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Friday, February 24, 2017

State of Allegiance by Summer Lane blitz


State of Allegiance
Summer Lane
(Collapse #9)
Publication date: February 24th 2017
Genres: Dystopian, New Adult
Be brave. Be vigilant. But above all, be loyal.
In the wake of a dangerous but successful mission to Yukon City in Alaska, Cassidy Hart now finds herself back in California, at the naval air station in San Diego. Together, she and Chris now face their most terrifying threat yet: nuclear destruction.
Surviving in a world gone nuclear is easier said than done. Faced with the prospect of being wiped off the face of the earth by Omega’s nuclear arsenal, Cassidy, Chris and their fellow rebel friends stage an incredible, daring journey into the Pacific Rim with the hope that they will be able to seize a weapon that could turn the tide of the war in the militia’s favor.
The clock of the apocalypse is counting down.

Choices must be made. Relationships will be strained. True love will be put to the ultimate test.

It’s militias versus Omega. Hope versus destruction.
Where does your allegiance lie?
Choose carefully.


Interview with Author Summer Lane

How does it feel to publish the 9th installment of the Collapse Series – and your 16th overall?

It feels unreal! When I was a kid, I always pictured myself as an author, sharing my stories with readers, but I admit I didn’t really think that would materialize until I was much older than I am right now. I’ve been really blessed – and I’ve worked really hard!
What’s a typical day in your life like?

I do manage a business, so while I do a lot more than simply write manuscripts, writing certainly is the base of everything that I engage in. I just got a German Shepherd puppy named Kona, and she gets me up early in the morning (earlier than usual, haha!), and I’ll start work then. If I have a good day, I’ll be done with work around 2:30 or 3. If it’s a long day, I’ll be working until 6.
What is State of Hope going to be like – and is it the last book in the series?

State of Hope is going to be long, intense and flushed with adrenaline. There are so many secrets to be revealed, so many character plots to be tied up neatly, and most importantly: Cassidy’s conclusion in this apocalyptic war. While Hope is indeed the final installment in the Collapse Series, it is not the last book in the Collapse universe. I certainly do have some plans for Cassidy in the future – they may not be as huge as Collapse, but trust me: I have plans.
How do you stay motivated and healthy in your career as a writer?

I stay motivated by keeping my eye on the prize: I remove negativity from my life, because nobody needs that. I try to surround myself with people who really care about me and support what I do. Staying healthy, for me, at least, is actually really difficult. My profession requires a lot of sitting, so I have to make an extra effort to get up, walk and move. It’s also tempting to snack on junk food working in an office (am I right?). I try hard to indulge only with healthy snacks: I have celery sticks and apples in the fridge, I like cheese, and any gluten-free cracker in combination. I also just discovered baked parmesan crisps. Oh, my heart!
Advice to aspiring authors?

Don’t let anybody bring you down. Never take no as a final answer. Work hard, and it will pay off, one way or another.


Author Bio:
Summer Lane is the #1 bestselling author of the Collapse Series, Zero Trilogy, Bravo Saga, Collapse: The Illustrated Guide and the adventure thriller, Unbreakable SEAL.
Summer owns WB Publishing. She is an accomplished journalist and creative writing teacher. She also owns an online magazine, Writing Belle, where she has interviewed and worked with countless authors from around the globe.
Summer lives in the Central Valley of California with her husband, where she enjoys reading, collecting tea, visiting the beach and the mountains, and counting down the days until she has her very own puppy (if you’ve read Bravo: Apocalypse Mission, you’ll understand).

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Cover Reveal: Behind the Lens by Cassandra Giovanni

Today is the cover reveal for Behind the Lens by Cassandra Giovanni. The cover is designed by Gio Design Studios. This cover reveal is organized by Lola's Blog Tours.



Behind the LensBehind the Lens (Boys of Fallout #2)

By Cassandra Giovanni

Genre: Coming of Age

Age category: Young Adult/ New Adult

Release Date: 14 March, 2017



Blurb:

Natalie Scott's life is simple with no strings attached. As a band photographer, she's made metal music her life, and life on tour means no relationships.



At least not ones that last and that's the way she likes it.



She only has one rule.



Don't date or otherwise screw around with the client.



But she never said anything about love.



Brent Andrews knows Natalie's rules.



And he's about to make sure he's an exception to them.



All of them.



Even ones she didn't know she had.




You can find Behind the Lens on Goodreads



You can pre-order Behind the Lens on Amazon.



Excerpt:

I scrunch my nose up as I look at the door hanging open for us. "It's going to be a love fest in there, isn't it?"

Brent scratches his chin. "Honestly, every time the girls have shown up, I've had a girlfriend--so I've never really paid much attention."

I swallow, looking down at my shoes before looking over at him. "Was it a love fest for you?"

He blinks at me a few times, his lips in a stern line. "We don't just start fucking all over the bus."

I throw my hands up. "Hey, I know how it is. You haven't gotten laid in a few months and you get to see your significant other--"

"Is that all you think we think about?" he asks, a slight smirk on his face. "Or is that all you think about?"

My face burns red, and I shake my head. "No--not at all."

"Brent?" a woman's voice calls at our backs.

"Tay!" Brent replies as he turns, pulling her into a hug. "It's good to see you!"

Tay smiles as she pulls away from him. "I forgot how lovely you guys smell right after you get off stage."

I watch as Brent's face turns red, and he puts his hands in his pockets as he rocks on his heels. "Sorry, I haven't gotten a chance to shower."

She punches him in the shoulder. "Seriously, Brent? Believe me, Kie smells no better than you do. Speaking of which, where is he?"

Brent glances at me and then to the woman. She has long blonde hair curled into waves with ice blue eyes that are anything but cold. She smiles as she looks over at me, holding out her hand. "I'm sorry, this was rude of me--you must be Natalie, the photographer? I'm Taylor, Kie's girlfriend. Everyone calls me Tay."

I shake her hand. "You're the first one to actually introduce yourself to me. The other girls didn't even notice me at all."

She laughs, running a hand through her hair. "I'm sure if I saw Kie, I would've ignored you too!"

I nod over my shoulder. "Brent, go take a shower. I'll help Tay find wherever Kie ran off to."

Brent narrows his eyes at me, and I smile up at him. "You do smell."

He blinks at me. "And you smell any better?"

My eyes widen and he puts his hands up before backing slowly onto the tour bus.

"I'm sorry if I smell," I say as I look down at my damp tank top.

Taylor laughs. "You definitely don't smell like any of them do."

"Thanks," I reply. I nod towards the building. "I think he went somewhere inside the venue."

We fall into step with one another and she looks over at me with a slow smile. "So you...and Brent?"

My face burns and I feel a cold sweat building on my spine. I tell myself it's just the difference in temperature between the air-conditioned backstage and the heat of Arizona outside.

"No, not at all," I reply, and my voice cracks.

Because I'm thirsty. Who wouldn't be after the workout that is doing show photography?

She bites her lip. "Sorry, I didn't mean to assume--"

I put a hand up, laughing a bit too high pitched. "Believe me, I've gotten used to people assuming that."

"So do you?" she asks, biting her lip as she looks at me.

"Like him?" I finish her sentence.

She closes her eyes as we walk further into the venue and shakes her head. "You don't have to tell me. We don't know each other...It just seemed like you do."

An awkward silence falls over us, and I clear my throat. "Uh, I think I saw Kie go this way. All these places are so different -- crazy mazes."

I hear a muffled noise that sounds like Kie and head towards the door I think it's coming from. I open the door to peek my head in and blink as I stare at Kie with a half naked girl wrapped around him and his pants at his ankles. His eyes meet mine, going wide before I slam the door shut.

Taylor stands back behind me, and she swallows, staring at the closed door. "Anything?"

My hands go into fists as I try to control my facial expression. "Place has rats apparently."

Her eyes drop to the floor, and she nods. "Sometimes they do."

"Maybe he made it onto the bus by now?" I say, linking my arm in hers. Guilt washes over me as I try to act like I saw nothing.

Her body is stiff, and I can tell by the blank look in her eyes that she knows the way Kie is. "Sure, if not, I'm sure he'll make his way there eventually."

Silence falls over us as we make our way towards the bus. My chest tightens as I glance over at her, and I bite my lip before asking, "So it's that obvious?"

Taylor shakes her head, looking over at me and her friendly eyes have a dark hint to them as does her tone when she replies, "What?"

I feel the need to distract her from whatever is going on in her head.

"That I might be..." I suck my lips into my mouth before admitting, "A tiny bit attracted to Brent?"

Taylor bursts out laughing. "A tiny bit? And who says it's only obvious one way?"




Get book 1 in this series!

Out of Beat

Book one in this series Out of Beat is available now! You can buy a copy on Amazon




Cassandra GiovanniAbout the Author:

Cassandra doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character’s stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. Besides being a writer, Cassandra is a professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England their dogs, Bubski and Kanga.



For regular updates visit Cassandra’s website and sign up for her newsletter.



You can find and contact Cassandra here:

- Website

- Facebook

- Twitter

- Goodreads

- Instagram

- Newsletter



Giveaway

There is a cover reveal wide giveaway for the cover reveal of Behind the Lens. One winner will win a swag pack including bookmarks and postcards (US only). And an ebook copy of the both books in the series, Out of Beat and Behind the Lens by Cassandra Giovanni.



For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

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Promo Blitz for "My Clueless Broken Heart"

Title: My Clueless Broken Heart
Author: Jennifer DiGiovanni
Genre: YA Romance
Becca Thornton is clueless when it comes to love. Why else would she break up with Will Gamen, a boy at the top of the hottie short list for every other girl?
Because, if she’s being totally honest, Becca will admit the truth. Her heart belongs to someone else.

For as long as she can remember, Travis Brennen has been unavailable.

When Travis unexpectedly rolls back into town, Becca realizes for the first time that her feelings for him might be mutual. But Travis and Becca come from what he calls “different circumstances.”

Becca’s parents are world-famous scientists and Travis’s dad is the caretaker on the Thornton family’s estate. Still, Becca can’t change the way she feels about him, no matter how hard her parents try to keep them apart.

She’ll just need to find a way to prove to her parents that Travis isn’t the guy they’ve always assumed him to be. Becca’s earned the right to grow up, make her own choices, and fall in love, even if she ends up with a broken heart.

Get the book for free on Amazon today!

Author Bio

Jennifer DiGiovanni is a freelance writer and YA author of the School Dayz series. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, working on home design projects, or trying to meet the daily goals on her Fitbit. She also likes to try new sports and activities, from archery to ballroom dancing, with varying degrees of success.
Facebook: Facebook
Swoon Romance on Twitter: @SwoonRomance
Swoon Romance on Facebook


A War Like Ours by Saffron A Kent


A War Like Ours

by Saffron A Kent
Publication Date: February 24, 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play | Bookstrand | Wild Rose Press


 A liar…
Three weeks ago, James Maxwell’s wife died in a car accident, but he hasn’t been able to tell his five-year old daughter the heartbreaking truth behind her mother’s death. Instead, he packs them up and leaves for a summer resort in upstate New York to spend a few peaceful weeks and to gradually break the news. But a spirited and outspoken maid at the resort has figured out his secret.

A hater…

After witnessing her mother’s violent death at the hands of her stepfather, Madison Smith has turned aimless and bitter toward the world—men, in particular. Her dead-end job at the local resort and her convenient girlfriend barely keep Madison from falling apart. When she meets James, however, she’s driven to protect his child from the darkness she sees inside him.

A forbidden kiss…

But Madison doesn’t expect to find that very darkness irresistible. Drowning in guilt and memories, neither does James expect to be drawn to the sharp-witted woman who has made his life miserable. When their tempers flare, a brutal kiss triggers a need that blurs the lines of hate and desire. As their lust spins out of control, they must decide if their attraction is worth fighting for or if love is the real enemy.

Please Note: This book is intended for mature audience. 18+ ONLY.


About Saffron A. Kent

Romance Writer and Reader. Coffee Addict. White Russian Drinker. Imaginary Ballet Dancer. Wanna-be Poet. Lana Del Ray & Gillian Flynn Worshiper.

My stories are grey-shaded and NC-17. I write what I love to read. And what I love to read is always twisted and angsty and emotional. My characters desperately need therapy. They tend to kiss a lot too, among other naughty things.

I LOVE to chat with readers about reading and writing so come follow me!

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Newsletter

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Thursday, February 23, 2017

Hard Act by Glover Wright







Hard Act
Glover Wright

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Fiery Seas Publishing

Release Date: February 21, 2017

Book Description:

Only the CIA knows the truth, and all it would take for the president’s legacy to be tarnished forever is for one agent involved to turn rogue and reveal everything . . .

In 2011, American Seal Team Six killed Osama bin Laden in an ultra-secret CIA operation hailed as the outgoing US president’s crowning achievement. Pakistan's chief investigator into US Operation Neptune Spear concluded Bin Laden was betrayed by Al Qaeda itself, fooling the CIA and gaining the US president’s bounty on their ailing leader’s head: $25,000,000, which may have given birth to deadly ISIS.

Loner, Agent Ben Markstein, betrayed and primed for retribution by his obsession with the Pakistani beauty at the dark heart of HARD ACT, an unsanctioned covert black operation planned by former US Senator Wendell Strachan to save the president and regain the $25,000,000 held in a Liechtenstein bank account by Saudi Prince Faisal bin Sharif, CEO of a billion-dollar Islamic charity trust and secret terrorist money-launderer.

Markstein learns that Serena Lashari, the beautiful, clever, successful Geneva-based fund-manager is Prince Faisal’s lover and has the account codes. He acts ruthlessly, manipulating Wendell Strachan and the black operation to win Serena and the money for himself.

Against a background of political conspiracy and escalating violence across Europe, culminating in potential catastrophe at a nuclear-armed U.S.A.F air-base in England, Ben Markstein plays HARD ACT’s ruthless game to win – even at the cost of the lives of all who stand in his way.





 

About the Author:

Glover Wright has a background in entertainment. He was lead-guitarist in the 1960’s for American Rock Legends Jerry Lee Lewis and Gene Vincent on their British tours, recorded as Buddy Britten & the Regents, was with the Beatles in their early Hamburg days and, through his friendship with John Lennon, became composer and producer with The Beatles Apple Music. After the Beatles split, he signed with Mercury records USA, had success as Simon Raverne and toured widely entertaining US troops, an experience he remembers with  pride.

With writing in mind, he broke from music in the 1970’s and spent time with contract soldiers and British SAS units in Oman, resulting in his debut novel The Torch, which was accepted immediately by Putnam USA and published worldwide including many translations. During his extended period in the Middle East he met many figures later to shape world events, including Libya’s Moammar al-Gaddafi and in Beirut’s celebrity-haunt nightclub Le Cave de Roy was invited ­– after being recognized and asked to perform a song on stage – to join the table hosted by a wealthy young Saudi Arab named Osama Bin Laden.

Glover Wright has had eight novels published to date and lives now in Jersey, British Channel Islands. He still performs musically at charity fund-raisers for servicemen and women wounded in action and is proud to do so.

HARD ACT is his most hard-hitting and timely thriller to date. World best-selling writer Jack Higgins describes it as: “The most ingenious thriller I have read this year.”



Website    Facebook    Linkedin

Interview with Glover Wright 
  1. What is your favorite part of this book and why?
The denouement when all the pieces of the plot came together.

  1. If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day.
“C” The chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and have him take me right through MI6 HQ at Vauxhall, London; every inch of it, from bottom to top floor.

  1. If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?
The Book of Revelations … then I would be able to understand it!

  1. Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

All fictional and all from my own imagination – including their deeds!

  1. What made you want to become a writer?
It was born in me. The ability to create an alternative world – convincingly enough so that readers believe it exists if only for the brief period before they close the book and set it down – is a gift that can be so rewarding and in fact, therapeutic, when times get tough. There’s always that “other” world a writer can retreat to.

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Breath of Malice by Karen Fenech


Breath of Malice

by Karen Fenech
Publication Date: June 14, 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense

99¢ until 2/28: Amazon US | Amazon UK

FBI Special Agent Paige Carson hoped she’d be able to start a new life in small-town South Carolina. But when a senator’s sister is murdered and a blank postcard is left next to the body, Paige realizes that a killer from her past has found her–and is sending her a very personal message.

From the moment he hired her, FBI Special Agent in Charge Sam McKade knew Paige was hiding something. Prompted by this recent threat, she finally opens up: one year ago, she caught the eye of suspected serial killer Todd Thames. Now he’s come back to pull her into his game, whether she wants to play or not.

As the danger increases, Paige and Sam give in to their growing attraction, and he vows to protect her no matter the cost. But the murderer will stop at nothing to get to his intended prey, and the strong arm of the law–and the shelter of her new love–may not be enough to save her.

About Karen Fenech

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR KAREN FENECH writes romantic suspense novels, short works of suspense, and erotic romance. She is the author of the bestselling romantic suspense series, The Protectors and the author of the newly launched erotic romance series, the Surrender series. Karen’s novels and short suspense fiction have received critical acclaim. Her novels have been translated into several languages and have been released in audio format. When Karen’s not writing or spending time with her family, she loves to shop, watch movies, and just kick back in a comfortable chair and read.

You can keep in touch with Karen here:

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/KarenFenechsFriends
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/karenfenech
Website:  http://www.karenfenech.com

If you’d like to know when Karen Fenech’s next novel is released, sign up for her notification-only news at: www.karenfenech.com/books.html

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Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Virtual Book Tour for Mineran Influence by P N Burrows


Sci-Fi
Date Published: Jan 2016 (paperback Dec 2016)


Sam, an ex-soldier who is trying to rediscover himself after twenty years of service, unwittingly stumbles upon a mysterious alien presence in rural Wales. He is drawn into a tangled web of intrigue, pitting him against forces bent on destruction and putting his life in peril. Feeling mentally eroded by his time in the army and having worked hard to overcome this, he is thrust upon an alien journey that will change his life and beliefs in a profound way.
Claims of benevolence are only the beginning of the mysteries he'll have to unravel as doubt and mistrust haunt him. He will have to form unlikely alliances in order to fathom the mysteries at the secret Mineran enclave, where intrigue, deception and imminent danger reside.
His journey for answers will introduce him to pernicious enemies with hidden agendas, as a heinous plot to kill him unravels. Can he defeat his personal demons to secure justice and discover the truth of who or what is behind the nefarious machinations and why?


Excerpt:

Sam could see rows of large stacked cubes. They were polished bright, reflecting the light from overhead. Sam cast a questioning glance at Reb.
‘Would it make sense if I said they are a by-product of the process? To be precise, they are two-metre tall cubes of solid steel or eight cubic metres of steel weighing over sixty-two thousand kilogrammes each. Does that help?’ The sarcastic tone failed to mask Reb’s amusement at Sam’s quandary.
Sam touched one of the cubes as he walked by. The sides were perfectly smooth, and he couldn’t see the top as it was above his head height. The edges and corners were rounded, giving the cubes a look of gigantic dice.
A subdued glow was faintly visible from the end of the conveyor. Sam calculated it to be a quarter of a mile away. He didn’t bother to figure out how many barrels were passing him on the conveyor. A steady stream of them, spaced six feet apart, were travelling lengthways, slightly faster than the pace they were walking at. They disappeared ahead, near the glow. Sam could not make out what was happening, it all seemed to be occurring in shadows, which didn’t make sense as it was also glowing.
He picked up his pace a bit, subconsciously eager to solve the mystery. ‘Do I need to wear a suit or anything?’ he enquired.
‘No, but do not and I stress DO NOT touch anything. In fact, put your hands in your pockets when you get there,’ Reb replied cryptically.
He could feel the heat; it was definitely getting warmer as he drew nearer to the glow. The air had the feel of a smithy he had once visited. It had a perceptible ferrous taste. He could partially see the end wall of the tunnel thirty or forty feet behind the glow, but something large and dark was obscuring the view.
The conveyor ended suddenly with a short downward section. The barrels seemed to enter a dark cave. Bastards, he thought, they are dumping the drums, after all, that bullshit and holier-than-thou crap he had been fed. The bright glow prevented him from seeing into the new cave or tunnel entrance. It seemed to be a set of ultra-bright strip lights. In his haste, Sam had gotten ahead of Reb at this point; he looked back with anger in his eyes.
‘You go ahead, I’ll catch you up. For your own safety, please do not go up the gantry steps or go into the red zone.’
Sam didn’t realise it, but he had broken out into a small jog as he strained to see clearly what was happening. What seemed to be a tunnel entrance from further back must be the opening of a large twenty-foot diameter pipe, whose opening was facing directly at him as the opening was floating in the centre of the tunnel.
He could see the barrels rise to the top of the conveyor’s apex and then descend, lost in the illumination from the bright strip lights. At thirty feet, his assumptions fell apart. He could see that the glowing strip lights were, in fact, a constant stream of bright luminescent liquid flowing into a grill in the floor. ‘None of this makes sense,’ he muttered to himself. ‘If the liquid was the toxic waste, what’s the pipe for?’ He looked back at Reb. ‘I don’t understand, you’re just dumping it all into the ground, but what’s the pipe for?’
‘Look closer, Sam, you not allowing yourself to see the truth.’
Sam paused at the railings which separated the danger zone from the walkway with the aid of red markings on the floor, defining a twenty-foot radius from the illicit dumping area. The whole area was brightly lit. The liquid wasn’t luminescent. It was white hot. He could feel the heat searing his skin even from this distance. The pipe was blacker than night. It was void of any reflection from the incandescent liquid that was pouring down. The barrels moved along the conveyor, and they should have fallen into the centre of the dark yearning chasm and rolled away. Instead, they seemed to hit a solid barrier. Where the metal met the beginning of the opening, it instantly became molten liquid, running down across an invisible surface and into the grate in the floor.
Sam walked around the railing to try and see the process from the side. He didn’t hear Reb as he eventually ambled alongside him. There was no pipe, there was no nothing. From his vantage point at the side, the barrels stopped their descent from the conveyor in mid-air. The metal simply melted as if it were merely chocolate touching a white hot skillet. It ran down and back towards the direction of the conveyor. A river of molten metal floated in the air as if it were on top of an invisible thin sheet of glass that was set at a thirty-five-degree angle. Sam walked further round to see if he could make sense of what he was seeing. All he could see was blackness, a huge disc of blackness.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘My ancient ancestors with their primitive minds called it “Dia Kuklos” because they could go through the circle. This is the cause of distortion here in Minera. This is what we guard, keep secret and safe. This is our primary duty.’
‘So is this a black hole? Shouldn’t all of our solar system be sucked into it?’
‘No, you’re not seeing what is in front of you, Sam. Come back to the front and watch.’ Sam and Reb walked back along the railing to view the barrels landing on the Dia Kuklos.
‘Think back to the balloon model we discussed. If two distortions happened to touch each other, they’d perforate the fabric of space and link together. You can literally step through one side to the other. Your scientists theorise about this and commonly call them wormholes. There’s no tunnel connecting them. Both openings occupy the same space at the same time. They have many names in different cultures throughout the universe such as spatial apertures or perforations, portals, Quantum eyelets, interstices.’
He looked at Sam, beaming. ‘Cool, eh? So we are using this cosmic abnormality to dump your toxic waste. Just not where you thought. The metal can’t get through the surface tension. The reaction is so volatile that it melts upon contact. We use this to allow the waste to escape and flow through while collecting the metal for recycling.’
‘So you’re saying I could step through to wherever you are dumping this stuff?’
‘Well, you could step through, Sam, but you wouldn’t last very long. The other side is in a fixed position near a star you call Canopus. Over the course of a year or so, the waste is gently drawn in by its gravitational pull and destroyed. The aperture itself is black because neither side opens facing the star. If you could pop your head through and look to the right...’ Reb shrugged and put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. ‘I was hoping to have thought of something witty to say by now, but, there you go. What else can I do to prove to you we are the good guys?’ He handed Sam the small stone from his pocket. ‘Go ahead and toss it in, watch it float away. Do it from the other side to get a better view.’
Sam walked to the rear side of the aperture and gently, with an underarm throw, tossed the stone through the portal. It physically slowed as it passed through what Reb had called the surface tension. It carried on into the darkness with its left-hand side clearly visible as it was being illuminated by the unseen sun.
‘Why are you guarding these, why the secrecy?’
‘Why? Well, that’s a long story, but I’ll keep it brief. My race evolved on planet Minera long before the Overseer arrived. As our population spread over the planet, legend says they found a portal and called it “Dia Kuklos”. It happened in the midst of the harshest winter in history. My primitive ancestors found a window to a sunny world; it saved thousands of lives. They sought refuge through it and others harvested food and brought it back. Over the centuries, we eventually learnt how to detect the distortions in the fabric of space and found thirty more on our planet. Because of the nature of their original creation, these portals were always located within spatial distortions like Minera, making them difficult to find unless you know what to look for. Not all distortions contained a portal and many, being like this one, open into empty space, or hundreds of feet above the ground. As our technology evolved and resources dwindled, we abused these portals to other worlds to carry out raids and wage war.’
‘We discovered one portal close to a black hole. The conflicting forces waged between the portal, and the event horizon of the black hole made it jittery. The other end wasn’t permanently fixed. It sporadically lashed across the universe, momentarily setting on other portals. We learnt how to manipulate it with gravitational and spatial distorting fields. We could lock onto other portals within its original range. It is, to this date, the only one we know of with this ability. History says we were ruthless, relentless and barbaric. To the unwary, we came out of nowhere. Whole armies massed secretly in the distorted areas, unseen by the local population. It was an era of terror that we waged covertly over the universe and a shame we still carry. The Overseer stopped this. Somehow he changed the surface tension on all of the portals. Nothing but light passed through; they became useless windows. In one fell swoop, he had isolated us. We had no long distance space travel technology as we had never needed to develop it. Our planet was over populated, and resources strained. He gave us an ultimatum, either we sign up and with our knowledge locate these portals throughout the universe and guard them against further abuse or he would cause our extinction.’
‘The elders in their vanity would not bow down to an unknown enemy, and millions died as ruthless factions fought amongst each other for the dwindling resources. After 225 years of planet-bound war, they realised no children had been born. We had been sterilised. The last generation to be born were now in charge, and the war machine had fizzled out long ago. The remaining populace had reverted to a simpler way of life. The preservation of life and the recovery of our planet became almost a religion. It was a hybrid of high technology and ecological, environmentally friendly living. On the eve of 250 years, the Overseer spoke again. The message was clear: police the portals for him or die out. The rest is history, as they say, they capitulated, and we have served him ever since. The Overseer returned to us the ability to reproduce and the use of the portals, though he has never allowed any metal to pass through since.’
‘Well, that’s not what I expected. I don’t know what to say.’
‘There is nothing to say, but you can see a similarity between our chequered history and how your civilisation’s developing. It took a long time for our planet to recover from our greed and negligence.’ Reb ushered Sam back around with his arms. ‘We try to keep the portals secret to make our life easier. There are only a few races out there that are partially aware of them. For some they are a thing of myth and legend, magic gateways to other worlds, but nothing more.’
Sam subconsciously switched the case to his left arm as he walked back around.
‘The process,’ swinging his arm at the conveyor, ‘should end in a few minutes, then we have a few people to see.’


Born in England and raised in Wales, I started my working life on a farm in the glorious rural Welsh countryside.  I retrained to become an IT Consultant and having spent thousands on Microsoft, CompTIA and Cisco qualifications; I also obtained a contract to run and teach at a Cisco Academy in England.  After this, I became a small business IT Advisor for WCBC and the Welsh Government.  As this funding dried up, I retrained as a Business Advisor and have since helped thousands of people start up their own businesses.
In my leisure time, I work my way through a comprehensive bucket list with my Fiancée, Cath. This has caused us great delight as we have attended various courses and fun days out, such as beekeeping, pottery making, stained glass making, painting course, cooking courses, hawk walks, animal experiences, quad biking, gorge walking and much more. Our favourite one is learning to dance. This activity has remained with us and will hopefully do so for the rest of our lives. We can do a reasonable Waltz, collapse in laughter trying the Viennese Waltz, but it is the 1920’s Lindy Hop that we have fallen in love with. After three years of dancing, we still attend regular dance classes and events.
Strangely, for an ex-geek, my favourite gadget is my Italian Marcato pasta machine. I love real, unprocessed food and my freshly made pasta with a home cooked sauce is amazing.
I have always enjoyed reading, and in my early teenage years, I read authors ranging from Harry Harrison to HG Wells. Later in life, I turned to thriller writers such as the 3 C’s; Clancy, Cussler and Child. Also, I will always have a Pratchett book on my phone for light reading. His imagination was and always will be, inspiring. I have wanted to write the Mineran Series for several years prior to actually starting and with the encouragement from Cath, who has suffered my many varied, imaginative pranks over the years, I have begun.

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Facebook: /pnburrows
Twitter: @pnburows


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