MFRW Archives - Page 11 of 14

“Freedom, Fairness, Fortune” Quote from Bringer of Chaos #SciFi #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 12/19/2018 Fallen Empires 12 Comments

Freedom, Fairness, Fortune

"As usual, you discount my deaths."

"Yours don't count. You come back."

"I see." Had anything Pietas had ever done counted? Not to the man before him. "Tell me, Father." He picked up a silver circlet and toyed with it. "Would it be better if some of us had been terminated by fire, or one of the other ways to end us permanently? How many perma-deaths would suffice? Are two sufficient? A hundred? Or would mine be enough?"

"Why must you twist my words? Of course Ultras have died, but we revive in peak condition. Humans stay dead. All I'm saying is the loss is heavy on one side."

"Every war has losses. Yet you don't celebrate the victory. You count the enemy's defeat as your own."

"This is why you are unfit to lead the council. You--"

"Ah, there it is." Pietas twirled the diadem around one finger. "The real reason you're here. To whine about losing your place of power."

"That's petty and you know it. Too many mortals have died!"

"Mortals! How I tire of that word. I believe I'll start calling them Mundanes."

"Why not? It smacks of your usual disrespect and bigotry."

Pietas sputtered a laugh. "I find it incredulous that the indignant and righteous Mahikos who led our people in rebellion against humanity has fallen so far from his ideals. What happened to the motto 'Freedom, Fairness, Fortune' that rallied our people? I was four years old. We were still hidden then. No one knew Dessy and I existed except you and Mother. But you hoisted us both onto your shoulders and we stayed behind darkened glass and watched as thousands of our people cheered in the streets. You'd won them freedom, and they shouted your name. Oh, in that moment, Father, I wanted to be just like you. No, I wanted to be you. Now?" He ignored the angry twitch tugging at one eyelid. "You want us to treat humans as equals. They never treated us as such. Even now, we're hated and reviled. Putting them on the council will make them haughtier. I want nothing to do with humans."

"Then you want nothing to do with me, Son. Humans are all I care about."

And wasn't that the naked truth of his father's betrayal? He had turned his back on their people. He had turned his back on his son.

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It’s Christmas Eve and a cop is at the door… #SweetRomance #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 11/28/2018 Kayelle Allen 14 Comments

From A Romance for Christmas

Dara was gaining strength daily, and would finish therapy the first week of January and return to work. Disability paid for the basics - lights, phone, water, trash collection, and she'd never bought anything on credit, refusing to dig herself into a hole she'd never escape once it got started.

She went to the closet and pulled down a box with a ball, crayons, paper, and three books. A friend had brought over a few things as well. This wasn't the grand Christmas she had wanted for her daughter, but all the other valuables had been sold. There was nothing left but her wedding ring.

She didn't wear it. Removing it had been part of saying good-bye to Jack.

They said it would help, and it had. Sort of. But not much.

Dara sank into one of the kitchen chairs and put her face in her hands.

Sometime later, when the doorbell rang, she grabbed a paper towel and dried her eyes. The clock over the stove said nine o'clock. Who would be calling at this hour on Christmas Eve? She stuffed the wet towel in her robe pocket on the way to the door.

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Heat: Empathy? Or was that the fire? #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 11/21/2018 Fallen Empires 6 Comments

Heat: Empathy? Or was that the fire?

"How can you not do this, Six? What if my family and the council members are in the same shape I was in? Trapped, helpless, and injured?"

"No, no, and no." Six sat cross-legged by the fire, filet knife in hand, scraping scales off a fish. The fire sparked as the scales hit. "I'm not looking for your people. Look," he gestured at him with the knife, "you promised not to kill me. Not them. And to clarify, when it comes down to who ain't killing who, I promised not to kill you. Them? They're another story."

A hint of heat tingled against Pietas's face, and then a deeper warmth. Were his empathic senses returning, or was that the fire? "You are afraid." It sounded more accusatory than he'd intended.

Six glared at him. "Of course I am! You think I'm an idiot? I'm the only human on Sempervia. You know what a bunch of Ultras are gonna do if a human walks into camp? Nope." He spread his hands, the dead fish flopping as he did. "Not going. You get better, and I'll go with you, but I ain't going alone."

"I can't believe you."

"Sorry to disappoint." In one slice, he split the fish and then gutted it. He tossed the guts into the flames.

"You evince no sorrow whatsoever."

Six speared him with a dark look. "Evince? That some Naro swear word?"

"It's standard Etymis everyone speaks, ghost. It means to express. Empaths read the emotions that others evince."

"Fine. I don't evince any sorrow. Not one bit sorry about not taking on such a harebrained mission. Look what happened to the last one I accepted." He threaded the fish onto a long stick and set it over the coals' heat. "I might be dead, but I'm an animated dead, thank you. I intend to stay that way."

Pietas shut his eyes, jaws clenched. If he could heal faster by focusing anger, he'd have shot straight to good-as-new.

While Six worked on a second fish, Pietas considered what other tacks to try. The ghost was all about duty. "I'm accustomed to obedience from my men."

Six's mouth twisted into a wry grin. "Two things I'm starting to regret right now." He did not continue.

Pietas prompted him. "Such as?"

"One, that I didn't go AWOL when I heard about the mission to capture you."

Curiosity won over, and he broke the silence. "And the second?"

"That you got your voice back."

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The panther tribe claimed his ferocity as their own. Bringer of Chaos #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 11/07/2018 Fallen Empires 6 Comments

Tribe

Pietas had taken two steps when multiple voices cried out a warning: "Behind you!"

His father came at him with another knife. Pietas threw up an arm to defend himself.

A black tornado swept between them.

Pietas stood stock still, unable to process what he was seeing.

The panther had leaped into the fray, fangs bared. Mahikos fell beneath the bloodthirsty onslaught of snarling animal fury.

Six pulled Pietas away. "He was going to stab you in the back! That cat came out of nowhere!"

Hardly nowhere. The cat had tracked him since day one.

Watch. Scout. Guard. Keep. Care. Safe. Duty.

Pietas understood now.

Growling, the panther gripped his father's throat in its powerful jaws, but didn't complete the bite. Waiting. Listening.

Through their connection, Pietas understood. It awaited the kill command.

Pietas opened his mouth to give the order.

"No!" Helia screamed. "Stop!"

He hesitated.

The Council had gathered. No one moved. No one interfered.

The panther yelped, twitched, and then went limp.

His father pushed the animal off him, revealing a knife protruding from the cat's chest. He stood, staggering. The cat's dark blood drenched the front of his once-white uniform. Mahikos covered the puncture wounds on his neck.

Armand and Philippe closed in on him and gripped his arms.

The panther's green eyes closed as Pietas knelt beside the animal. He stroked the sleek black fur of its chest, its jaw, traced one finger around the rounded ears. The cat's lifeblood oozed from its wound. Forgive me! I should have let you eat him.

Battle wounds in Ultras, Pietas understood. He'd never treated an animal. If he removed the knife, the bleeding might worsen. Hasten death. One did not mercy kill a fellow Ultra. They healed.

Ultras took no prisoners. He'd dispatched suffering humans. Why torture an enemy close to death? After what traitors done to him, however, he'd rethink that in the future.

Pietas could not bring himself to kill someone so loyal. He rested his hand on its chest, felt breath leave the body. This beautiful animal had died for no reason other than to save him.

A rumbling growl surrounded him. From the dark, eyes flashed green and gold.

"Pi!" Six called to him. "Leave the cat. I think they want you to back away."

Unmoving, he opened himself the way he had earlier. He'd felt the presence of the other panthers but had not recognized then who and what they were. An impression thrummed between him and the cats, teasing his senses. Unspoken, as present as the background hum of a powerful ship. A shared energy.

Pietas gave himself over to them and they drew him in, welcoming his presence, accepting his nature, claiming his ferocity.

More than brotherhood. More than soldiers. More than family.

Tribe.

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Halloween 2006: birth of a monster that rocked the writing world #MFRWauthor #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 10/31/2018 Marketing for Romance Writers 23 Comments

To be honest, I didn’t know I was birthing a monster. I thought it was only a small, innocent creature that would help writers. I had no idea it would end up changing lives, including my own.

The monster was MFRW. Marketing for Romance Writers — a peer-mentoring group open to the entire literary community has opened doors for writers, trained writers in how to handle promotion, introduced friends who would never have met any other way, and paved the way for writers to network all around the world.

I founded the group on Halloween because that year, there were no kids on my block at all and no one was ringing the doorbell. I was bored and going through my email (again) late at night.

When I saw the same marketing question from three different friends, I thought — what if I made a Yahoo group where all of us could ask a question and then whoever knew the answer could post a response? Would anyone be interested in that? I quickly set up the group, named it Marketing for Romance Writers and emailed a dozen friends.

By the end of the year, there were 100 members. Membership climbed as friends recommended the group to friends. We opened the doors to anyone in the literary community, including publishers, personal assistants, and promo companies.

The biggest thing we required was no promo. None. At. All.

Members love that. It’s the thing I’m most often thanked for when members email me. No promo to wade through. Just business-oriented questions, advice, and opportunities. If one person wants to promote a book — they ask for blog spots with other authors, and offer their own in return. If someone wants to hold a blog hop, they can announce it on the group.

MFRW Growth

Today MFRW boasts over 2400 members, and over 7000 members make up our Facebook group. We have a multiple-award-winning magazine. We have over 400 followers on Goodreads and feature our members books in the MFRW Book Place group. On Pinterest, over 1500 people follow us, we have 55 genre related boards, and almost 1000 pins. Want your book cover pinned on our site? Even if you don’t have a Pinterest account, you can take advantage of our presence there. Join our Yahoo group today and you’ll get information. Services and membership are free.

Come share your tweets on MFRW’s monthly Retweet Day. The hashtags #MFRWorg #MFRWauthor and #MFRWhooks help you promote everywhere.

If you have questions about marketing your books, join us. The MFRW motto is “seek, teach, share, learn, succeed.” Services and membership are free.

MFRW Volunteer Staff

Alice Orr, Barbara Donlon Bradley, Carmen Stefanescu, Emerald, Jessica Cale, Kayelle Allen, Libby McKinmer, Lisa Lowe, Lyncee Shillard, Michelle Davis, Mona Karel, Nicole Morgan, Paloma Beck, Reet Singh, Rochelle Weber, Tina Gayle

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“I do believe in ghosts” — these ghosts are real #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 10/24/2018 Fallen Empires 14 Comments

In Lights Out, a story in the Expanding Universe (Vol 4), you're asked to believe in ghosts of a different kind. These ghosts are special ops soldiers resurrected to fight an enemy that is immortal.

I do believe in ghosts!

Twenty-four hours later, healed and at attention, Tornahdo endured a tongue-lashing by no less than the Ghost Corps Colonial Armada Commandant General. What a mouthful for such a tiny person. He wouldn't have thought he'd rated an officer of her rank.

If a general had thousands to command, why was she slapping around a master sergeant? In the regular army, they'd berated him at the lowest level of incompetence. And what was his sin? Getting killed in battle. If you came back to life, why was that wrong?

Plus, if a soldier sacrificed himself saving a platoon, you didn't write him up. You bestowed a medal.

Treat the regular army like this and that whole death-and-rebirth thing was never going to catch on.

While the general droned on about the expense of rebirths and the protocol for ghosts, he counted bullet holes in the fence outside the window. Sixty plus on one panel. Over forty on another. Wasted firepower. Probably a human.

Ultras tended not to miss.

"Are you listening to me, Master Sergeant?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Repeat what I said."

Tornahdo spat it back.

Clasping hands behind her, the general paced. "You were inducted into the corps and promoted because you had the highest rating from a commanding officer I'd ever seen in the regular army. Now that I've reviewed your record, I'm wondering if he inflated your value to get you out of his unit."

He'd wondered the same thing.

"You've been written up for insubordination three times. What is your problem with authority?"

"Ma'am, I have no problem with authority." Imbeciles, yes, but that was another story.

"The death and rebirth of a ghost means the salvation of mankind. Isn't that why you enlisted?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"The purloined blood of an Ultra runs in your veins. Do not take it for granted. It costs the corps a fortune. Do not forget."

Not likely. The corps reminded him daily.

The word purloined hadn't been used in his hearing before. Now that he thought about it, how did they get the Ultra blood infusing his body? Were captives volunteering?

Surely not. Their hatred of mankind was legendary.

What did it matter? Ultras were the enemy. They deserved no mercy.

Lights Out

Part of the anthology The Expanding Universe 4: Space Adventure, Alien Contact and Military Science Fiction, edited by Craig Martelle

He can save mankind. After he does one important thing. Die.
Join the Ghost Corps, they said. You'll live forever, they said. You'll save mankind, they said. They didn't say that to do it, first he had to die.
When Tornahdo signs on the dotted line, he puts his life into the steady hands of the mighty Ghost Corps. Three grisly deaths and three agonizing resurrections later, he's assigned duty on the space station Enderium Six.
He's facing his most dangerous mission yet, the very reason the corps exists.
Do they expect him to win? Fat chance. Tornahdo and his team are already dead and this mission is codenamed "Lights Out." No, there's more to this than he can see.
To discover the truth, he must face an unbeatable, unkillable enemy, and this time--somehow--find a way to keep himself alive...

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Blinding flash of light: his enemy peered down #SpaceOpera #SciFi

Kayelle Allen 10/17/2018 Fallen Empires

Facing Blinding Flash of Light

The infernal, cheerful whistling began again. Pietas tried in vain to escape the sound. Shackled at the ankles, hands bound behind him, he remained flat on his back. There were no comfort choices inside his pod.

No. Not his pod. He would never claim such a place.

The prison pod. The nightmare pod. A casket for the living.

Would that whistling never end?

Whoever guarded him whistled, night and day. He must have lips made of steel. How a human kept that up day after day was beyond him. Or perhaps... Did an Ultra guard him? Had one of his people come to free him?

Pietas opened his mouth to call out, and clamped it shut.

If it were one of his people, he needed to wait for them to act. They would do so when the time was right. For now, he suffered bouts of agony as feeling returned to his hands and then left in repeating cycles. His metabolism healed him, but brought pain. He focused on that, accepted the pain, welcomed it, and examined every step of its journey through his body. What one understood, one could bear.

An Ultra does not seek to escape pain. If one inflicts pain, one must bear it. Pain must be borne. Pain is a warrior's ally.

He hovered in a nightmare-filled, windowless, endless monotony of thirst and hunger.

Punctuated with unending lilts of bouncy, alert, happy, chipper whistling.

At first, he'd welcomed the sound. The rising and falling notes broke the tedium of everlasting darkness. It stopped for brief periods, but began again soon after.

He'd considered calling out and asking them to stop. He had gone so far as to open his mouth. But asking implied weakness. He acknowledged no tool of torture.

Beg mercy from humans? Never.

This was not stasis. Stasis meant cessation of thought. Of emotion. A dreamless kind of sleep. The end of awareness. A not-time.

They'd frozen his people in these pods, but they'd imprisoned him.

Or perhaps his blood ran so hot, no human force could freeze him.

The tune changed.

For the love of all that's holy, will you shut up!

Blessed silence fell. But then a blinding flash of light blared in his face like a blast of horns.

What fresh perdition was this? They'd tortured him with darkness. Now they'd torture him with light?

Pietas tried to force his eyes open, to face the torture, but after so long in darkness, the light stabbed his eyes. He twisted his head to avoid it.

"You-- you're awake?" The startled voice hovered close, muffled by the pod. "Security! Security! Prisoner Six-Six-Six is out of stasis! I say again, Prisoner Six-Six-Six is out of stasis!"

The alarm in the male voice gave Pietas a measure of pride. Even imprisoned, he engendered fear. They had taken away his name, and given him a number that among humans meant a demonic beast.

Let the legend of Pietas--by name or by number--bring fear straight into the heart of man. No... let it bring terror.

His eyes adjusted to the light, and he focused on the face hovering over the small window above him.

Was that...Ghost Six?

When the immortal Pietas is marooned on a barren world with no food and few survival tools, he knows it could be worse. He could be alone. But that's the problem. He's not.

Half a million of his people sleep in cryostasis, trapped inside their pods and it's up to Pietas to free them. He can't release one at a time. It's all or nothing. Over five hundred thousand hungry, thirsty, homeless immortals will call on him for rescue and he has no way to answer.

Universal book link http://books2read.com/u/3R1kev

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The galaxy will never be safe for humans #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 10/10/2018 Fallen Empires 4 Comments

His people permit him no choice. He must attend insipid peace talks on Enderium Six and what's worse, be polite. To humans.

In this scene, Pietas has been betrayed and trapped, and now they're coercing him to enter a lifepod.

Humans!

The leaders of his people gathered in sleep around Pietas, sealed inside their curved, steel stasis tubes.

He folded his arms. "Feast your eyes, vultures." He lifted his chin. "You think to imprison me? You think to bring me down like a hunted animal?" He indicated the other life-pods. "I will not cower before you. I will not bow. I will not kneel. I will not serve. I will never submit. Humans were made to be ruled, not by my people, but by me."

The silhouettes above him contrasted with the bright light behind them. One by one, they slipped away, until one remained.

"Fighting us accomplishes nothing." The disembodied voice echoed in the chamber. "Enter the pod, Pietas, or we'll siphon the air. You'll die."

"I'll revive. I've died countless times. I do not fear death. Death fears me."

"So be it. Since you're so set on dying, have it your way. I told you if you didn't cooperate, I would detonate the bombs within the hostages you took aboard your ship. See for yourself."

On the opposite wall, an image of his ship sparkled into life, and a bloom of light filled the screen. A mass of debris shot in all directions.

"Your crew has ceased to exist."

"That image is a farce. You would not dare to destroy the council's flagship, and you will not destroy the council. You are cowards. You lock us away in a barren room and threaten our people. This is why humans do not deserve freedom. You are worthless, miserable liars."

"Believe me, your crew is quite dead. The universe is a safer place for it."

"Untrue. It will never be safe for humans. Especially for you."

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Ghosts have no name #SciFi #SpaceOpera Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 09/26/2018 Fallen Empires 4 Comments

Six slid their canteen off over his head and held it out to Pietas.

Accepting anything from a human, an altered one at that, had violated every instinct at first. To take from an enemy, yes. Always. Let one give you something as if you needed it? Admit a weakness before an enemy?

Never.

But this was Six.

Pietas took it.

Ultras could go days without water, but they consumed it when they had it. He wiped one dusty hand across his mouth. The satisfaction of assuaged thirst never failed to please. What simple things in life brought pleasure! In captivity, he'd dreamed of even a drop to cool his tongue. He'd sworn he'd never take water for granted again.

Six had offered it to their companions during the climb, but the entire lot refused anything a mortal's lips had touched. Yes, Six was a quasi-immortal. A dead human soldier who'd been resurrected and enhanced with Ultra blood. A "ghost." But to the others, that gave him even less status.

Pietas wavered on few things, but on this? Should he call the man human, mortal, quasi-immortal, or ghost? He'd elected to choose as the mood struck. But one in particular annoyed Six.

"Thanks, ghost." He thrust the canteen against Six's chest.

Staggering, he swore in Spanish. "Find another name for me."

"Tell me your mortal name then."

"You know I can't." Six scratched his cheek. "Ghosts have no name. Gotta protect my family. If your kind knew who they were, they'd slaughter them. You wouldn't, but them?"

Now they were getting somewhere. "So you do trust me?"

"Pi, there's more honor in your left big toe than your entire race combined." He tipped up the canteen but then paused. "No offense."

"None taken. But we're stranded, my friend. Unless a miracle happens, by the time we get off this world, your family will be long dead." He added, "No offense."

Six finished his drink and plugged the canteen. "None taken. Sorry. Can't do it." He lifted the strap back over his head and settled it onto his shoulder, the canteen at his back. "Seriously, Pi, your people hear you call me you-know-what, it'll give away I was Ghost Corps. If they do, we both know what they'll do to me."

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

When the immortal Pietas is marooned on a barren world with no food and few survival tools, he knows it could be worse. He could be alone. But that's the problem.

He's not.

Half a million of his people sleep in cryostasis, trapped in their pods and it's up to Pietas to rescue them.

A human abandoned with him has become a trusted friend. But before Pietas can save his people, he must reconcile them to the human and take back command from a ruthless enemy he's fought for centuries. His brutal, merciless father.

Immortals may heal, but a wound of the heart lasts forever...

Universal book link https://books2read.com/u/bpW7Kg

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New Logo: Art, Sci Fi, Space Opera, Romance, Suspense – Kayelle Allen #MFRWhooks #SciFi #SpaceOpera

Kayelle Allen 08/22/2018 Cosplay 4 Comments

For years, my logo has shown four words: Art, Sci-fi, Romance, Suspense. This year, I've honed my skill with Space Opera, so I decided I needed a new logo to show it.

New Logo

Not as easy as I thought! When you update your logo, you need to put it everywhere that it was before. Which means social media, headshots, website, blog and more. I'm working on it, but it will take some time to accomplish. The art itself was a bit time consuming, because fitting in another word, even an important one, meant juggling all the others. Take a look at the new logo and you'll see how it came out.

Meanwhile, I'm focusing on writing more space opera and will soon be releasing a short story in that genre in the Expanding Universe Vol 4, edited by Craig Martelle. Lights Out tells the story of how Six, from the Bringer of Chaos series, came to be known as Six. If you like the character, you're not alone. With his dry sense of humor and sideways view of the world, he represents how many of us function in a society where we are at odds with the status quo.

More Art

I'm also using more art on the site. Of the four book set I give to my reader group members as a signup bonus, three are illustrated. I recently updated several pages on my site to feature art. Check out these: About Jamin, About Nano-Core, and About Nik. Jamin and Nano-Core are both artists -- I call them my dream team. If I can dream it up, they can visualize it and put it into images I can share. Nik is the model I've used for several years to represent Pietas, my immortal king. I'm excited to have him as part of my dream team too. He will be portraying Pietas in a live stream photo shoot, direct from Russia via Instagram. That happens on September 1, 2018. Be sure to follow Nik so you can see it.

What do you think of the new logo? Is it easy to read? Do you like the colors? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Thank you for being part of this blog hop!

JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS
Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It's a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors. Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.

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Tag: MFRW

“Freedom, Fairness, Fortune” Quote from Bringer of Chaos #SciFi #MFRWhooks

Freedom, Fairness, Fortune

It’s Christmas Eve and a cop is at the door… #SweetRomance #MFRWhooks

It's Christmas Eve and a cop is at the door... #SweetRomance #MFRWhooks

From A Romance for Christmas

A Romance for Christmas

Heat: Empathy? Or was that the fire? #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Heat: Empathy? Or was that the fire?

The panther tribe claimed his ferocity as their own. Bringer of Chaos #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Tribe

Halloween 2006: birth of a monster that rocked the writing world #MFRWauthor #MFRWhooks

MFRW Growth

MFRW Volunteer Staff

“I do believe in ghosts” — these ghosts are real #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

I do believe in ghosts!

Lights Out

Blinding flash of light: his enemy peered down #SpaceOpera #SciFi

The galaxy will never be safe for humans #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Humans!

Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas

Ghosts have no name #SciFi #SpaceOpera Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire #MFRWhooks

Ghosts Have No Name

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

New Logo: Art, Sci Fi, Space Opera, Romance, Suspense – Kayelle Allen #MFRWhooks #SciFi #SpaceOpera

New Logo

More Art