THE TRUE ADVENTURER
Robyn Singer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Science Fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Layla
N’gwa is finally free to attend art school and live a life of peace. She’s
sipping spinach smoothies in the quad with her new friends, attending protests
against the ongoing war, and studying to fulfill her dream of becoming a great
glassblower.
Layla’s
former friend, Kaya Langstone Bythora-the boy-band-loving cyborg princess of
the Cykebian Empire-has embraced being evil since killing Yael, and now acts as
the ultimate sword of her mother, Empress Molina. With Kaya’s help, her mother
will become the absolute ruler of the universe by winning the war with the
Utozin Authority. Kaya wishes she wasn’t doomed to be a monster but feels
resigned to her fate and just seeks acceptance from her only friend, Layla.
Layla
loves her new life, but she can’t stand back and watch as Kaya is used as a
weapon and her old professor conquers planet after planet. As a war rages with
the fate of all life in the balance, Layla and Kaya find themselves on opposite
sides. Kaya may be the most powerful cyborg ever designed, but Layla has some
new tricks up her sleeve. Has absolute order snuffed out all freedom, or is
there still room among the stars for a little chaos? Only together can Layla
and Kaya find the answer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt
Two:
“What’s our ETA, General?”
“We should be reaching Caldey-Cocoon’s atmosphere in
twentyfive minutes, Princess.”
I twirled my hair around my finger. “Splendid.”
The voyage from Cykeb had been peaceful. I’d had ample time
to listen to music and shop for art in my room, torture the prisoners I’d
brought along with me in the brig, and take advantage of the other amenities my
ship offered.
The Winjolla, named after my departed, beloved aunts, was
second only to my mothers’ flagship, Ricochet Supreme, in terms of grandeur.
2400 meters in diameter, it was crewed by a staff of 15,000, all of whom I was
free to terrorize to my heart’s content, with 30,000 ground troops also living
on board.
I’d gotten to design every aspect of my ship, from its
weaponry, which was capable of leveling small continents, to its torture
chamber, which I prided myself on being the most nightmarish chamber of horrors
ever devised—putting even Mother’s past works to shame—to its spa, swimming
pool, light squash court, juice bar, and karaoke studio.
The only thing my ship lacked was someone to enjoy all of
this with, but my mothers rarely ever left the palace, and there was no one
else worthy of my time. I’d tried forcing some of my lessers to have fun with
me in the past, but the only enjoyable parts of those experiences had been when
I‘d blown their brains out. Being better than and above everyone else could
really suck.
On the bright side, I was almost 14. In just over one year,
I’d be allowed to make the members of EZ Street my personal concubines. Then
I’d never be lonely again.
Plus, the highlight of these trips was always the
destination, not the journey. As the crown princess of The Holy Cykebian
Empire, and the most advanced cyborg in existence, I had the honor of serving
as my mothers’ ultimate sword. If a rebellion took place that our soldiers
couldn’t quash themselves, or if initial conquest was met with more resistance
than initially anticipated, I was deployed to handle it. I never failed my
mothers. I never would.
“Princess, we’ve arrived.”
Grinning from ear to ear, I rose from my chair in the center
of the bridge. “Beam me down. I’ll let you know when to deploy the troops
across the planet’s surface.”
“Yes, Princess. Understood, Princess.”
My helmsman did as he was told and a moment later, I was
standing in the middle of Caldey-Cocoon’s capital city: Jeradoth.
The blood-red sky matched the dirt beneath my boots. Their
architecture was cylindrical, all of their buildings the same sickening shade
of green. The air stank of cold macaroni and cheese. From what I’d read, their
only major export was middle- quality feathers.
I’d only been here five seconds, but I couldn’t fathom what
about this pathetic world its people treasured so much that they wouldn’t want
to be a part of the empire. It wasn’t as if I was complaining, though. If every
world submitted immediately, I’d never get to have any fun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What Did You Like Best About Writing This Book
and Why?
I started writing the first book in The Ricochet Trilogy, “The Sunrisers,” in November 2020. I’d graduated from college earlier in the year and, since Covid was preventing me from finding stable work, I was taking my best crack at using the time I had available to me to become an author. During that time, I wrote four unrelated novels, and “The Sunrisers” was the only one to find a home, with Cinnabar Moth. I had the time of my life writing my cute and fun space opera romance, and was beyond thrilled when I found out I was going to be a published author.
By the time I was able to start working in earnest on the final book in the trilogy, my new release, “The True Adventurer,” it was Spring 2023, and my life had changed a lot. I’d moved from New York to Seattle, I now had a day job, the drama going on in my personal life would be worthy of its own novel, and it was becoming increasingly clear to me that I was never going to have as much time to write as I had previously, and I was never going to be able to write while so perfectly relaxed again. It was also clear to me that my mental health was suffering, which made it even harder to write. For several months, despite having a clear outline, writing “The True Adventurer” felt impossible, and I made incredibly slow progress.
The best part of
writing “The True Adventurer” was figuring out what I needed to do to make it
work. I tossed out my originally outlined third act, and embraced the emotions
swirling through me. I embraced the pain I was in, I embraced the struggles in
my own relationships, and I embraced my fear that this would be the last book I
would ever write, and I rewrote the story to capture these feelings, and tie
them into the trilogy’s themes, and the character’s arcs. “The True Adventurer”
is a space opera filled with fantastical concepts, but it’s also the most real
story I was capable of writing.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Robyn
Singer is a lifelong New Yorker, and since she was a kid playing with her
action figures, all she’s wanted to do is tell stories. She went to SUNY
Purchase to get a degree in Playwriting & Screenwriting with a minor in
Film and has produced several comic books, but she’s always had her eye on
becoming a published novelist.
As
an Autistic, bisexual trans woman, diversity and inclusion in stories are
vitally important to her, and she seeks to represent as many groups as possible
in her work. While she wants to show characters of marginalized groups
experiencing joy, she also draws inspiration from real-world problems which
bother her.
The
Sunrisers was her debut novel. The Order of the Banshee is book 2 in the The
Ricochet Trilogy. Robyn was the author in residence for the first quarter of
2022 for Cinnabar Moth Literary Collections. She writes novels and short
stories of all genres and for all ages, and she continues to produce comic
books. Her ongoing series, Final Gamble, began publication by Band of Bards in
2022.
Amazon
Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robyn-Singer/author/B0BCVQ8JJ6
Publisher
Author Page: https://cinnabarmoth.com/robyn-singer/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
The
author will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for featuring THE TRUE ADVENTURER today.
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