YA Sci-fi Fantasy Shackles of Guilt By Kris Ruhler
YA Sci-fi Fantasy
Shackles of Guilt
By Kris Ruhler$2.99 – FREE
He’s the boy next door. She’s a princess. But when blood and war reach their doorstep, will they unite or be forever pushed apart?
Tag: YA Sci-fi
YA Sci-Fi – Replaced Parts
Transformed Nexus #1
YA Sci-Fi
Date Published: 02/23/21
Publisher: Fire & Ice YA and Tantor Audio
In the year 2163 a corrupt World Government controls everything on our planet and beyond.
Sixteen year-old Sierra has been so caught up in her own world of saving animal test subjects and her father’s disappearance, she hasn’t paid much attention. When she finally finds his location, she and her friend set off on a covert interplanetary mission to rescue him, she begins to see the corruption first hand.
Discovering that her father has been on the front lines secretly trying to save human test subjects inspires her to join a revolution. But she is afraid of the collateral damage of hurting the people she loves. Will she find the strength to make a deal with the mad scientist Cromwell to save not just her friends and family but everyone?
Excerpt
To make a smoke bomb all you need is potassium nitrate, sugar, water and a fuse. Programming holograph messaging to be ‘smoke screen projection only’ is much more difficult. It’s a digital version of invisible ink and completely security cam resistant. I pull up Yesha’s incoming call. The smoke allows her image to take shape and it almost feels like she’s in the room with me.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this, you little gomer.”
Yesha frequently begins conversations in the middle, no introduction or formal interrogation into my life. I think that’s why I like her.
“It didn’t take much to convince you.”
“Did you receive the package?”
I hold up the box addressed to me, Sierra, but I’ve removed the contents.
“Yep, right here, see.”
Yesha’s laugh is like a chorus of toads with hiccups. Her image vibrates on the smoke.
“That’s only the box, you drone bug!”
“I know.”
I hold up the syringes that had been inside the box.
“Be careful with those. Check the labels.”
I roll a syringe in my hands like Kitchen, one of our home bots, does with pretzel dough.
“One says healing serum, which I asked for. Why does the other say anti?”
“Backup. You always need an emergency abort mission option.”
“All right. Thanks!”
Yesha interrupts before I collapse the projection.
“Just be sure not to give the anti if you haven’t given the original serum.”
After she’s gone, I look at my subject.
I shouldn’t be doing this, but I find the koala’s eyes drawing me in like a poli-magno crash about to happen. It’s impossible to turn away.
The Science Olympiad team’s going to put me on probation again, which stinks since they’re the only local, human friends I have.
Following protocol gets us nowhere, however.
Mom’s going to be agitated because this isn’t the first time I’ve broken the rules.
I guide the koala out of the cage, leaving her brothers inside. I have to shake off feelings of jealousy. I don’t have any siblings.
“Why ya look so sad?”
Uplifting experiments have given us animals who speak. “Why do you look so sad, Eucarpo?”
The koala glances back at her brothers and then her eyes look up at me past her round, stub nose, and adorable ears. The sensation of an infant wrapping tiny fingers around mine envelops me. I can’t let them endure more unethical testing just so we can have the best DNA combination. I was okay with the testing when the purpose was to help those that were sick and it was beneficial to the koala species, but I can’t stomach testing these sweet things just for superficial reasons.
“Hate leaving ‘em behind.”
“They’re going after you if this works.”
“What ya mean, if?”
“Healing adaptation experiments have just begun.”
“But ya aced the test?”
“Well, yeah, but that was just practice. This is the first time I’ve used it on a living being. Don’t worry, it should all go as planned. I’m just being paranoid.”
It would be nice if I could stop blabbering when I’m nervous. Sometimes you just have to go for it and see where the cards fall. That was something my dad used to say. Before he disappeared, he used to tell me lots of things. He’s been gone almost a decade, but I might as well as have “Missing Dad” tattooed on my forehead.
“Ya paranoid? Ne’er!”
As she raises the fur above her eyes, I scratch behind her ear, and she leans into it like a bear scratching its back on a tree trunk. Her fur is soft as manufactured silk charmeuse.
“Ah yeah, right dere.”
“You sure you’re ready for this?”
“It gets us closer to freedom, so I been ready a long time.”
She takes another glance at her brothers, and I pick up the syringe with self-healing serum. I begin the sedation process as no one wants to be awake when artery lining fortifies, muscles pull with new agility, and brain tissue encases itself with a biting, thin metal sheet. Another reason I’m jealous of Eucarpo is that she responds to sedation, and I don’t.
As Eucarpo drifts into a peaceful sleep, I look out the school windows and see only the steel and glass of surrounding buildings. Their reflections mirror the sky. Today the unending blue gives the impression of being in the middle of the sea. On gray days, it’s as if I’ve been swallowed by thunderclouds. I can only imagine how green fields would look. People used to love the smell of fresh-cut grass. That was before an asteroid broke through the atmosphere damaging our ecosystem and killing all plants, causing our world to work together to save Earth and its remaining, limited vegetation. The only vegetation left is kept in guarded areas and labs.
I think I can hear the machines used to keep the atmosphere from collapsing but the sound isn’t right. Instead of a hum, I hear iron clanging. The serum glides through the syringe into Eucarpo and her breathing intensifies as the cells within her body multiply. No, that isn’t the machines. It’s locker doors slamming, followed by footsteps of someone coming down the hall. No one should be here now. They should all be at the assembly that I’m skipping. I must finish before anyone else arrives. I look at the oxygen and pulse readings, cringing with every spike. It feels like an hour passes as I look at the screens, but I know it’s only been seconds. I count breaths and clock ticks, staring at Eucarpo’s oxygen and platelet numbers rising.
“Come on, the science minds keep refreshments in here.”
I think I recognize the voice coming down the hall. Every muscle in my body wants to stiffen, but I can’t freeze now.
Luckily, the serum is fast acting and Eucarpo’s readings are settling. I inject the awakening treatment and then I throw the syringes and all remaining evidence into the incinerator. The burning and sanitizing process will turn these things into energy or something else useful. Eucarpo stirs a little when I hear the door sensor click.
As the voltball captain and visual arts queen walk in, I step in front of Eucarpo.
“Look, we found someone avoiding the assembly,” Milcah says as she nudges Danver in the ribs with her elbow.
About The Author
Stephanie Hansen is a PenCraft Award Winning Author. Her novella series, Altered Helix, released 2020. Her short story, Break Time, and poetry has been featured in Mind’s Eye literary magazine. The Kansas Writers Association published her short story, Existing Forces, appointing her as a noted author. She has held a deep passion for writing since early childhood, but a brush with death caused her to allow it to grow. She’s part of an SCBWI critique group in Lawrence, KS and two local book clubs. She attends many writers’ conferences including the Writing Day Workshops, New York Pitch, Penned Con, New Letters, All Write Now, Show Me Writers Master Class, BEA, and Nebraska Writers Guild conference as well as Book Fairs and Comic-Cons. She is a member of the deaf and hard of hearing community.
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YA Sci-fi Fantasy – Folder
YA Fantasy, YA Sci-fi, Science Fiction
Published: November 2020
Publisher: Regilius Publishing
Eric Folder has moved to Oregon to attend Portland State University when an automobile accident leaves him stricken with migraine headaches. The resulting visual effects—something medical professionals term an aura—render him virtually blind and defenseless when a gang of street thugs attacks him. Desperate to see and needing to protect himself, Eric reflexively tears at the luminous lines of light and finds they have become tangible. When he pulls them aside, his present reality folds away with them, leaving him in better circumstances with his enemies vanished. Attempts to fold his way out of subsequent perils leave him in increasingly strange situations until, eventually, his world becomes a nightmare.
Praise for Folder:
“A wild young-adult alternate-worlds adventure that will leave you guessing right up to the end! Fans of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials will love this!” – D. J. Butler, author of Witchy Eye
“A big, engaging ride across our infinite possibilities – and our choice to be heroes.” – Anthony Dobranski, author of The Demon in Business Class
Excerpt
PROLOGUE
I’m lost.
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry when I say this, because I sound as if I’m repeating words from a hymn or I’m in need of a compass, or else I’ve given up completely. The thing is, I’m terrified because all these things are true and I don’t know how to fix them. I would say a prayer if I thought someone could hear, but even if they did, I don’t think this is a place where prayers get answered. If I had a compass, knowing whether I’m facing North or South wouldn’t take me away from this place, let alone back to where I started. In fact, no one can get me out of the mess I’m in, except maybe me, and I’m as scared to try to change what has brought me here as I am afraid do nothing.
I remember when my friends and I were kids and we hid in the bushes and pretended there were monsters coming after us. Well, now the monsters are real. I’ve been listening for what seems an eternity to their angry snorts and the clatter and scratches of their claws on the large stone surface where those creatures are gathered. Every now and then, one of them hisses and another does the same in response. The rate of their footsteps escalates and I imagine two of them colliding and squaring off in an expression of indignation. It’s too dark to see whether this has actually happened, or if it’s just my imagination, but the pounding of my heart in face of the impending danger keeps me riveted on what’s happening.
As I hide in a clump of bushes and the minutes pass, I’m more than a little relieved that they’re taking so long to find me. Unexpectedly, the full moon peeks through a break in the cloud cover and the scales on the bodies of several great beasts glisten. Each is twice the size of a bullmastiff and I count six of them several yards from here. Their eyes glow whitish gold and appear to have vertical slits, although it’s hard to be sure at this distance. As they circle a spot where I was standing a short while ago, sniffing the ground in several directions around it, one of them raises its head and opens its mouth, baring rows of long, needlelike teeth. I expect the creature will howl. Instead, a rasping reptilian sound emerges and I shudder, wondering what kind of beings they are.
Although I’ve recently arrived, from my earlier experiences and the landscape’s layout, I recognize this place as being near where the street car used to stop in a time that’s lost to me forever. The place where I’m hiding used to be the parkway where Park crosses Mill—or what used to be Park and Mill before everything transformed into this new reality. There aren’t any streets anymore and I’m surprised there are even deer trails to mark where Park and Mill once intersected. This used to be Portland State University, but now everything’s grown over and forested. The clock tower has vanished, as have the student union and the rest of the buildings that were part of the campus.
Without warning, a thought bubbles up from a world I’ll never see again and I almost cry out loud. Cursing this lack of control, I force my idiot self to keep quiet. Still, there is some truth to the thought that this situation is what Dad would have called a mixed blessing. It’s because it rained so hard that those things haven’t discovered me already. Here I am, kneeling on a thick bed of leaves. If they weren’t so soggy, they would crackle each time I move and announce my location. Instead, their wetness muffles whatever noise I might otherwise make. On the other hand, because the night is so cold and water is starting to soak through my pants, I’m beginning to shiver and I’m afraid I might sneeze any minute. If I do, those creatures will certainly hear and I know I will die because I’m sure they can out-run me.
The breeze that’s been chilling me starts to increase and I wonder if another storm is building. The last of autumn’s leaves whip though the air and there is a sharp crack above me. The creatures turn in my direction and two cock their heads. A third one starts walking toward me and I hold my breath, wondering whether it will continue to advance, when a second crack drops a large bough into the bushes a few yards to my right. The creatures stop and stare at the spot where it landed. Then, apparently satisfied they understand what caused the disturbance, they resume their search in the original location. Realizing I’ve been holding my breath and that I need to breathe, I inhale deeply, then exhale. My breathing is starting to grow normal when something grabs my shoulder.
About The Author
Raymond Bolton lives near Portland, Oregon with his wife, Toni, and their cats, Max and Arthur. His epic fantasies are published by WordFire Press, publisher of the Dune and Star Wars novels, and have received endorsements by the late Mike Resnick and award-winning author Paul Kane.
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YA Sci-fi, YA Fantasy – The Lost Prince
The Gifted Ones, Book 3
YA Sci-fi, YA Fantasy
Release Date: October 1, 2020
Publisher: Gean Penny Books
A call to unite. A search for truth. Two superhuman teens running from the law…
Paradise, Texas. Fourteen-year-old Carmen isn’t sure what happened to her mother; one day she’s helping cook dinner, but the next day, her mother’s missing and Carmen’s fleeing for her life. Burdened with anger that interferes with her unusual power, she takes to the streets with the only clue her mother left behind. But when she encounters a stranger picking through her belongings, she finds herself in a life or death situation.
Seventeen-year-old Simon survived a tragedy he doesn’t remember; he doesn’t know how or why he’s on the streets. So when his physical needs overtake him, he’ll do anything to satisfy them, including scavenging a homeless den. And when he discovers a drawing on the cardboard ceiling, it sparks a memory that compels him to help the owner.
But with danger lurking in every alleyway and one clue to lead the way, they may not succeed…
Can Carmen and Simon discover how their mutual clue connects them before her mother’s life is taken?
The Gifted Ones The Lost Prince is the exciting final book in The Gifted Ones superhero fantasy trilogy. If you like young heroes, realistic settings, and stories of adventure, then you’ll love PG Shriver’s third book The Lost Prince.
Buy The Gifted Ones The Lost Prince to unlock the superpowered ending today!
Other Books in the The Gifted Ones Trilogy:
Paradise Rising
The Gifted Ones, Book 1
Publisher: Gean Penny Books
Published: June 1, 2020
San Antonio, Texas. Thirteen-year-old Cheater isn’t sure how she ended up wanted for murder. Burdened with a power she doesn’t understand, that’s triggered by a creeping darkness she can’t remember, she’s both saved and taken lives. But when she makes a vigilante move to stop a mugging, she encounters a boy who might be the key to cracking the mystery of her strange gift.
Fifteen-year-old Jaz has survived too many tragedies to stay on the right side of the law. So when his small gang’s robbery gets interrupted by a teenaged fugitive, he’s perplexed by her act of heroism. And when he discovers they’re both connected to the same mysterious fairytale, he feels drawn to her quest for answers.
But with danger lurking around every corner and the police hot on their trail, they may not even make it past the city limits…
Can Cheater and Jaz discover why Fate linked them together before they land behind bars?
The Gifted Ones Paradise Rising is the captivating first book in The Gifted Ones pre-superhero fantasy series. If you like smart heroines, gritty settings, and stories of hope, then you’ll love PG Shriver’s emotional tale.
Time of Dreams
The Gifted Ones, Book 2
Publisher: Gean Penny Books
Published: August 1, 2020
An unusual ally. A destined dream. Two superhuman teens hiding from the law…
Godley, Texas. Fourteen-year-old Nathan isn’t sure how the girl in his dream knew to warn him. Burdened with righteous anger, and past events that put him in the wrong place at the wrong time, he’s ready to avenge the tragedies he’s left behind. But when a lost girl in the woods demands his help, he finds himself in another sticky situation— a dead body, a familiar face, and a secret that might be key to deciphering the dream.
Seventeen-year-old Rebecca survived a tragedy that’s kept her locked away in fear. So when she flees for her life and crosses paths with a guy in the woods, she uses her power to push through his anger for help. And when she discovers their connection to the same mysterious girl, she is drawn into his heroic quest for revenge.
But with a sheriff hot on their trail and two strangers breaking into their safe haven, they may not even make it out of the city…
Can Nathan and Rebecca discover why Fate drew them together before the sheriff locks them up?
About the Author
P.G. Shriver holds a Masters in Education, a Bachelors in English and is currently retired from teaching. Shriver writes from her country home in Texas. She lives with her family among three Great Pyrenees, an eighty-five pound Chihuahua, four horses, six cats and many of my favorite books from various genres, seventeen of which are her own published works, seven picture books for children, five first reader chapter books, and five middle grade-young adult novels. Somewhere in the menagerie is my retired husband who enjoys his role as sounding board.
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YA Sci-fi – Zon
BEYOND Series, Book 5
(Can be read as a stand alone)
Young Adult – Science Fiction – Adventure
Date Published: June 22, 2020
From USA TODAY bestselling author, Maureen A. Miller, comes this young
adult cosmic adventure.
With a father from the planet, Ziratak, and a mother from Earth, Zon’s
challenges are galactic. Zon doesn’t possess superpowers, though. If
anything, he’s a bit of a klutz.
In Ziratakian folklore, the tale of the Temple of the Monarch has been
passed down for generations. As legend has it, a series of miniature globes
lead to the temple’s gate.
Folklore…nothing more.
Except, Zon knows of a cave with small globes in it. And with one clumsy
mishap, he triggers the gate–opening a portal to other worlds.
A trip through this vortex transports him to Earth, where the first human
he encounters is a young woman with challenges of her own.
This is a brand new saga, and a new generation. There is no need to read
the BEYOND series. However, for readers of the series, you will enjoy this
continuation of the epic science fiction adventure.
About the Author
USA TODAY bestselling author, Maureen A. Miller worked in the software
industry for fifteen years. She crawled around plant floors in a hard hat
and safety glasses hooking up computers to behemoth manufacturing machines.
The job required extensive travel. The best form of escapism during those
lengthy airport layovers became writing.
Maureen’s first novel, WIDOW’S TALE, earned her a Golden Heart nomination
in Romantic Suspense. After that she became hooked to the genre. In fact,
she was so hooked she is the founder of the JUST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
website.
Recently, Maureen branched out into the Young Adult Science Fiction market
with the popular BEYOND Series. To her it was still Romantic Suspense…just
on another planet!
Find more about Maureen at www.maureenamiller.com
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Science Fiction – Slideways
A Brothers of the Multiverse Novel, Book 1
Science Fiction, YA Sci-fi
An eventful and immersive interdimensional romp.—Kirkus Reviews
A troubled home, a family secret, and a technological breakthrough turn a teen’s world Slideways.
If fifteen-year-old Ben believes his life is forever shattered after his brother’s accident, he is about to be amazed. After Ben’s grandfather is mysteriously kidnapped, Ben stumbles upon his grandfather’s scientific discovery – a portal to a parallel universe and a world called Terra.
As Ben searches for his grandfather, dueling security agencies from both worlds seek to confiscate the portal device and control the passage between worlds. The chase is on, but the danger mounts when new adversaries threaten Earth, Terra, and the very nature of the universe.
Though ruthless enemies hunt Ben, he finds new friends and relationships he never thought possible. Ben ultimately commits to his beliefs in a stunning battle of wits, technology, and power.
Other Books in the Brothers of the Multiverse Series:
SLIPTIME
A Brothers of the Multiverse Novel, Book 2
A teenager, his grandfather, and a resurrected robot, slip the bonds of time to save the world.
Sixteen-year-old Ben’s confidence and family life have never been better since meeting Jack, his doppel-brother from Terra, a planet in a parallel universe.
Ben’s grandfather, Patrick, races the clock to stop an enemy drone from opening a portal between Earth and Erde. During his quest, he rebuilds a damaged robot and unlocks the mystery of time travel. The stakes have never been higher as secrets turn past friends into foes, and brothers into allies.
Ben borrows Patrick’s time-medallion, attempts to help Jack with a personal crisis on Terra, and is shocked by what he finds. Ben accepts help from the robot, Amorphous, and dares to change the past once more. Despite the risk of unintended consequences, Ben rides the twisting timelines to save his friends, family, and the future of his world.
LUNAR TIDE
A Brothers of the Multiverse Novel, Book 3
A mysterious seer, Mélange, sends seventeen-year-old Flora a telepathic warning—beware the Techno-Mage. Before Flora unravels the message, Albert, her dad’s arch-nemesis, kidnaps her father on Terra. She and her brother, Zac, vow to save him. Seeking help, they travel back through time to Earth and find Ben, his girlfriend Lori, and the trusted robot Amorphous.
During the quest, the companions are granted new powers to bend minds and the laws of science. The trail leads them through the multiverse, the afterlife, and beyond. Zac sees Mélange in a vision and is swept away in a riptide of emotion. Mélange tells him to find her on the brightest light in the night sky. The lunar tide pulls Zac, his friends, and foes to the Moon. They fight a desperate battle with Albert for life, power, conquest, and love.
About the Author
Jeff Grode grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, currently resides on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and knows his way around a kayak, horses, and a good story. A lifelong fan of reading science fiction, fantasy, and spy novels, he found a love for creative writing.
Science fiction is the backdrop for his stories, and he focuses upon the interaction and inherent conflict between friends, family, and foes in a world undergoing fast technological change.
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YA Sci-fi – A Falling Starr
Only $.99 March 13-17
YA Sci-fi
A Falling Starr
By Dani Hoots
Publisher: FoxTales Press
Was $2.99
For a Limited Time Only $.99
A year ago I had woken up with no memory of who I was. No one seemed to know anything about me and for months the police investigated only to find nothing. The only thing I had was a necklace with the name Angela Starr.
The government gave me an ID with that name and let me enroll in a community college to get my GED. All the psychologists that they had examine me thought that would be best and going to school might jog some memories since they figured I was in my late teens. Well, it did, as I ran into a boy my age that I felt I knew, but before I could fully recover those memories, we found ourselves being chased into a portal that led to the other side of the universe.
But why did this other planet seem so familiar?
Buy Links:
About the Author:
Dani Hoots is a science fiction, fantasy, romance, and young adult author who loves anything with a story. She has a B.S. in Anthropology, a Masters of Urban and Environmental Planning, a Certificate in Novel Writing from Arizona State University, and a BS in Herbal Science from Bastyr University.
Currently she is working on a YA urban fantasy series called Daughter of Hades, a YA urban fantasy series called The Wonderland Chronicles, a historic fantasy vampire series called A World of Vampires, and a YA sci-fi series called Sanshlian Series. She has also started up an indie publishing company called FoxTales Press. She also works with Anthill Studios in creating comics through Antik Comics.
Her hobbies include reading, watching anime, cooking, studying different languages, wire walking, hula hoop, and working with plants. She is also an herbalist and sells her concoctions on FoxCraft Apothecary. She lives in Phoenix with her husband and visits Seattle often.
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