I’m sending you a small excerpt from the chapter called "Full Moon." I hope you enjoy it!
...Outside, at last! Mat closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of freedom. He was conscious of the way the still-hot evening air felt on his bare arms. He allowed himself a few moments to relish the wonderful feeling, knowing that time was of the essence if his escape was to succeed. He quickly brushed the dirt off his clothes and straightened them out. He started to walk around to the side of the building to where Deltare was surely waiting for him in her car. That had been the plan. But Mat was suddenly derailed by the early nighttime sky. The stars! The glorious stars!
Facing north for the first time in 15 Earth-years, Mat easily found the bright star the humans called Polaris, and the group of stars they called Ursa Majoris just to the left of it. His eyes automatically went to a faint pinpoint of light in the south-central part of this constellation, and he was blinded by a sudden flood of unexpected tears. He could actually see his home star! He could imagine his planet, Torkiya, in orbit around it! He was overwhelmed by a dizzying rush of feelings as he realized everyone he had ever known and loved in Torkiya was long since dead and gone. The reality of his profound disconnection brought him a powerful wave of paralyzing depression and loneliness. He couldn’t move.
This is such a turning point in Mat’s story. Mat (Dorothy), you are not in Torkiya (Kansas) anymore!
His influence is already established, and now his personal adventures on the planet Earth are about to begin. How fun! :-)
Hi everyone! Here’s another quick update:
1. First of all, please join me in congratulating Jaye Milius, author of the crazy cool "Terminus," on achieving Quill status! To me, this is what Inkshares is all about, outstanding new authors able to showcase their work, crowdfunding readers like us confirming its value with our pre-orders, resulting in a publication deal by a real publishing company. Really, how awesome is that! - A huge congrats, Jaye, on a completely well-deserved achievement!
2. On a more egotistical note, I noticed Inkshares has me listed as the "#98 Most Influential Reader!" Ha! Who knows how that works! I guess I’ll just keep being who I am and doing what I do, and we’ll see how high that will go! :-)
3. Chris Pyke and I are in the last stages of finalizing another cool illustration. We went back to one of Mission 51’s earlier chapters, "The Press Conference," and picked out not one but two essential moments in that short scene. We’ll present them in a two-pane, comic-book style illustration. I’m pretty excited about that!
4. Mission 51 will continue in draft mode while it is entered in the Launch Pad Manuscript Competition. The competition is now closed, and we are waiting on judging, etc. I have no idea how many people have entered, but I’m sure the competition is fierce. At the very least, I will get comprehensive feedback from a panel of judges who are all important players in the entertainment industry. That’s sure to be valuable. But please, cross fingers and toes for me that Mission 51 is well-received and at least makes the first cut in late September.
5. Last but certainly not least, I extend a very warm welcome to all the new Mission 51 followers. I am truly grateful that you are part of our fantastic family of mutually supportive authors and readers!
Peace and love, y’all! :-)