Harvest NBtM

Blurb:

Almost a century after Keres Triplets asteroid impact and subsequent nuclear exchange almost ended all human life on Earth, a strange artifact is discovered on one of the moons of Saturn. Who should be sent to the outer reaches of the solar system to initiate the first contact with an alien culture? Dr. Varsaad Volhard, an evolutionary-socio-historian, is chosen to help the world understand the alien civilization that left an artifact some thirty thousand years ago, before humans even learned to farm, at the time when other human species still walked the earth. While Vars prepares for the mission, her father, Dr. Matteo Volhard, discovers nanobots among the microplastics he studies. The bots are everywhere and seem to have been created to bond with human cyber implants. Why? Matteo is made to keep his discovery a secret...as well as his and his daughter's true origins. Both were donated to a Human DNA Vault as babies. Matteo was raised as a Seed before leaving with his young daughter to study ecology around the world. Who knows what? Who is in control? How does one communicate with non-human intelligence? People seem to die in gruesome ways as their cyberhumatics go haywire on Earth and on Luna and Mars colonies. Is Earth under attack or is it all just a cosmic misunderstanding? Vars needs to use all she knows to solve the mystery of the ancient civilization on Mimas, as her dad battles the alien nanobots at home.

Excerpt:
“Sentient life’s colonization of the Earth is fractal. Even within a single ecosystem, there are many species that possess intelligence and self-awareness. But only one species becomes dominant.”

Professor Volhard took a theatrical pause here. Everyone in the audience knew where she was going with this, but it never hurt to add drama to a presentation.

“Obviously I am talking about humans. We are not the only intelligent, self-aware species on our planet–but we got lucky. We were blessed with favorable initial conditions, and our dominance was almost guaranteed. Lack of luck tends to permanently retard progress. Dinosaurs’ loss is our win.”

There were a few chuckles from the audience, but no big laughs. Varsaad Volhard sighed inwardly and moved on. She never knew how the lay audience would react, but this was all part of doing the book-selling lecture circuit.

Vars was tall and skinny with short, unruly, dark red hair and glasses to match. She looked a bit like a stick insect in her black pants and black sweater. For the tour, she was trying to dress more interestingly than normal–per instructions from her publisher–and so had added the bright orange scarf that her publisher sent in the mail. The instructions that came with the scarf told her to wear matching orange shoes, but Vars didn’t own any orange shoes, so matching black was as good as it got.

She hadn’t failed to notice that the cover of her book–Luck & Lock on Life & Love: The Human History of Conquest of Resources on Earth, Luna, and Beyond–had the same color orange titles as the scarf. Her agent or someone in the office was obviously trying. Vars made a mental note to figure out who that was and thank them.

“Harvest” is what one would classify as “hard science fiction.” “Hard” doesn’t mean it is hard to read or understand, just that it has a lot of fun (and accurate) science in addition to a great story. The story starts with the discovery on a very old alien artifact buried in ice on one of the moons of Saturn. Scientists and the military have to quickly make an assessment: what do these aliens want? Are they dangerous? If so, how could humans protect themselves? But how can we tell when something wants us harm? Some of the biggest cultural mistakes on Earth came about from simple failure to communicate, to understand the alien other. When the other side is overwhelming in power and knowledge, making a diplomatic mistake can end human civilization. It’s a fun premise and a good story.

But many years before the alien artifact was found, the earth was hit by three asteroid shards: the Keres Triplets. The impacts and the following nuclear exchange devastated the planet. Africa and most of the Middle East were no longer habitable. The humanity came to the brink of extinction. To salvage diversity and genetic heritage, Human Seed Vaults were set up by the Human Genome Heritage Project. Individuals with particularly interesting genetic makeup were taken from their parents as infants and deposited into the Vaults, deep underground. There were several such genetic banks. And over time, there developed a mythology about the people who lived there—Seeds.

Earth was in ashes for decades. The nuclear winter swept ice and darkness from sea to shinning sea… But humans are nothing if not resilient creatures. It didn’t take long for Earth to recover, although what was lost was lost forever.

Matteo was brought into the Seed Bank in the far north of Norway as an infant. He met his seed sister, Phoebe, there. And while Phoebe, a brilliant biologist, was happy to spend her life below ground. Matteo wanted to see the world. One day, when he was patrolling the upper layers of the Vault, a child was dropped off. It was a strange drop. The child was a little girl. She was too old to be accepted into the Vault as a Fresh Seed. To save her, Matteo left the only life he knew (and the only woman he loved).

That story, a prequel to “Harvest,” is called “Fresh Seed.”

The story of “Harvest” picks up almost thirty years after Dr. Matteo Volhard adopted Varsaad (“fresh seed” in Afrikaans) and raised her as his daughter.

The world rebounded by then. People landed and built colonies on Luna and Mars and even on some of the moons of Jupiter. It was an amazingly fast recovery given the severity of the devastation. Miraculous, even.

Vars became a scientist like her father. Her field of study was evolutionary biology and anthropology. She studied human civilizations.

Then people started to die unexpectedly…

Their digital tattoos were melting and dissolving into their bodies, causing grievous harm. What was it? Why?

Vars was recruited to travel to one of the moons of Saturn to find out…

While her dad worked hard to save humanity back on Earth…

“Harvest” is a fully illustrated novel, sometimes dark, sometimes disturbing.

I have posted the first few chapters of “Harvest” on my blog: https://interfaces.com/blog/my-books/harvest/

“Harvest” is written for people who are interested in human origins and the births of civilizations. I wanted to answer the question of “why”—why did some peoples succeed and some didn’t? Why did some civilizations flourish for many centuries while others burned out in but a short flash in history? What is it that makes the difference? Does it simply comes down to luck?

I’m a scientist. I’m very interested in the development of life, consciousness, and civilization. Over the past several decades, we’ve learned a lot about human biology not only on the molecular level (DNA) but also the chemistry and physics of biology. We can see the range of possibilities for behavior and emotion programmed into us by our evolutionary development. We’ve also learned about other human species that didn’t survive to the present day but whose echoes we carry in our very genes—Heanderthals, Homo floresiensis, Homo denisovans, and the newly discovered Homo luzonesis. There are many more, of course, but it takes time and luck to find evidence.

Only the Homo sapiens are alive on our world today. And only a small percentage of those developed the capacity or desire to take over the world and impose their culture on the rest of the peoples. Why? Why did some Hominids made it and some didn’t? Why did some civilizations flourished and others fell? We can answer some of these questions with psychology, sociology, paleontology, anthropology, biology...

Luck seems to have played a huge role in human evolution and survival on our planet. Those who were lucky enough to live in fertile environments with species of plants and animals that were easy to domesticate won the life lottery, so to speak. The unlucky ones didn’t make it to the present day or ended up colonized…

We have some ideas about what it takes to survive and thrive on Earth. But what does it take to survive in the galaxy? Can we use the same principles and apply them on a larger scale? “Harvest” is a book that focuses on galaxy-wide civilizations and what it takes to become one.

“Harvest” book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfJnQhQkDCo

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Author Bio and Links:

Olga Werby, Ed.D., has a Doctorate from U.C. Berkeley with a focus on designing online learning experiences. She has a Master's degree from U.C. Berkeley in Education of Math, Science, and Technology. She has been creating computer-based projects since 1981 with organizations such as NASA (where she worked on the Pioneer Venus project), Addison-Wesley, and the Princeton Review. Olga has a B.A. degree in Mathematics and Astrophysics from Columbia University. She became an accidental science fiction indie writer about a decade ago, with her first book, "Suddenly Paris," which was based on then fairly novel idea of virtual universes. Her next story, "The FATOFF Conspiracy," was a horror story about fat, government bureaucracy, and body image. She writes about characters that rarely get represented in science fiction stories -- homeless kids, refugees, handicapped, autistic individuals -- the social underdogs of our world. Her stories are based in real science, which is admittedly stretched to the very limit of possible. She has published almost a dozen fiction books to date and has won many awards for her writings. Her short fiction has been featured in several issues of "Alien Dimensions Magazine," "600 second saga," "Graveyard Girls," "Kyanite Press' Fables and Fairy Tales," "The Carmen Online Theater Group's Chronicles of Terror," with many more stories freely available on her blog, Interfaces.com.

http://www.interfaces.com/blog/

amazon.com/author/olgawerby

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4056895.Olga_Werby

https://www.facebook.com/OlgaWerby/

https://twitter.com/OlgaWerby

http://Pipsqueak.com

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDE3BNceupMYgvoaoAps2mg

https://www.linkedin.com/in/olgawerby/

Selected Book Links on Amazon:

“Harvest”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R8HGKWN/

“Becoming Animals”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078P6BB6K/

“Suddenly, Paris”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014OM5158/

“The FATOFF Conspiracy”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014S0W4WO/

“Twin Time”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZM578L/

“Lizard Girl & Ghost: The Chronicles of DaDA Immortals”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FBR7Q1T/

“Coding Peter”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LFP45WC/

“Pigeon”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014TZ1TQA/

“Fresh Seed”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FFDZNYB/

Thea Reeves and the Tear of the Morning Star NBtM

Blurb:

Thea Reeves is an ordinary girl, from an ordinary family with financial troubles, living in a small town of Johnston. After she starts an after school job at The Magic Shop in order to help herself financially, her life becomes more extraordinary with every day.

Excerpt:

The rest of the day went by rather smoothly.  Just after five o'clock, people from all walks of life began to pour into The Magic Shop.  Some were buying, but surprisingly, many were there for the coffee and to read books.  To Thea, Jamie explained that most of their customers are business oriented individuals, who find magic as a way to unwind after a long stressful day at work.  They come in, read, usually never buy books, but on occasion buy a souvenir or two for friends and family, and almost always leave good tips.

What Thea found fascinating is that no one tried to steal anything all day, and everyone was polite and courteous.  Jamie did not know how to explain that, but she told Thea that there is a magic spell on The Magic Shop, where people leave all of their anger, worries and problems at the door, and those who can't ... never come inside.

It felt strange, but Thea also felt that on her first day at The Magic Shop, she did not once think about her chores, problems at home, or money difficulties her parents have.  The entire time she was just happy to be at The Magic Shop.

What was really exciting is that at the end of the day, Thea found herself holding thirty five dollars in tips from coffee drinking and book reading patrons.  If every day would be like this, that dream car would become a reality by the time Thea would receive her driver's license.

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Don’t forget to visit the other stops on the tour.

Author Bio and Links:

Dmitriy Kushnir is a Sarasota, FL local and is a student of life. In his younger years, he had served in the military and received various degrees from multiple universities. One day, Dmitriy Kushnir realized that he had just too much to share with the world and began writing in the fields of philosophy, business, religion, history, fantasy and science fiction. To this day, he has written more than 40 books under various aliases.

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00OQ1J48I

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDmitriyKushnir/

https://twitter.com/dmitriykushnir

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10801063.Dmitriy_Kushnir

https://www.amazon.com/Thea-Reeves-Tear-Morning-Star/dp/107733561X

Will Rise From Ashes NBtM

Blurb:

Young widow AJ Sinclair has persevered through much heartache. Has she met her match when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, leaving her separated from her youngest son and her brother? Tens of thousands are dead or missing in a swath of massive destruction. She and her nine-year-old autistic son, Will, embark on a risky road trip from Maine to the epicenter to find her family. She can't lose another loved one.

Along the way, they meet Reid Gregory, who travels his own road to perdition looking for his sister. Drawn together by AJ's fear of driving and Reid's military and local expertise, their journey to Colorado is fraught with the chaotic aftermath of the eruption. AJ's anxiety and faith in humanity are put to the test as she heals her past, accepts her family's present, and embraces uncertainty as Will and Reid show her a world she had almost forgotten.

Excerpt:

A gray column of ash exploded on the screen. The plume darkened the sky.

“Mom, come look!” Will said, without turning from the TV.

She fidgeted with the mail on the kitchen counter. Then said a bad word. The metal trash lid clanged open, and she grumbled. He tapped a finger on his thigh as he listened to the newscaster.

A few minutes passed. “Mom…”

“One minute,” she called. He turned. She dragged the basket of dirty laundry from their vacation to Yellowstone down the basement steps. Thump, thump, thump.

“But it’s the volcano! On TV!” His pulse flickered. This was important. She needed to see.

“Hang on a sec, Will.”

The clock read 9:03 p.m. Eastern Time, but it still felt like Mountain Time and he wasn’t sleepy. He counted to one second. He knew she didn’t mean that. Her “a sec” or “a minute” could be way longer.

She returned from the basement and opened the window over the kitchen sink. The metallic, vibrating hum of the foghorn sounded in the distance. He rose and added a tally mark to the chart on his clipboard. Soon, he’d need to make his snow charts, too. But it was only August.

“Where are they?” Mom said.

She came through the doorway to the living room with her mug in one hand. It smelled like burnt stinky milk. He covered his nose.

“Mom, watch out!” She almost stepped on his eight red volcano cut-outs lined in a row in front of the TV. His heart kerthumped. He straightened one, so the bottom edge realigned with the rest. There, better.

“So, honey, what is it? Find an interesting documentary to watch?” she finally asked, drawing her gaze to the TV as she stumbled. “Will, the tape and scissors. I need you to pick them up, okay?” She yawned. “We need to go to bed soon.” She leaned over the coffee table and clicked her laptop shut with another curse. “I can’t even track their flight. Where are they?” she repeated to herself.

Her brown eyes were shiny, holding that sad look she got when she thought about Dad. Some expressions confused him, but Mom was easier to understand than others. She was sad a lot these days. Was she sad about his little brother Finn not returning home yet? He approached her and hugged her around the waist. He nudged the top of his head against her ribcage. “It’s okay, Mom. Finn and Uncle Brandon will be here. Maybe their flights were delayed again?”

She exhaled. Coffee breath. His stomach squeezed. Delays. Yuck, he didn’t like delays either.

She said in a whisper, a raspy grating sound, “They should’ve landed by now…the traffic north to Maine from Boston isn’t awful this time of day. Finn’s going to be so wired.”

But he’s not a robot, Will wanted to say, but he knew it was just one of Mom’s weird phrases. The commercials ended. He grabbed her hand. “Look, Mom. Yellowstone! Maybe Finn and Uncle Brandon saw it erupt since we were all just there! How lucky of them to see that, huh?” He pointed to the LIVE symbol in the bottom right corner.

Her mug slipped and fell in a crash, spilling all over his volcanoes.

 My 10 favorite highlights of Yellowstone National Park

I’m a daydreamer and traveler, hiking buff and lover of nature. The backdrop (or inciting incident) in Will Rise from Ashes is the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. So, today, I thought I’d share some of the most awe-inspiring places within this gigantic geothermal wonder of a park that I’ve been fortunate to visit twice (once as a child, and once a few years ago with my own kids). Bring your hiking shoes and camera, and be ready to be wowed at this first National Park of the USA…

Let’s count them down from 10…

10. Mammoth Hot Springs – these calcium carbonate terraces are interesting to see and you’re guaranteed to see some elk!

9. Visitor Education Centers – Learn cool facts about the science behind the geothermal wonders of the park. Impressive! We were equipped with a Junior Ranger guide, an infrared thermometer, and fun stuff to work on and our kids got Junior Ranger badges!

8. Yellowstone Lake – visit the largest freshwater lake above 7,000 feet elevation in North America.

7. Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley – both sweeping, lush valleys are rich in scenery and wildlife.

6. Yellowstone Falls – found in the “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone,” and at over 300 feet high, Lower Yellowstone Falls is twice as tall as Niagara Falls.

5. Bears, wolves, elk, and wildlife, oh my! – bring the binoculars, keep an ear and eye out, and Yellowstone will gift you with sightings from bird to mammal.

4. Bison jams (no, not jellies) – getting up close and personal with these beautiful creatures is easy. And yes, by jam I mean traffic jam…once one or several or a herd are sighted, the cars stop, and out pop the cameras. We had one walk in the middle of the road right past our car! Just don’t get too close and respect nature from a distance. Bison are not cows. They can hurt you.

3. Grand Prismatic Spring – the largest (and a gloriously colorful) hot spring in the United States (approximately 370 feet wide and 120 feet deep) is also worth a visit! See it walking on a boardwalk, up close and personal (be careful), or on the new trail that gives a bird’s eye view from above.

2. Old Faithful Geyser – yup, it’s as faithful as you think and draws many tourists to its routine eruptions every 90 minutes or so. It shoots nearly 130 feet into the air. Get there early for a good seat and be prepared to be wowed!

1. Morning Glory Pool – this deep, polychromatic hot spring can be reached at the end of the Upper Geyser Basin (3 mile-round trip) walk. Very much worth it as you meander past dozens and dozens of geysers and hot springs. My favorite bubbly wonder in the park!

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Don’t forget to visit the other stops on the tour.

Author Bio and Links:

Jean’s background is in science and she draws from her interests in history, nature, and her family for inspiration. She writes historical and contemporary romances and women’s fiction. She also writes articles for family-oriented travel magazines. When she’s not writing or chasing children, she enjoys tending to her flower gardens, hiking, and doing just about anything in the outdoors.

Website    |    Twitter    |    Facebook

Goodreads    |    Bookbub    |    Amazon Author Page

Buy Link

The American Crusade NBtM

Blurb:

A power-hungry vice president, a bad batch of shady intelligence, and a sinister plot to destroy Western civilization.

Just another day in America.

On May 1, 2001, a group of radical Islamic terrorists crash a Boeing 737 jet airliner into the Mall of America—and Vice President Robert Hornsby knows his moment is coming.

The attack kills three thousand American citizens and throws an entire nation into a panic, but all Hornsby sees is an opportunity, a chance to imprint his fanatical values on the soul of the country he loves and become the most powerful vice president in American history.

With the aid of his affable but ineffectual president; the reluctant, conscience-stricken secretary of defense; and a preening, foppish faith leader with more than a few skeletons in his closet; Hornsby declares war on terror—and anyone who stands in his way. But as media scrutiny of the administration’s actions overseas intensifies, Hornby’s one-man campaign against evil begins to unravel—with striking parallels to the thirteenth century’s doomed Fourth Crusade—and sends the nation spiraling toward another deadly tragedy.

The American Crusade paints a grim and often cynical picture of America’s recent past, reflecting the attitudes, politics, and fears that shaped our nation in the new millennium. By sampling the contemporaneous French text on the Fourth Crusade, On the Conquest of Constantinople, author Mark Spivak reminds us of that ever-vital adage: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Fans of The Castle by Jack Pinter, The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, House of Cards by Michael Dobbs, The Whistler by John Grisham, and the Aaron Sorkin–penned TV drama The West Wing will love this book.

  

Excerpt:

To President George Cane, the assembled group represented “the full force and moral authority of the United States of America.”

To the Reverend Sanford J. Bayer, head of the White House Office of Faith and Reconciliation (known internally as the Woofers), they symbolized “the lawful arm of God’s righteous Kingdom … preparing to strike at the heart of our enemy.”

To Salman Al-Akbar, leader of the worldwide terrorist organization Husam al Din and the reason the dignitaries were gathered at this press conference, they were “the cancerous core of modern civilization, bleeding like an ulcer that must be removed.”

They included the heads of both houses of Congress, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Directors of the FBI and CIA, most of the Cabinet, and the Chief Justice of the United States.

And to the Vice President, who had assembled this improbable group, they were the usual suspects.

                                                                          

 

If you spend any time at all on social media, you know that politics is the subject of the moment. For better or worse, the current climate is super-heated and divisive. The silver lining is that more people are interested in the working of government and are expressing their opinions.

During the 15 years I spent in Washington, D.C., I became a political junkie simply by breathing the air. I weaved much of that fascination into my new political thriller, The American Crusade.

The year is 2001. George Cane, the affable and ineffective nephew of former President Herbert Cane, is in the White House. The power behind the throne is Robert Barton Hornsby, vice president and former CIA director—a man once characterized by The New Yorker as “the spy who refused to come in from the cold.” Hornsby was initially selected to run as vice president on the Cane ticket to provide legitimacy and guidance to the young governor.

On May 1, a group of terrorists hijack a jetliner and fly it into the Mall of America. Later that day, no fewer than six suicide attacks are carried out around the country, bringing the death toll to 3,000. America is at war with an amorphous and unknown enemy. Robert Hornsby seizes control of the U.S. government, and will not let go.

In the novel, the Middle East was carved up after World War II into three super-states: Kabulistan, Sumeristan and Persepostan. Initial intelligence reports link the terrorists to the Kabulistan border, where they are operating in the mountains with assistance from local warlords. President Cane announces that the U.S. will invade Kabulistan, topple the government and destroy the terrorist network. Suddenly and inexplicably, however, he changes his mind and informs the country that the dictator of Sumeristan, Hussein Ghazi, is the true culprit.

Both the Democratic Congress and the media are skeptical of this about-face, since they feel that Cane is trying to vindicate his uncle, who also invaded Sumeristan but failed to get a successful long-term outcome. Their objections are drowned out by the wave of patriotism that follows the attacks, and the invasion goes forward. During the U.S. occupation that follows, the situation begins to unravel, and the country spirals downward toward a massive foreign policy failure.

The modern story of the Sumeristan invasion is interspersed with excerpts from an eyewitness account of the Fourth Crusade. As the story develops, the parallels between the two events become strikingly and eerily similar.

This is not a 9/11 story: It is a meditation on the follies of history. Does history repeat itself, or are we the ones who keep repeating it? Read The American Crusade and form your own conclusions.

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Don’t forget to visit the other stops on the tour.

Author Bio and Links:

In the realm of non-fiction, award-winning author Mark Spivak focuses on wine, spirits, food, restaurants and culinary travel. His first book, Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History, was published by Lyons Press in 2012. He followed this with Moonshine Nation (Lyons Press, 2014), hailed as the definitive book on illegal corn whiskey in America. From 1994-1999 he was the wine writer for the Palm Beach Post, and was honored for excellence in wine criticism “in a graceful and approachable style.” Since 2001 he has been the Wine & Spirits Editor for the Palm Beach Media Group, and contributes to a number of national magazines. He is also the holder of the Certificate and Advanced Diplomas from the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Mark’s first novel, Friend of the Devil, was published by Black Opal Books in May 2016. Set in Palm Beach in 1990, it tells the story of America’s most famous chef, who has sold his soul to the Devil for fame and fortune. 

Mark also has an endless fascination with the American political system and is an avid follower of Washington politics. His second novel, The American Crusade (a gripping political thriller set during the invasion of Iraq, which dips into the shadowy world of government conspiracy and political sabotage), will be released by TCK Publishing on April 4. He is currently at work on Impeachment, the sequel to The American Crusade.

Visit Mark's website at www.markspivakbooks.com, and sign up for his free newsletter and political blog:www.markspivakbooks.com/free

Amazon Buy Link

Kindred NBtM

Blurb:

In Kindred we find the Damuzi twins settling into their new home with Kori Lark’s family. Desperate to keep the dangerous truth of their identity a secret, Charlie and Tirigan educate themselves on everything that was kept from them, while delving deeper into their mother’s past.

In the future, Tirigan is dealing with the complicated emotions that overwhelm him after the events of Passage. In an attempt to control the situation, Tirigan turns inward and cuts himself off from those who need him most.

By the time Charlie and Tirigan’s timeline’s merge, a burning mystery is solved, and more than one relationship begins to unravel.

Friendship. Trust. Dependency. Lies.

The Damuzi twin’s story continues.

Excerpt:

“Sorry for taking over your room,” I tell him, walking until the hallway ends in a slatted wooden door. I push it open as Oleander sighs dramatically behind me.

“Yes. I am incredibly put out. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

Even though Oleander laughs, a jolt of guilt runs through me. He must see my regret in the sudden tension of my shoulders, because the Gyan’s laugh immediately disappears.

“I’m kidding, of course.” He places a hand on my shoulder, essentially swallowing it whole and forcing me to look up at him. “I’m thrilled to give you my room, Charlie. Over the moon about it. Really! Are you in the market for a new limb, by chance? Because I’ve got a couple with your name on them.”

“My name? Really?” I tease, challenge in my eyes despite the kindness in his.

“Don’t believe me?” Oleander’s brow’s raises comically. “Have a look, yourself.”

The tall Gyan raises his arms out as much as he can in the small hallway, exposing his forearms. There, written in long, flourishing strokes, is my name.

“How?” The question escapes before I can think better of it. Oleander searches my baffled expression for what feels like several minutes. I haven’t a clue what he finds there, but whatever it is makes him smile ruefully.

“You really don’t know what you’re capable of. Do you?”

“I… I guess not. No,” I respond quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Charlie.” Oleander shakes his head. “You are who you are.”

A reluctant interview with twins Charlie and Tirigan Damuzi, protagonists of The Akasha Series. Interview given by Avias Rallidae, good friend of the twins, and conducted after the events of Kindred: Book II of The Akasha Series.

Avias: “Ah, if it isn’t my favorite aliens. Are you ready for the interview?”

Charlie: “Why are we doing this again?”

Tirigan: “Technically, we’re only half Anunnaki. Alien hybrids would be more accurate.”

Avias: “Right. Shall we begin?”

Charlie shrugs. Tirigan simply blinks until Avias break the silence again. Each twin looks equally put out by the interview Avias has so kindly offered to conduct.

Avias: “So, why don’t you tell us a little about yourselves. How you came to be where you are, and what your goals are.”

Charlie: “This is stupid.”

Tirigan: “You are fully aware of this information and our present circumstances. I must concur with my sister. This is extremely foolish and a waste-”

Avias (speaking through his teeth): “For the sake of our audience, just answer the damn questions, will you?”

Charlie: “Fine. We’re Charlie and Tirigan Damuzi, children of a lying alien and a secretive human.”

Tirigan: “Anunnaki and Tessera to be more exact.”

Charlie: “Whatever. Our mother was kidnapped and our father left us in a monster infested forest. We didn’t know what we were until we were seventeen. That’s when we got our powers back.”

Tirigan: “That’s when we received our powers, yes, but we didn’t really understand the full extent of them for some time. We are still adjusting.”

Avias: “And your purpose? Goals? “

Charlie: “Avoid the people that did everything they could to ensure we’d never exist, and now want us dead, all while we try to reunite our family.”

Tirigan: “And perhaps not endure unnecessary and extremely odd interviews such as this in the future.”

Avias rolls his eyes so viciously, one might fear permanent brain damage.

Charlie: “And maybe, in the future, we could make some better friends.”

Avias: “Okay! Next question. How exactly did we come into acquaintance?”

Tirigan: “We met at the solstice festival the Tessera hold twice a year. Our mother left us a letter that instructed us to find your father, Kori.”

Charlie: “Which was insanely easy to do, by the way. I’m still not over that.”

Avias: “No one is.”

Tirigan: “Your father and mother took us in, and now we live with you, your parents, your brother Robin, your sisters Bo and Cyra, as well as your best friend Oleander, who moved from New Cardiff to Pacoa with your family two years ago.”

Charlie: “Kor’s promised to help us look for our mother, while the rest of you help educate us on the powers we never knew we had.”

Avias: “Can you speak a little more on those powers?”

Tirigan: “Yes.”

Avias: ”...”

Charlie huffs out something inane, as she often does.

Charlie (after several moments of stubborn silence): “Unlike fully human Tessera, we have the ability to invoke all four elements. Whereas, plebeians such as yourself, can only invoke one. Avias purses his lips, but does not respond to the rude and extremely inaccurate comment. We also have accelerated healing powers because of our Anunnaki blood, and will outlive you by at least three hundred years.”

Tirigan: “We cannot, however, transfer any of the four elemental powers into the stones Tessera use to extend their power to others. We can only transfer-”

Avias: “Not so fast, Tirigan. We musn’t give away all your secrets.”

Tirigan: “My patience with this game is wearing thin.”

Avias: “Alright, one last question! How are you feeling going into the next part of your story?”

Charlie: “I’m feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, suspicious of everyone, and maybe a little turned on. It’s complicated.”

Tirigan (side-eyes his sister’s response, appalled): “I am feeling determined, hopeful, and perhaps also experiencing some level of shame for certain actions.”

Charlie (staring at her brother mischievously): “Nothing else, Tir?”

Tirigan: “No, I’d say that’s sufficient.” (He shifts awkwardly in his chair, blushes adorably)

Charlie: “So you and Avias haven’t been flirting since-”

Avias: “Right then! Interview over. Carry on!”

Read The Akasha Series from the beginning! Books I & II, Passage & Kindred, are free today and tomorrow (4/15 & 4/16) on Kindle. Look for the first character companion novella this fall, entitled Captive. The third book in the series, Salvage, will be released in 2020.

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Author Bio and Links:

Indie Gantz grew up in Northern Virginia and received her Psychology degree at George Mason University. Despite her passion and curiosity for the human mind, Indie left her chosen field of study to finally give voice to the many imagined minds she has created.

Indie lives with her family in North Carolina. She spends her days drinking tea and clacking keys.

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