Jearsen and Varan were in trouble... (Here we reach the last of the chapters that have been previously posted. This chapter also contains what is probably the oldest unchanged writing in my entire catalog; some of this dates to the early 1980s.) ----     Chapter 5. Varan: Red fire-hammers slammed into the makeshift barricade. Being made of E-steel torn from the bulkheads behind us, it only gave a little, but even that little was too much. As the glare and smoke faded, I saw the sinuous chitin-covered forms winding with [ Continue reading... ]

So Varan and Jearsen had decided to take the plunge... ----     Chapter 4. Varan: The red target shimmered and exploded just a split-second before the blue. I was, unfortunately, blue. "And that," Diorre said gleefully, tossing back her red-gold hair, "makes it even, Navy Commander Varan." I tried to look offended, but found myself laughing instead. She deserved a little triumph there, as usually I beat her soundly in Doubles Targets. "Yes, it certainly does, Guard Sergeant First Jearsen." Then I pulled her head down the [ Continue reading... ]

Yes, I posted about 5 chapters of this... a couple of years back. This snippeting will go a lot farther. Varan had met up unexpectedly with an old friend... -----     Chapter 2. Jearsen: She looked fondly at Varan. He hasn't changed a bit. Perhaps in pure matter of fact that wasn't exactly true, but she was hard-put to find a difference. The Mada officer's hair was still pure black (slightly matted with damp after their sparring session and the subsequent quick shower), his skin still the dusky brown, and his wide, [ Continue reading... ]

  We conclude the battle we started this week. As a side note, the paragraphs that begin this chapter, and some others scattered through the chapter,  are the oldest untouched pieces of prose I have ever posted; they are unchanged from the first draft of this work (originally called "Psionic!") written in 1978.     --------     Chapter 5. Varan: Red fire-hammers slammed into the makeshift barricade. Being made of E-steel torn from the bulkheads behind us, it only gave a little, but even that little [ Continue reading... ]

I posted the Prologue and Chapter 1 of Demons of the Past a while ago. As I'm in the middle of a crunch period and don't have much time to write other columns of interest (and one I DO want to write will be very long), I'll continue with a couple more sample chapters. Like The Stuff of Legend, Demons of the Past is with my agent Marisa Corvisiero and, hopefully, will get a bite soon. If you haven't read those prior chapters, go take a look before reading this one!   -----     Chapter 2. Jearsen: She looked [ Continue reading... ]