An unfortunate delay

I'm sorry Ladies and Gentlemen, but the Galactic Council has quarantined this ship for this evening. There will be special snacks available and of course hologames on your view screen. I am sure we will be able to clear up the problem by tomorrow night.

First Stop - Sonij and We're in for a Treat

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please. We are approaching the landing pad on Sonij. Please return your chairs to the upright position and strap on your restraining harnesses. The descent to the Sonij landing pad is always rough and bumpy due to the harsh alcohol atmosphere. Be sure you have on your protective suits and are wearing your breathers. If you do not have on your protective gear you will not be allowed to disembark. The Sonij atmosphere is caustic enough to burn the skin of any species other than native Sonijian.

Yes, Captain? One moment, ladies and gentlemen. Maggie, #$$%&***()^)(*& #$%^&&*****(*^^%$()_)(%^ Ladies and Gentlemen. I have exciting news. We just received a transmission from Morgan Taj Zephyrain. You may know her from the novel being released August 2, 2007 Earthdate entitled Prophecy of Vithan from Cerridwen Press.

It seems Morgan is in between assignments and has volunteered to give us a tour of two of her favorite places on her home world. She will take us to the Twenty-three Falls of Afji. (Yes I know. She may not be able to hear it, but you can applaud. Not many people ever get to see the falls no matter how long their life is.) Morgan has also said she will take us to the much talked about Sonij volcano. Yes, you will get to stand on the ridge of the only active volcano on Sonij.

Ah. We have landed. I see Morgan coming up the ramp. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present Morgan Taj Zephyrain.

Good morning everyone. My name is Morgan. I am Sonij. As you can see I do not need to wear a protective suit or a breather. No, (what is her name?) No, Virginia it would not be wise for you take off your suit. Your eyes would melt, your lungs would ulcerate and your skin would burn off your bones. If you survived that, your brain would die from exposure to the equivalent to 7000 proof alcohol.
(What? Sonij children are told the truth. You want me to sugar coat it and let you deal with her parents when you deliver their daughter to them as a piece of fried fat? I didn’t think so.)
Before we go to my shuttle, I will show you the traditional Sonij greeting. The dropping to one knee indicates recognition of slavery. The one knee upright indicates the freedom we desire. Covering the face indicates the loss of home world and the pain we cannot show. The appropriate response to friends and family is covering one’s face and stating “My pain is diminished by the increase of my kin”. Yes, Virginia, very good.

My people, my generation were raised as slaves. As such our culture is filled with the reminders of what we were forced to endure. No, sir. We do not use the culture to make ourselves victims. Rather we use our culture to remind ourselves that we are strong and we can overcome anything. One of the sayings, much like Hello, is Sonij is pain. It means that to be Sonijian you must endure. No matter how much you want to quit and how much it hurts, you endure because you are Sonij and that is what we do.

Is everyone seated in the shuttle? Excellent. I am sorry I do not have the more technically advanced seats like StarBright. My shuttle is functional rather than luxurious. Just make sure you have your seat belts fastened.

We are coming up on the Twenty-three Falls of Afji. Yes, I know it has only been five minutes. And yes I know that normally it takes fifteen minutes to fly from the landing pad to the falls. That is why I told you to fasten your seat belt.

The falls were named for one of the first people created by the Ancients. Who has not heard the legend? Ah, most of you. The legend about the Twin Planet System goes like this. There was one huge planet, the Father Planet. It was hit by a meteor and split into two. The Ancients, a race from another dimension, terraformed the two largest pieces into planets and the remaining pieces into the thirteen moons. Each moon and planet had a different Ancient create it with its own uniqueness. Sonij was created by Estratite. She then created the Sonij people. Afji was one of the first women created. It is said that she gave birth to twenty three sons all at once and suffered so much pain that she melted into the water. The water has been black ever since.

As you can see the water is indeed black. All water on Sonij is black and is drinkable by Sonij people. No, it is not polluted. It is fresh water, just not the color you are used to. This pool is fed by the 23 falls that you can see above you. The water does not come from a spring in the mountains like on other planets, Earth in particular. The water simply comes from the ground up in 23 separate places and falls into the pond.

Yes, sir, there is fishing. However, most of the fish catch the people. The smallest recorded fish in this pool was 75 feet long and weighed 900 pounds. No ma’am. We do not eat the fish. Sonij are generally vegetarians. Why? Excuse me for laughing. Sonij are vegetarians because the meat animals here eat people.

It is getting late. Maggie has suggested that I take you to your ship where you will bunk overnight and take you to the volcano tomorrow. Yes, Virginia, scary things do come out at night.

If Maggie can get permission, perhaps I can take you all on a short detour to my club on Vithan, the Arena. Well, let’s get you back to your ship and I will start on the permits to have StarBright Tours come to my club.

images from the internet. If you do not wish me to use your image please contact me.
image of the planet from www.hubblesite.org

Welcome to the Star Port

Welcome to the Star Port. I hope everyone is comfortable. The seats you are in are the latest in ergonomics. The seats are also telepathically linked to your DNA so all you have to do is think about the position you want to be in and the chair will adjust automatically. (No, Virginia, you can not put the chair in that position. This is a family tour and the chairs have been programmed to respond only to G rated positions.)

I hope everyone remembered to bring their Trans-Spacial permit. In lieu of a permit, a passport will be acceptable if it has a holographic likeness of you on it. If you do not have either, please report to the Customs Robot and he will process one for you.

Some of you have requested roomier flight suits. It is not necessary. The suits are made to accommodate to your fluctuating size. Yes, the gentle creature at the back of the line. Your question, sir? Yes, sir. The suits will accommodate both tentacles and egg sacks without any problem. However, we request that you hatch the eggs in the private compartments made available as this is a family tour and the violence involved might upset the children on the trip or the passengers with weaker stomachs.

Ladies and gentlemen and others, if you will look at the view screen stations at your seat, you will see the Twin Planet System. As you will notice, the two planets Dkr and Sonij are in the center and are orbited by thirteen moons. We are far enough away from the system at this time that the orbits of the moons look like threads creating that wispy look around the planets.

As we near Sonij, the robotic stewardess will hand out some snacks. Please tell the stewardess what planet you are from so she can give you the appropriate snacks. For those of you who are feeling adventurous and want to try out snacks from another planet or galaxy, be aware that some species eat their snacks while still alive. So please be careful and do not let the snacks loose. It is terribly hard to recapture Govesterian slime worms. Please be considerate.

We are will arrive at Sonij tomorrow. Thank you for traveling with StarBright.

image is from the Hubble Telescope website.

Welcome to the StarBright Tourism Agency.
My name is Maggie and I will be your tourguide in the Twin Planet System. We will be touring the thirteen moons. Please be sure to have your phaser with you at all times, since the moons can be dangerous at times. We will be traveling by shuttle. Please do not bring any small pets with you, unless you want to feed the natives.

By the way, if you like strong mythical women who defeat the villain, destroy the monster, deliver the hero and never break a nail, check out Prophecy of Vithan. It is being released August 2 by Cerridwen Press (www.cerridwenpress.com).

Tomorrow will be the first day of the tour. We will start with Morgan Taj Zephyrain's home planet. (Very good, Virginia, you're right it isn't a moon, it is one of the Twin Planets) Be sure to have your breather and your form fitting protective suit with you. See you then.

Prophecy of Vithan August 2

Prophecy of Vithan is coming August 2.
That is just around the corner.
As an author with a book coming out (I get shivers when I say that "I'm an Author with a book coming out") I have some interviews coming out. The first interview was with Kelly Kirch. (www.kellykirch.blogspot.com) Kelly is quite a woman, full of wit. My grandmother would say she is full of vim and vinegar. You should check out her blog. I am a bit late in telling you about my interview, so you have to check her archives and go to July 6. There is my interview.
The next interview will be with Amarinda Jones. It is on August 1st. You'll love her blog. (www.amarindajones.blogspot.com) She is quite a character. Amarinda, Kelly and another author Anny (www.annycook.blogspot.com) are having a serial story where each one of the adds a paragraph to the story. So far it has Twin brothers, chocolate, peelers, and goggles. Check it out.
In fact I have an interview with Anny Cook on August 6th. She is a woman of quite a bit of wisdom.
I have an interview, well actually my character Morgan Zephyrain has an upcoming interview with Henry, a character of Sandy Lender's. It is a roller coaster of an interview. I'm not quite sure of the date yet.
On July 31, Aug 1, Aug 2, Aug 3 I will be chatting on Yahoo Groups. So will a lot of other very talented authors.
July 31 - Coffee Time Loop 2:00PM and 10:00 PM PST(www.groups.yahoo.com/group/karenfindoutaboutnewbooks)
July 31 - Coffee Time Erotic Loop 11:00 PM PST (www.groups.yahoo.com/group/karendevinekaren)
August 1 - eBook Lovers Loop 2:00PM and 10:00 PM PST(www.groups.yahoo.com/group/eBookLove)
August 2 - League of Amazing Writers Noon and 8:00 PM PST (www.groups.yahoo.com/group/LeagueAmazingWriters)
August 3 – Romance Bistro 11:00 AM and 11:00 PM PST (www.groups.yahoo.com/group/Romance_Bistro) (it is Romance_Bistro)

Come visit with some amazingly talented authors. Celebrate my novel’s release. Get your copy of Prophecy of Vithan at www.cerridwenpress.com on August 2!

Charlene Leatherman, Prophecy of Vithan by Cerridwen Press, released August 2, 2007Defeating the villain, destroying the monster, delivering the hero, and never breaking a nail