Giveaway – $25 Amazon Giftcard and 2 signed paperbacks of The Steel Deal by James Blaklely plus Review

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The Steel Deal by James Blakley

.The Steel Deal

If you are a conspiracy theorist, this may be a book for you. Sonny Busco, a Private Investigator finds himself mixed up with The Men and Women in Black, while trying to keep the other side from stealing sentient steel, a revolutionary new invention that could change the world as we know it. Sentient steel is lightweight like aluminum, elastic like rubber and durable like titanium. It can be shaped into almost any form. It can think and become whatever it wants.

Steel Laptop Suitcase Pictures, Images and Photos
My name is Sonny Busco. I am a Private Investigator. I am fifty-five and feel my age. I drive a twenty-six year old Oldsmobile, that I am never sure will start. I like my Bourbon and I bet on the ponies to try and augment my lack of income.

I have a second job as a security guard. It’s a steady job that helps to cover my bills.

When I am working as a Private Investigator, I wear a Blazer and tie. It’s really hard to tell, though, because I dress the same, whether I am visiting my Bookie, a bill collector or a broad.

I am in hock to a loan shark, because business has been slack. It seems private eyes aren’t in as much demand as we used to be.  When I got the call from Pixy, I arranged to meet her right away. She offered me $2500, for what seemed to be a piece of cake job.
I would be able to pay my Bookie, my debts and still have some pocket change.

Santa Fe, Capital of New Mexico

Santa Fe, Capital of New Mexico (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I saw the girl with the silvery box, I noticed how scared she was. We exchanged our agreed upon coded responses. She told me her name was Pixy Sage and all I had to do was retrieve a suitcase that held a new invention, sentient steel, and deliver it to her in Santa Fe, NM tomorrow night.

My Oldsmobile had broken down, so we got into the Stealth I had borrowed from my mechanic and headed to either the bus station or the train station. She hadn’t told me yet what mode of transportation she would be taking, only that it was too obvious to fly. When she said we were being followed by the taxi behind us, I thought, sure we are. But we were. With the Stealth, I easily lost them. She said only four people knew about sentient steel, now I was the fifth.

The taxi caught up to us and when I slammed on the brakes to avoid getting in a wreck, Pixy jumped out of the car and ran. I thought, no problem. I knew we were to meet in Santa Fe, so I would retrieve the briefcase and head there.

But my way would be much more difficult than I ever could have anticipated.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos    4 STARS – Would Highly Recommend To Others

I received this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. James Blakely sent me a signed paperback. Thank you, James. I love adding another book to my collection.

I loved the cover and the title matched the story. It is not your average PI story, even though at times it seems to be very light-hearted.

The book was very well written. It was 213 pages of mystery, action and fun. The mismatch of fun and interesting characters kept me on my toes. If the plot  had been more developed, this book could be rated even higher. It had a feel of James Bond, to me.

There was so much action packed into such a small book, every time I thought it was over, this happened, then this. Nothing big, nothing earth-shaking, but fun. The book can be read in a couple of hours, which I did, over coffee on my patio.

There was plenty of food for thought and it will keep you thinking long after you read the book. If you like conspiracy, this book will help feed your paranoia.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Blakley    James Blakley was educated at Missouri Western State College and Washburn University. While at MWSC, he was a local and national award-winning columnist and co-editor of “The Griffon-News”.

Blakley worked 10 1/2 years as a page and as an Assistant Librarian for the River Bluffs Regional Libraries of St. Joseph, MO. He currently lives in Topeka,KS where he worked for The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library before spending several years in clerical and customer support capacities for international computer companies such as EDS and HP.

For those “inquiring minds who want to know”, I’m almost finished with a screenplay version of “The Steel Deal.” And I’m rough-drafting my next novel (due out in late 2013/early 2014).

You can find James Blakely at Goodreads

taiwan flag smiley animated gif Pictures, Images and Photos  Giveaway – James has offered an awesome giveaway.

A $25.00 Amazon Gift Card and

2 signed paperback books for the giveaway.

It is International and easy to enter, as always. Just answer the question – Do you think there have been enough scientific advances that there could be such a thing as sentient steel and if there is, would THEY allow it to be used? – and leave your email. Ends November 14, 2012.

My favorite time of any giveaway is announcing the winners. So without further ado, the winners of The Steel Deal are:

$25 GC – Stuffsmart

PB – Shannon

PB – Christie Rich

 

Thanks to all of you for the wonderful comments. I hope you will continue to follow fundinmental.

FOR ALL MY GIVEAWAYS, CLICK  HERE.

Tweet it out and share it with your friends and family, not required.

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  To order, simply click on the cover.

40 thoughts on “Giveaway – $25 Amazon Giftcard and 2 signed paperbacks of The Steel Deal by James Blaklely plus Review”

  1. Hmm. Sentient steel…no, I don’t think there have been enough scientific advancements for such a thing to exist, but then I’m no scientist. But, if it did exist, I really doubt the government would allow the general public to have access to such stuff. I wuold completely expect THEM to use it to make weapons that end up wiping out the human population — sort of like Terminator or something. Thanks for the review and the giveaway. Sounds like an interesting read. 🙂 email: mr.boardgame AT yahoo DOT com

    • Sentient steel is lightweight like aluminum, elastic like rubber and durable like titanium. It can be shaped into almost any form. It can think and become whatever it wants. I added it to the review. Thanks for pointing out that most of us don’t know what it is and I should have included a definition. lol

      • Haha… mud on my face…. sorry I didn’t see that in the review. I am drinking my “cawfee” as they say on the East Coast now. I can make fun of the way they talk because I am from Indiana (normal people). Anyway, thanks for the definition Sherry! YOUR blog and LAURA’s blog rock… you ladies giveaway some really cool stuff and profile the best authors! I’m hooked to every post you two make! Thanks and lot of love and hugs, Emily

  4. It’s fun to speculate about things like this, but l don’t think we’ve even come close. And no, I don’t think THEY would allow such a thing out to the public. Too risky, lol

    email: authorchristierich at gmail dot com.

    Thanks, fun giveaway.

  5. There’s a wide gap between what we think is possible and what more than likely already is possible. Sentient steel might become a reality, who knows? But would the ever-present THEY allow it for average Joe, I think the answer is no, all the way to the foreseeable future.

    Interesting premise, though, and I’d like to read this one.

  8. Hmm..if steel could be aware or have a conscious, that would be interesting. I am not sure i want my fridge aware of us..creepy! I enjoy a good PI mystery and conspiracy theories, so thanks for sharing your review and guest post.

  9. Hell yes. They already probably have it and are using it secretly. I am always believing in conspiracies! My toaster looks at me funny:)
    I want this book Sherry! It’s my kind of read, but I’m sure you know that already!!
    Thank you both for this wonderful giveaway and thanks for a new author to follow sis!

  10. Hmmmm….I definitely think there will be advances in materials though that might test the basic scientific properties and might just not be possible with the resources we have. However any possible future space exploration could maybe bring back new elements which could make it more possible. I think people would be allowed to use it, it would just be so expensive that it would not be available to the masses.

  11. There was a character in the old FLASH series who practiced magic … actually, he was from the future and had exposure to such an advanced science that us 20th (at the time) century types THOUGHT it was magic. SO … who knows what might occur in the future? BUT … I would assume that the qualities of iron and lead would not allow the instant mallibility this concept would require.

  12. Maybe in a long time they’ll be able to develop that. Even if they did it would probably be kept tightly under wraps so the public wouldn’t know about it for 50+ years anyway. So, who would be allowed to use it? The military, as usual! And people with a ton of money….Very interesting concept though – kind of reminds me of the bad guy in Terminator 2! That guy haunted my nightmares when I was little, haha.

    Thanks for holding the giveaway!

  13. Even if it would exist, we might never know because of the government; thanks for the giveaway.

  14. I don’t think we are there yet, and if we were, very few would know about it. Thanks for the giveaway, book sounds great.

  15. No i also don’t think we are there yet. But it would be cool if it existed. Thanks for the giveaway.

  17. It’s a very cool idea! But I don’t think we’re there yet. Who knows what might happen with nanotechnology in the future though? But if the powers-that-be did have it… I’m not sure they’d let the rest of us use it. Too dangerous! dana@danadelamar.com

  18. I don’t think we are at that point yet. and there is no way they would let us use it. It would end up being a military weapon..

  19. Sentient steel? I could see lightweight like aluminum, durable like titanium, and shaped into almost any form. Elastic like rubber is harder to swallow, but I really don’t buy it being able to think. At least not in the classical sense of thinking. Maybe implanting it with some nanotechnology that would allow it to respond to environmental cues or other signals giving the appearance of thought. But genuine, independent thought? No.

  22. At the moment, I don’t believe we currently have the technology to make sentient steel possible. However, with the technological advancements, I wouldn’t completely write it of as impossible.

    gu14eoecd(at)aim(dot)com

  24. Yeah, I don’t think we’re there yet and won’t be for awhile, if ever. I don’t think THEY would let regular people use it because that technology is scary sounding as hell. I wouldn’t want it out personally.

    My email is broke (dot) book (dot) bank AT gmail dot com

  26. Yes, I think enough advances have been made that Sentient Steel could exist. I wouldn’t think “They” would let it be used by the general population.

  27. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Sherry for designing such a visually striking blog; to everyone for entering the contest; and for all your enthusiastic responses to the question.

    So, what does the author of THE STEEL DEAL think, right? Would it be released and could it ever exist? While the overwhelming sentiment here is that something like sentient steel wouldn’t be released to the general public, I tend to disagree. I think that it, like many revolutionary inventions, would gradually be intergrated into society at a calculated rate–so as not to cause social and economic tidal waves that would almost immediately capsize civilization. The potential to make more money and to secure more power would be too irresistable to keep such a game-changing gadget as this hidden forever.

    As for the idea of sentient steel: While sounding far-fetched and far-off, it is actually based on existing, cutting-edge achievements in engineering (which can be found in two earlier articles I posted on programmable matter and memory metals). And if coupled with modern advancements in quantum computing and nanotechnology, sentient steel could soon be the real deal.

    As the old saying goes, the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction!

    All the best,
    James Blakley

    • Thanks for stopping by James. And thanks for your wonderful comments.

      I guess you can tell, most of us aren’t so trusting. We believe “they” will not let us have it, even if it could be true.

      I don’t know enough about the science of any of it to have an educated opinion on the possibility of it’s existence. I do believe that many things are possible with all the technology we have today.

  28. Hey there! Thank you for this awesome giveaway! Well, I believe that it is VERY possible for this to have already been invented. The government hides many things from the general public as it is. If they were to have invented sentient steel, I’m sure it would be tested by high rank military officials many years before we would hear about it. Eventually, if it’s sufficient enough, I’m sure we will be informed. As for it becoming available to us, that’s a different story. Crime rates being as they are? I don’t even think that it’s a good idea.

    andrea_rose95 (at) rocketmail . com

    • I agree about the government hiding things from us and I believe it makes sense. Have to save us from the enemy, but sometimes even from ourselves. Thanks for the great comment. Good luck Andrea

  29. Pingback: WINNERS!!!!! of The Steel Deal Giveaway | fundinmental

    • Thanks for stopping by and commenting stuff. lol Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you all for stopping by to comment.

  31. Pingback: Steel Deal Huge Giveaway HO HO HO! « fuonlyknew

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