Ray Strong's Blog, page 3

Zephyr's Flight - Coming Soon

 Hi, again …

Some very nice words and a 5-star review from Ellie Mitchel for the upcoming Zephyr’s Flight fantasy novel. That’s the first in the Singer series I’ve been working on for so long. Ellie is an excellent independent reviewer who posts her reviews on her blog, Bookish Beyond.

From her review:

“There were many things which I ended up liking about Zephyr’s Flight, some of which are listed below.

“Firstly, the world-building was fantastic. You get an immediate sense of the intricacy of the world, its key cultures, and their core beliefs.

“I loved the writing style. It proved to be very detailed and created vivid pictures in my mind’s eye.

“The tension-building was well executed. You really do feel like you’re sitting at the edge of your seat at times, needing to know what happens next.

“I also really liked the mythology included, of the old legends about Astrid’s people and the dragons.

“In addition, I thought the bond between Astrid and Zephyr was sweet and profound from the start. They can share each-other’s emotions and pain, as if they can communicate between their souls.

“The story unfolded gradually, exploring Astrid’s adventures as she endeavours to search for her lost father, and to become a rider. Every chapter furthered the story along nicely, with not a single scene wasted.”

Thank you, Ellie!

Current schedule for Zephyr’s Flight is later this year, and other novels in the series soon after.

… Ray

Pandora's Razor Free for Members of Amazon Kindle Unlimited

 Hi ...

Today Pandora's Razor will be moving to Kindle Direct Publishing so that you can read it for free if you are a member of Kindle Unlimited. That means we'll be removing PR from the other distributors soon and you'll only be able to read it on Amazon.

Thanks for being an avid reader ...

... Ray

Good reviews for Pandora's Razor !!

Good reviews coming in for the next in the Hope's War series scheduled for December 17 launch! Preorders are live now on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble Nook, Kobo, Smashwords, Odilo, Scribd, and GardnersExtended Retail.

Here’s what people are saying about Pandora’s Razor:

“Impressively real; ... from its seedy bars to its spirituality to its fictional historical figures. Many of these futuristic elements are fun, but Strong also effectively tackles serious topics, such as media bias and bodily autonomy."
Kirkus Reviews

 

Meriel[‘s] … resilience and determination made her a hero worth rooting for at every opportunity. There are few characters I have read about who have her strength of conviction, bar those like Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. … by the end, I didn’t want it to finish. I had become close to the main characters and their striving to do the right thing and found that I wanted my journey with them to continue. 
5 stars. Ellie Mitchell – Goodreads

 

This was one of the best sci-fi books I have ever read!! …  I could feel the dust in the air, the zero g atmosphere, the cold and the wet. … fast-paced and exciting.
5 stars. Rochelle Gary – Goodreads

From the start, there's plenty of action and the scenes are so well written that you can easily visualize everything. 
5 stars. Andrew Shortall – Goodreads

Excerpt from Pandora's Razor

 Hi ...

This is an excerpt from the new book in the further adventures of Meriel Hope:

    Pandora's Razor

to be released December 17th. Enjoy!

Ebeneuer Wasteland

SC-1.Coyotes drop off refugees

The overcrowded hold of the tramp shuttle reeked of fear and sweat from the scores of men, women, and children huddled together. On the gallery above them, twelve rough men stood watch, their bandoliers bristling with blasters and pulse rifles. With each gust from the storm outside, the floor lurched, and a new waft of vomit swirled.

In one corner, Lars Yuan sat with his family, still disoriented from the hyperspace jumps.

He smiled. “Almost there, kids. This is what we dreamed of.”

His wife, Marta, bit her lip, and his two children frowned.

This wasn’t their dream. Not at all. But Haven would be a fresh start and keep them off a low-g asteroid. The colony meant opportunity, and a refuge from Marta’s petty embezzlement charge that had revoked their citizenship on Dexter Station eight light years away.

It took all their savings, a life insurance withdrawal, and loans from friends, but they made the cash fare. And the inter-station credits Lars had hidden in his bags would help them get a fresh start.

“What’s the temperature like, Mom?” asked Julia, a frail teen they hoped would thrive in the Haven air.

“Tropical.”

The ship lurched again as the storm howled through the hull.

“Doesn’t sound like it,” his eldest son, Yuri, said as he shook his link in his chunky hand. “I’m outta juice, Pop. And there’s no compute resources to sync with.”

“When we land, son. They’re sure to have a visitor center.”

“I read Haven doesn’t have an industrial infrastructure yet, or—”

The shaking ended with a bang, and the guards hustled to the passenger deck and stood by a wall with batons drawn. The wall lowered into a ramp, and the dust roared in, replacing the foul air with fresh but obscuring everything in a gray haze.

“Welcome to Hell,” Corporal Greiber said over the whir of gears. “Last stop!”

A dozen of the guards took packs and weapons and filed out into the storm, but the refugees did not leave.

“There’s a storm outside,” Lars said. “Where’s the dome? What’s—”

Greiber’s scowl wrinkled the scar on his chin. “That’s Nature. Get used to it,” he said as he threw bags out the door. “Out! And take your crap with you.”

Hydraulics pushed bales of supplies onto the cracked dirt while the remaining guards herded the passengers off with cattle prods. Some passengers with masks grabbed their belongings and disappeared into the storm. But most clustered together near the ship in the choking dust and cowered at the chirps and growls of alien beasts that sounded much more dangerous than the briefings suggested.

“Which way to the welcome center?” Marta said. When no one replied, she led the children through the swirls of gray, searching for the bale with their name on it. After rifling through it and finding no goggles or masks, she wrapped the tent around her children.

As the tent snapped in the wind, Sven dug through the bale.

“Two days’ water. Three days of dehydrated soy paste,” he said and ran back to the ramp.

“Hey, there’s no extra water to make the food,” Sven shouted above the roar of the storm.

“Back off!” Greiber said and warned him away with the spark of a cattle prod.

“Our water will only last a day. And there’s no compass or link. This isn’t what we paid for!”

Greiber tossed him a link and pushed a button on the bulkhead. “Call customer service.”

Sven caught the link as the ramp began to close. “Hey! What about our personal bags?” he asked, worried about the credits he had hidden there.

“Opps,” Greiber said through the last sliver of opening before the ramp clanged shut.

The link was dead. And when Sven flipped it over, the device fell to pieces in his hand and blew away in the wind.

The ship disappeared into the storm, and Sven rejoined his family, holding them close in the suffocating dust as the growls circled closer.

Questionnaire for Pandora's Razor ARC

 Hi ...

If you're interested in receiving an Advanced Review Copy (ARC) for Pandora's Razor, please see the questionnaire at

     https://forms.gle/tGBcwVqxQDzoxPee6

... and I'll send you a copy.

... Ray

Release Date for Pandora's Razor is Dec. 17, 2021.

Hi ...
With the publisher's approval, release date for the new release in the Hope's War Universe is 
Dec, 17, 2021.
If you're interested in an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) and promise to write a review, you can get a copy at:

Booksprouts: https://booksprout.co/arc/74197/pandora-s-razor

Edelweiss: https://www.edelweiss.plus/#keywordSearch&q=pandora's+razor&page=1

Netgalley: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/235609

If you want me to send you an ARC copy direct to you, I'll post a form soon.

Hi all ...Impulse Fiction will launch Pandora's Razor (B...

 Hi all ...

Impulse Fiction will launch Pandora's Razor (Book 2 of Hope's War series) later this year. So, stay tuned for the launch date.

Our first free days in years for Home: Interstellar (Hope...

Our first free days in years for Home: Interstellar (Hope's War)  begins tomorrow, June 23 and runs for two days. If you've been holding out, now's your chance to pick up a copy.

And a heads up, the follow-up novel in the Hope's War series, Pandora's Razor, will be coming later this year.

... Ray

Cover possibilities for the next in the Hope's War serie...

 Cover possibilities for the next in the Hope's War series. Working title is Hope's Razor, and expected release later this year.

Rowan the Brave

Rowan, apeasant boy who becomes a king by his own handGwendolyn, apeasant girl who becomes a queenCirce, goddessof magic and seductionCernunn, asorcerer who uses magic to elevate himself to the god of the hunt and battleFelix, king ofFennrock
Our play is set in the highlands ofMimm, just over the hills. Here, the old gods of nature and wonder have fallen,and new deities are rising from the mix of cultures as societies intermingle.These new gods are petty, vicious, and ambitious, just like the people whovenerate them, and they compete for the love of worshippers. But the greatestchallenge to the gods is yet to come.
Within this conflict, two gods fight for prominence: Circe,the goddess of magic and seduction, and Cernunn, the god of war and the hunt.Both are competing for the worship of humans.
Act 1The tale begins with Rowan andGwendolyn, both sixteen years old, walking hand in hand—childhood friends inthe bud of romance. Gwen is a talented weaver and hopes for the freedom deniedto her family by their peasant status. The peasant girl kisses the young farmerand runs home to her neighboring farm.
The stage splits into two scenes: Rowan training a horse onone side and Gwendolyn weaving a tapestry on the other. He confides his desirefor Gwen to his horse. She discusses Rowan’s strength and handsomeness with hercat. Between the two scenes, Cernunn enters, rubbing his chin.
“What a ripe opportunity avails itself to me,” Cernunn saysin a stage whisper. “Both have such passion! Passion I can exploit like thegods of old. But I must intervene before they bond.”
Cernunn schemes to use Rowan togather worshippers, and in trade, he promises the farm boy the woman of hischoice—Gwendolyn. Rowan does not know she already loves him. Cernunn sees nocost in this game and only needs to string the boy along.
The god arranges a scene with Gwendolyn and a handsomeweaver to make Rowan jealous. He tells the boy he can guarantee Gwen’s love bydemonstrating his selfless virtue through building a temple—to Cernunn, ofcourse. He spirits Rowan away and hints to goddess Circe that Gwen is availableas a protégé, thinking the girl is dumb and lazy and a tool for him to exploitCirce.
Like Cernunn, Circe plots to reclaim a place as a majorgoddess by winning more converts. She listens to Cernunn and takes Gwendolyn asher protégé. Her strategy is to parlay Gwen to a position of influence whereshe can advocate for the worship of Circe. When Rowan is away building thetemple for Cernunn, Circe lies to Gwen that he cannot love her unless shelearns to weave gold. The peasant girl objects, knowing the boy has no need forwealth. But he is away and unable to speak for himself. Circe arranges for Gwento be spirited off to a patron in another village where she can learn to weavegold. Gwen continues to send messages to Rowan. But the goddess intercepts anddestroys them, substituting other messages saying Gwen does not love him.
Gwen still pines for Rowan and plans to return home to findhim. To prevent her from rejoining Rowan, Circe attempts to kill him, butCernunn intervenes. Enraged, Circe kills Gwen’s parents to make sure she hasnowhere else to go. Unable to communicate with Rowan, Gwen believes he hasforgotten her and cannot return her love. She quickly learns to become asuccessful weaver and attracts people to the stories of Circe she depicts inlace and fabric. But the stories are images of Gwen’s romantic ideals of loveand virtue. Circe’s followers grow.
Rowan completes the temple for Cernunn. However, the smalltemple becomes a sore in the side of the local villagers, who come to destroyit. Cernunn expects Rowan to fight them and girds Rowan with special weapons todefeat them. But Rowan’s virtue stops him from harming innocents. Instead, heenjoins them to worship in the temple as they choose. They must only promisenot to damage it, and instead maintain it as a refuge for the needy. He asksonly that they consider Cernunn as a worthy god for providing them a place toworship.
Thinking of Gwen, Rowan says, “Worship as you choose, butremember the one who built it for love of you, and protect it.”  Cernunn is angry with Rowan’s open-mindedness and enchantssome local thugs to attack him. Rowan defeats them, and his fame as a defenderof freedom of religion and speech spreads. Worshippers come to Cernunn andbuild more temples.
Rowan cares little for fame and instead pines for Gwen. Toprevent him from returning home to find her, Cernunn tells him Gwen has leftfor a distant village to build a career without him. To make sure Rowan remainsignorant of Gwen’s fate, Cernunn destroys his family’s farm and banishes hisparents. Cernunn continues to endanger innocents, so Rowan must grow in powerto protect them. Cernunn’s name grows along with each of Rowan’s victories.
Gwendolyn hears of Rowan’s exploits and thinks of him often,but Circe deceives her again. The goddess tells her Rowan has forgotten her,but she can attract him even from far away if she becomes a weaver for thelocal duke of Evandell. There, her weaving will become famous, and Rowan willhear of her. Gwen complies and becomes attached to the noble family, includingtheir young daughter, Sophie. Sophie is betrothed to their gentle but olderneighbor, the benevolent King Felix of Fennrock.
Through Gwen’s influence, the family begins to worship Circeand spreads her faith through the dukedom. At each step, converts build largerand larger temples to Circe that become very popular and raise much money.
On the other side of the land, Rowan becomes the leader of atroop whose mission is to defend the temples that foster freedom. Word ofGwendolyn sweeps the country, but Cernunn tells Rowan that to be of anyinterest to her, he must have a bigger reputation.
Another split stage ensues, with Rowan and Cernunn on oneside and Gwen and Circe on the other. In echoing soliloquies, Rowan andGwendolyn lament that life has taken them far from the things they loved most.They wonder if they have the strength to go back and face rejection from theirone true love. Fearing the threat to their influence, Cernunn and Circe rush tomanipulate their protégés and protect their new worshippers.
Act 2In a tragic accident arranged byCirce, young Lady Sophie dies. Gwen becomes closer to the royal family, whoadopts her and pushes her to marry the neighboring King Felix to complete thealliance. The goddess has already planned Felix’s downfall and a new marriageto one of her own evil priests. From there, Circe can command worshippers fromthe throne. Gwen moves to Fennrock so Felix can court her. Soon after shearrives, the people learn to love Gwen and support her marriage to their king.Circe’s plans appear secure.
At Circe’s connivance, Gwen begins to tell herself that thearranged marriage to Felix is her fate. She tells herself that she is talentedand worthy in her own right and need not cling to her childhood fantasies.Unaware Circe has killed or manipulated those she loves, Gwen reasons sheshould exploit her new opportunities. In her heart, she knows she still lovesRowan and must give him a chance. She hears tales of him in battle andconquest, but each step in his career takes him further from her. Gwen isdemoralized and questions her choices, ready to succumb to chaos.
Cernunn eyes Fennrock and the weak King Felix. He sees thisas somewhere he can project his influence beyond Circe and increase hisstanding in the pantheon of gods. Knowing how much Rowan loves Gwen, hecalculates that he can redirect Circe’s followers. Cernunn arranges for theneighboring baron to attack Fennrock and overthrow Felix. The baron invitesRowan and his men to join them, offering him whatever he wants from Fennrock—whichwould be Gwen. During the dinner, Cernunn offers the baron’s resources toRowan, but he must kill the baron to get them.Rowan is only twenty-five years old but is now hardened anddisillusioned. He knows King Felix of Fennrock is a good man and believes Gwenloves him. To betray the baron, his host, would be dastardly. Rowan declinesboth offers and defies Cernunn. Instead, he pledges his warriors to King Felixto defend Gwen and Fennrock against the baron’s troops. Rowan retires to becomea lone warrior and fights for hire, famed for his virtue without naming Cernunnas his benefactor. Cernunn becomes enraged and kills King Felix, which alsobenefits Circe.
The death of Felix clears the way for Circe’s evil priest tocommand Fennrock with Gwen as his queen. With Gwen ready to accept the crown,Circe thinks she has won. But Gwen is despondent, tormented by marrying onlyfor power, and pines for Rowan.
Circe has another deception in mind. “Now that the king isdead, invite Rowan back.”
“Rowan does not love me.”
Circe shakes her head. “All that he has done, he has done towin your love—but a god has manipulated him.”
Gwen is hurt and then enraged. “Are you that god?”
“No, of course not. I care for you.”
“Another like you, then?”
“I have always acted in your interests.”
“And in your own.”
“I never asked you to compromise your virtue,” Circe says.
“Of course not. If I acted without virtue, my vice wouldattribute to you. Again, you leave me little choice how to act now.”
“Then accept the crown.”
Gwen now understands Rowan did not attack the king becausehe had learned of the god’s betrayal and denied his patron. She must do thesame.
“No,” Gwendolyn says. “Free me. Find another protégé. We aredone.” She stalks out in search of Rowan.
Circe gives the kingdom to the evil priest, but the peopleof the kingdom despair and reject him and Circe.
Circe and Cernunn are both powerful with many worshippersdue to Rowan and Gwen, but are enraged that their protégés have abandoned them.But gods are resourceful. They make a bet: if Rowan defeats a dragon of Circe’schoosing, he will win Gwen, and Cernunn will become the god of the lands. IfRowan loses, Circe will rule. But they allow each other one spell. The gods areboth proud of how they have manipulated their humans and each other.
“You cannot fathom the horror I will unleash,” Circe says.
“And you do not imagine the weapon I have forged,” Cernunnreplies.
Act 3The gods set their pieces near thecaves of Merterra. Gwen is bound to a tree with a magic chain. They tell Rowanshe is in danger and set him to the challenge. In secret, Cernunn gives Rowan asword forged by the gods—Seranil—that can cut and kill anything.
Circe invokes a fire breathing dragon, one hundred meterslong and sheathed in scales of adamantine. It is invulnerable, able to destroythe entire world.
Cernunn laughs and casts a spell that transforms Gwen intoCirce’s dragon, leaving it chained to the tree. He believes Rowan will now killGwen by mistake, which will cause Circe to lose.To counter this, Circe casts a spell so that Rowan appearsas a hunter and unrecognizable to Gwen. She tells Gwen he is an evil dragonslayer and to fear for her life.
By this time, the queen of the gods, Frigg, has heard of thedeaths caused by the dispute between Cernunn and Circe. But a dragon that mightdestroy the land is too much, even for a deity. Frigg descends and halts timeto chide them.
“You have filled your temples by deceit and set up thiscruel contest. You are unworthy of worshippers,” Frigg says.
In unison, Cernunn and Circe complain. “You do not have thepower to undo what gods have wrought!”
“You are right, of course. But let’s be clear. Whoever failsin defeating the other will lose their godhead, fall from grace, and return tonatural form.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” the gods reply.
Frigg smiles and appears to Rowan as herself and says only,“Remember.” Rowan hears but does not understand, knowing only that he hascommitted to slaying the dragon to save Gwen.
Rowan stalks the fearsome beast and watches it. The dragontries to scorch Rowan, but gentle Gwen is within and hopes only to stop himwithout hurting him. Although Rowan has not seen Gwen for years, the dragon’seyes and movements remind him of her and her virtue. He remembers Frigg’s wordsand, having sacrificed everything but his love for Gwen, drops Seranil, hismagic sword. The dragon makes no move to attack him but instead opens her paws,claws turned upward. Rowan approaches and caresses the dragon’s muzzle.
Circe and Cernunn first harangue their protégés withlightning and thunder to kill the other to no avail, and then argue with eachother.
Frigg descends and confronts them. “You have both failed todefeat the other, and both godheads are forfeit.”
“But she did not defeat him!” Cernunn cries.
“But he did not defeat her!” Circe shouts.
Mimir, the memory of the gods, appears and recites theirbet. “Whoever fails at defeating the other . . .” When finished,the Fates come and change Cernunn and Circe into their natural forms. Cernunn,the embodiment of unquenchable lust for power, took the form of a Minotaur.Circe, the spirit of sorcery and seduction, took the form of a tiny, poisonousasp. Gwen and Rowan return to their own forms as well, with Gwen still chainedto the tree.
Enraged, Cernunn rushes Rowan. In a battle that sets theforest ablaze, Rowan defeats the Minotaur using Seranil, the sword Cernunn hadgiven him.
Circe aims to bite Gwen and kill her, but Gwen crushes thelittle snake. With Circe dead, Rowan frees Gwen from her bindings.
“I am yours by right of combat,” Gwendolyn says, nottrusting Circe’s words that he still loves her.Rowan kneels, thinking she still mourns the old king, andacts honorably. “Milady, I accept only what is offered freely and not byobligation.”
They are both free to love each other, but they aretentative and formal. They have not seen each other since they were very young.Frigg helps them by showing them what each has done in memory of the other:Gwen in her weavings that told the stories of them as children, and Rowan inhis battles to defend freedom in her name. Then they share thoughts they havehad of each other. (*)Gwen leans over, takes both of Rowan’s hands, and holds themto her heart.
“Of all those in my life, no one has risked more for me thanyou. Of all the kings and gods who have touched my life, no one has given memore than you. Of all those who have cared for me, no one has loved me morethan you. I loved you first as a boy. When you left, I loved you as a memory.Then, when I heard no more of you, I loved you as a wish. But still I lovedyou. If you leave me now, I will love you as I have my whole life.”
Rowan and Gwendolyn return together to defeat the evilpriest of Circe and accept the people’s invitation to rule Fennrock together.
The curtain falls.
One from the audience hears the story and says, “No one isstrong enough to give up a crown for a virtuous cause.”To which a Singer replies, “It happened once. That is whythe story is famous.”
(*) In the epic poem, The Song of Rowan, a yearpassed before the couple wed. During that time, they grew to know and love eachother. Within the archives at the College of Singers, the Book of Sonnetscontains fragments of their conversations.