Good Morning everyone! Today, we're focusing the spotlight on my friend and Devine Destinies author, J.S. Frankel. He's here with a couple of awesome book trailers, and an excerpt from his novel, "The Auctioneer". Thanks for dropping by, J.S.!
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J.S. Frankel was born in Toronto, Canada and grew up there, receiving his tertiary education from the University of Toronto and graduating with a double major in English Literature and Political Science.
After working at Gray Coach Lines for a grand total of three years, he came to Japan at the age of twenty-six and has been there ever since, teaching English to any and all students who enter his hallowed school of learning.
In 1997, he married Akiko Koike. He, his wife and his two children, Kai and Ray, currently reside in Osaka. His hobbies include weight training, watching movies when his writing schedule allows, and listening to various kinds of music.
His novels, all for the YA set, include Twisted, Lindsay Versus the Marauders and it's sequels, Lindsay, Jo, and the Tree of Forever, and Lindsay, Jo and the Well of Nevermore, all courtesy of Regal Crest Enterprises. He has also written the Catnip series (five novels), Mr. Taxi, The Titans of Ardana and its sequel, The Titans of Ardana 2: Battlefield, along with Picture (Im)perfect and more novels, courtesy of DevineDestinies.com.
Book Trailer: Master Fantastic
Book Trailer: The Titans of Ardana:
Book Spotlight: The Auctioneer
Excerpt from The Auctioneer: "Sudden Danger"
“What is that?”
Excerpt from The Auctioneer: "Sudden Danger"
Number three, though, proved to be the most disturbing. Anarra’s very presence made me wonder about asking her out. She’d already made it clear that she thought I was nice looking. Cute, she’d said. She didn’t know about the variety of guys on Earth. While that didn’t matter much, what bothered me more was that although I liked her, I also didn’t want her to feel obligated in any way because I’d bought her freedom. Truthfully, I didn’t have the faintest idea of what to think or do, although she did. She had a hold of my hand like she didn’t want to let go.
“What is that?”
Her question interrupted my thoughts. “Uh, what’s what?”
“That.”
She pointed at the glass. Whatever she’d been looking at, I didn’t have a clue. Outside, I saw only space, stars, and the occasional starship flying by, but no aliens firing plasma cannons or Killer Orbital Platforms or whatever else was out there. “I don’t understand, Anarra. There’s nothing but space all around us.”
A note of fear laced her next words. “No, I do not mean outside. I meant that which shields us from outside.”
Shields us from outside... oh, holy crap, I’d been looking in the wrong spot. The glass had a crack in it at the bottom. Spidery thin, like a river, the crack slowly but inexorably moved upward about six inches and then branched off. Accompanying it was a faint smell of something burning and a faint wisp of smoke curled in the air. Acid... someone had poured acid on the glass—an acid that could melt it. I glanced to my left. The same thing was happening to the window there, smoke rising. Another peek to my right told me... Aw, hell, no.
“Back away,” I said, trying to fight down the fear of what being pulled out into space could mean. I took her hand in mine and backpedaled. “Baltarus, where are you?”
There was no answer, and we kept doing the reverse thing as another crack at the top of the panel started to spread downward at a faster rate. If this kept up, then the cracks would eventually intersect, and that meant the glass would crack. Anarra echoed my thoughts. “What will happen if it breaks?”
“Short version, we’ll die.”
That was something I didn’t want to happen. Sneaking a quick look behind me, the door to the inner compound was open. “Anarra, when I say so, run to the door that leads to the lounge and don’t look back.”
A frightened, “Yes, I will do as you say,” came from her.
Good thing, as a shivery, jittery sound came from the panel. It quivered and seemed to move toward us. “Anarra, run. Now!”
She wheeled around and sprinted to the door. I followed her, and a moment later the sound of glass shattering echoed through the hall. Immediately, an alarm went off, the whoop-whoop of a siren knifing through the air. Out of the corner of my eye, the long table where we’d eaten as well as the chairs left the floor in a flash, smashing against the unbreakable glass and exploding into a million shards of wood. It was both awesome as well as terrifying, and while part of me wanted to look away, the other part couldn’t. Didn’t this port have emergency shields? Oh, wait, they were coming down, but very slowly.
“Alert, alert, barriers failing,” a tinny voice intoned.
Wonderful, just when we needed protection, we got a mechanical failure. Anarra was three feet from the entrance with me right behind her. The vacuum suck of space began in earnest, and the very power of the universe yanked our feet out from under us. My female companion screamed, “Help me,” as she was pulled back.
Help me. Her cry echoed in my ears. With my right hand, I latched onto her upper arm. The door to the inner sanctum was quivering, practically off its hinges, but I grabbed some depressions in the wall. The rough rock bit into my flesh, and I managed to inch my way over, dragging Anarra with me. Just a few more inches... just a few more... There!
I grabbed onto the handle and then tossed Anarra inside. The vacuum kept trying to pull me out, though, and its power was immense. “Help me close the door,” I panted.
She got to her feet and pulled me to safety. Together, we tugged the door closed and then locked it. Anarra leaned her head on my shoulder, whispering, “Thank you,” over and over. “Yeah, don’t worry about it.”
Gasping for breath, we staggered into the safety of the lounge room, only to find Baltarus sitting on a cushion, examining his fingernails. “What happened?” he asked with an air of innocence. “I heard the alarm, and decided to stay here.”
Was it worth it to tell him? Half of me wanted to, but the other half said to give him just enough information this time out. “The glass outside cracked. It was an accident.”
Concern flooded his saturnine features and he stood up. “Are you injured, either of you?” Anarra shook her head. “I’m fine,” I said. “The shields came down, but they didn’t work fast enough.”
Baltarus muttered something about never having to use them in the past and then muttered, “I shall take you back.”
Once we’d arrived, he said that he’d contact the service ‘bots on the space-port to begin repairs and then go back to investigate. “Thank you,” I said, attempting to sound grateful. He nodded and vanished into the gateway. Anarra collapsed on the bed, still breathing hard. I fell beside her, and she breathed deeply a few times before saying, “I was never so frightened in my life. But I wish to thank you for saving me.”
“You already did.”
“No, I mean this.”
She then turned over on her side and pecked me on the cheek. Actually, her nose stabbed me. “Ow!”
“My apologies.”
Anarra twisted her head sideways like an owl would and then kissed me on the cheek. “Was that better?”
“Uh, yeah.” It was a kiss. I’d take it.
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