Jul 29 2015

Guest Author Jody Wallace Talks TRAITOR (MAELSTROM CHRONICLES 2)

My guest today is Author Jody Wallace (who has a very special Cat companion, MeanKitty. MUST mention MeanKitty!) We met when we were both published at Carina Press and we’re still members of the Here Be Magic blog together. She’s just released her new book TRAITOR (MAELSTROM CHRONICLES BOOK 2) from the Entangled Select Otherworld line.

A few questions to start us off:

Veronica: What was your biggest influence in writing this book?

Jody: My recliner. It really shaped me during the book-writing process.

In more intellectual areas, I wanted to take the relatively common trope in paranormals and science fiction romances where a hero or heroine has some chemical, biological or other reason that they simply MUST have the sex and wring it out like a wet washrag. I also became intrigued by the idea of a sentient space ship considering its crew as its charges and how that type of personality might develop. And of course there is always a fascination with what would happen on our planet and how our people would behave if aliens invaded.

Veronica: How do you celebrate finishing a book?

Jody: Sitting in my recliner and relaxing! And then promising myself this is gonna be the one that pays for the new HVAC unit we had to get because of the 117 degree heat index we’re dealing with this summer.

Veronica: What’s on your To Be Read list?

Jody: Since I finished all of Veronica Scott’s science fiction romances, I’m thinking about reading some Natalie Damschroder while sitting comfortably in my recliner. Except that my recliner is currently full of cats, and nobody is allowed to move the cats.

The blurb for TRAITOR:

Captain Nikolas EstherVorn is a traitor. Or so it was decreed after Niko disobeyed protocol while trying to save Earth from other-dimensional creatures. Stuck in a prison cell, the last thing he needs is to be in close proximity to sexy-as-sin Dr. Sarah CallenJoseph. Not with him damn near ready to break out just to get to her.

Niko’s desire isn’t quite his own…and Sarah can prove it. He—along with the other soldiers on the disastrous mission—were drugged with some kind of toxin. Niko has no clue how the drug got into his body or why, but Sarah suspects there’s a link between the toxin and the fertility crisis of Shipborn humans.

To investigate is forbidden. But as lust becomes something deeper, binding them together in a way neither expected, Niko and Sarah must battle time—and their superiors—to uncover the secret that could save humanity…or destroy it.

BUY LINKS:

Nook — http://bit.ly/1GV0Qjc

Amazon — http://amzn.to/1JQqqdN

Kobo — http://bit.ly/1IFs5UP

iTunes — http://apple.co/1NJzv8R

Goodreads — http://bit.ly/1HVn9JJ

Jody’s website with the whole first chapter — http://bit.ly/1fmGE4b

Jul 26 2015

Bitten By an Alien Eel Weekend Writing Warriors

Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)

From my new, best selling science fiction romance Star Cruise: Marooned.

Last week the only other people on the beach suddenly took off, leaving their equipment behind on the planet. Skipping ahead, Meg goes to their own shuttle to talk to the officer in charge, Drewson, but he’s….busy with a passenger in the private cabin. He tells her to call the ship herself if she’s so worried. Meg is now on the flight deck, after getting cut off during her attempt to call their ship:

The panel indicated someone else had entered the shuttle. Callina’s voice came over the internal com, “Meg, are you here?”

She flipped the switch. “I’m in the cockpit – what do you need?”

“Mr. Thomsill sent me to get you and the medkit. Sharmali’s been bitten by some kind of eel thing and she’s bleeding really bad.”

“I’ll be right down.” Meg rose, staring at the now quiet com board. With mischievous amusement, she piped the ship-to-ship and general hailing frequencies directly to the luxury cabin, set at high volume. If the ship did call again, Drewson was going to know it.

UPDATE: I can see from the early comments that maybe a bit more explanation is in order – passenger Sharmali is a drama queen and the book begins with her making a huge fuss over something minor….and causing Meg a lot of irritation. Also, at this point Meg believes the sonic barriers are up at the beach and therefore the eels couldn’t possibly have been where the passengers are located. But even drama queens have real crises sometimes…Meg’s had a lot on her plate up to this point!. She’s human and not having the best day….

And as to her actions re Drewson, the previous weeks’ excerpts showed that he’d turned OFF the coms, which was never done, so he could have privacy with a female passenger for some off-limits activities, and gave Meg a very hard time about wanting to call the ship, which she isn’t supposed to do, being staff not flight crew…..I will accept the comment about her actions being a bit passive aggressive though. Gotta agree with that!

The Story:

Meg Antille works long hours on the charter cruise ship Far Horizon so she can send credits home to her family. Working hard to earn a promotion to a better post (and better pay), Meg has no time for romance.

Former Special Forces soldier Red Thomsill only took the berth on the Far Horizon in hopes of getting to know Meg better, but so far she’s kept him at a polite distance. A scheduled stopover on the idyllic beach of a nature preserve planet may be his last chance to impress the girl.

But when one of the passengers is attacked by a wild animal it becomes clear that conditions on the lushly forested Dantaralon aren’t as advertised – the ranger station is deserted, the defensive perimeter is down…and then the Far Horizon’s shuttle abruptly leaves without any of them.

Marooned on the dangerous outback world, romance is the least of their concerns, and yet Meg and Red cannot help being drawn to each other once they see how well they work together. But can they survive long enough to see their romance through? Or will the wild alien planet defeat them, ending their romance and their lives before anything can really begin?

Buy Links: Amazon iBooks Kobo Barnes & Noble

Jul 22 2015

Bicycles for Wednesday Whimsy

Continuing on with my very loose theme of summer activities, today I’m sharing some charming Victorian trade (advertising) cards on the subject of bicycles. And who knew there were so many great quotes about bicycles?! Of course the quotes aren’t Victorian….

Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. Charles M. Schulz

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race. H. G. Wells

She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life. Susan B. Anthony

Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong. Terry Pratchett

Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind; it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle. Helen Keller

Look at Albert Einstein. He rode a bicycle. He was also an early student of Jazzercise. You never saw Einstein lift his shirt, but he had a six-pack under there. Steve Carell

The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets. Christopher Morley

My father got a phone call to bring me in to meet with Spielberg for ‘E.T.,’ partially because they knew I was a physical kid, and I was known in the business somewhat as a stunt kid, and I could do all the bicycle riding. C. Thomas Howell

Jul 20 2015

Thoughts on Episode One of Spike TV Tut

King Tut is probably one of the most well known Egyptian Pharaohs, not for anything he actually accomplished in his short reign, but for the magnificence of his golden death mask and the intrigue of his tomb, with its riches, possible curse and other mysteries. I think someone had an inspired idea at Spike TV to do a mini series based on the life of this boy king, since not much is truly known about him.

I love movies and TV shows about ancient times and especially ones set in the Egypt of thousands of years ago, so I was eager to view this program. I’ve seen a wide range of production values when filming ancient Egypt, from Katy Perry’s hiphop “Dark Horse” video to the recent blockbuster “Exodus” to one made-for-DVD movie that really looked like the members of the local church group had sewed their own costumes, hired two ‘real’ actors for the leads and proceeded to film their annual pageant. (DNF’ed that one but it had a certain fascination.) Spike’s Tut falls acceptably somewhere in the middle. I think they’re doing a pretty good job of portraying Egypt, not completely historically accurate but giving the impression we’re there if you don’t look too closely. Although there have been some pairs of earrings I totally covet!

I like their depiction of Tut the person, who came to the throne in 1333 BCE at the age of nine and died in 1323 BCE at the age of eighteen. Their Boy King is doing his best against a lot of opposition and he seems to have his heart in the right place, about Egypt and what would be best for the people and the country.

My own Gods of Egypt novels are set 500 years prior to this time frame, although Tut would have been a descendant of my Pharaoh’s family IF my Pharaoh was a real person. Since I write historical fantasy, with direct involvement by the gods, I loosely based my ruler on several real 18th Dynasty men who sat on the throne. (I have NO connection to the Spike TV program in any way although wow, I’d certainly love it if someone wanted to make MY books into movies LOL.)

This Tut is pretty active, not much slowed by his known physical challenges, and handsome. So far in Episode One he tends a bit toward the ‘Captain Kirk’ model as I always think of it – the leader who does all the important missions himself, survives major wounds that would kill anyone else with a minimum of downtime, romances the ladies, has mad fighting skillz….but it does make for enjoyable TV.

I seriously doubt he actually wandered around in Thebes at night in disguise, meeting his subjects. Or went behind the lines in Mitanni enemy territory with only a beautiful woman to guide him, in order to rescue the one soldier he could trust, per the TV plot.

I do think Spike TV captures the constant politics, infighting, betrayal and jockeying for position that undoubtedly was going on at Pharaoh’s court, especially in the time of Tut, where his father’s previous reign had upended the country. His father had tried to overturn the worship of the classical gods in favor of just one, Aten. And he’d built a new capital city from scratch (promptly abandoned after his death), besides ignoring the enemies all around Egypt, leaving a weakened and poorer country. So Tut wasn’t in the best situation as king. I liked the way he exerts his power and imposes his own opinions in the TV show.

Judging from the previews, the soap opera aspects of the show are going to ramp up significantly tonight, when Tut returns home with the aforementioned beautiful woman who is not his Queen, and starts trying to really take charge and root out traitors.

There’s a certain bittersweet quality to watching this program, knowing the king only has till he’s 18, and then will die. Not to give spoilers some 3000 years later but in reality Grand Vizier Ay did come to the throne after Tut’s untimely death, marrying the poor young queen, who promptly disappears from recorded history. (But not before she secretly begged the Hittite king to send her a prince to marry. Which the king did, but the the prince died on the journey. I wonder if Spike plans to show any of this?) Ay’s second wife Tey became the lady with all the power for a time. Now she’d make for fascinating TV! And then General Horemheb took the throne after Ay but died childless. His chosen successor actually founded the famous Ramses’ family line.

I think Spike is shortchanging the glamour and glory of Pharaoh’s court. After all, he was counted as a living god. So far I don’t see much of that, not even among the everyday citizenry. Maybe tonight.

I have to admit I’m obsessed with chariots. My favorite part of the recent “Exodus” film was the behind the scenes featurette about the chariots! I made the hero of my Magic of the Nile a charioteer, since I figured that was the coolest thing a warrior could be in that day and age. The fighter pilot of his times! Tut appears to have only about five chariots to his name (a really small army but hey, TV budget!).

Bottom line: I’m enjoying the program, looking forward to seeing how they decide Tut meets his end, feel acceptably taken to a version of ancient Egypt and I appreciate the diversity of the cast.

The trailer:

Here’s the Spike TV Tut website: http://www.spike.com/shows/tut for clips and more information on their production.

My most recent novel set in ancient Egypt is the best selling Ghost of the Nile….

Jul 19 2015

No Talking to the Ship Weekend Writing Warriors

From my new, best selling science fiction romance Star Cruise: Marooned.

She swallowed hard and opened the link to their ship in stationary orbit above, “Hello, Far Horizon, shuttle calling—”

“Where the seven hells have you been? Where’s Drewson?” The voice she heard was so strained she could barely recognize the First Officer.

She drew breath to speak, but was cut off.

“Never mind, tell him everything’s—”

There was a funny sort of crackle from the link and then silence. She waited a few moments, then tried closing and reopening the connection. Nothing. Drewson had made it clear he would not appreciate her interrupting his private party twice, and anyway, right now there was no talking to the ship.

I have a shiny new book trailer from Circle of Seven Productions, which had an exclusive reveal on USA Today Happily Ever After last week. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Amazon iBooks Kobo Barnes & Noble

Jul 18 2015

Featured SFR Author: Veronica Scott

Do you have a favorite scifi or scifi romance novel? What makes it a favorite on your list?

Jul 16 2015

Kelly Jensen and Jenn Burke Talk About CHAOS STATION

I’m interviewing co-authors Kelly Jensen and Jenn Burke over at USA Today Happily Ever After about Chaos Station, the first novel in their M/M science fiction romance series from Carina Press.

Here’s what they had to say about the website they created for the ongoing series:

Veronica: Can you tell us about your decision to do a Chaos Station website? How are readers reacting to it? (Note: here’s the url http://www.chaosstation.com/ )

Kelly: We wanted Chaos Station as a series to stand out. Also, because we have co-written the novels, we wanted one place to put everything related to the world of Chaos Station. Having website dedicated to the series has allowed us to post extra material, such as some of our world building, character portraits, and links to short stories and excerpts. We also have a newsletter.

Response to the site has been very positive! We’ve even had readers mention it in their reviews.

Jenn: I love having a single site to direct people to if they have questions about our world or our guys, or the upcoming books.

And here’s a snippet about the process they follow in writing novels together:

Jenn: As for the actual writing process, we use Microsoft Word and OneDrive, so everything is in one document and saved on the cloud (very, very important). We each write one point-of-view character—my character is Zed, hers is Felix—and we share the third POV character, Elias. We’ve learned we need to plot pretty extensively to make sure we both have a firm idea of where we’re going, which is a challenge for me because I tend to “pants” my way through writing, for the most part. And another essential thing—we talk constantly, so we know what we’re thinking and feeling about stuff. Oh, and egos are checked at the door. If one of us isn’t happy with a scene, we revisit it, no matter how much the other one likes it.

To read the entire interview and find out more about the book and the series, hop on over to the SciFi Encounters column at USAT/HEA!

The story:

“You’re not real. Felix Ingesson is dead.”

The war with the alien stin is over, but Felix Ingesson has given up on seeing his lover, Zander Anatolius, ever again. Zander’s military file is sealed tighter than an airlock. A former prisoner of war, Felix is attempting a much quieter life keeping his ship, the Chaos, aloft. He almost succeeds, until Zander walks on board and insists that Felix isn’t real.

A retired, broken super soldier, Zander is reeling from the aftereffects of his experimental training and wants nothing more than to disappear and wait for insanity to claim him. Then he sees footage of a friend and ally—a super soldier like him—murdering an entire security squad with her bare hands and a cold, dead look in her eyes. He never expected to find Felix, the man he’d thought dead for years, on the ship he hired to track her down.

Working with Felix to rescue his teammate is a dream come true…and a nightmare. Zander has no exit strategy that will leave Felix unscathed or his own heart unbroken.

Jul 14 2015

Guest Author Lisa Medley Excerpt from Space Cowboys and Indians

It’s my pleasure to have Lisa Medley as my guest today, with an excerpt from her new SFR novel Space Cowboys and Aliens. I’m in the middle of reading this action-packed book, can’t tell you where I am exactly because that’d be spoilers. Take it away, Lisa:

The Story:

How can the chance of a lifetime go so horribly wrong?

Mining Engineer Cole Hudson signed up for NASA astronaut training, but after washing out short of getting his gold wings, he retreats to Alaska where he stakes out a gold claim. When billionaire entrepreneur Duncan Janson offers him an opportunity to join a mining team on an asteroid, Cole jumps at the chance.

But nothing is as it seems. Former NASA reject and rival classmate, Tessa Hernandez, is also a member of the team, and from the beginning of the mission test flight, things go wrong. They soon discover they’re not the only ones on the asteroid. As they try to escape, they are pulled through a wormhole and back to the early 1800s New Mexico desert where aliens and Apaches may be the least of their problems.

Chapter One

Alaskan gold mine, the Hudson Claim – the near future.

“Goddamn it, Hudson. The washplant is down again.”

Cole ground his molars together before he could unleash the torrent of swears coursing through his brain in reply. Of course the washplant was down. Again.

This claim would be the end of him.

“Show me,” Cole said.

His foreman, Todd Cargill, held up four shredded washplant screens with holes the size of bowling balls, useless now for the first step in screening for gold.

Cole squeezed his eyes shut and wondered for the eleven-millionth time this summer why the hell he’d come to Alaska.

Redemption, he reminded himself.

Wasn’t worth it.

“That was my last replacement screen. Be a week before the supply plane can bring us more,” Todd said. “No use running dirt until it’s fixed. This way, we’re only making mud.”

Most expensive mud he’d ever not made. A week in the bush with no work? He’d have to pay the crew, regardless, or he’d lose the whole lot of them. Hell, he still owed them from last month. They were running out of summer to mine, and they’d barely collected any gold so far.

“Shut it down. I’ll call in the order.”

“What do you want me to tell the guys?” Todd asked.

“Tell them—”

The chop, chop, chop of helicopter blades slowly pounded across the sky until the beast came into sight on the horizon. What the hell was a chopper doing out this far?

The copter landed on the flat several hundred feet from their dredge, stirring the dust up from the broken ground and tailings. Covering his face with his arm, Cole coughed into his elbow and waited for the cloud to settle. The copter blades whirled to a stop, and his small crew left their work detail to gather around him and see what was going on.

A white-haired man, maybe fifty, maybe older, emerged from the helicopter cabin, quickly followed by two men wearing sleek black suits, wrinkled from the tactical firearm harnesses strapped snugly across their chests. They were loaded for bear.

That wasn’t what concerned Cole. He knew he was in for trouble the second the guy’s thousand dollar cowboy boots hit the turf. The man swatted at the swirling dust on his white shirt and designer jeans then brushed his hands through his shoulder-length hair three or four times, shaking it out like the mane of a horse. He cranked up a smile as he made a beeline for Cole.

“Mr. Hudson?” the man asked.

“I’m Hudson.”

“You look exactly like your NASA application photo, Mr. Hudson. Haven’t changed a bit in the past five months. It was five months you were detained. Yes?”

Todd coughed loudly beside him. “Okay, I think we have things to do. Let’s go, boys.” Todd urged the crew back toward their office trailer.

Cole was going to have to give his foreman a raise. Right after he beat the dandy in front of him into a bloody pulp.

“Who exactly are you, and what the hell are you doing here? Surely you didn’t fly that deathtrap all the way out here just to insult me in front of my crew. Or did you? You with Montoya?”

The man appeared bewildered for a moment. “Oh my. Let me start over. I…this wasn’t the impression I intended to make. I’m afraid I started off badly. I’m simply so excited to find you. Out here.” He motioned toward the distant tundra. “It’s a very, very long way out here.” He flashed another smile at Cole and offered his hand. “Duncan Janson. You might know me from the airline ads?”

Cole stared at the man’s smooth, tanned hand. The guy had never worked a day of hard labor in his life if those hands told the right story—that much was obvious. He knew exactly who he was, now. Billionaire airline owner and profiteer. What he didn’t know was what he was doing on his little piece of Alaska.

“You answered the first question. Now answer the second,” Cole said, purposely not taking the offered hand.

Janson pulled his hand back then clapped them together, clearly proud of himself. “I’m here to offer you a job.”

“I have a job.”

“This would be quite a different job. Well, maybe not all that different. You’d still be mining, but you would also have a chance to partake in some of your other passions.”

Clouds slid past the sun, and a gust of wind stirred up a dirt devil near the copter, cooling the air noticeably.

“What is it you think you know about my passions, exactly?” Cole asked.

Janson twisted his expensive Rolex around his wrist nervously. “Was it not your passion for space that led to your gambling problem? Trying to raise enough money to continue in the program? Which led to your legal issues, which led to your detainment and now self-exile here in this godforsaken place? Isn’t your work here an effort to earn enough money to finance your first two passions? It’s a bit of a vicious circle, it seems.”

Cole could feel his blood pressure rising. This asshole was on his last nerve five minutes after meeting him and about one more sentence away from a shallow Alaskan grave.

“What if all of your skills could be utilized to fulfill each of those…passions? You’d be paid well. Very well.”

“Is this prospect legal?”

“Yes, but it’s not without risks. I want to hire you to do some mining for me.”

“Where? You have a claim in Alaska?”

“I’m afraid my claim is quite a bit farther away from here. Your gambling problem and detention might have gotten you booted out of NASA’s space program, but your personal problems are not a deterrent to me. Your other skills and expertise are exactly what are needed for my project.”

Skepticism scratched at the back of his mind, but Cole couldn’t deny he was intrigued. He hated Janson’s manner, but he could take his money. No problem. Hell, this job might be the financial boost he needed to finally make this claim profitable.

“How long is the job, and where is it?” Cole asked.

Janson smiled again, clearly certain he’d already sealed the deal. “I expect the job to take around six months. All expenses paid, of course. With an option to renew for a second mission after that, if you are so inclined. Your season here is winding down? Am I correct?”

Considering the ruined washplant screens? Yeah, winding down would be a kindness.

“You didn’t tell me where the job is,” Cole pressed.

“Ah, that’s the best part, Mr. Hudson. The job is on Amun. It’s an asteroid. I want you to mine it for me.”

Buy Links:

Series: Cosmic Cowboys Series, Episode 1

Amazon: $2.99 http://amzn.to/1QFLrOV

Kindle Unlimited: FREE http://amzn.to/1QFLrOV

About Lisa:

Lisa has always enjoyed reading about monsters in love and now she writes about them, because monsters need love too.
She adores beasties of all sorts, fictional as well as real, and has a farm full of them in her Southwest Missouri home, including: one child, one husband, two dogs, two cats, a dozen hens, thousands of Italian bees, and a guinea pig.

She may or may not keep a complete zombie apocalypse bug-out bag in her trunk at all times, including a machete. Just. In. Case.

FB https://www.facebook.com/lisamedleyauthor

Twitter https://twitter.com/lisamedley

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7824406.Lisa_Medley

Website http://lisa-medley.com

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/medley3/space-cowboys-indians/

Google + https://plus.google.com/u/0/

Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Medley/e/B00I66M24M/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

Jul 12 2015

Are They Coming Back Later? Weekend Writing Warriors

From my new, best selling science fiction romance Star Cruise: Marooned. There’s only one other ship’s party on the planet with our crew and suddenly they receive an urgent recall, no reason given.

Moments later, the TDJ shuttle lifted straight from the pad and shot into the azure sky. Meg rubbed her elbow, suddenly feeling goose bumps. The beach wasn’t as welcoming anymore, despite the bright sun and the ethereal music from the Falls.

“What’s with them?”

She jumped, turning to find Red standing behind her. This time it was a bit comforting to have him by her side. “I don’t know.”

“Is the other crew coming back later for their stuff?” His face was set in serious lines.

“I-I don’t know,” Meg said as she walked toward their own set up, “The TDJ staff member in charge said their captain got on the com from orbit about some emergency and recalled them.”

So the book has been at either #1 or #2 all week in Amazon’s Romance Fantasy Best Seller list! I’m really excited about how well it’s doing and thanks again to all the Warriors and Snippeteers for their support.