Please This work is under 4000 words. It seems like any ordinary day as Nick waits for the train, but then a chance encounter with a young woman turns his world upside down. What is it that she is running from and will helping her jeopardise his own secret, making him a target too?
Nicki J. Markus / Asta Idonea was born in England but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist, having studied several foreign languages.
She launched her writing career in 2011 and divides her efforts not only between MM and mainstream works but also between traditional and indie publishing. Her works span the genres, from paranormal to historical and from contemporary to fantasy. It just depends what story and which characters spring into her mind!
As a day job, she works part time as an administrator and part time as a freelance editor and proofreader, and in whatever spare time she can find she enjoys music, theater, cinema, photography, and sketching. She also loves history, folklore and mythology, pen-palling, and travel, all of which have provided plenty of inspiration for her writing.
Nick Alexander glances over to see a young girl runing towards the train he leans forward holds the door ajar and Ellie Beaton falls into his life. Ellie is running from the police and Nick feels he would like to help her out, offering his kindness of his unit for two hours till he feels Ellie is safely away from the police.
In a turn of events Nick finds out Ellies secert and is taken into a whirlwind of events that may just cost her more than her freedom. Nicks secert is to be let loose... are they safe in the distant future ?
WOW !!! Short but sweet !!!! Ten pages of fast paced Storyline , it was fluent and descriptions very informative and intriguing.I felt I was able to invisage scenery and all aspects within this book - with Niki's creativity Im sure that this will lead to a fantastic series. Niki has alot more in store for us. ;) and this book was just icing on the cake and Im sure that their is more good stuff where this comes from. I had goose bumps in the last two lines, my initial thought was to yell ** RUN ELLLE RUN ** I must say I am eagerly looking forward to more of Niki's work.
The ending has left us hanging but also giving us room to create a storyline,and to guess what is next and leave us eagerly awaiting part 2.. I cant wait !!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Running Blind is one of the best short stories I have read in a long time.
Nick is minding his business on the train when he sees a girl running for the ready-to-close doors. His gut instinct is to help her get on the train, so he helps her, and then he sees the policemen running after her.
Running Blind is a fantastic quick read, and one of the most well-written short stories I have read in far too long a time. As with all short stories Running Blind gathered its steam from action and a bit of suspense, there was no time for back ground, no time for character or relationship development, just the in the moment spontaneity that comes with the territory.
And boy did Markus pull that off. She didn’t waste time with needless descriptions but still added enough detail to the story to create a fantastic fast-paced picture. The only thing that left me wanting was for a little bit more suspense, but with the cliff-hanger ending she left us with my mind is reeling from the possibilities of what could come next.
I am more astounded than anything that Running Blind was just so incredibly well-written. Writing an interesting, engaging short story seems to be so hard for some people to achieve but Markus’ writing was absolutely superb and I can't wait for Part Two.
This would technically be a 4.5 star rating for me, but, alas, Goodreads does not allow 1/2 stars.
Once confined to fantasy and science fiction, time travel is now simply an engineering problem. ~Michio Kaku, Wired Magazine
In a world where werewolves, witches and vampires have come out into the open regarding their existence, a young man, Nick has a chance encounter with Ellie, who is on the run from someone. Will this meeting cause a problem for Nick, who has his own secrets to keep hidden?
I've said before that I tend to dislike reading short stories because when I get my hands on a good one I don't want it to end quickly. Running Blind (Time Keepers) by Nicki J Markus is not a short story, but it is part 1 of 4, so it might as well have been a short story, because I don't have parts 2-4 in my hands. As you can probably tell, I really enjoyed Running Blind. The author paints a very vivid picture setting up characters/setting and a hint of the plot in these first 4000ish words. I greatly look forward to reading the rest of the Time Keepers saga (my dubbing, I'm not sure what the title of the full work will be) and much more by this author.
This is a very short read, only being 10 pages, but wow. I loved it, and will be eagerly awaiting part 2 when it comes out. The start to the Time Keepers novel introduces us to Nick and Ellie who meet on the train as Ellie barely escapes the clutches of the police thanks to Nick's help. This introduction sets us up to eagerly await the rest of the story. Nicki paints a very easy picture of the settings and characters in my head with her descriptions, making it a great story to fall into. It's hard to know where this story will lead but I like it that way. Keeps me guessing the whole way. Great job Nicki. Good luck.
A futuristic tale set in a world where the existence of vampires, werewolves and witches is accepted, a chance encounter with a girl named Ellie is about to change Nick's seemingly normal life forever.
Ellie is a time-traveller, and she is on the run from the Governor who seeks to harness her abilities for his own political advantage. Nick, too, harbours a dangerous secret, and the moment the two cross paths it doesn't take long for the adventure, intrigue and excitement to begin.
Brilliantly written with fascinating characters, this is, to date, my favourite piece by Nicki J. Markus. I just wish it was longer!
This is a short story in parts. I've read this part and now want to read the next part. She wraps you up quickly with the two main characters and now I want to know what happens to them and what is going on with the Governor. This is paranormal about different creatures, witches, vampire, time travelers, etc.
Great start to a futuristic world where paranormal creatures are fact, not fiction. Part one ended on a big cliffhanger and now I can't wait to read part two to find out what becomes of Nick's chance meeting.