Not beautiful in a classic way but surely gutsy, the cover is perfect for an even gutsier story.
Tasmanian Special Forces Group: Welcome to Hell by C.R. Daems is a SciFi Military Action story that released in June.
Jolie was three when she found she was ugly and deformed.
She was five when she found she was a sub-human and an outcast.
She was seven when five boys and two girls dragged her out of the orphanage and beat her unconscious, leaving her lying bleeding and broken in the street.
She was content to lie there and die, tired of being hated and abused. But a frail old man with wispy white hair and a long beard wasn’t content to let her die. He not only saved her, but he adopted her and passed on his unique martial art to her.
She was twenty when she headed to Delphi, the center of the United Systems of Perileos (USP) and the planet of her birth-father to find her place in his society.
Based on her unique upbringing, she decides to join the USP military, requesting to be assigned to the Tasmanians SFG, an elite all male unit. The military brass is reluctant to deny her request and admit their enlistment contract permits bait-and-switch assignments. Instead, they agree to let her enter the school, thinking she couldn’t possibly succeed–a Chihuahua competing against Rottweilers–and plan to make an example of her when she fails.
Although Jolie is small, she is not what she appears. But can her adopted father’s art enable her to survive the treachery of the military brass, the grueling of the school, the prejudices of the instructors, and the testosterone of an all-male class?
And if she succeeds, can she thrive in the high-octane and all male environment of the Tasmanians?
“At ease, gentlemen and Miss Luan. I am Colonel Zimmermann, the head of the Tasmanian Qualification School. You are about to embark on the most grueling exercise of your lives. We would like to qualify you all because we can use triple the number of Tasmanian-trained men. But the reality is that few are fit to undertake the demands of a typical Tasmanian mission. The function of this school is to weed out those who cannot meet the Tasmanian’s rigorous standards. Typically, less than ten men out of each class qualify. Each of you will be given a tracking device which will not only monitor your location but also your vital signs. If at any time you wish to drop out you need merely turn off your unit and return to this building for processing. You will be asked to leave if at any time you fail to follow instructions or fail an exercise.” He paused as his eyes roamed the crowded room until they settled on me. “Miss Luan, I’ve been told to tell you the school has no facilities for women.” A slight twitch of his lip said he thought it funny.
“That’s appropriate, sir. I doubt the jungles we’ll be crawling around in do either,” I said to a variety of snorts as all eyes darted between the colonel and me.
“A woman in a barracks might provoke…” His voice trailed off.
“Yes, sir. The third way a candidate could leave the program…dead by misadventure,” I said. He glared at me but said nothing more, sensing his efforts to intimidate me weren’t working.
“The barracks is through that door. Claim a bunk and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow will be busy.” He smiled, the reason becoming obvious when I followed the last of the men through the door—there were only about thirty bunks and several fights were in progress. I stood surveying the madness.
About the Author
Clem Daems is a native of Chicago, Illinois and a graduate of the University of Arizona. He served twenty-two years in the US Air Force. Since then, he has worked as a software engineer, course developer, and adjunct professor, teaching mathematics and Computer Science.
He has always been an avid reader of Science Fiction/Fantasy but never had an interest in writing or being an author. So, it was surprising when he began his first novel, several years after his retirement, at age seventy. His first novel, co-authored with Jeanne Tomlin, “The Talon of the Raptor Clan”–recently reissued as the “Talon of the Unnamed Goddess”–was a 2010 EPPIE finalist in Fiction/Fantasy.
Clem is an award winning author and an active member of the Science Fiction Writers of America.
His hobby–a life-long one–has been Kung Fu and Tai Chi. Clem is currently retired and living in Tucson, Arizona.
Hi Clem! There’s a Tasmanian Devil on the cover of your book for obvious reasons, but as a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
A hawk. They are beautiful creatures. A stylized one is the symbol for Talon Novels which is the company name I publish under and the name of one of my two websites. When I was younger, in my fifties, I worked for a computer company in Massachusetts and took up skiing in New Hampshire and Vermont. I could never get over the feeling I got at the top of the mountain early in the morning after a snow fall. The trees covered with snow glistening in the early morning sun, the church-like quiet, and the feeling of deep peace. Much like I would imagine the serenity of being a hawk gliding on the wind high above the mountains.
Clem would enjoy hearing from you at clemd@comcast.net on any topic: his books, the characters, writing with a co-author, Kung Fu, his website (http://clemd.home.comcast.net/~clemd/JC/Index.html), life after retirement, or…
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