*SAMPLE: PERDITIONS GATE*

WRITING SAMPLE: "Perditions Gate: Escape from New Eden."

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It was a dreary day out, which in England was not an uncommon happening, but for Jason it was one of his worst days. Having to bury his closest friend was as depressing an event as he had ever experienced. The London Necropolis, Brookwood Cemetery, was the final resting place of many notable people, but that provided no comfort.
There was no one there to mourn Jerome Brown that day, other than his special ops team leader, Jason Night. Four H8 robot counterparts worked the coffin into its place using a lift. They had been the pallbearers for Jerome’s coffin, yet they cared nothing for their deceased cargo.
Alfred stood next to Jason at the gravesite. He appeared as the late fifty-ish butler with graying, wavy hair and a suit with overcoat. A pair of wire rim glasses completed the look. Alfred actually seemed more interested in the robots working the site than anything else.
“A newer model, but still inferior,” said Alfred in his human guise as the dark knight’s manservant. It was a favorite phrase of Alfred’s. Jason often wondered if Alfred really felt the pride he exhibited over his own advanced modifications and obvious superiority. It couldn’t be anything more than the nuances of his special programming, he thought. Maybe that’s all that makes up my personality over anyone else’s, a few variations in the chemical reactions of my brain, a little different pattern in the firing of neurons. Maybe Alfred isn’t much different from a real man in that respect.
The plain stone marker simply said, Jerome Brown, died 2094. It seemed so empty, he thought as he stood staring at the tombstone—nothing about his friendship, his bravery in countless highly dangerous secret missions. Nothing was left to the world of Jerome Brown as a man. After all of his courage and loyalty, countless hours of hard work had only earned him a cold piece of granite and a hole in the ground.
To the public, Jerome Brown was the owner of a bakery in London. He had been on vacation in New Rome and was gunned down by a common street thief. This was his epitaph. It was all the world was allowed to know. Jason held the Vellum in his hand that showed the news article pulled from a local newspaper’s world wide mind portal. He wondered what the news would report when he died. Local, New Rome coffee shop owner dies, perhaps?
Alfred remained by his side, as always. “Sir, we should be going. You don’t want to keep Ms. Cross waiting.” Alfred knew what no person, other than Jerome, had known. He knew about Sarah Cross.
“You’re right, Alfred, time to go.”
They both turned and left the H8 robots to their work, filling in the grave. As they passed other markers on the way out, Jason caught the phrase, Rest in Peace, on more than a few. To him, it seemed more of a question—after all; did anyone know if they really were resting, did they have peace? These were questions he didn’t have the answers to and had no idea where they might be found. Seeing Sarah again would lift his spirits.

A VALLEY OF BETRAYAL by TRICIA GOYER

A Valley of Betrayal by Tricia Goyer is a gripping historical fiction novel set during the time of the Spanish civil war. Tricia Goyer has the innate ability to transport the reader back in time. This story is an engaging trip back in time to the days of the Spanish Civil War. The challenges of the war and politics behind it were intense, but provided a good backdrop for the faith of the characters in the story. Sophie is an American who is trying to get into Spain during the outbreak of the Spanish civil war. Her purpose for being there is to find her fiancé whom she has not seen for some time. She is expecting to marry him and then head for home. Instead she is caught up into the drama unfolding in this country; in a world and culture that are unfamiliar to her. Sophie will not be able to escape the dramatic impact this conflict is going to have upon her life. Some of Mrs. Goyer's descriptions are often very poetic. The scenes of war and the damage done to the people, who are attempting to go about living their normal lives is a reminder of just how important it is to find the peace which only Christ can give. Goyer manages to display the horror of war, and yet still offers the hope that can only come by faith in God...Highly Recommended.

Double Vision by Randall Ingermanson is a hybrid sci-fi, thriller, romance novel that never seems to decide which genre it really wants to be.
Now, crossing genres is nothing new and there's certainly nothing wrong with it. But I was actually expecting more of what the cover promises -- suspense and intrigue.
As it turns out though, there was some suspense, a bit of intrigue and a clean cut Christian love triangle centering around an autistic "mozart" styled quantum physics prodigy named Dillon.
Double Vision has enough premise to be any of several kinds of novel and do well. My hope was that it would run more with the quantum computer disaster possibilities and the thriller elements that could have gone much farther than they ever did, but that's simply because of my personal tastes. The novel does a nice job of providing an interesting story, with good writing and the romance elements are always battling with the quantum computer scandal for prominence. I have to say that were I to take up romance novels on a regular basis, Double Vision would be the sort I would gravitate toward with its sci-fi elements. And since Ingermanson is himself a physicist, he has no trouble presenting quantum mechanics in a way that even us know-nothings can handle. While I can't escape the idea that this premise could have been handled in a much edgier fashion and made for far more excitement, Double Vision does deliver for a christian romance with a bit of intrigue and a lot of heart.

*SAMPLES: The Chronicles of Soone: The Rise of Lucin*

Here's a random sample of my upcoming sequel, COS: The Rise of Lucin. This is the opener for the book...coming soon from Breakneck Books Publishing.

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NOT so long ago, in another creation of God…. A strong wind was blowing across the grassy plains where the Guniran province was located. Of all of the habitable planets of creation the planet Kosiva was the most sparsely populated, yet one of the most beautiful. With mild climates across most of its land mass and its longer growing seasons, Kosiva was as near a paradise as one could find among the habitable planets. And most important of all to the Guniran clansmen that resided there, it was spared from the ravages of the war.
The province consisted of primarily small homes packed around a small metropolitan area. There were a number of larger structures located there including the Council chambers for the province.
The delegates from the Guniran council seated themselves inside the ornate council chambers; inside one of the larger two story buildings located in the Guniran province. The delegates all wore similar apparel consisting of tan trousers and shirts with a long waist coat that was open in front below the waist, even when buttoned. The borders of the garments were embellished with an intricate pattern of darker material. They all wore brimless caps upon their heads and they had the air of politicians, which made Tiet uneasy.
Politics was a dirty sort of business for the most part with much scheming and backstabbing usually taking place. Tiet preferred open combat in a warrior’s uniform with clearly defined enemies and a sturdy blade to the sort of dress he was made to wear today. Mirah had insisted that he dress formally for the meeting, since so much depended on its successful outcome. She had selected for him, a dark blue semi-formal suit that had been purchased in one of the province’s shops. It was similar in style to the delegate’s attire and Tiet didn’t like it, but he was consenting so long as Wynn and Grod were made to wear the same. With dark wavy locks hanging on his high, tight collar and his olive skin, Tiet was handsome in the attire but terribly uncomfortable. He wasn’t and never would be a politician.
Tiet, Wynn and Grod took their seats and a beverage was poured for each of them by a servant. “Thank you,” said Tiet.
He picked up the wooden cup with its intricate carvings along the rim and took a sip—it tasted quite good, but he wasn’t familiar with what it was.
“Gumji,” said one of the delegates as he took a drink from his own cup.
“Excuse me?”
“Gumji. It is made from one of Kosiva’s native plants,” said the delegate whose name was Onnell. “It has medicinal properties.”
“Ah… my wife is a physician—she might be interested in knowing more about it,” said Tiet.
This small talk would soon become an annoyance. Tiet wanted to get straight to the matter. “Gentleman, now that you have consented to our staying in the area near the province, I would like to discuss the possibility of enlisting some of your people to aid us in a permanent dwelling for our group,” said Tiet.
“And what would you pay our laborers with?” asked one of the other delegates.
Tiet noticed a hint of sarcasm in the man’s voice—he didn’t look pleased to be meeting with them.
“I’m sure we could come to some sort of arrangement,” said Wynn.
“The fact of the matter is you don’t really have anything of value that we would be interested in,” said Onnell.
Clearly the small talk and pleasantries are over, thought Tiet.
“The only reason that we have consented to this meeting is because of Aija’s influence,” said Onnell.
“Who is this, Aija?” asked Tiet.
“He is the prophet of Elithias, The Eternal One,” replied one of the other delegates. “He instructed us to meet with you, as the king of the Barudii.”
“Well, that’s fine,” said Tiet. “So why do we appear to have a problem if your prophet has told you to meet with us?”
“The problem, Master Soone, is that we know who you are,” said Onnell. “We are afraid of the trouble that follows you.”
“And what trouble might that be?” asked Grod. The dark skinned warrior was formidable looking and his deep voice filled the chamber when he spoke. He was large and looked like his muscles would burst out of the Guniran suit at any moment.
The delegates looked coyly at one another and then Onnell continued speaking only to Tiet. “You are the king that fought and defeated the army of the Baruk and now your planet is under the control of the same being that controlled their clan for so long. It is very apparent; you barely escaped the planet with your lives.”
“We are not warriors here,” continued another Guniran clan delegate. “We cannot fight an army if they come to Kosiva looking for you.”
“I assure you, gentlemen, it is not our intention to place you and your people in danger. I am the Barudii king in the stead of my father. I returned from exile to avenge my fallen clan, but the time was right to form a rebellion against the Vorn, so we did so and we won. The Baruk answered this defeat of the Vorn with an attack on the twin Castai. It was only with General Grod’s help that we were able to defeat the Baruk, but that is when their leader, this symbiotic creature, escaped and began a fifteen year assimilation of much of the population on Castai.” said Tiet. “We came to Kosiva on the run from whatever has taken over the bodies of our people on Castai. This is true, but what else could we do?”
“You see Councilmen,” said Grod, his voice commanding their attention, “We had peace. This was all due to the efforts of the King. Tiet is not some war monger who is trying to bring the conflict to your planet. He made peace with me and my Horva brothers, recognizing our struggle for freedom. We, in turn, assisted him against the Baruk. It could not be helped that the creature escaped and later overran the twelve cities. We made every attempt to stop the takeover, but we were simply outnumbered.” Grod’s presence, with a large muscular build and his dark skin, seemed to be unsettling to the Councilmen, though they would not admit it. They knew of the Vorn and Horva only in the sense of the war, as enemies.
“If I may, Councilmen,” said Wynn, his voice more calm than the others, “Our way of escape from the planet is the key to the matter.”
“I don’t follow you,” said Onnell.
“You see, we utilized General Grod’s transgate portal technology, found only on our ship, the Equinox. It would be extremely unlikely that this creature would make any attempt to follow us and more importantly, it doesn’t know where we have escaped to.”
Tiet was growing nervous. The thought was ever present in his mind; his own son carried one of the symbyte creatures inside his body. “So, you see, gentlemen, there really shouldn’t be so much concern,” said Tiet.
“I understand your dilemma, Master Tiet, but please understand ours,” said Onnell. “We are simple people; farmers and merchants. We came here to Kosiva to escape the war. We wanted no part of it then and we want no part of it now. This province is all that we have.”
“Perhaps we should just leave Kosiva altogether then,” said Tiet, frustrated. “We had hoped for peace ourselves, but it appears you are unwilling to grant our petition to stay among your people.”
“We are not saying that you have to go,” said Onnell. “Your suggestion might ultimately be the best solution, but we have been commanded by the prophet not to send you away. In fact, Aija himself desires to meet with you.”
“Where is Aija then?”
“He lives on the mountain of Honnib,” said Onnell. “Aija has sent a messenger proclaiming his desires with regard to your group. He expects to meet with the Barudii king in approximately three months from now and he has instructed us to pay you the kindest hospitality. He claims it by the will of Elithias.”
“Well, this is more like it,” said Tiet under his breath as he looked sideways at Grod. “We would—“
Tiet’s com-link pin beeped on his collar. “Yes,” he spoke chin down toward the pin.
“Tiet, it’s Kale!” said Mirah. She was nearly hysterical.
“Mirah, what’s wrong?”
“Kale—he’s gone—he’s run away through the transgate!”
“Calm down, Mirah, I’m on my way now,” said Tiet. He stood to his feet addressing the Gunirans, “Gentlemen, I have an emergency—we’ll have to continue this at a later time.”
“But we have more details that must be worked out before we—“
“Wynn, Grod, if you wouldn’t mind to stay and settle this, I need to get back to the ship and see what’s happened.”
“Of course, Tiet,” said Wynn. “Go on ahead and we will be along as soon as our business here is finished.” Wynn had more experience with this type of situation. He was measured in his speech, careful never to say more than needed saying and his neatly kept white hair and beard gave him a distinguished look that people respected naturally. Wynn could do this without him.
Tiet headed out of the council chambers. He was trying not to get too excited. Maybe his son had just gone somewhere without his mother realizing and she was mistaken. He was telling himself that explanation, but he wasn’t buying it. There just wasn’t any reason he could think of why Kale would take off through the transgate.
The Gunirans had been kind enough to offer his group several animals for traveling after they had hiked into the province for the meeting. Tiet unfastened the reins of his leore and climbed into the saddle. The domesticated animal was a quadruped with hooves. Its coat was short and fiery red in color with a blonde mane flowing down the back of its neck. Tiet turned the animal, with a pull of the reins, and a quick goading of the leore’s sides with his heels sent them both galloping away toward the outskirts of the province and their ship beyond.

THE LATEST GREATEST ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY!

Have you heard about the latest archeological discovery?! Forget the Jesus find--here's a real bombshell!

Scientists have just uncovered a tomb in the arctic north which contained the bones of several people! One was a big boned male along with a female and the bones of a smaller person nearby.

Cryptic writings on the tomb have been deciphered to read, "The Kringles."

That's right folks, scientists are working on DNA evidence and expect to confirm very shortly the discovery of the real Santa Clause and his wife, Mrs. Clause. The smaller set of bones is expected to reveal ELF DNA!

What a devestating blow this will be to the world...while believers all over the world have already said that they still believe Santa to be alive and well, hidden at the North Pole in his workshop, skeptics are already signaling the end of Christmas as we know it.

I'm sorry....really I'm not...we who are born again should remain steadfast in the face of such ridiculous unfounded "discoveries" like we've been seeing in the news recently. Friend, a scientist could just as easily say they had discovered old Chris Kringle, because DNA testing is a comparitive test...ie, you need a genuine sample to compare it with. I'm sorry to tell them that they'll have to wait for the second coming to get one!! Praise the risen Savior!