6. A First Glimpse…

Hello readers,

Something a little different for you this evening! I imagine that some of you have been curious about the contents of my novel, as I have been admittedly tight-lipped about the project so far. This is because I have wanted to improve the manuscript as much as possible before presenting it to the public.

Today, I will be sharing a small excerpt that I feel represents this project well and might catch your interest. This segment takes place during a series of fast-paced set pieces as the story builds towards its climax, but I also feel it stands on its own as a hook into the world I’ve created.

Without further ado, please enjoy!

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They were within a few kilometres of Catal when the skies parted for the first time.

After living in darkness for so long, this new, dazzling visage was almost painful to behold. Tarlo blinked several times, each startled snapping of his eyelids revealing more of this new world.          

Back home on the clearest nights, they would be lucky to get a dim view of their arm of the Milky Way. Here, the local arm cut a vivid wound in the tenebrous skies, from which spilled thousands upon thousands of stars, tenfold more than Tarlo had ever seen at once. Beautiful as they were, their positions felt all wrong, as though they might fall from the sky at any moment– another testament to the anomalous dangers of this world.               

Ashelyn slowed the D-6, equally awed by the magnanimous scene, and together they gazed upwards, speechless. It was only the garbling of the comms station that eventually broke the silence. Cries of distress warped into the vehicle, shattering the delicate peace in an instant. It was impossible to discern most of what was said, but a few words eventually screamed through the chaos.                                                      

“Wind…two hundred...hour.”                                                                                                    

Born from the same fierce gusts that had cleansed the skies, a new horror had come into being. Tarlo stole one last, desperate glance at the stars above, drinking in their strange and alluring brightness. For however long he had yet to live, he would never forget such wonder.

Then the sandstorm was upon them.

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Thank you for reading!
Book progress update below:

Words: 73435
Chapters: 24
Pages: 296
Words last week: 5600 (+2100 target word count)

With love,
JSH