(If you’re here for the SFR Brigade Presents excerpt, please go HERE.)
Some fun awards news below the excerpt….
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 authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)
I’m continuing on with my latest release, Star Survivor for another week or two. I’ll have a new release soon! (Blurb for Star Survivor below the excerpt.) Twilka and Khevan are on the run, trying to evade other assassins, since the Red Lady has a kill order out on Twilka. The couple are in a bad area of town, waiting for their friend Nick to arrive. Khevan has been talking to another D’nvannae Brother while Twilka watches suspiciously from close by. The two men get into a knife fight, which Twilka breaks up, but Khevan is wounded. He says it’s a mere scratch. (Edited a bit from published version and some repunctuating):
He assessed the surrounding area, “We must go deeper into the slum, then obtain an automated rent-by-the-hour room and stay there for the night. I have fake ID we can use to secure the room.”
Arm in arm as if they were lovers, she and Khevan strolled through the trash-filled streets, rejecting the first few rent-a-room places before Twilka decided enough was enough and booked a chamber with his fake ID. The robo clerk delivered a card key and she led Khevan to the designated unit, breathing a deep sigh of relief as the door closed behind them and they were out of the public eye.
“Let me see your injury,” she said, as he sank onto the none too generous bed.
The slash looked dangerous to her, the edges red and puffy, “Do D’nvannae ever coat their blades with poison?” She asked the question over her shoulder as she went into the tiny bathroom to search for something to wash the wound with.
“A treachery against our code of honor – such an act would only be done at the Lady’s express command, and the Brother I met in the street wasn’t part of a compliance squad sent by her. I taught his class at the local temple in the afternoon before the kill order arrived, so he recognized me,” Khevan removed his shirt as she approached with cloths, “I think he overestimated his own abilities and hoped to earn renown by being the one to turn me in – a smarter move would have been to stay out of sight, call for assistance, and attempt to follow us.”
The story:
The survivors of a terrible wreck meet again—but this time only one can survive.
They survived an iconic spaceship wreck together. She never expected to see him again … especially not armed to kill her.
Twilka Zabour is an interstellar celebrity. She built on her notoriety as a carefree Socialite who survived the terrible wreck of the Nebula Dream, and launched a successful design house. But now the man who gave meaning to her life, then left her, is back–this time for the worst of reasons. Will he kill her … or help her survive?
D’nvannae Brother Khevan survived the Nebula Dream in the company of a lovely, warm woman, only to be pulled away from her, back into his solitary life in the service of the Red Lady. Now Twilka’s within his reach again–for all the wrong reasons. Khevan will do everything within his power to discover why Twilka has been targeted for assassination, and to save her.
But Khevan is not Twilka’s only pursuer. Will allies Nick and Mara Jameson arrive in time to aid the couple, or will Khevan and Twilka’s ingenuity be all that stands between them and death?
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And in other news, the SFR Galaxy Awards were announced this week (I’m squeeing because Star Cruise Outbreak got two awards and Hostage to the Stars got one, plus the Pets In Space anthology got two.)! Be sure to take a moment or two to check out all the listed books! Lots of great reads by excellent authors…
Oh, good. Thanks for explaining the reason for the fight.
I like the details you reveal here, not only about the setting, but also about the D’nvannae. Nice snippet! 🙂
The wound sounds poisoned to me. Congrats on all the awards!
I guess he was lucky if it’s not poisoned and that the guy was more into his own fame than getting the job done right.
Good thing the Brother wasn’t so smart and hadn’t called for backup. And it was especially fortunate the blade wasn’t laced with poison. Though the wound seems pretty nasty to me.
I hope he’s right and it wasn’t poisoned.
I loved the idea of seedy hotels manned by robots that you rented with a swipe of your card. The No-tell motel of the future. Great world building.
Nice taut exchange. I’m liking it!!
Congratulations, Veronica. What a super accolade, well done!
I am inclined to agree with Elizabeth. Puffy and inflamed after such a short time? Hmmmm!
First congratulations – fabulous books like your deserved honours. And another great snippet – I’m still hoping the blade didn’t have poison. Tweeted.
We, the author/doctors, are all concerned about poison. I’m filled with pride for your achievements and awards, my friend. Major hugs today.
I hope he’s right about it not being poisoned.
Too bad about that “none too generous bed” 😉 Great snippet, and congrats on the awards!
Well done on the awards. Well deserved, I’m sure. And I share all the amateur doctor/authors above in wondering if the wound is poisoned. Hope not.
A love your concept of the robo-room.
The No-Tell Motel. LOL She’s showing more and more courage and surprising Khevan in the process.
Congratulations on the awards!! Great snippet! I hope the wound is indeed not poisoned…
Puffy and inflamed–in spite of his claim–does not bode well.
Congrats on the awards! 🙂
rent by the hour… I hope it’s clean.
I love when the bad guys are not nearly as smart as they think they are…but I hope there’s no poison! Next week!
I hope he’s right about the poison. Cozy quarters in the meantime. 🙂
Oh my! Poison and slashes and beds, o my! I’m intrigued by the “just enough” hints at their situation to look for more!
Poisoned isn’t good! Of course, neither is a rent-by-the hour room. Great snippet,
Congrats on your award. I too hope no poison is involved.
I liked the flow of their conversation. And congratulations on the award!
Hmm. I wonder if he’s wrong somehow. The wound does sound a bit nasty to me.
Squee and congratulations on your wins! And I’m glad poison is only a remote possibility. They have enough against them!
Love the backstory in the snippet, and congrats for the awards! You earned them! 😀
Ah, youth and exuberance often get in the way of success for sure. Great snippet, Veronica. 🙂
So a student thinks he can take down his teacher? Not too bright, is he? Or maybe just too cocky?
Big congrats on your awards. Wonderful snippet. I’m glad they’ve found each other again.