Synthetic Illusions
by Mary Fan
Jane Colt #2
Illusion is the only reality.
Jane’s new career as a composer is a dream come true, but her blossoming relationship with Adam is marred by his terrifying nightmares. When Jane receives a warning that a shadowy agency is targeting Adam’s seminary school, she rescues him in the nick of time, but the only way she can protect him from such a powerful enemy is to run.
In a shocking betrayal, her brother wasn’t the one who warned her about the attack on Adam. Instead, Devin was leading it. As Jane struggles to keep one step ahead of Devin, Adam’s exhaustion gives way to horror: His nightmares have begun to touch the real world.
Jane can’t abandon Adam to a fate worse than death, and far more than Adam’s life hangs in the balance. As Jane pushes further into the dark unknown, she must challenge everything she once believed in, and she faces the most wrenching decision of her life: choosing between the two people she loves most.
Jane’s new career as a composer is a dream come true, but her blossoming relationship with Adam is marred by his terrifying nightmares. When Jane receives a warning that a shadowy agency is targeting Adam’s seminary school, she rescues him in the nick of time, but the only way she can protect him from such a powerful enemy is to run.
In a shocking betrayal, her brother wasn’t the one who warned her about the attack on Adam. Instead, Devin was leading it. As Jane struggles to keep one step ahead of Devin, Adam’s exhaustion gives way to horror: His nightmares have begun to touch the real world.
Jane can’t abandon Adam to a fate worse than death, and far more than Adam’s life hangs in the balance. As Jane pushes further into the dark unknown, she must challenge everything she once believed in, and she faces the most wrenching decision of her life: choosing between the two people she loves most.
Mary's thoughts on: Populating a galaxy
Space is big. Really, really big. Even though I
shrank it considerably through fiction – with starships that can travel at
lightspeed and man-made wormholes to shorten the journey – it's still pretty
freaking huge. And, since the Jane Colt series is a space opera, full of people
from all walks of life.
One of the rules of thumb for a writer is that you don't want to
overcrowd your story. Having too many characters scatters a reader's attention
and makes it harder to care about each one. Not to mention, each of these
characters needs something to do, so if you have too many, you've either got a
bunch of them doing nothing more than acting as wallpaper or you've got to
expand your storylines to accommodate them, often resulting in a twisted mess
of plots.
