Welcome To GreenGrass by S.A. Check

Coming this December, S.A. Check's science fiction/fantasy adventure novel Welcome to GreenGrass, published by Bedlam Press. It is available for pre-order right HERE.

A red cloaked intruder infiltrates an office penthouse, leaving a prominent city leader dead, murdered by his own hand.

Across town, a man tumbles through a glowing portal and is attacked by bestial street predators. He’s rescued by a shotgun wielding fellow terran, John Traveller, five year veteran of those harsh alien streets.

Welcome to GreenGrass, a realm where people facing near death experiences are inexplicably drawn to live out their remaining days imprisoned under an impenetrable glass dome. The city’s two main factions, the Enchanters and Technologists, live under the auspices of magic and advanced science and stand at the brink of a cultural civil war.

Traveller heads an impromptu investigative agency with his housemates, Talyn - a red skinned religious pacifist, Bonz – an usurped demi-god who thrives on battle, and Sil - a green skinned female believing the male gender subservient to her own.

Diandelia, the city’s premier enchanter, convinces the group to investigate the recent murder by using a criminal from Traveller’s past, Mikey Nickles, who claims knowledge of the fate of Traveller’s family on Earth.

Venturing out in search of the red cloaked suspect, Traveller and friends haggle with a giant toad huckster, discover a hidden virtual reality resort, expose a vampiric acting troupe, and court an ill tempered elderly goat woman, in their search for answers.


Sounds intriguing, right? But wait, there's more. S.A., was kind enough to let me share the first few paragraphs of Chapter One. Check it out!

There have always been alleys. Whether in a big city, a small town, or the end of the world, the spaces in between, the dark corners of civilization, have always needed a place to breathe. The Mayans had Tikal, Rome raised the bar, and the Big Apple grew into a city that never slept. Too many eyes made secrets difficult to hide. Worlds need those pockets, the urban closets that hide the skeletons of a modern society. Just as sure as the sun rises, even if it’s not the one you’re expecting, there are places that never see the light of day.

Resting against the fire escape grating, John Traveller knew as well as any that even the cast-outs and misfits needed a place to call home. For two nights straight, he watched the same alley from his metal perch and all he had to show was a sore back and numb fingers. The dual red moons overhead stared back at him, a constant reminder this world was not his own. Not that he needed any.

“Another thunderin’ dead end.” Traveller tossed a stone at a garbage can. The clang echoed down the alley. “I guess you can’t surprise anyone if there’s no one here.”

He laid a single barrel shotgun on the grating beside him and pulled a small notebook from his back pocket. The calculations seemed right. Traveller looked over all his data at least ten times. It looked like he missed his mark on this one. He couldn’t wait any longer. They would all be expecting him back at the house. He made it up to one knee when something caught his eye near the ground.

A blue pinhole of light hovered over the quiet cobble stoned street, floating in the evening air, unaware it hadn’t existed moments before. Traveller felt the air in the alley pull towards the floating glow. The tails of his trench coat bustled in the artificial breeze. And then everything stopped, like the moment before someone unleashed a sneeze.

The radiance rushed out into the night, erupting from its center and blowing discarded trash down the passage. A pair of tennis shoes emerged inside the pulsing glow. They hovered in the brisk night air before a figure gushed out of the portal, flowing through like a water slide without the benefit of a pool underneath. The confused rider struck the ground hard, tumbling end over end until skidding to a stop on his stomach. The body remained motionless.

Traveller chuckled. That may have been one of the top five most unglamorous entrances he ever witnessed. The naked guy from a couple months back would still be hard to beat. From his shadowed vantage, Traveller watched the bewildered figure scrambling along the ground. His red jogging pants and t-shirt that read Start Slow Then Back It Down was covered in whatever muck accumulated on alley floors. The man clung to his elbow that took the brunt of the initial impact and blood seeped out between his fingers. 

There you have it folks. Sounds exciting, and for sure, this'll be in my To Be Read pile up.

For more on S.A. Check, check him out here: http://sacheck.blogspot.com/