sci fi

Drabble: The Blue Ticket

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We stand in line waiting our turn. There are only a few people in front of me with a long snaking trail still behind me. The woman passing out tickets only had a sliver of them left and I worry that I won’t get one in time. One, two, three, the tickets disappear and the sliver grows smaller. When I reach the table, and the final blue ticket is placed in my hand, I’m giddy with relief.

I step aside and hear cries of pain and outrage behind me, but I clutch that ticket to my chest and don’t turn back. With one hand on my suitcase I head to the tunnel. I pass by a child crying on the floor, a glaring old woman grinding her teeth, and two armored guards with guns on their hips. Still I don’t turn back. I don’t want to see the ones left behind or their desperation.

When I exit the tunnel, I gasp. The ship nearly fills the sky. Families cry and hug one another here in the fenced in yard, in stark contrast to the tension outside. When the ground trembles beneath our feet, a frightened hush falls over us. We might be safe soon, but the others won’t be. I allow myself to turn and see the long snaking chain of people. From here I can’t see the fear and hatred in their eyes, but I know it’s there. I can’t blame them.

As another tremor shakes the ground, I know none of those people will make it off this ruined planet in time. Regardless of what ships are scheduled to come, regardless of the promises that were made, this will be the final ship to leave.

I almost return my ticket and let someone else take my place.

Almost.

Prompt: The Participants

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Originally posted on Typetrigger. Fiction in 300 words or less. Please pardon typos or grammatical errors. See sidebar for copyright information.

A Change of Cover

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You might notice that I’ve updated the cover on Night Feeders. It’s one of the alternate covers that Fena provided for me. I was growing tired of the dusty western look, and wanted to push readers more in the direction of horror. Especially considering how creeped out some of my readers have been after reading it. (Cue evil writer laughter here.)

Let me know what you think of it. I’ve updated it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords, but it might take a while to update completely. I’m doing a refresher course on this self-publishing stuff since I have a YA Sci-Fi apocalyptic piece I want to put up in the next month or so. For some reason, YA Science Fiction just isn’t selling in the short story genres much lately. You would think it would considering the Hunger Games is so popular, but oh well!

Look for more updates in the weeks to come. Especially post-Camp NaNo!

Stories can’t leave me alone apparently

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It’s a well known fact that author brains don’t always like to stay focused on the task at hand. You might be writing away on your current novel, or heading in to work, when suddenly your brain is mulling over ideas for a novel you haven’t even begun yet. It’s the crux of being a writer. You want that creativity, hell that’s the font producing all the wonderful ideas that produce your stories, but it’s also a bit of a pain.

This morning I was driving in to work when a song came on my iPod that reminded me of this book idea I’ve had for quite a while. (It was Junkie XL’s “We Become One” followed by “Such a Tease”.) What was my ridiculous mind pondering? A fabulous plot hook? An engaging character? No, just the summary. 😛

So here’s my summary for the upcoming novel, “Destruction from Within”. It started out as a short story, but then I realized this could have a really powerful impact as a novel. So I shelved the story and have been holding onto it for when I finish the two books for my werewolf series. Let me know if you would be interested in reading it.

Destruction from Within

Sam Henry is at the lowest point in his life. He lost his job six months ago, his wife left him, and his house is being foreclosed on. He’s a bitter man forced to live on the streets due to his “affair with bad luck” as his fellow homeless say.

When a beautiful woman claiming to be an alien asks him to destroy humanity, how could Sam refuse? Sure that would include his ex-wife and his old boss, but they deserve it. When faced with the reality of his decision, Sam begins to have second thoughts, but it might be too late to back out.