A Sample from A CENTURY OF WIND, FIRE, AND WATER
Work continues nicely on the book, the first of twelve in the series that spans a hundred years. The following is an excerpt from the sixth chapter, entitled BLOCKADE BUSTERS. The setting is a lone ship trying to break through a blockade. These are airships, flying in the skies above the ground. There is retro-futuristic tech in this world, and the challenge as a writer is to explain what the world looks like and how it works without just stopping the story and giving ten pages of boring exposition.
If you can hide the exposition within an action scene it helps the reader learn more about the rules of the world while also progressing the story. That’s what I try to do here as they attempt to break the blockade…
Sole rushed from the back of the ship to the side, ready to man the weapons. Bando moved with a purpose toward the front of the ship, to ensure it stayed on course through. Winthrup grabbed the first bit of railing he could find and held on, wide-eyed and panicked.
“What’s your deal?” Sole asked, grabbing and pulling him forward. “Come on you can help me over here.”
“I’ve never flown before.” he mumbled, barely moving his lips, afraid he might vomit.
“It’s just like riding a cruiser only…higher.” Sole led him down a narrow, spiraling stairway into the belly of the ship. A gunner’s station sat at the end of the long corridor, with twin barrels of a cannon protruding from the front of the craft. “Just aim and shoot.” Sole said as he pushed Ash forward.
“Where are you going?”
“To the cannons up top; they’re going to be scrambling fighters all around us.” Just then, the ship rocked to one side and a deep, booming *thud* echoed throughout the hollow corridor. “Here they are.”
Sole sprinted away, leaving Ash seated at the cannon, alone. He grabbed the controls and manipulated the guns, taking aim at the one-man fighters swarming their ship. “Where’s the trigger?” he shouted to no one.
A puff of smoke issued from the console in front of him, twisting and contorting to take the shape of a tiny little person in a funny little hat: “Hello. Do you need assistance?”
“Yes! Thank you I—”
“Sure. I can help you with that. Please listen carefully as this menu has changed.”
“Wait, wh—”
“If you need help controlling the cannon, say ‘help with control.’ If you need help switching between gravity bombs and thunderbolts, say ‘help switching.’ If you—”
“I don’t know how to shoot!”
“…Okay.” the little woman replied calmly. “Have you switched off the safety lock?”
“Where is that?!”
“Look for the red switch labeled ‘SAFETY’ and flip it with your thumb. If you don’t have a thumb, you can use any digit or extremity.”
Ash found the switch with his left thumb, while his right index finger was on the trigger. The seat rumbled and his hands trembled as a pale yellow blob of energy wobbled out of the cannon and slowly floated through the sky. Fighters scrambled to avoid it though one ship was not so lucky; the yellow blob enveloped the small craft and sent it spiraling to the ground below.
“What was that?!”
“You just fired a gravity bomb. Great job!” the tech support recording noted, flatly. “There are…nineteen…gravity bombs remaining on this ship. Would you like to switch to thunderbolts? You can use as many thunderbolts as the ship’s turbines can charge.”
“Yes! Switch!”
“Okay. Just press the green button in front of you to switch between—”
Ash smashed the button with his fist and immediately began discharging hot pink streaks of light from the cannon. The bullets were flying fast and Ash showed little regard for aiming. He squeezed the trigger and sprayed the air in front of him with thunderbolt ammo. After twenty seconds of firing, and half a dozen fighters being shot down, the cannon fizzled and died.
“Wait, what happened?”
“Uh oh. Looks like you’re out of juice! Please wait for the ship’s turbine to recharge the cannon.” Her tone was helpful to the point of patronizing. “Next time, you might try some selective aiming. Would you like me to show you a tutorial?”
“No!”
Book one is set to be completed in March but the whole series will take years to complete due to so many other books and projects I’m working on concurrently.