First Lines of Karrik, SciFi Romance, for #WeWriWa and #SnippetSunday

 

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday. Sample the work of a new author. Read snippets of stories in different genres.

I’ve taken a break from posting snippets for several months. During this interval, I have slowly been writing the 6^th book in my SciFi series, Taxyon Space. I pursued new skills in making videos and AI-generated art. My husband and I also spent three weeks in Hawaii, visiting three of the islands, Oahu, Big Island and Kauai. You can see my pictures and videos on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Pintrest.

My snippet is taken from the beginning of the story, Karrik, and shows the problems faced by the protagonist. Karrik lost an arm and a leg in battle and survives in a semi-comatose state. His older brothers made a sacrifice to arrange care for him. Their stories are described in the earlier books, Alarik and Baswin. The brothers are aliens, Warrish ‘mermen’, and the elite in their society despise physical deformities. 

Note, the story is still incomplete and has not yet been edited. 

 

He lay alone.

Memories stirred in his fuzzy mind. They called him Karrik. Was Karrik his name? He could not remember. His befuddled thoughts oozed as slowly as molasses in a maze. Words emerged at random. Remembering terror and pain, he whimpered.

The hammock rocked beneath his aching body.

People came and went.

Ten sentences, and a few more:

They wore white robes and pleasant faces. They touched him with gentle hands.

Their mouths opened.

He heard sounds. Meaningless babble interspersed with a word he recognized.

One or two at a time, people walked in and spoke to him. Their voices were as clear and cheerful as if he were a baby.

He understood a few simple words. But often, the meaning floated into his mind long after the people had left the room. 

I hope you can appreciate why this story has been difficult to write. In addition to Karrik’s slow recovery, I have to continue his brothers’ stories. The two earlier books, Alarik and Baswin, both end with the brother and his favorite human woman traveling to the aliens’ planet.  

Monthly Bargain: 99c for Dame Audrey, Medieval Fiction with Fantasy and Romance.

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 brutal husband’s will?

99c at: Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay  Other  

 NEW: Violet’s Quest. Illustrated Short Story and Prequel to the Epic Science Fantasy Series, Grand Masters’ Galaxy.

Teen empath, Violet Hunter is vulnerable to the pain and negative emotions suffered by other people. She is desperate for a solution. But, psychics must practice their skills in secret due to the Grand Masters’ prohibition. Only the legendary White Mother is rumored to defy the ban to teach young psychics. When her mother refuses to help, Violet runs away to seek the mysterious White Mother, who lives somewhere on the planet of Avalon. Will Violet succeed in her perilous quest?

Available Now and Discounted to 99c with Coupon Code 3UMLHH6RTV at my Webstore https://payhip.com/b/9wg3u  (Coupon valid until 22^nd)

Or Pre-order at Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay  Other 

Please return to http://wewriwa.blogspot.com/ to sample the works of the other writers.

All my stories are discounted at my direct BookStore.

View my pictures and videos on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Pintrest.

Find prints, T-shirts, mugs, and other merchandise at my site for DigitalArt.

 

Sunlit graveyard - snippet from DAME AUDREY for #WeWriWa #Historical_Romance

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!

My latest novel, Dame Audrey, released at the end of August, and I’m working on two new stories in different series.
For now, I’ll continue snippets from Dame Audrey, my new medieval romance set in fourteenth century England in and around my hometown of Reading.

Audrey has discovered the sheriff’s bailiff, Selwyn Drake, praying in her parish church. He explained he was praying for his deceased wife and stillborn child.

You can read last week’s snippet at https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-sad-loss-snippet-from-dame-audrey-for.html

This snippet begins a few lines later. Two women entered the nave and were staring at Audrey and Selwyn, so he suggested they leave the church. 

     Once outside the church, I stepped into the sunlit graveyard. The sounds of bartering came from the market across the main street, yet the narrow path winding between the graves was peaceful and private.

     Unconsciously, I took my usual walk in the direction of my family’s grave. The names carved in the headstone had been rinsed clean by the rains, although the daisies I had laid at the foot of the mound on Sunday had been washed away.

     I paused and placed my hand on the top of the gravestone, “My husband lies here beside our two little children.”

     He touched the polished stone and his gaze traveled over the inscription. “You are fortunate; you can pray at their grave. My family’s tomb is far away.”

Reviewers say:

“…one of the very sweetest stories I’ve read in a long time.”

“…a truly enriching experience for all those who love history.”

DAME AUDREY is Discounted to 99c until Sept 30th: 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.

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Historical #Mystery & #Romance - The Curious Profession of Dr Craven by R. Harrison

Description

What is a poor anatomist to do? Twenty pounds, wasted, up in smoke when a beautiful young woman wakes up on the dissection table. Someone has made a ghastly error. Dr Richard Craven, an ethical doctor, has but one choice, to nurse the girl back to health and restore her to her family. That’s when his troubles start. She can’t remember anything, only her first name, and she isn’t even sure about that. As his household helps her to recover her strength and her memories trickle, then flood back, their mutual attraction buds into a flowing passion.

Unfortunately one of the things she’s conveniently forgotten was her arranged engagement to a vulgar, but wealthy son of a Northern industrialist. Not only that, but there is some deep dark secret about Dr Craven that her father believes makes him completely ineligible.

Resolving the resulting tangle in this sweet historical romance takes the combined efforts of the doctor’s once profligate brother, the Earl of Craven, a displaced French Royal, le Duc de Bourbon, and the visit of a mysterious French Baron to the sacred floor or Almack’s. 

99c Deal

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AAYVDA6

Excerpt

Dr. Craven meets his fate. He just doesn't know it yet. He's preparing to dissect another body when things come undone.

In the meantime, the boy undid the bandage that held the woman’s jaw shut tight. As he pulled it off her, her mouth opened and she gasped for air.

He ran to his father and the doctor, shouting, “I tell you, Doctor, she’s alive!”

Jonas and the doctor walked back to him, carrying a decanter of the brandy with them.

Dr. Craven said, “Can’t be, Lad. That must just have been gas escaping from the body. They do that, you know, as they decompose.”

The elder resurrection man nodded, “I’ve seen it before, many times.”

His son replied, “So have I Dad, but this wasn’t that. She gasped for breath when I undid the bandage.”

Dr. Craven said, “I’ll prove she’s dead. Put her on the table.” The resurrection men lifted the body from the floor and put it on the examining table. This cadaver was light for the two of them to lift. It having once been a delicate young female; they were gentler with it than they were usually.

The doctor gave his hands a quick rinse. Something he did more for superstition than any rational basis, and then he examined the body.

“She is warmer than I’d expect. The decomposition must be advancing rapidly. I’ll need that ice.” He paused. It, no not it, she breathed. It was a gasp, a weak one at that, but a breath.

“Brandy!” He shouted, “and be quick about it, man. She’s alive.”

The youngest resurrection man ran for the decanter and returned as fast as he could. “Here, sir.”

The doctor took some and moistened the woman’s lips with it. She gasped again and stirred. “She’s cold, bring a blanket and a warm brick.” He immediately unwrapped the winding bandages from her body and untied the bindings on her legs and arms. “Come man, rub her legs. We must get the blood flowing.”

Between the warmth, the brandy, and the commotion, the woman’s eyes suddenly opened, and she sat up. She saw this handsome dark-haired man looking at her. His concern for her was evident in his face.

“Is this Heaven?”

“No. England.”

“Close enough.” Then she lay back and closed her eyes again.