R.E. Johnston's Blog, page 3

Opening pages of upcoming novel Two Moons

The senior scientist stood and acknowledged the somber people sitting around the enormous conference table this evening. At the head were three government ministers in elegant uniforms, while the rest were downcast, lab-coated scientists from a variety of disciplines. The senior scientist cleared her throat and began.

“I am honored to report that my department continues to make great progress for the people. The biological deployment system we have been developing is well on its way to completion. We are close to having the means to initiate an outbreak from a single radio-controlled device while leaving no trace behind. Since it is still possible for a subject to remain mobile long enough to transfer the agent beyond the kill radius, I have directed my laboratories to focus on innovations that will ensure death occurs much more quickly and certainly.”

A buzzing phone caused the medal-bedecked chairman to scowl, then he glanced down and noticed it was his own. He halted the senior scientist and ordered a recess. Everyone rose from their chairs, the government ministers filed out, and the scientists moved as far from the hated conference table as the armed guards would allow. The senior scientist, still trembling from delivering her interrupted report, walked from one scientist to the other, speaking briefly of the consuming problems each faced in their own discipline. Nano-scale electronic triggering. Evaporating container materials. Airflow. Respiration. Infection. Contagion.

She hardly registered anything they said because her thoughts were on neither the meeting nor the project, but on her own life—and even more on the lives of her abusive husband and her only remaining joy, her beautiful daughter. Despite her report to the generals, she knew the prospects for this project were bleak, likely impossible. Still, the weapon was crucial to the Supreme Leader’s plans. Failure would be considered treason for a woman who had risen too fast and too far. No doubt the executioner’s reach would extend even to family.

The senior scientist separated herself from the others and walked to massive doors that opened onto a terrace overlooking the capital city far below. Yes, there was only one way to avoid failure. Only one way to save her daughter. She opened the doors and stepped out, even as a guard shouted for her to halt. As she leaped from the terrace railing, the last thing on Earth that caught her attention was the beautiful full moon rising in the eastern sky.

* * *

Jay Shipman woke screaming, sitting up in bed trembling.

Within seconds, his mother turned on the light. “Are you OK?”

OK? He was just glad he hadn’t wet the bed. “Yeah, but I never had a nightmare like that before. I was terrified that this big project would fail, and when it did, the government would wipe out my family. I could see only one way to save them: I had to kill myself first. So I jumped off the building. I don’t remember falling, just seeing a huge moon as I went over the edge.”

“Oh, honey,” Jay’s mom said. “I’m so sorry you’re having memories like these. When I was your age, I remembered experiencing every detail of killing and being killed. I’d wake up and cry for hours.”

New Plan for Two Moons

This morning Amazon announced it is discontinuing the Kindle Scout program, so my original plan to start Two Moons on Scout is out the window. Revised plan: when it’s all nicely polished I’ll send advanced review copies out to get some (hopefully good) reviews to prime the pump, then release it on Kindle.

RE Johnston Web Site Initiated

Getting ready to submit Two Moons to Kindle Scout, so busily getting the Facebook page and now the web site ready. Okay, it will still be a few weeks for the book because the manuscript of Two Moons has just now gone into the hands of Missy Lacock for its copy edit. There’s no way Missy will send it back unscathed, so it will be facing a tweakfest. Then a final proofread and probably a bit more messing around, then off to Kindle Scout. It will still be springtime, no doubt. Not much doubt, anyway.

Meanwhile, here’s a picture of the cover, patiently waiting.