Aurora Springer's Blog, page 48

Meeting on a burial mound - snippet from Gargoyle Hunt for #WeWriWa #superheroes

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors . Meet writers in various genres and read 8-10 sentence snippets of their stories.
This week for a change, I’ll give you a snippet from Gargoyle Hunt, Book 3 in my Secret Supers series. The whole series is discounted though July 28th. Gargoyle Hunt is set in England and has scenes in some of my favorite places.
BlurbDanger is the last thing on Estelle’s mind when she visits the University of Oxenford for a summer course. But, mysterious thefts from the archives and shadowy figures on the ancient walls propel her into action. With Toby five thousand miles away, Estelle and her winged horse must hunt for the culprits alone. Soon they are embroiled in a mixed bag of aliens and ancient magic. Toby’s unexpected arrival throws her into turmoil and spurs events into a climax. Under pressure from his family to succeed, Toby is trapped in a web of deceit. The two supers have less than two weeks to catch the crooks and salvage his reputation. 

Setting for snippet : Estelle (aka Super Starrella) is visiting West Kennet Long Barrow (See entrance to rock tomb in photo above) near Avebury stone circle as part of her summer abroad at Oxenford University. The mound and chambered tomb of the Long Barrow are popular with new age visitors. Estelle’s winged horse, Rockette, is with her in her pigeon disguise. Italics indicate their telepathic communications. When Estelle climbs on top of the mound, she sees two middle aged women with four small dogs. Apologies for irregular punctuation to fit 8-10 sentences.
The two women made an incongruous couple; the thin one had a severe black dress and long black hair framing a pale face, while the other woman had short gray curls, round pink cheeks and wore a flowery frock. Two of the dogs, miniature greyhounds, scampered over and sniffed at Estelle’s knees; she bent down to pet them. The plump woman said, “I see you like dogs.” “I love animals,” Estelle said, smiling at the friendly woman.  The thin woman stared at Estelle, sharp black eyes contrasting with her pale complexion. Lidding her eyes, she whispered, “I see white feathers;” she opened her eyes and asked, “Do you have a pet bird?” With a flutter of wings, the speckled white pigeon landed on the mound nearby, “I’m not a pet,” Rockette squawked indignantly. “Not a pet and not a bird,” the dark haired woman said, glancing at the pigeon. Her pink cheeked friend smiled at Estelle, “Would you like to sit down and chat for a few minutes, dearie?” “The dogs have yappy thoughts, better find out who they are,” Rockette advised.

Gargoyle Hunt is 99c for the first time this year!US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDT6Y7Y/International: http://authl.it/B01MDT6Y7Y/?d(FREE with Kindle Unlimited)You can see some photos from my trip to Avebury and Kennet Long Barrow early in July at https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2017/07/avebury-and-associated-neolithic-sites.html

The first two books in the Secret Supers series are discounted. Read about the Secret Supers here: http://www.auroraspringer.org/p/secret-supers.html
Super Starrella is FREE July 24-28thUS: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C7WC8R6/International: http://authl.it/B01C7WC8R6?d
Starrella Falls is 99c through July 28thUS: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HT1W8AW/International: http://authl.it/B01HT1W8AW?d
As always, I’ll be happy to reply to your comments. Please return to www.wewriwa.comto sample the works of the otherwriters. 

Avebury and Associated Neolithic Sites in my Stories #amwriting

This summer, I visited the Neolithic sites in and around Avebury in Wiltshire, UK. The henge and stone circles were built about 4,500 years ago, and now surround the small village of Avebury. You can walk right up to the stones at any time unlike at Stonehenge where access is controlled and limited. The megaliths are more irregular in shape than those in the main circle of Stonehenge. The main stone circle of Avebury lies within an earth bank and ditch. 
Read about the history of Avebury at the English Heritage site http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/avebury/history/
You often find sheep grazing in the field with the megaliths. 


The Red Lion pub across the road from the stone circle is a popular place for lunch or drinks.   

Nearby Neolithic sites include Silbury Hill, West Kennet Long Barrow, and a number of smaller mounds in the fields. You can walk to all the sites from Avebury. 

Here is a view of Kennet Long Barrow. A chambered tomb built of rocks lies under the mound. It has two pairs of side chambers and a larger chamber at the end. This barrow is popular among new age druids who leave offerings of flowers and corn dollies in the tomb.  
In my story, Gargoyle Hunt, Estelle visits Avebury and Kennet Long Barrow during her summer abroad in Oxenford University, UK. She meets Dot and Misty with their dogs on top of Kennet Long Barrow. The witch and Farleon couple help Estelle and Toby capture the villain.

Gargoyle Hunt is only 99c for July 24-28th. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDT6Y7Y/http://authl.it/B01MDT6Y7Y/?d

Six Typical Buildings in Exmoor Villages #British #Architecture

I spent a week in Exmoor, UK, at the end of June. Here are some examples of the local architecture of old churches, farmhouses and cottages.

Tower of church in village of Wootton Courtenay

House in Wootton Courtenay

Farmhouse near Wootton Courtenay.

Inn in Porlock Weir

Fifteenth century church at Selworthy. Inside, it was divided into three sections and the ceilings came from different centuries. 

Periwinkle Cottage and Tea House at Selworthy. We enjoyed cream tea - scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream. 

This Week's FREE eBooks in #SciFi #Fantasy & #Romance

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Flatipus helps - snippet from Cosmic Rift for #WeWriWa #SciFi

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors . Meet writers in various genres and read 8-10 sentence snippets of their stories.
I’m posting snippets from my latest release, Cosmic Rift, Book 4 in the Grand Masters’ Galaxy. Note, I’m visiting the UK and may be late reading your snippets. 
BlurbEmpath Violet embarks on a new and desperate mission to find her missing lover. Violet’s happy family is shattered when Athanor Griffin vanishes. The formidable Grand Master might have teleported anywhere in the galaxy. Violet strives to find her psychic partner, while looking after their baby and fulfilling his duties on the Council. Her frantic search uncovers a new threat to galactic civilization along with resurgence of the infamous Ixioth slavers. The Council dithers in response to her call for action, and even her former allies believe the Griffin is dead. She must risk her son, her psi-powers, and her life to rescue her beloved mate in the hope they can unite to fight the menace.
Informal Tag line: Even galaxy-trotting heroines need a babysitter.
Violet and Grand Master Ravaleen have discovered the Ixioths are kidnapping the inhabitants of Ravaleen’s planet. I’m introducing another character in this snippet: Flatipus. Violet befriended the huge sea creature with tremendous psychic powers in Grand Master’s Mate. Flatipus has lived alone on the bottom of the ocean and is happy when Violet visits because she can understand its telepathic conversation. I named it Flatipus because it reminded me of the Cheshire cat – nothing but a vast smile and ambiguous remarks.
You can read the snippet from last week here: http://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2017/07/steel-cold-minds-snippet-from-cosmic.htmlThe final sentence was: Nearby, two Ixioths were intent on stoking the drive. Italics indicate telepathic communications. 
“Flatipus,” Violet called, “I need your help to smash the foe.” The huge sea creature offered, “Flatipus can rock the island.”  “No, you will hurt the innocent as well as the guilty. I wish to harness your power for a delicate operation.” “What?” “Funnel your psi energy to me. I’ll focus our combined beam on the ship’s drive.” The tremendous power of the gigantic creature surged into her. Engorged with psi energy, Violet staggered a step backward. Gathering her amplified power into a psi weapon, she speared into the drive.

Cosmic Rift, Book 4 in the Grand Masters’ Galaxy is $2.99 until July 12th at: Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N
You can read how Violet discovered Flatipus in the Grand Master’s Mate, Book 3Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N

As always, I’ll be happy to reply to your comments. Please return to www.wewriwa.comto sample the works of the otherwriters.

Exmoor – 7 Landscapes from a week’s worth of walks #Travel #Nature

Exmoor in the southwest of England has public footpaths and bridleways across a variety of landscapes. We spent a week in a house in Wootton Courtenay and hiked every day. Here are some pictures of the scenery from those walks. These places and animals might inspire scenes in my stories. 

View from Dunkery Beacon. You can see the North Atlantic Ocean with the coast of Wales in the distance. Dunkery Beacon is the highest peak in Exmoor.
A walk through the woods after climbing Dunkery Beacon.

Sailboats moored at Porlock Weir at low tide:

Porlock Weir – memento of WWII. Soldiers used these pillboxes to watch for enemy ships. 

Porlock Marsh. We saw two egrets in the distance.

View of the Sea from the Valley of the Rocks. A magnificent view near the coastal footpath. 


Goats in the Valley of the Rocks. These goats seemed to be posing for the visitors. 

Steel cold minds - Snippet from Cosmic Rift for #WeWriWa #SciFi

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors . Meet writers in various genres and read 8-10 sentence snippets of their stories.
I’m posting snippets from my latest release, Cosmic Rift, Book 4 in the Grand Masters’ Galaxy. Note, I’m visiting the UK and may be late reading your snippets. 
BlurbEmpath Violet embarks on a new and desperate mission to find her missing lover. Violet’s happy family is shattered when Athanor Griffin vanishes. The formidable Grand Master might have teleported anywhere in the galaxy. Violet strives to find her psychic partner, while looking after their baby and fulfilling his duties on the Council. Her frantic search uncovers a new threat to galactic civilization along with resurgence of the infamous Ixioth slavers. The Council dithers in response to her call for action, and even her former allies believe the Griffin is dead. She must risk her son, her psi-powers, and her life to rescue her beloved mate in the hope they can unite to fight the menace.
Informal Tag line: Even galaxy-trotting heroines need a babysitter.
Violet and Grand Master Ravaleen discovered the Ixioths are stealing the inhabitants of Ravaleen’s planet. You can read the snippet from two weeks’ ago here: http://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2017/06/kill-them-snippet-from-cosmic-rift-for.htmlThe final sentence was: Her tone rising in fury, Ravaleen hissed, “Kill them!” (Apologies for creative punctuation to fit into 10 sentences.)
“Wait,” Violet urged, “we must stop the spaceship. The holds are full of miserable slaves; your people snatched from your domain. If we kill the slavers, the ship’s crew will take alarm and lift off with their wretched cargo.” “You cripple the ship; my power is inadequate for such a task.” “I’ll try; you stall those guards.” Shutting her eyes, Violet probed inside the ship. She veered away from the steel cold minds of the Ixioths and searched for the ship’s propulsion system. If only she had Athanor’s skill at detecting metals, sensing inanimate objects was not her forte. Swinging her mental probe from the raised prow to the base of the ship, she located a pulsing source of energy. Nearby, two Ixioths were intent on stoking the drive.


Cosmic Rift, Book 4 in the Grand Masters’ Galaxy is $2.99 for the next two weeks at: Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N
This weekend, I’m promoting two books from my backlist, both published in 2014. In fact, I wrote the stories some decades earlier.
FREE through July 3rd
US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K1N951Q International: http://authl.it/B00K1N951Q?d
Discounted to 99c until July 5th
Available at Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&Nhttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MFY8A5Q
This weekend - Stupendous 99c Deal >150 SciFi & Fantasy eBooks http://www.pattyjansen.com/promo


Check my post for a list of early July deals: http://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2017/06/bargain-and-free-stories-scifi-fantasy.html
As always, I’ll be happy to reply to your comments. Please return to www.wewriwa.comto sample the works of the other writers. 

the stings of Artemis - snippet from Cosmic Rift for #WeWriWa #SciFi

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors . Meet writers in various genres and read 8-10 sentence snippets of their stories.
I’m posting snippets from my latest release, Cosmic Rift, Book 4 in the Grand Masters’ Galaxy.
BlurbEmpath Violet embarks on a new and desperate mission to find her missing lover. Violet’s happy family is shattered when Athanor Griffin vanishes. The formidable Grand Master might have teleported anywhere in the galaxy. Violet strives to find her psychic partner, while looking after their baby and fulfilling his duties on the Council. Her frantic search uncovers a new threat to galactic civilization along with resurgence of the infamous Ixioth slavers. The Council dithers in response to her call for action, and even her former allies believe the Griffin is dead. She must risk her son, her psi-powers, and her life to rescue her beloved mate in the hope they can unite to fight the menace.
Informal Tag line: Even galaxy-trotting heroines need a babysitter.
Ixioth slavers have been kidnapping the people of Grand Master Ravaleen, Meilai of Marina. Violet has enlisted the help of Flatipus, a huge sea creature with psychic powers, to defeat the Ixioths.
You can read the snippet from last week here: https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2017/07/flatipus-helps-snippet-from-cosmic-rift.html The final sentence was: Gathering her amplified power into a psi weapon, she speared into the drive.
She raised a barricade around the roiling fuel and expelled the heat into the ocean. The ship shuddered on its base, but did not topple. “Ease your output,” she sent to Flatipus. The excess energy withdrew, leaving her weaker and tired. Opening her eyes, she told Ravaleen, “The ship is stranded. Let’s free the slaves.” The Meilai drew her bow and shouted, “The stings of Artemis will destroy you!” She raced forward, shooting arrows and firing emerald rays from her blazing eyes.

Cosmic Rift, Book 4 in the Grand Masters’ Galaxy is available at: Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N

You can read how Violet met Flatipus in the Grand Master’s Mate, Book 3Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N
As always, I’ll be happy to reply to your comments.
Please return to www.wewriwa.comto sample the works of the otherwriters. 

Bargain and FREE Stories - #SciFi, #Fantasy and #Romance - Early July

Bargain books in SciFi, Fantasy and Romance for your Summer reading.July 1-2: Super 99c Deal >150 SciFi & Fantasy eBooks http://www.pattyjansen.com/promo

July 1-6: Romance 99c eBooks http://SecretWoodsBooks.com/99books  
Sign up for FREE Fantasy stories

July 2-14: Fantasy Spellcaster Giveaway - http://ajmartinezauthor.com/may-spellcaster-giveaway/

July 1- 31st: IF Fantasy Preview at https://dechapmanauthor.wordpress.com/giveaways/

Mid Year Reflections of an #Indie #Author

What have I accomplished in the first 6 months of 2017?
Writing Progress:
May 2017 marked the third anniversary of publishing my first full-length novel, The Lady is Blue. By now, I have published ten novels and several shorter works. You can see the complete list HERE on the new website (www.auroraspringer.org) devoted to my stories. 

This year, I rebranded my two longer series, Secret Supers (3 books) and the Grand Masters’ Galaxy (4 books), with super new covers from Danielle Fine. Also, I published a box set of the first three books in each series. 
I have recovered the 2 books in Atrapako on Eden, and the stand-alone novel, A Tale of Two Colonies.


After writing a couple of short stories to offer my newsletter subscribers, I decided to compile several of my shorter works in an anthology, Comet Tales, with the common theme of adventure and romance in other worlds. 

This month, I’m celebrating the release of Cosmic Rift, Book 4 in the Grand Masters’ Galaxy. This story has a whirlwind tour of more than a dozen planets as the galaxy-trotting heroine searches for her psychic mate, while tending to their baby son. 
Next, I’ll return to writing my new SciFi story set on Europa. This story will expand into a second book, and hopefully, into a new series. 
Newsletter SubscribersFollowing the advice of many indie authors, I have worked to increase the number of subscribers to my newsletter. At this point, I have accumulated a total of about 7000 subscribers. My main strategy is to use instafreebie promotions and giveaways of kindles or ebooks organized by groups of authors. Note, these avenues result in many duplicates and a small percentage will unsubscribe after each newsletter. Also, readers may become tired of receiving so many emails. Genre-specific promotions are probably the best.
Social Connections:My twitter followers have grown to >9000. http://www.twitter.com/AuroraSpringer I am climbing toward 1500 likes/follows on my Facebook Page. I have created a new website: http://www.AuroraSpringer.org with separate pages for each of my series and individual books.  


You can find my books on BookBub and Amazon. 
Sign up for my Newsletter for a FREE eBook and advance notice of my new releases, sneak peeks at my stories and giveaways by multiple authors.