Smorgasbord Free Book Promotions 2023- Share an Excerpt from one of your published books – #Adventure Impending Disaster by Colin Guest

In this series authors were invited to share an excerpt of 500 words from any of their published books .

Submissions are now closed for this series but there will be another in early 2024.. My thanks to all who have participated.

Today I am featuring an excerpt from the adventure novella Impending Disaster by Colin Guest.

About the book

What started as a joyride for three friends up in a small plane ends in a terrifying crash on top of a mountain. They are lucky to survive, then make a frightening discovery. As a result, they have to get down to town and warn them of an impending disaster.

The excerpt from Impending Disaster 

Chapter Two

“We’re going to gather some wood for a fire. The temperature will drop during the night, and we don’t have any warm clothing.”

Jane looked up and smiled. “Yes, it will also help scare away any bears that are wandering around.” Her smile widened as she added, “I heard what you said to Mark. I know there have been reports of bears being reported up here. Still, all being well, a fire should prevent us from being attacked by one.”

Once the two men had gathered enough dry wood and lit the fire, they joined Jane in the tent. Despite having a fire, Mark, and Ian agreed to spend shifts as a lookout during the night. That way, each would get some sleep. In addition, the one on guard could warn the others should an unwelcome guest decide to drop in.

“That’s a good idea,” Jane remarked.

Mark, who said he would take the first watch, found an old book and a headlight torch in his backpack. Given this, he would pass the time away by reading. Later, while sat with his back against a boulder, despite their situation, Mark felt at ease. From working all day long in an air-conditioned office, it felt good to breathe in the clean, fresh air.

Unfortunately, apart from a bar of chocolate and a stale sandwich he found in his backpack, they had nothing else to eat. He shrugged. Maybe they would find some wild fruit on the way down. If not, with the way Jane was, it would make their journey even more challenging. Shaking these thoughts from his mind, Mark carried on reading.

Around three in the morning, with his eyes closing from tiredness, Mark closed his book. He stumbled to his feet, stretched his tired limbs, then went to wake up Ian. He would then keep watch until the morning. Ongoing inside their makeshift tent, he bent and shook Ian. Initially, there was no response, but after a few more shakes, Ian stirred.

“Okay,” he muttered. “I’m awake.” He stood up and stretched. Then, so as not to wake Jane, he murmured, “Did we have any late-night visitors?”

“Only a six-foot blond who said she had lost her way.” Mark shook his head. “After I helped her on her way, she left.” His lips turned into a grin. “It was a pity you were asleep, or you would have seen her. But I didn’t want to wake you and spoil your beauty sleep.”

Ian stifled a chortle. “In your dreams,” he snickered. “Now, if you had said a female wolf or a bear, I might have believed you.”

Mark’s eyes widened. “Wow, do you mean I dreamt it?” He shook his head, “Fancy that,” he said, then lay down and shuffled around to make himself as comfortable as possible.

As Ian walked outside, Mark murmured, “Should this blonde return; you have permission to wake me.”

©Colin Guest

One of the reviews on Goodreads for Impending Disaster

Please Pass the Books Four Stars May 5, 2018

Impending Disaster by Colin Guest is a short story that follows Ian, Mark, and Jane on a nice day out that quickly turns calamitous after their pilot loses control, their plane crashes, and they are thrown onto a mountainside. Instantaneously, they are bound into survival mode as they attempt to navigate a descent to the bottom…but, inevitably, the mountain (and the forces of both man and nature) have other ideas. As a series of events create a seemingly endless stream of bad luck, the trio work hard to not just save themselves, but a town at the mountain’s basin that could potentially be deluged and the entire population of residents swept away to certain death.

Impending Disaster by Colin Guest was a pleasant companion as I whiled away a couple hours on the beach. As expected, it’s a short story that takes a reader right in and continues with non-stop action until the end. It’s not always easy for a writer to develop their characters when working within a smaller word count but Guest does a great job of making them feel authentic. Brevity can also cause problems when multiple subplots come into play, but on that front Guest also had the skill to effectively keep pace and timing in line with his narrative. Whether you’re spending an afternoon in an armchair or on a picnic blanket, this is a good piece of adventure fiction that is easy to recommend to readers who enjoy quick escapes into worthwhile stories. 

A selection of other books by Colin Guest with some audio versions available

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – Follow Colin: Goodreads – Website/Blog: Colin Guest Author – Facebook: Tigerman 55 – Twitter: @Tigermanguest – Linkedin: Tigerman 77 –

About Colin Guest

Colin Guest, AKA Tigerman, started writing after retiring from spending 19 years working in 14 countries on three continents. He has published eleven books, including memoirs, thrillers and romance stories, with several available as audiobooks.

Apart from his books, Colin has written film scripts based on two of his thrillers, and now writing one based on his romantic novel A Dangerous Love Affair.

His latest novel, An Unforgettable Cruise, a romance story is now available on presale with publication due on the 4th of August. He is now working to complete another romance story, It happened in Barcelona.

Colin has adopted a tiger for the past fourteen years, and as a volunteer has worked at wildlife rescue/rehabilitation centres in South Africa and Thailand. This he recommends as a means for animal lovers to give something back to nature.

Colin lives in Istanbul with his wife and cat Bella.

 

Thank you for dropping in today and I hope you will be leaving with some books.. Sally.