by JustinSloan | Nov 28, 2017 | Audiobooks
If you’ve listened to such amazing audiobooks as Hyperion or the Honor Harrington series (David Webber), you’re familiar with the work of Allyson Johnson. Well guess what?
She has now narrated the SYNDICATE WARS BOXSET!
Publisher’s Summary
When an alien horde uses time loops to manipulate and enslave humanity, a Marine and her daughter are earth’s best chance for survival.
Quinn was a Marine sergeant hell-bent on ensuring that her young daughter had a world to grow up in. Now that an alien armada known as the Syndicate has invaded, that seems like a distant dream that will never be realized. But rather than accepting that the world she wanted was over, Quinn organizes a ragtag group of Marines and resistance fighters who take the fight to the aliens, even as they discover that things are not as they appear to be.
The world is on fire and Quinn and her small band of freedom fighters are the extinguisher.
The alien invasion is over and an occupation has begun. Trying to reach her mother, Quinn’s daughter, Samantha, has been stranded in a no-man’s land of shattered cities, broken dreams, and refugees. Already wise beyond her years, Samantha is forced to grow up quickly in the face of numerous life-or-death encounters, and soon links up with another group of guerrilla fighters to kick some serious alien butt.
It’s not a matter of if mother and daughter’s worlds will collide, but when…and once they do, the revolt against the alien invaders will never be the same.
The Syndicate leader, known as the Potentate, watches over everything, biding his time, working feverishly to manipulate the actions of Quinn and the others in the present and in past loops of time. Quinn and her daughter must stop the Syndicate by any means necessary, even if that includes magic and time travel.
Get ready for the thrill ride of a lifetime, because it’s going to get bloody messy.
©2017 Justin Sloan, Kyle Noe, and George S. Mahaffey Jr.; 2017 Podium Publishing
#SpaceMarines #MilitaryScifi #SyndicateWars #Seppukarian
Grab it with a #free trial.
by JustinSloan | Nov 16, 2017 | Snippets
War Wolves Books 1 and 2 now available on Amazon!
Riot looked over at the man she had fought and bled next to since they started in the Corps together. He was more than a friend or a fellow Marine; he was her family.
They had been through it all, including the Syndicate invasion and the world that waited for them at the other end. But what he had just said couldn’t stand.
“That’s disgusting,” Riot said grimacing. “Is that why you haven’t asked to pull over in the last six hours?”
Vet looked at her, arching the eyebrow of his one good eye. The other eye was completely gone, covered now by a steel eye patch that latched into the skin around the vacant hole. His Indian heritage spoke for itself with his dark hair and brown eye.
“Think about it. It’s the most natural, efficient way to travel,” Vet said, adjusting the seatbelt over his compact, muscular chest. “This is a perfect example right now. We’re almost there, but you have to pull over to piss. I’m just fine.”
“No, you’re not fine.” Riot shook her head, concentrating on the road in front of them. Their jeep hit a road bump, causing the vehicle to swerve on the broken asphalt. “You’re sitting in your own poop and piss.” (more…)
by JustinSloan | Sep 28, 2017 | Snippets
This is the first snippet from my new story in SHIFTING DIMENSIONS – only $0.99 and on KU!
Giovanni remembered the jolt that had come, and the way the motion of time travel was unlike anything he had ever felt. Eyes closed, he imagined colors swirling, space imploding—he imagined it all, and then the ship slammed to a stop…or so he thought.
The notion that he was still on the ship vanished the second his nostrils took in the scent of jungle air, fresh from a recent rain. A damp back confirmed this, and when he opened his eyes he saw large leaves overhead, blocking out the moonlight. He wasn’t strapped into the time ship, he was lying on his back on the moist jungle floor.
Had it worked?
Groaning in pain, he pushed himself up and glanced around, hoping to spot Quinn or the others.
From what he could tell, he was alone in the jungle…nothing more. But as he stood and moved to the edge of the small hill he found himself on, he pushed leaves aside and caught his breath—the mountain where it had all started, where he had been with Quinn, Milo, and the others, was right in front of him, completely intact. Lights shone from where Marines were at work, preparing the defense. The Syndicate had destroyed all that, which meant they had gone back to nearly a year before, to the days before the invasion.
Why now? Why here? (more…)
by JustinSloan | Aug 25, 2017 | Book Release
UNEDITED – Hello, all. We thought it would be fun to have an epilogue to book 4 and are sharing it with you exclusively here 🙂 A little bonus for being on my site.
Downside? It’s unedited right now. So if you’d like to take a look and find errors, please send them my way. I’ll have it edited when my editor is doing with this other book of mine she’s finishing up. THANKS!
A gentle breeze blew the grass along the hilltop where Dan sat, like a breath of calm and peace brought down by the gods. An odd thought, he noted to himself, considering that he was sitting there and staring out at the massive destruction in this syndicate-made lake. Rumor had it, Samantha had been behind this, and now she was gone.
Dan had seen her in action though, he had seen what she was capable back when he was supposed to be guarding her and she’d caused an explosion with her mind. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that Samantha couldn’t really be gone. That girl was a survivor.
Sitting here, staring at this destruction, Dan realized that he too was going to be a survivor from now on. And not just a follower, not a straggler, and not someone who managed to find their way into other’s protection.
He was going to follow her example and ensure that, as long as he had breath to fight, he would be fighting back and helping to bring others to fight alongside him.
That was the power of her, in addition to this magic. He had sensed something more in her the moment they had met—an ability to inspire.
Even now, when everyone told him she was dead, he was inspired.
He stared up at the heavens, considering the time ship and those who had gone after it. Quinn herself, even.
It had been one week, and nothing had changed. NOTHING. (more…)
by JustinSloan | Aug 15, 2017 | Snippets
UNEDITED
The shockwave from the explosion caused by Samantha corkscrewed down through the silo’s tight corridors, setting off alarms, swatting people down to the ground, and tearing doors from their hinges.
The blast door in the sleeping quarters rocked on its hinges, knocking Renner and Quinn to the ground. Quinn looked up, everything hazy and unfocused. She’d heard the detonation and immediately thought that a small bomb or a large grenade had gone off.
“The door!” somebody shouted from behind.
Quinn looked up to see that the blast door was dangling from one hinge. Quinn saw Hayden leap over her, then Milo, Hawkins, and Eli. They grabbed the upper edge of the door and put their weight against it, trying to rip it completely free.
Two hands grabbed her and she looked up to see Cody, smiling.
“This is our chance,” he said.
She nodded. “I need to find Samantha first. Then I’ll deal with the others.”
“GET BACK!” Milo shouted.
Cody pulled Quinn back as Hayden shrieked and pulled at the door. For several minutes the Marines rocked the door, eventually tearing it from its hinges. With an ear-shattering BLAM! the cement-infused door hit the floor. Renner rose, broken knife still in hand. He held it over his head at the ready, peering out through the open door, ready for anything. More sirens began wailing and smoke and motes of dust filled the air, obscuring visibility. (more…)
by JustinSloan | Jul 30, 2017 | Snippets
UNEDITED
The fighter turned and Samantha admired the angle of the fighter’s chin, or the starkness of his blue eyes, almost like ice. She hadn’t thought about boys very much, but there was something different about this one. Unlike the other fighters, for instance, he was staring at the videos of the jackasses yet wasn’t braying like some barnyard animal. In fact, he seemed disgusted by the whole thing. Samantha admired that a lot.
“So … what’s your name, soldier?” she asked.
“I’m not a soldier,” the guy replied without turning from the screen.
“You’ve got a gun don’t you?”
The young fighter shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I’m a soldier.”
The fighter looked back at Samantha.
“I don’t mean to be a dick, but I’m supposed to tell you that it’s not going to be like this.”
“Like what?” Samantha asked.
“You saying things and me answering—”
“I’m pretty sure that’s called conversation.”
The fighter turned back to the TV.
“Okay. Cool. So what’s your name?” she asked.
No response from the fighter.
“I mean it’s just common courtesy to give a name when you’re holding someone against their will,” Samantha said.
“If I tell you that, will you be quiet?”
“There’s a strong possibility,” she answered.
“Daniel,” the fighter said. “Just … Dan.”
“Oh, Jeez, I’m so sorry.”
Dan looked back.
“Why?”
“It’s nothing … your name … it’s just … studies have shown that Daniel is a name associated with the least trustworthy people in society.”
Dan’s right eyebrow twitched up. “Says who?”
“The people who conduct such studies.”
He stared at her for several seconds. “Y’know what I think? I think you’ve just got a serious case of Danimosity.”
Samantha smirked. “Do not.”
“You totally do,” Dan replied. “You’re a raving Dan-ti-semetic.”
Samantha nodded. “Good one.” She smiled, realizing she’d been right about this guy. Not only was he cute, but he was completely different than the other schlubs who’d been guarding her. The moment passed and Dan turned back to the TV.
“So what did you do?” Dan asked, eyes still locked on the TV. “I mean nobody told me, but there’s got to be a reason why you’re down here.”
“Oh, it was no biggie at all. I was just accosted by this supernatural being who showed me the end of the world and then taught me how to trigger the stored energy in inanimate objects.”
Dan nodded, evidently not believing a word of this. “Oh, is that all.”
“Exactly,” Samantha replied. “I mean, who hasn’t experienced that.”
A few seconds of silence stretched between them.
“How old are you, Samantha?”
“I thought we weren’t conversing.”
He smiled. She lied and said, “Almost sixteen. You?”
“Nineteen.”
Coolness, she thought. An older guy.
“So where are you from?” she asked.
“Originally from Delaware,” Dan said.
“What’s in Delaware?” she asked.
“A bridge and … there didn’t used to be any sales tax.”
Samantha nodded. “What’s the opposite of a bucket list?”
Dan shook his head. “Dunno. Why?”
“Because based on what you just said, I’m putting Delaware on that.”
Dan smiled.
“You got any family there?” Samantha asked.
Dan pointed to his shotgun. “Nope. Don’t have any at all other than Mary Beth here.”
Samantha nodded. “Happiness is a warm gun.”
Dan looked at her, the levity vanishing from his face.
“I can’t let you go by the way,” he said. “I know your mom was like, a Marine and whatnot, but I can’t help you out if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“How come?”
“I’ve been given orders.”
“Strict ones?”
Dan quirked an eyebrow. “They didn’t mention whether they were strict.”
“So there you go,” Samantha said, flashing the widest smile possible. “Orders aren’t meant to be followed unless they’re super strict.”
Dan shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
Samantha was sorry too. She spotted the lone cookie left by one of her prior guards on the floor and she was sorry about what might happen to Dan and all the others if she ever freed her hands. But her hands weren’t free, which meant that she was righteously screwed.
Her mind wandered to something she’d read in a resistance hideout in the weeks after the invasion. An article in a magazine about athletes who were able to control their immune response and autonomous nervous system primarily via a series of breathing exercises. The idea was through repeated deep, rhythmic inhales and exhales, followed by breath holding, a person could increase oxygen saturation in the muscles and body, thereby helping to focus their mind’s eye. The whole thing sounded a little loopy, but she figured she’d give it a whirl. She had time.
Leaning back, Samantha commenced inhaling and exhaling. She made sure to do it quietly, so as not to alert Dan. Then she held her breath and released it and repeated the exercise. She did this over and over and on the fifth try, something happened. It was as if she’d been rubbing two sticks together and suddenly she had a spark. Not only did her body warm, but some sensation welled up inside her that she’d only been aware of in the presence of Hadrian.
The feeling was profound and raw and somehow uncontrollable. For a moment she felt as if she had such a deep understanding of the universe that it might stretch her mind past what her body could tolerate. She’d heard of people who tripped on various drugs, and she assumed what she was experiencing had to be similar. She could see sounds with her eyes shut and hear smells and knew then that the moment of her purpose had arrived.
The ground, the room, even Dan fell away and Samantha found herself raptured up, suspended in the air, staring into a roiling void that was blacker than the bottom of a well at midnight. Her hands were still bound, but merely by focusing her thoughts was she able to birth a disturbance in the form of waves that fanned out, undulating out over the void and through the vast expanses of space and time, like a million dollops of creamer dropped in the galaxy’s biggest pot of coffee. And the power, whatever force was inside her, allowed her to influence the physical without physical interaction. She was a weapon, a human IED, an ambulatory trigger.
Her body grew warm and she found herself back in the room and her eyes hopped from the walls to Dan, to the cookie that began to thrum. Reacting to the sound of the cookie, Dan turned and time froze like a snapshot.
“GET DOWN!” Samantha screamed.
Dan did, covering his head as the cookie disintegrated with a cacophonous BOOM!
FROM JUSTIN >>> So this is skipping forward a BIT from our last snippet, but I wanted to do that for a couple reasons. One was that I’m working on a Sam spinoff, and this ‘magic’ or whatever you want to call it plays into that. The second reason is just because I think Sam’s so damn cool. There are the Hadrian parts in book 3 that just knocked my socks off (George wrote a lot of that, so I got to read first draft stuff, and it was fun!)
This week I wanted to make sure I’ve shared Glynn Stewart’s books – because they are scifi with magic too. I might have shared them before, but that’s fine 🙂
So here is Glynn Stewart’s …
STARSHIP MAGE
A ship that cannot leave
A Mage that will not stay
A meeting of desperations
In a galaxy tied together by the magic of the elite Jump Mages, Damien Montgomery graduates into their numbers—only to discover that without connections, he can’t find a ship and is stuck in the Sherwood system.
Pirates attacked David White’s jump freighter, leaving him with a dead Mage and a damaged ship—stuck in Sherwood, where a grieving father has blacklisted him from hiring a replacement Jump Mage.
When their desperate needs meet, Damien Montgomery is drawn into a conflict with the most powerful criminal organization in the galaxy—and to the attention of the Mage-King of Mars himself!
