Happy New Year from Heart Beat Books!
And to kick off the new year, please welcome guest author Shane Shepherd and his latest book for our science fiction fans, The Neighbor You Don't Know.Â
A short first book in a 6-book series, The Neighbor You Don't Know is about the aptly-named planet Neighbor and the moral, ethical, and physical perils of exploring it.
Readers are calling it "credible," high-action, "a lot of fun," and an exploration of scientific ethics: the "desire to ravage a planet's resources versus scientific investigation, which hits really close to home today."
In the most complimentary review, one reader said the story "reminds me of early Asimov work," which would mean classics like the Foundation trilogy and the Robot series. High praise, indeed.
Shane's life-long interest in space exploration prompted him to major in aerospace engineering at UCLA, where he developed a passion for writing. Today, he writes steampunk and space opera, lives in Los Angeles, and enjoys walking the Venice beach boardwalk.
For a limited time only, Shane is promoting The Neighbor You Don't Know and you can pick it up for free at this link:
https://storyoriginapp.com/swaps/4315e07a-6a4e-11ec-ba68-dba2ecd44341Â
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Speaking of promotions, my book The Fires of Lilliput will be on sale for ninety nine cents ($0.99) starting tomorrow (Wednesday, January 5).
We held an after-Christmas promo for The Fires of Lilliput in Australia, Canada, and the UK at the same price, and I'm delighted to announce climbed all the way up the bestseller lists in those countries, even winning a coveted Amazon Bestseller badge. Here's an excerpt, from toward Fire's end. Â
“YOU WERE MARRIED BY this time?” the monsignor interjected.
“And your husband died in,” he looked through his notes, “1967?”
“Yes,” Shosha said. “Nine years ago next month.”
“Yes,” Shosha said. “He had cancer.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” The Devil’s Advocate paused. “Let me ask you, Signora Price—did you have occasion to pray to Jakub Chelzak to heal your husband?”
“I object to that question,” Darelli said. “Signora Price is not here to provide witness to Signor Chelzak’s posthumous demeanor.”
“I will allow that Signora Price can answer the question or not, according to her own wishes,” Cardinal Bernardi said.
Monsignor Zyporszka looked at Shosha.
“I don’t pray to saints,” Shosha said. “I’m a Jew.”
“Indeed,” the monsignor said. “Then why are you here, Signora Price? What would motivate you to bear witness in this forum on this man’s behalf as—a Jew?”
“Again, an objection Your Eminence,” Darelli said. “Whether or not Signora Price is a Jew is not at issue here.”
Cardinal Bernardi looked at the men at his table. “Again,” he said, “I will allow that Signora Price answers the question only if she so desires.”
Shosha looked at the Devil’s Advocate.
“I asked,” said the monsignor, “why you were here—why are you bearing witness at a hearing about Christian sainthood, since you yourself are a Jew?”
Shosha thought about this question. She thought about it long enough that in the quiet of the room, you could hear fidgeting and papers rustling, and coughing, here and there.
“I’m not here as a Jew,” Shosha said finally. “Just a person. From where we were, the name Jew or Christian only mattered to the enemy. We were just people, trying to survive.”
From THE FIRES OF LILLIPUT, Chapter 56.
A Vatican lawyer known as the Devil's Advocate grills Shosha Mordechai-Price -- now a widow, years after the Holocaust -- about sainthood candidate Jakub Chelzak, one of her best and most supportive friends during this terrible time.
