Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Accord Book Cover

Accord-ebookcoverNow that The Accord has been released, let me tell you about the cover. The design was created by Ronald Calica, the graphic artist I have used for my last six covers. I hope you agree with me that his talent is amazing. Ron spends most of his time doing artwork for video games. His work on those projects made him a perfect fit for my science fiction and fantasy covers.

The scene depicted here is from the beginning of Chapter 13. Dave Brewster has been captured by The Accord and is being transferred from a starship into the massive constructed planet that houses the brain of the leader of The Accord, Vanda. Dave was savagely beaten by a robot on his last day on the starship, and here is being helped toward his destiny with the machines. Two of Dave’s friends and fellow captives, Zobu Inther and Margas Ongool offer to help him down the ramp and into his new life as a slave. Those men are shorter than Dave (who is average height) because they come from the Nan race, which figures prominently in my works, starting with The Hive. The massive robots are shouting at everyone to hurry up, waving their blasters and razor like claws. The small robot with the glass head (brain in a jar, as Dave refers to him) is Nostu, a new Friend of The Accord, who becomes Dave’s friend and learns to regret his decision to join The Accord. And that’s just the cover!

If you’re interested, please check out more on The Accord here, or look for it at most e-book resellers. The paperback version should be available any day. Thanks for checking this out and Join the Adventure!

48th Annual Local Author Event

authorevent2014It was my pleasure to attend the 48th Annual Local Author Event at the San Diego Main Public Library. Over 300 local authors were in attendance. It was great to see so many talented writers and be part of this group. The brand new library is a fantastic place, and I recommend any San Diego locals go check it out.

I published five novels in 2013 which are display both in special cases for the month of February, and also on the library website. The books were:

The Second Predaxian War

The HIve

Tears of Gallia

Heartstone: Sentinels of Far Sun

Heartstone: The Time Walker

Story Cartel Deal About to Expire

Tears of Gallia- Dave Brewster 4The giveaway of Tears of Gallia on Story Cartel ends in only eight days! Be sure and follow this link to get your e-book copy now!

http://storycartel.com/books/717/tears-of-gallia/

Follow Dave as he travels to the Tears of Gallia, two planets sacred to the Galliceans, and learns about the troubled history of that giant alien civilization. On the small terrestrial planet, he encounters Fola Untor, the leader of the disgraced Brotherhood in the Society of Humanity, who is out for revenge. He travels into the past in order to kill Dave before he ventured into the future. As a backup plan, he strands Dave and a new friend on a mythical planet beyond the edge of the galaxy.

And if he did not have enough problems already, the Donnaki Empire has decided to expand their territory, putting all of the Free Society at risk. Not to mention a new enemy called The Accord. The novel by that name is coming soon. Imagine armies of robots controlled by a single brain which has been carved out of its host body. Tons of action and terrible danger awaits.

The Accord– Coming soon!

I just finished rereading my new Science Fiction novel for the billionth time. The editing is complete and all we’re waiting for is cover art.

The Accord, book 5 in the Dave Brewster series, is about destiny. On a planet in the Small Magellanic Cloud, the human population lives in constant fear that their former masters in the Society of Humanity (The Hive) will return to enslave them. To provide security, they create robots capable of housing human brains. Those robotic space vehicles will guard the planet from orbit. Over the years, the cyborgs become more machine than man and subjugate the people below. Finally, they construct massive planetoids and take the humans with them, theoretically for their own safety. Eventually though, their human cargo becomes a food supply only. Now the machines are prepared to invade our galaxy in their never-ending search for food and metal.

Dave Brewster is drawn to the Clouds by his memories of Zeet of The Accord (Tears of Gallia), and travels there to understand what the robots want. He once again faces beatings and even death as he tries to stop the coming invasion.

The Accord is full of intrigue, war, terrible atrocities and incredible forces that come into play to safeguard our galaxy and lives. I hope you will Join the Adventure and check it out early this year.

My thanks for downloading The Hive

I want to thank everyone who downloaded my award-winning novel, The Hive, from Story Cartel. I hope you enjoy it and will write an honest and thoughtful review. To the winners of the prizes, Story Cartel will give me your names later this week.

The Hive is book 3 of the Dave Brewster series of science fiction novels. During this epic story, Dave Brewster finds that humanity did not originate on this planet at all. His journey of discovery leads him to another galaxy where he finds that even though mankind can conquer the stars, innately, we are still weak, and easily overcome by our basest instincts. It is a tale of tyranny, indentured servitude and man’s inhumanity to his brothers. Still, people who are dedicated to righting the wrongs of the universe can succeed if they refuse to give up.

Please also check out Story Cartel. They have free books available all the time in all different genres. The authors who put their books on that site are looking for honest reviews to help them further their writing careers. Here is the link to that site.

http://www.storycartel.com

 

 

December Microstory Contest Entry

Once again, I posted my microstory to the monthly contest on the LinkedIn Group “Science Fiction readers, writers, collectors and artists”.  It’s a great group and if you like sci-fi, you should check it out! The stories this month had to include the longest night, fear, and not here/not now. Here is what I came up with:

The Hunt

Dread crawled up my back and sat at the base of my neck as we trudged through the knee-deep snow. The night was pitch-black, pierced only by lights affixed to our blasters. In the distance, a stand of trees marked the beginning of a forest, which might offer some cover from the kartok that followed us. Why do I let Chad talk me into this stuff? “Come to the moon Aki, Tom. It’s the best place this side of Nargo for hunting,” he said, and I fell for it.

“Tell me again why we didn’t go out west to hunt something less deadly, like grizzlies?”

“You have to test yourself and try new things to grow, Tom. Back home we get two weeks of vacation. We get one week a month off here, and the work isn’t hard either.” Chad was right. On Aki, robots did the work. Our job was to repair them and fill out reports for HQ. Room and board were free, so we were saving a ton of cash.

A deep guttural growl snapped me back to reality. We knelt back to back, searching for the beasts. Kartok travel in packs, so only one growl seemed odd. My beam caught it first. The male was massive, eight feet tall at the withers. Its thick dark fur obscured a muscular frame. The back four legs supported the beast, while the front pair was short and used to shovel food into the enormous mouth. Those short arms and large head made it look like a furry T-Rex. It was hunched down, trying to decide how to attack this odd creature with lights shining out. “Should I shoot?” I asked.

“It seems to be alone. I wonder why.”

“Maybe I’ll ask him why he’s chewing on my head.” I aimed my blaster, waiting for it to make the first move. “Why isn’t he attacking?” After a few tense minutes, it turned slightly, exposing a deep gash on one of its rear legs. The fur was soaked in blood. The kartok turned to look at us again, and then laid flat on the snow, whimpering. “Chad, I think it wants us to help him.”

“I’m not getting close to that monster. Did you see the teeth and claws on that thing? Let me just put it out of its misery.” He leveled his blaster and the beast closed its eyes.

Pushing his rifle down, I said, “That’s messed up, Chad. You’d kill an injured animal.”

“It’s better than being killed.”

“Tell you what. You keep your blaster on it and I’ll go take a look.” Chad stared at me in shock, but said nothing. He followed me halfway to the animal and stood guard while I examined it. First, I melted some snow with my blaster and used the water to clean the wound. Then I applied a whole tube of antiseptic cream and used a sewing kit to close the cut. Finally I shaved the nearby fur and placed a bandage over it. The kartok never moved, and I thought it might have died. When we backed away, it looked back at its leg and licked the spot. Then it stood again and bowed its head. I instinctually bowed back.

The clearing filled with a pack of twenty kartok females. They were much smaller, but no less deadly. They growled and licked their lips as they circled us. We were back to back again as we watched their eyes. We might kill a few, but there was no way we could survive this night. “You were right about the grizzlies, Tom,” Chad said.

“It’s been good knowing you, pal.”

The male let out a deafening roar, shaking the snow off the trees. He pushed the others back, growling and hissing at them. Then sounds changed to clicks and whines, and seemed almost like conversation. The females turned and slowly retreated into the forest. The male watched them leave, and then began to come toward us. We pointed our weapons and it stopped and bowed, and moved forward again. I was shaking in fear. It towered over us, its breath creating a fog around our heads. I noticed it was extending one of its arms. Not knowing what else to do, I shook its claw-like hand. It stepped back and bowed again, and then turned to follow the females into the night. “Did that really happen?”

“I think so. We’re still here.”

“This has to be the best Christmas ever.”

November Microstory

Here is my submission for a SHORT story in the November Micro-story Contest for the Science Fiction Readers, Writers, Collectors and Artists group on LinkedIn. I made it into the final round this time. I hope you like it and will check out this great group of enthusiasts.

Stasis

Adam Jones woke and saw he was heavily bandaged and lying inside a transparent chamber. It sat on a metal platform, and reminded him of a test tube. There was a flashing green light on the glass by his left hand. He reached out and pressed it. Cold air rushed in as the top opened, making him shiver. He climbed out onto the icy cold metal floor. He saw a rack of uniforms not far away. He walked toward it while pulling off the bandages, and seeing no wounds, pulled on a uniform and zipped it. He slipped on a pair of sandals and looked around. The room was 100 feet long and 20 wide. There were dozens more tubes, but their surfaces were coated in thick frost. The only door was to his left, so he headed toward it, not knowing what to expect on the other side. He turned the knob and as it was unlocked, he pushed it open and stepped through.

This room narrowed quickly to a pointed end, where a robot was sitting at a console, pressing buttons and moving levers. Windows lining the room revealed the panorama of open space. “Hello, Major Jones,” the machine said without turning. Its voice was deep and throaty, like Adam’s father.

“What the hell are you and where are you taking me?” he growled.

The robot turned and pushed out a second chair. The robot’s face was designed to look human, but joints were visible, like a ventriloquist’s dummy. “Please join me, Major. My name is Godfrey, and I was constructed to take you to a new home.”

With no other options, Adam came forward and sat down. “I don’t want a new home, Godfrey. I want to go back to my world.”

Godfrey smiled and replied, “You’re kidding, right? Don’t you remember anything?”

“What are you talking about? I was sleeping in my bunk and you kidnapped me.”

“Doctor Watson thought this might happen,” Godfrey noted as he continued pressing buttons. A single bright star was directly ahead of them. “Long term stasis may induce amnesia,” Godfrey said in a different voice. The first voice said, “I estimated that would take 5,000 years to occur and you have been here only 1,200.”

“I’ve been in stasis for a millennium?” Adam gasped.

“Yes. It seems you have forgotten the war. You were a highly decorated soldier, Major. The West was on the verge of victory when the fight went nuclear.”

“Wait, I think I remember some of that now. The capital was obliterated along with dozens of cities around the world. We have to go back, Godfrey. We have to rebuild!”

“Sorry, Major. We can’t do that. The last message I received said the radiation level was rising and would destroy all life within days. Your planet is long dead and won’t be habitable for a million years.” Godfrey pulled two levers and pushed his control stick to the left. A small blue planet appeared as a dot on the screen.

“Is that where we’re going?” Adam asked.

“It is a final gift from President Harven. They eradicated all signs of radiation poisoning in 400 men and 400 women. Their skin rashes, like yours, were bandaged. A man and woman from each of the twenty primary races were put on starships and launched toward 20 promising exoplanets. It was Harven’s hope that at least one ship would succeed and humanity would survive.” The ship slowed and settled into a low orbit over the blue planet. “You, Major Jones, and Evelyn Carter are the Caucasians on this ship. You are the hope of your doomed planet and this planet is your gift.”

The door behind them opened and others began to come forward, many still covered in head-to-toe bandages. “Godfrey, what do we do now?”

“I will take you to the surface shortly. For now, I think you should name your new home. Mr. Harven suggested each group add a letter to the name of the home world so it would never be forgotten. This ship was the fifth to launch.”

Adam sighed heavily, overwhelmed by fear and sadness at the death of his home planet. “Well, since E is the fifth letter, I guess we will call this place Earth.”

 

Hive Giveaway Congratulations

HIVE-ebookcover (2)Congratulations to the ten winners of the second Goodreads.com giveaway of a copy of The Hive, my award winning science fiction novel about the “real” origination of humanity. The books are on their way now.

The Hive further demonstrates the awesome power of a Hive, where billions of minds are linked to move mountains, or in this case, a planet sized spaceship from our galaxy to the Andromeda Galaxy, two and one-half million light years away.

Our pal, Dave Brewster, faces more than enough challenges as he learns that people cannot escape their less-than-pure instincts and motivation to control others. Join the adventure to find out if the fledgling Free Society can survive.