Sep 6 2016

Guest Author Diane Burton on Goldilocks Planets and MISSION TO NEW EARTH

mission to new earth I’ve known Diane as an author friend in the scifi romance world for so long now, I can’t even remember how we first met! She has a new novella out that’s on my To Be Read list!

Thank you, Veronica, for inviting me to your blog. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Goldilocks Planets

Have you heard the term “Goldilocks Planet” and wondered how planets and fairy tales are connected? Scientists use that term when referring to an Earth-like planet that could be habitable by humans. It’s not too cold, not too hot. It’s just right. That’s the simple definition.

NASA’s Kepler satellite with its massive telescope is scouting the heavens looking for that planet capable of sustaining humankind. In the last year, we’ve heard about Kepler finding such possible planets. In fact, I wrote about this topic on my blog in January 2015 when Kepler found 8 new planets.

Just last week, Kepler found one that is the closest yet. Just 4.2 light years away. Sounds close, right? Don’t pack your bags yet. Proxima b (the planet that orbits the star Proxima Centauri) is actually more than 24 trillion miles away. Still, it’s the closest Kepler has found. So far.

Why is this exciting news? Besides the scientific thrill of discovering something new? Humans have been exploring from the beginning of time. Early cavemen (and women) went beyond their immediate area looking for food to hunt or gather. We used to call Alaska the “final frontier.” Remember the words from Star Trek: Space…the final frontier?

But do we just want to explore? Might we want to live there?

Doomsday “prophets” claim Earth as we know it will end. I’m not a fan of dystopia or the apocalypse. But the thought that someday we humans may need a new home in the universe intrigues me. Like many writers, I love playing the “what if” game. What if Earth runs out of resources? What if there isn’t enough room for all of us? What would we do?

That’s the premise of my new science fiction romance novella Mission to New Earth. In the movie Interstellar, catastrophes ruined food crops, created a worse Dust Bowl than the one in the 1930s. Add overpopulation to similar catastrophes, and you can see the need to find a new home.

I’m not a harbinger of doom. My children probably won’t see that day coming and, hopefully, my grandchildren won’t either. But what if . . .

Good thing NASA and scientists around the world are looking for that Goldilocks planet.

The story:

Would you go on a one-way trip to explore a new planet? Would you do it to save humankind?

Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four. Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

Here are links to interesting articles about Kepler and its search for an inhabitable planet:

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/29mar_goldilocks/

http://www.space.com/33834-discovery-of-planet-proxima-b.html?utm_source=sp-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20160828-sdc

Excerpt from Mission to New Earth

Marsh strode toward me with determination—so different from that easy-going swagger that caught my eye the first time I saw him four years ago at the White Sands Training Center. I never believed in love at first sight, but oh, mama. With dark-haired, dark-eyed Marsh, I fell hard. I must’ve done a great job hiding my feelings back then. He said he never knew—until a year later I pinned him on the exercise mat and kissed him. Yep, I took the initiative and planted a toe-curling smooch on his delectable lips. Not to be outdone, he kissed back. Holy smoke. If I’d known what a great kisser he was, I’d have done it sooner. He said he’d been biding his time, waiting for me to catch up. According to him, one look into my “gorgeous blue eyes” and he was a goner, too.

“We need to talk,” he said as he blasted past me toward our quarters.

What? I looked around. Where was the rest of my team? Marsh took an impatient whack at the mistletoe ball hung from a garland. Oh, boy. What had gotten into him?

Bill and Tom trailed behind Marsh with Gloria and Ana bringing up the rear. Like me, they wore forest green jumpsuits, and they did not look pleased. Glum was a better word.

The last simulation wasn’t that bad. A couple of glitches with last minute corrections. Maybe a reminder to one person or another. I thought we did well. Glitches happened. No need for concern. Or was there? What didn’t I know?

Bill hung back and waited for me to catch up. “He’s right. We need to talk without Big Brother listening.”

The last he delivered in a whisper with a wink and a nudge. I tried not to smile at his reference to George Orwell’s 1984, required reading in my elementary school. Considering all the cameras located throughout the station, Big Brother was an appropriate appellation.

“I assume Marsh has a place in mind?” I matched my stride to Bill’s, the most easy-going of our team. Bill was a guy’s guy. Best friend to everyone.

“Yeah, he does.”

Good thing. We couldn’t just take a walk outside, unless we could breathe methane. Titan was a trifle inhospitable. In preparation for our mission, the United Earth Space Agency established Saturn’s largest moon as our launch platform. Connected habitats, added before we arrived, evolved into crew quarters, conference and training rooms, and general meeting areas. We weren’t absolutely sure, but we thought our quarters were monitored—something I’d queried but received no definitive response. None of us were happy about that. But then in four days, we’d be on camera all the time. That was the second worst thing I feared about our voyage.

Mission to New Earth is available at:

Amazon: https://amzn.com/B01JXZR0AK

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/mission-to-new-earth-a-novella

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/nz/book/mission-to-new-earth-a-novella/id1148678942?mt=11

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/661493

About the Author:

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and the Alex O’Hara PI mystery series. She is also a contributor to two anthologies: Portals, Volume 2 and How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in West Michigan. They have two children and three grandchildren.

For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com

Blog: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmburton72

Facebook: http://facebook.com/dianeburtonauthor

Goodreads: Diane Burton Author https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2902110.Diane_Burton

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dmburton72/

Amazon author page: http://amzn.com/e/B00683MH5E

GIVEAWAY: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MTZjZjFkYWY5YmMyMDI2ZWIzOTI4OTdiM2Q1MmRkOjE5/?

Sep 3 2016

Any Last Messages? Weekend Writing Warriors

(If you’re here for my SFR Brigade Presents post from the new book, go to this link.)

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!)

I’m excerpting Hostage To The Stars, which released in June. Edited from published version. I’ll do a few more snippets from it and then move on to my NEW book, Trapped on Talonque.

As the excerpt begins, Sara sits with the other passengers, waiting for the pirates.

“Did you bring your kidnap and ransom insurance certificate?” asked the Tregon Inc. trader sitting across from her. “Do you have good coverage? These Farduccir pirates are greedy bastards.”

“I-I don’t have any insurance – I’ve never even heard of it before today.”

The man shoved his chair away from the table, saying, “The government shouldn’t allow people like you to travel in these parts.” He shook his head. “My sympathies – any last messages you want us to send to your family?”

Chest tightening, ears ringing as she grew light-headed, Sara couldn’t believe what the passenger was inferring, “Are you joking?”

“Honey, these pirates are all about the credits and they’ll get ‘em out of you one way or the other,” said the man seated next to her.

The story:

He rescued her from space pirates … but can he keep them both safe from the far greater evil stalking a deserted planet?

Space travel without Kidnap & Ransom insurance? Not a good idea. University instructor and researcher Sara Bridges can’t afford it, so when pirates board her cruise liner, she’s taken captive along with the mistress of a wealthy man, and brought to a deserted planet. When a military extraction team sent to rescue the mistress refuses to take Sara too, she’s left to the mercies of a retired Special Forces soldier, along as consultant.

Reluctantly reactivated and coerced into signing up for the rescue operation to the planet Farduccir where he once was deployed, Sgt. Johnny Danver just wants to get the job done. But when the team leader leaves one captured woman behind, he breaks away to rescue her himself.

As Johnny and Sara traverse the barren landscape, heading for an abandoned base where they hope to call Sectors Command for help, they find villages destroyed by battle and stripped of all inhabitants. A lone survivor tells a horrific tale of the Sectors’ alien enemy, the Mawreg, returning after being pushed out …

Searching for evidence to give the military, Johnny is captured. He regains consciousness in a Mawreg cage–with Sara next to him. Death is preferable to what the aliens will do to them… And even if they do escape their captors, can they alert the military in time to prevent another invasion of the Sectors?

Buy Links: Amazon Kobo Apple iBooks Barnes & Noble

Sep 2 2016

SFR Brigade Presents Fallen From the Sky TRAPPED ON TALONQUE

SFRB Showcase Once a month the Science Fiction Romance Brigade authors showcase snippets from new work, WIPs, cover reveals or other fun things. The link is here for all the participants.

I’m sharing an excerpt from my latest release TRAPPED ON TALONQUE.

The Story:

Will an alien sleeping beauty awaken to save him, or destroy everyone around her?

When a Sectors Special Forces soldier and his team crash land on an alien planet, they’re taken captive and given a challenge–win at the violent ball game of sapiche and live. Lose, and they die, sending a mysterious, alien beauty to an even uglier fate. To survive, these soldiers must win the game and find a way to free the dangerous prisoner from her locked chamber.

Nate Reilly and his team are in deep trouble. Prisoners on a backward alien planet, they’re brought before an alien ‘goddess’, sleeping in her high tech seclusion. Nate is astonished when she awakes and establishes a psychic link with him. But her news is not good–he and his men must win a brutal challenge set by their captors, or they will die. She’ll give her aid, but in the end their courage and strength must win the contest.

Bithia sleeps in her chamber, as she has for thousands of years, since her own people unaccountably left her there. Viewed as a goddess by her captors, she must hide her ancient secrets to survive. But only the bravest of men may free her. Can she use her psychic powers to keep Nate and his men alive long enough to help her escape, or will her only hope of freedom die with them?

The Excerpt:

He stood wreathed in gray-green mists coiling around him like the ghosts of snakes before falling away to reveal the mysterious subterranean room deep under the palace. He faced the sleeping woman. Finding himself unrestrained, Nate descended the three stairs and walked across the chamber until he stubbed his toe against an invisible but potent barrier. Trying to reach through or past this obstacle, Nate saw his hands outlined in pale green light. He shoved harder. If he could just reach her, wake her, ask her a few pointed questions… As if sensing his efforts, she moved her head on the mattress and opened her eyes, revealing dark lavender irises flecked with gold.

“I am sorry,” she said, clear as day, in Basic.

But no, Nate realized, he heard the words in his mind, not with his ears. Her lips moved, but not to shape the syllables he heard.

“Sarbordon thinks you and I are of the same people. Therefore, what he wants lies outside your power to provide,” she said, as if the piece of confusing information would help him navigate the perilous situation.

“Why are you sorry?” Nate stayed with her first words to him. “You’ve done nothing to harm us.”

“I pity anyone trapped here on this cursed planet. The king will sacrifice you to his hungry gods when you don’t produce the miracles he expects. Demands. I—I didn’t tell him the truth when he asked.” Brow furrowed, she studied Nate’s face. Biting her lower lip, she said, “Honesty on my part would have brought instant death for you. He believes you’re my father’s warriors, come to rescue me, so I agreed with his conclusion. I said you were also sent to retrieve certain possessions. He’s desperate to acquire the marvels my father wielded. My deception may give you time, perhaps a chance to save yourselves.” She studied him from head to toe, and her lips curved into a slight smile. “You have the attitude of a warrior, one able to survive. You must play the game.” After a moment, she averted her gaze, but Nate still heard her next words. “Sarbordon will bring you here again if you earn the privilege. If you can survive to that point, I may have a plan, a chance for you to seize freedom. I can’t promise.”

He was woozy, possibly an aftereffect of the wine with dinner. Maybe the drink had been laced with a primitive drug. His powers of concentration were affected, and frustration with his uncharacteristic lack of focus built. “What’s your name?”

This vision he was having was dangerously fascinating, and he wished it were real. No one had ever even seen a representation of a living Ancient Observer, much less conversed with one. He accepted Haranda’s educated assessment that she wasn’t a member of the mysterious race of galactic forerunners from a million years ago, but the way her chamber was encapsulated deep in the palace, as if the building had grown organically to house her, spoke of centuries, if not millennia, passing since she was placed in her high-tech prison. The equipment must have kept her alive, but why was she here in the first place?

The incongruity of trying to solve her puzzle while his life and the lives of his men hung in the balance made him shake his head. This was one hell of a dream, built on his fascination with her earlier in the day.

“We’re not dreaming.” Seizing on his unspoken thought, she denied his conclusion scornfully, staring at him with wide-eyed contempt. “I dream only of death. We’re communicating. Perhaps your people are too primitive for the concept, fallen from the sky or not.”

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