She had to let Bobbi know.
The cab rose slowly, and she sagged further. At the very least, she knew Bobbi was in space. She knew her love was safe. But she would not be for long, not if this was happening. Violet had to get to her, to tell her. It didn’t matter what happened to her. It never did. She was crazy, she was angry, she would rather bite out the throats of most people she met without even blinking. And now, left with the responsibility, she had allowed herself to be killed. Such a failure! Violet clenched her fists and shut her eyes, hot tears burning her cheeks as the lift ascended. Her lady, how she loved her. She loved her, and lived for her, and failed her. She could never see her again, if she survived. If any of them did.
The acrid tang of synthetic blood rose, white bubbles of regret on pale lips. Violet looked down at herself. Once, she had been young, and ignorant, and a product of this world. Empty. Foolish. She cared for nothing, only for herself, and it had destroyed her. It had made the way for the monster that slept inside of her, the thing whose name had been The Brightness of Young Eyes. But the thing was too weak, and she came to meet the Eye, and even that had done nothing in the end. In the lives before this, she had lived as a princess, a devil, a priest, and then a handmaiden, this last the finest life that she had lived yet. She did not want another.
Bobbi…I’m coming, my lady, I swear…
The flames of consciousness within her began to gutter. No, she screamed within herself, not yet! Violet willed her systems to work harder, felt a new wave of chemicals rush through her body – so much, so bright, that her nerves seemed to vibrate. She had to hold on. Somehow. She could not fail Bobbi now. But for the moment, perhaps a little rest. She was so tired.
Upward into darkness, the elevator trundled on.
Michael Shean was born amongst the sleepy hills and coal mines of southern West Virginia in 1978. Taught to read by his parents at a very early age, he has had a great love of the written word since the very beginning of his life. Growing up, he was often plagued with feelings of isolation and loneliness; he began writing off and on to help deflect this, though these themes are often explored in his work as a consequence. At the age of 16, Michael began to experience a chain of vivid nightmares that has continued to this day; it is from these aberrant dreams that he draws inspiration.
In 2001 his grandfather, whom he idolized in many ways, died. The event moved him to leave West Virginia to pursue a career in the tech industry, and he settled in the Washington, DC area as a web designer and graphic artist. As a result his writing was put aside and not revisited until five years later. In 2006 he met his current fiancee, who urged him to pick up his writing once more. Though the process was very frustrating at first, in time the process of polishing and experimentation yielded the core of what would become his first novel, Shadow of a Dead Star. In 2009 the first draft of book was finished, though it would be 2011 until he would be satisfied enough with the book to release it.
His work is extensively character-driven, but also focuses on building engaging worlds in which those characters interact. His influences include H.P. Lovecraft, William Gibson, Cormac McCarthy, Philip K. Dick, and Clark Ashton Smith.
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Bone Wires, by Michael Shean
(http://bit.ly/2frr6zU)
In the wasteland of commercial culture that is future America, police are operated not by government but by private companies. In Seattle, that role is filled by Civil Protection, and Daniel Gray is a detective in Homicide Solutions. What used to be considered an important—even glamorous—department for public police is very different for the corporate species, and Gray finds himself stuck in a dead end job.
That is, until the Spine Thief arrives.
Silent Clarion, by Matthew Graybosch
(http://bit.ly/1QSI3Nl)
My curiosity might get me killed. I thought I needed a vacation from my duties as an Adversary in service to the Phoenix Society. After learning about unexplained disappearances in a little town called Clarion, I couldn’t stop myself from checking it out.
Now I must protect a witness to two murders without any protection but my sword. I must identify a murderer who strikes from the shadows. I must expose secrets the Phoenix Society’s executive council is hellbent on keeping buried.
Prophet of the Badlands, by Matt Cox
(http://bit.ly/1BedXN2)
For most twelve year olds, being kidnapped is terrifying. For Althea, it’s just Tuesday. Her power to heal the wounded and cleanse the sick makes her a hunted commodity in the Badlands. For as long as she can remember, they always come, they always take her, and she lets them. Wandering after an escape, she is found by a loving family who helps her find the courage to defend herself. Her newfound resolve is tested by an ancient evil, and a dangerous man bent on exploiting her abilities.
The Actuator: Fractured Earth, by James Wymore and Aiden James
(http://bit.ly/1WoSLz3)
On a secret military base tucked in a remote desert mountain, a dangerous machine lies hidden from the American public. Known as “The Actuator”, this machine is capable of transforming entire communities into alternate realities. When an unknown saboteur dismantles the dampeners the entire world is plunged into chaos. It’s up to Red McLaren and his band to set things right again. They must journey to the Actuator, through dangerous realms where ever-present orcs, aliens, pirates, and vampires seek to destroy them.
Appetizer:
Book Cover
Title Page
Main Course:
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Dessert:
Closing
About the Author
Copyright & Publisher
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