LETTER "Z" - A-Z CHALLENGE

A to Z Team [2014]

Arlee Bird: Tossing it Out
Alex J. Cavanaugh: Alex J. Cavanaugh
Stephen Tremp: Author Stephen Tremp
Tina Downey: Life is Good
Damyanti Biswas: Amlokiblogs
Jeremy Hawkins: [Being Retro]
Nicole Ayers: The Madlab Post
M. J. Joachim: M. J. Joachim's Writing Tips
Heather M. Gardner: The Waiting is the Hardest Part
AJ Lauer: Naturally Sweet
Pam Margolis: An Unconventional Librarian




"Z the last letter in the A-Z Challenge! Wow, I actually made it to the end!

Below is my last teaser / excerpt from "The Forces of Mist," a New Adult, Dystopian Sci-fi  I am working on. Hopefully, it will be ready for release this time next year.
 

“Zero hour is upon us,” Walker announced to the survivors gathered around him. “This new undertaking, if it succeeds will be the turning point in this war. We as a species may be lucky enough to survive.”

He looked around the cavern, at the people before him, the familiar faces of the onedunder his command since the be ginning of this war were mixed in amongst other survivors they had picked up along the way. 

They had also taken in a new group.  Mist Warriors from the enemy, had joined their ranks and had proven to be valuable assets.

Thanks to Jackson’s intervention, warriors like himself, who believed their race had been savage and brutal in their dealings with the human race, were also gathered before him, showing a potential to succeed and if the Xantippe device worked, their lives may perhaps change the future of the planet.

TEASER TUESDAY

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by

http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/

of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along!

Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE ANY SPOILERS!
Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away!

You don't want to ruin the book for others! 

Ancient Blood (A Novel of the Hegemony)

by Brian McKinley, Ambrosia Arts (Editor)

Ancient blood
A Novel of the Hegemony


AN IMMORTAL LOVE
Avery Doyle loves vampires; he’s read every novel, seen all the movies, and researched the folklore. When his first one-night-stand, Caroline, turns out to be a true vampire on the run, he jumps at the chance to leave his ordinary life and join her as a “child of the night.”

The honeymoon ends, however, when Caroline’s brutal Creator Sebastian enslaves them on his island estate and Avery must confront the dehumanizing reality behind his dreams.


AN IMMORTAL ARISTOCRACY
In order to survive, Caroline and Avery take their place as servants in Sebastian’s household during a gathering of the most powerful vampires on Earth, the Hegemony, and soon find themselves involved in the myriad intrigues and deceptions that form the night-to-night existence of The Order.

A society of wealth, power, and inhuman decadence whose existence is protected by human complicity and disbelief, The Order is the immortal aristocracy hidden behind the giant corporations and political leaders of the world.


IN MORTAL DANGER
Sebastian, however, has a plan that will change The Order forever and shatter human civilization. To avoid this terrible fate, Avery and Caroline will not only have to defy the most powerful creatures on Earth, but also confront the darkest aspects of themselves. For in the world of the Hegemony, even victory may cost them their souls…


MY  TEASER:

 I saw headlights pass in my mirror, but couldn't tell if it was a cop or not. The street dead-ended at a high school, and - even with my improved night vision - it was very hard without headlights. The parked cars on either side made for a wonderful obstacle course; I just prayed no pedestrians were out.

LETTER "Y" - A-Z CHALLENGE

A to Z Team [2014]

Arlee Bird: Tossing it Out
Alex J. Cavanaugh: Alex J. Cavanaugh
Stephen Tremp: Author Stephen Tremp
Tina Downey: Life is Good
Damyanti Biswas: Amlokiblogs
Jeremy Hawkins: [Being Retro]
Nicole Ayers: The Madlab Post
M. J. Joachim: M. J. Joachim's Writing Tips
Heather M. Gardner: The Waiting is the Hardest Part
AJ Lauer: Naturally Sweet
Pam Margolis: An Unconventional Librarian



"Y," the second last letter of the A-Z Challenge and as previously posted throughout the challenge, I have another excerpt from "Forces of Mist."

“Yeah, and you expect her to lead our team?” Roberts stood with an exasperated look upon his face. Clearly, he was not happy to be part of her team.

“Sarah, have you heard any of my instructions so far?” Walker asked.

“Sorry sir, I was just lost in thought.” she answered.

“Great and you’ve chosen her to lead us!” Roberts almost yelled his retort.

“Roberts, stand down, that is an order! My decision is final, Sarah is perfect for this task and she is my choice to lead this team!” Walker injected.

Jennings stood off to the side of the other three and silently watched them as Roberts argued his disgust in the Commander’s decision. He had worked with Sarah in the past and had no qualms about the decision.

Roberts looked towards him, hoping to find support, but he made no effort to voice his opinion.

“So, with this resolved, you will be on your way immediately! I want a report on where you have set up camp and of any alien activity you encounter by nightfall tomorrow evening. Ensure you only use the wireless when necessary to contact headquarters, do not waste the battery for any insignificant reports.” Walker looked all three of them directly in the eyes, while giving his last order.

The men headed to their vehicle, leaving Sarah standing alone with the Commander.

“Sarah, be careful of Roberts, don’t press him unnecessarily. That man is a walking time bomb, but his skills will be valuable to this mission.”

“Yes sir.” she answered, a little stiffly,

“By the way, if Jackson shows up, make sure that Roberts and Jennings are not aware of his liaison with our command. He is a valuable asset and it is of great importance his identity is not compromised.” Walker laid a gentle hand on Sarah’s shoulder, then lent forward and gave her a quick fatherly hug. “Take care and come back safely."

“Yes, sir.”

Sarah turned picked up Spank and walked over to her old faithful truck, settled the rest of her supplies into the vehicle, started the engine and led the small patrol out through the tunnel.

LETTER "X" - A-Z CHALLENGE

A to Z Team [2014]

Arlee Bird: Tossing it Out
Alex J. Cavanaugh: Alex J. Cavanaugh
Stephen Tremp: Author Stephen Tremp
Tina Downey: Life is Good
Damyanti Biswas: Amlokiblogs
Jeremy Hawkins: [Being Retro]
Nicole Ayers: The Madlab Post
M. J. Joachim: M. J. Joachim's Writing Tips
Heather M. Gardner: The Waiting is the Hardest Part
AJ Lauer: Naturally Sweet
Pam Margolis: An Unconventional Librarian



 "X," I think is the hardest letter to post in the Challenge, especially if you are posting an excerpt / teaser from a novel to be released in the future. The easy way to get around it is to have a character with a name starting with "X." 

Unfortunately I don't. 

Below is my "X" post for the A-Z Challenge from "Forces of Mist," I hope you like it.

Xerox machines were lined up against one wall, some whole, others in pieces amongst old computers and gaming consoles. Other machines, unrecognizable, were organized in various bundles awaiting dismantling or had been hurriedly broken apart and were laying in piles on the floor.

Finding the older technology was difficult, but by the looks of the room the technicians had been busy reassembling devices with analogue capability which would not be detected by the enemy.

Jackson left Sarah’s side and walked over to the table holding the new weapon. The technicians halted their work, looking at him suspiciously.

The room fell into silence.

It was obvious the workers felt threatened by Jackson’s presence.

Sarah joined him and asked one of the workers directly, “Have you discovered out how the device is operated?”

An eager tech enthusiastically answered her question, describing what they had learned from studying the hard drive Sarah and Roberts had brought back from the settlement.

“They had named the machine Xantippe. We discovered it was a town in Western Australia which was named after the wife of the great Socrates.” The technician divulged with excitement. “You do know who Socrates was, don’t you?”

Sarah, a look of confusion upon her face tried to remember the name. She had heard it before, but couldn’t recall who the man was.

The technician, frustrated by her silence divulged the answer, “He was one of the world’s greatest philosophers. Plato and Xenephon were his students. The man was a genius and brought about the scientific method of hypothesis!”

Sarah looked at the tech dumfounded by his enthusiasm and felt demoralized by his intelligence.