First, a very Happy Holiday season to you all!!!
Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…A fun way to sample new books and find new writers!
The luxury ship Nebula Dream has suffered a middle of the night catastrophe in space. My hero, Nick Jameson, has fought his way to the nearest lifeboat and found chaos.As he’s just about finished loading the lifeboat, businesswoman Mara Lyrae arrives, much to his relief. But she refuses to get on the lifeboat, as there are children in need of rescuing…after a brief argument, Nick sends the lifeboat on its way. He and Mara set out to rescue the children, accompanied by Khevan, a D’nvannae Brother (think bodyguard/assassin sworn to serve an alien goddess).
They’ve reached the family’s cabin and discovered a growing hull breach. This snippet is after the children have crawled to safety and Mara and Kevan have taken them into the main corridor. Nick fights his way through the collapsing debris tunnel, and out of the cabin, where he discovers the hull breach has worsened. The blast doors are closing…but Mike made it to safety. Barely. Here’s the end of the scene and the fate of Huntington the Bear – did Nick remember to save the little girl’s beloved, stuffed companion? (Did a bit of editing.) Mara had asked Nick if he was okay…:
Nick worked on breathing, “Feels like a knife in my chest when I inhale. Maybe a cracked rib.” Reaching into his shirt, he produced the stuffed animal.
“What in the name of space do you have there?” Mara asked.
“Meet Huntington the Bear.” Nick extended the bear to Gianna, who stepped away from Mara, took the toy without a word, and immediately resumed sucking her thumb.
“Bet you were afraid I’d lost him, weren’t you?” Nick said, smiling.
She nodded solemnly, took her thumb out of her mouth long enough to say, “Thank you,” and gave the bear a big hug, hiding her face in the soft, brown plush.
OK, so we’ll stop there with excerpts from WRECK. This is only the beginning of the hard times for my little group of passengers (and Huntington) before they make it off the dying Nebula Dream…but I’ll move on to another science fiction WIP next week, since this book is available. Thanks for all the comments and feedback!
The Story
Traveling unexpectedly aboard the luxury liner Nebula Dream on its maiden voyage across the galaxy, Sectors Special Forces Captain Nick Jameson is ready for ten relaxing days, and hoping to forget his last disastrous mission behind enemy lines. He figures he’ll gamble at the casino, take in the shows, maybe even have a shipboard fling with Mara Lyrae, the beautiful but reserved businesswoman he meets.
All his plans vaporize when the ship suffers a wreck of Titanic proportions. Captain and crew abandon ship, leaving the 8000 passengers stranded without enough lifeboats and drifting unarmed in enemy territory. Aided by Mara, Nick must find a way off the doomed ship for himself and several other innocent people before deadly enemy forces reach them or the ship’s malfunctioning engines finish ticking down to self destruction.
But can Nick conquer the demons from his past that tell him he’ll fail these innocent people just as he failed to save his Special Forces team? Will he outpace his own doubts to win this vital race against time?
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I’ll say it again. I just love Nick–what a great character. 🙂 This is such a good book!
No post for me this week, Veronica.
Happy holidays to you, too!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I love how the bear has become the symbol of hope around this entire rescue has revolved. Very nicely done!
Happy Holidays!
That is one of those “Awww” moments! Gotta love a guy who remembers the bear.
Whew! Both Huntington and Nick are safe. I guess it’s okay if you leave us hanging there. 🙂 Love Giana’s reaction- it’s like she knew all along that Nick would come through!
Wonderful snippet and complex amazing book. I’m awed by your imagination, my friend. Merry Christmas and a happy HEALTHY New Year.
i’m glad she has her bear back, but I’m concerned about Nick – I hope he didn’t break a rib. Your books are full of imagination and bring us all into a new world!
Nick’s got a lot to endure before he sees the last of the Nebula Dream…trouble is just beginning! Thanks for the kind words!
Well, Nick has a friend for life. Love this little break in the action. I bet Mara was surprised to see the bear. How can she not fall for Nick now? I certainly have.
Yay, Huntington is safe. And Nick of course;). I love how he makes time to think of a little girl during this dangerous time. Great 8.
Merry Christmas!
It’s so sweet how he saved the bear. Sometimes toys need rescuing as much as people.
Aw, such a sweet scene!
It’s the little things that often matter most. Nicely done, Veronica. 🙂
Hi, Veronica,
Glad you provided the background,or I would have been lost. Enjoyed the vignette. Wanted Nick to show more pain for his broken rib, since it’s mentioned only a second before this interchange, though. “Bet you were afraid I’d lost him, weren’t you?” Nick said, smiling.
I wanted “Nick said, smiling” to be more explicit, such as: “Nick grimaced into a smile” or “Nick winced, striving for a smile, managed a grimace” or just “Nick grimaced as he tried to smile.”
Best to you,
Sally
That is a great man! I’m so glad he saved Huntington!
I’d like to think that Huntington is the reason that rib isn’t broken! Such a sweet moment, Veronica! 🙂
Love this! Even without the previous snippets I can tell what kind of character and person he is, and I love the development here 🙂 Great 8!
This is such a sweet excerpt. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season.
Wishing everyone an excellent holiday season and thank you for all the comments! I guess it was appropriate that I ended this set of excerpts with the rescue of the teddy bear (just in time for Christmas in our world), come to think of it! 🙂
Awe that was nice, what a sweet surprise. Great eight!!!
A lovely, sweet moment between Nick and the little girl. Nicely done on a feel good snippet. Happy Holiday! 🙂
Great snippet. Merry Christmas.
that’s such a sweet moment! happy holidays, Veronica!
I think I melted a bit when he pulled the bear from his shirt – your hero is a HERO (big letters intended). What a warm snippet, terrific.
Have a happy holiday season.
This scene was so sweet! You write kids well. I just want to give that little girl a hug.
Keep smiling,
Yawatta
Broken ribs and teddy bears… one of these things is better than the other.
What a hero Nick is!