Saturday, June 16, 2012

Cliff Hanger Saturday: Just Like the Matinees of Old




Cliff Hanger Saturday is a place where you can post your favorite "cliff hangers" of all time or just good writing at the end of the scene. (if not your own work, please give credit to the author and the book.) We all know, a scene should not end with anyone going to sleep. YAWN. But sometimes we see this. If the characters go to sleep, so do we.

So share favorites or write one here.

I have been posting excerpts for advertising and Rogue Phoenix Press. If you are writing an excerpt for something make sure that excerpt ends making the reader turn the page and read on. Do we want the reader up all night? Of course we do!



Reviews:

Annie for Euro Reviews writes:

Rebel Heart is a well-written futuristic novel of a time that very possibly could come to pass, when viral plagues have laid the planet waste, and life is lived either in the sterile confines of domed habitats, or as pariahs in the outside wilderness. The world-building is excellent, vivid, and true-to-life. The characters will quickly catch and hold the reader's sympathies. The plot is quick, and takes time to examine many valid social, economic, class, and political issues as well. Christine Young delivers a winner which will capture the interest of futuristic/science fiction fans as well as the general reader.


Jasmina Vallombrosa for TCM Reviews writes:

Filled with drama and suspense, this book will draw you into the mysteries of science fiction. I was pleasantly surprised by Ms. Young’s storytelling talents as she wove not only a wonderful futuristic adventure, but also that of a passionate love story. I loved the main characters as they came to life on the pages. The plot was quite suspenseful and deliciously entertaining. As a result, I had no choice but to keep flipping the pages as I raced to the end. Bravo Ms.Young for such an extraordinary book from cover to cover!


Blurb: Rebel Heart

HER REBEL SPIRIT DEFIED HIS OUTSIDERS SOUL...
She was velvet and silk, eyes the color of a summer storm and amber hair. Victoria DeMontville, because of a promise and a codicil to her father's will, was forced to marry one man to protect her from another. She hated Cameron Savage with a fierce passion. But to hold on to her genetic research and find a cure for the deadly Signe virus, she must pretend to love the enemy at her door, come with weapons of fire to melt her icy heart...

HIS OUTSIDERS TOUCH IGNITED RAGING PASSIONS.
He wore a mask, disguised as the Phantom, a true legend come to life. Even as war and debate over new genetic research engulfed them all, he would find his greatest adversary in the beauty who'd branded him an outsider and barbarian, the woman he was born to possess, his soul mate.

Premise: Rebel Heart

Rebel Heart is set five hundred years in the future. The hero and heroine come from very different backgrounds. One is an Outsider and the other a City Dweller, but they are both dedicated scientists. Cameron savage is a physician. Victoria DeMontville is a research scientist. They are both working to create a vaccine that will work against a deadly virus. Victoria has uncovered another way to help the victims of the virus, genetic surgery. During many of her forays into the musty archives of the city library, she discovers a technique that would give the City Dwellers a gene that would enhance an almost non-existent immune system. The technique is called allele transplant surgery.

Excerpt


But as the virus spread throughout the cities for the second time in five years, Cameron began to search in new directions. When the last tests proved negative, Cameron decided to leave. Old folk tales, the lore of the elders, remained strong in the mountain people. Medicinal remedies passed down from one generation to the next provided harmless if not beneficial cures. The white flower was the illusive thread. Yet the only way to unlock each link in the chain was to go to the source. The source lay in the hills and in the minds of the mountain folk. He meant to travel back to his roots, the beginning, before 'Merica divided, before all hell broke loose.

Now the sun rose on a new day, and more people would die from an incurable disease, a disease that once had been extinct. The land glider hovered outside the med-lab. The vehicle held two year's worth of records and research. Before Cameron settled himself in the driver's seat and headed east into the rugged Cascades, he looked to the West. It was lighter in that direction. When he closed his eyes, he imagined the smell of salt spray, the sound of breakers crashing against the rocks, the sensual pull of a young beguiling girl with blue-gray eyes. Eyes that reminded him of the soft color of a dove's wing.

His brows narrowed thoughtfully as he climbed into the glider.

It hovered, began to move...slowly at first then picked up speed. Earth and greenery flew beneath the air of the glider and within minutes, he had left the road and traversed cross-country, his destination a small primitive village nestled in the Rockies. Highly intelligent minds, yet antisocial behavior, marked these people and Cameron was well aware of their idiosyncrasies. Once they knew his purpose though, once they saw the endless stack of notes, heard the relevant news, and understood the enormity of his mission, they would help.

Tall mountains, deep canyons, and deserts appeared before him then vanished on the horizon as he passed by. Hour by hour, minute by minute, he closed the distance.

Until he could see one mountain rising high above the others.

Sheltered in the lush green valley on its north side he'd find his people. Nervous energy pulsed through his veins and he bumped up the throttle, accelerating, daring to push his rig as fast as it would go.

"Woo...ee...!" The glider skimmed across the earth and banked into a tight turn. Cameron came in low, banked, dodging boulders and trees.

For a moment, he thought he'd lost control. He pushed the vehicle to its limit, tested his own strength and stamina. He righted the glider, easing back on the throttle, and he felt the surge of adrenalin in his blood dissolve.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and let his throbbing head fall back against the seat. Exhaustion caused by long sleepless nights was beginning to leave its mark. He fought it, because there was something else he'd learned from long hours of study and research. Never, never let the fatigue betray you, and he was determined it would not. 

No comments:

Post a Comment