Making Connections discussion

Hi All,

I've just published my first book entitled Ashen (Black Dawn, Book One) which is the first book of a three part series. Ashen is a Sci-Fi Adventure/Horror with a supernatural twist and should appeal especially to anyone who liked Event Horizon or Predator.
Currently $0.99 on Amazon, my blurb and links are below, as is a brief excerpt.

Regards
Pete

Links:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007Z3QZ5O
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007Z3QZ5O

Blurb:
In 2065 a nuclear strike was initiated that almost resulted in the annihilation of all mankind.

On the 11th of October 2078, leaving behind their irradiated homelands and heading out into the night, the survivors of the Earth start the hugely ambitious and dangerous task of building a permanent colony on Mars.

The year is now 2102 and against the odds the Sanctuary colony and its inhabitants have thrived.

Meanwhile on the distant planet of Ashen 2, a team of scientists have made an unprecedented breakthrough that could herald a new golden era for the survivors of the Earth.
Though when communications are inexplicably lost, an elite special forces unit are sent to investigate and amongst the team is Robert Hewson.

Hewson is an experimental physicist who is responsible for the on-going terraforming of Mars, and, more importantly, bringing his late father’s dream of the planet having a breathable atmosphere to fruition.

Hewson soon finds himself being carried along in a whirlwind when he and the team make a terrifying discovery that could have devastating consequences.

Something has been watching them from beyond the veil and the fight for survival has begun.

Excerpt:
It was just after 4am. The well maintained lawns that lay between the string of outbuildings and the main laboratories shimmered as the first few shards of daylight reflected in the early morning dew.
Moisture though, was not the only substance in evidence on the lawns.
Lois Palmer shivered as she lay on her stomach underneath the porch of one of the residential suites.
Her hair was matted to the side of her face with grease and sweat and her hands trembled as she looked out across the now quiet compound.
Chloe Sanders, one of Lois’s closest friends, had been with her only thirty minutes beforehand.
Taking her turn to go out and search for food and water, Chloe had crawled out from underneath their hiding place and disappeared up the slope, in the direction of the halls of residence.
A few brief moments later Lois had heard Chloe cry out.
Lois had laid there frozen, barely able to breathe.
She had wanted so badly to run out and help Chloe, but her muscles hadn’t obeyed her commands.
Never before had Lois felt so helpless. All she could do was lay there and listen as Chloe fought for her life.
Unable to halt her attacker’s advances, Chloe let out one final scream which was brutally curtailed and faded to nothing more than a muffled whimper. There had been no gun shots, so Lois had been left to imagine the manner of her friend’s passing.
One by one she had seen all of her friends and colleagues killed or succumb to whatever dark forces were at work in this place she had called home for almost two years.
Lois wasn’t a religious person, but this she imagined must surely have compared to Hell.
Only in Hell could one be so utterly desperate and alone, beyond any chance of salvation and in an environment completely impossible to become accustomed to.
All Lois wanted was to be at home with her family.
She could remember how, as a child, her mother had told her to hide under her bed clothes if she was ever afraid of the dark. But as she peered out from underneath the porch, she knew there was no safe haven. Even daylight would not afford her any kind of safety, “They” were everywhere.
A few days ago, Lois and Chloe had been hiding on the edge of the rain forest, when three of their co-workers had burst out of the jungle on the opposite side of the compound.
Bringing up the rear had been Craig Bellamy, a well liked and respected senior member of staff and a few metres ahead two of his second year students, Carol Andrews and Sonia Masters.
Taking care of his subordinates right to the end, Bellamy had verbally and physically pushed his charges ahead of him, in a desperate bid to keep them alive.
Sprinting out across open ground, running for their lives, the three headed straight for the chapel, while behind them, erupting out of the brush, were six of the armed psychopaths.
Strangely none of them opened fire.
Bellamy and the others quickly rounded the far side of chapel, but as they did their hearts sank, as lying in wait were another ten of the dark vessels, all carrying bush knives.
Lois could still hear their screams. So much blood.
After Davies and the senior staff had learned of Jonathan Braymer’s murder, the Pathfinder data had been analysed countless times in an attempt to determine the cause of the psychosis. No firm conclusions had been drawn, leaving only vague theories and speculation to fuel the already soaring bonfires of anxiety. Everyone knew that Bill Sykes and Jonathan Braymer had been the very best of friends for over twenty years, so Davies knew there had to be a connection to the project.
It had taken a few days for them to mutate, but to begin with, those who had “changed” appeared no different to anyone else. Certainly the “things” she had seen walking in the woods earlier that day were no longer human! And if it hadn’t been for a few remnants of torn clothing, Lois would never have known they had been human at all.
Somehow these poor souls had warped into something that should only have existed in the darkest of dark dreamscapes and as Lois had found out to her horror, they were far from the cumbersome, dim-witted creatures they appeared to be. Instead they were intelligent and moved with surprising speed, though more alarmingly, Lois suspected a hidden agenda and a purpose.
Dragging her back into the present, Lois heard a noise off in the distance, roughly in the direction of where Chloe had been killed. Concentrating on the sound, Lois heard the slow and deliberate rhythm of footfalls, though from who or what she couldn’t tell.
Retreating further under the porch, Lois made herself as small as she could.
Out across the blood stained lawn, cloaked partially by mist, a lone figure walked slowly in her direction.
Halfway to her, the sub human creature stopped and looked up at the sky.
As it lifted its head into the early morning sun, Lois could clearly see the torn remains of a set of jungle DPMs. There had been twenty soldiers stationed in the compound and when the slaughter had begun, it was they that had done the most damage.
Only three of the soldiers had been unaffected and with the assistance of Bellamy, they had temporarily rescued twelve others, including Lois and Chloe. For four days they had managed to repel the zealots, but now they were all gone and Lois was engaged in what she knew was almost certainly an endgame.
Continuing to observe the creature, she shuddered as she saw the half metre long bush knife in its right hand. Immediately her mind flooded with bloody images of the massacre outside the chapel.
As if sensing Lois’s fear, the creature paused and then appeared to test the air with its tongue.
Almost at once it turned its head and looked in her direction, breathing in sharply through its nose.
Lois backed away further still, until her spine came into contact with the building’s foundation.
She couldn’t see the beast’s eyes, but it felt like they were now locked only on her.
Advancing much more quickly, the heavily muscled creature closed on her position.
Stopping in front of the Porch, it tasted the air again.
Lois didn’t dare breathe, but her heartbeat was so loud in her ears, she was sure that the sound would give her position away to the creature.
Once the creature had walked up the stairs under which Lois was hiding, she felt a small measure of relief. Perhaps her mind had been playing tricks on her? Perhaps “they” didn’t actually have some form of extra sensory perception?
Above her, the beast slowly shuffled around the room, tasting the air.
Having completed two laps of the room’s perimeter, it came back to the porch threshold and stopped, remaining completely silent.
With unimaginable force, the black souled abomination drove its bush knife through the porch step and pinned Lois to the ground, impaling her through the back.
As her life slipped away, the last vision to flash before Lois’s eyes was that of her family.
With arms outstretched, Lois ran to her Mother and Father and was finally at peace.

Hi All,

Just to let you know, Ashen (Black Dawn, Book One) will be free to download on the 4th of July.

Rgds
Pete

Hi All,

I had a good response to my promo on the 4th, so this is just a quick thank you to all who downloaded my book.

Rgds
Pete

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I'd let you know that my 90 days with KDP select have now expired and I've finally managed to get my book out on Smashwords...

If you'd like to check it out the link is below:
www.smashwords.com/books/view/228299

Rgds

Hi All,

I have a free promotion running on Smashwords until the 7th of October.

If you would like to download my book, the coupon number is HP55P.
My link is below:

www.smashwords.com/books/view/228299


Rgds
Pete