For several of my books, I've put up tweets of important or poignant points in the story to give you an idea of things to come. As usual, you can order Civility at (click on)
Amazon,
Smashwords, iTunes,
Kobo, and so forth.
Here's my preview of Civility in tweets with the hashtags and such edited out:
1/ “The trail eventually ended, but a heavier
heat signature showed in one spot as if he had spent a lot of time there before
moving away. Unfortunately, that
position was almost directly over your bunk….”
2/ She felt as if a bolt of
lightning had struck the top of her head, generating hot loathing throughout
her body to the tips of her fingers and toes.
The Bad Guys, the bogeymen of every child on Sinclair Demesne….
3/ Irked, she snarled, “And I
can’t stand to think senior officers
would mock my dedication to my duties, especially for such a perilous
operation, and especially since I’m apparently the last person to be brought in
on it!”
4/ “If there’s the most
remote chance they can discover she’s playing a role, that’s it; the legation
has failed. And they’ll be more than pissed; they’ll be antagonistic about it,
which we absolutely cannot afford if we’re expected to leave their territory.”
5/ “I thought Ruben had
broken up with his girlfriend when he said he’d be bringing you, so I asked
her, and she….”
Alea slowed, gulped, and
tried to get control of her face. “I
didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”
6/“I’d say it was all those
years in a command environment that helped me see who needed to do what. Which
you haven’t had. [Y]ou might not be able to turn off your unflappable
personality and assume a more fruitful attitude, like dominance or cold logic.”
7/“Still, you’ll be an
immensely valuable asset in the Athenian volume, which will be the biggest test
everyone in the fleet will likely ever experience. [P]rovided you try to work with us instead of
dragging us all down with your pissy little trials….”
8/ If Rich said Kieran Renois
was the best person for the position, it was more than reasonable; it was vital.
“Since you’re convinced he’s the most competent person you could have in that
position, that’s fine with me. Go ahead and arrange it.”
9/“Lord Renois.” Elizabeth
had stopped to face him, casually inspecting her fingernails and rings. “As my
lady-in-waiting, she has explicit rights to my person. And you will address her
with her Imperial designation and honorific for the duration of this mission.
10/ “If you’re gonna pump me
for information, I might as well kill myself now.” He downed his drink.
“[H]aving twenty thousand
Sentinels know everything about us is rather daunting. You’d think the secrecy
oath would apply as much to each other as it does to outsiders.”
11/ “Rather astute of her,
considering that I could have your entire legation killed in an instant.”
To counteract the stab of
dread in her heart, Elizabeth laughed merrily [and] took up her drink. “You
would risk Athenia being utterly destroyed?”
12/They couldn’t deny that
anything she had said was untrue; she had described her sheer heroism in
defending them to Grandfather and Grandmother in strikingly honest detail. There was no way these men could gainsay her
or fight with her over these negotiations.
13/Suddenly ashamed to
realize she was manipulating him, she put her hands to her face and groaned,
rocking forward and back. Her
mortification and her thickening thoughts vanished in an instant when Kieran
sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her.
14/This chalata’s beady
regard made Elizabeth think of an old, wise professor, a scientist studying her
with the weight of long experience, and an ambassador meeting another
ambassador, all rolled into one. Its
dark golden eyes barely moved.
15/ “One fellow mentioned it wouldn’t be right to attack during the games, & another fellow argued, ‘But you know they’ll all be here watching her.’ The first fellow said, ‘Maybe after?’ They then noticed me & took off. When I couldn’t see them any longer, I reported.”
16/These men had so little desire to comply with the reparations treaty, they’d even talked themselves into not caring whether they could be members of the galactic community once more. [S]he realized the paltry offers they had made were mirrored across the board.
17/Alea held up her hand to
stop his avalanching apology. “This is
my question: do I need to report this to anyone?”
The man swallowed, wringing
his hands. “Ah… to me.” His haunted eyes showed he undoubtedly hoped she
wouldn’t ask who his boss was.
18/Kieran looked around at
the setup. “The only way someone could get to us is if they sent an attack
drone through the gap hidden by the canopy.”
“And even then, our
sharpshooters, the skopeftís, would
destroy it before it could even get over the stands.”
19/“I don’t think this is
much of an experiment when we know exactly what to do to get the results we
expect.”
“Frankly, I could see
chalates all over who would turn to watch what was happening, every time.
They’re like… repeaters, beacons.”
20/ “If she’s incited a riot,
there’s no way she’ll get out of here without them guarding her.” Kieran
pointed @ the four men escorting Alea out of the stadium. “They’re doing us a favor.
Look @ the people leaning over the rails, howling for her blood!”
21/ “Are you sure you want to
play this game? Are you sure you can play it better than Theon Ellines, or even
anyone else?”
He glanced over the tableau
before meeting her eyes. “I’m not sure what you’re asking, exactly.”
“Negotiations. Are you willing to play with us?”
22/ A deep, deep ache
throbbed to the rhythm of her heartbeat from both her legs as well as her other
arm. She remembered hearing regeneration therapy was one of the most painful
procedures a person could experience. No
wonder she was drugged to the gills.
23/ “If you can’t trust your
people to know their limits, if you insist on driving Rich Jeffries over the
edge just for political necessity, you’ll lose more than Servicemen over it;
you’ll lose their faith in your ability to judge need over greed.”
And, as usual, the obligatory social media links:
