Digital Waterfall - Shades of Farewell Andromeda

Just had to share this. It's a digital waterfall ("Wonderfall") in Singapore's Changi Airport Terminal 2.

In Farewell Andromeda, a similar generated waterfall is featured (see the excerpt below). Though the quaint fall is located in a restaurant on a distant space station and is a bit less chaotic than Singapore Airport's Wonderfall, it's definitely along the same lines. Come see for yourself...

Farewell Andromeda

Excerpt

Deep space charter pilot Tiharra Bell has recently arrived and is on layover at Andromeda Station, a deep space x-tourism spot on the far edge of the Milky Way Galaxy. Located in its business and entertainment section is a restaurant that offers a very unique atmosphere.

Walking through the entrance into the restaurant turned out to be more than my senses had bargained for. To the right of an elegant mahogany reception desk, a waterfall blundered over a rocky cliff high above and freefell through misty rainbows into an aquamarine pool. The only hint that the entire scene was generated rather than tactile was the noise level of the falls being curbed to a murmur instead of a conversation-nullifying roar.

The overlay of huge, split-leaved foliage—also generated—framed the pool and screened the tables beyond. A sensual bouquet wafted on a moist breeze: the sweet-spice of jasmine and monkeypod blooms laced with high-content oxygen. Projected butterflies fluttered by in the brilliant rays of artificial sunshine that pierced the deep emerald shadows. Hidden air controllers simulated soft jungle breezes that played on my skin.

“Table for one?” A hostess intruded into my awe-induced trance.

About Farewell Andromeda

Fresh off a painful jilting, the last thing deep space pilot Tiharra Bell needs is another romance, and certainly not with famous astronomer, Dr. Dane. Yet when she learns “Donner" has a heartbreaking secret, she’s soon willing to risk life and career to alter his fate.

Farewell Andromeda is a novelette -- a short read that packs a punch and delivers a satisfying romantic twist in a way that only science fiction can dish up. It's available in ebook format on Amazon. 

Courting Disaster: What's With the Helmet?

As promised in my last post, here's the scene from my upcoming release, Courting Disaster, where Captain Navene Jagger, a top tier military captain on the cusp of a big promotion to command a newly commissioned battleship, is struggling to make sense of his interim assignment...

...and the helmet he's been issued to go with it. 

If you missed my earlier post about an excerpt from the opening of Courting Disaster, you can find it here.

_______________________________________________

Jagger stood at the docking bay entrance, trying to find any positives in this gigadam boondoggle. He’d be flying solo, he reminded himself, just like the glory days of slicing through space in his Rimmcraft Stiletto. It might not be all bad. That thought tumbled and burned the moment he caught sight of the shipwreck at the end of the boarding passage.

He checked the bay number again. Yes. Right bay. He just couldn’t believe what was berthed there.

The Sheeban’s battered two-deck carcass could’ve been a clunky, mid-ranged compost hauler that had seen its best days centuries ago. They wanted him to transport an ambassador’s daughter through a very treacherous region of space in this wreck?

What was the story here?

And his newly requisitioned civilian attire? A worn set of coveralls, untailored, drab gray, and lacking any insignias. People were going to take him for a second-rate mechanic in these faded greaseskins instead of a top-flight Carduwan officer.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. The garb came complete with a battered helmet and face shield. What was he supposed to be—a pilot or a test-flight dummy?

Judging by the look of his vessel, it was the latter.

The admiral couldn’t be serious about this. Maybe this was Kareek’s idea of a joke? Or an elaborate hazing meant to take him down a peg or two before he was presented with command of the Meritorious?

He glanced at the small packet the quartermaster had pressed into his hand. “There’s a purser’s safe under the pilot’s console,” the non-com had told him. “Use these lock codes to open it once you’ve cleared station and are on course for the Rift. It contains your classified directive from Command.”

This “directive” would hopefully shed a lot more light on the situation. Jagger gave the aged ship another skeptical once-over. It was always an option to refuse a mission, but—he heaved a weighty sigh—that had Career Ending Catastrophe stamped all over it. 

_____________________________________

Thanks for stopping by to read a bit more of my upcoming release. 

I'll be taking a short hiatus from now until the New Year (hey, where did 2023 go, anyway?), but I'll be back with more posts in January. 

Have a wonderful holiday!

Courting Disaster is at the Top of my 2024 Resolutions!

Hmm, that may have sounded a bit like a prophecy of doom, but in reality Courting Disaster is my next project with a hopeful Spring-ish 2024 release date.

The original story was published as a part of the Pets in Space 2 anthology (when the series was still young), but the new incarnation is a much revised story with new, changed and expanded scenes. It's weighing in at roughly twice the word count.

Truth be told, although Courting Disaster was my second StarDog story in the Inherited Stars series, it's the one that required the most enhancing and tweaking because it's an important precursor to the grand finale of this timeline. (And yes, I'm an admitted perfectionist and that has sometimes pulled the rug out from under my schedule. I'd say that I'd try harder to be less of a perfectionist, but really....what reader really wants that?)

In hindsight, it actually will work out well with Courting Disaster being the final StarDog story released as a standalone, because it's the perfect segue into the novel that will wrap the timeline, Inherit the Vengeance. 

So in other words, it's all good.  :)

Let me leave you with an excerpt of the opening, where the reader meets (or gets reacquainted with) the hero, Captain Navene Jagger. If you've read the anchor novel, Inherit the Stars, Jagger might not have seemed like hero material....but there's a lot more to the man than his swagger. 

[But why is he wearing a helmet on the cover, you ask? Check back for the next excerpt where Jagger asks the same question. ;) ]

Here's a first look.

__________________________________________________

Captain Navene Jagger smiled as he gazed out the viewport of the immense space station. Talstar. Home of the Universal Flight Academy, orbiting the lush blue world of Veros. Good memories here. Heady times with his fellow cadets during the three calendars it had required to earn his wings. He’d left the program with salutatorian honors.

But without Drea.

His smile slipped. Not every recollection of Talstar was a good one. The broken engagement. The devastation in Drea’s eyes. Watching her walk away for the last time. It had been his greatest defeat—Hades, his only defeat. And he had no one to blame but himself.

He’d left Talstar the day after graduation, stripped of his plans to test her father’s Mennelsohn prototype, and promptly joined the Carduwan military.

That had been ten calendars ago. Ten very long calendars. He’d spent the first seven trying to apologize to Drea for the unforgiveable, trying to prove to her he’d changed, trying desperately to win her back.

Then Sair happened. Drea had fallen in love with an escaped slave. A nobody. Or so he’d thought.

That was when he’d finally grasped the scale of the wedge he’d driven between them by his foolish, ego-driven folly. He’d done this. He’d destroyed their relationship. Not Drea. And, gods knew, not even Sair.

That realization had sparked his transformation. He’d reinvented himself, stopped being a ladies’ man, stopped being anything other than a dedicated officer married to his career. He didn’t have love…but at least he had pride. And purpose.

_____________________________________________________

More excerpts will follow soon. 

Checking In!

Hi all, it's been a very busy and exciting summer, and I apologize that this blog has taken a bit of a back burner while I'm dealing with a lot of real life ups-and-downs. (I never was a big fan of roller coasters, but...here I am! :D )

For a brief recap, Courting Disaster is still in the editing phase. I hope to be making more headway soon, but as of now, the anticipated summer release is not likely. I honestly thought the story was as "perfect" as I could get it before submitting to my editor. My editor didn't agree. It's going to take a bit of time to work through her feedback. This story is crucial to the timeline going forward and as soon as my schedule allows, it will be priority #1. 

Luna, who was the inspiration for the Star Dog in Courting Disaster, has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and probably will be leaving us sometime in the next year. :'( We're doing what we can to keep her comfortable including regular visits to our vet. This has given me more incentive to get "her" story published and out there while she's still here. I'll try to do more frequent updates, snippets, etc. to keep you in the loop.

I did finish Linda Greenlaw's book, The Hungry Ocean. It was a good read, gave some great insights into the workings of a small crew (which may transfer in part to my future releases), and a ton of information on Swordfishing, which I've been a little fascinated with since first viewing The Perfect Storm many years ago. I'll be reading another of her books soon. 

I have to comment that it was a little sobering how huge the effort is in way of planning, supplies, groceries for a month, knowhow, ocean dynamics, instinct and pure luck go into a successful Sword boat expedition, and how little the payoff seems in comparison to the hardships -- sleep deprivation, high risk, and crises that arise from managing a 100-foot fishing vessel and a crew living in close quarters. A lot of this will filter into my next novel, Inherit the Vengeance, where crew troubles come in to play at the beginning of the story. 

Inherit the Vengeance is not close to going to the editor, but many scenes--and even entire chapters--have been written. The story opens in Captain Dava Jordan's POV. Ironically, she was first introduced in StarDog, and that story was inspired in part by the need to give her an origin story before she plays a major role in Inherit the Vengeance.

I'll sign off for now. Luna-bear and my three other Stardogs say "Hi." :)

Juggernaut has Docked at the SFR Station!

Juggernaut has now been added to the SFR Station. 

You can find all my current books as well as many other great Science Fiction Romance reads on the SFR Station by clicking the bold "Juggernaut" link below. 

(No more searching on Amazon or other book sellers for hours. The SFR Station has the lion's share of SFR books available just one click away.)

Juggernaut

Catching Up (or Where the Heck Have I Been?)

So sorry I've been quiet these past weeks. We have a lot going on in our lives (mostly good, but at times a bit of a drain on my time). No big news in my author's life at the moment but I am working on getting the next book "out there" in the near future (or as near as I can manage).

Courting Disaster (now officially dubbed "my problem child") is back from the first round of edits with my editor - on this version -  and still has some work ahead. The base story was originally released in the second Pets in Space volume back in 2017, but I felt it needed a lot more work and a lot more words before being published as a separate book. 

It's gotten both. It's about 30% longer and will probably earn the title of my "Most Edited Book" by the time I'm done. Meanwhile, the cover--which has been completed for about four years -- stands by ready for duty. :)

The reason I'm being so "perfectionist" with this book (moreso than usual) is that this story will set up the next novel, which will close out this timeline in the Inherited Stars Series. 

Not to worry, there are many more stories to come -- prequels and sequels and companion stories alike! (Now just to get them all written!)

In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing some excerpts and working on some graphics that I'll post here on The Firebird. They've been very popular in the past.

Meanwhile, have you read The Shell and the Star on this blog?  It's an aquatic Space Adventure Romance that takes place in the far future of the Inherited Stars Series. One thing it shares in common with Courting Disaster is Talstar Station. Readers might be surprised to find out that Talstar -- former HQ of the Carduwan Fifth Fleet and the Universal Flight Academy -- is still around in 50,000 years! 

Click here to start reading The Shell and the Star.

 

I'll post more soon. (Promise!)

Hey, while you're here, check out my new digital signature block....

Working on an Author Signature Block

One of my favorite tools to use for creating graphics and promotional images is BookBrush. I have a lot of fun rifling through their many templates looking for themes that will fit my books and series. 

Recently, I found some author signature blocks in the templates, and of course I had to give it a try. 

Though my end product wasn't quite as slick as their original image, I was pretty happy with how it turned out. The nice thing about graphics is you can also come back and tweak them as time allows and inspiration strikes, but for now...tada. My signature block. (I could have animated it too, but that seemed just a leetle bit over the top. So it's a static signature block. Which sounds kind of boring, but hopefully isn't.)

Of course I couldn't stop at just an author signature block, so I decided to also do a graphic featuring one of the thoughts plucked from my series overview. It's a funny thing about history. It's often forgotten, sometimes to be rediscovered in the future and sometimes to be lost to sands of time. But sometimes history is intentionally changed, which led to the perilous situation Lieutenant Commander Dek Garr finds herself in in Juggernaut. 

This short snippet from the series overview hints at what knowledge may have been lost from ages long past. I love how the background illustrates that mysterious "cross-rip in time and space."

The clincher is that the readers of this series know that Earth is real and not imagined or just a fading legend. The people of The Inherited Stars Series can't be sure.

I hope to be back soon with a few snippets (but no spoilers!) from Courting Disaster.  

Friday Notes

I'm probably going to be dark for the weekend, but hope to be back next week with some excerpts from or commentary on Courting Disaster...next up in the Inherited Stars series. 

It's also book four that includes a StarDog. Courting Disaster was originally published in Pets in Space 2, but this story is being extensively revised, updated and expanded, so it will be a very different book once it's published, though the premise and characters will be the same. 

Truth be told, Courting Disaster was my least favorite story of all the StarDog tales I wrote for previous Pets in Space collections, so I've been taking quite a bit of time to work on some of the issues I had with the story. It's really a pivotal book in the series and will set the stage for future works, so it deserves the extra time and attention. I don't want to publish it until it's where I want it to be (but it's getting there fast--*knock on wood*). 

As a side note, Luna, our pup whose namesake is the StarDog in Courting Disaster, just had surgery to remove a mass, so we need to keep a very close eye on her for the next few days, hence my going a bit quiet. 

See you next week! 

JUGGERNAUT SALE ENDING!

Danger, Will Robinson!

The Juggernaut introductory price is ending very soon!

Grab your copy for .99 cents NOW before it goes to the regular price of $2.99.

Click here to see the book on Amazon.

(The price change is at the whim of Amazon KDP, but the sale price will probably end in the next 24-48 hours.)

JUGGERNAUT Excerpt: Man Troubles

Welcome to today's excerpt from new release Juggernaut, a book in the Inherited Stars series. The story is an expanded, revised version of a shorter story originally published in Pets in Space 5 (no longer available).

This comes with a quick reminder the Amazon Kindle book will only be on sale at .99 cents for a few more days. If you're reading this on February 6th, this is a great time -- and  possibly the last time -- to grab it at a bargain price. (Click this link to visit Amazon.)

Scene Set-Up

Lieutenant Commander Dekessa "Dek" Garr is having man problems. No, not the romantic kind. (At least, not yet.) As second in command, she's been left in charge of the ultra-secure Site D, located in an underground lava tube. But her fellow security team members aren't quite sure how to deal with her as their new boss, and the mysterious stranger -- and his StarDog partner -- who has suddenly been dumped in her lap isn't being very cooperative either.

Excerpt from Juggernaut:

Satisfied Telon’s creature posed no threat to her personnel, Dek left Major Remm in charge of getting the man and his pet settled in quarters.

She directed the major to have the quartermaster assign a vacant berth in Block A. Having the mystery guest and his pointy-eared partner quartered on her level would help her keep a closer watch on their activities.

As she made her way to the mess to grab a morning meal, she met Sergeant Garr on the path.

“Congrats…Boss,” he grumbled, clearly not happy with her in-charge status.

Dek ignored his jibe. “Those kids on the beach. They okay?”

“Yeah. Staggered away from the perimeter shortly after you left, shaken, but under their own power. But since when have you been sentimental about interlopers?”

“It could become a security issue,” she clarified. “They might be back. Possibly with friends.”

“Maybe we should just blast them next time.”

Again, she let his insolent response slide off. “We need to consider placing a secondary deterrent at some distance beyond the barrier.”

“What would you suggest?” Garr gave her a scathing look.

“Why don’t you come up with a plan. Put some thought into it and report back.”

“Yes, sir.” Garr performed an exaggerated salute.

“Carry on.” She passed him, continuing her trek to the mess hall, but the cold burn of Garr’s gaze drilled into her back.

Countering his challenge with a tasking was a subtle form of discipline she hoped might temper the junior officer’s streak of insolence. Pulling rank on him on her first day as acting commander would only heighten his belligerence. Better to give him the time to work through his issues on his own. Patience could win wars before they even started.

When she reached her destination, the boisterous din of the breakfast crowd fell to a sudden hush. Ignoring their scrutiny, she grabbed a tray. Conversations picked back up as she went down the line, selecting im-eggs and pancs from the offerings, before turning to make her way to a table with a couple of other members of the task force. Their conversation stopped as she drew near, and they exchanged glances.

“Acting Commander,” they muttered in stereo.

“Sergeant Caffron. Officer Bell.”

She settled and thumbed quickly through the StatCon messages scrolling on her wristcom. While her companions focused on wolfing down their meals, she switched on the surv-cam video to zero in on the site’s visitor. She locked on the feed of Telon milling beneath the ceiling breach, smiling as his little beastie scampered along the fallen jumble of basalt, her fluffy, cream-colored tail a stark contrast to the mottled black rocks. The little critter’s enthusiasm made Dek crack a tiny smile, too.

At the abrupt sound of scraping chair legs, she glanced up. Her two companions gave her stiff nods and walked single file to deposit their trays in the receptacle. She now had an eight-topper to herself in spite of the growing crowd. Obviously, command was going to be a lonely job.

Dek took a couple of bites of her meal and washed it down with a long swig of weak kinna before checking the surv-cam footage again.

Telon—and his little prototype—had vanished.

Dek straightened in her chair, scowled, and flipped through the various surveillance feeds. Quarters block. Zip. Command offices. Nothing. Secure lift entrance—she held her breath—nope. Her guest and his pet had seemingly disappeared into thin air.

______________________________________________

Enjoy this excerpt and want to read another snippet? Check out last week's excerpt from Juggernaut here.

Thanks for visiting The Firebird today! 

What's Next?

Upcoming Release

With Juggernaut now released, it's time to look ahead to my next project: Courting Disaster.

This is the last book originally released as part of a Pets in Space volume to have a date with the editor!

Or I should say, another date.

Each of the Inherited Stars Series books featuring StarDogs (StarDog, SpyDog and Juggernaut) were revised and expanded from the original works, but Courting Disaster definitely takes the cake as the most evolved book of the bunch. 

I've done major revisions to various scenes and backstory elements, and re-worked portions of the plot for its upcoming release as the sixth book in the series. 

The release date? I'm working hard to make that happen this summer. 

Plans within Plans within Plans 

(Does that sound a little Dune-esque? LOL) 

As I mentioned in my Reader's Group, StarDog Tales (thanks for the title idea, Donna!) is an upcoming project, and the exciting news is that, in addition to containing all the StarDog stories (I am all the Jedi), it will also have a brand new, never before released StarDog story with the working title StarDog Reunion. 

That's right. A brand new story that incorporates all four StarDogs and their related characters. Together, these five books will make one ginormous volume. There will also be a prompt when to read Inherit the Stars, which dovetails into each and every one of these books. 

Because the books were written years apart, some of the series ties might not have been clear at the time of reading, but trust me, this group is entangled. (But in a good way...um, mostly.) I will guarantee a couple of huge surprises in the new book. 

(But not the return of the dreaded Juggernauts. Or I should say...not yet. Hold that thought.)

This is going to be such a fun project! 

For reference, here's a timeline image I created on the Inherited Stars books:

Chronologically, the order is: 

• Juggernaut
• StarDog
• SpyDog [concurrently with Inherit the Stars] 
• Courting Disaster
• StarDog Reunion 

The hero and heroine of Courting Disaster are not only the central figures in StarDog Reunion, they're also front and center in the opening of the next novel in this timeline, so my projected summer release date for Courting Disaster is key to getting the asteroid rolling on StarDog Reunion/StarDog Tales and the future of the series. (No pressure, right?)

I'll be posting more on Courting Disaster over the next few weeks to reacquaint readers with this pivotal story. 

Juggernaut: The Meaning of the Title (with Snippet)

Available on Amazon

NEW RELEASE!

My brand new release, Juggernaut, is on sale for .99 for a limited time before it goes to regular price. This is a special opportunity for my blog, newsletter and Facebook fans to get a great deal on a new book in the Inherited Stars series. This is an expanded story from the original release in the Pets in Space 5 collection. 

A little more about it...

Juggernaut is the 4th in the Inherited Stars series (or 8th if you count the serialized books of the Inherit the Stars anchor novel and Farewell Andromeda set in the same universe.) 

It's also the third book that chronicles of influence of the bio-engineered dog-cat-weasel-mongoose critters called StarDogs, joining StarDog and SpyDog in the series in a very cloak-and-dagger flavored space adventure romance that takes place in a mysterious lava tube on planet LaGuardia. (There's another planned release with a StarDog that should arrive later this year.)

What does "Juggernaut" refer to?

It actually has three distinct meanings in the story. The first is a reference to the growing aggression of the Ithian Alliance--generally just called the Alliance--in the known galaxy. 

This story takes place five calendars (years) before Inherit the Stars and SpyDog. In this excerpt, Lieutenant Commander Dek Garr has an exchange with mysterious visitor, Telon, when he informs her about the rising menace of the Alliance:

______________________________________________

“Three days ago,” Telon began, “the capitol of Purmia was invaded by the Alliance—eight battalions of Rathskian forces.”

Eight battalions!

Dek forgot her wristcom feed, and her hand dropped to flatten on the table. “Why? For what purpose?”

“Unknown. Worst case scenario: to gain control of the planet and its resources.”

Dek bit hard into her lower lip and stared a hole in the table’s surface. The implications of such an affront could be catastrophic.

For one, it alarmed her that the Alliance would dare carry out such a bold invasion. Though they were the indisputable heavyweights in the galaxy, they’d always used blockades and economic manipulation to control other governments before—never military might. This signaled a paradigm shift in the level of power they wielded over the rest of the known galaxy. The Alliance was evolving into a juggernaut—an unstoppable force that crushed everyone and everything in its path.

_______________________________________________

But 'juggernaut' also has two other meanings, both significant to the story. If I described those references it would mean ***spoilers*** and ruin the story dynamics, so I'll just let you discover those for yourself as the reader.

Juggernaut

Lieutenant Commander Dekessa “Dek” Garr is second-in-command of a security force that protects a discovery buried deep inside an ancient lava tube. The implications of the find are staggering, and the stakes are high if their enemy—the Alliance—ever learns the truth about Site D. When her commander suddenly departs with zero warning and a mysterious visitor arrives, her job becomes a whole new level of complicated.

Sno Telon has an exercise to perform, and he isn’t about to let anyone stop him--including the dedicated acting commander known as Dek. But when his partner, CaSandra, a bioengineered dog-cat-weasel-mongoose, takes an immediate liking to the team leader, Sno realizes there’s much more to the woman than harsh words and hard scowls.

When Dek is attacked by an invisible foe who infiltrates the off-limits excavation, she immediately suspects Telon as the obvious culprit. But her interrogations of the man don’t go as planned and an unlikely bond forms between them as they reach a startling conclusion. Could the invisible perpetrator actually be an Alliance spy who’s about to blow open the secrets of Site D?

Can Dek trust Telon and his StarDog partner to help root out a possible Alliance operative, even if it means breaking every security protocol in the process? If her instincts about Telon are wrong, Site D’s secret could be lost forever…and her life along with it.

Juggernaut Snippet

My new release, Juggernaut, is being offered at the very special price of .99 cents for a limited time only. The story was originally published as a shorter version in Pets in Space 5 (no longer available). It's a book in my Inherited Stars series, and yes, this one has a StarDog as a character.

In fact, she's one of the very first StarDogs!

Here's a scene from the story. (Edited for length and context.)

Scene Set-Up

Lieutenant Commander Dekessa "Dek" Garr is dropped into the hot seat by her commanding officer when he announces he is making a mysterious departure and leaving her in command of a security team at a top secret dig site tagged as Site D. 

Even more unsettling, a stranger has just arrived at the highly secure site and she has been provided with no intel about him or his purpose at Site D. 

She intends to turn their first introduction into an opportunity to learn more about the man and his reason for being there.

Snippet

Dek waited until the graying major finished giving his safety and protocol rundown to the visitor, before stating crisply, “Thank you, Major. I’ll take it from here.”

Remm looked up. “He’s all yours, Acting Commander.”

She strode to the table directly across from the stranger but didn’t take a seat. The visitor gave her a frowning once-over and also got to his feet before glancing back at Major Remm.

“This is Lieutenant Commander Garr,” the major said. “Currently our acting commander in charge of security operations.”

The visitor gave her a stony nod. “Acting Commander.”

Dek took considerable time with her assessment of the interloper. Keen black eyes, and not shy about holding eye contact. His features were angular and a shade darker even than her bronze skin, but his hair was black. It was also a bit on the short side for her tastes, but completely professional, nevertheless. The light shadow on his chin told her he hadn’t shaved for a day or so, but even so, he didn’t look scruffy.

On second thought, maybe he wasn’t Rathskian. At least not entirely. He had that intense look about him, yes, but his face was more refined—almost as pretty as a gigadam Tectolian—and lacked the scarring kensmarcs the Rathskian subspecies wore as badges of honor. He had their stature, though, maybe a mark or two taller than her…and he wore sand-camo field gear.

Didn’t anybody tell this guy that Site D is subsurface?

He had a hard set to his jaw and looked about as pleased to be on site as she was to have him here.

“This is Telon,” Renn explained. “His partner goes by a code name. CaSandra.”

“Partner?” Dek angled her head. “I wasn’t briefed about this.”

“She’s classified,” Telon answered. “As is her presence here.”

Dek narrowed her eyes. “And where is your partner?”

Telon exchanged glances with the major. “She’s here.”

He reached down beside his chair and lifted an object onto the table by a handle set into the top. The rectangular box appeared to be made of punched polymer with wire mesh on the side facing her.

“Say hello to the commander, CaSandra.”

Two little golden paws pressed against the mesh from the inside. The creature attached to them gave a high-pitched bark, followed by quiet chattering.

Startled, Dek backed off a step. The animal’s soft amber eyes studied her from behind the mesh with its shiny nose molded tight to the thin bars.

“What in Empora’s Hades is this?” she demanded.

“There isn’t a name for what she is,” Telon answered quietly. “She’s a bio-construct, a first-generation prototype with canine, feline, weasel, and mongoose DNA.”

Dek raised her gaze to the stranger. “Bio-constructed for what purpose?”

His eyes went dark and deep, like the ocean just before a storm. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that, Acting Commander.”

He reached for the wire mesh screen—

“What are you—”

—and flipped it open.

Dek backed off another step and gripped the stunpulse secreted in a pocket of her field uniform. The golden creature exited its crate, eyeing her cautiously, and sniffed the air. Its pointed ears twitched before it bolted up Telon’s sleeve and perched on his shoulder, chattering quietly in his ear.

The man nodded and met Dek’s eyes. “Cassie says she’s on your side. And she’d like you to release the weapon you have hidden in your uniform.”

The little beastie squeaked again.

“Please,” he added.

Dek dropped her chin, squinting. “Is this creature telepathic?”

“Not exactly,” he replied.

The bio-construct leaned toward Telon, nuzzling the side of his face…and purred. Huh. Just like the kitten she’d had as a kid. The man reached up to stroke the animal’s head. Cassie craned her neck and closed her eyes, emitting a happy gruff-gruff.

Dek’s heart warmed a degree or two.

Gigadam thing’s adorable.

She displayed her empty hand. “Tell her if she behaves, she has nothing to fear from me.”

Telon grinned. “You just told her yourself, Acting Commander. She understands you perfectly.”

BLURB:

Lieutenant Commander Dekessa “Dek” Garr is second-in-command of a security force that protects a discovery buried deep inside an ancient lava tube. The implications of the find are staggering, and the stakes are high if their enemy—the Alliance—ever learns the truth about Site D. When her commander suddenly departs with zero warning and a mysterious visitor arrives, her job becomes a whole new level of complicated.

Sno Telon has an exercise to perform, and he isn’t about to let anyone stop him--including the dedicated acting commander known as Dek. But when his partner, CaSandra, a bioengineered dog-cat-weasel-mongoose, takes an immediate liking to the team leader, Sno realizes there’s much more to the woman than harsh words and hard scowls.

When Dek is attacked by an invisible foe who infiltrates the off-limits excavation, she immediately suspects Telon as the obvious culprit. But her interrogations of the man don’t go as planned and an unlikely bond forms between them as they reach a startling conclusion. Could the invisible perpetrator actually be an Alliance spy who’s about to blow open the secrets of Site D?

Can Dek trust Telon and his StarDog partner to help root out a possible Alliance operative, even if it means breaking every security protocol in the process? If her instincts about Telon are wrong, Site D’s secret could be lost forever…and her life along with it.

_______________________________

Juggernaut is available on Amazon as an e-book.

Amazon Link

QR Code 

(If using a cell phone, use your camera to scan this code to go to Amazon) 

The Shell and the Star - Part 29

Happy Labor Day, all! Hoping you're having a wonderful end-of-the-summer weekend. We have a BBQ and other fun on the agenda today, though I am scratching my head a bit at how the heck the summer slid by so fast. Wow!

Welcome back to this continuing story.

If you're just discovering this aquatic SFR for the first time, you can catch up on all parts posted to date at this link:

The Shell and the Star

If you're following the story each Monday, here's a quick recap of where we are...

Last week, we left Trey and Jinn at the entrance to the Conclave of Elders after Trey and his father were abruptly summoned in the middle of Trey and Jinn trying to convince him of their status.

There are definitely more shocks and surprises in store for Jinn, Trey, the Imperator...and you, the reader. Hang on!

The corridor they entered was dark and foreboding, but it soon connected with a huge amphitheater, brightly lit by the sun filtering in from the surface, which was only a few footspans above the occupants’ heads.

The Elders were a somber group, all dressed in long black bodyveils and stationed at large podiums that arced in a quarter circle along the convex wall at the front of the hall. The Imperator had taken his place on the floor before them and Trey swam to join him, motioning Jinn to motor her sphere just behind him and to his left.

“Imperator Fasaro Bantos, and son, Trey Bantos,” the Head Elder began, “you have been summoned before the Conclave of Elders to receive the pronouncement under Shell Law this day. It is our duty to state the conditions of this pronouncement.”

The Head Elder referred to something on the podium before him. “This matter is directly related to the recent bid of Trey Bantos’ for the daughter of Emerro Tulang. She will now come forward and be recognized.”

Jinn’s attention swept the crowd looking for the Perling girl that Trey had bid for.

The breath stilled in her lungs when the flame-haired beauty reluctantly swam forward.

Eldelza?

“Eldelza Tulang, you acknowledge that a bid for your hand by Trey Bantos was presented to you and you accepted his bid?”

“It is truth,” Eldelza confirmed quietly.

The protest died on Jinn’s tongue when the Head Elder continued. “Then it is my duty as Prime Elder of the Conclave to announce that this bid has been challenged under the Law of the Shell,” the Prime Elder rumbled, passing his fin over his podium.

Trey ceased to tread water and his body went rigid.

Jinn swallowed hard. His bid had been challenged? What did that mean?

The mellow ding of a water chime sounded. “The challenger will now come forward so the challenged may address him.”

Tardem swam into the chamber, shoulders and head set back in defiance. Eldelza glanced at Trey before her eyes cut to Tardem, and then to Jinn.

“Brother?” Trey’s brow furrowed. “You’ve lodged a challenge against me?”

“I have,” Tardem snapped.

“And such a challenge,” Trey said in a tone of disbelief, “can only be decided by a fight to the death.”

Jinn gasped.

“That is our law,” Tardem said, snapping off each word.

Eldelza raised imploring eyes to Tardem. The Imperator’s First Son returned her look briefly, before rising to the surface for air.

Eldelza exchanged glances with Trey, and something unspoken passed between them.

Trey’s attention locked on Jinn.

When Tardem returned to his place, Trey spoke. “I do not accept Tardem’s challenge because my bid for Eldelza’s hand was not valid.”

The Conclave of Elders collectively exchanged looks of surprised disbelief. “You infer,” the Head Elder questioned, “that your bid is not valid? Explain.”

“Because I invoke First Right of Refusal under Talstar law,” Jinn blurted out. “Trey first bid for my hand, and I have now accepted his bid.”

Trey twisted a quarter turn toward her, splaying his fin in a signal to stop.

“The witness has not been recognized to speak,” the Head Elder boomed. “So her outburst will be stricken.” The Elder’s condemning gaze came to rest on Jinn, his black eyes glinting in malice. “She will now come forth to enlighten us with her official statement.”

Jinn cleared her throat and eased her bubble forward to hover beside Trey.

“I was not educated on Perling customs,” Jinn admitted. “The words I spoke were not intended as rejection of Trey’s bid, I only asked for more time to consider it. But the words I chose out of ignorance were witnessed by the Imperator’s sentinels and taken as rejection as per Shell tradition, and I was expelled from your domain. I have since returned to assert my acceptance of Trey’s bid. Therefore, I proclaim my First Right of Refusal under Talstar Law."

“Your realm has elected not to educate your citizens about Perling culture or history out of fear. That is the fault of the people of the Star and has no bearing on these proceedings. You uttered the official words of rejection according to the Law of the Shell.”

“Be that as it may, I was the first to answer Trey’s bid and in my eyes and in my heart, my response was not a rejection.” She leveled her gaze on Trey and registered his subtle acceptance of her claim. “I have now accepted Trey’s bid for my hand and therefore his second bid to another is moot and Tardem has no challenge. I am not Perling, therefore Talstar custom must be considered in a matter of a joint union.”

“How dare you challenge the ways of our realm, Jinn Amalla!” the Elder shouted.

“I would address the Elders,” Trey said.

“Speak what you will then, second son of the Imperator,” the Head Elder snarled.

“Jinn’s not asking you to defy our laws, Your Honor. She’s asking you only to consider her own. This is a special case. We…” Trey moved closer to Jinn’s bubble and laid a fin on the surface. “…are a special case.”

“There can be no special cases,” the Head Elder stated. “Our laws and customs are absolute.”

Trey’s father collected himself, brushing his handfin down the front of his bodyveil. “I wish to speak to this matter, Head Elder.”

The officiator granted his request with a deferential bow. “You are, of course, granted a voice in these proceedings, Imperator Bantos.”

“I must share some of the responsibility in this situation. Eldelza accepted the bid I put forth, and Trey has not yet made his formal bid to seal the arrangement. The two haven’t completed the Ritual of Pairing. Under our customs, they are not fully pledged.”

Trey’s father was taking their side?

With a mighty stroke of his arms, Tardem propelled himself forward and spun to face his father. “You did this?” he demanded. “You arranged this bid by Trey?”

“Trey’s place in our society was in peril. I had to act quickly.”

“But why her?” Tardem thundered.

“Her father has great influence in the Fourth City. She was the obvious choice for a bond with my disgraced son.”

“And what of your undisgraced son? Why have my desires always been second?”

“The Imperator scowled hardened. “How am I to know your desires when you hide them so well? This is not the time or place to air your personal grievances with me,” the Imperator scolded. “We will discuss this later, in private.”

Tarden back-finned, giving his father a tight-lipped glower. “There may be no later.”

Jinn nudged her sphere forward. “There’s an important matter that hasn’t been brought forward,” Jinn asserted. “About the status of Trey’s bid to me.”

“Jinn,” Trey warned under his breath.

She wouldn’t be deterred. “My answer to Trey’s bid wasn’t just by my words. Trey and I completed the Perling Ritual of Pairing.”

The chamber went deathly quiet.

The Imperator rounded on his second son. “Is this true?”

Trey’s tormented gaze found her. Agony flashed in his eyes. “It’s truth.”

“Then it is my duty to acknowledge your confession, Jinn Amalla of Talstar,” the Head Elder said coldly “To engage in the Ritual of Pairing without accepting the bid of your suitor is a capital crime in our realm. If you do not rescind your claim, your punishment is death.”

“I will not rescind. Because we did perform the ritual,” Jinn declared, “And as I’ve told you, I have accepted his bid.”

“Then I rescind my acceptance,” Eldelza cried. “On the grounds…the grounds that I wasn’t aware that Trey had completed the Ritual of Pairing and his first bid was undecided when a new bid was negotiated by our fathers.”

“Your Honor,” Jinn interjected quietly, continuing even when the Prime Elder turned to her with a glare. “Tardem has challenged his brother for Eldelza’s hand because he realizes he wants her as his own mate. I believe Eldelza feels the same toward Tardem. I love Trey and he loves me. Trey and I have performed the Ritual of Pairing and I have accepted his bid. The matter of the exact words I spoke prior to my acceptance are now irrelevant, are they not? There is a simple solution to this in a mutual agreement by all present. No one has to die needlessly to satisfy some meaningless law.”

“I would accept such a decision whole-heartedly,” Eldelza said.

“As would I,” Tardem added glumly.

The Prime Elder made a firm finstroke of his chin, his eyes settling on each of the four young ones in his presence. “As the law keeper of the Fourth City, it is the sacred duty of the Conclave of Elders to entrust and uphold the Perling ways. Our laws are not meaningless. There can be no such agreement. A challenge has been made. It will be answered.” He looked to the Imperator’s eldest son. “Tardem Bantos, you will come forward.”

Tardem gave his father a peeved look, and moved before the Prime Elder.

“As challenger, you will be first to choose your weapon.”

“If you are so determined to see bloodshed.” Tardem snorted, jetting air from his nose. “I choose the Barclay spear.”

“And your weapon of choice, Trey Bantos?”

“This challenge is invalid, and I will take up no weapon against my brother.”

Tardem’s spine stiffened, and he looked to his brother. “Then you will die,” Tardem barked in a cloud of bubbles.

Trey nodded his understanding. “So be it.”

Jinn closed her eyes at the soul-crushing regret that painted Trey’s eyes a somber granite.

“A challenge has been made and it will be carried out. The combatants will assemble here at morning high tide, and an audience will be gathered to witness the outcome of this Challenge. Living or dead, the loser shall be cast into the open sea to appease the denizens of the Deep.” He paused to draw a heavy breath. “And you, Jinn Amalla of Talstar, will be put to death at sunset tomorrow, regardless of the outcome.”

__________________________________________

Now that Jinn thought she might have something to live for, she's been sentenced to death. Stop back next Monday to find out what happens next. 

There will only be five more parts posted until the epic conclusion.

Have a great week! 

New Year, New Start

We had a wonderful holiday. Hope you did, too! But New Years Day is when we started packing up the ornaments and decorations and dismantling the tree, to squirrel all the Christmas adornments away for another year. 

The holidays came and went so quickly for us this year, partly due to some background dramas that unfolded. (I had to have a double root canal on December 23rd, for one, after a specialist discovered a completely painless abscess and infection that had probably been present for months. The dread turned out to be the worst part of it. I slept through most of the procedure.)  

We even got our tree up a couple of weeks early, but there it stood--stark and forlorn--bare of any lights or ornaments for nearly a week. Eventually, it all came together in plenty of time to enjoy it for the holidays.

Seeing the tree come down this year hit me particularly hard. Our pups were quite dismayed because Christmas is a Really Big Deal for them. The sad looks about broke my heart. They don't understand why we can't have Christmas -- and presents and treats and pretty lights and discarded paper to romp through -- every day. 

That made us decide to leave the lights up on the lilac bushes in our courtyard, and the three wreaths on our two courtyard doors and front door so all the magic didn't get banished. We'll take those down when we're ready.

So here I am, holidays over and facing 2022 with a big sigh.

Because of our bout with Covid in late September and early October, and the weeks of trying to recover from lingering brain fog and memory issues, everything writing related got put on hold for the last part of the year. I had two books from past Pets in Space volumes I was working on -- one a quick scan away from going to the editor and another that needed a bit more work but was almost there. In addition, I have five more books in the series and multiple one-off stories that have been floating around in my head for years, or stowed away on my hard drive as completed manuscripts. 

But I just couldn't bring myself to tackle them once I had recovered. 

Mental Jeopardy. Things Authors Deal with for $100, Alex.

But...I have to be honest. Some of my foot-dragging was due to the state of the industry, as well. 

Society in general--and the publishing industry, in particular--is taking a different tack from the  expectations I had when I started publishing my books almost six years ago. The author community used to be welcoming, happy and supportive group for the most part, but lately it seems to have turned a lot less friendly. I blame both social media and the frustrations that the present industry--and Covid--have imposed on writers. Since 2015, one of the big book conventions has all but ceased to exist for authors who aren't big names, and the other has undergone a major identity crisis. Whatever the cause, the"rising tide that floats all boats" seems to have definitely gone out. 

So I recently had to take a deep breath and ask myself if I really wanted to continue to do this. Did I want to publish another book? Did I want to attempt to kickstart my efforts in 2022, or was it time to just wave the white flag (as I've seen so many of my peers do in the last couple of months) and hang it up? Or should I, instead, try to invent some other imaginative method of getting my work out there for people to read that doesn't involve an industry that continues to make things really difficult for authors.

I ultimately decided I'm going to keep working on publishing some of my work in 2022, but with a  different focus. From now on, I'm going to work in my own time, at my own pace, with a focus on sharing some of these stories that have been rampaging around in my head (or lurking in a digital file), and not to stress over sales, numbers and stats. Stress can be a real creativity killer, and I want to start enjoying the writing process again. I want to put the fun back  in it. 

I'm now acknowledging that I don't need to be a commercial success to be a happy author. If a few people read my stories, great. If they care enough to leave a review, fantastic! It's the sharing that's important to me, not the bottom line, not the promotional push, and not the USA Today bestseller tag. Not anymore. 

So...I may be posting some of my work free online to get the stories out to readers. I tried that here on this blog with my short story The Recruit last year, and it was an interesting experiment. But The Recruit was never meant to be more than a bonus companion piece that took a scene from the novel Draxis (working title), turned it inside out and expanded it, relating it from a fresh POV. For this to work, I need to present fully fleshed out books, and the book chapters or sections will need to come a lot faster than every five weeks. I'm still working that out. 

But hey, it's 2022 and I'm still here. Let's see what the year brings. 

 

The Recruit: Part Four

Here's Part Four of the ongoing short story that's a companion to Draxis (WIP).

This one comes with a major TRIGGER WARNING!

This snippet involves a life-or-death situation with hunting beasts of prey and somewhat graphic descriptions of the struggle. If you are a sensitive reader in regards to animals (even monstrous predators who love to eat humans) then please don't read on.  

If you prefer to read the entire story to date, including this installment, please click here:

The Recruit (All Parts Posted to Date)

Otherwise, here's a brief refresher from the last post:

From Part III:

It crept up on the recruit from the forest gloom. I knew from experience it would launch without warning from heavy-muscled haunches and twist its head mid-flight, driving upper and lower saber-toothed fangs into the recruits back, crushing or severing his spine. Then, he would lay paralyzed as the beast began to feed and the rest of the pack closed in to tear him apart.

This recruit would pay the price of overconfidence, and Gallin would have his prize. But more than that, a burden would be lifted from my shoulders and a threat eliminated. I might yet see my ninth season.

 _________________________

 The Recruit: Part IV

So why this troubling feeling I was not in the right? The Duumarrakhan was doomed to die anyway. What did it matter how and when?

Because there was something about the man…

“At your back,” I wolfed, but he was already in motion.

The man bounded sideways the moment the farratora lunged, planted a foot on a massive trunk as he drew Gallin’s prize from its scabbard. He kicked off the tree, inverted horizontally over the surprised predator, and drove his blade down through the beast’s opposite shoulder. Gravity pulled the man back to the ground, and the embedded sword sliced down diagonally like a paper blade, severing the beast’s spine. The farratora collapsed in a heap and lay still, pike-like fangs still bared. It was a mammoth male, probably the pack alpha.

I rose to my feet, heart-pounding. Farratora forgotten.

I knew I had just witnessed something few alive had seen. The kill of a Duumarrakhan.

And I was not going to see my ninth season.

A chorus of growls in the darkness confirmed that thought. The dead alpha’s pack was preparing to charge.

I drew my blade and used the tree to thwart a rear ambush. From my peripheral, I saw the recruit edging in my direction. His artful blade pierced deep through the eye of one large male, dropping him. He stepped to the side, blade humming low, to severe the legs of a smaller, charging female. She tumbled head-over-tail with a look of confusion when her stride shifted to missing paws.

From out of the blackness to my right came a flash of fang in flame-red jowls as the first of many rushed me. Four more came behind him. Big pack of them! I couldn’t fight them all with a mere sword. I reached for my belt, glanced at the recruit, then hit the pulse button. The four dropped from the shock wave, and I finished them off before they recovered.

The recruit fell to his knees, hit by the fringes of the concentrated energy ring, and knew what I had done. Shock weapon—cursed and taboo. A religious abomination. If he was a Duumarrakhan, and a farratora didn’t finish him first, I was dead. He’d never let me live after committing such an atrocity. He didn’t yet understand the rules. Most Tahila Death Rangers were capital criminals already, and breaking religious laws to survive was of little matter.

My moment of distraction allowed a farratora to reach me. He made one pass, raking his claws down my sword arm, before turning back to finish me. I hit the button at my belt again as I shifted the sword to my offhand and ran him through where he fell.

The recruit had dodged out of the range of the energy ring, but then he was beside me, scowling down at my belt. Blood flowed down my arm, and my head was spinning. The wound was bad. In a moment, I’d lose consciousness, and the recruit would finish me. Beheading was the price for my crime—by guillotine or blade.

He didn’t have a guillotine handy. His sword would do.

To be continued...