Weekend Writing Warriors: Tourist Trap

It’s Sunday, time for Weekend Writing Warriors (click the logo above) and Snippet Sunday (click the logo below.) I am continuing with the hang glider scene from Tourist Trap.

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“What happened?” Timi was checking Roi’s pulse and breathing as he spoke, his mittens thrown to the ground beside them and his bare hands against Roi’s skin.

Roi had always hated the thought of invading another mind unasked, even in emergency Healing. Derik had insisted he learn the technique of such invasion, assuring him repeatedly that there would be times when it would be necessary for his own safety to know exactly what was in another’s thoughts. This, he thought glumly, looked like being one of those times. Hating himself even as he used Timi’s hands against his face as a focus, he slid into his friend’s mind.

Nothing. Timi had prepared dinner the night before, felt tired and gone to bed early with the rest of the group, and slept soundly all night.

A vacation with his three best friends from slavery and a manhood challenge: Roi is given the graduation present he has dreamed of. Dogsledding, hang gliding, a chance to see Pleistocene animals transplanted to a Terraformed vacation world, horseback riding, sailing … all the sports he has returned to with his recovery from paralysis, and a few new ones to learn.

They’re prepared for danger from weather, wild animals and extreme sports. But none of them realize that Roi’s half brother Zhaim, determined to recover his old position as Lai’s heir, intends to kill them if he can—and he’s decided that the dangers of the trip will make a perfect cover for his schemes.

How long will it take them to realize that the “accidents” they keep running into are more than just accidents?

Tourist Trap, the second novel of the Jarnian Confederation, won first place in science fiction and fiction book of the year in the 2011 Reader Views contest.

Reviewers say:

“Fans of Sue Ann Bowling’s novel Homecoming will not be disappointed with its sequel. Tourist Trap returns the reader to the world of the Jarnian Confederation—to Roi, Lai, Marna, and all of their friends and relations. The author does a stellar job of bringing these characters to life, allowing the reader to not only see their actions but to understand the culture and politics that motivate them. (ForeWord Clarion review; 5 star)

“Tourist Trap” is a great read for anyone that wants motivation and feeling to accompany the action in their sci-fi adventure. Alien beings and super powers are an integral part of Roi’s story but what makes this novel really shine is the heart. Nobody is good or evil just because that’s their assigned role. Just like in real life, everyone has their own motivations and desires, and Bowling does a great job of letting the reader see what it would be like to walk in the shoes of Roi, Xazhar, and even madman Zhaim. (ReaderViews review)

Tourist Trap (iUniverse, 2011) is available from:

iUniverse, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon, in dust jacket, trade paper, and e-book formats.

Science Fiction Romance Brigade: Both Sides Now

Saturday is time for the Science Fiction Romance Brigade; click on the logo above for more snippets. This excerpt is from a WIP tentatively titled Both Sides Now. Roi is following Doc through a maze of hay bales in a cave.

Roi limped after him, the roughness of the floor increasingly painful to his bare feet. “In here,” Doc said finally, and gestured Roi through a gap in the piled bales.

Greenstick fracture. No problem to set, as long as the child could be kept quiet. But rape? She couldn’t have been more than ten, Roi thought angrily. Zhaim had clearly thought he was more effective than Roi had been. But the Confederation was built on trust, not on military might. If this was any sample of what Zhaim thought effective, he’d destroy the Confederation in a Human generation.

The little girl cowered back when Roi and Doc entered the room. The reaction of the woman nursing her was less overt, but Roi automatically moved out of the doorway, making sure she had a free route to escape.

The child needed treatment for more than her broken arm, but that would only make her mental condition worse. Better get her quieted down and sleeping now, get the arm set, and then find out what resources Doc might have.

Weekend Writing Warriors: Tourist Trap

Welcome to another Sunday excerpt for Weekend Writing Warriors (click the logo above) and Snippet Sunday (click the logo below.) Roi is waiting for Timi to land after discovering that Timi was the only person who had handled the sabotaged glider after Roi himself had test-flown it.

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The amber glider was low and almost behind him now, banking into its final upwind landing leg. Roi forced himself to open fully to Timi’s emotions as the other boy flared and dropped to the ground a wing length away, yanking the emergency release on his support sling and starting toward Roi at a run almost before his feet were firmly planted. Love, concern, some anger, but directed at what he perceived as Roi’s reckless flying. No trace of guilt, or even of suspicion that the glider might have been tampered with.

“What the hell did you think you were doing,” Timi gasped as he dropped to his knees at Roi’s side. “No, don’t try to get up, dammit. Have you eaten anything? Can you keep anything down, after that?”

A vacation with his three best friends from slavery and a manhood challenge: Roi is given the graduation present he has dreamed of. Dogsledding, hang gliding, a chance to see Pleistocene animals transplanted to a Terraformed vacation world, horseback riding, sailing … all the sports he has returned to with his recovery from paralysis, and a few new ones to learn.

They’re prepared for danger from weather, wild animals and extreme sports. But none of them realize that Roi’s half brother Zhaim, determined to recover his old position as Lai’s heir, intends to kill them if he can—and he’s decided that the dangers of the trip will make a perfect cover for his schemes.

How long will it take them to realize that the “accidents” they keep running into are more than just accidents?

Tourist Trap, the second novel of the Jarnian Confederation, won first place in science fiction and fiction book of the year in the 2011 Reader Views contest.

Reviewers say:

“Fans of Sue Ann Bowling’s novel Homecoming will not be disappointed with its sequel. Tourist Trap returns the reader to the world of the Jarnian Confederation—to Roi, Lai, Marna, and all of their friends and relations. The author does a stellar job of bringing these characters to life, allowing the reader to not only see their actions but to understand the culture and politics that motivate them. (ForeWord Clarion review; 5 star)

“Tourist Trap” is a great read for anyone that wants motivation and feeling to accompany the action in their sci-fi adventure. Alien beings and super powers are an integral part of Roi’s story but what makes this novel really shine is the heart. Nobody is good or evil just because that’s their assigned role. Just like in real life, everyone has their own motivations and desires, and Bowling does a great job of letting the reader see what it would be like to walk in the shoes of Roi, Xazhar, and even madman Zhaim. (ReaderViews review)

Tourist Trap (iUniverse, 2011) is available from:

iUniverse, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon, in dust jacket, trade paper, and e-book formats.

Science Fiction Romance Brigade: Both Sides Now

The Science Fiction Romance Bragade Presents is a blog hop with up to 200 word snippets of science fiction/romance we have written, published or unpublished. Click on the logo to find links to other authors. The excerpt below is from a work in progress tentatively titled Both Sides Now. Roi and Dr Alsyn, the veterinarian who is the closest thing to a doctor available to the nomads, are talking just after Roi has told Dr. Alsyn he knows several modes of pain control.

“You know about those?” Doc asked sharply.

“Doctor Alsyn, I’m a Healer. I can’t use that right now, but Marna made sure I knew every healing method in the Confederation, as well as what she could teach me of the Riyan methods. I’ve spent an aggregate of several years at the reestablished Jibeth school on Riya. Some of the others are quackery, but a lot have something useful, and I do know them. From what I can feel, I’d go with drugs on that kid, but if you don’t have any sleepSinging would probably help. Only I can’t find her in this maze.”

“SleepSinging?” The term was obviously unfamiliar to Doc.

“It’s a form of hypnosis used by the Jibeth healers. I can guarantee it won’t hurt her, and it might help.”

Doctor Alsyn hesitated, and then turned down an alley between two rows of piled hay bales. “I need to set her arm, and she’s terrified of me. Of all men. Confederation troops caught her and her mother. They took the mother—at least the nomads didn’t find her body. Raped and abandoned the little girl. This way.” His anger was palpable to Roi, but it was no less than his own. Confederation troops, responsible for this kind of outrage?

Weekend Writing Warriors: Tourist Trap

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors (click the logo above) and Snippet Sunday (click the logo below.) Roi has used his object-reading ability on the sabotaged glider, and found to his shock that Timi was the only person who had touched the compensation circuit since he himself test-flew it the day before. Penny is in the violet glider, and Timi in the amber one.

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The wing hid his view of the sky, and he wiggled backward until he could see the violet glider soaring in wide circles almost over his head, and the amber one over his right shoulder, losing altitude in great side-slipping curves. He had no doubt of Penny’s motives in choosing Timi to land and assist him. Timi was the strongest of the party physically, and they were all well versed in first aid. And—dammit, no matter what his reading of the control bar told him, he simply did not believe that Timi would knowingly have sabotaged the glider. Besides, his friend was good at electronics, sure, but esperelectronics was something else entirely. Timi couldn’t have managed the screamer circuit. Not without someone guiding his every move.

A vacation with his three best friends from slavery and a manhood challenge: Roi is given the graduation present he has dreamed of. Dogsledding, hang gliding, a chance to see Pleistocene animals transplanted to a Terraformed vacation world, horseback riding, sailing … all the sports he has returned to with his recovery from paralysis, and a few new ones to learn.
They’re prepared for danger from weather, wild animals and extreme sports. But none of them realize that Roi’s half brother Zhaim, determined to recover his old position as Lai’s heir, intends to kill them if he can—and he’s decided that the dangers of the trip will make a perfect cover for his schemes.
How long will it take them to realize that the “accidents” they keep running into are more than just accidents?
Tourist Trap, the second novel of the Jarnian Confederation, won first place in science fiction and fiction book of the year in the 2011 Reader Views contest.

Reviewers say:

“Fans of Sue Ann Bowling’s novel Homecoming will not be disappointed with its sequel. Tourist Trap returns the reader to the world of the Jarnian Confederation—to Roi, Lai, Marna, and all of their friends and relations. The author does a stellar job of bringing these characters to life, allowing the reader to not only see their actions but to understand the culture and politics that motivate them. (ForeWord Clarion review; 5 star)

“Tourist Trap” is a great read for anyone that wants motivation and feeling to accompany the action in their sci-fi adventure. Alien beings and super powers are an integral part of Roi’s story but what makes this novel really shine is the heart. Nobody is good or evil just because that’s their assigned role. Just like in real life, everyone has their own motivations and desires, and Bowling does a great job of letting the reader see what it would be like to walk in the shoes of Roi, Xazhar, and even madman Zhaim. (ReaderViews review)

Tourist Trap (iUniverse, 2011) is available from:
iUniverse, Barnes and Noble, 0r Amazon in dust jacket, trade paper, and e-book formats.

Science Fiction Romance Brigade Presents: Both Sides Now

The Science Fiction Romance Brigade Presents is a blog hop with up to 200 word snippets of science fiction/Romance we have written, published or unpublished. The Excerpt below is from a work in progress, tentatively titled Both Sides Now. This is from the point of view of Roi, who is calling himself Kevi, just after he has recovered consciousness in a maze of hay bales, aware through his empathic sense that someone near him is in pain..

He knew the direction—the pain pulled at him. But he had no idea of the route.

Another, much brighter light bobbed toward him from the left. “What are you doing out of bed?” Doctor Alsyn, Roi identified the man who’d come up beside him. The vet apparently knew were he was going.

“Do you have a pain killer?” Roi replied. “Not for me,” he added hastily. “But someone in this hay maze needs it. I was trying to find her.”

Doc seemed to sag. “No,” he said. “No pain killers, no anesthetics, no antibiotics. A little tape and gauze, but mostly we’re boiling rags. And the pain—how did you know about that?”

“I’m an empath,” Roi replied. “I feel emotions and sensory impressions. Zhaim did a very effective job of blocking most of my abilities—I can’t read minds, or teleport, or do most of the other things you’ve probably heard R’il’noids can do. But I can’t not hear emotions without deliberate effort, and ignoring pain is like not hearing someone screaming. It’s like keeping my fingers in my ears. How about herbals like willow bark? I’m sure I remember seeing willows in that valley. Or hypnosis, or ….”

Weekend Writing Warriors: Tourist Trap

Welcome to another Sunday and Weekend Writing Warriors (click on the logo above) and Snippet Sunday (click on the logo below.) Roi has landed safely after his hang glider was sabotaged, and has used his object-reading ability to determine who has touched the glider since he test-flew it the day before.

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Roi felt a sick coldness growing in his middle as he probed deeper. Timi, and nobody else, had handled the access hatch since Roi himself had reset the compensation level the day before. Could Zhaim actually have succeeded in influencing Timi to the extent that the Clan boy would try to kill him? Roi could not believe that. Sure, they had disagreements, mostly about Timi’s growing tendency to push what Roi saw as a dangerous flirtation with Zhaim. Roi could even imagine Timi attacking him in a fit of temper, as he had during the snowball fight. But a calculated murder attempt like this?

He pulled his hands back, wiping them on his parka as if he could wipe away the impression his mind had taken from the control bar.

A vacation with his three best friends from slavery and a manhood challenge: Roi is given the graduation present he has dreamed of. Dogsledding, hang gliding, a chance to see Pleistocene animals transplanted to a Terraformed vacation world, horseback riding, sailing … all the sports he has returned to with his recovery from paralysis, and a few new ones to learn.

They’re prepared for danger from weather, wild animals and extreme sports. But none of them realize that Roi’s half brother Zhaim, determined to recover his old position as Lai’s heir, intends to kill them if he can—and he’s decided that the dangers of the trip will make a perfect cover for his schemes.

How long will it take them to realize that the “accidents” they keep running into are more than just accidents?

Tourist Trap, the second novel of the Jarnian Confederation, won first place in science fiction and fiction book of the year in the 2011 Reader Views contest.

Reviewers say:

“Fans of Sue Ann Bowling’s novel Homecoming will not be disappointed with its sequel. Tourist Trap returns the reader to the world of the Jarnian Confederation—to Roi, Lai, Marna, and all of their friends and relations. The author does a stellar job of bringing these characters to life, allowing the reader to not only see their actions but to understand the culture and politics that motivate them. (ForeWord Clarion review; 5 star)

“Tourist Trap” is a great read for anyone that wants motivation and feeling to accompany the action in their sci-fi adventure. Alien beings and super powers are an integral part of Roi’s story but what makes this novel really shine is the heart. Nobody is good or evil just because that’s their assigned role. Just like in real life, everyone has their own motivations and desires, and Bowling does a great job of letting the reader see what it would be like to walk in the shoes of Roi, Xazhar, and even madman Zhaim. (ReaderViews review)

Tourist Trap (iUniverse, 2011) is available from:
iUniverse
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
in dust jacket, trade paper, and e-book formats.

Science Fiction Romance Brigade Presents: Both Sides Now.

Science Fiction Romance Brigade Presents is a blog hop with up to 200 word snippets of things we have written, published or unpublished. Click the logo above to find links to other participants. This bit from Both Sides Now (tentative title) is a continuation of the initial meeting between Kevi and Coralie. Remember Kevi has awakened to find his hands and feet almost useless, as is his Healing ability.

Which also meant he could not Heal the person whose pain he felt. Well, he had other resources. Marna had encouraged him to learn every medical tradition he could, as part of his training as a Healer, and there were a number of ways to control pain. Conventional medicine used drugs, but he was also Jibeth-trained, among other traditions, and sleep-singing would do as well.

He looked down again at his feet, and decided that if he broke bones walking on them, the bones would probably need to be broken and reset anyway. The hay walls did not imprison him; there was an obvious opening a few steps from the bed. He got to his feet, steeling himself against the pain, and hobbled over to the door. The floor was rock, with bits of hay and grain here and there. Uncomfortable for bare feet, even those in better shape than his.

The door led to a darkened maze of hay bales and feed sacks, piled more to let air circulate than for easy navigation. He went back for the light, holding it awkwardly in the crook of one arm, and began trying to find the injured person.

Weekend Writing Warriors: Tourist Trap

It’s Sunday again, and time for Weekend Writing Warriors (click the logo above) and Snippet Sunday (click the logo below.)

This is still from Tourist Trap. Roi is back on the ground and has the fire pretty well under control. He has decided that though he doesn’t like using his object-reading abilities, he’s going to have to determine who sabotaged his glider

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In this case, Roi decided, it might be a very useful skill indeed.

The cooling from the snow he had continued to pile on the upright, together with the reduction of the air supply, had pretty well stopped the fire.  Closing his eyes and opening his mind to any lingering impressions, Roi reached out to put his hands on the control triangle.  Himself, of course.  Traces of Flame, who had helped him set up and inspect the glider just before the flight, and of Penny, who’d helped the day before.  Neither, however, had touched the control triangle except at the top, where both had checked its attachment to the wing.  The only fresh trace beside his own anywhere near the electronics was — Timi?  From yesterday, when he’d held the compartment door open?  But this felt more recent …

A vacation with his three best friends from slavery and a manhood challenge: Roi is given the graduation present he has dreamed of. Dogsledding, hang gliding, a chance to see Pleistocene animals transplanted to a Terraformed vacation world, horseback riding, sailing … all the sports he has returned to with his recovery from paralysis, and a few new ones to learn.

They’re prepared for danger from weather, wild animals and extreme sports. But none of them realize that Roi’s half brother Zhaim, determined to recover his old position as Lai’s heir, intends to kill them if he can—and he’s decided that the dangers of the trip will make a perfect cover for his schemes.

How long will it take them to realize that the “accidents” they keep running into are more than just accidents?

Tourist Trap, the second novel of the Jarnian Confederation, won first place in science fiction and fiction book of the year in the 2011 Reader Views contest.

Reviewers say:

“Fans of Sue Ann Bowling’s novel Homecoming will not be disappointed with its sequel. Tourist Trap returns the reader to the world of the Jarnian Confederation—to Roi, Lai, Marna, and all of their friends and relations. The author does a stellar job of bringing these characters to life, allowing the reader to not only see their actions but to understand the culture and politics that motivate them. (ForeWord Clarion review)

“Tourist Trap” is a great read for anyone that wants motivation and feeling to accompany the action in their sci-fi adventure. Alien beings and super powers are an integral part of Roi’s story but what makes this novel really shine is the heart. Nobody is good or evil just because that’s their assigned role. Just like in real life, everyone has their own motivations and desires, and Bowling does a great job of letting the reader see what it would be like to walk in the shoes of Roi, Xazhar, and even madman Zhaim. (ReaderViews review)

Tourist Trap (iUniverse, 2011) is available from: Barnes and Noble, iUniverse, and Amazon in dust jacket, trade paper, and e-book formats.

Weekend Writing Warriors: Tourist Trap

It’s Sunday again, and time for Weekend Writing Warriors (click on the logo above) and Snippet Sunday (click on the logo below.)

Today I have another bit from Tourist Trap. Roi has finally managed to get his glider on the ground, and has time to think as he waits for the others to join him.

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There were still patches of snow, too small to have been seen from the cliff, hiding in the shade of the thicker tufts of dead grass, and he packed several handfuls around the hot end of the upright.  Shutting off the air supply should help, too, he thought, and he replaced the cover on the power pack compartment.  He must have dropped the power pack.

He couldn’t think of anyone except possibly Zhaim who might have wanted him dead.  And whoever had sabotaged the glider would have touched it, left traces of his personality behind.  Reading objects wasn’t one of his strongest talents, but Derry had told him often enough that his weakness in that aspect of esper work was simple lack of application.  “You don’t like eavesdropping,” his uncle had told him, “and there’s a lot of eavesdropping in reading an object’s history.  But that doesn’t mean it’s a useless skill.”

Blurb for Tourist Trap: A vacation with his three best friends from slavery and a manhood challenge: Roi is given the graduation present he has dreamed of. Dogsledding, hang gliding, a chance to see Pleistocene animals transplanted to a Terraformed vacation world, horseback riding, sailing … all the sports he has returned to with his recovery from paralysis, and a few new ones to learn.

They’re prepared for danger from weather, wild animals and extreme sports. But none of them realize that Roi’s half brother Zhaim, determined to recover his old position as Lai’s heir, intends to kill them if he can—and he’s decided that the dangers of the trip will make a perfect cover for his schemes.

How long will it take them to realize that the “accidents” they keep running into are more than just accidents?

Tourist Trap, the second novel of the Jarnian Confederation, won first place in science fiction and fiction book of the year in the 2011 Reader Views contest.

Reviewers say:

“Fans of Sue Ann Bowling’s novel Homecoming will not be disappointed with its sequel. Tourist Trap returns the reader to the world of the Jarnian Confederation—to Roi, Lai, Marna, and all of their friends and relations. The author does a stellar job of bringing these characters to life, allowing the reader to not only see their actions but to understand the culture and politics that motivate them. (ForeWord Clarion review)

“Tourist Trap” is a great read for anyone that wants motivation and feeling to accompany the action in their sci-fi adventure. Alien beings and super powers are an integral part of Roi’s story but what makes this novel really shine is the heart. Nobody is good or evil just because that’s their assigned role. Just like in real life, everyone has their own motivations and desires, and Bowling does a great job of letting the reader see what it would be like to walk in the shoes of Roi, Xazhar, and even madman Zhaim. (ReaderViews review)

Tourist Trap (iUniverse, 2011) is available from: Barnes and Noble, iUniverse, and Amazon in dust jacket, trade paper, and e-book formats.