H2LiftShips - Beyond Luna by Bob Freeman

H2LiftShips - Beyond Luna

by Bob Freeman 

March 24, 2021

Science Fiction

Publisher: Indies United Publishing House
"H2LiftShips, a tech manual for a future”

-Imagine a world, exactly like ours, but different-

It's cold, rocky and a little dark.

Solar Sail cargo ships ply the commercial space from Earth to the distant Asteroids. Trading foodstuffs, coal, and nuclear engines for pure steel alloys, ZeroG Wool, and bioGel computers.

Anti-Dystopian SciFi, because we have too much Dystopia right now.

Just regular sentients making a living in the void around our Sun: Earth, Luna, Mars/Phobos, and Asteroid belt. Gig work is the norm, jumping from job to job, trying to earn enough for air, food, shelter, and waste treatment.

The ships' crew; Captain Graciela, Jack, Tang, and an Octopus work with a boost crew to cross the empty divide before getting the laser boost at the Lagrangian station.

Meet, barter or run from multiple sentient societies on the asteroids, many a variation on Earth's history.

Gambling at the Luna Casino and in Las Vegas and a trip across the desert for tasty carne asada burritos round out the journeys.

Gigging the Void, is this our Asteroid Future?

No: Aliens, Monsters, blasters, pyrotechnic computers, Anti-Grav powered rockets.

Yes: Solar Sail ships, nuclear-powered boost lasers, coal to smelt steel and the only alien is the Octopus First Mate.

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H2Liftships - A Back Story

The back-story for H2LiftShips, following our intrepid sentients in the void, the Luna Casino, and the Asteroids, with a little old school schooling and celebrations. This is where we fill in the answers to some of your questions: · How did an asteroid citizen, born and bred, learn to drive a sports-car on Earth?· What happens to you after being abandoned on a divorce asteroid?· Why is Jack so afraid of prison? What traumatized that poor little puppy?· Are the bioGels sentient? And are they plotting against their owners?· What does it take to be a SolarSail Captain?· Do octopuses really think that they are better than the terrestrials? o (spoiler, yes they do).

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H2LiftShips - Gigging the Void
You all knew we would settle on Luna and start mining the Asteroid belt.

Mars, dry, dusty with thin unbreathable air, is just a prison planet with the added hell of lawyers and accountants in charge.

Asteroid groups, separated by distance and time, are unified in their desire for independence. Each one picks a governance style to meet their needs and desires.

We join Ponos, an injured asteroid miner, now on a 75km diameter chondrite asteroid, the quadrant's administrative center, working hard to get by as a certified workologist.

No matter what regime is in charge, Gig workers have to jump from job to job, trying to earn enough for food, shelter, air, and waste disposal.

WELCOME:

Join humans, simians, canines, and octopuses in our new future, gigging the void.

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About The Author

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Retired scientist, writing SciFi
Been around the microscope a few times:

Anaerobic Microbiologist exploring Lignin Degradation

Public Health Microbiologist/Lab Director

Software Designer (Laboratory Information Systems)

Writer of many of protocols, procedures and instructional manuals for clinical labs and software programs (these documentations were frequently treated as SciFi by the users).

The Story Behind the Story: A Slave's Revenge Hell Holes Book 4 by Donald Firesmith + giveaway

Oweynagat (which is pronounced “Owen-ne-gatt” and means Cave of the Cats) is the name of an actual cave located at Rath Croghan, Ireland. Ancient legends state that many evil and destructive creatures have emerged from the cave, especially on Samhain, the start of the Celtic New Year. These include a three-headed monster, wildcats, and red birds whose breath withered plants. Referred to as the hell-mouth of Ireland by medieval texts, the cave is also said to contain a portal to another world. It seemed a fitting place to be the source of the hellhounds that attacked Aileen’s village and killed her parents, the terrible event that led to her joining the Tutores Contra Infernum.

With the exception of the hell holes, I have taken great pains to ensure that the Alaskan settings in the book are as they are in real life. To achieve this level of realism, I flew to Alaska, drove the Dalton Highway up to the Yukon River, and toured Eielson AFB. I have relied heavily on Google maps, Google maps street view, photographs of Coldfoot and the Trucker’s Café, and both photographs and articles on military equipment such as Strykers and Pave Hawk helicopters. I also used multiple military advisors.

A Slave's Revenge (Hell Holes Book 4)
by Donald Firesmith
August 1, 2021

Genre: SciFi, Paranormal Horror
When demonic aliens kill his father and transport 15-year-old Paul Chapman, his sister, and mother to Hell as slaves, he learns just how far he’ll go to survive, get revenge, and regain his freedom.

After killing his father, a marauding band of alien demons captures 15-year-old Paul Chapman, his mother, and his twin sister. Taken as slaves and food to Hell, a planet orbiting a nearby star, their survival is extraordinarily difficult and far from certain. As the years pass, Paul learns he only has two choices: live as a powerless slave or die as food for his masters. How much must Paul collaborate with his demon masters to survive?

Hell Holes 4: A Slave's Revenge is a prequel to the first three books in the series. Paul Chapman, its protagonist, is also a character in Hell Holes 3: To Hell and Back.

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Book Trailer:

https://youtu.be/PmoBgedM-OM

To Hell and Back (Hell Holes Book 3)

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Demons on the Dalton (Hell Holes Book 2)

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What Lurks Below (Hell Holes Book 1)

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Book Trailer:
https://youtu.be/kUokP5NycfA

Hell Holes: What Lurks Below
Excerpt – In The Hole
“Professor, take a look at this,” Mark said, squatting down and pointing at the nearest mound of dirt. He held his hand a few inches over it. “There are small holes, and I can feel gas escaping from them. That’s weird; it should be freezing, but it’s actually warm.” He leaned over and sniffed the air just above the hole. “Jesus, that reeks,” he cursed as he stood up and rubbed his eyes.

I reached down. There was a surprisingly large flow of gas coming out of the hole. I looked around at all of the other mounds of dirt dotting the ice on which we were standing. “Shit,” I exclaimed. “We’ve got to get the hell out of here.”

“Why?” he asked with a confused look on his face. “We just got here.”

“Prudhoe Bay natural gas is about three fourths methane. One eighth is ethane, propane, and other heavier hydrocarbons, while the remaining eighth is carbon dioxide. I’m not worried about the methane and ethane; they’re lighter than air and will drift up and out of the hole. But carbon dioxide, propane, and hydrogen sulfide are all heavier than air and build up in low areas.”

“Like the bottom of this hole,” Mark said as the nature of our danger dawned on him.

“Like the bottom of this hole,” I agreed.

Although I was breathing rapidly, it was becoming increasingly harder to catch my breath. Both were early signs of carbon dioxide poisoning. Meanwhile, my eyes were really watering, my nose was running, and my lungs were starting to burn. Hydrogen sulfide combined with the water on their moist surfaces to form hydrosulfuric acid. I had a dull headache and was becoming increasingly nauseated. Worse, the stench of sulfur had begun to disappear: a classic symptom of hydrogen sulfide poisoning. “We have to head back up and strap on oxygen tanks and full face respirators before we come back down.”

“Okay, Professor,” he replied, looking at me with concern. “You’re definitely not looking so good.”

Weak and increasingly clumsy, Mark had to help me reach the rope and secure it to my climbing harness. Then he said into his walkie-talkie, “Angela, there’s hydrogen sulfide and excessive carbon dioxide down here, and we need to get out of here right now. It’s made the professor sick, so I’m sending him up first.”

“Understood, Mark,” Angie replied, her voice indicating her concern. “Is he ready?”

“Yes, all hooked up,” Mark replied.

A second later, the rope began pulling me up. It sped faster and faster until I was practically running up the side of the hole. Soon, I was up to where the permafrost gave way to damp dirt. I slipped going over the boundary, and the rope dragged me face first over the short muddy slope. Bill helped me climb over the ridge of dirt surrounding the edge and unhooked my climbing harness.

Coughing and unable to catch my breath, I stumbled into Angie’s arms. The caustic gasses at the bottom of the pit had set off one of my ordinarily rare asthma attacks, leaving me gasping for air. I fumbled through my pockets, found my rescue inhaler, and had to give myself three puffs before my breathing became easier. Meanwhile, my eyes were still burning and watering so heavily that I heard rather than saw Bill throw the end of the rope back into the pit and use the winch to lower it rapidly into the hole. After helping me wipe the mud from my face, Angie wrapped me a bear hug, totally heedless of the muck she was transferring to her own face and clothes.

“It’s down,” Jill said, her voice amplified through our walkie-talkies.

Bill stopped the winch, and we waited for Mark to tell us when he was ready to come up.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Mark said. “Bring me up.”

Bill restarted the winch, and the rope began winding itself back around its spinning shaft.

Feeling stronger, I let go of Angie and turned back towards the pit so I could watch Mark being raised over the edge. It was at that moment, through eyes still somewhat blurry from tears, that I saw Kowalski. He was standing near the edge of the hole, a few feet downwind so that the smoke from his cigarette wouldn’t bother us. He took a final puff and carelessly flicked the still smoldering butt into the pit.

“Stop!” I croaked, my voice raspy and painful from coughing.

Kowalski turned towards me, and our eyes met. Unaware of what he’d just done, he was completely confused by the expression of horror on my face.

After seconds that seemed to stretch into eternity, the cigarette butt tumbled past Mark and eventually reached the depth where the concentration of methane and hydrogen sulfide reached explosive levels.

About the Author

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Donald Firesmith is a multi-award-winning author of speculative fiction including science fiction (alien invasion), fantasy (magical wands), and modern urban paranormal novels.

Prior to recently retiring to devote himself full-time to his novels, Donald Firesmith earned an international reputation as a distinguished engineer, authoring seven system/software engineering books based on his 40+ years spent developing large, complex software-intensive systems.

He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife Becky, his son Dane, and varying numbers of dogs and cats.

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Book Review: Small Places by Matthew Samuels

Small Places 

by Matthew Samuels
August 3, 2021
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 325
CW: Strong language and violence throughout, with some graphic injury detail, scenes of involuntary restraint, giant spiders, dead animals, implied cruelty to animals, and some fantastical creatures of a horrifying nature

TW: Cancer, mention of previous self-harm and an instance of a drink being tampered with

Small Places is a no-nonsense urban fantasy fairy story. Jamie, a shy, lonely boy, runs an errand for a witch as a child, helping them ease a family friend’s experience of cancer. Thirteen years later, Jamie’s own mother is suffering from terminal cancer as well, and he’s come back to his childhood village to spend more time with her before the end. He receives a card from the witch, Melusine, asking for his help – and casting his mind back to his childhood experience – goes to see her, hoping she can help his mother. Amidst freak earthquakes and storms, he’s drawn into working with the bad-tempered Mel in an effort to find out what’s wrong with Gaia, the earth spirit, as they visit the Seelie and Unseelie courts, finding the former racist and the latter paranoid, meeting stoned fauns and beer-brewing trolls along the way. It’ll appeal to fans of Ben Aaronovich’s Rivers of London series, Charles de Lint’s work or Clive Barker’s Abarat series.

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A short while ago, I read a book that depicted totally unique deities and I ended up appreciating it for just that fact more than I liked anything else. This book, Small Places, pleasantly surprised me in a similar way. By the time I got to reading it, I'd forgotten all about its blurb. So, I was going in blind and didn't know what to expect. It opens in a small boring town and two kids, which is why I wasn't expecting it to wow me. And then, things began to happen. Good things. Original things. Supernatural things -- all of them my favorites! Original characters that I haven't read about and had a chance to fall in love with took up the stage and I liked them. The protagonist's mentor is suitably grey, which made me feel conflicted in the same way about them as the protagonist did. There was also a mystery that was bigger than them and smaller ones that affected the protagonist on a more personal scale. 

A fun book that's sad, funny, and violent in equal proportions.

3 delighted sheep!

 

Reviewer: Midu Reads
Most of my go-to series are 3 starrers
*No rating - wasn't my genre/dnf'd so rating it would be unfair
1 sheep - won't be picking up another book in a series again
2 sheep - average read with overused tropes and cliches. Will give the author another try/only continuing because of OCD, so must finish a series
2.5 sheep - liked the book but was put off because it was overly long/illtreatment of a character the author had me invest in and so on.
3 sheep - enjoyed the book but have reservations because I expected to be wowed and wasn't
4 sheep - was unputdownable
5 sheep - formed an emotional connection, will read the heck outta this series

About the Author:

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Matthew Samuels is a science fiction and fantasy writer based in London, UK. His first novel was the Sci-Fi Solarpunk / Hopepunk adventure story Parasites, the first book in the Navigator Series. He enjoys reading, gaming, running, walking, EDM and perversely, quiet.

Mystery Author B.R. Stateham: Discussion on writing a murder-mystery short story. + giveaway

Discussion on writing a short-story.

I like writing mysteries. But more than that, I like writing mysteries filled with interesting characters and puzzling cases. So the procedure, for me, is simple;

Begin with a murder in the most unusual situation and/or set of circumstances--and then introduce the main character or characters who are--hopefully--going to solve the case. After the initial set-up is done, its both the author and reader trying to figure out who did it together. In the beginning, I have no clue who or how the crime was done. As I am writing, I am playing off the odd clues I throw into the pile of clues found in the story, but more importantly--it is the wit and thoughts each of my two homicide detectives throw at each other which furthers the story along.

I know--it may very well be the worst way to write a short-story. Or a novel, for that matter. But that's the way I do it. So sit back and enjoy. I think you'll like the ride.

Murder Is Our Business (Turner Hahn and Frank Morales Case Files Book 1)
by B.R. Stateham

June 16, 2021

180 pages

Genre: Hard-Boiled Noir Crime Mystery, Short Stories
Ten stories from the Case Files of homicide detectives Turner Hahn and Frank Morales, these are tales of murder, deception, greed and mayhem only this duo can solve.

Murder is the operative word in this collection: from hardened criminals to deceitful damsels, to the cold minds of serial killers. Come along for the ride as Turner and Frank face off with the crazies, the cunning and the brilliant, as they try to get away with murder.

For Turner and Frank, the city pays them to do a job. But that's okay... they're good at what they do.

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Quote from 'A Barking Dog.'
"Earlier there was something about the kid which bothered me. Well, maybe it was more about something the kid said which bothered me. Just a kid really. Maybe fourteen, fifteen years old. A geeky little kid plagued with adolescent acne and a love for video games. Rail thin with big brown eyes and wire rim glasses. A dime a dozen. You find'em in every apartment building on this side of town. At least one.

But the one thing Frank and I knew from experience. A kid like this knew a hell of a lot more than what he usually revealed. Not because he was up to some nefarious shenanigans. Usually they keep quiet and stay out of everyone's way because, frankly, he was a geeky teenager with a case of acne with a connoisseur’s intimate knowledge of the city's many pizza parlors.

Who the hell wants to be made into a laughing stock by some toothy looking geeky kid?"

Guns, Gams, Ghosts and Gangsters (Turner Hahn and Frank Morales Case Files Book 2)
These ten short stories feature some of the homicide cases investigated by the South Side Precinct’s best homicide detectives Turner Hahn and Frank Morales.

In this riveting collection, you'll find cases of murder, revenge, greed, and insanity, with a hint of the supernatural thrown in as a bonus.

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About the Author
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B.R. Stateham is a fourteen-year-old boy trapped in a seventy-one-year-old body. But his enthusiasm and boyish delight in anything mysterious and/or unknown continue.

Writing novels, especially detectives, is just the avenue of escape which keeps the author’s mind sharp and inquisitive. He’s published a ton of short stories in online magazines like Crooked, Darkest Before the Dawn, Abandoned Towers, Pulp Metal Magazine, Suspense Magazine, Spinetingler Magazine, Near to The Knuckle, A Twist of Noir, Angie’s Diary, Power Burn Flash, and Eastern Standard Crime. He writes both detective/mysteries, as well as science-fiction and fantasy.

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$25 Amazon

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Join Personalized Marketing Inc on their 13th Anniversary!!

Can you believe it has been 13 years since Personalized Marketing Inc opened its doors? (Dee opened the doors and still can’t believe it either!) Her first book was released 16 years ago … which was the unknown start to #PMInc. When La Roe’s Curse was originally published, she was given a basic webpage, had to learn marketing the hard way, was asked to help a friend, which then Personalized Marketing Inc being born.

Over the past 13 years, #PMInc has evolved from doing small websites and marketing, to WordPress, HTML, and others. While their marketing has remained true to Whitehat Methods, they now offer Organic Marketing which is designed to help you grow beyond your current reach.

As some of you may know, Dee got a Bachelors in IT, with an Advanced Software Development Certificate. Followed with a Master’s in Business and Graduate Marketing Certificate.

Before attending college, Dee met and became close friends with Cindy, who then in Feb 2019 became #PMInc’s Manager and her editor, cover artist, and guru.

#PMInc offers the following main services but are always open to adjusting for their clients’ needs.

Organic Marketing

They analyze your various online locations ensuring that you are reaching your viewers when they are available and putting out content that interest them.

Web Design

To enhance your online presence, #PMInc implements styles and features that focus on your branding and incorporate them into your social media networks.

SEO

You have put forth the effort of creating a great product or service. Now it is time to make sure your website is showcasing them while ensuring that you populate on Search Engines.

🎉🎈Join Personalized Marketing Inc clients, Silver Dagger Book Tours, and #PMinc in a 10 Day Party with giveaways!

https://personalizedmarketing.info/13th-anniversary/

🎉🎈Check out the #PMInc Anniversary Party! Participating Authors Video Playlist!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9RTDlvNRgyC5Em6y1PRHcnWiSSPc9RqZ

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$25.00 Amazon Gift Certificate

1 eBook From Each Author (From the titles listed)

Print Copies of La Roe’s Curse and Fay’s Wish

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