Roi and his best friends from slavery are taking a challenge journey on Falaron, a planet terraformed from Earth during the Ice Age. They look forward to a vacation of dog sledding, hang gliding, horseback trekking, sailing, whitewater rafting, and rock climbing-but the friction developing within the group is adding its own level of challenge to the trip. Their guide, Penny, finds the four a refreshing change from her usual spoiled clients. She is worried, however, by the unusual number of accidents the group is experiencing. Even though they are vacationing on a wilderness planet, this foursome seems particularly accident prone. But they aren't all accidents. Roi's half-brother Zhaim, a brilliant and malicious sociopath, has decided that the journey is an ideal opportunity to rid himself of his rival. He is capable of manipulating not only the weather but affairs on distant planets. His schemes distract the only two adults who would be able to protect the young people and draw them far enough away that they can be of no help. He has even managed to plant an unsuspecting agent in the party. As the group travels, their journey becomes a far more serious challenge than any of them could have imagined.
I've spent most of my life as a university professor, with degrees in physics (Harvard), geophysics and atmospheric science (University of Alaska Fairbanks.) I've been writing non-fiction for years, not only professional papers, but a good deal of popular science as well. I wrote the Alaska Science Forum for a while--a column distributed to newspapers, radio stations and magazines throughout Alaska and now available on the Web. (Google it.) I also set up a website on genetics. (http://bowlingsite.mcf.com/Genetics/Genetics.html)
When I retired I began writing fiction, mostly science fiction. I've always been interested in how planets work and how societies work with them, and I've had fun designing planets and their societies. I have to admit I've ignored some physics--plotting becomes just about impossible without simultaneity, which relativity says does not exist on an interstellar scale. So I've set up a universe in which telepathy and teleportation are instantaneous, though they do have to follow the laws of conservation of energy and momentum. Makes for some interesting consequences.
For the back story on the universe I've invented, have a look at my author website--www.sueannbowling.com. Note that Homecoming, although my first published book, is only the first of five I've written. The sequel, Tourist Trap, is set on a planet terraformed from earth during the Pleistocene. Wouldn't you like to be an ecotourist among mammoths, saber-tooth cats and longhorned bison? But it might not be as much fun if your older brother were trying to kill you!
