Why Descansar

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Descansar, the largest space station in this part of the galaxy. Home to ordinary people trying to make a living, smugglers and other criminals taking what they thought were the easy route, and security personnel always in pursuit of the truth or at least what they believe to be the truth. A hub for trade, travel, and shady dealings.
On Descansar everything can happen, and given enough time it will…

For me as a writer, Descansar is a fascinating world. A couple of the backers of my campaign launching Arson, the first story in the Descansar Universe, has asked me why, so I’m going to tell you a bit about why this world is so intriguing to me.

In a large space station like Descansar, a myriad of different people with diverse world view interacts. I’m fascinated by how we, as humans, navigate through the maze of different cultures and norms. At Descansar there isn’t a government or an organization in charge. It works like a city that has grown from a small marketplace to a gigantic city. This means the space station itself forms the same type of mosaic as the people aboard. Add to that the confined quarters and the restriction it means to be in space with no easy escape if something goes wrong, it makes for fascinating stories to explore.

The stories all circle around the space station, but not all of them take place at it. You’ll meet different people with needs and goals. Some of them are struggling to make a living. Some are grieving for a loved one and take desperate actions to handle that grief. And some are just trying to do what they believe is right.

Does it sound interesting?
Check out the campaign there you can get Arson, as well as one new Descansar Universe story a month during 2023. It’s running until Thursday.

Check out Descansar Universe Kickstarter

Q&A Descansar Universe

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Today was the live Q&A about my Descansar Universe. I talked about how I came to write stories in this world, the world, the stories in the Descansar Universe, and why I’ve chosen to Kickstart the launch of the first story in Descansar Universe.

Check out Arson – A Descansar Universe Kickstarter

The short story Arson

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Arson cover

It was the strangest crime scene Danka had ever seen, and she’d seen more bizarre ones than should be possible on a measly space station. She’d always get the call at the last minute before her shift ended, making it impossible to get home in time for supper. According to Jela, her wife, it was important to eat supper together, but as the space station’s most experienced security investigator, Danka almost never made it home in time. This time was no different. She’d got the call 15 minutes before her shift ended.
She’d stopped right at the threshold of the tiny quarters, normally rented out for travelers staying for just a few days and needing somewhere to sleep. She knew these quarters well because they were common crime scenes, their temporary nature inviting shady dealings. This one, fortunately, had been unoccupied.
The standard set of bed, table with two chairs, and a minuscule kitchenette were burned to a crisp. She’d seen nothing so devastatingly destroyed by fire. The smell was obnoxious. Thick, acrid, and kind of sweet. Her throat felt rough, even though she hadn’t set foot inside yet. It smelled like burned plastic. Her thoughts spun round in her head, never landing, her questions unanswered. If everything was so completely burned, why did the walls look shiny new, as if they’d just been repainted? Why hadn’t the fire spread beyond the quarters? Thank goodness it hadn’t. The space station was filled with flammables. An uncontrolled fire would be devastating. This scene made no sense.
When she put her fingers on the wall, the surface was surprisingly smooth. With the thin gloves, she’d feel every roughness. The gloves’ sensor readings also made no sense. The composition of the surface didn’t match any known material on the space station. She ordered a cross-reference once again to make sure, but the result came up blank.
She turned her boots on and stepped inside. The boots gathered every tiny particle she stepped on and had sensors as well. No way was she going to contaminate a crime scene by neglecting to turn them on. Far too many security investigators just didn’t give a damn. No matter how fed-up she felt about her work, she’d never fall that low. In her opinion, experienced shouldn’t be a synonym for neglect.
Something was nagging her, and she stopped in the middle of the room right beside the heap of black debris that was all that was left of the table with the two chairs. She’d never have guessed what it was if she hadn’t known it. She held her breath for ten seconds. It was silent. Way too silent. She couldn’t hear the air conditioning. Impossible!
There was no way to turn the air conditioning off. It should be audible everywhere. She looked out into the hallway. Nobody but her had entered the tiny quarters, so both concierges stood in the doorway peering in.
“Shut the door for 10 seconds,” Danka said, “and don’t forget to open it in exactly 10 seconds.”
“But…,” the tall lanky one said.
The shorter one, with a potbelly, nodded and shut the door. Danka almost didn’t have time to hold her breath. She strained her hearing. Nothing. No whooshing air conditioning. Not a single sound. Strange.
The temporary quarters were not soundproofed. It was a source of conflict and usually led to violent altercations between neighbors. But in here, she couldn’t hear anything. A chill traveled down her spine. Danka shuddered. Somebody walked across her grave, as Grandma used to say. She didn’t like this crime scene.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

This was the first scene in the short story Arson. It’s the first story in my Descansar Universe. If you want to read more, you can check out my Kickstarter featuring Arson.

Eva Holmquist

Check out the Kickstarter

Why kickstart the launch of Arson?

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Arson cover

Arson is the first story in my Descansar Universe. I’ve chosen to kickstart the launch, which means the backers of the project will get the story more than a month before anybody else.
But why Kickstarter? Why not launch wide as I usually do?
The reason is simple.
I enjoy getting stories before anybody else on Kickstarter myself and frequently back stories launched on Kickstarter. Beside that simple reason, Kickstarter makes it possible for me to offer more with the launch. Things that you can’t get through an ordinary store.
For instance, you can get “The Story of Descansar Space Station – A story told by Descansar Space Station”, which is a story only available through the Kickstarter. At another reward level, you get the chance to appear in a future story in the Descansar Universe.
I really look forward to this project. The Descansar Universe is a story world I’m really fond of and I’m excited to share it with my readers.

Obnoxious smell. Thick, acrid, and kind of sweet. Interior burned to a crisp.
But shiny, new-looking walls?
Worse. It isn’t the first arson crime scene. It is the third…
A call to a bizarre crime scene pulls Danka into the biggest arson investigation of her career.
Can she solve the mystery before the next attack threatens everything she holds dear?
Arson is the first story in the Descansar Universe.

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Notify me

New Kickstarter project coming the 18th of October!

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Life at Descansar – Heart-warming science fiction!

Obnoxious smell. Thick, acrid, and kind of sweet. Interior burned to a crisp.

But shiny, new-looking walls?

Worse. It isn’t the first arson crime scene. It is the third…

A call to a bizarre crime scene pulls Danka into the biggest arson investigation of her career.

Can she solve the mystery before the next attack threatens everything she holds dear?

Arson is the first story in the Descansar Universe.

Descansar, the largest space station in this part of the galaxy. Home to ordinary people trying to make a living, smugglers and other criminals taking what they thought were the easy route, and security personnel always in pursuit of the truth or at least what they believe to be the truth. A hub for trade, travel, and shady dealings.

On Descansar everything can happen, and given enough time it will…

The stories in the Descansar Universe range from the humorous to the thrilling, but all of them centers around humans’ fears, hopes, and adventures.

I wanted to let you know about my next Kickstarter that starts the 18th of October. Arson – A Descansar Universe Kickstarter launches Arson, the first story in the universe.

Besides getting Arson more than one month before anybody else, you can also get my previously published stories.

Link to pre-launch page 

Cheers Eva