First Chapter Reads

This week we have the excellent ‘Accidental Intelligence’ by Bryan Chaffin. You can pick up the book at the link below. Bryan Chaffin wrote about Apple and technology for 23 years as the cofounder and editor-in-chief of The Mac Observer, which he and his business partner sold in 2022. Bryan lives with his dog Ichabod in Silicon Valley, where they both enjoy the fantabulous pastime of THROW THE DAM...

This week I am reading from the exceptional ‘Terra Blanca’ by Zoë Routh. Zoë is a leadership futurist, multi award-winning author, speaker, and podcaster. English-born, Canadian-raised, Australian-adopted, Outdoor Adventurist and Experiential Educator, Truth Teller, Learner, Cancer Dancer, One-Time Belly Dancer, Aspiring Telemark Skiier, Slayer of Dragons, Mother of Chickens. From the wild rivers...

This week we have the eminent Adam Gaffan with his novel “The Road to the Stars” “You know me. Jump first, knit a parachute on the way down.” Kendra Cassidy, “A Quiet Revolution (The Artemis War 3)” Adam Gaffen is the author of the near-future, hopepunk science fiction universe that starts with “The Cassidy Chronicles.” The heart of the universe is the indomitable Kendra Cassidy and her wife, Aiya...

This weeks first chapter reads is the terrifying “All Hope of Becoming Human” by Lonnie Busch. Lonnie’s mastery at building tension is evident in this nail biting first chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Lonnie Busch is an award-winning author whose work has also appeared in Southwest Review, The Minnesota Review, The Baltimore Review and others. His awards include the Clay Reynolds No...

Travis is stranded on a distant planet, hundreds of light-years from the rest of mankind. Will he be able to find a way home before he runs out of resources? Will he ever see his father again? Most important of all, will he be able to determine what killed the other humans on this world and keep it from spreading to the rest of humanity? Find out in Great River of the Abyss! Get a copy of Great Ri...

Welcome to 2024. I thought I would start this bleak and cold January with a comedy story that will hopefully cheer you up. Featuring five brand new Sci-Fi Comedy stories from five brilliant authors, the Cosmic Comedy Collection is a book that will have you laughing at everything from shapeshifting aliens, superintelligent AI, to flying cats. It's weird, it's wacky, and every single story in the bo...

Into the unknown is a charity anthology published by Lower Decks Press with all proceeds going to the World Literacy Foundation. If you would like to check out the eight other stories in the anthology you can pick up a copy on Amazon- click on the image for a link. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rohanoduill....

This weeks episode features the thought provoking sci-fi novel ‘Replika, Sky’s Mission’ by Hugo Bernard. If you liked what you heard you can check out the rest of the book by clicking on the image below. In other news This week saw the launch of the charity anthology ‘Instant Classic, that no one will read,’ which I have a little story in. This anthology is a bit more literary than what I normally...

This week I am reading a middle grade sci-fi story by Frances Wong. You can check out the rest of the book here - amzn.eu/d/44iBLvc In the lively West Midlands, where the tea is strong and the weather is...well, weather, Frances Wong dwells with her husband and a duo of ankle-biters. Since the distant days of 2005, Frances has donned the revered mantle of a primary school teacher, weaving enchantm...

This week as in many weeks previously I am breaking the rules. Todays episode features a selection of poems from MOTHERBUNNET by Laura Cooney. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Do sign up to Laura’s blog, she is a lot of fun - www.lozzawriting.com A plate of chips, that chancer the moon, stolen biscuits and stolen memories: the currents that threaten to drag us under and the life belts we cl...

Iain CM Gray is a Scottish writer, currently working and living in London. Iain has published three books. The Ruined Road, Zombies Wha Hae, and Doctor Oadwin: The Making of a Maniac. The Ruined Road is a collection of short stories that have an unstated connection. It is somewhere on The Ruined Road that we first come across Doctor Oadwin, who’s tale if told in further detail in his own novella....

This weeks First Chapter Reads is the excellent ‘Once Upon a Lane,’ Unfortunately due to some technical difficulties on my part, I only managed the first section of the chapter however I will be back soon with another of Duncan’s books. Available to buy on https://hicsuntdeos.com/onceuponalane/ A character driven slice-of-life story that follows the humble lives of the residents of a suburban neig...

This weeks first chapter reads is from the highly lauded debut novel ‘Sushi and Sealions’ by Rachel Corsini. You can find a copy of Rachels book here https://books2read.com/u/bONod9 A little bit more about ‘Sushi and Sealions’ When a career-ending injury and a messy breakup send prima ballerina Daniela Verdi back to Queens, New York, she fills her days with countless distractions: meaningless sex,...

For this weeks episode I read from the captivating ‘Spiders Friend’ by M.C. Burnell. You can find the book here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1161802 https://amzn.to/3puz2ml The Spider’s Friend is a thrilling, twist-filled adventure, a palace intrigue with less palace and more battling-giant-jellyfish. A must-read for anyone interested in novel second worlds, it has mole-people and a city...

For this weeks episode I am reading from the excellent ‘Melancholic Parables. Check out this beautiful little book by Dale Stromberg. *** Bellatrix Sakakino has lived many lives. She dampens electricity. She’s radioactive. She longs for a fruit that went extinct before she was born. She’s not above committing a massacre for the sake of a perfect omelet. She crashes through timelines and circumstan...

This week I am reading from the excellent Cascade by Rachel A Rosen. RACHEL A. ROSEN lives and makes trouble in Tkaronto (Toronto) in the country currently known as Canada. A genre strumpet with an outlook darker than VantaBlack, she straddles urban fantasy, cosmic horror, dystopian futures, and eco-fiction. Her stone-cold bummer of a first novel, Cascade (The Sleep of Reason Book 1), was publishe...

Hello and welcome to episode 1 of First Chapter Reads, where each week I will read the first chapter of a book(with the authors permission of course) For the first week I read from my own book ‘Cold Rising’ and I also broke the rules and read the prologue instead of the first chapter, but I explain why. If anyone would like me to read the first chapter of their book please do get in touch with me,...

Audio version of the short story "Marriage Clause" by H. L. Hinkle, first published in Into the Unknown: A Science Fiction Anthology by Lower Decks Press. Voice: Briana Bedore Audio engineer: Brooks Bedore Explore this and other stories in the full anthology: https://www.lowerdeckspress.com/books-multiformat/into-the-unknown Image courtesy of Zack Walker via Unsplash.com . This is a public episode...