This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. William Quincy Belle will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC or PayPal cash to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Several hundred years in the future, Earth is a different planet. Antigravity has been invented and “flying” has given way to “floating”: giant platforms with cities remain above the growing surface temperatures as enclaves of the privileged. A global pandemic has wiped out 80% of those on the ground, and a virulent, flesh-eating disease, necrofasc, has left most with artificial body parts. Insects are the main food staple. A utopia for some, a dystopia for others.
Metrofloat New York, a futuristic city of thirty million, is run by an oligarchy of five rich and powerful people. An unknown assassin, working from within the system, attempts to seize control and declare himself dictator by methodically removing all rivals. Detective Matthew Heart of the Metropolitan Police must deal with his partner, a cyborg policewoman, his unofficial family, a transgender woman and her one-legged daughter, and a mysterious assailant bent on taking over the world by killing anyone who stands in his way.
Alan and Terry were skinny enough to slip through the security perimeter into the antigravity zone. Already, they heard the pounding of the AG machines. Workers in the area often wore ear protection, as the constant noise could damage their hearing, but when one is young and foolish, protection is for wimps. They climbed down to the lowest scaffolding and looked out over the panorama below. The ground was a good kilometer down, speckled with the twinkling lights of the settlement. Each light was a potential target for a jump-and-grab, so tonight looked to be an excellent opportunity.
Rumors had been circulating around the high school for over a year about thrill seekers doing the unthinkable: bungee jumping from the metrofloat. Alan and Terry had pooled their money and bought the latest in equipment, including a controllable elasticized cable, a double-safety ankle harness, and a precision-positioning system with automatic height detection. The flexible anchor allowed them to set up the bungee in any location in record time, so they could get in, jump, and get out before the authorities knew they were violating restricted areas.
Alan would make the first attempt. He had decked himself with various tools attached to his belt and a helmet with a lamp. He had double-checked his ankle connectors and made sure the safety harness was in place. Terry gave him the once-over, enumerating each item out loud so they both knew they had checked everything. Alan climbed over the railing and held on as Terry fed out the cable so it was free and clear of the scaffolding.
Quivering with excitement, Alan looked over at his friend. Terry grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. Alan turned back to the open space, took a deep breath, and spread his arms out. He bent his knees and pushed off into a swan dive.
Alan had ten seconds of free fall before the cable slowed his descent — ten seconds of weightlessness as the wind whistled by his head. It was peaceful. And surreal. It wasn’t every day somebody jumped from a height of a thousand meters.
Looking toward the ground when he jumped, Alan twisted as he now fell, upside down, and brought his head up to look off into the distance. The light from his helmet flashed on something. He swept his head back and forth until the object was visible again. There was a human body three meters from him, free-falling at the same rate. It tumbled in the air. Judging by the looseness of the limbs, Alan guessed the person was unconscious. Or dead. Wouldn’t somebody falling to their death be thrashing about?
Amazon: Metrofloat New York - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K631LDS
Web site: http://www.williamquincybelle.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamQuincyBelle
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wqbelle
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/William-Quincy-Belle/e/B01M1IQ69G
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for participating in this book tour. Being an indie author is an uphill struggle.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wikipedia, there are 2.2 million new books published each year, 300,000 in the U.S., 150,000 in the United Kingdom, 20,000 in Canada. The book review section of The Washington Post states they get 150 new titles each day. Each day! What are the chances of anyone getting noticed? Even if somebody has written the next classic, there’s the harsh reality of statistics. Having the public choose any particular book out of the annual American field of 300,000 strikes me as being the equivalent of winning the literary lottery. Congratulations, E. L. James: over 70 million copies of the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy sold.
By the way, the above is about new books published each year. According to Google, there are over 150 million books in existence! Literary lottery, indeed!
There's a lot of junk out there, which means the public is leery of investing their time in anything unknown. Who wants the literary equivalent of bad movie? "I want two hours of my life back." Cheers to the risk-takers who brought E. L. James to the forefront.
I appreciate you taking the risk.
All the best to you in your world. :-)
How long after you complete a book do you start thinking about your next book?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure, Mr. Wallace, that I'm multi-tasking like any other author or any other person for that matter. That is, I'm working on more than one project at the same time. I have a Word document in which I make notes about news items, science, technology, and plot ideas. I weave these together with an eye on creating a story. At any one time, I may have several ideas on the go. Some have a spark and warrant further investigation, and others, I let sit on the back burner, simmering away until that spark comes. And sometimes it never comes, and so, I abandon the idea.
DeleteWhat's next? I'm not sure. But I will commit to you today to enjoying the summer sunshine, going for a walk in the park, and cooking up a salmon steak with a baked potato and string beans for dinner tonight. In amongst all that, I will open that Word document and see if I can find a spark for the next big thing.
Thank you so much for taking time to bring to our attention another great read. I enjoy these tours and finding out about many terrific books.
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt, I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDelete