Die a Dry Death - to be published by Diiarts in London, Spring 2010
Historical fiction 101,000 words
Shipwrecked on an unknown shore, their gravest peril came from within.
June 1629. The Dutch merchantman Batavia, sailing on its maiden voyage to the East Indies from Amsterdam, ploughs into an uncharted reef thirty miles off the coast of Terra Incognita Australis – the unknown south land.
In a desperate attempt to find fresh water and help, the ship's officers leave the survivors on an uninhabited island, and set out in an overcrowded, open boat on a two-thousand-mile journey across uncharted waters.
They have no idea that, while they are gone, from amongst the survivors will emerge a tyrant every bit as brutal and deadly as the reef on which they were wrecked.
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Learn about the history
Shipwrecked on an unknown shore, their gravest peril came from within.
June 1629. The Dutch merchantman Batavia, sailing on its maiden voyage to the East Indies from Amsterdam, ploughs into an uncharted reef thirty miles off the coast of Terra Incognita Australis – the unknown south land.
In a desperate attempt to find fresh water and help, the ship's officers leave the survivors on an uninhabited island, and set out in an overcrowded, open boat on a two-thousand-mile journey across uncharted waters.
They have no idea that, while they are gone, from amongst the survivors will emerge a tyrant every bit as brutal and deadly as the reef on which they were wrecked.
Read an excerpt
Learn about the history
ICARUS LOST
Book 1 of A Legacy of War
Science Fiction Romance 96,000 words
When Morgan Selwood, stranded far from home in a disabled spaceship, is taken on board an alien battle cruiser, both she and her captors are intrigued by the similarities – and the differences – between their two species. Morgan, a genetically modified systems engineer, has skills her hosts can use. If they can be persuaded to trust her. Her biggest fear is that she’ll be shipped off to a university as a specimen but to avoid that, she’ll have to cooperate with an admiral. Morgan’s not good with authority figures, especially men like charismatic Admiral Ravindra, who is quite clearly interested in more than just her brain.
She might be forced to work with him but he’ll have to earn her respect.
But Ravindra is not the only one who wants a piece of Morgan. Soon she becomes the prize in a revolutionary plot as well as a target for revenge. Pushed to the limits of endurance, Morgan discovers she has more to fear than a university professor.
Read an excerpt
When Morgan Selwood, stranded far from home in a disabled spaceship, is taken on board an alien battle cruiser, both she and her captors are intrigued by the similarities – and the differences – between their two species. Morgan, a genetically modified systems engineer, has skills her hosts can use. If they can be persuaded to trust her. Her biggest fear is that she’ll be shipped off to a university as a specimen but to avoid that, she’ll have to cooperate with an admiral. Morgan’s not good with authority figures, especially men like charismatic Admiral Ravindra, who is quite clearly interested in more than just her brain.
She might be forced to work with him but he’ll have to earn her respect.
But Ravindra is not the only one who wants a piece of Morgan. Soon she becomes the prize in a revolutionary plot as well as a target for revenge. Pushed to the limits of endurance, Morgan discovers she has more to fear than a university professor.
Read an excerpt
The Iron Admiral
Book 1 of Edge of Empire
Science Fiction Romance 102,000 words
Amid simmering inter-species tension, Allysha Marten agrees to take one last job with her nee'r do well husband, Sean. One more job, and he's out of her life. But the mining colony at Hefastus, where she is to build a computer system, is not what it seems. Allysha discovers that the new owners are arms smugglers, bent on fomenting violence between the vast Ptorix Empire and its Human neighbours.
Betrayed by her husband, Allysha evades an attempt to transport her elsewhere. She plays a game of cat and mouse, using her wits and skill to escape detection. When a new man comes unexpectedly into her life, Allysha gains a much needed ally and falls head over heels in love.
But her world comes crashing down when she learns the man she loves is not what he seems. Worse, she has inadvertently resurrected a remorseless killer - a weapon that will plunge the galaxy into total war.
Allysha is forced to rethink long-cherished beliefs and cast-in-concrete prejudices. In a race against time, she must cooperate with people she thought were her enemies to save the lives of those she loves.
Read an excerpt
Amid simmering inter-species tension, Allysha Marten agrees to take one last job with her nee'r do well husband, Sean. One more job, and he's out of her life. But the mining colony at Hefastus, where she is to build a computer system, is not what it seems. Allysha discovers that the new owners are arms smugglers, bent on fomenting violence between the vast Ptorix Empire and its Human neighbours.
Betrayed by her husband, Allysha evades an attempt to transport her elsewhere. She plays a game of cat and mouse, using her wits and skill to escape detection. When a new man comes unexpectedly into her life, Allysha gains a much needed ally and falls head over heels in love.
But her world comes crashing down when she learns the man she loves is not what he seems. Worse, she has inadvertently resurrected a remorseless killer - a weapon that will plunge the galaxy into total war.
Allysha is forced to rethink long-cherished beliefs and cast-in-concrete prejudices. In a race against time, she must cooperate with people she thought were her enemies to save the lives of those she loves.
Read an excerpt