In this edition of the Gregeration X Newsletter you’ll find:
- A Harrowing Tale of a Garden That Almost Wasn’t…
- Updates on the Mechhaven Series
- Featured Authors
- Group Promotions
My Musings
Two weeks ago, I mentioned I was getting ready to plant my new GreenStalk planter. I even posted a picture showing the bags of soil and planter about ready to be assembled. So far, so good, right?
The following morning, I made a trip to a local nursery to buy some starter plants. I ended up buying two different lettuces, yellow carrots, bell peppers, blueberries and strawberries. I had left over seeds for green beans, cucamelons, and lemon cucumbers.
After a short drive, I arrived home, unloaded my plants from my truck, and set them in the backyard — ready to plant. I stepped inside to get a drink and check my email/social media. Without thinking, I let my dogs out so they could do their business. I’m not sure how long I was inside before I noticed a crackling sound coming from outside. It was an odd sound I don’t normally hear. I checked on my dogs, and found my newest dog, Olivia, running around the yard with a black plastic container. Where could she have found that?
Then I realized… the plants came in six-pack black containers… But wait! I set the containers on the ledge of a retaining wall. There’s no way that sweet little Olivia could have reached the plants. As I continued my investigation, I noticed my other dog, Orson (who we often call Boris when he’s being stubborn or mischievous) was nowhere to be found.
I checked on where I had stored the plants; they were all missing. No — let me correct that. They weren’t missing. My plants were scattered everywhere! My beagle, Boris — Orson, was just tall enough to sniff and knock all the plants off the ledge! And he did! Olivia then grabbed the containers and ran around the yard playing with them!
So many things ran through my head. I’d spent money buying the plants and time going to pick them up. My family was out shopping, so my whole day was dedicated to getting the garden set up. And now, and now… is there anyone looking for a beagle and a schnauzer mix?
In the end, I had to laugh. What else could I do? I didn’t even yell at the dogs… at least not very much. After I recovered my wits, I carefully searched the yard for each of the plants that had fallen out of the containers. Thankfully, Olivia was more interested in the containers than the plants. In the end, I recovered all but one plant! One of the bell peppers had fallen onto the concrete and its stem snapped in half. Unfortunately, there was no coming back from that.
With plants recovered, I spent the next several hours filling, planting, assembling, and watering my new GreenStalk planter. Take a look at the picture below. So far, it’s doing nicely. I also added two new blueberry plants in separate containers, and they’re doing fine as well. After a little scare, gardening season is off to a good start. BTW… I included a picture of the culprits below.
Thanks for the feedback on what to plant! If you have any other ideas, let me know. I’m lucky that in SoCal I can pretty much grow things year round!
I’ll have to send an update in the next newsletter, the plants have already grown so much!
Don’t let their innocent demeanor fool you, these two can get into a fair bit of trouble! You can also get a quick peak at my writing corner…
Mechhaven Missives
- As of this morning, I’m approximately 60% complete with my second editing pass of On Darkhaven Forged. I’m on track to send it to my editor later this month (March 20th).
- I’m planning to write one more chapter to help fill in some details between two big events. I’m looking forward to getting back into writing!
- Plotting is progressing for Book 4. It slowed a little the last few weeks due to work commitments and focusing on editing. I hope to start writing Book 4 by the end of this month shortly after I send Book 3 to the editor.
- Thanks for supporting my promotion on Pax Machina and Mechs and Machinations last week!
Featured Authors
This week I have three featured authors for you. These authors are sharing my book in their newsletters, too. Please take a look and support them if you can.
Twenty-six years ago, the Allied President and his entourage of galactic movers and shakers, had tried to sign a treaty with a world that was slowly being swallowed by the pirates and warlords of New Hebrides. That attempt ended in horrendous tragedy. It seems that the Federation wants to try again to do what they failed to accomplish, in such spectacular fashion—sign the hugely significant treaty on a totally insignificant space post, Stratton. Once again the conditions are just right…for those who want to see this event succeed and for those who want to see it fail.
The Blood Service Trilogy by Allen Ivers
Aaron Havenes had survived the labor camps this long by keeping his head down, getting through each day with one foot in front of the next. But when his only friends are lured into the colonial militia with empty promises, he vows to protect them at any cost–even if that means carrying a rifle for the Empire that chained him as a child.
Their Imperial taskmasters needed bodies in uniform, cannon fodder ready to be sacrificed for the greater good against an alien threat they didn’t really understand. They promised the convicts freedom and never expected any of them to survive long enough to claim it.
But Aaron Havenes defies all expectations, surviving again and again. He draws the eye of ambitious politicians and cautious commanders alike, all concerned by the growing cache of this folk hero convict. Soon, Aaron is thrust into a grander scheme full of Super Soldiers and Spies, Aliens and Generals…
And with the movements of one man, the cracks in an intergalactic Empire begin to take shape.
Writing in the Sand by David Munday
Who will be first to uncover the dark secrets of Britain’s interplanetary colonisation programme?
When disgraced spec-ops officer Harper Mulgrew and her fellow colonists crash on a forbidden alien world, their fight for survival starts with a terrifying message in the sand. Can they decipher it in time to illegally establish Britain’s presence in the Proxima system?
Atlas Nations military veteran Donald Stafford intends to protect his planet from a British incursion but first, he must face up to the sins of his past and broker an uneasy alliance with old foes.
And, as a serial killer stalks the streets of London, rookie journalist Washington Parker puts his life on the line to expose the unthinkable truths of the corrupt British government and their secretive colonisation programme.
The Expanse meets 1984 and TV’s Lost in WRITING IN THE SAND, a page-turning science-fiction thriller.
Group Promotions
I have two group promotions for you this week. These are all free books authors are offering in exchange for your email address. All of the participating authors share these promotions with their email lists. This is a great way for new and experienced authors to give their books exposure to readers who may be inclined to enjoy them. As always, please take a look and support these promotions if you see anything you’d like to read! Thank you for your support!
Free Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Paranormal eBooks
If you’re new to my newsletter, welcome and thank you for subscribing. I hope you’ll stick around as in the next few months we’ll be building up to the release of Mechhaven Book 3: On Darkhaven Forged. That being said, you are free to unsubscribe at any time. If you just want an announcement when a new book is released, please follow me on Amazon by clicking “follow” under my picture here.
Until next time, read a lot of books and enjoy your friends, family, and pets!
Even the mischievous ones that try to destroy your garden before you even plant it!
Greg Sorber
Gregeration X Entertainment
greg@gregerationx.com
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