Science Fiction/Thriller
Date Published: 2016
Publisher: eTreasures Publishing
Archeologist and single mother, Macy, and her teenage daughter, Tiffany, are off on a fool-hardy search for traces of an ancient Egyptian cat-goddess, Bastet. What they find is far more than they bargained for: a dangerous dictator, a mysterious police inspector, and a grizzled Indiana Jones look-alike.
You might say the trip takes them right out of this world. Will they get home alive, or simply disappear into very thin air?
Set in the near future, with a blend of thriller and speculative fiction, and a hint of romance.
Excerpt
Macy rose to her feet, leaned over, and poured the entire ruby contents of her wine glass neatly over the crotch of his light gray slacks. For one brief second she considered following this up with a slap across his now-shocked face; instead she gritted her teeth, set the glass with care on the table, and picked up her purse.
“You bastard! You waited until the night before I was going away for three weeks to tell me we’re breaking up. Because you find us boring!” She took a deep breath to stop the shaking. “Enjoy your dinner. You can have mine too, to remember me by.”
Macy glared around at the patrons at the nearby tables, all trying to pretend they weren’t listening or watching; all that is, except the fat idiot who was filming the proceedings with his wrist-cell. Gathering what little dignity remained, she pointed her nose at the sparkling ceiling and stalked between the diners. She half expected a plaintive “Do you know how much that wine cost?” to follow her across the room.
Her dramatic exit, marred briefly by a slight stumble on the steps at the entrance, led directly past the live hostess frozen at her station, menu tablets in hand, waiting with a party of four. That young lady, her clinging black gown displaying far too much analog information, stood, jaws gaping. The two men beside the hostess took a quick nervous step backward as Macy swept by. One of their lady friends smiled at her, the other winked and whispered, “Good for you.” Macy did not look back.
Blinking away tears, she grabbed her coat and swept out through the revolving doors. Of course, the rain, forecast for tomorrow, had arrived early and turned Yonge Street into mini class-three rapids rushing down toward the waterfront. The first taxi plowed by, silent except for the bow wave that drenched her from her five-inch heels to her knees. The second cab slowed, decided she looked too dangerous or distraught, and purred away into a night that smelled of wet garbage and rain tinged with ethanol.
Fiercely, she punched the worn buttons on the nearby taxi pillar, brushing the dim screen with her wrist to activate. With luck, she could summon an auto-cab and avoid any unnecessary human contact.
The rain beat on the pavement, traffic thinned, and the city seemed to be shutting down around her in slow motion. At this critical point in time and space, icy rivulets of water forced their way into places she preferred to keep private. Finally, her frantic wits smoldering and near termination, she shouldered her way around a young couple struggling to collapse their automatic umbrella, and dived into the back seat of their waiting live-cab.
“Hey, that’s ours.”
“Tough. Driver, if you know what’s good for you, get going before I lose what little is left of my mind and decide to throttle you just for fun.”
The driver hit the pedal and the electrics kicked in, launching them into the street. “Where to, lady?”
About the Author
After winning a Canadian Authors national contest, Ron connected with Champagne Books of Alberta to complete “The Dark Lady” fantasy trilogy, followed by “The Queen’s Pawn” trilogy, and his fantasy detective series of eight novellas: “The Housetrap Chronicles.” His latest novel with Champagne is “Alex in Wanderland.”
Ron recently signed with a second publisher, eTreasures Publishing of Florida with, “We’re Not in Kansas,” a near-future thriller, followed by a what-if, “Toltec” trilogy. The first book in the series, Toltec Dawn is available now, with the second, Toltec Khan, available shortly.
Ron, a member of several writing groups, reviews genre novels for an on-line magazine and sometimes escapes to his sailboat on Lake Winnipeg.
Follow Ron at: www.ronaldhore.com and www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore
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