If You Wish To Re-read Some Stories
Provoking Odium releases on Tuesday (If you’ve pre-ordered it, you should receive it Monday night.)! Woot!
Provoking Odium is crafted to be read on its own. You don’t need to read any of the other cyborg romances I’ve written to enjoy this story.
But I know some buddies (tackle hugs) like to re-read stories.
The story you would benefit most from re-reading is Seizing Power. That is when Odium first hears his female’s voice. That scene will be repeated in Provoking Odium but from Odium’s perspective, which I always find interesting. (He is NOT a fan of Power – grins)
Another story you might wish to re-read is Under Strain. We first meet Odium in that story and it will explain why he loathes Power so very much. He has a good reason for feeling that way about the cyborg council leader.
I’m really looking forward to sharing Provoking Odium with you on Tuesday!
***
Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Provoking Odium
A Beautiful Cyborg
While accompanying his leader on a mission, Odium, an E Model cyborg, hears a distress call over the communication lines. The voice on that message makes his circuits surge with energy and all his systems light up. He has to respond to the mysterious female, would risk his lifespan and the lifespans of everyone on board their ship to protect her.
A Human Female Others Call Beast
Briella gained her nickname due to her flying abilities, her fearlessness, and her scarred countenance. Her verbal-only relationship with the sexy cyborg who answers her distress call is a steamy yet short-lived fantasy. His kind is physically perfect, and she is…not. He will uncover that truth when…if they survive the attack upon her freighter.
Provoking Odium is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a human female intent on remaining mysterious, a cyborg warrior determined to uncover her identity, and an enemy seeking to destroy them both before they have the opportunity to meet.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/provoking-odium/id1605490349
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/provoking-odium-cynthia-sax/1140894003
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/provoking-odium
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1127119
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on If You Wish To Re-read Some Stories
Provoking Odium And What We Notice First
When Briella, the human heroine of Provoking Odium, meets someone for the first time, the first thing she notices about them is their eyes. That’s where her gaze is drawn.
And that little detail tells us so much about her.
She’s extremely self-conscious about her own eyes. Having been judged in the past for her eyes, she places quite a bit of importance on them.
I usually notice and describe hair first. I was the sole brunette in a family of redheads and my hair was always remarked on…for being unremarkable. (grins) I also like to touch…everything. And hair always looks soft.
What do you notice first?
***
Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Provoking Odium
A Beautiful Cyborg
While accompanying his leader on a mission, Odium, an E Model cyborg, hears a distress call over the communication lines. The voice on that message makes his circuits surge with energy and all his systems light up. He has to respond to the mysterious female, would risk his lifespan and the lifespans of everyone on board their ship to protect her.
A Human Female Others Call Beast
Briella gained her nickname due to her flying abilities, her fearlessness, and her scarred countenance. Her verbal-only relationship with the sexy cyborg who answers her distress call is a steamy yet short-lived fantasy. His kind is physically perfect, and she is…not. He will uncover that truth when…if they survive the attack upon her freighter.
Provoking Odium is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a human female intent on remaining mysterious, a cyborg warrior determined to uncover her identity, and an enemy seeking to destroy them both before they have the opportunity to meet.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/provoking-odium/id1605490349
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/provoking-odium-cynthia-sax/1140894003
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/provoking-odium
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1127119
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Provoking Odium And What We Notice First
Provoking Odium – Fourth Scene Of The First Chapter
Provoking Odium, the first story in the Cyborg Unity series, is releasing next week! Woot!
Today, I’m sharing the fourth and final scene from the very first chapter.
You can read the first scene here:
***
Metal shrieked as the freighter’s wings scraped the stone. They burst free of the funnel. The ship spun. She fought, fought, fought to level their flight. It took all the strength in her body.
But she did it. Their trajectory straightened. The strain on her arms eased.
They had escaped the dormant volcano, the planet and, temporarily, the Humanoid Alliance.
“Take that, asshats.” Briella slapped the console. Her success made her giddy.
It didn’t make her stupid. Or careless.
The Humanoid Alliance might send out ships to pursue them. That had happened in the past.
She continued to monitor their surroundings and didn’t slow her freighter’s speed, while she celebrated. “I pulled off the impossible. That warrants some tunes.”
She pressed the button and music filled the bridge.
“There’s nothing left of mine.” She sang with everything she had. Her heart pounded in her chest. She was high on danger, grateful to be alive. “Ohhhhhhh…”
“Are you hurt?”
“Fuck.” Briella hastily donned her goggles and muted her music yet again. “What the fuck did I tell you? The bridge is off-limits.”
“I thought you were in pain.” Mohini lowered herself gracefully into the chair next to hers. “I heard moaning.” Her fingers fluttered against her chest. “It was such a horrible sound.”
“That wasn’t moaning, you unappreciative music hater.” Briella shook her head. “I was singing.”
The female’s eyes widened. “It was—”
“It was horrible. I heard you.” Briella loved singing, didn’t want to hear any criticism of her vocal abilities. “Go back to your chambers. There are nourishment bars, containers of beverage, a medic pack if you need it—everything you should require.”
Silence stretched.
Her unwanted guest didn’t leave.
Briella tapped her fingertips against the console. She was tempted to blast the music again and frighten the Praecipuan away with her horrible singing.
“Look at me.” Mohini dared to issue a command on Briella’s own blasted bridge.
“I’m flying the fuckin’ ship.” But she obliged her because the humanoid had been through battle trauma and other shit, and, despite that name everyone called her, she wasn’t a complete beast.
It also didn’t take much effort to fly the freighter in a straight line, even at the speeds they were traveling. She looked at the female.
The Praecipuan attempted to meet her gaze through the goggles. “We require transport to Keid 9.” Her voice lowered. “You will take us there.”
“Like Hyadum I will.” Briella couldn’t believe the gall of the female. “The deal is, I take you to the first friendly planet—and that’s not it. Keid 9 is halfway across the universe, and it’s a Humanoid Alliance-controlled planet.”
Mohini’s forehead furrowed. “Look directly at me.” She grabbed Briella’s face and forced her to comply with her order.
The female was stronger than she appeared.
“You will take us to Keid 9.”
“Fuck you.” Briella slapped her hands, breaking the female’s grasp on her. “I will jettison you into open space before I do that.”
Mohini stared at her. “My abilities don’t work on you.” She tilted to her head the side. “How is that possible? They work on everyone.”
The fucker must’ve tried some Praecipuan mind tricks on her. “Figure that out somewhere else.” She returned her gaze to the main viewscreen. “You’re in my private space.”
“There’s no one else on the bridge.” Mohini leaned back in her seat.
Briella gritted her teeth.
The female had no intention of leaving.
“You must get lonely in here.”
She was also determined to chatter.
“I don’t get lonely anywhere.” That was a lie. Briella did get lonely, but that was preferable to the pain of rejection. “There are beings you can talk with in the back chambers.”
“They’ll ask me about our next actions, and I don’t know what those actions are. Yet.”
The way Mohini looked at her made Briella uneasy.
“If we had credits, would you take us to Keid 9?”
Briella lifted her eyebrows. “Do you have credits?”
“No.” The female’s lips quirked upward. “But I might be able to get some.”
“I require the credits in advance.” Briella’s tone was dry. She wasn’t born last planet rotation.
“You would require that.” Mohini laughed. “I like you, Beast. We’re going to be good friends, you and I.”
“Fuck no, we’re not going to be friends.” Briella hadn’t been friends with anyone since she’d been ejected from her home planet.
Being friends with someone required sharing confidences, telling the other being about one’s past, spending time together. Eventually she’d have to take off her goggles.
She wasn’t willing to open herself to that kind of rejection, of pain.
“Yes, we will be friends.” The Praecipuan propped her surprisingly sturdy-looking boots up on the console.
“Get your fuckin’ feet off the control panels,” Briella barked at her.
The female didn’t move her boots. “What are those two red dots on the screen?”
Red dots? Briella looked at the main viewscreen. “Oh shit.” Those two red dots were shaped like Humanoid Alliance warships.
“What is it?” Mohini finally lowered her booted feet.
“Could be something,” Briella muttered. “Could be nothing.”
The warships were situated far away from them, on the edge of their monitoring range. They might be en route to another destination, might not be tracking them.
Seeking to test that theory, she deviated from their course, steered the freighter toward a nearby moon.
The two warships immediately changed direction.
“Fuck.” She corrected the freighter’s course. “It’s something.”
The warships’ appearance on their monitoring systems was no coincidence. They were following her freighter, following them.
That frightened the shit out of her.
She wasn’t scared for herself. The missions she accepted were dangerous. She knew she’d eventually die during one of them.
But she didn’t want to die with innocent souls on board her freighter. She didn’t want to fail yet another group of beings.
“We’re being followed, aren’t we?” Mohini leaned forward. “What should we do?”
“You don’t need to do shit.” Briella was the captain. She was responsible for keeping her passengers alive. That was her primary role.
She quickly ran through her options.
Warships were much faster than freighters. If she stayed on their set path and all three vessels flew at their top speeds, their pursuers would catch up to them.
When the Humanoid Alliance warships reached them, they were fucked. The weapons on the freighter weren’t designed for battle. She didn’t have the firepower to down anything substantial.
They would be blown out of space, because their shields were equally shitty. Their defenses couldn’t withstand a bombardment of missiles.
There was only one way out of their increasingly dire situation—they had to deviate from their set path. She’d travelled amongst the stars since she had eleven solar cycles, knew the sectors like she knew the hum of her freighter’s engines.
Briella lifted her chin. She would utilize all that knowledge now to save them. “I’m going to shake these fuckers off our ass, lose them in the depths of space.”
No one else would die on her watch.
***
Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Provoking Odium
A Beautiful Cyborg
While accompanying his leader on a mission, Odium, an E Model cyborg, hears a distress call over the communication lines. The voice on that message makes his circuits surge with energy and all his systems light up. He has to respond to the mysterious female, would risk his lifespan and the lifespans of everyone on board their ship to protect her.
A Human Female Others Call Beast
Briella gained her nickname due to her flying abilities, her fearlessness, and her scarred countenance. Her verbal-only relationship with the sexy cyborg who answers her distress call is a steamy yet short-lived fantasy. His kind is physically perfect, and she is…not. He will uncover that truth when…if they survive the attack upon her freighter.
Provoking Odium is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a human female intent on remaining mysterious, a cyborg warrior determined to uncover her identity, and an enemy seeking to destroy them both before they have the opportunity to meet.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/provoking-odium/id1605490349
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/provoking-odium-cynthia-sax/1140894003
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/provoking-odium
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1127119
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Provoking Odium – Fourth Scene Of The First Chapter
Provoking Odium And Cool Under Pressure
Most of the heroes and heroines I write about act cool under pressure. They can think semi-logically. They take action. They respond well to dangerous situations.
That’s not the average human experience.
Most people do NOT respond well to peril. We freeze. We run. We get emotional. We make bad decisions or no decisions at all.
And every situation is different. As are our responses.
I’m cool under most situations. Now.
(When I was younger, I didn’t know what to do and would freeze.)
Unless fire is involved. If fire is a part of the emergency, I freak the heck out.
If you’ve responded sub optimally during past emergencies, that’s normal. Be kind to yourself. That has happened to everyone, even the people we now view as heroes.
***
Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Provoking Odium
A Beautiful Cyborg
While accompanying his leader on a mission, Odium, an E Model cyborg, hears a distress call over the communication lines. The voice on that message makes his circuits surge with energy and all his systems light up. He has to respond to the mysterious female, would risk his lifespan and the lifespans of everyone on board their ship to protect her.
A Human Female Others Call Beast
Briella gained her nickname due to her flying abilities, her fearlessness, and her scarred countenance. Her verbal-only relationship with the sexy cyborg who answers her distress call is a steamy yet short-lived fantasy. His kind is physically perfect, and she is…not. He will uncover that truth when…if they survive the attack upon her freighter.
Provoking Odium is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a human female intent on remaining mysterious, a cyborg warrior determined to uncover her identity, and an enemy seeking to destroy them both before they have the opportunity to meet.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/provoking-odium/id1605490349
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/provoking-odium-cynthia-sax/1140894003
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/provoking-odium
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1127119
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Provoking Odium And Cool Under Pressure
Provoking Odium And Talking To Ourselves
Briella, the heroine of Provoking Odium, talks to herself.
She spends much of her time alone. No one is around to hear her. And it is nice to hear a voice, even if it is her own, once in a while. The silence can been challenging to endure.
When the Dear Wonderful Hubby is away, I sometimes talk to myself also.
I come from a large family, am accustomed to chatter, am now married to a very talkative man. A little quiet is nice, can be a treat. Too much of it can be unnerving.
I also give myself pep talks when I have to do something difficult. I find it pumps me up and makes the tasks easier.
Do you talk to yourself?
***
Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Provoking Odium
A Beautiful Cyborg
While accompanying his leader on a mission, Odium, an E Model cyborg, hears a distress call over the communication lines. The voice on that message makes his circuits surge with energy and all his systems light up. He has to respond to the mysterious female, would risk his lifespan and the lifespans of everyone on board their ship to protect her.
A Human Female Others Call Beast
Briella gained her nickname due to her flying abilities, her fearlessness, and her scarred countenance. Her verbal-only relationship with the sexy cyborg who answers her distress call is a steamy yet short-lived fantasy. His kind is physically perfect, and she is…not. He will uncover that truth when…if they survive the attack upon her freighter.
Provoking Odium is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a human female intent on remaining mysterious, a cyborg warrior determined to uncover her identity, and an enemy seeking to destroy them both before they have the opportunity to meet.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/provoking-odium/id1605490349
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/provoking-odium-cynthia-sax/1140894003
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/provoking-odium
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1127119
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Provoking Odium And Talking To Ourselves
Provoking Odium And Briella’s Name
The heroine of Provoking Odium is named Briella but she often introduces herself as Beast, a nickname she dislikes, because she doesn’t think she looks like a Briella.
Briella is a pretty name. I think of it one a princess might have. And, when I hear it, I picture a beautiful female with long flowing hair and a big sparkly dress.
That’s not our heroine. Our heroine dresses in flight suits and clunky military boots. She carries weapons. And she doesn’t view herself as pretty.
Odium, the hero, however, DOES see Briella’s beauty.
***
Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Provoking Odium
A Beautiful Cyborg
While accompanying his leader on a mission, Odium, an E Model cyborg, hears a distress call over the communication lines. The voice on that message makes his circuits surge with energy and all his systems light up. He has to respond to the mysterious female, would risk his lifespan and the lifespans of everyone on board their ship to protect her.
A Human Female Others Call Beast
Briella gained her nickname due to her flying abilities, her fearlessness, and her scarred countenance. Her verbal-only relationship with the sexy cyborg who answers her distress call is a steamy yet short-lived fantasy. His kind is physically perfect, and she is…not. He will uncover that truth when…if they survive the attack upon her freighter.
Provoking Odium is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a human female intent on remaining mysterious, a cyborg warrior determined to uncover her identity, and an enemy seeking to destroy them both before they have the opportunity to meet.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/provoking-odium/id1605490349
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/provoking-odium-cynthia-sax/1140894003
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/provoking-odium
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1127119
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Provoking Odium And Briella’s Name
Provoking Odium – Third Scene Of The First Chapter
The countdown to the release day for Provoking Odium continues!
I’m sharing the third scene from the first chapter this week.
You can read the first scene here:
***
The humanoid floated away. Her tread was soundless. Her gait was level.
“If she could truly hover above the ground, she would’ve gotten her tiny ass out of here.” Briella muttered that reminder under her breath. The female’s beauty unsettled her. “She needs you. She isn’t going to reject you.”
An unnatural rumbling rolled through the warm air.
Trepidation filled her. The Humanoid Alliance troops weren’t waiting for them to starve to death. They were mounting an attack.
“Decide quickly.” Briella yelled that advice at the female’s back.
The Praecipuans looked at her. One male, as tall and slender as the first female, grimaced. A female visibly paled.
Briella touched her goggles. They were in place.
All they’d seen were the scars on her cheeks, her forehead, and her chin. And those had horrified them. She pressed her lips together. Her eyes would cause them to flee.
“What is your name?” The first female stood in the middle of the group. She must be their leader.
Briella hesitated. If she relayed her name, they wouldn’t believe it. It was too beautiful for someone who looked like her. “Folks call me Beast.”
The female blinked once, twice. “I’m Mohini.” She smiled and turned her attention back to the others. Her hands skimmed through the air as she chattered. Her words were too softly spoken for the newcomer to hear.
Briella surveyed the group of beings. They all seemed capable of moving unassisted. Their wounds appeared minor.
Her ship was in rougher shape than they were. She clomped around the vessel, inspecting it.
New scrapes decorated the wings. There was a burn mark on the undercarriage. That was minor damage.
The freighter should hold together on the ascent.
She hoped it would. If—
“We’re going with you.” The female—Mohini—ushered her kind toward the ramp.
“Great.” She would try not to kill them all. “Turn left after you enter. You can use any of the chambers in the back. The bridge, to the right, is off-limits.” That was her space. “Strap yourselves in. This will be a rough trip.”
Mohini translated her words to the others. “We understand.”
Some of the Praecipuans didn’t look at her as they passed. A couple braver souls peered down at her, trying to gaze past her goggles. They wouldn’t see enough to scare them.
Briella waited, quashing the urge to tell them to hurry. They didn’t have all fuckin’ planet rotation.
Once the beings were finally loaded, she retracted the ramp, closed the doors, and returned to the bridge. She plunked her generous ass into the captain’s chair and took off her goggles.
Their escape would require the usage of both her eyes.
She placed her hands on the control panel. The engines continued to hum.
“We’re ready to go.” Briella guided the freighter upward, then circled the funnel, accelerating faster and faster.
The opening at the top was too narrow for a horizontal takeoff, and the speed would be needed. The rock walls were high. The freighter would require all the power it could get to climb it.
“A little faster. A little faster.” She forced herself to be patient. It wasn’t a trait she was known for. She preferred to rush into dangerous situations.
Because if she waited, if she thought about it, her survival instincts would kick in, and she would leave beings to die. That couldn’t happen.
And it wouldn’t happen now. Finally, she reached the desired speed.
She swooped the freighter downward, grazed the sand, and shot her ship straight upward. The force of the ascent pushed her form back into her chair. Screams originated from the rear of the vessel.
They should be scared. Briella was an experienced pilot, and she had fuckin’ concerns.
The opening at the top of the funnel was tiny. She focused on it, used her mechanical eye to center the ship.
“I can’t fail them, can’t fail another being.” Her knuckles whitened against the control panel. Her muscles cramped. The pain ripped at her.
She held firm because she had to do that. The only other choice was failure, death.
***
Read the next scene (available June 13th) here:
***
Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Provoking Odium
A Beautiful Cyborg
While accompanying his leader on a mission, Odium, an E Model cyborg, hears a distress call over the communication lines. The voice on that message makes his circuits surge with energy and all his systems light up. He has to respond to the mysterious female, would risk his lifespan and the lifespans of everyone on board their ship to protect her.
A Human Female Others Call Beast
Briella gained her nickname due to her flying abilities, her fearlessness, and her scarred countenance. Her verbal-only relationship with the sexy cyborg who answers her distress call is a steamy yet short-lived fantasy. His kind is physically perfect, and she is…not. He will uncover that truth when…if they survive the attack upon her freighter.
Provoking Odium is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a human female intent on remaining mysterious, a cyborg warrior determined to uncover her identity, and an enemy seeking to destroy them both before they have the opportunity to meet.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/provoking-odium/id1605490349
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/provoking-odium-cynthia-sax/1140894003
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/provoking-odium
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1127119
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Provoking Odium – Third Scene Of The First Chapter
Erasing Scars And Provoking Odium
Briella, the heroine of Provoking Odium, is extremely scarred.
You might be thinking… this is the future. Surely there have been advances in medicine. Why can’t these scars be erased?
They CAN be erased. And Briella had that procedure done. Once.
But it didn’t change anything for her. The beings around her still rejected her based on her mechanical eye.
And when she was scarred again, she didn’t endure the procedure again.
***
Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Provoking Odium
A Beautiful Cyborg
While accompanying his leader on a mission, Odium, an E Model cyborg, hears a distress call over the communication lines. The voice on that message makes his circuits surge with energy and all his systems light up. He has to respond to the mysterious female, would risk his lifespan and the lifespans of everyone on board their ship to protect her.
A Human Female Others Call Beast
Briella gained her nickname due to her flying abilities, her fearlessness, and her scarred countenance. Her verbal-only relationship with the sexy cyborg who answers her distress call is a steamy yet short-lived fantasy. His kind is physically perfect, and she is…not. He will uncover that truth when…if they survive the attack upon her freighter.
Provoking Odium is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a human female intent on remaining mysterious, a cyborg warrior determined to uncover her identity, and an enemy seeking to destroy them both before they have the opportunity to meet.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/provoking-odium/id1605490349
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/provoking-odium-cynthia-sax/1140894003
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/provoking-odium
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1127119
Topics: Coming Soon, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Erasing Scars And Provoking Odium
Provoking Odium – Second Scene Of The First Chapter
I’m sharing scenes from the first chapter of Provoking Odium as we wait for its release on June 21st.
You can read the first scene from the first chapter of Provoking Odium here:
This week I’m sharing the second scene of that first chapter.
***
The Humanoid Alliance redirected some of their firepower her way. Missiles arced toward her freighter.
Alarms sounded and lights flashed. She waited, waited, waited, then veered left. Wall panels vibrated as the missiles shot past her. That was how close they’d been to the freighter, how near she’d been to death.
“Fuck. This requires music.” She smacked the button, unmuting her tunes.
Vocals blasted. The bass pounded. Adrenaline pumped through her veins.
She swerved her ship to the left, right, right, left, avoiding a barrage of projectiles. Sweat beaded on her forehead, dripped down her spine. Missiles burst into color, into vibrant bits of energy all around her vessel. Metal rattled.
Her route became narrower and narrower. Her ability to avoid the missiles decreased. But the Humanoid Alliance forces below her ship thinned also. There were fewer battle machines to target her freighter.
She pulsed her engines, flying fast, fast, slow, fast, slow, slow, and tilted her ship upward, downward. Projectiles shattered the rock walls around her.
“Come on, baby.” Tension stretched across her shoulders. “You can do this. You can—”
The missile bombardment suddenly stopped. It must’ve been deemed too dangerous for the forces positioned on the ground. The Humanoid Alliance also knew they’d have another chance to down her ship.
She’d have to exit the same way.
That would be a challenge. She’d have to fly like the wind to avoid the strikes. But she could do it. She was the best damn freighter pilot in the fuckin’ universe.
That wasn’t a boast. That was the truth.
The rock walls closed in around her. She lowered her freighter and skimmed along the ground. Pebbles sprayed against the undercarriage. The pings were almost musical.
She carefully aligned the vessel’s nose with the opening in the stone before her. Entry into the dormant volcano would be tight. A purely organic pilot couldn’t make it. The systems on her freighter didn’t have the precision to target that small of a gap.
But she wasn’t one hundred percent organic. Her processor-equipped mechanical eye had been specifically designed for tasks like the one she now faced. She enabled sightlines and data on it, focused on her target, and inputted those specs into the control panel.
Her fingers trembled. If she made a mistake, if she was even a breath’s-width out of alignment, she would crash the freighter into the stone around her or plunge her vessel into the sand below her.
Either collision would kill her.
“You have this.” She uttered that encouragement to herself and to her ship. “You’ll make it.”
Metal scraped against hard surface as her wings grazed the rock.
For a moment, she thought she was dead.
But then her ship was free. Open space was all around her.
“Fuckin’ right.” She circled her freighter once, twice around the funnel. That signaled to the locals on the ground she was an ally. An enemy would’ve shot at them.
She lowered her ship to the planet’s surface, donned her goggles, then stalked to the doors and opened them. Warm air swept inside the ship. A massive boom temporarily deafened her.
The floor gyrated under her boots.
“What the fuck?” She rushed down the not-yet-fully-extended ramp and looked around her.
A group of purple humanoids stared with wide eyes in the direction from which she came.
Dread gripped her. She followed the beings’ gazes. Her stomach twisted.
A huge cloud of brown dust concealed the only opening to and from the site.
“The entrance is now filled with rock.” That frustrating truth was relayed in musical tones. The words were spoken in the universal language. “The Humanoid Alliance blew it up. We’re trapped.”
Briella met the newcomer’s gaze.
The female had matching eyes. Both of them were organic. Her skin and hair were a lighter shade of purple than her eyes. Her form was tall and slender, and she was dressed in flowing garments.
She was stunning. The dirt and grime covering her couldn’t conceal her beauty.
No one would ever mistake her for a demon.
The female was also heavily armed. She clasped guns in both of her hands.
They would need more than those weapons to escape their current situation.
“The river once flowed into the space.” Briella turned, scanning the stone walls encircling them. “The water had to flow out somehow.”
“That exit was sealed by rock long before I was born.” The female waved one of her guns at an indention in the stone on the far side of the funnel. “We’ve searched the perimeter for another escape route.” Sadness reflected in her perfect eyes. “There isn’t one.”
They were surrounded by high rock walls. Digging through them or under them would take too long, especially as they had no equipment manufactured for that purpose.
Briella tilted her head back. The funnel was too high, too steep for the locals or for herself to climb.
Up was the only viable path, however. She studied the space. The dormant volcano was wide at the bottom, extremely narrow at the top. But the diameter of the vent was larger than her freighter. “There’s an exit directly above us.”
“Is that a viable exit?” The female gazed upward also. “You didn’t enter that way.”
“It’s the only exit we have.” Briella shrugged. “But it’ll be risky. We could all die.”
“If we stay here, we’ll all die.” The female had reached the same conclusion Briella had. There was nothing but sand and rock and echoes of ancient deaths inside the dormant volcano. “I’ll talk with the others.”
***
Read the next scene (available June 6th) here:
***
Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Provoking Odium
A Beautiful Cyborg
While accompanying his leader on a mission, Odium, an E Model cyborg, hears a distress call over the communication lines. The voice on that message makes his circuits surge with energy and all his systems light up. He has to respond to the mysterious female, would risk his lifespan and the lifespans of everyone on board their ship to protect her.
A Human Female Others Call Beast
Briella gained her nickname due to her flying abilities, her fearlessness, and her scarred countenance. Her verbal-only relationship with the sexy cyborg who answers her distress call is a steamy yet short-lived fantasy. His kind is physically perfect, and she is…not. He will uncover that truth when…if they survive the attack upon her freighter.
Provoking Odium is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a human female intent on remaining mysterious, a cyborg warrior determined to uncover her identity, and an enemy seeking to destroy them both before they have the opportunity to meet.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/provoking-odium/id1605490349
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/provoking-odium-cynthia-sax/1140894003
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/provoking-odium
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1127119
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Provoking Odium – Second Scene Of The First Chapter
Long Distance Relationships
When Odium and Briella, the hero and heroine of Provoking Odium, first speak, they are in different sectors. All they can do for many planet rotations (days) after that is talk with each other.
During that time, they get to know each other…a bit. (grins) Briella has her secrets and she lies about things like her appearance, creating a fantasy version of herself. But many of the topics they discuss are truthful. They share more about each other than they’ve ever shared with anyone else.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I had primarily a long distance relationship when we first met. We were going to two different schools in two different cities and we didn’t have the cash for many visits.
It was a bit frustrating at the time but, in the long run, I think that was great for our relationship. It slowed down the physical part of it and it forces us to focus on communicating, on talking, on sharing our belief systems and our thoughts and our dreams of the future.
***
Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Provoking Odium
A Beautiful Cyborg
While accompanying his leader on a mission, Odium, an E Model cyborg, hears a distress call over the communication lines. The voice on that message makes his circuits surge with energy and all his systems light up. He has to respond to the mysterious female, would risk his lifespan and the lifespans of everyone on board their ship to protect her.
A Human Female Others Call Beast
Briella gained her nickname due to her flying abilities, her fearlessness, and her scarred countenance. Her verbal-only relationship with the sexy cyborg who answers her distress call is a steamy yet short-lived fantasy. His kind is physically perfect, and she is…not. He will uncover that truth when…if they survive the attack upon her freighter.
Provoking Odium is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a human female intent on remaining mysterious, a cyborg warrior determined to uncover her identity, and an enemy seeking to destroy them both before they have the opportunity to meet.
Pre-order Today:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09NRXGLFW
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/provoking-odium/id1605490349
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/provoking-odium-cynthia-sax/1140894003
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/provoking-odium
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1127119
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Long Distance Relationships
