Aaron Dennis's Blog - Posts Tagged "scifi"
Beyond the End of the World, Lokians 1 rereleased and free
Beyond the End of the World is the first book in the Lokians scifi series. This series was originally released back in 2012, but it has since been rewritten.
Beyond the End of the World, Lokians 1
Intelligent races travel through wormholes to explore the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Thewls inform Humans of a looming threat. Lokians are a ravenous race of space bugs. They harvest technology from advanced civilizations and integrate with it to mass produce living ships, dangerous vanguards, and formidable legions.
Captain O’Hara of Phoenix Crew travels with Thewls to retrieve an ancient vessel from a mysterious race simply known as travelers. Can a single craft be the key to saving the galaxy? Why do Thewls believe the travelers once visited Earth? Does O’Hara and Phoenix Crew have what it takes to obliterate the space bugs?
Check out an excerpt
The ground team watched a streak appear in the purple sky. A silver object was coming in from the southeast. As the crew steeled themselves, it drew closer. A moment later, the silver object was in full view, something shaped like the bottom of a shoe; a large circular area in front, a thinner elliptical center, and a small circular area at the rear. An odd silence prevailed as it drew closer and closer.
The captain thought it large for a shuttle. Maybe, it is a vanguard, he thought. It was possible that they had been misrepresenting themselves as Nandesrikahl suggested. O’Hara wanted to draw his gun and take aim or contact Miss Day and tell her to aim the Phoenix’s weapons. No, he knew jumping the gun had devastating impacts. If they had come in peace, the following, galactic blunder would henceforth be called pulling an O’Hara; he didn’t want that on his head.
The shuttle slowed to a halt in midair. It was like a great whale suspended in the ocean. There were no sounds at all. Then, a puff of wind hit the ground, blowing dust everywhere. The crew covered their eyes momentarily and a deep, droning sound rumbled for a second. A large panel opened from beneath the ship. A loading platform slid out until the edge touched the ground. A strange vehicle rolled out, something like a bulky all-terrain with tracks covering six wheels.
The enormous rover was shiny chrome with several, blue windows. It calmly pulled up a few yards from the crew. Shapes of men showed through the windows, and the windows themselves were the oddest part of the vehicle.
They weren’t made of glass. They weren’t made of any material. They were a force field with a light, blue tint. When doors opened upwards from both sides, like an old DeLorean, O’Hara about wet his britches. The vehicle hummed monotonously, and the strangest beings imaginable stepped out.
First, a tall figure worked its way off a seat. One leg clad in black armor then another protruded. A hand grabbed the side of the doorway, and a creature, this Thewl, pulled itself free. It had two arms, two legs, and a head, and it certainly moved like a bipedal being, but one, major difference in the legs was the extra joint; they were more akin to cat legs or frog legs with, long stocky toes, and the heel of the foot extended at an angle towards the calf.
After exiting, the Thewl extended a massive hand to help out more from the vehicle. Five in total gathered around the rover, looking towards the Humans and their vessel. That’s when O’Hara noticed another, bizarre difference; their skin.
At a distance, Thewls looked to be red, or mishmashed shades of red. Fitzpatrick had a better look through her binos, though; she saw their skin was actually translucent, like jellyfish men. It was their structure beneath the skin that was all shades of red, pink, purple, and orange, and she saw their faces quite clearly.
Their heads were similar to Human heads except they swelled out behind the face. They didn’t have eyelids, either; the eyes were completely covered by the thick membrane, which presumably covered their whole bodies, allowing slits for nostrils, and one for the mouth. Other than their hands and heads, they were all clad in black, armor plated suits, and were all very tall, perhaps eight feet.
As they started marching for the captain, who was flanked by Swain and Martinez, he raised his right hand in peace, before taking a step. The remaining crewmembers were on their guard, awe stricken though they were. Once everyone was within speaking range, O’Hara figured the ambassador was the one in red and black garb. His suit—for lack of a better term—was the only one with any color other than black. It had fewer, armor plates and seemed more comfortable, lighter than the others’.
“Ambassador Weh? I am Captain Riley O’Hara. Admiral Lay has asked us to receive you under a banner of peace. We welcome you,” he said, slowly.
The ambassador raised his right hand as well. The fingers were long, there were five, but with an extra joint. His skeletal structure was evident among a plethora of ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Their veins were shades of purple, pulsating beneath translucent skin. The tendons and ligaments were orange, and the muscles were shades of pink and red, and everything moved with an eerie fashion, not that it was any different from the way Human bodies moved, but no one ever caught a glimpse off the operating table.
“I am Weh, and it is a great honor to meet the men capable of securing their future through travels in space. There is much to discuss,” Weh proclaimed.
O’Hara and the others were taken aback by the guttural droning of his voice. It was monotone, but somehow musical and gurgling like the warble of a bird that sang only one note. During the greeting, several, other beings came walking out of the alien craft.
They carried chairs, and tables, and other objects. The Humans and Thewls worked together. Soon, an outdoor conference was in session.
The crew was shocked to see the size of the tables and chairs. They were much larger in order to accommodate Thewlian anatomy. Once everything settled down, the captain spoke loud enough to drown out the voices of the aliens, who were likely conversing about the oddities of Humans, and the chatter of Humans, who conversed about the aliens.
“Ambassador, I’m impressed you’ve mastered our language in such a short time. I’m also in disbelief that your kind can travel so quickly. I assume this means your people have mastered faster than light speed.”
“As far as language is concerned, we all find it simple to learn. We have existed for over four, million years and have learned many languages. We have also traveled space and time for three, million years, so it is not difficult for us to acclimate to our surrounding, social environment,” the ambassador replied.
The captain was astonished, though his reports had stated incredulous facts about Thewls, it was another thing to see them, hear them in person. He remained flabbergasted a moment, saying nothing. The ambassador’s hue then changed. It was like his face brightened.
“As you well know, Captain,” the ambassador continued. “The beacons you discovered were left behind four, thousand years ago. Their arrangement on this planet was meant to be a signal to any passing travelers, so they might rest or meet on neutral ground. Was there a need, the beacons were also meant to be used in unison to signal for help or relay some sort of message, and there was a need….”
“So…no one has attempted to colonize Eon,” the captain asked.
“Ah, Eon, you say; before your time, many of us were in agreement that this planet remain neutral territory. No one race dared to seize it, not that we blame you or your people for erecting a colony. You could not have known such details.
“Alas, there have been no meetings here in many centuries. There are other such planets, but this is trivial at the moment. We Thewls are in the throes of a crisis,” the ambassador said.
O’Hara stirred in his large seat. It was not the ambassador’s voice that was earnest, but his words, somehow, seemed genuine, and again, his face changed; it had grown darker, grim.
“The Lokians,” the captain finally said.
“Yes, the Lokians,” the alien nodded. “This insect-like breed; over our long existence we have encountered them on numerous occasions. The first was long before my time. They landed on our home world just after we began space travel. Our Element-115 is a very valuable resource, and the Lokians coveted such treasures.
“They came in relatively small numbers, but we were a peaceful people. We had no real weapons at the time. They came unannounced and attacked us. Most of them didn’t use weapons, but their superior, physical attributes nearly destroyed us.
“Fortunately, we drove them back with our superior numbers. After that encounter, we suspended space travel for a time to fortify our defenses. We engineered weapons. They came a second time, centuries later—still before my time—but we were prepared, or so we thought.
“You see, we were not the only ones who had prepared. We were not the only ones who had advanced. The Lokians are a strange race. They do not cogitate as you or I. They do not adapt or acclimate as you or I. No, these Lokians harvest other races, their technology, mainly. When they attacked the second time, they had augmented themselves physically by using some form of robotic technology. They were stronger, faster, and nearly indestructible. We fought long and hard, but they could not be driven back,” the ambassador took a pause.
O’Hara didn’t note any facial expressions. Thewls conveyed emotions differently, it was something in their faces, a chemical reaction, he thought, that made their color change, and darker seemed to connote darker emotions, sadness, anger, perhaps.
“So, the Lokians are on your planet now?”
“No, no, if you’ll allow me to give you the history, it will all become clear,” the ambassador said.
“I apologize, Ambassador, this is all so overwhelming.”
“Certainly, but we would like to enlist the help of your people, and so it is only proper to explain the situation,” he calmly continued. “We were staring extinction in the face. Everything seemed lost. One night, another volley of ships penetrated our skies.
“These ships were radically different than those of the Lokians. These vessels weren’t alive, yet danced across the horizon. Some of them landed, others fired energy based weaponry at our enemies. Then, strange men clad in suits of light demolished our opposition.
“It took less than a day to turn the tide. Our benefactors were impressive. In a week, the Lokians were banished to space, and once the threat ended, our saviors left as mysteriously as they had appeared, yet a few stayed behind. Twelve of them remained and helped us advance our civilization beyond our dreams. They stayed until we were able to stand on our own again, and then, they, too, left.
“Since then, we’ve encountered the Lokians again. On occasion, we fight a small fleet in the expanse of space. Once, we followed them to a small colony and helped another space faring race secure victory. This brings us to the present state of affairs.
“As I have said, the Lokians harvest technology. They amassed around our sun over two hundred years ago. The interference from the sun kept them hidden from our scanners and satellites. The Lokians are now not only able to bring their ships close to a sun, but they have the technology to create and utilize subspace, compactor photons.”
Get it free on Barnes and Noble online
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beyon...
And check out some of the artwork on the Lokians Google+ page
https://plus.google.com/b/11057497110...
Beyond the End of the World, Lokians 1
Intelligent races travel through wormholes to explore the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Thewls inform Humans of a looming threat. Lokians are a ravenous race of space bugs. They harvest technology from advanced civilizations and integrate with it to mass produce living ships, dangerous vanguards, and formidable legions.
Captain O’Hara of Phoenix Crew travels with Thewls to retrieve an ancient vessel from a mysterious race simply known as travelers. Can a single craft be the key to saving the galaxy? Why do Thewls believe the travelers once visited Earth? Does O’Hara and Phoenix Crew have what it takes to obliterate the space bugs?
Check out an excerpt
The ground team watched a streak appear in the purple sky. A silver object was coming in from the southeast. As the crew steeled themselves, it drew closer. A moment later, the silver object was in full view, something shaped like the bottom of a shoe; a large circular area in front, a thinner elliptical center, and a small circular area at the rear. An odd silence prevailed as it drew closer and closer.
The captain thought it large for a shuttle. Maybe, it is a vanguard, he thought. It was possible that they had been misrepresenting themselves as Nandesrikahl suggested. O’Hara wanted to draw his gun and take aim or contact Miss Day and tell her to aim the Phoenix’s weapons. No, he knew jumping the gun had devastating impacts. If they had come in peace, the following, galactic blunder would henceforth be called pulling an O’Hara; he didn’t want that on his head.
The shuttle slowed to a halt in midair. It was like a great whale suspended in the ocean. There were no sounds at all. Then, a puff of wind hit the ground, blowing dust everywhere. The crew covered their eyes momentarily and a deep, droning sound rumbled for a second. A large panel opened from beneath the ship. A loading platform slid out until the edge touched the ground. A strange vehicle rolled out, something like a bulky all-terrain with tracks covering six wheels.
The enormous rover was shiny chrome with several, blue windows. It calmly pulled up a few yards from the crew. Shapes of men showed through the windows, and the windows themselves were the oddest part of the vehicle.
They weren’t made of glass. They weren’t made of any material. They were a force field with a light, blue tint. When doors opened upwards from both sides, like an old DeLorean, O’Hara about wet his britches. The vehicle hummed monotonously, and the strangest beings imaginable stepped out.
First, a tall figure worked its way off a seat. One leg clad in black armor then another protruded. A hand grabbed the side of the doorway, and a creature, this Thewl, pulled itself free. It had two arms, two legs, and a head, and it certainly moved like a bipedal being, but one, major difference in the legs was the extra joint; they were more akin to cat legs or frog legs with, long stocky toes, and the heel of the foot extended at an angle towards the calf.
After exiting, the Thewl extended a massive hand to help out more from the vehicle. Five in total gathered around the rover, looking towards the Humans and their vessel. That’s when O’Hara noticed another, bizarre difference; their skin.
At a distance, Thewls looked to be red, or mishmashed shades of red. Fitzpatrick had a better look through her binos, though; she saw their skin was actually translucent, like jellyfish men. It was their structure beneath the skin that was all shades of red, pink, purple, and orange, and she saw their faces quite clearly.
Their heads were similar to Human heads except they swelled out behind the face. They didn’t have eyelids, either; the eyes were completely covered by the thick membrane, which presumably covered their whole bodies, allowing slits for nostrils, and one for the mouth. Other than their hands and heads, they were all clad in black, armor plated suits, and were all very tall, perhaps eight feet.
As they started marching for the captain, who was flanked by Swain and Martinez, he raised his right hand in peace, before taking a step. The remaining crewmembers were on their guard, awe stricken though they were. Once everyone was within speaking range, O’Hara figured the ambassador was the one in red and black garb. His suit—for lack of a better term—was the only one with any color other than black. It had fewer, armor plates and seemed more comfortable, lighter than the others’.
“Ambassador Weh? I am Captain Riley O’Hara. Admiral Lay has asked us to receive you under a banner of peace. We welcome you,” he said, slowly.
The ambassador raised his right hand as well. The fingers were long, there were five, but with an extra joint. His skeletal structure was evident among a plethora of ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Their veins were shades of purple, pulsating beneath translucent skin. The tendons and ligaments were orange, and the muscles were shades of pink and red, and everything moved with an eerie fashion, not that it was any different from the way Human bodies moved, but no one ever caught a glimpse off the operating table.
“I am Weh, and it is a great honor to meet the men capable of securing their future through travels in space. There is much to discuss,” Weh proclaimed.
O’Hara and the others were taken aback by the guttural droning of his voice. It was monotone, but somehow musical and gurgling like the warble of a bird that sang only one note. During the greeting, several, other beings came walking out of the alien craft.
They carried chairs, and tables, and other objects. The Humans and Thewls worked together. Soon, an outdoor conference was in session.
The crew was shocked to see the size of the tables and chairs. They were much larger in order to accommodate Thewlian anatomy. Once everything settled down, the captain spoke loud enough to drown out the voices of the aliens, who were likely conversing about the oddities of Humans, and the chatter of Humans, who conversed about the aliens.
“Ambassador, I’m impressed you’ve mastered our language in such a short time. I’m also in disbelief that your kind can travel so quickly. I assume this means your people have mastered faster than light speed.”
“As far as language is concerned, we all find it simple to learn. We have existed for over four, million years and have learned many languages. We have also traveled space and time for three, million years, so it is not difficult for us to acclimate to our surrounding, social environment,” the ambassador replied.
The captain was astonished, though his reports had stated incredulous facts about Thewls, it was another thing to see them, hear them in person. He remained flabbergasted a moment, saying nothing. The ambassador’s hue then changed. It was like his face brightened.
“As you well know, Captain,” the ambassador continued. “The beacons you discovered were left behind four, thousand years ago. Their arrangement on this planet was meant to be a signal to any passing travelers, so they might rest or meet on neutral ground. Was there a need, the beacons were also meant to be used in unison to signal for help or relay some sort of message, and there was a need….”
“So…no one has attempted to colonize Eon,” the captain asked.
“Ah, Eon, you say; before your time, many of us were in agreement that this planet remain neutral territory. No one race dared to seize it, not that we blame you or your people for erecting a colony. You could not have known such details.
“Alas, there have been no meetings here in many centuries. There are other such planets, but this is trivial at the moment. We Thewls are in the throes of a crisis,” the ambassador said.
O’Hara stirred in his large seat. It was not the ambassador’s voice that was earnest, but his words, somehow, seemed genuine, and again, his face changed; it had grown darker, grim.
“The Lokians,” the captain finally said.
“Yes, the Lokians,” the alien nodded. “This insect-like breed; over our long existence we have encountered them on numerous occasions. The first was long before my time. They landed on our home world just after we began space travel. Our Element-115 is a very valuable resource, and the Lokians coveted such treasures.
“They came in relatively small numbers, but we were a peaceful people. We had no real weapons at the time. They came unannounced and attacked us. Most of them didn’t use weapons, but their superior, physical attributes nearly destroyed us.
“Fortunately, we drove them back with our superior numbers. After that encounter, we suspended space travel for a time to fortify our defenses. We engineered weapons. They came a second time, centuries later—still before my time—but we were prepared, or so we thought.
“You see, we were not the only ones who had prepared. We were not the only ones who had advanced. The Lokians are a strange race. They do not cogitate as you or I. They do not adapt or acclimate as you or I. No, these Lokians harvest other races, their technology, mainly. When they attacked the second time, they had augmented themselves physically by using some form of robotic technology. They were stronger, faster, and nearly indestructible. We fought long and hard, but they could not be driven back,” the ambassador took a pause.
O’Hara didn’t note any facial expressions. Thewls conveyed emotions differently, it was something in their faces, a chemical reaction, he thought, that made their color change, and darker seemed to connote darker emotions, sadness, anger, perhaps.
“So, the Lokians are on your planet now?”
“No, no, if you’ll allow me to give you the history, it will all become clear,” the ambassador said.
“I apologize, Ambassador, this is all so overwhelming.”
“Certainly, but we would like to enlist the help of your people, and so it is only proper to explain the situation,” he calmly continued. “We were staring extinction in the face. Everything seemed lost. One night, another volley of ships penetrated our skies.
“These ships were radically different than those of the Lokians. These vessels weren’t alive, yet danced across the horizon. Some of them landed, others fired energy based weaponry at our enemies. Then, strange men clad in suits of light demolished our opposition.
“It took less than a day to turn the tide. Our benefactors were impressive. In a week, the Lokians were banished to space, and once the threat ended, our saviors left as mysteriously as they had appeared, yet a few stayed behind. Twelve of them remained and helped us advance our civilization beyond our dreams. They stayed until we were able to stand on our own again, and then, they, too, left.
“Since then, we’ve encountered the Lokians again. On occasion, we fight a small fleet in the expanse of space. Once, we followed them to a small colony and helped another space faring race secure victory. This brings us to the present state of affairs.
“As I have said, the Lokians harvest technology. They amassed around our sun over two hundred years ago. The interference from the sun kept them hidden from our scanners and satellites. The Lokians are now not only able to bring their ships close to a sun, but they have the technology to create and utilize subspace, compactor photons.”
Get it free on Barnes and Noble online
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beyon...
And check out some of the artwork on the Lokians Google+ page
https://plus.google.com/b/11057497110...
THEY LURK AMONG US LOKIANS 2 COMING SOON
They Lurk Among Us is the sequel to Beyond the End of the World. Both titles, and a third, were at one point published by a small press. I’ve complained about that press to my satisfaction, and I’m now proud to say that with the return of rights, I will be re-releasing Lokians 2, They Lurk Among Us pretty soon.
I don’t know how soon, though, but here’s the prologue to tithe you over. Yes, it’s tithe over, not tie over. A tithe is a tax consisting of ten percent of the community’s income. When the tax collector collects the tithe, the kingdom is tithed over until the next tax collection.
Why am I telling you? I have my reasons…but back to the prologue.
They Lurk Among Us, Lokians 2
The flow of time is not a constant. The limitations of man are not concrete. What can one do once the doors behind reality are opened?
One man is blessed with a gift, burdened by a responsibility; somewhere in the reaches of space-time, he travels, seeking only to continue doing what he knows in his heart is right. Once a respected Naval Captain, now working for The Bureau, Riley O’Hara continues searching for answers.
Eight months prior, in July of 2111, Earth’s Navy surveyed a new planet, one meeting all requirements for colonization. Eon was a celestial body located in the Gemini system, a system of twin suns. For all intents and purposes, it was new Earth.
During the survey mission to Eon’s surface, Captain O’Hara and his special operations team discovered alien beacons. Soon after, Admiral Lay of Earth Navy made first contact with a race of aliens called Thewls. A detailed exchange of information transpired.
The Thewls convened on Eon with the Navy’s spec ops team. During the meet and greet, Humans came to learn that a second race of aliens called Lokians were on the prowl. This devastating force ravaged the galaxy as it destroyed civilizations to harvest technology.
Ambassador Weh of the Thewls proposed a plan. A unified front between men and Thewls was the only solution. Careful deliberations occurred behind closed doors as Admiral Lay slowly sequestered himself from the special operations team’s endeavor. Suddenly, the brash and young Captain O’Hara was in charge of the Humans’ most delicate mission in military history.
He led his team aboard a Thewlian vessel, joining their admiral, Yew, in a search throughout the galaxy for a weapon to wield against the so-called impending threat, the Lokians. Upon its discovery, the weapon was kept secret from nearly everyone on Horizon colony, including Admiral Lay’s second in command, Rear Admiral Shaw. At the end of the ordeal, the Lokian threat was curbed, but the captain did not receive a hero’s welcome. He woke up, injured from the final battle, in a hospital tent. The suns on Eon caressed his face as he looked over his commanding officer. Admiral Lay was concerned. He relayed to O’Hara what had transpired. Only recently conscious, and recovering from his wounds, the young man was shocked to learn the President of the North American Union had decided to shut down Horizon colony.
Unbeknownst to anyone, O’Hara boarded a craft with two agents from The Bureau, Adams and Franklin, whom served under the captain during the Lokian assault. Their whereabouts are currently unknown to both the Navy and President Montrose.
Thanks for reading the prologue. Obviously the Lokians series is scifi. What’s cool about this particular scifi series is the presentation. In the first Lokians book, a few aliens and a little bit of technology were introduced, but for the most part it was just a scifi, military adventure novel.
They Lurk Among Us, however, takes on a new depth. The 2nd Lokians book in the series is almost a sort of spy thriller scifi cross over. There’s a lot of intrigue, intel changing hands, all kinds of people–government officials–doing all kinds of crazy things in order to placate the aliens…but which aliens?
There’s new aliens in They Lurk Among Us. I mean, what’s the point of reading a scifi series without more aliens?
Apart from Humans, Lokians, and Thewls–the races introduced in the first Lokians book–there are Grays, Yvlekesh, and alien hybrids.
Right now, obviously, the book is written. I mean, it was released at one point, but I was never pleased with the end result, and there was nothing to be done while it was published by the small press, but since I got the rights back, and I know how to write now, I’m doing like a fifth round of editing, trying to make sure that everything is just the way I like it, just the way I think my audience will like it.
There’s the intrigue, great dialogue, a few jokes, cool action scenes, all the aliens, and it’s pretty fast paced, too. Thanks again for reading the prologue. At some point in the near future, I’ll release the first and second chapters, too.
Don’t forget to visit Lokians on Google+
https://plus.google.com/1105749711048...
I don’t know how soon, though, but here’s the prologue to tithe you over. Yes, it’s tithe over, not tie over. A tithe is a tax consisting of ten percent of the community’s income. When the tax collector collects the tithe, the kingdom is tithed over until the next tax collection.
Why am I telling you? I have my reasons…but back to the prologue.
They Lurk Among Us, Lokians 2
The flow of time is not a constant. The limitations of man are not concrete. What can one do once the doors behind reality are opened?
One man is blessed with a gift, burdened by a responsibility; somewhere in the reaches of space-time, he travels, seeking only to continue doing what he knows in his heart is right. Once a respected Naval Captain, now working for The Bureau, Riley O’Hara continues searching for answers.
Eight months prior, in July of 2111, Earth’s Navy surveyed a new planet, one meeting all requirements for colonization. Eon was a celestial body located in the Gemini system, a system of twin suns. For all intents and purposes, it was new Earth.
During the survey mission to Eon’s surface, Captain O’Hara and his special operations team discovered alien beacons. Soon after, Admiral Lay of Earth Navy made first contact with a race of aliens called Thewls. A detailed exchange of information transpired.
The Thewls convened on Eon with the Navy’s spec ops team. During the meet and greet, Humans came to learn that a second race of aliens called Lokians were on the prowl. This devastating force ravaged the galaxy as it destroyed civilizations to harvest technology.
Ambassador Weh of the Thewls proposed a plan. A unified front between men and Thewls was the only solution. Careful deliberations occurred behind closed doors as Admiral Lay slowly sequestered himself from the special operations team’s endeavor. Suddenly, the brash and young Captain O’Hara was in charge of the Humans’ most delicate mission in military history.
He led his team aboard a Thewlian vessel, joining their admiral, Yew, in a search throughout the galaxy for a weapon to wield against the so-called impending threat, the Lokians. Upon its discovery, the weapon was kept secret from nearly everyone on Horizon colony, including Admiral Lay’s second in command, Rear Admiral Shaw. At the end of the ordeal, the Lokian threat was curbed, but the captain did not receive a hero’s welcome. He woke up, injured from the final battle, in a hospital tent. The suns on Eon caressed his face as he looked over his commanding officer. Admiral Lay was concerned. He relayed to O’Hara what had transpired. Only recently conscious, and recovering from his wounds, the young man was shocked to learn the President of the North American Union had decided to shut down Horizon colony.
Unbeknownst to anyone, O’Hara boarded a craft with two agents from The Bureau, Adams and Franklin, whom served under the captain during the Lokian assault. Their whereabouts are currently unknown to both the Navy and President Montrose.
Thanks for reading the prologue. Obviously the Lokians series is scifi. What’s cool about this particular scifi series is the presentation. In the first Lokians book, a few aliens and a little bit of technology were introduced, but for the most part it was just a scifi, military adventure novel.
They Lurk Among Us, however, takes on a new depth. The 2nd Lokians book in the series is almost a sort of spy thriller scifi cross over. There’s a lot of intrigue, intel changing hands, all kinds of people–government officials–doing all kinds of crazy things in order to placate the aliens…but which aliens?
There’s new aliens in They Lurk Among Us. I mean, what’s the point of reading a scifi series without more aliens?
Apart from Humans, Lokians, and Thewls–the races introduced in the first Lokians book–there are Grays, Yvlekesh, and alien hybrids.
Right now, obviously, the book is written. I mean, it was released at one point, but I was never pleased with the end result, and there was nothing to be done while it was published by the small press, but since I got the rights back, and I know how to write now, I’m doing like a fifth round of editing, trying to make sure that everything is just the way I like it, just the way I think my audience will like it.
There’s the intrigue, great dialogue, a few jokes, cool action scenes, all the aliens, and it’s pretty fast paced, too. Thanks again for reading the prologue. At some point in the near future, I’ll release the first and second chapters, too.
Don’t forget to visit Lokians on Google+
https://plus.google.com/1105749711048...
They Lurk Among Us available at Smashwords
They Lurk Among Us is officially for sale at Smashwords!!!
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
The Lokians have been defeated. O'Hara has gone AWOL. His spec ops team has been disbanded and reassigned. The President of the North American Union is working with aliens. Gray-Human hybrids are controlling the Earth from sights unseen, but hope is not lost.
After recovering on Eon, Admiral Lay warned O'Hara of an impending threat, and the young captain left the new planet behind him as he flew through space-time with Adams and Franklin, agents of The Bureau. Now, The Bureau has a new mission for Riley O'Hara, and it involves the Gray Agenda...but what, exactly, is the agenda of mindless, alien drones?
This is military, scifi at its finest! You have never seen aliens like these!
https://plus.google.com/1105749711048...
You can learn more about They Lurk Among Us by downloading a free sample from Smashwords, or you can read excerpts from the Google+ page. You'll also see a ton of aliens, space ships, and all kinds of scifi concept art. You can also visit my web page.
http://www.storiesbydennis.com/?page_...
Where you can not only learn about They Lurk Among Us, but the whole Lokians series; there's even more books of genres apart from scifi. You can even learn how to sell my books, and make money off of me!
You already read and review, right? You already blog and discuss, right? You know that when you talk about books that generates buzz, and that's what sells books, right? You sell books to fans, so why not earn a cut?
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
The Lokians have been defeated. O'Hara has gone AWOL. His spec ops team has been disbanded and reassigned. The President of the North American Union is working with aliens. Gray-Human hybrids are controlling the Earth from sights unseen, but hope is not lost.
After recovering on Eon, Admiral Lay warned O'Hara of an impending threat, and the young captain left the new planet behind him as he flew through space-time with Adams and Franklin, agents of The Bureau. Now, The Bureau has a new mission for Riley O'Hara, and it involves the Gray Agenda...but what, exactly, is the agenda of mindless, alien drones?
This is military, scifi at its finest! You have never seen aliens like these!
https://plus.google.com/1105749711048...
You can learn more about They Lurk Among Us by downloading a free sample from Smashwords, or you can read excerpts from the Google+ page. You'll also see a ton of aliens, space ships, and all kinds of scifi concept art. You can also visit my web page.
http://www.storiesbydennis.com/?page_...
Where you can not only learn about They Lurk Among Us, but the whole Lokians series; there's even more books of genres apart from scifi. You can even learn how to sell my books, and make money off of me!
You already read and review, right? You already blog and discuss, right? You know that when you talk about books that generates buzz, and that's what sells books, right? You sell books to fans, so why not earn a cut?
Hey book reviewers, book bloggers, book vloggers, and voice talent? Earn money reading books!
Calling all voice actors, voice over artists, and book vloggers!
How would you like to keep doing exactly what you’re doing, not a change a damn thing, and earn more money? Did I get your attention?
You’re brilliant, patient, and have a sonorous voice. You use it to convey emotions. It’s your art that elicits our passion, dreams, and aspirations, and rightfully so, you use your talent to earn a living. This is why I want to call your attention and preface the following information by saying that books are turned into movies, television shows, motion comic books, and video games, all of which need voice actors.
Many of you have YouTube accounts, and you showcase your wonderful talent. Every time you read something, a script, a novel, a short story, a review, anything, you post the video to YouTube, and your channel draws numerous visitors and subscribers.
By utilizing Google AdSense and other third party advertisers, you generate income, and that’s great. Sometimes, you sell your services to companies like Audible, and you perform readings of books, but what if there was an additional way to augment your income, which required absolutely no more work, no more effort, than what you’re already putting into your occupation?
What if on top of augmenting your income, you were also able to create more and more videos to showcase your stunning talent? You also want to get more likes and subscribers to your YouTube channel, right?
Peep this reading of The Dragon of Time, Gods and Dragons.
https://wildsoundfestivalreview.com/2...
This book and performance was the winner of a book reading, but what if you had a chance to read this book, any book, out loud and upload it to your YouTube account. Your performance certainly sells that book to interested readers, right? You certainly deserve compensation for your efforts, don’t you? With more videos, you’ll surely get more likes and subscribers to your YouTube channel, and that means more exposure, more income.
What if you were paid every time that a book sold a copy? What if every time that a book sold, you earned a dollar? A dollar isn’t much, but if you add that dollar to the income you already earn from ads, it’s a great bonus, especially if you sold multiple books regularly. Ten books a day is suddenly ten dollars a day, that’s an additional $300 a month…not to mention that the additional likes and subscribers means more revenue from Google AdSense.
Here’s what I’m doing, and here’s where I want you to participate and earn more money by reading books, performing, selling books, and getting more likes and subscribers to your YouTube channel.
Smashwords books have affiliate referral links on their buy pages. Down at the bottom of the Smashwords page for They Lurk Among Us, Lokians 2, the second book of the Lokians scifi series, you can plainly see a URL, and you can also see that you can earn 25% of the sale.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Not all Smashwords authors provide such a high referral income, but I do, and sometimes, I offer more than 25%, but never less, so if you perform a reading of They Lurk Among Us, Lokians 2, and people see your performance, and they buy They Lurk Among Us, Lokians 2 through your referral link, you earn a dollar from the sale, and you earn more money than just utilizing Google AdSense.
Now, imagine performing a reading of hundreds of books, books you don’t even have to purchase because you can download free samples of the books, and choose your preferred section to perform. For absolutely no cost, you can download a free sample of any of my books, perform a reading, and place your referral URL in that YouTube video, and then when people buy that book because of your performance, you earn more money.
Easy income, right? Free income from downloading free samples of great books!
There’s no hassle, no cost, and you’re just doing what you already love doing, speaking!
You do need to make a Smashwords account, but the account is free, and then your special referral URL automatically appears at the bottom of every book’s buy page, and all you do is place that URL in the video description or in the video itself.
In order to receive your compensation, you just link your Paypal account to your Smashwords account; it’s all free, it’s all easy, it requires no additional work or money, and there are thousands of free stories you can also download and read—all genres; scifi, fantasy, romance, horror.
How much fun would it be to just read stories for a living?
Here’s a link to my page on Smashwords, so that you can see all of my stories, and they are of numerous genres.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
Many of them are free, but if you perform a reading of those titles, and upload your performance to your YouTube channel, you can earn easy money through the ad revenue. Then, to augment your earnings, you can download the free portions of my priced books, and perform those readings, too. Just add the referral URL to your video, and when people buy the book through your link, you get paid.
Sounds easy? Sounds too good to be true? Sounds like affiliate marketing? It is easy easy. It is not too good to be true. It is affiliate marketing—affiliate marketing simplified.
No third party software, no pay per click, no extra work or effort, absolutely no cost to you, but you get all the benefits; you get a free story or sample, you get to stretch your vocal muscles, you get to showcase your talents, you get to add videos for more ad revenue, and likes, and subscribers, and you get to enjoy fantasy, scifi, horror, romance, whatever, and you get free money whenever anyone purchases a book through your link.
You can do this for any book you want, but remember that most Smashwords authors won’t be giving you 25% or more of their sales, but even the customary 11% is nice.
Think about it. If you’re already a YouTube hit, everyone will come to view your readings. If you’re not a YouTube hit…yet, you can certainly become one by adding numerous performances—just imagine having hundreds of videos on your YouTube account all from various genres; scifi, fantasy, horror, romance, whatever you want, and so you can showcase your range, and all the while, you earn tons of cash and exposure.
You already love voice acting. You are an actor, a voice actor, and if you so choose, you can showcase your acting talents by staging actual performances with a group of friends—group readings, whatever you want. There are no limits to what you can accomplish with this wonderful opportunity, and we all benefit.
Maybe, you’re not a voice actor. Maybe, you’re just a reader, a lover of the written word, and you enjoy reviewing your favorite books on your book review vlog. You can still earn an income through both Google AdSense and Smashwords referral URLs—affiliate marketing simplified. Like I said, we all benefit.
I benefit because you’re giving me exposure. You benefit because you earn a cut of my profits, you earn more through more ads, and voice actors can certainly land more jobs from the added exposure. To top it off, fans of reading benefit from learning of new material.
If you’d like more information, you can check out this post as well.
http://www.storiesbydennis.com/?p=860
You can also see that more and more people are searching for simplified affiliate marketing—more people are finding ways to earn money by doing what they love, free from the shackles of laborious jobs.
You definitely want to jump on this before the competition gets heavy, and I promise you, in about six months, a year, everyone will be reading books on YouTube, selling books on YouTube, reviewing books on YouTube.
Look at all the book review vlogs! It won’t be long before all the book review vloggers learn they can earn an actual living by doing what they’re already doing—selling books to consumers by reviewing them in vlog format. I also know people are taking advantage of streaming, so stream some readings, and provide the referral URL on your website, blog, or social media accounts!
Yup, this isn’t just a call to professional, voice actors; this is a call to anyone with a voice, anyone who enjoys reading, anyone who enjoys reviewing, speaking, acting.
Start earning more money today by reading books, streaming, making videos, and making vlogs. It’s your performance, your art, your interest, your passion that sells books, so earn more by doing what you already love, and at no cost, no additional effort.
Book review vloggers, when you review A Song of Ice and Fire, does Bantam pay you? Does George Martin? No, but people, your fans, certainly by those books because of your praise. Does J.K. Rowling pay you whenever you read or praise Harry Potter on your review site or review vlog? No, but I will; every time you review a book, and it sells, it sells because of your hard work, and you deserve a cut of the profit.
Start earning more money today. Streaming, blogs, vlogs—the internet is designed for you to take advantage of what you love doing; you can earn more doing what you love and without having to beg people to donate to your crowdfund campaign, or YouTube channel, or website, or whatever.
Now is the time to break away from the mainstream crap. This is the indie age, an age where anyone can earn money by providing the world a service, and your service is one of the best. Show the world what you can do, what you enjoy, get exposure, and start earning more money.
How would you like to keep doing exactly what you’re doing, not a change a damn thing, and earn more money? Did I get your attention?
You’re brilliant, patient, and have a sonorous voice. You use it to convey emotions. It’s your art that elicits our passion, dreams, and aspirations, and rightfully so, you use your talent to earn a living. This is why I want to call your attention and preface the following information by saying that books are turned into movies, television shows, motion comic books, and video games, all of which need voice actors.
Many of you have YouTube accounts, and you showcase your wonderful talent. Every time you read something, a script, a novel, a short story, a review, anything, you post the video to YouTube, and your channel draws numerous visitors and subscribers.
By utilizing Google AdSense and other third party advertisers, you generate income, and that’s great. Sometimes, you sell your services to companies like Audible, and you perform readings of books, but what if there was an additional way to augment your income, which required absolutely no more work, no more effort, than what you’re already putting into your occupation?
What if on top of augmenting your income, you were also able to create more and more videos to showcase your stunning talent? You also want to get more likes and subscribers to your YouTube channel, right?
Peep this reading of The Dragon of Time, Gods and Dragons.
https://wildsoundfestivalreview.com/2...
This book and performance was the winner of a book reading, but what if you had a chance to read this book, any book, out loud and upload it to your YouTube account. Your performance certainly sells that book to interested readers, right? You certainly deserve compensation for your efforts, don’t you? With more videos, you’ll surely get more likes and subscribers to your YouTube channel, and that means more exposure, more income.
What if you were paid every time that a book sold a copy? What if every time that a book sold, you earned a dollar? A dollar isn’t much, but if you add that dollar to the income you already earn from ads, it’s a great bonus, especially if you sold multiple books regularly. Ten books a day is suddenly ten dollars a day, that’s an additional $300 a month…not to mention that the additional likes and subscribers means more revenue from Google AdSense.
Here’s what I’m doing, and here’s where I want you to participate and earn more money by reading books, performing, selling books, and getting more likes and subscribers to your YouTube channel.
Smashwords books have affiliate referral links on their buy pages. Down at the bottom of the Smashwords page for They Lurk Among Us, Lokians 2, the second book of the Lokians scifi series, you can plainly see a URL, and you can also see that you can earn 25% of the sale.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Not all Smashwords authors provide such a high referral income, but I do, and sometimes, I offer more than 25%, but never less, so if you perform a reading of They Lurk Among Us, Lokians 2, and people see your performance, and they buy They Lurk Among Us, Lokians 2 through your referral link, you earn a dollar from the sale, and you earn more money than just utilizing Google AdSense.
Now, imagine performing a reading of hundreds of books, books you don’t even have to purchase because you can download free samples of the books, and choose your preferred section to perform. For absolutely no cost, you can download a free sample of any of my books, perform a reading, and place your referral URL in that YouTube video, and then when people buy that book because of your performance, you earn more money.
Easy income, right? Free income from downloading free samples of great books!
There’s no hassle, no cost, and you’re just doing what you already love doing, speaking!
You do need to make a Smashwords account, but the account is free, and then your special referral URL automatically appears at the bottom of every book’s buy page, and all you do is place that URL in the video description or in the video itself.
In order to receive your compensation, you just link your Paypal account to your Smashwords account; it’s all free, it’s all easy, it requires no additional work or money, and there are thousands of free stories you can also download and read—all genres; scifi, fantasy, romance, horror.
How much fun would it be to just read stories for a living?
Here’s a link to my page on Smashwords, so that you can see all of my stories, and they are of numerous genres.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
Many of them are free, but if you perform a reading of those titles, and upload your performance to your YouTube channel, you can earn easy money through the ad revenue. Then, to augment your earnings, you can download the free portions of my priced books, and perform those readings, too. Just add the referral URL to your video, and when people buy the book through your link, you get paid.
Sounds easy? Sounds too good to be true? Sounds like affiliate marketing? It is easy easy. It is not too good to be true. It is affiliate marketing—affiliate marketing simplified.
No third party software, no pay per click, no extra work or effort, absolutely no cost to you, but you get all the benefits; you get a free story or sample, you get to stretch your vocal muscles, you get to showcase your talents, you get to add videos for more ad revenue, and likes, and subscribers, and you get to enjoy fantasy, scifi, horror, romance, whatever, and you get free money whenever anyone purchases a book through your link.
You can do this for any book you want, but remember that most Smashwords authors won’t be giving you 25% or more of their sales, but even the customary 11% is nice.
Think about it. If you’re already a YouTube hit, everyone will come to view your readings. If you’re not a YouTube hit…yet, you can certainly become one by adding numerous performances—just imagine having hundreds of videos on your YouTube account all from various genres; scifi, fantasy, horror, romance, whatever you want, and so you can showcase your range, and all the while, you earn tons of cash and exposure.
You already love voice acting. You are an actor, a voice actor, and if you so choose, you can showcase your acting talents by staging actual performances with a group of friends—group readings, whatever you want. There are no limits to what you can accomplish with this wonderful opportunity, and we all benefit.
Maybe, you’re not a voice actor. Maybe, you’re just a reader, a lover of the written word, and you enjoy reviewing your favorite books on your book review vlog. You can still earn an income through both Google AdSense and Smashwords referral URLs—affiliate marketing simplified. Like I said, we all benefit.
I benefit because you’re giving me exposure. You benefit because you earn a cut of my profits, you earn more through more ads, and voice actors can certainly land more jobs from the added exposure. To top it off, fans of reading benefit from learning of new material.
If you’d like more information, you can check out this post as well.
http://www.storiesbydennis.com/?p=860
You can also see that more and more people are searching for simplified affiliate marketing—more people are finding ways to earn money by doing what they love, free from the shackles of laborious jobs.
You definitely want to jump on this before the competition gets heavy, and I promise you, in about six months, a year, everyone will be reading books on YouTube, selling books on YouTube, reviewing books on YouTube.
Look at all the book review vlogs! It won’t be long before all the book review vloggers learn they can earn an actual living by doing what they’re already doing—selling books to consumers by reviewing them in vlog format. I also know people are taking advantage of streaming, so stream some readings, and provide the referral URL on your website, blog, or social media accounts!
Yup, this isn’t just a call to professional, voice actors; this is a call to anyone with a voice, anyone who enjoys reading, anyone who enjoys reviewing, speaking, acting.
Start earning more money today by reading books, streaming, making videos, and making vlogs. It’s your performance, your art, your interest, your passion that sells books, so earn more by doing what you already love, and at no cost, no additional effort.
Book review vloggers, when you review A Song of Ice and Fire, does Bantam pay you? Does George Martin? No, but people, your fans, certainly by those books because of your praise. Does J.K. Rowling pay you whenever you read or praise Harry Potter on your review site or review vlog? No, but I will; every time you review a book, and it sells, it sells because of your hard work, and you deserve a cut of the profit.
Start earning more money today. Streaming, blogs, vlogs—the internet is designed for you to take advantage of what you love doing; you can earn more doing what you love and without having to beg people to donate to your crowdfund campaign, or YouTube channel, or website, or whatever.
Now is the time to break away from the mainstream crap. This is the indie age, an age where anyone can earn money by providing the world a service, and your service is one of the best. Show the world what you can do, what you enjoy, get exposure, and start earning more money.
Preorder War and Glory, Lokians 3
Finally, the entirety of the Lokians scifi series has been re-written and re-released. Right now, and for a limited time only, you can preorder your copy of War and Glory, Lokians 3 for only 99 cents. This price will increase after the book's release on September 3rd, so get in on it now.
Also, if you still haven't gotten a jump on the Lokians scifi series, Beyond the End of the World, Lokians one is free for download. Below is a link to all three in the series from both their Smashwords pages and their Barnes and Noble pages.
Beyond the of the World Smashwords link -
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Barnes and Noble link-
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beyo...
They Lurk Among Us Smashwords link-
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Barnes and Noble link-
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/they...
War and Glory Smashwords link-
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Barnes and Noble link-
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/war-...
If you're still no sure about the series, try reading these blurbs.
Beyond the End of the World blurb-
Intelligent races travel through wormholes to explore the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Thewls inform Humans of a looming threat. Lokians are a ravenous race of space bugs. They harvest technology from advanced civilizations and integrate with it to mass produce living ships, dangerous vanguards, and formidable legions.
Captain O’Hara of Phoenix Crew travels with Thewls to retrieve an ancient vessel from a mysterious race simply known as travelers. Can a single craft be the key to saving the galaxy? Why do Thewls believe the travelers once visited Earth? Does O’Hara and Phoenix Crew have what it takes to obliterate the space bugs?
They Lurk Among Us blurb-
The Lokians have been defeated. O’Hara has gone AWOL. His spec ops team has been disbanded and reassigned. The President of the North American Union is working with aliens. Gray-Human hybrids are controlling the Earth from sights unseen, but hope is not lost.
After recovering on Eon, Admiral Lay warned O’Hara of an impending threat, and the young captain left the new planet behind him as he flew through space-time with Adams and Franklin, agents of The Bureau. Now, The Bureau has a new mission for Riley O’Hara, and it involves the Gray Agenda…but what, exactly, is the agenda of mindless, alien drones?
War and Glory blurb-
Gray motherships have penetrated Earth’s atmosphere. Intel suggests the aliens are searching for NOAHH, a Non-Organic Alien Human Hybrid, yet the Gray Agenda insinuates the aliens wish to subdue Humans; why, then, are they destroying Earth and evac ships?
Riley believes only the traveler can reveal the answer, but knowledge is never what one expects.
In the face of a new Lokian threat, two factions of Grays, an elusive Reptilian, and hybrids lurking within Earth’s own government, Phoenix Crew must gather old allies, forge new allegiances, and exterminate numerous threats all at once.
Is such a thing possible? Is there , really, any glory in war? Or is this the end of Earth?
Be sure to visit my scifi page!
http://www.storiesbydennis.com/?page_...
Also, if you still haven't gotten a jump on the Lokians scifi series, Beyond the End of the World, Lokians one is free for download. Below is a link to all three in the series from both their Smashwords pages and their Barnes and Noble pages.
Beyond the of the World Smashwords link -
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Barnes and Noble link-
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beyo...
They Lurk Among Us Smashwords link-
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Barnes and Noble link-
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/they...
War and Glory Smashwords link-
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Barnes and Noble link-
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/war-...
If you're still no sure about the series, try reading these blurbs.
Beyond the End of the World blurb-
Intelligent races travel through wormholes to explore the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Thewls inform Humans of a looming threat. Lokians are a ravenous race of space bugs. They harvest technology from advanced civilizations and integrate with it to mass produce living ships, dangerous vanguards, and formidable legions.
Captain O’Hara of Phoenix Crew travels with Thewls to retrieve an ancient vessel from a mysterious race simply known as travelers. Can a single craft be the key to saving the galaxy? Why do Thewls believe the travelers once visited Earth? Does O’Hara and Phoenix Crew have what it takes to obliterate the space bugs?
They Lurk Among Us blurb-
The Lokians have been defeated. O’Hara has gone AWOL. His spec ops team has been disbanded and reassigned. The President of the North American Union is working with aliens. Gray-Human hybrids are controlling the Earth from sights unseen, but hope is not lost.
After recovering on Eon, Admiral Lay warned O’Hara of an impending threat, and the young captain left the new planet behind him as he flew through space-time with Adams and Franklin, agents of The Bureau. Now, The Bureau has a new mission for Riley O’Hara, and it involves the Gray Agenda…but what, exactly, is the agenda of mindless, alien drones?
War and Glory blurb-
Gray motherships have penetrated Earth’s atmosphere. Intel suggests the aliens are searching for NOAHH, a Non-Organic Alien Human Hybrid, yet the Gray Agenda insinuates the aliens wish to subdue Humans; why, then, are they destroying Earth and evac ships?
Riley believes only the traveler can reveal the answer, but knowledge is never what one expects.
In the face of a new Lokian threat, two factions of Grays, an elusive Reptilian, and hybrids lurking within Earth’s own government, Phoenix Crew must gather old allies, forge new allegiances, and exterminate numerous threats all at once.
Is such a thing possible? Is there , really, any glory in war? Or is this the end of Earth?
Be sure to visit my scifi page!
http://www.storiesbydennis.com/?page_...
