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Endgame

Page 21

by A. K. DuBoff


  “Way to instill confidence in your girlfriend that this thing we’re doing is long-term,” Kira replied with a mock glare.

  “Poor phrasing. In some matters, a decade would only be the beginning.”

  She ran her fingers through his hair. “It’s hard to believe it’s been a fourteen-year path to get here. Would you ever have guessed we’d end up in the Guard, if someone had asked you when we were teenagers, living on Valta?”

  “Stars, no!” he laughed. “I think I was still planning to be a veterinarian back then.”

  “That’s right! You had that master plan of working at the petting zoo at the Tribeca Nature Preserve.”

  “It would have been fun.”

  “Yeah, it would have.” She shook her head. “And I would have been a Reader, entertaining tourists with mind-reading tricks. Ugh, but I would have hated every second of it.”

  “Life in the military suits you—helping people, going on adventurous missions, making a real difference in others’ lives.”

  Kira gazed into his eyes. “As much as I enjoyed it before, something was always missing. Now, having you here, I have everything I ever wanted.”

  He brushed her hair back from her forehead. “No matter where you end up, I’ll always be waiting to welcome you home.”

  She smiled. “When you put it like that, tackling those future unknowns doesn’t sound so bad.”

  THE END

  Kira’s story isn’t over!

  Look for her future adventures in the forthcoming Taran Empire Saga. In the meantime, get caught up on the Cadicle Series.

  Thank you for reading Mindspace: Endgame!

  If you enjoyed this series, please take a moment to share your thoughts and reactions in a review on Amazon. Customer reviews are a critical part of building awareness, and you can help make this series a success!

  Get information about A.K. DuBoff’s upcoming titles and release dates:

  Newsletter Signup: www.subscribepage.com/akduboffnews

  Facebook Reader Group: smarturl.it/facebookamyduboff

  Official Website: www.akduboff.com

  ALSO BY A.K. DUBOFF…

  Cadicle Series

  The Mindspace series is part of the broader Cadicle universe. The seven-volume original series sets the stage for a political revolution which will change the Taran Empire forever.

  "Exciting space adventure" - Publisher's Weekly

  The Taran Empire is fighting a secret interdimensional war... and they're losing.

  Out of sight from modern-day Earth, the Taran Empire rules the galaxy from the planet Tararia. Cris Sietinen, a High Dynasty heir, leaves home to seek training for his prohibited telekinetic abilities and start a new life with the Tararian Selective Service (TSS). But training to be a TSS Agent isn’t the dream life it seems. Cris and his family are at the center of a galactic conspiracy and must fight in a secret interdimensional war that will spur a political revolution. Join three generations of the Sietinen family as they challenge destiny to win a war where enemies are not always who they seem.

  Book 1: Rumors of War (Cadicle Vols. 1-3) - Buy it now: smarturl.it/cadicle123

  Book 2: Web of Truth (Cadicle Vol. 4) - Buy it now: smarturl.it/cadicle4

  Book 3: Crossroads of Fate (Cadicle Vol. 5) - Buy it now: smarturl.it/cadicle5

  Book 4: Path of Justice (Cadicle Vol. 6) - Buy it now: smarturl.it/cadicle6

  Book 5: Scions of Change (Cadicle Vol. 7) - Buy it now: smarturl.it/cadicle7

  Dark Stars Trilogy

  “Do-overs” are possible.

  Elle and a team of companions with magically enhanced abilities embark on an interstellar quest to stop an alien invasion. The unique crystalline network connecting their worlds allows reality to be reset to past moments in time, but an alien Darkness is corrupting the crystals and entire planets. If Elle and her friends can’t stop the Darkness, their worlds and loved ones will be lost in shadow forever. Dive into this adventure with a fun blend of high-tech sci-fi and traditional fantasy magic!

  Book 1: Crystalline Space - Buy it now: smarturl.it/darkstars1

  Book 2: A Light in the Dark - Buy it now: smarturl.it/darkstars2

  Book 3: Masters of Fate - Buy it now: smarturl.it/darkstars3

  Troubled Space

  Nothing could possibly go wrong. Probably. Well, maybe…

  When you go to the trouble of legitimately buying a ship for your illegitimate smuggling operation, and that ship turns out to be stolen from a powerful weapons dealer… well, you might figure the universe hates you. But not Jack Tressler, an aspiring smuggler; he’s used to taking misfortune in stride. Given the choice to die—or get an ill-fitting cybernetic eye and join a crew of thieves on a crazy heist—he opts for the unpleasant modification. After all, it’s just another day in the life. With rabid pirates, ruthless corporations, and a scorned former employer all vying for the same bounty, Jack and his new friends will need all their wits and snark to survive until their next meal in this farcical space opera adventure.

  Buy it now: smarturl.it/tsms1

  More Books and Stories

  For a complete list of Amy’s writing:

  www.amyduboff.com/books

  Browse Amy’s books on Amazon: smarturl.it/amyduboffbooks

  AUTHOR’S NOTES

  Thank you for reading this fourth book in the Mindspace series! I feel incredibly lucky to have such passionate, engaged readers.

  Working on this project has been a great learning experience for me. It’s not every day that an author has the opportunity to reimagine a story in a different universe. It was a unique challenge, and one I enjoyed. The Cadicle universe has been my ‘happy place’ since I was a pre-teen, so anything having to do with that world excites me.

  When I wrote the original version of this series as the Uprise Saga, I had seven novels in my backlist, along with a handful of short stories and a couple of novellas. Now, that I have the Dark Stars trilogy as well as this revised four-book Mindspace series in the Cadicle universe, I feel like I’m well on my way to building an author brand.

  I talked in the Conspiracy author notes about my attraction to the metaphysical, and the more I write, the more I realize I’d like for such superhuman abilities to be an ongoing theme in my stories. I want to try on different flavors of those elements, ranging from hard sci-fi to more fantasy-magic interpretations. I love the idea of pushing the boundaries for what it means to be human.

  I hope to further develop this emerging brand. From a reader perspective, I want you to have confidence that you know what you’ll get in my books. I’ve learned a ton about plotting and how to draw a reader in while writing Mindspace, and I look forward to bringing these new skills to future projects.

  What’s next for Kira?

  When I started reimagining this series within the Cadicle umbrella, I had a decent sense of what was going to happen in the Cadicle sequel, Taran Empire Saga. Having an established covert ops character who specializes in dealing with politically tense situations would be an asset. So, as I was revisiting the central character for Mindspace, my plan was always for her to play a role in the big things to come for the Taran Empire.

  Will Kira get more standalone books? I’m not sure yet, but I’m certainly open to the possibility. As it stands now, she’ll certainly be a character in Taran Empire Saga, and we’ll take it from there :-).

  I hope you enjoyed the Jason cameo in this book and are excited to see how the changes throughout the Empire play out. Cadicle was very much a story of the people at the top of the power structure, and I hope Mindspace has given you a window into other aspects of life in the story universe.

  Sincere thanks to Michael Anderle and Craig Martelle for giving me the opportunity to write the original version of this series and help launch my author career. It’s was an incredible experience to see what’s possible to achieve when you build a great relationship with your readers. I hope to embody this in my own career, and to one day be able to pay their mentorship f
orward to other authors.

  As always, thank you to Nick, my husband, for always keeping my fed and happy—I would not have a better life partner or best friend. Thank you to Jen McDonnell for editing and Andrew Dobell for the beautiful covers. Thank you also to my beta readers and proofers—John, Jim, Kurt, Leo, Charlie, Troy, Eric, Curtis, Ron, Diane, Angel, and Nick—and the original LMBPN JIT team. I am so fortunate to work with such great people!

  And thank YOU for reading and being a part of this author journey with me! I hope we can go on many more adventures together.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A.K. (Amy) DuBoff has always loved science fiction in all its forms—books, movies, shows and games. If it involves outer space, even better! Now a full-time author, Amy can frequently be found traveling the world. When she’s not writing, she enjoys wine tasting, binge-watching TV series, and playing epic strategy board games.

  To learn more or connect, check out:

  www.akduboff.com

 

 

 


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