The Earthborn Saga - Book Tour and Giveaway

​Night is falling. 
Embrace the darkness.

A Son of the Shadows
The Earthborn Saga Vol 1
by Steven Bissett
Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy  

Night is falling. Embrace the darkness.

On the ice-clad prison world of Delta-13, where minds teeter on the edge of madness, mankind's future dangles by a thread.

Living under the shadow of an imperial conspiracy, Rex Hunt discovers a psychic gift that will upset the balance of power in the entire galaxy.

As Rex grapples with his newfound power, prison psychiatrist, Dr. Lily Tselitel, delves into the chilling surge of madness among the inmates, pulling her closer to a secret as old as the galaxy itself.

Their paths converge as they uncover an imperial plot to build a weapon that threatens to suffocate the flickering spirit of rebellion in the galaxy's fringe colonies.

Unbeknownst to the rebels, as they fight against the empire's sinister plan, an ancient shadow looms over the galaxy, threatening to consume humanity's vast colonies, and even Earth itself!

Discover the first book in an epic space opera where hope survives in secret taverns, and the line between life and death is blurred in the snowy expanse of Delta-13.

You're just one click away from learning mankind's fate.


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A man tore breathlessly through a frozen forest as a terrifying roar filled the air.
“Pick up your feet, Rex, or we’re goners!” shouted a voice only he could hear.
Rex Hunt moved as quickly as he dared across the hard, icy snow. One slip and he’d tumble to the ground, instantly becoming dinner for the massive bear that chased him. In his left hand he clutched an artifact, a small glowing medallion that possessed mild healing powers. He’d found it near the den of a mother bear and her two small cubs, and she had resented his intrusion.
“I told you to leave it alone,” chided the voice in his ear. “But you had to go after it anyway!”
“How about you save the lecture until after we survive this?!” shouted Hunt, tearing through icy branches that stabbed at him through his environment suit.
“It’s gaining on us,” said the voice with alarm. “Double-time it to the hideout, or we’re dead meat!”
“I’m nearly there,” Hunt said, bursting out of the forest and scaling a shallow, rocky hill. A moment later the bear rushed into the open and paused, bellowing from deep inside her belly and looking for Hunt. She saw him clambering up the hill and took off after him.
“She sees us, Rex,” the voice said. “I hope you’ve made your final arrangements.”
“Don’t worry,” Hunt said, smiling in spite of his breathless condition. “We’re there.”
He moved around a boulder, momentarily losing the bear. He approached a wall of solid rock and walked through it. On the other side stood a small mirage generator of alien manufacture. The space it hid was small, only five feet high by two feet deep. But it was enough to conceal him if he twisted to the side and leaned his hand on one knee.
The bear thundered up to where she had seen him last, roared her confusion at his disappearance, and sniffed the air.
“If that thing pokes its head through the mirage, we’re finished.”
Hunt couldn’t respond. The slightest sound would alert the bear. He stood absolutely still while the creature smelled the tracks he’d left on the ground. She roared half-heartedly, hoping to scare him out of wherever he was hiding. A minute passed anxiously, Hunt’s body beginning to tremble as his muscles tired from holding such an awkward stance after his desperate run. Finally the bear lowered her head and ambled slowly back down the hill and into the forest.
“We can’t afford any more stunts like that,” the voice said, as Hunt sighed his relief and sat down on the snowy ground behind the mirage.
“Come on, Wellesley, you know how it is,” Hunt replied, slipping off the helmet he wore and letting the frigid air cool his hot nerves. “All the good stuff close to town has been taken. We’ve got to head further out if we’re gonna find anything worth selling. People don’t go for trinkets anymore.”
“You can’t make a profit if you’re dead, Rex,” Wellesley said. “I wish you humans weren’t so money conscious all the time.”
“If we weren’t I never would have dug you up out of the snow, old friend,” Hunt said with a smile, knowing he held the trump card. “It was the human spirit of enterprise that rescued you from that drift you were in.”
“What a blessing, indeed,” replied the AI sarcastically. “Drawn from the snow so I could end up in a bear’s stomach. Oh well, perhaps I could have given her indigestion in the process. Then my sad life would have meant something.”
Hunt shook his head but said nothing. Wellesley was in one of his dark moods and nothing would shake him from it. He had been built for a nobler purpose than that of assistant to a poor greenhouse worker and part-time scavenger of artifacts.

The Beast Emerges
The Earthborn Saga Vol II

Ancient secrets. New battles.

An unyielding, insidious peril, the Devourers unleash chaos in the galaxy.

First in their malevolent sights: the ice planet Delta-13, next the enigmatic jungles of Preleteth. Rex Hunt, driven by destiny and cryptic legends, forges alliances in the galaxy's darkest corners.

From pirate-infested asteroids to secret Imperial bases, danger lurks at every corner. When ancient prophecies from the sentient world of Preleteth point to a shadowy salvation, Rex's fate becomes irrevocably intertwined with a journey that spans galaxies.

Every alliance forged, every secret unveiled, and every battle waged will shape the future in this grand space opera of courage, sacrifice, and cosmic revelation.

Dive deep with Rex and his crew as they embark on a perilous journey. If you think you've outsmarted the might of the Empire or the ruthlessness of the Devourers… prepare for your reckoning.

Jump into book two of The Earthborn Saga today!

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Mayday! Mayday! This is imperial vessel Rising Dawn to any human forces in the vicinity of Delta-13. I am in need of immediate assistance! Can anyone read me?”
Captain Galerius Lucan checked the rear-facing cameras on his small vessel and saw a pair of Devourer fighter craft closing fast. Vile green globs of acidic filth shot forth from strange, mouthlike gunports mounted beside their fuselages, narrowly missing his craft. Several had already hit the ship, dealing serious damage to the unshielded vessel.
“I repeat, this is the transport vessel Rising Dawn! I need help now! For the love of all things holy, somebody help me, please! I have passengers aboard!”
Throwing the clumsy vessel into a lethargic barrel roll, he managed to avoid two of the three blobs that chased after him. The third landed on one of the port engines, burning through its metal housing in seconds and disabling it.
“I’ve just lost one of my engines!” he screamed into his microphone.
“Imperial vessel Rising Dawn, this is Colonel Pinchon of the Black Fang pirates. We have received your distress call, and are coming to help. Hang on.”
Stunned that the gravelly voice he heard belonged to a pirate, Lucan was nevertheless relieved.
“Probably rescuing me so they can keep the ship for themselves,” he thought, dodging another pair of blasts as he did so. “But at least I’ll be alive!”
He saw a pair of nimble fighters form up behind his alien assailants and open fire with their small rapid fire railguns. The first few bursts missed as the pirates found their ranges. Then they zeroed in on one of them, unloading a devastating blast into its sole engine. Instantly the tiny craft exploded, severely damaging its partner and sending it tumbling away from them in a wild spin.
“Colonel Pinchon to Rising Dawn, your six is clear. You’d better come with us. They probably let out a distress signal of their own before we took ‘em down. They’ll be crawling all over this area in minutes.”
“Where are we going?” Lucan asked, quickly forgetting his past danger and worried what his rescuers intended to do with him.
“To the only place that’s still halfway safe for humans,” Pinchon said. “The Black Fang base on Delta-13.”
Dubiously Lucan fell in behind his escorts, who cut their speed so the limping transport could keep up.
Far in the distance his scanner showed that the largest Devourer vessels were floating just above the planet. The only ships still in orbit were fighter craft, like the ones that had been on him just moments before. Moving to the opposite side of Delta-13, he descended through a dense layer of clouds and found himself in the middle of a violent snowstorm.
“I-I can’t see anything,” he said over the radio. “And my instruments aren’t showing any base.”
“That’s because it’s camouflaged,” replied Pinchon, a smile audible on his lips. “Don’t worry, we’ll guide you right to it. Just stay on our six.”
“Affirmative,” he said, clicking off the radio and leaning back in his seat to try and calm himself. The storm beat against the transport, trying to knock it off course. But with effort he managed to stay with his escorts until they slowed into a stationary hover two hundred feet above the ground.
“The landing pad is directly beneath you,” Pinchon spoke over the radio. “Begin your descent. I’ll let you know if you need to adjust your approach.”
“Roger,” Lucan replied, flicking the switch to engage landing mode and ever so gingerly lowering the Rising Dawn to the pad below.
“A little to your left,” Pinchon said. “That’s it. Nice and slow. The wind’s picking up. Just a tad to the right. A little more. There you go.”
Moments later the vessel’s landing gear touched the pad, and a green light blinked on to show that the ship was securely grounded. Detaching his harness and leaving the cockpit, he found the dozen passengers nervously talking among themselves, trying to figure out what had happened.
“There’s the Captain!” a middle-aged woman said. “He can tell us what’s going on.”
“Where are we?” a man asked. “This doesn’t look like the prison complex.”
“It’s not,” replied Lucan, trying to find the words to inform twelve confused imperial employees that they were now the guests of the most feared criminal organization in the fringe. Before he could elaborate a knock was heard on the hatch embedded in the ship’s starboard side. Leaving the passengers to guess among themselves, he turned and walked back towards the cockpit, stopping just short of it. He put his hands on the lever that controlled the door and hesitated for a moment, his mind racing over what his distress call might have gotten them in for. Then he braced himself and gave the old lever a firm twist.

The Crucible of Titans
The Earthborn Saga Vol III

Dreadnoughts. Devourers. Deception. In a star field of lies, can anyone be trusted?

Trapped aboard the Empire’s ultimate weapon, Sentinel, Rex becomes the crucial factor in the cosmic war against the Devourers.

But there's a mysterious web of deceit beyond the battlefield. Driven by an intense hatred of mankind, an ancient being emerges as the parasite's true puppet master.

Between the Empire, the Devourers, emboldened pirates, and a plethora of colonial revolutionaries, are there simply too many enemies to overcome?

The mysterious Krancis, architect of the Empire's desperate gambit to survive, sends Sentinel on a collision course with the single greatest foe ever to threaten mankind. The battle to come is beyond colossal: it's a celestial clash of titans that could cost Rex everything he has left.

Dive into this enthralling mosaic of military tactics, clandestine politics, and cosmic spirituality. Feel the universe quake under the weight of monumental choices. Here, heroes are born, villains rise, and entire galaxies crumble.

Ready for the next level of space opera?

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The Tides of Retribution
The Earthborn Saga Vol IV  

Will the Empire crumble under the weight of betrayal and invasion?

As the galaxy is besieged by the merciless Devourers and treacherous Fringers, one ship and one man stand as humanity's final hope.

Can the enigmatic Rex, a master of shadowy psychic powers, and the massive warship, Sentinel, keep the relentless enemy at bay?

Rumors of alien infiltration and psychic omens shake the Empire to its core. Can Rex and Sentinel hold the line long enough for Krancis’ new experimental weapon to be deployed against their enemy?

As the hive-minded Devourers grow bolder and more ruthless by the day, the Empire finds itself fighting battles on multiple fronts. Eliminating high-level operatives providing intelligence to the parasite becomes as crucial as protecting the Empire's teeming population centers.

Venture into this colossal clash, where an alien hive mind, the Imperium’s internal enemies, and the ticking clock that marks humanity’s doom converge. Witness as Krancis' innovations offer a glimmer of hope, Rex pushes his psychic gifts to the limit, and the Devourers edge closer to ultimate victory over humanity.

Ready to discover what surprises await humanity?

Immerse yourself into the intrigue of book four of the Earthborn Saga today!


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The Crusade of Vengeance
The Earthborn Saga Vol V

The tides are turning, but is it enough to save humanity?

When the Empire’s last gamble pays off, the Devourer's end finally seems inevitable.

Armed with Adler fighters and Sentinel's devastating cannon, the Devourer's reign of terror might be on the brink of ending.

But the colossal enemy has one last trick up its sleeve and is spreading a devilish evil across the Empire in a desperate bid at victory. Armed with city-sized masses of stinking Devourer flesh, these psychic nightmares that consume life are being warped in from deep space to wreak havoc on the Empire's core worlds.

And even as Rex powers Sentinel's cannon to obliterate the Devourer's latest monstrosities, a darker evil waits in the wings, a force that dwarfs all other threats.

Advanced weaponry meets arcane entities and the very fabric of the universe hangs by a thread.

Prepare to confront the real enemy in book five of the Earthborn Saga today!

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 Steven Bissett has been writing stories for over fourteen years. An eclectic author, he excels at seamlessly blending genres together to produce unique stories. With compelling characters, dynamic plots, and a crisp, candid style that holds nothing back, Bissett continues to delight readers of every age.


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Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
Absolutely, I started writing when I was 13. My first couple of stories were short and mostly written for my own enjoyment, but it wasn’t long before it occurred to me that writing was so natural for me that I might want to consider it as a career.

I didn’t have the means to publish any of those early stories, so they just kind of built up and were a fun thing to keep myself occupied with and to practice storytelling.

After graduating, there were a number of bumpy years, and I almost put down the idea of writing to fully pursue a career in the normal economy.

What really changed things was during a phone call to an Uncle, I mentioned that I had written a few short stories and he asked me to send him some copies.

When they arrived, he read through them in about 5 days, and called to tell me he thought thought they were fantastic!

So with his encouragement, I decided to give writing another go and I’ve been writing ever since!

Do you have a favorite movie?
Hands down, Rio Bravo!

I think it’s some of John Wayne’s best acting, and the film itself is a masterpiece of storytelling and pacing. And it’s really great on the visual storytelling. In the opening 3 minutes the stakes are established, the sides are drawn, and the main characters are detailed, and all of it without saying a word!

It was hugely influential for me growing up, and I learned a lot about handling narrative and scene setting from it.

Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?
The first one that comes to mind is A Son of the Shadows.

The setting is one that would translate really well to film; It’s a penal colony on a frozen world, our heroes are living under the watchful eyes of the authorities, and somehow they need to thwart a diabolical plan being worked on in the high-security prison complex. And they need to do this with no off-world support, and very few resources.

Also, since it’s the first in the Earthborn series, there wouldn’t be a need to explain in-universe concepts from earlier books.

A close second would be the prequel to A Son of the Shadows: Hero of the People. While it is written as a prequel, you don’t have to read A Son of the Shadows in order to get the concepts.

In tone, Hero of the People is close to being a noir tale of choices and consequences, and the stakes are very clearly defined. So it would be really self-contained and easy to pick up and watch.

Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?
Sure thing, I’ll summarize them with a major attribute, and then go into a little more detail to explain.

Rex: Loyalty.
Somewhat counterintuitive for someone who was exiled to a prison world as a child for someone else’s crime and grew up around underworld types, Rex is unshakeable in his loyalty to his friends.

Much of this can be seen to stem from the fact that on Delta-13, the only things of real value are your word and your friends. Anything else can be taken away by the authorities, and being friendless or unreliable is often to be dead.

For Rex, this taps into his naturally honest and fair personality and causes him to unblinkingly confront assassins and celestial beings for his friends.

Wellesley: Responsibility.
Built for management, responsibility comes naturally to Wellesley and he always looks for the best practical outcome for his friends and allies.

Conscious of his wartime experience, Wellesley puts meticulous thought into his advice and knows vividly that many people’s lives hang on his assessments.

Lily: Discovery.
An intensely curious woman by nature, Lily has devoted her life to uncovering the mysteries of the mind and understanding what makes people do the things they do.

Extreme cases, unknown mental disorders, mysterious psychological afflictions, all are fascinating to Lily and she jumps at the chance to help those that are suffering from them.

But what no one else knows is that her pursuits are fueled by a condition that she’s managed to keep secret for most of her life.

Gromyko: Enthusiasm.
Growing up on Delta-13 presented Gromyko with two options: Be crushed by the bleakness of life until he dies forgotten, or be a Superman to inspire hope.

Being the great man that he is, he chose to be a Superman, and he lives life just as close to the edge as he can while trying to free the people of Delta-13 from their unjust imprisonment.

Many see his actions as self-aggrandizing self-promotion, but in truth, they are actually motivated by a deep attachment to the people of Delta-13 and an unrestrained love of life.

Ugo: Idealism.
A true intellectual and idealogue, Ugo believes that the only path for humanity is through pure freedom of the mind.

Naturally an explorer, the Empire’s heavy-handed control tactics offended him personally and drove him to radical freedom movements promising to release humanity from the chains it’s been bound by. Even if the cost is a bloody galactic civil war that would leave many human worlds open to attack from aliens.

In other areas of life, he’s a very balanced and reasonable man that tries to find the best outcome for everyone. But in the name of his idea of “freedom”, there’s no one that he won’t sacrifice.

What is your favorite part of A Son of the Shadows and why?
My favorite part has to be when Rex and Gromyko go out to contact the Order operative and run into the authorities. I won’t spoil it for those that haven’t read it, but Rex and Gromyko act very naturally and smoothly in concert, and the scene is so dynamic that it’s one of my overall favorite scenes in the whole series.

How did you come up with the name “A Son of the Shadows”?
I came up with it while brainstorming titles with my brother. We were trying out different possible titles, and shuffling a list of words to draw inspiration from when my mind caught on “Shadows”.

I really liked the mystique of it, and since darkness plays such a role in the book, it seemed like a really great starting place. So we started working on what could go with “Shadows” to fill out the title, and give a weighty feeling for the book.

We settled on “A Son of the Shadows” since it has a double meaning for the protagonist Rex.

Firstly, he’s an orphan and was raised “in the shadows” on Delta-13, so it’s a pretty direct connection.

But the second is because of the dark “shadow” power that guides his destiny and shapes who he is. Metaphorically, he is a “son” to the power since he wouldn’t exist without it, and it’s the whole reason why he’s a significant person.

Have you written any other books that are not published?
Yes, I’ve got a couple that haven’t been published. For the most part, they’re Western short stories that I wrote before starting in on the Earthborn Saga, but there are a few fantasy books as well.

Westerns hold a special place for me, so someday I’d like to write up a few more stories and release a new collection of short stories.

How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing for over 15 years!

What makes a good story?
Relatable characters solving a problem. There are a lot of other factors that can be involved, but I find that essentially if you can “get” where the characters are coming from, and they are grappling with an issue that has compelling meaning for them, the story is instantly interesting.

It’s outside of writing, but it’s one of my favorite examples of this principle in practice is the show This Old House.

On its face, it’s a home improvement program where an old house is gutted and renovated into a dream house. There is no drama, practically no action, follows a known formula with no plot twists, and takes a long time to complete. So there are none of the usual tricks or methods of catching attention.

But the show is absolutely iconic, and practically everyone has flipped over to it briefly and kept watching until the segment was over.

I believe it’s because the show has a very relatable cast, and they are grappling with a problem, (renovation), that means a lot to them. And since they take it completely seriously, we feel like we should take it seriously, and the show has instant meaning for us.

And I’ve found over and over again that the books that have the strongest appeal for me, consist of relatable characters working to overcome a problem that matters to them.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
It depends on a few factors, but an Earthborn Saga book is around 2-3 months to write. First I feel out the main plot elements and get a sense of the tone that I want to hit with the book, and that usually takes me around 2 weeks. During this time, I also work on the book’s lore, formulate situations for the characters to explore, and come up with elements to give texture to the narrative.

Once the groundwork is done and I have a feeling for where I’m going, I start in on the book itself. The books are around 180,000 to 200,000 words, and I work with a goal of writing a minimum of 4,000 words per day. So when you count in days off that comes out to about 2 months of writing.

Then after that, I take a week or so for editing and proofreading and get the book ready for publishing.

What do you do to unwind and relax?
My favorites are to visit with friends, sing karaoke, and go dancing.

Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?
Absolutely, I have a short story called “Hero of the People” that goes into some of the backstory for Antonin Gromyko, and details an adventure from the early days of the Underground.

The story is a free download from my website stevenbissett.com

Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
I’ve drawn some characteristics off of real people, and that’s added some texture, but the characters themselves spring entirely from my imagination.

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the
story?
I feel really like the narrative unfolds naturally and according to it’s own logic, so it’s almost like watching life happen before me.

If you’re familiar with tabletop RPGs, a really great analogy is to think of it like a game of Dungeons and Dragons. Where I am the Dungeon Master, and it’s my job to create the narrative and the overall script for the adventure to follow.

However the individual character interactions are handled by the player characters. Working from their backgrounds and personalities, they are all unscripted and react off of each other like billiards balls.

What I really like about it is it gives a very natural feel to the story and dialogue, and it makes each situation unpredictable.

Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
It’s kind of a mix, but a lot of the characters come up in the process of storytelling.

Sometimes what will even happen is I create a short-term character for a limited engagement, but I like the character a lot or he compliments the other characters, so I write him into more of a major role.

Do you see writing as a career?
Definitely, I love writing and creating worlds to experience. Also, it is so satisfying to create a story that even if I wasn’t doing it professionally, I would write stories just for the enjoyment of it.

What do you think about the current publishing market?
I think it’s an overall improvement over where it was in the past, but it’s tough and brings a new and ever-evolving set of challenges.

Since the market isn’t dominated by big publishers, it’s much more feasible to make a career as an independent author. And with eBooks and advancements like print on demand, the bar of entry is lower than it’s ever been.

On the flip side, it’s so simple for anyone to publish a book, that there’s a ton of new books coming on the market every day, and just being seen is the hard part. Then to stand out, authors need marketing, ads, and plenty of reviews.

So before too long, the author is a small business owner and has to manage a lot of things outside of the book itself.

Overall, I take the state of the market as a step forward since I think that there are a lot of books out there that otherwise wouldn’t be published, but it’s still a lot of work to make a career out of it.

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?
For the most part, I write them one at a time. On occasion, I’ll write a short story while working on a mainline title, but I like to keep my headspace on a single book.

Do you prefer to write in silence or with music?
Usually, I have some kind of music. I find that it pulls me into a place where I can let my mind flow and the story almost begins writing itself.

Pen or type writer or computer?
Computer all the way! I find it’s way easier to type on a computer, and since the book is backed up to the cloud, I can access it anywhere.

Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?
I read quite a lot, and my favorite genres are biography and history. I find reading about what people actually did and how they lived their lives to be fascinating.

And since it really happened, it gives me a great idea of what’s possible when writing fiction.

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