This weekend is movie weekend for
my family. Today is The Vow. It's a cute romantic story that makes you feel. I
love romantic stories that are full of promise, hope, excitement, good feelings
and in the end, enduring love. But to get to the enduring love part you have to
go through a lot of crap.
I enjoy making my characters
suffer. I probably shouldn't admit it but I do like exploring the painful side
of life. Before the Proposal is Ryan and Jesse story, written to tell the before of No Fault of His Own which was
written for the Goodreads free reads event. Ryan and Jesse's story is sweet,
but doesn't come without pain.
In the Texas Soul series, the boys
are taken for a ride that leaves some of them broken, other's bereft with a
hole the size of Texas in their heart, and still others so fully in love that
nothing else matters. The Texas Soul series is Lane and Gresh's story. There
are other characters involved, but in the end, it's all Lane and Gresh.
In March I have a new series coming
out, Love Without Borders and Love Without Restraint. Jason and David's story
is full of complex emotions and pain. Which goes back to The Vow. Losing the
ability to remember, forgetting everything about your life would be amazingly
disturbing. The crazy thing is that The Vow is based on true events. The
complexities of life are so diverse, each person experiencing such different
realities that it's no wonder we end up with pain, and hurting each other,
eventually causing pain to those we love.
Without You is the amazing tale of
Zander and Layton, two warriors who find themselves in a desperate situation.
Their pain is huge, leaving them in a desperate situation that neither of them
ever thought they would be in.
***** Sara is giving away 2 books, 1 to each winner of their choice!
***** Sara is giving away 2 books, 1 to each winner of their choice!
Blurb for Without You
Within moments of meeting,
attraction sizzled between Zander and Layton, drawing them closer than most.
But when tragedy strikes, Zander's world is ripped apart, leaving him near
crippled. Layton, his partner, blames himself for the accident. Falling into
despair, he seeks out dangerous war zones, using his Kito Fighting Force skills
to inflict destruction. Pain and agony trumps everything, sending Layton
searching for solace with another, only to be caught by Zander.
Unable to hold it together, Layton
lashes out, his anger building to epic proportions. Layton won't survive unless
something changes. But can the warrior crawl out of his pit of self-loathing
and become half the man Zander was, or will he fail at living without Zander at
his side?
Without You
Sara York
After the human wars, the
governments of Earth fell apart. Distrust wove through the very fabric of
humanity as they searched for something good. When the aliens came, they were
welcomed. Encouraging the humans to come together, thus creating one governing
body, the aliens brought people closer, creating peace.
With the aliens came advancement
in technology, medicines, and an overwhelming feeling of goodness. Humans bred
with aliens, producing superior beings known as skiffs. Travel to distant
planets became a reality, scattering humans and skiffs across the galaxy,
giving them hope for a better tomorrow.
Chapter One
Present Year 2316 A.D.
Zander
crooked his lips into a smile and tapped Layton on his ass. “This one is your
show. Where to now?”
“My
show. You brat, you made the plan for this rescue, you lead.” Layton backed up
and ground against Zander, leaving him needy as hell.
“You’re
insatiable and you’re not distracting me from this path. Those are some nasty
beasts in there. I don’t think I want to lead.”
“Ha,
you’re too funny. Of course they're nasty, that’s why we’re here.” Layton
pushed back again, laughing when Zander groaned.
“So
you take the left and I’ll go to the right,” Zander whispered.
“That’s
what you put in the plan.”
“Helmets
on.” Zander shoved his helmet over his short-cropped dark hair, covering his
face with the breathing mask and flipping on the oxygen. As Skiffs, a
human-alien hybrid, he and Layton could breathe in almost any atmosphere, their
bodies designed to be precision instruments, making them both ultimate fighting
machines, but they always wore their masks when entering a battle situation
because surprises were the norm and the enemy could throw anything at them.
“Yes
sir,” Layton growled over the mic system as he covered his head and face,
leaving him looking like any of the other eighteen Skiffs in their unit, but
Zander could always spot Layton, even in full gear he knew his lover.
“My
count,” Zander uttered into his mic. He had faith in the guys on his team and
didn’t turn to check if they were ready, he knew they were. He held up his
hand, making quick signals that would mean nothing to civilians, but his elite
Kito Fighting Force understood completely.
They
would be silent from here on out, only speaking once they’d located the
captives and began their rescue. Zander stepped into the large vent tube to the
right, his feet rolling with each step, minimizing sound. The bowels of
Granton, the fifth planet from Ziar, a red giant, stank like garbage. It was
the vilic beasts that contributed to the stink. Their eating habits were
disgusting, leaving half-rotted carcasses strung across the caverns as they
moved from place to place. He hated vilics, hated the way they looked, hated
the fact that they were huge, but most of all he hated their poisonous saliva.
Granton
was famous for their mines and their volatile political and economic systems.
He wouldn’t even touch their slave habit that cost them more trouble than the
slaves were worth. If they hired laborers instead of trying to own them, most
of their issues would be solved. This particular uprising was because of the
slaves.
Months
ago, the government’s balancing act had come crashing down, leaving a mess when
a few slaves broke free, capturing their owners and killing them. The citizens
spiraled out of control and the army freaked out. Instead of the skirmish
ending quickly, the Granton natives, the ones sold as slaves, rebelled. For
some stupid reason the army leaders traveled to Lalvo, a neighboring planet,
and captured their rulers thus drawing in the Kito. Galactic peace dictated
that Zander and his crew move in for the rescue. That was the only reason he
would go crawling through the ventilation systems on the side of this mountain
full of beasts that blocked the path to the Lalvo President and his cabinet.
The
air vent changed directions and Zander followed the trail. Four guys were
behind him, the rest with Layton or Brant circling around the mountain,
preparing to swoop in and release the prisoners. Micha’s five were following
Brant’s team, ready to jump in if necessary, but their primary duty was to
escort the Lalvo president to safety.
After
an hour of crawling through the vents, his team of Kito fighters were in place.
Zander looked through his view scope and spied Layton and Brant’s teams on the
opposite side of the cavernous prison, their hands raised to indicate they were
ready. He lifted his hand, signaling the beginning of the attack. They
descended quickly on ropes, dropping to the floor inside the innermost prison
cell, bypassing the vilic caves.
In
twenty-five seconds the room was secure, the Granton guards defeated without
blaster fire, and the Lalvo President safe with Micha’s five. Now, all they had
to do was escape the madness. The team knew what came next, no need to detail
the operation. Everything progressed smoothly until Zander’s five ran into one
of the hairy vilics roaming the mountain. The stench turned his stomach, the
rancid odor reminded him of the open latrines on Jumac, the poorest planet in
the galaxy. One bite and it would all be over. Not that their mouths were big
or that powerful, just nasty. You’d die from one disease or another if their
saliva made contact with skin.
He
didn’t want to use his blaster, not this soon into their mission. The Granton
guards would be alerted of the blast by sound traveling through the tunnels and
send reinforcements, the last thing he wanted.
The
vilic advanced and one of his men fired. Now the race was on. Zander’s team
would be the last one out, so he took up position at the rear of the troupe as
they rushed through the tunnels, blasting everything in their way.
“We’ve
got problems.” One of the guys stated over their headsets, Jau if he had to
guess.
“Go
ahead,” Zander whispered.
“Granton
guards have blocked the exit.”
Zander
cursed, wishing that Jau were wrong but knowing he wasn’t. “Alternative route,
let’s backtrack.” He wished they could use the ventilation tunnels they’d come
in on, but there was no way they could get the president of Lalvo and his
twelve cabinet members thirty feet in the air without more equipment, which he
hadn’t wanted to bring in. Going down wasn’t difficult, but pulling up six very
overweight men plus the other six in the cabinet would be difficult. Then
having to hoist up the aging president would have been near impossible without
someone being injured, most likely the president.
Layton’s
voice sounded in his ears but the news wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “This
exit is blocked too. Looks like we need to call in for a lift.”
Zander
punched in the code, requesting air support. The mission was falling apart
fast, leaving him wondering if they could get the president and his party out
alive. The situation grew more desperate by the minute as more vilics were
released to attack. The Granton guards had to have known a rescue mission would
have been mounted, now they would have to figure out if someone in the Galactic
governing body had tipped their hat, leaving Zander and his team vulnerable.
A
hovercraft arrived, blowing a hole in the thinnest layer of rock over the
prison. The Kito used their personal shields to deflect the rocks from hitting
them and their charges, too bad the Grantons had shield-piercing rounds,
otherwise escape would be easy. Ropes and baskets were lowered and the Lalvo president
was pulled to safety. His men worked diligently to rescue the other twelve
leaders. Zander’s team, Layton, and two other men were still in the cave when a
sound that chilled Zander’s blood echoed through the cavern. The gurgling,
boiling, zapping noise could be none other than boiling electric acid. The
caustic acid burned everything in its path, even eating away at the rocky
floors before the deadly liquid neutralized. That only occurred when the rocks
began to melt, blending with and changing the acid to a base. But destruction
would be wrought over the landscape long before the acid lost its potency. Few,
if any planets would ever use the boiling electric acid because of its
devastating effects on the ecosystem, but the Grantons were desperate.
The
protocol was set, Zander would be the last to leave. Fear pinged through him as
he glanced around. Too many men were on the ground, they had to get loaded on
to the ship.
Layton
tore off his goggles and mask, desperation swimming in the depths of his eyes.
“Zander?”
“Go,
I’m right behind you.”
For
a moment it looked like Layton wasn’t going to leave, then Jau slapped the
cable onto Layton and the decision was no longer his. Layton along with the
last two members of his five rose out of the roof of the prison. Layton cried
out, his growl of anger echoing around the room.
“Zander,
you go next,” Jau called out.
“No
Jau, I’m the leader, first in, last out.”
“Zander,
you fucker, get your ass up here,” Layton screamed.
Zander
tore off his helmet and pulled the ear bud from his ear, cutting off all
communication from Layton. The ropes dropped again and three of Zander’s men
were pulled to safety. All that was left was he and Jau.
Jau
pushed his helmet back, his eyes filled with sorrow as the green acid sizzled
into the cavern. They climbed up on a pile of rocks as the instinct to survive
wove through them. Clinging to Jau, Zander lifted his gaze to the hole in the
roof. The rescue cords were dropping but not fast enough to beat the acid.
"Take
care, my friend," Jau growled.
"We'll
get out of this."
"You
are the best Zander, don't ever forget it."
Green
goo rushed toward their feet, lapping at the rocks where he stood. A drop
splashed up, melting a hole through Zander’s pants. Another small wave hit the
rocks and sprayed on his skin. Pain ripped through him, taking his breath away.
Jau
hugged him tighter and spun around. The cable jerked beside Zander and Jau
reached out, grabbing it, slapping onto Zander’s suit. The acid rose, swamping
his feet, eating away at his boots, socks, and finally the flesh on his feet.
Agony seized his consciousness, blanking his mind as a scream wrenched from his
lips.
For more information on Sara York
books visit http://sarayork.com
8 comments:
It sounds like an amazing story, filled with emotion and love. thanks so much for sharing. (I hate proving I am not a robot. I am often not successful. I am having identity issues)
debby236 at gmail dot com.
This is going on my wishlist. I loved the blurb and the excerpt clinched it.
ilona
felinewyvern at googlemail dot com
Not read any of Sara's books but definitely putting her on my list to look at.
Suze
Littlesuze at hotmail.com
Excited for this!! The excerpt was really a cliffhanger.. want to read more :D
Elle
iamcoldflesh at yahoo dot com
Oooh.. thank you for the excerpt!! lol...
Please count me in! :D
Judi
arella3173_loveless at yahoo dot com
This is going on my wishlist. I loved the blurb and the excerpt clinched it.
parisfan_ca@yahoo.com
I love post apocalyptic/dystopian stories, yes! Loved the excerpt, and want to read this one! Thanks.
brendurbanist at gmail dot com
Sounds fantastic!
vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
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