Science Fiction and Fantasy Sale July 1-2 Over 100 Books 99c

For July 1-2, my novel Reborn is one of the over 100 books on sale for 99c in this massive science fiction and fantasy sale. Either click the image or click here to fill you ereader!

**Limited Time** Mindjack Box Set by Susan Kaye Quinn #99c #dystopian #scifi

**LIMITED TIME** Box Set of the Bestselling MINDJACK SERIES

Free Souls, Closed Hearts, Open Minds

In a world where everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can't read thoughts, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader. When she accidentally controls Raf's mind, Kira hides her frightening new ability. But lies tangle around her, and she's dragged into an underworld of mindjackers… where mind controlling everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

Regularly $7.99, Mindjack Box Set will be ON SALE for 99 cents from May 29 - June 4. Susan Kaye Quinn is trying to hit the USA Today bestseller's list, so every sale counts. You won't be disappointed either. I loved Open Minds and hope to finish reading the rest of the series soon.

Purchase MINDJACK Box Set

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Fantasy Uprising: 99c Sale July 2-3 #fantasy #scifi #ebooks

Over 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for just 99c!

Fantasy Uprising is included in this sale.

The Untethered Realms' boxed set includes my novel Reborn.

Get your books HERE

I've turned off comments for the promo only post. The next post is IWSG on Wednesday, July 6.

Friday Flash: Part III "S.S. Argonaut"

 

Today's #fridayflash was actually a short story I wrote a long time ago. I've decided to break the story into three parts, so here is part three, the final part. Part I was up two Fridays ago (February 15), and Part II was up last Friday (February 22).

 

PART III, S.S. Argonaut 

We saw very few people in Sector D. The ones we did come across were either dead or dying. I wanted to help them, but Bethany drifted in and out of consciousness, and I wouldn’t dillydally when her and our children’s lives were at stake.

Fear gripped me again when we entered Sector E.

Spacesuits lay scattered like torn-up tissues. Several escape pods burned. Laser blasts lit the air. The taste of metal coated my tongue from the scent of blood. People groaned. Died.

“Lieutenant!”

I turned toward the voice of Sergeant Merris. Her gun smoked in her hands. The laser fire had melted the plastic.

“What happened?” Tiny hands clutched my pants as my children clung to me.

“Utter disaster, sir. We had to fire. Five escape pods are damaged. They bolted toward them.”

Another crash shattered the hull. Several people screamed, and I leaned against the wall to keep upright.

If we weren’t quick, the metal wouldn’t hold and space would suck us into its dark void.

“Listen up, everyone.” I shouted above the noise. “Shut up!”

Shrieks turned into whispers. Then everyone quieted.

“Those uninjured help an injured neighbor into the escape pods. Be careful but quick. Do not panic. We will all vacate the S.S. Argonaut safely. Escape pod pilots, take your positions within.”

The entire ship shifted and popped, but the crew listened.

“Sergeant Merris, take my children and wife to pod fourteen. I will pilot that one.” I handed Bethany over to the steely-eyed woman.

“Yes, sir.”

I watched as my family went to pod fourteen.

“Quickly, but don’t push. There is plenty of time.” I walked the perimeter and spoke, keeping my voice calm, soothing. Don’t let them see you panic, Jackson. The S.S. Argonaut wouldn’t make it through the asteroid belt. I knew this as a fact. The captain manned the helm as a suicide mission, but the escape pods could still save our people.

I didn’t know if it would be enough, but I would take possible death over certain death any day.

A more orderly evacuation happened, and I completed my rounds until I was certain the last able-bodied person had boarded an escape vessel.

I jogged over to pod fourteen and entered it. The door closed with a vacuum-locked seal. I glanced over the panel and buckled myself into the seat.

“Everyone, buckle up,” I said over a loud speaker connected with the fifteen pods.

I pressed the ignition button, knowing the other pilots would do the same. My wrist ached, but it wasn’t broken, just bruised with a nasty knot on it. I would fight through the pain. Then I opened the escape hatch.

The large doors slid open to inky space. Far away, I spotted diamond-like stars winking at us. A few meteors drifted behind, but the escape pods were much more versatile than the huge spaceship.

“One by one, pilots. You know the drill.”

Escape Pod One lifted off and disappeared through the hole in the ship. Two, three, four, and five followed. Six and seven were hesitant, but they vanished.

The dead, people’s belongings, and ship parts floated before us. Eight through eleven dodged the debris and left the S.S. Argonaut.

Two more and I edged our pod forward. We struck the dead and I couldn’t help but wince at the dishonor.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered as we entered space.

The escape pod flew light and fast away from the meteors, but I glanced behind us at our hope for a good future.

The S.S. Argonaut poised like a toy before a gigantic asteroid. The fifteenth escape pod left the ship as a fireball erupted.

“Oh, Captain.” I lamented his loss.

I ignited our thrusters, but our tiny vessel felt the heat from the explosion. We tumbled forward in the blast. My muscles trembled trying to keep the pod steady. Everything shook and roared.

Then silence.

Tiny silver ships adrift like dandelion seeds in the wind. We were alive.

Friday Flash: Part II "S.S. Argonaut" and Cover Reveal of CassaStorm

 

Today's #fridayflash was actually a short story I wrote a long time ago. I've decided to break the story into three parts, so here is part two. Part I was up last Friday (February 15), and Part III will be up the Friday (March 1) after.

PART II, S.S. Argonaut 

Panic twirled from person to person as infectious as the flu. A scream here. A shove there. Mayhem reigned while compassion for fellow man halted. This very terror seized me by the throat. I twisted and pushed my way through the crowded hallways while attempting to contact Bethany and the kids with my wristscreen.

A hazy image appeared, but I couldn’t hear her tiny voice over the discord.

“I’m coming, sweetie, stay where you are.” I punched in a button for her location. A little red dot blinked in Sector C, Section 3. What was she doing in our room still?

I reversed course and jogged against the current heading toward Sector E.

Cruuunnch!

BANG!

When my feet left the floor, my first thought was someone deactivated the gravity sensors, but I was falling, not floating. My arm struck the wall, smashing my wristscreen. Instinctively, I grabbed hold of the man beside me, and we both tumbled, barely missing being squashed by three people.

The alarm faltered from wail to sickly whine. The lights stopped blinking. The dim glow of emergency lights was all we had left.

I scrambled to my feet. Pain spread from my wrist through my arm, but I clutched the appendage and continued toward Sector C.

When I arrived there, silence descended. A ghost town had sprung up in this residential corner of the spaceship. I listened for people as I raced toward Section 3. Turning a corner, I arrived there. A slow burning fire crackled from ripped wires. Smoke obscured my sight, and I felt my way towards our rooms.

A soft voice cried the word, “Mommy.”

I recognized that voice, and it clutched my heart in a vice.

“Jax,” I called to my son, shoved away a fallen panel, and entered our rooms.

The smoke was thicker in here, causing me to cough. I blinked back the tears when I saw Jax, Lara, and April huddling next to Bethany.

Dark blood oozed from a gash in her forehead. The sight stole my breath away, and I tumbled to her.

“Bethy, sweetheart,” I whispered, slowly checking to see whether or not she was alive.

She moaned and I could breathe again. I ripped a piece of table cloth and wrapped it around her head. Our children looked fine, scared, but fine. I lifted Bethany into my arms and looked at them.

“Jax, you and Lara hold April’s hands. We’re getting off the Argonaut.”

“What happened to mommy?” Lara asked, her eyes wide and pooling with unshed tears.

My heart ached for them. “She’ll be fine. We gotta go, though. Follow me.”

Seven-year-old Jax took three-year-old April’s hand and five-year-old Lara did the same. I ushered my three children out of Section 3 as we trekked toward Sector E.

And speaking of science fiction, have you seen the fantastic cover art of Alex J. Cavanaugh's CassaStorm? If you haven't, then you don't have to wait any longer because it's here. *grins*

CassaStorm by Alex J. Cavanaugh

A storm gathers across the galaxy…

Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, his only struggles are occasional rogue pirate raids and endless government bureaucracies. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.

After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, shaking Bassan to the core and threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.

Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could be on its way back. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

Release date: September 17, 2013

Science Fiction - Space Opera/Adventure

Print ISBN 9781939844002

E-book ISBN 9781939844019

Friday Flash: Part I "S.S. Argonaut"

 

Today's #fridayflash was actually a short story I wrote a long time ago. I've decided to break the story into three parts, so here is part one. Part II will be up next Friday (February 22), and Part III will be up the Friday (March 1) after.

Part I, S.S. Argonaut

The asteroid field dotted the horizon. Dust-sized particles increased in size to rocks, boulders, and small moons. The S.S. Argonaut flew toward them at an extraordinary rate, despite the thrust of backburners in a wild attempt to slow us down. The universal debris appeared god-thrown into our path.

Alarms wailed like a banshee’s shriek. Lights dimmed and brightened in a more silent warning, but effective nonetheless. I blinked a few times, attempting to dislodge the vision filling the window. The asteroids remained, expanding in the area each time my eyelids closed.

My fingers tightened around the control stick, knuckles turning white from my death grip. Autopilot bleeped in my ears, desiring to engage, but I couldn’t allow it. The engines and this spaceship couldn’t weave through this chaos with a machine’s guidance.

I clenched my teeth, narrowly missing the first house-sized meteor.

“Lieutenant Jackson, I need you to stand down.”

The captain’s voice broke through my concentration. The ship skidded against one asteroid. Sparks ignited from metal and rock, but disappeared in the cold vacuum of deep space.

“Sir, I’m afraid I can’t. We have to keep the S.S. Argonaut flying.” We might not be heading toward the infamous Golden Fleece, but we were traveling toward a new galaxy, a new life for our people. I couldn’t betray our objective.

“The crew is using the escape pods. The ship isn’t slowing. There’s no way any of us can fly to safety beyond this asteroid belt.” The captain leaned closer. His breath brushed against my neck. “There’s an escape pod left with your name on it. Let me take command of my ship. Think of your family.”

I eased us around another boulder. A numb certainty flowed through me like I fell into an ice bath. The captain was correct. The ship wasn’t ceasing its rapid speed. Nothing I did affected it. Perhaps it was faulty all along. The fact we were using the escape pods surprised me, though. Was my wife and children already on one? Who was flying it?

“Is the situation really that dire, sir?” I prayed I had misheard.

“Yes, it is.” His firm hand rested on my shoulder. “Be with your family. Go.”

I unbuckled and stood from my seat. The captain slid in behind me, taking control of the ship.

“What about you, sir?” I tensed when we dodged another meteor.

“Captain goes down with the ship. Haven’t you read those old Earth books, Jackson?” His light tone downplayed his fear, but I saw it. The way he grasped the controls and pressed buttons. The grim line his lips settled into.

“Perhaps we can try autopilot again.”

“No use.” He turned, casting a quick glance at me before focusing on the horrifying display before us. “I order you to go and save yourself and your family, Jackson. Don’t make me tell you again.”

If I closed my eyes, Bethany’s face appeared before me. I imagined her smiling that crooked grin she liked to give me. A mischievous gleam in her dark eyes. Instead, fear and worry permeated the image. I had to go to her.

“Take care, sir.” I pressed my hand over my heart, feeling its thudding beat underneath my uniform. I hesitated a few seconds longer before exiting the bridge.

If I thought the horizon contained chaos, I was wrong. Red lights flared with each siren’s cry. People sprinted down the corridors, carrying bundles and children. Screams pierced the air. Sickly smoke drifted in a haze.

An electronic voice repeated calmly, “Everyone please report to the escape hatch in Sector E.”

I had left chaos for doomsday.

Fantasy Chat: Interview with Michael Offutt, author of SLIPSTREAM

 

Everyone, please welcome Michael Offutt to the blog today! He's here to tell us about his fantastic science fiction novel Slipstream.

Michael, tell us a little about yourself.  I work for the government. I read a lot of fiction.  I’m a slow writer.  It’s difficult for me to focus on things for very long because my attention is prone to wandering.  I’ll usually read four novels at a stretch because I get bored of one and move to another. Cycling through them keeps them fresh to me so that I can finish them.

In two sentences, describe your novel Slipstream.  Jordan Pendragon is a 17-year-old boy that undertakes a journey that not only unravels the mystery of his own birth, but one of the darkest secrets of the universe. It’s a story with hockey sticks, crystal spiders, and monsters from the Id.

Slipstream incorporates a lot of science in it. How much research did you do for this novel? I’m a science and math nerd. I read Hawking’s book called “The Grand Design” and had read a book called “Einstein’s Relativity and the Quantum Revolution”. I read those for pleasure, so I don’t count them as research, but they helped quite a bit to refresh my memory from college. I read a lot of science journals in-between bouts of fiction.

I love the mythology represented within Slipstream. Why did you decide to use Mesoamerican mythology? Jordan’s abilities are all dependent on him being able to see what’s going on. So absolute darkness is kind of his Achilles heel. This led me to research on the “Lords of Night” which are meso-American gods. The evil people in SLIPSTREAM are trying to bring the meso-American gods to life using a fusion of technology and flesh.  It’s pure madness, and a nod to Aztec mythology where they believed humans arose from the shattered bones of dead gods.

The humans of Avalon are living in a post-apocalyptic world.  Outside the realm of the book (but in my notes) there are people who claim their survival was foretold in Mayan pyramids and interpret the survivors as a stand-in for “the shattered bones of dead gods”. The trope of Life Green makes immortality a distinct possibility. So those in power have come to think of themselves as new gods instead of as humans (having far exceeded a normal life span) and they go about encouraging this belief.

Some even go so far as to claim that Avalon is in fact the underworld and that people who don’t see this, are hiding from the naked truth. I should also point out that Ian Gooding (the central bad guy) was born in the area of Guatemala. So he is of Mayan descent (again not in the book) and is also a minor archeologist (having found and translated the Popol Vuh). I know all of this isn’t in the book, but I cut some 60,000 words from the finished manuscript to come in at the highest acceptable word count. So yeah, Ian wants to become a god because he rightfully feels that he has been chosen to summon back into the world the nine Lords of Night because of something he read on the wall of an ancient Mayan city lost within the jungles of Guatemala (look up the lost city of Mirador sometime using Google).

I had to cut huge swaths of text from my book. No one was going to publish a 180,000 word monstrosity. Background not essential to understanding the plot got cut.

How did you go about creating the two different worlds (ours and Avalon)? My long story is allegorical. You are picking up on that in just this book but it becomes even more clear in the sequel. It’s completely intentional and yes, has to do with Arthurian stuff.

What are you working on now? Is there a release date yet for book two in the series? (Yes, I want to read book two now.) There is no release date. I’ve got half of the book to rewrite based on feedback from betas. I have no idea how long that will be. I’m slow…like a snail…when it comes to writing.

If you could recommend one book, what book would that be and why? Neuromancer by William Gibson. I love that book and it won the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Philip K. Dick award all in the same year. It is what drove me to write SLIPSTREAM.

Thanks Cherie for the interview. You ask tough questions.

You're welcome! I loved the book and do look forward to book two.

Isn't it pretty? And very perfect for Michael's SLIPSTREAM!

I have a contest for the release of my book.  I will pick one random person who comments on this post to win a $5 Amazon Gift Card and a SLIPSTREAM jeweled spider (the same person wins both prizes). The jeweled spider really sparkles in the sunlight. I hope whoever wins it really likes it. Also, please make sure that your email is linked to your signature in some way. And yes, the crystal spiders play an important role in my book.

Rules:

1)      Mark my book “To Read” on Goodreads.

2)      Comment on this post.

3)      Tweet this post if you have twitter. You don’t have to sign-up for twitter. It’s the “honor” system.

That’s it. I will choose a winner on Saturday, May 19^th.  And thank you, Cherie, for having me on your fine blog.

http://www.amazon.com/Slipstream-ebook/dp/B007R5DN8W/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1333585536&sr=1-1-catcorr

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1109954378?ean=9781554049493

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13003318-slipstream