Forging Zero (87 page)
Authors: Sara King
Yet, standing
there in a tie-died T-shirt and khaki shorts, Sam looked so much like Dad. Joe
felt himself gripping his chair so hard his knuckles hurt.
“So
here goes: I’m not gonna forget you, Joe,” Sam went on. “I know what you did
for me. And I wanted to say thanks.” Sam cleared his throat again and glanced
nervously down at his hands. “Well, that’s all I really wanted to say. That,
and I’m a sophomore in college. MIT’s paying my way. They didn’t really care
if I finished high school. Funny, huh? But I’m not bragging. No way. I’d be
dead if you hadn’t taken my place. I’m such a chickenshit when it comes to
guns…I’m not like you or Dad at all.” Sam cleared his throat again. “Anyway,
let me know if I found the right Joe Dobbs. If you wanna send me a message, I
set myself up an alias under Slade Galvin Gardner in the Congie database. I’ll
check it every week or so. Oh, and I think I can help you disappear off Congie
radar if you wanna come back home. That’s it. Peace out.”
Joe was
trembling by the time the message ended.
When he
could finally make his stunned mind think long enough to reply, he said, “Hi
Sam. MIT, huh? That’s awesome. Make some robots for me. No, I don’t wanna
disappear. I know it sounds stupid, Sam, but I think this is what I’m supposed
to be doing with my life.”
He
added other stuff, too.
For the
next week, Joe added to the letter, detailing all the interesting things that
had happened to him over the six years since he had been kidnapped under the
brilliant glow of professional-grade fireworks, all the friends he’d made, all
the deaths, all the training.
But,
once he finally had his letter composed, Joe hesitated in sending it.
Sam was
going to MIT at fifteen. He had a bright future. He could do anything he
wanted. He didn’t need to be weighed down by guilt for some Congie grounder
who was never gonna see Earth again.
Mom’s
right,
Joe thought.
He doesn’t need to know.
Joe
opened the letter, held his breath, and pushed DELETE.
He was
a Congie now.
-END-
Get the
next book,
Zero Recall
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Today!
My name is Sara King and I’m going to change the world.
No, seriously. I am. And I need your help. My goal is
simple. I want to champion, define, and spread character writing throughout
the galaxy. (Okay, maybe we can just start with Planet Earth.) I want to take
good writing out of the hands of the huge corporations who have had a
stranglehold on the publishing industry for so long and reconnect it to the
people (you) and what you really want. I want to democratize writing as an art
form. Something that’s always been controlled by an elite few who have (in my
opinion) a different idea of what is ‘good writing’ than the rest of the world,
and have been feeding the sci-fi audience over 50% crap for the last 40 years.
(To get my spiel on character writing and what it is, jump to the
Meet Stuey
section of this book.)
To assist me in my goals to take over the world (crap, did I
say that out loud??), please leave a review for this book! It’s the first and
easiest way for you guys to chip in and assist your friendly neighborhood
writer-gal. And believe me, every review helps otherwise unknown books like
mine stand up against the likes of the Big Boys on an impersonal site like
Amazon.
Also, I have an email! (Totally surprising, I know.) Use
it! (Don’t you know that fanmail keeps writers going through those dark times
when we run out of chocolate???) I love posting letters on Facebook—gives me
something fulfilling to do with my time. ;) Shoot me a line! [email protected]
And, for those of you who do the Facebook thing, check me
out:
http://www.facebook.com/kingfiction
(personal) or
http://www.facebook.com/sknovel
(my author page) or stay up to date on continuous new ZERO publications with The
Legend of ZERO fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/legendofzero
In case you hadn’t guessed, this is the first book in a
(very) large, sprawling sci-fi world. More ZERO stories are coming out very soon,
if they haven’t already, and I will very likely write more novels in this
world, simply because I’ve been told to. Repeatedly. By people with that
crazed, hungry look in their eyes. (Shudder.) While I’m working on them, be
sure to check out these great books, short stories, and additional ZERO
materials on Amazon:
The Legend
of ZERO: Zero Recall
. (It’s a play on Forgotten.) 53 turns after
Forging ZERO, Joe Dobbs is recalled to fight a war the likes of which Congress
has never seen.
The Legend of ZERO: Zero’s Return
. 20 turns after Zero
faces off Forgotten in Zero Recall, he returns to Earth to fight a new kind of
war—the kind that will determine the future of the Human race.
The Legend of ZERO: Zero’s Legacy
. After preserving
Earth’s most precious resource from the hands of the Huouyt, Joe and his
friends must now work together to survive this new post-apocalyptic world—and
find the People a home.
The Legend of ZERO: Forgotten.
A Sacred Turn after
Zero returned to Earth, his descendants seek out his ancient nemesis with a
bargain Forgotten cannot resist: Remove Earth from Congress without a single
death, and Humans will give him his freedom.
The Complete ZERO WorldBuilder
: A complete(ly massive)
glossary, fun facts, timeline, illustrations, and cool details that I couldn’t
pack into the books.
The Moldy Dead
: A story about the Origins of the
Geuji, one of whom plays a dominant role in books 2 and 4. The Moldy Dead is
easily one of my best short stories.
Opening Night at the Naturals Preserve
: A story
about Congress’ discovery of the Baga, one of whom plays an important role in
book 2.
Planetside
: A fun story about how the Ueshi earned
the right to fly.
The First Gods of Fire:
The story of how Congress
was formed.
Breaking the Mold
: How the Geuji were betrayed by
Congress (again).
Beda and Shael
: A Jreet love story, a la Romeo and
Juliet. Except this time, it’s Vorans and Welus. Yeah, sparks fly. And
blood. And scales…
Parting Gift:
The Vanun struggle to escape the
Huouyt, both of whom evolved on the same planet. (Vanun on land, Huouyt in the
sea).
Syuri:
Everybody loves lackeys. Here’s how
Forgotten got his.
J
And keep your eyes open for more, as I will keep putting
them up whenever I have time. Just search “The Legend of ZERO” on Amazon.
Also, if you liked ZERO, you’d probably like Outer Bounds: Fortune’s Rising.
It’s another character sci-fi that’ll rock your world.
And guys? Thanks. You are freakin’ awesome.
Meet Stuey. He's our mascot here at Parasite Publications.
Stuey is a brain parasite. Stuey burrows into people's heads and stays there.
He takes over your body. He shuts you away from your senses. He talks to you
in the darkness. He makes you do things you would never do while you can only
watch in horror.
But he's an understandable little monster.
Imagine your favorite action-adventure story. Your favorite
romance. Your favorite epic sci-fi. Your favorite thriller. Each one of them
is going to have a character that left you breathless, one that had you at the
edge of your seat, rooting for, screaming at, and pleading with. Those are the
only
stories that Parasite publishes.
Our goal at Parasite Publications is twofold: First, we want
to produce memorable, sympathetic characters that readers will still be
thinking about years after finishing our books. Second, we want to create a
team of creative minds whose work can be trusted by readers to produce the same
kind of character stories they love, time and again. We're forming a club. A
logo. A place for readers to go to read books about
people
, not places
or machines. A place for character writers to band together and create a brand
that means quality to readers. Readers of Parasite books will no longer have
to wonder if they're throwing their money away on novels that, even in 150k
words, never really get into a character's head.
They never have to wonder, because that's what we're
about
.
Getting into the character's head. And, if we do our job right, Parasite will
get into your head and stay there. Just like Stuey.
Check us out on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/ParasitePublications/info
to read more about Stuey’s mission to change publishing for your benefit.
If you’re looking for other great
character novels, Sara’s got some recommendations for you!
If you like to read:
Young Adult Paranormal Romance…
Try
Something Witchy
by AJ
Myers
Sara Says:
“AJ Myers was my
first honest-to-God protégé, and we worked together heavily in the creation of
this first book in the Mystics & Mayhem series. If you enjoyed my novels,
be sure to check hers out! AJ’s got a spunky heroine, a wicked sense of humor,
and has a way of making people laugh with the unpredictable that I can truly
appreciate.”
Fantasy…
Try
A Song of Ice and Fire: A
Game of Thrones
by George R. R. Martin
Sara Says:
“For all you
writers out there, George R. R. Martin is the guy you should study if you want
to learn to write compelling characters. I can’t say he taught me everything I
know ‘cause I never met the guy (lordy, I wish…), but he’s the greatest master
of the entire range of human character that I’ve ever seen. He’s a character genius.
Period. I bow to him.”
Thrillers…
Try
Changes
by Charles
Colyott
Sara Says:
“Colyott is a
character writer supreme. I haven’t had a novel grab me and hold on this
tightly since George R. R. Martin. He’s an independent author that blows most
traditionally-published authors completely out of the water. His books are
awesome steeped in awesome sauce, stewed in awesomeness. This is a writer to
watch.”
Guardians of the First Realm: Alaskan
Fire
Guardians of the First Realm: Alaskan
Fury
Millennium Potion: Wings of
Retribution
Outer Bounds: Fortune’s Rising
Terms of Mercy: To the Princess
Bound
Other
Titles
from
Parasite Publications
Mystics & Mayhem: Something
Witchy ~ A.J. Myers
Mystics & Mayhem: Something
Wicked ~ A.J. Myers
Coming
Soon
Mystics
& Mayhem: Something Wanton ~ A.J. Myers
Mystics
& Mayhem: Something Wild ~ A.J. Myers
Guardians
of the First Realm: Fury of the Fourth Realm ~ Sara King
Guardians
of the First Realm: Alaskan Fiend ~ Sara King
Guardians
of the First Realm: Alaskan Fang ~ Sara King
