by Terry 46 Replies latest jw friends
By Friday or Saturday the book will be available on Amazon.com
and available for e-book (Nook and Kindle). It just takes a little longer for them.
Lulu.com and CreatSpace will both be handling the book.
I'm very pleased with the quality of Lulu.com. Talk about easy to deal with!
Thanks for the kind words; this has been like giving birth to Hoss Cartwright :)
EXCERPT Page 80
Phobos hugged the evening perimeter of the dying day like a potato tossed into the air. The baby sister moon, Deimos, floated elsewhere catching a dim afterglow like a castoff spark from a campfire. Beneath the curtain of approaching night, the sisters trudged toward the tunnels shivering in silence.
Finally, Lei spoke. “Where are we going—when can I rest?”
Ada had been studying the scrap of leather map, struggling to navigate between the mountains of the moons and the little drawing of a waterfall scribbled in her hand.
“Almost there—hang on a bit longer—almost to the waterfall.”
In fact, there was no map and the three stones in the Little One’s grip vibrated like a bumble bee caught in mid-flight. Painted inside her mind, the path toward translation stood out brilliant and clear as light on crystal waters.
The howling tempest trailed far behind. A tunnel swallowed them like a welcomed feast. Inside, the walls glowed green with crystal illumination. Shortly the narrow passage gave way, opening onto the floor of an enormous Cavern.
Hungry and exhausted, the sound of the waters beckoned their imagination and quickened their pace with promises of renewal. The vastness of the Cavern made it seem as though they were in a world apart. The ceiling glittered with twinkling stars of its own.
“Sister—will I see Father?”
Ada stopped short, hesitating in place. So easily they both could lose heart and turn back toward the only life they knew.
“Remember what Father told us? We’ve all been together before. We’ll be together again—but, we may not know who we are . . . or even ourselves.”
Ada placed reassuring hands on her little sister’s shoulders and caught her eyes and held them in her steady gaze. “Remember, Lei?”
The Little One nodded sadly and sighed despondently. “I remember—I just don’t know what it means, Ada.”
“It means we will be with Mother and Father again—but it might be somebody else we pass on a road somewhere in another life as strangers to ourselves and each other.”
Lei listened and shrugged. She only needed words and reassurance. She turned toward the splashing noises echoing in the darkness and marched on. After an hour’s climb the sisters lay panting on the escarpment; the roar of the waterfall punishing their senses and filling the air with a golden fog like the glow of a parent’s goodnight kiss.
“What now? You said we were going to find father’s gift here. Is it just this waterfall?”
“We are looking for safe passage. So—let’s find it. First one who discovers the hiding place wins.”
Neither knew what safe passage might look like even if they tripped and fell over it. Lei trailed off alone skirting around the edges of the large pool where choppy water sloshed into foam fed by the waterfall above.
Ada cautiously explored a path of natural stone steps leading upward in hopes of gaining a bird’s eye view of the terrain or some vantage from which a clue might follow. As her head and face peeped over the edge of the third stone shelf she stiffened in mortal fear.
Directly in front of her, not six feet away, the monstrous bulk of an arboreal mutant ape sat half in shadows, glaring directly at the Little One with its nostrils working and working at her intrusive scent. She shrieked inside head and cast her gaze about in panic—as though simply leaping into darkness was an escape worth risking.
Ada swallowed hard and felt something flailing madly inside her chest. It was her heart! The gorilla clutched something to its bosom. Ada hesitated to move or else suffer a ghastly fate if the beast should intuit any harm to whatever it held dear. Several eternal minutes slipped by and Ada’s eyes gradually adjusted to the shadow of darkness swarming in the corners of the gloom.
And then she heard it—the sucking sound of an infant! And then she saw it—the shape of a tiny biped male infant drinking breast milk from the fostering embrace of the mountain gorilla! Whose baby was this?
Lei’s call sounded below in a series of shouts, penetrating Ada’s awe long enough for her to scramble down the stone steps as quickly as terror and adrenaline could carry her. She fled toward her sister’s voice, imagining at any instant, the hot breath of a killer ape snapping at her neck, protecting stolen treasure.
“Ada—Ada I think I found it—over here!” Lei jumped up and down excitedly.
As big sister came stumbling across the flat stone floor of the escarpment, Lei stood pointing behind the watery veil of the falls, directly at a gold spout of some kind; the only hand-made artifact in a place of natural wonders, gleaming in high contrast to the rough and rugged textures all around.
Ada shouted something to her little sister, but the roar of the mighty waters snatched its meaning from Lei’s ears. As she ran past, Ada grasped Lei’s wrist and tugged her along after her.
They plunged into the icy waters and splashed and paddled violently toward the golden spout. Ada kept swiveling her head to cast a frantic look over her shoulder as if something more terrible than death were stalking her.
As it was several feet above, neither child could reach the level of the agitated waters foaming and spewing in their eyes. Ada grabbed her little sister by her waist and hoisted her aloft, steadying both feet on a narrow ledge of rock protruding under the gleaming target.
“Grab hold—Lei—reach!”
And then the world had gone mad . . .
Everything began to tilt sideways spilling gravity out of its kilter, upending whatever up or down had been till then. The whirlpool growled hungrily at its gaping center hole, and the rush of air and water sucked them irrevocably through the tunnel of void into a nightmare of nothingness.
Lei tried to scream but her mouth filled with foam and water. Ada clung fast in a death grip to her wrist. Their little heads plunged beneath the cataclysm and the last thing Lei could see was her sister’s face. Ada was mouthing the words . . . safe passage . . . safe passage . . . safe passage . . .
Looks good Terry, job well done.
The cover is eye-catching and -holding. Excellent!
Quite a number of years ago I proofread some of your historical fiction re: CTR. Is any of that original text part of TMoM?
CC
PS: Reminds me of Clark Ashton Smith's chillingly macabre work.
In the movie can I be Morina Baccarin's love interest...
Congratulations. I'm looking forward to the Kindle edition.
I'm working on my own science fiction novel that deals with XJW themes, so it will be interesting to see how you handle these issues.
That's brilliant mate. Congrats on your efforts.
c c asks: (Quite a number of years ago I proofread some of your historical fiction re: CTR. Is any of that original text part ofTMoM?)
No sir, this is all brand new writing. Nothing recycled.
THE E-BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE!
Congratulations Terry! :) Will I be able to order from Amazon UK?
Looking forward to payday when I can order a copy
