Out of Due Season: The First Transit by Benjamin X. Wretlind
GENRE: Sci-fi, Thriller (Techno)
BLURB
What
if humanity had a second chance?
On a June afternoon, a
body is discovered floating in a remote lake in northwestern Washington. When a
recovery team attempts to retrieve it, they make a shocking discovery: 311
other bodies lie under the water, all members of a previously unknown religious
cult. However, what appears to be a tragedy of immense proportions is only the
beginning.
When a few relatives
and friends of the victims discover inconsistencies in the stories, a small
group bands together to learn the truth. As government agencies apply pressure
for reasons unknown and civil unrest in the country makes communication and
movement difficult, this tiny yet determined team unravels what may be the
greatest event in recent—if not all—human history.
Something epic is about
to happen in that remote lake, and as competing sides inch ever closer to the
truth, the last pieces of the puzzle are revealed.
The First Transit is
for those who follow the rules, while disaster awaits everyone else.
“Anything of interest?” Tyler asked, breaking the silence.
“A lot of nothing,” Virgil said, still peering through the
window. “It looks like our campers weren’t keen on material possessions. Either
that or they took everything with them.”
The two walked away from the building and over to another as
a light rain began to fall. Inside, they found much of the same: a few table
settings, beds made of nothing more than rags, and the remnants of a few meals.
On a board holding up what may have been part of a door jamb, there was a
strange carving, six perpendicular lines like three off-center Xs. Aside from
that, there were few clues about the inhabitants of this camp, and that meant
there was little they could report back. Every building they examined was different.
The tents smelled the worst while the wooden shacks stood precipitously on
their weak foundations. Whatever happened to the people, it was not
catastrophic, but it was weird.
“Hello?” Tyler called out. Lapping water and the chirps of a
few birds replied, but no one else. “Hello?”
They both stood ankle deep in mud for another minute,
looking, listening. Finally, Virgil unclipped his radio. “Base, Recovery Two.”
“Recovery Two, Base. Report.”
“There’s nothing here. Seems to be about twenty buildings and
a few tents, all run down.”
“Any sign of life?”
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Benjamin ran
with scissors when he was five. He now writes, paints, uses sharp woodworking
tools and plays with glue. Sometimes he does these things at the same time. He
is the author of Castles, Sketches from the Spanish Mustang and many other
novels.
Benjamin lives
with his wife Jesse in Colorado.
LINKS: The Book is on sale for $0.99 Until February 14, 2022
Fritz…there was nobody behind him, but he knew. He knew…when they came…they were coming for keeps.
A moment of silence…then the world goes crazy.
Blind Rage is all about meeting the characters, feeling our way through the madness to live another day. Death and chaos.
We have terrifying moments and NIck Clausen has no trouble killing off his characters, so be careful of who you becomes a ‘friend’.
Blind Rage is a series that does not stand alone. I know that may turn some people off, but Nick Clausen is a fast writer and his stories keep gathering momentum the further into the series he gets. I loved the Dead Meat series and am very curious how he handles Blind Rage.
The world building is filled with many questions, so we will have to wait and see WTH is going on. I’ll be there, how about you?
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Blind Rage by Nick Clausen.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A mysterious crack in the sky. People turning into savage killers. A world disrupted by death and destruction.
A select few find themselves immune to this deadly phenomenon. Now they must fight to survive in a collapsing society.
Tommy, a maladjusted teenager still reeling from the loss of his father. With no support from his basket case mother, Tommy is facing the situation on his own.
Mark, a young man with a criminal record and a spoiled attitude. Finding himself in a fight for his life, Mark is forced to face the choices he’s made.
Gina, a trauma survivor with two young sons to care for. Hardened by life, she is prepared for the worst and will do anything to ensure her boys’ safety.
As the hole in the sky grows bigger, more and more people succumb to the rage. Our heroes must stand together in the fight for mankind, or die along with it.
But there seems to be no cure. No safe haven. Not even an explanation.
Only blind rage.
ABOUT NICK CLAUSEN
Born 1988 in North Jutland,
where I still live with my wife, who also happened to be my earliest
childhood girlfriend. From 2017 I have lived as a full-time writer. Up
until then, I had different jobs beside the writing. I have been
studying as a carpenter for three years, and have also read two years of
psychology at Aalborg University. It turned out that the writing had a
much more powerful pull on me.
I decided early on that I would be an author when I grew up. In
fact, the decision came to me already when I read my first book,
Snevampyren by Dennis Jürgensen. My first “real” stories I wrote at
14-15 years of age. They were rejected by the publisher, but still got
praise. There were some years when I was busy with being a teenager and
trying to get an education before I suddenly remembered that I should
be an author.
That day I made a promise
to write 1,000 words a day until I got a book published. I sat down and
started writing. I continued to write every single day for a year and a
half. I sent the finished manuscripts to different publishers, and the
rejections piled up. Twelve of them by the end. But each time I could
feel it was a little bit better. The criticism became more positive. The
thirteenth story was called Tidevandet, and it was adopted by the
publisher and came out a year later.
I have always enjoyed writing, although in the beginning I put a lot
of pressure on myself. My approach to the process has become much more
free over the years. For example, I no longer plan my stories. That
way, I feel that I’m experiencing the story while writing it and the
characters feel like real people. I do not know where the ideas come
from, but I’ve never had trouble finding them.
Join Us for This Tour from November 26 to December 17!
Book Details:
Book Title: Blind the Eyes: A Dystopian-Gothic YA Urban FantasybyK.A. Wiggins Category: YA Fiction (Ages 13-17), 300 pages Genre: Urban fantasy, crossover to dystopian, paranormal, contemporary fantasy, gothic and post-apocalyptic. Publisher: K.A. Wiggins (Imprint: Snowmelt & Stumps) Release Date: June, 2018 Tour dates: November 26 to December 17 Content Rating: PG-13 + M. No
on-page sex, low romance, minimal bad language, underage drinking,
significant fantasy violence, scenes containing emotional manipulation,
depression, and (light/brief) physical abuse.
Book Description:
A haunted teen outcast and her snarky ghostly best-frenemy outwit enforcers, monsters, and the scars of the past in a race to take expose a deadly conspiracy and escape a bloody end. A lush, award-winning debut to a captivatingly eerie YA Urban Fantasy trilogy. Discover a labyrinthine, post-climate-collapse dystopian Vancouver overrun by monsters and magic in this intricate and startlingly original journey of discovery, restoration, and revenge.
It’s hard not to be a little obsessed with survival when your only “friend” is an unruly ghost and the wrong thought could get your soul devoured by eldritch horrors. Haunted 17-year-old outcast Cole wants nothing more than to hide her forbidden fascination with the monster-taken and blend in with the (dreary) scenery. Her plans for a peaceful life take a turn for the deadly when a mesmerizing stranger and his dangerously tempting offer drive her into the middle of a grisly
conspiracy.
But Cole hasn’t yet uncovered the biggest secret of all, and it might just have something to do with the mysterious threads tugging her into horrifying visions—not to mention the shimmering boy at their dark heart. Uncovering the truth will cost her dearly as she fends off scheming enforcers, dreamjacking ghosts & soul-sucking nightmares in a desperate quest for survival and retribution. Can she escape the scars of her past and expose the lies before she’s the next to die?
Blind the Eyes is the first book in a lush and labyrinthine trilogy of paranormal-meets-gothic-dystopian YA Urban Fantasy filled with glittering underworlds, delicious-and-deceptive strangers, and facing down the voices in your head. This slow-burn fantasy with an edge leads readers on a captivatingly unexpected journey of self-discovery, reclaimed identity, and conflicted sisterhood for those who like a little sparkle with their monsters (it glistens so nicely on all the blood.) Fans of post-climate-collapse dystopias, monsters-and-magic, and genre-bending dark fantasy will love this award-winning series starter in a complete and 100% binge-ready trilogy.
K.A. Wiggins (Kaie) writes award-winning speculative fiction for young people and adults that explores the tangled webs of society, environment, and identity through intricate, dreamlike tales of monsters and magic.
Her debut novel was a Page Turner Awards 2020 Book Spotlight Prize winner and a Barnes & Noble Press “20 Favorite Indie Books of 2018,” kicking off a celebrated and recently completed YA Urban Fantasy trilogy set in a gothic-dystopian post-climate-collapse Vancouver. Her short fiction has appeared in small press anthologies, genre magazines, and in translation for international audiences.
She’s also the President of the Children’s Writers and Illustrators of British Columbia society, co-founder of marketing and business services consultancy The Creative Collective, and a creative writing coach with the Creative Writing for Children society, and was recognized in the 2021 Arty Awards, taking first place in Literary Arts category.
A solar electromagnetic
pulse fried the U.S. grid. Now northern lights are in Texas—3,000 miles farther
south than where they belong. The universe won’t stop screwing with 18-year-old
Keno Simms. All that’s left for him and his broken family is farming their Austin
subdivision, trying to eke out a living on poor soil in the scorching heat.
Keno’s one solace is
his love for Alma, who has her own secret sorrows. When he gets her pregnant,
he vows to keep her alive no matter what. Yet armed marauders and nature itself
collude against him, forcing him to make choices that rip at his conscience. IF
THE LIGHT ESCAPES is post-apocalyptic science fiction set in a near-future
reality, a coming-of-age story told in the voice of a heroic teen who’s forced
into manhood too soon.
EXCERPT
FROM CHAPTER 5:
“These northern lights bug the crap out of me,” I tell Alma.
“What are they doing here? They’re supposed to be tied to magnetic poles. I saw
this show a couple years ago that said the north pole was drifting north, not
south. So how did they end up here? The poles can’t drift around randomly.
That’s impossible.”
“I don’t know, baby. They worry me, too, but we need to be
quiet.”
“They make me feel like something bad is gonna happen. What
do you call that? Fore-something.”
“Foreboding?”
“That’s it. I’ll be quiet, now, and just stew in my
foreboding.”
“Silly.” Alma reaches up and ruffles my hair.
When we patrol and we can’t cuddle on account of guns, Alma
and I could talk all night. It’s not a good idea for us to talk much when we’re
patrolling, though. We get all involved and forget to listen for anyone who
might be sneaking around, hunting for food or water, or worse: getting ready to
kill us for it.
We walk along with our rifles in the night. It’s cool out
here, but not cold…
Alma stops and raises her gun.
“Hear that?” she whispers.
“No, what?” I’ve got my gun up, too, and I’m pivoting around,
searching. I want to hide Alma, but she would never let me.
“Over there.” She points at the corner by the park. And I
hear a jangly noise, like car keys. No one drives cars now, though…
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Brenda Marie
Smith lived off the grid for many years in a farming collective where her sons
were delivered by midwives. She’s been a community activist, managed student
housing co-ops, produced concerts to raise money for causes, done massive
quantities of bookkeeping, and raised a small herd of teenage boys.
Brenda is
attracted to stories where everyday characters transcend their limitations to
find their inner heroism. She and her husband reside in a grid-connected,
solar-powered home in South Austin, Texas. They have more grown kids and
grandkids than they can count.
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
2012 Book of the Year Award Finalist-Young Adult Fiction, ForeWord Reviews
“Sure to win over YA readers looking for a dangerous, dystopian adventure story” —Kirkus Reviews
“Gripping young adult dystopian novel; compelling conflicts; high stakes; powerful narrative; surprises keep coming; strong writing; page-turner; engaging characters; Readers will be hungry for the sequels.”—BlueInk Review (starred review)
“Thomason’s description of Thera’s totalitarianism will make fans of Brave New World shiver… SCI, her fantasy corporation, has disturbing parallels to actual companies and regimes that claim to do good while harming people… The author deftly appeals to both romance-loving teens as well as those intrigued by young adults fighting the establishment.”—Foreword Clarion Review, 4 stars
Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Earth’s benevolent non-profit by day, Thera’s totalitarian regime by night. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance™. Reality: the SCI subjects Second Chancers to strict controls and politically motivated science experiments like Cleaving—forced lifetime union between two people who have sex. Punishment for disobeying SCI edicts? Immediate Exile or death.
Meet Kira Donovan. Fiercely loyal, overly optimistic, and ensnared by the promise of a full-ride college scholarship, Kira signs the SCI Recruit contract to escape memories of a tragedy that left her boyfriend and friends dead.
Meet Blake Sundry. Bitter about being raised in Exile and his mother’s death, Blake’s been trained to infiltrate and destroy the SCI. Current barrier to success? His Recruit partner—Miss Goody Two Shoes Kira Donovan.
Meet Ethan Darcton. Born with a defective heart and resulting inferiority complex, Ethan’s forced to do his SCI elite family’s bidding. Cleave-worthy Kira Donovan catches his eye, but the presiding powers give defect-free Blake Sundry first dibs.
Full of competing agendas, romantic entanglements, humor, twists and turns, daynight is Megan Thomason’s debut young adult dystopian novel and first in the daynight series.
I added Daynight by Megan Thomason to my TBR on 1.21.13. I also picked up the second book in the series, Arbitrate, but unfortunately I don’t have the third one, Generate. These sound like some great apocalyptic/dystopian fiction and I plan on reading them and leaviing the third book until the verdict is in. All too often I don’t finish a series, but I have been doing much betterat it. How about you? Do you always plan on finishing a series, or do you let them slide?
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and summer’s even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely.
Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers.
Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with.
As the desert sands run out on her life’s hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun.
I added Fire Country by David Estes to my TBR on 1.15.13. I have the entire Dweller series and with this gorgeous cover and the blurb, this reads all too scary. Could this be our future? I love these kind of books and a strong female characters, so Siena has really peaked my interest. It’s the only book I have in The Country Saga, but I still want to read it. How about you? If you don’t have the entire series, do you keep the book?
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
Get the first THREE books of the Amazon bestselling The Dwellers Saga for more than 20% off the normal price! This boxed set includes The Moon Dwellers, The Star Dwellers, The Sun Dwellers, and a bonus Dwellers story; that’s more than 1,100 pages of dystopian action and twists.
In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms.
After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents’ crimes of treason. Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.
At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life. When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.
I added the three books of the Dweller series by David Estes to my TBR in 2013, but added the boxed set in 2016. I have quite a few of his books, I just need to get started. He has fantastic covers and I think the series will make a great binge read.
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
A fun family vacation turns into an apocalyptic nightmare in Free Falling when a couple and their young son find themselves trapped in the Irish countryside during an international crisis. With all contact outside the country gone, all electricity and all non horse-powered vehicles useless and desperate bands of outlaws roaming the Emerald Isle, the time has come for one soft American family to reach deep within for a reserve of brains and courage to survive.
I added Free Falling by Susan Kiernan Lewis to my TBR on 1.14.13. I love reading apocalyptic/dystopian books and I have read a lot of books that take place in Ireland. It seems like a perfect setting for eerie stories. I look forward to spending some time on vacation. LOL
In suburban Austin, Texas, Bea Crenshaw
secretly prepares for apocalypse, but when a solar pulse destroys modern life,
she’s left alone with four grandkids whose parents don’t return home. She must
teach these kids to survive without power, cars, phones, running water, or
doctors in a world fraught with increasing danger. And deciding whether or not
to share food with her starving neighbors puts her morality to the test.
If Darkness Takes Us is realistic post-apocalyptic
science-fiction that focuses on a family in peril, led by a no-nonsense
grandmother who is at once funny, controlling, and heroic in her struggle to
hold her family together with civility and heart.
The book is available now. It’s sequel, If the
Light Escapes, is told in the voice of Bea’s eighteen-year-old grandson, Keno
Simms, and will be released by SFK Press on August 24, 2021.
“Bea Crenshaw is one of the most unique characters
in modern literature—a kick-ass Grandma who is at once tough and vulnerable,
and well-prepared to shepherd her extended family through an EMP disaster, or
so she thinks.”
—Laura Creedle, Award-winning Author of The Love
Letters of Abelard and Lily
“There is real, identifiable humanity, subtle
and sweet and sad, and events utterly shattering in their intensity.”
—Pinckney Benedict, Author of Dogs of God, Miracle
Boy, and more
GUEST POST
WHY AREN’T MORE OLD WOMEN ON OUR SCIENCE-FICTION
SCREENS?
Has
anyone else noticed that there aren’t many old women in our science-fiction
television and movies? Yet, we have no shortage of old men.
It
surprised me when most women Twitter came up with were not old but were perceived
to be. All the women in this list were in their 50s in the latest versions of
these shows, except for one, who was 62.
President Laura Roslin, from Battlestar Galactica, played by Mary McDonnell.
Madison Clark in Fear the Walking Dead, played by Kim Dickens.
Dr. Abigail Griffin in The 100, brought to life by Paige Turco.
River Song from Doctor Who, played by Alex Kingston.
Lt. Nyota Uhura, from the original Star Trek, played by Nichelle Nichols. The cast from 1960s TV made six movies into 1991, and out of the seven core characters, she was the only woman.
Princess Leia Organa of Star Wars fame, portrayed by the now-departed Carrie Fisher.
Sarah Connor from The Terminator series, whom Linda Hamilton has played since 1984. She made another appearance in Terminator: Dark Fate in 2019.
Sarah Connor , in The Walking Dead, portrayed by Melissa McBride. Maybe people think of her as old because her hair is gray, but Carol is living through a zombie apocalypse. It’s enough to make a tweener go gray. It’s not like she can color her hair, something I’ve been doing since 1983, and I’ve just hit retirement age.
Mother Abagail Freemantle in Stephen King’s The Stand, 106 years old. In the 1994 miniseries, Mother Abagail was played by Ruby Dee, 72 at the time.
Ellen Ripley, better known as Ripley in Alien, is arguably the most badass woman character in all of science-fiction. In Aliens, which came out seven years after Alien, 57 years have transpired while Ripley was in hyper-sleep. Ripley is supposed to be 87 in Aliens, yet she’s played by 37-year-old Sigourney Weaver.
The Ancient One from Doctor Strange is a man in the comic books, but is a Celtic woman in the movies, played by Tilda Swinton, who is not ancient.
Professor Minerva McGonagall from Harry Potter, a 70-year-old portrayed by a fittingly old Maggie Smith. Finally! A badass old woman who hasn’t hyper-slept and who first springs to fictional life already old. Smith was 67 in the first Harry Potter movie and 77 for the final one.
Sara Jane Smith, portrayed by Elisabeth Sladen, was a recurring character on Doctor Who from 1973 up until 2011, when Sladen passed away at age 65.
The Oracle in The Matrix, played by Gloria Foster in the first 1999 movie when she was 66.
Chrisjen Avasarala a powerful UN executive from The Expanse. Shohreh Aghdashloo is 68 in the most recent episodes and appears to be a similar age in her role.
Melisandre from Game of Thrones, a witch played by Carice van Houten, 43 when the series ended. In the story, Melisandre is disguised as a younger woman. SPOILER ALERT: When Melisandre finally lets go of her young body, she’s so ancient she turns to dust.
Aereon in Chronicles of Riddick, portrayed by Judy Dench at age 69.
Secondary and tertiary characters played important roles: The clan of older women in Mad Max: Fury Road to whom Charlize Theron transports the young women on their mad ride across the Outback; the Vulcan priestesses in Star Trek; the Bene Gesserit school of witches in Frank Herbert’s Dune;T’pau from classic Star Trek, who made Kirk and Spock fight to the death. There are others, but not many.
My point here is that elder
women throughout history have been the keepers of family and tribal history,
repositories of collective knowledge, nurturers and teachers of the young, and
keepers of peace in the family and neighborhood. It’s far past time to tap into
the wisdom and experience that elder women have to offer. And what better place
to start than with our storytelling?
My apocalyptic sci-fi novel, If
Darkness Takes Us, stars a 70-year-old woman whose only special power is
her fierce love for her grandchildren. Someone needs to put this story on the
screen pronto. Naturally, I would think that, but seriously…
Because here’s the thing: I am
a badass old woman, and I want to see regular women like myself facing down
their fears and insecurities and performing heroic feats on the screen. I want
our stories to show respect for old women as a crucial part of the human family.
It’s not too much to ask.
AUTHOR Bio and Links
2018-10-18_Brenda Marie Smith
Brenda Marie Smith lived off the grid for many years in a farming collective where her sons were delivered by midwives. She’s been a community activist, managed student housing co-ops, produced concerts to raise money for causes, done massive quantities of bookkeeping, and raised a small herd of teenage boys.
Brenda
is attracted to stories where everyday characters transcend their own
limitations to find their inner heroism. She and her husband reside in a
grid-connected, solar-powered home in South Austin, Texas. They have more grown
kids and grandkids than they can count.
Her
first novel, Something
Radiates, is a paranormal romantic
thriller; If Darkness
Takes Us and its sequel, If the Light Escapes, are post-apocalyptic science fiction.
On Destiny Aileen Erin (Aunare Chronicles, #5) Publication date: March 15th 2022 Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
When Amihanna di Aetes first got to Sel’Ani, she never thought she’d have the full support of the Aunare, but she does. She never thought that she’d fall in love, get married, or become the High Queen, but she did. She never thought that she’d be planning something so stupid as her return to Earth, but that’s exactly what she’s doing.
With the Alliance broken, SpaceTech has fully retreated to their home planet, but the chaos of war will descend again. Amihanna and Lorne know they don’t have much time to plan their next move. Everything in their guts tells them to head straight to Earth, and that going into the heart of SpaceTech’s territory is stupid, reckless, and very likely deadly.
Amihanna and Lorne have one chance to end this war quickly, protect the Aunare, free the Earthers from SpaceTech’s rule, and save Declan, Ahiga, and the missing ABQ Crew members. Trying to do it all feels impossible, but Amihanna has never been one to back down from a challenge, especially when defeating SpaceTech was never just her mission. It’s her destiny.
Aileen Erin is half-Irish, half-Mexican, and 100% nerd–from Star Wars (prequels don’t count) to Star Trek (TNG FTW), she reads Quenya and some Sindarin, and has a severe fascination with the supernatural. Aileen has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles, and spends her days doing her favorite things: reading books, creating worlds, and kicking ass.
