Science Fiction: The Gate

Staci Troilo is one of my closest author friends. She’s got something new for all of us under her pen-name of D. L. Cross. Let’s make her feel welcome and share this around today.

“No Idea” Excerpt from New Sci-Fi Novel: THE GATE

Thanks for inviting me here today. I’m excited to share an excerpt from The Gate, Book 1 of the Astral Conspiracy series in the Invasion Universe. 

Excerpt:

“You do realize I’ve never done this before. I have no idea what’ll happen up there.”

“You better hope it’s what I want to happen. Or you won’t be coming back down.”

Landon gulped, no longer certain he’d made the right choice to stay on Lorena’s behalf. So far, the mercs had been more or less gentlemanly toward her. She’d probably walk out of this ordeal alive. 

The same couldn’t be said about him.

They followed a path around the mountainside, but in the opposite direction of the gate. The trail started at a gentle rise but grew steeper as they ascended. About an hour into their trek, Lorena stopped at the entrance to a cave. 

A chill of foreboding skittered up Landon’s spine. The side of the mountain wasn’t carved, but damn if it didn’t look like it had been — into the shape of a face. It took no imagination to see large eyes, pointed cheekbones, and a thin nose above a gaping maw. Not just any mouth. 

The cave mouth.

A hell mouth.

Smoke trailed from the opening, the beast belching odoriferous brimstone from the bowels of perdition.

Landon’s muscles tensed, primed to run.

Wolf’s beefy fingers pressed into his flesh, bruising his shoulder. “Uh-uh, Professor. You’re not going anywhere. This was your idea, remember?”

Lorena yelled something that was carried away on the wind. Before Landon, or anyone else, could ask for clarification, shadows swelled in the opening of the cave. Despite the chill at that elevation, flop sweat formed on his brow and dripped down his face. He swiped at the salty perspiration stinging his eyes, then he squinted into the cave mouth. The shadow got darker, longer …

Then a man stepped onto the plateau.

Lorena approached him. They placed their hands on each other’s shoulders and bowed slightly until their foreheads touched. After a brief pause, they separated. Then she turned toward the group. “This is Eduardo, my grandfather. He is the shaman who will guide us on our spiritual journey. He bids us welcome.” 

“Grandfather?” Wolf muttered. “Feels like we’re being taken advantage of.”

“How?” Landon asked.

“I’m sure we’ll see soon enough.”

Tex ignored them, talking over their discussion and approaching Lorena. “You speak English?” 

“Obviously.”

“Why didn’t you say so?”

“Why didn’t you ask?” She smiled then gestured as an invitation for them to enter.

Tex led the group toward the cave mouth.

“Welcome,” Eduardo said. “Allow me to introduce you to Mother Ayahuasca.”

Blurb:

He lost his job. Lost his girl. Now it’s all he can do not to lose his life.

Landon Thorne is a disgraced archaeologist, a laughing stock in his field because of his unconventional beliefs – he’s an ancient astronaut theorist. No one takes him seriously.

Until an alien armada targets Earth.

Now Landon’s in high demand – by the US government and someone far more sinister.

They race across two continents to the Gate of the Gods, the one place on Earth that might give humans an advantage over the aliens. But no one is prepared for what they’ll find.

And not everyone will make it out alive.

Universal Purchase Link | More Information | Invasion Universe Newsletter

Bio:

D.L. Cross has loved science fiction ever since she was a young girl and fell for Major Don West on television’s Lost in Space. To this day, she still quotes the show, though her favorite lines were spoken by the robot and the antagonist. Parallel universes or alternate realities, aliens or dinosaurs, superpowers or super viruses, time travel or AI… no sci-fi theme is off limits and all of them fascinate her. D.L. Cross also writes other genre fiction under the name Staci Troilo, and you can find more information about all her identities and all her work at her website: https://stacitroilo.com.

 

The Geyser Girl on #LisaBurtonRadio

Hey there all you woodland nymphs and water sprites. It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time for another edition of Lisa Burton Radio. The only show out there bringing you the characters from the books you love.

I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl, and my special guest today has several names. She is Flower of the Steam Basin, sometimes called the Geyser Girl. Welcome to the show, and I hope it’s okay to call you “Flower.”

“Hello, Miss Lisa. You are most gracious, and I am honored to be in your company. Please do call me Flower.”

“You’re associated with the Yellowstone Upper Geyser Basin somehow. Can you tell our listeners about that?”

“When I was an infant, the Faithful Elder, known as Old Faithful geyser, and a mother buffalo named Bearer of Song found me alone on a snowy April’s night in the geyser basin. They raised me as their own with their stories, teachings and proverbial sayings.

“To this day, my origins remain a mystery. When I was older I learned, like you, that although humanlike in form, my physiology is quite different. It enables me to visit the geysers and hot springs, even those with openings too narrow for a human to enter, and to run with the buffalo herd. I dwell with my father; for, to live in the atmosphere of a hot spring and drink of its waters is my requirement…

“I must return to the geysers, I haven’t much time…”

“I get you, girl. I’m a slave to electricity. I can go and go, but eventually have to recharge my batteries. Most of us are like that, somehow. Even the natural-born humans need to have a cup of tea, a glass of wine, a nap.”

“Yes, Miss Lisa, you understand. I grew up playing tag with the lion cubs and wolf pups while I drew up wisdom from their parents’ stories… always to return home again to the steam basin…

“When I was six, my father carried me aloft on his plume when he erupted, much as children ride their fathers’ shoulders. One day, the winds grew playful and parted the waters of the fountain, and a human child my age spotted me with her parents. In time, the family, through their discreetness, proved trustworthy, and both sets of parents allowed us to meet. Because I understand the languages of human, animal and geyser, I served as translator when my father and mother received them.

“After my mother, Bearer of Song, passed away when I was eight, it was through this loving family that I came face-to-face with a man whose storied greatness my mother related to me when I was small: him and his loyal, supportive wife. But others connected with them put me in danger… and Yellowstone…”

“Honestly, your life sounds pretty wonderful. What kind of problem could this cause?”

“My beloved mentor, Lieutenant Ned Halpen, served in the First U.S. Cavalry at Mammoth, and he journeyed throughout Yellowstone as protector of her spiritual and physical heritage. This was before the National Park Service and the rangers. Later, he took ill and lost both his legs. It was then I met him. A year later, when he died, I pledged a sacred vow to God in my father’s presence, to follow in Lt. Halpen’s footsteps and tend to all the park. It is as my mother taught me: “The mystery of your purpose will not fail to find you in its time. Follow closely in its course, this being what you will be expected to give in return.”

“The Halpens have a daughter… Eleanor, a Yellowstone ranger married to a botanist with a grant to study the plant life inside the park.

“No one told her… she found out herself… she was relentless…

“Please, dear Lisa, Eleanor and her husband have captured… and confined me in their basement laboratory for… research. They said, they cannot release an unknown life form, that I have no rights by law. Their attempts to reproduce the atmosphere and waters I need is not sufficient… I’m growing weaker, and my breath… I can barely stand…”

“Hello, we seem to have some trouble on the line. Hello, Flower, can you hear me?–”

“Why, tell me why, Robert, you insisted on keeping a telephone in the laboratory!”

“But Eleanor, who would have known…”

“Known what? That this persistent aberration of nature could adapt to using a telephone? Well now, let’s learn to whom she is speaking at the other end…”

“Flower, can you hear me?”

“I can hear you perfectly, Madam. There are laws governing unknown species. And since you are acting as a friend of Miss Flower, you may well fall under that category yourself.”

“Excuse me. Who the hell are you?”

“The voice sounds robotic in nature. Remarkable how, as a composite of metal and wires, you pass yourself off as an impertinent upstart. In fact, Robert and I find the idea of your joining Miss Flower in our accommodations more than intriguing.”

“Get in line, sister. I’m involved in about a thousand lawsuits over my Copyright, Trademark, trade secrets, human trafficking, endangered species status, and the list goes on.”

“Oh, but, I don’t think we ought to wait that long. Unless you furnish your location, we will place you under arrest and strip you down to the nuts and bolts. In addition, we are prepared to have every geyser and spring bottled up in Yellowstone until your friend cooperates. Perhaps you can persuade her…”

“Again, take a number. I think what you’re doing is terrible. Flower is all about love and deserves to live freely among her loved ones.”

“I suppose you would feel that way being, yourself, a potential contamination to humans. I, for one, have had it up to here with living under my father’s shadow. Never receiving credit for my own achievements. That is about to change. Know this: my husband and I will find you wherever you try to hide yourself.”

Click

“Well, looks like we can add cuckoos to the list of species in Yellowstone. I’m worried about Flower. If you would like to find out how she fares, check out the book The Geyser Girl of Yellowstone Park, by Myrtle Brooks.

“Please remember to use those sharing buttons on your way out today. I’m sure Myrtle and Flower would do it for you, when your character appears on the next Lisa Burton Radio.

“While we’re on the topic, I’m about due for some more guests around here. If you’re planning a book release, or maybe a push of some kind, keep me in mind. This spot has grown in popularity and it might be a good stop for you.”

***’

Blurb:

In Yellowstone National Park, at the beginning of the twentieth century, a girl of mysterious origins is adopted from infancy by Old Faithful geyser, and by a mother buffalo named Bearer of Song. Beloved to all the park, Flower of the Steam Basin grows up with their stories, proverbial sayings and teachings.

In time, having met a child her own age and her parents, trust ripens between families, and Flower of the Steam Basin gains a closely protective circle of human friends. At nine years old, she is brought face-to-face with Retired Lieutenant Ned Halpen of the Yellowstone Cavalry, whose exemplary career embodied the role of protector of Yellowstone’s spiritual and physical heritage.

In the wake of Lt. Halpen’s passing one year later, her sacred vow to continue his legacy brings both reward and mortal danger. And when the circle is breached, Flower of the Steam Basin and her father are forced to choose between her own safety and well-being and the performance of her sworn duties.

This is her story, as seen through the eyes of Yellowstone.

Buy it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or through Myrtle Brooks.

Bio:

As written beneath her yearbook photo, Class of 1970, the expressed lifetime goal of the author herein known as Myrtle Brooks, is: “to realize the love present in everything.” Maturity has taught her that this is a vision meant to be shared. When not at home in her beloved Brooklyn, N.Y., she may be found dancing with the big rigs on the interstate as she heads for national parks and places of quiet beauty. Knowing her place, she enters such sanctuaries as a respectful visitor and humble observer; Whereupon she is lovingly greeted and made welcome as family.

Contact Myrtle at the following locations:

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | LinkedIn

The Astronomer’s Crypt, on Lisa Burton Radio

Don't touch that dial, you've found Lisa Burton Radio. Coming at you with 1.21 jigawatts of power, this is the only show that interviews the characters from the books you love. I'm your host, Lisa the robot girl, and with me today is Mike Teter. Mike is an astronomer with the Carson Peak Observatory in New Mexico. “Welcome to the show, Mike.”

“Hi Lisa, it's great to be here. Thanks for having me on the show.”

“My bio says you've recently returned to the observatory after a two year hiatus. What happened, grass wasn't greener?”

“Actually, leaving the observatory was the hardest thing I'd ever done. You see, a terrible blizzard blew in my last night there and the two of us working that night decided to leave the site. Ron Wallerstein drove ahead of me. He was going a little too fast when he reached a bridge spanning a gorge that had iced up… Sorry, this is difficult, I don't talk about it much… He went off the road and died instantly. I tried to get help, but couldn't get cell phone service. He died clutching the data he'd taken that night. I took a week off, but I've never been able to get the image out of my mind. I just couldn't bear going back.”

“So you had a breakdown?”

“Erm, I hadn't really thought about it like that, but I guess so. I needed to get my feet back under me, so to speak. I opened a little computer repair business. Anyway, Jerome Torres, the site manager called me a couple of weeks ago and persuaded me to come back. He had a staffing shortfall and said he needed me back.”

“I just searched newspaper articles from your time period and found a report that Roscoe Perkins was involved in a big fight at the Sacred Portals Casino and was dismissed from the observatory the next day.”

“Yeah, I didn't want to say his name because of confidentiality, but yeah, that's why they asked me back.”

“How did you decide to return to the site of your breakdown?”

“Oh boy, that was tough, but my wife, Bethany, is expecting our first child. She's an astronomer at New Mexico State University and wants to take some extra leave. We really needed a better income than the computer business provided.”

“She's an astronomer too? Any chance to spend a working evening together up there? It could be kind of romantic.”

“You've gotta be kidding me!”

“Really? That's harsh.”

“Look, I know I sound like a terrible husband, but it's at altitude and it's a primitive site. There aren't any creature comforts and I want the best for my wife.”

“I hate to be rude, but it sounds like you're making excuses, Mike. There've been rumors that you saw something up there right before Ron Wallerstein died. I've read stories that the site is haunted by the ghost of the observatory's first director, Robert Burroughs.”

“Lisa, I don't know what you've heard, but I can tell you it wasn't the ghost of Professor Burroughs. I've heard those stories, too. I don't even know if what I saw was real. I'd like to think I was just sleep deprived, but what I saw was the stuff of nightmares. I was just minding my own business, getting the telescope shut down for the day when I saw this thing that looked almost like those velociraptors from Jurassic Park, except it had a flat face, like an owl, and it was covered in grizzly feathers. Man, it gives me the chills just thinking about it. It ran at me and then… it just vanished. I was still shaking when I got in my car. It was right after that Wallerstein ran off the road.”

“Creepy! And you want to go up there and spend your nights peeping at the stars and not watching your back? I hope they're paying you well.”

“Well, like I say, I was probably just sleep–“

“Hold that thought, we have a caller. Hello, caller, welcome to Lisa Burton Radio with Lisa and Mike. What's on your mind?”

“My name is, … Ronald Parsons. I'm a … friend of Mr. Perkins and I'm here to tell you the observatory management made a big mistake. I was … I mean Roscoe was the best technician that observatory ever saw.”

“Look, I have nothing against Roscoe. From everything I heard, he was good at his job. He just made a mistake, that's all.”

“Mistake, hell. The only person who made a mistake was Jerome Torres, the observatory manager. So what if Roscoe threw a few dollars at the roulette wheel or cards. So what if he unwound with a drink or two.”

“Wait a minute. Your voice is familiar. Roscoe, is that you?”

“All right, you got me. This is Roscoe. Man, you jerks will be sorry when I'm in the Bahamas soaking up rays with a woman on each arm, while you're still up there freezing your butts off at that observatory.”

“Roscoe, this is Lisa. If you've lost your job, how are you going to get to the Bahamas?”

“Er, um, let's just say Roscoe has a new gig and we'll leave it at that. Bye bye for now, suckers!”

“Sorry about that, Lisa. Where were we again?”

“I don't remember either, but it sounds like Roscoe has an axe to grind. What can you tell us about that?”

“All I can tell you is that Sacred Portals is an Apache casino and Jerome, my boss, is also Apache. From what I hear, the tribe took Roscoe's car and put a lien on his house because of all the money he lost at the casino. Oh God, I hope he hasn't fallen in with pot hunters.”

“Pot hunters?”

“People who look for Native American artifacts and sell them on the black market. Carson Peak has a handful of sacred caves. The tribe believes they're the portals humans used to enter this world. There are stories of monsters hidden behind some of those portals.”

“Like the one you thought you saw?”

“Now that you mention it…”

“I sure hope he doesn't take something that opens one of those portals.”

“You're right about that. The portals are all just old stories and superstition, but Roscoe's in bad enough trouble with the tribe. If he goes into those caves, he could be in jail for a very long time.”

“Thank you for being with us today, Mike. You be careful up there… all alone… in the dark.”

“Thanks, Lisa. You know, I never had any problems working in remote locations until that one night. It just took me a couple of years to realize that Wallerstein's death wasn't my fault and that… creature… was just a figment of my imagination. Let me tell you, none of it holds a candle to the amazing stuff I see at the telescope. I've taken images of colliding galaxies, exploding stars, and there's even a nebula out there that looks just like a phoenix. On that note, it's time for me to catch up on some sleep so I can rise from the ashes and get back to work.”

“Mike's story unfolds in the pages of The Astronomer's Crypt, available right now. I'll put all the deets on the website.

“Make sure to hit those sharing buttons before you run to Amazon to check out the book. Mike will appreciate it, and I'm sure David Lee Summers, his author, would appreciate it too.”

 

***

The Astronmer's Crypt:

If you scare easily, don’t read this book.

If you dare to read it, you’ve been warned.

Two years ago on a stormy night, in the dead of winter, Mike Teter experienced something that would change his life forever. Mike was a telescope operator at the world renowned Carson Peak Observatory in New Mexico. We won’t tell you what he saw that night on the mountain nor what happened afterward on a dark stretch of highway, because it would haunt you just as it has haunted Mike. But what we will tell you is that Mike is back at Carson Peak. And what he witnessed that night two years ago is about to become a reality…

 

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon:

Kobo:

Lachesis Publishing:

Bio:

David Lee Summers is the author of ten novels along with numerous short stories and poems. His writing spans a wide range of the imaginative from science fiction to fantasy to horror. David’s Old Star/New Earth science fiction series and his Scarlet Order Vampire series are both published by Lachesis Publishing. He's also the author of the Clockwork Legion Steampunk series from Sky Warrior Publishing.

His short stories and poems have appeared in such magazines as Realms of Fantasy and Cemetery Dance. He’s been twice nominated for the Science Fiction Poetry Association’s Rhysling Award. In addition to writing, David edited the quarterly science fiction and fantasy magazine Tales of the Talisman for ten years and has edited four science fiction anthologies: A Kepler’s Dozen, Space Pirates, Space Horrors and Maximum Velocity: The Best of the Full-Throttle Space Tales.

When not working with the written word, David operates telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory.

Contact Info

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Let’s Talk about Panama

I’ve been blogging about the effort that goes into getting Panama up on Amazon. There were a few updates to Wild Concept to add an end page about Panama. These have been fun blogs, and the response has been good.

But what the heck is Panama about? While I hate promotion, I don’t mind telling everyone about my story. Since this is my blog, I don’t feel like I have to post something über polished and full of hooks here either. So here we go, we’re all friends here and that’s how I’m addressing this.

Panama is set during the construction of the Panama Canal. Yellow fever is killing huge numbers of workers, but that’s all the news that’s getting out. In reality, they are getting back up and wandering into the jungle. The locals talk of a strange beast leading the dead away. They call him El Chivato.

Ethan and Coop have some experience with the supernatural world. Ethan talks to ghosts. Coop has premonitions, and is trying to learn about magic. He just keeps getting run out of town before he actually learns anything.

Basically, these two dipshits get recruited to deal with a problem that’s bigger than they are. When they arrive, they’re faced with the bid for Panamanian independence, a Columbian army that stands in the way, and a supernatural army no one else knows anything about.

In my vision, construction is an international effort. Sure, Americans are driving the work, but expatriates from all over the world are there for the big money. This breed of treasure hunter flowed in when the Klondike gold rush failed. It’s a pretty rough crowd. I briefly explored a few themes about prejudices.

The big problem is driven by a Carlist fanatic with dreams of a Spanish re-emergence in the new world.

There’s magic involved. It comes with an international flavor to match the crowd. European witchcraft mingles with voodoo and Indian medicine. There’s even one discussion about Chinese magic.

These two dipshits will be lucky to get out alive. The other option is joining the undead. (But not zombies. It’s a bit different.)

People like a reference point so here it goes. It’s like Wild Wild West meets Men in Black, with a sprinkling of Bill and Ted. I even threw in a smattering of celebrity cameos. (Period appropriate ones, sorry no Kardashians.)

I had a blast writing it. I think it’s fun, and serious enough when it needs to be. I’d appreciate it if you guys would check it out.

Of course I’ll provide a link. You can also click on the cover on the right sidebar. Panama