last post

Due to lack of interest from Kindle users, this will be my last post.

I'll remove the blog from kindle on Jan 2.

I'll still review the books of authors at my Daily Space blog)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Regular blog postings begin on DECEMBER 26, Monday.

The Red Poppy

Available from Kindle, Nook and Smashwords

Here's the Kindle link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Red-Poppy-ebook/dp/B00652M1G8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1324054906&sr=1-1

Man has speculated about the possibility of beings visiting Earth for centuries. As early as the mid 11th century sightings of vehicles in the sky were recorded, and with most came the suggestion of some evil lurking from just over the horizon.
Could it be that maybe people from alien civilizations discover remote planets without malice, and just maybe it is not their objective to dominate with imperialistic ambition. What if these visitors are peaceful and wish to welcome the people of a new planet to a neighborhood of star systems. Star systems teeming with peaceful civilizations. Possibly they view the sharing of knowledge and technology as a commodity that strengthens planetary civilizations rather than committing to dominance through violence and fear.

First contact between alien civilizations is a difficult balancing act. There are so many unknowns and expectations, and the challenge is for both to find a common reason for making contact successful. Such is the ambition of Canar Nu Isso as she leads a delegation of emissary's on a mission to a new civilization, located in a new star system far from her home on Valdi. Although Canar is the daughter of a seasoned ambassador, this is her first mission since graduating from the INSAT academy. Little does she know that there are those who employ deception with the intention of preventing the Local Group from becoming acquainted with this new civilization. They will stop at nothing to disrupt the success of Canar's mission to further their ambitions. For them, everything is on the table, even murder.

The Talisman of Faerie, by Jason Beil

Available in both Paperback and Kindle

Paperback edition: http://www.amazon.com/Talisman-Faerie-Jason-Beil/dp/0595323200/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322633909&sr=1-1

Kindle edition: http://www.amazon.com/Talisman-Faerie-War-ebook/dp/B005SIY3CK/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1322633909&sr=1-1


The Talisman of Faerie, by Jason Biel

Alec Mason is a humble baker's apprentice from a simple farming village on the outskirts of Tyridan. But when he discovers an ancient artifact of immense mystical power, he becomes the target of Salin Urdrokk, the dark sorcerer who desires it. With his friends Sarah and Kraig, Alec is forced to leave the life he knows and enter a world of danger and intrigue.

Joined by a mysterious hermit and a warrior they cannot entirely trust, Alec and his companions flee Salin's agents, braving the uncharted wilderness north of Tyridan. Beyond deadly forests, plains, and mountains lies the realm of Faerie, the one place Alec might find sanctuary.

For in this magical realm live the Fair Folk, a long-lived, pure-hearted race of great power and wisdom. Yet even the pure of heart can be corrupted, and a dark betrayal awaits Alec in Faerie. Weakened and divided by treachery, can the Fair Folk protect Alec from Salin's terrifying wrath?

Out of Here, edited by Patty Jansen

This collection contains fantasy and Science Fiction short stories that have all been published previously in venues like the Edge of Propinquity, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Byzarium, M-Brane SF, Realms, and many others.

http://www.amazon.com/Out-of-Here-ebook/dp/B004WF38RQ/ref=sr_1_89?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1320614133&sr=1-89

Table of Contents:
Highway - Infinitas Newsletter
Bigger Fish - Fantastic Wonder Stories Anthology
Black Dragon - The Edge of Propinquity
Mass Extinction - Antipodean SF
Legal Aliens - Semaphore
Little Boy Lost - Midnight Echo
The Ten Days of Madness - Antipodean SF
From the Parrot's Mouth - Beyond Centauri
Metal Dragon - Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine
Never on a Birthday - Byzarium
Out of Here - M-Brane SF
Raven's Call - Realms
Taking back the Words - Ticonderoga Online
The Only One He Ever Feared - Fly in Amber
The Weed Eaters - The Fat Man At The End of the World Anthology
Straight through the Heart - ZineWest
To Look at the Sky - Semaphore SF
The Invisible Fleas of the Galaxy - M-Brane SF


___________________
Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Breathing Space, by Ian Fydell

Ian is a New York-based writer. Breathing Space is his first book.

Born and raised in Queens NY, creative fiction has always drawn Fydell. He had a varied career as a stockbroker, a caretaker for special-needs children, and a Post Office employee before becoming a full-time writer. While Fydell is not a scientist, his wide and varied interests keep him informed about science and contribute to the convincing details in his writing.

http://www.ianfydellexodustrilogy.com/index.php

About Breathing Space
The year is 2095. It has been decades since World War III has ended. The Earth is in severe ecological decline, the result of several centuries of mistreatment by its human progeny. Within a few decades, a century at most, Earth will no longer be habitable. Pollutants, wars, deep mantle mining, and everyday disregard for our planet have finally taken their toll, and now earthquakes, droughts, volcanic eruptions, and plagues are regular occurrences. Colonies have been established on all the larger bodies of the solar system, but these are small and hardly self-sufficient; it is widely recognized that, in order to save the majority of the species, humanity must find a new homeworld, ready-made for its existence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Inside Breathing Space
The minutes crawled by. At one point, a young computer operator turned to Warrick. “Sir, the XTF-4000 is at T-minus nine minutes . . . final launch preparations are being made.” The roof of the hangar slowly opened, flooding the hangar with bright, UV-rich sunlight. Time continued to crawl.

The anxiety in the control room escalated as the count reached T-minus thirty-one seconds. The ground computer network enabled the onboard automatic launch sequence. Another computer operator turned to the NASA Director. “We are now at T-minus six seconds.” Just as the young man finished his sentence, the XTF-4000 rose slowly and hovered a few feet above its launch cradle. Warrick counted under his breath.

“Lift-off,” said the Capcom officer.

The craft eased up to the top of the hangar; once it cleared the hangar’s opening, it darted upward, faster than the eye could follow. Warrick turned his attention from the glass window that overlooked the hangar back to the control room and struggled for air as he whispered. “God be with you.”

As he turned to Katie, the grass swirled a few hundred yards away on the other side of her. A tawny form rose out of it with bared saber teeth glinting white in the suns. A felinoid! John ran with all of his might toward Katie, screaming at her to get away from Max and draw her weapon. The felinoid watched him run for a moment, almost as if taunting him, then sprang toward the biologist: the race to Katie O’Hara had begun. She saw the captain rushing toward her and heard his frantic shouts. She turned, hand at her waist, just as the predator closed within striking distance and took a giant leap toward her. John dropped to one knee, drew his C-10, and took close aim at the beast.

on travel til Wednesday

I'm visiting elderly relatives in Box Elder, SD who do not have internet.

Will try to sneak out now and again to an internet cafe to post, but more than likely will not be posting until Wedneday.

Human Company, by Robert Petty

Human Company, by Robert Petty

Human Company, a science fiction novel, pits humans against their bioengineered replacements.

Bios, women bioengineered from human stock, have settled the marginally inhabitable planet Snowshoe. However, the collapse of a space elevator has plunged their Femdom into a dark age.

Gypsy realizes that a long abandoned second elevator, which is near collapse, threatens to destroy the re-emergent civilization. When the bios women oppose his attempt to save the elevator, he recruits a company of outcast human girls into the quest.

CHAPTER 1 -- MECHANICALS

The trouble with women is that all you get is sympathy. They will
probably still be patting me on the head when the Elevator destroys the world.

As I searched for Redblood, I took a deep breath to ease the
tightness gripping my chest. This would be her last chance. She
either helped me or else.

Was she gone? A dark shape moved on the left -- only a horse in the stables. Across the square, the open gate framed a deserted
drawbridge. Why did it have to get dark so soon? At last I saw
someone to the right, standing on the castle wall. Shadows from the tower hid her features, but she stood straighter than the farm girls. It was Redblood.

The Hidden Crystal, by Daniel Gimness

This is the link to the Amazon page to purchase the book via your computer. OR just use your Kindle to go to the Kindle Store and search under the title The Hidden Crystal.

Here's the description of The Hidden Crystal:

Sarac, a young student magician is beaten and cast aside when Alena, a priestess he loves is captured and carried off to sea by marauders who torch his village in search of the Crystal of Fire.

Sarac resolves to rescue Alena, though doesn’t realize that his urgent quest is part of a greater purpose; the Crystal of Fire is one of four Crystals of Power ancient Wizards created to prevent the terrible planetary upheaval their world suffers every one thousand years. Sarac must find the Crystals of Power and unite them before the Fall Equinox when the red planet Nibiru comes into alignment with their planet or all will be lost.

Naga, an evil sorcerer, who led his soldiers in search of the Crystal of Fire, seeks the Crystals of Power as well for a different purpose, to enslave all mankind and gain dominion over their world regardless of the devastation it will cause.

With the help of Joran, a wizard of immense power, Sarac faces increasing threats from the approaching cataclysm which is starting to rain destruction on their planet, and from Naga who is determined to retrieve the Crystals of Power at all costs. The urgency of their quest increases when Sarac learns that Naga is torturing Alena to get her to reveal the location of the remaining Crystals of Power. As the Fall Equinox approaches, Sarac struggles to unravel an ancient prophecy, defeat Naga, rescue Alena, and ultimately save their world from violent destruction.

Chapter One

Chapter 1: Land of the Golden Sun

Sweat ran down Sarac’s cheek as he raced down a narrow forest path, panicking as branches lashed his face. His boots crunched through virgin snow, now stained with drops of blood. He clutched his wounded chest and stopped suddenly, unsure of his surroundings. Nothing looked familiar.

Pale blue eyes stared out at the surroundings from a narrow face of sixteen seasons, framed by thin cheekbones. He ran a hand through his tousled blonde hair and shivered, pulling his coarse white robe tighter around him. This was supposed to be a training exercise and he was wholly unprepared for the climate. He pressed himself against the trunk of a tree as the sound of his pursuers passed close by, trying to remain as still as possible while his ragged breathing sent puffs of fog into the cold air.

Four shadows appeared around a bend in the trail. A thin boy with straw-colored hair and a sour expression on his face, wearing a white robe with a polished buckle of a golden sun stepped forward, followed closely by three other boys. “Which way did Sarac go?” came Braden’s surly voice. “I should have killed him when I had the chance. If he makes it back to the Temple of Inscriptions to tell the Elders what happened…”

Sarac picked up a small rock and threw it hard against a tree on the other side of the trail. It made a loud cracking sound as it struck the trunk.

“This way!” Braden shouted, leading the boys away from Sarac’s hiding place.
Sarac breathed a sigh of relief, and stumbled forward. Female voices drifted on the wind as Sarac’s feet snapped fallen branches. In a grassy clearing ahead, four girls were practicing their dancing. A chestnut-haired girl in a white dress caught his eye; her long, brown tresses flowed as her feet skimmed the ground. Sarac’s eyes widened as he watched, entranced as the girl spun and twirled, seeming to float across the meadow. She looked like an angel as the radiance of the sun cast a golden nimbus behind her, lighting up the edges of her dress. The way her body moves! Sarac felt faint. He looked down at the jagged tear in his soaked shirt, and the underlying wound in his chest and was startled to see how much blood he had lost. His vision wavered and he stumbled forward into the clearing. The girl’s heads spun toward him; three of the girls shrieked and fled the clearing. Sarac clutched the front of the remaining girl’s shawl as he fell forward, his bloodied fingers leaving red marks on her dress.

“What are you doing over here on this side of the river?” the girl asked, one hand on her hip. Her dark eyebrows lowered in concern and she gasped as she saw Sarac’s bloodied chest. She quickly bent down over him, her hanging hair framing her face as she shook him gently.

Sarac moaned and stirred, slowly opening his eyes as he looked at her. “There was a—”
The girl placed a finger against Sarac’s lips and smoothed back his hair. “I’m a healer. Rest now and let me see what I can do for your injuries,” she said, closing her eyes in intense concentration. White light flowed from her fingertips, snaking across Sarac’s body. Sarac gasped and arched his back; he squeezed his eyes tight, pain rippling through his body as his flesh mended and muscles knit. When the power faded, the only sign that Sarac had been injured was a lightening of the skin on his chest. The healer swayed unsteadily on her feet, her face pale.

Sarac opened his eyes and moved his lips, trying to form words as he rose unsteadily to his feet. “I’m Sarac. Thanks for healing me.”

The girl extended her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Alena. I’m studying to be a Keeper of the Flame.”

Sarac nodded his head. “I know, I saw you practicing―”

Color rose to Alena’s cheeks as she brushed a dark strand of hair out of her eyes. “How embarrassing!” she said. She put a hand to her head and stumbled forward.
“Are you okay?” Sarac asked.

“I just need to rest for a minute. Healing is hard work.”

“Here, let me help you,” Sarac said, offering her his shoulder to lean on.
“Thank you. I must be getting back to the temple as the Sisters will start to wonder what happened to me.”

When the golden dome of the Temple of Fire came into view above the treetops, Alena stopped on the wooded trail. “Well, this is where we part. I can’t risk them seeing us together this close to the temple.”

“Why?”

“I’m studying to be a Sister of the Flame and must remain pure and chaste. For the other Sisters to see us together and think—”

“Say no more,” Sarac said as he raised her warm hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly.

“Alena! Where are you, child?” A stern female voice carried through the forest along with the sound of snapping twigs.

Alena’s eyes widened. “Oh, no! A Sister of the Flame! She cannot see me here with you, Sarac!”

The Sister burst through the underbrush, to find Sarac still holding Alena’s hand. “Out here with a boy, and an apprentice of the Temple of Inscriptions, no less!”

Sarac turned and ran in the other direction as the Sister grabbed Alena by the ear.
“Thought you would have some fun out here, did you?” the teacher sneered as she pulled Alena back down the trail toward the Temple of Fire.

“No, I healed him! You must believe me!” Alena cried in protest.

Sarac watched in dismay from the protection of a thicket of bushes, wondering if he would ever see Alena again.

Want to know what happens next? Order the book for your Kindle!

Waterman: a Turn-of-the-Century Toughs omnibus of historical fantasy and retrofuture science fiction

Waterman: a Turn-of-the-Century Toughs omnibus of historical fantasy and retrofuture science fiction [Kindle Edition]
by Dusk Peterson

Meredith is from the Eastern Shore of the Bay. Carr is from the Western Shore. . . .

"Fair play" is the motto of the Third House at Narrows School, but that motto takes on a different meaning when a lonely member of the Third House is secretly wooed by a young man from a rival House.

This 100,000-word omnibus contains all the current stories in Waterman, a historical fantasy series and retrofuture series inspired by the Chesapeake Bay oyster wars, boarding school rivalries in the 1910s, and 1960s visions of things to come.

About the Author
Dusk Peterson is a long-time resident of Maryland. The author's research for this story drew upon turn-of-the-century books, maps, and images; modern accounts by Chesapeake islanders and watermen; and visits to bay islands, port towns, and museums. Peterson is the author of Turn-of-the-Century Toughs, a cycle of historical fantasy novels that includes the Waterman series.

I'll be getting on the stick tomorrow!

Haven't been posting here in a regular fashion - will start doing so WEDNESDAY. Will be posting every Monday, Wednesday and Fri.

The Methuselan Circuit, by Christopher L Anderson

Well, halleluhah, I think I've just found an indi book!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Amazon/Kindle sure doesn't make it easy for those of us who want to promote indie authors. They're buried so far down in the lists that it's a miracle to find them!


Alexander has never been in space, zooted around in zero-G, scored a goal in Z-Crosse or fired a legionary battle rifle. He’s never thought of standing guard on the bridge of the famous U.S.S. Iowa, which everyone says is haunted. Even though his parents are Citizens, life on post war Terra isn’t easy: few of the anti-grav units work anymore, the food synthesizer broke years ago and there are no spare parts, and labor-robots were outlawed in the last wars. Alexander lives the life of a nineteenth century farmer on 23rd century Earth, doing chores from dawn to dusk with school squeezed in between—at night he gazes at the stars, looking forward to the day when his father lets him go on his interstellar freighter runs. Everything changes on Service Day, when an officer from the Fleet visits school and hands him an appointment to the Space Academy. Thrilled, Alexander puts on a space suit and leaves the farm behind, but his excitement is tempered when he discovers that he’s the key to a galaxy-wide intrigue that involved his father—his father the farmer and freighter captain, or could he be something else?

For more on Alexander's adventures go to www.dragons-and-dreadnauts.com or the author's blog at www.christopherlanderson.wordpress.com

Shattered Earth, by Cliff Ball

Available on Kindle

Advanced humans, called Terrans, leave Earth when its threatened by a massive meteor. The remaining humans on Earth fall back into primitiveness. The advanced humans, and a group of aliens, the Ragnor, involve Earth in an interstellar war. Thousands of years later, the humans of Earth decide to do something about this. Interstellar politics will never be the same again once Earth is done with their revenge. These Terrans involve themselves throughout human history. Some play as King Arthur and Merlin. Another is a scientist, whose name is Galileo, and he gets into all sorts of trouble for challenging official orthodoxy about the sun, the Earth, and which one is revolving around the other. Then, we have Amelia Earhart, who has a very valid reason for disappearing.

When an alien spaceship gets shot down over Roswell in 1947, President Truman orders the creation of Area 51, Project Blue Book and Sign, and has the United States embark on a plan that will culminate 60 years in the future. Nothing will ever be the same again when the United States gets involved in interstellar politics. But, the whole plan backfires when Earth ends up the worse for wear over it. Other species find out what Earth did, since no one else was bold enough to even try, so they want to help bring down the Ragnor once and for all. The new President of the United States imagines a galactic federation or a republic, but, none of the other species wants anything to do with it. With the help of the Terran who is known to
Earth as Amelia Earhart, they plot to destroy the Ragnor once and for all. Will Earth learn never to interfere in interstellar politics or will the humans finally succeed in getting all the aliens in the universe to leave them alone?

Amazon makes it so damn hard

Just spent an hour trying to find an independently published science fictoin book on the kindle...

You do a search on "science fiction" and go from high to low and you get books selling for $100 which are text books on SF. You go from low to high and you get books that don't cost anything - which means they're published by well-established publishers who have a deal with Amazon to allow them to give their books away from free - freezing out those independent publishers who'd like to offer their books for free to get some readers, too.

(I know this because I'd intended to offer The Coldest Equations: The Labyrinth Makers for free, in order to tweak people's desire to buy The Coldest Equations: The People Out There, only to be unable to do so because as an independent publisher, we're not allowed to do it!)

So I'm fed up for the day, and therefore this is not a post about an independently published sf book, but rather a rant about the incompetence of Amazon.

Will try again tomorrow.

Veterans of the Psychic Wars, by Wayne Gerard Trotman

TITLE: Veterans of the Psychic Wars
AUTHOR: Wayne Gerard Trotman
PUBLISHER: Red Moon Productions Ltd.
US DISTRIBUTION: Ingram, Baker & Taylor
UK DISTRIBUTION: Bertrams, Gardners

(Check out the author's blog: http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/)

Synopsis:
In a distant galaxy known as the Cosmic Sea, Baron Seti Aljyk has caused the Second Psychic War by seizing Najura, the last of the ancient swords of power, and usurping the imperial throne from Sakara Rey, the True Emperor. On Earth, young schoolteacher Roman Doyle remains unaware he is Prince Armon Sakara, heir apparent of the True Emperor. That is, until he encounters Chi-Ro Jin, a Veteran of the Psychic Wars. Chi-Ro’s mission is to return Roman to the True Emperor, but Roman believes that Chi-Ro is crazy.

When Roman’s wife, Soraya, is abducted by the Baron’s assassins, Roman is forced to make the epic journey to the Cosmic Sea. However he does not go alone. He is joined by his shamira Chi-Ro, Nuri Nemsys a beautiful secret agent, Anah Sadaka the mysterious captain of the Starglider Sanura and Roman’s friend, Zachary Silverman, a quantum physicist.

With his dormant psychic and astral abilities awakened by an alien drug and pursued by the Baron’s assassins, Roman, his friend, and the Veterans of the Psychic Wars face evil and danger in uncharted space and on alien worlds. Roman must overcome his fears, master the martial art of Hatari Ikou, and learn the secrets of astral projection, in order to rescue his wife, retrieve the sword of power, and bring the Psychic Wars to an end.

FORMAT: Paperback / Kindle / eBook
BACK MATTER: Appendices, Glossary of Terms

Sample Chapter

Chapter 52
Armed with the combat knife, which once belonged to Jin, father of Chi-Ro, Roman Doyle sprinted into the darkness of the Marusa Forest. He no longer heard Soraya’s screams and feared the worse. Instinct brought him to an abrupt halt. Ignoring the painful pounding of his heart, and the throbbing in his head, he strained to listen.
Roman heard only his own shallow breathing. Chi-Ro and Zachary were nowhere to be seen and could not be heard.

Why haven’t they followed?

The fear, which had been replaced by desperate bravado, returned with crushing intensity. And, with the fear, came doubt. Roman doubted his senses.

Did I imagine Soraya calling me?

Suddenly he heard a faint sound, directly behind. He tightened his grip on the dagger.

Roman spun quickly. From the darkness, a yellow-eyed hulk, possessing horns, fangs and claws, sprang towards him. The creature roared; a mighty roar, which drowned Roman’s scream and stopped his heart from beating.

Miraculously, the makra-gak’s large horns lunged on either side of Roman’s body; but the creature’s head slammed into his chest, hurling him through space.
Roman held on to the dagger for dear life, hoping not to land on its blade, hoping not to crash on his head. He managed to fall on both feet, but the momentum threw him to the ground on his back.

In a flash, the makra-gak was again upon him, sinking its claws into his shoulders. Roman stabbed with the dagger, and the creature roared with pain and anger. Roman stabbed again and again, tossed and rolled on the ground like a rag doll, as the vicious creature, relentlessly tried to kill him.

Desperately, Roman managed to drive the blade of the combat knife into the monster’s body. Blood made the hilt slippery, and Roman lost his grip. The knife remained lodged in the side of the makra-gak. The animal tossed its head in pain and anger; a horn crashed into the side of Roman’s body, hurling him five metres away.

Roman rolled into a shallow ditch and cowered. He heard the grunts and snorts of the wounded creature. It approached very slowly, in ever-decreasing circles.

“Roman, where are you?” came Soraya’s desperate call.

“No! Stay away! Get out of here, get out of here!” shouted Roman.

He dragged himself out of the ditch and to his feet. For the first time, he clearly saw his opponent.

The humanoid beast towered three metres tall. Its angular skull, reminiscent of a ram’s, sported a large forehead, pointed ears and a goateed chin. Its sickly yellow eyes glowed in the darkness.

This creature is like the Minotaur of Greek legend.

Clawed hands pulled the combat blade from its flesh and threw it to the ground. Then, for a chilling moment, the creature stared menacingly at Roman.

The makra-gak growled and prepared to charge. Roman focussed. He felt the warm, tingling sensation at the base of his spine.

“Where are you?” cried Soraya.

The makra-gak swiftly turned in the direction of Soraya’s voice.

Roman shouted to Soraya, “Stay away!”

Soraya’s voice asked, “Roman?”

The creature snarled defiantly, bolted and disappeared in the direction of Soraya’s voice.

“Run, Soraya, run!”

Instinct drove Roman to retrieve the dagger. He swiftly wiped the blood on his sleeve before returning it to the sheath on his belt. With a burst of psychic energy, Roman transformed into an astral wraith.

He flew in pursuit of the beast. Despite his blistering speed, the makra-gak remained several steps ahead, leading Roman through a maze of trees and shrubs.
Flying man and running beast approached an entrance carved in dark rock. The entrance led underground.

To his horror, Roman realised, It’s made of lapys nerian.

Just as quickly, his strength began to fail. He landed, resumed human form and thanked God that he retrieved the dagger. The makra-gak turned to Roman and growled before heading underground.

Roman shouted into the forest, “Soraya, there’s a cottage not far from here; you have to get to it.”

“I’m in a maze,” came Soraya’s voice, “I can’t find my way out. There’s something here...”

Soraya screamed.

Roman realised: She’s in there with the monster!

His gut feeling told him: This isn’t right. It doesn’t make sense.

However, the fear of losing his wife and unborn child propelled him towards the lapys nerian entrance.

Set in the stone, above the entrance, a smooth crystal orb provided illumination. Roman tentatively touched it. Despite the brilliance of the light it produced, the orb was as cold as the stone surrounding it.

With both hands, Roman wrenched the orb free. He disappeared, with the light, into the underground passage.

As he ventured into the gloom of the labyrinth, Roman felt he was being manipulated. He was being led into a trap.

He tried to reassure himself with the thought: This is only a dream.

But the deeper he walked into the dark maze, the more he asked himself, What if it’s real?

Dream or no dream, he had to rescue Soraya.

To add to his rising apprehension, Roman noticed that the light, emanating from the orb he carried, was slowly diminishing. Soon he would face complete darkness.

He also had another concern: How will I find my way out of this maze?

With Chi-Ro’s dagger, Roman tried to make a mark in the lapys nerian wall but found unsurprisingly, that the metal blade could not cut the hardest substance in the Cosmic Sea. Returning the knife to its sheath, he continued to follow the trail of blood left by the wounded makra-gak.

Roman estimated that he had walked about two hundred metres since entering the underground passage. He came to a halt. The single passage forked into two. Holding the orb up before him, he noticed a slight increase in its glow, when he pointed it towards the passageway on the left.

The makra-gak went that way. The orb is a proximity beacon. The closer it is to the makra-gak, the brighter it gets.

Roman jogged into the passageway on the left and immediately confirmed the correctness of his intuition. The light of the orb grew steadily brighter.

Confidently quickening his pace, Roman sprinted several metres until a fresh breeze caressed his face. He followed a sharp bend in the lapys nerian path and instinct urged him to draw Jin Lan’s dagger once more.

Holding the brilliant orb in his left hand, and the metal blade in his right, Roman saw that the passage grew wider, until it opened into an underground cave. With caution, he slowed to a brisk walk and to his surprise, the orb grew warmer and warmer until it became hot, too hot to handle.

Roman heard laboured breathing coming from the cave. He placed the orb on the ground and tightened his grip on Jin Lan’s dagger.

The makra-gak is here. It’s waiting for me.

Stealthily, Roman walked towards the mouth of the cave, towards the sound of laboured breathing. The sound made Roman realise he had been holding his breath. He inhaled slowly and felt some of the weight of apprehension lifted from his shoulders.
With each cautious step, he steeled himself for a confrontation with the wounded animal. He noticed that the sound of breathing became more and more irregular and that the interval between each breath became longer.

I think it’s dying. Maybe I’ll get Soraya out of here without much of a fight.

But a pang of guilt, soon replaced his sense of relief.

I didn’t want to kill the beast. It attacked me. I had no choice but to defend myself. Why did it attack me? Is Chi-Ro orchestrating this and if so, for what purpose?
With a plaintive wail, a gust of wind rushed from the cave into the passage; bringing Roman to a halt, and abruptly back to full red-alert. The wind subsided, as did Roman’s guilt and the painful sound of laboured breathing. All that remained was a chilling silence. Suddenly, the brilliant light of the orb quickly dimmed, glowed briefly and extinguished, plunging the underground passage into utter darkness.
In the black, Roman heard the sound of sobbing. A woman’s sobs emanated from the cave.

Oh my God, it’s Soraya.

Roman’s heart skipped a beat, and he felt a large knot develop in the pit of his stomach.

___________________
Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

The Little Universe, by Jason Matthews

The Little Universe by Jason Matthews
http://www.thelittleuniverse.com
The Little Universe at Kindle Amazon

Description -
What if you could create a universe - a miniature, self-enclosed universe? Imagine having probing cameras that could focus to any star or planet looking for life. And once you found life, what if you could accelerate time and watch it evolve? What might you find? Primordial soup. Strange beings. Alien societies. Profound wisdom. These are not the questions Jon Gruber ponders as he pedals to his next carpentry job. Over thirty, unmarried, he doesn't even own a car. But a new assignment challenges him to rethink his place in the world. Is he a loser? Or is he about to become a partner in an experiment of phenomenal discovery?

Webster Adams, Jon's client, astronomer, inventor, performs such an experiment. To Webster's amazement, he finds planets and cultures beyond his wildest dreams. His little universe turns into a discovery machine - an overnight goldmine. He and his crew observe societies that evolve so far past them on levels of technology and spirituality, that the world will be forever changed. Webster's lovely daughter, Whitney, also overwhelms Jon. She opens his eyes to the deeper meanings within the experiment - to the divine nature and connectedness of all life, by finding the most advanced beings within the project - the spirit guides from Theta 7. The Big Bang is a God-game at multiple levels.

For Webster Adams, one question immediately comes to light. "If I can create a universe," he wonders, "then who created ours?" The debate between evolution and creation is the subtle undertone throughout Webster's story. Can it be proven that God exists? Or is life a random, free-flowing evolution with no design? Along with Jon, you, the reader, will be presented a new perspective on life and your role in the great mystery of the universe.

Author Bio -
I live in Truckee, California with my wife and teen daughters. I write books, paint houses, ski, love dogs and coaching European football (soccer). Life experience and the universe fascinate me enough to write novels on the subjects: The Little Universe and Jim's Life. I also enjoy the fruits of the internet and helping others create online platforms, make free websites and sell products like ebooks. My guides include: How to Make, Market And Sell Ebooks All for Free, How to Make Your Own Free Website And Your Free Blog Too, and Get On Google Front Page.

I do Skype visits too. If your club reads any of my books and would like a Skype visit, just contact me via my websites to arrange an author chat. Thanks.
http://www.thelittleuniverse.com

Here's the first 2 chapters:

Introduction

“We have society! Pinching myself. Yesterday they were primates. Grooming parasites, eating reeds. Today they’re driving! Just fifty thousand orbits? How could they evolve so quickly? I need to know. We looked for the link but nothing yet. Possible I missed something, but what? Jim’s going over the logs, maybe he’ll find it. Mind’s a blur—thoughts won’t stop—could go on all night. Need to rest, hope I can. Wish Rose could have seen this.”
- from p. 66 of Webster’s journal.


Chapter 1: The Concept
It was late winter. My legs labored to turn the pedals on the bicycle as frigid air bit into my cheeks and knuckles. I cursed myself for leaving my hat and gloves at the bar the night before. I rode slowly, steering with one hand while warming the other in my pocket until frostbite forced a switch. It didn’t matter how cold it was. I needed the work. My stomach reminded me that it needed food, real food. It was tired of stale crackers and cheap beer. I rode on through the frost.

I rode my bicycle everywhere. I even fashioned leather saddlebags over the front and rear tires to carry essential tools. I was the only carpenter I knew without a truck. Yet with two bags of basic tools, I could accomplish almost any job. From that, I felt some pride. I pedaled quickly past a busy construction site and endured the jeers from workers dressed in expensive coveralls, laughing at me as they leaned against new trucks, sipping their hot drinks. The aroma of fine coffee made my stomach grumble. I thought of my situation and felt a bit angry.

I wondered if I was a loser. Success meant having things like a good job, a wife and home, kids and pets. I was over thirty and had none of those. I didn’t even own a car, but I took pride in limited needs and thought the world would be a better place if more people were like me, common and somewhat content. T-shirts and jeans filled the closet in my apartment, and I liked it that way.

Certainly I wasn’t a success. Was I really a loser? It was a good question. The thought was going through my mind as I pulled up, hungry and half-frozen, to his driveway for my first meeting with Webster Adams.

Adams hired me as a handyman. He got my name from his neighbor, an elderly woman who had employed me in the past. He came out to meet me in the driveway, walking quickly in the brisk air, wearing a collar shirt and slacks. He was taller than average, thin and appeared to be late fifties with wavy black hair mixed with streaks of gray. He had very blue eyes.

Adams smiled awkwardly as he surveyed my bicycle. Then he stuck out his hand and shook mine.

“Your hand is freezing,” he observed, gripping mine harder than I wanted, not sensing the pain of near frostbite I was experiencing.

I smiled and replied, “Pleasure to meet you, sir. I’m Jon Gruber.”

“Interesting transportation, Mr. Gruber. Especially in this weather.”

His look was one of admiration and concern. I suspected he was deciding whether he had made a mistake in hiring me.

“Gets me from point A to B,” I said, disconnecting the front leather bag. I slung it over my shoulder, hoping to instill some confidence in Adams.

He led me into his house. The entry had a cathedral ceiling with stained glass windows that filled the downstairs with an array of colors, like walking through a rainbow. The wooden floor was finely polished. My footsteps echoed softly as I followed him down the hallway.

“Should I take off my shoes?” I asked. Adams shook his head no.

Dozens of framed pictures hung on the walls of a happy family: man, wife and pretty daughter. The girl instantly caught my eye. Auburn hair, easy smile, the girl-next-door look that I was naturally attracted to.

Adams jogged up the first flight of stairs and I followed. This area was filled with astronomical works of art, paintings of planets, nebulas and constellations. Things I knew nothing about. Adams paused briefly on the second flight as he passed the largest of the paintings, a planet with a purple body and half-finished blue rings around it. It was a lovely piece of work though I wondered why it was unfinished. He stared at it for a moment then continued up.

The top floor was immaculate with marble counters, leather couches and a plush carpet leading to a stone hearth and fireplace where a small fire crackled. I looked around at the trophies of a successful man and wondered if I would ever have those things.

“I want to tear down this wall that separates the kitchen from the great room,” Adams explained. “The idea is to make it one big space.”

“I can do that.”

“Everything?”

“Yeah.”

“How would you get the materials here?”

“Delivery.”

“What would you recommend?” he asked.

I imagined the finished product and said, “I’ll rip out the wallboard and the studs to here, then frame a bar that stretches toward the middle. Then I’ll rewire the electrical, texture, paint and whatnot.”

He ended by saying, “I want it to be done well, Jon.”

I answered with a promise that never failed. “Sir, if you’re not delighted with the finished product, you don’t have to pay me.”

Adams laughed at my guarantee, but a look of ease came to his face. Then he pointed at the counter to a plate full of cookies. “Help yourself,” he said. “The neighbor brought them over.”

Once he looked away, I took three and stuffed them in my mouth. Fuel for good work, I thought.

I jogged downstairs and grabbed the remaining bag of tools from my bike. I anticipated the ride home without the heavy tools or the bitter morning cold. I reminded myself to stop by the Star Bar and pick up my hat and gloves. Samantha would hold them for me. Then I headed back upstairs and began demolishing the wall that enclosed his kitchen. Adams watched me briefly before going to his office.
After destroying the wall, I hauled the debris down to the garage. The place was full of circuits and devices, like a high-tech machine shop. I guessed that Adams was an inventor. He came down and saw me staring at things. He showed me an oscillating microscope and tried to explain how it worked. The concepts were mindboggling. I nodded along dumbly as if I understood what he was saying. I didn’t think Adams realized the information was beyond me as he went on and on with the explanation.

I worked for him for a week. He had a quiet but pleasant nature, introverted. He often seemed absorbed in thought as he came and left frequently during those days, preoccupied with his latest project. Sometimes he would jot notes in a little brown booklet. I heard him mumbling to himself as he read over the notes, complex fragments I could not begin to understand.

“That can’t be? Portal from ct over zero at y parsec?” Adams said once in passing.
“Excuse me?” I asked with a paintbrush in hand.

“Sorry, Jon. Just thinking out loud.”

“No problem. Let me know if I can help with anything,” I said.

He grinned slightly, appreciating my joke.

We couldn't have been much more different. Adams was highly educated and used to wealth while I wasn't. At first we began with the usual chat about weather and sports. Eventually we talked about most anything, especially at lunch, which he preferred to be delivered. He never ate all of his and always offered the rest to me. We made an odd couple, but we had good talks and laughs and over time I sensed we were becoming friends.

As the job came to a close, I could tell he had something he wanted to ask, but never did I expect what he was about to say. I remember how clueless I felt when he first brought up the subject.

“Jon, have you ever wondered how the universe began?” Adams asked on the final day. He was holding a panel for the bar in place as I set the nails.

“What do you mean?” I asked, continuing to pound away.

“The origin of the stars and planets. Does that stuff interest you?”

“A little.” I knew we were on a sphere going around the sun once a year and that space was really huge. Beyond that, what was there to think about?

“What do you know about The Big Bang?”

“You mean when the universe started?” I hit the nail but bent it sideways.

“Right,” Adams said, staring at me. His directness made me slightly uncomfortable, but it was just his way, intense and passionate about his ideas.
“Why do you ask?”

Adams became excited as he spoke. “Imagine watching the universe begin. What if you could go back in time about twenty billion years and see it all happen? Do you have any idea what that would be like?”

“Not exactly.”

“It all began with a piece of matter that was infinitely small and infinitely dense.” Adams pressed his fingers in a tight spot to convey his message. “Then it exploded in brilliant light! Everything that exists came from that tiny piece of dense matter. Everything! Stars, planets, entire galaxies came from that pinpoint of matter.”

“Sounds logical,” I said. It didn’t, of course. How could everything have started from one tiny spot?

I pounded the last nail and made sure the panel was secure.

“Jon, what would you say if I told you I’m attempting to reproduce The Big Bang? In miniature, of course.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m recreating The Big Bang. Simulating a universe.”

“For real?”

Simulate a universe? I knew Adams was an inventor but this seemed impossible.

“Would you like to see the project?”

“Maybe.”

“You can stay on the clock if it makes a difference.”

I put the hammer down and took off my tool-belt. We left the house and hopped into his truck, a new machine with only a few scuff marks in the bed. Adams drove as he explained the origin of the universe. I listened carefully, but the lecture was way over my head.

We passed the last of the buildings and houses in our town and continued into the countryside for a few minutes. I sat silently, wondering where this project would be and what it would be like. Adams let the silence extend. Finally, he turned onto a dirt path. We followed it until it ended and arrived at the only dwelling in sight.

“Here it is,” he announced.

Chapter 2: The Project
It was an odd building way out in the middle of nothing but fields and forest. The structure looked newly built yet it was totally nondescript, unlike anything I had seen in my construction career. The building was three stories high and primarily elliptical, like an oval-shaped frame placed over a rectangular frame. Though it had no windows, it looked finished with a light brown plaster coating the whole thing. There was no paved driveway, just the dirt pad left from the construction vehicles.
Adams swiped a magnetic strip key and pressed buttons for a security code. The tall, heavy doors opened slowly, making a slight creaking sound. I breathed in the scent of new carpet. Large boxes placed on top of the rolls clogged up the entry.

We entered the cool room, leaving the doors open to let in light. The lobby appeared the same as the overall building. It was finished structurally, but it still needed texture, paint, carpeting and fixtures.

“There’s work to do here,” Adams said, as he showed me around the lobby. I nodded, thinking the entry alone could use many hours of my services.

Adams flicked a light switch then walked down a corridor to the center of the building. I followed slowly. My attention was drawn to large photos on the walls, dozens of images that must have been taken from a gigantic telescope. Star dust, planets, moons, entire galaxies. They were breathtaking pictures such as I had never seen and in far more detail than the paintings at Adams’ home. The matter exploded out from the frames in amazing color. My first impression was that the galaxies were not just rocks and matter, but living things.

“Are these artists’ paintings, or are they real?” I asked, tracing my finger around a stellar explosion. The label said it was a supernova.

“They’re all real. These are parts of our universe. Except for this one.” He pointed to a photo labeled a spiral galaxy. The stars were tiny points of bright light swirling in dark space. “This one’s a computer simulation of our galaxy.”

“Why a simulation?”

“We don’t have cameras far enough out in space to shoot it from this perspective.”
“Oh.” I felt stupid for asking and reminded myself to keep quiet on any subject I knew nothing about.

“That’s our sun,” he added, pointing to a secluded dot way out on a spiral arm of the galaxy.

“That’s our sun?” I asked, mesmerized by it.

“That’s it.”

“What about all these other lights?”

“They’re other suns. Some of them are stars you see on a clear night.”

Adams opened a door to the main room on the lower floor. We entered a command central with desks, chairs, computer equipment and dozens of large monitors. Some were attached to the walls, and some were still in boxes. Packing foam, shipping plastic and empty cartons littered the floor. On the desks, papers were scattered about. I looked at them and saw handwritten equations. Chemistry or physics, I guessed. They were light years ahead of my understanding. I walked around the cool, dimly lit room, sensing something very unusual was going on.
“Have a seat,” Adams told me.

I sat in a swivel chair that was still in its shipping plastic. I found the chair comfortable and used my feet to spin around in circles.
“Jim, this is Jon Gruber,” Adams said. I looked around, still spinning. The room was empty except for Adams and me.

“Who are you talking to?” I asked, stopping my spins.

Adams didn’t respond. He continued speaking, it seemed, to the room in general. “Jon will be doing a lot of handyman work, but if you need help with simple things, you can ask him.”

“Am I missing something?” I asked.

Adams waited patiently through the silence.

Then a quiet voice asked, “What if I blow a circuit switch?” The voice spoke with honesty and calmness like that of a child, and it filled the room.

“That I’ll need to fix for now. In time, I’m sure Jon can handle things like that as well.”

“Cool. Are you talking with a computer?” I asked, standing up from the chair.

“Yes,” Adams said. “Jon, meet Jim. And he prefers not to be called a computer.”

“Sorry, Jim.” I looked around the room, wondering where to direct my voice. “Which way do I speak? Can you hear me okay?”

After a pause, Jim answered with a shy, “Yes.” I noticed a green light on the wall over the largest desk. It glowed more brightly as Jim spoke.

I asked, “Is that your light, Jim?” He didn’t answer, but the light pulsed gently.
Adams said, “It’s an indicator of how much Jim is thinking.”

It was my first conversation with a computer, and I felt a little awkward about what to say. Then Jim started asking me questions.

“Why are you here?” Jim began.

“I’m here to help.”

“With what?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, letting my words trail off, still trying to grasp what was going on.

Jim’s light stayed green for a while.

I looked around and made a mental list of what needed doing. I was happy to be offered more work, but I was especially excited to be talking with a computer.

“What do you think?” Adams asked me.

“When can I start?”

“Today I took on an assistant. I wanted to do this alone, but that was just me being stubborn. Familiar, eh Rose? A young man with a strong back and good hands. Mr. Gruber will do fine. Jim’s taken a liking to him and vice versa."
- from p. 12 of Webster’s journal.

Anyone, by Melissa Conway

Description
Like many refugees who fled their homes during the Cataclysm, Tainie Strauss is starting over. No friends, no money, new school--a tough combination for any sixteen-year-old, much less an awkward, unattractive girl whose mother believes in fairies. Tainie is pragmatic about her life until she starts imagining she can read people’s minds. The day her face temporarily changes shape seemingly of its own volition, she can only conclude she’s gone crazy. But her mother has a different theory: during a ceremony to stop the Cataclysm, Tainie was exposed to a secret catalyst that can turn an ordinary descendant of the Folk into a shapeshifter.

For the first time in her miserable life, Tainie can be someone else--anyone else. Soon her beautiful alter-ego Tory is attracting the attention of one of the best-looking boys in school. But Tainie barely has time to enjoy her newfound ability before covert agents bent on obtaining the knowledge of how to create an army of shapeshifters threaten her whole world.

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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Escape From Earth (Oasis), by Ivis Bo Davis

Description
LEAVE EARTH OR DIE

The electromagnetic field around the Earth is fading away, and with it the protection it once provided against solar radiation. Soon the planet will burn, and everything and everyone on the planet will die. Deep Space Vessel Trisznov is the first human interstellar colony ship, and she is nearly ready to launch in search of a new habitable planet to colonize among the stars...

The United Nations has refused to arm the colony ships with powerful military weapons for their defense, under the guise of refusing to export war to the universe...

Radical religious zealots are intent on preventing unbelievers from exporting their wickedness to the heavens, even if they have to destroy the colony ships and the hopes of all mankind...

A greedy Russian Colonel has possession of a nuclear warhead to sell to the right buyer...

International bankers, determined to take political and economic control of the new colony, are behind the U.N.'s 'Unarmed Colonist" decision. Unknown to the United Nations, they are secretly building a fleet of heavily armed Space Cruisers to follow the colonists to their new planet, OASIS, to enforce their continued lust for power...

In the midst of immense international tension, a worldwide riot threatens to break out among the terrified majority who finally understand that they will be left behind to die...

Three unlikely teenagers leading a tiny group of political dissidents are all that stand in the way of the power brokers and those determined to prevent the colonization of the universe. Along the way they discover that they need the help of someone greater than themselves...

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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

How To Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, by Charles Yu

Lev Grossman Reviews How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe for Amazon: (Lev Grossman is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Magicians.)

The science-fictional universe in question in this marvel of a novel is Minor Universe 31 (MU31). It's something of a second-rate universe, having been left unfinished by whoever was constructing it--the laws of physics were abandoned only 93 percent installed, Yu tells us, and the human inhabitants "seem to have been left with a lingering sense of incompleteness." This is a universe you need to visit. If by some happy chance you don’t already live there.

The hero of this story, also named Charles Yu, ekes out a living there as a time travel repairman--"a certified network technician for T-class personal-use chronogramattical vehicles, and an approved independent affiliate contractor for Time Warner Time, which owns and operates this universe as a spatio-temporal structural and entertainment complex zoned for retail, commercial, and residential use." (Time Warner Time -- that's the kind of three-pointer Yu never misses.) Charles is a high-tech sad sack, whose only companions are a dog, who's mostly hypothetical, and a computer with a sexy feminine AI interface that Yu has a crush on.

The thing about time travel in MU31 is that it's not all wormholes and apocalypses and "look out that's a temporal anomaly off the starboard nacelle, Captain!" Human beings mostly use time machines to go back and eavesdrop on their own screwed-up lives, reliving key moments, bad decisions and missed opportunities, in the mistaken belief that they can change them. They can't. "I have job security," Yu explains, "because what the customer wants, when you get right down to it, is to relive his very worst moment, over and over again."

Not that Yu has it all figured out. His elderly mom is parked in a time loop, where she cooks a Sunday dinner over and over again. His father, a tragically frustrated inventor, is lost somewhere in the chronoverse. And Yu has a problem: one day he accidentally ran into his future self … and shot him. That's right: he shot himself. And one day, the laws of the universe dictate, that future self will be him.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe is a triumph, as good as anything in Calvino or Stanislaw Lem. I wish I could travel back in time with a copy and fraudulently publish it under my own name. Like most people, I thought I learned everything I needed to know about time travel from H.G. Wells and Star Trek, but I thought wrong: In Yu's skillful hands a worn-out science fiction plot device becomes a powerfully expressive metaphor for how we experience the flickering, ineffable, ungraspable spatio-temporal phenomenon of life. Because after all, we're all time travelers, blundering forward into the future at the rate of one second per subjectively experienced second.

Except when we don't. Think about it: How many times have you yourself been trapped in a time loop, cycling obsessively through one inescapable moment, again and again and again, while the rest of the universe rolled forward and left you behind?

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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Red Moon, by Chris Berman

2017: While America prepares for a return to the Moon in 2020, China lands a military expedition on the Moon’s South Pole and in defiance of UN treaties, seizes the subsurface lunar ice fields and claims the Moon’s resources as the property of the People’s Republic of China. African American President Cordelier Price, thrust into her role as commander in chief by an assassin’s bullet, must enlist the aid of discredited former NASA astronaut John McGovern to lead an international collation and stake a counter claim. McGovern however, finds he must share his command duties with beautiful Russian cosmonaut Natasha Polyakova, as they face traitors, saboteurs and the Chinese military that will stop at nothing to end their quest. As the coalition crew battles for their lives on the unforgiving surface of the Moon, China’s true sinister plans for global domination emerge, sending the world on a collision course toward nuclear war.


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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Sardu, by Carma Dillon

Ruby is the only child with an active imagination in a future spaceship society ruled by superstitious genetic engineers who put her parents down for being incurable daydreamers. She escapes with the legendary 100-year-old woman and is thrown into an outrageous quest to save the last giant dragonfly.

Saardu is a planet in the Eagle Nebula, seven thousand light years from Earth. The series is suitable for imaginative readers of any age, and is inspired by the idea of 11 dimensions as suggested by String Theory.

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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Astra: The Reckoning, by Lisa Ekstra

Description
A year ago, Magnius Zoleki struggled with a life of boredom and an unhappy marriage. These days, he'd take those problems in a heartbeat.

After fleeing New England, Magnius and Amii arrive on Barnard Station: a decaying trade outpost on the edge of oblivion. One misstep sends them hiding in places vagrants refuse to tread, all while they plot to rescue her father from the alien mothership. Her plan is nothing short of audacious—if they manage to stay under the radar long enough to execute it.

To add to their troubles, the crisis with Xur reaches critical proportions. The Allied Confederacy refuses their demand for unconditional surrender, plunging them into a brand of warfare Astra has never experienced. Magnius and Amii try to stay neutral but get caught between the two sides and swept into the struggle. It's the beginning of a war that might kill everyone he holds dear. The last place he wants to be is on the wrong side, and if that doesn't tear apart what remains of his sanity, Amii Martin will.

Astra: The Reckoning is the second novel in the Astra saga, a story that follows in the epic tradition of Cyteen and Dune.

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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

The Starfish People, by Leann Marshall

Description:
Leg muscles burning and arms punching through water and air, hands clawing for something, anything that can pull me up, pull me out, give me a chance! Help me help me help me . . .
Gasping, SERA wakes from the nightmare again.
Her therapist believes that her troubled young patient is reliving the drowning death from a past life in her dreams. When she convinces Sera to travel back in time to witness the death of that past entity in an effort to break the nightmare's cycle, Sera is faced with a difficult choice: does she stand by and let events unfold as they will, or does she break the rules of time travel and help to save the ones she loves, only to risk everything, including her own life? The choice she makes results in an anomaly so horrible and yet so beautiful, it transforms each of them.


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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Astra: Synchronicity, by Lisa Eskra

Free on the Kindle

Description
Magnius Zoleki has everything a fifty-year-old man could want—except the psionic assassin trying to kill him.

In 2310, humans persecute psions and hunt them to extinction regardless of guilt. Magnius is one of them: an evolutionary offshoot of mankind known for their psychic abilities and tendency to murder in order to utilize their power. Despite using his telekinesis sparingly, his secret makes it back to his childhood tutor. She murdered his best friend's father in cold blood, giving him every reason to run away before his abilities manifested. Now with the hope he'll join her cause to strike down humanity, she sends an assassin to bring him home. Of course, that doesn’t mean he needs to bring him in one piece.

As a consequence of his double life, Magnius faces divorce, bankruptcy, and death—but not necessarily in that order. In his flight to survive, he meets Amii Martin, a woman who recently lost her memory in a laboratory accident. She implores him for help rescuing the only man with ties to her past after relations with a benevolent alien race take a tragic turn. The last thing Magnius needs is to get mixed up in an ugly war, but in order to escape the clutches of his nefarious mentor and save Amii’s father, he’s willing to risk it or die trying.

Astra: Synchronicity is a science-fiction thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoy the work of C. J. Cherryh and also those who fell in love with the romance of The Time Traveler's Wife.




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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Human Company, by Robert Petty

Human Company, a science fiction novel, pits humans against their bioengineered replacements.

Bios, women bioengineered from human stock, have settled the marginally inhabitable planet Snowshoe. However, the collapse of a space elevator has plunged their Femdom into a dark age.

Gypsy realizes that a long abandoned second elevator, which is near collapse, threatens to destroy the re-emergent civilization. When the bios women oppose his attempt to save the elevator, he recruits a company of outcast human girls into the quest.

CHAPTER 1 -- MECHANICALS

The trouble with women is that all you get is sympathy. They will
probably still be patting me on the head when the Elevator destroys the world.

As I searched for Redblood, I took a deep breath to ease the
tightness gripping my chest. This would be her last chance. She
either helped me or else.

Was she gone? A dark shape moved on the left -- only a horse in the stables. Across the square, the open gate framed a deserted
drawbridge. Why did it have to get dark so soon? At last I saw
someone to the right, standing on the castle wall. Shadows from the tower hid her features, but she stood straighter than the farm girls. It was Redblood.



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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Containment, by Christian Cantrell

Description
As Earth's ability to support human life begins to diminish at an alarming rate, the Global Space Agency is formed with a single mandate: protect humanity from extinction by colonizing the solar system as quickly as possible. Venus, being almost the same mass as Earth, is chosen over Mars as humanity’s first permanent steppingstone into the universe.

Arik Ockley is part of the first generation to be born and raised off-Earth. After a puzzling accident, Arik wakes up to find that his wife is almost three months pregnant. Since the colony’s environmental systems cannot safely support any increases in population, Arik immediately resumes his work on AP, or artificial photosynthesis, in order to save the life of his unborn child. Arik’s new and frantic research uncovers startling truths about the planet, and about the distorted reality the founders of the colony have constructed for Arik’s entire generation. Everything Arik has ever known is called into question, and he must figure out the right path for himself, his wife, and his unborn daughter.

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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Homecoming, by H.A.L. Wagner

This is a short story, not a novel.

Description
An astronaut must endure a long flight back to Earth on a British space craft alone after the Co-Pilot has died and all communications with England have been lost. Accompanied by the traditional Chimp on board, the astronaut, Hershel, has nothing to do but routine systems checks (the on board computer does them anyway) and participate in the mandatory Virtual Reality sessions to counter act the social deprivation experienced on long space flights. The computer mistakenly loads his dead co-pilot’s VR but Hershel decides to make the Co-Pilot’s VR world his own.


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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Time's Edge by J. M. Dattilo

Description
Imagine being a Commander in the Galactic Armed Forces and on a mission so secret that you can’t be told what it is.

Imagine being thrown into another time and place with no explanation.

Imagine being stuck with a smart-mouthed computer, an ultra-correct android, and a seven-foot tall monster who knows both Santa Claus and Shakespeare.

Imagine being lost in time with a woman who may either be falling in love with you or trying to kill you.

Imagine being in a place that sits between worlds, dimensions, and times.

Imagine Time’s Edge.

Time’s Edge is the first place winner of the 2005 Tassy Walden Award, a literary prize given by the Shoreline Arts Alliance of Connecticut. A fast-paced, lighter tale, the story blends adventure, humor, and romance in a fun-to-read mix of sci-fi and fantasy.



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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Distant Cousin, by Al Past

Description
What if our first contact from another planet was a human? What if the first real alien to visit Earth from another solar system was a woman on a mission to find the distantly related cousins of her own people? What if she brought with her a warning of an impending disaster of apocalyptic proportions? And what if nobody believed her?

Al Past’s novel Distant Cousin is a most unusual science fiction story with a most unusual heroine. Ana Darcy has jeopardized her mission and cut herself off from her own people to bring a desperate warning to Earth authorities. Astronomers at a Texas observatory don’t believe her, but the US military is willing to interrogate her—under custody of course. Her astonishing escape from Army detainment is our first hint that she may be more than she first appears and capable of more than we imagine. While the military scrambles to locate and recapture the woman they call “Gidget from Outer Space,” Darcy realizes that her journey to Earth has placed her in the path of the oncoming destruction and she will suffer Earth’s fate if the calamity is not avoided.

Befriended by ordinary people as varied as the family of a Texas dude ranch foreman, a mild-mannered reporter, and an Olympic contender from Barbados, Darcy conceives a daring plan to evade government capture while hiding in plain sight, and to deliver her warning in a manner which cannot possibly be ignored. Afterward, she might just fall in love … if she can trust her own feelings … and if she can trust her boyfriend with the truth about her origins. This is a science fiction novel which might better be described as a love story with scientific speculation. The premise of humans on another world is startling, and the author reels out details about Darcy’s homeworld so sparingly that our curiosity is cleverly aroused. It is only when unexpected arrivals provoke a sudden crisis of diplomacy that we learn exactly what Darcy gave up in accepting her mission to Earth—and what she might be running from.



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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share the book cover and the book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want your ebook to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

2984 by R. Vincent Riccio

Description
Enter a futuristic, Orwellian Earth a thousand years in the future, where a benevolent but omnipotent government controls everything - what you see, believe, think, and do - where one man seeks the answers to how the world developed in this fashion, & where he must unravel the mind-boggling mysteries & puzzles which surround society, mankind, his beautiful Nurse-guide, & his own incredible life. Futuristic, next-world Science Fiction adventure by acclaimed author-psychologist, R. V. Riccio.



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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share book cover and book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness, by Kristie Lynn Higgins

Book one in the Shades of Gray series.
Pandora Project Publisher

Description
A haunting melody . . .
A forgotten past . . .

Kat woke to a world of endless night. She had no memory of who she was. A music box, a letter, and a gun were her only clues. Her forgotten past was the least of her troubles. Killing machines called Un-Men hunted her. Why? She didn't know, only that to survive she had to destroy them. Kill or be killed.

A life of murder . . .
A life of loneliness . . .

Kimberly Griffin, a Life Closer (legal assassin) existed in a world of death. She Closed people for a living, a lonely demeaning existence, though she won't admit it. There was nothing to drive her in the bleak reality, not until she ran into Kat.

Worlds collide . . .
A life of lies . . .

What was Kim to do with Kat? Kat knew she was a Life Closer. Kim couldn't let anyone live who knew, but lies were unraveling with her around. Secrets were surfacing.

Who am I?
What am I?

By the time Kat ran into Kim, a year had gone by. There was something familiar about Kim, but the why wouldn't reveal itself. Was Kim just another test like the Un-Men? What did their chance meeting really mean?




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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share book cover and book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.So, authors, if you want to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.comI would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Helix, by JL Bryan

Description
In the 28th century, humans inhabit more than a thousand self-contained orbital colonies in the near reaches of the solar system. Billions of colonists follow the religious teachings of the Aescelan, priests who promote managed evolution and control their followers' reproduction through genetic engineering.

Nicholas Vermeer is the perfect citizen of prosperous New Amsterdam colony: junior police officer, devoted Temple member, soon to be a father. But when he and his wife visit the priests to design their first child, his wife dies in a shocking attack on the Temple, carried out by half-human monsters. His unauthorized investigation draws him into the shadows of a brewing war among the Aescelan priesthood, the United Nations government of Earth, and the cyber-industrial corporate giant Triod Industries, all of them vying for dominance of the unruly colonies.

The Aescelan priests have secretly and illegally spawned experimental new forms of humanity, and the creations are rebelling against their masters. Nicholas finds among these monstrous "chimeras" the truth about his wife's death, the priesthood's centuries-long manipulation of the human genome, and their dark designs for the future of the human species.

BONUS MATERIAL: This book contains an excerpt of Forbidden the Stars by Valmore Daniels.

About the Author
J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on the English Renaissance and the Romantic period. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He is the author of five novels and one short-story collection. He enjoys remixing elements of paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, horror and science fiction into new kinds of stories. His goal is to provide highly original fiction like you won't find anywhere else. His new novel is The Haunted E-book. The sequel to his novel Jenny Pox will be available by summer 2011. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, as well as some dogs, cats, and domestic plants.
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Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share book cover and book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.

So, authors, if you want to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.com

I would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

Dark Matter, by S. W. Ahmed

Description
Dark matter, the invisible substance that constitutes the bulk of all matter in the universe, remains one of science's greatest mysteries. But what if it actually is nothing more than ordinary matter purposely hidden from our view? What if we are only allowed to see a small fraction of the stars in our galaxy, because the vast majority of star systems are teeming with aliens who wish to remain unseen? Marc Zemin, a brilliant student of astrophysics, is the first human to ever stumble upon this startling secret, when his experiments with wormhole travel cause aliens to land on Earth and whisk him away into space. To his astonishment, the aliens want his help in fighting a colossal galactic war that is rapidly spiraling out of control. But as he struggles to survive from battle to battle across the farthest reaches of the galaxy, he begins to uncover a horrifying conspiracy at play, striving to keep the warring civilizations in continuous conflict with each other.

A desperate race against time ensues, as he and a handful of newfound alien friends try to stop the war and confront this mysterious, powerful force bent on destroying all life in the galaxy. But any hope of their success surprisingly appears to hinge on just one thing - whether or not Marc has the strength to overcome his own demons and face the shattering truth about who he really is.

NOTE: Dark Matter is a classic style space opera combined with elements of fantasy. It is not a pure or hard science fiction book. You can always preview it first to see if it's the kind of story or writing style you'll like. On Google Books, nearly a third of the book can be previewed for free.

___________________
Science Fiction Showcase is not a review site. I share book cover and book description. My ultimate goal, when authors find out about this blog, is for them to share sample excerpts from their book - anything up to a chapter.

So, authors, if you want to be showcased here, email me at Nocturne_CVS@Yahoo.com

I would like to help promote Indie Authors, so contact me!

The Coldest Equations, by Caroline Miniscule

The Coldest Equations, by Caroline Miniscule
Sacred Poet Press, 2011
Where does imagination come from? That's not the right question. The question is, where does it *go*? Once a TV series is committed to celluloid - even if its only one episode - an alternate Earth featuring that series' universe is created.

And there are People Out There, watchers, who have learned how to transport actors from Earth into the bodies of their counterparts on the alternate Earths, and vice versa.

Tracy Karlovassi is the star of a near-science fiction series called The Coldest Equations, in which she plays Security Agent Miranda Rainbird. Framed for a crime she did not commit, her character is on the run, chased by friend and foe alike.

Miranda Rainbird might be able to solve the mystery and establish her innocence, but can a mere actress?

Chapter Five excerpt:
VI.
At the exact same time that Tracy was waking up in Miranda Rainbird’s bedroom, the following exchange occurred, in a place far, far away.

Has the second subject been acquired?
Yes, Oh Great One.
Very well. Initiate the Teleinvisichronomicon now.
But, Oh Great One, to do a simultaneous switch…it might cause havoc…
Initiate now!
Yes, Oh, Great One.

Miranda Rainbird came awake instantly, blinking at a slight feeling of dizziness that had doubtless caused her to waken. Someone had entered her bedroom. She kept her eyes shut, as she strained her ears.

No one was coming near the bed. Someone was…she heard clothes rustling, footsteps echoing from a corner wall…undressing and heading for the bathroom.

Who the hell?

Miranda opened her eyes. There was a bit of light in the room, coming from the green light of her alarm clerk. There was a man in her bedroom, shirtless. Good god! She recognized that profile. It was Mr. White!

But he did not approach her – he walked into the bathroom, snapping on the light as he did so, and closing the door behind him.

Miranda rolled out of bed and stepped toward her wardrobe, within which were dozens of weapons.

Where the hell was her wardrobe?

This wasn’t her bedroom.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, Miranda would have gone looking for a weapon – she could turn any household appliance or, indeed, household anything, into a weapon. But she didn’t need to do that anymore. Her cyborg arms were all the weapon she needed.

She moved to just in front of the bathroom door and waited, listening to the sounds within. Mr. White was…the bastard was brushing his teeth! Now he was gargling. Now he must be washing his face.

The bathroom door opened just a little bit, and Mr. White started to squeeze through it even as he made a gesture as if he were about to turn off the bathroom light.

In one part of her mind, Miranda wondered what the hell he thought he was doing. With the other part of her mind, she judged the exact pressure needed to hit White that would knock him unconscious. And at the same time, she punched him in the mouth.

She judged her punch nicely – she didn’t want to kill him, yet. She just wanted him knocked unconscious until she could tie him up.

But Mr. White didn’t drop to the ground, unconscious. Instead he just staggered back, putting one hand to his mouth.

“Baby, what the hell are you doing?”

Miranda stared at him, shocked. She was experienced with her cyborg arms by now. He should be on the ground.

And….and…her hand hurt.

Miranda looked down at her left hand. By the light of the bathroom she could see that her hand was bleeding.

Her hand was bleeding!

As she staggered back, gasping, staring at her hand, the bedroom lights snapped on. Mr. White was standing by the light switch, one hand still on the light, the other held to his mouth.

Miranda registered the fact that he was in a completely indefensible position – which was very odd for a trained agent, particularly for one who was in the bedroom of a woman whom he intended to kill and whom he knew could kill him – even as she snapped forward in a balestra move and punched him in the face again.

Again he didn’t drop, he just staggered back.

“Jesus Christ, baby, not in the face!” he shrieked, clutching his nose.

Miranda turned away from him. She had felt that punch. She had felt it in her hand, in her forearm. Something had happened, something wonderful. She made a claw out of her left hand, and brought her fingernails down her right forearm. She watched as four tracks of blood welled up – bright, red blood, not horrible green stuff or whatever the hell had been inside her cyborg arms. She touched her fingers to it, brought the blood to her lips, sucked it – it was real blood.

Real blood. Real arms. She had her arms back.

Miranda’s vision blurred as hot tears filled her eyes. She was whole again.

Wait…she’d tested her right arm, what about her other arm?

She made a claw of her right hand and was about to test her left forearm when Mr. White was upon her again.

This time he grabbed her wrists, and went down on his knees in front of her, his face turned up to her, his expression anguished. There were tears in his eyes and blood was dripping from his nose, and it was that more than anything else that caused Miranda to pause, and not give him a knee to the chin.

Mr. White would never have put himself into such a vulnerable position.

Miranda stared down at him.

“Baby, please,” he said. “What’s the matter with you? Why are you doing this?”

Miranda took a deep breath, then another shuddering breath, and then she began to cry.

Mr. White stood up, and put his arms around her.

She buried her face in his neck, sobbing.

“Oh, baby, baby, what’s happened to you?” he whispered. “Did you take something? Some kind of drug?”

Miranda didn’t answer, and he didn’t ask her again.

“Come on, baby,” he said gently, pushing her toward the bed. “You must have been having a nightmare. Please, baby, stop crying.”

He twisted her a bit so that he laid down on the bed first, and then she laid down at his side and placed her face on his chest.

Her right arm was aching terribly – and she loved every second of that pain. Her arms were real again.

Mr. White kept one hand around her shoulders, and with his other stroked her hair, crooning softly. “It’s okay, baby, it’s okay.”

Eventually, Miranda fell asleep.

Now.

Tracy Karlovassi opened her eyes. She was nestled against Nick’s broad, warm chest. His strong arms were wrapped around her…it felt so good.

The sunlight was pouring into the room from the open curtains. She could have closed her eyes and grabbed a few more seconds of sleep, but her arm was aching abominably. Curiously, she lifted up her right forearm and looked at it. She saw the dried over scabs of four long furrows running down her forearm.

“What the hell happened to my arm?” she shrieked.

Nick jerked awake immediately. He tightened his arms around her. “Tracy! It’s okay. It’s okay!”

Tracy struggled against him. “Nick, what the hell’s going on? What happened to my arm?”

Nick loosened his grasp. “Don’t you remember what happened last night?”

“No, I don’t. I…” she sat up, and looked at him. “Nick,” she gasped. “What the hell happened to your face?”

“You hit me!”

“Oh, Nick, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember anything about last night?”

Tracy stared at him. “Of course…of course I remember. We were at the Rendition. I got a phone call, to say I had an early call this morning. As a matter of fact…”

She twisted to look at the clock, then relaxed. She had plenty of time. “Anyway,” she continued, “I came home, took a bath, and went to bed. And that’s it. I…I had a dream, I think…I dreamed about the show…I’ve been doing that a lot lately, but that’s it. I slept through the whole night!”

“Well, Tracy, here’s what happened. I got home around eleven o’clock. I didn’t want to wake you, so I came into the bedroom and didn’t turn on the lights. I went into the bathroom and did a bit of washing up. When I came out of the bathroom, you hit me in the mouth!”

“Oh, no, Nick!” Tracy reached out to cup his face. Nick’s nose had a cut across it and was a bit swelled. His lower lip was also swollen.

Nick smiled at her reassuringly. He grasped her hand and kissed her fingers. “It’s all right, baby. Well, you hit me again, and then you did something really weird. You raked your fingers down your own arm, hard enough to draw blood, and then you started to laugh, like it was the greatest thing in the world.”

“No way,” said Tracy. “I have perfect skin! There’s no way in hell that I’d mark myself up in any way. Why would I?”

“I don’t know, baby. But that’s what you were doing. And if I hadn’t stopped you, you would have done it to your other arm, too. It was like…I dunno, like you’d taken some LSD or something.”

“No way,” repeated Tracy. “You know I don’t do drugs.”

“Yes, I know…but, did you maybe get a gift from somebody – a fan or something? Brownies or something that you ate? They could have been laced with something.”

“No, no Nick, no way. I never eat anything fans give me, just for that very reason.”

“Well, then…”

Tracy put her hands to her head, wincing at the pain in her forearm.

“I had a dream last night. A dream about the show. I remembered it, for a second or so when I got up, but it’s all faded now. But…it was about the show…maybe I…I don’t know, maybe I was in the middle of a nightmare when you came in, and I attacked you…like I was sleepwalking.”

“Yeah, but why would you scratch your arms?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Tracy….” Nick said carefully, “Maybe we should go visit a….a….a doctor.”

Tracy shoved him - gently. “Don’t be silly, Nick. I’m not crazy. I will go to a doctor, though. A dermatologist. I don’t want these scratches to scar. My skin is perfect, and I intend it to stay that way.”

“But these dreams of yours have me worried,” Nick persisted.

“Nick, it’s all right. Now that I know that it’s not safe to have these dreams – I won’t have any more! I’ve done directed dreaming before, I’ll just make sure I direct myself into different directions…directions of happiness and sweetness and light.”

“But what if you do have another nightmare?”

“Well, keep a bowl of water by your side of the bed. And if I start kicking out at you, just throw the water in my face.”

“Baby, if you scratching your arm to shreds didn’t wake you up from a nightmare, I don’t think me pouring water into your face will do any good.”

“Yeah,” said Tracy. She stared at his damaged face, and reached out a hand gently to cup his cheek. “Damn, Nick, you’re so sweet. You’re taking this so well. Your poor face.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Tracy. The makeup guys can do wonderful things. And if they can’t hide it completely, they could maybe write in an extra scene where I run into a door or something.”

“Oh, poor Nick!”

She kissed him gently, then tapped him on the chest. “There’s no need for you to worry anymore. I’m not going to have another nightmare. I’ll make sure I don’t. “

“Okay, Tracy,” Nick said, a bit reluctantly.

Tracy leaned over and kissed him, then touched his bruised features gently. “It is scary to think I’d actually hit out at you, Nick,” she admitted. “But I promise you, it’s not going to happen again.” Nick kissed her back.

“Okay, baby, okay. Well, we’d better get moving if you’re going to get to the studio doctor before it’s time for you to report on stage.”

“Yeah – let’s make a move.”