Apr 23 2016

The Outbreak Begins 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!)

Sorry about the snafu last week with my post not coming up as scheduled. Thanks for the comments I did receive! Here’s the link to it: since that was the last snippet from LADY OF THE STAR WIND until the book releases in May. Then we’ll revisit it! (Moderators, please excuse me on this!) I WILL make the rounds today and comment, promise. Was on a plane last Sunday, coming back from the RT Booklovers Convention.

Here’s the first snippet from STAR CRUISE: OUTBREAK, which released this month:

The portal to the corridor burst open, and Mr. Enzell struggled into the lobby, half carrying his wife and surrounded by their white-faced children. Syl was sobbing in great gasps, and the boys’ faces were set in expressions of terror. The oldest had a blood-soaked wad of cloth pressed to his nose. Mrs. Enzell’s head lolled, and she looked as if she was crying tears of blood. Clint immediately moved to support the woman on the other side, calling for Emily as he did so.

“Seven hells, here we go.” Emily was right behind them as the men helped Mrs. Enzell to an exam room and onto the bed.

“Trynna started bleeding a few minutes ago, Doctor,” Mr. Enzell said as medical personnel hurried to get their new patient hooked up to monitors. “She said she was dizzy and then—then her eyes—she was—the tears were blood. And next thing I knew, my son’s nose was bleeding – what’s going on?”

The story:

She saved countless soldiers in the wars … but does she have the weapons to fight an outbreak?

Dr. Emily Shane, veteran of the Sector Wars, is known as “The Angel of Fantalar” for her bravery under fire as a medic. However, the doctor has her own war wounds–severe PTSD and guilt over those she failed to save.

Persuaded to fill a seemingly frivolous berth as ship’s doctor on the huge and luxurious interstellar cruise liner Nebula Zephyr, she finds the job brings unexpected perks–a luxe beach deck with water imported from Tahumaroa II, and Security Officer Jake Dilon, a fellow veteran who heats her up like a tropical sun.

However, Emily soon learns she and Jake didn’t leave all peril behind in the war. A mysterious ailment aboard the Zephyr begins to claim victim after victim … and they must race against time and space to find the cause and a cure! Trapped on a ship no spaceport will allow to dock, their efforts are complicated by a temperamental princess and a terrorist–one who won’t hesitate to take down any being in the way of his target. If anyone’s left when the disease is through with them…

Buy Links: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Apple iBooks

Here was one of my favorite moments from the RT convention. This charming gentleman, Vikkas Bhardwaj, is the cover model for my October release, as it happens!

Apr 13 2016

Star Cruise Outbreak Book Trailer Reveal

I love book trailers, so much fun to try to capture the entire book in a minute of video! Here’s the one for my new book Star Cruise: Outbreak:

Buy Links: Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble More to come!

Apr 9 2016

I Won’t Be Merciful Weekend Writing Warriors

The Lady of the Star Wind is an epic portal fantasy, which will be released after Star Cruise: Outbreak, in the early May 2016 time frame.

Sandy and Mark have been transported to an unknown world. This snippet is from quite a bit further in the novel, after they’ve left the mysterious mountain oasis, in the company of some new friends… Sandy, who picked up an odd stone key in the Oasis, was bitten by a snake named Sherabti, went into the green light with a woman unknown to her and now is sitting in a room she’s never seen before, with four women who seem to think Sandy is someone else…the Lady of the Star Wind…A new player, Haatrin, entered the chamber and scolded the Moon Sisters, after which an even more senior goddess, Nuet, arrived to scold them ALL and sent the Moon Sisters fleeing. Nuet is speaking:

“This is not my concern, not my battle. Don’t entreat me to be involved.” The vehemence in her voice was powerful. “I’ve fought the chaos and the darkness here in my time, vanquished the evil I faced, and moved beyond to greater purpose.”

Haatrin inclined her head. “Understood. I’d no intention of reaching out to you. The Moon Sisters are young and heedless, as everyone knows. My comrades among the Elder Gods and I are well seasoned, ready to carry the battle to the enemy ourselves.”

“None may summon me from my refuge again,” Nuet said, “especially not those ridiculous children – I won’t be merciful if there’s a re-occurrence of this unwarranted situation. “

USA Today Happily Ever After hosted the cover reveal for Star Cruise: Outbreak this past week. The book went live on Amazon today – a week early! Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Star-Cruise-Outbreak-Sectors-Romance-ebook/dp/B01E1VPVXO/?tag=verscoblo-20

Apr 5 2016

Cover Reveal Star Cruise Outbreak!

Veronica sez: Now that the period of exclusivity is over at USA Today/HEA, here’s the whole cover:

StarCruiseOutbreak-FJM_High_Res_1800x2700

I’m doing an exclusive cover reveal today over at USA Today Happily Ever After for my new scifi romance novel – Star Cruise: Outbreak. Another gorgeous cover from Fiona Jayde! I hope you’ll hope over and check it out. Meanwhile, here’s the story (I have an actual excerpt over at USAT/HEA :

She saved countless soldiers in the wars … but does she have the weapons to fight an outbreak?

The book is expected to be released on April 18th! You can Follow me at my Amazon Author Page or sign up for my newsletter here to stay up to date!

Mar 31 2016

SFR Brigade Showcases ‘Titanic in Space’

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.

Because April is the 104th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic, I’m going to do one more excerpt from my SFR Galaxy Award-winning novel Wreck of the Nebula Dream. The story is loosely inspired by the Titanic, but set in the far future in outer space.

Wreck-of-the-Nebula-DreamFinalHuge The hero, Nick Jameson, is attempting to rescue two children trapped in their cabin after the ship meets with catastrophe.

He shoved his way into the darkness of the children’s bedroom, pushing the hand lamp in front of him, trying not to think about all the hundreds of tons of debris piled above him. Standing up as soon as he cleared the threshold, lamp in hand, Nick faced a tangled mess, hardly recognizable as a bedroom. The bulkhead flexed intermittently in an alarming fashion, accompanied by the shriek and groan of overstressed metal.

Not much time before the wall goes and we go with it. Sweeping the pale light over the room, he found the children huddled together against one overturned bed. “Hi, remember me? I’m Nick. I was on the shuttle with you guys a few days ago.”

“You took the knife away from the lady. And you rescued Gianna when she was drowning.” Paolo nodded in the gloom. He got up and pulled his sister forward, dragging her with one chubby hand clamped around her wrist. She eyed Nick dubiously, left thumb firmly planted in her mouth, the other hand clutching the big teddy bear.

“Okay, Paolo, you seem like a pretty level-headed trooper,” Nick said, squatting to be at eye level with the boy. “We need to get out of here as fast as possible. You see the outer wall there?”

Paolo nodded. “It’s going to break, isn’t it?”

Nick tried to be reassuring. “We’ll be long gone first. Now, can you help me get your sister –”

“Her name’s Gianna.” The boy pushed his sister closer to Nick.

“Help me get Gianna to crawl out through all the mess to my friends? We’ve made a tunnel for you. She’ll have to leave her toy, though.”

The girl hugged the bear tightly and shook her head, trying to retreat from her brother and Nick. “Won’t,” she informed Nick, taking her thumb out of her mouth briefly.

“Sweetheart, we have to go. It’s going to get pretty windy and cold in here soon.” Don’t scare her, if she retreats deeper into the wreckage, might not be able to retrieve her. With an effort, Nick kept his voice level and calm.

“Carry me.” She raised her arms to him, the bear dangling in one grubby hand.

“Sorry, I can’t, there isn’t room,” he said with a small laugh, reaching out to tousle her hair. “We have to crawl. It’s like a game but really important. Tell her, Paolo.”

“Captain, what’s going on? Did you find them?” Khevan yelled from the other side of the debris barrier. “We’re running out of time.”

Nick ignored him, focusing on the scared children. He kept his voice reasonable. “Okay, Gianna, I tell you what, you go first and then your brother will follow. The bear and I’ll bring up the rear.”

She regarded him solemnly with huge eyes. “Promise?”

“I promise.” Hurriedly he crossed his heart.

She thrust the bear at him. “He’s not a toy. His name is Huntington the Bear.”

Good thing no one I know is here to see this. Nick took the bear, said, “Hello, Huntington,” and tucked it under his arm. Gently clutching the girl’s shoulder with his free hand, he steered her to the small crawlspace he had come through, right outside the bedroom door. Paolo followed.

“I’m sending the girl through,” he yelled, then moved aside to let Gianna creep on her hands and knees. “See the light?” he asked, pointing down the tunnel to where Khevan’s hand lamp gleamed faintly.

Gianna nodded, her curls bobbing.

“Crawl straight to the light, and be careful not to get your clothes or your hair snagged on anything, okay? Stay low.” Patting her shoulder, Nick waited while the child wriggled down the tunnel, stopping once or twice to look back at him for encouragement.

The next seconds were an eternity to wait. No sooner had Khevan shouted he had her and she and Mara were going out into the main corridor, then Nick nodded to Paolo. “Go ahead.”

The boy blinked. “My mommy –”

Give the kid credit, he doesn’t want to leave his mother behind. Nick squeezed Paolo’s shoulder. “I’ll check on her. You go ahead.”

“She’s dead, isn’t she?”

Too calm by half. Probably in shock. “I don’t know,” Nick said. “If I can get her out, I will, okay?”

“Okay. Don’t forget my sister’s bear.” Paolo pointed at the plush creature.

“I won’t,” Nick assured him.

“It’s important.”

“I got it, kid.” Nick snapped him a salute with his free hand.

Nodding gravely, Paolo got down on his knees to enter the escape tunnel. Nick made sure the boy was well on his way before searching for the missing mother. The beam of the hand lamp swept across a broken, bloody figure on the deck, all the way across the room, lying partially underneath half the ceiling.

Beyond my help. Nick crossed the cabin anyway and felt for a pulse. Finding none, he gently closed the woman’s staring eyes. At least her last sight had been of her two children, safe and unharmed beside the beds, which was some small mercy, Nick supposed. He stood up and took one final look at her. “We’ll take good care of them for you. I promise.”

The story:

Traveling unexpectedly aboard the luxury liner Nebula Dream on its maiden voyage across the galaxy, Sectors Special Forces Captain Nick Jameson is ready for ten relaxing days, and hoping to forget his last disastrous mission behind enemy lines. He figures he’ll gamble at the casino, take in the shows, maybe even have a shipboard fling with Mara Lyrae, the beautiful but reserved businesswoman he meets.

All his plans vaporize when the ship suffers a wreck of Titanic proportions. Captain and crew abandon ship, leaving the 8000 passengers stranded without enough lifeboats and drifting unarmed in enemy territory. Aided by Mara, Nick must find a way off the doomed ship for himself and several other innocent people before deadly enemy forces reach them or the ship’s malfunctioning engines finish ticking down to self destruction.

But can Nick conquer the demons from his past that tell him he’ll fail these innocent people just as he failed to save his Special Forces team? Will he outpace his own doubts to win this vital race against time?

Buy Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble All Romance eBooks iTunes Google Play Kobo

Mar 26 2016

One Without the Other Weekend Writing Warriors

The Lady of the Star Wind is an epic portal fantasy, which is undergoing a final edit and will be released after Star Cruise: Outbreak in the late April/early May 2016 time frame.

“Please, whatever’s going on here, don’t hurt Mark. Neither of us meant any harm or disrespect – take your anger out on me if you must, but not him.” She might be at odds with him for personal reasons, but she didn’t want the foolishness of the younger women to cause his injury or death.

Haatrin shook her head. “There cannot be the one without the other. If you’re the Lady, or to become her, he must be your warrior, your consort. Live or die in unison, the twined fate is inescapable if you claim these titles.”

“Potential and problems, this girl carries both,” said Nuet. She traced lines across Sandy’s palm, her touch cool. Sandy’s skin tingled where the woman’s fingertip had been, and faint golden runes glowed for a heartbeat.

The story:

Are they merely luckless lovers … or a legend come back to life?

Mark Denaltieri, ex-Sector Special Forces, has been hired by the Outlier Empress to rescue her granddaughter, Princess Alessandra, from kidnappers. Since the Empress once had him tortured and banished, she’s the last person Mark wants to work for. But he takes the job. He’ll save Alessandra, his first love, and discover why she didn’t speak for him when he desperately needed her. Then he’ll be on his way, finally free of his past.

Alessandra would rather her rescuer was anyone but Mark–after all, he let her believe he was dead all this time. But when the couple are forced to flee her captors by Traveling via a strange crystal globe, they find themselves in a lovely Oasis on a desert planet, the old attraction sizzling between them again.

They soon discover they are far from alone. The Oasis holds the entrance to another world, one in which the inhabitants are convinced Sandy and Mark are the Lady of the Star Wind and her Warrior, come to free them from an evil Queen.

Mark and Sandy must work together to unearth an ancient mirror, and crown the true king of this land. Can they fulfill the prophecy of the Lady and her Warrior … and this time, will their love survive the test?

Mar 22 2016

Author Cara Bristol on Four Tips for Describing Sci Fi Romance Characters

Veronica: My guest today is Cara Bristol, author of Captured by the Cyborg, book 3 in her Cy-Ops series. She’s talking about character traits!

Cara: Readers of all genres like to know what the hero and heroine look like, but often in contemporary romance, whether a character has brown hair or blond, blue eyes or green, isn’t that essential to the plot. But in science fiction romance, character details can be critical.

In science fiction and sci-fi romance a character’s appearance contributes to the world-building. One cannot assume in SFR that a character has two eyes, normal human skin tones, or ten fingers and toes. One can’t assume that a character is human. He/she might be alien, an alien/human halfbreed, android, cyborg, a clone, or genetically altered in some way.

Here are a few suggestions for creating/describing SFR characters:

Even if the hero or heroine is alien, it’s a safer bet (sales wise) to create main characters who are humanoid in appearance. Readers need to be able to envision themselves with that hero or as that heroine. This is where SFR diverges from SF. But even in Stars Wars, Luke Skywalker was human. He doesn’t look like Chewbacca.
You can have fun and go all out with secondary characters and especially villains. That’s where you can be the most creative. Here’s how Illumina in Captured with the Cyborg describes some of the alien races:

Employers weren’t supposed to ask about species or origin—not that one couldn’t tell from looking. Malodonians had blue skin, Arcanians had webbed fingers and six eyes, Lamis-Odg had ridged foreheads and vestigial horns. Slime crawlers…well, their species name said it all. Faria had wings. Without those specialized appendages only the tendency to glow would betray her origins. With that under control, there wasn’t much to distinguish her from a Terran, hence, her choice of disguise.

Focus on the unique details of your character. If hair & eye color don’t matter, maybe you don’t need to describe them at all. Let the reader fill in her own details and pick another or unique physical traits to focus. The arch villain of the Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance series is a race of aliens called the Lamis-Odg. They’re as ugly as they are evil. Their distinguishing characteristic is a ridge that runs across their forehead from temple to temple. This is how Kai Andros of Mated with the Cyborg sees a Lamis-Odg woman

He glanced at Janai. White and red, old and new scars crisscrossed her mottled skin. Besides the irregular ridges outlining her face, two lumps protruded from her forehead like vestigial horns.

Show a character’s reaction to another’d physical traits. In Captured by the Cyborg, Illumina’s hair plays a big role in the story, more than just the fact that the hero likes it. But this is how he reacts to what he sees when he first meets her.

The woman’s head didn’t reach his shoulder. But what she lacked in stature, she compensated for with hair.

Shimmering, silvery-blonde waves of it tumbled to her hips. The platinum shade didn’t reflect light, it radiated it, almost as if the individual strands were composed of fibers of light itself. Although women could and did take chemical supplements to alter pigment at the cellular level, and platinum hair was not unusual, the combined effect of the color and shine was. Striking under the harsh artificial illumination—what would it look like in moonlight?

In a complete violation of propriety, he reached out to touch. He caught himself and snapped his hand to his side, calling upon his nanocytes to stamp out the kindling of desire. Turned on by a job candidate’s hair. This is what happened when you didn’t get laid often enough. Not entirely his fault though. He’d planned to visit the Darius 4 pleasure resort, until Lamis-Odg terrorists had destroyed the place. Under reconstruction, reopening hadn’t been scheduled yet.

He forced his attention away from her hair.

And noticed her clothing. What the hell was she wearing? Masculine, almost military-style trousers in a fabric mottled in various shades of tan led to clunky coyote-brown boots. A loose-fitting jacket in the same variegated pattern covered her top half. Fatigues—but from what century? The twenty-first maybe? Where had she acquired the getup?

“Mr. Homme?” Gray eyes met his in a direct stare. “I’m Illumina Smith. Thank you for seeing me.” Her voice tinkled like chimes blowing in a gentle wind, but the hand that seized his gripped like a steel clamp.

What memorable characteristics have you run across in your reading? What tips do you have for creating memorable SFR characters?

Captured by the Cyborg Description

Sometimes the biggest risk is to one’s heart….

An ex-Cyber Operations field agent, Dale Homme has kissed danger and betrayal more times than he cares to count. Now he runs a clandestine factory beneath the surface of the moon Deceptio, where confidentiality and security matter more than anything. When a beautiful young woman arrives seeking a job, Dale knows within minutes she’s lying. Everything about her is false: her past, the people she claims to know, her reason for being on Deceptio. Illumina Smith? Even her name is an alias.

Logic says send her packing. His gut says she’s in trouble. She needs him. So he’ll do anything to keep her safe….even if it means keeping her captive.

Captured by the Cyborg is third in the Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance series but is written to be read as a stand-alone novella.

Buy links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

Barnes & Noble | All Romance

Author bio/links

USA Today bestselling author Cara Bristol has published more than twenty-five erotic romance titles, including contemporary and science fiction romance. No matter what the subgenre, one thing remains constant: her emphasis on character-driven seriously hot erotic stories with sizzling chemistry between the hero and heroine. Cara has lived many places in the United States, but currently lives in Missouri with her husband. She has two grown stepkids. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading and traveling.

Cara Bristol website | New Release Newsletter | Amazon Author page

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Mar 19 2016

She Made Proper Sacrifice Weekend Writing Warriors

The WIP is an epic portal fantasy, which is undergoing a final edit and will be released after Star Cruise: Outbreak in the late April/early May 2016 time frame.

Haatrin stepped to Sandy’s side, taking her left wrist and gently rotating her arm to display the angry puncture wounds. “Here is Sherabti’s mark, Mother of Us All.”

The elder leaned closer, peering at the bite. “My servant is never mistaken, regardless of the foolishness of those girls. Sherabti saw potential.”

“And the woman and her mortal companions were in your temple,” Haatrin said as if citing a point in Sandy’s favor, “She made proper sacrifice.”

“We took shelter there from a sandstorm,” Sandy felt compelled to clarify. The stakes in this room were high, with her life and maybe Mark’s in danger. She didn’t want any further misunderstandings between these beings and herself. Had her simple gesture helping Tia place water and fruit on the broken altar gotten her into this jeopardy?

More from the scene next week. I apologize if anyone is growing bored with the same scene but it seems logical to give you all of this one…

Exciting news – I’ve released Healer of the Nile as a standalone (it was in a boxed set) for $.99. I had run excerpts from that novella here (remember the dreamspace and the omens?) Here’s the lovely cover, if you missed my reveal last week!

The story: When Pharaoh sends injured warrior Tadenhut home to die, his noble family asks Mehyta, the local healer, to ease his path to the Afterlife. Mehyta discovers he’s trapped between Life and Death, caught in the dreamspace. Touched by his fighting spirit and will to live, Mehyta vows to use all the powers Shai, god of fate, gave her. Together Tadenhut and the brave healer battle to overcome his injuries, as well as threats from devious family members. While struggling to rescue her patient, Mehyta comes to realize he matters more to her than any man ever has before. But even if his life can be saved, what do the omens say about a match between a highborn soldier and a simple healer?

Buy Links:

Amazon Kobo iBooks All Romance eBooks Barnes & Noble

Mar 12 2016

As My First Act Weekend Writing Warriors

The WIP is an epic portal fantasy, which is undergoing a final edit and will be released after Star Cruise: Outbreak in the late April/early May 2016 time frame. (NEWS: I have a blurb now! See below the excerpt!)

“…you’re dismissed, all of you. Having done your unthinking mischief, your presence is no longer desired.” Nuet waved one hand in a curt, shooing motion. “Be grateful I don’t choose to reclaim my domain here. I might hurtle your namesakes away from this world as my first act.”

Like children released from school, the Moon Sisters fled in a pack without backward glances, leaving Haatrin, Sandy, and Nuet, the crone.

Sandy studied her. Was it her imagination or did the woman stand taller, her spine not as bent? And her hair had definitely been a wild tangle of dull gray curls, but was now more silver blond, wavy rather than curly. The eyes were the same, deep and unfathomable, but the wrinkles surrounding them were now fewer, the cheeks rosier.

Nuet has more than one aspect, you see.

Here’s the long awaited story summary for LADY OF THE STAR WIND:

Are they merely luckless lovers … or a legend come back to life?

By the way, I worked with Cathryn Cade, The Blurb Queen, and she TOTALLY rocks at writing blurbs, which I’m not good at.

Mar 5 2016

Silence Would Be Well Considered Weekend Writing Warriors

(If you’re here for the monthly SFRB Showcase, go here.)

The WIP is an epic portal fantasy, which is undergoing a final edit and will be released after Star Cruise: Outbreak in the late April/early May 2016 time frame.

“I think this is all a mistake.” The key hung heavy around Sandy’s neck, and she wished Mark stood at her side.

“The balance of the universe demands correction of true mistakes.” The elderly woman slammed the tip of her cane on the floor for emphasis.

“I said we should let her die,” Tresa spoke boldly, “All the problems would be solved.”

Thunder shook the room as the crone spun to glare at her, moving faster than Sandy would have dreamed possible. “We don’t yet know the outcome,” Nuet said as the rumbles died away. “Haste only gets you in more trouble, youngest moon.” She raised a cautionary hand as Tresa opened her mouth. “Silence on your part would be well considered at this moment.”

Nuet has a lot more to say in this scene, so I’ll spend a few more weeks on it. Then I’m thinking maybe I’ll give you a teaser from STAR CRUISE: OUTBREAK, which I haven’t shared here at all.