We’re getting close to the launch of Virus now, and I couldn’t be more excited! This is my second major launch of the year, and you’d think I’d be tired of this stuff. But I’m really not.

We have a lot of amazing stuff planned for this launch. All three Station 86 books will be available for 99 cents the whole week of the launch, from July 9^th to the 15^th. That means you’ll be able to have the whole series so far for less than three dollars.

Of course, we’ll also be celebrating on Facebook with a launch party on July 13^th from 6:00 to 9:00. Here’s a list of the awesome writers who will be conducting takeovers.

6:00-Mercedes Prunty

6:30- Me

7:00- Shakyra Dunn

7:30- Richard H. Stephens

8:00- Derek Borne

8:30- Also me.

As always, I couldn’t do what I do without your continued support. I’m so thrilled that Virus has been so popular on the site. I can’t wait until all of you get a chance to read the extended ending.

Stay tuned.

Are you following me on Goodreads? If you’re not, you should be. If only because I bet you’ll be able to predict blog topics ahead of time.

For those of you not following me on Goodreads, I’ve been reading the memoirs of Homer Hickam. I started with Rocket Boys, which inspired the movie October Skies. Now I’m reading The Coalwood Way, book two.

Homer or ‘Sonny’ Hickam is a West Virginian boy who grew up as the son of a mine superintendent. He was a teenager when Sputnik was launched, and it affected him as much as it affected the rest of the country. He decided that he wanted to build rockets to go into space.

Sonny found a hero, as many of us do when we find our passion. He found Werner Von Braun, one of the scientists that sent us into space. One of the scientists that made it possible for one of my personal heroes, Buzz Aldrin, land on the moon.

Werner Von Braun was also a Nazi scientist, brought to America and given amnesty for his crimes as part of Operation Paper Clip along with many other Nazi scientists.

So, he’s a Nazi

But we might not have won the space race without him.

But he worked for Hitler.

But I have him to thank for inspiring America to reach for the stars.

Obviously, he’s a complex person, which brings me to today’s topic. We live every day with the good work of bad men.

Don’t believe me? Here’s another one you might know, but you might not. Do you know anyone who has to take insulin? With diabetes being the epidemic in America that it is, I bet you do. There’s a chance you yourself use insulin.

Did you know that insulin was invented by Nazi scientists? Did you know they horribly tortured people to create it?

I’m not saying this to defend Nazis. Since this has to be said these days, I really hate Nazis. They’re monsters in human form, and the horrors that they committed stagger the imagination. There is no forgiveness in my heart for these people.

But millions of lives have been saved as a direct result, and our whole country was inspired to reach for the stars, and that’s kind of a horrible legacy for two such great things!

This fact, that is inescapable, really bothers me. Do we value the good, no matter how we got it? Do we refuse to use the medical breakthroughs like insulin because of the blood on the hands of the men who created them? Do we spit on Buzz Aldrin’s feet because he rode in a rocket created by a Nazi scientist? (Don’t do that, he’s a great man and he also might punch you.) But, do we say that the ends justified the means, so it’s okay that these horrific things happened?

There’s no good and easy answer in this situation. I know that I’ve puzzled over it for years and I still don’t have a good answer. I honestly don’t think there is a good answer. It’s just an unrefutable fact that we all have to live with.

We live in a world where horrible men and women create good things.

Now, I didn’t tell you all that to make you feel bad. I sure as hell don’t think that anyone who needs insulin or is inspired by the space station should feel guilty about it. I told you this because it’s something we as writers need to understand about the world and the people who dwell within it.

There is no pure evil in this world, just like there is no pure good. These men were not doing what they did to be evil. In fact, Werner Von Braun never really wanted to work for the Nazis. He just wanted to work on rockets. He wanted to go into space and he worked with the people who could make that happen. I’m not saying he was a good man. He just wasn’t a pure evil one.

This is important to understand because if you want to write a realistic world, pure evil shouldn’t exist. If your antagonist is pure evil, you need a rewrite.

Because no one ever thinks they’re the bad guy. Everyone thinks what they’re doing is justified.

Seven pieces of short and flash fiction, showcasing the days of seven very different people. You will find a busy librarian, a lonely man with a guitar and a woman who finds a dream crashing in her brain.

Read it for free now.

Let’s take a break from books today, to talk about something important. This is way more important than most people are acting, actually.

I get it, there’s a lot going on right now. There’s certainly a lot going on in my life right now, and then I’m trying to get involved and help in world issues as well. At least, as much as someone armed with only a blog and a voice can. But if we don’t start paying attention to this, then the world might literally end.

I’m talking of course about the bees. We are losing our bee population rapidly, and no one seems to know why.

Over the last 15 years, we’ve been losing more bees than we can really afford to. Last year, we lost 44% of our bees worldwide. Let me repeat that number loud for the people in the back row.

We lost 44% of bees in the last year!

Now, we normally lose roughly 20% of the bee population every winter. This is considered an acceptable loss because it’s a number that the bees can rebuild when they start making baby bees. 44%, if you’re wondering, isn’t. There just aren’t enough queens making enough babies to recoup that many losses. The worst news is that we’re losing bees in the Summer as well as in the Winter. That’s really not supposed to happen. (All of this information came from the website Bee Informed. Please check it out for more terrifying bee facts.)

So, why is this important? I know a lot of people don’t even like bees. I’m not one of those people, but I get that they’re out there. I guess if you’re allergic, that’s a decent reason to dislike them.

But, here’s the thing, the world might literally not survive if we don’t find a way to save them. Because they are that essential to plants pollination.

I mean all plants. Literally all plants. You’re all grownups, I’m assuming I don’t need to tell you that plants are kind of a big deal to people who want to eat food. Any food.

Now, there are a lot of reasons we’re losing bees. Some of this is due to pesticides, sure. But the biggest issue right now is this nasty little mite called the varroa mite.

For some reason that I don’t understand, because I’m not a beekeeper, we can’t seem to keep these little suckers from spreading. Wouldn’t that be the worst of ironies, if Earth is destroyed not by an Ice Age, not by a meteorite, not by two psychopaths starting WW3 as part of an ever-increasing dick measuring contests, but by some mites killing our bees.

I’m not telling you all of this to scare you. Fear does no good, unless it motivates you to action. I’m telling you this, because there are things we can do to save the bees. And if enough of us pitch in, we can bring them back.

• You can plant bee-friendly plants, assuming you aren’t allergic and around your home is a healthy place for bees to be. Even a window box on an apartment windowsill can help. Make sure that you’re planting flowers that are native to your area. Here’s a website that will help you find some native plants that bees love.
• Don’t use pesticides if you can help it.
• Donate to a worthwhile bee conservation charity. Like this one.
  
• If you’re really down for it, and you’ve got the extra space and time, you can even put a hive in your backyard. Of course, you want to make sure that there are no ordinances against such things in your area. And make sure you have the time to do this. Here are some great articles to get you started. Mind you, I have two dogs and no intention of doing this. But if you can do it, it’s a great way to help.

The important thing here is that we all do our part. Look, I understand that we’re all busy. There’s a lot going on. Sadly, there’s a lot going on that we can’t do anything about.

But we can do something about the bees. And we need to, before it’s too late.

Josey was new in town, working two jobs and reeling from her divorce. She needed a lot of things, but most of all she needed a meeting. She finds one in the basement of her local library. But the meeting that she finds isn’t the one that she’s expecting.

Read it now.