T.K. Toppin: June 2013

Friday, 28 June 2013

SFFSat - June 29

Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday (SFFSat) is a place where a bunch of us post snippets from our written works and also shoot the breeze a little. And before I get ahead of myself, thanks and appreciation as always to those who stop by and leave fantastic comments.

Still torturing you my pantsing rambles...and still untitled.
A little preamble for those who don't know: Two characters on an old 'ship' (undecided if to make it a space ship or a ship-ship) that looked like it originated from the 1960s. One sees a 'dinosaur', almost poops his pants, then both characters make a run for it...
You can catch the previous ones:
Part 1: here.
Part 2: here.

And now for this week...they've just dived for cover, trying to hide from the hideous creature.

As we came to a stop, under a console, I heard the first thundering sound of something heavy and solid stomping the metal grate floor. The vibrations ricocheted around my innards and made me bounce off the floor to its rhythm. A small squeak escaped from me. I looked up from my prone position.

Dinosaur!

Lots of blood drained from my head and limbs, and my muscle mass melted. I might as well have turned to not-quite-set jelly.

“Ohh…” was all I managed to croak.

If you are interested in participating in next weeks SFFSat, just click HERE, and follow the rules. Sign up is open every Wednesday - and if you're on Twitter, use the #SFFSat hashtag.

Cheers!

Wednesday, 26 June 2013

Cover Reveal - GREENSHIFT

To celebrate the cover reveal for Greenshift, the e-book will be temporarily 99 cents at Amazon!

A tale set within the world of Ambasadora.
Mari's rare eye color makes her a pariah within Upper Caste society, which is why she prefers plants to people...except David, the former Armadan captain who shuttles scientists around on a refurbished pleasure cruiser.
But someone else is interested in Mari and her distinctive look--an obsessed psychopath who tortures and murders women for pleasure.
When the killer chooses Mari as his next victim, the soldier inside David comes alive, but it is Mari who must fight for her own life and prove she isn't as fragile as the flowers she nurtures.
Greenshift by Heidi Ruby Miller
Cover Art by Bradley Sharp
Foreword by Dana Marton
Space Opera/Science Fiction Romance paperback coming from Dog Star Books in August 2013

Thursday, 20 June 2013

SFR Brigade 2nd Midsummer Blog Hop - "Out Of This World"

Welcome to the 2nd Annual SFR Brigade Midsummer Blog Hop. This is my first time participating and the theme this year is Out Of This World.

To celebrate, I will be gifting an EBook copy of The Lancaster Rule from Amazon Kindle (US). Please leave your email address in the comments section for your chance to win. You'll then need to sign into the Rafflecopter at the end to say you've commented to be entered for the Grand Prizes. See the details on the that at the end of the post. Good luck and have fun hopping along!

I thought I'd share with you a little bit about world building. For The Lancaster Trilogy, I tried to keep it very realistic. It's set 300 years into Earth's future and in getting there, we've had a few global wars and economic crashes. Catastrophic events hinder the march of progress, and this is what I used to keep things more or less believable. So, no transporters like Star Trek and hyperspeed space jumps are still being tinkered with.

In the Lancaster world, the setting/architecture and culture remain pretty much the same with -- of course -- lots of new cool advanced looks and changes. Basing things on past events and history, 300 hundred years, while it may sound like a long time, isn't really that long when it comes to Earth's history. A lot of things still remain the same (with some changes to speech, culture, trends, technology, medicine, etc). But we've basically only made huge leaps and bounds within the last 80 years or so. Using this as a basis, jump 300 years forward, throw in a couple of world-crushing wars and events, progress after rebuilding takes a little time. That being said, the beauty of writing science fiction is that you can make up some cool stuff -- like gadgets and weapons and amazing scientific discoveries.

In The Lancaster Trilogy, you'll find the world is ruled by one man. The capital city of the world is called the Citadel, nestled in the Swiss Alps. The citadel is a monstrosity of a place, shrouded in the mountains, dripping with high-tech security and surveillance. The weapons on the Lancaster world range from cool stuff like krima sticks, pulse guns and snare guns 3's. You'll also find incredible flying cars, mega shuttles, space crafts and space stations.

At the heart of it all, the human race while they may advance, remain pretty much the same at their core. I used this as a basis for the tale and tried to bring out the character's story, using my protagonist, Josie, to be the catalyst that brings everything out and together. A fish out of water, a 300 year old relic who entered a stasis pod and wakes up to a changed future. What a story!

The Grand Prize for the 2nd Annual SFR Midsummer Blog Hop are:
1st Prize - $150 Amazon or B&N Gift Card (winner's choice) and an ebook bundle.
(currently Ghost in the Machine, Bayne, Recast Book 1: Wither, Recast Book 2: Clash, Alien Adoration, Switched, Reckless Rescue, Wreck of the Nebula Dream, Keir, Terms & Conditions Apply, The Key, Marya, The Iron Admiral, Sasha's Calling, Trouble at the Hotel Baba Ghanoush, Winter in Paradise, Once Upon a Time in Space, The Telomere Trilogy, Winter Fusion, Blue Nebula, Demential, Wytchfire, Maven, Fires of Justice, Interface, Girl Under Glass, Breakout, Stark Pleasure, The Plan, and Starburst. Bonus books - Ghost Planet, The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy and Deception, and Games of Command).

2nd Prize - $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card (winner's choice).

3rd Prize - three $25 Amazon or B&N Gift Cards (given to separate winners and their choice).

And don't forget, you MUST leave a comment with your email address AND sign into the Rafflecopter to win the prizes.
To win the Kindle copy for The Lancaster Rule simply leave a comment and I'll select a random winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Remember, to increase your chances, hop along to the other blogs listed below.
Good luck!

Cheers!

Monday, 17 June 2013

New Release Book Tour: ARISTEIA - Tree Of Liberty (Book 3)

Zeric Dustlighter has been a soldier his entire adult life. Give him a gun, and tell him who to shoot, and he’ll get the job done. He always knew he was never cut out to be in command.

But now, cut off and trapped behind enemy lines, Zeric faces his worst nightmare; the fate of thousands of lives and possibly the en- tire Union, rest with his decisions.

-----

June 15 saw the release of ARISTEIA - Tree of Liberty by Wayne Basta.

Wayne is also hosting a contest over at his website and giving away some 'free stuff.' Click HERE to check out what they are!

“Tree of Liberty is a thoroughly enjoyable finish to this sweeping, epic trilogy. It’s got everything we’ve come to expect from Basta: triumph over adversity, personal sacrifice, emotional connections and thrilling action. Another great space adventure!”
— Jason Kristopher, author of The Dying of the Light: Interval

Excerpt
The explosion shattered the window above Zeric’s head. Oops, he thought. That hadn’t been intended. In the distance, he could just make out the light from the fire started by the explosion.
“Looks like Gu’od made his delivery,” Zeric commented to the Terran boy beside him.
Kumus Stryker smiled, “You said he wouldn’t disappoint, General.”
The reverence with which Kumus said his title still made Zeric uncomfortable. Despite having been a general for
more than two months, and most of that time in command of the stranded Union Army on Sulas, he still hated it. To be fair, Kumus had acted the same way when the boy had been his aid back on Enro.

About the Author:

Wayne currently lives in Houston with his wife, son and their dog. He remains a fan of geek culture, board games, video games, fantasy, science fiction and all around silliness.

Where to find Wayne:

Email: wayne@waynebasta.com
Facebook: facebook.com/WayneBastaAuthor
Twitter: @WayneBasta
Website: www.waynebasta.com

Friday, 14 June 2013

SFFSat - June 15

Continuing with my ad-hoc, wild pantsing snippet with no title...we had our two main characters (and the dinosaur) opening the scene and poor Mason looking like he pooped his pants. You can catch that here.

Next, we have what happens after...

That chilly thing that walks down your spine, ran down mine. I swallowed, not particularly wanting to turn around, and in fact, I wanted to play the typical damsel in distress by simply screaming for no reason. Instead, I found some mild comfort in staring at Mason, who conveyed all my sudden fears.

A low growl and waft of hot air brushing up my back was motivation enough for both of us to squawk. Instinct kicked in, and without looking back, I lunged forward, grabbed Mason and propelled us both as far away from whatever creature that just blew me a kiss.

We rolled across the dusty floor, Mason rigid in my arms. It didn’t help, considering he was nearly twice my weight and carried most of our expedition gear. I cursed him. I cursed whatever breathed on us. Loudly.

If you are interested in participating in next weeks SFFSat, just click HERE, and follow the rules. Sign up is open every Wednesday - and if you're on Twitter, use the #SFFSat hashtag.

Cheers!

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

New Release: ALONE IN THE CROWD Blog Tour

ALONE IN THE CROWD - Coming June 15 on Amazon.

Patrick Stutzman's sequel to the Anna Foster Chronicles is nearly here! Having followed Anna's story since the beginning, I look forward to this with much anticipation. If you are not familiar with Anna, it's best to start from the beginning, with ALONE ON THE EDGE, followed by ALONE IN PARADISE.

Alone No More?

Earth has finally sent a colony to the moon where Anna has been stranded, bringing with it hope of rescue. Although some are not quick to trust her, others welcome her with open arms, and she finds an unlikely friendship in a young colonist named Jason.

As Anna teaches the settlers to survive, the looming threat of the aliens' return casts a dark, foreboding shadow over the colony. Can she earn the colonists' trust and prepare them in time for first contact?

Visit the author’s website at The Worlds of Patrick Stutzman

See what other works are available from the author at Amazon’s Patrick Stutzman page

Visit the cover artist’s website at Tomomi Ink

Friday, 7 June 2013

SFFSat - June 08

So, straying away from my current WIP, the ever-dastardly and determined to confuse me, Bengaria's War, I had this inane thought bubble that popped in my head. Things like this have been happening to me quite recently, including having some weird dreams to help spur things along. Anyways, this thought/first two dialogue lines about 'dinosaur' just popped into and the rest just sort of came. I've never been one to write panster-style, so, basically, this is like giving a speech ad-hoc style, or storytelling around a campfire. Bear with me...I'm new to this.

This is an untitled snippet, and something I may just write as I go along, strictly for SFFSat. What do you say? This sounds like a plan. Let the pansting (is that a word?) begin! For now, let's call this a SF-ish, Twilight Zone-ish, X-File-ish something or the other...

This is the very first opening scene...

“Dinosaur.”

“You got that right. This tech is pretty ancient.”

A general calculation pegged the control room on the bridge to be circa 1960s, complete with round screens and dials and protruding knobs like toothpaste caps and sharp-edged consoles, even an old-fashioned landline telephone in a horrible peachy color was mounted at one end.

“No, I mean really. Dinosaur.”

I looked over at Mason. Judging from his expression, I knew immediately he didn’t mean the outdated navigational equipment on the derelict vessel. He stared at a point behind me and looked like he’d just pooped his pants, in the worst way possible. He even stood funny.

If you are interested in participating in next weeks SFFSat, just click HERE, and follow the rules. Sign up is open every Wednesday - and if you're on Twitter, use the #SFFSat hashtag.

Cheers!

Tuesday, 4 June 2013

Cover Reveal - The Revelations of Preston Black by Jason Jack Miller

THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK BY JASON JACK MILLER

Coming June 2013 from Raw Dog Screaming Press

Cover Art by Brad Vetter

Preston and Katy face a new darkness....

Sometimes a battle between good and evil doesn't look much like the ones they show in movies. The good guys don't always wear white, and they don’t always walk away with the win.

And sometimes you're better off with the devil you know.

The last time Preston went down to the crossroads, his best friend died and he nearly lost his brother. But Old Scratch doesn't take kindly to fools, especially not those who come knocking at his front door. And before all is said and done, he's going to teach Preston a thing or two about what it really means to sacrifice.