Zeagar Chapter 1 Rough Draft

Here's the start of my latest book. Let me know what you think. I'm still working on the title. This is rough, but it gives you an idea as to how it's starting...

Chapter 1:

DAPHNE FOUND THE AGE OF seventeen a difficult one at best. It was an awkward year because she was not a kid, but she wasn't considered an adult yet. Then, there was the whole figuring out where to go to college and what to be when she was out in the world on her own.

Yes, the pressure got to her. She was glad it was her junior year of high school. One more year was what she had before she applied for college. However, she was busy now as she wrote her two columns for the school paper. Actually, the paper had its own website and she had two blogs. One of her columns was a book review blog and her second was her science fiction column where she worked on her novel.

Her blog of her sci-fi novel was a major success. Other high schools actually kept up with her blog and she had a loyal following of 826 and the number grew daily.

Her guidance counselor told her that it would help her to be published and would help her beef up her college applications. It was a pleasure for her because it gave her the opportunity to live her dream.

She wanted to write novels.

"Pardon me. Are you Daphne?" A deeper masculine voice asked from her back.

She pivoted in her seat so she could see him. She guessed he was college age or so. Cute. "I am. You are?"

He handed her a business card. He was from a company called ZET, whatever that was. His name was Michael. Just Michael. There was no last name listed. The card gave a website address, an email address, and his cell number, however. "I'm Michael and my business card is rather non-descript for a reason. May I join you, please, for a few moments?"

"Go ahead." She gestured toward the chair across from her at the table.

He sat beside her instead. "I'm sorry to be rude and ignore your preference, but this is a library. I need to talk to you and don't want to speak loudly to do so. Furthermore, what I have to say is to be held with the strictest confidence. You can't tell anyone about our conversation, regardless of how simple or unimportant you might think. Do I have your agreement?"

Daphne wondered what in the world he had to say to her that might require such secrecy. She actually laughed it off and dismissed it in her mind. Nothing was that serious, after all. "Sure." What else was she supposed to say?

Michael grinned and looked her in the eye. "I've read your blog."

Oh. So, that's what this was about. Good to know. "Yes?" She stared at him and tried to get him to hurry and tell her what he wanted.

"You like to get straight to the point." He stated it as a fact and pulled out his Smartphone from his pocket. He pressed a couple of buttons. "You also love almonds, guacamole, Stargate, Star Trek, Star Wars, running, swimming, Harry Potter, Twilight, and country music. Those are the surface things. I also know you've never been kissed, have written eight novels if you include Katt, and secretly want to be an astronaut, if it wasn't for physics or calculus." Michael mentioned a could of facts not even her mother knew.

"How do you know those things?" Daphne stared at him. Then again, it was probably a glare and not just a stare.

Michael grinned and asked, "Do I have your attention now?"

"Naturally."

"The company I work for wants to hire you." He explained to her and studied her facial expression.

"I'm going to college after graduation and don't want to skip college. Thank you, though." She shut him down before he wasted more of their time, his or hers.

"The job would start immediately and would pay you half a million dollars per year because of the danger involved. But, there's another catch." Michael warned her.

Did he really say half a million? "I would think so with that kind of money. What's the catch?"

"The catch is that you have to leave home. Your parents will think you're accepted to go to a private arts school and your blog and novel earned you a full-ride scholarship this year and next. Furthermore, it's a thirty-five year commitment." He gave her the cover story.

"Why would I agree to any of this? Why would I give up my life my life for you and for ZET?" Daphne didn't see any reason to agree to go with him anywhere.

Michael cocked his head and said to her, "What would you think if I told you your imagination and writing are a great deal more accurate than you might realize."

The way he said it told her he was serious...

Stacy Duplease

SLSBS Vol. 4

Cammi's Story Book Proposal

Book Proposal

WORKING TITLE: Cammi’s Story (Book 1 of the Lethana Series)

THEMES: Escapism, War, Avoidance of War, The Lost Volumes, Friendship, Exploration, Death, Discovery, and Love.

LENGTH: Approx. 113,000 words * 41 chapters

HOW DIFFERS: Cammi’s Story is not like any other book in which you’ll be hard-pressed to find characters you can identify with to such depth, or lose yourself in. It’s escapism at its purist sense and can help you to get away from it all for a while.

MARKET: Church, chapel, and internet (including two blogs and Twitter).

BIO: Married without 2-legged children to my best friend, but have a Beagle. Work full-time as a novelist. Have two blogs that I try to keep up with daily. Addicted to coffee, tea, counting-calories, and exercise. Avid reader.

AVAILABILITY: Available immediately via disc or emailed in Word 97-2003 or Word 2007.

SUMMARY: Ever feel like running away or getting away? Cammi and Ramey did, but they sure didn’t expect to be sucked into a wooden treasure box and waking up in another world where they’re told they need to find the Lost Volumes in order to prevent a war of epic proportions. Neither did they expect to awaken to talking horses, and other animals, or lead native Lethanans on a journey when they just arrived to the land. The other aspect they didn’t know to be aware of were the evil Penumbrae and the dark leader, Jaiger. They also learn about the MOLE, the Mystery of Life Epic. Lethana is a land you’ll want to explore and get to know, along with all of its characters. It’s escapism at its best. Cammi is a combination of vulnerable and strong. She has sustained some hard times in life, but learns to overcome them. Furthermore, for the longest time, she wants to return home, but in time, Lethana grows on her. King Brinn and Prince Makani are allegories of God and His Son.

Stacy Duplease

Blog Vol. 3 SLSBS

A Beginning

Cammi's Story:

I have one book that I'm presenting at a writer's conference in mid-May at the Colorado Christian Writer's Conference (CCWC). It's called Cammi's Story and it's book one of the Lethana Series. It will be a series of 12 books (at least). Whether I get them published with a reputable publisher, self-publish, or start to tell you the story on this blog, they will be written. It's a series I feel passionate about and have fallen in love with and cannot wait to share it with you.

In the next couple of days, I'll share a one-page book proposal with you. For now, here's what you need to know about it:

Cammi and Ramey find themselves in a strange fantastical world called Lethana while they're asked to recover the Lost Volumes.

Did I hook you yet?

Don't worry. I will work on that aspect. Let me know.

Tanpres:

I also have a series about a dragon, which I will share with you. I need to get back into it after working on other projects.

Zeagar:

This is a new series I'm working on at the moment and just came up with the idea two days ago. Here's the tease:

Five teens are asked by the U.S. government to explore other planets within the Zeagar Galaxy and to write up reports/blogs about their experiences.

James Patterson's Maximum Ride Series:

Two nights ago, I started to read book one of this series, "The Angel Experiment." Have any of you read it? What do you think? I've barely started it, but seem to have fallen for it already.

It's a speculative fiction book about five human teenagers who have 2% avian DNA in their gene makeup.

A Christian Loves Harry Potter and Twilight:

I'm diving into tricky waters with this first blog. However, I figure it's better to face something head-on than to ignore it or tippy-toe around the issue. (You'll learn this about me.) Let's get this discussion out of the way.

I am a major fan of both series.

There's something you need to know. I was a witch at one time. A Wiccan. I know what magick is and I know what it's not. I also know what can destroy my faith and what cannot. I know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, light and dark. I know what the Bible says and what it does not. I also know what threatens my faith and what does not; what causes me to stumble and what does not. My God is bigger.

Neither book teaches someone how to get into the dark side. Neither teach you how to conduct spells or magic. I can read a story and know that it's FICTION. Not real. Imaginary. Look at "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Chronicles of Narnia." Hence, for me, I read them. For others, I understand if you do not. However, as a write, I think there's a great deal I can learn from both writers with both series.

I'm not saying children should read either series without constant parental supervision and discussion. But, for me, an adult, I think it's acceptable for me to read because I guard my heart and mind and will refer to these series from time to time. I will put their titles in the part of the blog so you can avoid it if you so choose.

Please don't turn away from this blog because I read these and like them. We can agree to disagree on this subject.

For those who like these books, let me know. I LOVE to talk about them.

Fellow Writers:

Sign up as a follower and send me an email and I'll add your blog link to my blog. That way, we can all get more traffic on our blogs. We're in this together.

Share:

What are your favorite fantasy or sci-fi series or books and why? Let me know. I'll share the list on this blog.

Good Day,

Stacy Duplease

Please check out my other blog at: www.storiesbystacy.blogspot.com

Blog Vol. 2 SLSBS

The Future Blog

This is an upcoming site of my fantasy and sci-fi books. Please go to www.storiesbystacy.blogspot.com/ and follow that one while you wait for this one.

Thank you and have a great day.

Stacy D.