Posts Tagged ‘Meniscus: Crossing the Churn’
New book in the Meniscus Series – Meniscus: Karst Topography
Only a few days to go before the fifth book in the Meniscus Series is published … October 15, 2018 !
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Review of Meniscus: Crossing The Churn, first book in the series:
I have never read a book that uses so few words to inspire so much emotion …
only 139 pages long, with each page holding 100 words or less per page … You will be amazed at how potent her words are!
I give this 5 stars for its power, its uniqueness, the fabulous graphics, and a terrific story.
Liza O’Connor, The Multiverses of Liza O’Connor
The Series follows the adventures of a group of Humans on the alien Planet of Meniscus. On Meniscus, Humans live in bondage and are not allowed to build relationships with one another. When a small group escapes the over-lords, they work together to build a new community, battling the elements, local wild life and dangerous aliens. Meniscus is the story of how Humans work to overcome any hardship.
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Meniscus: Karst Topography
After building a new town at Themble Hill, and thinking they are safe from their Dock-winder over-seers, the Human women of the town are taken by a Prell transport. The Slain return to the town from a supply run to find their women gone. They journey to Prell and use technology to locate the women and intimidation to procure their release. But Odymn is not in Prell and Daniel (one of the Slain) is convinced that she did not survive. Meanwhile, back in Themble Hill, Odymn struggles with her injuries and worries she has lost Daniel forever. Gradually she recovers from her injuries, uses her skill at parkour to recover her strength and mobility and learns more about the strange place they have chosen to settle. Eventually she learns about the rescue mission and determines to follow and find Daniel.
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Meniscus: Karst Topography will be available October 15, 2018. There is still time to catch up on the Series. The books are written as narrative poetry, 10-20,000 words and each a quick read! A love story with lots of action and adventure. Edited by Lee Thompson.
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Meniscus: Crossing the Churn A woman on a dystopian planet wants freedom and discovers that sometimes fate returns you to where you began; the story of the meeting of Odymn and the Slain, Daniel.
Meniscus: One Point Five – Forty Missing Days When Daniel is injured, Odymn and a furry Argenop work to return him to health; the story of how Odymn’s past trauma may get in the way of her romance with the Slain.
Meniscus: South from Sintha Daniel tries to right the wrongs he has done and learns he must bear the consequences of his actions; the story of how the Slain returns six of his contracts to their homes.
Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb A group of people try to build the first human community on a dystopian planet and discover that their former masters have found a way to follow them; story of Odymn and Daniel’s first winter together on Meniscus and how they help six survivors of a transport crash.
Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill A group of people try to overcome the hardships of living together in the first human community on a dystopian planet; the story of what happens when parkour-loving Odymn breaks a leg.
Meniscus: Karst Topography A group of the Slain go on a mission to rescue the woman of Themble Hill; the story of how Daniel and Odymn deal with separation.
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All my best
Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)
Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill
Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill
by Alexandra Tims
an illustrated long poem
fourth in the Meniscus Series
science fiction – romance – adventure
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Follow the adventures of Odymn and the Slain!
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Meniscus: The Town at Themble Hill
… On the alien planet Meniscus, against all odds, a small group of Humans works to forge a new life together. When a Dock-winder drone pays them a visit, Odymn and the Slain trek along the heights of The Fault, to make certain the community is not in danger of invasion. They find a new way to scale The Fault and a perfect location for building a new village. Matters are complicated when Odymn is injured on a parkour run and the Slain’s former girlfriend joins the group. Faced with a dangerous journey through the Themble Wood and the hardships of building a new community, are the Humans in more danger from themselves, the alien landscape, or their Doc-winder overlords?
… In the fourth book of the Meniscus series, The Village at Themble Hill chronicles the first days of community life on a planet where Humans are not allowed to associate and freedom is always at risk.
home is the safest place … so build a home …
www.amazon.com/Meniscus-Village-Themble-Alexandra-Tims/dp/1546475982
Excerpt
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“What is that sound?”
says Odymn.
Looks north-west.
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Green light creeps
towards zenith,
blinking its way.
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The Slain rolls to standing.
Grabs Odymn’s arm.
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“Hide,”
he says.
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Slips over the limb of banyan.
Pulls Odymn after him.
Covers her with his body.
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Tugs at his armour,
five snaps per side
(its electric current
detectable, trackable).
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The armour detaches.
A grid of inert copper
between them.
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Above, the drone
nudges sideways,
sinks among the trees.
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Odymn holds her breath.
The Slain lays his mouth on hers
but she peeks around him,
wants to see.
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The drone hovers
a minute or more.
It blinks, effortless
on its cushion of air.
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Then it rises.
Swoops
to the north-east.
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The Slain lifts Odymn to her feet.
Finds a path
through banyan,
in the direction of Garth.
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Flawless navigation in dark
and Odymn wonders
what amethyst eyes see
in places where light
does not shine.
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About the Author
Alexandra Tims is a botanist, writer and artist living in rural New Brunswick, Canada. Her first five books in the Meniscus series, Meniscus: Crossing The Churn, Meniscus: One Point Five – Forty Missing Days, Meniscus: South from Sintha, Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb, and Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill were published with CreateSpace in 2017 and 2018. She has also published two books of poetry, within easy reach (2106) and in the shelter of the covered bridge (2017), under the name Jane Spavold Tims (both with Chapel Street Editions, Woodstock). In 2016 she won the Alfred G. Bailey Prize in the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick Writing Competition for her manuscript of poems about bird calls. She is a fan of science fiction – books, television and film, including Star Trek, Stargate and Firefly. Her websites feature her drawings, paintings and poetry.
Other books in the Meniscus Series
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Meniscus: Crossing The Churn
Meniscus: One Point Five – Forty Missing Days
Meniscus: South from Sintha
Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb
Copyright Jane Tims 2018
Celebrating bookstores and reading – Canadian Independent Bookstore Day
On Saturday, April 28, 2018, I will be participating in Canadian Independent Bookstore Day at Westminster Books in Fredericton. I will be there to talk with you about my books in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series and sign copies. I will be at the bookstore from 11:00 AM to noon. Hope to see you there!!!
Canadian Independent Bookstore Day is a day to celebrate the amazing independent bookstores in communities across Canada that develop and maintain a thriving book industry across the country. It is a day to go out into your community and enjoy the unique intersection of art, culture, business and opportunity that bookstores provide. Thanks to your participation, this event can continue to grow and thrive in the years to come. The purpose of Canadian Independent Bookstore Day is to show off the unique community spaces that bookstores create and was born from Authors For Indies.
Authors for Indies was a national grassroots movement in support of independent bookstores. It’s a day when authors take time to give back to the bookstores who support authors every day of the year by volunteering as guest booksellers. We meet and greet customers, recommend books, tell our friends and relatives to come to the store where we are working. Hundreds of authors across Canada have done this for the past three years. It’s been a national phenomenon.
Jane
Meniscus: Crossing The Churn
Meniscus: Crossing The Churn
by Alexandra Tims
an illustrated long poem
first in the Meniscus Series
science fiction – romance – adventure
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Follow the adventures of Odymn and the Slain!
On the alien planet Meniscus, Humans are slaves. Every twilight, Odymn runs through the forests outside the city, practicing the art of parkour. Her runs give her strength, flexibility and endurance, and a way to survive a life of servitude under the oppressive Dock-winders. When the silent Slain rescues her from a brutal encounter with a gang of Gel-heads, Odymn believes she has reached the end of her search for freedom. In their travels through the Prell’nan District of Meniscus, she and the Slain encounter dangerous woodlands, dramatic water-climbs and an impassable water churn. Odymn and the Slain work together to evade the Gel-heads and overcome the dangers of the landscape. But is Odymn really free or is she caught in a cycle of trying to escape the inevitable?
In the first of the Meniscus series, Crossing the Churn tells the story of the meeting of a young woman and a genetically-engineered Slain whose kindness may not be consistent with his purpose.
try …. fail … repeat …
sometimes no matter how hard you run, the past grabs at your heels …
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542342635
Excerpt
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The sky congeals,
coughs up churning darkness,
and the air moves.
Reminder of home, on Earth.
The creaking weathervane
above the hay barn door.
The wind tosses sparse droplets.
Plucks handfuls of dust.
Pebbles like sleet.
The broken hills kilometres away.
Obscured by a looming sandstorm.
The Slain walks faster.
Distance widens between them.
She stumbles, falls to her knees.
“Why should I follow?” she whispers.
His hand grips her arm, drags her to standing.
Forward in uneven strides.
Leaning into wind.
About the Author
Alexandra Tims is a botanist, writer and artist living in rural New Brunswick, Canada. Her first four books in the Meniscus series, Meniscus: Crossing The Churn, Meniscus: One Point Five – Forty Missing Days, Meniscus: South from Sintha and Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb, were published with CreateSpace in 2017 and 2018. She has also published two books of poetry, within easy reach (2106) and in the shelter of the covered bridge (2017), under the name Jane Spavold Tims (both with Chapel Street Editions, Woodstock). In 2016 she won the Alfred G. Bailey Prize in the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick Writing Competition for her manuscript of poems about bird calls. She is a fan of science fiction – books, television and film, including Star Trek, Stargate and Firefly. Her websites feature her drawings, paintings and poetry.
Other books in the Meniscus Series
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Meniscus: One Point Five – Forty Missing Days
Meniscus: South from Sintha
Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb
A Free eBook – Winter by the Water-climb
Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb, the third book in my sci-fi romance/adventure series, is available free from March 3 to March 7, 2018 in Kindle format. Just click and you will be taken to Amazon to get your book free of charge.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1544818068
Meniscus: Winter at the Water-climb
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Winter on the planet Meniscus is brutal — the plenty of other seasons gives way to scarcity and desperation. Unprepared for the months ahead, Odymn and the Slain find shelter with the generous Argenops, friendly furry creatures. When Odymn has to survive without the help of the Slain, she must depend on her own wits and her skill at parkour to survive the alien landscape of the Themble. But she is not prepared for new arrivals, group of survivors of a transport ship crash. On a planet where Human relationships are not allowed, ten people and an alien child take the first steps toward building a community.
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In the third book of the Meniscus series, Winter by the Water-climb, Odymn and the Slain must survive a winter apart from one another’s help and protection.
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I hope you enjoy reading this and other books in the series!
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Copyright Jane Tims 2018
free book – Meniscus: Crossing the Churn
Want a quick read? A chance to explore a distant planet with two spirited characters? The first book in my science-fiction adventure series Meniscus: Crossing the Churn (Kindle version) is available for free for the next five days on Kindle. From January 27 to January 31, you can meet Odymn and the Slain, and learn about their meeting and their first travels together across the landscapes of planet Meniscus.
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From the dangerous streets of Prell-nan to the dark woods of the Themble, this is a dystopian adventure, set on a planet where Humans are slaves to an alien race. Their only hope for freedom is to work together, foraging for their food, running from the nasty Dock-winders and battling the wild life. The only way to survive will be in their growing love for one another.
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A sample from the story …
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She watches the fire,
the space where flames
feign glowing eyes.
The creature speaks and she startles,
then knows the words are the endless friction
of two close-growing limbs of banyan.
High pitched squeal, low grown.
She peers at the Slain.
“I’m Odymn,” she says,
points to the place
between her breasts,
the now-charred microchip.
Points at him.
“Who are you?”
Emphasis on ‘who’ and ‘you’.
Unwavering stare.
His eyes not black, but amethyst,
dark rings around the iris.
At the edges a pale film,
nictitating membrane.
Long lashes.
“Odymn,” she says.
“Named by my father.
“Rare earth metal, Neodymium.
Atomic number 60. Silvery,
soft, tarnishes in air.
“Common as copper.
Makes a reddish dye,
colour of my hair.
“Now you,” and points at his chest.
Blue sparks snap to the tip of her finger.
Faint vibration through hand, along arm,
deep into torso.
Penetrating stare.
Lazy double blink.
Membrane and lashes close and open.
“OK. I’ll choose a name for you.
Daniel. Or James.
Not quite right, too common.
“You need an alien name.
Something deep from Dock-winder mythology.
Amblyn, god of fire. Or De-al, water-weld.”
Steady stare. Double blink.
One hand lifts. One finger raised to lips.
Be silent.
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To get a free Kindle version of Meniscus: Crossing the Churn (from January 27 to January 31), just click on the book icon in the margin. This will take you to the Amazon website where you can get a free copy downloaded to your Kindle device.
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If you like Meniscus: Crossing the Churn, you will love the continuing adventures of Odymn and the silent Slain – Meniscus: South from Sintha, Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb and the newest book Meniscus: One Point Five – Forty Missing Days, available January 31, 2018.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2018
Fall Show … space paintings
Tomorrow morning, I will be selling paintings and books at the New Maryland Fall Show (Faith Baptist Church, New Maryland Highway, New Maryland, New Brunswick, 9-2). To accompany my science-fiction books in the Meniscus Series, I have done some little space paintings.
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Oct. 28, 2017 ‘spatter’ 6″ x 8″ $15 Jane Tims
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Oct. 8, 2017 “spacescape” 8″ x 10″ $20 Jane Tims
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Nov. 1, 2017 ‘space’ 8″ x 8″ $20 Jane Tims
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
New Maryland Fall Show – Jane’s books and paintings for sale!!!
Last year I tried selling my books and paintings at a local craft fair. I had so many ‘fears’. I wondered if I would sell anything. I wondered how it would feel, sitting there waiting for someone to be interested in my wares. I wondered if I would have any money when I went home (I saw so many things at the fair I wanted to buy)!
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I was pleasantly surprised. I sold both books and paintings. Sitting, watching the vendors and browsers, was very relaxing. And I loved meeting the other vendors and bought some items I still love!
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This Saturday November 4, 9AM – 2PM, I will be at the New Maryland Fall Show (held at the Faith Baptist Church, 525 New Maryland Highway, New Maryland, New Brunswick). I will be selling copies of my books and some of my paintings.
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my books:
‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’ (Chapel Street Editions, 2017) – my new book of poems about plants and animals living in and around some of the covered bridges in New Brunswick (if the book doesn’t arrive from the printers in time, I will be taking pre-orders)
‘within easy reach’ (Chapel Street Editions, 2016) – poems about wild edibles and other local foods
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three books in my science-fiction series (CreateSpace, 2017):
Meniscus: Crossing The Churn
Meniscus: South from Sintha
Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb
some of my paintings:
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I am getting close to my 500th follower! If you leave a comment on this post (WordPress or Facebook), you will be entered into a draw for a free, postage-paid paperback copy of my new book ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’! One entry per commenter per post.
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If you live in the New Maryland area of New Brunswick, I hope I will see you on Saturday November 3, 2017 at the New Maryland Fall Show!
at the Faith Baptist Church on the new Maryland Highway, 9 AM to 2 PM.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
get your free copy of Meniscus: Crossing The Churn
The first book in my science fiction series is available free in Kindle format from now until October 8th. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542342635
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What lives in the grell burrows?
Why does the Slain carry an ivory button with him?
Who gave Odymn her purple running shoes?
What plants are good to eat in the Meniscus woods?
How do Odymn and the Slain get water in the Darn’el desert?
How did Odymn get her name?
Does the Slain speak English?
What is the Slain’s occupation?
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Just a few questions you’ll be able to answer if you read Meniscus: Crossing The Churn.
free book … Meniscus Science Fiction Series
Do you like to read? Would you like to start a new series, one with adventure and a good love story? The Meniscus Series follows the adventures of two Humans trying to build a life together on a rather nasty alien planet. The first book in the Meniscus Series, “Meniscus: Crossing The Churn” will be free on Amazon Kindle today until October 8, 2017. A good chance to give it a try. To order, just click here.
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2017 has been a productive year for me. I completed three of the Science Fiction Series “Meniscus”. By the end of the year, I will add a forth book to the Series … “Meniscus: One Point Five”. This is a short book, intended to tell the story of the six months between the first and second books. The writing is almost done and I am about to begin the illustrations. In January, I will be publishing number four in the Series … “Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill”.
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I am biased, of course, but I think the books tell a great story. On Meniscus, Humans have lost all the progress they have made and are slaves to the ruling Dock-winders. My books tell the tale of one Human’s search for freedom and relationship. Against all odds, Odymn finds a partner and builds a new life in the dangerous Meniscus landscape. The books are full of romance and adventure, and the Meniscus world is packed with interesting plants and animals. Some are good to eat; some want to eat you!
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If you haven’t read “Meniscus: Crossing The Churn”, try it out. It tells the story of how Odymn meets the Slain. He is a trader and his motives are not at all consistent with his kindness. But Odymn is beautiful and capable. In the end, love is sure to win out over the Slain’s desire to keep his good reputation as a trader.
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To help introduce you to the story of Odymn and the Slain (eight books are planned for the Series), I am running a Free Book Promotion on Amazon Kindle from October 4, 2017 to October 8, 2017. You can get a Kindle version of “Meniscus: Crossing The Churn” for free. Discover what Odymn finds hidden away in the Slain’s backpack!
To order “Meniscus: Crossing The Churn”, just click here!
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nichepoetryandprose 