Hank Quense Shares an #Excerpt from MOXIE'S PROBLEM @hanque99 #SciFi #Fantasy #Goodreads

Scene background: 
Tristan is rehearsing his latest play and Merlin wants to check it out.

Merlin entered the room in the back of the keep where Tristan rehearsed his new play, Rolf and Hild. The play’s premier was planned for Camelot’s annual Yuletide Feast and Merlin was curious about what abomination Tristan had hatched this time.

A few knights milled about the room while an apprentice knight with a bandaged arm stood on a chair. The apprentice had a woman’s wig on his head and didn’t look happy. Tristan placed a second chair alongside the first. “Let us begin with an important scene. One that will leave not a dry eye in the audience.”

Tristan grabbed a second knight and dragged him over to the empty chair.

“You are Hild,” Tristan said to the apprentice on the chair, “a rich maiden. Let us pretend the chairs are a balcony in a garden behind Hild’s house.” Tristan smacked the second knight in the chest with the back of his hand. “Your name is Rolf. You are wandering knight who has fallen in love with Hild as she has with you. Her family refuses to allow you to marry her or even see her, so you have to meet in secret. Is this clear?”

Both characters looked puzzled.

“Why don’t I just kill her parents,” Rolf asked, “and run away with her?”

“Because I didn’t write the play that way,” Tristan replied. “You stand over there,” he told Rolf, “until Hild calls you. Then you approach the balcony and profess your love.”

“How the hell do I that? And what does profess mean?”

“Never mind. Just go stand over there.” Tristan said in a threatening voice.

Merlin loved to watch Tristan lose his temper. One never knew what to expect when that happened and Merlin suspected a temper tantrum was about to break out.

Once Rolf had been positioned, Tristan stood behind Hild and her chair.

“I’ll whisper the lines to you, and you repeat them, all right?”

Merlin realized Hild couldn’t read and Rolf probably couldn’t either, so the actors had to memorize the lines as Tristan read them.

Hild braced herself, cocked an ear towards Tristan and then said, “Rolf, oh Rolf. Wherefore art thou, Rolf.”

Tristan pointed and Rolf moved to the chairs where Tristan whispered lines to him. “I’m here, Hild, my beloved. Say you’ll be mine forever and a day.”

“I will. Oh, I will. I will be thy wife and change my name to yours. What is in a name? A nettle by other name would still prick thy hand.”

Tristan directed Rolf to climb on the chair, embrace Hild and kiss her.

“I ain’t kissin’ a guy,” Rolf snarled. “What kinda nasty mind do you have, Tristan.”

“It’s a play and she’s supposed to be a woman, so it’s all right to kiss her during the play. It’s part of your role as a character.”

Rolf climbed on the chair and loosely embraced Hild. Hild closed her eyes and puckered up.

“I ain’t kissing’ her,” Rolf said. “She’s got stubble all over her face and her breath stinks.”

Hild opened her eyes and glared at Rolf. “You should talk. Your breath smells like a midden.”

Rolf and Hild both made fists and assumed fighting stances while still on the chairs.

Merlin shook his head. He had seen enough to confirm his suspicion that Tristan’s play writing talent was equal to his poetry talent. Merlin left the room while, behind his back, Rolf and Hild threatened to settle the dispute with swords.

Do you enjoy untypical coming-of-age stories? Well, you won’t find one more untypical that Moxie’s Problem. Moxie is an obnoxious, teen-age princess who has never been outsider her father’s castle. Until now. The real world is quite different and she struggles to come to grips with reality. The story take space against a backdrop of Camelot. But it isn’t the Camelot of legends. It’s Camelot in a parallel universe. So, all bets are off!

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Genre – Fantasy, Sci-fi

Rating – G

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Website http://hank-quense.com/wp/

#Excerpt from Party of Gifts by D. Aliesh #AmReading #SciFi

My family had this really weird connection. If there was ever anything wrong with any of us, our phones would call each other, and the person that owns the phone would not even show it in the call history. So when we called the person back, and they were completely lost, we knew that there was more to the story. Most of the time it was just that someone needed to talk or had something on their mind that they couldn’t quite put together. Either way, the phones always knew exactly who to call. I picked it up, knowing that she would just call again. “What are you doing up this time of night, Ma?” I asked instead of the usual greeting.

“Why are you calling me at this ungodly hour? Oh wait; it’s one of those calls isn’t it?”

Indeed it was. “Yes Ma, I guess it is; any advice?”

She sighed heavily into the phone. “I guess you’re active again. So all I have to tell you is to follow your heart and stay safe. But why now after so long; I thought you were giving it… a rest?”

She made it sound like I had broken a vow of celibacy.

The modern day heroes assembled in this journey get to go to places most people will never see. With the gifts of the spirit and some other talents added to the bunch, they restore faith, hope in order into the world, while shaking it up in themselves. If you are a sci-fi extraordinaire looking for a good read, or if you need an escape from worldly limitations…join the cast of Party of Gifts.

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Genre - Sci-Fi

Rating – PG

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Blog www.daliesh.wordpress.com

Discovery in Big Sur with THE REALITY MASTER (Vol. 1) by @PMPillon #AmReading #SciFi #YA

DISCOVERY IN BIG SUR

Joey was unable to discern why he felt apprehension about traveling to Big Sur, which previously had induced nothing but pure joy for him. Frank stayed overnight at Joey’s to make sure they got an early start Saturday morning for the two-hour drive down the coast to Grandpa Karl’s digs. They brought along plenty of camping equipment. Grandpa Karl hated phones, so they weren’t concerned that he didn’t call to confirm he was back from his trip back east. They would manage at his place even if he wasn’t there, sleeping in a tent and shopping for groceries further south along the coast highway. Karl lived in a one-room shack, and although they could all fit on his floor with sleeping bags, it was more fun to pitch a large tent and manage their own schedules. Unlike his life at home where he struggled to get up for school, Joey always jumped up at first light when he was in Big Sur. He loved the smell of moist pines and redwoods, the frigid, misty mornings, being surrounded by forest, within earshot of loudly barking sea lions cavorting along the ocean’s edge. Joey didn’t have to go far from Grandpa Karl’s to where he could watch these exotic creatures, as well as seals and sea otters, gallivanting and floating among the rocks and kelp. 

Once he even saw Gray Whales passing by as they migrated south to their winter breeding grounds in Baja California. On their way to Big Sur they passed by Carmel where tourists actually pay a road fee just to drive around Carmel looking at the plush homes that they heard celebrities like Doris Day, Clint Eastwood, or Paul Simon lived in at one time. But the drive further down the coast to and along Big Sur is a completely different story from carefully carved Carmel. The winding road is flanked by guard rails that don’t always prevent a car’s plunge down a steep incline and even into the ocean. Just the previous week, a woman had gone off the road and down a steep embankment, and was only rescued two days later because she managed to get to her cell phone and call for help. 

As Joey contemplated the woman’s plight, he thought of the famous rock musician who was reputed to be a physics genius; found dead in his car long after it went off a road and fell into thick brush. But that accident was far from the coast, somewhere east of LA. There were rumors about the last communications from the musician darkly suggesting his possible assassination because of some great mathematical discovery that he was on the verge of achieving. While pondering this, Joey developed a feeling of cold on the back of his neck; it seemed his body might be communicating a warning to him. What warning could it be? I’m no genius like that rock star. He shook his head and tried to dismiss the thought by looking out the car window at the scenery. Then Frank engaged him in conversation, and he forgot the strange sensation. It was a typically sunny day in the Bay Area when they started out in the morning, but it was drizzling in Big Sur. This was actually ideal from Joey’s view point because the flora looked especially beautiful with drops of rain on it and puddles everywhere, and the moisture brought out wonderful fragrances.    

Eventually, they turned off the coastal highway, wending their way along the bumpy, pocked private road that brought them to Grandpa Karl’s abode. He drove an ancient 1948 Ford truck that he managed to keep going by scavenging parts wherever he could. Because of this scavenging, there were quite a few auto parts near his shack, enough to ironically mimic a junkyard in the midst of a natural paradise.
Many people in Big Sur were essentially bohemians who rebelled against pressure to conform to orthodox aesthetic standards. In this respect, they were like many residents of Bolinas on the coast above San Francisco, a town that is locally famous for its hippie and iconoclastic population, much of which likewise junkyard their otherwise picturesque properties. Bolinas is a beach town that isn’t tree-laden like Big Sur, but Mendocino, a short distance north, sports a mil ion of acres of dense forest. Big Sur residents became the subject of a school report by Joey after the one he wrote about San Francisco. Many of them could be described as relics of the old 60’s counterculture. 

His celestial companion was waiting for him

Precariously climbing a sea-side cliff near Big Sur, ten-year-old Joey Blake was as yet unaware that near his grasp was an object, so odd, mysterious and alien to earth that it would change his life forever and the lives of countless others in the next few astonishing days. Reaching up as far as he could for a handhold it was just there; it had subconsciously lured him, occupied his mind, and made him find it. It was like he was meant to see and discover this object of unimaginable power … the power to change reality.

Time travel and more

This young adult series of sci-fi fantasy novels begins with The Reality Master and continues through four other exciting and amazing stories about time travel and mysterious alien devices. Joey and the reader will face dangerous shadowy criminal organizations, agents of the NSA, bizarre travelers from other times and even renegade California bikers and scar-faced walking dead.

- Vol 1 The Reality Master
- Vol 2 Threat To The World
- Vol 3 Travel Beyond
- Vol 4 Missions Through Time
- Vol 5 The Return Home

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Genre – Science fiction, Fantasy, Young adult

Rating – G

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#Zombie Days, Campfire Nights by Leah Rhyne @Leah_Beth #Horror #GoodReads

The fear of the lab bubbled up. I reached down to pull my old knife out of my boot. It wouldn’t provide much protection, but its weight in my hand was comforting. I continued forward, nudging Chicken along when he faltered. His hair stood on end and a low growl issued from deep in his throat.

At the door, I reached for the knob, expecting it to be locked, but it turned easily in my hand.

Of course, I thought. No one from the camp who went into the labs ever came out, so it wasn’t like people were trying to get in.

We headed inside, the cool air conditioning made less welcome by the zombie stench that flooded the hallway.

“C’mon, buddy,” I whispered to Chicken, who hovered in the doorway. “Stay with me. It’ll be over soon, either way.”

The faint glow of an “Exit” sign provided scant illumination. I took a moment to get my bearings, and was surprised to see cheerful murals painted on both walls. Little shelves with hooks for little jackets also lined the walls.

The realization came with horror—the laboratory had once been a nursery school.

I opened a door, hoping to find a weapon of some sort, and found a jackpot. The room looked like a janitor’s closet, and there was some old sports equipment tucked away in the corner. Lying on top of a pile of gloves and balls sat an aluminum baseball bat, and I rushed to it. It wasn’t a Louisville Slugger, but when I closed my eyes and ran my hand along it to feel the metal, it felt like I was home. I took a deep breath and smiled down at Chicken.

I opened the next door to see what else we could find.

Millions died when the zombie plague swept the country. For the survivors, the journey has just begun. Jenna, Sam, and Lola are still alive. Jenna avoids human contact, traveling East Coast backroads with her boyfriend, a dog named Chicken, and a Louisville Slugger. Sam escapes to the mountains, where he’s conscripted into a zombie-slaying militia sent on nightly raids to kill the undead…and innocent civilians. 

Lola’s imprisoned in the “safety” of a zombie-free New Orleans hotel, but life grows more dangerous when her brother gets bitten by a zombie. Jenna arrives in the French Quarter, lured by the false promises of New Orleans’ drunken leader. There, she’s ripped away from her boyfriend, drugged, and dumped in a death camp after refusing Franklin’s sexual advances. Jenna and Lola’s lives collide there, where the dead live and the dying are victims of gruesome medical experiments. Escape isn’t easy: release the genetically-enhanced zombies from the lab to create a diversion, slip away, and don’t get eaten. When Sam arrives, will he join the right side of the battle?

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Genre – NA-Horror, Sci-fi

Rating – PG-13

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Connect with Leah Rhyne on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.leahrhyne.com/

Scott Moon on Sacrifice, Courage & Best-Seller Status @ScottMoonWriter #BookMarketing #SciFi

During the last two years I have read countless books, blogs, Facebook posts, and tweets on the the topic of book marketing. One of the strangest revelations was that being a bestseller is not clearly defined. Growing up with dreams of writing success, I’d always assumed there was one list. Everyone knows about the New York Times Bestseller list. Clearly, if you are on this one, you can justifiably use the distinction in your promotional efforts. Amazon ranks books by sales (total sales and category sales rank) and popularity. (1) (2) Amazon also uses other criteria such as “movers and shakers.” This last metric is based on a spike in sales during a specific time frame.

I was unable to find exactly what makes a New York Times bestseller with mere Google research, though it seems it is not as straight forward as I had assumed. (3) As an independent author, it appears I could set my own criteria for calling my novels bestsellers, but would this be honest, or just a promotional scheme. More importantly, could there be negative repercussions?

The reason I ask this question, is that I see a lot of “bestsellers” I have never heard of and thus rarely consider reading, unless the book description and reviews catch my interest.

This blog post is less to express my thoughts or conclusions on the subject, and more to start a discussion. Should there be a strict criteria for claiming bestseller status? Do readers resent overblown claims of a book’s popularity? And does labeling a book in this manner increase sales?

A related concern is unknown books with extraordinarily high numbers of reviews. I read a book review that brought this up, and the author of the review wondered how the book achieved nine-hundred five star reviews. After reading the book description and a dozen other reviews, I shied away from making a purchase and chose to add it to my wish list instead–with plans to read the sample provided by Amazon before spending time and money on the title.

I had serious reservations about posting this blog, because I don’t want to disparage authors and their promotional efforts. However, both indie and traditionally published authors are serious about the craft of writing and the industry. No one invests hundreds or thousands of hours in a project without self-sacrifice and courage. Like all artists, they take their vocation seriously and would like others to do the same.

I admire all writers, no matter where they are in their journey. I also realize there are a lot of books promising to make people rich quickly in the self-publishing arena. Have you ever bought a “book” only to find it was eight pages long? I have, and I wasn’t happy. Eight pages isn’t a book. It’s not even a pamphlet. People who try this stunt should not call themselves authors.

Most books on book marketing start with the admonition to write the best book possible. No one argues with this advice. For long term success, this is infinitely more valuable than slapping a bestseller label on the cover.

1) What Defines a Bestseller? (Irene Watson) http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Defines-a-Bestseller-in-Books?&id=3491920

2) Amazon: What Does the Amazon Sales Rank Mean and is It Significant? http://ezinearticles.com/?Amazon:-What-Does-the-Amazon-Sales-Rank-Mean-and-is-It-Significant?&id=166716

3) What Does Bestseller Title Really Mean? http://dearauthor.com/features/letters-of-opinion/what-does-bestseller-title-really-mean/

Lost Hero

Changed by captivity and torture, hunted by the Reapers of Hellsbreach and wanted by Earth Fleet, Kin Roland hides on a lost planet near an unstable wormhole.

When a distant space battle propels a ravaged Earth Fleet Armada through the same wormhole, a Reaper follows, hunting for the man who burned his home world. Kin fights to save a mysterious native of Crashdown from the Reaper and learns there are worse things in the galaxy than the nightmare hunting him. The end is coming and he is about to pay for a sin that will change the galaxy forever. 

Books

Enemy of Man: Book One in the Chronicles of Kin Roland was written for fans of military science fiction and science fiction adventure. Readers who enjoyed Starship Troopers or Space Marines will appreciate this genre variation. Powered armor only gets a soldier so far. Battlefield experience, guts, and loyal friends make Armageddon fun. 

Movies

If you love movies like Aliens, Predator, The Chronicles of Riddick, or Serenity, then you might find the heroes and creatures in Enemy of Man dangerous, determined, and ready to risk it all. It’s all about action and suspense, with a dash of romance—or perhaps flash romance. 

From the Author

Thanks for your interest in my novel, Enemy of Man. I hope you chose to read the book and enjoy every page. 

If you have already read Enemy of Man, how was it? Reviews are appreciated! 

Have a great day and be safe.

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Genre – Science Fiction

Rating – R

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@ ShelleyDavidow on Her New Book 'Lights Over Emerald Creek' #YA #SciFi #GoodReads

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?

I write on my laptop or in my journal. I don’t have a private writer’s attic. I do things in the midst of life, in the gaps between supper and my late-night snack, in the afternoon while waiting for the washing to dry and I often write instead of watching TV, checking Facebook or taking a nap.

Where do you get support from? Do you have friends in the industry?

My biggest support is my husband, dearest friend and sharpest critic, Paul Williams (www.paul-a-williams.com). I trust his deep sense of what works and what doesn’t, and I return the favour whenever he asks.

How much sleep do you need to be your best?

I need 8 hours. I often don’t get more than 6 : (

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?

Success to me would mean I could live off my writing and teach simply because I love it. I’m not quite there yet!

Tell us about your new book? What’s it about and why did you write it?

Lights Over Emerald Creek is a speculative fiction novel for young adults. Lucy Wright, sixteen and a paraplegic after a recent car accident that took her mother's life, lives in Queensland on a 10,000 acre farm with her father. When Lucy investigates strange lights over the creek at the bottom of the property, she discovers a mystery that links the lights to the science of cymatics to Scotland’s ancient Rosslyn Chapel. The book was inspired by some real people, notably a paraplegic pilot and a young cellist, as well as some unexplained real-life events like the phenomena of the Hessdalen Lights in Norway, and the hexagonal storm on Saturn. I wrote the book because I thought one of the most exciting things one can do with unexplained phenomena, is NOT to try to explain them, but to create the story that might be…the story that inspires and pushes the reader to exciting places.

When you are not writing, how do you like to relax?

I relax by walking on the beach, or jogging or climbing or swimming. Being out in nature is the most rejuvenating thing for me.

Do you have any tips on how writers can relax?

Writing is such a heady and lonely thing to do. I think being active and being with people you love is the best way to relax.

How often do you write? And when do you write?

I write whenever I can, as often as I can. Sometimes that’s every day, and sometimes weeks go by and I don’t write. When I have a deadline, I work every spare moment. When I finish a book, I try to take a break before embarking on a new project.

Do you have an organized process or tips for writing well? Do you have a writing schedule?

I believe to write well, you have to do it a lot. How that happens is unique to each individual, but like any skill, many thousands of words have to be written before a few emerge as gems. To write well, do it often.

Sometimes it’s so hard to keep at it - What keeps you going?

If I stop writing, or don’t write for a while, eventually a story or a character just ‘arrives’ and demands to be written. I can’t NOT write, so I guess that keeps me going.

Have you met any people in the industry who have really helped you?

I had a wonderful writers group in Oregon when I lived there, made up of some very prolific authors whom I deeply respected. They taught me how to pare things down to what was essential, and how to work slowly and carefully. We worked on poetry and that helped me become a better fiction writer.

Lucy Wright, sixteen and a paraplegic after a recent car accident that took her mother's life, lives in Queensland on a 10,000 acre farm with her father. When Lucy investigates strange lights over the creek at the bottom of the property, she discovers a mystery that links the lights to the science of cymatics and Scotland’s ancient Rosslyn Chapel.

But beyond the chapel is an even larger mystery. One that links the music the chapel contains to Norway’s mysterious Hessdalen lights, and beyond that to Saturn and to the stars. Lucy’s discoveries catapult her into a parallel universe connected to our own by means of resonance and sound, where a newly emerging world trembles on the edge of disaster. As realities divide, her mission in this new world is revealed and she finds herself part of a love story that will span the galaxy.

Sample & Purchase Links

Genre - Young Adult SF

Rating - PG

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S.M. McEachern's #WriteTip for How to Write by the Seat of Your Pants @smmceachern #YA #SciFi

I knew absolutely nothing about being an author until after I published.  Yes, I realize that’s a bit like tying my shoes before I put them on, but that’s the point. If I have hard time putting on my shoes, odds are I’ll go looking for a different pair, which will probably put a different spin on what I’m wearing.

For me, writing by the seat of my pants gives me flexibility.  Don’t get me wrong. I’m not sitting down at my computer banging out whatever pops into my head (okay, that’s not entirely true…). I do have a plot in mind. But it’s the journey from the beginning of the story to the end that holds twists and turns even for me. How is that possible, you ask? It’s the characters that lead me.

When I start to write my characters they almost jump up off the page and introduce themselves. Even the minor characters, like a guard who just needs to be in the hallway, has to have a story. I’m thinking of my character in Sunset Rising, Bron Llewellyn.  Honestly, she was just a guard in the first chapter. Why? Because the Pit is guarded and I had to have guards. I made her one of the “good” guards because even in a dystopic world, not every single guard is going to be mean, right? Then I asked myself, why is she a good guard?  Why is she sympathetic to the Pit?  By answering those questions, I hatched a subplot that wove seamlessly into the main plot and spilled into the second book of the series, Worlds Collide.

I’m a member of local writer’s group and I’ve talked to authors who create an outline first and then write to the outline. I’m amazed at this kind of organization. I wish I could apply it to my Tupperware drawer because I’d save myself at least 15 minutes every morning trying to find containers with lids that fit for my kids’ lunches. Then again, if I could readily match lids with containers, I’d probably make chocolate pudding more often for lunch.  Chocolate pudding isn’t really that good for them.  An apple is better.  And an apple doesn’t require a container.

You see the logic?

The point is, if the story is already laid out for me, I’ll write to the storyline. I’ll stop asking myself questions—and if I do that, I’ll stop coming up with answers I didn’t expect.  For me, writing by the seat of my pants gives me the freedom to be creative.

February 2024: Desperate to find refuge from the nuclear storm, a group of civilians discover a secret government bio-dome. Greeted by a hail of bullets and told to turn back, the frantic refugees stand their ground and are eventually permitted entry.  But the price of admission is high.

283 years later...  Sunny O'Donnell is a seventeen-year-old slave who has never seen the sun.  She was born in the Pit, a subterranean extension of the bio-dome. Though life had never been easy, the last couple of months had become a nightmare. Her mom was killed in the annual Cull, and her dad thought it was a good time to give up on life.  Reyes Crowe, her long-time boyfriend, was pressuring her to get married, even though it would mean abandoning her father.

She didn't think things could get any worse until she was forced upstairs to the Dome to be a servant-girl at a bachelor party.  That's when she met Leisel Holt, the president's daughter, and her fiancé, Jack Kenner.

Now Sunny is wanted for treason.  If they catch her, she'll be executed.

She thought Leisel's betrayal was the end.  But it was just the beginning.

"Sunset Rising" is Book One of a series.

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Genre - YA Science Fiction, Dystopian

Rating – PG-16

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Website http://smmceachern.wordpress.com

Martin King and the Space Angels by James McGovern @mcgovernwriter #SciFi #YA #Teen

It is said that at least once in every person’s life, they will dream of angels…

The sky flared white. Rain slammed down on the bus shelter and Martin’s shoulders tensed. The rainstorm had washed away the glue and colour of an old poster and it hung, blank, from the plexiglass.

Darcy pointed into the distance.

‘Did you see that?’

‘See what?’

‘Look! No, not there. Over there.’

Darcy pointed towards the trees near the side of the school. Martin squinted. It was hard to see through the wall of rain. All over the world, it had been raining continuously for three weeks.

The planet had been taken, quite literally, by storm. Even expert meteorologists were unsure of what to make of the freak weather. Martin King had heard several proposed explanations.

‘…the Royal Meteorological Society has suggested that these prolonged storms may be due to a shifting of the Moon’s gravitational pull…’

‘…the worldwide storms could be natural phenomena that occur once every ten thousand years…’

But Martin wasn’t convinced. There was something else—a dark feeling in the air, a sense of evil on the wind.

‘I thought I saw someone behind that tree,’ said Darcy. ‘Must have been my imagination. I’ll lay off the coffee… and the vodka.’

She grinned. Martin glanced at her; her fair hair was dripping with rain and her eyes glinted in the mist. Darcy was exactly Martin’s age, but she already had the body of a woman.

‘It’s June!’ she shouted, over the rain. ‘The middle of June! We should be sunbathing, not drowning.’

She laughed and Martin stopped thinking about the storm. He was with Darcy, and that was the only thing that mattered. Because he loved her. He caught the smell of her flowery perfume on the rain.

I love you, Darcy. I love you so, so much.

Martin and Darcy had been friends for as long as either of them could remember. Although they were different in many ways, they also had much in common, including their love of books. Another thing they shared was their absolute trust in one other.

Martin felt he could tell Darcy anything. But not quite everything. There was one secret he kept from her—the one secret he wished he could share—the secret of his love for her.

But his greatest fear was that Darcy would never love him back. That was love—the most magnificent, breath-taking feeling. Yet, somehow, also the most painful.

Martin opened his mouth… and closed it again. He stared at Darcy, trying to somehow draw courage from her.

‘Darcy…’

‘Yes?’

She fixed her blue eyes on him.

Will you go out with me? Will you be my girlfriend?

‘Never mind,’ he muttered.

"The book draws you into its world in the same way that the Harry Potter books do." Kophi (5 -star Reviewer).
"If you like Percy Jackson, Twilight, or The Mortal Instruments, chances are you'll love Martin King." Teen eBook Review.
"Reminiscent of Ron, Harry and Hermione." Lucinda (5-star Reviewer).
"Martin King is something like a cross between Harry Potter and Frodo." Meghan (Top 500 Reviewer).

Martin King is just an ordinary teenage boy in love with a girl… until he gets a superpower.

An evil force called XO5 is looking for something on Earth – something dangerous. Martin King and his friends must find it first.

Martin, Darcy and Tommy soon find themselves caught up in a massive, universal conspiracy.

But who really is the mysterious XO5 – and what does he want with Martin?

This is the first book in the electrifying Martin King series. With it's gripping plot, exciting characters and readability, the book has been compared to the novels of of J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan and Cassandra Clare. Martin King and the Space Angels has been described as a "majestic masterpiece" and "one of the most entertaining YA fantasy-science fiction novels". If you're looking for a thrilling, sensational, romantic page-turner from an exciting new author, you'll love Martin King.

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Genre - Young Adult, Teen, Sci-Fi

Rating – PG

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Connect with James McGovern through Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.jamesmcgovern.co.uk

"The Platnios" from Anomaly by Michael Gilwood @MichaelGilwood #excerpt #amreading #scifi

The Platnios

It was about seven in the morning when the first shadow of a building touched the vehicle. Two fiery streaks left the launch pads and zoomed upwards into the clear, violet sky. Sentrywatcher would track the Grionic missiles progress every step of the way until their eventual detonation on Abnarak. The Excelsior was patient in the front row, constantly sending images back to Terron. If everything went well, the impact would take place in about five hours. Alana had programmed the second missile to impact on Abnarak on the dark side, just in case the Platnios had some device to prevent the missiles from landing. Lexia continuously scanned Abnarak for any changes in behaviour, but it was as ominously tranquil as it was before. Between all of them, they erected a formidable wall of defences combining the new batch of weapons with their remaining stocks.

Alana programmed the blue rays, strategically placing them on walls or high ground pointing towards valleys and vacant spaces, on all points of the compass. For up to seven kilometres, the forest-surrounded city and its flattened splendour gave them an ample, perfect view. All entrances to the buildings were protected by blue rays, bringing comfort to all of them.

A general alarm sounded for all civilians to come into the city, for protection during the battle. Philip had never seen a mass concentration like this. It was an endless sea of heads, appearing out of nowhere. More than four million Peblinus scuttled into the city and disappeared into the bunkers. Some came with their strange wind vehicles, while others drove electric machines with small mounted stumpy wings like flaps. They descended into the underground tunnels constructed for this purpose decades ago.

The tunnels stretched for dozens of kilometres under the city. They consisted of three levels accessible only by a metal ladder. At each entrance to the bunker, a guard tower added some extra protection. The underground tunnels could sustain life for up to six months, each one capable of housing more than half a million Peblinus. The normal everyday Peblinus here on Ganus was a shy person, they avoided confrontation. The few times Philip or Lexia tried to communicate with them, they backed away without saying a word, so they never forced the issue.

"Just look at them," said Baygorn. "Two billion people without defences; the battle wouldn’t have lasted even a day." Some of the elite guards would use their ion and plasma technology, they seemed capable enough to handle them.

"We got an impact warning!" shouted Alana, as she watched Sentrywatcher transmit images on the C-12. The first missile landed directly in the middle of the two infestations. The visual images they received were fascinating because the detonation didn’t reveal any physical explosion of any kind. Instead, as it struck the landscape of Abnarak, the rocky surface began to melt away like an ice cube on a hot summer’s day. All matter living or dead would become part of this rapidly forming, giant drop of water. By the time the second missile hit, Abnarak had almost transformed, but before the missiles had completed their task, some of the Platnios had taken off. Twenty Platnios warships had reached the orbit of Abnarak. They were hanging there in debate. Lexia was observing them with the eyes of Sentrywatcher --- suddenly she stood up.

"Here they come!" Most of their plan had worked. The math was easy. Ramaan calculated that each Platnios warcraft carried about a hundred thousand. The good news was they didn’t know Philip and his crew were here, but Philip wasn’t sure if they could even defeat twenty of these gigantic freighters with their limited firepower. Philip certainly wasn’t sure of the quality of the Commanders manpower. The Peblinus were completely untrained for any type of military maneuver, and all Ramaan could do was to show them how to point and shoot. Many of these Peblinus would die ---they knew it, yet it was up to them to prevent it. Ramaan and Alana pointed out to them strategic positions. Philip gave them powerful weapons, but they had limited time ---the twenty war craft could arrive at any moment. Baygorn constantly monitored and relayed their distance and speed. One of the Peblinus gave them a map of the central continent. They called it Astmad. Philip unwound the map on the floor as the C-12 continued unravelling their progress. A Peblinus, staring at the map, moved closer.

"Its possible they could land there and there," he said pointing with a long plastic ruler revealing fourteen possible points of descent.

"The remaining Platnios will probably land on the other side of Ganus ---the maps are not available, but we did manage to warn them. They are aware of the situation."

When two-hundred year old human remains are found on one of Neptune's moons, Earth's history falls into chaos. The momentous discovery points planet earth towards a solar system a thousand light years away. Twenty years later, Captain Philip Wakefield and his team, onboard the starship Excelsior, reaches the solar system of Mintaka and continues the investigation. But they are not the only thing evolving in the galaxy. Something frightening has them in its sights. Their discovery of the very cradle of humankind becomes a struggle for interstellar survival.

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Genre - Science Fiction

Rating – PG

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