Saturday, August 11, 2012

One with the machine


One with the machine.
8-12-2012 
For those of you who know me, or have read some of my books, blogs or short stories, you know by now that I like riding my motorcycle.  Sometimes, when it’s just me and the road, usually a long curvy one in the mountains, I’ll get to a place where I am one with the machine; I am in the zone.  The bike is purring like a kitten and I’m leaning into the curves with the throttle cranked and my face in the wind.  Right then, I am one hundred percent in the present moment.  There are no thoughts of the future or past running though my brain, there are now worries or troubles on my mind; it is just me and the machine.
It is the same way with my writing sometimes.  Sometimes when I am writing and the voices inside my head are talking, I drop into a zone where the words are coming so fast, the scenes are so action packed and the story seems so real, that, it almost is.  Right now my biker fiction novel, Thunder Road is out and just received a five star review.  You can still get Monroe’s Paranormal Investigations at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.  Otherworld Publications is going out of business, so I had to find a new publisher.  Hydra Publications will reedit and rerelease it sometime next year.  My Cave Man action adventure stories will soon be in one volume, titled Tales From The Lost Highway.  I am working on a sequel to Thunder Road, titled In The Wind.  I have a couple of science fiction novels and a haunted house novel that I have yet to publish, so I’ve got a lot going on and a lot on the back burner.  I would like to invite everyone to friends me on facebook, follow me on twitter and sing up on my blog page.  Shoot me an email if you want at davidhdonaghe@yahoo.com
If you like riding motorcycles shoot me an email and let me know.  Tell me a motorcycle story about one of your favorite rides.  If you don’t ride motorcycles, I’d still like to hear from you anyway.  Let me know what it is that you do.  What is the one thing that you enjoy the most that puts you in the zone?  If you are an author and you would like to do a guest post, contact me and let me know.  If you are a blogger and you like to review books, if you would like to review some of mine, I’ll make arrangements so that you can download them free at Smashwords.com.  I guess that’s about it for now.  Until next time I’ll keep doing what I do best: reading, writing and riding my motorcycle.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Great eBook Give Away!

Hello.  In celebration of me reaching 100 fans on goodgreads, plus over 1000 followers on Twitter and in conjunction with Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale, all of my self published eBooks are free at Smashwords.com from midnight July 1st until midnight July 30th.  This includes the Cave Man Action Adventure series.  You can get the following stories free:
Biker Heaven
The Devil's Punch Bowl
Bring A Brother Home
Lead Belly
Pops
The Woolly Boys
and the latest installment, The Dark Rider.  Just go to www.smashwords.com and enter the following code: SSWIN

It would be way cool if you would download some of my books, post a review and join my blog page and join my email list.  You can even shoot me an email at davidhdonaghe@yahoo.com and let me know what you think.  I love hearing from my readers.  So until next time, happy reading and like always, I'll keep doing what I do best: reading, writing and riding my motorcycle.

Peace Out.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Biker Fiction


Biker Fiction
May 10th 2012

Hello.  I would like to talk about two things that are dear to my heart: reading, and riding motorcycles.  In other words, Biker Fiction.  Biker fiction is a little known genre where the story revolves around people, riding motorcycles.  It is usually a cross genre, it could be romance, action adventure, thriller or any number of genres, but the central theme is motorcycles.  The Easy Rider magazine has published Biker Fiction for years.  Wild Child Publishing publishes Biker Heaven and Black Rose Writing just released my Biker Fiction novel, Thunder Road.
Thunder Road is the exciting tale of, Mike McDonald, a Persian Gulf War vet, whom after waking up from a coma, goes on the warpath against the outlaw motorcycle club that brutally killed his wife and left him for dead.  The final confrontation takes place at a cabin at the end of a lonely mountain road, known as Thunder Road.
Teachers often tell new writers to write what they know.  I have mixed feelings about this.  I believe you should write about what ever you want.  If you don’t know anything about a subject, and you want to write about it, there are three things I have to say: research, research, research.  That’s what the internet is for.  It just so happens that I have a passion for motorcycles.  For the past ten years, I have immersed myself in the biker culture, but I also like other things.  I read science fiction, action, thrillers, horror, Westerns, you name it.  If it’s a good story, I’m going along for the ride.  My writing is a mixture of these things.  My science fiction novel, Tale Spinner is available on Amazon.com, along with my short story collection, Monroe’s Paranormal Investigations and my new release, Thunder Road.
In celebration of Thunder Road, I am giving the first installment of my Cave Man action adventure series, Biker Heaven away for free.  Why would I do this?  Because I think that if you read the first story, you’ll want to read the rest.  You can get it at Smashwords.com or Amazon.com.  Here's the link to Amazon.
Biker Heaven

I am also offering the latest installment, The Woolly Boys for free at Smashwords.com until June 10th.  Just go to Smashwords and enter the following code: RW45Q.  Here's the link.
The woolly Boys


For those of you who buy any of my three books that are in print, Thunder Road, Tale Spinner, and Monroe’s Paranormal Investigations, send me the copy of your receipt in an email.  I will also give you the codes to download additional installments from my Cave Man action adventure series, as I stated in last months blog, but to get Biker Heaven and The Woolly Boys, you don’t have to do anything.  Just go to Smashwords and download your copy
Enough about books.  Let’s get back to motorcycles.  I ride a 2008 Harley Davidson Road glide and I also have a 2002 Triumph Bonneville America.  I love putting my face in the wind with my bros and rolling down the highway.  What I would like to know is about you.  Do you like to ride motorcycles?  If so what type of bike do you ride, or are you a passenger only?  If you don’t like motorcycles, what are you passionate about?  What is the one thing that makes you happy?  Leave a comment and let me know.  If you'd like to contact me directly, shoot me an email.  You can contact me at davidhdonaghe@yahoo.com  As always, until next time, I’ll keep reading, writing and riding my motorcycle.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Thunder Road/ Update

Thunder Road
 April 3rd 2012
Hello.  I am excited to announce the release of my new action adventure novel, Thunder Road.  Below is a description from the back cover:

 When mike McDonald, a Persian Gulf War vet, wakes up from a coma and can't remember his own name, a burning white cauldron of anger boils inside him.  Mike's friends relay the facts to him, informing Mike that while he and his wife Sharon, were on a vacation, riding their Honda Goldwing, an outlaw motorcycle club known as The Lost Souls ambushed them.  The Lost Souls abuse and kill Sharon and leave Mike for dead.  Mike recovers from his injuries, regains his memories, and goes to war against The Lost Souls. Using guns, knives and homemade explosives, Mike attacks not just the LA chapter of The Lost Souls, Motorcycle Club, but he also takes on their chapters in Las Vegas, Utah and Idaho.  In Green River Wyoming, Mike hooks up with a friendly motorcycle club known as The Green River Boys and they help him with his war against The Lost Souls.  The final battle takes place at a secluded cabin at the end of a lonely mountain road, known as Thunder Road.


To celebrate the release of Thunder Road, I am giving away the first two installments of my Cave Man Action Adventure series: Biker Heaven and The Devil’s punch bowl.  When you order your copy of Thunder Road, send me a copy of your receipt from Amazon.com or where ever you purchase it, in an email and I will send you the promotion codes so you can down load your copy of Biker Heaven and The Devil’s Punch bowl from Smashwords.com.  Click the link below to order your copy of Thunder Road and then click the links to download your free eBooks.  Feel free to post any comments you may have and if you do order any of my books I would be thrilled if you would post a review and let me know what you think.  As always, until next time I will keep doing what I do best: reading, writing and riding my motorcycle.

But wait, there's more.  If you order my short story collection, Monroe's Paranormal Investigations, I will give you the third book in the Cave Man Action Adventure Series as well (Bring a Brother Home.)  If you like werewolf and vampire stories with a little sex and humor mixed in, you'll like this book.  Click the link below to order.
Monroe's Paranormal Investigations.

If you order my science fiction novel Tale Spinner, as well, then I'll give you the fourth book in the Cave Man Action Adventure Series (Lead Belly) for free as well.  Click the link below to order your copy of Tale Spinner.

Tale Spinner

But wait there's still more.  If you order, Thunder Road, Monroe's Paranormal Investigations, and Tale Spinner and send a copy of the receipt to my email I will throw in the fifth book in the series, (Pops) also for free.  That is five free eBooks when you purchase three others.

Click on the links below to order your free eBooks after I send you the promotion codes.
Bring a Brother Home
Lead Belly
Pops





Can you get a better deal than that?

We as all ways, until next time, I'll keep reading, writing and riding my motorcycle.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The First Ten Steps

The First Ten Steps by M.R. Mathias
February 28th 2012
Hello, my name is David Donaghe and I write short stories and novels.  I am the author of Monroe’s Paranormal Investigations, Tale Spinner and the Cave Man action adventure series, which is a series of biker/ horror/ paranormal stories, but I’m really not here to talk about me today.  I am here to give a shout out to M.R. Mathias, author of The First Ten Steps, The Sword and the Dragon, The Wardstone Trilogy and many more.
I recently read The First Ten Steps and I enjoyed it immensely.  I think that this gem, all though only twenty-four short pages, is a must read to any new author.  So you’ve wrote your book, published it in eBook format, so now what?  The first ten steps tells you exactly what to do to start racking up sales and how to become a known author.  All though Mathis wrote this book with the self-published author in mind, I think it works for any writer.  I have two novels published by small presses and another one coming out next month, and I intend to use the knowledge I found in The First Ten Steps to market them.  If you would like to learn more about M. Mathias, go to his website, check out his books and while your there, buy one, but to sweeten the deal, M.R. Mathias has offered five copies of The sword and the Dragon for free to the first five people who log onto his Smashwords page.  Click the link below for your free eBook.
The sword and Dragon  enter code FF22D



Best of luck and as always, until next time, I’ll keep reading, writing and riding my motorcycle.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Still Blowing In The Wind

Still Blowing In The Wind.
February 10th 2012

I am now, and I forever will be a Bob Dylan fan.  I started listening to his music in the early seventies; I liked it then, and I like it now.  I didn’t care that some people considered him a spokesman for a generation, or a leader in the protest movement.  I just liked his music.  I like his old music and I like his new stuff.  It moved me.  It did back then, and it does now.  It touches some place deep inside me.  From everything I have read, or saw on TV, Bob Dylan never considered himself a spokesman for his generation, or a leader in the protest movement.  For him, it was all about the music, and it was the same for me when it came to listening to it.  I recently saw a documentary of his early years and a reporter asked him if he was going to attend an upcoming protest march.  He laughed and said that he would probably be busy that day.
I saw Bob Dylan in concert in the 1980s and I saw him again at the Buffalo Chip Campground at Sturgis South Dakota in 2010 during the Black Hills motorcycle rally.  He rocked down the house in the eighties when I saw him play then and he rocked down the campground at Sturgis.  One thing I like about a Bob Dylan concert is that you get your money’s worth.  He doesn’t talk; he just sings and plays his music.  Halfway through the concert, he’ll introduce the band, but other than that he just plays his tunes and if you’re lucky, he’ll come back for an encore.  When I heard him at Sturgis I stood among a mass of people squished together like sardines in a can.  They were all cheering and having a great time.  It was a time that I will remember for the rest of my life.
One of Bob’s early hits was Blowing In The Wind.  What does that song mean?  Was it an anthem for the protest movement?  Some people thought so, yet Bob Dylan didn’t consider himself as a topical singer or a leader of the protest movement.  He considered himself to be a poet, I think.  We’re all searching for something, and the answer is blowing in the wind.  If you are an artist, weather it’s a painter, a writer, a singer or a sculpture, you’re searching for that next painting, that vision you have in your mind, or that next story or novel, if you are a writer.  People often ask writers where they get their ideas.  The ideas are out there blowing in the wind, and sometimes we manage to catch one and filter them through that word processor we call a brain.
Bob Dylan was born in Duluth Minnesota on May 11th 1941.  He moved to Hibbing Minnesota when he was six.  In Minneapolis, they hold an annual Bob Dylan sound alike contest at the 400 bar.  In my science fiction novel, Tale Spinner my main character, Brandon Merryweather goes to a bar in Greenwich Village where they are holding a Bob Dylan sound alike contest.  Some of the clubs in the village where Bob got his start back in the day are closed now, but I think at least one club that he used to play in back then is still open.  Below is an excerpt from tale spinner.

Life seemed good, but whenever you think you’ve got life by the tail, something always bites you on the ass. My life was no exception.
One weekend, I was sitting around feeling board. Fluffy jumped up into my lap and I stroked her fur. Kathleen and Amy were busy. Baxter was out of town. My apartment seemed as still as King Tut’s tomb. The clock’s incessant ticking was starting to drive me crazy. My stomach rumbled. Fluffy jumped off my lap.
“You know what I think I’ll do, Fluff. I think I’ll take a ride down to the village. Maybe I’ll stop at Tower Records and buy a new CD. You hold the fort while I’m gone.” So, that’s what I did. Dressed, I left my apartment, caught the bus and rode it to the nearest subway station. The warm sunshine felt good against my back. The people on the bus and in the subway seemed in a jovial mood. Everyone was enjoying their weekend. Even on the platform, there wasn’t your usual pushing and shoving. No one tried to elbow their way through. When the train arrived, I climbed aboard and settled back with a paperback to read while I rode to Greenwich Village.
It was a wonderful day in the village and I had a good time shopping, site seeing and enjoying the atmosphere. I had dinner and spent the evening at a local pub where people would get up on stage and do their best Bob Dylan impersonation. They had a contest going and gave a prize for the best performance. If Bob Dylan himself were to show up, he might not have won. Half drunk, I staggered out the door when they closed the place down that evening. Pulling my coat together at the front, I staggered down the sidewalk. Fog formed in front of my face when I breathed. The music from a street musician playing the guitar wafted on the cold night air.
Back at the subway station, I stumbled aboard the train for the ride home. Making my way through the train, I headed to the last car and took a seat on the beach near the door of the empty train car. This was a break from my pattern. Usually I sit facing the door. Listening to the hum of the steel wheels, I drifted off to sleep. The door between the cars whooshed open. The increase in the sound from the wheels woke me. My breath fogged up in front of my face. Five Cool Dogs swaggered inside. My heart rate quickened. Sweat formed up in the palms of my hands. The door whooshed closed behind them. I recognized one of the gang bangers from my last encounter. He must be their leader now. The one I stabbed must not have made it.
“If it ain’t the white boy from the other day? Where’s your biker buddy now? I told you next time you come through Cool Dog turf, you’d best be packin’” He pulled a handgun from his waistband. The one standing next to him pulled a sawed off from underneath his coat. Jumping to my feet, my breathing regulated and my heart rate subsided. An eerie calm dropped over me.
“I told you, I would be,” I said and then pulled the stub nosed from underneath my shirt. Several things happened at once. Four people materialized from thin air standing next to me. The Cool Dogs and I brought our weapons to bear. From my peripheral vision, I recognized the biker from my last encounter with the Cool Dogs. On my right stood the Mojave Kid. That startled me. They brought their weapons up. On my left stood a man that looked like he’d just stepped out of a Mickey Spillane novel. He was dressed in 1940s style suit wearing a Fedora hat. The heavyset gumshoe pulled an old Smith and Wesson revolver from a shoulder holster. A tall man with black hair and deep piercing blue eyes stood next to him. He wore a black military style uniform. Gold hash marks covered his sleeves and I saw a strange looking emblem on his shoulder. He had a silver bar on his lapel. In his right hand, he held a wired looking metallic handgun.
The world erupted into sound and light. A laser flash lit up the train car. The loud bang of gunfire caused my hearing to go away. The train lurched to a stop. The door behind me slid open. A bullet slammed into my chest. Flying backward, I felt a familiar sense of disorientation and saw a flash of blue light. The smell of burning ozone filled the air. My body came down on a metal deck, knocking the wind out of me, and I lost consciousness.
The Mojave kid looked down at the bodies of the Cool Dogs lying on the floor. Their leader lay unconscious and looked like he wouldn’t make it. The others, nursing their wounds, struggled to sit up. The Mojave Kid bent down and picked up my handgun. He glanced out the doorway of the subway car.
“He’s gone now. I reckon I’d better keep this. It could cause him trouble later.”  The dark haired man in the black uniform arched his left eyebrow.
“Give it to me. I’ll see that he get’s it, all though I doubt that it will survive the temporal flux.” The Cool Dogs on the floor looked up slack jawed and wide eyed. The four men dematerialized and faded from sight.
if you would like to read Tale Spinner click the link below.
 
That’s about it for now.  Until next time I’ll keep doing what I do best: reading, writing and riding my motorcycle.  I’ll keep my net cast out, trying to catch an idea for my next novel, because the answer is still blowing in the wind.

Check out my other books.
Monroe's Paranormal Investigations
Check out Cave Man's action adventure series.


Download each story to your kindle or Nook for only 99 cents.
Biker Heaven
The Devil's Punch Bowl
 Bring a Brother Home



Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Gun Truble

Gun Trouble
January 10 2012

Everyone knows that we live in violent times, and it almost seems like you hear about someone shot everyday, yet when you look at the Bureau of Justice Statistics, you find that gun violence has plummeted since 1993.  A study on where the criminals got their weapons found that less than 2% of criminals arrested for gun crimes bought their gun at a gun show or flee market.  Roughly, 12 % bought their guns at retail stores or pawnshops and 80% got their weapons from family, friends or an illegal street buy.
I believe in sensible gun laws.  To me that means, if you have a history of mental illness, you are a convicted felon, or you have used a gun to commit a crime, then you should not be allowed to own a firearm.  If not, then your Second Amendment rights should no be restricted.  Every man, or woman on this Earth has the God given right to defend themselves or their family from bodily harm, even if that means taking another life using a firearm.  I believe everyone who chooses to and who passes the background check should be allowed to have a conceal and carry permit.  When Gun trouble comes your way, and the bullets are flying over your head, wouldn’t it be better to have the training and the where with all to defend yourself, rather than cowering in fear?
My name is David Donaghe and I write shot stories and novels.  In much of my writing, my main characters use guns to defend themselves.  Below are two excerpts when the characters in my books ran into some Gun Trouble.  The first is from my short story collection, Monroe’s Paranormal Investigations.

Stepping away from the wall, we stood back to back and opened up on the advancing horde.  Even in the middle of the attack, I didn’t fail to notice the firm pressure of Roxy’s shapely bottom pressed up against mine.  Her body jiggled back and forth, as she fired.  The loud crack of gunfire almost made my ears bleed and by the sporadic muzzle flashes, I saw what was left of the zombies retreat into the tombs.  The acidic smell of gun smoke masked the putrid smell of the undead flesh.  Once the attack broke off, we moved deeper into the Earth.

In my science fiction novel Tale Spinner, my main character, Brandon Merryweather is teleported into the world of the Western novel he is reading.  When he arrives in Greedy Gulch, an 1880s boomtown, the novel’s main character, a cowboy called The Mojave Kid, takes Brandon under his wing and helps him survive in a savage new land.  Below is an excerpt where Brandon runs into some Gun Trouble.

One evening, after stripping the saddle and rigging from the bay, I was heading to the Last Chance Saloon.  The booming voice of Craig Barlow came form up the street.  My heart almost stopped.  The sun in my eyes made it hard to see and caused me to squint.  My black and white mutt came to the doorway of the livery and barked.
“Merryweather!”  Up the street, Craig Barlow squared off facing me and swaggered my way.  My breathing came in shallow gasps.  “Drag iron you yellow bellied coward!”
Calm settled over me and my breathing regulated.  My vision narrowed.  How dare that son of a bitch call me a coward? That’s one word you don’t let somebody get away with calling you.  Barlow’s right hand dropped to the butt of his Colt.  I pulled mine, and it spit flame.


So, when it comes to gun trouble, I believe its better to have a gun and not need it, than to need one and not have it.  If you would like to order, any of my books click the links below.  As always, I invite you to post a comment and state your opinion.  Until next time, I’ll keep reading, writing and riding my motorcycle.

David Donaghe