Air Cap Recap

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth at this past weekend's Air Cap Comic-Con. Really enjoyed myself, and so did my table partner, Candice Gilmer. I especially appreciate all the love that was given to the first in my Aston West series, Heroes Die Young! Thank you all!

Monthly Goals - September 2014

For those who missed it back in January, I set up the writing goals I aim to accomplish in 2014. Right after writing that post, I then read Dean Wesley Smith's post about how to be successful at your writing goals.

Life's circumstances have been even worse this month than they were last month, but even so, I was able to get a lot of writing-related work completed this month. That included meeting my daily word count goal every day this past month (continuing the trend from July, not even counting another 9 days or so at the end of June). Here's how I did against my August goals:

1. Complete first draft of "Payback" - Completed first and final drafts, and published in my latest Triple-Shot
2. Write 4,000 words on Life and Death - Around 7,200 words completed
3. Write 1,000 words on "Inoculation" - Completed the first draft, at around 3,200 words
4. Re-published Heroes Die Young (added goal)
5. Published my latest Triple-Shot, featuring my stories "Sacrifice," "Trust and Obey," and "Payback" (added goal)
 
And now, the goals for September:

1. Write 6,000 words on Life and Death
2. Write 2,000 words on the next Max McCannor novel
3. Complete final draft of "Inoculation"
4. Finalize paperback version of the Heroes Die Young second edition

Here's to everyone striving to accomplish their writing goals for 2014!

Heroes Die Young, Second Edition

Hot off the presses for your Kindle-reading pleasure, here's the second edition of Heroes Die Young:

Space pirate Aston West has come across derelict freighters many times before. But this latest catch, fresh out of a recent battle, proves to be a little more than he expected. He can’t fight the urge to pilfer a valuable cache of illegal contraband, but discovers one last stowaway who tries to kill Aston. Attack craft return to finish the ship off and Aston has no choice but to save her from certain destruction.

Who is she? What was this cargo he just took? Why was the freighter destroyed?

Surrounded by a host of old friends, new acquaintances, and desperate enemies, Aston travels from one system to another, getting the answers he wants, but revealing even more questions, and putting his life motto of never getting involved to the ultimate test. Climaxing in an ending for which even Aston is not prepared, the story will have you gasping for breath, and desperate to find out if heroes truly do die young.

SFFS: 2 August, 2014

Been far too long since I lasted posted a snippet for Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. Life has been a little more than interesting lately, and hoping to get back in the swing of regular posts. In addition to all of the life circumstances, my contract with Champagne Books for Heroes Die Young has reached its end. So, I'll be bringing this one out on my own shortly (just working out final cover art tweaks with TK Toppin). An as such, I figured it's time to bring back an old excerpt from the reworked manuscript. So, for those who've already read it, enjoy the flash back down memory lane. And if not, enjoy!

I moved on to the other bays, going through the same process. As the third bay jettisoned, I heard a metallic clang echo farther down the hold.

I pulled out my Mark II and stood, as a woman with bronze skin and black hair jumped out from a crawlspace under the floor. She raised a disintegrator cannon and pointed it at me. I dropped to the floor just before her first shot hit the bridge door behind me and showered sparks down onto the floor grills. I fired a three-shot burst and she dropped down in the crawlspace again, while minimal damage was done to the aft bulkhead. At least it gave me the opportunity to run toward the bridge door, where the impact mark from her first shot still glowed. Eager for cover, I ducked into a small alcove at the front of the hold as another shot struck the wall. Sparks fell at my feet while I pressed my back firm against the cold hard metal. My heart beat faster than it had in quite a while.

And of course, as always, if you like what you see, pick up a copy of all of my other works through the links above. 

Sales Update - June 2013

Hard to believe it's been nearly seven months since my most recent sales update (which is actually longer than the update prior to that. Things have been a bit hectic over the first half of this year, but I do have updated numbers (except for my Champagne titles, which I have not yet received royalty statements on this year. So, here goes:

Heroes Die Young has sold a total of 426 sales (print and e-book total), which means 9 copies have sold since November (for a total of just over a copy a month over the past seven months). This compares to 27 copies sold in the July-November 2012 range, so sales are way down (of course, this may not be the case after I see a royalty statement, but the trend has seemed to hold steady for all of my titles. The five-year anniversary for this one is coming up in September, so it's going to take a bit of action to maintain my previous average of around 100 copies per year.

Friends in Deed has sold a total of 96 copies (print and e-book total), which means that 2 copies have sold since Novermber (for a total of around 1 copy every four months). This compares to around 13 copies during the previous reporting period which is another reason I've said that sales across the board have been down (again, I haven't yet seen a royalty statement this year, but based on all indicators, things are not looking up for this one. January marked the three-year anniversary of this one, so the average is still less than 30 copies per year. One thing that was pointed out to me is that bluish cover art (such as these first two books) tends to sell less than red, yellow and orange. That may be something to look into on any future books I publish.

Seeker has sold 84 copies (99-cent e-book only), so only 5 copies have sold since the last update (compared to 7 copies during the last update). December was the 2-year anniversary for this novel, which means we're still on track for an average of 40 copies per year). However, I decided to go forward with this title (at least for the remainder of this year) as a free giveaway, so my sales stats on this one will be skewed (since I'm not tracking the free sales other than spot checks). I will mention that in the course of about two weeks on Amazon, I've given away over 250 copies, proving another point that people are more willing to try out free stuff when it comes to new authors.

 Dead or Alive has sold 83 copies, with 13 copies sold during this reporting period. This compares to 48 copies sold during the previous update period (although many of those were earlier sales reported by the publisher). The book was running about 4 copies a month at last count, and so now we've dropped to about 2 copies a month. I believe that the two-year anniversary is coming up on this one in July, so we're on track for another 40 copies per month title.

The Cure has now sold 83 copies (print and e-book total), so 16 copies have sold since my past update, compared to 12 copies during the previous update (making it the only title in the field that has increased sales since last time). This book has been out almost 2 years (the anniversary is in July), so again I'm seeing a little over 40 copies per year. It does match to the earlier comment I made about cover art, in that this one stands out for its color (as does Dead or Alive) more so than Friends in Deed.

Death Brings Victory was released just over a year ago (in March), and 48 copies have sold, meaning 11 copies have sold since the last update (which was the same quantity as the last time, but over a greater amount of time). This puts it on track with most of my other novels, at just over 40 copies per year. It's hard to say whether this cover tends more toward the blue or more toward the orange/red, as both are included. However, the fact that this is third in a series (and is much more tied into the first and second books, making it less standalone) may mean that future sales will come after people read the first two.

I now have two Triple-Shot collections out, with the first having been released in November 2011, and the second in July 2012. 40 copies have sold, so 7 copies sold since my last update (versus 12 copies from the previous update). Breaking this down, 29 copies of the first have sold and 11 of the second. The first triple-shot has been placed as free everywhere except Amazon (hopefully they'll price match soon), so sales numbers are probably going to be skewed from here on out (since I won't be recording free sales in the total.

Now for the analysis of this latest period:

Since my latest update (November), I've sold 63 books compared to 82 books during the previous update for an average of just over 10 books per month over the last four (compared to 20 books per month from my previous update). On the plus side, I was anticipating this latest period to be far slower than the last, but now I have evidence to back that up.
And so I have a statistic when people ask (and quite often they do), the latest "total sales" number now stands at 860 copies.

I never saw any bump from sales of e-readers over the holidays. My choice to offer Seeker and the first Triple-Shot for free is my attempt at getting discovered by readers. The first week it was free on Amazon, I did see sales of my other Aston West titles, so it's quite possible that this will help things along in the next update.

In the meantime, I really need to finish more projects. I currently have a short story, a novella and a novel to complete.

Thanks for stopping by!

Finding One's Calling

With each passing day, I find myself less and less motivated to write. It could be any number of things going on in life, both professionally and personally. It could be none of the above, and just general malaise about writing and publishing. Sales (or the general lack thereof) haven't really helped my motivation any. And of course, it's a vicious cycle that churns...not writing prevents new titles which eliminates the possibility of additional sales, which then stifles motivation, which keeps a person from writing.

That said, I've spent the past several days working on a screenplay version of Heroes Die Young. It's been great to get back to the old tales of Aston from yesteryear. And to be perfectly honest, my mind has always come up with all of my short stories and novels in terms of quick, action sequences with characters that jump off the page (in my humble opinion). I guess that's why I find it so easy to write in screenplay format.

So, then, maybe the question I should be asking is whether or not writing novels is truly my calling...or perhaps I've been wasting over half my life in that pursuit when I should have been taking a different path. One never truly knows, I suppose......

Battle Royal Results!

For those who were around to catch the Battle Royal announcement last month, it was a close race, but ultimately, Dead or Alive came out victorious (at least based on the sales figures trends I can see on Amazon's Author Central)...thanks to everyone who made this a very spirited contest!

And of course, with Death Brings Victory coming out soon (hoping to have it ready in the next week or two), you'll want to make sure and catch up on Aston's tales with Heroes Die Young and Friends in Deed...

HEROES DIE YOUNG Excerpt

I awoke to a seductive female voice. “Aston…”

Too bad for me, it belonged to Jeanie, my ship’s computer. A cruel joke, designed mostly for male pilots traveling long distances alone. It was even worse when I ignored the fact she was simply a machine, programmed to think.

I grumbled, “What?”

“We’re entering the Toris system.”

I sat up from the hard, low-lying bunk, stood and walked toward the front end of my ship. My hope was that Toris would be my gateway to temporary financial security. It was a short distance, nonetheless painful, as metallic floor panels clanked under my feet louder than normal.

As I walked onto my bridge, the hyperspeed engines disengaged and slowly wound down. I held onto my captain’s chair to steady myself until we reached a constant velocity.

I sat down in my chair, stuck my hand into the side pocket, and grabbed the same bottle which put me down after our last stop. “How are we doing on time?”

“Far ahead of schedule.”

In the second of my four cargo hatches was a cargo container full of blue organic crystals. When I’d picked it up, the seller had instructed me to take it to Toris, the outer planet in the system of the same name. I hadn’t been told why they were needed so quickly, but he’d said I’d double my pay if I made it to Toris ahead of schedule. I didn’t need to be told twice.

“Let me know when we reach the station.”

I took a small taste of the light yellow liquid in the bottle. The Vladirian storekeeper peddling the stuff at my last stop had given me the full story behind the drink. An animal native to Vladiria, a small passive thing called a Roshtu, would secrete the liquid as a defensive measure when attacked. The sweet smell and taste of the liquid would cause the attacking predator to concentrate on lapping up the liquid, intoxicating it and allowing the Roshtu to escape unharmed.

I took another drink, this one longer. It was a dangerous combination of tasty and addictive. I had to wonder if those predators ever woke up feeling like this. “So, what would you like me to buy for you once I get paid?”

“I am currently running at peak performance, and have no requirements.”

I smiled and leaned back in my chair. I usually found scuttled and abandoned cargo, then sold it for profit. Scavenging was a less aggressive form of piracy, and usually safer, since you didn’t have to carry out threats of violence. Unfortunately, such cargo tended to be scarce, and had been more so lately. So, when I’d stumbled into an opportunity to carry cargo, I jumped at the chance. An extra bonus for speedy delivery didn’t hurt matters.

I took another sip of the Vladirian liquor and put it away. There needed to be something left to celebrate my newfound fortune with. “ETA?”

She ignored my question. “I’m picking up a ship on medium range sensors.”

The hairs on the back of my neck rose. “Show me.”

My viewscreen lit up along the front wall of my bridge. A couple of kilpars in length, the lines of the ship were smooth, tapering from the nose to a constant rectangular cross-section around the first quarter of the hull. Near the back of the ship, I could see bell shaped nozzles behind four embedded engines, darkened against the starfield. I recognized the configuration, but wanted confirmation. “Rulusian freighter?”

“Designation Green Three.”

I took another look at the sensor screen beside my left armrest. “I don’t see any other ships out there.”

“There are none in the vicinity.”

A Rulusian freighter in an alien system, all by itself, made no sense. They often stuck together in vast convoys, to give themselves a better defensive position through sheer numbers.

“Status of the freighter?”

“Engines and main power are down, backup systems are in effect. No shields, no weapons charged.” She paused a moment. “No life signs.”

With the condition of the ship, and no crew, I wondered what happened. Then a smile crossed my lips. I was a scavenger pirate at heart and wasn’t about to let a prime opportunity escape. “Any cargo in the bays?”

Jeanie was hesitant. “Yes.”

“Well,” I chuckled, “what is it?”

“Signs of cargo without accompanying records in the transport manifest.”

Contraband. My smile grew. Rulusians were usually law-abiding as well. I had no idea why one of their ships would be hauling illegal cargo, but with three open bays on my ship and plenty of time to spare, there was only one thing on my mind.

Jeanie was too smart for her own good. “The logic of this situation does not compute.”

“It’s nice you worry about me, but I’ll be fine.” I smirked at the thought of a machine having feelings.

She remained silent.

“Access their computer, and drop their cargo.”

“Unable to comply.”

If she wasn’t programmed to obey, I would have been upset. There had to be something wrong. “Explain.”

“The on-board systems were placed under a command-level lock-out by the Captain of the vessel. Only the Captain can remove it.”

I clasped my hands behind my head and sighed. Green Three grew larger in the viewscreen as we approached it. Finding the freighter made me think my luck was turning for the better. Now, the situation was tougher than it first seemed.

My thoughts drifted to the state of the ship. “Looks like they didn’t want anyone else gaining control. Maybe they abandoned ship.”

“That theory appears plausible.”

I ran my hands through my dark brown, wavy locks, then massaged the tension out of the back of my neck. “I guess I’ll just have to go over and drop it manually. Move us to the starboard docking hatch.”

* * *

Soon, I stood inside the airlock compartment of the Rulusian freighter, my Mark II blaster in my right hand. A crude and stubby weapon, it was small enough to hold with just the one hand, with a recoil guard propped against my arm. It had always been there for me, and never let me down. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to put that streak to the test.

I lifted the left sleeve of my black leather jacket up and spoke through the embedded transmitter. “Can you get me through the airlock hatch?”

“Negative.”

Green indicator lights above the inner circular hatch told me the pressures had already equalized. I stooped over to the left and looked at my reflection in a dark computer screen mounted in the wall. My face was rugged, covered with a few lines and weathered by experience. My once bright blue eyes were dim from the passage of time. I quickly grew tired of looking at myself and yanked the screen from the wall. It dangled from a large jumble of wires.

It was a mystery which ones controlled the locking mechanism, so to save time, I ripped all of them out amidst snapping sparks and rancid fumes. The screen dropped to the floor and smashed. The door popped loose, just enough where I could put my fingers around the edge. The muscles in my arms bulged slightly as I strained. Finally, the door hit a point where it rolled out of the way on its own and I ducked through the entryway.

“I’m in,” I announced to Jeanie, out of breath.

“Be careful.”

Inside, I broke into a sweat, both from the physical exertion and the climate controls on-board the freighter. Rulusians were from an extremely warm and humid jungle planet, and liked to make their ships feel like home. My heavy jacket didn’t help matters. Lines of sweat made their way down my face, as I stepped away from the airlock hatch.

I turned my gaze down the entry corridor and saw carnage I wouldn’t soon forget. Rulusian bodies were piled on either side of the hallway, burn marks from energy weapons appearing as black patches on their dark green skin. The putrid scent of scorched flesh was in the air. I passed an open doorway on my left, and looked inside at crew quarters. More Rulusian corpses lay amidst sparks and clouds of smoke.

I lifted the transmitter again. “You’re sure there isn’t anyone on this ship?”

“Affirmative. All scans show nothing but yourself.”

“This damage is far too recent.”

“Did the crew abandon ship as we had thought?”

I grimaced. “Doesn’t look like it.”

I continued down the corridor toward the bridge. Smoke particles lingered in the air and I detected a faint chemical odor while my eyes watered. Dark blast marks lined the doorframe and floor, where an access hatch had been blown open with some sort of bomb. I took slow, cautious steps through the opening and became witness to even more carnage. Ten more Rulusians had collapsed against the outer wall or slumped over consoles, all roasted by weapons fire. I definitely didn’t need to meet up with the people who had done this. I didn’t get into the scavenging business to be a hero. Everyone loves heroes, but heroes have a tendency to die young.

I glanced at the console screens while stepping around the short end of an oval-shaped half-wall. All of the displays flickered with minimal power from backup systems, while I stepped over a pair of corpses. I stopped at one and attempted to bypass the lockout. The sweat fell off my face onto the screens and formed little pools which slowly worked up enough courage to slide down the panel. I realized my attempts were useless and walked to a single access hatch at the back of the bridge.

“Jeanie, which bays contain contraband?”

“All of them.”

A huge smile spanned my face. This was definitely a dream come true.

Unfortunately, I only had three bays open and there was no way I was dumping the crystals. Perfect opportunities like these were the exception and after these weapons were sold, I’d likely have to run some more regular cargo. Even in such a huge universe, it wouldn’t take long for word to spread that I couldn’t be trusted to complete a delivery.

“Get ready to pull three containers in. The winches should be adequate.” I had a loading arm installed, and even though it was a lot more accurate, it was slow and cumbersome. There was still a bonus on those crystals to keep in mind.

“Acknowledged.”

The door into the cargo hold slid open easily, which I found odd as I walked inside. The air was stale and dry in my lungs as the floor panels clanged and echoed with each step. The door closed behind me and I glanced down the dimly lit corridor at six bays on either side. The best thing would be for me to drop the first three bays and ignore the possibility of a better catch in the others.

A computer console beside the bay door monitored the ambient conditions inside, while a marked service panel underneath drew my attention. I shoved my Mark II into its holster inside my jacket and knelt beside the panel. The cover pried off in no time and I tossed it aside. A lever on the right, and two dimmed lights next to it looked like what I needed. Even though I’d never jettisoned cargo manually from a Rulusian freighter before, there were plenty of bays left to find the proper technique. After I pulled the lever, the lights flashed in an alternating sequence, rapidly increasing in speed before they turned solid. A miniature explosion sounded off as the bay evacuated itself.

Just to make sure I hadn’t destroyed a perfectly good cargo container, I lifted my transmitter again. “Do you see it, Jeanie?”

“Pulling in the cargo now.”

“Two more on the way.”

I moved on to the other bays, going through the same process. As the third bay jettisoned, I heard a metallic clang echo farther down the hold.

I pulled out my Mark II and stood, as a woman with bronze skin and black hair jumped out from a crawlspace under the floor. She raised a disintegrator cannon and pointed it at me. I dropped to the floor just before her first shot hit the bridge door behind me and showered sparks down onto the floor grills. I fired a three-shot burst and she dropped down in the crawlspace again, while minimal damage was done to the aft bulkhead. At least it gave me the opportunity to run toward the bridge door, where the impact mark from her first shot still glowed. Eager for cover, I ducked into a small alcove at the front of the hold as another shot struck the wall. Sparks fell at my feet while I pressed my back firm against the cold hard metal. My heart beat faster than it had in quite a while.

I yelled out, “You can have the rest. I’ve got all I can carry.” I had no idea how this person evaded Jeanie’s scans, but my main concern now was to get out of this alive.

“This is my ship, idiot.” Her footsteps drew closer.

“Funny, you don’t look Rulusian.” I eased my head out and quickly jerked back as another shot hit the corner. More sparks showered the grating at my feet.

“Come on out. You can’t escape.”

“And get myself shot? No thanks.” The blaster felt loose in my hand, while my palms grew damp.

“Slide your weapon out first.”

I had no choice. Disintegrator cannons were outlawed for civilian use almost everywhere, and for good reason. “Okay, okay. I’m coming out.” I slid the blaster along the grill and lifted both hands high in the air.

She taunted me as I walked out to face her. “You board ships, and arm yourself with a toy?”

I didn’t care for her insults, but wasn’t in a position to complain. “I didn’t expect visitors.”

“Glad to see some old tricks still work.” She smirked.

Jeanie’s voice was frantic over my transmitter. “Aston, Aston!”

A little late, I thought. I looked at my captor with an edge to my voice. “Mind if I take this?”

She scowled and grabbed her weapon a little tighter.

“My ship’s computer,” I told her.

She gave a stern nod and I held my wrist over to my mouth. “What is it, Jeanie?”

“A pair of attack cruisers are on an intercept course from Toris.”

My captor relaxed her grip on the cannon. “You’re not part of a boarding crew?”

“I’m just a scavenger pirate.” I reached down for my blaster. “We need to go.”

She was loud and abrupt. “Hold it.”

I looked up, the barrel still pointed at my face.

I frowned. “Come on. We don’t have time for this!”

“How can I trust you? You’re a thief.”

I let the insult slide. “Right now, it doesn’t look like you have a choice. You can stay here and wait for those attack cruisers to show up if you want. Me personally, I plan to be on a ship that can run.” I grabbed my blaster and stood.

The reality of her situation finally sunk in. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Finally,” I muttered as we ran back toward the docking port.

***

Buy a Copy From These Stores:
Print: Amazon	E-book: Amazon
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12 Days of Christmas

For those who've been debating buying a copy of my books, I'm pleased to announce that Champagne Books is holding a 12 Days of Christmas sale. TODAY ONLY, you can get a copy of Heroes Die Young for only 99 cents in the Champagne store or the Burst Books store. And if you don't know what Heroes Die Young is, then you apparently didn't read the snippet from last Saturday.

So, get on over there and buy your copy today, for the special sale price. Because tomorrow will be too late... :-)

SFFS: Another Excerpt from HEROES DIE YOUNG

Neck-deep into new material and edits galore, it was a bit of a trick to find a snippet for this week's Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. So, for this week, I'm going to reach back into the past a bit, and get another excerpt from my first published novel, Heroes Die Young.  Here's a snippet, this one a little bit racier, between Aston and his best friend's (adult, for those wondering) daughter:

Her assault on my senses continued as she combed her fingers through my hair, and our mouths pressed against one another.

As she reached down to my pants, my conscience slapped me upside the head and I grabbed her arm. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

She pulled away and folded her arms across her chest. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes drooped. “Please leave.”

“If the circumstances were different, Juniper, I…”

Her eyes burned through me. “Leave!”

Poor Aston can never catch a break...

If you enjoyed this, click the link to HDY up there, and check out the whole first chapter. And of course, what really gets me motivated toward putting out Aston's latest adventures is to see the book being sold and enjoyed. Pick up a copy! You'll be glad you did...

SFFS - An Excerpt from Heroes Die Young

Greetings everyone! I was turned on to Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday (not in local time, thus the Friday night posting) by a friend of mine, so figured I'd give it a shot this week and see whether I can do it right. Ha.

So, here's a snippet from my first published novel Heroes Die Young:

***

I needed to get out of this mess. The trick was going to be in doing so without getting myself caught. Not that you could get in much more trouble than a death sentence, of course. I could have spared my life by giving up the cargo, but this was a matter of principle now.

I turned to the guard. “You’re going to sit there and watch my every moment, aren’t you?”

His face told me what his voice didn’t.

“Well, would you at least get me something to eat? I’m starving.”

He folded his arms across his chest.

“Come on. Surely you feed your prisoners.”

“I’ll be right back,” he mumbled.

As he stepped out of the room, I held up my arm and whispered into my transmitter. “Jeanie, can you hear me?”

“Aston, are you okay?”

“I’ve been better.”

“According to the station’s records, you’ve been incarcerated on weapons charges.”

Jeanie had a tendency to be a bit nosy. I heaved a sigh. “Yes. Our guest informed them of our cargo.”

“There has to be some explanation. I know they haven’t defeated my efforts at concealing our cargo.”

“I’m in a bit of a hurry here, Jeanie.”

“I apologize.”

“I’m in a holding cell.”

“The station contains only one security area. What cell number are you in?”

I shifted myself on the cot to get a better look at the nameplates on the other doorways. “Looks like number three. Drop the energy field and keep it secret if you can.”

“It doesn’t appear they have very tight safeguards in place. It should only take a moment.”

I jumped to my feet. “I’ll be there in a little bit. Prepare us for a departure whether the station lets us or not.”

“Understood.”

I walked up to the field and tried to get a better look past the doorway, just then, the energy beams flickered and died off.

I smiled. “Thanks, Jeanie. See you soon.”

I grabbed my case of Vladirian liquor, scurried over to the doorway, and eased my head out to look. Two guards sat at their desks with their backs to me, typing out information into terminals. The guard who’d kept watch over me was nowhere to be seen, which suited me fine. I tiptoed into the booking area, walked around the small counter, then bent down below the countertop, just in case one of the two guards happened to turn around.

“Hey!”

I looked up and saw my guard with a tray of food as he entered through the front door.

“Prisoner escaped!” He yelled to the others.

I rushed the guard and nailed his midsection with my shoulder. The tray slammed into his chest as he fell to the floor. I jumped over him and ran out.

As I rushed into the commons area, I had to stop and get my bearings. A few curious onlookers gave me odd glances, while others gave me a wide berth. I found the corridor I needed and sprinted for it. Voices called out behind me, but I paid them no heed as I rushed for my ship.

I raised my arm as I neared the second docking ring. “Jeanie, are you ready?”

“Affirmative.”

A guard I didn’t recognize stepped out from around the corner with his weapon drawn. I didn’t have enough time to react as a green blast struck me square in the chest. I stumbled and fell to the floor, then slid to a stop against his feet. The case hit the floor beside me and thankfully stayed intact.

“Aston West, you’re under arrest for attempted escape.”

Getting shot was always a strange experience. My chest felt like it was going to explode from the inside as I lost feeling in my extremities. His weapon was set on a much higher setting than mine normally was.

My world slowly faded to black.

***

If you enjoyed it, feel free to snag a copy via any of the major online retailers...and of course, excerpts from all of my novels, and links to my published short stories, can all be found over at AstonWest.com

Another Contest!

Get on over to read my latest article, and post a comment today to enter for a chance at one of my two books.

Those following me on Twitter can follow the instructions I'll be posting throughout the day for a separate chance to win (i.e. a second copy being given away).

New Interview

For those interested, I was recently interviewed by Author Offerings (don't worry, my interview is clean, despite the form warning about adult content).

In Other Good News...

So far, this has turned out to be a rather fun month (at least on the writing side of things)...my novel HEROES DIE YOUNG is now available as an audiobook over at Audible.com for those who prefer listening to books over reading the written word.

Be Sure To Vote!

Both my novella Heroes Die Young and my short story "Obedience" have been nominated for Best of 2008 SF awards. Be sure to run over and vote!

You can vote for Heroes Die Young here.

You can vote for "Obedience" here.

For those who haven't yet read "Obedience" it's still up over at Ray Gun Revival. And you can check out Heroes Die Young here.

Guest Blogging

Be sure to check out my guest blogs over at The Writer's Vineyard and Wild on Books. Two blog commenters over at Wild on Books will be winning free copies of HEROES DIE YOUNG, so be sure to stop by!

Heroes Die Young Now Available!

Check it out! My novella Heroes Die Young is now available from the fine folks over at Champagne Books, in both print and e-book formats!!! Check out the details over at AstonWest.com