Was The Corporation harboring a dark secret on the off world
mining colony to protect their bottom line?
Christopher Carter loved to explore. He was a specialist in his field
back home on earth, and travel to a moon that orbited a gas giant
120 times the size of his home planet was the opportunity of a lifetime.
This would be his first deep space assignment, and he’d wanted this
contract more than anything else in the world; except for his family,
of course. And he didn’t have to choose one or the other.
It was amazing how things worked out –Until they didn’t.
Everyone was hiding something at the facility, and it didn’t take long to
figure out they were hiding it from him. Unfortunately for
Christopher, the truth would prove to be far more horrifying than
anything he could ever have imagined.
Kimberly Adkins is an author and artist who spends her spare time working on
worm hole theories so she can go back in time and enter Star Gate’s
‘Get in the Gate’ sweepstakes as many times as it takes to win.
Q: Tell us something interesting about you that most people
wouldn’t know?
A: I have a Cylon toaster in my kitchen. So far, it hasn’t convinced
any of my other appliances to revolt against me and assume control
over the destiny of mankind. I guess I’m lucky there. It does burn
‘Frak Off’ onto my toast every morning, though.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve felt a spine tingling, awe-inspiring thrill. When you write fiction, your brain goes to so many places, and you wear several hats in the process. What we can imagine is amazing, and the world doesn’t often toss out something from our dreams.
Then February 6, 2018 came along, and SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I held my breath while we watched the live feed. I said the word awesome more times than anyone ever should. But it was when those two rocket boosters flew back to Earth, landing with beautiful and perfect synchronicity on the designated pad, I knew I’d witnessed Science Fiction for real.
And as fast as Elon Musk garnered my undying admiration, he captured my heart as well, with the deployment of Starman, hands on the wheel of a cherry red Tesla Roadster, with David Bowie’s ‘Starman’ playing from the car radio.
He has a long journey ahead, our Starman headed for Mars and beyond, but he’s got some fantastic traveling music on the way. If you could, would you hitch a ride to the stars in his shiny space Roaster? I know I would in a heartbeat, even if it was the last thing I ever did.
In fact, somebody better look in the trunk. I might be there already.
Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
The Earth is in a state of collapse, with wars breaking out over resources and an environment pushed to the edge by human greed.
Three living generation ships have been built with a combination of genetic mastery, artificial intelligence, technology, and raw materials harvested from the asteroid belt. This is the story of one of them—43 Ariadne, or Forever, as her inhabitants call her—a living world that carries the remaining hopes of humanity, and the three generations of scientists, engineers, and explorers working to colonize her.
From her humble beginnings as a seedling saved from disaster to the start of her journey across the void of space toward a new home for the human race, The Stark Divide tells the tales of the world, the people who made her, and the few who will become something altogether beyond human.
Humankind has just taken its first step toward the stars.
Book One of Liminal Sky
EXCERPT
“DRESSLER, SCHEMATIC,” Colin McAvery, ship’s captain and a third of the crew, called out to the ship-mind.
A three-dimensional image of the ship appeared above the smooth console. Her five living arms, reaching out from her central core, were lit with a golden glow, and the mechanical bits of instrumentation shone in red. In real life, she was almost two hundred meters from tip to tip.
Between those arms stretched her solar wings, a ghostly green film like the sails of the Flying Dutchman.
“You’re a pretty thing,” he said softly. He loved these ships, their delicate beauty as they floated through the starry void.
“Thank you, Captain.” The ship-mind sounded happy with the compliment—his imagination running wild. Minds didn’t have real emotions, though they sometimes approximated them.
He cross-checked the heading to be sure they remained on course to deliver their payload, the man-sized seed that was being dragged on a tether behind the ship. Humanity’s ticket to the stars at a time when life on Earth was getting rapidly worse.
All of space was spread out before him, seen through the clear expanse of plasform set into the ship’s living walls. His own face, trimmed blond hair, and deep brown eyes, stared back at him, superimposed over the vivid starscape.
At thirty, Colin was in the prime of his career. He was a starship captain, and yet sometimes he felt like little more than a bus driver. After this run… well, he’d have to see what other opportunities might be awaiting him. Maybe the doc was right, and this was the start of a whole new chapter for mankind. They might need a guy like him.
The walls of the bridge emitted a faint but healthy golden glow, providing light for his work at the curved mechanical console that filled half the room. He traced out the T-Line to their destination. “Dressler, we’re looking a little wobbly.” Colin frowned. Some irregularity in the course was common—the ship was constantly adjusting its trajectory—but she usually corrected it before he noticed.
“Affirmative, Captain.” The ship-mind’s miniature chosen likeness appeared above the touch board. She was all professional today, dressed in a standard AmSplor uniform, dark hair pulled back in a bun, and about a third life-sized.
The image was nothing more than a projection of the ship-mind, a fairy tale, but Colin appreciated the effort she took to humanize her appearance. Artificial mind or not, he always treated minds with respect.
“There’s a blockage in arm four. I’ve sent out a scout to correct it.”
The Dressler was well into slowdown now, her pre-arrival phase as she bled off her speed, and they expected to reach 43 Ariadne in another fifteen hours.
Pity no one had yet cracked the whole hyperspace thing. Colin chuckled. Asimov would be disappointed. “Dressler, show me Earth, please.”
A small blue dot appeared in the middle of his screen.
“Dressler, three dimensions, a bit larger, please.” The beautiful blue-green world spun before him in all its glory.
Appearances could be deceiving. Even with scrubbers working tirelessly night and day to clean the excess carbon dioxide from the air, the home world was still running dangerously warm.
He watched the image in front of him as the East Coast of the North American Union spun slowly into view. Florida was a sliver of its former self, and where New York City’s lights had once shone, there was now only blue. If it had been night, Fargo, the capital of the Northern States, would have outshone most of the other cities below. The floods that had wiped out many of the world’s coastal cities had also knocked down Earth’s population, which was only now reaching the levels it had seen in the early twenty-first century.
All those new souls had been born into a warm, arid world.
We did it to ourselves. Colin, who had known nothing besides the hot planet he called home, wondered what it had been like those many years before the Heat.
About the Author
Scott spends his time between the here and now and the what could be. Enticed into fantasy and sci fi by his mom at the tender age of nine, he devoured her Science Fiction Book Club library. But as he grew up, he wondered where all the people like him were in the books he was reading.
He decided that it was time to create the kinds of stories he couldn’t find at his local bookstore. If there weren’t gay characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends.
His friends say Scott’s mind works a little differently – he sees relationships between things that others miss, and gets more done in a day than most folks manage in a week. He loves to transform traditional sci fi, fantasy, and contemporary worlds into something unexpected.
Starting in 2014, Scott has published more than 15 works, including two novels and a number of novellas and short stories. He runs both Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, sites that bring queer people together to promote and celebrate fiction that reflects their own lives.
Alien predators attack Europe. A deadly virus spawns an epidemic. And a
clandestine organization conspires to profit from chaos and forge a
New World Order.
In this heart-pounding finale of the
award-winning H.A.L.F. series, Tex, Erika and the rest are in a race
against time. For months they‘ve fought for their lives. Now they
battle to save us all.
Tex and Erika are fugitives again, running for their lives. But when Tex
falls gravely ill, a Navajo healer is his only hope for survival. Tex
emerges from the ordeal changed in body and mind but with vital
information: how to stop the predatory M’Uktah from destroying
those he has come to love.
Erika Holt seeks a respite from the constant threats to her life but she’s
not about to give up. As she and Tex launch a mission to shut down
the galactic highway used by the predatory M’Uktah, she grows closer
to her troubled half-human companion. But what about her on-again,
off-again boyfriend, Jack?
Jack Wilson, with his new friend Anna Sturgis, is determined to put an end
to the Makers’ schemes for world domination. Complicating matters,
an anti-viral that could save millions from an alien virus has been
stolen.
As both alien and human forces line up against them, the destiny of all
mankind is hand the hands of these young warriors. And time is
running out.
What Others are Saying about H.A.L.F.: ORIGINS:
“The latest satisfying addition to the H.A.L.F. series has something for
everyone: exciting action scenes; great, complex love stories;
fascinating new aliens; and relatable teen characters fighting to
save the world and find their places in it.” ~Alyssa H., Content
Editor, Red Adept Editing
“Conflicts with alien races are given enormous depth in this engrossingly
written science fiction novel.” ~ForewordsClarion Reviews
Roswell. Area 51. The X-Files.
You’ve seen the aliens known as “the
Greys” in movies and on T.V. But what if everything you think
you know about them is wrong?
And what if the Greys are only the beginning?
On a nondescript planet on the far side of the galaxy, the M’Uktah have
evolved from a wolf-like predatory creature into a highly advanced
species that has mastered intergalactic travel. They are cultured.
Refined.
And hungry…
Wright’s epic and much anticipated follow up to her multiple award-winning
debut Sci Fi novel H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath:
The Deep Beneath,
Runner Up in the Beach Book Festival
Finalist, Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Semi-Finalist, Kindle Review Book Awards and Library
Journal pick for curated Shelf-e library collection
Can a Human-Alien Hybrid, Created to be a Weapon, Save us from a Secret
War we Don’t Know is Coming?
Library Journal eBook Selection
H.A.L.F. (Human Alien Life Form) #9 is the product of genetic engineering, the
union of human and alien DNA. Created to be a weapon in a secret war
we don’t know is coming, he proved too powerful to control. He has
lived for seventeen years in an underground lab, sedated and trained
to be a cold-blooded killing machine.
But H.A.L.F. 9 has escaped the lab and the sedation has worn off. He has
never been more alive. More powerful. Or more deadly.
While H.A.L.F. 9 revels in his newfound freedom, Erika Holt relaxes in the
desert with friends. But a typical Saturday night soon erupts into
chaos when fate brings her together with H.A.L.F. 9. Erika is forced
to make a choice that will irretrievably change her life. If she
chooses to help H.A.L.F. 9 escape, her fate will become intertwined
with his in what will become an intergalactic adventure. Little do
any of them know that their actions trigger a vast New World Order
conspiracy which began after the UFO crash in Roswell in 1947. Will
H.A.L.F. 9 be reeled back in, once again forced to do the bidding of
the Makers? And will any of them survive the dangers of The Deep
Beneath them?
Award-Winning Sci Fi Appropriate for the Entire Family
Silver Medalist, Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Semi-Finalist, Kindle Review Book Awards
Runner-Up, Beach Book Festival Awards
Library Journal choice for the curated Self-E Library Collection
˃˃˃
What Readers Say About The Deep Beneath:
“The action is great, and the scene with the alien spaceship was crazy
good. I found the ending to be quite surprising. It definitely made
me want to read the next one to see what happens both above ground
and below. I recommend this to all fans of sci-fi adventures.”
~C.J. Anaya, Best Selling Author of The Healer Series
“Once I began, I couldn’t put it down. It’s well-written, fast-paced, and
the characters are believable. I highly recommend this book and
anxiously await book 2!” ~M. Williams
“Extremely exciting and fast-paced story that sucked me in its sci-fi vortex and
wouldn’t let me go. H. A. L. F. 9 is probably my favorite alien
hybrid of all time. Can’t wait for the next book!” ~Ms. I Read
to Escape
Natalie is the author of the award-winning science fiction series H.A.L.F.,
and The Akasha Chronicles, a popular young adult fantasy
trilogy with over 2 Million reads on Wattpad. She lives
in Tucson, Arizona with her husband, teen daughter, and two cat
overlords.
Natalie spends her time writing, reading, geeking out over nerd culture and
cool science, and meeting readers and fans at book festivals and
comic cons throughout the western United States. Natalie appears
frequently on radio, podcasts and vlogs such as The Speculative
Fiction Cantina, Front Row Geeks and iHeart Radio.
If you were a season, what season would you be? Are you a fiery, passionate summer? A cool, calm winter?
I had not considered this in terms of my characters while writing, but I recently wondered what seasons are my characters?
Erika Holt, the main character of the H.A.L.F. series, has a fiery nature. She’s passionate about causes but nothing brings out her fire more than someone messing with the people she cares about. She’d go to the ends of the Earth—and beyond!—for her friends. Erika represents the heat of summer.
Tex, aka H.A.L.F. 9, personifies the changeable nature of fall. One minute the weather is mild, the next blustery. In autumn it’s like the weather is trying to make up its mind. Tex can seem that way as well, but maybe it’s because he’s still trying to figure out how to be human. Fall may be unpredictable, but we love it anyway. That’s how Erika seems to feel about Tex too!
Of all the characters you’ll meet in the H.A.L.F. series, I think Anna Sturgis is like the cold breath of winter more than any of the others. With her icy blue eyes and golden curtain of hair, she looks like a “winter,” and her personality matches. It’s not that she’s a cold person. Jack gets to see her personable side. But Anna is cool and collected, reasoned and logical. In short, she is often everything that Erika isn’t. Can Jack fall for a winter girl after being so in love with a summer?
Speaking of Jack, he is a spring breeze. With his sun-kissed curly blonde locks, laid-back flip-flops and loose-fitting jeans, Jack is like a shoot of bright green new growth poking up through the soil. He’s a peace-loving, guitar-strumming lover not a fighter. Jack faces life and death situations throughout the H.A.L.F. series. After stepping over dead bodies on the battlefield, will his sweet spring nature endure?
Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
In celebration of the release of ORIGINS, the third and final
book in the H.A.L.F. series, all pre-order customers have the
opportunity to receive the following exclusive goodies:
A full-color, digital book extra, Lost Chapter and Cut Scenes.
This book contains the author’s commentary on cut scenes as well
as photos illustrations. This book is only available to pre-order
customers.
A video retrospective of the H.A.L.F. series, complete with
“soundtrack” for the series, an author interview, and tons of
photos and illustrations documenting the series.
INSTRUCTIONS:
It’s simple to obtain the goods. All a customer has to do is:
Buy the book in any format. Digital, paperback, hardcover, or audiobook,
and at any retailer.
Email a copy of the receipt (again, in any format—photo, screenshot,
email receipt, etc.). Email the receipt to: half.origins.book@gmail.com
That’s it. The author or her representative will follow-up and send the
customer the awesome goodness of free gifts!
Additionally, every pre-order customer that avails themselves of the pre-order
giveaway will automatically be entered into the ORIGINS
Launch Mega Giveaway and have the chance to win the following:
GRAND PRIZE: 1 Winner will receive the following: $100
Amazon Giftcard + Signed, Hardcover copies of the entire 3-book
H.A.L.F. series + branded book swag, including metal bookmarks,
complete set of H.A.L.F. Character Trading Cards®, keychain, and
buttons + non-branded, retail swag themed to the book. Retail value
of this prize is $240+
FIRST PRIZE: 1 Winner will receive: $25 Amazon Giftcard +
Signed, Paperback copies of the entire 3-book H.A.L.F. series +
branded swag (as listed above) + non-branded swag. Retail value of
this prize is $75+
10 Runner-Up Prizes: 10 Winners will receive: A gifted
copy of Amazon Kindle version of an eBook of the reader’s choice
from among Natalie Wright’s published, single-book works (Emily’s
House, Emily’s Trial, Emily’s Heart, The Deep Beneath, The
Makers, or ORIGINS). Retail value of this prize if between 99¢ to
$3.99 (depending on book chosen and price at the time gifted).
411 on Books, Authors & Publishing 