Brian K. Larson's Blog: Author, Brian K. Larson Blog, page 3
February 24, 2014
Been Busy Writing and more Writing
Hey Everyone,
Thought I'd drop ya all a note to let you know what I've been up to.
I'm around, here and there. Sometimes you'll find me between the tick and the tock, but if you look hard enough, you'll find me.
I've been very busy writing this new series, Salvage-5. I'm already over 11,000 words and starting chapter 4 today. This is going to be in the SciFi Techno Thriller category and is an introduction to my next series, A.M.P. - Amplified Mental Projection (Phase 1 - the Gamma Project). Salvage-5 will be a novella, in that it won't be much larger than 40k or 50k words.
I've also been making changes in the Secret of the Crystal franchise.
As of yesterday, I've decided to go 100% Kindle Select and have already taken them down for Smashwords and Nook, and the rest will be removed in a week.
Book 1 will be added to prime once it's done with latest round of editing.
This will provide a better read (I do take notes from your feedback), and gives me the availability for my books to be in the lending Kindle Lending Library and access to more readers.
The first release is going through another round of editing and books 2 & 3 are being done by a new beta reader. Someone pinged me over the weekend that I've knew back in high school. We we've been friends on facebook for a couple of years, and he asked if I needed any help with editing. Very nice, since the short answer is "YES". If I remember correctly, this guy was actually in one of my english classes that I failed three times. I'm sure he remembers the hell I was put through by the infamous Mrs. Scoogle (yes, that was her real name).
Now back to writing like a mad man. ...and from a 1980's TV show (which I'll be using somewhere in Salvage-5) "I love it when a plan comes together."
From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
Thought I'd drop ya all a note to let you know what I've been up to.
I'm around, here and there. Sometimes you'll find me between the tick and the tock, but if you look hard enough, you'll find me.
I've been very busy writing this new series, Salvage-5. I'm already over 11,000 words and starting chapter 4 today. This is going to be in the SciFi Techno Thriller category and is an introduction to my next series, A.M.P. - Amplified Mental Projection (Phase 1 - the Gamma Project). Salvage-5 will be a novella, in that it won't be much larger than 40k or 50k words.
I've also been making changes in the Secret of the Crystal franchise.
As of yesterday, I've decided to go 100% Kindle Select and have already taken them down for Smashwords and Nook, and the rest will be removed in a week.
Book 1 will be added to prime once it's done with latest round of editing.
This will provide a better read (I do take notes from your feedback), and gives me the availability for my books to be in the lending Kindle Lending Library and access to more readers.
The first release is going through another round of editing and books 2 & 3 are being done by a new beta reader. Someone pinged me over the weekend that I've knew back in high school. We we've been friends on facebook for a couple of years, and he asked if I needed any help with editing. Very nice, since the short answer is "YES". If I remember correctly, this guy was actually in one of my english classes that I failed three times. I'm sure he remembers the hell I was put through by the infamous Mrs. Scoogle (yes, that was her real name).
Now back to writing like a mad man. ...and from a 1980's TV show (which I'll be using somewhere in Salvage-5) "I love it when a plan comes together."
From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
February 16, 2014
Debut of SALVAGE-5
Greetings one and all,
With the completion last week of Secret of the Crystal V -The Rune, I have begun my new series. Its going to be a SciFi techno thriller.
I have completed the Prologue and have posted it here for your sampling.
Enjoy,
from the Author's Chair
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
With the completion last week of Secret of the Crystal V -The Rune, I have begun my new series. Its going to be a SciFi techno thriller.
I have completed the Prologue and have posted it here for your sampling.
Enjoy,
from the Author's Chair
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
For centuries man has gazed up into the heavens and wondered what the stars might hold. It has been nearly a hundred years since the first Apollo landing on the moon in 1969. Man’s drive to discover space travel, and its mysteries, held an unquenchable thirst. Their desire to expand outside the limits of the confines of Earth finally had come to fruition with the need of finding valuable resources. Thus, mining the asteroid field became a reality with their latest technological advances.
* * *
Salvage-4
Mission: CSMO RECOVERY
Location: Kirkwood Gap – Asteroid 15 Eunamin
Earth Date: Aug. 7th 2064
Prologue
“Stand by, captain,” the Salvage-4’s pilot, Jake Paulson reported, “We’re coming up on our target now.”
“Well it’s about damn time,” Captain Jamison answered, via his headset.
Gus Jamison was an ex-marine and overall nice guy, but a hard ass. He needed to be in this line of work; space was a dangerous and hostile environment where mistakes were not forgiven. Everyone knew Gus would bust your chops if you didn't have the hustle on.
Jake loved piloting these salvage vessels. It was nearly 95 feet in length, 65 foot wide and 20 foot tall, which was broken out into three compartments. The two decks forward contained the pilot house and living quarters below. The ship could support seven crew comfortably for three months. However, in an emergency, they could survive six, if the crew reduced their oxygen intake to the environment minimums. The ship’s air scrubbers would need to be replaced after that, as well as them needing fuel. The majority of the ship’s aft section was made up of its hydrogen-fusion pulse drive, thruster packs, and fuel containers. The rest of the ship was a large open cargo bay with connecting hatchways to the forward compartment of the ship. They carried all of the necessary parts, and tools to make any repairs on their target ship. The mission was to restore power to the target ship, send two of the crew over to pilot, and then get the ship back underway.
The Salvage-4’s pilot gracefully slowed the ship, breaking there 1/10th light speed flight path to the asteroid known as 15 Eunamin.
“We've spent the last 12 days traveling from Earth, to this god-forsaken place. Time to get to work everyone.”
“Now maybe we can finally find out what happened to the Euna-1,” Darleen, the ship’s engineer said.
“I don’t know about you all,” Darrell Hansen, the pilot that would fly the barge shrugged, “but I for one want to know what happened to the other salvage crews.”
Captain Jamison floated from the aft cargo hold to the pilot house. He closed and sealed the aft cargo airlock and then floated over and took his seat. Strapping in, he peered out the window at the barge floating 1000 meters from the asteroid 15 Eunamin, “Looks like a simple enough recovery operation,” he continued to study the ship as the Salvage-4 shone its one-million candle power spot lights. “So far from what I can see, the hull looks intact.”
“Cap’n I’m going to swing us around to the other side for another look.”
“Ok, just don’t get too close to that rock, will ya?”
“Don’t worry sir. I’ll give her a very wide birth.”
“What’s up cap?” Darleen, or Darla as they called her, asked, “Any idea on what happened to the crew yet?”
“Nothing yet, Darla. You better cinch down tight though, we’re going to dock once we finish our exterior inspection.”
“This is odd, Cap’n,” Jake said.
“What’s that?
“It appears that they never fired their mooring harpoon.”
“That could have been for any number of reasons,” Darla stated, looking at the barge through her port side window. “This is the first mining pod on a type-S asteroid, they must have been using extreme caution, you know how that is.”
“Yeah, this might be the first type-S, but there are six other mining operations in the belt.”
“Yeah, but those are all manned operations,” Jake winked toward Darleen, “...and this is the first one outside the Kirkwood gap.”
“Pretty amazing, to say the least,” Jake said, “Complete Self-contained Mining Operations.”
“CSMO’s man, what a concept, I’d say,” Darleen said, tightening her straps, “Extracting the asteroid elements and converting them into both water and air for the workers, then loading containers with the precious metals that are left over.”
“No,” Jake countered, “What’s amazing is the automated hauling.”
“I disagree…”
“Oh, come on now, you have to admit. Sending the full containers out for the auto-hauler to latch on, carrying them back to Earth and then returning the empties…now, that’s ingenious.”
“Watch it!” the captain shouted, “Rock!”
Jake instinctively fired his thrusters and avoided the rock that was flying right at them, “Where did that come from?”
“Keep alert, everyone!” Gus smiled, “the aliens are throwing rocks at us now.”
The crew chuckled at his musing, as he attempted to lighten the mood, “Seriously though, there is still the element of mystery as to what did happen to the others.”
“Coming around now sir,”
“Hold up…hold up there now,” Gus said, coming to edge of the straps as to get a better look out the front window, “Darla, shine our lights down 10 degrees and 5 port.”
“You got it cap.”
She took the joy stick at her station and moved the lights to lower the side of the CSMO vessel, “What the hell is that?”
“That looks like their harpoon cable was pulled right out of the hull.”
“It does,” Jake nodded, “What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know. Better examine the docking port for damage. We might have to make our own entrance,”
“He’s right,” Darla said, nodding her head, “It looks like the cable snapped. We can’t use that docking port, it’s damaged.”
“They weren't trying to tether, they were trying to get away,” Jake said, “I’ll take her topside and we can cut a hole in her and enter there.”
“What about our survivors?”
“Darla, there isn't any survivors. They ruptured their hull by tearing the line off. I doubt they had much time to seal the leak. They were dead in less than a min.”
“He’s right, you know,” Darrel added, “We knew they were all dead when we left Earth. No signal for weeks. Even if they did manage to seal a hatch, all their systems are off line: no juice…no scrubbers…no air.”
Darla looked down in despair, hoping that she’d find someone alive on the CSMO, “I’ll start recording our recovery ops.”
“You do that, Darla. Keep your mind on those twenty poor souls.”
“Oh, stop it!”
“That’s enough, everyone!” Gus ordered, “Stay focused.”
“Comin’ up on the topside now,” Jake said, changing the subject, “lowering landing skids…engaging magnetic lock in 3…2…1.”
The Salvage-4 rocked as it connected with the Euna-1 with a thunk, “we’re locked on her now Cap’n, powering down engines.”
“Ok, Darrel. You and Julio suit up.”
“You got it cap. Come on Julio, let’s get to the aft…we’ll be ready in fifteen.”
“You two stay tethered at all times, you got that?”
“Aye, cap’n, I can assure you we will.”
The two floated aft and sealed the hatch. They both completed suiting up and gathering the tools they needed to cut into the hull.
“We’re ready Cap.”
The aft cargo bay floor lowered, exposing the vastness of space. They walked down the ramp using their magnetic, floating their equipment behind them on cables, “Raise the cargo door, Cap. We’re all set here.”
Twenty minutes later, the two had cut a large hole in the Euna-1 and installed the emergency airlock hatch. Julio was the first to drop inside, followed by Darrell.
“We’re recording, Captain. Are you getting this?”
“Yes, we are reading everything,” Gus said over the comm.
“Finding bodies…yep…it’s obvious they died of asphyxiation. This entire section is filled with smoke.”
“Bastards never had chance,” Julio said.
The two made their way to the flight deck of the CSMO only to find more death, “The captain is strapped in the pilot seat and he has the thruster lever jammed as far as she’ll go.”
“That would account for the harpoon being yanked out of the hull,” Gus observed.
“That’s strange,” Darrell said, “either they ran out of thruster juice at the exact same moment the cable snapped. Otherwise, they would have continued forward momentum.”
“All the systems are down,” Julio reported, “There’s no power here at all. Maybe they experienced a power failure causing the thrusters to die. Then if the cable snapped, that would account for them being in this same position.”
“Get on back,” Gus ordered, “We’ll fit some new bat-packs and restore power. Once we can get the lights back on, we can examine the flight recorders.”
“Cap, there’s more.”
“Darrell?”
“Fear.”
“I can imagine you have fear, Darrell…”
“Not me sir. The crew over here. They all died with intense expressions of fear.”
Jake looked over at Gus, “It don’t feel right Cap’n.”
“Yeah, the hairs on the back of my neck are standing at attention too,” the Captain nodded, “You two get on out of there. Head back to Salvage-4.”
“Cap,” Darleen said, tapping Gus on the shoulder, “I think you should see this, sir.”
Gus turned, giving Darla a quick glance, “Darrell, do you read?” Julio, report!”
“Gus!” Darla exclaimed. No one called the captain by his first name. Ever, “You need to see this.”
Gus turned to Darla with raised eyebrows, “What is it?”
“There’s something down there.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I found the harpoon strike and cable.”
“So what? We already established the cable was pulled out of her.”
“There’s something else down there, next to the targeted landing zone. I picked it up on the scope.”
“What the hell is that?” Gus exclaimed. “Darrell, Julio! Report on the double!”
The comm signal only returned static. Then the power went out on the Salvage-4.
Debut of SALVAGE-FIVE
Greetings one and all,
With the completion last week of Secret of the Crystal V -The Rune, I have begun my new series. Its going to be a SciFi techno thriller.
I have completed the Prologue and have posted it here for your sampling.
Enjoy,
from the Author's Chair
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
With the completion last week of Secret of the Crystal V -The Rune, I have begun my new series. Its going to be a SciFi techno thriller.
I have completed the Prologue and have posted it here for your sampling.
Enjoy,
from the Author's Chair
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
Prologue
For centuries, man has gazed up into the heavens and wondered what the stars might hold. It has been nearly a hundred years, since the first Apollo landing on the moon in 1969, man’s drive to discover space travel, and its mysteries, held an unquenchable thirst. Their desire to expand outside the limits of the confines of Earth, had finally had come to fruition with the need of finding valuable resources. Thus, mining the asteroid field became a reality with their latest technological advances.
“Stand by, captain,” the salvage-four’s pilot, Jake Paulson reported, “We’re coming up on our target now.”
“Well it’s about damn time,” Captain Jamison answered via his headset.
Gus Jamison was an ex-marine and overall nice guy, but a hard ass. He needed to be in this line of work; space was a dangerous and hostile environment where mistakes were not forgiven. Everyone knew Gus would bust your chops if you didn’t have the hustle on.
Jake loved piloting these salvage vessels. It was nearly 130 feet in length, 80 feet wide and 30 feet tall, which was broken out into 3 compartments. The two decks forward contained the pilot house and living quarters below. The ship could support 7 crew comfortably for 4 months. However, in an emergency, they could survive 6, if the crew reduced their oxygen intake to the environment minimums. The ships air scrubbers would need to be replaced after that, as well as them running out of fuel. The majority of the ship’s aft section was made up of its hydrogen-fusion pulse drive, thruster packs, and fuel containers. The rest of the ship was a large open cargo bay, with connecting hatchways to each compartment of the ship. They carried all of the necessary parts, and tools to make any repairs on their target ship. The mission was to restore power to the target ship, send two of the crew over to pilot, and then get the ship back underway.
The salvage-four’s pilot gracefully slowed the ship, breaking there 1/10th light speed flight path to the asteroid known as 15 Eunamin.
“We’ve spent the last 12 days traveling from Earth, to this god-forsaken place. Time to get to work everybody.”
“Now maybe we can finally find out what happened to the Euna-1,” Darleen, the ship’s engineer said.
“I don’t know about you all,” Darrell Hansen, the other pilot that would fly the barge shrugged, “but I for one want to know what happened to the other salvage crews.”
Captain Jamison floated from the aft cargo hold to the pilot house. He closed and sealed the aft cargo airlock and then floated over and took his seat. Strapping in, he peered out the window at the barge floating nearly a kilometer from the asteroid 15 Eunamin, “Looks like a simple enough recovery operation,” he continued to study the ship as the Salvage-Four shone its one-million candle power spot light. “So far from what I can see, the hull looks intact.”
“Cap’n I’m going to swing us around to the other side for another look.”
“Ok, just don’t get too close to that rock, will ya.”
“Don’t worry sir, I’ll give her a very wide birth.”
“What’s up cap?” Darleen, or Darla as they called her, said, “Any idea on what happened to the crew yet?”
“Nothing yet, Darla. You better synch down tight though, we’re going to dock once we finish our exterior inspection.”
“This is odd, Cap’n,” Jake said.
“What’s that?
“It appears that they never fired their mooring harpoon.”
“That could have been for any number of reasons,” Darla stated, looking at the barge through her port side window. “This is the first mining pod for on a type-S asteroid, they must have been using extreme caution, you know how that is.”
“Yeah, this might be the first type-S, but there are six other mining operations in the belt.”
“Yeah, but those all are all manned operations,” Jake winked toward Darleen, “...and this is the first one outside the Kirkwood gap.”
“Pretty amazing, to say the least,” Jake said, “Complete self-sufficient mining operations.”
“CSMO’s man, what a concept, I’d say,” Darleen commented, tightening her straps, “Extracting the asteroid elements and converting them into both water and air for the workers, then loading containers with the precious metals that are left over.”
“No,” Jake added, “What’s amazing is the automated hauling.”
“I disagree…”
“Oh, come on now, you have to admit. Sending the full containers out for the auto-hauler to latch on, carrying them back to Earth and then returning the empties…now, that’s ingenious.”
“Watch it!” the captain shouted, “Rock!”
Jake instinctively fired his thrusters and avoided the rock that was flying right at them, “Where did that come from?”
“Keep alert, everyone!” Gus smiled, “the aliens are throwing rocks at us now.”
The crew chuckled at his musing, as he attempted to lighten the mood, “Seriously though, there is still the element of mystery as to what did happen to the others.”
“Coming around now sir,”
“Hold up…hold up there now,” Gus said, coming to edge of the straps as to get a better look out the front window, “Darla, shine our lights down 10 degrees and 5 port.”
“You got it cap.”
She took the joy stick at her station and moved the lights to lower the side of the CSMO vessel, “What the hell is that?”
“That looks like their harpoon cable was pulled right out of the hull.”
“It does,” Jake agreed, “What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know. Better examine the docking port for damage, we might have to make our own entrance,” Gus ordered.
“He’s right,” Darla said, nodding her head, “It looks like the cable snapped. We can’t use that docking port.”
“They weren’t trying to tether, they were trying to get away,” Jake said, “I’ll take her topside and we can cut a hole in her and enter there.”
“What about our survivors?”
“Darla, there isn’t any survivors. They ruptured their hull by tearing the line off. I doubt they had much time to seal the leak. They were dead in less than a min.”
“He’s right, you know,” Darrel added, “We knew they were all dead when we left Earth. No signal for weeks. Even if they did manage to seal a hatch, there systems are all off line. No juice, no scrubbers, no air.”
Darla looked down in despair, hoping that she’d find someone alive on the CSMO, “I’ll start recording our recovery ops.”
“You do that, Darla. Keep your mind of those twenty pour soles.”
“Oh, stop it!”
“That’s enough, everyone!” Gus scolded, “Stay focused.”
“Comin’ up on the topside now,” Jake said, changing the subject, “lowering landing skids…engaging magnetic lock in 3…2…1.”
The Salvage-Four rocked as it connected with the Euna-1with a tunk, “we’re locked on her now Cap’n.”
“Ok, Darrel. You and Julio suit up.”
“You got it cap. Come on Julio, let’s get to the aft…we’ll be ready in fifteen.”
“You two stay tethered at all times, you got that?”
“Aye, cap’n, I can assure you we will.”
The two floated aft and sealed the hatch. They both completed suiting up and gathering the tools they needed to cut into the hull.
“We’re ready Cap.”
The aft cargo bay door lowered, exposing the vastness of space. They walked using their magnetic boots, towing their equipment behind them on cables, “Close the cargo doors, Cap. We’re all set here.”
Twenty minutes later, the two had cut a large hole in the Euna-1 and installed the emergency airlock hatch. Julio was the first to drop inside, followed by Darrell.
“We’re recording, Captain. Are you getting this?”
“Yes, we are reading everything,” Gus said over the comm.
“Finding bodies…yep…it’s obvious they died of asphyxiation. This entire section is filled with smoke.”
“Bastards never had chance,” Julio said.
The two made their way to the flight deck of the CSMO only to find more death, “The captain is strapped in the pilot seat and he has the thruster lever jammed as far as she’ll go.”
“That would account for the harpoon being yanked out of the hull,” Gus commented.
“All the systems are down,” Julio reported, “There’s no power here at all.”
“Get on back then,” Gus ordered, “We’ll fit some new bat-packs and restore power. Once we can get the lights back on, we can examine the flight recorders.”
“Cap, there’s more.”
“Darrell?”
“Fear.”
“I can imagine you have fear, Darrell…”
“Not me sir. The crew over here. They all died with intense expressions of fear.”
Jake looked over at Gus, “It don’t feel right Cap’n.”
“Yeah, the hairs on the back of my neck are standing at attention too,” the Captain nodded, “You two get on out of there. Head back to Salvage-Four.”
“Cap,” Darleen said, tapping Gus on the shoulder, “I think you should see this, sir.”
Gus turned, giving Darla a quick glance, “Darrell, do you read?” Julio, report.”
“Gus,” Darla said. No one called the captain by his first name, ever, “You need to see this.”
Gus, turned to Darla with raised eyebrows, “What is it?”
“There’s something down there.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I found the harpoon strike and cable.”
“So what? We already established the cable was pulled out of her.”
“There is something else down there, next to the targeted landing zone.”
“What the hell is that?” Gus exclaimed. “Darrell, Julio! Report on the double!”
The comm signal only returned static. Then the power went out on the Salvage-Four ship.
* * *
January 25, 2014
New Release - Forgotten Legacy
Greetings to all,
Announcing the release of book 4 "Secret of the Crystal IV - Forgotten Legacy".
It's been a long time coming, but this went through some very major editing. I want to thank Ruth and Alana for their tireless efforts here. Without their feedback, suggestions, and finding all those pesky type-o's, I'd still be sifting through the pages...
With the editing complete, I quickly was able to format the eBook and get it uploaded. What amazed me was that this only had 5 or 6 formatting glitches and were corrected in a couple of attempts.
What do you mean by that you ask? Well, if you don't understand the difficulties of uploading your work to have the Amazon format tool take you on the merry trip of conversion, let me count the ways...
First off, after the word document is converted, you have to check all the page breaks, chapter titles and so on for accuracy. Sometimes, during the conversion, your wonderfully laid out work gets confused and your title isn't centers, there could be large gaps in spacing and such. These can be a real pain to fix. I typically have to change the style to something different and then re-center, save, upload and preview again.
Each time, it has been easier with this upload the best. Now I need to format the print version and get that loaded to Create Space.
The last thing I needed to fix was the cover. Yeah, it looks great on my computer, but I discovered that the font was too small. So I made those changes, uploaded the new cover and published. Got the message that it was live, but the cover that's displayed is not, well, displayed... it's on the "Look Inside" feature, but not on the book page. Hmmm, gonna have to put in a ticket for that one.
I really love writing books, there's no doubt about that. I don't love doing the layout, but hey, kind of one of those necessary evils.
Regardless of all that, I am very proud to have another finished product for you to enjoy.
Here are the links for easy access, hold on to your armchairs, this one will definitely keep you on the edge of your chair.
You can find it here at Amazon, and it will be configured for Smashwords and Nook in the next few days.
I hope you enjoy this 4th installment for Secret of the Crystal, and I welcome feedback and reviews to let others know how you like it. Good or bad, I prefer good of course, but welcome all feedback. This is how we make our stories better for you to enjoy.
Now back to chapter 12 of book 5, the Rune.
From the Author's Chair
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
Announcing the release of book 4 "Secret of the Crystal IV - Forgotten Legacy".
It's been a long time coming, but this went through some very major editing. I want to thank Ruth and Alana for their tireless efforts here. Without their feedback, suggestions, and finding all those pesky type-o's, I'd still be sifting through the pages...
With the editing complete, I quickly was able to format the eBook and get it uploaded. What amazed me was that this only had 5 or 6 formatting glitches and were corrected in a couple of attempts.
What do you mean by that you ask? Well, if you don't understand the difficulties of uploading your work to have the Amazon format tool take you on the merry trip of conversion, let me count the ways...
First off, after the word document is converted, you have to check all the page breaks, chapter titles and so on for accuracy. Sometimes, during the conversion, your wonderfully laid out work gets confused and your title isn't centers, there could be large gaps in spacing and such. These can be a real pain to fix. I typically have to change the style to something different and then re-center, save, upload and preview again.
Each time, it has been easier with this upload the best. Now I need to format the print version and get that loaded to Create Space.
The last thing I needed to fix was the cover. Yeah, it looks great on my computer, but I discovered that the font was too small. So I made those changes, uploaded the new cover and published. Got the message that it was live, but the cover that's displayed is not, well, displayed... it's on the "Look Inside" feature, but not on the book page. Hmmm, gonna have to put in a ticket for that one.
I really love writing books, there's no doubt about that. I don't love doing the layout, but hey, kind of one of those necessary evils.
Regardless of all that, I am very proud to have another finished product for you to enjoy.
Here are the links for easy access, hold on to your armchairs, this one will definitely keep you on the edge of your chair.
You can find it here at Amazon, and it will be configured for Smashwords and Nook in the next few days.
I hope you enjoy this 4th installment for Secret of the Crystal, and I welcome feedback and reviews to let others know how you like it. Good or bad, I prefer good of course, but welcome all feedback. This is how we make our stories better for you to enjoy.
Now back to chapter 12 of book 5, the Rune.
From the Author's Chair
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
January 16, 2014
Short Story - The Glass
Hey there,
I submitted a short story in a contest titled "The Glass" to the Eat Sleep Write web site run by Adam Scull. Unfortunately, there weren't enough entries so the contest had to be canceled.
So we published the short story on his web and I am uploading it here for your reading enjoyment.
I would dearly love some feedback on your thoughts and reflections of this story.
So, without further ado, here is ya go....
From the Author's Chair
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
The Glass
by
Author, Brian K. larson Raymond sat quietly at the red kitchen table gazing at the glass of water he had just poured. It was late, 10:43pm to be exact. The storm outside had begun to blow the rain, causing it to drum against the kitchen window. The downpour of water emptied down the gutters like a waterfall. Tree branches scraped the windows making scratching noises. The wind caused them to thump loudly on the flat roof of his mobile home.
He meant to trim the branches back a few days before, knowing this storm was forecast. In spite of his intentions, he just didn’t have enough strength. Just like now, sitting at the table. He could barely lift the glass to take a small sip and he would be dammed if he was going to take those treatments. Those were supposed to cure him, not make him worse than the cancer itself.
He just sat and continued to stare straight ahead, seemingly unaffected by the sounds of the storm. The man was poor, but he didn’t care about that either. He looked at the 1950’s style table with all its dents on the trim and legs that had been battered over the years. Some of the chairs had tears in the vinyl covering and bent legs, and would tip over on an unsuspecting victim. He remembered how his family had put each and every dent on this poor table throughout the years. Each and every one of them carried wonderful memories of his wife, Peggy, and their two children Megan and Billy.
He fondly reminisced over all those memories as he took his first sip from the glass and then set it back down, nearly spilling the remaining water.
Lightning flashed and cast a momentary shadow that silhouetted behind him. Then the thunder rumbled. He struggled to find the strength to look at his pocket-watch and noticed that the thunder was only a few seconds behind the flash. He knew that the storm was right overhead.
He sat the pocket-watch on the table. Leaving it open he watched the seconds tic away.
Raymond sat resting his palms on the table and contemplated all the things that he enjoyed about his life. Raymond was dying. The cancer had emaciated his body, taking its toll on him. He knew tonight was the night he would take his last breath.
Peggy had left Raymond six months ago, after the terminal diagnosis. It wasn’t because she didn’t love him anymore, it was because she couldn’t bear to watch his body decay away and die. Worse yet, she didn’t want the kids to see him that way either. Raymond understood, and accepted this as his fate, even though he missed them terribly. Peg was right not to expose their children to this wicked disease.
Raymond smiled as he remembered one particular dent on the edge of the table. Rubbing it with his index finger, he closed his eyes and saw in his mind the day it had happened. He was pushing Megan on the swing set five years ago. She was only five at the time, and loved being pushed back and forth on the swing by her Daddy. He was a healthy, young forty year old, and felt great. It was her favorite, before supper time, activity. He pushed her and she swung to and fro until sadly, the chain broke causing Meg to fall to the ground, skinning her knee. He rushed to her side and swooped up his crying child off the ground and ran inside where Peggy was carrying a bowl of salad to the table. The three met right at the center causing the salad to launch high into the air. The metal bowl plunged into the table making a clanging sound as it bounced off the floor. The three ended up in a heap on the kitchen floor, covered with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers and wet gooey Thousand Island dressing. Billy rushed into the room to see what all the commotion was about and just fell to the floor laughing hysterically.
All Raymond could do was sit at the kitchen table and chuckle, remembering the spectacle and how they all had laughed so hard they cried.
Meg got off the ground and brushed off her wound and gave her daddy a helping hand up, “It’s ok Daddy. I know it wasn’t your fault. That darn chain did it to us.”
The memory quickly faded as another flash of lightning lit up the sky. He leaned forward noting the time and counted five seconds before the next clap of thunder, “Yep, its right over head now.”
He reached for the glass with his shaky hand and held it to his lips and slipped more of the water. Then placed it back on the table noting the time was 10:57pm.
He unhooked the chain from his pocket and let it drape down the edge of the table, “Well. I guess I had better get myself to bed.”
He slid the chair back, but then stopped and took one last sip from the glass and set it back down. He got up the rest of the way and looked at the glass, noticing that it was half way full.
“Yep,” he whispered, “I’ve had quite a good life… up until this cancer.”
He shuffled across the room leaving the glass and watch behind and disappeared into his small room. He sat at the edge of the bed, kicked off his slippers and slowly climbed under the blankets.
He was cold and he grabbed the soft warm comforter at the edge of the bed. Even this old blanket gave him fond memories. It was a wedding gift, given by her parents nearly fifteen years ago. He closed his eyes and saw Peggy holding his hand as they slowly and methodically strolled along the beach. They were on their honeymoon. They brought the blanket with them every time they visited the ocean.
Peggy left it for him since he was likely going to need it more than her. It was the least she could do. He loved her with all his heart and wouldn’t have changed a thing. Especially the last fifteen years.
“Yep, no regrets,” he smiled.
He closed his eyes and started to fade into the darkness of sleep and began to dream dreams. Dreams of them living a full life. Dreams of their two children and how much they meant to the both of them; he truly felt blessed.
He began to hear the voice of his late mother calling out to him, “Raymond… Raymond… … Raymond?”
He opened his eyes with a start as someone was shaking him by the shoulder. He looked over at saw that it was his beloved wife lying in the bed next to him.
“Raymond, are you alright sweetie?”
He slowly opened his lips and with a weak breath he said, “I had a dream that you had left me.”
“Oh honey,” Peg said affectionately rubbing his shoulder, “I would never leave you.”
Raymond awoke remembering that Peg hadn’t left after all, she had her mother watching the kids, but she stuck by his side.
“I must be delusional…”
“Don’t worry about a thing my love,” Peggy said laying him back down, “You just rest now.”
Raymond was too weak to argue and as she covered his boney frame he slowly closed his eyes and drew his last breath.
Peg looked down on him and kissed his cheek. Tears began to well up under her eyes and then rolled down to her lover’s cheek, “I love you Raymond,” she said with a quivering voice, “at least you aren’t suffering anymore.”
She covered his head with the blanket and called the coroner to come and collect his body. Then she returned to the bed and travailed over his lifeless remains holding him near until the coroner arrived.
Later that morning, the sun shone through the window. The storm had passed and Peggy sat at the table gazing into the glass of water that her husband had left. His pocket watch was sitting next to the glass with the chain aimed at the ground. She leaned over and noticed that the time was 11:27 on the dot.
Peggy picked up the watch and noticed that it had stopped running when her children came in through the kitchen door. She had her mother bring them over as she needed them for comfort.
Billy and Meg stood on either side, and Billy looked up at his mother, “What’s the glass for?”
“I don’t know honey,” Peggy answered, “your father must have got it during the storm.” She looked at both her children and then hugged them close, “You can look at it as a reminder of your father’s life; he lived it to the fullest.”
“But its half empty Mother,” Meg said.
“No dear, never think of the glass as half empty or half full.”
“What do you mean Mom?” Billy asked.
“The glass is always full,” she answered.
The two stood and stared at their mother as she explained, “You see, we can only see part of what is in the glass, it’s true that it is half full of water, but it is also filled with air that we cannot see.”
“I get it,” Megan answered with a smile, “Daddy lived his life to the fullest weather we saw it or not.”
“That’s right sweetie.”
Peggy began to cry softly at the loss of her husband, so Billy took her hand and raised it to her heart, “Don’t worry Mom, Dad is always here with us, even though you can’t see him.”
Peggy shook uncontrollably as she sobbed at the wisdom of her oldest child.
Raymond stood at the other end of the kitchen watching his family grieve for him. His spirit-form walked over to the table and leaned over as if to kiss them, wanting to share their love. As he leaned, a tear on his cheek dropped into the glass of water making it ripple.
Billy noticed first, “Hey look,” he said pointing at the glass.
“What was that?” Megan exclaimed.
“Maybe it was your father crying with us.”
Raymond stepped back from the table and stood in the warm rays of the sun beaming through the kitchen window. They all jumped with a start as they saw the ghostly figure of their father in amazement.
Raymond turned and began to walk away and disappear. He stopped and turned back for a moment, giving them a smile, he waved goodbye, then turned and vanished.
“You saw it too, didn’t you Mom!” Billy exclaimed.
“We all saw him Billy. That just goes to show you that you were right; your Father will be here with us… even though we can’t see it sometimes.”
“Just like the glass,” Meg said.
“That’s right dear, just like the glass, we’ll live our lives to the fullest.”
# # #
I submitted a short story in a contest titled "The Glass" to the Eat Sleep Write web site run by Adam Scull. Unfortunately, there weren't enough entries so the contest had to be canceled.
So we published the short story on his web and I am uploading it here for your reading enjoyment.
I would dearly love some feedback on your thoughts and reflections of this story.
So, without further ado, here is ya go....
From the Author's Chair
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
The Glass
by
Author, Brian K. larson Raymond sat quietly at the red kitchen table gazing at the glass of water he had just poured. It was late, 10:43pm to be exact. The storm outside had begun to blow the rain, causing it to drum against the kitchen window. The downpour of water emptied down the gutters like a waterfall. Tree branches scraped the windows making scratching noises. The wind caused them to thump loudly on the flat roof of his mobile home.
He meant to trim the branches back a few days before, knowing this storm was forecast. In spite of his intentions, he just didn’t have enough strength. Just like now, sitting at the table. He could barely lift the glass to take a small sip and he would be dammed if he was going to take those treatments. Those were supposed to cure him, not make him worse than the cancer itself.
He just sat and continued to stare straight ahead, seemingly unaffected by the sounds of the storm. The man was poor, but he didn’t care about that either. He looked at the 1950’s style table with all its dents on the trim and legs that had been battered over the years. Some of the chairs had tears in the vinyl covering and bent legs, and would tip over on an unsuspecting victim. He remembered how his family had put each and every dent on this poor table throughout the years. Each and every one of them carried wonderful memories of his wife, Peggy, and their two children Megan and Billy.
He fondly reminisced over all those memories as he took his first sip from the glass and then set it back down, nearly spilling the remaining water.
Lightning flashed and cast a momentary shadow that silhouetted behind him. Then the thunder rumbled. He struggled to find the strength to look at his pocket-watch and noticed that the thunder was only a few seconds behind the flash. He knew that the storm was right overhead.
He sat the pocket-watch on the table. Leaving it open he watched the seconds tic away.
Raymond sat resting his palms on the table and contemplated all the things that he enjoyed about his life. Raymond was dying. The cancer had emaciated his body, taking its toll on him. He knew tonight was the night he would take his last breath.
Peggy had left Raymond six months ago, after the terminal diagnosis. It wasn’t because she didn’t love him anymore, it was because she couldn’t bear to watch his body decay away and die. Worse yet, she didn’t want the kids to see him that way either. Raymond understood, and accepted this as his fate, even though he missed them terribly. Peg was right not to expose their children to this wicked disease.
Raymond smiled as he remembered one particular dent on the edge of the table. Rubbing it with his index finger, he closed his eyes and saw in his mind the day it had happened. He was pushing Megan on the swing set five years ago. She was only five at the time, and loved being pushed back and forth on the swing by her Daddy. He was a healthy, young forty year old, and felt great. It was her favorite, before supper time, activity. He pushed her and she swung to and fro until sadly, the chain broke causing Meg to fall to the ground, skinning her knee. He rushed to her side and swooped up his crying child off the ground and ran inside where Peggy was carrying a bowl of salad to the table. The three met right at the center causing the salad to launch high into the air. The metal bowl plunged into the table making a clanging sound as it bounced off the floor. The three ended up in a heap on the kitchen floor, covered with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers and wet gooey Thousand Island dressing. Billy rushed into the room to see what all the commotion was about and just fell to the floor laughing hysterically.
All Raymond could do was sit at the kitchen table and chuckle, remembering the spectacle and how they all had laughed so hard they cried.
Meg got off the ground and brushed off her wound and gave her daddy a helping hand up, “It’s ok Daddy. I know it wasn’t your fault. That darn chain did it to us.”
The memory quickly faded as another flash of lightning lit up the sky. He leaned forward noting the time and counted five seconds before the next clap of thunder, “Yep, its right over head now.”
He reached for the glass with his shaky hand and held it to his lips and slipped more of the water. Then placed it back on the table noting the time was 10:57pm.
He unhooked the chain from his pocket and let it drape down the edge of the table, “Well. I guess I had better get myself to bed.”
He slid the chair back, but then stopped and took one last sip from the glass and set it back down. He got up the rest of the way and looked at the glass, noticing that it was half way full.
“Yep,” he whispered, “I’ve had quite a good life… up until this cancer.”
He shuffled across the room leaving the glass and watch behind and disappeared into his small room. He sat at the edge of the bed, kicked off his slippers and slowly climbed under the blankets.
He was cold and he grabbed the soft warm comforter at the edge of the bed. Even this old blanket gave him fond memories. It was a wedding gift, given by her parents nearly fifteen years ago. He closed his eyes and saw Peggy holding his hand as they slowly and methodically strolled along the beach. They were on their honeymoon. They brought the blanket with them every time they visited the ocean.
Peggy left it for him since he was likely going to need it more than her. It was the least she could do. He loved her with all his heart and wouldn’t have changed a thing. Especially the last fifteen years.
“Yep, no regrets,” he smiled.
He closed his eyes and started to fade into the darkness of sleep and began to dream dreams. Dreams of them living a full life. Dreams of their two children and how much they meant to the both of them; he truly felt blessed.
He began to hear the voice of his late mother calling out to him, “Raymond… Raymond… … Raymond?”
He opened his eyes with a start as someone was shaking him by the shoulder. He looked over at saw that it was his beloved wife lying in the bed next to him.
“Raymond, are you alright sweetie?”
He slowly opened his lips and with a weak breath he said, “I had a dream that you had left me.”
“Oh honey,” Peg said affectionately rubbing his shoulder, “I would never leave you.”
Raymond awoke remembering that Peg hadn’t left after all, she had her mother watching the kids, but she stuck by his side.
“I must be delusional…”
“Don’t worry about a thing my love,” Peggy said laying him back down, “You just rest now.”
Raymond was too weak to argue and as she covered his boney frame he slowly closed his eyes and drew his last breath.
Peg looked down on him and kissed his cheek. Tears began to well up under her eyes and then rolled down to her lover’s cheek, “I love you Raymond,” she said with a quivering voice, “at least you aren’t suffering anymore.”
She covered his head with the blanket and called the coroner to come and collect his body. Then she returned to the bed and travailed over his lifeless remains holding him near until the coroner arrived.
Later that morning, the sun shone through the window. The storm had passed and Peggy sat at the table gazing into the glass of water that her husband had left. His pocket watch was sitting next to the glass with the chain aimed at the ground. She leaned over and noticed that the time was 11:27 on the dot.
Peggy picked up the watch and noticed that it had stopped running when her children came in through the kitchen door. She had her mother bring them over as she needed them for comfort.
Billy and Meg stood on either side, and Billy looked up at his mother, “What’s the glass for?”
“I don’t know honey,” Peggy answered, “your father must have got it during the storm.” She looked at both her children and then hugged them close, “You can look at it as a reminder of your father’s life; he lived it to the fullest.”
“But its half empty Mother,” Meg said.
“No dear, never think of the glass as half empty or half full.”
“What do you mean Mom?” Billy asked.
“The glass is always full,” she answered.
The two stood and stared at their mother as she explained, “You see, we can only see part of what is in the glass, it’s true that it is half full of water, but it is also filled with air that we cannot see.”
“I get it,” Megan answered with a smile, “Daddy lived his life to the fullest weather we saw it or not.”
“That’s right sweetie.”
Peggy began to cry softly at the loss of her husband, so Billy took her hand and raised it to her heart, “Don’t worry Mom, Dad is always here with us, even though you can’t see him.”
Peggy shook uncontrollably as she sobbed at the wisdom of her oldest child.
Raymond stood at the other end of the kitchen watching his family grieve for him. His spirit-form walked over to the table and leaned over as if to kiss them, wanting to share their love. As he leaned, a tear on his cheek dropped into the glass of water making it ripple.
Billy noticed first, “Hey look,” he said pointing at the glass.
“What was that?” Megan exclaimed.
“Maybe it was your father crying with us.”
Raymond stepped back from the table and stood in the warm rays of the sun beaming through the kitchen window. They all jumped with a start as they saw the ghostly figure of their father in amazement.
Raymond turned and began to walk away and disappear. He stopped and turned back for a moment, giving them a smile, he waved goodbye, then turned and vanished.
“You saw it too, didn’t you Mom!” Billy exclaimed.
“We all saw him Billy. That just goes to show you that you were right; your Father will be here with us… even though we can’t see it sometimes.”
“Just like the glass,” Meg said.
“That’s right dear, just like the glass, we’ll live our lives to the fullest.”
# # #
January 14, 2014
Omnibus Version Complete
Hello everyone,
Well, it's official. I received the last of the illustrations by Larkin Livesay Jr. this week. I've been a very busy person. Aside from my day job, I managed to fit in a complete rewrite to the intro of Secret of the Crystal. As well as editing books 2 & 3. Just some minor tweaks and improvements for those. Book 3, Destiny's chapter illustrations are awesome, a big thank you goes out to Larkin... please give him a round of electronic applause. I'll have the print version ready in a few days and then I'll be putting together some box sets.
Speaking of boxed sets. The real news is that I have completed the compilation of Secret of the Crystal of all three books. This is going to be big... not just big in popularity (fingers crossed), but it weights in at over 11,000 pages in all. This includes chapter one of book 4, Forgotten Legacy as a sneak peek. More than 247,000 words for your reading enjoyment at a special price. As soon as the link is up, I will be posting that on all the social networks.
Exciting times indeed *buckles seat belt* sorry, I only have a set for myself.
Everyone else will just have to hold on the best you can.
Stay tuned for more exciting news as they develop.
From the Author's Chair
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
Well, it's official. I received the last of the illustrations by Larkin Livesay Jr. this week. I've been a very busy person. Aside from my day job, I managed to fit in a complete rewrite to the intro of Secret of the Crystal. As well as editing books 2 & 3. Just some minor tweaks and improvements for those. Book 3, Destiny's chapter illustrations are awesome, a big thank you goes out to Larkin... please give him a round of electronic applause. I'll have the print version ready in a few days and then I'll be putting together some box sets.
Speaking of boxed sets. The real news is that I have completed the compilation of Secret of the Crystal of all three books. This is going to be big... not just big in popularity (fingers crossed), but it weights in at over 11,000 pages in all. This includes chapter one of book 4, Forgotten Legacy as a sneak peek. More than 247,000 words for your reading enjoyment at a special price. As soon as the link is up, I will be posting that on all the social networks.
Exciting times indeed *buckles seat belt* sorry, I only have a set for myself.
Everyone else will just have to hold on the best you can.
Stay tuned for more exciting news as they develop.
From the Author's Chair
Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexicAuthor
January 12, 2014
Sneak Peek at A.M.P. Phase 1
Greetings from the Author's chair,
I've been working on my new concept series called:
A.M.P. Augmented Mental Projections - Phase 1 The Gamma Project
Got the prologue written and decided to give you all a tease. Keep in mind, this is a very rough draft start.
Enjoy....
Author, Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexic Author
I've been working on my new concept series called:
A.M.P. Augmented Mental Projections - Phase 1 The Gamma Project
Got the prologue written and decided to give you all a tease. Keep in mind, this is a very rough draft start.
Enjoy....
Author, Brian K. Larson
#TheDyslexic Author
A.M.P.
Augmented Mental Projection
Phase 1
The Gamma Project
Prologue
Ben sat in his old rundown basement apartment. The sofa was tattered and his floor was littered with rolled up paper balls, pencils, and unused torn paper. He held his Glock 22 .40 caliber pistol. After loading the rounds into the clip, he snapped it in and cocked a round into the chamber. His hand shaking, he holstered his gun and stood to zip up his leather jacket.
He sighed as he ran his nervous fingers through his hair, “Get ahold of yourself… you can do this…”
Ben picked up his billed cap from the arm of the torn sofa and placed it on his long brown hair, letting it flow down his back. He needed to blend in with the regulars of the city center where he could find an underground accelerator module.
He detested the thought of having to go down to this district, but he needed too. He only needed one more session in order to complete his new pulse drive engine schematic.
His early drawings, he provided to his client, had already paid off handsomely, however the majority of his upfront payout would be spent getting AMP’d so he could finish the project. His client promised four-million when he had the completed drawings. They even fronted Ben fifty-thousand in good faith. They knew he was getting this tech from being AMP’d. Accelerator delivery modules were illegal to be AMP’d with, but they didn’t care.
Bell town was a bad place to be in the middle of the night alone. But he had to go. He craved the feeling of being jacked. He wanted that payoff. He could retire. Move to a better part of town and have plenty of funds to get AMP’d as often as he wished.
Walking across the room, he picked up his data pad and tucked it inside his coat pocket and locked the door with a wave of his hand. He had a forty-minute walk to the rail line. Then another fifty-minute ride to the stop a few blocks from his contact.
He stepped off the rail and walked the few blocks to find J, his accelerator hook. He quickly made his way to the 5th Avenue Jammer club.
Bell town was home to many jammer dens, where those that have the implant can get a cheap fix. But they were nothing like the illegal accelerators that Ben accessed in the underground. Those fees could add up to several thousand for one session, depending on how much time you buy. The simple jammer pays a hundred dollar entry fee for a night of accelerated dancing. However, they don’t get the long term benefit of using an accelerator, and the jammer loses the feeling as soon as they leave the protection field that shields the building. These clubs were legitimate establishments, and regulated by the local government. The guidelines imposed were only enforcing ways to prevent those with implants outside the club, not to experience any spillover from the AMP signal inside.
Getting an implant was still expensive, 10k for a dirty implant and up to 50k to 100k for a good one. Not many could do it, but once jacked, you will never want it removed.
Getting jammed at the elite clubs is the wave of the future. This tech has begun to replace the more toxic substances that people used to put into their bodies to get high. Since the implant is a chip, and not a chemical, the FDA couldn’t stop their licensing.
Ben stepped up to the dark window and leaned in to shout over the loud music that did invade his eardrums, “Where’s J tonight?”
The tall burly man inside the booth leaned closer to the mouth hole in the glass, “I think he’s down on Seneca. If he’s not there, then try James.”
“That’s clear across town!”
“That’s the way it is… you jammin’?”
“No thank you… I need to find J.”
“Ok, have it your way… cover is twenty off tonight.”
“Maybe later,” Ben answered.
Two skimpily dressed women stepped up and grabbed his arms on either side, “Come on honey, jam with us.”
“Yeah, mister. You look like fun.”
Ben pulled away and smiled, “Thanks honey, but I have to go.”
The two frowned, turned and left, looking for another who might buy them into the club.
Another half-hour passed and Ben finally saw J leaning on the wall of Stewart and James, “J!”
“”Wus up, Bennie my man?” the tall black man said. He was heavy-set figure with broad shoulders and was dressed in an upscale pin-striped suit. He sported a light colored straw hat on his head. J spread his huge arms with the large knuckles wide, appearing to be glad to see his client.
“I need to get AMP’d.”
“Big surprise,” the man said with slyness, sliding a toothpick to the other side of this mouth, “How much time today?”
“Another 40 hours.”
“40!?”
“Yes, only 40.”
“Well, you might want to jump up to the next price level. You sure you don’t want 60 or 70?”
“I would like more… but…” Ben said, looking over his shoulder.
“Relax, Bennie. The feds know, oh they know.”
“What do you mean they know? They know about me?”
“Yeah, they know. Just don’t care.”
“Why not, it’s illegal.”
“Yes, but like I said, they don’t care anymore.”
Ben continued to look over his other shoulder, “How much?”
“Ten-thousand”
“Ten?” Ben shouted, “You only charged me five last time, and I was for 70.”
“Monthly special,” J smiled.
“Come on man, give me a break… I don’t have that much left.”
“Uh huh, that’s what they all say.”
“No really, I’ve already given you 20k.”
“You want to get jacked or not?”
“Well, yes.”
“10k.”
“I’ll give you five.”
“It’s a better deal if you pay for ten; you’ll get 72 hours.”
“I can’t stay awake for another 72 hours… I only need 40 to complete my project.”
“Tell ya what, you give me 7k and for 50 hours.”
Ben hesitated for a moment, then agreed, “Ok, ok, you got a deal…Come on, come on, come on… let’s do this.”
“Payment first,” the man insisted.
Ben held up the back of his hand and J ran his data pad across, “Thank you… nice doing business.”
“Ok, where to?”
“Follow me,” J said as he reached down and picked up a brief case, “This way.”
He walked up the street and then down a dark ally. There were several addicts that still used the chemical method of forgetting their pain. Many of them were passed out in their own vomit. The ally had a stench to it that imbedded in his clothes. It took three washings to get the stink out the last time he ventured on down to one of the accelerators stations.
J quickly walk down a dark stairwell and sat the case on the step, “Sit down,” he instructed, then unlocked the case using the back of his hand and opened it.
“Wait,” Ben interrupted, “Here? How?”
“This is the latest model,” J smiled, “Portable accelerator model… now lean forward.”
Ben followed his instructions and placed his head down, exposing the back of his neck. J moved Ben’s hair and uncovered a small jack on the back of his neck. He reached into the case for a cord and then carefully plugged it into Ben’s jack.
“Ok, relax,” he instructed, “This shouldn’ hurt a bit.”
“Shouldn’t?”
“You’ll be fine… really, really.”
J flipped a red switch and powered on the box. He moved the control dial to the 50 AMP setting and waited for the unit to complete the charge.
“What’s taking so long?” Ben asked, his hands shaking again, “It never takes this long.”
“It’s a portable unit, man, an’ it takes a few to bring the power up… give it a minute,” he looked down on the control console and noticed a message being displayed which read: “Dispense package number 9.”
He raised his eyebrows and softly whispered to himself, “Ok, whatever you say boss,” and punched in the special code.
The unit began to spin up making the squeal of a high powered flash unit and then Ben lost consciousness.
When he woke up a few minutes later, J was nowhere to be found. He crawled up the cement stairs and looked down the ally in both directions. The alley was empty where before it was littered with passed out bodies.
He began to feel the effects of the AMP and started to remember his drawing. He thought for a few moments and then smiled. He suddenly knew how to complete the schematic. But he felt different this time; no euphoric effect during or after being jacked, “What a rip off! I’m going to Sly next time.”
He began to walk down the alley and then stopped. He held his shaking hands up and then noticed he was sweating profusely. Losing his balance he fell to his knees and quivered.
“What’s happening to me?” he whispered. Then his right hand stopped shaking as he reached for his Glock. Unable to stop himself, his smile turned into a look of horror. Placing the gun in this mouth, he pulled the trigger.
“Sir,” the government aide said, “We have successfully downloaded the schematics.”
“Excellent,” General McKenzie said, “Is he dead?”
“Yes, sir,” his aide said, “Very.”
January 1, 2014
Happy New Year!!
Welcome to Twenty-fourteen !!
Wow, 2013 was a great year. But alas, we must depart and say our farewells to a trusted friend, as we always do.
Let's not forget all the great things that we accomplished last year. Use them for stepping stones, or mementos, to reinforce in us the things we can do, and will do this coming year.
Let me recap all the wonderful and great things that took place in 2013:
- Published three books
- Created new cover art
- Put together an awesome editing team which helped me find and correct over 300 grammatical, misspelled words, and technical errors in Book 1
- Completed writing book 4
- Secret of the Crystal IV - Forgotten Legacy
- Began book 5
- Secret of the Crystal V - The Rune
- Developed two new book series ideas, now in concept
- A.M.P. Accelerated Mental Polarization
- Salvage-Five
- Ended the year with 17,200 Twitter followers
- Finished the year in the top 10,000 on Amazon
- Maintained top 20 in Amazon Time Travel
- Achieved #3 on Amazon Time Travel
The list goes on... funny how when you start writing the things down that you are grateful for, you can keep coming up with more.
This year, I will not only focus on creating these two new book series, but I will be taking extra time to go back over book 1 and publish the updated copy to distribution channels. I have listened to the readers, and want to thank many of you who took the time out of your busy schedules to write me, or that posted a review pointing out the technical errors.
Receiving feedback, good or bad, only helps me to refine my product that is in your hands. The good news is, if you have a Kindle reader, you will get all the updates. My understanding is that I can send your device a push of the update once it is uploaded if you purchased or downloaded for free from Amazon.
The bad news is that when I do upload the changes, Secret of the Crystal will no longer be free on Amazon for a time. However, you will be able to get it through Smashwords for any reader.
I also want to give a big thanks to all who did download my first book for free, and giving it a try. I know that there is a risk to try new authors, and giving you the first one makes your trying it risk free. All you lose, if you don't like it, is some time reading. But really, to be quite honest, I rarely hear that someone didn't like it. Out of the reviews I did received in 2013 most are positive and I have a 4.31 out of 5 on Goodreads.
May your new year bring you joy, and wishing you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year this 2014!!
Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
Wow, 2013 was a great year. But alas, we must depart and say our farewells to a trusted friend, as we always do.
Let's not forget all the great things that we accomplished last year. Use them for stepping stones, or mementos, to reinforce in us the things we can do, and will do this coming year.
Let me recap all the wonderful and great things that took place in 2013:
- Published three books
- Created new cover art
- Put together an awesome editing team which helped me find and correct over 300 grammatical, misspelled words, and technical errors in Book 1
- Completed writing book 4
- Secret of the Crystal IV - Forgotten Legacy
- Began book 5
- Secret of the Crystal V - The Rune
- Developed two new book series ideas, now in concept
- A.M.P. Accelerated Mental Polarization
- Salvage-Five
- Ended the year with 17,200 Twitter followers
- Finished the year in the top 10,000 on Amazon
- Maintained top 20 in Amazon Time Travel
- Achieved #3 on Amazon Time Travel
The list goes on... funny how when you start writing the things down that you are grateful for, you can keep coming up with more.
This year, I will not only focus on creating these two new book series, but I will be taking extra time to go back over book 1 and publish the updated copy to distribution channels. I have listened to the readers, and want to thank many of you who took the time out of your busy schedules to write me, or that posted a review pointing out the technical errors.
Receiving feedback, good or bad, only helps me to refine my product that is in your hands. The good news is, if you have a Kindle reader, you will get all the updates. My understanding is that I can send your device a push of the update once it is uploaded if you purchased or downloaded for free from Amazon.
The bad news is that when I do upload the changes, Secret of the Crystal will no longer be free on Amazon for a time. However, you will be able to get it through Smashwords for any reader.
I also want to give a big thanks to all who did download my first book for free, and giving it a try. I know that there is a risk to try new authors, and giving you the first one makes your trying it risk free. All you lose, if you don't like it, is some time reading. But really, to be quite honest, I rarely hear that someone didn't like it. Out of the reviews I did received in 2013 most are positive and I have a 4.31 out of 5 on Goodreads.
May your new year bring you joy, and wishing you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year this 2014!!
Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
December 14, 2013
What's the haps?
Greetings,
It's been some time since I posted, mainly due to my day job and the things going on there.
There are lots going on with the authoring site of things. The Secret of the Crystal franchise is beginning to gain momentum and I'm getting ready to publish the forth installment, Forgotten Legacy. This book has been given extra attention to editing detail and that's what's taking the most time.
Editing.... yes, my fondness of this phase is has been pretty low in the past. I realize there are MANY errors in book 1 and 2. Those are getting addressed and will be updated. The good news is that for all of you Kindle readers, I can push an update if you purchased/downloaded the book and you will have the latest updated version. Don't ya just love technology... I sure do.
I took every reader review and input to heart and begun the arduous process of re-editing the first books. Many of the errors should have been caught by the publisher's editing department, but they didn't... and that's why I went self-published.
I've nearly completed seven chapters on book 5 - The Rune. It's coming along very nicely and weighs in at nearly 40,000 words already.
Book 6 - Brothers, will be taking a back seat for a short time while I work on a couple of new titles concepts once 5 is done.
My first new concept is a series called Salvage-Five. It's a space opera of a crew of 7 members that contract salvage operations from damaged mining ships in the asteroid field. With resources becoming scarce, earth has reached out and begun mining minerals in space. Its a very lucrative business, but filled with many dangers. That's were the salvage crews come in. They will go places others will not for profit. I don't want to give away to much, but this has great potential to become another series.
Next up, and most likely will be my next work I start, is a book that would be called 'The Gamma Project' that will take place 50 years in the future. A biotech company has designed a brain implant that excites gamma brain waves which allows those with disabilities to move objects with their minds. The technology 'amps' the recipient, giving them the ability to walk again. However, a crime ring gets wind of this technology and steals it to make themselves powerful. The draw back is the chip needs to be recharged every 72 hours, but while they are 'amped' they can manipulate objects with their mind, making them nearly invincible.
I'm very excited about these new projects and you can bet there will be many plot twists in these action packed thriller.
For now, it's back to working on Secret of the Crystal V - The Rune... Coming this spring. Experience the first Zelinite war for yourself.
You all have a great weekend and we'll chat again soon....
From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
It's been some time since I posted, mainly due to my day job and the things going on there.
There are lots going on with the authoring site of things. The Secret of the Crystal franchise is beginning to gain momentum and I'm getting ready to publish the forth installment, Forgotten Legacy. This book has been given extra attention to editing detail and that's what's taking the most time.
Editing.... yes, my fondness of this phase is has been pretty low in the past. I realize there are MANY errors in book 1 and 2. Those are getting addressed and will be updated. The good news is that for all of you Kindle readers, I can push an update if you purchased/downloaded the book and you will have the latest updated version. Don't ya just love technology... I sure do.
I took every reader review and input to heart and begun the arduous process of re-editing the first books. Many of the errors should have been caught by the publisher's editing department, but they didn't... and that's why I went self-published.
I've nearly completed seven chapters on book 5 - The Rune. It's coming along very nicely and weighs in at nearly 40,000 words already.
Book 6 - Brothers, will be taking a back seat for a short time while I work on a couple of new titles concepts once 5 is done.
My first new concept is a series called Salvage-Five. It's a space opera of a crew of 7 members that contract salvage operations from damaged mining ships in the asteroid field. With resources becoming scarce, earth has reached out and begun mining minerals in space. Its a very lucrative business, but filled with many dangers. That's were the salvage crews come in. They will go places others will not for profit. I don't want to give away to much, but this has great potential to become another series.
Next up, and most likely will be my next work I start, is a book that would be called 'The Gamma Project' that will take place 50 years in the future. A biotech company has designed a brain implant that excites gamma brain waves which allows those with disabilities to move objects with their minds. The technology 'amps' the recipient, giving them the ability to walk again. However, a crime ring gets wind of this technology and steals it to make themselves powerful. The draw back is the chip needs to be recharged every 72 hours, but while they are 'amped' they can manipulate objects with their mind, making them nearly invincible.
I'm very excited about these new projects and you can bet there will be many plot twists in these action packed thriller.
For now, it's back to working on Secret of the Crystal V - The Rune... Coming this spring. Experience the first Zelinite war for yourself.
You all have a great weekend and we'll chat again soon....
From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
November 3, 2013
Cramping your style
Good morning everyone,
I come before you today with a humble heart. This week has been interesting to say the least. My main focus today is to share with you all a pitfall to avoid if you're a writer.
I will come right out with it: if you don't exercise you get weak and lose muscle tone. When I say exercise, I'm not referring to physical activity, although, the same principle applies, our brains can be looked at as a muscle and you exercise it by thinking. As a writer, you should try to write something every day; even if just a few lines. Preferably a couple of pages a day. By writing every day, you keep your skills honed and you're staying engaged in your story.
Trust me on this... I have a day job and I love to write; I want to become a full time writier. Don't fall into the same pit fall as I have. My problem is only writing on the weekends. I tend to forget where I was at in the story and have to go back and re-read what I wrote last week. Lots of wasted time.
I don't know about you all, but this cramps my style. It takes me longer to produce a chapter. Sure, there are times were an author must research certain facts when you come to a point. However, if I can find the time to write "something" every day, I find that I can engage much faster and find my groove so I can produce a couple thousand words a session.
Still think it really doesn't matter? Let me break it down by the numbers. Lets say you want to publish an average size book of 80,000 words and you write 3,000 words a weekend, you will complete your book if you stay on that track in about 26 weeks. Now if you add to that 500 words a day for 5 days, you're adding 2500 words during the week, making your completed work in just 14 weeks. That's saving you 12 weeks, or three months - That makes a significant difference.
Of course it will be different for everyone, but the basic math will always tell you when you can expect a finished product and every author will have their own word count they are shooting for.
Set yourself a goal of a page a day. Then increase that as you feel more comfortable. Eventually, you will look forward to that special time you set aside every day to write. And believe it or not, you will find that your writing skills will improve over time. It won't take as long to find your groove and the stories will flow down to the page like the water of a falls to the river below.
Start setting some goals... make them obtainable and then gradually challenge yourself and you will soon find that the goals get easier to make.
From the author's chair
Brian K. Larson
The Dyslexic Author
I come before you today with a humble heart. This week has been interesting to say the least. My main focus today is to share with you all a pitfall to avoid if you're a writer.
I will come right out with it: if you don't exercise you get weak and lose muscle tone. When I say exercise, I'm not referring to physical activity, although, the same principle applies, our brains can be looked at as a muscle and you exercise it by thinking. As a writer, you should try to write something every day; even if just a few lines. Preferably a couple of pages a day. By writing every day, you keep your skills honed and you're staying engaged in your story.
Trust me on this... I have a day job and I love to write; I want to become a full time writier. Don't fall into the same pit fall as I have. My problem is only writing on the weekends. I tend to forget where I was at in the story and have to go back and re-read what I wrote last week. Lots of wasted time.
I don't know about you all, but this cramps my style. It takes me longer to produce a chapter. Sure, there are times were an author must research certain facts when you come to a point. However, if I can find the time to write "something" every day, I find that I can engage much faster and find my groove so I can produce a couple thousand words a session.
Still think it really doesn't matter? Let me break it down by the numbers. Lets say you want to publish an average size book of 80,000 words and you write 3,000 words a weekend, you will complete your book if you stay on that track in about 26 weeks. Now if you add to that 500 words a day for 5 days, you're adding 2500 words during the week, making your completed work in just 14 weeks. That's saving you 12 weeks, or three months - That makes a significant difference.
Of course it will be different for everyone, but the basic math will always tell you when you can expect a finished product and every author will have their own word count they are shooting for.
Set yourself a goal of a page a day. Then increase that as you feel more comfortable. Eventually, you will look forward to that special time you set aside every day to write. And believe it or not, you will find that your writing skills will improve over time. It won't take as long to find your groove and the stories will flow down to the page like the water of a falls to the river below.
Start setting some goals... make them obtainable and then gradually challenge yourself and you will soon find that the goals get easier to make.
From the author's chair
Brian K. Larson
The Dyslexic Author
Author, Brian K. Larson Blog
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