I’ve added some excerpts from various works over on my author website:
There are some tantalizing little tidbits to wet the appetite.
Enjoy.
dead beat
Dead Beat – Teaser
You have all been patient and the time has come for that patience to be rewarded. At long last, here is a little teaser from the prologue to Dead Beat: Awakening. Enjoy, and as always all criticisms are welcomed.
“The entire staging area was bathed in a bright green light as the power buildup continued. Salem had to shield his eyes as he fought his way across the concrete floor. The atmosphere in the chamber was so alive with energy that it made every nerve in his body tingle. Salem tried to ignore the strange sensation as he focused on getting to the controls at the opposite end of the chamber. When he finally reached the large red box that housed the cut off controls his heart sank. It was padlocked shut. Quickly he began looking around for something to pry it open. Something long and metallic caught his eye. It was the object that the intruder had used to smash the organo-capacitor. Salem surmised that it must have been blown clear when the OC has exploded. He reached down to pick it up. Even through the thick gloves of his tech suit he could feel how hot the rod was.
Ignoring the burning of his gloves he pushed the rod through the padlock and began to lever downwards. At first nothing happened. Salem put all his weight into it and finally the lock began to groan under the pressure.“Doctor Salem,” the voice was coming from the control room over the PA system “forty seconds until overload”
That was all the encouragement he needed . With final scream he all his strength into his makeshift pry bar. This time the lock gave up and let go, almost sending Salem head first into the now exposed control panel. Quickly he began to type in the codes to shutdown the link between the core and the OC’s. Salem typed in the final command and held his breath. Nothing happened.
“Fifteen seconds until overload”
Salem looked at the metal rod in his hand and realized that he was out of options.
“Ten seconds, Dr Salem get out of there”
Salem ignored the pleas from the control room. Instead he raised the rod above his head. The normal gentle hum of the organo-capacitors had become a deafening crescendo as the power build up reached critical mass.
“Critical discharge in 3, 2, 1…”
The chamber was filled with what sounded like a high pitched scream as the OC’s released their full potential down the lines that connected them to the core of the quantum matrix. At that same moment Salem plunged his makeshift tool into the control panel in front of him. The power from the overload now found a new path to travel down. A path through Dr Salem’s own body. Every atom of his being screamed as they were torn apart by the cosmic forces surging through them. In a brilliant green flash and a final scream of defiance from the machinery, the entire complex went dark.”
I haven’t had a chance to go over it for the numerous grammatical errors that I am sure exist but please feel free to point them out (it will help me once i get to editing 😀 )
Dead Beat Characters – Katherine Takayama
Character review number two is finally here. This week I am introducing Katherine Takayama, an officer in the Cyber Security Division of the New Salt Lake PD. Every Sci-Fi needs a computer genius right? Let’s meet her:
Officer Katherine Takayama
Kate Takayama is the youngest member of the NSLPD Cyber Security Division. Don’t let her age fool you though. Takayama (Kat to her friends) is one of the most skilled members of the CSD. Two years after graduating from the academy she had already made a name for herself by stopping some of the more sophisticated attempts at hacking into the Global Online Directory core system. Despite Kat’s obvious geekness, she displays very little of the associated social difficulties. In fact this 5’9″ Asian/American genius has a reputation as being a bit of a party animal. Kat prides herself on being not only able to drink most of her male colleagues under the table; But to then get on the table and moonwalk.
In many ways she is the polar opposite of John Ellis (more on him next week by the way). Both however have a reluctance to work with anybody else. When the pair first get partnered up there is an obvious tension between them. Ellis’s reasons for not wanted a partner are well known. Takayama’s are not so clear and she becomes very defensive/offensive if you try to get an explanation. What secrets is Kat hiding and what is the cause of her single minded obsession with taking down The Clan of The Chosen?
Next week we get too meet the unwitting hero of Dead Beat; Detective John Ellis.
Dead Beat Characters – Rev. Jacob Green
Welcome to the first Character review for my Dead beat series. Today I’m going to focus on our key villain; Reverend Jacob Green (Booo, HISSSS). This guy is going to replace Kane from the “Poltergeist” series as the scariest fictional preacher of all time. But enough talk, let’s meet him:
Reverend Jacob Green
Rev. Jacob green, founder of The Clan of the Chosen, is a man with no history. His sudden appearance as the churches leader occurred around three months after the Global Online Database (the replacement for the now archaic Internet) was brought online in 2048. Not long after the Green’s sudden emergence, the first sighting of a Ghost was reported and he began recruiting members for his new and apocalyptic church. Jacob Green soon made a name for himself across the country as the preeminent Evangelical preacher as well as a cutthroat business man. He had soon amassed wealth as fast as he did followers, enabling him to take his new religion global. His sudden rise to notoriety has a lot of people questioning his motives. The speculated involvement of his church and followers in certain high profile geoglobal problems, although not proven, have caught the attention of certain authorities.
Through all this, no one has come close to the truth to learning who and what Jacob green really is. Nor have they any idea of how he is linked to the Global Online Directory project. Greens plans go beyond the sermons he performs and all but those in his closest circle have any idea what his true goal is.
So this is a pretty vague character overview (don’t want to give too much away 😉 ). Basically Green is a generally unpleasant person who uses peoples fears to control and use them for his own ends. Now that we have our villain we need a hero. Stay tuned for the character profile Detective John Ellis, coming to this blog soon.
Introducing – Dead Beat
My all new Sci-Fi series, Dead Beat, has begun to take shape. The first story, Messages From Beyond, introduces us to the embittered but highly skilled Det. John Ellis. Rookie officer Kate Lee; Young inexperienced, but every bit as tough and determined as Ellis. The pair of them will end up embroiled in a saga that will have far reaching implications for the future of all humankind.
Dead Beat?
The year is 2052. It has been 10 years since the signing of the All Nations treaty and the world exists in relative peace. That is until the first confirmedGhost is filmed and broadcast across the globe. At first the world is skeptical, that is until more reports of Ghosts from around the world. Always appearing as the spirits of long lost friends and loved ones. Their sudden appearance begins a resurgence in spiritual beliefs and a sudden rise in new religious groups. The most powerful of these new religions is The Clan of the Chosen, lead by the mysterious Rev. Jacob Green.
Detective John Ellis has never been a superstitious man. He has never had need of religion and he certainly does not believe in ghosts. With the murder of Ella Norris, Ellis finds himself thrust into a strange new world, a world that will challenge every thing he thought he knew about the world. As the deaths become more common it becomes clear that there is a more going on. What are the true plans of the Rev. Green and his followers? what are the Ghosts true nature and how are they linked to The Clan of the Chosen?
Over the next few days I will put up character profiles and if you’re lucky I might even put up a short teaser.
J B Angell - Author 