The Book is now mostly done and going through the editing process! Look for it this week! It should be out by Thursday at the latest. Here is one last Snippet to hold you until them. Enjoy!
“Sir, I am protesting the order under navy regulations as is my right under UCMJ rules!”
“It’s pretty much the same thing.” Taking a deep breathe the Captain looked the officer in the eye. "This isn't the first time you've questioned my orders; you've done so repeatedly, and even disregarded my orders completely when you thought you could get away with it. Enough is enough. Consider yourself relieved of duty, Commander. You will be confined to your quarters for the duration of this mission.” The Captain pressed a button on his console. The two door guards entered the bridge.
“Please take Chief Engineer Erlang back to his quarters. He is now relieved of duty pending court-marshal proceedings. Have Commander Huggins report to me later about his disposition. Place a guard on him for now.”
The Marines nodded to the Captain and turned to the now shocked officer. “Captain, I protest! You can’t do this! It’s against naval regulations…”
“Commander you forget. I am the Captain of this ship, and there is a certain leniency that is allowed captains to complete vital missions. Take him away.”
The Marines took Commander Erlang by both arms and began dragging the officer off the bridge.
Captain Gorshin spotted me and smiled somewhat wanly “Athena, good. He sighed. “I’m sorry you had to see that. He’s been pushing me for ages and ignored any number of warnings. Can I convince you to accept a temporary assignment as Chief Engineer? Relieving him leaves me with a big problem: Chief Engineers are hard to replace.”
I nodded slowly as I tried not to act shocked by the confrontation. “Sir, of course as long as I am able to complete my mission.”
“Let’s discuss that shall we? Go on into the Ready Room and wait. I need to get a few more officers up here.”
I wandered about the Ready Room studying the pictures on the wall until the door opened and Lieutenant’s Baal and Mutai entered the room followed by the Captain.
“Everyone please take a seat.” We all took a moment to sit.
“Now that we are on our way and in jump, we can have this meeting. I doubt that anyone here is working for the other side but orders are orders. Commander, you and the Lieutenant’s primary duty is to liaise with the Mars defense forces. They operate independently of their assembly. They are very much like the Ancient Japanese Samurai. They serve under a strict code of honor, loyalty, and bravery. They have gone against their own politicians on at least one occasion. They are never puppets to the cities. Lieutenant Baal?”
“The defense force has a technological edge over the rest of the galaxy. As a colony Mars has been around longer and had the very best to start with. Many of our colonies had to ‘bootstrap’ their way back to the stars. In some aspects they may even be more powerful than Old Earth was at the end of the colonial period. We really need them on our side. We expect our trade agreement will go on. You two may be asked to renew that. The capture and deportation of Commodore Vakulinchuk is also a priority, but let the Marines take care of that. If you have to get involved stress to the Mars authorities that this is a situation of Honor. They may allow you to leave with him.”
“The Lieutenant has a point. The Martians are very different than what we are familiar with. Here, we are the ‘country cousins’ remember that and everything will work out. Expect some possible Imperial interference. They have a large embassy and are still a tiny bit peeved at us over leaving the Empire. Stay clear of their personnel if possible.” He looked at each of us as if evaluating us. “Kinno, please stay a moment. Lieutenant Baal is going to go over the intelligence from the meeting that you missed. Athena, I believe that you have an engineering department to oversee and some thrusters to repair.”
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Here is another quick snippet from the New Book -The Martian Inheritance!
"Just how did you get tickets to that new club anyway?”
I laughed and told Min how. “I know the owner, he supplied the tickets, the limo, food, and alcohol.”
“You’ve met this guy? He is the most mysterious man on the planet! One of the guys at the building commission said that he thought that he was some big shot from New Texas.”
‘Why would he say that he was from New Texas?”
“What he told me was that this guy did all his business on the vid and he was a big man wearing a cowboy hat with a ‘western accent’ that made the call.” I had to chuckle at her. Dar was snickering too.
“OK you two, what did I say that was so funny?”
“Min, why were you checking up on Mr Theai?”
“I wanted to thank him for hiring so many veterans and to ask if we can use his club for a Militia fundraiser next month.”
Laughing I pointed at the Vid screen in the kitchen. “Min, ask his yourself. He is right there.”
The image of a tall, thin man in blue jeans and a yellow western shirt wearing what looked like a leather vest, neckerchief, and a cowboy hat appeared on the screen. His face was long and he had deep brown eyes. “Howdy? I heard you were looking to speak with me Miss Lee.”
Min glanced at me and silently said “how?” to me. She turned back to the screen and responded. “Yes, Mr Theai, I wanted to thank you for hiring all the Militia veterans at your club. I also wanted to know if we host a charity event from there sometime next month?”
“Well Miss Lee, I think we can do that. Give my business manager Andy White a call and set it up. I will let him know it is OK from my end and the club will be all yours. Anything else I can do for you?” The cowboy had a smiling face.
“Will you join us for the fundraiser? I am sure that a man of your stature will solicit lots of donations.”
“Well, darling, I would love to do that, but I’m shipping out next week for an unknown amount of time.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have business elsewhere to take care of?”
The cowboy began to laugh. “No, no business. I’m on my way to Mars. In fact I am leaving at the same time as Athena.”
Minerva looked at me with a strange look on her face. “Athena, is this man one of your shipmates from the James Cook?”
When she said that Dar, almost fell off her chair she was laughing so hard. I looked over at my father who had been watching us this whole time. He had a smile on his face like he knew.
“You need to explain this to me now! Why is what I said so funny?” She looked back at the screen and the cowboy was gone. In his place was one of the RAM units except this one had a smiley face drawn on it.
I laughed and told Min how. “I know the owner, he supplied the tickets, the limo, food, and alcohol.”
“You’ve met this guy? He is the most mysterious man on the planet! One of the guys at the building commission said that he thought that he was some big shot from New Texas.”
‘Why would he say that he was from New Texas?”
“What he told me was that this guy did all his business on the vid and he was a big man wearing a cowboy hat with a ‘western accent’ that made the call.” I had to chuckle at her. Dar was snickering too.
“OK you two, what did I say that was so funny?”
“Min, why were you checking up on Mr Theai?”
“I wanted to thank him for hiring so many veterans and to ask if we can use his club for a Militia fundraiser next month.”
Laughing I pointed at the Vid screen in the kitchen. “Min, ask his yourself. He is right there.”
The image of a tall, thin man in blue jeans and a yellow western shirt wearing what looked like a leather vest, neckerchief, and a cowboy hat appeared on the screen. His face was long and he had deep brown eyes. “Howdy? I heard you were looking to speak with me Miss Lee.”
Min glanced at me and silently said “how?” to me. She turned back to the screen and responded. “Yes, Mr Theai, I wanted to thank you for hiring all the Militia veterans at your club. I also wanted to know if we host a charity event from there sometime next month?”
“Well Miss Lee, I think we can do that. Give my business manager Andy White a call and set it up. I will let him know it is OK from my end and the club will be all yours. Anything else I can do for you?” The cowboy had a smiling face.
“Will you join us for the fundraiser? I am sure that a man of your stature will solicit lots of donations.”
“Well, darling, I would love to do that, but I’m shipping out next week for an unknown amount of time.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have business elsewhere to take care of?”
The cowboy began to laugh. “No, no business. I’m on my way to Mars. In fact I am leaving at the same time as Athena.”
Minerva looked at me with a strange look on her face. “Athena, is this man one of your shipmates from the James Cook?”
When she said that Dar, almost fell off her chair she was laughing so hard. I looked over at my father who had been watching us this whole time. He had a smile on his face like he knew.
“You need to explain this to me now! Why is what I said so funny?” She looked back at the screen and the cowboy was gone. In his place was one of the RAM units except this one had a smiley face drawn on it.
Here is the New Book Cover for the Martian Inheritance!
This is the New cover for Book 7 or the Athena Lee Series! Look for it by the end of Next Week! Art for this book was done by very cool digital artist Markus Vogt. He is the same artist that did book 5 -Insurrection. Check out his Gallery of Work -Here!
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Time for another Snippet from the Upcoming Book 7
Status report I am about 15,000 words into the new Athena Lee book. I am looking at mid to late next week to release this one. I already have cover art. The book is about half done. Here is a little snippet to help hold you over. Enjoy:
What in the nine hells is going on?
“Major Niers? Can I speak to you please?”
The large man left the stern of the ship and came forward. “Did you call me Sir?”
“Yes, Peter, I tried contacting Senator Colman. His office is gone and according to the Senate Offices, the Senator and his family was killed in an air car crash! Do you know what is happening?”
The big man had been the Commodore’s ‘minder and fixer’ for many years. Unlike the Commodore, Peter had been groomed and specially trained for his position. He had lived and breathed the Cabal his whole life. The Commodore had been brought in for a specific reason and although his family had been members, they had fallen out of favor. Those who seek revenge are easily manipulated.
“Sir, I think that the ‘group’ may be cleaning house over this Hong Kong debacle. The Senator may have broken one of the primary rules. Only something like that causes complete erasure.”
“Erasure? Do you mean they killed them all on purpose? The senator had been a member for ever, his own father was a founder!”
“Sir, the rules are there for a reason. You should know that by now.”
“What about us? Will they hunt us down too? Where can we go? I can try calling one of …”
The Major grabbed him by his arms and shook him. “Calm the Frak down, Sir!” The Major just shook his head. This assignment was turning out to be a real cluster-frak.
“Sir, if they wanted us dead, we would be dead. Now, stop calling the planet. Sergeant Pétursson?”
“Sir!”
“Contact orbital control and cancel our landing position. File a new flight plan to the Rus sector. Once we leave orbit and are beyond pursuit range, change coordinates and take us the Mars Colony, Sol system, Sector 1.”
“Sol system Sir? That is a long jump Sir!”
“Yes, plot it now! We have supplies enough to get there, just barely.”
“Major, Peter. Why Mars colony?” The commodore looked puzzled.
“Mars is the only place that we can run to with almost guaranteed safety. The Cabal has a mission base there to. We really are everywhere. It is more of neutral ground than anything. The local laws are very restrictive. Make sure you read the highlights before we get there. The best part is no extradition. Total freedom, just obey the local laws.”
“OK, Peter. You have not steered me wrong yet.” The commodore leaned back in his chair and stared out the porthole into the nothingness of space.
What in the nine hells is going on?
“Major Niers? Can I speak to you please?”
The large man left the stern of the ship and came forward. “Did you call me Sir?”
“Yes, Peter, I tried contacting Senator Colman. His office is gone and according to the Senate Offices, the Senator and his family was killed in an air car crash! Do you know what is happening?”
The big man had been the Commodore’s ‘minder and fixer’ for many years. Unlike the Commodore, Peter had been groomed and specially trained for his position. He had lived and breathed the Cabal his whole life. The Commodore had been brought in for a specific reason and although his family had been members, they had fallen out of favor. Those who seek revenge are easily manipulated.
“Sir, I think that the ‘group’ may be cleaning house over this Hong Kong debacle. The Senator may have broken one of the primary rules. Only something like that causes complete erasure.”
“Erasure? Do you mean they killed them all on purpose? The senator had been a member for ever, his own father was a founder!”
“Sir, the rules are there for a reason. You should know that by now.”
“What about us? Will they hunt us down too? Where can we go? I can try calling one of …”
The Major grabbed him by his arms and shook him. “Calm the Frak down, Sir!” The Major just shook his head. This assignment was turning out to be a real cluster-frak.
“Sir, if they wanted us dead, we would be dead. Now, stop calling the planet. Sergeant Pétursson?”
“Sir!”
“Contact orbital control and cancel our landing position. File a new flight plan to the Rus sector. Once we leave orbit and are beyond pursuit range, change coordinates and take us the Mars Colony, Sol system, Sector 1.”
“Sol system Sir? That is a long jump Sir!”
“Yes, plot it now! We have supplies enough to get there, just barely.”
“Major, Peter. Why Mars colony?” The commodore looked puzzled.
“Mars is the only place that we can run to with almost guaranteed safety. The Cabal has a mission base there to. We really are everywhere. It is more of neutral ground than anything. The local laws are very restrictive. Make sure you read the highlights before we get there. The best part is no extradition. Total freedom, just obey the local laws.”
“OK, Peter. You have not steered me wrong yet.” The commodore leaned back in his chair and stared out the porthole into the nothingness of space.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Check out my Facebook page for an exclusive Snippet from the Upcoming Athena Lee book 7
That's right there is a Facebook only Snippet from the upcoming Athena Lee Book 7. Go and check it out On My Page!
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Here is the first NEW snippet from Book 7 of the Athena Lee Chronicles!
Enjoy it!
The club had a huge mirror ball in the ceiling that was throwing flashing lights and sparks in every direction.
“Athena, how did you get tickets to this place? I heard from one on my Marines this is the hottest new club on the planet!”
“Dar I just knew someone.”
“You have to tell me who! Just the tickets would have been enough, but the private box and all the free drinks? Hon, who do you know to do something like this?” I grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the VIP section. We had a private booth and our own waiters.
I pushed her down on the bench, and gave her a big kiss. Wrapping my arms around her shoulders I gave her a big hug. “Thanks for looking out for me. This club is owned by the author of those new business books that everyone is talking about? The guy that somehow screwed that publishing company over?”
“I remember that guy. It was on the news Vid how nobody knows who he is.”
“Yeah, him. He gave me the tickets and arranged for all this. The employees here are in awe that we ‘know’ the guy that employs them. No one here has ever met him.”
“Who the hell is this guy? If he’s tries something you will tell me right? I mean…”
I started laughing. My big protective teddy bear. I leaned over and gave her another toe curling kiss. I put my lips next to her ear and whispered. “It’s not like that. You know him too.”
She pulled back from me and stared incredulously at me. “I do?”
I settled her back down and continued to whisper. “I’m surprised you did not figure it out. The Author and owner’s name is Wilson Theai.”
“Theai? What kind of name is that?”
I laughed again. “Think about it, sweetie.”
He face got all scrunched up as she thought about it, then she froze and looked at me. “No! Really?”
“He told me that he got the credits for the club from a project that he had. You know how he is. He won’t answer most questions.”
“But how? He has to talk and communicate with inspectors and officials. How did he hire all these people?”
“He does this hologram that is pretty impressive, everything else can be done by vid. I mean, he did it didn’t he.”
Dar started laughing with me. “Only you Athena. Only you could have a AI that opened his own Disco club!”
The club had a huge mirror ball in the ceiling that was throwing flashing lights and sparks in every direction.
“Athena, how did you get tickets to this place? I heard from one on my Marines this is the hottest new club on the planet!”
“Dar I just knew someone.”
“You have to tell me who! Just the tickets would have been enough, but the private box and all the free drinks? Hon, who do you know to do something like this?” I grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the VIP section. We had a private booth and our own waiters.
I pushed her down on the bench, and gave her a big kiss. Wrapping my arms around her shoulders I gave her a big hug. “Thanks for looking out for me. This club is owned by the author of those new business books that everyone is talking about? The guy that somehow screwed that publishing company over?”
“I remember that guy. It was on the news Vid how nobody knows who he is.”
“Yeah, him. He gave me the tickets and arranged for all this. The employees here are in awe that we ‘know’ the guy that employs them. No one here has ever met him.”
“Who the hell is this guy? If he’s tries something you will tell me right? I mean…”
I started laughing. My big protective teddy bear. I leaned over and gave her another toe curling kiss. I put my lips next to her ear and whispered. “It’s not like that. You know him too.”
She pulled back from me and stared incredulously at me. “I do?”
I settled her back down and continued to whisper. “I’m surprised you did not figure it out. The Author and owner’s name is Wilson Theai.”
“Theai? What kind of name is that?”
I laughed again. “Think about it, sweetie.”
He face got all scrunched up as she thought about it, then she froze and looked at me. “No! Really?”
“He told me that he got the credits for the club from a project that he had. You know how he is. He won’t answer most questions.”
“But how? He has to talk and communicate with inspectors and officials. How did he hire all these people?”
“He does this hologram that is pretty impressive, everything else can be done by vid. I mean, he did it didn’t he.”
Dar started laughing with me. “Only you Athena. Only you could have a AI that opened his own Disco club!”
Thursday, May 19, 2016
The New Book - The Lost Pilot is now available on Amazon!
My newest book, The Lost Pilot, is Now available. This is the story of Sam (from Ghost Ships of Terra) and his journey of being raised to fight for Earth.
This is the Prequel for the Athena Lee Chronicles.
Before Athena Lee and the worlds that she knew there was an embattled Earth.
Earth was in turmoil before the first colony ship was launched. The Cyber Wars raged across the planet as country battled country. The war was fought until only the Major Powers were victorious. In the aftermath, the United Nations came into it's own. Warriors, trained and bred to be the best the world had ever seen emerged from the shadows, bringing order and control out of the chaos of the Cyber Wars. Sam was one such warrior. Born and bred to serve he followed his orders and became one of the best pilots in the service. The future of man lay in the stars. Colonization was a good way to rid society of the undesirables of Earth. He volunteered to start a new colony and spread Earth's power.
This is the Prequel for the Athena Lee Chronicles.
Before Athena Lee and the worlds that she knew there was an embattled Earth.
Earth was in turmoil before the first colony ship was launched. The Cyber Wars raged across the planet as country battled country. The war was fought until only the Major Powers were victorious. In the aftermath, the United Nations came into it's own. Warriors, trained and bred to be the best the world had ever seen emerged from the shadows, bringing order and control out of the chaos of the Cyber Wars. Sam was one such warrior. Born and bred to serve he followed his orders and became one of the best pilots in the service. The future of man lay in the stars. Colonization was a good way to rid society of the undesirables of Earth. He volunteered to start a new colony and spread Earth's power.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Here is the Cover of the New Book!
This is the cover of the New Book. The Lost Pilot aka Sam's Book. This one is a bit of a prequel to the series. It covers the exodus from Earth and Sam's experience. The time period is more than a hundred years in the past. The Art was done by Scott Richard Check out his other stuff HERE!
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
How about a Free book? Click now for your chance to win one!
I still have 5 copies left to give away! Congrats to the 5 winners!
- Elizabeth Acevedo
- JOHANNA CRUCITTI
- DIANA STREIGHT
- Dawn Gagnon
- Holly Lamonds
Saturday, May 14, 2016
We attended the Anime St Louis Convention this weekend!
So my wife and I took our Niece to the Anime Convention this weekend. Here are some of the crowd Pics and a few of the awesome Cos-play costumes!
 |
| Very busy by the escalotors |
 |
| Nice costume! |
 |
| Not too busy in the gaming area |
 |
| Way Cool! |
 |
| This guy had digital readouts on his gear that he made himself! |
 |
| Funny story, My wife bought my ticket and because I was not present to give ID they gave a kids badge! |
Friday, May 13, 2016
A short snippet from the New standalone book set in the Athena Lee Universe!
I'm hard at work on the New Standalone Sam book. Here is a small snippet giving you a little glimpse inside.
We all needed to be bigger to fly the ships. The first thing we had to learn was how to properly wear a space suit. Each piece of the suit served a specific purpose. Leave one off, even by accident, and there could be a tragedy. Anthony was one such loss. Underneath the suit, each person was supposed to wear three specific layers of jumpsuit. A basic gauze-like body suit that allowed the body to breathe and keep you cool. The second layer was similar to a sensor suit that a VR participant might wear, it read your bodies responses to heat, cold, and other external stimuli. The third layer was a cross between nomex and neoprene. This layer protected from fire and cold. The layers needed to be worn in the exact order. Over them was the newest state-of-the-art space suit. These were made from a new lightweight metallic compound that had been discovered in the asteroid belt. Not found on Earth, Rigveda, was easily mined and the UN used it to build practically everything. Putting on a suit in regular gravity was no heavier than that of a old fashioned rubber diving suit. As one complete unit the suit kept you at an even temperature at all times. One of the things that had been stressed to all of us was to follow procedure when putting on all the layers. Anthony taught us all to remember that lesson.
‘Attention. Attention. This is not a drill! This is not a drill!’
‘There is a pressure leak on Level Three. There is a pressure leak on Level Three.’
At the first words over the speaker we all sprang into action as we had drilled for years. Counting in my head, I put the layers on in numerical order. All of our hard suits were racked in power ports along the walls. As we climbed into the suits we could see and hear the leak as it became a torrent. With a loud whistling and roar the bulkhead gave way sucking us all into space. Using our training we began linking our suits together making chains using the built in secure cables on our belts. As we linked up I looked over at Anthony to check his cable connection. I could see sweat beading up on his face, his faceplate fogging up. I pulled myself along the cable and grabbed hold of his arm. I put my helmet next to his to better communicate.
“Anthony! Are you OK?” His eyes were wide and his face was growing red. He shook his head at me and tried to speak. For some reason his communication system was not functioning. I checked his suit, front and back as quick as I could. Not seeing anything wrong, I pulled out a communication line and directly connected to his suit.
“Anthony can you hear me now?” Silence. There was a faint scratching noise and lots of static. I looked up at my brother. His eyes were now very wide almost wild. His face was bright red and he was starting to gasp as if he was out of breath. I checked his readouts. Everything appeared to be normal with his suit. He had plenty of air. His body started to shake uncontrollably as he started to convulse. Several of the others were now helping as we tried to hold him still. I was looking into his wide eyes when they grew pale as the ‘light’ went out of them. My brother was dead. We floated in space holding the body of our brother and teammate for two hours. The medico’s that examined Anthony concluded that his death was a tragic accident brought on by the haste of the emergency. Anthony had not followed the set procedure for putting on this suit. He had put the under-layers on wrong. He must have gotten confused and put the sensor suit on first, followed by the cool suit. The cool suit registered as cold air for the sensor suit. The sensors kept increasing the internal temperature inside the suit to compensate. Anthony died of heat prostration in the icy depths of space.
Anthony’s death gave all of us perspective and we all vowed to do better and to learn everything that the Program wanted to teach us. From that point on, our team for would strive to be the best in honor of our brother Anthony 0257. Our challenges only got harder and in time we lost more of our brothers to accidents.
We all needed to be bigger to fly the ships. The first thing we had to learn was how to properly wear a space suit. Each piece of the suit served a specific purpose. Leave one off, even by accident, and there could be a tragedy. Anthony was one such loss. Underneath the suit, each person was supposed to wear three specific layers of jumpsuit. A basic gauze-like body suit that allowed the body to breathe and keep you cool. The second layer was similar to a sensor suit that a VR participant might wear, it read your bodies responses to heat, cold, and other external stimuli. The third layer was a cross between nomex and neoprene. This layer protected from fire and cold. The layers needed to be worn in the exact order. Over them was the newest state-of-the-art space suit. These were made from a new lightweight metallic compound that had been discovered in the asteroid belt. Not found on Earth, Rigveda, was easily mined and the UN used it to build practically everything. Putting on a suit in regular gravity was no heavier than that of a old fashioned rubber diving suit. As one complete unit the suit kept you at an even temperature at all times. One of the things that had been stressed to all of us was to follow procedure when putting on all the layers. Anthony taught us all to remember that lesson.
‘Attention. Attention. This is not a drill! This is not a drill!’
‘There is a pressure leak on Level Three. There is a pressure leak on Level Three.’
At the first words over the speaker we all sprang into action as we had drilled for years. Counting in my head, I put the layers on in numerical order. All of our hard suits were racked in power ports along the walls. As we climbed into the suits we could see and hear the leak as it became a torrent. With a loud whistling and roar the bulkhead gave way sucking us all into space. Using our training we began linking our suits together making chains using the built in secure cables on our belts. As we linked up I looked over at Anthony to check his cable connection. I could see sweat beading up on his face, his faceplate fogging up. I pulled myself along the cable and grabbed hold of his arm. I put my helmet next to his to better communicate.
“Anthony! Are you OK?” His eyes were wide and his face was growing red. He shook his head at me and tried to speak. For some reason his communication system was not functioning. I checked his suit, front and back as quick as I could. Not seeing anything wrong, I pulled out a communication line and directly connected to his suit.
“Anthony can you hear me now?” Silence. There was a faint scratching noise and lots of static. I looked up at my brother. His eyes were now very wide almost wild. His face was bright red and he was starting to gasp as if he was out of breath. I checked his readouts. Everything appeared to be normal with his suit. He had plenty of air. His body started to shake uncontrollably as he started to convulse. Several of the others were now helping as we tried to hold him still. I was looking into his wide eyes when they grew pale as the ‘light’ went out of them. My brother was dead. We floated in space holding the body of our brother and teammate for two hours. The medico’s that examined Anthony concluded that his death was a tragic accident brought on by the haste of the emergency. Anthony had not followed the set procedure for putting on this suit. He had put the under-layers on wrong. He must have gotten confused and put the sensor suit on first, followed by the cool suit. The cool suit registered as cold air for the sensor suit. The sensors kept increasing the internal temperature inside the suit to compensate. Anthony died of heat prostration in the icy depths of space.
Anthony’s death gave all of us perspective and we all vowed to do better and to learn everything that the Program wanted to teach us. From that point on, our team for would strive to be the best in honor of our brother Anthony 0257. Our challenges only got harder and in time we lost more of our brothers to accidents.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
The second Trilogy, The Chronicles of Athena Lee Book 2 is now availible for Pre-Order!
The second trilogy is almost ready and will be rolling our on May 25. It is available for Pre-order on Amazon HERE.
Monday, May 9, 2016
Here is a snippet from the New Book!
I still don't have a name for the book yet. Feel free to give me suggestions if you like. But, I do have a snippet I can post. Remember this take place on Earth during the colonization phase.
Enjoy:
He had seen, on the vid, that robotic drones operated by ‘suspected’ terrorists were still rampaging across Europe. Those stupid frakking Military leaders thought those remote operated drones were such a good idea. “It will save human lives.” Sure save them so the out of control robots could kill them! At least in this country they melted all those things down. Or at least they said they did. Whatever happened to the ‘good ol’ USA? Eddie could, barely, remember a time when the power worked and hulking robots weren’t trying to kill you. He really wished that him and Ann could just leave. Leave Atlanta, leave the US, leave the planet!
Those rich dudes had the right idea a few years ago. He just watched that vid last night, as a matter of fact. Have to hand it to American ingenuity. It was one of our scientists that built the first Boron-fusion drive. She named it after her favorite vid star, calling it the Doohan drive. It wasn’t too long before explorer ships were leaving Earth’s space stations in search of planets to colonize. At least those the damn terrorists didn’t shoot down. That was when the US stopped most of the local cybers. The war moved into space and for some reason the damn hackers were easier to track down. Lots of people with big money took a chance and left the Earth. Several dozen big religious groups built ships and just left. Quite a few groups of celebrities, who knew those people had that much money, up and left too. It was nice, sometimes, to think that out there is space there were groups of movie stars, computer geeks, and famous talk radio guys. It wasn’t too long until the American Government started building the big ships too. They sent quite a few groups of troublemakers off planet. It was actually cheaper than just locking them up. Not really sorry to see those religious nuts and survivalists go away. They are still sending ships out. A few reported back to say that colonies had been founded and they started to send back resources that the US really needed. It opened up lots of opportunities for jobs on Earth and out in space.
Eddie heard a shuffling outside his door. He ran over to the door, grabbing his baseball bat off the table. He stood to the side of the door and cried out, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, honey. The sky is blue, now let me in.”
Hearing the all safe code words Eddie let his wife Ann inside. You really could not be too careful these days. Especially when the power was off. That is when the real monsters came out to play. He hugged his wife to him. “Hi, honey, did you have a good day?”
Ann removed her coat revealing a knife strapped to her waist. She took it off and laid it on the table for easy reach. Ann looked at the oil lamps casting a dull orange glow across the room. Eddie had fixed dinner and already set the table. The flickering light cast muted shadows across the table making the shadows dance on the walls.
“Ed, I have really good news! We might have a chance to get out of here.”
Coming out of the bedroom Eddie looked questioningly at his wife. “Out of this apartment? Did someone at work die?”
She chuckled. Someone dying was pretty much the only way to get a new apartment these days. “No, the Government has a new program. Since I already work for them I qualify. Honey, we can be colonists! We have a chance to leave the planet.”
Enjoy:
He had seen, on the vid, that robotic drones operated by ‘suspected’ terrorists were still rampaging across Europe. Those stupid frakking Military leaders thought those remote operated drones were such a good idea. “It will save human lives.” Sure save them so the out of control robots could kill them! At least in this country they melted all those things down. Or at least they said they did. Whatever happened to the ‘good ol’ USA? Eddie could, barely, remember a time when the power worked and hulking robots weren’t trying to kill you. He really wished that him and Ann could just leave. Leave Atlanta, leave the US, leave the planet!
Those rich dudes had the right idea a few years ago. He just watched that vid last night, as a matter of fact. Have to hand it to American ingenuity. It was one of our scientists that built the first Boron-fusion drive. She named it after her favorite vid star, calling it the Doohan drive. It wasn’t too long before explorer ships were leaving Earth’s space stations in search of planets to colonize. At least those the damn terrorists didn’t shoot down. That was when the US stopped most of the local cybers. The war moved into space and for some reason the damn hackers were easier to track down. Lots of people with big money took a chance and left the Earth. Several dozen big religious groups built ships and just left. Quite a few groups of celebrities, who knew those people had that much money, up and left too. It was nice, sometimes, to think that out there is space there were groups of movie stars, computer geeks, and famous talk radio guys. It wasn’t too long until the American Government started building the big ships too. They sent quite a few groups of troublemakers off planet. It was actually cheaper than just locking them up. Not really sorry to see those religious nuts and survivalists go away. They are still sending ships out. A few reported back to say that colonies had been founded and they started to send back resources that the US really needed. It opened up lots of opportunities for jobs on Earth and out in space.
Eddie heard a shuffling outside his door. He ran over to the door, grabbing his baseball bat off the table. He stood to the side of the door and cried out, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, honey. The sky is blue, now let me in.”
Hearing the all safe code words Eddie let his wife Ann inside. You really could not be too careful these days. Especially when the power was off. That is when the real monsters came out to play. He hugged his wife to him. “Hi, honey, did you have a good day?”
Ann removed her coat revealing a knife strapped to her waist. She took it off and laid it on the table for easy reach. Ann looked at the oil lamps casting a dull orange glow across the room. Eddie had fixed dinner and already set the table. The flickering light cast muted shadows across the table making the shadows dance on the walls.
“Ed, I have really good news! We might have a chance to get out of here.”
Coming out of the bedroom Eddie looked questioningly at his wife. “Out of this apartment? Did someone at work die?”
She chuckled. Someone dying was pretty much the only way to get a new apartment these days. “No, the Government has a new program. Since I already work for them I qualify. Honey, we can be colonists! We have a chance to leave the planet.”
Friday, May 6, 2016
In Review, the two most hated words for an author. Good news the book is (almost) available!
The two words that resonate with any Amazon author, and are my new words of horror, are "In Review."
Last night or early this morning I put the New book - Book 6 Imperial Subversion up on Amazon. This morning it is still, in review. I went though this just 2 short weeks ago with the publication of Insurrection (book 5). Now the horror has returned. I will admit that this time, I did have a little box pop up on the screen telling me that my submission could take up to 12 hours to complete. Like it did last time. So, the clock is counting down. Expect the new book 'sometime' this afternoon. That will be just in time for you to skip your nightly meal and curl up to read it. I will change this and post again when it clears - Review. Hopefully I still have all my hair by then~!
Last night or early this morning I put the New book - Book 6 Imperial Subversion up on Amazon. This morning it is still, in review. I went though this just 2 short weeks ago with the publication of Insurrection (book 5). Now the horror has returned. I will admit that this time, I did have a little box pop up on the screen telling me that my submission could take up to 12 hours to complete. Like it did last time. So, the clock is counting down. Expect the new book 'sometime' this afternoon. That will be just in time for you to skip your nightly meal and curl up to read it. I will change this and post again when it clears - Review. Hopefully I still have all my hair by then~!
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Here is one last Snippet before the New Book comes out! Look for Book 6 - Imperial Subversion soon
Here is the last snippet. The new book should be out this weekend!
Enjoy it!
Justin stayed in the cockpit and watched the radar screens. The formation of fighters continued to close. He felt a tap on his arm and looked to the right. The co-pilot was tapping his helmet. Justin realized that he had taken his helmet off.
“Sir, the Fleet says that they are NOT, repeat NOT an escort. We are recommended to take evasive action and they suggest we return to base.” The co-pilot looked very anxious.
Return? And fail a mission? Screw that! He turned back to the cockpit. “Action stations! Get those guns manned and prepare for battle.” The ESS troops in the shuttle sprang into action and manned the defensive stations.
“Contact Captain Lightfoot. Inform him that we are continuing on to the station. Have his troops man the guns! Pilot, increase speed we need to avoid these fighters and attack that station. The ESS never runs from a fight!”
The co-pilot sent the message, then turned to the commander. “Sir, those fighters are faster than we are. We are sitting ducks in these things! We need to turn back!”
Justin watched on his screen, the Marine shuttles were coming about and retreating! Cowards! He drew his sidearm and pointed it at the head of the Pilot. “If you cowards turn to follow those others I will kill you! Now, make this ship go faster we have a station to capture and traitors to kill!”
The pilot complied and the shuttle increased in speed. Looking at the screens Justin saw that about half of ‘his’ ESS troops ship had turned around and were making for the fleet. He screamed his outrage at this and yanked the communicator away from the copilot.
“Attention all ships, you will return to formation NOW! All ESS personnel are to stay with me, we are attacking this station together! Replace your commanders if you have to but we are not cowards we attack, not retreat!”
Several of the shuttles turned away from the direction of the fleet and resumed course. The rest joined the Marine units and retreated.
The rebel space fighters opened fire when they came into range. Missile alarms and alert sirens began sounding inside the cockpit. Red lights flashed on the defensive consoles as the pilots scrambled to fire counter-measures. The ESS manning the defensive guns were firing in every direction, very few were hitting anything other than the other shuttles. The rebel fighters were a mix of older surplus ships mixed with the newest Imperial fighters.
The faster more maneuverable fighters made short work of the ESS shuttles. Justin watched in horror as those few ships that had chosen to attack with him were blown out of space. The fighters turned away and began to pursue the Marine shuttles that had retreated.
“Sir, the rebels are leaving us alone. What do we do?” The pilot’s were both looking at him.
A feeling of elation came over him. He could do this. All the glory could be his. “Continue your course. Make for the station. We can still attack.”
Enjoy it!
Justin stayed in the cockpit and watched the radar screens. The formation of fighters continued to close. He felt a tap on his arm and looked to the right. The co-pilot was tapping his helmet. Justin realized that he had taken his helmet off.
“Sir, the Fleet says that they are NOT, repeat NOT an escort. We are recommended to take evasive action and they suggest we return to base.” The co-pilot looked very anxious.
Return? And fail a mission? Screw that! He turned back to the cockpit. “Action stations! Get those guns manned and prepare for battle.” The ESS troops in the shuttle sprang into action and manned the defensive stations.
“Contact Captain Lightfoot. Inform him that we are continuing on to the station. Have his troops man the guns! Pilot, increase speed we need to avoid these fighters and attack that station. The ESS never runs from a fight!”
The co-pilot sent the message, then turned to the commander. “Sir, those fighters are faster than we are. We are sitting ducks in these things! We need to turn back!”
Justin watched on his screen, the Marine shuttles were coming about and retreating! Cowards! He drew his sidearm and pointed it at the head of the Pilot. “If you cowards turn to follow those others I will kill you! Now, make this ship go faster we have a station to capture and traitors to kill!”
The pilot complied and the shuttle increased in speed. Looking at the screens Justin saw that about half of ‘his’ ESS troops ship had turned around and were making for the fleet. He screamed his outrage at this and yanked the communicator away from the copilot.
“Attention all ships, you will return to formation NOW! All ESS personnel are to stay with me, we are attacking this station together! Replace your commanders if you have to but we are not cowards we attack, not retreat!”
Several of the shuttles turned away from the direction of the fleet and resumed course. The rest joined the Marine units and retreated.
The rebel space fighters opened fire when they came into range. Missile alarms and alert sirens began sounding inside the cockpit. Red lights flashed on the defensive consoles as the pilots scrambled to fire counter-measures. The ESS manning the defensive guns were firing in every direction, very few were hitting anything other than the other shuttles. The rebel fighters were a mix of older surplus ships mixed with the newest Imperial fighters.
The faster more maneuverable fighters made short work of the ESS shuttles. Justin watched in horror as those few ships that had chosen to attack with him were blown out of space. The fighters turned away and began to pursue the Marine shuttles that had retreated.
“Sir, the rebels are leaving us alone. What do we do?” The pilot’s were both looking at him.
A feeling of elation came over him. He could do this. All the glory could be his. “Continue your course. Make for the station. We can still attack.”
Take a look at the Cover for Book 6!
I just got my cover for book 6, back from my designer. Check out the really cool original artwork done by Scott Richard you can check out his other really cool art on his page at Deviant Art.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
Book One of Tales of Hay and Justice is FREE this week on Amazon. Fergus is a tiny talking Unicorn with a attitude. Thrust into the hum... -
Mars is doomed! While the idea of breaking away from the tyranny of Earth might sound like a good idea in practice it sucks. Riddled with qu... -
We left Tallahassee Saturday on our way to Austin, Tx for the Smarter Artists Summit hosted by authors and industry leaders Sean Platt, ...