Collective Ramblings: Volume 1
by Various Authors
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GENRE: Anthology
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BLURB:
2015’s
Twenty Short Story Contest winners assembled in one place. Five stories from
each category (Super Powers, Deserted Island, Horror, and Labyrinth), including
the top winners of each contest shown below.
The Era of Super Weapons – Roger, America’s super-soldier, embarks on what seemed a routine mission –until his enemies turn to allies against a horde revealing information that will turn the entire world on its head.
Synchronysi – A steampunk masterpiece. After her volunteer operation, a woman awakens to a world made entirely of tine crystals. As she travels the shining island, the product of her surgery reveals much more than she may be able to handle—neither the land of crystals nor the world from which she arrived are exactly what they seem.
Terrors Great and Small – A couple barricades themselves in their home to escape a viral outbreak carried by mosquito bites. As the days of panic and solitude stack up, they battle with both their own crumbling sanity and the terror of what really awaits them beyond their front door.
The Walls Are Alive – in a world where violent offenders are placed in a deadly, automated labyrinth—designed to let no one escape alive—the labyrinth’s caretaker steps inside for a routine maintenance. When the automation turns on him, he’s forced to run the maze like all the criminals he’s sent to their own demise.
The Era of Super Weapons – Roger, America’s super-soldier, embarks on what seemed a routine mission –until his enemies turn to allies against a horde revealing information that will turn the entire world on its head.
Synchronysi – A steampunk masterpiece. After her volunteer operation, a woman awakens to a world made entirely of tine crystals. As she travels the shining island, the product of her surgery reveals much more than she may be able to handle—neither the land of crystals nor the world from which she arrived are exactly what they seem.
Terrors Great and Small – A couple barricades themselves in their home to escape a viral outbreak carried by mosquito bites. As the days of panic and solitude stack up, they battle with both their own crumbling sanity and the terror of what really awaits them beyond their front door.
The Walls Are Alive – in a world where violent offenders are placed in a deadly, automated labyrinth—designed to let no one escape alive—the labyrinth’s caretaker steps inside for a routine maintenance. When the automation turns on him, he’s forced to run the maze like all the criminals he’s sent to their own demise.
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Excerpt One:
Super Powers
“Too much talk,” she hissed impatiently. “Still prey
nearby.”
“How do you know?” I wasn’t picking anything up but there
were plenty of other ways to see.
“The forest tells me. How I found you and other prey.” She
stalked back into the underbrush, and I fell in behind her.
“Hey, hold up a second! Doc?”
“Project Panthera: human-jaguar hybrid with altered
epidermal neural transmission,” he rattled off.
“In English!”
“Right,” he grunted. “The same way your skin picks up
vibrations in the air, hers picks up the biochemical signals from plants. It’s
like she’s plugged into the forest. She probably feels anything that so much as
bends a blade of grass.”
“Great,” I muttered, turning back to Panthera. “Why are you
hunting Legion?”
“Man in glasses told me they were prey.” She shrugged. She
didn’t seem to have any more intel than I did, assuming she was being
straight-up with me.
“So what did he say about me?” I asked. Call me paranoid,
but I was a little hesitant to trust a Weapon which had launched itself at me
not five minutes before. She stopped and regarded me thoughtfully, blinking her
eyes slowly.
“You are different. Strong. Fun. But not prey. Maybe you are
hunter like me.”
“If you’re hunting Legion, our enemies are the same.”
For now.
“Be careful, Roger,” warned Dr. Morrison. “I’m not sure how
stable she is.”
“I’ve seen worse.” Augmentation was a dangerous game. The
human mind could only process so much stimulation. Too much information
overwhelmed the brain. That was why the government stuck to basics when they
designed me. Enhanced performance in all areas, but still human performance.
Weapons like Panthera with abilities no human brain was ever meant to
handle…those were the ones liable to snap. Hell, that was probably what
happened with Legion. Someone tried to create a god and wound up with a
monster.
- The Era of
the Super Weapons by David Martin
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Just as it
says, Collective Ramblings is a collection of various works, an anthology. In
2015, we completed our quarterly writing contests, each with its own theme. For
each theme, the five best entries were selected from the contest to have their
works published. All twenty stories have been compiled into this book for your
reading pleasure. The four contest themes were:
• Super Powers
• Deserted Island
• Horror
• Labyrinth.
We know
everyone will love these imagination-stretching stories, that are filled with
suspense, bravery, and danger, as much as we did.
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GIVEAWAY
The authors will be awarding 1 print
copy of Collective Ramblings: Volume 1,(international winner) or 2 ebooks (one
of Collective Ramblings: Volume 1 and the second winner's choice) to a randomly
drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thanks for hosting!
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