Free books and stories on Smashwords

The following books and stories are currently available for free on Smashwords:

(please click on the headings to link, the images don't seem to link)

Solar Wind Series:

The Mystery of the Solar Wind  (First in the series)

When Paean, a teen musician, boards the 'Solar Wind' with her brothers, all she wants is to escape from those monstrous forces hunting for them. But she is out of luck, because the Solar Wind is a pirate ship. Suddenly all the rules have changed, and she must find her way in this quicksand to figure out whom to trust, what to keep secret, and how to help the high-tech ship evade the law.




The Essential Solar Wind and Shooting Star Glossary

which translates or explains all the foreign words / expressions used in the two successive series.  This booklet is complementary to the two series and will always be free.

Shortstories:

 

 The Racing Finn

Finnegan o'Flannagan (Finn) is an out-of-luck musician in the tiny town of Kilkee. The last thing he knows is how to race a horse; but this is exactly what he is requested to do, by his pretty and forceful young friend, the Lady Millen. Who can deny her?

A bit of slapstick to entertain you on a rainy day... 




The Family Pool

Mary Adams has married into money. At first this is amazing and she is overwhelmed with thankfulness; but as time goes by she begins to realize that all is not well in the wealthy family. She comes upon a creepy volume of genealogy in the library of the house that was given to her and her husband John to live in, and from there, her curiosity turns into an obsession to get to the bottom of it.

Others:

 By gipsika:  Arcana


The Light Path, the Dark Path. When Ivy Pennington, a sensible, intelligent young woman, plummets head-first into the occult, her biggest problem is trying to explain that she is simply not interested. Soon the storms of dark magic rage around her. Will she perish in the gruesome maelstrom?

Books for which the Reader Sets the Price:

 

 The Assassin (Solar Wind 2)


"Remember who you are!"

Two data capsules tell an evil story. Both the Unicate and the Rebellion want those capsules - but they are in the possession of Radomir Lascek of the Solar Wind. Hunted by both these forces, Lascek scrambles to keep his Solar Wind alive. But things explode in his face, and he is forced to move. Shattered, Lascek launches his own Master Plan - too early.




Freedom Fighter (Solar Wind 3)

 "Keep an eye on them, Federi!"

Captain Rushka Donegal on the bridge! But the young girl doesn't feel up to running a ship full of unruly young crew. And then they come across disaster... So it falls to Federi to pick up the pieces while his Captain is not aboard. And while he rolls his dramatic eyes and gets things done, Paean Donegal arms up and signs on for the Fight for Freedom.



 

 Raider!  (Solar Wind 4)

Alien Touchdown!

If the crew of the Solar Wind thought the Unicate and the Rebellion were tough cookies, they haven't yet met the Danaan - from Planet New Dome. Coming to take over Earth - or destroy the planet. Or alternatively, for a mango daiquiri in the subtropical paradise of Southern Free. And then destroy the planet.

So Enjoy!

Morbid dream from the Solar Wind crew

So Federi & co visit me in my dream - rather I happen upon them as they sit depressed on the Shooting Star, hanging around waiting for death.  Why?  Because their author has abandoned them (they think).

Okay, okay, Federi, I'm coming!  I need to remember why I write, and I need to finish the series.  I can understand his depression.  Totally.  I'm in Shooting Star 3 - "The Search for Home Base".  But I need a reason for Home Base.  Why is Earth not good enough?  That is logical:  because of the Unicate, and because Captain can look them up and bully them around as much as he likes.  Why not Valleylon?  Well, if you knew what crawls around on Valleylon...  anyway they are bounty-hunting for Federi and co, so it's not the safest home base.  So I've been putting it off, giving myself fully to running the studio (with great results!) and homeschooling my youngest, helping my oldest think of internship ideas...  all very worthy endeavours, and online marketing of, basically, me and my writing style, testing out Smashwords etc.  But:  In the process, Federi and crew got left behind.

Here's a question.

Does the symbiont actually make him immortal?  I don't think so.  He still ages normally, etc - but it makes him invulnerable.  But why would he age - why would Dana need the intricate system of New Dome's self-perpetuation, if the symbiont made one immortal?  Clearly it doesn't.  The symbiont is mortal. I need to do an exploration of the symbiont's mortality and what biochemical processes drive it.

Anyway, I have to spend time writing Shooting Star 3, and then on concluding the series.  The double series. 

Wow...

Sleepless again.

Smashwords.  Yoy.  My head is spinning.  I've migrated my account to "Publisher" and uploaded gipsika's "Arcana", launching it off with a few free copies.  A few?  Phew!  It's amazing how fast they are being downloaded - but just amazing for me, I guess.

Also, "The Morrigan" overshot its celebratory 10 copies and all the prequels overshot their 5.  Most popular seems to be "Raider".  No wonder really, it's an excellent book that one.

So now I can't sleep.  Again!  Got 2 authors pre-formatting their manuscripts for me so I can "nuclearize" them faster.  That's great.

Really, I have to go sleep, it's past midnight!

I'm writing on:

A Friday Fairytale - Nadisda's story, fantasy.

The Left Behind (The Abandoned - title in flux) - Interstellar, the revenge of Planet Earth

Shooting Star series (and I must spend time on that!) volume 3:  The Search for Home Base.  Things are getting weirder and weirder, but they must, because we're moving closer and closer to the final show-down with the Unicate.  Inbetween, the Keeper has to protect his planet from all sorts of other invasive alien pests. And if that means, allowing a symbiont to regenerate your body and trusting Dana...  well, what choice does he have?  Doing the right thing is not always simple.  Thank the Stars for Donegal Magic...

And I'm formatting for Smashwords, with the help of the authors themselves:

Almost Dead in Suburbia (Douglas Pearce)
The Pourne Identity (a skit by Douglas Pearce)
Split Decision (Carmen Capuano)
Chiaroscuro (yours twooly, though I'm thinking I ought to break it back into single stories again for Smashwords)

Covers we're working on:

The Pourne Identity (D Pearce)
Darx Circle (LHW Noble)
The Blue Between (A Luck)
Nix Romipen (yours truly)
a very secretive and covert story of which the title may only be revealed upon publication, by an extremely secretive author, all I can say is it's about fairies

That's plenty for now, I'm not going to go into more P'kadetail.

 G'night.  

A gorgeous review for "The Morrigan"

What they say:

Nikki Mason from "BestChickLit" writes this gorgeous review for Solar Wind 5 ("The Morrigan") :

 

The Morrigan (Solar Wind 5) – Lyz Russo

April 2, 2016 Charlotte Foreman Book Reviews, Young Adult Reviews 1

What they say:

 

“Actually, interesting fact of bygone eras,” said Federi, “in the past, pirates chose their captains democratically.”

Radomir Lascek is in trouble. Of all the forces trying to take the Solar Wind out of his hands, Federi is still the most benign. The Solar Wind finds herself on a space trip, at the end of which there may even be a treasure. Or not. Dana, Empress of New Dome, is leading the expedition – but she is not exactly an ally. Strange little aliens have boarded the Solar Wind and are hitching a ride, causing havoc, and in the background lurks an evil entity that identifies itself as “The Morrigan”, one of the ancient Gods, demanding blood sacrifice. And Captain Lascek’s most loyal sailor, Federi, is plotting mutiny…

Will they make it home?

What we say – review by Nikki Mason:

Frequent visitors to the site will know that I’m a huge fan of the Solar Wind series by Lyz Russo and this latest didn’t disappoint. Through the madcap sci-fi adventure that takes place on this space travelling pirate ship, there are glimpses of relationships and passions that are so complex and intriguing, you’ll be gagging to read more. It’s perfect for YA readers.

The atmosphere of this latest book is darker and more dangerous than its predecessors. Like in the Harry Potter books, these young characters are growing and developing in difficult circumstances that make being an adolescent all the more baffling. Federi and his young bride are more often than not at loggerheads, Ronan has alienated his wife and even The Solar Wind herself is feeling the strain of confusing emotions.

There are times when the plot almost seemed to get in the way of the curious doings of this ramshackle pirate crew, but I mean it when I say this is another winner. I can’t wait to be adventuring with Federi again.


Click Here To Buy This Book – UK
Click Here To Buy This Book – US


Nikki Mason - thank you so much for the review, and also for being my fan! Sweetest words an author can hope to read!

 In celebration of this review, I'm giving away 10 free copies of "The Morrigan" and 5 free copies of all the prequels in the series!  :-)  

(On Smashwords)