Aurora Springer's Novels: epic

Showing posts with label epic. Show all posts

Friday, June 26, 2015

Snippet for #SFFSat from Grand Master's Game #4

Welcome to another Saturday of Science Fiction & Fantasy snippets exchanged by writers. http://scififansat.blogspot.com/

My contribution this week comes from my WIP, Book 2 in the Grand Master’s Trilogy, the Grand Master’s Game.

An emergency outage of the portals on Moon Station was announced with hundreds of people reported to be dead. Athanor has ported Violet and three others to Moon Station to investigate and fix the portals.

Excerpt:

They popped into the station by the row of portal cylinders in the central ring of Moon Station. The place was eerily silent and empty of travelers. No sign of the usual bustle of people entering and exiting the portals. No lights or buzz of machinery came from the inner hub, which housed the air handler and climate controller for the station. The sensors on Violet’s suit indicated the air was breathable. Looking up, she saw the sunlight filtered through the transparent dome. The dome was intact over the segment where they stood.

“Hades, we’re stuck here!” Athanor swore in a flare of rage. To Violet’s astonishment, his eyes were dull and his disguised face had reverted to the grim hawkish features. “I’ve lost power!” His explanation was unnecessary.

Closing her eyes, Violet assessed her senses. Nothing! She gasped, “So have I.”

Athanor said, “We are fortunate the atmosphere was retained in this section.”

Wait for next week! It gets worse.

The ebook is available for pre-order at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0104OFJJ8

Please return to SFFSat and read the other snippets.

Your comments are welcome.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Snippet for SFFSat from Grand Master's Pawn

Welcome to another Saturday of Science Fiction & Fantasy snippets exchanged by writers.

My contribution this week is from my new release Grand Master’s Pawn.

On her fourth mission to an uncharted planet, Violet and Taranis, the companion promised by her Grand Master, meet several challenges.

Snippet
They had not escaped. Clicks and angry hisses signaled the approach of their pursuers. Looking back, Violet saw the eight-legged beasts racing toward them. Their scythe-like mandibles clicked in threat. Horrified by the blast of their enmity, she backed against the cliff and cried, “Give me the laser!”

Taranis said calmly, “No, there are too many of them. Your laser will be useless.”

“What else can we do?” She shook her head, wondering why he didn’t use his psi powers in their defense.

He gestured at the cliff. “We’ll climb the mountain.”

Violet glanced up and gasped in dismay. The smooth rock face rose vertically to a narrow shelf and continued steeply towards the top. The nearest ledge was more than twice her height above the ground. “How can we climb here? I can’t reach the ledge.”

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TP1N5PM

Soon, I plan to reveal snippets from Book 2, Grand Master's Game.

Please return to SFFSat and read the other snippets.

Your comments are welcome.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

SFR Brigade Showcase – The Chess Motif in Grand Master’s Pawn

Welcome to the March Showcase

At the start of my Blog Tour, I will describe the chess analogy for my new release, Grand Master's Pawn. The key themes in this story are: perseverance, the search for truth, and the power of kindness.

This novel channels Lewis Carroll with humor and weird characters. The Pawn, Violet, is “Alice Through the Looking Glass.” She ports to different planets on missions for her Grand Master. Initially naïve, she gains power and allies until she confronts the Grand Master(s).

There are four missions. In the chess analogy, the first move takes the pawn to the fourth square on the board. Each mission is a chess move, so the fourth mission takes Violet to the seventh square. She experiences a transforming experience, although her true promotion to queen will occur in Book 3 of the trilogy.

The story acquired the White Mother and the Red Queen, almost by accident. But, the chess analog breaks down, as in “Looking Glass.” There are twelve Grand Masters, not eight for the chess pieces. I wanted a good mix of humans, male and female, and alien Grand Masters. Eight was not enough to eliminate some in each book, and leave some at the end.

The main characters have secrets. Violet has hidden her psi talent for half her life. Her Grand Master is represented by the griffin avatar with blue eyes and a Darth Vader voice. Does he have a man’s body, or is he an alien or artificial intelligence? Violet doesn’t know. She doesn’t believe him when he says it is impossible for them to meet.

Excerpt

He growled, “Why did you block off my vision several times?”

“Grand Master, the dragon lord Ythris wished to talk in private,” Violet replied calmly. She had anticipated his question and used the dragon’s clever suggestion.

His gruff voice grew sinister, “You are unwise to thwart me, Violet Hunter. How did you block me? Why in thunder can’t you tell me the truth?” The griffin’s eyes flashed electric blue, blinding her.

Violet covered her eyes with her hands and shielded strongly. After a few minutes, she grew curious and peeped through her fingers. The blue fire had dimmed in the uncanny stone eyes. She lowered her shield very gradually, alert for another attack.

No assault came until she shut off her shield, and then he played a new tactic. Impelled by psi force, Violet shot into the air, shrieking as she flew towards the ceiling. Her rapid ascent halted just before she hit the ceiling. She slammed on her physical shield and hung in midair, rotating slowly under his power. He was playing with her!

She yelled, “Stop it! Put me down, or else I’ll never tell you the secret of the dragons.”

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TP1N5PM

Please comment and return to read the other contributions at SFR Brigade Showcase.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

March Blog Tour - Violet Through the Portals

Blog Tour Sites - Grand Master's Pawn

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TP1N5PM

Visit these sites for a variety of titbits about this book, including excerpts, author interviews, and character interviews. Thanks to my generous hosts.