I Like Big Guns & I Cannot Lie - Quickshot Teaser #spaceopera

While the thought of actual, real life guns scares me, the same cannot be said for scifi and fantasy weapons. Gimme those by the box full! I have a small, ornamental metal sword that served as a full size version when I was a child. I have the Special FX Luke's Lightsabre on display in my bedroom, and at Christmas hubs bought me Starlord's Quad Blaster from Guardians of the Galaxy (the NERF version, which I regularly use it to zap my little monsters. They, too, have several NERF Star Wars guns, while eldest has a NERF Rebelle bow and giant SF blaster with a multitude of loud sound effects).
And it was partly Starlord that inspired my character Sal for Quickshot (which released last Thursday. Woot!). Sal loves her guns. They're the only things she feels she can rely on, having been betrayed big style by her former lover and let down by subsequent ones. She's also a bit trigger-happy. Well, more than a bit...

Several weapons clicked off safety and whined into pre-blast life.

“Well,” Sal drawled, “isn’t this fun?” She had her gun to the head of the patroni who’d been foolish enough to touch her, while his two companions had firearms aimed at her. To her surprise, her new friend grabbed her spare gun and covered one of them. The odds were still against them, but only by one weapon. And the patroni only had stunners. Hers were the instant death kind. No second chances. She was that kind of a girl.

“Put down your weapons,” ordered the guy who’d grabbed her.

“You first.”

“Stop this at once.” A patroni standing further back out of the line of fire spoke, and Sal picked up the tone of authority. He had a silent air of command that Sal recognized. This man was ex-military, and either drafted into the local patroni unwillingly or just eking out his time until retirement.

Sal took a gamble and holstered her gun. Her new companion followed, but with a slowness stating he wasn’t happy about putting his weapon away.

The boss patroni nodded approval and gestured at his crew to stand down.

“Sir, she pulled a weapon on us first.”

“She also put it down first. Don’t make this more than it is, Senet.”

Grumbling, the man obeyed with a glare that said he’d be more than willing to make a bigger deal of it if Sal just gave him an excuse. She stared back, a deliberate smirk on her face. I’m not that stupid...

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Quickshot is now available to download in multiple digital formats at reputable online retailers.

A Space Opera Short Story
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Sal, a legal carrier (just about) of whatever comes her way, puts her trust in just two things: her guns. 

Keeping out from under Imperium eyes—especially those belonging to a certain Ehi Wahu—while making a living, and trying to keep a lover who can tolerate her twitchy trigger fingers, are the extent of her ambitions.

Then a kiss from a passing stranger, and a promise of the biggest score in a long time, tempt her. Devin fulfils more than one need, but he comes with more trouble than one woman can handle. And this time it'll take more than her guns to save her. She'll have to trust a man again.

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Status Update

It's the second week of my now traditional school holiday break from the internet. See you next week!