Seaville
By Jim Reilly
Book Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Publisher: Sayville Books
Release Date: September 30th
Description:
When new neighbors, Mike and Ann Wells along with their children CJ and Patricia, move into the southern part of town along the Great South Bay of Long Island, they discover the true identity of their neighbors.
Each of their new neighbors hosts a being from an alien race hiding from the cruelty of enslavement. This mysterious race needs the Wells family to help them navigate the complicated human experience while being concealed from a nosy but well-meaning old priest. But most of all, they must help them from being captured by a corrupt individual looking to make a profit off a race hoping to peacefully secure fuel to stay one step ahead of their former masters.
As the town of Seaville erupts into chaos, Mike and Ann try to keep their new friends concealed and safe. However, time is running out as their former masters search the universe for their lost property and inch closer to Earth.
Toward the end then back to the beginning.
As I sprinted out of my home heading to my neighbor's house across the street to look for my daughter, I glanced toward town down the row of beautiful old Victorian homes on my block. On the church roof visible to most of the area, there was a man standing with his arms raised toward the south side of town. As I focused in a little, it looked like old Father McNeal, the priest who of late seemed to be out of touch in his waning years. He was wearing his Sunday Mass vestments and was standing on the highest point of the church. Still, as out of the ordinary as that was, it was the least odd sight I would see that early summer evening as dusk approached.
When I reached my neighbor's house, I ran around to the back just as town Police Officer Rothman sped through the neighborhood flashing his lights and sounding his siren as he headed in the direction of the Great South Bay. As relieved as I was that he went by without stopping, I was apprehensive and nervous about what was about to happen.
Behind my neighbor's house were old metal cellar doors, and after I opened them, I quickly went down into his basement where I found a large cabinet moved away from the cement wall showing an entrance to a tunnel burrowed deep into the ground. When I made my way through the passageway to the lower levels, I noticed that the sediment holding the underground water from pouring into the tunnels and cavities under this end of the town started slowly to disintegrate as planned and that meant time was running out.
I ran through the extensive tunnels I had been through many times this past year, barely noticing the smell of rotting seafood that was so prevalent my first time in the tunnels. The maze was quite enormous, but I had an idea where to find my daughter. She was supposedly not too far away beneath Henry's parent's house. To get there, I needed to pass by the staging area where the craft was preparing to leave. Just as I reached the ship, I saw my neighbors, Ray Bannister and Earl Watson, run up to close the cargo hatch on the right side of the craft and lock it shut. It was then that we heard the banging and yelling coming from inside the ship.
A voice behind the door was saying, "Ray, we negotiated! I came here in good faith and you lock us in a room? I will not stand for this! You better let me out, or I will crush you! You can't do this to me! I demand you let me out at once! You're making a big mistake!"
I knew that voice because it belonged to a conniving and powerful individual. He had more money than he knew what to do with and still craved more. Yet, as successful as he was and as wealthy as he was, he still liked to micromanage his subordinates and rule whomever he dealt with using fear. The voice paused, and then continued, "All right Ray, if you're doing this to renegotiate our deal, good strategy. It's what I would've done, if I were in your shoes. So I suspect you want a deal that is more profitable now that you have the upper hand. Come on now, open the door and let's renegotiate."
As it would happen, this evening, instead of doling out fear, he would have fear run through his body. Because, behind that door, the powerful man and his two unscrupulous associates started to hear a strange sound entering the room from the rear of the dark cargo area. It sounded like fingers tapping on a table-- not just one, but hundreds. As it got closer and louder, an agitated man yelled, "What the hell are those?" The long legged spider-like creatures were making their way toward him and his henchman.
We heard banging on the large metallic door. As we started to walk away, I, along with Ray and Earl could hear the screaming become louder. Then it faded. When we got around to the front of the ship, I turned to Ray and Earl as if to say goodbye, but it was hard to say goodbye to people I would still be seeing. However, knowing part of them would be gone forever gave me a sense of loss and I knew I would miss the part of them I had gotten close to. Unfortunately, this was not the time for long goodbyes; time was running out, and we knew it. Instead we just bowed our heads toward each other, and Ray and Earl headed into one direction toward the main entrance to the craft, while I turned to head through the tunnel maze toward Henry's house.
An Interview with Jim Reilly
What inspired you to write Seaville?
After finishing my first book, I wanted to go into a different direction. My first novel, Evolution was more of an epic story about the creation of man and our place in the universe. So for my next book, I wanted it to be smaller in scale but had more character development. In Evolution, the story was the center of the novel. In Seaville, I wanted it to be about the character with the science fiction / fantasy story in the background. So I went about writing a story about an individual who lives in a town, much like mine, who develops as the story continued. Oh yeah, he has to deal with an alien invasion of sorts.
When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
It was in my late 40s after I went back to school to finish my Bachelor and Master's degrees. I decided after some of my professors gave me positive feedback for papers I wrote and encouragement from my wife that I would attempt to write a story. That story eventually grew and became my first novel, Evolution.
What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?
The first book I remember reading is a biography about Abraham Lincoln early in elementary school. It was not long or filled with much information about Lincoln, but I prided myself for sitting down to finish it.
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
Science Fiction / Fantasy. I always liked how Science fiction writers examined political, moral, and social concepts and use science fiction as a metaphor for what is happening or could happen in real life. It lets us see ourselves from a different point of view and shows the reader the consequences of our actions or inactions.
What is your favorite book?
The Martian Chronicles.
You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
Ray Bradbury. He could paint a picture with words to show his vision of the future. He not only described a wondrous future with a detailed description; his stories were filled with metaphors that showed the evils of modern society. In The Martian Chronicles, he used the story to show the ills of colonialism, racism, nuclear war, and book burning.
If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?
I guess I would want to go back to the time of Jesus. Not for religious reasons, but just to observe. You see, the movement that was started due to his teaching was a turning point in the development of western civilization. Whether you are Christian or not, his movement affected aspects of morality and modern thought in the west. My beliefs aside, I would want to see the beginning of the movement.
When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?
Since I wasn't trained to be a writer, the actual writing is difficult. Even though I am learning greatly as I go forward, I still need much improvement in my writing style. If you mean whether the story comes easy, it does. I have a wild imagination and my story just flows from my mind to the manuscript. That's easy for me. To tell you the truth, I have yet to get writers block.
Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
We had a Rat Terrier, who was a beloved family pet. He was more than a pet; he was part of our family. When I first started writing my first book, he always slept near my feet. He was still around when I started to finish Seaville, but he was very old and week. Watching him in his last days was painful but he left an everlasting loving mark in our family's memory.
What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?
I love caramel. Don't let me be in control of government secrets because I'd easily give them up for some caramel.
Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?
If you have a story in your head, the hardest part is getting past the very first word. We are all afraid to write our stories because we fear rejection. We shouldn't be. It doesn't matter if one person reads it or a million; a story needs to be read. Let your story get read and write that first word. Go ahead and do it.
Jim Reilly is a new science fiction / fantasy novelist. He is a married father of four, born and raised in Long Island. After going back to college and finishing with an MBA, some of his professors gave accolades to his writing prowess. With that and encouragement from his wife, he wrote his first novel, Evolution.
The success of Evolution has inspired Jim to continue his writing efforts and finish his next science fiction / fantasy novel, Seaville.
From an early age, Jim always had a fascination with science, science fiction, and fantasy to a point that it became a passion of his. Now he enjoys putting that passion to paper. He has already penned his next book and is working on another.
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