The Cyborg's Crusade series by Benoit Lanteigne Virtual Book Tour

 The Cyborg's Crusade - Day of the Deus Ex Machina

by Benoit Lanteigne

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GUEST POST

Nobody is perfect, and so no writer is perfect. Every one of us has our writing quirks that can diminish the quality of our words. Through the years, I’ve discovered some of my own. A big one is an overreliance on adverbs. Now, I’m not someone who thinks we should purge every adverb from a manuscript. They exist in our language because they have their place. That being said, often there are better alternatives than using an adverb. For instance, let’s take this sentence: “Character X looked at Y angrily.” Sure, it works, but it’s a little plain, isn’t it? I could instead use the opportunity to describe how X’s body language conveys their anger. Like how they’re scowling and gritting their teeth. This can lead to more engaging text, though at the price of a higher word count. With practice, I’ve improved a lot and my dependence on adverbs is far less prevalent.

I have another quirk though, that I struggle with to this day. I write sticky sentences. That means I often include filler words like “it, the, of” and so on. Not that there’s anything wrong with them by default. Again, they have their place. It’s just, I overuse them; include them in a spot where there are options, or have many in a sentence when a simple rewording would avoid them. It’s not great because it can make the text harder to read and slow down the pacing.

I’ve resigned myself to the fact I’m a “sticky writer”, but that doesn’t mean I ignore the issue. Instead, I allow myself as many sticky words as I want in my first draft, and then I eliminate them in revision. There is even software that can help with this. In my case, I was lucky and got a lifetime of access to ProWritingAid for cheap, so I used that. There are other good ones though. If such tools interest you, they often have a free version, so try them out. Do note, however, that they are not a replacement for a professional editor.

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Science Fiction

How did it come to this? My life used to be so simple. Back then, I hated it; I found it boring. Let me tell you: boring’s good. Boring’s great! I should’ve been thankful…

It was supposed to be a date like any other for James Hunter, a simple convenience store clerk. Nothing more than watching a movie in the town of Moncton. A place as unknown and unimportant as he considered his own existence to be. And yet, while walking to a cinema, James teleports to another world. There, a hostile crowd surrounds him, including various mutants with strange deformities.

Before he can even gather his wits or make a dash for it, a lone ally presents herself in the form of a winged woman named Rose. An important cultural figure in the country where James appeared, she offers him both protection and a home.

Soon, James learns that this new world is divided by a cold war. On one side is Nirnivia, home to Rose. The other, Ostark, led by a mysterious cyborg. James is unaware that the cyborg has him in his crosshairs, thinking of him as the Deus Ex Machina that will end the war in his favor.

But, the cyborg is far from the only potential threat to James. Soon after his arrival, BRR, a terrorist organisation, kidnaps him.

What would a rogue group out for revenge seeking to turn the cold war hot want with someone like James? Is there anyone also aware of this other world who will try to find him? Or is he on his own? If so, how is he supposed to escape? If that's even an option...

The book will be $0.99 during the tour. 

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Cyborgs-Crusade-Day-Deux-Machina-ebook/dp/B0CBZZRDZ4/ref=sr_1_1

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EXCERPT

The second that James saw the deformed statue, he deemed it painful to look at. The sculpture depicted a man, but not one of normal proportions. The arms were far too long, paired with short legs, and the right eye appeared thrice the size of the left—nothing compared to the elongated spike forming the nose, or the mouth contorted in a grimace. Now that he sat leaning against the grotesque shape, the figurative ache turned literal as the sharp stone dug into his back.

Even with the intense heat, James shivered. The recent revelations chilled his blood, and no matter how hard it tried, the sun couldn’t warm him again. He rubbed his chin, pondering all he had learned. His hand brushed against his stubble, and he scowled at the itching sensation. Usually he shaved every day, a habit his unplanned trip had broken. Then again, next to his companion, a bit of extra hair was nothing…

The freak still stood a few feet behind, laughing to his heart’s content. What a horrendous chortle. How James yearned to shut him up via his fist. “Gwa ha ah aha ha! Ha ha aha! Ha ha! Come on, why do you take things so seriously? You still don’t get it, do you? Gwha ha ha ha ha! You should laugh more; it’ll do ya good! Gwha ha ha ha ha! Wha ha ha ha! Gwa ha ha!”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

So, my name is Benoit Lanteigne and I’m a French Canadian (outside of Quebec) who’s trying to write in English. That can be tricky. I’m a computer programmer and I enjoy it. I see many inspiring writers who hate their jobs and hope to quit someday, but that’s not my case. Mostly, I’ve worked on websites and web applications. 

Back in school, I enjoyed writing and according to my teachers and classmates; I had a talent for it. Well, not so much for grammar and spelling, but they liked my stories. Once I went to university, I dropped writing as a hobby. There were other things I wanted to focus on, such as my career. Then, in the early 2000s, around 2006 I’d say, I had a flash of inspiration. At first, it was a single character: a winged woman with red hair. I didn’t even know who she was, but the image stuck with me. From there, I began figuring out details about her origins and her world, but I only started writing for real in 2009. 

It’s been roughly 10 years now, and it’s not yet finished. That’s in part because I write in my spare time, and in part because the scope of the project is huge. Maybe too much so. Still, I’m getting close to the point where I could release something. The question is what’s next? Self-publishing? Attempt traditional publishing? Nothing? I don’t know the answer yet, I’m trying to figure it out. Frankly, sharing my writing is difficult for me, and whatever I end up doing, as long as I make it available to people I consider the experience a victory no matter what comes out of it.

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