Travis Starnes posts
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Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 12
They found the car waiting exactly where they told Joe Solomon to leave it. Taylor had half been expecting a black SUV that was the hallmark of official US vehicles everywhere, but instead, he saw a dark blue, older model Volkswagen sedan. Nice enough to not stand out as a noticeable piece of junk, ...
Small Change to Family Ties Chapter 8
There was a small change to Chapter 8 of Family Ties (John Taylor #5) dealing with the location of where Whitaker hid the journal. This will become important in later chapters.
Title Change
Some of you may have noticed, but I wanted to spell it out to make sure no on got confused. The title of the 5th John Taylor book has changed and is now Family Ties.
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 11
The sun was still peaking around the edges of the thick motel curtain when Taylor woke up. Turning, he found Whitaker already awake, propped up on one elbow, staring at him.“I missed this,” she said once he looked up at her.“Me too.”She rolled over, draping her body over half of his, her hea...
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 10
Taylor forced the bike he and Whitaker were on around a tight turn, leaning the bike almost too much as he tried to keep from bleeding too much speed as they ran from the cyber cafe. His hopes that the siren he’d heard was just a different officer pulling some motorist over were soon dashed as the...
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 9
The next morning Taylor and Whitaker both seemed to subconsciously need to constantly touch each other. Passing each other in the small motel room, they repeatedly reached to make physical contact. A slight caress of the back or brief hand hold seemed to reinforce they were really together again, ev...
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 8
Whitaker dropped her helmet and threw herself at Taylor, her mouth smashing into his. For a long time, they kissed, pouring their worry and love into each other, each clutching the other tightly. Eventually, Whitaker untangled herself from Taylor and stepped back, both stopping to catch their breath...
Playing by Ear (Country Roads #1) - Chapter 8
The next day at lunch, I told Rhonda I needed to sit with Hanna and get some help on my homework at lunch, which was partially true. I was starting to really struggle in math, and I’d made a promise I wouldn’t start blowing my school work off. The real reason, though, was I needed to talk to Jor...
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 7
The trip back to the medical examiners' office seemed to take a lot longer than it had just that morning. Taylor spent the entire time in the back of the cab alternately, fearing Whitaker was gone and denying it could be her.When he arrived at the offices, he wanted to just push past the recepti...
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 6
Taylor thought about the name 'Grace Sharp' all the way back to the hotel, trying to place where he’d heard it. By the time he got back, he still hadn’t placed it, but he did remember it had something to do with Whitaker. He couldn’t remember if it was a personal connection, or a work ...
Playing by Ear (Country Roads #1) - Chapter 7
Sunday was more of the same except I got to work earlier to help the brunch crowd, which was half people from town and half people headed south out of the national park on their way back home. Instead of coming in early or staying late, Hanna had us there just in time for me to help prep in the kitc...
Playing by Ear - Chapters 5-6 Re-write & an Update
First, an update. I know posts have slowed down a lot. The quarantine has done a number on my productivity, especially with kids doing school from home. I'm going to re-arrange my schedule some and try and get in more writing time. This is to say you should see May get back to a more normal post...
Playing by Ear - Chapters 3 & 4 Re-Write
New versions of chapter 3 and 4 are up (The text on the original posts was edited to the new material). It should seem largely familiar, but with changes to the timeline and the progression of Hanna & Charlie's friendship. More changes to the other chapters coming soon.
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 5
Taylor spent several more hours poring over documents with no luck before shutting his computer down. He’d found some general background information, what he really needed wasn’t going to be found in searches. There were two possibilities he could see at the moment for getting more direct inform...
Writing Update
I know it's been a bit since the last chapter and I wanted to make sure everyone knew I hadn't ghosted. There is going to be a major rework of Playing by Ear coming up pretty soon. Normally I outline pretty heavily so this isn't an issue and the only updates are minor, but this time the ...
Playing by Ear (Country Roads #1) - Chapter 6
I liked Saturdays, mostly because mom doesn’t work until the afternoons. Most kids my age would probably try and stay in their rooms, hiding from their parents, and they’d almost certainly find me looking forward to spending time with my mom Saturday mornings weird. They probably also hadn’t g...
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 4
Once Graf’s backup arrived, but before the ambulance that they then called to tend to Graf’s wound, Taylor moved to check out the scene while they dealt with their brother officer. The new arrivals seemed concerned at first that Taylor, a civilian, was wandering around the scene until Graf waved...
The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 18
The next morning Ky was in a foul mood, something his lictores picked up on quickly. Partly it was because he’d started to push himself too hard. While it was true, he could operate on significantly less sleep than non-augmented humans, he had pushed this ability too far. Even with the changes to ...
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 3
Berlin, GermanyTaylor managed to get a few hours’ sleep on the flight. It wasn't really enough, but it allowed him to beg off when Graf suggested Taylor check into his hotel and get a few hours’ sleep before they started. While Taylor was tired, he was not going to put off the search for Whi...
The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 17
While the games took up most of the afternoon, Ky’s day was far from over. The Emperor and his advisors had begun setting up meetings with some of the people that Ky would need to deal with to enact various parts of his plans.This afternoon’s meeting had been set up by Hortensius, the businessma...
Slight delay in the next chapter
I know there's normally a chapter posted by this point. The next chapter of Imperium required a lot more research than I expected (on banking in the ancient world and renaissance era financial innovation). There is a new chapter coming soon, I haven't forgotten. Promise.
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 2
Taylor made plans with Graf at seven-thirty, for the red-eye flight to Germany. He left the German officer to take care of the details, so Taylor could take care of things before he had to go out of town. While the Germans had agreed to pick up Taylor’s tab for the time he was on loan to them, he ...
Playing by Ear (Country Roads #1) - Chapter 5
My first week of public school had been somewhat of a mixed bag so far. I’d gotten a job that seemed like it’d be okay, free music lessons and it looked like I might manage to make some friends. On the other hand, I had also managed to make enemies, including a teacher, and I was starting to rea...
The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 16
Ky came out of his quarters the next morning to find two of the men from Carus’s detail flanking his door. He still found the concept of men guarding him around the clock to be strange. Leaders in his time had guards, of course, but everything was more hands-off. With the kinetic shielding enhance...
Family Ties (John Taylor #5) - Chapter 1
Berlin, GermanyFrieda Wissler sat in her old, comfortable chair, pushed close to the fireplace, a shawl wrapped tight around her shoulders. Although the fall air had only just started to cool, taking on the crisp scent of the changing of seasons, her weathered frame could not take the fall air like ...
The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 15
Ky walked the courtyard the next morning by himself. He was confused that, during his walk, the one thought that kept returning to him was that he wished Lucilla was walking with him. They had not arranged to meet, and, as the Emperor’s daughter, she must have had things she needed to take care of...
Playing by Ear (Country Roads #1) - Chapter 4
Mom was stuck working late, as seemed to happen a lot, which meant my normal night of feeding myself, reading, playing a little guitar, and getting to bed. The only new thing in this schedule was homework. I struggled somewhat with my math, still unsure of how to work all of the problems. Most kids ...
The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 14
Ky was surprised when Lucilla stood and left the meeting room with him.“You aren’t going to stay?”“No. The only reason I was there was because you asked for my input, but they would be uncomfortable if I stayed. Honestly, if the emperor weren’t my father, they wouldn’t have tolerated a w...
Playing by Ear (Country Roads #1) - Chapter 3
I was second-guessing my bravado the next morning as I stood, staring down at the creek. The night before I had pictured vaulting over the creek, my feet skimming across the water. Sticking my crutch into the creek, I realized vaulting was not going to work. If I tried to stick my crutches in the mi...
Playing by Ear (Country Roads #1) - Chapter 2
It turned out ‘springing’ me from the hospital was a lot more complicated than I had hoped. We waited for the x-rays to come back, which showed I only had bruised ribs, not broken ones. The actual bad news was that I did have a hairline fracture in one of the bones in my foot. Luckily, the fract...
