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June 5, 2021

Mara's Awakening GUEST POST


Title:
 Mara's Awakening

Author: Leo Flynn

Series & No. In Series: Book 1 Of The Mara Files

Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera

Publisher: Self-Published On Amazon

Links: 
  • Author Website: https://leoflynn.com
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/leoflynnwriter
  • Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TLX9J1P
  • Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56786605-mara-s-awakening  
Author Bio: Leo Flynn writes poetry & gripping SciFi, like The Mara Files, his debut science fiction short story series. Other galaxies consume his waking hours.

Synopsis: Mara Keres. A trained warrior and former highly respected peacekeeper. Note “former.” Once, she had her life under control. Once, she had the trust of the galaxy.

Now she rots in the same prison she used to sentence people to. Solitary confinement for six years. Would’ve brought anyone else to their knees. Not her. Then an offer resurfaces, almost too good to be true.

Ghosts of her past and demons come back to haunt her.

Will she ever make it out alive?

Sometimes, facing your worst memories is worth the risk.

EXCERPT

The light faded

Like a starship jumping into hyperspace

It disappeared

Lost forever


————————————————————


    Cackling laughter, a blinding flash, and screams of the dead and dying.

    Distant starship gunfire lighting up the sky above. A small settlement in flames.

    She awoke, body wracked with pain, sweat pouring down her forehead. A strangled scream erupted from her throat, her breathing heavy, haggard, and slow.

    No... Just... another dream.



    Scratch. A single slash across a series of little straight lines. Bloody h*ll... already? Today marked her sixth year in prison -- six, long, years.

    Groaning, she stood, shivers running down her spine.

    Just a dream. Just a dream.

    The shiny surface of the wall caught her reflection. Stopping, she stared. A dark-skinned, gaunt face, years of stress etched across her cheekbones and forehead. Hair going grey at the roots. To think she was only forty-something.

    She dropped to the floor, jumping straight into an exercise routine. Stop thinking about it!

    Coming into pushups, she struggled to do them in full. Bloody hand restrainer, useless for everything.     Suppose that was what they wanted.

     Sweat poured down her cheeks, arms shaking with the effort. Keep going.



    She slumped to the ground, exhausted.

    Moments passed, and the woman dragged a loose stone out from the ground. Hands trembling, she pulled the precious object out, gently and slowly. The smooth fabric cooled her quivering, sweaty fingers.

    A thick sash of red, gold, and green, symbolizing both a triumphant and harrowing victory. They could take everything from her, but she would never forget what she'd done, who she was. She was a warrior -- a war hero. The only thing left of her former self, and she would cling to it forever.

    Click, clack, clunk. Her head snapped up. Gears in the door turned, spinning faster as bolts thrust open.

    What...?

    Fumbling to hide it, she dragged the stone back across, evidence of a hidey-hole disappearing. Under her clothes went the prized object, warm and reassuring against her cold chest. She scrambled back, head thundering, eyes wide with anticipation.

    Blinding light. A short, stocky figure with light brown skin, wearing a uniform covered in badges, stood over her. "Mara."

    She rubbed her eyes. Was she hallucinating?

    "Your behavior has improved. We have decided solitary confinement is no longer necessary."

    She tried to form a reply, nothing came. She hadn't spoken since... Who knew? All her mouth could manage was a grunt.

    "You shall be transferred to your new cell, effective immediately. Stand."

    Her leg groaned under the sudden effort. No, come on! It whirred into life, she stood, towering over her Warden.

    "Well?"

    "Aye... Ma'am."

    Her first words in years.

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June 4, 2021

It's been 6 months...

 


IT'S BEEN 6 MONTHS...

    Apparently it's been 6 months since I've posted on here and I can't believe it. Like wow, where did the time go. To be fair, I haven't done a whole lot of reading and have had zero motivation to write, so this blog just faded into oblivion. But I'm back! Life has calmed down a bit so I thought I would give you all an update.

    I finished my post-bacc program and am now OFFICIALLY A PHD STUDENT!!! I honestly didn't think it was going to happen because life kept throwing me curveballs, but I did it. My Biomedical Sciences PhD program starts in July, so for a few weeks I have a break before diving straight back into school.

    I have my own apartment now which I'm super happy about. My living situation with my roommates (who I thought were my friends but really aren't anymore) was getting toxic so I went ahead and made the leap to get my own place once our lease ended. I have a 2 bedroom place with a balcony that I absolutely adore. I'll have to give y'all a tour sometime because I really love how my bookshelves are set up.

    After years of trying I finally have a therapist. I was officially diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and OCD, so I knew it was time to get serious help. She's helped me so much in the 5 months I've been seeing her and I'm just so proud of myself for finally getting help.

    So yeah, that's been my life so far. I might make a wrap-up post of what I've read so far this year, which is about 30 books I think, which honestly isn't as bad as I thought it would be. As I mentioned earlier, I have a bit of free time, so I should have more time to read and blog, but we shall see. I've actually been making friends and socializing recently as people in my lab have been vaccinated so for once in a long time I have a pretty good social life.

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January 9, 2021

Friday Reads: January 8, 2021

 


    FRIDAY READS: JANUARY 8, 2021

    So it's technically Saturday when I'm writing this post and when it will be live, but that really doesn't matter. The weeks I do read, I want to post a recap on Friday, so for consistency sake, we're just going to pretend that today is Friday.



    This week I finished reading one book and I'm in the process of reading another book that I should hopefully have finished today. The book I finished reading was "World After" by Susan Ee, which is the second book in the "Penryn and the End of Days trilogy". I decided to reread this trilogy at the end of last year around Christmas time because I was in the mood to reread (as seems to be a habit of mine) and I was browsing my physical bookcases I realized I hadn't reread this trilogy since the first time I read it back in high school, which was like 6 years ago. (I feel so old saying that.) I finished the first book, Angelfall, before 2021 began and was in the process of reading "World After" when it became 2021. Overall, I really enjoyed "Angelfall" and the feelings it gave me. I felt like I was right back in high school, sitting in the auditorium during theater practice, passing the time before I was called on stage to rehearse.

    As far as "World After" goes, I forgot how slow that book was and how most of it the two main characters weren't even together. It was kinda a pain to get through when they were separated, but once they were together, I was able to push through to the end. I liked it, but I didn't love it. That brings me to the last book, "End of Days". For some reason this book is really hard to get through at the moment. I don't know if it's because I'm no longer in the mood to read this trilogy or if the third book just isn't doing it for me, but I've barely made a dent in it. I think I might just skim the rest of it and hopefully finish it today because I want to move on to other books.

    If you're interested in reading what I thought of these books back when I was a young, naive high schooler, the reviews are at the following links: Angelfall, World After, and End of Days.

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