When I’m deciding whether to join an anthology I usually give myself 24 hours to see if my Muse has a plot idea that fits the theme .I like to do at least one anthology a year because often coming up with a story to submit takes me in a new direction for other books to follow.  In this case, I had the idea about an archaeologist encountering a ‘cursed’ alien ring on a dig in the far future. As I wrote, however, the story kept getting longer and more involved and I realized it had drifted away from the anthology theme, which was to be Halloween-ish, so I finished it and released it myself now.

I then wrote another 11K short story for the anthology which did satisfy the requirements (STAR CRUISE CHEF’S KISS).

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of alien races which explored the galaxy long before we came on the scene, ever since reading Andre Norton’s books as a kid (especially Galactic Derelict in relation to this topic). From the beginning my Sectors people have shared my fascination (no surprise there, right?) and the Archaeology Service goes searching all over the galaxy for what the Ancient Observers may have left behind. So my main female character in this book is a new grad working on her first dig and she does what I’d probably do – tries on this fabulous alien ring she finds. (I’ve always had a MAD craving for wearing any of King Tut’s earrings and I perpetually envy the little girl in the “Stargate” movie who can just pick up a recently unearthed treasure and appropriate it, even though I know that’s not ok.)

By the way, ESCAPE FROM ZULAIRE has a close encounter with Ancient Observer technology still functioning and if one checks the name of the AO explorer in this book, one will find he might have been related to the AO in that book. But this story doesn’t refer to or depend on the events in ZULAIRE.  Just a fun sort-of Easter egg from me.

The ring has a mind of its own and takes Dianora, the FMC, back in time to meet the doomed king Garrin. His whole civilization goes extinct (eventually and not depicted in the book) as a result of his untimely death in what is their Middle Ages. Dianora is fascinated by him and the many unsolved mysteries her archaeological team is trying to learn the answers to. Why not just ask him?

And the plot evolves from there.

I put in a tiny nod to the old time travel movie “Timeline,” where at the end SPOILER ALERT the modern day archaeologists discover a message from their comrade who remained behind in the past. Dianora arranges something along those lines, not going to say what. I’ve already been asked to write the scene in the future when her ‘note’ is discovered. We’ll see. Maybe as a newsletter extra…

There was one scene I was determined to have in the story, regarding the time travel but as the plot kept evolving, I had to fight my muse hard to keep this scene. It had a lot of different iterations in my mind! But I only wrote it once, in the version which is in the final book. Let’s just say Dianora goes back to the future almost one time too many…

Here’s an excerpt from the beginning of the story and her first vision of Garrin:

Even a new graduate with one expedition under her belt knew better than to get improperly involved with the artifacts the Archaeology Service was removing from the site on Belmane Three. But when the ancient alien puzzle box yielded to Dianora’s coaxing and opened with an alarming creaking sound and the amazing ring rolled onto her desk, she was captivated. The ring lay on her desk under the worklight, gleaming golden, the gemstones sparkling, untouched by time. Dianora set aside the box, carefully, and leaned over the ring. Her hand literally itched to pick it up and admire it more closely…to put it on and see how the diamonds would flash on her finger. The central stone, a gigantic and brilliant opalescent pink gem glowed with internal fires.

Glancing around to make sure she was alone, which she was of course because she was the only one still working at the dig this late in the day, Dianora picked up the ring, enjoying the feel of the cool gold against her skin. The others on her team laughed at her all the time for her newbie enthusiasm and willingness to work extra hours trying to solve all the many puzzles left behind by the long-vanished alien civilization on this world. For her part, she didn’t understand how they could knock off promptly at quitting time and go drink feelgoods and socialize with each other and leave the riddles behind. She also wanted to impress her direct supervisor and the expedition director so maybe they’d give her better assignments soon.

This was her reward tonight—a find unlike anything else seen so far on this dig. The ring was stunning and all hers, for now. The others would be so jealous. She ought to be documenting it and the box from which it had fallen but she was reluctant to surrender ownership of the jewelry just yet. Until she recorded the find it was hers and no one else’s. A tiny part of her mind, the scholarly, rules-following woman who’d graduated top of her class, was whispering this was all wrong and she was acting totally out of character.  There’d be consequences if any of the team members wandered into the hut and found her with this artifact unrecorded.

She’d sound the alarm herself if she’d seen a colleague behaving this way in the field. The days when interstellar archaeology had been a thinly veiled treasure hunt were long over. Their finds here on Belmane Three would be properly catalogued and the best of the items would go to the Sector Twenty-Four museum world for study and display.

But Dianora didn’t care right now, in the grip of the ring’s allure and the excitement of a stunning find. She’d be famous, once the Service publicized the find, and absolutely the envy of all her former classmates. Six weeks on her first job and she’d made the Big Find everyone longed for. The signature item by which an entire extinct civilization would be known.

With a chuckle she calmed her rising ego. If Dr. Soren makes the big find he’s expecting in the chamber he’s excavating this month, mine will pale in comparison. The team had barely scratched the surface of the treasures potentially waiting in this long dead city.

Picking the ring up, Dianora held it this way and that, to watch the lights catch on the facets of the stones and the fires blazing within the central stone. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try it on once…before she reported it of course. This incredible ring was meant for a woman’s hand and here she was. The Belmane people had been humanoid, as with so many of the races scattered throughout the galaxy.

With no further argument, she slid the ring onto her hand and sighed. A perfect fit.

There was a violet flash of light from the huge stone and pain struck in her temples. She doubled over as if she’d been struck in the gut by a sword. Head on the table, she tried to catch her breath and call for help but couldn’t form words. Closing her eyes, she saw a vision of desperately battling warriors, one group valiantly attempting to defend a woman wearing the same ring, while another equally determined squad of nightmarish soldiers tried to break through the circle of her defenders. One man in particular caught Dianora’s eye—he was clearly the leader of the ones making a last stand. The woman in her vision never took her eyes off him as he fought, slashing and parrying and mowing down the enemy beside his men, trying to protect her.

CURSE OF THE ALIEN RING by Veronica Scott

Dianora Devlin was on her first interstellar archaeological expedition since graduating from college when she made an incredible find – a gorgeous alien ring, one of the few artifacts of a long-vanished civilization. Unfortunately she yielded to the temptation to try the ring on and nothing was ever the same in her life thereafter. The ring had a will of its own and was determined to plunge her into a life of adventure and unexpected romance with a man from the planet’s ancient past.

Garrin was the last, legendary king of Argorn, imprisoned by his enemies and soon to die when the mysterious woman first appeared to him. She was wearing the ring which had been passed down in his family for generations and was said to possess great powers. When Dianora set him free and then disappeared, he wondered if the ring would ever bring her back to him.

Torn between her time and his, Dianora can’t decide if the ring is cursed or if she should trust her heart, abandon her career and take the risk of returning to Garrin. Could she find new purpose in his world and a Happy Ever After in his arms?

This 33K novella is a standalone science fiction romance story set in my Sectors interstellar civilization.

Amazon     Apple Books     Kobo     Nook     GooglePlay