Hello friends and fans!
Welcome to my 11th newsletter: November 2017 – jam-packed with tidbits and information about new releases and projects I’m currently busy with!
Coming up in this edition of Another Round @ The Crow Bar:Regular updates, new releases, and a monthly spotlight on one of my books, this time “Loderunner“, book 4 in The Quantum Series! Included in this month’s newsletter, an extract from a new story not yet released: “Underground Movement“.
New Releases
“Panic! Horror In Space #2”, published in August 2017, is now also available on Amazon for the princely sum of $2.99 (eBook version).
The second volume in this series of horror misadventures in deep space (with the crew of the starship Mercury) features two more related short stories.
“Dead Center” and “Through A Dark Glassy”, which deal with an adventure in a very large (very) haunted abandoned building, and a group of haunted objects that scare the bejesus out of Flane and company.
What, you may be asking yourself, is there to panic about? You can find out here.
The Galaxii Series
The Quantum Series
About The Quantum Series will give you more background about the series, its settings and characters. To get a better idea of what the latest two titles are about, read What Readers Can Expect In “Prodigal Sun”, “High Steaks”, “Fortitude” & “The Last Hurrah”.
Panic! Horror In Space
Panic! is a sci-fi/horror series, which will have some decidedly sci-fi characters encountering some decidedly horror entities – ghosts, haunted objects, zombies, etc. along with my usual twisted brand of humor! The first two titles are available in paperback and eBook versions on various distribution platforms including Amazon and Lulu. “Panic! Horror In Space #1” was released earlier this year, and “Panic! Horror In Space #2” is now also available as of 10 August 2017.
Panic! Horror In Space #3 is already halfway written.
For more detail about this series, visit About Panic! Horror In Space.
On A Personal Note
- Fan Mail & Honorable Mentions
Noticed in the past month by my long-suffering PA and fiancée, Wendy K. Gloss, were the following honorable mentions:
- Fan mail and compliments on my writing are always welcome! Thanks to Joshua Gossett for his message on Oct 18, 2017!
- FictionDB now lists my titles as well, although they seem to have lost most of the covers 😉 .
I display my Fan Mail & Compliments with pride, gratitude and humility. You are always welcome to have a look.
- Hate Mail & Horrible Mentions
August was rather quiet on the hate mail front. I’m almost sad to say I have nothing new to show you this time! (I may have something to show you next time though!)
(I’m rather proud of my hate mail, and you can review it here – but be forewarned, don’t do it while eating or drinking or you might choke while laughing!)
- Interviews
Nothing new during this past month! If you would like to do an interview with me about my works, please do get in touch!
- New Videos
Nothing new at the moment, but in the meantime, here is the book trailer video for “High Steaks”!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_AsvwKi6Ho&w=560&h=315]
- New Listings
All my books now seem to be listed just about everywhere – except for the ones I haven’t published yet! Amazon, Anobii, Barnes & Noble, Bol (NL), Book Depository, eBookMall, FictionDB, Fnac (FR), Foyles (UK), Goodreads, Indigo, iTunes, Kobo (prices in ZAR), Lybrary, Nook, Takealot(prices in ZAR) and 24 Symbols, Christina recommends readers make their purchases via Lulu.
Monthly Book Spotlight [Spoiler Alert]: “Loderunner”
“Loderunner” is the fourth title in the Quantum Series by Christina Engela – a writer described as ‘that rarest of authors – able to seamlessly blend together elements of dark horror and sci-fi to create stories that will stay with you long after the last page has been turned.’ (Mark Woods, author of ‘Time of Tides’ and ‘Fear of the Dark‘). Her writing in the sci-fi genre has been described as ‘one of the most unique and captivating styles I’ve encountered in science fiction.’ (Alex S. Johnson, author of The Doom Hippies.)
Set after the third book (“Dead Man’s Hammer“) “Loderunner” introduces new characters and a whole new adventure starting on the by now familiar Terran colony world of Deanna.
Leading characters the reader may be familiar with from previous titles, such as Gary Beck, play cameo and supporting roles in “Loderunner”. The lead in this story is a struggling private investigator by the name of Timaset Skooch, who at the start of the story wins a small pile of loot …in a game of Uno. Part of the pot turns out to be a decrepit old cargo space ship called the Celeste(any alarms going off yet?) which Skooch decides to take out on a voyage with its eccentric and dysfunctional crew across the remotest reaches of Terran space to seek their fortune in the ultimate get-rich-quick scheme.
One of the spanners thrown into the spokes of the wheels of this plan is Skooch’s other half – Dory, who is a complex character in her own right. Dory is transgender, in the early stages of transitioning between male and female, and Timaset Skooch (who had never thought he may not have been entirely heterosexual before meeting Dory in drag on a bender one heavy night at a local night club called ‘the Slipped Disk‘) is understandably confused. The realization that Dory is transgender and that this would mean realigning himself yet again, seems a rather daunting prospect, especially with the headache he still had from getting mugged. Meanwhile, his other half – while supportive and dedicated to their continued partnership – is quite resolute about transitioning. It is on this note that Skooch and the odd-ball crew of the Celeste set off on their – er, oddysey.
On a convoluted journey between systems, stars and planets, Timaset Skooch meets a variety of oddballs, starting with Giggling Harry – a local entrepreneur who introduces him to a couple of guys with no necks, who in turn arrange a fare for him – a couple of passengers traveling from Deanna to a ‘roid in the rings of – er, Jupiter. The passengers cause a bit of upset for the crew – but not because one turns out to be a victim of a kidnapping and also by sheer coincidence, transgender as well! Groaning inwardly at this incredible coincidence, Timaset is forced to confront the fact that he may be losing Dory – as well as facing his own insecurities about gender and sexuality – and the ingrained and entrenched prejudices of some of his crew – while dodging the relentless agents of a dangerous and shadowy organization calling itself ‘the Olduvai Trust’. It is on this note that the intrepid and moribund crew of the Celeste set out to seek their fortunes, traversing the vast territory of the Terran Empire and meeting a collection of strange and interesting characters – and situations along the way.
Transporting livestock turns out to be enough to make a living, although not enough to get rich off. On the plus side, Tim and his crew get to sight-see and visit destinations such as the Rings of Jupiter (don’t ask) and get a closer look at Mars, one of Earth’s oldest and most advanced colonies, as well as Pluto, where the Celeste stops over briefly to drop off a couple of soldiers at the local military outpost after a bender while on furlough. The top of the list however has to be the abandoned ship they encounter in the depths of empty space, where there is no such thing as a free lunch – except of course, if you happen to be a xenomorph guarding a long lost treasure…
Far from being simply a tale of incidental adventure and comedy used as a front for activism into which the author injects a narrative about transgender issues, “Loderunner” is very entertaining, complex and funny.
Published: May 26, 2016
Pages: 268
Binding: Perfect-bound Paperback
Dimensions (inches): 4.25″ wide x 6.88″ tall (pocketbook)
This is the fourth title in The Quantum Series. To read more about the settings and characters of this series, visit About The Quantum Series and Characters & Plot Devices. To find out about Christina Engela’s main writing focus, read No LGBT Stereotypes Here!
In Closing
Thanks again for all your support, friendship and interaction! Until next time,
Cheers!
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All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2017.