All The Write Stuff: The Bush Clinic

The Bush Clinic

The Tribal Wars Book 1

by Stella Atrium

Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera

A space colonization story about seeking independence and home rule in the face of corporate greed. Tribal women bind together in a war zone where they are discounted as not important enough to save or keep safe.

On Dolvia, Lt. Mike Shaw demands Dr. Greensboro’s doctoring skills at the hospital, forcing the closure of her bush clinic. She witnesses forced labor, forced migration, and the threat of an epidemic from bad water. She sees how tribal women–often wearing burkas–find solutions for saving the children in a conflict zone, and she commits to the their cause for Home Rule.

Brianna Miller is an isolated girl–a mixed-blood orphan–among the Dolviet tribes. With the lessons from Dr. Greensboro, the abuse from soldiers, the sisterhood among victims, Brianna prepares for a future she will choose for herself. But first she must travel offworld.

GUEST POST

What book do you think everyone should read

The Little Prince is a classic for readers of all ages.

Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?

Some characters are added to a scene so the action work, but later they step forward a primary characters. I’m often as surprised as the reader.

What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?

Today’s writers are lucky with internet research so that details can be vivid and follow the laws of physics (at the very least)

I like to develop magic out of found-in-nature wonders, such as Utcan’s talisman that is a serpent pouch based on a “mermaid’s purse,” shaped in nature by a shark for a developing fetus. Utcan can spy though a hole drilled in the head of a dead fetus in the pouch and view the universe. No lie; true story.

What do you think about the current publishing market?

Self-publishing changes every 18 months, and the services play follow the leader. If one group focused on direct sales from the writer’s website, soon enough all groups are offering the same. It’s all pay-for-play, so be certain that you have enough capital stashed away to afford the next steps such as offering audible books.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I like humor and romance and action, but not so much dark apocalyptic setups where everybody dies after torture. Set-ups begin to bore me. I do find that when writing a long scene, I start the think that somebody has to die soon so the sequence can end. LOL

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Don’t even get started. Writing is a life style choice. All your days are spent with characters that other people cannot know yet, and at the sacrifice of parties or friends or long walks with the dog.

Do you believe in writer’s block?

Writing is a daily discipline. There are many tricks to get past the dread of facing the blank page. One principle that I found was that when a scene isn’t working, the problem may reside with earlier scenes where better action is required for continuity. The later event is an outgrowth of a previous action.

HOME RULE was named a finalist in the Book Excellence Awards announced in April 2024.

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“First rate sci-fi novels. Atrium’s worlds compel both in their alien detail—and what they reveal about our own world.” -- BookLife

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The Body Politic

The Tribal Wars Book 2

Brianna Miller returns to Dolvia where tribal women protest the oppressive rule of Rabbenu Ely by self-torchings in the Cylay Square. Brianna re-establishes her tribal schools and takes on assistant Kelly Osborn who is mixed blood and also a poet.

Kelly visits a neighboring planet Cicero where her aunt Carline Bryant takes over her education. While returning to Dolvia, Kelly meets the Australian adventurer Hershel Henry who has signed on for a tour of Dolvia as a photo-journalist. Henry takes an opportunity to interview the khalif on the opposing side of the tribal wars.

EXCERPT

Excerpt from THE BODY POLITIC: Book Two of The Tribal Wars

I should give my confession here. Not for me so much, or for the record: more so young people know the reasons for our actions. I’m Kelly Osborn and I was part of the Battle of Iamida Shores. Arrivi won the river conflict but with heavy losses. I was nineteen and assigned to stay with the children of those in leadership since there was no time to evacuate. As the betrothed of Rufus, I was to watch over Colonel Sector’s girls and the other children in the village schoolroom.

Our station was overrun by Borabean warriors of the Gora clan. We heard them outside our hiding place; running footsteps and bursts of gunfire, the sound so different from a karkar’s report. My heart was beating too fast and I felt 12-year-old Millie trembling next to me, not knowing if we would be dragged onto the street for rape or hacking off our arms. Tears marked her face while she huddled with her sister Anna.

The door was flung open. A bearded man in galabia and boots stood with lowered gun and a bloody knife. In my memory, the blinding sun behind him was tinged blood red. His dark eyes surveyed us, assessing what treasure he had found. Children whimpered and hugged the walls. A knot formed in my throat. Sweat moistened the hair at my temples.

The Gora man slung the weapon’s strap over his shoulder and reached for Millie and her sister. He cuffed Millie by the neck of her tunic and dragged them outside, clinging to each other and limp against his rough gestures.

“Kelly, Kelly,” Millie cried. “Help us!”

I bolted after him. I had a large kitchen knife and nothing else. But it was wrong what he was doing, just plain wrong. Before he was aware of my move, I sliced across his liver from behind. His back arched and he blindly reached behind, but I jumped away. I jabbed under his ribs with my graceless knife where he was exposed due to his own gesture. Thrust in-and-up as we had learned from Omiibuk. His brow furled while he stared at me. He looked down at his galabia quickly soaked with blood.

He still grasped Millie’s tunic when his knees buckled and he collapsed in the doorway. The girls were pulled down on top of him, but they screamed and scrambled away. I wasn’t actually thinking; I mean, forming thoughts. I remember kneeling beside the body before I balanced his automatic across his round shoulder, and the girls gathered behind me. I pulled off my glasses smeared with blood and worked the trigger many times sending a spray of bullets. Millie grabbed plastic ammo clips from the fallen and handed them to me to fit into the weapon. Tat-tat-tat-tat. I saw bearded men fall and did not care that I wounded them from behind; I was uncaring about that.

Finally the gun was empty, the long barrel hot and smoking.

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Home Rule

The Tribal Wars Book 3

Brianna Miller and rebel leader Karlyhi emerge as leaders uniting the tribes against the offworld mining cartel. Reporter Hershel Henry opens a local newspaper to report a more honest version of events leading to regime change. But will bringing down Rabbenu Ely only stir more violence and unrest?

Unity starts at home. How can the tribes bind together as a nation-state after fighting among themselves for generations? Inspiring leaders are needed, and a flashpoint act that binds individuals to a single cause. When Henry witnesses (and broadcasts) the ninth death-by-fire, this one by respected teacher Kecouroo, all the tribes feel the outrage and call for Rabbenu Ely to step down.

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Tribal Logic

The Tribal Wars Book 4

From Paris, Jesse Hartley jumps back to Dolvia in the galaxy's Westend. A bloodless coup on Stargate Junction interrupts her travel plans and sends her in a different direction. Hershel Henry is tasked with rescuing abandoned conscripts after the abusive Company withdraws from asteroid mining.

A change in leadership on Stargate Junction makes all characters question how the future will shape. How to survive the shifting loyalties among the city-states? Will my home even be there when I return?

While on a deep space rescue mission, Hershel Henry misses karsci on Dolvia the Abydian khalif steps down. Within the turmoil, will Henry connect with Jesse Hartley, or is that romance lost forever?

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About the Author

Stella Atrium presents planet stories about female protagonists of diverse ethnicities who encounter obstacles relatable to our lives today. How do women in a conflict zone gain voice in the public square using the few tools available to women?

THE BUSH CLINIC received an Editor’s Pick from BookLife, a 2022 Artisan Book Review Award, and a 2023 Independent Press Award for Science Fiction.

The second novel titled THE BODY POLITIC also received an Editor's Pick from BookLife and a Artisan Book Review award.

HOME RULE debuted in the Top Ten Amazon rankings for the genre category in August 2023, securing an Editor's Pick from BookLife, a Literary Titan medallion, and another coveted Artisan Book Review Award for Science Fiction.

TRIBAL LOGIC: Book IV of The Tribal Wars was released in January 2024.

Also be certain to pick up Atrium’s standalone novel SEVEN BEYOND that won a 2014 Reader’s Favorites Award in Science Fiction.

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