TopShelf Magazine September 2016 | Page 5

brainrush FEATURES www.RichardBard.com Before he slid into the MRI machine, Jake Bronson was just an ordinary guy with terminal cancer. But when an earthquake hits during the procedure, Jake staggers from the wreckage a profoundly changed man, now endowed with uncanny mental abilities. An ocean away, Luciano Battista wants a piece of Jake's talent. Posing as a pioneering scientist, the terrorist leader has been conducting cerebral-implant experiments in a sinister quest to create a breed of super jihadist agents...and Jake's altered brain may be the key to his success. But Jake refuses to play the pawn in an unholy war--and when an innocent woman and autistic child are taken hostage to force his cooperation, he embarks on a jihad of his own. Jake and his band of loyal friends are thrust into a deadly chase that leads from the canals of Venice through Monte Carlo and finally to an ancient cavern in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan-where Jake discovers that his newfound talents carry a hidden price that threatens the entire human race. the widow and the orphan Biography Richard Bard was born in Munich, Germany to American parents, and joined the United States Air Force like his father. But when he was diagnosed with cancer and learned he had only months to live, he left the service. He earned a management degree from the www.TopShelfIndie.com SEPTEMBER2016 "Terrifically Entertaining" letting the public believe they were exploring the solar system, while they worked feverishly to refine the technology needed to reach it.  The ship itself remained silent, drifting.  Dr. Jane Holloway is content documenting nearly-extinct languages and had never contemplated becoming an astronaut. But when NASA recruits her to join a team of military scientists for an expedition to the Target, it's an adventure she can't refuse.  The ship isn't vacant, as they presumed.  A disembodied voice rumbles inside Jane's head, "You are home."  Jane fights the growing doubts of her colleagues as she attempts to decipher what the alien wants from her. As the derelict ship devolves into chaos and the crew gets cut off from their escape route, Jane must decide if she can trust the alien's help to survive. magazine University of Notre Dame and ultimately ran three successful companies involving advanced security products used by US embassies and governments worldwide. Now a full-time writer, he lives in Redondo Beach, California, with his wife, and remains in excellent Richard Bard health. Richard draws on his own experiences as a former USAF pilot and cancer survivor to craft compelling characters who risk it all for love and loyalty. With breakneck international chases and mind-blowing plot twists, his "Brainrush" series earn s its moniker as the "entertaining action-thriller with thought-provoking soul." TOPShelf Publishers Weekly heralded Richard Bard’s Brainrush series features Biography WINNER of the Gold award in the 2014 eLit book in Fantasy/Sci-fi NASA discovered the alien ship lurking in the asteroid belt in the 1960s. They kept the Target under intense surveillance for decades, Jennifer Foehner Wells' debut novel rocketed up the charts, pushing her into bestselling author status within two months of its release. Fluency went on to be featured on boingboing.net and to win the Gold in the Fantasy/ Science Fiction category of the 2015 eLit awards. Jen lives an alternately chaotic and fairly bucolic existence in Jennifer Foehner Wells Indiana with two boisterous little boys and two semicrazed cats. Having studied biology, she is possessed with a keen interest in science and technology. You can find her on Twitter, extolling science and scifi fandoms, as @Jenthulhu. Find out more about Jen at www.Jenthulhu.com TOPShelf magazine SEPTEMBER2016 5