Dec 23 2017

Am I Dreaming Weekend Writing Warriors

Merry Happy Holidays!!!

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!)

Sharing now from my newly released scifi romance Aydarr (A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel): Sectors New Allies Series Book 1. Yup, a mouthful LOL!

The excerpt:

She remembered eating dinner in her small modular house on the edge of the colony, falling asleep watching an adventure trideo she’d seen a hundred times then…nothing.

“And now I’m here,” She took a closer look at her left arm and did a double take. A black bracelet she’d never seen before was solid against her skin just above the wrist, with no visible hinge or fastening. As she gawked at it, prying at the edges in an increasingly desperate attempt to make the band move, flickers of red and yellow pulsed inside the cool, hard surface. The bracelet and what it might mean scared her more than the loss of short term memory or even the unknown sun above her.

The roar came again, closer, and was answered by another. Something hunting me maybe? Distracted from the ominous mystery of the bracelet, she was briefly tempted to try climbing the tree, but the lightheadedness persisted. She pushed off, realizing she was barefoot, wearing her short, pink-and-black nightgown, molded to her body by the rain. Lingerie was her secret luxury after a day spent in technician’s coveralls, but certainly not suited to this experience.

Am I dreaming?

The book blurb:

Jill Garrison, a maintenance tech at the Sectors Amarcae 7 colony, goes to sleep one night as usual only to wake up in her nightgown stranded in the middle of a forest on an unknown world. There’s no time to think as she’s stalked by carnivorous predators and rescued by genetically engineered warriors calling themselves the Badari. Turns out they and she, along with her whole colony, are now prisoners of the Khagrish, a ruthless race of alien scientists. Working for enemies of the Sectors, the Khagrish have created the Badari to be super soldiers.

Aydarr, the Badari alpha, isn’t sure he can trust Jill but his attraction to her is undeniable. He impulsively claims her as his mate to prevent her death at the hands of the Khagrish.

Can he continue to protect her from the experiments already underway? Will his claiming her put his pack in jeopardy from their alien masters?

As Jill searches for a way to rescue her fellow humans and get them all to safety, she finds herself falling for Aydarr, despite the secrets he’s keeping. She has a few of her own.

The situation becomes dire when Aydarr and his pack are sent offplanet on a mission, leaving Jill unprotected, prey for the senior scientist. Can she escape the experiments he has in mind for her? Will she be able to thwart the Khagrish plans and liberate humans and Badari alike? How will she and Aydarr reunite?

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Dec 16 2017

Face Down on the Grass Weekend Writing Warriors

Sharing now from my newly released scifi romance Aydarr (A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel): Sectors New Allies Series Book 1. Yup, a mouthful LOL!

This is the very beginning of the novel (story blurb below the excerpt):

Why am I lying face down on the wet grass in the rain?

Jill rolled over, putting a hand to her forehead in an attempt to quell a ferocious headache. Opening her eyes gingerly, she blinked at the vividly colored pink, purple and blue leaves on the tree above her, which certainly had never grown on Amarcae 7. She’d been all around her home colony on various repair jobs, and nothing there had riotous leaves in these colors, much less with spikes at the tips. As she watched, one of the leaves snapped into a tight roll to capture a slow moving insect.

“Thank the Lords of Space I’m too big a bite.” Wary, nauseous, she sat up, swaying a bit, and examined her unfamiliar surroundings. She was in the midst of an old growth forest, with other forms of vegetation besides the carnivorous trees but nothing recognizable.

A loud roar in the distance gave her the shivers, and she forced herself to stand, staggering a few feet to lean on a less colorful tree’s broad trunk to stay upright. Despite the rain, her mouth was dry, and she had a hard time swallowing, “What the seven hells?”

Her mind was curiously blank, no memory of how she’d gotten to this place, or what had happened in the last few hours.

The book blurb:

Aydarr, the Badari alpha, isn’t sure he can trust Jill but his attraction to her is undeniable. He impulsively claims her as his mate to prevent her death at the hands of the Khagrish.

Can he continue to protect her from the experiments already underway? Will his claiming her put his pack in jeopardy from their alien masters?

As Jill searches for a way to rescue her fellow humans and get them all to safety, she finds herself falling for Aydarr, despite the secrets he’s keeping. She has a few of her own.

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Dec 9 2017

Deeper Implications Weekend Writing Warriors

This will be the last excerpt from The Fated Stars, because I had a new release this past week. Details below!

The excerpt – skipped ahead a bit from last week, to a point after Larissa has had a short telepathic conversation with the seer, where he asked for her help:

By the time she was walking through town back to her ship, tossing the sickly sweet candy in the nearest recycler, Larissa was even more convinced something ominous lay behind the traveling fair’s agenda.

She had the Valkyrie’s AI begin a crawl through all the databases accessible to her, a few of which were authorized for mercenaries, the general ones the entire Sectors used, and a few classified areas Sectors command wouldn’t be happy to know she could still access.

Searching for data on the carnival, Larissa was surprised how little information existed. From all indications, the operation appeared full blown about four years ago, traveling an interesting route along the Sectors frontier in this area of the galaxy, visiting the colonies in a leisurely itinerary. The AI reported there was another traveling show with the same name, in an adjacent, slightly more settled portion of the Sectors’ border.

“There can’t be many credits in carting mangy animals, cheap rides and attractions around the galaxy. Not to mention the risk of holding illegal slaves, if the seer is telling me the truth about his situation.” She leaned back in her chair at the control console and sipped her coffee.

Larissa had to admit she was intrigued on several levels now, not just because of her innate compulsion to help a sentient in trouble. There could be deeper implications for the security of the Sectors at stake here.

The story:

Larissa Channer, a tough no-nonsense mercenary in the Sectors, is celebrating success on her last job and a big bonus, with no slightest thought of taking on another assignment anytime soon. Out for a night of carousing with her friends at a third rate carnival on a backwater planet, she walks into the tent of a fake fortune teller and finds herself confronting the most intriguing man she’s ever seen. But something’s wrong, ominous currents lie beneath the surface of their encounter and Larissa can’t leave well enough alone.

Samell, a powerful, high born empathic priest, has been kidnapped from his own primitive planet along with a number of his people, and sold to the shady operator of an interstellar carnival. Kept enslaved, pretending to be a fortune teller while forced by his captor to steal information from the minds of all who come before him, Samell despairs of every breaking free.

Until Larissa walks into his tent and he recognizes the warrior who might mean the difference between life and death.

The situation becomes dire when Larissa and Samell come to the attention of the Shemdylann pirates who kidnapped him in the first place and the deadly Mawreg, aliens who threaten the Sectors. Can she save herself and the empathic alien noble, and derail the Mawreg plot against the Sectors? And will the soldier end up with her prince when all’s said and done?

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Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00068] NEW RELEASE: Aydarr (A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel): Sectors New Allies Book 1

Aydarr, the Badari alpha, isn’t sure he can trust Jill but his attraction to her is undeniable. He impulsively claims her as his mate to prevent her death at the hands of the Khagrish.

Can he continue to protect her from the experiments already underway? Will his claiming her put his pack in jeopardy from their alien masters?

As Jill searches for a way to rescue her fellow humans and get them all to safety, she finds herself falling for Aydarr, despite the secrets he’s keeping. She has a few of her own.

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Nov 25 2017

Our Future Is Uncertain Snippet from THE FATED STARS SciFi Romance

From The Fated Stars. Larissa and her mercenary friends have gone to the local carnival on a remote planet to celebrate a successful conclusion to a contract job. She was reluctant to go but tagged along in the end.

The excerpt:

The attractions were as lackluster as she’d predicted, until they reached the back of the lot.

“Ooh, a fortune teller,” Pamila wobbled in her space boots, leaning on Devlin. It was obvious to Larissa those two would be sharing a bunk in his ship before the red sun rose, “I want my future read.”

Half-baked superstitions rising in her somewhat fuddled mind, Larissa shook her head again. “Bad idea for a mercenary. I can tell you right now, our future’s uncertain as the path of a rogue comet. See, I just saved you a credit – thank me later.” She spun on her heel to walk away as fast as she could. But she was overruled, and they each paid the minimal fee then stumbled into the darkened tent. Larissa paused on the threshold, stunned by the urge to flee.

Her attention was riveted on the fortune teller himself.

The story:

Until Larissa walks into his tent and he recognizes the warrior who might mean the difference between life and death.

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Nov 18 2017

No Better Way to Celebrate Weekend Writing Warriors

I’m now excerpting my newly released scifi romance The Fated Stars. Story below the excerpt, as per the rules. Punctuation edited a bit for this format.

The excerpt:

Too bad there’s no better way to celebrate on this backwater planet. Larissa finished her feelgood and tossed the drink container into the nearest trash receptacle. She and five of her friends, among the top mercenaries in the Sectors, were letting off the tension after the successful conclusion of a job and the extremely generous bonus from a satisfied client. Stumbling from bar to bar in this frontier colony town together, they were looking for a good time, but kept coming up short. The small colony didn’t have much in the way of entertainment.

Just when she was thinking about turning in for the night, though, they ended up in front of the ramshackle Kinterow Stellar Circus and Sideshow, parked in a vacant lot at the end of the main street. Despite the late hour, locals packed the place, playing games of chance, eating greasy food, and watching the strolling players.

“We can’t miss this,” said one of her friends, waving a bottle of feelgood in the air. Sarcasm was heavy in his slurred words, “It’s the biggest draw on the entire planet.”

“The only thing on the planet,” Larissa was drunk but not so inebriated she wanted to waste time on a rundown carnival, having her credits drained from her account by overpriced food and fixed games.

The story:

Until Larissa walks into his tent and he recognizes the warrior who might mean the difference between life and death.

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Nov 13 2017

Why I Wrote THE FATED STARS

TheFatedStarsFinal I’ve just put out a new scifi romance release, The Fated Stars, and as part of my process I always love to go over to Pauline B. Jones’s blog and explain why I wrote the book, or what my influences were. Sometimes when I’m writing a book I even think to myself, “Oh, I have to remember to tell Pauline that!”

Here’s the start of the post I wrote for her (and there’s an excerpt over there too):

Thanks for having me as a repeat guest! It’s always an essential part of my new release ritual to come to your lovely blog and talk about why I wrote the book!

When you and I co-organized the Pets In Space 1 anthology in 2016, I had the inspiration for a story with an alien empathic priestess as the heroine and to have her be a captive of the interstellar crime syndicate in my Sectors, which is the futuristic civilization in my scifi romances. I enjoyed writing that story, Star Cruise Stowaway, so much, that I realized I wasn’t done with the concepts and I went on to write two more, full length novels with different heroines and their struggles to escape the evil crime overlords. (Danger in the Stars and Two Against the Stars). And of course the brave human heroes who help them. I loved the challenge of putting each empath in a different predicament.

So when it was time to write the fourth book, I wanted a really unique situation. I started pondering what would have happened to a male empathic priest from their planet of Tulavarra if he’d been kidnapped and forced into working for the crime bosses. My daughters have been challenging me to write a female soldier for several years now and I thought this book was my golden opportunity to write a really kick ass woman mercenary….

So hop on over to Pauline’s blog for the rest and the excerpt!

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Aug 12 2017

Who Could Predict Weekend Writing Warriors

The snippet is from Two Against the Stars (story below the excerpt), my latest release. I’m continuing on from last week although I’ve skipped ahead a bit. After leaving the hotel and pawning Dobkin’s watch, Carialle rides the city’s mass transit all day, working her way into the seedier areas of town. She leaves the transport, buys lunch and studies the situation. (Edited somewhat from the published version.)

After finishing her meal, surprised at how healthy her appetite was after the traumatic events of the day, she wandered through the area, which boasted small shops with the proprietors’ living quarters above. The neighborhood was crowded and lively with street musicians playing for credits. Carialle kept her eyes open for any signs of Combine activity but detected none. Oh, there were scammers and pickpockets, but when she touched them lightly with her highly attuned senses, the petty crooks had no thought of the Combine.

Reassured she’d made a good choice, she strolled further, observing the mix of older, poorly maintained buildings and the newer, refurbished places. She encountered no police, which for her was just as reassuring as not seeing Combine enforcers. Who could predict how the mysterious authorities would view what she’d done as a Combine tool? And she’d probably be suspected of killing Dobkin, which was another huge problem.

High in the azure sky, the glint of an ascending spacecraft drew her attention for a moment. Averting her gaze, she blinked away tears – this planet was going to be her home for the rest of her life.

The story:

Empathic priestess Carialle has escaped the evil Amarotu Combine, but she’s hardly out of danger. Not when she risks everything to rescue a drugged man from a crooked veterans’ clinic. By lulling the clinic staff to sleep, she reveals her powers. And once again, criminals are after her and her rescuer.

Marcus Valerian, a wounded Special Forces veteran, never expected to have his life threatened by the clinic that’s supposed to help ex-soldiers like him. But when he wakes from a drugged state to find a lovely woman urging him to run–he does. In his family’s remote fishing cabin, he suffers the agony of withdrawal, soothed only by her powers.

In their idyllic hideaway, the two also discover a nova-hot attraction flaring. But can they stay alive long enough for it to become more? Not if the Combine has anything to say–they are not giving up until Marcus is dead and Carialle is their weapon

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Aug 5 2017

No Time To Waste Weekend Writing Warriors

NEW RELEASE! The snippet is from Two Against the Stars (story below the excerpt). I’m continuing on from last week, where Dobkin, Carialle’s mob handler, has died in the bathroom of their cheap hotel room from an accidental, drunken fall. She was handcuffed to the bed but has gotten loose, although one cuff remains around her wrist. Edited somewhat from the published version:

Carialle swallowed hard and forced herself to go through his pockets, snagging the key to the handcuffs and his ID and credit tag. Her hands were shaking so hard it took her three tries to release the shackle around her wrist.

She took a deep breath to quell her rising hysteria – No time to waste.

Carialle unfastened a gaudy, retro timepiece from his wrist and sidled away. It took her a few moments in the bedroom to dump out the contents of his small pack, snatching whatever might be useful and leaving the rest on the bed. She contemplated the small hand weapon for a long moment. She’d no idea how to use it but the allure of possessing a means of defending herself against those immune to her power was impossible to resist. Grabbing the shiny mini blaster, she hid it at the bottom of the pack and sealed the seams.

She straightened her spine, took a deep breath and checked the mirror to be sure there was no blood on her drab gray tunic, leggings or shoes. She hastened to the door and stepped into the hall, closing the portal behind her, keying the advisory to Do Not Disturb.

The story:

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Jul 29 2017

Not Going To Be Used Weekend Writing Warriors

NEW RELEASE! The snippet is from Two Against the Stars (story below the excerpt):

Her handler lay sprawled on the cheap imitation tile floor, a pool of blood spreading from the back of his head. He’d evidently fallen or passed out from the drugs he’d done, striking his head on the commode as he toppled. His sporadic breathing was labored and halted on a harsh exhale even as she stared at him. His head lolled to the side and his entire body went limp.

Her heightened senses confirmed Dobkin’s lifeforce had fled.

The handler’s death left her numb. He’d never assaulted her, nor beaten her, as some of the other handlers did with their charges, but he’d been casually cruel since they met. He clearly didn’t see her as a person in her own right. Indeed, not as anything but a tool to use for the Combine’s profit and his own advancement.

“I’m not going to be used for anyone else’s purposes ever again,” she said.

The story:

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Jul 15 2017

Get Away From the Panic 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!)

I’m sharing another snippet from Mission to Mahjundar today (still on sale for $.99). I decided to share a bit more from it because I’m still editing my new book.

I decided in fairness to the hero, Mike Varone, you needed a snippet with him and Shalira, to make it more clear who gets to have the HEA with her! (And again, Shalira and Johnny, who was in the last two snippets, are platonic friends only.) Here’s how Mike and the princess meet for the first time. There’s been an explosion during a parade including the royal family. Shalira’s horse reacts badly (as one might expect) and she can’t stay in the saddle.

He managed to break the girl’s fall, going to one knee as he caught her. To prevent her from being trampled by the crowd, which surged into the space the distressed horse had kept clear with its lashing hooves, Mike carried her in the direction the panic-stricken people were flowing. “Come on, we’ve got to get away from this mob!”

It was like swimming in a riptide. Going with the flow initially, Mike angled toward the far curb and got himself and his trembling companion across the roadway.

“I can walk,” she said, voice faint. Making no effort to leave the security of his arms, however, she had her eyes closed again.

Rather than waste time arguing, he carried her as he clambered over fallen people and maneuvered around debris until they fetched up in the doorway of a bakery. The sweet smell of fresh breads mingled incongruously with the stench of smoke from the bomb blast. With a muttered apology, Mike set the woman on her feet behind him, so he could defend them both if necessary.

MissionToM2-FJM_Mid_Res_1000x1500 The story:

An attempted assassination left Princess Shalira blind as a child and, now that she’s of marriageable age, her prospects are not good because of her disability. She’s resigned herself to an arranged marriage rather than face life under the thumb of her cold stepmother. But then she meets Mike Varone, a Sectors Special Forces officer sent to Mahjundar by the intergalactic government to retrieve a ship lost in her planet’s mountains. After Mike saves Shalira from another assassination attempt, she arranges for him to escort her across the planet to her future husband. She’s already falling hard for the deadly offworlder and knows she should deny herself the temptation he represents, but taking Mike along to protect her is the only way she’ll live long enough to escape her ruthless stepmother.

Mike, for his part, resists his growing attraction to the princess; he has a mission on this planet and rescuing the vulnerable but brave princess isn’t it. No matter how much he wishes it could be.

But what should have been an easy trek through Mahjundar’s peaceful lands swiftly turns into an ambush with danger around every turn. Shalira’s marriage begins to seem less like an arranged union and more like yet another planned assassination. The more they work together to survive, the harder it becomes to stop themselves from falling in love. Caught in a race against time, can they escape the hostile forces hunting them and make it off the planet?

A 2015 SFR Galaxy Award Winner

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