Lifelines (Mystery Thriller Novella) Release

Are you ready for a book release? If so, you're too late! Because the book is already out. But, as can be seen from the title, it's still not A Decaying World. And it has nothing to do with my Mortaevum Universe. It's just something that popped into my head one day, although I honestly can't remember the details anymore. And while it isn't a full-length novel, it should still keep you busy (and hopefully entertained) for a couple of hours, judging by my text-to-speech program, which I used like dozens of times until I was satisfied at last.

I also have another finished novella lying around, which once again takes place in my Mortaevum Universe. But that one needs more polishing, so I won't release it until sometime next month. Until then, I'll try to focus on A Decaying World again. Especially because I won a beta read that would otherwise have been quite pricy. No idea if it's going to be worth it, but I have to focus on the novel anyway. It's been lying around for far too long, after all. I'm not going to make any promises on when it will actually be released, though. Just that I will split the book after the first part, while also releasing a complete edition later on. And I'll try not to work on too many other projects in the meantime.

And with that out of the way, here's the link to Lifelines: A Terrifying Christmas Night ... which only has a subtitle because I noticed there are lots of Lifelines on Amazon. Damn them all! Anyway, I hope you have fun with it! And if you do, please leave a review on Amazon so others can find it too!

Lifelines is a mystery thriller about a young woman who can see when other people will die, no matter if the cause is natural or not. It's a power she despised for many years, until it made her realize that no one's destiny is set in stone. From that moment on, she has tried to save as many people as possible, particularly those with suicidal thoughts.

Unfortunately, one of these cases puts her own life in danger, for reasons she cannot understand. And it seems like the whole world conspires against her that day, as none of the options to resolve that situation are easily accessible. Will she be able to change her destiny, nonetheless? Or will she finally pay the price for interfering with the natural order?

There's only one night to find out!

Novella: Loop (Beginning)

I've found a couple of Betareaders for A Decaying World, but only one of them has given me feedback as of yet, and only up to chapter 1. But if he continues to provide the same amount of feedback, then it would almost be as good as having an editor. I've already deleted one of the prologues and shuffled a few things around to add anything that might be missing.
Apart from that, I've started working on Loop, my scifi novella. The game it's based on is about an hour long, so it shouldn't get too big, which is why I'm not going to post the complete story, except for the first beginning. Not much is happening yet, but it should give you an idea of what it is about.
Don't forget that this is only a first draft. A lot might change later on. And I have no idea why the last story kept its indents and this doesn't.

 

Loop

A deep and steady humming noise reverberated throughout the metal chamber, its source somewhere in the depths of the facility. A red light spread across the wall-sized monitor at the front, until it had enveloped the dome displayed on its surface. At the same time, an egg-shaped structure in the center of the room began to glow, almost blinding the chamber's occupants.

“Status report!” bellowed a middle-aged man with brown hair from in front of the monitor.

“The Chronoshield is running at full power and the Reversal Engine is at fifty percent. There are slight fluctuations in the energy flow”—the speaker, a young man with azure-colored hair, moved his fingers across a touchpad, adjusting dozens of values within seconds—“but they're gone now!”

“Professor Visan, start the countdown!”

An old man with pointy ears and graying-hair entered a command into the console in front of him. The humming grew even louder and the room began to shake.

“Temporal reversal in ten,” a robotic voice echoed through the room, its source the loudspeakers embedded in the walls, “nine, eight, seven, six, five ...”

The occupants of the room, some dressed in white gowns, others in full-body armor, turned towards the egg-shaped construct. Its light was pulsing in the rhythm of the countdown, slowly transforming from blinding white to bluish black.

And when the timer reached zero, a wave of energy rippled through the room, knocking everyone from their feet. The humming turned into a shrill squealing noise and was instantly joined by the screams of the room's occupants. The walls shimmered and undulated, flesh and clothing became translucent, people were moving back and forth, the light grew dim and bright ... and then everything came crashing down.

The room fell silent as every living being vanished from within. And then it was enveloped by darkness, making it impossible to see anything.