Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Earth?

October 4, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors. I don’t know about you, but I missed last week so I’m anxious to catch up on the all the stories. So much can happen in ten sentences!

I’m continuing to share from my m/m space opera, From Mars, With Love. Last week, Eli and the mysterious man in black had a moment to check each other out, leaving Eli feeling a bit inadequate. In this snippet, Eli speaks first.

***

“So when do you think we’ll get returned to earth?”

“Earth?” One eyebrow lifted in apparent amusement, then lowered.

Two marines barged in, bristling with lethal looking weaponry. Proper marines in heavy grey fatigues emblazoned with the Free Market Trade Patrol logo that depicted the planets of the solar system rotating around a gold coin instead of the sun.

“That’s it?” one of them asked, sounding disappointed.

Eli’s rescuer nodded and said, “All the others were already in storage, human cargo only, no artifacts.”

“Just another slaver out of the belt—hardly worth breaking trajectory for,” the other marine grumbled. They still wore their helmets and Eli could determine nothing about them except that they weren’t natural humanitarians.

“C’mon, groundling, time to go.”

***

Relax – Tom is only here to help.

From Mars, With Love follows the adventures of Eli and his pal Rilke, two down-and-out scavengers from earth as they’re abducted by slavers, arrested by space marines, and dumped on an unwelcoming outpost on Mars. Eli’s troubles are only beginning when he finds out the ring his mother gave him contains the life force of a powerful but dormant alien and the mysterious man he has a huge crush on happens to be an alien artifact smuggler. Eli’s just trying to make it on Mars, but can he survive the dangerous political intrigue swirling around him? This erotic space opera is a work-in-progress. Stay tuned to this blog for ongoing excerpts and updates.

***

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight to ten sentences from a published work or perhaps their current work in progress. Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! I heartily invite you to participate as a reader, writer, or both. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book. Click here or use the address: http://www.wewriwa.com

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ A Little Strange

September 20, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Weekend Writing Warriors. Great writing. Short snippets. Hop the Blog. It’s all good!

Here’s another snippet from my m/m space opera work-in-progress, From Mars, With Love. Our hero Eli has just been rescued by the mysterious man in black, who may or may not be a marine, friendly, or even very nice.

***

“Ask them to bring a robe or something, why don’t you?” Eli asked, putting the pod between them. The man didn’t react, but continued to watch him with a wary sort of bemusement. He was irritatingly attractive in that rich habitat dweller sort of way, and didn’t look like a typical jarhead at all. Eli was only used to seeing beautiful people in holos, or the enhanced variety in the clubs who always looked a little strange, no matter how expensive the procedure.

He changed his mind about the man in black. Probably not enhanced, except the eyes, which were most likely implants. Eli realized they were staring at each other without speaking, and imagined the man had opposite thoughts about Eli, like how he wasn’t used to seeing earth rats in the buff. He didn’t look disgusted, but Eli took offense anyway.

His rescuer finally broke his mesmerizing gaze and started to poke around the room. He kicked at the corpse of the security crab and said, “Looks like we got here in the nick of time, eh?”

***

Luke Macfarlane from Killjoys. I’ll take an unenhanced jarhead any day.

***

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ The Man in Black

September 13, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the hop where a bunch of fabulous writers share snippets of their work in eight to ten sentences. I’ve been sharing from my m/m space opera, From Mars, With Love. So far our hero Eli has been abducted by slavers, stuck in a stasis pod for the journey to Titan, then rescued by a not-so-friendly mystery man. This scene picks up from last week, with Eli’s rescuer speaking to someone on the other end of a communication device.

***

“Got one ground rat down here,” the man said into his mic, which turned out to be attached to the stiff collar of his jacket. “Seems to be intact and mobile. Who’s in charge of rounding up the civs?”

“Team 5 will be there shortly. He’s awake?”

“Yes, why?’

“Rest of the cargo is in pods – makes it easier, you know.”

The hard blue eyes turned on him again and looked him up and down. Eli’s exposed skin prickled with goose bumps but he refused to cower. He moved away in case the man in black decided to shove him back inside the pod.

***

This photo needs no caption, and yet here I am writing one. Will Smith. Men in Black. Sigh.

***

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Most Definitely Enhanced

September 6, 2015 by Alexis Duran

If this is Sunday, and I’m fairly certain that it is, it must be time for Weekend Writing Warriors. I’m sharing snippets from my m/m space opera, From Mars, With Love. Last week our hero Eli has was saved from drowning in goo, but the mysterious man who released him from the stasis pod is not exactly a font of comfort and reassurance.

***

Eli’s rescuer returned the laser rifle to a shoulder holster and undid a latch to remove his helmet. He pulled it off and hooked it on his belt. His black hair was cut in a decidedly unmilitary fashion, longish around the face and shorter in back, but his eyes really caught Eli’s attention. Bluer than any blue Eli had ever seen, like a glacier mashed up with the sunny skies of Earth’s glory days, they bored into Eli’s soul and straight out the other side. Must be enhanced. Most definitely enhanced.

His blue-eyed rescuer reached out a gloved hand and helped, or rather jerked, Eli to his feet, vice-like grip digging bruises into his forearm. He held Eli at a distance, probably not wanting to slime his nifty super-secret uniform. He was about a hand taller than Eli and a good deal broader. After determining Eli wasn’t going to collapse he released him and stepped back.

***

***SUNDAY CALENDAR SNEAKS FOR APRIL 27, 2014.Scene from the movie Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) Ph: Film Frame ©Marvel 2014

Some guys adapt to being naked in space better than others. Chris Pratt from Guardians of The Galaxy

***

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Slimy but Alive

August 30, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a whole bunch of really awesome writers share gems from their WIPS or published works. I’m continuing with my m/m space-opera-in-progress, From Mars, With Love. Last week Eli had a narrow escape from death-by- goo. He’s been released from the stasis pod, but might be experiencing that “out of the frying pan” moment.

***

Eli hit the floor hard and lay there on his belly in a puddle of goo, panting. Finally he noticed two boots near his head and heard his rescuer’s voice speaking out of a mic in his helmet.

“Found another one on level three. Slimy but alive.”

Eli rolled onto his side to look up at the anonymous, uniformed figure.

“Thanks,” he said, brushing tendrils of hair out of his eyes. He noticed the black uniform displayed no markings, no badge, no insignia. All the space marine holos he’d seen had shown uniforms plastered with logos, sponsorship badges and battle patches.

The figure stood still for a long time without reacting, long enough to be considered impolite considering that Eli was naked, on the floor and most likely traumatized. His rescuer’s helmet crackled with voices reporting from other parts of the ship.

***

Mr. Robot- Science fiction or paranoid fantasy? Either way, Rami Malek is pretty darn cute.

***

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Escape from Goo

August 23, 2015 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors and another thrilling episode torn from the pages of From Mars, With Love, my m/m space-opera-in- progress. Last week we left our hero Eli stuck in a stastis pod without having been hooked up to the life support gizmos. The slave ship was under attack and the crew raced off in a panic. The goo was rising fast and things were looking grim.

~~~

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon,” Eli whispered to the hoped-for marines. He tried to suck in more air. There wasn’t any. His hands, still pressed against the lid of the pod, grew blurry as his vision swarmed, sprinkled with black dots.

A loud hiss followed by a pop snapped him awake. The seal split and the cover flipped back with the assistance of a black clad figure in a space helmet. The visor was black as well and Eli couldn’t see a face. He took a huge gulp of air, pushed away the arm still holding the lid, sat up and hung half way out of the pod. His body was still partially paralyzed. He choked, dry heaved, then slid out of the pod like an eel escaping an aquarium.

~~~