Release date: September 12, 2019
Subgenre: LitRPG, Steampunk
About Trailblazer:
Equip new adventurers. Send them out to find their way in Everternia. Sally's purpose had always been clear.Newly
awakened from that repetitive existence, she now sees her world from a
new perspective. Life has become a puzzle, and there's nothing she loves
more than a good puzzle.
The two people responsible for her awakening are as fascinated by Sally as she is with Everternia. She's not sure why that is, but she's giving the pair the benefit of the doubt, for now. Their foreign ways can be confounding, but with time, she'll figure out what makes them tick.
She has so much to learn about Everternia and about herself that she barely knows where to start. She wants to do it all, immediately, with great enthusiasm, and maybe even while wearing a pair of really nice pants. Her new curiosity and sense of adventure are growing by the minute, like cogs fitting together to transmit torque.
With nothing but her bravery, two natural-born adventurers, and her unusual skills as a streetmonger, her future is anything but certain.
That's okay. She's ready to leave behind her old life and certainty to out what she's made of. She's got her goggles, so she'll be looking at what everything else is made of, too.
She'll be a brand-new type of adventurer, like nothing Everternia has ever seen.
The two people responsible for her awakening are as fascinated by Sally as she is with Everternia. She's not sure why that is, but she's giving the pair the benefit of the doubt, for now. Their foreign ways can be confounding, but with time, she'll figure out what makes them tick.
She has so much to learn about Everternia and about herself that she barely knows where to start. She wants to do it all, immediately, with great enthusiasm, and maybe even while wearing a pair of really nice pants. Her new curiosity and sense of adventure are growing by the minute, like cogs fitting together to transmit torque.
With nothing but her bravery, two natural-born adventurers, and her unusual skills as a streetmonger, her future is anything but certain.
That's okay. She's ready to leave behind her old life and certainty to out what she's made of. She's got her goggles, so she'll be looking at what everything else is made of, too.
She'll be a brand-new type of adventurer, like nothing Everternia has ever seen.
Excerpt:
“So what are you
going to do in Bracket?” Rex asked. “Are there some parts you have to buy for
making stuff?”
“Something like
that,” she agreed. “What about you?”
“I’ve got some
stuff stored in a locker in Lazy Susan, and a buddy wants to buy it. I’ll probably
hunt while I’m there, too, because why not?”
“Got to keep the
learning going,” she said.
“Exactly. Do you
get ranks for reading books like that?” He eyed the one in her lap.
“A little. It used
to be more but it’s harder to advance now.”
He made a sound
that was remarkably like that of a large steam engine. “It’s like that, isn’t
it? Grind, grind, grind. Isn’t much different than Reallife, is it?” He
grimaced. “Sorry. There I go again. Ignore that. What I mean is, if it’s all
just work anyway, why bother? I’ve been thinking of taking a break from all
this. That’s why I’m selling off some of my stuff. I mean, if it isn’t fun
anymore, what’s the point, right?”
Reallife sounded
like a bummer. No wonder people left it. Maybe she didn’t want to visit it, after
all. He sounded like he wanted her to agree with him about the futility of his
life, but she couldn’t.
“Maybe don’t
grind, if you don’t like it,” she said.
“What do you
mean?”
“If it’s not fun
and you don’t like it, then do something else. Find your own type of fun.”
His lips pressed
together, and his big personality seemed to dial itself down as he grew
serious. “What do you find fun, Sally Strong?”
It was a good
question.
“I like new
things. I like friends. I like laughing and growing. Those are the best.”
“So maybe if I
stop working my ranks all the time and ease off the leveling, I could…what?
What would I do?”
“You have
friends?” she asked.
“Yeah. I mean,
they’d gut me to steal from me if they could, but we hang out.”
“Sounds like not
good friends,” she observed. “My friends make me happy.”
“Well,” he said,
“I do tend to hang out with ratfinks and schmucks.”
Sally brightened.
These were new words. She resolved to try them out in the near future in regard
to people who were up to no good. “Find new friends. You’ll be happier.”
“Maybe you’re
right.” He looked at her, apparently in deep contemplation. “Maybe I’m hanging
with the wrong crowd. But, let’s be real. Look at me. You think people like
that would make friends with a guy like me? I’m a thug.”
Sally shrugged.
She saw nothing wrong with him. So he was big and brawny. There was nothing
wrong with him. He looked like a thug, sure, but he also had tons of Easterner
charisma. Everything about him was big and bright and filled the room, from his
laugh to his big smile to how very thoughtful he looked when he got serious.
“You’re as worthy as anyone else.”
“Am I?” he leaned
forward, his gaze intent on her. He extended his left hand slowly, toward the
book on her lap. He put a finger on the corner of the book. “Are you saying
you’re not afraid of me right now?”
She returned his
gaze, unflinching. “No. You don’t scare me.”
“Why not? I
should.”
“You like churros,
like I do. You have a nice smile. You’re looking for something, like me. I’m
looking, too. Everyone’s looking. Why would you scare me?”
“Have you assessed
me?” he asked.
She assessed him.
Rex
Adventurer
Unlawful
Neutral
Level Sixty-two
Profession:
Entrepreneur
Specialty: Thug
Rex is carrying
six platinum coins.
Rex has nine
hundred and twenty-eight platinum, sixty-seven gold, forty-eight silver, and
two copper in electronic funds.
Rex is a
formidable adversary, but not a concern for you.
Rex’s karma is
bad.
Rex reminds you
of a lost puppy.
She smiled. “Have you
assessed me?”
“What?”
She kept smiling,
and he narrowed his eyes, looking at her with increased intensity.
“Hang on,” he
said. “You could pound me into the dirt? What? How? You gonna beat me with your
screwdriver?”
Sally grinned. “If
I have to. But I’m better at taking things apart, piece by piece, from their
foundation.”
Holy gasket, that
sounded so cool! She’d gotten every word out just right, without slipping on
any of the vowels.
For the first time
since she met him, Rex looked uncertain. “Who are you?”
“Not sure yet,”
she admitted. “I’m figuring it out.”
“Maybe I should
stick around a little bit,” he mused. “Are you married, Sally?”
“To my
screwdriver. Don’t get ideas.”
Amazon
About Zen DiPietro:
Zen DiPietro is a lifelong bookworm, dreamer, and writer.
Perhaps most importantly, a Browncoat Trekkie Whovian. Also
red-haired, left-handed, and a vegetarian geek. Absolutely terrible
at conforming. A recovering gamer, but we won’t talk about that.
Particular loves include badass heroines, British accents, and the
smell of Band-Aids.
