Monday, December 31, 2012

2013 News


We begin 2013 with our latest theme 'Who Are they'. All are science fiction stories of far off worlds where the main characters don't know who they are or where they came from. In setting out to discover themselves they have to avoid enemies and find the reason for what happened to them. .

A large domed building appeared on their right and Talbot turned the sports car into a half empty car park. After leaving the car, Anu led him along to a small side door. She frisked a swipe card and the door slid open. 
"I'm allowed to come here because of my studies," she said,
 She ignored two guards and led Talbot into an elevator. They ascended for an amazingly long time before the elevator stopped and the door slid open. Inside was a modern room. Row upon row of books stretched out in front of them. Talbot frowned. The place was crowded with people, mostly students by the look of them, who sat in tables or wandered up and down the aisles.
"It's crowded," he said. "I'll look for a spare table."
Anu swung around, her forehead lined with a frown. "What did you say Talbot?"
"I didn't expect it to be crowded, that's all."
Anu continued to frown. "But it's not, Talbot. It's never crowded. That's why I enjoy coming here."
Talbot blinked as Anu walked right through the middle of a circle of laughing students.
"Oh excuse me!" one girl muttered sarcastically as she stepped back to stop avoid being bumped.
Talbot walked around the group and caught up to his friend.
Anu gazed at him. "Were you just joking about the crowd?" she asked.
"No. There are people everywhere. That girl didn't appreciate it when you just about knocked her over."
 The group of students behind them roared with laughter when the girl muttered something insulting about Blues and nodded at Anu.
"Oh hush up," Talbot called out. "We're sorry we almost knocked you over but the racial slur isn't appreciated."
"Talbot," Anu gasped. "What's wrong with you?"
"Sorry.  That girl is a bitch."
Anu stopped. She was slightly taller than he was and gaped down at him, her blue eyes intense. "There's no girl there, Talbot. The only three other people in the room are the librarian behind her desk and two security guards." 
"Rubbish. The place is packed."
Anu seized his arm and guided him to an empty table. Funny, he thought two guys were there seconds before. They sat down opposite each other and she gripped both his hands,
"What exactly do you see, Talbot?" she whispered.
"A noisy room filled with students, a stern faced librarian, half a dozen men in business suits and the security guards you mentioned."
"Oh moon..."
"Why, what do you see?"
"The room is deadly quiet, Talbot. The librarian is reading and the security guards look bored. There's nobody else here."
"I'm hallucinating again, aren't I?"
"I think it's more than that, Talbot. I think we both are."
"So we both see different things?"
Anu nodded.
"What about this room?"
"Ignore the people and describe it."
Talbot did and Anu nodded. "Yes, that's what I see so except for the people we appear to see the same room. What other sensations do you have?"
"What do you mean?"
"You mentioned noise. What other things can you smell or sense?"
"The air is stuffy from all the people."
"To me it's fresh and smells of cleaning materials."
"You smell nice, Anu."
 Anu smiled. "My new perfume. That's real enough."
"I like your new shorts and jersey."
"Talbot I'm wearing a top and skirt. You're the one in shorts."
"Oh moon," Talbot gasped again. "I've got jeans on, Anu."
"I'm right. Both of us are seeing different things."
"But other things are real, this library for example."
"Probably."
Anu's hands trembled slightly. "Want to try an experiment. Talbot?" she asked.
"Like what?"
"You still have that Band-Aid I placed over that round lump on your neck. Take it off and try to pull your lump out slightly."
Anu reached forward and pulled the Band-Aid off. The wound beneath had stopped bleeding but still felt sore. Talbot moved his left hand up and managed to grip the solid lump between his thump and first finger.
"Let me." the girl whispered.
Talbot let go and felt her cold fingers against his skin. Anu's fingers pinched slightly but there was no other pain.
"Keep going."
The girl squeezed and pulled.
"That's great... Oh shit!"
 A distinct clink vibrated through his head. He shut his eyes in an automatic reaction but immediately opened them again.A sink of musty air engulfed him, the lights went out and one bare bulb swung down from an ancient ceiling. It felt ten degrees colder than a second before.
"Are you okay, Talbot?"
Talbot saw Anu's worried face. She looked beautiful but different. The blue jersey and shorts were gone, too. She was dressed in a clean white but well-worn blouse and a faded blue skirt worn by women three decades earlier.
"I'm okay but I see everything different again. Even you are different."
"Tell me."
Talbot gazed around. In a low voice he described everything. They were in the same room but it looked ancient. Rows upon rows of books were covered in dust. In the shadows above the one light bulb spider webs hung everywhere. The place smelt damp and he could hear the drip, drip, drip of water.
"Are there any people around?"
"None."
"And me?"
"I can see your blouse and skirt but they look old fashioned, like those of my mother's generation and…"
"My clothes are brand new, Talbot," Anu gasped. 
"Oh moon," Talbot gasped.
"What?"
He ran a hand over his face. "I've got a beard yet I shaved this morning and my clothes are all tatty and need to be cleaned." 
"Hang on, Talbot." Anu reached out and touched his neck.
He heard a click, found his eyes shut and opened them again to find everything back as it was.
"You okay?"
"Yes. Back to normal."
"I pushed that lump back. It seems to click inside a tiny holder."
"This is scary, Anu."
 "I think you saw the real world, Talbot. The one we see now is the fake one. That's why you and I see different things."
"You were there, Anu. So was this room but it seemed to be hundreds of years old."
"We're real, the room is here but everything else is an delusion. Perhaps our whole lives are an illusion. Your life and mine could be entirely different."
"But we're real and together."
"Perhaps our subconscious can only be altered so far. At some point our real selves vetoes the suggestions implanted on our mind."
So what do we do?'" Talbot asked.
"Take me into the real world you've found."
"But how? If I go back, won't I just be talking to an hallucination or at the best, the real you with no memory of us here right now?"
"I don't think it's like that. We talked and you told me about my clothes, your beard and this room in an old decrypted condition."
"But you couldn't see it."
"No but if I pulled my lump out I probably would."
Talbot frowned. "It's too risky. It's firmly embedded and you could bleed to death if we tried to shift it. It took a fair wallop to dislodge mine."
Anu shook her head. "I'll take the risk."
"But I won't. Look Anu, even if everything we've learned is only half right we are possibly the only people alive in this city, country or wherever we are."
"So in that case, the beings in charge would help. If they wanted us brought together to they wouldn't allow me to die."
"Unless they can't physically touch us. If you were bleeding, not even a doctor in our hallucinations would be able to help."
"So you will need to be very careful, Talbot," Anu whispered. "I want you to cut the thing out."





Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Merry Christmas

Xmasfrom Ross Wherever you are in the world, whether it is winter or summer,we wish you a happy holiday and a break from your daily routine. This is just the time to grab your Kindle, iPad, Nook or other ebook reader, relax and enjoy reading. Thank you if you already downloaded one of our books. Our sales are going well thanks to you, the reader.








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Monday, December 3, 2012

TRY ONE-

School fire


We have 41 novels with half, real to life and the rest science fiction or fantasy. They are all ebooks on sale at all top outlets including iBookstore,Amazon, Kobo and Sony. Most are $2.99 or local equivalent . The above scene is from our 41st novel, Wisps of Cloud that is still being written.








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Saturday, December 1, 2012

Book 1 December Theme-Catalyst

Book 1 December Theme-Catalyst


As Courtney is rescued from the cave, her thoughts turn to the future. Would she just return to her old life or would the friendship with Renee be continued? In some ways their time together in the cave gave her the security she had strived for but had never found.








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Friday, November 23, 2012

Our Fiction

Visit our new web page where we are filing our themes. http://rossrichdale.weebly.com








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Monday, November 19, 2012

Exotic


Visit our new web Weebly page. We will be adding all our themes and highlights as a permanent record. Check it out.









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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Coming: Highlights for December

Keep an eye out for for of our vintage real to life novels that will be highlighted in December.








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Thursday, November 8, 2012

Remember that our November theme is Fantasy highlighting four of...





Remember that our November theme is Fantasy highlighting four of our fantasy novels.




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Monday, November 5, 2012

Ross's News

In an effort to expand our coverage, we are testing syncing our blog sites. It can get complicated.



A scene from Long Valley Road





Friday, November 2, 2012

Ross's News

You can download a free novel that is Part 1 of our Saga, Azure Sea Gold.


It is April 1945 when U-boat U-2072 heads out of Hamburg for the last time. In its hold, the torpedoes have been replaced by gold and Nazi loot. The destination is Argentina. On board, ruthless Kapitanleutnant Falk Friedrich has brought his fiancée, Kristin Dassmer.

The U-boat is attacked by American torpedo bombers off the Bahamas and sunk. Kristin finds herself in a lifeboat with three others including Bern Munkelt, the man she is to spend the rest of her life with. They are rescued by Danardo Rolle and taken to Little Toe Cay, a remote island where Kristin’s adventures begin.


Download from eBookmall




Xentrix the Dragon


So you finally got here. It's about time. Here we are, spending hours trying to get everything set up and you finally decide you'll grace us with your presence. Well, now you're here, you're better stay and find out about us. My name is Xentrix and I'm a dragon. Don't ask me why I'm usually just a tiny dot in the sky. Now, wouldn't you rather see a full sized dragon than a bunch of skinny humans with nothing better to do than swing their arms around?

You wouldn't? Now listen here you snivelling little human these Emerald Eyes stories are not for a namby-pamby snotty nosed pale excuse of a human...

What's that you say?

You aren't...

Well, okay I believe you but if you're one of those weak knee damsels in distress expecting some prince to gather you up on his white horse, this is the wrong place for you. Our gals are tough, I tell yah. They have to be if they want to ride on my back or fight off the horrible creepy creatures we've got between our pages.

The Emerald Eyes Wizards are gals, but if you think they're big softies, you got that wrong too. Can't you get anything right?

There's a war on in our first story, pretty nasty one, I'd say. Of course, I haven't arrived to help them yet so things look pretty bad, the castle is surrounded,  the archwizard is at his wits end and it's winter. I told you it was tough, but oh no you don't believe me. You humans can be so ignorant. The next thing you'll believe is that trees are dumb things that just grow and birds don't know how to talk.

You want to find our more?

Why didn't you say instead of just letting me ramble on?  Lucky for you, Pal is that our November theme is about fantasy

Fantasy! What a laugh. We're real Buddy so watch out for us. Look at the photo above to prove it. That's Cindy riding on my back. No! No! It's Sylvia.  Well it's hard to tell humans apart, you know!
Yours in haste
Xentrix

(P.S. If you think I'm annoying, wait until you meet my big sister, Charmaine She's ... Opps, she's coming; I'd better go. I wasn't even meant to write this blurb.)

Ross's News

Our November theme includes the Emerald Eyes Trilogy. These three novels have been re-edited and have new covers. We hope you enjoy the excerpts and the books themselves. See our Home Page





Thursday, November 1, 2012

Ross's News

We have now upgraded our three Emerald Eyes Fantasy novels on Smashwords. From there they will go onto iBookstore. Diesel , B&N and other places. All are at $US2.99 or local equivalent. prices.


Emerald Eyes Destiny at Smashwords


Emerald Eyes Mist at Smashwords


Emerald Eyes Pyramid at Smashwords




Monday, September 3, 2012

Escaping the Odds- September Theme

Affinity And Trust
Ross Richdale
Zuzana Milenkova, rescued from her fate as a sex slave of a rebel militia group in war-torn Bosnia, finds herself alone in a strange new country. She has emigrated to New Zealand and has Anglicised her name to  Susan but is that sufficent? There are many obstacles to overcome, a new language to learn, different customs, and a new career, but she also has to come to terms with the horror of the past before she can move on and create a new future.

She befriends Frazer Winton who breaks through her reserve and fear of men. Their friendliness becomes more intense as she begins to trust humanity again. Her composure is, however, ruptured when, on a back country walking trip she has to walk through a disused railway tunnel.

When the darkness inside envelops her, terrible memories of another tunnel back in her homeland seize her in a panic attack.

What are these terrible memories and will they haunt her new life in a new land? And can Frazer help or is the hurdle too deep and soul destroying for her to conquer?



Saturday, August 4, 2012

Our August Theme

Welcome to our first theme with four novels where one of the main characters is a school principal  from a small country school in Long Valley Road, a private girls' school in Blemished Jewel, a London school in Strectched Hoeizons to several schools in Wind Across the Playground..
www.rossrichdale.com

Friday, July 6, 2012

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

When the Longships Came


They reached the line of breakers less than a half league before the following longships. Bjorne stood at the bow shouting commands while Kendra ignored the spray splashing across her body as she concentrated on the cliffs ahead. It was high tide and the breakers were crashing right beneath them. This was on the northern side of the peninsular for the Northumbrian knights and soldiers were still their maintaining the siege on the monastery from the southern beach. A few moments earlier the army had assembled on the shore waiting for battle.  Hav Slange’s sail was still bellowing in the wind, they were riding on the unbroken swirls but within seconds would be caught in the breaking waves and crashed against the cliffs.

Stein was the only person on an oar, an outside one that he used to help steer while Kendra and the other women except Cora held sail ropes in their hands. Though wanting to help, Cora was ordered to lie on the deck beneath the spare sail. She didn't though. Instead she sat near the cliff side of the vessel and helped guide them in. They were too close! The gigantic wave right behind was curling over the ship. In seconds it would break.

Kendra and the others pulled their ropes in a hand over hand movement to lift the bottom of the sail. It didn't look very professional but it folded up, lost the wind and collapsed in on itself. The vessel dropped with a tremendous crash into the wave ready to break.
But Steinn knew his job for his oar turned the whole ship. They were now in the precarious position of being sideways to the wave. If it broke now, they'd be swamped or flipped over and smashed to pieces against the cliff. They continued to turn when the wave finally broke. A mountain of water surged over the deck and swept everything not tied down or holding on into the thumping surf.

The cliff was beside them! Kendra could see the slip they had created when the sheep track was collapsed. The new tunnel Rodmaf had used when he had kidnapped her should be beside them. Kendra wiped water from her eyes.  It was! Also two men were there holding out long poles, My God it was Wuffa and Alric! She screamed and waved, reached for one of the poles and found a hook to grab. She held on but it was slippery. Her hands couldn't maintain a grip.

Now at Bookiejar


Saturday, April 21, 2012

After four hours, the exhausted refugee came to one more bend and another patch of nothingness. Thoughts turned to her family, husband, father, mother, elder brother and almost everyone else she knew. They were all dead. Her only other friends were those at the army camp. If for no other reason, she owed it to them and the unborn child within her to survive and to tell NATO of the atrocities that had befallen her people. God, she was hungry. Her stomach rumbled while the unborn baby kicked. She staggered as the scene in front became blurred and the trees above began to spin. No, she was not about to give in. Somewhere ahead was her own kind, someone to help.

Niana gritted her teeth and rose once more to her feet. Another bend was ahead, more snow, more trees, the weak sunlight and another bend. She stumbled forward and blinked. There was something else. A farm wagon covered in snow was parked on the roadside as if it had pulled over, perhaps to let an oncoming vehicle pass. Linked to the front of it, looking so bright in the white world, stood a tractor; a red tractor. Hope surged through her. The depression and fatigue of a second before disappeared as she broke into a slithery run.

“Hello,” she screamed. “Is anyone there? Hello.” 

But all was quiet. Not a sound returned. She reached the wagon and grabbed a canvas cover tied to the wooden side. Shaking with anticipation, she lifted the corner of the flap and gazed into the dim interior. Four enormous brown eyes ringed in terror gazed up at her and children's sobbing filled the air. 


Friday, April 6, 2012

Terra Incognita- Science Fiction

In this sequel to The Truth About Terra, Zorell, Evan and Anneke are pulled through to an unknown world in their hovercraft. They arrive in an ocean where they rescue two humans, Questa and Landon from a kayak and learn about this divided world where humans are discriminated against by the local Waxon, humanoids with web hands and signs of gills in their bodies.
Questa recognizes Zorell but how can this be so in a far world in an unknown universe?
Enter a world where the line between computers and humanity is blurred, electronic butterflies compete with intelligent bees and the way home to Terra seems to be all but impossible.
*

Smashwords

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Our Two Genre

Yes, I am still writing but have tended to neglect this blog.

I am therefore, starting with a summary of what I've been writing. My two main genre that I write about are contemporary and historical drama that are in contrast to my science fiction and fantasy.  The drawings I constructed above represent these two genre.

I have 39 ebooks online through most of the main outlets. This includes Apple iBookshop, Kindle,  Kobo, B&N, Sony, Smashwords, Books on Board, Bookiejar, and Flipreads. Most of my ebooks cost $US2.99 or local equivalent for a full-sized novel averaging 70,000 words.

For more information visit my homepage at www.rossrichdale.com where, foolishly or otherwise I  have been spending my effort to publicise my ebooks.