Free to Read Event

[Michelle]

For the next six months, I'm offering book 1, of my FIRST LIGHT saga, free-to-read. I'll be adding chapters every week on Tuesdays.

Please pop by for a read and/or leave a review.

http://firstlightsaga.blogspot.co.uk/

[Robert]

Review Request:



Please consider reviewing Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton, an adult social science fiction novel published by a traditional small press. The final edition was released to Amazon on December 5, 2016: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017REIA44/.... Detailed info is below, including about the nonprofit agency to which author proceeds are donated for the prevention of child maltreatment.



Thanks,



Robert Eggleton



Blurb:



Lacy Dawn's father relives the Gulf War, her mother's teeth are rotting out, and her best friend is murdered by the meanest daddy on Earth. Life in the hollow is hard. She has one advantage -- an android was inserted into her life and is working with her to cure her parents. But, he wants something in exchange. It's up to her to save the Universe. Lacy Dawn doesn't mind saving the universe, but her family and friends come first.



Rarity from the Hollow is adult literary science fiction filled with tragedy, comedy and satire. A Children's Story. For Adults.



“The most enjoyable science fiction novel I have read in years.”

—Temple Emmet Williams, Author, former editor for Reader’s Digest





“Quirky, profane, disturbing… In the space between a few lines we go from hardscrabble realism to pure sci-fi/fantasy. It’s quite a trip.”

— Evelyn Somers, The Missouri Review





. "…a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy…what I would have thought impossible; taken serious subjects like poverty, ignorance, abuse…tongue-in-cheek humor without trivializing them…profound…a funny book that most sci-fi fans will thoroughly enjoy." -- Awesome Indies (Gold Medal)



“…sneaks up you and, before you know it, you are either laughing like crazy or crying in despair, but the one thing you won’t be is unmoved…a brilliant writer.” --Readers’ Favorite (Gold Medal)



“Rarity from the Hollow is an original and interesting story of a backwoods girl who saves the Universe in her fashion. Not for the prudish.” —Piers Anthony, New York Times bestselling author



“…Good satire is hard to find and science fiction satire is even harder to find.” -- The Baryon Review



Comfort Zones: Please note that there is a mention of a child having been murdered in this novel, by the meanest daddy on Earth. However, there is no scene and she plays a comical and annoying ghost most of the story. Here's a finding by Awesome Indies about the first edition to help you decide if this novel is too far outside of your comfort zone: “a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, only instead of the earth being destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass, Lacy Dawn must…The author has managed to do what I would have thought impossible; taken serious subjects like poverty, ignorance, abuse, and written about them with tongue-in-cheek humor without trivializing them…Eggleton sucks you into the Hollow, dunks you in the creek, rolls you in the mud, and splays you in the sun to dry off. Tucked between the folds of humor are some profound observations on human nature and modern society that you have to read to appreciate…it’s a funny book that most sci-fi fans will thoroughly enjoy.” http://awesomeindies.net/ai-approved-... The early tragedy feeds and amplifies subsequent comedy and satire.



Please also note that the character mentioned above (Faith) is a victim of sexual abuse. Sexual content in the novel:



While the protagonist occupies the body of an eleven year old, she is the product of genetic manipulation by Universal Management for millennia;
Lacy Dawn began her trainings via direct download into her brain five years before the beginning of this story, so she has been fed information about every known human subject, including biology, reproduction, economics…for years before readers are introduced to her (ET involvement is an opening chapter reveal);
Her best friend, Faith, as a sexual abuse victim, has a sad and unhealthy awareness of sexuality;
The android has no private parts, "not even a little bump," and is much less mature emotionally than Lacy Dawn throughout the story;
There are no sex scenes in the novel and only references, including the disclosure about Faith's victimization by a reference and as a flashback with no scenes;
As the android pursues humanity and starts going through an accelerated human development stage, he never develops any actual sexual interests but does try to kiss Lacy Dawn on the cheek once;
Lacy Dawn vows not to have sex for the first time until after she is married -- a traditional and now unusual family value;
She is fourteen years old when the novel ends and has typical teenage interests but remains untouched, not even a first real kiss;
There are normalized sexual references and innuendos between Lacy Dawn parents after their romance was rekindled -- the father was cured of PTSD and the mother's self-esteem improved, in part, because she got new teeth as part of the deal to save the universe;
But, the above sexual references are presented as puns, nothing on screen, and are milder than most romance novels that I've read, such as by Nora Roberts.


Piers Anthony, best selling fantasy author during the '80s and '90s, found that my novel was “…not for the prudish.” Kevin Patrick Mahoney, editor of the once noteworthy site, Authortrek, found that my story was, “…not for the faint hearted or easily offended….” An early voice in the first chapter speaks about things that no child should know. It is that of a traumatized child – a voice most of us never listen to, or want to hear, but in real life is screaming. I'm a retired children's psychotherapist. The language and concepts in this story are mild in comparison to some of the stuff that kids have said during actual group therapy sessions that I have facilitated over the years. By child developmental stage, it is similar to the infamous early adolescent insult in E.T.: “penis breath.” It is tame in comparison to the content of the popular television series, South Park, which has been devoured by millions of teens. My story does include marijuana smoking, but that subject has been frequently broadcast in the news as state move toward legalization, when legislation is introduced or debates emerge. Except for a scene involving domestic violence in the third chapter, there is no violence or horror -- no blood, guts, gore, vampires, or werewolves. The “F word” is used twice, but the all other profanity is mild colloquialism. Rarity from the Hollow is a children's story for adults with a HEA ending like a romance novel.



Political Allegory: You may be interested in this press release: http://www.pr4us.com/pr-2618-trump-pr.... The original © was 2006. You would have to read the novel to find out how Lacy Dawn, the protagonist, convinced Mr. Rump (Bernie Sanders) to help talk Mr. Prump (Donald Trump) into saving the universe. The political allegory includes pressing issues that America is fighting about today, including illegal immigration and the refuge crisis, extreme capitalism / consumerism…. Mr. Prump was a projection of Donald Trump based on the TV show, The Apprentice. Part of the negotiations in the story occur in the only high rise on planet Shptiludrp (Shop Until You Drop), a giant shopping mall and the center of economic governance, now more easily identifiable as Trump Tower. There is no political advocacy in the story, other than sensitizing readers to the huge social problem of child maltreatment, but the allegory is much more obvious now that Donald Trump is a household name. A similar press release: http://www.pr.com/press-release/695122 .





Formats: An image of the book cover is attached. Review copies are available in .pdf, .mobi, and .epub formats. With some exceptions, paperbacks for review are limited to the U.K. so as to avoid international shipping costs. If interested, please specify the format and I'll send you a copy.



Reviews of Final Edition: Requests for reviews of the new edition of Rarity from the Hollow are now being considered. On 1-6-17, the first was published, five stars. To facilitate your consideration of reviewing this novel, the closing lines were: "…Brilliant satires such as this are genius works of literature in the same class as Orwell’s 'Animal Farm.' I can picture American Lit professors sometime in the distant future placing this masterpiece on their reading list." https://marcha2014.wordpress.com/2017... On 2-17-17, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, a critic whose book reviews often appear in the New York Review of Science Fiction, published his review of the final edition, five stars: "…I know this all sounds pretty whack, and it is, but it's also quite moving. Lacy Dawn and her supporting cast - even Brownie, the dog - are some of the most engaging characters I've run across in a novel in some time…." http://sturgeonslawyer.livejournal.com/



Sample Positive Reviews of Advance Review Copy: The ARC of this novel had a formatting error that has been corrected. The final editon reads much smoother. This problem likely affected some reviewers of the ARC. A few book bloggers have upgraded their reviews based on a review of the final edition and others may do the same. Despite the formatting problem, the ARC was awarded two Gold Medals by major book review organizations, was named one of the best releases of 2015 by a Bulgaria book critic, and received twenty-six five star reviews and forty-three four star reviews by independent book review bloggers. An unsolicited Top 100 Amazon Reviewer found:



"Rarity from the Hollow written by Robert Eggleton, to be fully honest, was much more than expected and a great read – semi-autobiographical literary work full of beautiful and ugly things, adventure, romance, pain and humor…."



Another reviewer of the first edition found that the writing style was one-quarter turn beyond that of Kurt Vonnegut. http://electricrev.net/2014/08/12/a-u... The ARC was found by the editor of Atomjack Science Fiction Magazine, to be “laugh-out-loud funny” in some scenes. Long-time book critic, Barry Hunter, closed his review, “…good satire is hard to find and science fiction satire is even harder to find." http://thebaryonreview.blogspot.com/s... Vonnegut, Douglas Adams (i.e., Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), or Tom Robbins (i.e., Another Roadside Attraction) are also close examples by subgenre. A former Editor of Reader's Digest found that, "Rarity from the Hollow is the most enjoyable science fiction that I've read in several years…." http://warriorpatient.com/blog/?p=58 My novel was referred to as a Hillbilly version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and awarded a gold medal by Awesome Indies: “…Tucked between the folds of humor are some profound observations on human nature and modern society that you have to read to appreciate….” http://awesomeindies.net/ai-approved-... With respect to the story's treatment of tough social issues, this reviewer said: "…I was hesitant to accept. I usually do not read or review books that discuss child abuse or domestic violence; however, I was intrigued by the excerpt and decided to give it a shot. I am glad that I took a risk; otherwise, I would have missed out on a fantastic story with a bright, resourceful, and strong protagonist that grabbed my heart and did not let go http://www.onmykindle.net/2015/11/rar... A book reviewer from Bulgaria named Rarity from the Hollow as one of the best five books that he had read in 2015, along with Revival by Stephen King and The Martian by Andy Weir.

[Kate]

Hi everyone - I just uploaded new covers for my 4 Mars Colony books - it always takes longer than I expect! Glad it's done. If your curious, take at look at the first in the series at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view..., and if you'd like a free copy DL with coupon code BU32S. I think these covers register more easily as science fiction - my previous ones were a bit quirky.
Blurb:
Emma's one-way journey to Mars is careening towards disaster. She came to explore in her robotic walkabout suit, but something is terribly wrong at the new colony. Crippled by an inexplicable sense of desolation, with friends lost to suicide and a traumatic accident, this international team battles human frailties and the real dangers of the Red Planet.

With grit, Emma pursues her adventure. She finds an ally for exploration in Claude, a German geologist. Ying and Yang, a pair of Brits, embrace the hostile planet's challenge with the help of their construction robots, "the best erector set ever," and the colony's artificial intelligence. Her Canadian friend Liz will bear any burden to gain a foothold on to Mars, but Ruby, a Polynesian Kiwi, is inexplicably hostile.

[C.E.]

The online magazine FARTHER STARS THAN THESE has published “Paul’s Brainbug” by C.E. Gee, which takes three minutes or less to read.

The story will be the magazine’s featured story for six days starting Thursday, March, 2 2017. The story will then be moved into the magazine’s Archive Department. The Archive Department is found below the ending of the story --- Goto March 2017.

The story is Science Fiction, has a futuristic setting, a romance.

Please goto http://www.fartherstars.com