WANTED: Beta Readers for STAR RACERS

Happy Friday, Friends!

Today I have a "wanted ad" for a writer seeking beta readers. Martin's written a YA sci-fi called STAR RACERS that sounds pretty cool, and he's looking for detailed feedback.

If you've got the time, please read his summary and excerpt as follows and consider getting in touch!

Star Racers by Martin Felando

It’s not just about a race. Star Racers is a fantasy space opera full of sci-fi action with a young space pilot named Rev Arden falling in love with his racing sponsor Sashi Oon. The fate of their planets depend on the two of them working together to win a dangerous, obstacle-filled race called Grand Battle. But Rev, Sashi and their adventurous friends Stepp Gro and Krissy Hott (and their numerous, adorable action figure dolls), Dupaon, and Stepp’s boyfriend Kaedn have to battle their way off Earth and across the galaxy just to get to the race at the Milky Way Grand Hotel.  Once there, Rev has to compete against a hundred other hypersonic scramjet pilots, including Scrap Meat and Betsy’s Lover, all wanting to save their endangered planet, and the Xx-scarred Maelae of the Injurious will do everything in his power to stop all of them, especially Rev.  

Appropriate for children ages 12 and up, Star Racers was written for teens and young adults.   

 YOU NEED A WATCH

Deep space.  The Milky Way Grand Hotel.  Verus Live!

Verus Live! appeared on billions of screens across millions of galaxies.  The show often started with Verus head and shoulders in shadow, a black silhouette against a backlight of midnight blue.  So it was this night, with Verus wearing another perfectly tailored suit, smoothly and politely asking, “Are you like me?  Do you like putting a smile on your face?  A smile that isn’t an empty smile?”

Floating cameras blinked like tiny stars, leading and following Verus as he rose from his broadcast studio chair and walked past his showrunner and assistants.  Verus remained in shadow as he sauntered down a dark corridor, cameras crisscrossing like fireflies.

Outlines of people, creatures, and robots could be seen crowded against the corridor walls waving and reaching out to Verus like giddy teens.  

“You’ve rooted for someone to win something, haven’t you?  What are you rooting for?  Why?  What’s the most important thing in your life right now?  A game?  A song?  A calling?  Is there something in your life you’d risk everything for?  Do you feel like you have all the answers, or are you like me?  Do you feel like you’re often walking in the dark?”

Verus turned a corner and headed down another corridor drenched in bumpy shadows.  Further ahead, something bright was glowing.

“Now, maybe where you’re from you couldn’t do this, but if I or something else wanted to show up on your planet’s doorstep, we could do it in a day.  The problem is too many of our neighbors aren’t acting neighborly.  Which is why we’re all here, and maybe why you are here.  Now, where am I?” 

Hundreds of star-studded, spiral galaxy holographs appeared in the blue corridor, and Verus gently waded through them with both hands.  Identifying air text graphics materialized next to every galaxy he touched.   

“I’m sure you’re in here somewhere, but what about me?  Here I am.  The Milky Way Galaxy.”

Verus expanded the holograph, and a galaxy of solar systems with planets, moons, comets, and colorful cloud nebulas filled the blue hall.  Expanded further by Verus, spaceship armadas could be seen attacking space station defenses and invading planets.  The air text graphics auto expanded, revealing war crime statistics rising in the billions.           

“The Milky Way Galaxy has over thirty billion inhabited planets, and too many bullies in their galaxy are showing up unannounced.  Look here though at these galaxies.”

Verus shrunk the Milky Way Galaxy and displayed other galaxy holographs.

“Here are galaxies with no bullies, no invasions, no wars.  Neighbors acting neighborly.”
Verus magnified one of these peaceful galaxies to reveal that orbiting nearly every planet were four Defender hyper-cruisers.   

“See these?  These are Defenders.  Someone from this galaxy and these planets won a race called Grand Battle.  Win the race, save your planet.  How do you win Grand Battle?  How do you live in peace for all time?  Well, first you need a watch.”             

Interested in beta-reading for Martin? Please e-mail him directly at martinfelando(at)yahoo(dot)com.