Tag: excerpt

Collecting fruit – a scene from The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy

Saahren (in his role as Brad the security guard) and Allysha have found the Ptorix secret garden at Tysiphor. Saahren recognises an edible fruitand enlists Allysha’s help to collect some. One thing leads to another…

Cover of The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy by Great van der Rol A man in a dark clothing and a woman stand against a sky of stars and space ships

Saahren (in his role as Brad the security guard) and Allysha have found the Ptorix secret garden at Tysiphor. Saahren recognises an edible fruitand enlists Allysha’s help to collect some. One thing leads to another…

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Starheart

In this opening scene from Starheart Jess Sondijk’s little freighter, Saintly Maid, is intercepted by Confederacy battle cruiser Defender. And then’s she’s taken to the cruiser for interrogation.

In this opening scene from Starheart Jess Sondijk’s little freighter, Saintly Maid, is intercepted by Confederacy battle cruiser Defender. And then’s she’s taken to the cruiser for interrogation.

Cover of Starheart a science fiction romance novel by Greta van der Rol. Two people in fururitsic clothing stand together in front of a nebula
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Morgan’s Return

The opening scenes of Morgan’s Return by Greta van der Rol. Morgan, Ravindra and the crew arrive in Coalition space and encounter trouble

Admiral Ravindra and Morgan are on a quest to find the origins of Ravindra’s people. In this chapter they get their first taste of life on a Coalition planet.

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Crisis at Validor

On the 500th anniversary of Human arrival on Validor the queen is assassinated, throwing the country into chaos

In the opening scene of Crisis at Validor Captain Brett Butcher has taken a short holiday at his home planet before he takes command of his ship. He witnesses the assassination of the ruling Queen and members of her family.

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The Stuff of Legend

In the opening scenes of The stuff of Legend we learn that the Helicronian Oligarch has become aware of a hidden weapon. He believes that missing archaeologist Paul Jhutta and his wife, know where to find it.

In the opening scenes of The Stuff of Legend we learn that the Helicronian Oligarch has become aware of a hidden weapon. He believes that missing archaeologist Paul Jhutta and his wife, know where to find it.

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According to Legend

A brief look at why I write space opera, inspired by astronomy, cosmology, and humanity’s long tradition of gazing at the stars and inventing a legend to explain what they see.

I write space opera because I find astronomy and cosmology fascinating. How was our planet created? How did the solar system come to be? How did the universe start? I’m not special in that respect. Humans have looked at the stars and asked questions since forever. For hundreds of years many people believed in astrology, based on the constellations visible in the sky at different times of the year. A constellation is simply a pattern somebody made up by relating stars to each other. And from there, they created stories to explain how that particular animal, or object, appeared in the sky. pleiades sml The Pleiades * The aboriginal people in Australia thought the stars of the Milky Way (the band of light we see crossing the night sky) was a river marked by the campfires along its length. They have a story about the Pleiades, the open cluster near the constellation Orion. The aboriginal people called them the Seven Sisters, just as we do. You can read the legend here. Basically, seven sisters are pursued by a hunter who wants one of them as his wife. The Greeks had their own legend in which Orion chases the daughters of Atlas. The aboriginal story and the Greek story are remarkably similar, and I find that fascinating, since there’s no way one version could have influenced the other. This link takes you to more stories about the Pleiades. Ancient people explained natural events in ways that made sense to them. But as we became more knowledgeable, we could explain something like the Pleiades in more and more depth. However, there’s something deliciously… RIGHT… about the ancient interpretation. The stars of the Pleiades are, you might say, stellar sisters. And the hunter in the sky is Orion. As Professor Olivia Jhutta (main character in The Stuff of Legend) explains, “legends often arise around a kernel of truth”. The Maidens Frontispiece sml I really enjoyed writing The Stuff of Legend. The plot centers around an open cluster called the Maidens or the Dancers and the legends that relate to it. The constellation is not the Pleiades or any other particular open cluster but it’s based on reality. I did my research and found out that globular clusters are tightly packed (for stars) and gravitationally bound to each other. The stars are the oldest we know of, and because of that wouldn’t be likely to have the elements created in super novas so they’re not likely to include second Earths. The stars in open clusters are younger. They form in the usual stellar nurseries like the gas clouds of the mighty Orion Nebula. From there, they remain in a more ‘open’ gravitational relationship until they leave home on their own. Our sun was probably part of an open cluster when it was a teenager. You can find out more about open clusters here. For the purposes of my story I wanted the gas clouds that you see around Orion as part of the legends associated with my cluster. I went back to research, and discovered that an open cluster that had been thought to be part of the Orion Nebula, was in fact a different entity, situated in front of the nebula. Here’s the story of NGC 1980. It was perfect. So my story takes place with regard to a star cluster that has some similarities to NGC 1980. Of course, there are legends surrounding the star cluster, which is where my story starts. History professor Olivia Jhutta thinks there might be some truth in legends. Admiral Jak Prentiss doesn’t agree. Here’s an excerpt from a conversation they have at a civic reception. Olivia has asked Jak what he knows about a star cluster known as the Maidens. TSoL 3D “Let me see… the cluster is about ten stellar units away, contains about a thousand stars, including many with planetary systems, and it’s territory in dispute.” She cocked her head. “The Ptorix also lay claim to the area.” “Ah. Of course.” “It is one of several places where the lines between the borders of our established sovereignties are not distinctly drawn. Neither of us has a settlement there, and neither of us will allow a settlement there.” “But you’ll have heard the legends. About the Gh’ria.” Bless her heart. Jak couldn’t help the laugh. “Miss Jhutta, they’re just stories to frighten children. We’ve found no trace of any space-faring giants anywhere, and neither have the Ptorix.” “You don’t think there might be something in the old legends? Some element of truth?” There was a decided chill in the air, but damn it, legends? “There are legends about all sorts of things. Ghost ships around abandoned asteroid mines, strange appearances on moons, vanishings. In my experience, they have all come down to something mundane. Faulty equipment, flashing lights. Fraud. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” She smiled, nodding. “I see.” But the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Find out all about it here. * The image of the Pleiades was produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) using the Hubble Space Telescope
The Pleiades *

I write space opera because I find astronomy and cosmology fascinating. How was our planet created? How did the solar system come to be? How did the universe start? I’m not special in that respect. Humans have looked at the stars and asked questions since forever. For hundreds of years many people believed in astrology, based on the constellations visible in the sky at different times of the year. A constellation is simply a pattern somebody made up by relating stars to each other. And from there, they created stories to explain how that particular animal, or object, appeared in the sky.

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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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Welcome Back Morgan Selwood

Morgan Selwood has just been recaptured after an abortive escape attempt. Now she meets the man in charge. Her first encounter with Admiral Ravindra sets the tone for everything that follows: defiance, attraction, and a battle of wills that neither intends to lose.

Morgan Selwood has just been recaptured after an abortive escape attempt. Now she meets the man in charge — and he’s not what she expected.

Her first encounter with Admiral Ravindra sets the tone for everything that follows: defiance, attraction, and a battle of wills that neither intends to lose.

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After the night with Ravindra

Morgan’s been an idiot. She’s gone and had sex with Ravindra. Stupid. He’s gone to work on the planet Electra. With him out of the way, Morgan concentrates on work — until the mission goes terribly wrong.

stairs descend into a bombed out building holding computer equipment

Morgan’s been an idiot. She’s gone and had sex with Ravindra. Stupid. He’s gone to work on the planet Electra. With him out of the way, Morgan concentrates on work — until the mission goes terribly wrong.

Continue reading “After the night with Ravindra”