Back in July we first announced that NeoText was being formed to give new and existing authors an avenue to publish their works. They were going to offer diverse and exciting new stories and art from some of the brightest creators. Since that time, NeoText has lived up to that promise, offering a wide variety of material from creators like Adam Roberts & Francois Schuiten, Ho Che Anderson, and Mike Sager among others. Now they are introducing a new author for your reading pleasure: LGBTQ writer Ashley Christine. Ashley has written a book called Midnight 99 that mixes social commentary, an intriguing murder mystery, with alien reptilian Overlords. Sounds like a party. NeoText announced Ashley’s upcoming novella in this press release:
(Oct 1) New digital publisher NeoText’s latest novella is MIDNIGHT 99, an outrageous, mind-bending take on the classic whodunnit tale—where the victim is a 7-foot-tall Lizard Reptilian Overlord and the detective is too blitzed to remember how he ended up dead on her toilet in the first place. Written by debut writer Ashley Christine and featuring art by WBYK, the phantasmagoric dystopian romp will be available digitally on October 6th.
Intoducing Tulsa
Meet Tulsa Kalhoun. Once upon a time she was a well-respected, pantsuit-wearing broadcast journalist. At least until an inconvenient supernatural awakening left her career and sanity in tatters. Now she stumbles through this world peddling a private pharmacy of perception-expanding herbal narcotics. They are made with plants you’ve never heard of from places not found on maps. Nothing weird about that. But that’s about to change.
Especially when Tulsa wakes up in a hotel bathroom, blacked out from a particularly indulgent vision quest bender. This was on the eve of the secret unveiling of Earth as the ultimate Reptilian vacation destination. But immediately after she wakes up and surveys the surroundings, she knows that she’s supremely and epically screwed. Because a supposedly unkillable Lizard Overlord named Doug is dead on the toilet.
Tulsa no memory of what happened. But if that wasn’t enough, she has an even more tenuous hold on the daily cocktail of alien pharmacologicals. Which is unfortunate, because they are what barely keeps her tethered to this plain of existence. Now, Tulsa has to retrace her steps searching for clues of how she got to her current predicament. Gradually, she’ll have to wade through a swamp of daunting challenges and colorfully shady characters. Creatures like the Illuminati, the Youthinati, debauched Reptilian tourists, and kinky gray aliens who are way too into butt stuff. Additionally, you have Neckties, Necronauts, off-brand soda, her super-hot half-human half-Lizard ex-girlfriend, and her own self-destructive tendencies.
Author’s Thoughts
Ashley Christine
‘MIDNIGHT 99’ is a reaction to my frequent existential angst of living on a planet that my species is slowly destroying. When I couldn’t find an answer as to why we humans are so out of sync with our environment, I made up my own—which is that giant Reptilian space Lizards are using humans to terraform planet Earth to an ideal Lizard temperature. They also created the patriarchy, wealth inequality and were producers of Eddie Murphy’s 1985 hit ‘Party All The Time.’
Also, as a genderqueer/non-binary woman and unabashed eccentric, I wanted to create a character that someone like me could relate to. Enter Tulsa Kalhoun, a chaos-baiting, genderfluid, bisexual dumpster fire of a human being. She’s the unholy spawn of Hunter S. Thompson, Grace Jones, and Tank Girl. She is loud, unapologetically herself and always just a little bit horny. Like me, she’s queer and a weirdo—a queerdo. Which is a word I just made up. And trademarked.
MIDNIGHT 99
This story is part fun romp, part laxative, and part commentary on capitalism, global warming, the limits of human perception, and lizard dicks. Ashley Christine’s debut novella MIDNIGHT 99 is a consciousness-expanding odyssey for the mind and genitals that will keep you guessing at every turn. It will be available digitally on October 6th for $2.99.
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If MIDNIGHT 99 sounds like an interesting read, check it out. Let us know what you think, here at Geek Vibes Nation. (Oh, be sure to read the Sub notes, they fill in a lot of details and are quite funny in their own right.)
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
