A Continuing Theme On...

...the terrifying nature of alien medicine.

Here's a quick snippet from my next book:

“We don’t have a doc on station. Well, not a human one, and trust me, you don’t want a Kigvan doctor. Dremikians might be ok, but, no, you probably don’t want to deal with them either. They have funny opinions about exploratory surgery.”

“Uh…I just have a headache.”

 “Exactly."

Space Station Grub

I thought it was about time y'all got to read what I've been working on.  Here's a snippet of the up-coming sequel to Dremiks.  Hope you enjoy; feedback is appreciated.

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“This is the canteen.”  John opened a very human looking door and stepped over the slight rise of the frame.

Lilly took in the dark paneled walls, the dim lighting, close packed chairs, and general cozy feel of the place.  “Looks more like a pub to me.”

He seemed to consider this while leading her to the bar.  “I suppose that’s a better definition. I’m still getting used to eating in a room not called a “mess”, though.” He nodded to the attractive human woman behind the bar. “Evenin’ Callie.  Bowl of Texas Red and a stout, please.  Oh, and, whatever Agent Diaz here wants.  Throw it all on my tab until we get her a line of credit, k?”

Callie had dark auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail, without bangs.  Her hazel eyes were framed with crow’s feet to match the laugh lines around her full lips.  She flicked a glance over Lilly while she filled John’s beer from the tap. In a voice hinting of Eastern European roots, she said, “What’ll it be?  I’ve got a bit of that pumpkin bisque left, some fried chicken, borscht, and chili.  Hold one.”  She turned her head and yelled, at an impressive volume, “Georg!  That bread out yet?”

If Georg answered, Lilly couldn’t hear him.  Callie ladled chili into a bowl and pushed it toward John.  “So, no bread yet.  About anything you want for drink, 'cept I’m critically low on bourbon.”  This seemed to be a point of contention between her and John, since she shot him a nasty look.  He shrugged while juggling his beer and bowl. 

“I’ll be over there when you’ve got your grub.”  He jerked his head in the direction of a back corner.

Lilly wanted to ask how a pub on a space station—an alien space station—could make pumpkin bisque and fresh bread, but Callie appeared to be short on patience.  “Uh, the bisque and a coffee please.”

SFF Saturday 9/28/2012

I've been absent from Science-fiction/Fantasy Saturday for far too long.  I wish I could claim that my absence was due to frantic typing of a nearly finished manuscript.  Alas, I've had little time for writing.

Don't forget that, even when I'm not around for these wonderful Saturday samples, there are many other great authors sharing their work.  Please be sure to read, comment, and buy their books!

This week's snippet is once again a sample from "Lilly's Story" (very poor working title). Regular readers (possessing of astounding memories) will recall that Lilly Diaz has traveled from Earth to Rhiadan Sanctuary Station via a Dremikian ship.  It was a miserable journey, and she's quite happy to have reached the station.  Well, she was....

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"Damn it, Dwax, I've told you not to let humans rush through these locks!  How many times have I told you?"

"But Honored--"

"Shut it!  If you weren't going to relay the safety information, what the hell was the point in having you great her?  You were supposed to be saving me time!  Instead, I have to rush down here, leaving the Kigvans waiting, and--ah, hello there ma'am."

Lilly blinked up at the human male leaning over her.  Disoriented was too mild a term to describe how she felt.  It took her another minute before she remembered passing out at the feet of Ambassador Dwax.

Character Wars

I very much want to finish the first draft of Lilly's story before the end of August.  My kids go back to school on the 22nd and Guild Wars 2 starts on the 25th, so I'll be super busy and distracted after that day.  I'm having difficulty focusing, however, because a certain long suffering Roman and a mysterious female Briton keep invading my thoughts.  While they are an entertaining pair, they do NOT belong on a futuristic far-flung space station.

Pesky characters....

SFF Saturday 7-28-2012

Please don't forget that many of the folks participating in Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday have books in print.  If you read their snippets and enjoy their work, go buy a book!

My offering this week comes from "Lilly's story" (I so need to think of a title) and immediately follows this previous snippet.

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“Shit!”  She screamed the expletive involuntarily.  The small screens showing the energy signatures and visible light pictures from outside the hull had depixelated once the Dremikian craft popped out of the jump conduit—and promptly filled with the intimidating mass of a very large ship.  “What the hell is that thing?”

“Human female, state your name and the purpose for your travels,” droned a decidedly non-human voice from the communications relay.

“Uh, Federal....er...Lilly Diaz. I’m the new security chief for Rhiadan Sanctuary.”

“You affirm that you are a passenger aboard this vessel of your own free will and are under no duress or encumbrance?”

      Well that’s kind of a loaded question; what are these things, the inter-galactic lawyers? She blinked as the realization came to her that she was, in fact, speaking to the only force of law in this part of the Universe.  Just great--big, scary, Kigvans in big, scary, ships.

SFF Saturday 7-14-2012

For SFF Saturday this week I've posted a snippet from my work-in-progress, Lilly's story.  Be sure to read all the great entries from other authors at : http://scififansat.blogspot.com/2012/07/sffs-14072012.html

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Painfully pitched squeals from a sensor board jerked Lilly from her thoughts. Her Dremikian pilots began chirping and twittering to each other so rapidly that Lilly lost track of their conversation.  The first two times this had happened she’d nearly soiled her pants.  This time, she just rolled her eyes and tried to block out the obnoxious alarms.

Worst pilots ever.  Lilly had been on precisely two space flights before this trip, and neither of those had included a jump, but she felt confident in her assessment.  The two aliens were alarmists who were constantly surprised by such mundane things as the end of a pre-determined jump conduit.

Coming this Christmas: Lilly's story

She never wanted to be out here, in the void and blackness, one of the few, the "alien". She hates her job and every aspect of her life. All she wants is her good name back...

Lilly Diaz is a former Federal Intelligence Officer and recent inmate of the Europa Prison Dome. She's been sent to far reaches of the universe in a last ditch effort to ferret-out human sedition and, if she's lucky, prove her innocence.

You can read a few snippets from the first draft of Lilly's story (a currently untitled, novella-length, sequel to "Dremiks") here and here.