nichepoetryandprose

poetry and prose about place

Posts Tagged ‘adventure

Meniscus: Reckoning … a new book of science fiction adventure

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The next book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series is now available: #13 … Meniscus: Reckoning. The series tells the story of humans who are brought against their will to the planet Meniscus and are determined to build new relationships, new lives, and new communities. Meniscus: Reckoning continues the story begun in the Rosetta Stone trilogy of how the Humans discover a way to overthrow the dominant alien Dock-winders and their cruel ways.

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Meniscus: Reckoning takes the Humans of Themble Hill on an adventure like no other. In Reckoning, a small group begins the arduous journey to El’ban where Dock-winders are still in control and have captured James, the leader of the Resistance Movement. With them is the Dock-winder child, Don’est, who continues to mystify the Humans with her false-empathy and strange logic. Others in the Resistance Movement, the brilliant Bleth’nan triplets, become part of the group and part of Don’est’s Human family.

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the adventurers travel across the El’ban Elevations

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In the book, you will travel across the El’ban Elevations, and into the Hollows (a landscape made from the discarded cocoons of alien insect pupae). Then, the group must find a way to rescue James from the layered city of El’ban and its inescapable prison.

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a map of the El’ban area of planet Meniscus

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Many of the main characters of the first twelve books in the series have returned to this story: Odymn, expert at parkour, Daniel, the Slain (a genetically enhanced Human), Belnar and his ridiculous ways, Kotildi, wolf-like and loyal, and the evil Dock-winder Garg who has antagonized the Humans of Themble Hill though all their adventures.

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Daniel, the Slain

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Meniscus: Reckoning is available on Amazon.ca (click here) and from me, as I travel the three upcoming Book Fairs in Moncton (July 27, 2024), Saint John (September 14, 2024), and Fredericton (October 19, 2024). Only $12 for lots of adventure! And the e-book will be available soon.

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Enjoy the upcoming days of summer when reading is one way of escaping the black flies and taking yourself on an adventure out there among the stars.

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All my best!

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

Written by jane tims

May 9, 2024 at 11:35 am

new book coming soon! Meniscus: Reckoning

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Today, after many hours of editing and formatting, I sent for a proof of my new book in the Meniscus Science Fiction SeriesMeniscus: Reckoning will be out in early May. This will be the story of a perilous journey to a distant city, over difficult alien landscape, to rescue a member of the Human Resistance. The book is set in the El’ban District of Meniscus, a city mentioned but not visited in other books in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series.

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the adventurers of Themble Hill rest by a fire in the El’ban Elevations

To find out a little more about the steps from draft to proof, have a look at the whole story here. Below is a peek at the first draft of the cover for Meniscus: Reckoning (the final cover will be a painting of the scene).

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All my best!

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

Wink in the Rain – new story for children

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My new children’s book, Wink in the Rain, is now live on Amazon.ca. This is a story about Wink the elf and his search for an umbrella so he won’t get wet in the rain. In the book, you will meet Wink’s friends: a little girl and a red-backed salamander named Ribbon.

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Wink in the Rain teaches children the value of:

  • perseverance (never giving up),
  • friendship (valuing friends),
  • innovation (finding new uses for things).

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You can find this book at Amazon.ca here. After April 15 it will be at Westminster Books in Fredericton and at Dog Eared Books in Oromocto. I will also sell them at the Moncton Regional Book Fair on April 22, 2023 at the Riverview Lions Community Centre.

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All my Best,

Jane

Written by jane tims

April 4, 2023 at 7:00 am

Posted in children's books

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New Science Fiction book! Meniscus: Return to Sintha

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It’s out!

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Meniscus: Return to Sintha

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You can order it now from Amazon.ca, in both paperback and e-book, here.

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Return to Sintha is the twelfth book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series and number three in the Rosetta Stone Trilogy (beginning with Meniscus: Rosetta Stone). Abra, historian, uncovers a mystery in an ancient Dock-winder text and sets out to deliver the secret to all the populations of Prell-nan District on Meniscus.

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Also, Book Two in the Trilogy, Meniscus: The Struggle, is now available in e-book form.

Just click here.

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If you want to get a local paperback copy of Meniscus: Return to Sintha, I will have my order of paperback books no later than March 24 and after that they will be available from Dog Eared Books in Oromocto and Westminster Books in Fredericton. I will also have copies of all the Meniscus books at the Greater Moncton Riverview Dieppe Independent Book Fair at the Riverview Lions Club……. on Saturday April 22, 2023! I would love to see you there.

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All my best,

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

Written by jane tims

March 4, 2023 at 9:51 am

Meniscus: Return to Sintha … meet the characters

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I have completed the final edits of my new book Meniscus: Return to Sintha and my beta reader’s comments are in. The book is heading towards its publication in early March, under my pen name Alexandra Tims.

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For this post, I will introduce you to some of the characters in the book. If you are a reader of the series, you will already know many of these characters, but some are new.

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In the book, Abra and Drag-on set out on a journey to deliver critical information about the Dock-winders to every population centre in the Prell-nan District of planet Meniscus. Abra’s friends, Tagret and Rist, set out in the opposite direction to help with the distribution of the information. The information will, they hope, end the Dock-winder hegemony, the enslavement of Humans and the indenture of Gel-Heads. That word ‘hegemony’ is known to me because my son is a political science major, but it may not be familiar to everyone:

hegemony: leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others.

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The main characters in the book are:

Abra: historian, who studies the languages of aliens on Meniscus; married to the Slain, Trath, she lives in the abandoned Museum in Prell-nan;

Trath: a Slain, a dealer in the illegal drug bellwort and an addict; Abra’s husband;

Drag-on: an alien native to the planet; looks like a forkful of spaghetti without the fork; telepathic and friendly to Humans;

Tagret: chemist, brought to slavery on Meniscus and freed by the Slain, Rist, who is now her companion;

Rist: a Slain, a courier, once married to a Gel-head named Semala; now companion to Tagret;

Semala: a Gel-head and Rist’s wife; died in an accident on the road to Sintha but she still haunts Rist and Tagret.

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In each city, our heroes must find the small group of Humans who work for the Resistance.

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The Resistance includes:

Aella: known as The Whirlwind, the one-woman resistance in Enbricktow;

Di-gett’ath Roth’: The Blood-Let, resistance movement in Prell;

Ora-nen Uth: Curfew Dark, resistance movement in Sintha, a spirited group who meet in the darkest of alleyways;

Ora-toll: Light Tunnel, resistance movement in Nebul-nan;

Marneth Hath-arnthe Shadow Builders, resistance movement in Bleth-nan, includes the triplets, Twilla, Titha and Trill who talk in their own secret language;

In De’men, the only resistance is a group of three street-sweepers;

In Tre’men, the only resistance is a wizened Gel-head named Weddle.

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Now that you know some of the characters in Meniscus: Return to Sintha, I hope you will read the book, to find out what happens and if the information changes the hegemony on planet Meniscus.

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On the release date, I’ll let you know where the book will be available. If you want to catch up on the series, you could begin at the first book in the Return to Sintha Trilogy — Meniscus: Rosetta Stone, available at Westminster Books in Fredericton, Dog Eared Books in Oromocto or on Amazon.ca.

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All my best,

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

Written by jane tims

February 19, 2023 at 3:19 pm

Next in the Meniscus Series: Cover Painting

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A new year and there will soon be a new book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series! Meniscus: Return to Sintha is also the third in the Trilogy of Rosetta Stone/ The Struggle/ Return to Sintha. In the Trilogy, Abra, historian, translates an ancient Dock-winder manuscript and discovers a secret that could end the evil domination of the Dock-winders on the planet Meniscus. Meniscus: Return to Sintha reveals this secret and what happens when it is spread to every city on the planet.

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The new book begins with a scene that began many of the relationships and story threads in the Meniscus series. The Prologue tells the story of an adventure twenty years before when three Slain (Daniel, Rist and Belnar) and two women, one a Human (Meghan) and one a Gel-head (Semala), travelled the road to the town of Sintha with a kemet (a striped horse-like animal) and a cart. What happens during their trek along the road changes all their lives forever.

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One of the symbols introduced in the story is the ‘yellow ribbon’ given to Semala by Rist. Later Rist gives the same ribbon to his new love Tagret when they travel to Nebul-nan. The ribbon is lost in the Vastness as they try to escape the attack of a clear-snake. In the newest book, Abra spots the ribbon on the beach near Nebul-nan and ties it to a stick to dry. The ribbon is a symbol of Rist’s love for Semala (a Gel-head) and the effect the early relationship has on Rist and Tagret’s romance.

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By the way, there is a small logic problem with the ribbon in the drawing below. If you are the first to discover the problem and describe it in the comments, you will win a free copy of Meniscus: Return to Sintha!!!!!!

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The cover for the new book also depicts the yellow ribbon and the adventure on the road to Sintha. As with all the Meniscus book covers, the two moons, Cardoth roe and Cardoth grill-en, are depicted, shining in the Meniscus night.

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Discover another logic problem in the painting and you will win a copy of any book in the Meniscus Series, your choice.

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Meniscus: Return to Sintha will be out in early March, once I have done a final edit and my beta-reader has had a chance to have a look at the book.

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I love writing the Meniscus books and hope my readers will enjoy this one. The stories show how Humans, faced with the worst of challenges, can find the strength and ingenuity to prevail, build families and communities, and change for the better. And the stories show, as ancient Argenop wisdom says: “We may look different but we are all the same.”

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Enjoy whatever you are reading today and perhaps give these tales of the planet Meniscus a try. So far, there are eleven books in the Series but it is best to start reading at Meniscus: Crossing the Churn, Meniscus: Oral Traditions or Meniscus: Rosetta Stone.

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All my best

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

Written by jane tims

January 25, 2023 at 7:00 am

Book Launch! Adventure on another planet!

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On Saturday, September 17, from 11:00 to 4:00, I will be at Dog Eared Books in Oromocto to launch the next book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series — Meniscus: The Struggle.

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This book is number 11 in the series and features brave humans, aliens (both endearing and nasty), and strange worlds to explore. I will be there to talk about alien abductions and alien worlds, my illustrations, alien genetics and other books in the series. And you’ll have a chance to explore Dog Eared Books, its huge selection of second hand books, books by local authors and unusual gift items.

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If you love adventure, science fiction and a touch of romance, you will enjoy this series. Join Abra as she and her friends try to understand the alien Dock-winder language and find some secret to overthrow the evil overlords.

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In the book. and the Series, you will find some interesting characters: Drag-on, the Hooplore (looks like a lump of wet spaghetti); Don’est, the Dock-winder child (consistently annoying); Nate, the evernell (his whiskers explode when he is afraid); the Gel-heads (green and slimy); and the Dock-winders (aloof and autocratic).

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I will have a life-sized Dock-winder and Gel-head with me. You have to see them to believe

them.

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Hope to see YOU there!

All my best!

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

Written by jane tims

September 9, 2022 at 12:23 pm

next book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series

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The editing and formatting always takes time, but I am aiming to publish my new science fiction book in July. Meniscus: The Struggle will be number eleven in the Meniscus Series and number two in the trilogy begun with book number ten, Meniscus: Rosetta Stone.

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Life on the planet Meniscus is interesting and challenging. But for a Human, life can be dangerous, deadly. And Humans are below the lower rung of the social ladder, treated as chattels and slaves by the alien Dock-winders. Humans are not allowed to have families, not allowed to chose their own pathways in life.

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In Meniscus: Rosetta Stone, we meet Abra, a translator and historian who thinks she has found a secret to change the Dock-winder control over Human destiny. With the help of her irresponsible husband, Trath, she must recover a manuscript written in both Gel-speak and Dock-winder. They find the manuscript but during the effort, Trath falls into a chasm and certain death.

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In the next book, Meniscus: The Struggle, Abra must forget Trath and begin the arduous task of translating the manuscript. In the community of Hath’men, centre of the Human resistance movement, she discovers there may be help far to the south, in the Village of Themble Hill. But how will she bring the assistance she needs to Hath’men? And how will she fend off the advances of James, now that Trath is no longer in his way? If you have read other books in the Meniscus Series, you will be happy to know that Don’est, the Dock-winder child, will be there to thwart Abra’s progress.

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All my best,

Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)

A Milestone: Ten Books in the Meniscus Series

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With the publication of Meniscus: Rosetta Stone, there are now ten books in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series. Well, since I always make life difficult for myself, there are actually eleven books (if you count Meniscus: 1.5 and you should – it’s a great little book).

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In any case, this is a milestone in another way. Rosetta Stone is the first book of a Trilogy aimed at ending the oppressive rule of the Dock-winders, overlords of planet Meniscus.

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The Meniscus Science Fiction Series tells:

  • the story of abducted Humans and their fight for freedom

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  • the love stories of memorable characters:

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  • the adventures of characters pitted against the wilds of planet Meniscus:

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The stories are told in free-verse poetry (do not be afraid) and illustrated. Each book includes maps, character backgrounds, a glossary and a Gel-speak dictionary.

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Try them, you’ll like them. Click on any of the covers to the right to see the book for sale on Amazon.

All my best!

Jane

Written by jane tims

November 5, 2021 at 11:34 am

Meniscus: Rosetta Stone – now available

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The tenth book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series is now available:

at Westminster Books in Fredericton,

at Amazon (click here) as an ebook or paperback,

at the Fredericton Public Library,

and from me.

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Even if you haven’t read any of the Meniscus stories to date, this book will introduce new main characters and begin a new story.

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Abra, translator and historian, has found a previously unknown Dock-winder manuscript. She thinks it may contain a clue to overcoming the evil Dock-winders but first, she will make a hazardous journey to Hath-men, the centre of the Resistance movement. Join her as she faces dangers in the Meniscus woods and capture by the disgusting Gel-heads.

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All my best

Jane

(a.k.a. Alexandra)