E.C. Farrell's Blog

Freebie Number Three!

Love Rafe? Get his third freebie when you sign up for my email list! You can get your copy here: clicky click!SLXLM"I'm a coward, but to get any sort of peace in the afterlife, I have to do the thing that scares me the most: confront my mother."

Freebie

Get The Shifter's Meet Cute when you sign up for my newsletter! This is a follow up to The Stolen Shifter, and a prequel to Ghost Academy!

Ghost Academy: Book One is LIVE!

When I wake up at Locklear Academy, I have no memory of how I got here… or any memories at all. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that I’m dead?If I ever want to pass on, I’m going to have to recover my past. Easier said than done. But Locklear, aka Ghost Academy, specializes in helping spirits take care of their unfinished business. There are just a few problems.First, the X-ers, an extremist group whose main goal is to forcibly send ghosts like me into the great whatever beyond, painfully and without that sense of peace we crave.Then there’s the polter-ghost who has been following me around since I got here. But my biggest distraction comes in the form of Rafe: a fox shifter with the most adorable dimples, carrying around way more guilt than any ghost deserves.Maybe I shouldn’t have a crush in the afterlife, but I’m dead, not blind. As my memories start to resurface, so do the threats from the X-ers. The clock is ticking and every moment I’m here becomes more dangerous. Not just because of the X-ers, but because the more time I spend with Rafe, the less I want to move on.Ghost Academy is a YA paranormal academy / urban fantasy that will contribute to your reading related insomnia. This is book one of the Ghost Academy Duology and a spin off of Blakemore Academy. Order here.

"Books! The best weapons in the world!”— The Doctor, Season 2, Episode 2

Are you ready for some books? Get excited, because below are three Academy Books coming at you, one of which is FREE!Book two of the Blakemore Academy Series is LIVE! I’m not sure what hurts more: the knife in my back or the one in my heart.I thought the worst thing that could happen to me was losing my powers and being shipped off to Supernatural Reform School.I was wrong.Betrayed and heartbroken, I’m still searching for the mages who stole my powers. But now I know that the conspiracy goes much higher up the chain of command.High enough that my new friends and I might all be in danger.Especially when we find out that Blakemore Paranormal Academy is housing a magical weapon. We don’t know what or why, but are determined to find out where and stop it.The only upside: the search is a great distraction from my broken heart.Will we find this weapon in time? Or am I about to find out how much I still have to lose? Get it here!AFTER you read that, check out this FREEBIE! The Stolen Shifter tells the backstory of Rafe, a fox shifter who shows up at Blakemore in book two. I was supposed to protect her. My little sister Paige has always been strong, but even in fox form neither of us is a match for a pack of wolf shifters. When they kidnap us, they make me swear to help them in their plans for Acadiana Blakemore, or they'll kill Paige. The Stolen Shifter is the prequel to the Ghost Academy series, a YA paranormal romance/urban fantasy that will contribute to your book based insomnia. Get it here!Rafe will then appear in Ghost Academy! Which is available for preorder!When I wake up at Locklear Academy, I have no memory of how I got here… or any memories at all. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that I’m dead? If I ever want to pass on, I’m going to have to recover my past. Easier said than done. But Locklear, aka Ghost Academy, specializes in helping spirits take care of their unfinished business. There are just a few problems. First, the X-ers, an extremist group whose main goal is to forcibly send ghosts like me into the great whatever beyond, painfully and without that sense of peace we crave. Then there’s the polter-ghost who has been following me around since I got here. But my biggest distraction comes in the form of Rafe: a fox shifter with the most adorable dimples, carrying around way more guilt than any ghost deserves. Maybe I shouldn’t have a crush in the afterlife, but I’m dead, not blind. As my memories start to resurface, so do the threats from the X-ers. The clock is ticking and every moment I’m here becomes more dangerous. Not just because of the X-ers, but because the more time I spend with Rafe, the less I want to move on. Ghost Academy is a YA paranormal academy / urban fantasy that will contribute to your reading related insomnia. This is book one of the Ghost Academy Trilogy and a spin off of Blakemore Academy.You can order it, here!

"Books! The best weapons in the world!”— The Doctor, Season 2, Episode 2

Are you ready for some books? Get excited, because below are three Academy Books coming at you, one of which is FREE!Book two of the Blakemore Academy Series is LIVE! I’m not sure what hurts more: the knife in my back or the one in my heart.I thought the worst thing that could happen to me was losing my powers and being shipped off to Supernatural Reform School.I was wrong.Betrayed and heartbroken, I’m still searching for the mages who stole my powers. But now I know that the conspiracy goes much higher up the chain of command.High enough that my new friends and I might all be in danger.Especially when we find out that Blakemore Paranormal Academy is housing a magical weapon. We don’t know what or why, but are determined to find out where and stop it.The only upside: the search is a great distraction from my broken heart.Will we find this weapon in time? Or am I about to find out how much I still have to lose? Get it here!AFTER you read that, check out this FREEBIE! The Stolen Shifter tells the backstory of Rafe, a fox shifter who shows up at Blakemore in book two. I was supposed to protect her. My little sister Paige has always been strong, but even in fox form neither of us is a match for a pack of wolf shifters. When they kidnap us, they make me swear to help them in their plans for Acadiana Blakemore, or they'll kill Paige. The Stolen Shifter is the prequel to the Ghost Academy series, a YA paranormal romance/urban fantasy that will contribute to your book based insomnia. Get it here!Rafe will then appear in Ghost Academy! Which is available for preorder!When I wake up at Locklear Academy, I have no memory of how I got here… or any memories at all. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that I’m dead? If I ever want to pass on, I’m going to have to recover my past. Easier said than done. But Locklear, aka Ghost Academy, specializes in helping spirits take care of their unfinished business. There are just a few problems. First, the X-ers, an extremist group whose main goal is to forcibly send ghosts like me into the great whatever beyond, painfully and without that sense of peace we crave. Then there’s the polter-ghost who has been following me around since I got here. But my biggest distraction comes in the form of Rafe: a fox shifter with the most adorable dimples, carrying around way more guilt than any ghost deserves. Maybe I shouldn’t have a crush in the afterlife, but I’m dead, not blind. As my memories start to resurface, so do the threats from the X-ers. The clock is ticking and every moment I’m here becomes more dangerous. Not just because of the X-ers, but because the more time I spend with Rafe, the less I want to move on. Ghost Academy is a YA paranormal academy / urban fantasy that will contribute to your reading related insomnia. This is book one of the Ghost Academy Trilogy and a spin off of Blakemore Academy.You can order it, here!

The Freya - Chapter 2

2. Star date June 5, 2170: 5:10 PMLocation: Earth’s Moon Colony, Terra-Port DocksI’d only seen a ship this big the day I moved from Earth to the Moon Colony. Not quite as sleek as the Niña — yes, they named a few of the ships after the same ones that colonized America — the Freya clearly didn’t meet the regulations of a government transport vessel. Grungy, gray, and littered with startlingly intricate, brightly colored graffiti, it might’ve docked up more comfortably with a crime lord’s crew.Other space craft filled the hanger around it. Those belonging to The Federation shone sleek and silver in the sterile light. Uniformed officers strapped with guns guarded these. I kept my back to them, skin prickling under their stares, my mind coasting back to the day they accused my father of treason.Hands in the pockets of my jumpsuit, I quirked a brow at the Freya. “Stellar. How does she run?” “For that, I’ll let you talk to my mechanic.” Captain Sodhi whistled between a forefinger and thumb.A young man around my age poked his head out from under the belly of the ship. Upside down, all the blood throbbed against the surface of his dark skin and made the eyes behind his goggles bug. He flipped around and landed light on his feet. Though he wore coveralls, not a single grease stain interrupted the khaki material. In fact, the thing looked straight out of the vacuum seal.“Yeah boss? This the criminal pilot you were researching?”I glared and scanned him from his spotless shoes to the top of his curly head. “In the flesh. No way you’re the mechanic though. Not with those pristine duds, pretty boy.”“Not only am I the mechanic, but I’m the best in the system, about every system actually. I just happen to be fastidious. The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive.” He tapped the side of his goggles and his eyes magnified, making him look even more bug-eyed. After he returned my up and down sweep, the mechanic extended a hand. “Oliver Rey.”I stared at his far too neat nails, then shook the offered appendage. In spite of the lack of muck and grime, calluses roughened the pad of his palm and lower portions of his fingers. Clean freak or not, Oliver definitely worked with machines. “Quincy. I go by Q.”Oliver grinned, then looked beyond me at Captain Sodhi. “They spelled her name wrong.”I tugged at the braids on either side of my head. They made me look years younger, but also required way less futzing than a ponytail. “Seriously? It’s not that hard to do a little fact checking! For the love of Mercury there is no ‘e’.” Captain Sodhi chuckled. “Oliver, why don’t you tell Q about The Freya. See if you can’t convince her to accept my offer to fly her.”“Yeah Ollie, tell me about this space junk.” I wiggled my brows. Though I actually kind of liked the look of the dinged up ship, the expression on Oliver’s face made the jab worth it. Like one of those old ladies with blue hair and pearls in the movies, his eyes grew about eighteen sizes and his mouth flopped open, scandalized. “Space junk?” He spluttered the “s” and waved a hand over the ship. “This is a decommissioned Galaxy War I fighter. The only one, in fact, that still exists. It outran every ship in its class at the battle for Jupiter and every enemy ship it ever faced. She might not look like much but she’s reliable and solid and gets you where you need to go.”No wonder The Freya sounded familiar. Back in History of the Galaxy, my teacher quite literally sang its praises. Ms. Ricks — a brilliant historian and former opera singer — believed music made facts easier to remember. The tune played through my brain again, if not the exact words, something about the ship that liberated a planet from space pirates. I smirked at Oliver, then lifted my hands and clapped. “Okay, you’ve got me convinced of her prowess. Think you could trust me with your mistress?” The scandalized look faded from Oliver’s face and a smirk took its place. “Mind if I introduce her to everybody, boss?”Captain Sodhi dipped her head, then joined the mechanic to lead me aboard The Freya. I expected one of two things in terms of smell, either Moon Colony sterile, or metallic rust and gunpowder. Instead, I entered a world of spice. Filled with warm light, the entrance opened into a wide hallway attached to the storage bay. White pods lined three of the walls and more continued to slide in through the back. A man and woman directed them through the bay doors and into their slots with batons similar to the one Captain Sodhi zapped me with. The woman, a redhead with unjustly perfect skin, a sharp nose, and a gun strapped to her hip ducked beneath one of the pods to type something into the smooth surface of its belly. Holding a baton up to stop the flow of merchandise, the man steadied the crate with one hand. This guy had ridiculous blue eyes, a strange and freaking gorgeous contrast to his dark skin. Legs dangled from a walkway on the far side of the bay. The young man attached to these legs squinted through black rimmed glasses at a metal plated screen in his hands and wore a silver doctor’s badge on the collar of his rather wrinkled buttoned up shirt. He continued to frown at the screen when Captain Sodhi led us into the bay. The man and woman below him, however, turned. “Q, this is the rest of our crew,” Ollie said. “Millie and Tal, both technicians, slash security.” He paused, then maneuvered around a hovering pod to swat at one of the dangling feet. “And this is Doctor Gage. Resident quack.”Millie and Tal snickered, and Gage — without any preamble — leaned over the railing and smacked Ollie over the head with the metal screen.“Hey! I thought you swore to do no harm.” Ollie lifted his arms against another blow.Gage wriggled his brows, then turned his smirk on me. “This the chick who nearly out ran the Mahina?” He looked me up and down, starting with my combat boots and ending on the goggles tangled in my curls. All the while that smirk remained. “Did Sodhi use the baton on you?”Arms crossed, I arched a brow. “If she hadn’t I would’ve outrun the Mahina and the cops.”Metal screen still in hand, Gage gripped the railing and hopped down next to Ollie. Like Millie and Tal, he wore a gun strapped to his hip, odd for a doctor.“Well welcome aboard The Freya, ace.” He extended a hand across the line of moving pods. When I shook it, he winked. “Come on, better check your head out. That baton’s no joke.”I took a step back. “Hold up now, buddy, my head feels just fine. I don’t need you poking around in it. Beside, I haven’t right made up my mind to take this job.” I’m not afraid of doctors, I just don’t like their bright lights and personal questions and infatuation with sharp needles. You’d think with all our advances in technology they’d find another way to draw blood. My theory is they’re sadists.Captain Sodhi set a hand on my shoulder. “If you want to fly my ship, or any other ship without potentially crashing, you’ll let him give you a once over. While the baton does keep you hovering to avoid blunt force trauma, it still can have an effect on the brain.”“And she’ll kill you if you wreck her baby,” Ollie said. “Kill you dead.”Gage tilted his head toward the door. “Come on, Sodhi’s cured me of biting for the most part.”I grimaced and rolled my eyes. Couldn’t expect to steal any ships if that damn thing screwed up my head, might as well let the doc check it out. “Fine, but if you come at me with a needle I can’t promise I won’t bite.” That smirk morphed into a grin. “I don’t mind a little fight in my patients.”“Then we’ll get along just great.” I followed him to the med bay, so not prepared for what I found that it steered all my thoughts off course. The same intricate graffiti tattooed on the outside of the ship laced along the walls like some kind of street mural. What at first looked like utter chaos, upon closer inspection sharpened into intense colors, deep stories, and complicated themes. I got so wrapped up in one of the newspaper flowers I didn’t hear him saying my name. Gage nudged me with a shoulder. “Epic, huh?”“Whoever painted this is a genius.”“Well I wouldn’t call myself a genius. If you want to use the phrase, though, I won’t argue.”“Did you do all this?” I would’ve been annoyed by his confidence except it was clearly justified. Most graffiti looked trashy, adolescent, but this? Sheer art.“Took me years and still not done. Once I run out of room here and in the halls I’m going to try to con Tal into letting me decorate his cabin. It looks like a military barrack, which makes sense but still, super depressing.”I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “Tal? The tech dude? Is he military?”Gage grinned. “Ex-military. Dishonorable discharge.” Dishonorable discharge. Like my dad. I swallowed what felt like sand. Did he say that on purpose? Captain Sodhi knew my dad, did Gage know him? Know about everything? I wanted to ask all this, but the thoughts couldn’t make the leap to words. Typical. A live wire lives in my throat, ready to shock the nearest bystander, but I tend to lose my spark at the worst possible times.Mostly where my dad’s concerned.Gage waved a hand. “Ask him about it sometime. After I check your brain.”He winked, then tilted his head to the exam table at the center of the room.Grimacing, I dragged my feet the whole way. Memories of my last encounter with a doctor panned through my brain. I’d always distrusted anyone with a medical badge. None of them ever believed what I told them, whether it was about taking my vitamins when I was a kid or if there was a chance I could be pregnant before they prescribed antibiotics. Their skepticism irritated me.As I sat on the exam table, banging my heels against its hard frame, Gage pressed a button on his screen and the metal case slid out to form handles around the glass. Then, he lifted it to my face and proceeded to scan my head. “So, Captain Sodhi. What’s her deal?”Gage’s lips twitched like he was attempting to stifle a smile. “What do you mean?”I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “Well, she’s friends with Governor Christie, hires thieves, graffiti artists, and dishonorably discharged military. What kind of ship captain does that and isn’t an outlaw?”Gage shifted the screen to the top of my head. “You left out doctors who lost their licenses and mechanics who blew up their last ship.”“Seriously?” I swatted at the screen. “You lost your license? For what?”He swatted back, then snapped the cover in place again and grinned down at me. “I replaced a human brain with a sheep’s brain.”“You what?”“Ask me later.” Gage winked and tucked the screen under his arm. “But if you want to know about Sodhi...she’s big on second chances. Ask her about it some time. Probably way after you ask Tal about his discharge or me about my license.”“I can’t ask you now?” I cocked my head. “After all, I did just let you scan my brain. If that sheep story’s true…” I let the sentence hang.Gage’s smirk returned. “Okay ace, you’ve earned that much anyway. ‘Specially with that knot on your head.” From a pocket he pulled a small vial filled with blue gel capsules. “Lost my license because I was smuggling drugs like these. Take two before the headache sets in.” With another wink he headed for the door. “Come on, I’ll take you back to the cargo bay. Millie can show you to your quarters. That is if you’ve decided not to attempt to hijack our ship.”I fought to keep my face neutral as my heart skipped into overdrive and leaned back on my palms. “What makes you think I’m of a mind to do that?”“Educated guess,” Gage said. “Not to mention you’ve been checking out exits and weapons and the like since you walked into the cargo bay.”“That so?”“I know thieves.” He adjusted his glasses. “Take my advice, don’t try to rob Sodhi. It won’t end well. She’s got of touch of mercy to her, but she protects her crew like family. I’d cross the Mahina before ever crossing her.”Arrogant asshole.Finding the exit in the corner of my eye, I lifted my chin. “You’re right sharp, Good Doctor.” My lip curled on the word “good.” Time to bust out of this tin can before they tossed me back to the police. With the pill bottle clenched tightly in my fist, I dove off the exam table, ducked around Gage, and sprinted out the door. He shouted something after me, but with all my focus on my mental map of the Freya, the meaning didn’t get through. I hugged the corners and barged past the techs, Tal and Millie. They shouted too and like Gage I paid them no mind. My vision rippled a little, probably a side effect of that damn baton, but I kept balance good enough until I charged into the hanger and toward the entrance. If the stars shone on me, I could outrun the Federation guards, I just needed to nick hovercycle. At the entrance I staggered to a stop, heart on its way to pounding through my sternum as a blue light zinged past my face. I swung back behind one of the open doors and peeked around the side. Members of the Mahina took cover at the buildings near the end of the street, each taking turns to aim at me. Damnit to Venus. They sure know how to hold a grudge.I tucked an errant curl behind an ear, wishing I’d stolen one of those guns from The Freya before I turned tail. Lunar Police still had my piece. It probably sat in some airlocked container in an evidence room unless some corrupt officer nabbed it. Hands balled into fists, I turned to look around the hanger for another exit. Federation officers ran toward me, along with Captain Sodhi and that tech Tal. They formed a sort of horseshoe and blocked off any escape. I shot my gaze upward, considering the advisability of climbing, but the smooth surface of the dome left zero handholds. Again I leaned around the door and laser fire lanced across my face. Damnit to the farthest galaxies.In desperation, I squatted, preparing to try and make it to the street without getting fried. A hand clamped down on my shoulder. It pulled me back before I could attempt a defense. Ignoring my wriggling, he lifted an arm. Transparent blue light extended from a cuff on his wrist and formed a circular shield in front of us. Laser light ricochet off of it as Captain Sodhi crouched at the edge of the door and aimed her gun at the Mahina. “Attempting to get the other half of your money? There are easier ways to accomplish this.” I rolled my eyes, but didn’t have time for a snappy comeback as another barrage of laser fire burned the air. One just missed the edge of Tal’s shield and sliced through my pant leg. It grazed my skin and I cursed the galaxy again. Teeth gritted, I snagged one of the guns out of Tal’s holster and fired around Sodhi.A Mahina thug dropped, his body jerking like I’d tazed him. I eyed the weapon in my hand as Tal shifted next to me and blocked another shot. “It’s in stun mode. Seeing how it’s my piece, keep it that way.”“Long as it drops ‘em I’m good.” I squinted an eye and took out another. In spite of the sheer number of Federation officers now crowded near the doors, the lunar gang didn’t scare easy. Their tech rivaled the police and made them near impossible to stamp out. They fought with their rivals like the Federation warred with the Freedom Factions during Galaxy War 2 and used them against lunar police when necessary. One of them lobbed a metal sphere at the hanger doors. My gut twisted and I sprang out from behind Tal’s shield. Under heavy fire, I grabbed the small bomb, wound up, and chucked it as hard as I could toward the false atmosphere surrounding the lunar colony. As it lifted above the building tops, it exploded and knocked me backward.As I skidded across the smooth concrete, the Federation soldiers surged forward, blocking the ongoing altercation. Head spinning, I stayed put until the explosions died down and Sodhi and Tal leaned over me. I shoved out a sigh and lifted my hands, wrists together. “Guess I blew that one. Get it?”Sodhi’s nostrils flared ever so slightly. “What do you think, Tal?”He rested both elbows on his knees and rubbed his jaw. Those blue eyes drilled into mine, unearthing faint memories of the way my mother used to stare me down when she knew I’d done wrong. It shifted me fast from age eighteen straight back to four, a child, full of mischief and easy to dismiss.Then Tal smiled. Not the broad bursting sort, but a slow burn associated with eternally kind souls. “Actually, I think she redeemed herself and deserves another chance.”“Agreed,” Sodhi said with a nod. “That is if you’d like another chance.”I scanned the hanger, considering the Federation soldiers, imagining the Mahina survivors, then finally huffed. “Long as I get to fly that ship, I’m in. You got yourself a pilot.”

Talk to Me Tuesday

Hello Frands!Welcome to your weekly update/question. Above you'll see the cover of Supernatural Reform School, the book I co-wrote with my good friend, Sullivan Gray. You can follow her here (and also get a free copy of The Dragon Heir!) Sullivan and I are already working on book two of our paranormal academy series (Academy of Stolen Magic) and we're super excited to get started with book three (Blood of the Dragon Shifter).My question this week centers on ambiance. Last week I moved into a new apartment and have been working to get my new space feeling like a home. One of the things I did was find scentless candles. When I asked Facebook for recommendations on where to get some, a few people were very confuse. I had to then explain how a lot of scents give me a headache (so annoying), and that I just wanted them for ambiance.My question this week is this: what do you do to make your home feel like YOUR space? Talk to me! I want to know!Want to stay up to date with what's going on at The Pensive Pen? Sign up for my newsletter! I promise not to stuff your inboxes with a million emails!

Share Saturday

Check out my fellow author K.E. Hubbard! She is an excellent writer, brilliant critique partner, and all around encouraging friend. In November, she will be publishing a satirical Christmas novella called The 24th. If you love Christmas movies, this sweet, short and humorous story is perfect for you! In her own words:I’m so excited to announce that my novella, The 24th will be published on November first! If you love Christmas movies and all their trope-filled goodness, you’ll love this short, sweet, and funny story!After their significant others find true love with someone else just days before Christmas, Jack and Ella decide to get revenge and crash Ella’s ex-boyfriend’s wedding. They travel together to the idyllic snowy town and launch their disruptive shenanigans, only to find they’re more interested in each other than their plans. The longer they stay, the more they start to feel out of place in the manufactured holiday cheer. When Ella discovers something she wasn’t meant to see, she realizes she and Jack may not be who they think they are either.The 24th is humorous take on what happens to those who get left behind when someone else finds their happily ever after. Kindle editions will be available for pre-order on Amazon. I’ll post the link as soon as it’s available! Follow my Facebook and Twitter pages for contests and fun giveaways!

The Freya - Chapter 1

1. Star date June 5, 2170: 3:23PMLocation: Earth’s Moon ColonyHijacking a Space Officer’s motorcycle is usually inadvisable, but when you’re on the run from a lunar gang it’s about the best form of transportation. I buzzed through the cold, sterile streets of Earth’s moon colony, gripping the handles of the officer’s motorcycle and trying not to slide off the back as I took hairpin turns in an attempt to outrun the Mahina gang. Head down, I whipped through lanes of traffic — almost as bad as my hometown of Houston — and nearly clipped a bike messenger. The acrid smell of exhaust, so different from the gas I’d grown up with on earth, stung my nose. I yanked the soggy bandana around my neck up and over my nose. Stray curls whipped out of my braids and around my goggles.If I could just get to the other side of the city and onto one of the Terra-Ports, I might be able to lose them. Sirens blasted overhead, bouncing off the silver-plated buildings as hovercycles — should’ve jumped one of those! — followed my escape. Taser light shocked the air, both from the gang and police, but so far each missed. In a moment of sheer stupidity, I glanced over one shoulder to gauge the nearness of my destruction. A shockingly scrawny man with one of those bull-style nose rings led the group. Eyes narrow, mouth disfigured by a grimace, he steered his green motorcycle with one hand while the other aimed a taser in my direction.When another stream of blue missed my taillight, he shouted, “Get her, boys!”Could he be more comic-booky? I waved my fingers at him.With a smirk, I turned back around. Just in time to see the woman in the street. Without so much as a brow raise, she extended her arm in front of me. A black baton-like device shot from her hand before I could swerve. A hot, electric current rippled the air, wafted across my skin, beat against my goggles, stole my sight.When I opened my eyes again, I half expected to see the gang members glaring down at me with old-school pipes and brass knuckles for a nice round of torture. Instead, I blinked at a narrow metal room until focus landed on the woman from the street. Calm as before, she stared at me with eyes the color of walnuts. She wore her black hair in a tight braid and a gray transport uniform, or at least the jacket. A golden captain’s symbol glittered on the collar.I groaned and pressed the heels of both hands into my eyes. “Where am I?” I should’ve been relieved. Though some transport workers might be involved with unsavory people — like lunar gangs — they didn’t often have government certified captain’s badges. If she worked with the authorities I could reasonably expect to avoid torture at the very least.The woman tilted her head to one side. “Police station.” She spoke with an Earthen accent, one I couldn’t quite pin down but ventured to guess came from somewhere in the Middle East. Arms now crossed over my face, I groaned again. This explained the frigid metal biting into my spine. Probably one of those hanging benches. Machinery hummed beneath me, a gentle quiver calling out longing in my chest, longing for the feeling of my own ship, for the freedom of the black of space. I sighed through my nose. “That was a wicked piece of tech you used on me. Shocked I didn’t break my neck.”“It is rather handy,” the woman said. “I don’t fully understand the science, but it stuns its victim for a short period of time while causing them to hover momentarily to avoid bodily injury. An old friend designed it for me.”I grimaced. “Stellar. Sure the lunar police love that. Speaking of, why haven’t they joined the party?”“I asked them to allow me to speak with you first before they questioned you.”I swallowed and screwed up a grin. “Who’d you sleep with to get that kind of privilege?” “Governor Christie.”I peeked between my arms. “For real?”The woman smirked. “Hardly. But I often provide cargo transport services for him so he owes me a favor...a few favors actually.”“Lucky you.” I covered my face again.“How’s your head?”I considered the question. In spite of the fact that her baton probably sent me over the front end of that motorcycle, it really didn’t hurt too bad. That was some badass tech. “Swimmy, but okay.” I shoved myself upright and leaned against the cold, metal wall. “Please tell me you have a better line of questioning than this. If not you’re wasting a favor.”Her expression held steady. “Why are the Mahina after you?” I pulled my goggles off my neck and set them in my lap. The adjustable straps flopped back and forth as I twisted them between my fingers. Technically I didn’t have to incriminate myself, but with my record, one more crime didn’t much matter. “I’ve been their getaway pilot a few times. Mostly just intergang stuff, getting them out of sticky situations with their own people. But this job sat wrong…” I shrugged and leaned my head against the wall. “They were going after Governor Christie’s kid. Granted he’s no bright spot in the galaxy, but kidnapping’s where I draw the line. Anyway. They paid me half, then I skipped out on the meeting time. Thought I could make it to the transports and out of town. Problem is I don’t have a ship of my own. Yet. All things considered, I made it pretty far before the high speed chase. Was I on the news? Hope they got my name right. Q-U-I-N-”“C-Y. But you typically go by Q, don’t you?”A grin stung my wind burned face. “You’ve done your research. What else do you know about me, mysterious baton lady?” I closed my eyes, mildly impressed, but losing interest.“My name is Kali Sodhi. I am the captain of the Freya. We offer transportation services for officials and other organizations across the galaxy. I’d like to offer you a job.”My eyes popped open. The dread in my chest tipped, nudged by the wonderful lightness we call hope. My old friend cynicism, however, held it in place and a chuckle snorted through my nose. “Nice joke. Who hires an eighteen-year-old crook?”Captain Sodhi didn’t even blink. “Oh I’m quite serious.”“You’ve seen my record, right?” “I’ve studied it thoroughly,” Captain Sodhi said, crossing her arms. “And do you know what I found interesting?” I lifted both hands. “You got me.”“Exactly what you said a few moments ago. You’re an incredible pilot, one of the best, with a propensity for creative problem solving. While you are resistant to authority and often work for criminals, you still have a very strict moral code. More than that, since you came to the lunar colony three years ago, you rose above deplorable circumstances.”I stood so fast the goggles went flying out of my lap. “What the hell do you know about that? It’s not even in my file. I had it wiped.” Captain Sodhi still didn’t react. She didn’t even take a step back when I jumped up. To be fair, I’m not physically intimidating in the slightest. Barely over five feet and shaped like a prepubescent twelve-year-old, I am not even stronger than I look. It’s one of the reasons I’ve always had to be fast. Can’t fight, gotta learn to run.“I knew your father.”All the strength dribbled out of my legs and I dropped back onto the bench. Bile stung my throat. Any possible response crumbled like a poorly constructed moon-dust castle. Images from the past sparked to life but I stomped them down, not ready to deal with those solar flares. Captain Sodhi sank to my level, brow wrinkled, elbows on her knees. “He was a good man. I’m sorry for what happened to him.”“So you believe his story?” I asked. It sounded like someone else, someone galaxies away.“Absolutely.”That one word docked me to the bench and I met Captain Sodhi’s gaze. A few years rubbing shoulders with criminals taught me how to read people, find the lies beneath well-crafted expressions. I didn’t catch any in Sodhi’s face. Not yet at least. Couldn’t hurt to check out her vessel. Might be even be worth hijacking with the right plan. Besides, if I stayed with the police I didn’t have much to look forward to other than the four walls of a lunar cell. That didn’t sit pleasant at all. “Give me a gander of that ship and we can talk.”Sodhi pressed her hand to the pad next to the door and it slid open. “Follow me.”

Talk to Me Tuesday

Hey frands!This week has already been crazy and it's only Tuesday. I moved all day today and let me tell you, moving brain is a thing. It's similar to my understanding of pregnancy brain. The "creative" spelling I've been doing this evening has been quite special.It doesn't help that I'm also on allergy medicine because something is dying or blooming or whatever and my head is the size of Houston. Trying to write during this time has been an adventure. It would be easy to get frustrated with only being able to write a few paragraphs, but that doesn't seem helpful. Instead, at the moment I'm happy with each word I get on the page.I feel this barrier disintegrating though. There's something about the right space that frees a writer up to do what they need to do. Some places are heavier than others, tighter. Maybe I'm the only one who feels this, but different locations have a certain feel. Either way, I know most people have a specific place where the writing flows, comes easier than normal.Do you have a place like this? A place that doesn't feel tight, but free and unhindered?