Author: James Mascia
Series: Leviathan Chronicles
Pages: 100
Date Published: 2015
Publisher: HSH Productions
Format: Kindle
Genre: Sci-Fi
Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
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Still reeling from his wife's murder, Joel tries to escape the alien hunter and fulfill a promise he made to her. Years of searching for the fabled planet, Aeprion, has left the space freighter captain torn between giving up the search or giving himself up to Kraxem, the alien hunter.
When Kraxem and his minions attack Joel's ship again, he is forced into the nebula, where he'll have to do repairs. Once their, his thoughts revert back to the final day of Kate's life and the promises that were made. Learning to come to terms with her loss and release the guilt that he feels will be a hard battle to fight, but giving up will prove to be even more difficult and, perhaps, deadly.
Steeling his resolve to forge on, Joel vows to find the fabled living planet before guilt devours his soul.
~Putting Off Until Tomorrow~
I recently had a friend from
college tell me how proud he was for me. He said how he always hears people
talking about how they want to write a book, or do a painting, or create a
sculpture, or make a book of poetry, but they never get it done. He said that
he found it amazing that I said I was going to write, and that I actually did
it, and not only that, but I continue doing it.
That got me thinking that the only
real difference between a writer and someone who aspires to be a writer is that
a writer doesn’t put off until tomorrow what they can do today.
The major excuse one always hears
about someone wanting to write a book, is that they don’t have the time to do
it. The truth is, I think, these people don’t want to make the time to do it.
Let me tell you, I am a teacher,
so, I work my 40+ hours a week, but I also tutor on the side for probably
another 15 – 20 hours a week. Two or three times a month, I get in the car and
travel to some destination for a comic book convention where I sell my books
and comics on the weekends. Oh, and to add to that, I have an insane
two-year-old (for those of you who are parents, you know what I’m talking
about). So, if anyone has an excuse that they do not have any time to write, it
is me.
Now, I’m not saying all this to
brag. I’m trying to make a point. If I can get in at least a little bit of
writing every day, than anyone can. The point is, that you have to do it
instead of saying, “I’ll get to it when I have the time.”
It isn’t that hard to get started.
If someone wants to write a book, they must have an idea in mind. The fact is,
they have to sit at that keyboard—or, like in my case, a pen and notebook—and
get those ideas out of their head. (Yes, for those of you wondering, before I type
my stories out on the computer, I write them in a book. That way when I copy it
down onto the computer, it forces me to do my edits as I go.)
And the thing that I think many
people think is that they have to get all their ideas out at once. That is definitely
not the case. I set a daily goal for myself for writing. My goal is not that
large—only 500 words a day. This isn’t that large a number. If you’re typing in
standard font, and single spaced pages, this is only one page. So, my goal is
really one page a day. That’s 3,500 words a week. Most days I exceed that goal.
However, there are days where I won’t make it. But that’s okay, because I will
still make my goal by the end of the week.
If writing is a passion of yours,
you should make time to do it. We all have other things we are doing. But if
this is something you truly want to do, it is important that you get it done.
Do an inventory of your time. Maybe there is some time in the evening when you
could write something while you’re sitting in front of the TV. Maybe you can do
like I do and write early in the morning before work, or late at night right
before bed. Maybe you can start just by writing for one hour each day on the
weekends and expand from there.
The important thing is to get it
done. Stop saying that you don’t have the time. Make the time. Then maybe you
will have a friend tell you how proud they are of you.
~Try an Excerpt!~
He stopped eating. He’d gone almost a whole day without
thinking about her. Now that he had, he was overcome with an emptiness in his
chest he couldn’t escape. He stared at the seat at the small table where she
would always sit. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine she was still
there, insisting that even though the food was crap, they could still eat like
civilized human beings.
“Dammit!” He tossed the half empty ration pack at her seat,
no longer hungry, and left the room.
He couldn’t keep doing this to himself. He knew that. But
until they invented a pill that could erase memories, he really had no choice.
It was all his fault. If it hadn’t been for him, she’s still be here.
He returned to the cockpit just as the air filled with the
wail of the proximity alarm.
Jumping back into the pilot’s chair, he pulled up his sensor
logs, and didn’t like what he saw. “Computer, is that what I think it is?”
“It is a Class-B
frigate, of Quacock design with an armament of…”
He didn’t need to hear anymore.
The bulkhead groaned as Joel swung the Wanderer around,
speeding away from the incoming craft.
He slammed his hand on the console. “How the hell did he
find me?”
He’d been careful. Since he’d left the last port, he’d
avoided all the shipping lanes, he’d made several course corrections, and he’d
even masked his energy output to make it impossible to follow his trail.
“How’d the bastard do it?” he muttered.
“Please restate the question,” chimed the computer.
He didn’t respond to the machine. A warning beeped on the
console a second before long streams of green energy burst forth from the
pursuing craft and Joel jerked the controls to the right, sliding the Wanderer
out of the way just in time. The beam of light passed only meters below the
ship.
It had probably singed the armor, but at least no alarms
blared. At least there was no lasting damage. It didn’t stop sweat from forming
on his brow. It was a little too close, and if he wasn’t careful, he might not
escape from the alien this time.
~Meet James!~
James Mascia will be awarding 5 copies of the ebook in either mobi or epub formats to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
He fights
evil across the known universe and crushes them between his fingers (at least,
he does this with his words).
James Mascia
is an accomplished writer with a bestselling series, High School Heroes, as
well as a bestselling graphic novel, The Poe Murders. He has always been a fan
of sci-fi, and is glad to be delving back into the galaxy once again.
James teaches
in Maryland, where he also writes. He has a lovely wife and a tiny terror (a
two-year-old) driving him mad, but making him laugh.
Check out
some of his other work below:
Yes, thank you!
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