My Stories

I write adventures for those in search of a good story. My novels fall in the Fantasy genre, but many people consider them Sci-fi too. Each story is written with what I look for when I read a book: action, adventure, twists and turns, love, heroes, vicious enemies, fighting (weapons and hand to hand combat). I write because I want to share the stories that are inside of me. I hope you enjoy the adventures as much as I love writing them!

Friday, May 22, 2020

Page 99 Test: "Solace: Lost"

"Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you." --Ford Madox Ford


I went back and forth as to whether or not to post the sequel books page 99, but I decided that if I was the reader this would intrigue me.  So, here is the excerpt from page 99 and 100 of the paperback version of "Solace: Lost":


I opened my eyes, but I couldn’t make out the details of anything.  I summoned the strength to sit up as I tried to sift through what had happened.
   “No, no,” a female voice said in a familiar language that I hadn’t heard in a long time as she attempted to force my body to lie down on the…soft…?
   I tried to stay calm, telling myself that I must be dreaming.  The hibernation chamber was not this…fluffy. Terror of the grey lush ground gripped my mind, and I tried to get up again. The woman continued to try to keep me down, but I knocked her arms away from me. As I began sitting up, my mind started spinning, and I put my hand to my head as though that would help.
   “Marsel, go get your father,” the woman calmly said, as though I hadn’t knocked her away from me.
   “And what about the stranger?”
   “I believe your sister is showing him around.  Please hurry.”
   The woman began to push me back down onto the soft bed, and I quickly shoved her away from me.  Once I was free of the woman, I stood up and fell to the hard ground.  I scrambled to get up, but each time I attempted to stand up I fell back down.

99

   “It’s okay. We’re just trying to help you,” said the calm female voice.
   I shook my head, and forced myself into a standing position. She didn’t sound like she wanted to help, she sounded annoyed with me.
   I immediately thought of the mind game that Rekusa had played on me before, and I growled in warning.  I had no idea if this was reality or not.  The fear of being attacked by my memories gave me enough strength to stumble forward. I could see a bright blur that I hoped was the exit, and struggled to get myself there.
   “What do you need?” Torrel asked a moment later from the other side of the room.  I turned towards him and fell sideways to the floor.  “Karissa,” he said with concern, and I heard him move towards me.  I fumbled for my blades, but they were missing.
   “Karissa,” Torrel said as though he were nearing a frightened creature.
   I focused on Torrel, trying to calm my panic. I couldn’t see him clearly, and worried that this wasn’t reality.
   “Karissa,” Torrel said.  He crouched in front of me and I focused on his blurry face.  “You’re in good hands.  Stazta is the best healer in the galaxy.”
   Stazta. That was Torrel’s wife. That meant Jack had convinced Torrel to come home, maybe this is reality. I guess his family did survive, but what was their reaction to me.  Stazta didn’t seem bitter towards me. Although, if she was a healer, then she would be helping me because that was what she did.

100


Here are the links to purchase "Solace: Lost":



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