I'm so excited to be one of the first to announce my friend and fellow '10 sentence Snippeteer', Aurora Springer's new release, Europa. (Isn't that cover gorgeous!) If you've been following her snippets you'll know how exciting and inriguing it is - and if you haven't and you love a good SF romance, I think you're in for a treat. I've pre-ordered my own copy and can't wait to read it!
SF Thriller &Romance
Tag Line:
Daredevil scientist & scarred alien in perilous alliance.
Dr. Nikki Bell’s plan to discover intelligent life hits a rocky start when her spaceship crashes on the icy surface of Europa. Seconds before she blacks out, she spies a man’s face in the water beneath the ice. When she wakes on the submarine Station, nobody believes her story. Convinced the mysterious stranger saved her life, Nikki searches for him while she explores the ocean and its alien inhabitants.
Kiron Arqin Ramis chose exile as a Watcher on a remote outpost to redeem his family’s honor. He never expected to find an attractive Earther woman close to death. He violates the prime policy by rescuing her. Despite suffering the penalty, he strives to warn her about his hostile leaders.
Nikki’s unexpected meeting with Kiron triggers a chain of disasters in Europa’s perilous oceans. Can the daredevil scientist and scarred Watcher forge a new alliance despite their people’s antagonism?
Excerpt
Water rippled. Giant bivalves clacked
shut on all sides. A large object loomed in the darkness. A monstrous siork
propelled by long fins like a winged serpent moved into the blue glow of the
mollusks. Its enormous fang-filled mouth gaped three times the length of a man.
Biting her lip, Nikki eased her zapper from the holster. Her hiding place
seemed a fragile and inadequate protection against this monster.
The green skinned man whirled toward
Nikki. Diving into the same shelter, he knocked her to the ground and dropped
beside her. Jolted by the impact, she blinked at his face, faintly visible in
the blue luminescence. His eyes widened a fraction, and he gave a wry smile of
recognition. Pinning her down with one arm, he gripped his harpoon and stared
out.
Waves surged against the giant
mollusks, rocking their shelter. The blue glow faded. Above them, the monstrous
beast bashed against the shells. A loud snap indicated a cracked shell. Swirls
of blue-green blood spurted across their view as the siork crushed its
victim.
Her heart thumping in terror, Nikki
cowered next to the strange man. Long minutes later, the roiling waves
calmed as the giant predator moved away.
The man stood, gripped her elbow, and
pulled Nikki onto her feet. The diagonal slits of his gills pulsed open and
closed on the sides of his deep chest. His intense gaze flicked up and down,
appraising her figure in a rapid glance. Settling on her face, his green eyes
warmed in admiration. He smiled. The handsome smile she remembered so well.
Flushed in triumph, Nikki gave a
silent laugh. She had located her mysterious rescuer, and they were grinning at
each other like fools.
Buy Links
Amazon
US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0764DFSDM/
International:
http://authl.it/B0764DFSDM/?d
Aurora Springer’s Published
Stories are listed HERE
Author Bio
Aurora
Springer is a scientist morphing into a novelist. She has a
PhD in molecular biophysics and discovers science facts in her day job. She has
invented adventures in weird worlds for as long as she can remember. In 2014,
Aurora achieved a life-long ambition to publish her stories. Her works are
character-driven adventures and romances set in weird worlds and described with
a sprinkle of humor. Some of the stories were composed thirty years ago. She
was born in the UK and lives in Atlanta with her husband, a dog and two cats to
sit on the keyboard. Her hobbies, besides reading and writing, include outdoor
activities like gardening, watching wildlife, hiking and canoeing.
Media links:
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