S.A. Check's Blog, page 9

Welcome To GreenGrass is now available

My novel is up and available over at my publisher's website Necropublications.com and all major eBook retailers. A quick run down of the story is below and some of the great endorsements I've received so far. A special thanks to everyone who contributed. You are all awesome! I hope you'll check the book out!  Have a happy Thanksgiving!!!

John Traveller never asked to be ripped from his life as a police detective on Earth. He definitely never expected to find himself trapped inside a patchwork alien city of magic and technology, locked down under an impenetrable dome. But when a high profile death rocks the citizenry of GreenGrass, Traveller is forced into the middle of a brewing civil war between the city’s two dominating factions.

Racing beneath the city’s twin red moons, on a search for a cloaked stranger, Traveller and his team consisting of a pacifist demon, a cast out demi-god, and a telepathic female, find themselves drawn into dark alleys and guarded secrets, facing bestial street predators, techno-assassins, amphibious conmen, and a vampire acting troupe. The answers they discover may save their new home or bring the walls of the dome crumbling down around them all.

“Author S.A. Check bursts onto the Science Fiction scene on fire, as if he’s got a vendetta against boring purple prose. You’ll get none of that contempo trash with Welcome to GreenGrass —as Check weaves a sinister tale of intrigue and murder against a decidedly hostile alien landscape. Elements of noir fiction and otherworldly skullduggery combine to create an impressive, intoxicating mix of die-hard action and teeth-chattering suspense. Just when you think Check can’t possibly show us more—the author pulls back, reloads and blows us away again. Exciting as it is intricate, Welcome to GreenGrass is an excellent sci-fi novel for any fan… A book you’ll proudly display amongst your collection of Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury classics.”
— Ian MacMillan, Founder InveterateMediaJunkies.com

“What would you do if you woke up in a strange world filled with futuristic technology, high sorcery, and fantastic alien creatures? Would your first question be “am I dead?” or would you assume you’d gone crazy? Welcome to GreenGrass answers those questions with a colorful story that combines elements of J.K. Rowling, R.L. Stine, and Mickey Spilane into a wholly original tale. With new creatures, threats, and mysteries on every page, it is easy to find yourself being drawn into the alien world of John Traveler.”
—James Kuhoric, author of Freddy vs Jason vs Ash and The Six Million Dollar Man Season Six

“Men in Black meets interplanetary Columbo in S.A. Check’s sci-fi adventure novel Welcome To GreenGrass. Fascinating, detailed world-building, compelling characters and a mystery that keeps the pages turning—sure to be on must-read lists everywhere!”
—Lyndi Alexander, author of Windmills and the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot series

“A man on a mission, tough and resourceful John Traveller strides purposefully through the richly detailed alien domed city of GreenGrass in S.A. Check’s gripping debut novel. A suspenseful mystery drives the story, but the diversity of well-imagined characters—from a haughty telepath and an unruly demi-god to cyber-enhanced assassins—who are plunged into constant action will keep readers turning these sizzling pages.”
—Nancy Martin, author of the bestselling Blackbird Sisters mystery series published by Penguin

“Fall into the weird and wonderful world of GreenGrass, the strangest “afterlife” you could ever be condemned to. Intriguing, with a darkly humorous edge, this sci-fi murder mystery where magic and technology clash will keep you hooked from the first dark alleyway to your final encounter. A captivating read you’ll find difficult to escape from!"
—Pippa Jay, author of Gethyon, and 2012 SFR Galaxy Award Winner

“An intriguing world, imaginative characters and a tale that’s just begging to be told.”
—T.K. Toppin, author of The Lancaster Trilogy and To Catch A Marlin series

Stein Snippet #7

          Hi everyone!  It’s been a crazy couple weeks.  The launch of my novel, Welcome to GreenGrass, is fast approaching.  It’s available for pre-order now over at necropublications.com.  It’ll be available next week for paperback and eBook download.  Exciting stuff and I hope you check it out.  Now for this week’s snippet from Stein (I finally chose a title – you’ll see why soon enough).  We left poor Annie alone in her alley with the zombie horde that was chasing her and closing fast.  In a last act of defiance, she threw her only weapon, a bottle, at the approaching mob of rotting flesh.  Luckily sometimes fate has a way of intervening.  Enjoy.___________________________________________
          The bottled hurtled through the air, moving in slow motion, as Annie pulled her arms up to guard her face.  The sound of metal ripping free from metal pierced her ears.  Peeking from between her elbows, she watched the side of the garbage dumpster explode, tearing free and smashing into the oncoming horde.  The wall of shrapnel tore into the mass, separating arms and heads, as limbs slammed into the alley walls.  Those not directly in its path of dismemberment toppled backwards, creating a wall of squirming flesh. 
          One of the errant appendages struck Annie’s waist, knocking the breath from her as she dropped to her knees.     
          Gasping for air and fighting back the dull pain in her gut, she watched as a crumpled figured emerged from remains of the dumpster.  Her eyes filled with tears as she watched a hand emerge from the patch-worked blanket approaching her.
          “No die.” The voice snarled.
          Who is this mystery stranger?  And what does this mean for Annie’s chance of survival?  Tune in next week to find out.  Leave a comment on your out.  They’re always appreciated.  Make sure you stop and check out all the other great snippets at the main site - scififansat.blogspot.com -and don’t forget to check out the link for Welcome to GreenGrass on my blog.  Thanks and see you in seven!

Snippet Stein 11/22/13

          Hi everyone!  It’s been a crazy couple weeks.  The launch of my novel, Welcome to GreenGrass, is fast approaching.  It’s available for pre-order now over at necropublications.com.  It’ll be available next week for paperback and eBook download.  Exciting stuff and I hope you check it out.  Now for this week’s snippet from Stein (I finally chose a title – you’ll see why soon enough).  We left poor Annie alone in her alley with the zombie horde that was chasing her and closing fast.  In a last act of defiance, she threw her only weapon, a bottle, at the approaching mob of rotting flesh.  Luckily sometimes fate has a way of intervening.  Enjoy.___________________________________________
          The bottled hurtled through the air, moving in slow motion, as Annie pulled her arms up to guard her face.  The sound of metal ripping free from metal pierced her ears.  Peeking from between her elbows, she watched the side of the garbage dumpster explode, tearing free and smashing into the oncoming horde.  The wall of shrapnel tore into the mass, separating arms and heads, as limbs slammed into the alley walls.  Those not directly in its path of dismemberment toppled backwards, creating a wall of squirming flesh. 
          One of the errant appendages struck Annie’s waist, knocking the breath from her as she dropped to her knees.     
          Gasping for air and fighting back the dull pain in her gut, she watched as a crumpled figured emerged from remains of the dumpster.  Her eyes filled with tears as she watched a hand emerge from the patch-worked blanket approaching her.
          “No die.” The voice snarled.
          Who is this mystery stranger?  And what does this mean for Annie’s chance of survival?  Tune in next week to find out.  Leave a comment on your out.  They’re always appreciated.  Make sure you stop and check out all the other great snippets at the main site - scififansat.blogspot.com -and don’t forget to check out the link for Welcome to GreenGrass on my blog.  Thanks and see you in seven!

Welcome to GreenGrass - Pre-Order

My novel - Welcome To GreenGrass - is now available for pre-order over at necropublications.myshopify.com.  Very exciting time and I hope you stop over to take a look at it.  It will be available for ebook and paperback soon.  The cover art by Travis Anthony Soumis was just outstanding and really captured the team atmosphere of the book.  He really did a fantastic job with it.

David Barnett and Necro Publications have been an awesome publishing company to work with and I can't say enough good things about them.  Getting to release this book under their Bedlam Press imprint has been a smooth and flawless process thanks to David's experience and expertise as a publisher.  He's been in the business for somewhere around twenty years and it shows.

As soon the book officially releases, I'll update here and any other news that comes up along the way.  Thanks to everyone for all their support.

Stein Snippet #6

Well, Halloween has come and gone.  The goblins and ghouls have went home but we’re still cranking out the stories over at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday, a group of authors and writers providing entertaining writing snippets for the masses.  Make sure you stop over at SciFiFanSat.blogspot.com to check them all out.  This week, we’re still following Annie trapped in the alley with only a broken bottle to save her and the zombies are closing in.  Will she make it out alive?  Or undead?  Guess we’ll have to read on to find out.  If you haven’t been following this latest collection of snippets, check out the previous ones posted here.  Enjoy!____________________________________________________________           The herd of zombies rushed in, each looking to be the first to taste fresh blood.  Thirty feet out and the post-mortem paramedic was pulled back into the surging pack.
          Annie pulled the jagged edge of the glass up to her neck.  She could feel the sharp bite against her skin.
          Twenty feet out and Annie saw the froth forming on their mouths.  The smell of decayed and rotted flesh filled the air in the cramped space.  Blood trickled down her neck as the bottle cut deeper.
          Ten feet and she could feel the ground shake under their collective stomp.
          Annie pulled the glass away and flung it at her attackers.
          “Eat this!”_________________________________________________________          Poor Annie – I bet she wished this would move along faster than ten sentences a clip but that’s what makes it so much fun.  Comments are always appreciated.  Have a great weekend and see you in seven!

SciFiFanSat - 11/02/13

Well, Halloween has come and gone.  The goblins and ghouls have went home but we’re still cranking out the stories over at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday, a group of authors and writers providing entertaining writing snippets for the masses.  Make sure you stop over at SciFiFanSat.blogspot.com to check them all out.  This week, we’re still following Annie trapped in the alley with only a broken bottle to save her and the zombies are closing in.  Will she make it out alive?  Or undead?  Guess we’ll have to read on to find out.  If you haven’t been following this latest collection of snippets, check out the previous ones posted here.  Enjoy!____________________________________________________________           The herd of zombies rushed in, each looking to be the first to taste fresh blood.  Thirty feet out and the post-mortem paramedic was pulled back into the surging pack.
          Annie pulled the jagged edge of the glass up to her neck.  She could feel the sharp bite against her skin.
          Twenty feet out and Annie saw the froth forming on their mouths.  The smell of decayed and rotted flesh filled the air in the cramped space.  Blood trickled down her neck as the bottle cut deeper.
          Ten feet and she could feel the ground shake under their collective stomp.
          Annie pulled the glass away and flung it at her attackers.
          “Eat this!”_________________________________________________________          Poor Annie – I bet she wished this would move along faster than ten sentences a clip but that’s what makes it so much fun.  Comments are always appreciated.  Have a great weekend and see you in seven!

Stein Snippet #5

         
Halloween is just around the corner and the crew here at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday are prepping with a new round of snippets fresh for the reading.  What better place to get your dragon/zombie/alien/assassin/bump-in-the-night fixes?  Make sure you check out all the great pieces over at the main site – SciFiFanSat.blogspot.com.  My short this week is still following Annie, trapped in an alley as a hungry pack of zombies closes in.  Feel free to check out the prior snippets from this same story posted here.  Enjoy!
          Annie searched for a weapon, a club, a pipe, a rusty nail, anything lying at her feet.  She saw the small medical kit, its contents spewed across the alley’s floor, a few bandages, some salve, and antibiotics, nothing that would save her own life in these circumstances.  She never thought of herself as a hero, but sacrificing her life in an effort to save a ten year old boy that she’d only known for a matter of weeks, staring at the herd of monstrosities looking to tear her flesh from her bones, she’d have taken the same chances.
          She picked up a broken bottle and turned.  At least she hoped to take one or two of them down with her.  The glass shook in her hand.
          “Come on!  I haven’t got all night!”
          And there you have it.  I promise the story will move out of the alley eventually but I am having fun taking it ten sentences at a clip.  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.  Enjoy the week leading up to Halloween and see you in seven.

SciFiFanSat Post - 10/25/13

         
Halloween is just around the corner and the crew here at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday are prepping with a new round of snippets fresh for the reading.  What better place to get your dragon/zombie/alien/assassin/bump-in-the-night fixes?  Make sure you check out all the great pieces over at the main site – SciFiFanSat.blogspot.com.  My short this week is still following Annie, trapped in an alley as a hungry pack of zombies closes in.  Feel free to check out the prior snippets from this same story posted here.  Enjoy!
          Annie searched for a weapon, a club, a pipe, a rusty nail, anything lying at her feet.  She saw the small medical kit, its contents spewed across the alley’s floor, a few bandages, some salve, and antibiotics, nothing that would save her own life in these circumstances.  She never thought of herself as a hero, but sacrificing her life in an effort to save a ten year old boy that she’d only known for a matter of weeks, staring at the herd of monstrosities looking to tear her flesh from her bones, she’d have taken the same chances.
          She picked up a broken bottle and turned.  At least she hoped to take one or two of them down with her.  The glass shook in her hand.
          “Come on!  I haven’t got all night!”
          And there you have it.  I promise the story will move out of the alley eventually but I am having fun taking it ten sentences at a clip.  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.  Enjoy the week leading up to Halloween and see you in seven.

Stein Snippet #4

        Hi all!  Welcome to another Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday.  What we have here…is not a failure to communicate.  It’s a band of authors and writers who enjoy sharing snippets of their various science fiction and fantasy works, which equates to good readin’ fun.  I’ve been sharing from a WIP story I’m writing just for the SFFSAT crowd, still untitled at this point.  To catch everyone up to speed – Annie is trapped in an alley and a zombie horde is hot on her heels.  Nowhere to run, and there’s something creepy in the dumpster.  Not her best night.  I hope you enjoy.  Please stop over at the main site – scififansat.blogspot.com to check out all the great snippets contributed by an even greater group of writers over there.____________________________________________                When Annie first learned the dead could talk, she cursed every zombie movie she’d ever watched.  It wasn’t creepy enough to have animated corpses hunting down every beating heart they could catch a whiff of, but the color commentary they spewed while doing it sent extra chills down her spine.  A limited vocabulary at best, Annie felt their words were more verbalizing some kind of primal urges than actually looking to carry on a conversation but it still freaked her out.
          A second zombie collided with its orange suited cohort, smashing its face into the wall.  One by one, more of the pack filtered into the alley until over a dozen hunting corpses sniffed wildly into the night air.  Mostly men, a few women, and one child no more than fourteen, scoured for the source of their anticipation.  More eyes focused on Annie as she stood braced against the alley wall.
          Illness and old age had become the new American dream and the prospect of making it through any given day proved a crap shoot.  Still, when death stared you in the eye, you were never ready.
          Hope you enjoyed.  If you could, leave a comment in passing.  They’re always appreciated and help fuel the writing process.  Have a great weekend! 

SciFiFanPost - 10/19/13

        Hi all!  Welcome to another Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday.  What we have here…is not a failure to communicate.  It’s a band of authors and writers who enjoy sharing snippets of their various science fiction and fantasy works, which equates to good readin’ fun.  I’ve been sharing from a WIP story I’m writing just for the SFFSAT crowd, still untitled at this point.  To catch everyone up to speed – Annie is trapped in an alley and a zombie horde is hot on her heels.  Nowhere to run, and there’s something creepy in the dumpster.  Not her best night.  I hope you enjoy.  Please stop over at the main site – scififansat.blogspot.com to check out all the great snippets contributed by an even greater group of writers over there.____________________________________________                When Annie first learned the dead could talk, she cursed every zombie movie she’d ever watched.  It wasn’t creepy enough to have animated corpses hunting down every beating heart they could catch a whiff of, but the color commentary they spewed while doing it sent extra chills down her spine.  A limited vocabulary at best, Annie felt their words were more verbalizing some kind of primal urges than actually looking to carry on a conversation but it still freaked her out.
          A second zombie collided with its orange suited cohort, smashing its face into the wall.  One by one, more of the pack filtered into the alley until over a dozen hunting corpses sniffed wildly into the night air.  Mostly men, a few women, and one child no more than fourteen, scoured for the source of their anticipation.  More eyes focused on Annie as she stood braced against the alley wall.
          Illness and old age had become the new American dream and the prospect of making it through any given day proved a crap shoot.  Still, when death stared you in the eye, you were never ready.
          Hope you enjoyed.  If you could, leave a comment in passing.  They’re always appreciated and help fuel the writing process.  Have a great weekend!