As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Flickers of Fortune

by S. R. Cronin

Flickers of Fortune - S.R. Cronin - 46. Ascending
Editions:Kindle: $ 3.99
ISBN: 978-1-941283-00-4
Paperback: $ 11.99
ISBN: 978-1-941283-97-4
Pages: 298
ePub: $ 3.99
ISBN: 978-1-941283-44-8

Cling to the edge of your seat in this high-finance, high-stakes adventure.

What do we do with knowledge of the future? Clairvoyant Ariel has been doing her best to ignore it, finding the whole thing a nuisance. But when she comes across people using similar abilities to get extremely rich, her interest is piqued.

Then she discovers a second collection of gifted people. Their cause is less about money and more about ensuring the survival of the human race. That doesn't stop them from being as dangerous and crazy as the first group, however. Soon Ariel finds herself the object in a game of tug of war as each faction fights to have her--and her particular talents--on their side.

She can't possibly help both groups. Aligning with either could be a terrible idea. But how can she stay out of it when so much is at stake?

Published:
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Tags:
Tropes: Crazy Clairvoyants, Dying World, Evil Megacorporation, Reluctant Hero, Superpowers
Word Count: 80000
Setting: Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, a bit of Mars
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
Tropes: Crazy Clairvoyants, Dying World, Evil Megacorporation, Reluctant Hero, Superpowers
Word Count: 80000
Setting: Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, a bit of Mars
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
Excerpt:

Ariel understood she was expected to go without complaint, but she didn’t like being forced into this move. She tried to make her voice more pleasant as she reached for the manila folder the HR man had been trying to hand her.

As she took out the contents, she must have brushed against something once handled by Gloria, because she knew there was a fifty-fifty chance Clyde wouldn’t even go through with the wedding. It didn’t matter. As she handled more papers she got more information. The more she learned, the more surprised she was.

Before today, there had been nothing spectacular in her near future. Now, she was probably going to Ireland where she’d meet people and learn things that would change her forever.

“I’d really like to think about it.” She said it as calmly as she could while she crinkled the papers between her thumb and index finger, trying to learn more.

READ MORE

“We’d like to get the paperwork started before the end of the week,” the man from HR said. “Tomorrow is Friday.”

“Right. Let me take this information home and I’ll give you my answer in the morning.”

As she stepped outside for air, she had a pretty good idea of what her answer would be. The nice man from HR hadn’t noticed her placing her hand against the wall after handling his manila folder, and he had no way of knowing it was to steady herself against a kaleidoscope of new visions rushing at her while a tiny percent probability turned into an almost certainty.

“Holy crap.”

Ariel muttered it as she made her way out of the building, her eyes half closed as she tried to calm her mind.

“Holy crap.”

She sat down on the cold concrete steps to steady herself.

“Holy crap.” She couldn’t quit saying it.

What Clyde didn’t know, couldn’t know, would never know, was that in making his proposal he probably affected the fate of the world. Many weeks from now, Ariel was likely to discover she had a chance to play a role in the survival of the human race. She couldn’t see how, she couldn’t see when, and as the flashes of little specks of her most distant visions whirled their way through her brain, all she got with any clarity was that her going to Ireland mattered. A lot.

Yes, she ought to accept the transfer.

COLLAPSE
Reviews:The Avid Reader wrote:

"Flickers of Fortune is a fast paced read ... all the twists and turns kept the pages turning to see what the future held. I liked getting to see the points of view from more than one character [and] trying to figure out how they all connect in the end. I highly recommend Flickers of Fortune to all fans of science fiction." -- The Avid Reader

Kit 'N Kabookle wrote:

"Yet again, I found myself enthralled in a book of this excellent series... Ariel was a fantastic heroine... As always, the plot was complex and intriguing. Combined with more truly interesting characters and another look into problems plaguing the world ... I will say it again: I can't recommend this series enough." -- Kit 'N Kabookle

Paul Wandason, Time2timetravel.com wrote:

"An action novel for intellectuals! It has a steady and gripping plot which incorporates a fully thought out phenomenon of seeing into the future, as well as addressing the philosophical question of what to do with that knowledge... So clearly - 5 stars for another brilliant novel in the "46.Ascending series." -- Paul Wandason, Time2timetravel.com


46. Ascending is six interrelated novels about five family members who each discover they can do something extraordinary. The stories overlap in time and can be read in any order.

Flickers of Fortune tells of Teddie’s older sister Ariel, a clairvoyant young woman who ignores her visions of the future until she discovers an entire group of seers who’ve learned how to make massive profits from their knowledge. They lead her to a disturbing second group obsessed with using their talents to understand a dark future they can’t ignore. Flickers of Fortune presents the stark beauty of Iceland and Greenland in a story about honor under unexpected circumstances.

About the Author

Sherrie Cronin is the author of a collection of six speculative fiction novels known as 46. Ascending and is now in the process of publishing a historical fantasy series called The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters. A quick look at the synopses of her books makes it obvious she is fascinated by people achieving the astonishing by developing abilities they barely knew they had.

She's made a lot of stops along the way to writing these novels. She's lived in seven cities, visited forty-six countries, and worked as a waitress, technical writer, and geophysicist. Now she answers a hot-line. Along the way, she's lost several cats but acquired a husband who still loves her and three kids who've grown up just fine, both despite how odd she is.

All her life she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be Chief Science Officer on the Starship Enterprise. She now lives and writes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she admits to occasionally checking her phone for a message from Captain Picard, just in case.