THE TRUE ADVENTURER by Robyn Singer

THE TRUE ADVENTURER

Robyn Singer 

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GENRE:  Science Fiction 

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BLURB: 

Layla N’gwa is finally free to attend art school and live a life of peace. She’s sipping spinach smoothies in the quad with her new friends, attending protests against the ongoing war, and studying to fulfill her dream of becoming a great glassblower. 

Layla’s former friend, Kaya Langstone Bythora-the boy-band-loving cyborg princess of the Cykebian Empire-has embraced being evil since killing Yael, and now acts as the ultimate sword of her mother, Empress Molina. With Kaya’s help, her mother will become the absolute ruler of the universe by winning the war with the Utozin Authority. Kaya wishes she wasn’t doomed to be a monster but feels resigned to her fate and just seeks acceptance from her only friend, Layla. 

Layla loves her new life, but she can’t stand back and watch as Kaya is used as a weapon and her old professor conquers planet after planet. As a war rages with the fate of all life in the balance, Layla and Kaya find themselves on opposite sides. Kaya may be the most powerful cyborg ever designed, but Layla has some new tricks up her sleeve. Has absolute order snuffed out all freedom, or is there still room among the stars for a little chaos? Only together can Layla and Kaya find the answer. 

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EXCERPT 

“What’s our ETA, General?” 

“We should be reaching Caldey-Cocoon’s atmosphere in twenty five minutes, Princess.” 

I twirled my hair around my finger. “Splendid.” 

The voyage from Cykeb had been peaceful. I’d had ample time to listen to music and shop for art in my room, torture the prisoners I’d brought along with me in the brig, and take advantage of the other amenities my ship offered. 

The Winjolla, named after my departed, beloved aunts, was second only to my mothers’ flagship, Ricochet Supreme, in terms of grandeur. 2400 meters in diameter, it was crewed by a staff of 15,000, all of whom I was free to terrorize to my heart’s content, with 30,000 ground troops also living on board. 

I’d gotten to design every aspect of my ship, from its weaponry, which was capable of leveling small continents, to its torture chamber, which I prided myself on being the most nightmarish chamber of horrors ever devised—putting even Mother’s past works to shame—to its spa, swimming pool, light squash court, juice bar, and karaoke studio. 

The only thing my ship lacked was someone to enjoy all of this with, but my mothers rarely ever left the palace, and there was no one else worthy of my time. I’d tried forcing some of my lessers to have fun with me in the past, but the only enjoyable parts of those experiences had been when I‘d blown their brains out. Being better than and above everyone else could really suck. 

On the bright side, I was almost 14. In just over one year, I’d be allowed to make the members of EZ Street my personal concubines. Then I’d never be lonely again. 

Plus, the highlight of these trips was always the destination, not the journey. As the crown princess of The Holy Cykebian Empire and the most advanced cyborg in existence, I had the honour of serving as my mother’s ultimate sword. If a rebellion took place that our soldiers couldn’t quash themselves, or if the initial conquest was met with more resistance than initially anticipated, I was deployed to handle it. I never failed my mothers. I never would. 

“Princess, we’ve arrived.” 

Grinning from ear to ear, I rose from my chair in the centre of the bridge. “Beam me down. I’ll let you know when to deploy the troops across the planet’s surface.” 

“Yes, Princess. Understood, Princess.” 

My helmsman did as he was told and a moment later, I was standing in the middle of Caldey-Cocoon’s capital city: Jeradoth. 

The blood-red sky matched the dirt beneath my boots. Their architecture was cylindrical, all of their buildings the same sickening shade of green. The air stank of cold macaroni and cheese. From what I’d read, their only major export was middle-quality feathers. 

I’d only been here five seconds, but I couldn’t fathom what about this pathetic world its people treasured so much that they wouldn’t want to be a part of the empire. It wasn’t as if I was complaining, though. If every world submitted immediately, I’d never get to have any fun. 

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Robyn Singer - The True Adventurer

 Pros and cons of writing in your genre 

There’s a lot to love about writing science fiction. Its list of sub-genres is nearly endless, so there’s always variety. “The True Adventurer” is a space opera and a war story, but those are just the tip of the iceberg of what the genre has to offer. I love writing time travel stories, I love writing steampunk and cyberpunk, and I especially love writing alternate history stories. I may have made the choice to exclude aliens from the world of the Ricochet Trilogy, but that doesn’t make it any less fun to develop an original species from scratch and build a culture around them. With my trilogy, I was at least able to have fun on the culture-building side of things, as it depicts a far-off future where humanity is now spread across thousands of planets. Sci-fi also tends to blend well with character-driven stories and political drama, and these are two of the things I most enjoy writing. 

Not everything about science fiction works for me. I learned well from responses to my first novel, “The Sunrisers,” that many fans of the genre primarily come to it for world-building, and that simply isn’t one of my strengths. As I said, I love creating and showcasing original cultures and societies, but everything I write about them is for the purpose of enhancing the characters, the story, and/or the atmosphere. I don’t like having to explain unnecessary technical details that aren’t important in the grand scheme of things, and I don’t feel the absence of these things takes away from the immersion I’m aiming to create. Rather, I think my aversion to this form of exposition helps to maintain a steady pace. And specifically as a space opera writer, my love for the genre is based on the melodrama that defines it, less so the space battles that I don’t have a good time writing. 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

Robyn Singer is a lifelong New Yorker, and since she was a kid playing with her action figures, all she’s wanted to do is tell stories. She went to SUNY Purchase to get a degree in Playwriting & Screenwriting with a minor in Film and has produced several comic books, but she’s always had her eye on becoming a published novelist. 

As an Autistic, bisexual trans woman, diversity and inclusion in stories are vitally important to her, and she seeks to represent as many groups as possible in her work. While she wants to show characters of marginalized groups experiencing joy, she also draws inspiration from real-world problems which bother her. 

The Sunrisers was her debut novel. The Order of the Banshee is book 2 in the Ricochet Trilogy. Robyn was the author in residence for the first quarter of 2022 for Cinnabar Moth Literary Collections. She writes novels and short stories of all genres and for all ages, and she continues to produce comic books. Her ongoing series, Final Gamble, began publication by Band of Bards in 2022. 

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/ 

Publisher Author Page: https://cinnabarmoth.com/ 

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE 

The author will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.

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