QSFer Kellie Doherty has a new FF sci fi book out:
Ever wanted get into the mind of the hunted? Shoot across the stars with a ramshackle crew? Finding Hekate, by Kellie Doherty, launched on April 8th from Desert Palm Press.
Mia Foley is captain of a new spaceship when the Acedians hunt her down again. She must sever her ties with her crew in order to run, but she’s grown fond of them, especially first mate Cassidy Gates.
Staying with them, though, will still jeopardize their safety. Mia’s time as herself is running out.
Cicatrix Duology Book 1
Excerpt
Mia Foley’s left palm began to ache. She squeezed it into a fist and willed the pain to leave her. It didn’t work. Her eyelids fluttered open, but in the darkness of her cabin she might as well have left them closed. Untangling herself from the sheets, she stood and stretched. A chill seeped into her bare feet from the deck, and she vowed to get a rug at the next stop. Of course she wouldn’t. She dressed, wanting to go back to sleep. Of course she wouldn’t do that either. She had a job to do.
Mia pulled on her captain’s jacket last and stumbled over to the mirror by the hatch. It took only a few steps to cross her small cabin. Her crewmates likened the space to living in a metallic coffin. She hated that image. Tiny, yes. Cozy, too.
“Lights.” Her voice, slurred with sleep, stuck in her throat. The ship understood. The orbs above the mirror brightened. She stared at her tired reflection before leaning down to lace her boots. The black pants, camisole, and jacket ensemble always made her feel like a villain right out of the 1800s. Yet it kept her and her crew out of harm’s way when trouble struck. Easier to slide into the darkness and hide in the shadows if the trading went awry. Besides, the dark Ariien fabric was soft and strong. A good combination. She patted her breast pocket. The soft crinkle of paper reassured her the list was still there. Paper might’ve gone out of style generations ago, but the material was easiest to hide. She tucked it deeper inside her pocket and shook the sleep from her arms. The yellow symbol on her jacket’s shoulder caught her eye: a tiny spaceship surrounded by three multicolored stars, the Across the Stars trading company logo.
Since Mia had to keep running from the hunters, trading seemed to be the perfect solution. Traders moved around. They kept a lower profile than most. And the units, while not extravagant, would allow her to live a decent life. She’d been captain six months on this ship with no hint of her followers. Until last week, that is. The pain in her hand had only increased. With almost four years since the Jubilee, Mia wanted to relax. She couldn’t.
Her gaze strayed to the bedside table bolted to the deck. To the cracked and rusted breathing apparatus resting there. She’d spent two and a half of those four years on Baubo, a backwater planet known for its limited inhabitants and terrible air quality. She’d hoped the murky atmosphere would quell the hunters. Or at least slow them down. When they found her, Mia stole away on a high-warp transit ship named Xi. Thankfully, that ship wasn’t on the list. She got off the ship before the hunters could find her again. She hoped that Xi would lead the hunters far away, and maybe it had, for her new ship, the Eclipse, certainly wasn’t fast or powerful. Still, even after all this time, anxiety blossomed in her chest at the thought of what she should be doing. What she’d been forced to do for all these years. The explosives should be rigged. The timer should be started. She should be far away from this crew by now. But she wasn’t.
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Author Bio
Kellie Doherty is a bisexual writer living in Portland, Oregon. She is currently a student and hopes to graduate with a Master’s in Book Publishing from Portland State University in June 2016. She is also a freelance editor, taking jobs whenever they come her way.
Kellie has been writing since she was young and living in Alaska. Her work (fiction and non-fiction) has been published in Pathos, Alaska Women Speak, F Magazine, The Chugiak-Eagle River Star, as well as the blogs of 49 Writers and Ooligan Press. She also writes fanfiction under the name SerenityQuill. She is currently working on the sequel to Finding Hekate, Cicatrix Duology Book 2 – Losing Hold.
When not writing or editing, she enjoys reading, taking walks, playing video and board games, and hanging out with her friends.