Fire and Earth, you can find it here. Thanks for reading!
Release Blitz: Ostakis by Angelica Primm
Title: Ostakis
Author: Angelica Primm
Pairing: M/NB
Genre: Science Fiction, LGBT, sci-fi, action, intersex
The Human Planets Collective sent young Ambassador Kaj Deder to the former colony planet Ostakis to establish relations. But in the twenty-five hundred years since Earth lost contact with Ostakis, the people of that colony have dramatically changed. Kaj is tasked with finding the reason for these changes while he forges trade links between the HPC and Ostakis. Without trade with the HPC, the dwindling resources of Ostakis will ultimately end human life on the planet. But his mission faces a huge obstacle in the form of Most Reverend Thyenn Sharr, the head of the Faith Progressive Church, who sees the arrival of Kaj as the beginning of the end of the Church. Kaj's powerful attraction to Trademaster Klath's son, Arlan does not smooth relations. Arlan Klath, the son of the Trademaster of Ostakis, bears the secret that the pious people of his planet want to hide from the homeworld and the HPC. The Curse of the Unspoken, wrought through the unspeakable acts of the First Colonists, afflicts all Ostakians, but some more strongly than others. Arlan is totally Cursed, considered born sinful and he lives without legal rights or property. He is scrutinized by Sharr who is enraged that Arlan's father defiantly refuses to submit Arlan to a cruel act to "redeem" Arlan's soul. The stakes increase when Arlan and Kaj form a relationship that Thyenn Sharr considers ample justification to usurp the Trademaster position through the power of his Church.
KAJ Dearest Marta, You would ask if I'm upset with my new posting. No. Not that. Discomforted. Yes. That is the correct word. You know I am a man who likes his routines, the stuff that meshes you to the pleasurable aspects of living. A delicious cup of coffee in the morning. Grilled vegetables on the barbecue and a nice glass of wine on the terrace in the evening. Everyday things. Where I head is not ordinary… Landfall is the most dangerous part of the journey. The transport shook and rattled as it descended to hit the atmosphere of Ostakis. Flames flared from the heat shield and now I know why the pilot told me to pull the shade on my seat window. It's terrifying watching the flames of friction ignited ionized gas shimmer outside the window and engulf the ship. To take my mind off my impending death I mulled over my last briefing with Director Kotel. "How terraformed is this planet?" I had asked the director. We both paged our copies of the sparse notes and reports on Ostakis on our government issued readers. Survey had just turned in the information, and I was eager to see it. But, at the director's request, I had to wait until this meeting to go through it thoroughly. "Not quite Earth normal," said Director Kotal. "Ten percent of the original plant and animal forms still survive. The Ostakians fight the planet's encroaching desert sands. The shield wall the colonists built is in disrepair." That was an interesting bit of information. "Any reason why?" "Our survey found abandoned population centers. Grey and Jacobs in Analysis think the number of people is shrinking. They may not have the workers to maintain it." "So, after all this time, it has begun." "Yes. It had to, didn't it?" She stood and stared out of the port window that revealed the desert planet beneath us. "If any planet needs what the HPC offers, it is Ostakis." A silence hung between us. The urgency of the mission weighed more heavily. "And another thing," she said. "The scout team reported rumors, or myths, of aboriginal tribes hiding in the desert." We looked each other in the eye. The first hope of Earth had been finding indigenous sentients, but to our disappointment found none. "Our lack of knowledge of the basis of the Faith Progressive Church hampers us. They didn't send literature on their precepts." "Odd. Religions like to proselytize." "Exactly. So we can only assume that there are things they don't want us to know. Be careful of Thyenn Sharr, Kaj. He's the church's head man. I can't impress this enough on you. Their highly conservative religious movement does not condone much that isn't praying and preaching. The hardest part of this assignment is conforming to the societal norms of the planet." "Until I otherwise need to." "Yes," she said with a nod of her head. "Until that. So tread carefully."
Born in a century far less progressive than how her brain is wired, Angelica engages in occupations now considered now less than reputable, one of them being a ghostwriter of erotic and romance fiction. Since time travel is not an option, in her off time she contents herself with writing about people and places in a far distant future with the twists that only come with traveling to the stars. Angelica lives in Connecticut with an odd assortment of cats and humans and putters at hobbies ranging from art to bird watching when she's not turning a phrase for her supper.
Guest Post: Ithani by J. Scott Coatsworth
The final MM sci fi book in J. Scott Coatsworth's "Oberon Cycle" trilogy is out - "Ithani"!
Time is running out.
After saving the world twice, Xander, Jameson and friends plunge headlong into a new crisis. The ithani--the aliens who broke the world--have reawakened from their hundred millennia-long slumber. When Xander and Jameson disappear in a flash, an already fractured world is thrown into chaos.
The ithani plans, laid a hundred thousand years before, are finally coming to pass, and they threaten all life on Erro. Venin and Alix go on a desperate search for their missing and find more than they bargained for. And Quince, Robin and Jessa discover a secret as old as the skythane themselves.
Will alien technology, unexpected help from the distant past, destiny and some good old-fashioned firepower be enough to defeat an enemy with the power to split a world? The final battle of the epic science fiction adventure that began in Skythane will decide the fate of lander and skythane alike. And in the north, the ithani rise…
Ithani Buy Links
Dreamspinner eBook | Dreamspinner Paperback | Amazon eBook | Amazon Paperback | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads
Book 1: Skythane:
Dreamspinner eBook | Dreamspinner Paperback | Amazon Kindle | Amazon paperback | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads
Book Two: Lander:
Scott is giving away a $50 Amazon gift card and ten copies of "The Stark Divide," the first book in his other trilogy, his other trilogy, "Liminal Sky," with this tour. Enter via Rafflecopter:
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d4753/?
Venin stood under the dome of the chapel, the waters of the Orn rushing past the small island to crash over the edge of the crater rim, where they fell a thousand meters to the broken city of Errian below.
The Erriani chapel was different from what he was used to back home. The Gaelani chapel in Gaelan had sat at the top of a tall pillar of stone, open to the night sky, a wide space of grass and trees that intertwined in a natural dome through which moonlight filtered down to make dappled shadows on the ground.
This chapel, instead, was a wonder of streaming sunlight, the columns a polished eggshell marble with glimmering seams of gold. Red creeper vines climbed up the columns, festooned with clusters of yellow flowers that gave off a sweet scent.
Both were bright and airy, but the Erriani chapel lay under a dome supported by fluted marble columns, a painted arch of daytime sky and the rose-colored sun blazing overhead.
The last time he'd gone to chapel had been with Tazim, before his untimely death.
Long before the troubles that roiled the world now.
Something drew him back. A need to reconnect with his past. To bridge the gap between then and now, between who he was and who he had become. Taz would have liked this place.
The chapel here had survived the attack, while much of Errian had not. The city below was a jumble of broken corrinder, the multistory plants that were the main building stock for the city. They would grow again, but the sight of the city's beautiful white towers laid low struck him to the core.
So had Gaelan looked, after the flood.
Venin turned back to the chapel and unlaced his boots, baring his muscular calves before he approached the fountain that splashed at its center. The cool flagstone beneath his feet sent a shiver up his spine, and green moss filled the gaps between the stones.
Some builder whose name was lost to time had tapped into the river itself to make the fountain run, and the water leapt into the air with a manic energy around the golden statue of Erro, before falling back down to the pool.
Venin knelt at the fountain's edge on one of the well-worn pads, laid his hands in the shallow water, and let his wings rest over himself, making a private place to pray.
Erro and Gael, spare us from danger and lift us up into the sky with your powerful wings. He gave Erro deference, being that this was his chapel, but he hoped Gael would hear him too. The god of his own people had been known to intervene in mortal affairs before, and if what Quince had told them about these ithaniwas true, they would need all the help they could get.
Venin's wings warmed.
He looked up in astonishment to see the statue of Erro giving off an intense golden glow. His mouth dropped open, and he stood and stared at its beautiful male curves and muscles. Maybe the gods were answering him.
Venin reached up and touched the statue's outstretched hand. The shock knocked him backward onto his ass, and he hit the ground hard, slamming into one of the marble columns.
Venin groaned, stunned, and reached back to feel his wings and spine. He seemed to be in one piece.
Taz would have laughed his ass off at the whole thing.
After a moment he sat up cautiously. He wrapped his arms around his legs and stared up at the statue, his chin on his knees.
The glow was gone.
Did I imagine it? He stood and felt the back of his head. A lump was already forming there. That's gonna leave a mark.
Something had changed. Venin didn't know what yet, but he was sure of that much.
He pulled his boots back on and laced them up. With one last suspicious glare at the statue, he turned and stepped out of the chapel, taking a deep breath of the moisture-laden air.
Then he leapt into the sky to soar down to the broken city.
Scott lives with his husband of twenty five years in a Sacramento suburb, in a cute little yellow house with a brick fireplace and two pink flamingoes out front.
He inhabits in the space between the here and now and the what could be. Indoctrinated into science fiction and fantasy by his mom at the tender age of nine, he quickly finished her entire library. But he soon began to wonder where all the queer people were.
After coming out at twenty three, he started writing the kinds of stories he couldn't find at Crown Books. If there weren't many queer characters in his favorite genres, he would will them into existence, subverting them to his own ends. And if he was lucky enough, someone else would want to read them.
His friends say Scott's mind works a little differently than most - he makes connections between ideas that others don't, and somehow does more in a day than most people manage in a week. Although born an introvert, he forced himself to reach outside himself, and learned to connect with others like him.
Scott's stories subvert expectations that transform traditional science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary worlds into something different and unexpected. He runs both Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark.
His romance and genre fiction writing brings a queer energy to his stories, filling them with love, beauty and power. He imagines how the world could be - in the process, he hopes to change the world, just a little.
Scott was recognized as one of the top new gay authors in the 2017 Rainbow Awards, and his debut novel "Skythane" received two awards and an honorable mention.
You can find him at Dreamspinner here, Goodreads here, on Amazon here, on QueeRomance Ink here, and on Facebook here.
Release Blitz: Blood Lust by L.E. Royal
Title: Blood Lust
Author: L.E. Royal
Genre: Paranormal, LGBT, Paranormal, contemporary, lesbian, vampire, family-drama, human slaves, horror, dark, paternal murder, blood play, psychic ability
The sequel to Blood Echo. For Rayne Kennedy, the only Hybrid in Vires, a walled Vampire city in Vermont, life is almost over. Despite the new family and temporary happiness she's found, her vampire girlfriend, Scarlett Pearce, has been given ninety days by the mysterious city government to turn her into a vampire. She's sure her days as a human are numbered. Scarlett fights to find a way to avoid Rayne's death when her father and society have decreed it must happen. Between new relationships formed, old ones reshaped, and a bloody romp through the city's darkness, Rayne must decide if she trusts Scarlett not to give in to her blood lust. Thrown into the center of an unexpected revolution, Rayne tries to save herself and Scarlett, unsure if her days as a human, and their time being blood bound, are truly coming to an end.
Blood Lust L.E. Royal © 2019 All Rights Reserved Chapter One "Pick it up." Scarlett watched with lazy eyes as my hand shot forward to grab the apple. I hated her a little for how easy she found this. "You're scowling, Princess." I dropped the apple the minute she let me and did my best to straighten my face. The revelation that Scarlett and I were blood bound was old news, but its implications were still new to both of us. We'd been spending time when we were alone learning to overcome the phenomenon—or trying. The vampire stretched, reclining before me on the black satin bedsheets, and I wondered if she felt me compelling her at all. I tried to recreate the feeling inside myself from the rare times I had succeeded in bending her to my will. Silently, I concentrated and willed her to pick up the apple. She yawned. Raindrops ran down the sleek glass doors of Scarlett's balcony, the sky a dreary gray. Even from the great height of the thirteenth floor, I could see little beige specks below that I knew were actually humans. They came from the outskirts of the city—the Fringe, brought in to work around the decadent skyscrapers that housed Vampire families, like Scarlett's. High up in Pearce Tower we could live under the illusion of safety, for the moment. Below, the streets of Vires teemed with vampires, Deltas who were genetically advanced enough to walk in the daylight. The non-Deltas would join them at sunset. A flash of curiosity disturbed me, pulling me back off the dark path I was traveling, thoughts of society in Vires starting to consume me. Without looking, I could feel her watching me, taste her curiosity. Her wish to know what was going on inside my head was clear through the emotional connection we shared. I tried to lock her out, to shield my feelings from her. She tipped her head and when I met her dark eyes, their intensity burned. I figured I was successful. Pick up the apple. Her voice was liquid smoke, lingering in my mind, penetrating every corner. My pale hand darted forward and grabbed it again. She smirked. My stupid, smug, beautiful vampire. My fingers released their grip the moment she bade them to, and the abused fruit fell back onto the sheets. "Your turn." I wanted to grumble, to ask what the point was. We both knew I couldn't resist the commands she gave. We also knew she could resist mine effortlessly most of the time. I smoothed my hands over my jean-clad thighs and tried again. "I'm not resisting you, sweetheart. I haven't felt any compulsion to resist yet." She was amused. It danced in her eyes, in the little tug at the corner of her mouth, but I knew she was trying to be diplomatic, at least. "Why is this even important?" She had been playful and light-hearted, secretly enjoying the little game we shared. The minute I asked the question I felt her growing cold, uncomfortable. The pleasant hum of her emotions as they lapped at me waned before they shut down altogether. The subject we were avoiding hung between us, heavy and suffocating. After almost a week of sleepless nights and uneasy dreams I knew sometimes she could share, I was ready to drag it out into the light. "I don't ever want it to be used against us." She was somber, her expression dark and unreadable. "Scar, if I'm going to be a vampire anyway…" She hissed. I prepared to backpedal, wishing I had been a little more tactful, but she was already speaking. "Why are you so obsessed with becoming a monster?" "Jade's not a monster and she's a vampire." Dark eyes softened at the mention of her younger sister, one of the people she loved most in the world. Through our connection I had quickly grown to love her too. "Jade has struggled more than you know." It was cryptic and caustic and an answer that was oh so Scarlett. "You're not a monster, really." She scoffed. We were silent for a few seconds, my reply dancing on the tip of my tongue. It was a large part of what had been keeping me up at night, but I was too afraid of her answer to voice the topic. "Say what's on your mind?" It was only half a question, and I could tell it took some effort for her not to command it out of me. Beneath the cold indifference she had painted on her face, tiny tells and miniscule shimmers of her feelings told me she was nervous. "I don't want to get old when you'll always be young." She laughed, and the sound was ever so slightly bitter. "I'm three hundred and sixty-nine years old, Princess." I wondered if I would ever stop being staggered by that fact. "Besides, I don't think aging is something we have to worry about. I'm almost certain you've already stopped, being as you are." "Hybrids don't age?" My voice was an octave too high with surprise, and maybe a little bit of joy. We hadn't much discussed what I was, what I had become, what she had made me. Her cool and careful handling of the subject frustrated me, and it gave me the uncomfortable feeling she was making plans without any of us. "Just a hunch." She tried to curtail me before I got too fixated on the fact. "But if I'm right and age isn't a factor, are you still so eager to be turned?" I shrugged, unsure. "Being a hybrid is still dangerous. What if the Government eventually discovers that us sharing blood is what caused this? What if they find out we're blood bound? Wouldn't it be safer if I was less…breakable?"
L.E. Royal is a British born fiction writer, living in Texas. She enjoys dark but redeemable characters, and twisted themes. Though she is a fan of happy endings, she would describe most of her work as fractured romance. When she is not writing, she is pursuing her dreams with her multi-champion Arabian show horses, or hanging out with her wife at their small ranch/accidental cat sanctuary.
I'm sharing another snippet from A Harmony of Fire and Earth this week and also giving you the first look at the cover, designed by the fantastic Natasha Snow! This snippet comes after the last snippet I shared and answers the question of whether Rhys kisses Gaz.
"Do you not want me to kiss you? If so, just say, and I'll never mention it again." He silently recited every prayer he knew that Gaz wouldn't say it.
"It isn't that I don't want you to. It's just—"
Rhys didn't let Gaz finish, and maybe that was wrong. He didn't even consciously make the decision to close the distance—only a step or two—between them and press his lips to Gaz's. It was a whisper of a kiss at first, light and soft. But Rhys was stunned to be kissing Gaz after all this time. Just that fact was glorious.
Gaz's lips were soft and still under his. Then he made a little noise and stepped into Rhys, bent just a bit, and the kiss became something more.
Isn't that cover beautiful? I'll have more soon about Harmony. In the meantime, check out book one in the Elemental Magicae duology, A Dance of Water and Air. Also, though unrelated to Harmony, the first four books in my Chronicles of Tournai series are 35% off at Dreamspinner right now. Thanks for stopping by and reading!
Happy belated Valentine's Day, all! Much love to all of you!
We're halfway through February already, which means halfway through JeRoWriMo, NJ Romance Writers' writing challenge month in which we all try to write 30k words in February. I've been trying to use it as a way to jumpstart my writing, which has been slow for far too long. Um, I'm not sure how well it's working since I had to juggle a set of edits for A Harmony of Fire and Earth in there. But edits are done now, and Harmony is off to the proofreader. And I can try to buckle down and get some words written on my contemporary royalty romance (demisexual prince and eventual heir to the throne dodges attempts to push him into a suitable marriage and ends up falling for his sister's old college friend, but an American artist is not who anyone envisioned for him) and on Tournai 8 (Griffen's story! Plus, more dragons!).
A Harmony of Fire and Earth with be out next month. Yay! I should have more for you soon, including a final description and cover (it's so pretty). I've been sharing snippets of it during my weekend Rainbow Snippets here, so check those out.
And finally, I signed a contract with NineStar Press for the seventh Tournai book, The Spymaster's Secret. It's Alexander and Marcus's story, and I really love it. It should be out later this year, and I'll have more on that for you soon.
Back to writing now!
Valentine's Book Sale
Dreamspinner is having a Valentine's sale this week, with 35% off all books including mine. And if you're shopping at NineStar, use coupon code Narrative0210 for 50% off your cart (excluding preorders/sale) through the 17th. It might be a good time to pick up A Dance of Water and Air before A Harmony of Fire and Earth comes out next month if you haven't yet...


No funny sugar-y flavored yogurts here. This recipe uses my super simple, traditional-style, homemade tangy Homemade Vegan Yogurt as its base and is topped off with a delicious salty-garlic mixture.
This Creamy Garlic Yogurt Dip is thick, tangy, savory and perfect for chip and veggie dipping.
So simple and SO good. YUM.
This Creamy Garlic Yogurt Dip (aka Labneh) is SO creamy and dreamy in fact it even fooled our cat, Mavi.
Guys, I wasn't initially going to share this recipe with today but I know it would have been what Mavi wanted.
Our loving, cuddly, independent, curious and squirrel-seeking, 6-year old kitty Mavi was taken from us too soon this week.
Last Spring, after 5 years of being a happy indoor kitty, Mavi decided he wanted to explore, go on adventures and become an outdoor cat. We tried desperately to keep him inside because we were worried about him exploring the big city by himself – but Mavi wanted otherwise. After weeks of Mavi meow-ing, wreaking kitty havoc in the house and trying to go outside we opened the door for him to explore. It's what he wanted.
He'd happily go in an out, marking his territory around the city, chasing squirrels and exploring the ravines around our house. Mavi was the happiest he'd ever been in these past few months of his short life.
Our hearts broke on Friday morning when he did not come home after his Thursday evening outing. We called for him, distributed flyers and started thinking the worst when he still did not jingle in through the backdoor like he always does. We received the heartbreaking news yesterday evening that a neighbour had found our beloved kitty at peace.
Mavi was the best cat ever. Everybody loved him – even the biggest cat haters could not resist Mavi's sweet soul and handsome charm.
He loved to cuddle and give hugs with his two paws around your neck while he softly purred in delight from the affection and caresses.
Mavi was so so loved by our puppy Maggie as well. Mavi and Maggie broke every cat and dog rule in the book. Mavi would sit there in bliss while Maggie carefully cleaned Mavi's ears until they were squeaky clean. We'd often catch them playing around the house with one another – barking and meowing back and forth as cats and dogs do. The two were a pair and loved each other deeply.
Mavi also loved to come sit on my lap while I was working away. Mavi was a social cat. If there was any 'action' going on in the house he'd be there.
This is one of the last photos J captured of Mavi when I was making this Creamy Garlic Vegan Yogurt Dip a couple weekends ago. Mavi loved the dip and was hopping on and off the table, over our camera equipment and food set up – trying to get in on the action like he always loved to.
Before you add your spices into this Creamy Garlic Yogurt Dip, maybe give one of your kitties a taste – no human… or kitty can resist.
This Creamy Garlic Yogurt Dip is thick, tangy, savory and perfect for chip and veggie dipping. It makes a delicious appetizer, side or thick dip sauce. Make sure to use homemade vegan yogurt *that is unsweetened* for this Creamy Garlic Yogurt Dip.
Place a colander in a large pot. Position the colander so the bottom is not touching the bottom of the pot (this is so the liquid of the yogurt can drain out). Place two layers of cheese cloth in the colander.
Scoop yogurt in the cheese cloth. Tie the cheese cloth at the top to form a little yogurt "parcel". Leave the yogurt to drain from 12 – 24 hours until a lot of the liquid from the yogurt has strained. The longer you leave the yogurt, the thicker the dip will be. After the yogurt has strained, give it a little squeeze to get the excess liquid out.
I am so sorry for your loss of your beautiful kitty…. I just need to point out though.. garlic is extremely toxic to cats and dogs. It is a part of the allium (onion) family and if ingested it can cause severe health issues and it should never be given to any animals in any quantity.
So very sorry to hear about your wonderful, special cat. How very sad for you… Lovely pictures of him.
Ceara, I can feel your love for him through your words and pics and I have not been able to stop thinking about you. I'm so truly sorry for your loss. He was such a stunningly, beautiful cat too! He was so blessed to have you in his life as his mommy! Sending you hugs and thoughts and prayers that you and J can find comfort.
I lost 2 very important cats in my life years back and my heart STILL aches for them, so I completely understand your pain.
Again, so sorry to hear about Mavi. Hugs!!
This dip looks fantastic though! I could use some for snacking with chips right about now!
I'm so sorry to hear about your cat 🙁 it's such a heartbreaking thing to lose a pet. You have great photos to remember him by.
And you have no idea how heartbroken I am about Mavi. Animals are everything, and hearing about your loss has me a little teary too :'( I'm so sorry dear.


Previously an amateur musician and in electrical engineering, Maxime was introduced to computer science in 2007. He then obtained a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the Université de Montréal (2011) and a M.Sc. in IT at UQAM (2017). Before joining Shopify, he worked at Lexum as a search engine specialist and a team leader. At Shopify since 2016, Maxime worked on the management and security of domains. He is now working on the cloud infrastructure with Kubernetes and Elasticsearch.


In an era where musical material has been "skewed" from any type of controlled standard, Planet Zaxxon is determined to fulfill all expectations of the projected listener. From raw 8-bit minimal soundsets to fully integrated productions, variety is no stranger.
Working with technology outside of the modern digital domain tends to force the individual to be more creative. It still allows much room for new ideas, but without ever being too overwhelming. In many cases, we feel that simple is the most effective.
Please feel free to contact us at anytime, whether it be for audio inquires, album releases or to chat about the pulse width modulation tone differences on a C64 compared to a Dreadbox Hades. We love that stuff.


text:
Dick was at a camp in the Aldershot area while half his Regiment, including half his troop, were waiting for D-Day on ships in the Solent.
On Monday 5th June he wrote "We're still having quite a good time here, all things considered, though there's very little to do and time is apt to hang rather heavily". He was reading books, walking in the woods and taking 'the boys' to an open-air swimming pool nearby. Writing again the next day he was "up to my neck in this wretched audit board at the moment adding up masses and masses of figures" and had to "bust a couple of sergeants…for absence". This was how he spent D-Day.
Dick and the rest of his troop, including Anthony Rampling, were due to cross to France on D+3 (ie the 9th June) but the sea was too rough and they were delayed. On 10th June Dick wrote to Chotie of drunken parties – he'd been "out every night since D Day". The Hollywood star, Gertrude Lawrence, had given "quite a good show" at his camp.
Dick's next letter is from France. He and Tony went over on Tuesday 13th June (D+7) - although Churchill had made it across on a day trip the previous day. Dick was very re-assuring "everything is fine – I'm in the pink and very happy here" although he was desperately tired, not having slept since Sunday. At some time Dick would have heard that one of his troop on sentry duty in France had shot and killed Corporal Robert Black, confusing the passwords and mistaking Black's Londonderry accent for German.
Tony and Dick rejoined their troop on 14th June. The troop members who went over on D-day had "gained a little battle experience (!) and seen some nasty things". They "felt like veterans compared with the new arrivals." (From Ex Trooper S Handley's '61 Recce - Memories of Normandy 1944 – 1945', unpublished.)
Since D-Day (or D + 1 for Sandy) the skeleton crew of 61st Recce had been engaged with 50th Division and 8the Armoured in an attempt to advance between Bayeux and Caen and take the critical town of Villers-Bocage. Despite some success, in particular taking and holding the high ground of Point 103 (la Belle Épine) near Tilly-sur-Seules, they had been held off by the legendary Panzer Lehr Division, the cream of the German Army in Normandy, and also the fanatical 12th SS Hitler Jugend nearer to Caen.
The 7th Armoured Division (Monty's Desert Rats) had then been tasked with taking Villers-Bocage but were badly beaten by 2nd Division Panzer and the personal triumphs of the Panzer ace Michael Wittman, who destroyed 25 tanks in one day.
They had also discovered the perils of the bocage countryside – small fields with thick high hedges and narrow lanes, which perfectly camouflaged defenders for an ambush. "Recce in Normandy meant driving down a road until something fired at you" (from WW2 Talk Forum)
The stench of death was everywhere – dead cattle and horses in the fields, casualties of war or shot by the Germans in retreat, and dead men who couldn't be retrieved by their comrades.
On 15th June 'B' Squadron were somewhere in the Crauville area (between Tilly-sur-Seules and Caumont-L'Éventé) when the carrier in front of Eric Postles exploded killing four of the troop – two had been called up with Eric at Carlisle. On the same day Don Aiken was involved in saving the life of his wounded corporal, Sammy Benson, giving covering fire while the heroic Sergeant 'Chalky' Wells went in to bring him to safety.
"We continued to live up to our name of reconnaissance, but every day our patrols found progress harder" (from 'A Reconnaissance Regiment in the B.L.A.' by Lt-Col P.H.A. Brownrigg D.S.O.). Eric Brewer was back at Point 103 again from 15th to 18th June withstanding 'Gerry' counter-attacks.
Dick wrote to Chotie :
Sunday June 18th
Chotie Darling,
Well, Sunday's come around again, though it makes no difference at all as every day is exactly the same here. I've put the 18th above but it's only a guess.
I hope to be able to write you more fully here, as I expect to have the rest of the morning free, though we never know when we'll be called.
Had quite a good night – four or five hours solid sleep – the first since I've been here. It takes time to get acclimatised to sleeping in the midst of the terrific artillery racket that goes on nightly. As Dostoevsky says 'Man is a pliable animal – he gets used to anything in time'*.
Weather isn't up to much at the moment – cloudy, though quite warm.
I manage to get quite a bit of conversation with the local peasantry. They speak a very pure tongue – slowly and with much careful thought. The equivalent of the West Country in England. So far I have had no difficulty in understanding them, or they me.
My friend Jimmy Waddell is just walking over here. He's been out all night and looks a little tired. Appears he's been sniped at once or twice but got back OK. It's an endless source of amazement to us to see the people going about their lawful business with a total disregard to what's going on around them. I even saw an old farmer milking his only cow while a local battle was being waged for his farm!
My relieving people have just arrived so will continue this later.
Just had a go at an ME 109** with the old Bren. No luck. First I've seen for days.
Must close here as I have to move. Give my best wishes to your people won't you? And tell them I'm having the time of my little life.
All my love, Chotie Darling
*From the Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky's novel 'The House of the Dead'.
** a Messerschmitt Bf 109, a German fighter plane.
Eric Brewer records that 61st Recce advanced towards Grainville-sur-Odon on 18th June but losing an Ark (armoured car?) and a carrier to an 88 gun (an anti-aircraft gun used against ground targets by the Germans) they were forced to withdraw. Eric Postles remembers 18th June as the day they moved back a few miles and got their first mail since Nightingale Wood – he had a letter from Gladys (the girl he'd met on leave before D-Day, his future wife).
On 19th June Tilly-sur-Seules at last fell to the 50th Division, although intense fighting continued in the vicinity. Eric Brewer lost five comrades on another recce in the Grainville area – one taken prisoner.
On 20th June Don Aiken found himself in the besieged town of Caen when the driver got lost returning from the beaches with a truckload of ammunition. Don was riding 'shotgun' in the rear of the truck. Finding their way back to the Regiment the driver was killed when a German fighter plane blew up the truck in front.
Forced to withdraw from Grainville to "a rear position to be reinforced" Eric Brewer at last had a bath in a stream. Anthony Rampling recalls that conditions in Normandy were so bad that, being on constant alert, they didn't take their boots off for 40 days and "stunk like foxes".
Letters home painted a different picture – Dick's letter of 21st June is about the local people "shy but very friendly – and only too willing to converse with you, especially if you speak any French at all" - and the food; he managed to buy Camembert cheese and cider. Eric Brewer had "at last found a farm to obtain milk" and chatted to a Frenchman of the "underground movement".
By 21st June 61st Recce's 50th Division had suffered 4,000 casualties, the highest of any Division in Normandy. The Battle for Normandy became something akin to the trench warfare of World War 1, with Recce units going into action alongside the heavy armour, fighting bitterly for every advance and 'digging in'. Eric Brewer complained that he'd be a gravedigger after the war since it was all he seemed to be doing. He was stuck at some cross roads near Grainville from 22nd to 26th June. Dick was also back in action. He sent a Field Service Postcard to Chotie on 23rd June ( a quick correspondence device where you just entered the address and date and crossed out lines that didn't apply eg 'admitted into hospital', 'wounded' or 'sick') but managed to write a letter on 24th June. He was rapidly acquiring the local patois and had been talking to the refugees "scores of families with all their remaining belongings in one wheelbarrow".
This was also the day the ship Derrycunihy was sunk on the way to landing 43rd Reconnaissance Regiment at 'Sword' beach. 180 men died including Dick's best friend when he was in the 43rd, the piano player Alex Johnston.
The next day XXX Corps renewed its battle with the Panzer Lehr as a diversionary attack for the launch of Operation Epsom, Monty's plan to attack west of Caen and then swing round to encircle the city. Eric Brewer and his comrades were sent out to find the German forward position for assaults by the East Yorks Regiment and, on 26th June, found the place formerly occupied by a company of the Green Howards – their kit was still there but the 57 men had not been heard of for a week. Eric Postles records that 10 and 12 Troop lost men that day. The attack on Grainville-sur-Odon was stalled on 27th June although the Allies took Rauray, Colleville and Mouen and a bridge over the River Odon. Grainville was also in their hands the next day and 61st Recce crossed the River Odon to Mondrainville. Eric Brewer was relieved at last and went back to base where he found 'B' Squadron had lost about a quarter of their men, 25 killed and about 25 injured, since D-Day.
Dick wrote to Chotie on 29th June saying that he was having a quiet time "doing Liaison Officer to a Brigadier – quite cushy in fact". He appears to have been in Bayeux for about 9 hours and managed to buy bread rolls with coffee – the first bread he'd tasted since he arrived in France.
After terrible fighting to take Hill 112, the strategic high ground south-west of Caen at Esquay-Notre-Dame, Operation Epsom was closed down on 30th June.
Dick and the history of the war had now collided, with the spotlight on the efforts of 2nd British Army and 12th US Army in Normandy. The beginning of Operation Overlord, D-day and the landings on the beaches have been covered in the previous post. The attempts by 8th Armoured Division (with 61st Recce) and then 7the Armoured to take the D-Day objective of Villers-Bocage had ended in failure before Dick arrived in France. His men had come up against the legendary Panzer Lehr Division - which was holding the line west of Caen with 12th SS Division and 2nd Panzer - and the difficulties of the bocage countryside, which masked defenders, snipers and even tanks. By the end of the month 2nd British Army was under attack from seven Panzer Divisions, although Rommel still kept Fifteenth Army in the Pas de Calais in case of Allied invasion further east.
The Allies depended on their huge supplies and reserves, air support (very successful in picking off German tank convoys heading for Normandy) and their effective artillery, including Naval bombardment since much of the fighting was within gunnery distance of the shore. The brilliant Mulberry Harbours, erected soon after D-Day, had played a key role in landing troops, equipment and ammunition; although they proved vulnerable to the stormy weather later in June. However, compared with the Germans most of the soldiers lacked experience and Monty relied again and again on his battle-worn troops from North Africa and Sicily, including the 50th Division.
The Americans fought bitter battles to take towns such as Carentan (liberated on 12th June, joining up the 'Omaha' and 'Utah' bridgeheads), key strategic road junctions or even small villages. US troops held a line across the Cherbourg Peninsula to Barneville by 18th June, cutting off 40,000 Germans to the north. On 27th June they took their key target, the port of Cherbourg; so damaged that, although it was of some use after 3 weeks, it was not fully functioning until September.
The Canadians having been involved in the disastrous first attacks on Caen (they lost almost 3,000 men in the first six days after D-Day) held their ground against 12th SS Panzer's attempts to break through to the sea.
By 30th June the Allies have landed a total of 630,000 troops but suffered 62,000 dead or wounded.
Germany was also retaliating on home ground: V1 rocket bombs first reached Britain on 13th June, landing at Swanscombe in Kent and killing six people at Bethnall Green in London. On 16th June, Germany's 'Day of Vengeance' 244 V1 bombs landed in England. A V1 striking the Guards Chapel during the service on 18th June killed 119 people.
Horror continued in the occupied countries with the Heuaktion in Poland – an order, which authorised the kidnapping of 40,000 children for slave labour in Germany. The brave Danes were resisted Germany's imposition of a curfew with a General Strike beginning on 26th June and the curfew was withdrawn.
In Italy the glory of the US Fifth Army entering Rome on 4th June was soon upstaged by D-Day but the Allies in Italy pressed steadily northward up the central spine taking Todi, Terni and Orvieto on the 14th June and Perugia by 20th June. To the west the Free French landed on Elba, between Italy and Corsica, on 17th June and the island was liberated by the 20th.
Russia had launched offensives against Finland from Leningrad and on the Karelian isthmus earlier in the month, and captured Viipuri/Vyborg, the second largest town in Finland (still part of Russia now). The Finns eventually succeeded in stopping the Russian advance with the Battle of Tali-Ihantel, begun on the 25th June. However, these were deliberate distractions from the huge build-up of Soviet armies along 450 miles the German central front for Operation Bagration, launched on the Anniversary of Hitler's Operation Barbarossa. The German 4th Army was quickly in danger of encirclement and by 30th June Operation Bagration had caused 200,000 German casualties.
In India the siege of Imphal was at last lifted on 22nd June and the Japanese were forced to withdraw. However, Japanese forces were still advancing in China. By 26th June they were in Hunan (southern China) and had captured the American air-base of Heng-yang.
Japan was under attack from the Allies in the western Pacific with the Battle of Saipan beginning the US Navy's Marianas Campaign on 15th June, aimed at liberating the American's former base at Guam. On 19th June the US 5th Fleet engaged with the Japanese Combined Fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea – 'the greatest carrier battle in history' and a decisive victory for the Americans.
With the Allies gaining ground (or sea) on same many fronts it must have been frustrating and fearsome to be inching forward so slowly in the bocage and at such a great cost to friends and comrades.
Posted on 18 June 2019 in Army life, Diary, Friends & acquaintances, History, Letters, The Recce Men, Theatre & Ballet, Towns & Cities, Villages | Permalink
This post is in memory of the 61st Reconnaissance Regiment
and their sacrifice 75 years ago on 6th June 1944
For nearly a year the Allies had been planning in detail and in secret the invasion of France. Secrecy was vital to maintain the element of surprise, keeping Hitler's defences strung along the whole of northern France and the Low Countries. The Germans knew an invasion was coming from the build-up of radio traffic and ships but poor air reconnaissance meant that the dummy army in Kent and Sussex left them expecting an attack in the Pas de Calais, nearest to Belgium, even when Allied troops and tanks had landed in Normandy.
Eisenhower's 'bravest act of the war' (according to General Miles Dempsey, the Commander of 2nd British Army) was to send the invasion force across the Channel on the night of 5th June. Bad weather made a postponement of the original D-Day from 5th June inevitable. On 4th June the Supreme Allied Commander received a fresh forecast that the weather might ease overnight and decided that Tuesday 6th June would be D-Day. The Germans, who had much less accurate meteorological reports, thought landings would be impossible between the 5th and 7th June; Rommel, now in charge of 'The Western Wall' defences, returned to Germany for his wife's birthday and the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) even cancelled their shore patrols of the Channel.
Meanwhile in Operation Neptune almost 7,000 ships, led by the minesweepers, had set sail from ports all along the south coast of England, coalescing in a 'spout' between the Isle of Wight and Normandy. From midnight thousands of paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines to seize critical bridges and guard the invaders' routes inland. A coded BBC message had alerted the French Resistance. While the Navy policed the Channel either side of the spout the RAF and US Army Air Force had bombed road and rail infrastructure over much of northern France to interfere with German troop and tank movements and keep them guessing where the landings would occur. Now, just before dawn, the Naval bombardment of the beach defences began and the Germans on the coast (units of 7th Army west of the River Orne and 15th Army to the east) beheld the largest invasion force in military history.
On 'Utah' beach, on the east side of the Cherbourg peninsula, the 4th Infantry Division of US VII Corps landed with far fewer casualties than expected and began to move inland to relieve the paratroopers of the US 82nd and 101st Airborne. To the east the defences around Vierville and St. Laurent somehow escaped the naval and air bombardments and the legendary 'bloodbath' of 'Omaha' beach began. The 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions of US V Corps lost more than 2,000 and the American Rangers, who were to take the cliffs of Pointe de Hoc were decimated. Survivors reaching the beach from their landing craft amid heavy fire found their way to the shelter of sandy bluffs or sea walls and eventually moved inland, the Rangers scaling 100 foot cliffs.
North-west of Caen on 'Sword', the easternmost of the beaches, the landing of British 3rd Division was a 'remarkable success' but 'they were slow pushing forward' and, encountering 21st Panzer later in the day, they failed to seize Caen. The city, soon heavily defended, was not to fall to the Allies until several weeks later.
British 6th Airborne Division had landed on their flank securing the critical connecting bridge over the Orne (now named 'Pegasus' in their honour) and blowing bridges on the River Dives to foil German attacks from the east.
The Canadian 3rd Division, landing on 'Juno' beach, faced heavily fortified seaside villages and defences networked by tunnels but their follow-up units were able to move inland quickly through the fierce fighting of the first waves. 41 and 48 Commando, landing at the facing edges of 'Sword' and 'Juno' succeeded in connecting the beaches despite a determined advance by 21st Panzer between the bridgeheads.
From 60th Anniversary - The D-Day Landings Northern France.
Our friends in 61st Reconnaissance Regiment were destined to land on 'Gold' beach, between the Canadians on 'Juno' and the Americans on 'Omaha'. Eric Postles, Sandy Handley and Don Aiken boarded Tank Landing Ships (LSTs) with their vehicles at Southampton docks on 1st June and spent the next three days in the Solent, north of the Isle of Wight. On Sunday 4th June they received final briefings on their landing beaches and targets inland and found out their destination was Normandy. Eric Brewer boarded his ship on the Sunday but, though all were now prepared for action, they were delayed for another day. The rough weather meant many were seasick and although the food was good all they were given to sleep on was a couple of burial bags as blankets!
To get inshore they had to drive onto flat-bottomed ferry-like landing craft called Rhinos. Don's ship lost one of the two Rhinos it was towing somewhere in the Channel.
"The 50th Division attacking 'Gold', the most westerly of the British beaches, ran into their first serious difficulty in front of the fortified German positions at Le Hamel. The 1st Hampshires and 1st Dorsets landed under furious fire from bunkers scarcely scarred by the bombardment and manned by the German 1st Battalion of 716th Division. The British supporting tanks arrived too late to give the infantry immediate support and …very few of the Royal Marine Centaurs arrived at all" (having capsized in their landing craft). "Three of the five landing craft bringing 47 Commando ashore struck mines…the survivors swam to the beach and regrouped to begin their advance on Port-en-Bessin" (the critical port east of Omaha beach defended by the experienced 316th Division). "46 men and almost every wireless set had been lost." (From 'Overlord' by Max Hastings, Macmillan 2016 edition)
61st Recce fared even worse:
"Nearly half the contact patrols with the assaulting infantry were killed or wounded on D-Day, either on the beaches or before reaching them. Nevertheless, they justified themselves by getting much information back to divisional Headquarters before it arrived by the normal channels and some of the patrols, whose sets had been shot-up, did great work with their weapons." (From 'A Reconnaissance Regiment in the B.L.A.' by Lt-Col P.H.A.Brownrigg, D.S.O.)
By 9.30am the beach was secured against determined enemy resistance and during the rest of the morning the forces of 50th Division pushed inland four miles towards the town of Creully. The battle for Le Hamel itself raged on until afternoon. (From 60th Anniversary - The D-Day Landings Northern France.)
Eric Brewer of B Squadron's Assault Troop landed near Port-en-Bessin at 7.30 am with a bicycle (this soon got a puncture and he threw it away). Pushing inland they got lost and seem to have ended up far behind enemy lines in the Caumont-l'Éventé area, about 20 miles from the coast, near Briquessard. A machine gun opened up from behind a hedge, killing their carrier driver. Eric finally found the rest of his Squadron in France on 8th June.
Extract from Eric Brewer's diary copyright of Derek Brewer and family
By the time Don Aiken's ship arrived in late morning the 1st Hampshire's had cleared the beach near Arromanches. When his armoured car drove off the remaining Rhino he sank into a bomb hole leaving only the turret exposed but the Humber armoured car kept moving. All the vehicles had been carefully waterproofed in preparation for an amphibious landing with a compound of grease, lime and asbestos fibres. Moving to the de-waterproofing area, Don accidentally sent a smoke bomb into one of the nearby German minefields; luckily it didn't trigger an incident – except with the British officer in charge of the beach!
The Regiment was meant to reach a wooded hill about 15 miles inland to 'seize and hold' but all the delays meant most didn't reach it. Don spent the night standing in pitch blackness next to his vehicle, wondering where the nearest Germans were.
Eric Postles also encountered issues with getting ashore: "The heavy seas caused problems for the ships towing Rhinos and we were late arriving at the beach. After much effort our Rhino was linked to the ship's ramp and my carrier was first on the ramp when the Rhino broke away. We jumped off the vehicle and waited for the reconnection before finally getting onto the Rhino next to a bulldozer which was intended to lead us off. We got near the water's edge and the bulldozer which was intended to destroy obstacles drove off but disappeared under the water and we did not see the driver again. The Rhino moved further along the beach and we all got ashore. It was late afternoon.
There were beached ships and landing craft everywhere and we were directed to a track which led off the beach and through the sand hills. There was a lot of enemy shelling activity and our heavy warship and rocket ships were firing over us. There were groups of prisoners and we passed a line of British dead lying side by side."
Eric spent the night at the edge of a cornfield where there were a number of dead Germans. "It was an uncomfortable night". (Extract from 'My War Years' by John Eric Postles ISO used by kind permission of the author.)
By nightfall 50th Division's 231st (Dorsets, Devons and Hampshires) and 151st (Durham Light Infantry) Brigades were just two miles short of Bayeux while the 69th (East Yorks & Green Howards) had linked up with the Canadians from Juno beach.
With the roughness of the sea and many Rhinos breaking away from their parent ships only half the 61st Reconnaissance contingent got ashore on D-day. Sandy Handley's ship lost a Rhino so not everyone could be taken to the shore. He was still floating offshore near Arromanches overnight, grateful not to be one of the 50% casualties among the Recce who landed first on D Day.
Major Brownrigg, commander of 'A' Squadron, was also not able to land until 7th June but the Regiment's Commander Colonel William Mount was ashore and arranged a new rendez-vous well within the bridgehead. He was held up reaching there by heavy machine gun fire and when Major Brownrigg called on the wireless he was told "Get off the air, I'm shooting Boches."
All the 61st Recce invasion squad had landed by the end of 7th June. Coming off the Rhino into about 4 feet of water, 50 yards from the beach, was nerve-wracking enough, even without heavy fire. Engineers were still dealing with the underwater beach obstacles, many with mines attached. Among the British dead the biggest Union Jack Sandy had ever seen was flying in a gentle breeze. Later when Sandy saw a dead German by the side of the road he thought "A man the same as me doing what I was told to do."
Despite the Humber's engine catching fire as they drove away from the beach Sandy reached the 61st Recce rendez-vous between Brécy and Rucqueville for the night of 7th June and heard that 50th Division had succeeded in taking Bayeux, the first city in France to be liberated after D-day.
Sources include 'The Second World War' by Antony Beevor (published by Weidenfield and Nicolson 2012), 'Overlord' by Max Hastings (Macmillan 2016 edition) and accounts by veterans of the 61st Reconnaissance Regiment.
Posted on 01 June 2019 in Air Landing, History, Photos, The Recce Men, Towns & Cities, Villages | Permalink

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If this project is going to be large and long in duration, you need to consider what month of the year that you begin to do the work. Taking into consideration that you need to work when it is warm and dry, late fall or just before summer begins is a great time to start. While windows are being replaced, your home will be open to heat, cold and rain, so it's best to do this during the mildest possible time. Of course, if you're fortunate enough to live somewhere with a temperate climate this won't matter much, but if you have to contend with four seasons, you should avoid replacing your windows when it's too hot, cold or wet.
If you want to get the best possible type of insulation from your windows, you should go with triple pane windows, though these of course will also be more expensive. The cost of the windows you need will be determined, for the most part, by the climate where you live. If you live in a mild climate, you may not have to worry too much about this so you can focus more on the appearance and durability of the windows. If you're going to have a contractor or window replacement company do the job for you, it's a good idea to get several estimates before making your choice. Remember that you'll be looking at, or through your windows for years to come, so pick ones you like. While windows serve the practical function of keeping your home insulated, they're also part of the decor of your home, so make sure they fit well with your furniture and overall look of your house. For example, you can get old fashioned windows that will go well with an older, antique-y type home. But you wouldn't want old fashioned windows in a home with an otherwise contemporary look. Also keep in mind that the better everything in your home looks, the higher its value if you ever want to put it on the market.
Security is something you need to think about, even over the price of the windows or their level of energy efficiency. Safety for your family, and yourself, should be factored in once you begin to change out your windows. What we are referring to is having a great locking system on the windows themselves so the burglars will not be able to so easily enter your home. Your windows need to provide you with peace of mind which begins with knowing the locks on them will help you prevent forced entry. As long as your locks are strong enough to withstand an illegal break-in, you should be safe due to the fact that most burglars will not want to make noise while gaining entry to your home. Window replacement involves a number of factors, all of which you should think about before starting the process. It's best to do as much research as possible so you know what kind of windows and frames are best for your home, how much it will cost and how long it will take. Proper preparation is the key to saving the most money possible and getting the windows that you need installed in a timely manner.


text:
'Sniper's Ridge' a game of cat and mouse in Korean War
Brett M. Kelman
Army Sgt. 1st Class Donald Mendoza was a small man with a big gun. The 119-pound California native lugged a 16-pound Browning automatic rifle through the frozen hills, dodging snipers and searching for bodies along a buffer zone that seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
This was 1953, and although the Korean War was ending, the military demarcation line between the warring nations was still in its infancy. The line between the North and South had been drawn only a few months beforehand, and what would later be known as the Demilitarized Zone was still a hotbed of military activity.
Mendoza says he and his fellow soldiers went on daily patrols, and although full-fledged firefights were rare, the looming danger was constant. The 25th Infantry Division had established one of the northernmost U.S. military camps in the entire country. The entrenched soldiers called it "Sniper's Ridge." North Korean sharpshooters would pepper the camp from across the buffer zone, Mendoza says.
"They'd shoot across from the hills that were in front of us, because their hills were higher than ours. And they would pop lieutenants if they wore their bars. They would kill anyone who had a bar on their shoulder," Mendoza says.
Mendoza spent only six months in Korea, but he spent the whole time guarding the fragile demarcation line, unaware that this buffer zone would last for decades.
"I hope you weren't expecting Rambo," says Mendoza, now 81. After the war, Mendoza returned to his hometown of Palm Springs, Calif. He married a woman he knew before the war, Virginia, and worked three decades splicing cable for the phone company before settling into retirement.
Mendoza says he believes the Korean War was hidden in the shadow of World War II.
"Nobody wanted another war," he says.
Kelman also reports for The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun


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Ridge Road is a 121.5-mile (195.5 km) east–west road that traverses four counties in Upstate New York in the United States. The road begins adjacent to the Niagara River at an intersection with Water Street in Lewiston, Niagara County, and passes through several towns, villages, and the city of Rochester before arriving at its eastern terminus at a junction with New York State Route 370 (NY 370) southwest of Red Creek, Wayne County. It is named for the rise atop which the road was built, a mound of sand and gravel that was formed when it was the shoreline of ancient Glacial Lake Iroquois (now Lake Ontario). The ridge is often confused with the nearby Niagara Escarpment, which is much taller, geologic in origin, and lies a few miles to the south.
Most of the road is maintained by either the New York State Department of Transportation as a touring route or by county highway departments as a county road. 70 miles (113 km) of Ridge Road—over half of the road's total length—is part of NY 104, which joins the road outside of Lewiston and leaves it upon crossing the Genesee River in Rochester. From the Monroe–Wayne county line to Red Creek, Ridge Road is a two-lane, mostly county-owned road that parallels the NY 104 super two as both head eastward across Wayne County. Ridge Road is part of the Seaway Trail from its junction with NY 14 east of Sodus to its end at NY 370.
Growing up wasn't easy for me, for my mama, for my daddy, life just wasn't happy at all.
This ade to life is all I know,think I'll go back to Ridgeroad.
My big brotha sheed and nu-thaniel,think I'll go back to Ridgeroad.
goin to do show after show I go back to Ridgeroad.


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The Menagerie is celebrating a very special occasion at the end of this month. Saturday 26 marks the show's third birthday of regular variety shows at The Fringe Bar. Menagerie guest producer Eli Joesph has put together a 'Best Of' line up. Joesph is bringing back crowd favourites, and some exceptionally unusual acts.
Since 2013 the Menagerie has hosted everything from acrobats and burlesque acts, through to glass-eaters and xylophonists. Owner Rachel Rouge has become a regular figure at live entertainment across the capital, always on the search for the new, unusual and bizarre acts.
Alongside internationally performing clowns and aerialists, audiences can also expect prize winning comedians and burlesque dancers. Plus a performance from Rachel Rouge herself.
Find more from The Menagerie on InfoPages.


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This entry was posted on Monday, September 2nd, 2013 at 9:31 AM and is filed under Awakenings, Imagine, Inspirations, Poetry, Reflections, Seek, Spiritual.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


text:
2012 Infiniti M35h: Plugged in to performance
2012 Infiniti M35h
BOB ENGLISH
Overall a car that will likely delight those who own one, with impressive hybrid technology and results. But is it worth all the complexity and added expense? You'll like this car if you want to be seen enjoying your luxury responsibly.
Looks Rating
The redesign emphasizes the M character with a muscularly rounded - reminiscent of the voluptuousness of 1950s sporting classics - but obviously modern look that's powerful but classy.
Supportive front seats are separated by a high and wide console, big bright instruments are tucked under a double-bulged binnacle, centre stack controls (and a large info/nav screen) are easy to locate and use.
Ride Rating
The M is no lightweight at 1,873 kg, but it carries this mass well on a suspension that deals with bumps firmly but fluidly and electro-hydraulic steering that makes it feel almost agile.
Multiple airbags, plenty of sheer mass, plus a structure designed to protect and a host of electronic warning and assistance systems
Given its level of luxury and performance and the fuel economy it's capable of with a planet-sensitive driver's foot on the pedal, paint the M a (rather expensive) shade of green.
If you're looking for a luxury hybrid but want serious performance too, Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel recently "proved" on the Nurburgring's 21-kilometre, 71-turn Nordschleiffe circuit that Infiniti's new 2012 M35h hybrid could run a bit harder than its gasoline-fuelled counterpart, the M37, in the hands of teammate Mark Webber.
And there's a video to provide veracity. Of course, Vettel has been doing that all year in his Red Bull race car, but they did both look like they were trying pretty hard in this internecine contest.
And the M hybrid's total output of 360 hp does outmatch the 330 hp of the 3.7-litre-engined M37 allowing it to get to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds versus 6.2 seconds, obviously compensating for its extra 100 kilos or so of weight. Not mentioned is that the M56 with its 420-hp V-8 will blow the doors off both of them. But then it's perhaps not a very responsible choice, is it?
The M hybrid, Infiniti's first venture into electro-mechanical propulsion, and which joined the redesigned-for-2011 M range earlier this year, also has you covered off if you want a luxury car that does its bit to save the planet through reduced greenhouse gas emissions while keeping a "few" extra dollars in your wallet.
At least according to the British Columbia Automobile Association's annual Hybrid Vehicle Cost and Savings Analysis, which reveals the M hybrid as one of just four of the 23 hybrids available in Canada that can actually beat their closest gasoline equivalents based on five-year purchase, finance and fuel costs.
That's based on 20,000 km of driving a year and gas at $1.35 a litre, which may not be completely real-world realistic but at least indicates the M hybrid does a better job than most at playing the gas/electric power game.
Natural Resources Canada rates the M hybrid at an impressive 7.5 litres/100 km city and 6.1 highway, and after a week involving 400 km of highway cruising and another hundred or so of semi-rural running with the test car, the onboard readout was showing and average of 7.8 litres/100 km.
At four-lane highway cruising speeds, the readout indicated 7.1 litres/100 km but schlepping across Toronto in the stop-and-go morning commuter rush hour – during which it ran on battery juice alone for some extended periods – saw the digits dip into the 6.7-6.8 litres/100 km range. Which would indicate its around-town efficiency should be equally impressive.
The fact it requires premium cuts down on the cost savings, but at least you can feel good about the reduced emissions.
Infiniti's M hybrid ticks the performance and responsible boxes, but while flat-out performance and playing with numbers analysis are all very well, day-to-day driving is what counts. The M hybrid lives up to its billing here, too, although with a couple of quirks.
The powertrain, which comprises a 3.5-litre V-6 rated at 302 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, is augmented by a 50-kW electric motor and lithium battery that boosts total available power to 360 hp and also pumps up the torque. Clever twin-clutch technology that decouples the engine from the motor when running on electric power – which it can do at speeds up to 100 km/h or for 1.9 km – can be a bit disconcerting initially.
We're (somewhat) used to hybrid car engines stopping when the vehicle halts, but with the M hybrid when you lift off the gas, even at highway speeds, the tach needle drops to zero. You are barely aware of engine restart when you press the accelerator again, but restart from a stoplight is perhaps a little more noticeable than it should be.
Assistance from the motor while driving is more often revealed by the dashboard dial than physical sensation. Helping you maximize economy is a firm detent in the throttle pedal you have to push through to access more than modest acceleration. Some might find it annoying.
Otherwise, driving the M hybrid is a seamless exercise, the electronic genies performing their magic without making their presence known. Although that can't be said of the nagging, nattering electronic nannies that fuss at your slightest inattention.
Following the demise of the Q45 a few years ago, the M range now tops the Infiniti passenger car lineup and retains the brand's initial character when introduced two decades ago in looking and acting sporty, while delivering a very pleasant experience for driver and passengers inside.
In there you'll find all the equipment you'd expect in a $67,300 automobile as well as some neat little touches and adding a little sparkle silver dust polished into the Japanese ash wood trim, which results in an unusual and interesting visual effect.
globedrive@globeandmail.com
Type: Luxury sedan
Base price: $67,300; as tested, $69,250
Engine: 3.5-litre, DOHC, V-6/electric motor
Horsepower/torque: 302 hp (total 360 hp)/258 lb-ft
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Drive: Rear-wheel
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 7.5 city/6.1 highway; premium gas
Alternatives: Lexus GS450H, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec, BMW 5-Series, Hyundai Equus, Jaguar XF
Fiat 500 a compact cutie
BMW X1: Extras, extras, read all about it
A Mustang blast from the past
Nissan's agile, entertaining head turner


text:
Spotlight On Iran
'Parity Is Parity': U.S. Ambassador Defends Move Against Russian Diplomatic Facilities
John Tefft during the interview for RFERL and VoA
The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Russia has defended Washington's decision to order Moscow out of diplomatic facilities in the United States amid a mounting standoff straining already frayed bilateral ties.
Ambassador John Tefft's comments in a joint interview with RFE/RL and VOA on September 6 came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced what he called "boorish and unprecedented" actions against the Russian Consulate in San Francisco and trade representations in Washington and New York.
Russia has called the takeovers an "openly hostile act" and accused U.S. authorities of threatening to "break down the entrance door" of the Russian Consulate in San Francisco after Washington set a September 2 deadline for the premises to be clear.
Tefft said in the interview that Russian diplomatic personnel accompanied U.S. officials during the inspections of the San Francisco facility, which he said "were carried out to protect the facilities and to confirm that the Russian government had vacated the premises."
"Nobody broke down doors. Nobody put undue pressure on people. It was all done very, very carefully," he said.
He added that the U.S. takeover of the building complied with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which Russia has accused Washington of violating.
The U.S. order to clear the properties came after Moscow ordered the United States to reduce its personnel at diplomatic facilities in Russia to 455, which Putin said meant cutting 755 staff members.
That move came in response to fresh U.S. sanctions targeting Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
Washington has imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over its 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and backing of armed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Tefft suggested Moscow's outrage was hypocritical, noting that Russia said the U.S. personnel cuts were aimed at bringing parity between the size of the two countries' respective diplomatic missions.
"But when we used parity to withdraw our consent for the Russian government to have a consulate in San Francisco, then everyone got all excited. And, you know, parity is parity," Tefft said.
The shuttering of the San Francisco facility leaves Russia with its primary embassy facility in Washington, and three other consulates on U.S. territory -- in New York City, Houston, and Seattle.
Aside from the embassy in Moscow, there are three other U.S. diplomatic posts in Russia: in St. Petersburg, the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, and the Pacific port of Vladivostok.
The Russian Foreign Ministry's statement in July on the U.S. diplomatic staff reductions said Moscow was "offering" Washington to make the cuts, http://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/2824435 and ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested later on Facebook that Russia had not "ordered" the move. https://www.facebook.com/maria.zakharova.167/posts/10214203798918610
Tefft said in the September 6 interview, however, that it is false to suggest that Washington "negotiated or somehow signed on to the idea of reducing our staff."
"We were told to do that. That was not something that was negotiated," he said.
Tefft is expected to leave Moscow this year to make way for John Huntsman, a former U.S. ambassador to China who was nominated for the post by U.S. President Donald Trump.