Across a Sea of Stars by Michael Gonzales

Across a Sea of Stars by Michael E. Gonzales – February, 2018 #blogabookscene #Spaceopera #PrairieRosePub @PrairieRosePub #FireStarPress

I sat editing another story the other day when I stopped to consider just how many times I have read, reread, and read this story again and again (was that redundant? It was meant to be.) Then it dawned on me, I will never know what it is to read any of my stories for the first time. And no, I don’t count all the work that went into creating the story as the first time.

I have literally spent a week writing a single paragraph, to get it just the way I want it. A paragraph that a reader will gloss over in a second or two.

I’ll never know the reaction of hitting that first plot twist, never know the feeling of tension that I worked so hard to build.

And the climax, as well as the ending. What did if feel like for them?

Book sales and reviews are a measure of how well I’ve written, but I will never know the feeling of that first-time reader.

Makes me a little sad. What better way to judge your own work than to read it for the first time?

Across a Sea of Stars

From an inexplicable anomaly on the surface of the Moon, an astronaut, Captain Cris Salazar, is mysteriously conveyed to a distant planetary system halfway across the galaxy. At the insistence of a strange old man, he departs on a trek across the planet thinking he is seeking someone with the ability to send him home, but he is being manipulated, and soon his strange situation becomes immensely complicated.

His epic quest sees him ally with an alien woman, a near giant, and a robotic intelligence.

With these three he must face a vast army with no fear of pain or death, an enemy with supernatural powers, a madman with a vast armada, and a dark secret. How can Cris possibly hope to return home…Across a Sea of Stars?

EXCERPT:

Tattie simultaneously hit the launch button and the violent detonation threw Cris against the padded wall just under the hatch. The escape pod hurtled away from the ship. Instantly, Tattie saw that they were about to collide with the rear of the spinning ship. "Brace yourself!" she called back to Cris, and then fired her engine at full throttle. In her monitor, she saw the stern coming closer. The great ship appeared to be ablaze as the friction with the atmosphere increased. The G-forces on their bodies climbed to incredible proportions as Tattie pushed the little pod to get out of the way. It looked as if she were not going to make it. They had cleared the hull, but one of the extended engine housings was now headed right for them, a collision was inevitable. There were only seconds remaining. Tattie shouted over her shoulder, "I love you, Cris!"

The moment Tattie looked back at her monitor, the heat from the reentry melted through the engine's support, and the entire housing broke loose and was pulled down into the planet's atmosphere. The escape pod then bolted free and into open space.

"Cris—Cris, we are free!" Tattie screamed.

"We made it? We're still alive?"

Now Tattie's voice was much more serious, "Cris, come here and look at this."

Across a Sea of Stars is available on Amazon.

 

Images by Mike Gonzales.

Order Across a Sea of Stars here:

https://www.amazon.com/Across-Sea-Stars-Unborn-Galaxy/dp/1984038060/ref=as_sl_pc_as_ss_li_til?tag=httpliviajwac-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=b14117cef21e9d34ec121910787c5d19&creativeASIN=1984038060

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Moon-Rising-Unborn-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B01CBNSAEG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Broken-Moon-Unborn-Galaxy/dp/1540645681/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Web site:  http://www.mikegonzalesauthor.com/home.html

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Labels: Across a Sea of Star, Action, Action Adventure, Alien worlds, Aliens, battle, Dark Moon Rising, Michael E. Gonzales, mikegonzalesauthor.com, Romance, science fiction, syfy

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Labels: #FireStarPress, #NewRelease, Across a Sea of Star, Action, Action Adventure, Adventure, Alien woman, Alien worlds, Aliens, Magic, Prairie Rose Pub, robots, Romance, science fiction, Space Opera, witches and wizards

Which Book? By Michael E. Gonzales

I have often asked myself, “What makes the reader, of any given genre, choose one book over another?”

Number one, of course, is author recognition.

However, as I can a test, new, unknown authors oft times get their books read too.

There are many factors, the synopsis, the title, the cover, the reviews, and of course a good marketing plan.

But when the rubber meets the road it’s a reader, sitting at his computer, or standing by the shelves in a bookstore, who makes the final choice. With luck, it’s your book (or better yet, mine) that she purchases.

But why?

On Amazon, there are over six million titles. What induced the reader to select one book over the other?

Oh…I wish I knew.

There have been studies, of course, they can tell you what age group of what gender buys what genre, in what quantiles, at what time of year…during a full moon.

I’m sure keener, cooler, more analytical minds than mine can put this data to good use. Would that I was one of them.

Characters too, will aid a reader in that decision. A fellow writer recently asked, “What is it that makes a character memorable?” an outstanding question!

Memorable characters have been both protagonist and antagonist. In Lord of the Rings, Frodo is as well remembered as Sauron.

Few remember Professor Pierre Aronnax, but none can Forget Captain Nemo.

Do we look for ourselves in the hero of a story? And what if we see our reflection in the villain?

In a comment from a woman who read Dark Moon Rising, my first novel, she lamented that I had spent too much time on character development, she thought I should jump right into the action. In fact, we’ve all read stories where you get to know the characters as the main body of the action unfolds.

This is not at all wrong, of course. It has been said that if you don’t grab the reader’s attention on the first page, better the first paragraph, then you never will. No pressure there.

I like to have my protagonist, and some of his back story, developed before I drop him, or her, into the thick of things. Think of the Wizard of OZ, we pretty well know Dorothy before she piggybacks a ride on that twister.

In Across a Sea of Stars, we’ll get to know Captain Chris Salazar, before he’s off the see the wizard. But as the story unfolds we’ll learn he is a very troubled young man who is, literally, haunted by his past.

The plethora of characters Chris meets on his journey will of course develop as the story unfolds. We will like some of them a great deal, love several more, and totally despise others.

In Across a Sea of Stars I have blended Science-Fiction with Fantasy, and Romance, and created a story that I believe will captivate every reader no matter your age, gender, or favorite genre. It will enthrall you no matter how many you purchase, regardless of the month of year…and during any phase of the moon.

You may have noted that I failed to answer even one of the questions posed in this piece, that's because I'm still learning. And frankly I think the answers to the questions will all be very subjective. I don't believe, as I once did, that there is a magic writing formula out there kept a closely guarded secret by a select kabal of wildly successful authors.

The real answer is talent and imagination, and though you can get a definition for each in the dictionary, the concepts are still subjective. We've all discussed popular books with others, and though most love them, there are always those who consider the author a no talent bum. 

I believe it was PT Barnum who said, I will paraphrase him here,

"You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time."

By this I mean to say, there is an audience out there for every author.

Please Visit my page, Michael Gonzales, fictionist:http://www.mikegonzalesauthor.com/home.html

https://www.amazon.com/…/B01CB…/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top… https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Broken-Moon-Un…/…/ref=asap_bc… 

Follow me on Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010275572869

New Release -- THE UNBORN GALAXY BOOK 2-THE BATTLE OF BROKEN MOON by Michael E. Gonzales -- Giveaway!

When a lunar quake sets off partial destruction of the Moon and an international laboratory, all lives on Earth are immediately at stake.

A group of veteran soldiers have volunteered for the Lunar Civil Defense Detachment (LCDD) on the Moon’s Joint International Lunar Laboratory (JILL), but during training, a terrible accident changes all their lives in ways they couldn’t imagine.

Though the call for help has been dispatched and part of JILL secured for the treatment of the injured, a saboteur seizes the moment to try to finish the destruction the quake has caused. Terrorists, a familiar enemy on Earth, have also intercepted the call for help and invade JILL, seeing this as their opportunity to take over both fronts—Earth and the Moon.

With the war in Oceania now contaminating the Moon, will the complete destruction of JILL—and Earth itself—be far behind? How can a handful of soldiers hold off the hostile forces in this unforgiving realm that seek to destroy civilization?

EXCERPT:

     "That is such Bravo Sierra," I said, grinning broadly.

     "It sells better than the truth," she responded, somewhat subdued. "My family was from New York. I joined up as soon as I was old enough."

     "Revenge, then?"

     "That, and patriotism."

     "Really?"

     She looked at me a moment. "Yeah, really." There was some degree of anger in her voice. "I can trace my family's history all the way back through World War One."

     "So because you had relatives in the military going back to the Stone Age you think you—"

     "Shut up, Matt. I want you to understand something. I am truly a patriot. My grandfather died in the War for the Constitution during the defense of Helena, Montana. That kind of patriotism still runs strong in my family. The quickest way in the world to piss me off is to talk shit about being a patriot or this country. Got it?"

     "Yeah, Susan, I got it," I replied calmly. "Now, I want you to understand something. I may be an adrenaline junkie, but I've not watched my friends die, and killed people for the thrill. I love my country, too, and I lost people on the side of freedom in the War for the Constitution as well. Anyone who's in this fight for reasons other than to defend the US is in it for the wrong reason, and I don't want to share a foxhole with 'em. If I said anything to make you think I felt otherwise, it was certainly not my intention."

     "Okay, Matt. We've cleared that up. I just want to ensure any man I might look at twice is using the same ammo I am."

     "Wait, what?"

     She stood up and turned to look at me over her shoulder. "Keep your temper, Matt. I want to see you on the Moon," and she started to walk away. For the first time, I noticed her as she walked. Oh, I knew she was exaggerating that walk, but I watched, anyway.

     "Great!" I shouted after her. "Just how am I to concentrate on my studies now?"

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