Dive into the Oceans of Europa #SciFi #Romance

Daredevil scientist and abused alien merman forge perilous alliance in oceans of Jupiter’s moon. 

Excerpt

Water rippled. Giant bivalves clacked shut on all sides. A large object loomed in the darkness. A monstrous siork propelled by long fins like a winged serpent moved into the blue glow of the mollusks. Its enormous fang-filled mouth gaped three times the length of a man. Biting her lip, Nikki eased her zapper from the holster. Her hiding place seemed a fragile and inadequate protection against this monster.

The green skinned man whirled toward Nikki. Diving into the same shelter, he knocked her to the ground and dropped beside her. Jolted by the impact, she blinked at his face, faintly visible in the blue luminescence. His eyes widened a fraction, and he gave a wry smile of recognition. Pinning her down with one arm, he gripped his harpoon and stared out.

Waves surged against the giant mollusks, rocking their shelter. The blue glow faded. Above them, the monstrous beast bashed against the shells. A loud snap indicated a cracked shell. Swirls of blue-green blood spurted across their view as the siork crushed its victim. 

Her heart thumping in terror, Nikki cowered next to the strange man. 

Long minutes later, the roiling waves calmed as the giant predator moved away.

The man stood, gripped her elbow, and pulled Nikki onto her feet. The diagonal slits of his gills pulsed open and closed on the sides of his deep chest. His intense gaze flicked up and down, appraising her figure in a rapid glance. Settling on her face, his green eyes warmed in admiration. He smiled. The handsome smile she remembered so well.

Flushed in triumph, Nikki gave a silent laugh. She had located her mysterious rescuer, and they were grinning at each other like fools. 

Blurb

Dr. Nikki Bell’s plan to discover intelligent life hits a rocky start when her spaceship crashes on the icy surface of Europa. Seconds before she blacks out, she spies a man’s face in the water beneath the ice. When she wakes on the submarine Station, nobody believes her story. Convinced the mysterious stranger saved her life, Nikki searches for him while she explores the ocean and its alien inhabitants. 

Kiron Arqin Ramis chose exile as a Watcher on a remote outpost to redeem his family’s honor. He never expected to find an attractive Earther woman close to death. He violates the prime policy by rescuing her. Despite suffering the penalty, he strives to warn her about his hostile leaders.

Nikki’s unexpected meeting with Kiron triggers a chain of disasters in Europa’s perilous oceans. Can the daredevil scientist and scarred Watcher forge a new alliance despite their people’s antagonism?  

EUROPA is FREE Today

Buy Links - https://books2read.com/u/bQ6vyD

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Six strangers - snippet from EUROPA for #WeWriWa #SciFiRom

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors. Meet writers in various genres and read 8-10 sentence snippets of their stories. Find a new author and sample their work. Enjoy!

I’m working out some details in my new story, Alarik, book 4 in my series, Taxyon Space. Since it’s at the awkward stage, I’m switching to snippets from the first book, Europa. This series stars alien mermen, Warrish, who have been secretly observing humans from a submarine base in the oceans of Jupiter’s moon.

Blurb

Dr. Nikki Bell’s plan to discover intelligent life on Jupiter’s moon hits a rocky start when her spaceship crashes on the icy surface of Europa. Seconds before she blacks out, she spies a man’s face in the water beneath the ice. When she wakes on the submarine Station, nobody believes her story. Convinced the mysterious stranger saved her life, Nikki searches for him while she explores the ocean and its alien inhabitants. 

Kiron Arqin Ramis chose exile as a Watcher on a remote outpost to redeem his family’s honor. He never expected to find an attractive Earther woman close to death. He violates the prime policy by rescuing her. Despite suffering the penalty, he strives to warn her about his hostile leaders.

Nikki’s unexpected meeting with Kiron triggers a chain of disasters in Europa’s perilous oceans. Can the daredevil scientist and scarred Watcher forge a new alliance despite their people’s antagonism? 

Introduction for snippet: Despite the suggestion she had been hallucinating, Nikki searches for the strange man while she is studying the Europan sea creatures. Note, she breathes through special oxygen extractors in her nostrils and has infrared, low light lenses. She is scrambling through a forest of coral to escape from large manta-like predators.

Exhaling in abrupt relief, Nikki slid closer and peered out. The coral forest ended in an open space covered with mounds of slime.

Six strangers swam above the slimy bottom, human-like figures with pale green skin and scaled legs. The pale yellow illumination came from bands on their heads. Her pulse thudding in shock, she ducked into the concealment of the coral forest. Curiosity stung and she peeked between the branches. At first, a flurry of bubbles obscured her view. Gradually, she made out the details. The six men had bare green chests, and tufts of dark red or blue hair on top of their heads. Each stranger grasped a harpoon and surrounded a group of the seadillos, docile animals with bands of shell protecting their humped backs and tendrils curling underneath.

Europa, Book 1 of Taxyon Space – SciFi Thriller and Romance

FREE at:  Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay

Near Future SciFi adventure & alien romance. What alien creatures lurk under the icy surface of Europa?

Europa, Book 1  Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay  PRINT

Rishalt, Book 2  Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay  PRINT

Jupiter, Book 3  Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay

Alarik, Book 4  Amazon (pre-order)

As always, I’ll be happy to reply to your comments.  
Please return to www.wewriwa.com to sample the works of the other writers.

Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.

Join me on Facebook and Twitter 

Pet Animals in my Stories: Dame Audrey #Medieval Romance

This story takes place in the late fourteenth century England around the time of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The widowed heroine, Dame Audrey, lives in Redding, the town where I grew up. She runs the cloth shop inherited from her late husband.

Audrey keeps an Irish wolfhound called Rufus. She travels on Daisy, a dappled grey mare. The horse on the book cover looks more like the hero’s steed, Jet. You can read an excerpt at the end of this post. 

Young widow seeks true love in this vivid Medieval romance with a touch of fantasy

In fourteenth century Britain, Dame Audrey cherishes her independence as the widow of a wealthy cloth merchant. But some of the wealthier traders covet her profitable business and she fears they will invoke the Abbot’s authority to compel her to marry a man of their choice. Her worst nightmare is suffering under a cruel husband like the hateful jeweler, Henry Goldsmith, who has threatened to curb her lively spirits.

Audrey joins a pilgrimage to Glastonbury to pray for guidance. The holy relics give her no inspiration nor do her fellow travelers. On the homeward journey, she aids the dying victim of a brutal robbery. She wins the stranger’s blessing and a gold brooch with a green dragon. Back in her hometown, the faerie brooch attracts trouble from thieves of all ranks and the attentions of a handsome yeoman, Selwyn Drake. As her nightmare looms nearer, she grows desperate to preserve her freedom.

Can the magic brooch help Audrey evade the schemes to force her into wedlock or must she submit to a husband’s will?

Available at: Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay

Excerpt: Audrey meets the hero

The four horsemen raced closer.

The second one blew his horn in a second warning.

The foremost rider rose in his stirrups and shouted, “Make way for the sheriff’s men.”

We urged our horses onto the grassy verge to let the riders pass. They slowed their rapid pace to a brisk trot as they approached our party. The leader raised his hand to acknowledge our compliance. His stern face unsmiling, he stared straight ahead, seemingly intent on urgent business.

My Rufus is accustomed to the bustle in the town’s streets. Even so, I bade him lie down in the grass by Daisy’s legs. Excited by the hoof beats, my mare snorted and pranced as the horsemen drew closer. Like me, Daisy was weary of our sedate pace and longed to race alongside the fast riders.

Wary of my frisky mare, the lead horseman glanced at me as he rode past. His glance lengthened into a curious gaze. A sudden smile warmed his severe face and lit green streaks in his hazel eyes.

My heart gave a flutter of delight and I returned his smile.  

Rufus woofed.

Daisy whinnied a horse greeting.

The yeoman gave me a quick nod. He pressed his spurs into his steed’s flanks and slapped the reins. His black courser tossed its head and sped into a gallop.

One after the other, his men passed us. An older man with grizzled hair sat astride a chestnut horse. Behind him, a slim, beardless youth rode a lanky piebald mare. In the rearguard, a burly man as brown and shaggy as a bear was mounted on a sturdy bay charger. 

Once they passed the vanguard of our party, their horses settled back into an easy canter.

Their leader’s stern face remained etched in my mind. My instant attraction to this handsome yeoman caused me to reassess my options for a husband. I had wealth enough to support a man with none. Yet, if I married a penniless man, I would never know if he most desired me or my riches. A man who could support himself would be best. If ever I decided to marry again and risk losing my independence.  

As our company resumed our journey, I watched the figures of the horsemen dwindle into the distance until a dip in the road obscured them from my sight.

Semi=aquatic sentient - Snippet from ALARIK for #WeWriWa #SciFiRomance

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors. Meet writers in various genres and read 8-10 sentence snippets of their stories. Find a new author and sample their work. Enjoy!

This week, I’m switching to my new story, Alarik, book 4 in my series, Taxyon Space. This series stars alien mermen who’ve been observing humans from the oceans of Europa. Their secret is exposed in the first Book, Europa.

I’m continuing from the beginning of the book. Alarik, the hero, is watching the broadcast about an alien ship landing on Mars. You can read last week’s snippet at https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2019/10/an-alien-craft-snippet-from-alarik-for.html

    The occupant, presumably the ship’s pilot, sprawled on the floor. Four eyestalks drooped on top of a purple carapace and the clawed tips of three jointed limbs poked from under its shell. A trail of orange ran from a clump on the floor to the shell. The microbes also ingested metals and other nutrients from living creatures.

“Eekrepisth,” Alarik breathed. What was the semi-aquatic sentient doing on Mars? Did it intend to land on the arid planet or had its ship crashed in a dust storm? In either case, his duty was clear, he must notify the Triarchs. The Watchers would receive the information once the radio signals reached Europa, but he and his brother were likely the only Warrish to infiltrate human society. Who else would agree to the excision of an entire finger and diminished status due to this mutilation?

Draft Blurb

Two people fleeing their planets discover a shared goal.

     When an alien spacecraft crashes on Mars, the repercussions sweep throughout the solar system and endanger the fragile new alliance with the Warrish mermen.  

     Alarik Kenton Tallis, Eldest of three brothers, was forced to infiltrate human society on Earth as a spy to insure his injured brother receives proper medical care. But, when his transmissions are detected, he must flee the planet.

      On Mars, Phoebe Wong, a veterinary scientist with dubious family connections, is desperate to escape the underworld gangs terrorizing the domed city. She jumps at the chance to join the colonists bound for a distant exoplanet.

    Their paths converge on a space ferry bound for the outer planets. Trouble pursues them. Will their flight end on Europa, the hyperspace gateway to the stars protected by three diverse species?

Preorder on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YKZ1X18/

Free for the First Time:

Europa, Book 1 of Taxyon Space – SciFi Thriller and Romance

Dr. Nikki Bell’s plan to discover intelligent life on Jupiter’s moon hits a rocky start when her spaceship crashes on the icy surface of Europa. Seconds before she blacks out, she spies a man’s face in the water beneath the ice. When she wakes on the submarine Station, nobody believes her story. Convinced the mysterious stranger saved her life, Nikki searches for him while she explores the ocean and its alien inhabitants. 

Kiron Arqin Ramis chose exile as a Watcher on a remote outpost to redeem his family’s honor. He never expected to find an attractive Earther woman close to death. He violates the prime policy by rescuing her. Despite suffering the penalty, he strives to warn her about his hostile leaders.

Nikki’s unexpected meeting with Kiron triggers a chain of disasters in Europa’s perilous oceans. Can the daredevil scientist and scarred Watcher forge a new alliance despite their people’s antagonism?  

FREE at:  Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay

As always, I’ll be happy to reply to your comments.  
Please return to www.wewriwa.com to sample the works of the other writers.

Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.

Join me on Facebook and Twitter 

An alien craft - Snippet from ALARIK for #WeWriWa #SciFi Thriller

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors. Meet writers in various genres and read 8-10 sentence snippets of their stories. Find a new author and sample their work. Enjoy!

This week, I’m switching to my new story, Alarik, book 4 in my series, Taxyon Space. This series stars alien mermen who’ve been observing humans from the oceans of Europa. Their secret is exposed in the first Book, Europa.

Here are the first lines of the new book. Please remember, they are from an unedited, incomplete draft.

     “An alien craft was discovered on Mars earlier today.”

    Alerted by the chirpy voice of the announcer, Alarik frowned at the image. Orange stains surrounded great holes in the roughened surface of the six-sided spacecraft. The metal-eating microbes, originally engineered to oxygenate the Martian atmosphere, were eroding the ship’s hull. The camera lowered through an irregular gap and the view switched to the interior. Yellow blotches of microbes stained the interior surfaces and obscured the details. Under the lumpy coating, he distinguished the edges of hexagonal control panels set in the stippled metal walls.

     The reporter, a young woman with a bouffant of purple hair, continued in a more subdued tone, “The spacecraft was found by a couple of teens on a joyride out of Mars 4. Microbes had eaten much of the hull, and the mangled remains of a crab-like creature were found inside. After our staff took this footage, the local security force closed off the site for evaluation.” 

Note: If you are interested in the microbes, you can read my short story at https://books2read.com/u/bowMxL

Free for the First Time:

Europa, Book 1 of Taxyon Space – SciFi Thriller and Romance

Dr. Nikki Bell’s plan to discover intelligent life on Jupiter’s moon hits a rocky start when her spaceship crashes on the icy surface of Europa. Seconds before she blacks out, she spies a man’s face in the water beneath the ice. When she wakes on the submarine Station, nobody believes her story. Convinced the mysterious stranger saved her life, Nikki searches for him while she explores the ocean and its alien inhabitants. 

Kiron Arqin Ramis chose exile as a Watcher on a remote outpost to redeem his family’s honor. He never expected to find an attractive Earther woman close to death. He violates the prime policy by rescuing her. Despite suffering the penalty, he strives to warn her about his hostile leaders.

Nikki’s unexpected meeting with Kiron triggers a chain of disasters in Europa’s perilous oceans. Can the daredevil scientist and scarred Watcher forge a new alliance despite their people’s antagonism?  

Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay

As always, I’ll be happy to reply to your comments.  
Please return to www.wewriwa.com to sample the works of the other writers.

Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.

Join me on Facebook and Twitter 

Bargain and Free Stories for October #SciFi #Romance #Witches

Oct 1-31: One Cool Month - Stay Warm with a Romance - https://books.bookfunnel.com/one-cool-month/gzyoxp86is

Sept 1-Oct 31: A Mysterious Case of the Strange - SHORT STORIES & PREVIEWS –https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysterious-case-of-the-strange/4nqvnbs9mq

Oct 1-31: Free Witchy Reads – https://books.bookfunnel.com/freewitchbooks/2556d8r9uj

Oct 1-31: Discover Your Next New SciFi! - https://storyoriginapp.com/to/GxsgpKE