Chaos, Chaos, Chaos, and Chapter 1 of The Secret Humankind!

Table of Contents

News/Musings The Secret Humankind Chapter 01
StoryOrigin Swap 1 StoryOrigin Swap 2
Fantastic FREE Fantasy Group Promo Free Fantasy Fun

The Discoveries of Julia Xero Series Banner

 

Greetings!

Just when I thought the chaos was going to slow down – BAM! More chaos! Bwahahahahahahaha!
Needless to say, I am WAY behind and I am having to ditch part of the usual program. Wheee!

 

 

News/Musings

It’s been pretty crazy around here since the Friday before last. My back muscles threw a fit (again!), I got the edits back from my editor, the dogs have been doing weird things, our internet modem started acting up, and we had a power outage. Then it got worse!  😱

On the same day as the power outage, we got the replacement modem. When we could finally install it, it seemed not to work. Hubby and the son-in-law thought they sent the wrong thing and put the old one back, but we still didn’t have internet. On a whim, hubby when to check the cable outside that comes into the side of the house. For mysterious reasons, just as they were mucking with the modem, the dogs decided it would be great fun to yank at the wires going into the box outside!

They yanked and tore those suckers clean out!
🤯😱🤯😱

The earliest we could get someone to come out was today! (One of the reasons this newsletter is LATE!) So we’ve been suffering from internet withdrawal for several days! Eek!

Writing news

My poor editor who has been having as much fun as we have finally got the edited manuscript sent back last Sunday so it’s all I’ve been working on since then to now. 

But it does mean I can share Chapter 1 of The Secret Humankind with you today! Woot!

 

The Secret Humankind - Book 1 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero

 

The Secret Humankind – Book 1 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero – is on Pre-Order at Amazon!

 (The obligatory blurb!)

She keeps her head down and cleans up messes. When the body count starts rising, will trying to make a living get her flushed?

Julia Xero is stuck in survival mode. After losing the only person she loved, the introverted orphan longs to escape her toxic employment for the zen of crime and trauma scene decontamination. But when she lands her dream job and is called to a bloody rooftop with a decapitated corpse, she’s horrified to come face to face with an otherworldly shark-toothed assassin.

Furious to learn she’s been enlisted by a clandestine race of beings against her will, Julia’s dismay fountains when she finds out they implanted her with a neck bomb to ensure her lips stay tightly sealed. Fit to be tied, and her thunderous confrontation with her boss hitting a deadend, the stubborn young woman begins plotting ways to leave the energy-powered entities in her dust.

Can she outwit an ancient civilization before her carotid goes boom?

The Secret Humankind is the gritty first book in The Discoveries of Julia Xero urban fantasy thriller series. If you like fish-out-of-water heroines, complex worlds, and dark truths, then you’ll love Gloria Oliver’s multi-faceted mystery.

Buy The Secret Humankind to match wits with monsters today!

 

 

This also means I have a new freebie short story for peeps who subscribe to the newsletter! It’s a prequel short to The Secret Humankind called Pay It Forward. The only way to get it is by signing up! I’d love for you to join!

Pay It Forward - The Discoveries of Julia Xero Prequel Short

A social worker fighting the good fight. A mousy orphan dodging trouble. Can the public servant find common ground before one of them gets permanently kicked to the curb?

Laurel Caine wants to pay it forward. As a case handler in child protective services, Laurel maintains a professional distance from her charges while using her stash of ‘secret weapons’ to keep them safe. But after she meets a thin, timid girl named Julia, keeping the child at arm’s length is proving harder than resisting the call of chocolate.

So when Julia’s current foster home wants to ditch her without cause, Laurel bayonets the rules and goes all in. But Julia is a tough nut to crack and wheedling what Laurel needs to know out of her is like pulling teeth from a bucking bronco.

Can Laurel hammer the cryptic clues together in time, or will she stay stuck in the muck and lose more than she ever imagined?

Pay It Forward is the prequel short to the Discoveries of Julia Xero urban fantasy thriller series. If you like gutsy women, unlikely orphans, and your fiction laced with the supernatural, you’ll love Gloria Oliver’s moving tale.

Grab your free copy of Pay It Forward to foresee the future today!

 

The Secret Humankind

Chapter 01

I’m so busted!

The DART bus came to a stop and opened its doors, its familiar squeal and whoosh propelling me to my feet. I hustled out into the baking Texas sun, oppressively aware I was late for my shift. But rather than break into a run to make up time, I paused and looked around nervously, my hands and feet feeling twitchy.

What I was searching for, I had no idea. But what my friend Laurel had dubbed my ‘spidey sense’ had been blaring for the last couple of days, on and off. It didn’t help that I’d had the nagging feeling I was being followed and watched since I’d left the apartment that morning. As ridiculous as it sounded, my hunches were rarely wrong about this type of thing. I just didn’t have a clue what was setting them off.

The sun continued to glare down at me, waves of heat from the sidewalk making the air ripple. I could feel sweat already gathering in my armpits and lower back.

No one was around, unless you counted the old tom cat licking his furry leg and acting like I wasn’t even there. The doors huffed shut behind me and the bus clattered away, spouting clouds of foul-smelling exhaust.

I took another look around and slipped one hand into my pocket to grip Stitch, my five-and-a-half-inch folding switchblade. If trouble arrived, I would be ready to prove it had made a bad decision in coming after me.

Still spotting nothing and no one that shouldn’t be there, I finally broke into a jog and headed toward the Golden Corral. The familiar red-and-gold logo soon loomed before me, forcing a change in my mental gears as I approached my daily battlefield.

I opened the door and faltered for a moment, the sudden slap of cold air robbing me of breath.

“Harry, she’s here!” Melody’s sing-song mockery blared through the restaurant.

I cringed, and turned to spot my coworker at the double register near the entrance. Melody had just heralded my arrival to the one person I’d hoped to avoid. A smug look and a small inflating gum bubble met my glare.

“Julia! You’re late.” The heavyset shift supervisor rolled into view like an approaching train about to go off the rails.

“I know, I know. Sorry! The buses were off schedule. Some big wreck on I-35.” I avoided making eye contact. If Harry got going, he’d keep me from clocking in for another half hour. Losing the cash and being dressed down in front of customers wasn’t my idea of a good start to the day, which had been lousy enough already. I hurried past him to the employee area in the back of the restaurant.

Melody’s giggled snort followed, her bubble gum popping for emphasis, as I scurried away like a coward. I couldn’t afford to lose this job. Not yet.

Ever since I had applied for the third-shift job at Remington Safe and Clean, things had felt ‘off.’ If she’d still been alive, Laurel would have said I was just being paranoid—that these were only feelings brought on by the scary prospect of the awesome possibilities that would open up for me if I got the higher-paying job.

Even though I knew what she would have said, I still wished I could talk to her. I missed Laurel terribly, and felt a flicker of anger at her for dying. Yes, I was well aware she hadn’t wanted to die—but being a tiny bit mad about it was easier than giving in to the bottomless despair I felt at her loss.

Laurel Caine… Just thinking her name made me sad. She had been more than my caseworker—she had been my only real and constant friend during my formative years. And Laurel had believed in my ‘spidey sense’ even more than I did. It had caused me some problems when I was very young, but Laurel taught me to see it as a good thing. She’d always been a glass-half-full type of person. As a social worker, it was pretty much a requirement if you wanted to survive the job.

My spidey sense was a skill I had developed while growing up in foster care. Some would call it hyperawareness or hypervigilance, even though sometimes there was nothing around to trigger it. All I knew was that I trusted it, even if I didn’t always understand it. Laurel’s curiosity about it had never waned. She’d wanted to find a way to bottle it and share it with some of her other clients—a few who needed more help or common sense than she could give. 

Once I’d turned eighteen and been turned loose by the system, Laurel had made sure we stayed in touch; we’d meet every two weeks or so. To me, she was family—my only family. I was seven years old when I met Laurel, and for fifteen years the woman had been the only unchanging thing in my life. But that had ended twelve months ago, when a brain aneurysm had unexpectedly taken her life. I never even got a chance to say goodbye before she passed, though I did still visit my friend occasionally at the cemetery.

I changed into my work clothes, pushing the depressing thoughts away. I stashed my shoulder bag in the locker, but pulled out my prepaid cell before locking the door. Wondering why I even bothered, I slipped the phone into my apron pocket. The people at RSC wouldn’t be calling me back—they wouldn’t give me the crime-scene cleaning job. I needed to set my sights lower if I wanted to escape from this place.

The realization was as bitter now as when I’d left the posh RSC offices in downtown Dallas a few days ago. It’d made it twice as hard to get moving this morning, to choose to willingly come to my dead-end job and put up with the endless aggravations. But I had to eat, and I had to pay rent. So that was that.

I checked that my mousy straight brown hair was still neat and tied back, that my plain face was clean, and that the company shirt and apron were on straight. There was no point in giving Harry more to complain about. At least Melody was stuck at the register. That was for the best, even though I knew she’d end up making a mess of the till. But working the register would keep her from coming over to my assigned area, sniffing around for things to tattle on me about. If only Melody would pay as much attention to her work as she paid to finding fault with others! But her thick, shining, blond tresses and protruding double-Ds kept the skank employed, much to everyone else’s continued misery. Harry had a type.

My serving area was on the restaurant’s other end, past the grill house and dessert stations. I waved at a couple of the cooks as I walked by. They weren’t close acquaintances, only fellow stalwart soldiers eking out a living in this unfriendly landscape. The scents of roast beef, fried chicken, and other foods mingled in the air. The melted contents of the chocolate fountain were already cascading, filling the air with their cloyingly sweet scent.

The day wore on, the cell phone in my pocket growing heavier by the hour and staying as silent as I had known it would. But at least the paranoid feeling of being watched had gone away.

“Something wrong, Julia?” An older woman leaned out on her cane and looked up at me sideways from behind a pair of rhinestone-studded glasses that matched her dark blue day dress.

“No. Everything’s fine, Mrs. Conrad.”

Mrs. Conrad was one of my regulars. A bit peculiar, but kind and friendly—just how I had always imagined my grandmother would be, if I’d had one. “Just have a few things on my mind today.”

“Come now, call me Roxanne,” she said. “We’ve known each other long enough to not bother with all that.” Her dark eyes were alight. “Could it be boy trouble?” Mrs. Conrad set two quarters on the table, her face hopeful.

“No, no boy trouble. Sorry.”

The wrinkled face sagged a little with disappointment. “You’re such a sweet girl. You should have a boy. If you would only smile more…”

I tried to oblige her, though it wasn’t my thing. This was a topic we had covered before, much like her wanting me to call her Roxanne instead of Mrs. Conrad. The fact that I wasn’t interested in having a relationship with a man, and felt no need to ingratiate myself to others with unfelt smiles, only seemed to encourage the old lady. “I’ll keep it in mind. Promise.”

Mrs. Conrad smiled up at me. “See, such a sweet girl.”

I walked with her as she shuffled along, making sure there were no wet spots or anything that she might trip over. A high shriek warned me of the careening five-year-old running between tables. I used my body to block him and keep him from running into the older woman and send her tumbling to the floor. Someone her age might end up with a broken hip—or something worse.

“Hey, kid! Watch where you’re going, please!” The boy bounced away, never even slowing down. He left three streaks of chocolate on my apron as a parting gift. The little git. His parents never even looked our way, much less ask him to stop running. I fought the urge to sigh.

As we neared the exit, the odd sensation of someone staring hard at me returned. I glanced in Melody’s direction, figuring it must be her this time. But the cashier was talking animatedly with one of the other regulars about the virtues of black light-enhanced nail polish. I half-turned as I opened the door for Mrs. Conrad, but couldn’t spot anyone looking in my direction. Still, the feeling hadn’t gone away.

“Julia!” Harry shouted. “Shut the freakin’ door and quit letting all the A/C out. You think we’re made of money?”

I stepped back inside and let the glass door close. Just my luck—money was the one button I never wanted to push with Harry. I plastered a contrite look on my face. “Sorry.”

“Prove it.” He loomed over me, the heat and stench coming off him worse than what was outside. “Get your ass back to work before I dock your pay.”

The sound of a plastic plate hitting the ground and bouncing around snapped his attention away from me. Harry stomped off to wave his arms around and yell at anyone who looked even one percent responsible.

Melody snorted, enjoying my embarrassment and discomfort. “Why do you waste your time on that old biddy, anyway? She tips for shit.”

 Why, indeed? But then again, why not? I would be old, too, someday. Having someone watching out for me in my dotage would be nice.

Besides, I was pretty sure the small tip was more than Mrs. Conrad could afford. She only came twice a month, and ate as much as she could stuff down her gullet. And she always requested more rolls than she ate—but none were ever left behind. Making sure Harry and Melody were none the wiser was one of my few joys in life. I knew what it meant to go hungry, and I wouldn’t wish that gnawing feeling on anyone.

So I returned to my work area, not bothering to answer Melody’s question. She wouldn’t have understood, anyway. Melody stared daggers at my back for ignoring her, but thankfully, hers was the only stare I sensed, and it was one I was quite used to. But enough was enough; I needed to get out of this place pronto.

I went on break a while later, still feeling down and no closer to a solution. I jumped when the phone in my apron pocket rang loudly for attention. My hand dived for it. I could have sworn I set the thing to vibrate. If it had gone off while I was on the floor…

I shook my head and answered the call. “Hello?”

“Is this Miss Julia Xero?” The unfamiliar female voice had an undercurrent of a strange accent and sounded very young. I didn’t recognize it, but she said my last name correctly—the same pronunciation as zero—which was unusual.

“Yes, I’m Julia.”

“This is Dawn Anghelescu from Remington Safe and Clean. You filled out an application with us a few days ago for the open third shift position, I believe? We’d like you to come in for an interview and testing if you’re still interested.”

I blinked twice, sure I had heard her wrong. “Really?”

“Karamel gave you her stamp of approval, and everything else seems to be in order.”

The RSC’s receptionist had been something of a shock. The petite woman behind the boat-sized reception desk had literally squealed in utter delight when she learned I wanted to apply. She had even rushed around the desk to grab my hand. Apparently the office didn’t have many female employees—but the intensity of her reaction had still felt totally weird.

A touch of amusement filled the woman’s voice, almost as if she knew what I was thinking. “I believe you’re what we’re looking for in an employee. But this type of job isn’t for everyone, I’m afraid,” Anghelescu said. “The practical test will prove if you’ll be able to handle it.”

My spidey sense rang out louder than before. I couldn’t think of a reason why it would do that about a job, but I decided it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like it was a done deal, and if by some miracle I did get in, I would deal with any fallout then. Because at the moment, no matter what my gut told me, working anywhere else would be better than here.

 

***

Interested? Pre-order the Kindle/KindleUnlimited version here.

 

Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:

1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)

2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie)

3) Fantastic FREE Fantasy Group Promo

5) Free Fantasy Fun Group Promo

 

More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊

 

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)

Amy’s Story

The Martian invasion at the start of the twentieth century has been well documented, but one story has never been told.

Amy’s comfortable life is shattered when the Martians attack. Forced to flee the burning town of Woking, she can’t prevent her husband George from vanishing into the night on a foolish errand. With no idea if he will ever return, and fearing for her unborn child, she sets out to try and find him among the tidal wave of terrified people.

When Ella, an orphaned refugee, begs her for help, Amy promises to find her grandparents. Unable to reach them, she ends up working in a field hospital tending to the injured and dying victims of the Martian assault. Supplies are running dry, the army wants to commandeer the place for their own wounded, and more desperate souls arrive every hour.

Meanwhile the Martian destruction draws ever closer.

“a terrific addition to H.G Wells’ iconic book and a must read for fans of The War of The Worlds.” – Goodreads Reviewer

How can one woman make a difference when the world is crashing down around her? Download ‘Amy’s Story’ for free and find out!

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie)

StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie)

The Speaking Stone of Caradoc

A Speaking Stone in Prehistory?
Book 2 in the Time Travel Series

This book was the runner-up as Best Youth Fantasy Novel
in the 2018 Awards by Book Talk Radio Club in England

Katherine, Trevor and Chryseis embark on a ship and sail to remnants of the sunken continent of Atland. When a stolen speaking stone is found in their luggage everybody suspects the three friends. Will the time travelers be punished for the theft?

Suddenly everybody is after the mysterious stone from the fabled land of Lyonesse and some of the strange sea creatures are not as amusing as they seem.They escape only just a trap set by sorcerers in Prydhain and receive help from an unexpected source. Then the speaking stone has something to say…

Fantastic Free Fantasy May 2023 Group Promo Banner

For the first of our two May 2023 Group Promos, I bring you – Fantastic FREE Fantasy

Free Fantasy Fun May 2023 Group Promo

Our second group promo for May 2023 is Free Fantasy Fun!

Summer is almost here! 😲 Stay cool, ya’ll!

Till next time!

Gloria