But that’s not the top of the mountain for me. I have no idea what that will be until the day I take my last breath. My goal is to spend the rest of my days building my tribe, reaching more fans with more good books, enjoying the hell out of that house, and having a lot of fun. I suppose an ever-expanding amount of that will be my mountain top. More adventures to follow.
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
Written August 7, 2018
First, THANK YOU so much for reading our book, and our Author Notes!
Three years ago, my wife was working and getting ready to go to ESCRS (a European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons), which happens in the beginning of September every year. During those (about) ten days, I would pull out of the digital drawer a story I had started one year before and finish it.
That book would be published on November 2, 2015 as Death Becomes Her. Less than three years later, the series and the company that book helped usher in would affect thousands of people and thousands of authors because of the opportunities it would herald in the Indie Publishing community.
One of those opportunities became a relationship (for me) with Martha Carr.
I met her in Austin, TX after an event where I spoke in front of about eighty people. Many of them were already authors and many were writers. Few of them (I think) believed they could take what I said and implement the changes in their publishing career.
Except Martha.
If there was ONE person who had the justification for telling me to go screw myself, that I didn’t know anything, it was Martha.
She had already been published by Traditional Publishers (the big companies) and had a column that was sent to hundreds of newspapers across the nation over a career spanning thirty years.
I was just an author that was selling some fiction for the last nine months.
For some reason, she believed I wasn’t bullshitting anyone, and chose to come up and speak with me afterward. That conversation began a professional (snort) relationship where one year and one month after our first book came out, she steps into her new home, which was made possible by her efforts with LMBPN.
And believing that crazy author Michael Anderle.
I’ve had a blast working in Oriceran with Martha Carr. We have laughed together, (practically) cried at times, and cursed together and at each other, but one thing Martha has NEVER done is lose faith in me.
For that, I will forever be grateful.
I don’t have a problem believing that I am a professional author. What I lack is belief that I’m anyone special who helps others’ dreams come true.
Martha is slowly helping me understand that I am.
So, thank you, Martha. I appreciate the many times you say “thank you” and “you ass” (often in the same sentence, but I digress.) You have supported our efforts with an upbeat attitude when shit was hitting the fan so many times. And you are still here, and we are still making fans happy.
May your book Peabrain reach #1 in the Store, and I have to say “you beat me, you ass” one time in our careers ;-)
(But, you know, only once. My fragile male ego might implode if I have to do it over and over and over…. Yeah, I see you cackling with glee as your eyes light up thinking about it!)
Thank you, fans, for allowing Martha and me the chance to work on stories together and deliver them to you.
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Tomb Raider Emeritus
I Fear No Evil Book 6
Tomb Raider Emeritus
Chapter One
Alison looked around the main room of Warehouse One for a few long moments before frowning and sticking her hands on her hips. “You need to put more powder on stuff. I can’t see anything, Aunt Shay. I can see you, and those knives you have on you, but I can’t see any of the obstacles.”
Shay crossed her arms and shook her head. “No powder. All out. Too bad, so sad.”
“Too bad, so sad? What are you, ten years old all of a sudden?” Alison laughed. “No, actually I think ten-year-olds have better insults.”
With the recent victory of James in a court hearing to move ahead with his adoption of Alison and the defeat of the Drow queen Laena, the tension concerning the girl had lifted from everyone’s shoulders. The ever-present threat of her being taken had vanished in a couple of short weeks. Now, the makeshift family could enjoy the rest of the summer without waiting for a Dark Elf ambush and spend time in such wholesome activities as tactical and obstacle training.
Shay rubbed her chin.
Maybe I can’t train you until you’re as good as me physically, kid, but you’ve got real magic, so you don’t need to be as good. But we still need to make sure you’re ready for all situations.
“Seriously, though, Alison. Not gonna use any powder.”
Alison spun toward Shay and blinked. “No powder? How am I supposed to make out anything without the powder?”
The tomb raider grinned. “Yeah, now that you’re officially and legally the daughter of the James Brownstone, I decided that I needed to make your training harder. In the real world, there’s not always gonna be convenient magic powder on walls or obstacles to help you see things. The real world doesn’t give a shit if you’re blind.” She shrugged. “That said, I’m still working on getting you an artifact to help you with your sight, but in the meantime, we need to focus more on your general situational awareness. Even when I get the artifact, you might end up losing it, and every weapon you have in your arsenal means
