So, for those who haven't been following along the past few weeks on Facebook or Twitter, I've had my first Aston West Triple-Shot available for free, at least over at Barnes and Noble and Smashwords (and possibly other spots linked via the cover above...though I haven't checked personally). So, this week's Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday snippet is taken from one of the three stories in this freebie. To set up this excerpt, Aston has just been surprised by a freighter coming out of hyperspace.
“Freighter’s status?”
A few moments passed as Jeanie gathered information from the freighter’s computer. “Original destination was the Triton system. The ship is out of fuel.”
“Triton? I’d say the crew is having navigation problems. We’re not on any shipping route to Triton.”
“The crew does not have a navigation problem.”
“How’s that?”
“I find no life signs to indicate a crew.”
Enjoy the excerpt? Head over and get the full Triple-Shot for free. And if you have a Kindle, tell Amazon about the lower price...because I would have figured they'd price-match by now, but no such luck.
Whoops! A whole crew missing from a ship that is, it would seem, significantly off course just can NOT be a good thing. Something tells me it is unlikely to be anything good. Nice hook.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff as always. Since I read this already, I know what happens next!!! Shhh, I won't tell.
ReplyDeleteThis development is highly suspect! Is it mutiny? A strange new physical phenomenon? A trick? I want to know now! Guess I'm going over to Smashwords...
ReplyDeleteThanks, TK, for keeping it all secret. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks to you, Jeffrey and Starr, for stopping by!
Love Jeanie's reasoning - no problem, because they're dead! lol (well, not that I'd laugh because they're dead or missing... you know what I mean).
ReplyDeleteHaha! This reminded me of a conversation with my daughter who has autism. Dang computer's black and white reasoning! It rang very true, with a little hint of humor/irony to keep it interesting.
ReplyDeleteCary, Jeanie always has the best reasoning...one day, Aston will come to realize this as a fact. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBarbara, glad you found it interesting, though this scene is only the tip of the iceberg. :-)
Well, the crew could be all dead because of disease that killed them all. Be careful, Ashton. And Amazon's really slow on the price matching. I finally got my publisher to lower the e-book prices on my novels to $4.99. Barnes and Noble has them for less. Amazon is still charging $9.99 (well above the publisher's price) for Tourist Trap, though Homecoming has been reduced. Go figure. (and complain to Amazon. They won't listen to me.)
ReplyDeleteYeah, no life signs is a bigger issue than navigation problems. What happened to them?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I tagged the (two) titles that I have for free over on B&N, using the "report a lower price" link, and neither one has been lowered.
ReplyDeleteAs to what happened to them, folks may just have to read the whole story... ;-)
Ohhh, Jeanie. :-)
ReplyDeleteUh oh. A ship off the lanes with no crew just coming out of hyperspace.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't sound dangerous at all. Nope. Bet he's going to check it out, huh?
Oh oh. An empty ship on the wrong course. Sounds ominous.
ReplyDeleteShawn, Jeanie is just like that sometimes...heh.
ReplyDeleteAnn, of course he is...where a freighter lies dormant, there's bound to be some cargo to help fund his continued adventures. ;-)
Tara, indeed it does!