The Belt Loop (Book Three)

       Bale Phatie wanted to know more about the new weapon. He was touring the weapons facilities on Rauud Mithie and, as was his custom, he inspected every department, interrogated every department head, and made a general nuisance of himself. After all, that was what a Piru Torgud — Supreme Military Commander — did.
       He braced Admiral Regiid, his new facilities department head, and demanded information about the new super weapon. He reminded the admiral not to bore him with useless engineering details. He was a warrior and a commander of men and not some pencil-necked bookworm who had time to bury his head in a bunch of technical manuals. Bale Phatie was feared by his men and he knew it. His mere presence in the room was enough to cause even the most battle-hardened military men to buckle in the knees and get jelly-legged when he spoke.
       “So, tell me again, admiral, why do you feel this new weapon is the answer to my prayers?”
       Ceendi Regiid stood about 200 centimeters and was lean and fit but he still had to look up at Phatie. The Piru Torgud was hovering over him like a dense cloud of toxic smoke on a breezeless day. Phatie shifted his weight slightly and the resulting noise from the array of chains and decorations he wore on his sash reminded Regiid of glass breaking. “Your eminence, this design is one for the ages, one the Deliverer himself would be honor-bound to support. It has all of the essentials you requested, it is a ‘Planet Killer’ without equal.”
       Phatie curled his bottom lip and put both of his fists on his narrow hips. His flowing green robe made swishing noises as he pushed his elbows to the side. He was excited about what he was hearing but he questioned the man invoking the name of the Deliverer. In Malguurian lore, the Deliverer — commonplace name for the central star of the home world of Canuure — was the Holiest of Holies. The star was called Voorsuune, a word that had been corrupted by the humans into “Varson” during the previous war. For the Malguur the star represented their one true God, the bringer of life, the Deliverer from all evil, the One Who Casts No Shadow. While not really a religious man, Phatie liked it when someone used the name of the Diety, affirming their absolute faith and belief in the things they espoused. If they were wrong, it made killing them much easier.

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Book Three in The Belt Loop saga released today, another deep-space adventure with the intrepid sailors of the Colonial Navy. A few twists on the personal side for Uri Haad, as he finally meets the woman of his dreams!

Congrats to Christopher A. Jones (my son) for another exciting cover illustration.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006GLJMCO

The Bad Guy

Book Three in the Belt Loop saga is nearly finished and headed to the editor. In Book Two I introduced the Colonial Navy to the head of the Varson Defense Forces, Bale Phatie. A militaristic madman that almost single-handedly resurrected the Varson Empire from the ash heap of defeat and launched the Orion-Cygnus arm of the Milky Way into another battle of supremacy.

Just what does this madman look like? He struts around the Malguur Domain with his cape and sword, has a propensity to remove heads at even the smallest of infractions, wears a chestful of medals and baubles, and his decorative chains rattle like the sound of breaking glass when he walks.

Given this discription, my cover artist Christopher Jones (my son) developed a visual for me. I was so mesmerized with his depiction of my Book Two baddie I wanted him incorporated into the cover illustration for Book Three.

Here is the first look at the Malguurian Madman, Bale Phatie:

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Bale Phatie illustration courtesy Christopher A. Jones, November 2011

Look for this image to grace the cover of The Belt Loop (Book Three) - End of an Empire sometime during the first week of December. Next post: excerpts from Book Three.

The Belt Loop - Book Three

The third Belt Loop novel is underway, should have it ready before the end of the year. The saga continues with the all-out space war between the Colonial Navy and the Varson Empire. No spoilers, no red alerts, no DefCon announcements, just another action-packed space opera starring Uri Haad and Davi Yorn, keeping up the colonial end out in the Orion-Cygnus arm of the Milky Way.

Home © 2001 R. Jones

Look for excerpts from the new book around the first week in November. Well, back to the key pounding and thanks for your interest and support. So far, the  series is doing much better than even I thought it would.