Opening: THE LEGACY OF THE EYE

I'm joining the It's all in the voice blog hop. Here is the first page of my science fiction romance THE LEGACY OF THE EYE, currently at the querying stage. (Thanks for the comments, revisions are in blue)

Chapter 1--Proposal

The front entrance of the Academy of Demia loomed beyond a hundred feet sea of gravel, less than a hundred feet away. Just the thought of exiting walking through those gates for the first time churned Catrine's empty stomach. Her eyes adjusted to the brightness outside the main school building. She should have worn a hat.

The heavy pine door slammed shut behind Catrine and she turned toward David. After sixteen years at the Academy, her best friend looked ready to conquer the galaxy.

"Relax," he said.

How? Like all children on the planet, Catrine had not left the school since her enrollment at the age of two. Everything familiar was behind them and their future hinged on how well they could argue for the Tutor Program.

"Maybe we should go over your speech one more time," she said.

David's smile dimmed. "Five times today isn’t enough?""We went over it five times just today."

"Four. And you're still forgetting to mention that the tutors will be traveling to their pupil's home planet. That's a big point in the proposal."

"Do you want to give the speech?" 

She bit the inside of her lower lip. Her inside twisted in knots. "No."

"Then stop fretting. If the council hadn't liked our idea, they wouldn't have requested an audience."

"They probably read the proposal once. How much do you think they grasped? You've read it a dozen times and you still forget some of the details. I should have made you write it."

David's smile returned, brighter than ever. "Then it wouldn't have been perfect."

"Or written at all." But Catrine could not keep the corners of her mouth from twitching.

Opening: DEAR KATHERINE

I'm joining the It's all in the voice blog hop. Here is the first page of my unfinished novel DEAR KATHERINE, a science fiction/women's fiction hybrid. (Thanks for the comments, revisions are in blue) 
Update: This won Honorable Mention :)


Chapter 1--Millanos

My life began the day I left school turned eighteen and fell off a planet for the first time. Up until then I left school, I hadn't lived started living--I had just existed.

By the time I landed on Millanos, I was thirty two. I had fallen on and off most of the colonized planets in the Tetracoil Galaxy. But even after fourteen years, I still felt exhilarated every time the synchrotron powered down and gravity took hold of the spacecraft. The adrenalin rush from those seven minutes of free-fall, not knowing if the hovering jets would engage in time, lasted me days.

My heart was still racing when the hatch opened and fresh air rushed into the dehydrated passenger cabin. I smelled brine in the air--my first greeting from Millanos. I unfastened the straps holding me to the seat and stretched my back. Through the internal passageway, I could see the three pilots moving around the cockpit. One of these days, I would learn to fly just to be able to ride in the front seats. But first I had nine more planets to visit and Millanos was just a few steps away.

I collected the single duffle that contained all my possessions and shouted a “thank you” toward the cockpit. I had paid them in advance, so there was no point in disturbing their crosscheck protocol. And after six and a half hours in the confined cabin, I was more than ready to be outside. That wormhole was a long one.