Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday

Read snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.com

Snippet from The Girls From Alcyone II: The Gilded Age

Time to WiPit. Today I'd like to introduce Kitten Kane (after gobbling up two series of 50's pulp-romance novels, I came to the distinct conclusion, I needed a character named 'Kitten'). Kitten is an operative for CTF Intelligence, charged with the mission of hunting down and eliminating Hitomi and her girls.

   She bent and picked up her undergarments, skirt and blouse from the side of the bed, gathering them up in a bundle, pausing to look one last time at the man slumbering next to her.
   Cameron had been a pleasant surprise; not nearly so prim and reserved in the bedroom as he had been in the boardroom—thank goodness. He'd actually turned out to be quite masterful. Still, it didn't excuse her behavior; quite unprofessional. Her superiors would not approve, and for good reason.
   Her name was Kimberly Kane, but no one called her Kim or Kimberly. Not for years. Somehow, somewhere—sometime—she had become Kitten. The ridiculous nickname still made her pause and shake her head; given to her in her freshman year at the Academy, the name had stuck, despite a plethora of  protests and objections.
   She had learned to live with Kitten—Kit in a pinch—as long as it wasn't Kitty. The last person to call her Kitty had discovered that this kitten had claws.

Science-Fiction Fantasy Saturday

Read snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.com

Snippet from The Girls From Alcyone II: The Gilded Age

This is from the very beginning of my WiPpy new book, and takes place directly after the end of Book One. As the story begins, Christian has accompanied a group of girls to Earth where they are hunting down the architects of the attacks on Alcyone who have managed to escape from Scorpii (sorry - bit of a spoiler, but what can you do!).

Christian turned his attention back to the alley, peering through the damp, early morning gloom. He nearly jumped out of his skin as the girl practically materialized at his side, standing silent and stoic. 

"Dear God, do you girls have to do that!" 

Her name was Lei-Fei. She couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen-years-old. She stood next to him now, one foot on the crumbling curb of the sidewalk, the other deep in a puddle. If the pelting rain bothered her, it didn't show; water streamed freely down the wet curves of her jet-black uniform. Wet as it was, the thin fabric clung to her so snuggly it seemed little more than a second skin. Her dark, shoulder-length hair was drenched and plastered to her neck and face. 
     Even soaking wet, Christian might have thought her beautiful, but the truth was, this girl scared the pants off him.

Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday

Read snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.com

Snippet from The Girls From Alcyone

Well, I reallllly wanted to post a snip from the knew book, but it's just so darned WiPpy and I'm feeling like a weenie, so you'll have to endure another week with a snippet from book one. 

I'm also really hungry at the moment, so I thought this snippet might be appropriate. Here, the Lady Hitomi Kimura takes the girls to her favourite eatery (in a bad part of town).

"Here!" Hitomi exclaimed, leading the girls into a crowded little shack, glowing with the warm lights from paper lanterns. The air was thick with steam and the wonderful smells of broth and cooking vegetables. "Phong! My good man, you look positively ghastly."

Old Phong ran out from behind his counter to greet Hitomi. Sigrid thought he did look ghastly, what with his scruffy hair, spotted withered hands and awesomely blackened teeth. But his face lit up at the sight of Hitomi and the girls. Cooing and chattering, he ushered them into his establishment and seated them in pride of place by his counter.

Sigrid looked around the little soup kitchen; the place wasn't without its charm, as long as she didn't examine the layers of grease and dirt on the floors and walls too closely.

Hitomi seemed to love it though, especially when the three of them were presented with steaming bowls of delicious-smelling soup. Sigrid marveled at the presentation; the vegetables and meat were cut and layered with such precision and care.

Science Fiction Fantasy Saturdays

Read snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.com

Snippet from The Girls From Alcyone

In this snippet, Sigrid has narrowly escaped from a rather violent encounter with a new enemy (and an old friend) at the tower offices for the Council of Trade and Finance on Earth. This 'flight from danger' begins my favourite part of the book.

Sigrid was grateful for Hitomi's planning as she hurried to the Starling waiting for her on the roof. Shrouded in camouflage, it sat still and quiet, looking black as the night around them. The skin of the heavily-modified craft glimmered faintly under the torrential downpour. Had it not been for the rain washing over it, Sigrid might not have seen it at all.

She'd barely put her foot on the mounting step when the pilot gunned the thrusters, sending the craft rocketing up toward the spilling clouds overhead. Sigrid stood on the rail, one hand gripping the open doorframe above her as she stared down at the diminishing city of Buenos Aires, with its bright, colored lights blurred and muted, dimmed by a thick layer of fog and a swirling of low-lying clouds.

2012: Here We Go!

It’s been just over a month since the publication of The Girls From Alcyone, and I couldn’t be happier. Sales are continuing to exceed my expectations. We hit #15 on iTunes Best Seller list for Science Fiction & Fantasy in Canada, and sales on Amazon keep getting stronger. Plus, your responses have been wonderful!

I’m finally able to extract myself from that project and shift my attention where it needs to be: on TGfA II. I’m tentatively calling it The Gilded Age, but expect that to change. I never seem to get titles right until I’m deep into the book.

I can’t wait to share with you what’s coming. But, of course, I can’t say a thing, and I won’t. Expect details to start trickling out near the end of January.

What I can say is, this is just the beginning. Stay tuned!