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!)
May be edited a bit from published version.
Sharing excerpts from JAMOKAN: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL. This will be the last one from JAMOKAN because we’re getting into spoiler territory. I’ve jumped way ahead. They’ve been discussing Rosemari’s talent as an artist and she’s explaining how her skill got her off her planet and into space, where she was kidnapped by pirates. Hand drawn art is a rarity in the far future….
The excerpt – Jamokan has the first line.
“How exactly did your talent lift you out of the hydroponics sheds and send you out into the stars? I’m curious.”
Rosemari settled herself more comfortably, leaning her head on one elbow and staring at the fire as he added wood to make it blaze again. “There’s a competition on my planet, once a year, meant to give the masses hope, I think. It’s talent-based and anyone can apply to compete. There are many rounds of elimination, at the local, district and planetwide level. Thousands apply every year.”
He shoved a fallen, partially burnt log more firmly into the center of the blaze and sat back. “And you entered?”
She shook her head, eyes a bit misty as she considered the past and recalled the events which had changed her life. “My friends entered me without telling me. I think it might have been a joke actually. The first I knew of it was when I was notified I’d made it through the local eliminations and was on to district. One of my favorite teachers was the local judge, which probably had something to do with me advancing in the contest. I was terrified—it’s impossible to back out because the government runs the whole thing and place a high value on it. The last few eliminations were broadcast to the entire planet and we had to demonstrate our talent in real time. I was up against dancers, singers, acrobats, poets, you name it and there was a person on the stage performing it. I did caricatures—gentle ones—of the judges for one round, drew from audience requests for another. You didn’t have to win each time fortunately to stay in the competition as long as you kept adding enough margin to your points and the planet’s citizens didn’t vote you off.”
Jamokan was fascinated. “You must have won though, if you got off the planet.”
“The finale was between a gifted dancer, a fantastic singer and me. ..”
JAMOKAN: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL (SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES BOOK 13)
The story: Badari Alpha Jamokan and his pack are growing discontented in the sanctuary valley, tired of coming in second place to the pushy new South Seas pack when it comes to assignments and everything else. On top of the discord within his pack, Jamokan is distracted by the search for the right woman to be a proper Alpha’s mate to partner with him in combat and in everyday life. Even the Badari goddess is warning him in visions that he and his pack are on the wrong path for a happy future. In desperation, he receives permission to take his entire pack north to the mountains for a two week hunting expedition, where he hopes to use the time and rugged surroundings to settle the soldiers down and restore order and discipline.
And figure out his own future.
When his men unexpectedly locate a hidden Khagrish lab, he goes to investigate and see if there are humans to be rescued. Little does he suspect he’ll be called upon to break one of the highest commandments of the Badari packs and bring a new disaster to those who look to him for leadership.
Before she became a Khagrish prisoner, Rosemari Parcher was a hydroponics technician on a gritty colony world, who unexpectedly won a planetwide contest. Tapped to receive her heart’s desire and move to a totally different life in the luxurious Inner Sectors, her life had become a happy dream. Kidnapped in space by enemy aliens and given to the Khagrish, she and other humans are the unwilling subjects of a bizarre medical experiment where a quick death seems to be her only hope. Rescued by Jamokan and his pack, she finds herself deeply attracted to the Alpha but the devious Khagrish aren’t through with Rosemari or the experiment.
the future version of “America has talent”. I like it.
I love this look into Rosemari’s past!
She must be pretty good artist to beat out such talented people.
I love how she’s so unassuming about her talent when it was what ultimately saved her.
I love the idea of a planetwide arts competition! We need one of those. 🙂 I wonder if she won first, second, or third. As it certainly changed her life, I hope we find out next week. Great snippet!
She must have a special talent, although you stopped on a cliffhanger.
Such a cool idea! I love that her talent makes her stand out in the future, but it also makes me a bit sad that hand drawn art is such a rarity. It’s going the way of cursive writing and analog clocks. *cries* Great snippet! 🙂
So, did she win? I’m guessing so, but now I need to *know* 😀
I love it. ‘The Planet’s Got Talent’. I would never have thought to extrapolate the future of those type shows to use in a fictional story! It really works well. 🙂
Fascinating backstory, and oh, so ironic that winning led to her being captured by evil aliens.
As lovely as this all sounds, It makes me think of Hunger Games. This is all about control, using competition to hide the evil underneath.
Great insight to her past with this backstory. Well done. Drew me right in,
I thought of Who’s Got Talent, too. LOL Her backstory is poignant. She may have won, but that put her into the Khagrishs’ hands.
At first I was worried and had visions of The Hunger Games. Glad to know it was all but Talent.
Great backstory.
Love the “Planet’s got Talent” vibe.