WELCOME

Hello and welcome, you can find my author page on Facebook www.facebook.com/PLHerlihy

Sunday, 4 January 2026

New Year, New Blogs

PLEASE NOTE:

Just a quick update to say that I now have a Wordpress blog and so will be scaling back the blogs I have on Blogger. So, in the New Year, this blog will be redesigned and content minimised before I take a decision whether to remove it completely. 

But, before then you can find me on Instagram, and Wordpress or find links to my bio.site here

Tuesday, 11 November 2025

Three New Sci-Fi Stories!

I'm delighted to announce that I've written three new sci-fi stories this year and they are now available as a Kindle eBook on Amazon.

Victor Echo Mike (link) are three short stories that look at human existence on Venus, Earth and Mars in the future:


In The Water Course we visit Venus and join Maude and her team as they truck water, seeing how precarious life can be on a terraformed planet, especially with no natural water source.


Into the Dust is based on Mars with a team of scientists, headed up by May, trying to keep their project on track to re-terraform Earth with scant resources.


In Seacant One we return to Earth where Dena is in charge of dismantling Seacant One, dangerous work involving booby-trapped robots and difficult working conditions.

(clik on cover to go to eBook page)


Monday, 22 September 2025

 






I’m happy to announce that an updated version of  ‘A Bright Balance of Feathers’ is now available as either an eBook or paperback on Amazon here; or as a personalised paperback in my Etsy shop here.



Featuring over 250 of my birdwatching haiku I’ve added in some more illustrations as well as new haiku. This is one of my favourite ongoing creative projects and perfect for birdwatchers and poetry readers.

Robin:

Long ago; I held
A trembling crumb out for you
You kindly ate it

Jackdaws and Grebe line illustrations and cover photograph of Robin by P L Herlihy. All Rights Reserved

Saturday, 2 November 2024


Delighted to announce the release of this new fantasy book, a low fantasy adventure, find it on Kindle Amazon here.


Join Wilva Cut-Hand and her friends as they set out on an adventure across Whyll to reach Starhanda's Rock at High Merlon to take astronomical readings in time for Awn the Stargazer to present at the Annual Council Court. From their lives as apprentices at the Offering House in Whyllbow, they will travel to The Foundry at Dundook, then on to the mountains to try and find answers to the strange events happening in their lands, making new friends and encountering danger along the way.



Friday, 15 December 2023

Inside the Quiet Spaces, Again

This collection of my poems, mainly written while living in Kent (UK), is now available as a Kindle Unlimited Edition with an updated cover featuring one of my pencil sketches. 

Click HERE for a free Kindle book preview.



The poems feature everyday events like trips to museums and beaches, family walks, garden observations and more personal poems dealing with dreams, thoughts and meditations. This is the second edition of this set and I have added a couple of extra poems which belong to this period of time.




Lockdown Flowers, sketched during the COVID pandemic, irises, forget-me-knots and dandelions.




Friday, 27 October 2023

The Skeleton Key ( A Short Story for Halloween 2023)

 


By P L Herlihy. All rights reserved.

 

I stare at my palm; I have been gripping the key so tightly it’s left a perfect imprint there. Barrel, teeth, the ornate scrollwork. I rub my hand to get the blood returning and then turn my attention back to the estate agent, still fiddling with the heavy door lock, unable to open the front door.

‘I am so sorry; this normally does not happen! This house is very old and has been empty for some time, I think the door might be jammed…’ She jiggles the key again but the door does not budge.

‘Maybe if I try?’ I step up and take the key from her hand and then, with my back blocking the agent’s view, I swap it for my key. It fits the lock and I can feel the tumblers move sweetly under the key’s turn. The lock clicks and the door slowly sweeps open, dry hinges squeaking in protest as it moves. I hand the estate agent back her key and pocket mine.

‘Oh well done! There’s always a knack to these old locks. You clearly have made friends already with the old place! I shall take that as a good sign. Now don’t forget your hard hat, the roof is not in the best repair. Let’s see if I can find some lights. Ahh, here we are!’

I settle the bright yellow hard hat firmly on my head and, taking a deep breath of the chill autumn air, I step inside the house.

I can barely remember a time in my life before the key. It sat on the rich red velvet lining inside its ornately carved little oakwood box, demanding my attention. While my great-aunt owned it, it wore a bright red silk bow and stayed where she had put it, on her dressing table, out of harm’s way. A pretty trinket for me to play with as a child.

‘Now you mind young lady, that key does not fit any of the locks in this house so don’t try it. I don’t want to have to call a locksmith out to fix it if you jam up a lock. I will deduct the cost from your visit treats. It will mean no sweets for a year!’

‘What lock does it fit aunt?’ But she is always too busy to answer my question. Busy talking to my parents and making tea. Adult conversations that drift over my head and leave me free to run and play.

At the far end of my aunt’s garden is an old greenhouse. Layers of flaking white paint on a rusted metal frame holding up jagged glass panes, like snaggly teeth over a pair of old potting table gums. The glass panes are green with algae and the potting tables sag under the weight of stacked up clay pots and dusty cobwebs. Brambles crowd the brick walls below the frame and catch at my socks. I figure if the key isn’t for any of the doors in the house, maybe it is for the greenhouse door, the lock looks as old as the key to me.

I make sure the adults are busy, absorbed with their tea and talk and then I take the key on its red ribbon from the pocket of my shorts and carefully turn it in the lock. The door to the greenhouse opens and I step inside. The scent of tomatoes almost knocks me over. Tall green stems, arching with prickly leaves, have great trusses of red tomatoes spilling over the deep boxes they are growing in. At the far end of the greenhouse I can see my Aunt, not shrunk with age, but young and tall, tying in the trusses with deft movements. I stumble slightly and trip backwards, falling back out of the greenhouse and landing in a patch of nettles by the door. I can still see inside at the clean glass windowpanes, the freshly painted frame, the riot of tomatoes.

‘Time to go home!’ The shout from my mother reaches me at the end of the garden and I grab the key from the door and turn, running as fast as I can to return it before anyone notices it is gone from the house. My legs sting from the nettles and my head whirls with what I’ve just seen. I glance back at the greenhouse but it is the empty, broken, snaggly teeth frame it usually is.

Thirty years later the key sits in its little carved box on the desk in my study.  The ribbon has long since frayed and broken and has been replaced with a sturdy silver watchchain. The key was left to me by my great-aunt but she never once told me it’s secret and I never once told her I knew. Now I know it was not just the key to the greenhouse lock but to any door lock with a bit of age to it. A way to glimpse a past beyond it, step back in time to whatever happened behind that door. Sometimes a few years, sometimes centuries.

I have seen so many moments from so many lives that I started writing them all down. My study is lined with an impressive set of notebooks, chronicling every door, every vision. And I write stories flowing from these visions imagining the lives from the scenes I see. Of course I have to be careful, never visit the same estate agent again after I’ve viewed the property I’m interested in. Make sure security cameras don’t catch me when touring stately homes and old houses on open days. Abandoned factories, castle ruins, museum visits, even high street shops and hotels can have old doors. I have written several bestsellers, volumes of ghost stories and have a yearly lecture tour on the history of domestic interiors. I am a success and I have the key to my success with me in my pocket.

The house I have chosen to view today is a grand Victorian townhouse, set back in its own grounds on a tree-lined avenue in a country town. I have chosen it deliberately after taking some time to research my family’s history. My publishers want to me write my autobiography and so I thought I would start with a little research. This was the house where my great-aunt was born. I have travelled for a few hours to get there but the estate agent can understand why a move from the city to the country is right for me now. With my large glasses, nondescript raincoat and a scarf covering my hair she does not recognise me. Or maybe she’s never read one of my books, either way, the hard hat completes my disguise today.

I breathe out and my breath hangs in the icy air in front of me, fogging up my glasses momentarily. I glance back at the doorway where the estate agent is still standing, perfectly still, hand on the light switch, frozen in time. I move forward, the house is warm, furniture stands polished, windows reflecting candlelight. I hear a noise and turn to find an old lady descending the grand staircase, one hand gripping the banister, the other gripping a silver-topped bamboo walking stick. She stares at me as though she can see me and then asks. ‘Is that you, Viola, where have you been? I have been waiting for so long. Your supper will be quite ruined. Your parents are expecting you to say goodnight!’

I am taken aback. Firstly, can this old lady see me and secondly, Viola was my great-aunt’s name. Before I can think about what to do next the old lady reaches me and deftly slips a hand into my raincoat pocket, retrieving the key on its silver chain. ‘Ahah! I thought as much! Here it is as usual, it is not your plaything Viola. This is my key!’ The old lady scolds, clipping the key back onto her chatelaine while raising the bamboo cane and whacking me on the leg with a practised hand before I can move out of the way. The cane makes stinging contact and, like the first time I used the key all those years ago, I stumble backwards in shock and fall back through the open door; sprawling on the wide stone steps leading up to the porch.

‘Oh my dear! Are you OK?’ the estate agent reaches out a hand. ‘I’m afraid these old houses can be such a nightmare to show round, trip hazards everywhere. Are you hurt? I didn’t see you stumble; I was just turning on the lights…’

‘I’m fine, really, just caught my foot on the doorframe. Clumsy really. No honestly, I’m fine.’ I tap the hard hat to reassure her and glance beyond her into the house but it is lit with the bright glow of modern lightbulbs and I can see peeling wallpaper and bare wooden floorboards. I check my raincoat pocket but there is no key there. I search the steps around me but there is no sign of it. I scramble to my feet and check all my pockets but there is only my phone, my purse and a train ticket. The key is gone.

‘Are you sure are OK? Have you lost something?’

‘Oh! No, no it’s here.’ I retrieve my train ticket and wave it at her, ‘Thought I’d lost it for a moment.’

‘Well, if you really are OK shall we carry on, I have a viewing straight after this across town.’

I nod and follow the estate agent into the house, not sure now there will be anything more to see.

 

The End

Wednesday, 25 October 2023

Seasonal Treat! free Kindle eBook this weekend.

This weekend, from Saturday 28/10/23 to Monday 30/10/23
Welcome to Whispering Ravine (a science fiction horror short story) will be free to download as an Amazon Kindle book.


Just click on this link to get to the Amazon page this weekend.


Tuesday, 24 October 2023

Amulet of Tears Book One Paperback Now Available; Book Two update





Book Two of this series is underway and I'm pleased to be on Chapter Two already, it's great to revisit these characters and plot the next steps on their adventures. 

I'm also delighted to say you can now buy Book One as a paperback on Amazon: you can find it here:


or click on book cover in the sidebar.















Wednesday, 21 June 2023

Space Zombie Holiday and Sil's Bar updated for 2023

I'm really pleased to have designed and updated the covers and edited the content on these two short stories. You can find them both available as Kindle Unlimited Editions across a range of Amazon platforms and my next step will be to publish the two together as a paperback later in the year. You can find them on my author page, P L Herlihy, in the Amazon Kindle section or click on the images and follow the links below.





Sil's Bar (Space Zombie Holidays Book 2) eBook : Herlihy, P L: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store














Monday, 15 May 2023

New release! Welcome to Whispering Ravine

 


Ned and Jenny Gilbrand are rangers who patrol the High Moor above Torcombe Bay on the Bristol Channel. Ned has long been fascinated by the Whispering Ravine, a hidden valley on the moor that runs to the coast and its mysterious wreckers past. Then, a storm unexpectedly rolls in, trapping a group of hikers and kayakers in the ravine overnight and, before the rangers can reach them, the storm turns into something much, much worse as the secret of the Whispering Ravine is revealed...

A science fiction and horror short story now available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited here.

Saturday, 8 April 2023

Now you can follow my Author page on Facebook for updates and short stories



I am delighted to say you can now find my Author page on Facebook where I will post up links to my books on Amazon, write the occasional short story or flash fiction and keep you updated with story progress. Just click on the link image above or the link below:

P L Herlihy | Facebook


Friday, 4 November 2022

The Tendrils (A Short Horror Story)

 For days now, Ned’s phone had been on the blink. Almost at the point for a factory reset, he’s so fed up with it. Today is Thursday, if it is still playing up on Saturday he’ll drop by the phone shop in town, maybe they can sort it out.

On the train it rings annoyingly in his pocket, despite being set to vibrate, a mad tune of shrill notes and groaning, like he’s deliberately trying to annoy the other commuters. He thrusts his hand deep into his jacket pocket and rummages around for the off button. For a second it feels as though something alive tickles his skin, like a spider. He yelps and withdraws his hand.

The old guy opposite, engrossed in his laptop, looks up and frowns. Once he’s off the train, walking the familiar footbridge over the platforms to his office block, Ned carefully opens out his jacket pocket and empties the contents onto the ground.

His phone clatters to the concrete. Whether it is the trick of the light or his own imagination, he could swear there were tendrils, like plant roots, stretching out from the phone case. He kicks it, but it is just a phone. He picks it up. The screen now has a long crack running across it. He tries turning it on but nothing happens, and he groans. Broken and now no phone till he can get to the shop on Saturday.

 

On Saturday, the phone fix-it girl places Ned’s phone in an in-tray bulging with phones. She blows a bubble-gum bubble and then hands him his receipt. ‘Check back by five, we’ll have looked at it by then.’ Ned smiles at her, noting her name badge, ‘Manda’ but she blows another bubble and it pops, sticking to her nose like a big pink bogie.

Later in the day, when the Manda returns from lunch, she could have sworn the phones in the in-tray were all moving. Perhaps it’s too much sugar and she sticks her gum to the bottom of the counter. Ned’s phone is next, she picks it up and prises off the case.

Manda jumps in surprise, is something growing out of the phone like plant roots, maybe a fungus? But whatever it was is suddenly gone. She must be imagining things. Manda replaces the screen and then prises the phone open. Inside the phone, a swarming nest of tendrils expands out across her hands, crawling up her arms. She screams as they wrap their way up her body, searching for a way to reach her brain.

At quarter to five Ned stops by the phone shop to see if his phone is ready. There is no sign of Manda, just the sweet smell of old bubble gum. His phone is sitting on the countertop so he rings the bell for assistance and picks up his phone. It switches on with no problem and he scrolls through his messages. The screen is repaired and it seems to be working fine. No one answers the bell so, since he paid upfront, he pockets his phone and leaves, he doesn’t want to miss the match tonight.

 

Manda’s brain responds well to the tendrils, despite it being an old-fashioned biological processing chip. The tendrils reach out through her work and they infest every phone she works on.

 

A few weeks later, Ned notices the person sitting opposite on the train is acting weird. Shaking and shivering, as though he’s ill. The guy is shaking so much he drops his phone. Ned asks if he is OK and reaches over to pick up the dropped phone. He hands it back to the other passenger and, as he does so, tendrils swarm out from the other person’s hand, twisting and climbing up his arm before Ned can even scream. By the time the train reaches his stop, the tendrils have infested Ned’s brain. He crosses the footbridge and makes his way to his office block as usual, placing his phone in the security tray full of phones at the front desk as he makes his way to work.

Tuesday, 1 November 2022

Seasonal Treat! Free Books!

 A reminder that a couple of my Kindle Unlimited eBooks on Amazon are free to download from today for five days! The promotion runs from 1/11/22 till 5/11/22 as a seasonal treat.

You can find them here:

Returning Home to Turnfrith eBook : Herlihy, P L : Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

'They are gone. Please arrange a time to collect your share. The estate will be sold if you don’t want to buy us out. The funeral is next Thursday.’
Cary is returning to her childhood home, Turnfrith Manor Farm, now the aunt and uncle who raised have died but the curt email from her twin sister has left her reeling... Cary and her twin Jenette have one thing in common, Lucas, Jenette's husband. Long ago Cary and Lucas were teenagers in love, or so she thought. Now she's returned to face her family again, but shocking events quickly take over on her arrival and nothing is as it seems.

Serendipity Dispatch: Seven Short Science Fiction Stories eBook : Herlihy, P L : Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

A selection of three short and four flash fiction sci-fi stories about love, loss and life in the future. Contains adult themes.

In 
The Cloud Collectors Meet the crew of Acie’s extraction ship, in orbit around the planet Minerva, busy cleaning the synthetic atmosphere when they find a stowaway with a story.

What is the strange hold a model of a city, left to Lettie by an old Aunt, has over her and why is she now lying to Victor. 
The Liminlands are calling to her.

In 
The Dividers Cory has a choice to make, real life mining minerals on an asteroid beyond the moon, or a virtual life on an ark, mining data but for some reason, her father won’t let her go to the arks.

Carol is waiting for the end of the galaxy, stuck alone in lighthouse on the edge of the Deep Crossing in space when another ship suddenly arrives. Will 
The Urgent Diversity of Existence, a pamphlet she is reading hold answers.

Tuesday, 11 October 2022

The Rise of the Symbots (micro fiction)

 It occurred to me yesterday. My housework gadgets are robots. Not the kind I imagined when I was a kid, scary humanoids all hellbent on controlling humanity. No, these are different. Benign. Unaware of me except to avoid bumping into me. We clean the apartment, sweep, vacuum, wash the floors. As I perform intricate tasks, clearing and dusting, the floor vacuum follows me, followed by the floor polisher and the small indoor insect-catching drone. Outside the lawn mower, the weed-picker and the window cleaning drone are busy. My favourite has to be the insect catcher watching it carefully trap spiders and flies and transport them to the window hatch for release. As we work, the patterns of our efficiencies become clear, a waltz of time and motion management through the apartment.

Somewhere, hidden from view, crawling through the building’s pipework, unblocking, collecting and recycling grease, hair and food waste is a small army of robotic moles. Same with the nanobots for the cabling. Every week, throughout the apartment building, people like me dance this dance. Orchestrating an army of efficiency. I sometimes imagine us all cleaning at the same time, a giant three-dimensional building symphony. I imagine it citywide, across the country, the continent, the planet itself. All of us dancing to the same tune. These robots are not our enemies or our friends, they do not need to look like us, or communicate with us; they are our simply our lifestyle choices leading us to this point of symbiosis. 

Thursday, 6 October 2022

Returning Home to Turnfrith

I am delighted to announce my latest short story is available as a Kindle Unlimted Edition on Amazon.

'They are gone. Please arrange a time to collect your share. The estate will be sold if you don’t want to buy us out. The funeral is next Thursday.’
Cary is returning to her childhood home, Turnfrith Manor Farm, now the aunt and uncle who raised have died but the curt email from her twin sister has left her reeling... Cary and her twin Jenette have one thing in common, Lucas, Jenette's husband. Long ago Cary and Lucas were teenagers in love, or so she thought. Now she's returned to face her family again, but shocking events quickly take over on her arrival and nothing is as it seems.

Please click on the link below to go to the Amazon page or click on image in sidebar for a preview.

Returning Home to Turnfrith



Tuesday, 14 June 2022

Serendipity Dispatch: Seven Short Science Fiction Stories

 I'm delighted to announce a new selection of three short and four flash fiction sci-fi stories about love, loss and life in the future, now available as a Kindle Unlimited Edition.


In 
The Cloud Collectors Meet the crew of Acie’s extraction ship, in orbit around the planet Minerva, busy cleaning the synthetic atmosphere when they find a stowaway with a story.

What is the strange hold a model of a city, left to Lettie by an old Aunt, has over her and why is she now lying to Victor. 
The Liminlands are calling to her.

In 
The Dividers Cory has a choice to make, real life mining minerals on an asteroid beyond the moon, or a virtual life on an ark, mining data but for some reason, their father won’t let them go to the arks.

Carol is waiting for the end of the galaxy, stuck alone in lighthouse on the edge of the Deep Crossing in space when another ship suddenly arrives. Will 
The Urgent Diversity of Existence, a pamphlet she is reading hold answers.

Contains adult themes.

Click here for link to Amazon or try out the preview opposite.

Thursday, 18 June 2020

Amulet of Tears Lore





Hello & welcome to the Amulet of Tears.

I am delighted to say I have now published Book One (Parts 1 to 3) as an eBook on Amazon, please follow the link in the side bar if you wish to purchase a copy.
 
I am leaving the Amulet Lore here on my blog, using it like a virtual notebook & adding to it as I write. Please note some things might change for plot continuity purposes. 

 Introduction to the story: 

Nanu, with the help of his sister Seer, is running a gruelling race across the fire plains of Naime to win back the Amulet of Tears for his people. Naime is their home planet, one of the Tied Worlds ruled by Ota. By winning it, it will set the Naime free from Ota's brutal rule.

 The Amulet is an ancient jewel that Blem is prepared to pay trillions for. If Ota sells the jewel, he will be able to pay off his debtors beyond the Tied Worlds & be free. 

 But Blem's protege, Cha is a Wind Walker whose people Ota destroyed. She wants to do more than help procure the jewel for Blem but inadvertently sets out on an adventure of her own across the Tied Worlds. 

 Jovu, the deal broker is simply after making sure he gets the best deal, whether it's Ota, Blem or Ota's creditors that he deals with. 

 Between them all, they trigger a set of events that will eventually take them beyond the fire plains & rift mines of Naime...

Click here to read Part 1 and 2 for free over on Fiction Press.


Glossary

Amulet of Tears

An ancient artefact, believed to be a piece of jewellery.
'The central leucotine gemstone glows with a milky light, around it, lesser gems, red emperiums, blue hyacinthstone & a ring of opalescent fyredimes glitter. Three milk pearls and a suspended waterbarle complete the jewel.'









Amulet of Tears Lore

 

Amulet of Tears
‘The central leucotine gemstone glows with a milky light, around it, lesser gems, red emperiums, blue hyacinthstone & a ring of opalescent fyredimes glitter. Three milk pearls and a suspended waterbarle complete the jewel.’

The Amulet of Tears is an ancient jewel, maker unknown, depicting the Tied Worlds. It is the symbol of the Naime & of considerable wealth.

Body Damper
Electronic device creating an interference shield camouflaging the wearer from scanning devices.

Brinwold Seawater
A spa treatment, the seawater from the Brinwold planet system is high in minerals and salts & highly sought after as a relaxant for space travel stress.

Caliedeope
The spinning disc galaxy the Tied Worlds solar system is in.

Chafestalk
A rough grass used for animal silage and once processed, for weaving. 

Cloche
Type of hard hat worn on the Tied Worlds, usually with an outer layer of heavy cloth, covering most of the face.

Cred (Singular)
Creds (plural)
Monetary unit of credit system run on the Naime planet.

Disrupter Gun
A disrupter gun fires focused high frequency beams that rupture cellular cohesion through interference at point of convergence.

Doub (Singular)
Doubs (Plural)
Official monetary unit of the local solar systems.

Etoh-Mix
An alcoholic mix designed to be introduced into the drink tubes of travelpod suit-seats.

Face-Tech Tattoos
Cyberware tattooed onto the skin to provide enhancement, connectivity or control over external hardware.  

Fanfare
Tree roosting forest bird. Seed eating found in the Honetan Forests.

Fathomer
Title given to someone who has undergone many educational processes on Parse-Terra in multiple disciplines such as science, economics and medicine. With the title is the weight of responsibility for your local community.

Fleose
A long, simple gown or top made of any soft, woven material.

Flikscreen
Portable device with the ability to project information streams to other nearby devices in real time.

Fulcrum Flies
A marsh insect found on Parse-Terra, named for its erratic flight pattern, hovering while producing a whirring sound to attract mates then jumping to another spot, mid-air, propelled by releasing rubber band-like muscles on its legs.

Glimmer
The name for the effect of sunlight on the dust ring, causing blinding light flares on the polar caps of Syrene.

Gravonium
A noble metal element.

GST
Galaxy Standard Time. A standardized time system across the galaxy to allow for easier trade & communications.

HAB Kit
A basic survival kit for planet pioneering. Contains basic rations, medicines & survival equipment. Habitat Adaptive Biodome Kit

Hecton
A volumetric unit on the planet Honetan. Based on an old system of measuring the weight of a crop by its dimensions. A hecton equals the amount of crop one Honetan could carry on their own, roughly equivalent to a standard cubic meter.

Hoop-Station
Space travel speeds are increased using laser propulsion which can be magnified many times by passing through a series of mirrored donut shaped space stations, forming lanes to cross large areas of space.

Hotsand
A type of powdery rock found on the Naime planet. When exposed to sandmint oil it explodes. Often used for rock blasting in the mines or ground up to be used as a firelighter.

Liege Lines
Usually presented as a tattoo or body ornamentation, liege lines express the feudal ancestry of the wearer, like a family tree of ownership.

Leans
A compound word, leather or pleather and jeans.

Lung Sail
A breathing bladder designed to float above you by using a double layered outer shell filled with helium. The internal bladder can be filled with clean air or water and tethered to you by a feeding tube.

MagProp Batteries© Engine
An MPB© engines uses Magnetars to charge its battery-based EM propulsion system.

Moon Shitting
Once a saying used when something easy becomes overly complicated to do, now used as a profanity.

Mindsplain
A type of herb, brewed to produce a mind altering effect, often used as a truth serum.

Mintweed
A culinary herb found on Honetan.

Night Slips
Marsh-dwelling creature on Parse-Terra.

Panagereme
Type of vine fruit, with pink flesh and sweet pips with a thin edible yellow skin, up to 8cm in diameter.

Panicle Seed
A food crop plant on the Tied Worlds, usually ground and used as a type of flour.

Phosphor Eels
A bio-luminescent eel found in the marshes of Parse-Terra.

Pungene
A noxious gas found on Barle.

Quinium
A precious element derived from the processing of quintessence.

Quintessence
The fifth element in the universe, defined as comprising of dark energy.

Saltwort
A type of edible plant like a seaweed. Native to the Tied Worlds.

‘Salvar Trove’
Misinterpreted by Cha as meaning treasure trove, the ‘Salvar Trove’ is an escape route

Salvar – save
Trove – find

Sand Mint
Aromatic herb growing on plains of the Naime planet. Containing volatile oils that combust in the air on exposure to high temperatures hence giving the fire plains their name. At night, sparks from these fires fill the air, caused by the hot air rising into the cooler night sky.

Sandmint Oil
A highly flammable oil pressed from the leaves of Sand Mint.

Sinbarum Balm Oil
A skin emollient made from pearl oil, farmed in the pearl fields on the planet Sinbarum.

Slipon
A plain utility tunic, primarily used for uniforms.

Snow Spriggan
Mythical being associated with the planet Syrene.

Sofface
A Naime musical instrument, like a drum, producing different tones when tapped.

Sollop
A moss, grown as a food crop, rich in amino acids.

Sonic Vortex
Machine using sonic waves directed into a vortex field to hold an object in place. First built to stabilise shockwaves from hypersonic travel.

Spacedial
FTL (faster than light) universal communication system.

Space Fugue
A dream state often induced by long bouts space travel, where the individual has trouble distinguishing the conscious from the unconscious.

Stimpen
A quick revival auto-injector pen, delivering a stimulant to counter the effect of sedatives.

Terranium
A conductive salt harvested from a plant of the same name, grown in the salt marshes on Parse-Terra.

Torque (plural)  
Torquo (singular)
Hunting bolas often worn in pairs on the arm. Made from a rope of woven plant material with lizard claws weighted with lead at each end. The claws are found on the fire plains, shed from lizard species both living & extinct on the Naime planet.

Water-Bark & Water-Trees
Barrel-shaped trees with tough silvery leaves, the bark can be cut to reveal, fleshy edible pulp high in sugars and water. The bark can be plaited and carried as a food and water source.

Wisdomer
A person who guides or mentors people on the planet Syrene.

Wrist App
A skin surface-mounted bio-chip, most often used by organisations with large workforces. Can be programmed for resources such as attendance, admittance, security clearance and time and motion studies.

Wyren
Syrean Cave Bat


Xinta (singular)
A type of small knife, usually worn hidden in clothing, typically carried by Gemins. The handles feature horn from Mountain Oryx and finely worked silver motifs. The blades are knapped Gemin flint.

Zstral
The name of a fictional fiery planet in Naime folklore. Often used in comparative sayings. Eg ‘as hot as a firestorm on Zstral’ or ‘I’d run the firestorms of Zstral’ as an expression of how difficult or important a task is.

 

The Tied Worlds Solar System

Star/Sun: Leucotia

The four large planets of the solar system:
Barle - Gas Giant, outer planet, largest of the planets. Habitable.
Naime - Dying planet, mined for precious metals and gems. Homeworld of the Naime.
Honet - Habitable planet.
Volpair - Once habitable planet, destroyed by Ota. 

The five smaller planets of the solar system:
Blythe - Technically a moon, satellite to Honet. Habitable
Syrene - A cold planet furthest from the sun, Leucotia. Habitable.
Solea – A fiery, volcanic planet closest to the sun, Leucotia. Uninhabitable.
Duos and Empiria – Once moons for the planet Barle, now pulled away into their own orbit. Habitable. 
Homeworld of the Wind Walkers.













Sol




~~~~~~~~~~


Artefacts from the Andominium

A sketch of Seer & her brother Nanu drawn by Zoa during their time at the Fire Sanctuary.



A sketch of Cha.


A Hand Drawn map of the Tied Worlds Solar System (artist unknown)




Syrene Old Language Translations

 

An - I am

Beforn - before

Caverns – Tunnels/caves

Flyge - fly

Hearthen – Home

Glimmer – the proper noun for the effect of sunlight on the dust ring, causing blinding light flares on the polar caps of Syrene.

Mi – I/me

Most - must

On – In

Quiken – Quick/run

Sleppen – Sleep

Toggon – Go to / to get

Wealk - walk

Wyren - Syrean Cave Bat

Ule – You

Y - And

 

‘Wyren sleppen on cavernes. Flur y Char most toggon hearthen. Quiken! Quiken!’

‘Syrene Cave Bats sleep in the tunnels. Flur and Char must get home. Run! Run!’

‘Uly y mi wealk Hearthen beforn glimmer.’



‘You & I walk home before the glimmer’

‘Ule sleppen on mi hearthen y ule most reman onside amiddn glimmer. Wilcom tog Glist Fae!’

‘You sleep in my home and you must remain inside during the glimmer, Welcome to Glist Fae!’

‘Uly salvar, uly sleppen, uly flyge.’

‘You safe, you sleep, you fly.’

 

 

Thursday, 28 November 2019

Introducing ~ Zoology. Part One ~ In the future, food is new gold...

Earth was abundant. When we had finally finished plundering its resources, we moved on. But our new homes were never as rich. So we sent ships with scientific teams to find new zoology in distant galaxies we could farm, synthesise or simply hunt down and eat.
Join Daniel and his team on the Saturn Anne II as they explore a dangerous galaxy, looking for new resources, while back at home, in the Five Galaxies, a web of intrigue tries to destroy their mission.

Now available as an Amazon Kindle Edition (click here)

Sil's Bar now available on Amazon Kindle

Dennis is ready for his holiday, he just has to finish filing a load of patent expiries before he leaves for a once in a lifetime space holiday on board The Nightingale..
Xiang is trying to find a cocktail for her alumni party but the patent-expired recipe she downloads goes horribly wrong..
Professor J. Javelin is trying to make a weaponised Zombie mind-control gene on Outpost Earth but there is an outbreak of very hungry insects to deal with..
Sil is running out of money trying to run space holidays on the spaceship The Nightingale. Sil's Bar, her beloved bar on the ship is almost bankrupt. It's twelve years since the Zombie outbreak and no one remembers them anymore...
It is Captain Rock Jansson's birthday and he's on his way to the nearest bar which just happens to be Sil's Bar..
When a new Zombie army threatens the galaxy, will old and new friends be able to work as a team to save the day?

Now available as a Kindle Edition on Amazon. (click here)