The Argent Star

THE ARGENT STAR

by Emerson Fray

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

What happens when your decisions affect an entire universe?

Ren Argent wanted to be an archeologist and spend her life exploring the lost cities of Earth.  But when a new planet is discovered and her father is appointed King, she has to leave behind everything she knows to rule over a place she’s only heard of in legends.

Not long after her arrival she discovers there are insurgents hiding in the darkened forests and the planet is on the brink of civil war.  It won’t be long until the Monarchy steps in to “neutralize” the threat.

Will she be able to stop the hostile takeover?  Or will her actions ignite a rebellion across the universe?

EXCERPT:

“He wants you to marry soon, but I think he’ll be happier if you’re dead.”

Ren knew Garret was trying to get her to marry someone on Novae but she hadn’t thought he’d be happier if she was dead.  She didn’t think her death would benefit him in any way, actually.  Or anyone, for that matter.

“Garret might be a snake, but he would be happier if I just married someone,” Ren argued.

“He’d be happier if Elian was on the throne.”

That caught Ren by surprise.  “What do you mean?”

“Maks cannot be controlled,” Sheridan cut in, her voice low.  “He does what he believes is right and best for the people, not the Monarchy.  Elian is not as strong as Maks; he’d fold under their pressure.”

“Elian is plenty strong,” Ren said.  “And if he were the King then he would be great.  He would--”

“Be easily controlled,” Abetha interrupted, “at least Garret thinks so.”

Ren bit down on her bottom lip.  “No he wouldn’t.”  It was true though, and Elian had plenty of weaknesses they could exploit.  All they had to do was threaten to take away his machines and he would crumble.  But Ren wanted to think her brother had more integrity than that and shook her head.

“He would compared to Maks,” Abetha said carefully.  “The Monarchy is having trouble keeping Maks under their thumb.  He isn’t doing what they want here.”

“And what is it they want?” Ren whispered.  It was what she’d been trying to figure out ever since she’d left Earth.

In the darkness, Sheridan answered, “Control.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Emerson Fray currently resides in Hamilton, Ontario.  While most of her stories happen on other planets, she remains on Earth 24/7 hunting down hawks and bugs to photograph, as well as chasing her mother’s dog to reclaim stolen shoes.  A self taught Pokemon trainer and coffee lover, she spends most of her valuable time pinning recipes she will never make on boards she will forget about.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrayEmerson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emersonfray

Blog: https://emersonfray.wordpress.com

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Henry Gallant And The Warrior

Scroll on down for the next post in my cowgirl series.

HENRY GALLANT AND THE WARRIOR

by H. Peter Alesso

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BLURB:

In the 22th Century, the people of the Solar System have banded together against an alien invasion. Unfortunately, they’re losing—badly.

As the only Natural remaining in the genetically engineered officer corps of the United Planet’s fleet, Henry Gallant has unique mental abilities that have proven essential to the defense against the Titan invaders. Nevertheless his fellow officers lack faith in him, and worse, he has angered prominent men by speaking truth to power.

Despite this, Admiral Collingsworth has given him command of the Warrior, the most advanced stealth warship in the UP arsenal, and ordered him to the alien’s main base to spy, intrigue, and disrupt their war capacity.

Gallant’s mission leads to risky battles and painful choices, but no choice is more personal, or intimate, than the choice to face one’s own death. And for Henry Gallant—a flawed young man in a hopeless situation against overwhelming odds—a dreadful decision looms before him.

He has only one saving grace—he is unafraid.

EXCERPT:

Lieutenant Henry Gallant walked along the cobblestone streets of New Annapolis—head down, mind racing . . .

My orders say take command of the Warrior immediately . . . but no promotion . . . Why not?

He pondered the possibilities, but he already knew the answer. Though he had steely gray eyes, a square jaw, and was taller than nearly everyone around him, what distinguished him most was not visible to the naked eye—he was a Natural—born without genetic engineering.

By the time he reached the space elevator, the welcoming breeze of the clear brisk morning had brightened his mood and he fell into line behind the shipyard personnel without complaint.

Looking up, he marveled; that cable goes into the clouds like an Indian rope trick.

When at last it was his turn, the guard scanned his comm pin against the access manifest.

The portal light blinked red.

“Pardon, sir. Access denied,” said the grim faced sentry.

“Call the officer of the guard,” demanded Gallant.

The officer of the guard appeared, but was no more inclined to pass Gallant through. He touched the interface panel and made several more entries, but the portal continued to blink red.

“There’s a hold on your access, sir.”

Gallant asked, “A hold?”

“Yes, sir. Your clearance and authorization are in order, but SIA has placed a hold on your travel movements. They want you to report to SIA headquarters, ASAP.”

“I need to go to the shipyard and attend to important business before going to the Solar Intelligence Agency,” clarified Gallant, but even as he said it, he knew it wouldn’t help.

“Sorry, sir. Orders.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

As a scientist and author specializing in technology innovation, H. Peter Alesso has over twenty years research experience at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As Engineering Group Leader at LLNL he led a team of scientists and engineers in innovative applications across a wide range of supercomputers, workstations, and networks. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. and served in the U.S. Navy on nuclear submarines before completing an M.S. and an advanced Engineering Degree at M.I.T. He has published several software titles and numerous scientific journal and conference articles, and he is the author/co-author of seven books.

You can visit his Web site at: http://www.hpeteralesso.com/Default.aspx

_______________________________________________

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Author Web site at: http://www.hpeteralesso.com/Default.aspx

Goodreads Address: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/413852.H_Peter_Alesso

YouTube trailer for Henry Gallant Saga: SciFi Book Trailer: Midshipman Henry Gallant

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Amazon link for Volume 1 of the Henry Gallant Saga: http://www.amazon.com/Midshipman-Henry-Gallant-Space-Volume/dp/1482640325/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

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Dark Nights

Dark Nights

By

Christopher Gray

BLURB:  

The machine believed it knew best how to save humanity... even if doing so meant destroying half the population. 

Astrophysicist Doug Lockwood's unusual discovery during his observation of the sun kicks off a chain of events that nobody could have foreseen. The powerful political and military influences that compete to deal with his discovery set Lockwood on a course which will carry him across worlds, and into the grasp of a formidable new intelligence bent on accomplishing its goal at any cost. With Earth itself at stake and time running out, Lockwood and his team must find a way to counter this unprecedented threat before the powerful new enemy completes its plan. Two civilizations are pitted against each other in a desperate struggle for survival.

EXCERPT:

Meyer shut the door after the last person left and sat down in the nearest chair, directly across from Doug, rather than his usual spot at the head of the table. Doug waited for him to speak.

“It’s a planet,” Meyer said finally. “And it’s in an orbit directly opposite ours, at a distance of approximately one AU.”

Doug didn’t reply. The implications were massive, as were the questions. After a few seconds, Meyer rose from his seat and walked to the window, looking outside at the sloping volcanic Hawaiian landscape as he talked.

“Nobody knows where it came from, but it’s there, verified by NASA.”

“Using their STEREO satellites?”

“Yes, a few hours ago. But you and Foley at Atacama saw it first. STEREO was trained on another star when you logged the object. It took some time to reposition STEREO’s lenses. Because of their orbital distance ahead and behind us, together they will be able to keep tabs on the object at all times. We’re expecting some images soon, which will be free of the sun’s coronal interference.”

“So we’ll have a better view and can determine if its orbit is stable.”

“Correct.”

“But that doesn’t explain how it got there.”

“Correct again. But thanks to your discovery, and your reputation, you’ve been invited to an emergency conference in Washington. You’ll be meeting your plane at Pearl Harbor in two hours. Don’t bother to pack, there’s a helicopter on its way here, courtesy of the White House Chief Science Advisor.”

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Christopher A. Gray is a professional freelance writer living in Toronto. He has been a sales agent, project manager, actor, filmmaker, comedy writer & performer and world traveler.

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Nights-Christopher-Gray-ebook/dp/B00GOH9CSE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403100145&sr=8-1&keywords=dark+nights+christopher+gray

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