Opening scene – The Thunder Egg

the opening scene from The Thunder Egg, a science fiction romance novella. Afra takes a short cut through the mist and encounters a strange creature which leads her to a man who has been beaten up and left in an alley.

This is the opening scene from The Thunder Egg, a science fiction romance novella. Afra takes a short cut through the mist and encounters a strange creature which leads her to a man who has been beaten up and left in an alley.

cover of The Thunder Egg by Greta van der Rol features a dragon like creature coming out of an egg
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Opening scene – Drarkghon’s Hoard

In this scene Dru is interrupted when on a raid. He’s chased and hides in asteroids orbiting a planet. That’s when he discovers that the legend about the hoard left by mythical pirate, Drarkghon may actually be true…

In this scene Dru is interrupted when on a raid. He’s chased and hides in asteroids orbiting a planet. That’s when he discovers that the legend about the hoard left by mythical pirate, Drarkghon may actually be true…

Cover of Drarkghon's Hoard by Greta van der Rol Two people face each other over a pile of gold
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Opening scene – For the Greater Good

The first chapter of For the Greater Good where we meet Celia Whitely, who is not a nice person. Brent and Tian are in for a tough time

The first chapter of For the Greater Good where we meet Celia Whitely, who is not a nice person. Brent and Tian are in for a tough time.

Sci-fi book cover of “For the Greater Good” by Greta van der Rol, showing two agents in black suits and a black cat
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Opening scene – Eye of the Mother

Eye of the Mother is the first book of the Tian and Brent trilogy, when Tian and Brent first meet on a space station.

This is the first book of the Tian and Brent trilogy, when Tian and Brent first meet on a space station. She’s an Imperial agent, he’s a space jockey with a freighter and a pile of debt.

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Spaceships are sexy

Just lately I’ve been asked questions along the lines of ‘what first attracted you to science fiction?’ I could always come out with sober answers about science and the future, Asimov, Arthur C Clarke yadayadayada. But the moment I fell in love with science fiction? Spaceships.

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Where science meets story

Searching for a suitable location in the Milky Way for my Dryden stories led me to look at science

This detailed Hubble view of Messier 24 captures a huge number of stars in only a tiny portion of the region, which is also known as the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud.
This detailed Hubble view of Messier 24 captures a huge number of stars in only a tiny portion of the region, which is also known as the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud.

I was a science fiction reader before I dipped my toe into the vast ocean of romance. More than that, I like space opera. Yes, I’m a Star Wars fan, despite the rather ordinary science. What attracts me is the aliens and the space ships and the amazing different worlds out there. And after all, with current estimates for the number of habitable worlds in the Milky Way – those with liquid water – at up to five billion (New Scientist Nov 2020), why not?

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The Search for the Crimson Lady

the Crimson Lady was a pirate ship that preyed on the shipping lanes for seven years or so, when she disappeared without a trace

An old fashioned pirate ship floats in space against a starry backdrop

Apart from reading books, I also write them. My science fiction books tend to involve a lot of made-up history and some sort of mystery (with a romance chucked in). That’s how The Search for the Crimson Lady developed. I suppose it’s a little bit like the legend of the Flying Dutchman, a legendary ghost ship which was said to never be able to make port, doomed to sail the oceans forever (except in a space setting with a few tweaks).

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