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Author Feature at Lada Ray Blog, Author Rohan Healy, Authors Rohan and Alex Healy, Gyaros: The Mice Eat Iron, indie authors
I always wanted to showcase talented authors that I personally admire as people and artists, along with their new books. Today, I’m thrilled to announce the new Author Feature Series on Lada Ray Blog. In this series, I’m planning to give the podium and showcase the new releases by independent authors and publishers.
My first artist to showcase is the dynamic duo of Irish authors/musicians, Rohan and Alex Healy, together with their exciting new release, GYAROS: The Mice Eat Iron! Despite his young years, Rohan Healy boasts lofty credentials as musician and producer; beyond that he is a spiritual seeker, philosopher, and wonderful human being, whom I am privileged to call a friend.
SYNOPSIS:
Welcome to the green districts of Elissa, capital city of the unified corporate planet, Carthage. The year is 0061. For 29 years, husband and father Miles Stanton has followed society’s guidelines. But one day he is pushed too far. Branded a criminal and deemed unfit to live or work on Carthage, Miles is exiled to the harsh prison moon of Gyaros, losing everything that was ever important to him. He struggles to survive as a civilized human being in a lunar wasteland of chaos and brutality. But when surrounded by unspeakable violence and madness, how long can a man hold on to his precious humanity?
They say there’s no way back to Carthage. But if Miles is to survive on Gyaros he has to believe that there is. Follow Miles as he makes friends and enemies, fighting for his life across Carthage and Gyaros, and stumbling upon secrets he was never meant to know!
The debut novel by musicians, authors and brothers, Rohan & Alex Healy; The Mice Eat Iron is the first thrilling part of the epic sci-fi adventure that is the Gyaros trilogy. (The Mice Eat Iron is approximately 120,000 words/450 pages long). WARNING: This book contains adult content including violence, course language and adult themes.
Read EXCERPT:
Chapter 2
Miles slowly opened his heavy eyelids and squinted in pain at the bright light that shone down on him from above. Miles raised his right hand to shield his eyes and in doing so caught a glimpse of the dried blood encrusted on his palm. He turned his hand over to reveal yet more of the, now brown and hard, blood. It looked, Miles thought to himself, as though someone had dipped his hand in a tin of russet hue paint and left it to dry overnight. All at once it hit him, like a bolt of lightning, why his hand was brown, what he had done. ‘Oh my god, I’m a murderer, I’m a God damn murderer, and everyone saw it. I killed Tyler and, and…’ A terrifying realisation suddenly dawned on Miles as he began to understand the true weight of his action. Like all serious crime on Carthage, murder was punishable by a sentence of banishment to the volatile moon world of Gyaros.
‘No, no this can’t happen, I’m a normal guy, I’m a Green Districts guy, I’ve never been outside the Green Districts for God’s sake! They can’t send me to Gyaros, they just can’t!’ Miles sat up abruptly from his previous position of lying flat on his back and in doing so he let out an ear piercing screech. Miles writhed in pain and held his back at the location where The Enforcer had struck him with his rod. Slowly and painfully he managed to sit up on the padded white bench where he had awoken, and his eyes, having adjusted to the light, began to scan the room where he now found himself.
“Where am I?” he said softly to himself as he surveyed the scene. Miles was sitting on the single piece of furniture in what was an otherwise completely empty room. The bench he woke up on, and was now perched upon, protruded directly from the wall. The walls were entirely white, and appeared to be made of the same padded material as the bench. The room was featureless except for the subtle outline of what looked to be a door on the wall to Miles’ right. On the door, at about head height was a small black screen about eight inches wide and six inches high. As well as this a small white camera poked down from the centre of the ceiling, it pointed directly at Miles’ face and a red light blinked just off to the left of its lens. Miles tilted left and watched as the camera mimicked his movements perfectly, never taking its focus off Miles’ face. He then leaned to the right and observed again how the camera would swivel and follow his every move.
‘Oh shit, I know what this is…’ Although Miles had never been in this kind of situation before, having never been in any kind of trouble at all until today, thanks to references in films and on visor vision Miles had a pretty good idea of what was going on. ‘This is a holding cell, I’ve seen these before. This must be The Security Department right? A-and this is where the bad guys get dragged off to when they’ve committed a crime…and, and then they get sent off to fucking Gyaros! Oh God, oh God, oh God, why is this happening to me?!’
Miles buried his face in his hands and began to weep again as his stomach knotted and churned, weakness and shaking once again taking over his entire body. As Miles continued to cry he heard the faint sound of distant footsteps. He froze, his eyes fixed on the screen on the wall to his right, his ears straining to hear. ‘They’re getting closer,’ he thought to himself, ‘and…and it sounds like two people, at least two, there’s no way that’s a single person.’
The footsteps grew louder and louder, drawing nearer and nearer until they stopped suddenly, right outside the cell. Miles daren’t move a muscle as silence pervaded the room, his pounding heart the only sound audible to him. Sweat had been forming on his brow since the footsteps began and one or two beads were now creeping their way down his cold, pale face. Then with a loud crackle the screen flickered to life and the matte black helmet of an Enforcer could be seen on the distorted display.
“*beep*. Miles Stanton, stand before the screen, *beep*,” ordered the distorted voice of The Enforcer. The terrified Miles jumped to his feet, bearing the pain in his back, and made his way to the screen to his right. Miles stood up as straight as he could considering his injuries and, too afraid to speak, awaited further instruction.
“*beep*. The boss wants a word with you, *beep*,” and with that The Enforcer took a step to his left and the familiar face of The Lead Manager of The Energy Department, Candice Demour, took his place. Candice and Miles had always gotten on well, Candice was kind and fair wherever she could be, but had the strength and decisiveness required to oversee the entire workings of The Energy Department. An attractive lady in her late 40’s, Candice had straight light brown hair, dark almond shaped eyes and a thin, but not overly angular face. She possessed a famous smile that could ease just about any situation. Except for this one, Candice was not smiling today, today Candice looked tired and melancholy.
Despite the horrific circumstances he found himself in, Miles couldn’t help but feel a little relieved to see a friendly and familiar face. Candice began to speak, sorrowfully.
“Miles, I’m glad to see you’re ok. I watched the incident via the recorded camera feed, I…I don’t know what to say, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Candice’s voice began to crack but she quickly regained her composure, cleared her voice and continued, “Miles, Tyler is alive…barely.”
Miles’ heart jumped and his eyes widened.
“Tyler is alive!? Oh thank God, you can’t imagine how good that news is, my God Candice, I…I thought I was a murderer,” Miles spluttered shaking with excitement and adrenaline, “I thought that was it for me you know? Shipped off to Gyaros, never be able to see Chet grow up, never get to see Hellen again, to leave my Chet known as the son of a murderer. Oh God Candice, just…I,” Miles once again broke down and rubbed tears from his eyes.
“Yes, about that Miles, the doctors say Tyler will make it but…he won’t be the same. What you did to his face, I can’t even…” Candice trailed off then shook her head and started again, “you won’t be going to Gyaros Miles, because of me,” Miles looked up quizzically.
“Because of you? What do you mean?”
“The Areopagus wanted to shuttle you tonight but I pulled some strings. I’ve known you a long time Miles and you’re not a bad man. You wouldn’t last one second on that rock, it’s as good as a death sentence. No Miles you won’t be banished to Gyaros but…” Candice stopped suddenly and looked to the floor. Miles waited a few seconds before his patience ran out.
“But what?!” he barked.
“Miles, even I can’t keep you here, at The Energy Department. Your contract has been terminated, your benefits have been revoked and your pension credits have been allocated to be used for Tyler’s treatment, reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation. I’m sorry Miles, I know you didn’t mean to do what you did but there’s nothing I can do to keep you here,” Candice tilted her head slightly, a pained expression on her face as she witnessed the destruction of an old friend in real time before her eyes.
Miles stood there silent and motionless, his world falling apart like a train crash in slow motion. And then, while staring at the ground, in a low voice he began to speak.
“Hellen left me today, she’s been seeing Tyler without my knowledge. She messaged me to tell me that divorce proceedings had begun, and that I was no longer welcome in my house, my own damn house Candice. And now my job, Candice I’m nothing without my wife and child, I’m nothing without my work,” Miles looked up and made eye contact, “Candice I’ve built this life, ever since I can remember I’ve been building this life, you can’t take it away, this life is Miles Stanton.” Miles placed his hands either side of the screen, “Candice I don’t know what’s left when you take away my job, my wife, my child, my house. You tell me, what is left!? What the fuck is left of Miles Stanton now!?”
Miles’ still bloody hands slid down the wall lifelessly, he cut the figure of an utterly defeated man.
“I’m sorry Miles. I don’t know what’s left of you, all I know is that while you are alive on Carthage there is hope, I know that you can start again slowly. You’re a good man Miles, of all the things that changed today, that is not one of them. In time you will rise from this. But for tonight you will be escorted to a hotel where you will sleep and get cleaned up. You will be kept under Enforcer supervision to ensure that you do not try to hurt Tyler, Hellen or Chet…”
“But I would never…”
“I know that Miles but it doesn’t matter, the Areopagus’ orders are final. In the morning you will be escorted to The Department of Productivity where you will be allocated a new place of employment. You must understand that after what you did, you will not be granted permission to work in the Green Districts but if you behave, and work hard you may one day make it back up here. I’m sorry Miles, it breaks my heart to see you like this. Just get some rest tonight and take things one day at a time. I believe in you, you’re a good man Miles, a good man.”
The screen flickered and went blank.
Watch BOOK TRAILER (music written and performed by Rohan Healy!)
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AUTHOR BIO:
Rohan Healy, born in Murwillumbah, Australia in 1986 is an author, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, blogger and professional music producer. As of 2013 Rohan has written, recorded, performed, produced and released 10 solo albums as well as performing and recording with artists including David Virgin, Dan Rumour, Cat Power, Billy Bragg, Jimmy Willing, Quiffs N Coffins and Christa Hughes (Machine Gun Fellatio). Rohan has written and published two books, the first “Greeks to Geeks: Practical Stoicism in the 21st Century” in 2010 and in 2012 he published his second book “The 7 Things That Made Me Genuinely & Irreversibly Happy: And How They Can Do The Same For You”. Rohan currently lives in his ancestral home of Dublin, Ireland where he continues to write and record, as well as enjoying his hobby of photography.
Although he turns 18 in June, Alex Healy has managed to co-write his first full length novel before he was technically an adult!
SAYS ROHAN:
“What started as a casual conversation with my brother Alex at the end of January has turned into an epic science fiction trilogy. And today part one of that trilogy can be read. I don’t know where to start *deep breaths*, so excited! Even though it only took us just over 2 months of intense plotting, writing and proofing, writing a full fiction novel has been a dream of mine since I was 8 years old. So this is kinda satisfying.”
Where to buy Gyaros: The Mice Eat Iron
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