NEW
RELEASE and GIVEAWAY
The Door
by
Monique Rockliffe
I am very pleased to announce our first giveaway! Two lucky people will
win a PDF copy of Monique Rockliffe's latest release, The Door, a short story. Read about the story and my first review, and
then enter the giveaway to win your own copy. Don't forget to leave a review on
Amazon or Smashwords once you've read it. Best of luck!
Description
During a desert
excavation in a foreign land an astounding discovery is made that changes the
future of mankind forever.
The Deceivers have
one goal in mind: to rule the world, and now they've discovered the means to do
so. Their endless resources, and immense political clout, make them the most
powerful group on the planet and they will do anything to make sure it stays
that way, even murdering men, women, and children in the name of science.
Fortunately for
mankind there are people who believe in the continuance of everything good and
fair and in the importance of protecting all fragile life, and when they
discover the evil plans of The Deceivers they come together and design a plan
to counter these diabolical men and women, who have in their possession
something that could lead man into the next level of their evolution, something
alien and vastly intelligent, something very much alive! But what they possess
is more dangerous and destructive than they could ever have imagined, and when
their experiments go horribly wrong the entire world begins to suffer horribly.
Desperate to find a
solution, a Boy and a Girl and a group called The Scientists battle everyday to
find a way to reverse the damage done by The Deceivers' arrogance, and when their
despair is at its worst a miracle presents itself.
The Door not only exposes the evil mankind is capable of but also the
compassion, love, and determination to preserve all life and appreciate every
moment of it. Life is short, and it's our responsibility to make sure we do as
much as we can in the time we have to live it to the full - even if that means
sacrificing everything to make sure others get a chance to continue on. History
teaches us where we went wrong and where we succeeded. Isn't it time we
listened?
Excerpt
He stood before it with his hands on his hips, eyeing it dubiously, and
drew in a deep breath. It was pretty ordinary looking: it had no markings, the
paint was beginning to peel, and it appeared to be made of cheap pinewood. The
only odd thing about it was the missing door handle.
So how the hell do I get
in? he wondered.
Letting out the breath he’d been holding, he continued to stare at The
Door. Whenever he focused strongly on a fixed point and then allowed his mind
to wonder where it chose, the answer eventually presented itself, usually with
blazing clarity.
When he’d finally been recruited, it had amazed The Scientists how he
could pass weeks of exhausting experiments and tests with complete ease. They
quickly discovered that his mind was like no other they’d ever come across,
even theirs. He created perfect, error-free solutions seemingly at random, with
no distinguishable pattern or logic to speak of, and more often than not he had
them cursing in amazement when he beat their mathematical challenges every time
without them knowing exactly how he
did it; his approach to their so-called puzzles and problems was always
entirely unconventional and unexpected.
And, of course, that is why he’d been chosen to be the one to solve this particular puzzle.
A sudden thump made him start, and he whipped around and tilted his head,
listening carefully. When it didn’t repeat, he forced himself to relax and
turned back to face The Door. He absently scratched at his arm and winced when
his skin burned fiercely. Rolling up his sleeve, he stared at the ugly tattoo
with disdain, wishing they’d found another way. But this is the only way they
knew of, they’d said.
He supposed he shouldn’t be complaining. They’d specifically elected him
for this very important task, after all, dangerous though it was.
Review
By Lynda Dickson
The Door is the story of The Boy, a homeless boy of superior intellect recruited
by The Scientists at the age of 16 to solve a series of puzzles. Now 18 years old,
The Boy is confronted by The Door, a mysterious door located in the basement of
The Coffee Shop. What is behind The Door and why is it so important?
The Scientists are
trying desperately to protect the human race from The Deceivers, a group of
influential and wealthy individuals who have discovered a mysterious alien
Energy, The Catalyst, which hold the secret to eternal life. The Deceivers
gather up and experiment on individuals who possess the rare Creator-virus
gene. The Boy is one of these individuals, as indicated by the Mark of God birthmark
on his arm.
During their
experimentation, The Catalyst is unleashed on the unsuspecting population,
killing those who do not possess the Creator-virus. The Scientists are charged
with finding a means to permanently contain The Catalyst, which will kill the
entire human population within three years if left unchecked.
The Boy is told by
The Scientists that he is one of the carriers of the Creator-virus, thus
explaining his unusually high intelligence. He is put through a number of tests
and experiments to unlock his dormant potential.
The Scientists introduce
The Boy to The Girl, who is also a carrier. Trained by The Scientists since the
age of 12, she is planted as a spy among The Deceivers and discovers The Door's
existence.
The Door is a portal
created by The Man, one of the first carriers. On the other side of The Door is
Paradise, a safe haven from the Creator-virus. The Deceivers discover its existence
and hide it by building a town around it.
It is The Boy's mission
to wrest control of The Door from The Deceivers and save the human race. But is
everything as it seems? And who is really deceiving whom?
Full of suspense,
action, and even romance, The Door is
sure to thrill you and keep you guessing to the very end. The intelligent
vocabulary and perfect punctuation made this story a pleasure to read. This
story packs in a lot of background information and perhaps too much detail for
a short story. At times it reads more like the outline of a book. It would
serve the author well to expand this story into a full-length novel. I was sure
left wanting more.
About the Author
Monique was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she currently
resides with her husband and two cats who think they own her!
Always the avid reader, she spent every available moment as a child
devouring books and learning to read by the time she was three. This included
comic books, which added fuel to the fire of her already boundless imagination
and expanded her passion for writing, drawing, and the performing arts at a
furious rate. She watched as many fantasy and science fiction films as her
mother would allow, firmly establishing her love and passion for storytelling
of the Otherworldly kind. In short, reality was boring; sitting astride a
flying dragon while wielding a magic sword and casting spells all at the same
time in order to save the world from destruction and slavery from an evil
(possibly alien) conqueror was so much more her style – and still is!
At age five she became a tap dancer, and at age seven ballet became her
first choice. This love for dance and music turned into a successful
professional career. She was a member of three dance companies as a soloist and
principle dancer in ballet, jazz, and contemporary, and she also frequently
performed overseas. But she never lost sight of her first passion and never
stopped reading and creating other worlds in her imagination. Her dance career
spanned 32 years, and in the midst of it all her desire to put down on paper
the stories she had created never left her.
In 2009 she began writing seriously when her dancing career came to an
end and her husband and greatest supporter urged her to finally make a start.
Since then she’s never looked back, and now writing is all she can think about
and dream of doing for the rest of her life.
The Sword Bearers tetralogy is the
culmination of 32 years of joyous creation begun the day she saw Star Wars for
the first time when she was eight. She realised, on that very magical day, that
there are no limits to her imagination, and if other people could create worlds
and characters and imagery of such power then she could, too. And she firmly
believes she has! The
Swordbearers and The
Swordbearer's Journey: Book 2 are currently available. Book 3 in the
series will be released in 2013.
Monique is currently working on another novel as part of her NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge.
You can read more about it on her website.
The Door is the first of many
short stories Monique has planned. She loves Science Fiction as much as she
loves Fantasy, and writing in this genre comes just as naturally to her.
Giveaway
