#ScienceFiction #Fantasy Saturday 81 - What Happens to a Corpse in Vacuum? #scifi #romance

Hello! Welcome to my snippet for this week's round of #sffsat. At the start of September I was notified that my second Venus Ascendant story - working title Revived - had finaled in the Rebecca, a contest run by the Land of Enchantment Romance Authors (one of the many excellent chapters of the RWA). This was my third entry into the contest (and I cut it fine, right up to the end of the already extended deadline because I couldn't make up my mind, lol). I've missed out on a final place by a couple of points each time previously, so I was especially happy to make the finals this time around, and with a story somewhat heavier on the scifi elements. A big deal for me!

On that basis, I've decided to share the never-before-revealed opening few lines from Revived as my snippet for this week. I'm planning to release it after the contest finals in November (the contest rules require the work to be unpublished during the length of the competition) regardless of whether it places or not.

There was a body in the pilot’s seat. Kimri shivered. Damn, but she’d been hoping the egg-shaped escape pod would be empty when it had registered no life signs. She’d only come to Temperis Delta to check on her six-legged construction mechas preparing the asteroid for mining. Finding the escape pod obstructing the site had been unexpected. The metaglass front had been obscured by a mass of spiderweb cracks patterning the surface, something the pod’s repair systems should have been able to fix but hadn’t. She’d walked straight in through the hatch and climbed into the tiny cabin without the need for an airlock. The pod had power for the door and lighting, but the obvious fracture in its outer shell had been the first thing she’d noticed. The second noticeable thing now was the body.
 She couldn’t see more than an arm hanging over the edge and a few tufts of dark hair above the edge of the seat, but the fact that whoever it was wore no space suit meant they were dead. The atmosphere must have vented on impact, leaving the single occupant to their doom.
A pang of sympathy tightened her chest.

~~~

I hope you enjoyed that. With luck, I'll be releasing it soon after November when the winners are announced and I'm no longer bound by the terms of the contest. Edits are currently scheduled for October. In the meantime, you can read the current first title in the Venus Ascendant series by clicking on any of the sales links under the book cover. Then you should go check out the other participants in Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday by clicking on the banner below. Unfortunately I won't be taking part next week as I'm away at BristolCon for the weekend with some nice shiny paperbacks, and part of a panel on reboots.

Scifi Romance Short
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