Stephanie O'Brien
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Above the Remains of Their World: Excerpts from "Heroic Lies"

17/6/2022

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In this week's excerpts from Heroic Lies, two young aliens try to find a path to hope while their world burns below them.

“The planet is taken. Do not come home.”

Eight grim words that said so much. And, beyond that, nothing. No elaboration, no instructions, not even a set of star charts.

They must not have had time.

​He was supposed to be firm and decisive, to make a plan and ensure that it was carried out. But the immensity of the disaster that had swallowed their lives was smothering his mind, reducing all thought of action to a vague and impossible dream.

​Respectfully ignoring his shipmate’s distress, Zorei turned to the front of the ship, visibly calling on a store of resolve that Kadian couldn’t hope to equal. “Home,” he said, as firmly as he could, reaching for the controls. “We’re finding a new home.”

​“We’re finding a new home.”

A ludicrous idea, too strange and impossible to be stated so simply. Somehow, in the vastness amidst alien stars, they were going to have to... “Just like that?”

“Yes.”

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​

If you want to see what happens to Zorei and Kadian, you can 
see a longer excerpt and grab your copy of Heroic Lies here.

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Ships and Reporters Silenced: 4 Short Excerpts from "Heroic Lies

11/6/2022

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A small, wry smile pulled at her lips, disturbing the dusty coating that had settled on them. “This ship probably sent messages through space, but I can’t even use it to contact a person in this building, or a city that’s sitting just outside that wall.”

​“The one story I couldn’t convincingly report. Sorry, buddy.” Her eyes strained upward into the dark. “But if I can’t get people to believe your story, at least I can make sure I don’t have to tell them its ending. Not for a good long while.”

​The spaceship was starting to fade into the dusk, and the reporter cast it a regretful glance as she neared the exit. “Sorry, ship. Looks like we’re both muzzled today. I’ll come back when I know how to talk to you.”

​“Do not come home.” The message lingered on the small comm screen, crushing in its cold, unbending simplicity. “The planet is taken. Do not come home.”

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​If you want to read the story Alexandra couldn't report, you can see a longer excerpt and grab your copy of Heroic Lies here.

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Drifting in Space and Tragedy: More Excerpts from "Heroic Lies"

28/5/2022

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​
This week's round of Heroic Lies excerpts is brought to you by The Department of Zorei and Kadian Need A Hug.​

At last, the pain began to seep through the fog of his numb shock, and the burning in his eyes forewarned him of the tears that he struggled to hold back.

No. He had to be strong now. Enough for both of them.

“I’m sorry. Sometimes I forget. It’s just... I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be blaming you.”

He tried to lift his head. To acknowledge the apology. But for a moment, all he could do was stare at the controls, fighting to rally himself.

​“I’ll scan again,” he managed at last. “I can’t sense life signs, but maybe... I don’t know... maybe there will be a distress signal or something…”

Probably not. But doing something felt better than silently drowning in grief.

​“When you were preparing this ship... where did you want to go, and who were you planning to fight when you got there?”

Zorei didn’t look up, choosing instead to double-check their anti-sensor cloak before turning his gaze to the void. “I don’t know.”

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​If you want to read more about these two heartbroken aliens, you can 
get a longer excerpt and grab your copy of Heroic Lies here.

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Suspicious Spaceships and Acidic Accusations: More Excerpts from Heroic Lies

21/5/2022

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Another week, another round of playing #SlapDashSat, and another batch of tweet-sized excerpts from Heroic Lies!

Aren’t you supposed to save me, hero? she thought. Isn’t that what everybody loves you for?

She shook her head, even as yet another blast rocked the world around her. ‘No... no counting on heroic aliens today.

Today, it’s my turn to save someone.

“This ship can handle light, stealth-based combat and long-distance travel, but…”

He’d probably said too much.

His companion’s narrowed eyes confirmed his fear. “Travel long distances and fight? Zorei... why would your ship be designed to do that?”

“Did you save me and let them die because I’m the only one you cared about?”

The words ripped into him like shrapnel, and Zorei sharply turned away as his fear drowned beneath the tide of grief he’d been fighting to hold at bay. “You weren’t.”

And a bonus excerpt, from my in-progress Skyrim fanfic:
​

A moment ago, his tightening chest had felt like it was going to crush his lungs.

​Now it was expanding in a rush of battle fire, as if the wings of a phoenix were spreading in his breast, ready to blaze a trail to a future made bright by that flame.

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​If you want to read more about Zorei, Kadian, and Alexandra, you can get a longer excerpt and grab your copy of Heroic Lies here.

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4 Tweet-Sized Excerpts from "Heroic Lies"

14/5/2022

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The cover art of Heroic Lies
It's Saturday, and you know what that means! More bite-sized excerpts from Heroic Lies!


​1.

The voice was patient, coaxing him back to reality, steadily pushing him toward a decision.

A choice he had no clue how to make as the fire where his home used to be made its silent announcement:

Everyone was dead.

2.

“I don’t know.” His voice continued to waver, his shattered emotions dragging it unwillingly to the edge of breaking. “I just... we have to…”

It broke.

“I don’t know.”

3.

I can’t believe I’m doing this.

...Of course, my other option is to lie here until the building collapses on my head, but...

I can’t believe I’m doing this.

4.

​I really hope this incident doesn’t make it onto my headstone.

Here lies Alexandra, crushed her own brain one day,

But no loss; she wasn’t using it anyway.


If these excerpts got you curious, you can read a longer excerpt and get a copy of the book here.

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Trapped in Garages and Spaceships: More Excerpts from "Heroic Lies"

6/5/2022

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After taking a few weeks off from it while I focused on my first paid illustration gig, I decided it was time to get back into the #SlapDashSat game on Twitter.

You know what that means: more mini-excerpts from my novel, Heroic Lies!

1.

A bittersweet smirk crossed her face as she listened to the chaos outside. ‘I wonder if it’s silly, to think I should bother getting up. To try to save my species, or take dramatic pictures of its last moments. And I wonder if it matters which I choose.’

2.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this ship is here. He must have had it brought here for a reason. Who’s meant to use it, I don’t know, but I owe it to my planet to find out.

3.

Below them, the vast curve of their homeworld was dappled with fire. Whole cities had bloomed into golden-orange light, and Kadian’s eyes swept the continents, trying to find his home city amid the flame and smoke.

4.

“We...” The word fell from his mouth independent of his thoughts, while his mind tried to shut down in the face of his world’s destruction. “Shouldn’t we go back?”

His companion’s unreadable eyes turned to him. “Go back and?” he asked softly.

5.

There it was, that strange, guarded tone Zorei used whenever they talked about something important. As if everything had been locked inside, buried too deep for even the destruction of their world to reach that distant place.

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​If you want to read more, you can see a longer excerpt and get your copy here.

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Some Tweet-Sized Excerpts from "Heroic Lies"

12/3/2022

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Picture
I’m doing #SlapDashSat on Twitter again today, and I thought I’d share a few tweet-sized excerpts from Heroic Lies. :)

1
He’s finally doing it.
The shock was the first thing to strike Alexandra’s senses.
Then there was the pain.
He’s finally decided to get me out of the way.

2
Her body was reeling across the room, her hands reflexively rising to defend her head from the shrapnel. Fear clawed for a hold in her mind, and was met with a wall of focused resolve.

3
I’m not dead yet. If I survive the landing and play possum, maybe I still have a-
The thought was cut off sharply by her impact with the tiles, but she managed to act on it for almost a full second.
Then the ground collapsed.

4
The side of their house caved in with thunderous violence, a wall of fire laced with shrapnel rushing toward her like a demon in physical form.
For an instant, she saw the culprit hovering in the sky, and she wondered if her child was anywhere near it.

5
She was trapped. Her head was aching, she was lying on her back, and she couldn’t get up.
A bit of air reached her lungs, and her chest began to spasm.
Calm yourself, calm down! Slow, deep breaths. Or shallow coughs. Whatever helps you get oxygen.

If you want to read more, you can read a longer excerpt, and get a copy of the book, here.

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Another Round Of Sweet Kivara and Orennian Moments

19/2/2022

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More cute moments with this precious pair of goofballs from my upcoming novel, Upholding the Covenant, brought to you by this week's round of #SlapDashSat Tweets. :)

1.
“What’s in your mouth?”

The kitten’s eyes went wide, her ears flattened against her head, and as she hastily scuttled under the bed, Orennian sighed. “Apparently it’s something you aren’t supposed to have.”

2.
The kitten sniffed at his mouth, and Orennian wondered if this was a sign of affection.

Then she shoved her whole head between his teeth, grabbed the candy he’d been sucking on, and fell into his lap with her stolen prize.

3.
“That,” Orennian said sternly, thrusting a finger toward the kitten’s face, “was not good.”

Kivara stared at his finger for a moment, then affectionately rubbed her cheek against it, and the scolding words died in his throat.

4.
Orennian’s favorite way to wake Kivara was to place a ramekin of pudding next to her nose. She would sniff, twitch and lick in her sleep, until she awoke and her face lit up upon seeing that the pudding was real.

5.
“Kivara, I know you’re angry at the water for making you cold and wet, but slapping it and hissing at it will only make you wetter.”

I hope you enjoyed these Tweet-sized excerpts. If you want to read more funny catgirl stories while you wait for Upholding the Covenant to come out, check out my other novel, Catgirl Roommate.
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More Cute Orennian and Kivara Moments

12/2/2022

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Time for some more cute, Tweet-sized moments from my upcoming novel, Upholding the Covenant:

1.
​As Orennian walked past the play pen, the smallest kitten stuck her arms between the bars and wiggled them furiously, mewing for his attention at the top of her tiny lungs.

2.
For all her bravado, Kivara could still get overwhelmed. She didn't always voice the feeling, but when the feline toddler's ears went down and she started to suck the knuckle of her thumb, Orennian knew it was time to pick her up and hug her.

3. 
Almost every day, when his work was done, Orennian went shopping. He'd forgotten something yesterday. He wanted fresher food. There was always an excuse.

His bodyguards said nothing, but they knew he just wanted to see the kittens again.

4.
​Orennian flared his cobra-like hood, watching as the kitten's ears perked toward him.

He flattened one side of his hood, and one of her ears went down. He closed the other side, and both ears dropped.

He tilted his head, and she fell over.

5.
"If you want to see my kittens so badly, you could just visit them. No need to pretend to shop."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Of course, to hold one, you must make a purchase. ...Haha, I jest. Purchase or no, Kivara will climb you all the same."

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Excerpts from "Upholding the Covenant" and "Finding the Truth"

5/2/2022

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I’m doing SlapDashSat on Twitter again this week, so here a few of the excerpts I’m sharing. The first four are from the novel version of my short story, Upholding the Covenant, and the last one is from Finding the Truth, the upcoming sequel to Your Truth Cannot Stand.

1.
"Sometimes I fear that my womb is cursed."

"My love. Did your womb cause your former masters to betray you? Did it cause an ailing person to visit our city and bring sickness to our children? No. These tragedies are not your fault."

2.
"You visit the ambassador a lot, my child."

"Yeah, 'cuz, he smells bad until he sees me, but then he smells better!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he smells sad, like me when my sister won't play with me. But then he sees me and smells happy!"

3.
"Who kill your cat?" Kivara demanded, and Orennian smiled sadly at the child.

"Nobody. He died of old age. Time killed him."

Kivara snapped her jaws at the air, and he frowned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm biting time for killing your cat!"

4.
“You are just too precious.”

“No I’m not! I’m strong and fierce and BIG! See? I come all the way up to your nose!”

“But if I put you on the floor-”

“NOOOOO! I have to stay up here so I’ll be BIG!”

5.
There were days when the general didn’t know whether to pinch the bridge of his nose, rub his tightening forehead, or throw back his head and laugh.

The corpse in front of him deserved all three reactions.
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    Author

    Stephanie is the author of My Fugitive, Voice of a Silent Fugitive, Heroic Lies, and Catgirl Roommate, as well as the artist behind the Undertale webcomic Just Cause.

    This blog often updates with new stories and artwork, so please keep checking in!

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