Jul 8 2017

Keep Going 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 a snippet from an older book, Misson to Mahjundar today as it’s on sale for $.99 on into July. I decided to share a bit more from it because my new book just came back from the Editor and I have some serious work to do on it. Not quite ready to start sharing.

Continuing on where I left off last week, after Shalira and Johnny escape the room with the giant statue of the alien god and the hypnotic voices…(apologies for the ‘interesting’ punctuation to meet the rules here). Slightly edited from published version. The Mawreg are the alien empire bent on totally eradicating humanity and the statue of the god here resembled a Mawreg closely enough to trigger a bad flashback for Johnny, which is why he was so easily mesmerized in the last snippet.

Once she knew she was out of the chamber, and the pull of the voices lessened, Shalira opened her eyes, and she and Johnny leaned side-by-side on the wall for a moment. Sweat was pouring off the sergeant and his hands were shaking.

“Are you all right?”

Cradling his blaster as if to anchor himself in reality, he nodded, swallowing hard, “Thanks – I owe you one.”

“I owe you more than one,” she answered, “Let there be no accounting between us.”

“The Mawreg held me prisoner briefly, initiated their interrogation, not long enough to do real damage. Mike and a squad of operators rescued me, took down the base.” He leaned his head back, closing his eyes, “It’s a hard thing to get over – I’ve had all the standard military treatment, but I still have nightmares sometimes, which is the real reason Mike and I are retiring – I can’t do the job any more.”

“You appear to be doing all right to me,” Shalira said, “I know what it’s like to have screaming nightmares, to not be able to remember what was done to you but knowing it was bad. You don’t owe me any explanations – the important thing is to keep going, and I have a feeling we’re both accomplished at that.”

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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canva 99cent sale

Jul 1 2017

Voices in Her Mind Weekend Writing Warriors

I’m sharing a snippet from an older book, Misson to Mahjundar today as it’s on sale for $.99 in a big scifi promo (on into July). The heroine Shalira and Johnny, a secondary character, are trying to escape a local temple when they find themselves in the inner sanctum. A reader recently told me the later scenes in the book involving the god Tlazomiccuhtli “seemed almost Lovecraftian” to him (WOW!!! what a compliment), so it was on my mind. I’ll excerpt something else, newer, next week. Edited from the published version.

Johnny seemed locked into position, literally transfixed, either by the dark powers Tlazomiccuhtli wielded or his own memories, or both. Frantic with the need to move, Shalira tugged harder on the paralyzed Johnny but couldn’t rouse him from the trance or traumatic state he was in. Unblinking, he stared straight at the effigy, his body rigid.

Dizziness was overtaking her senses, whether from the smoke or the influence of Tlazomiccuhtli she wasn’t sure. Reaching a decision, she closed her eyes and took off her protective amulet. The end of the chain slipped from her fingers as if pulled and she heard the locket clatter onto the stone floor. Kneeling, Shalira swept the floor with her hands. Frustrated, she risked opening one eye and immediately felt the pull to turn toward Tlazomiccuhtli and worship him. Fortunately she caught a glimpse of her locket, shining with a pale green glow, half-hidden under a table supporting a cage of hissing snakes. Forcing herself to move away from the statue, praying the snakes couldn’t escape the enclosure, she crawled to retrieve the locket and brought it back to Johnny. As soon as she fastened the chain around his neck, he jerked and blinked, rubbing his forehead.

She led him out of the chamber, counting the steps and listening to the echoes, although it was hard to hear over the voices in her head, calling her to return to Tlazomiccuhtli’s embrace.

MissionToM2-FJM_High_Res_1800x2700 (2) The story:

A 2015 SFR Galaxy Award Winner

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THE PROMO:

sf&f promo JULY2017

http://pattyjansen.com/promo/

Jun 24 2017

Not Her Name Weekend Writing Warriors

Since I forgot to mention last week that I was done with excerpts from Star Cruise: Stowaway, here’s one more after all. I’ve skipped over quite a bit of drama with saving Tyrelle’s life right after Owen finds her. Next day Owen goes to visit her in sickbay, with the pets keeping her company. It’s a relatively peaceful moment before things heat up again as both the crime syndicate and the rather ruthless Sectors authorities come after Tyrelle, the stowaway. Next week, I’ll excerpt something else.

Midorri chirruped and slithered to the floor, going to the portal, where she scratched at the door with two of her six feet.

Owen rose to let her out.

Moby promptly entered, jumping to the bed and rubbing Tyrelle’s face, arching her spine and purring loudly.

“When one leaves, the other arrives. You’re the keeper of the animals?” she asked.

“Moby’s mine – I rescued her from kids in a rough port town as a kitten a few years ago and brought her with me to the Zephyr. Midorri belongs to the entire ship, but she spends a lot of time in the cargo bay, with Moby, hunting vermin.” He sat, trapped in the small chair, “The Zephyr’s not infested or anything, we run a tight ship, but there’s always a few space rats.” I can’t believe I’m talking to this beautiful woman about rats.

She laughed, scratching under Moby’s chin for a moment and staring into the cat’s green eyes, “Yes, this one likes you very much and the name you gifted her. Midorri is not the other one’s name, you know, but she told me she doesn’t mind answering to it.”

The story:

I’m really excited to release three Sectors stories that have only been available previously in anthologies, none of which are available currently. I’ve bundled them ALL into one book with the lengthy title STAR CRUISE A NOVELLA: STOWAWAY WITH RESCUE AND GOLDEN TOKEN SHORT STORIES.

Here are the story descriptions:

Star Cruise: Stowaway: A novella of 22K words, previously in the ‘Pets In Space’ anthology.
Cargo Master Owen Embersson is shocked when the Nebula Zephyr’s ship’s cat and her alien sidekick, Midorri, alert him to the presence of a stowaway. He has no idea of the dangerous complications to come nor does he anticipate falling hard for the woman whose life he now holds in his hands. Life aboard the Nebula Zephyr has just become more interesting – and deadly.

Star Cruise: Rescue: A short story of 9K words, previously in the ‘Romancing the Stars’ anthology.
When a shore leave excursion goes terribly wrong for Mira Gage, a member of the Nebula Zephyr’s crew, Security Officer Clint Miltan races the clock to find her before the ship leaves orbit and abandons Mira to her fate. Clint’s got more than a professional interest in Mira, but will he be able to save her from the aliens holding her prisoner?

The Golden Token: A short story of 13K words, previously in the limited edition ‘Dealer’s Choice’ paperback anthology handed out at the 2016 RT Booklovers Convention Interstellar Bar & Grille event.
Sectors Special Forces operator Charlie McBrire had a few days to kill on a layover at Space Station 47. He never expected to find himself in the middle of a miners’ rebellion, fighting to save the life of a casino dancer he just met but can’t imagine living without.

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Jun 17 2017

No Heartbeat Weekend Writing Warriors

Here’s the next snippet from Star Cruise: Stowaway (blurb below). Skipped a few sentences further describing the leaking crate. Owen has decided he’s better unseal the container. Edited a bit from the published version:

A loud click echoed in the cargo bay and the seams on the crate glowed yellow, unsealing in a smooth progression along the rim. Sure enough a deluge of liquid followed, but Embersson froze for a moment as he saw what had been inside the crate. Then he was on his knees beside the now-open container, heedless of the green cryo fluid soaking his pants, as he tried to extricate the woman who’d been illegally stored inside. She was tightly curled in the midst of the cryo tubes, and he swore again as he realized chains bound her ankles.

Carefully he disentangled her from the nonfunctioning equipment. She opened her eyes for a moment, staring straight at him with beautiful green and gold eyes before convulsing, knocking Embersson off balance. He broke the fall for both of them, holding her securely.

Midorri scrabbled across his body, gently poking the woman with her head, making mewling sounds.

Shoving the beast away with his elbow as he got to his feet, he observed the woman wasn’t breathing, “Tell Dr. Shane I need her down here now, with a crash cart,” he yelled to the AI as he laid the stowaway on the deck and checked for a clear airway. Ear to her chest, he detected no heartbeat.

The story:

Here are the story descriptions:

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Jun 10 2017

What Mischief ? Weekend Writing Warriors

If you’re here for the SFR Brigade Presents excerpt from Hostage to the Stars, go here.

Here’s the next snippet from Star Cruise: Stowaway (blurb below). Edited a bit from the published version. ‘She’ refers to Moby the cat:

Figuring she wanted to show him a recent kill, which he’d then have to dispose of, he followed.

Moby moved faster now that she’d gotten him with the program.

moby_and_midorri_pets_in-space_artwork_nyssa_juneau

Moby & Midorri by Artist Nyssa Juneau

He followed her around the corner of the pallet the ship had taken on earlier in the day and found Midorri, the Zephyr’s other pet, crouched beside a free trader container. “What mischief have the two of you gotten into now?” he asked Moby. Midorri came aboard the Zephyr originally as the pampered pet of a princess, but after the whole outbreak incident, Sector authorities refused to let the lady disembark on Sector Hub with the undocumented animal, so the ship had kept the odd green fluffball.

Midorri sneezed, as she was often wont to do, allergic to humans perhaps, and flicked her plush prehensile tail before lowering her head and extending her long green tongue to lap at something on the deck.

“Freaking flares, do not tell me we’ve got leaking cargo,” He hoped Moby hadn’t sampled whatever Midorri was drinking. The alien animal could probably handle anything up to and including nuclear fuel, who knew, but Moby was definitely a terrestrial cat, with a more delicate stomach. He tried to shoo Midorri away from the slowly growing puddle of green goo, dripping from a dented corner of the container. Musta gotten banged when the shuttle crew offloaded the final pallet too fast and had to straighten everything in a rush.

stowaway The story:

I’m really excited to release three Sectors stories that have only been available previously in anthologies, none of which are available currently. (I know many of you purchased the Pets In Space anthology, which first contained STAR CRUISE STOWAWAY and thank you so much!) Along with STOWAWAY, I’ve really been wanting to get the other two stories out there for you, especially THE GOLDEN TOKEN, which was only in the limited edition paperback we handed out at last year’s RT Booklovers Conference. So I’ve bundled them ALL into one book with the lengthy title STAR CRUISE A NOVELLA: STOWAWAY WITH RESCUE AND GOLDEN TOKEN SHORT STORIES.

Here are the story descriptions:

Amazon iBooks B&N Kobo

Jun 9 2017

SFR Brigade Presents Hostage to the Stars

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 from my SFR Galaxy Award Winning Hostage to the Stars, which is on sale for $.99 at the moment.

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?

The excerpt:

One minute Sara was sound asleep in her bunk in the tiny cabin on board the Star Swan and the next moment the sound of alarms jolted her into wakefulness. Sara threw on a robe and stuck her head into the corridor. “What’s happening?” she asked a passing crewman.

“Pirates. We’re being boarded.” He looked her up and down. “You’d better get dressed, ma’am.”

Saluting, he moved toward the gravlift.

As she shut the portal to her cabin, she was puzzled by the calmness of the man’s demeanor. Was this a terrifying disaster, as the klaxons suggested? Or was it a routine situation and they’d be on their way shortly? She wasted no time in getting dressed, wishing she had a weapon, which was ridiculous of course because what would she – a Sectors university researcher – do with a weapon? Especially if the ship’s crew wasn’t putting up any fight. She had little of any value with her, but she took a moment to hide her ring and a bracelet, wrapped in a scarf under the bunk. She knew the cache wouldn’t escape even a perfunctory search but the jewelry had sentimental value. Why not at least try to outsmart the pirates, if the bastards were greedy enough to search even her closet-size cabin?

“All passengers and crew will report to the dining room at once,” The ship’s AI announced, adding, “Per protocol, no weapons allowed.”

Sara joined the small group of people moving through the corridor. She grabbed the sleeve of a crew member she recognized, the stewardess. The Star Swan wasn’t a big cruise liner like the Nebula-class ships. She could never afford that much luxury on her academic pittance of a salary. Carrying mostly cargo, this vessel only had a few cabins for passengers and the cheaper fare reflected the few amenities. This woman had been friendly and efficient about any request.

“Excuse me,” Sara said, “Was the earlier announcement about pirates on the level?”

“Yes.” The crew member didn’t stop walking but she gave Sarah an odd look. “It’s not a rare occurrence in this quadrant. Unfortunately for us, we were stopped to make minor repairs on the engines in this old bucket and the pirates were out hunting.” She stepped into the gravlift and Sara followed. “I’ve been through this before. Most of us have. These are human-descent pirates, from Farduccir, not the Shemdylann.”

“Oh.” Sara digested the information as she ascended next to the stewardess. She fought the vertigo gravlifts always gave her. Even she had heard of the alien Shemdylann. “So what happens next?”

“The pirates are mostly interested in our cargo. Probably offloading it now in fact.” Her companion shrugged. “Everything’s insured.”

Sara stepped off the landing ledge into the corridor. The longer the stewardess talked, the more calm Sara felt as her adrenaline levels subsided. This incident would make an exciting tidbit to tell people about when she got home. “So the raiders don’t bother the passengers and crew?”

“You never know with pirates.” The woman seemed ill at ease, but not afraid. “Our line pays the pre-negotiated ransom on the spot, credits transmitted to a bank on New Switzerland. Routine. Expense of doing business in this part of the Sector.”

She’d arrived at the cafeteria and Sara saw the other passengers clustered at one table in the front of the room.

“You’d better go join them. You can’t sit with the crew.” The stewardess gave her a not so gentle push. “Good luck.”

Sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach again, Sara grabbed her arm. “Why do I need luck? You said there’s a preset ransom for us. Routine.”

She received a pitying stare now, as the crew woman broke her grip. “For the ship and the crew. You’re on your own. I hope you have good K&R insurance.” She walked away.

Stumbling a little, Sara made her way to the passenger table, feeling exposed and vulnerable. She slid into a vacant chair next to the only other woman.

“Hey, it’s not so bad, relax.” The woman patted her hand. “I’m Tresha Immer. I’ve seen you in the corridors.”

Early in the cruise, Sara’d learned from the stewardess that Tresha was some kind of Sectors’ admin person, mid-level in an obscure branch of the bureaucracy. She had the single luxury suite on the ship and the crew had formerly bent over backwards to supply her slightest whim, while gossiping about her. Apparently an influential politico with a lot of gravity didn’t appreciate her receiving less than stellar service and attention, so people rushed to do her bidding. “What’s K&R?” she asked the table at large.

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

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Jun 6 2017

Reblogging: Whiskey With My Book Doubleteamed DANGER IN THE STARS

DangerInTheStarsFinal Wow, my day was made this morning when I saw that the well respected Whiskey With My Book Blog had done not one but TWO reviews of Danger In The Stars! And both were 5 Stars! I hope you’ll forgive my squeeing – I’ll try not to be too loud LOL but I’m always really happy when people enjoy my books.

Here’s how one of the reviews begins:

Review of Danger in the Stars
by Riley

The decision to read Danger in the Stars was a no-brainer for me after having read Veronica Scott’s Star Cruise: Stowaway in the Pets in Space Anthology. Danger in the Stars, the follow up to Stowaway, continues to develop that crime syndicate known as the Combine, their collaboration with the Shemdylann, and their use of slaves. Specifically, slaves with psychic powers like Miriell, priestess of Thuun.

Miriell is an empath. She also seems to have a bit of a telpathic ablity, being able to sense not only emotions, but also intent. Miriell has the added ability to put thoughts into a person’s mind. And more. This makes Miriell much more dangerous than her captors believe her to be. And at the same time, very interesting.

At first glance, Conor is a thug. Second-in-command to a Combine leader, so, a bad guy. But there is more to him than meets the eye (or there would not be much of a story). It is difficult to say too much more about Conor without spoilers, so just know Conor is a character worth getting to know – good or bad….

Jump on over to the WWMB Blog to read their joint post in its entirety.…

Buy Links for Danger In The Stars:

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May 27 2017

What the Cat Found…Snippet from STAR CRUISE STOWAWAY

Here’s a snippet from Star Cruise: Stowaway and what the cat found (blurb below).

This was the time of day he enjoyed most, when all his crew had gone off duty and the Nebula Zephyr’s top cargo deck was quiet. Sure, more work remained tomorrow to get the cargo squared away properly and ready for the next stop, but there was no rush, being several weeks out. Cargo Master Owen Embersson surveyed his desk in the tiny office on Deck 18. Time to leave the place to the ship’s AI, go have his dinner in his cabin and then resume work on the scale model of a long-vanished temple he was building. This one was incredibly intricate, and he’d charge the customer triple the usual price.

Stepping onto the echoing deck, he called for Moby. She spent most of her evenings hunting vermin lurking among the monstrous crates and containers, but she usually passed the first part of the evening in his cabin, eating the incredibly expensive cat food he had the ship’s AI keep in stock. Not much else to spend his salary on. “Come on, cat, I want my dinner even if you don’t,” he said to the elegant vision in white fur who trotted from the murky recesses of the deck. How she stayed clean when she spent her days prowling the cargo deck, he’d never know.

Purring, she came to his steel-tipped work shoes but evaded his effort to pick her up, moving just out of range the way felines did, as if cats could teleport. Moby scampered toward the towering stacks of cargo then turned. Seeing he’d failed to chase her, she sat, tail twitching, head tilted, eyeing him.

“What‘s the matter with you? I’m not in the mood to throw cat toys and retrieve them right now.” Embersson headed toward the gravlift. Moby regarded the entire ship as her territory and could find his cabin for her dinner when she was hungry.

In the next minute, he nearly tripped as she rubbed his ankles, nipping at one in passing. Swearing, he caught himself with a hand to the bulkhead. “What in the seven hells is wrong with you tonight? Giving me a concussion won’t get you fed.”

Moby yowled at him and ran toward the stacked cargo again.

Figuring she wanted to show him a recent kill, which he’d then have to dispose of, he followed.

Moby moved faster now that she’d gotten him with the program.

“Freaking flares, do not tell me we’ve got leaking cargo. Damn free traders and their beat-up equipment.” He hoped Moby hadn’t sampled whatever Midorri was drinking. The alien animal could probably handle anything up to and including nuclear fuel, who knew, but Moby was definitely a terrestrial cat, with a more delicate stomach.

I especially love the Moby and Midorri chibis!

The story:

I’m really excited to release three Sectors stories that have only been available previously in anthologies, none of which are available currently. (I know many of you purchased the Pets In Space anthology, which first contained STAR CRUISE STOWAWAY and thank you so much!) Along with STOWAWAY, I’ve really been wanting to get the other two stories out there for you, especially THE GOLDEN TOKEN, which was only in the limited edition paperback we handed out at an RT Booklovers Conference. So I’ve bundled them ALL into one book with the lengthy title STAR CRUISE A NOVELLA: STOWAWAY WITH RESCUE AND GOLDEN TOKEN SHORT STORIES.

Here are the story descriptions:

Amazon Apple Books B&N Kobo GooglePlay

Have you booked your Star Cruise yet? 15 voyages to choose from!

May 6 2017

Need A Favor Weekend Writing Warriors

If you’re here for the SFR Brigade Presents excerpt from my short story The Golden Token, go here.

In late March I published a paranormal fantasy romance The Captive Shifter, but since I was in the midst of excerpting my scifi romance at the time, I didn’t share from Shifter. I’m going to do a few weeks from it now. Some of you who go wayyyyy back with me on snippets may remember I shared bits from this when it was a WIP several years ago.

Kyler, the shifter, has been used as a source of magic in a major spellcasting and isn’t recovering well. Caitlyn, the heroine, goes to the kitchen to see what can be done about his diet at least and speaks to the Cook. I’ve skipped over a paragraph of backstory about small kindnesses Caitlyn has done for the Cook and her staff.

“I need a favor, ma’am,” Caitlyn said.

Nadelma raised her tea cup, “A favor from me? You know you have but to ask – we here in the kitchen are grateful for your help and we repay our debts, unlike some of our betters.”

“The request is actually for Kyler, the shapeshifter. They’ve ordered him food totally unfit for what he needs to recuperate from the last spell casting. He needs meat, ma’am, and fortifying soup, not the child’s pap they’ve been feeding him.”

Eyebrows raised, lips pursed, Nadelma studied her for a moment, “Aye, I did wonder at the orders relayed from Princess Bradana. Not my place to question – in the past, when he was less stricken, he ordered much the same as what you mention. Certainly I’ve never known him to eat what she listed.”

“Bradana put Princess Ylain officially in charge of his care and she gave me permission to try the altered diet,” Caitlyn said, choosing her words carefully. Even Nadelma would have to think twice before defying Princess Bradana, so it was necessary to give her a loophole.

captive shifter The story:

Concealing her own considerable magical powers, Caitlyn enters the service of the northern Witch Queen masquerading as a simple healer. Under order from her goddess, she’s searching for a magical gem stolen long ago from her own people, believed to be hidden in the massive castle. The task is daunting but Caitlyn is sure she can locate the gem and escape, bringing the prize back to the temple where it belongs. Until she meets the captive shifter and her loyalties become dangerously divided.

In payment for her past services to his people, Kyler the leopard shifter has entered into a life of servitude far from his forest home, allowing the Witch Queen to tap his magic to power her ever darker spells. Factions at Court are threatening to turn the Queen to the Shadow. Her increasing demands for magic will cut short his nearly immortal lifespan. Kyler’s resigned to his fate until the day he crosses paths with the new arrival, whose secrets and magic entice and attract both man and leopard. Has he met his mate at last?

The Queen will never willingly release him from captivity. Caitlyn’s goddess refuses to grant her any delay in accomplishing her own task. Can they locate the magical gem, fight the Shadow and win free of the Witch Queen to earn the right to be together?

iBooks Amazon and Barnes & Noble KOBO

stowaway And if your interest was piqued by the mention of The Golden Token, here are the details on that new scifi romance release:

“I’m really excited to release three Sectors stories that have only been available previously in anthologies, none of which are available currently. (I know many of you purchased the Pets In Space anthology, which first contained STAR CRUISE STOWAWAY and thank you so much!) Along with STOWAWAY, I’ve really been wanting to get the other two stories out there for you, especially THE GOLDEN TOKEN, which was only in the limited edition paperback we handed out at last year’s RT Booklovers Conference. So I’ve bundled them ALL into one book with the lengthy title STAR CRUISE A NOVELLA: STOWAWAY WITH RESCUE AND GOLDEN TOKEN SHORT STORIES.”

Here are the story descriptions:

Star Cruise: Stowaway: A novella of 22K words, previously in the ‘Pets In Space’ anthology.
Cargo Master Owen Embersson is shocked when the Nebula Zephyr’s ship’s cat and her alien sidekick, Midorri, alert him to the presence of a stowaway. He has no idea of the dangerous complications to come nor does he anticipate falling hard for the woman whose life he now holds in his hands. Life aboard the Nebula Zephyr has just become more interesting – and deadly.

Star Cruise: Rescue: A short story of 9K words, previously in the ‘Romancing the Stars’ anthology.
When a shore leave excursion goes terribly wrong for Mira Gage, a member of the Nebula Zephyr’s crew, Security Officer Clint Miltan races the clock to find her before the ship leaves orbit and abandons Mira to her fate. Clint’s got more than a professional interest in Mira, but will he be able to save her from the aliens holding her prisoner?

The Golden Token: A short story of 13K words, previously in the limited edition ‘Dealer’s Choice’ paperback anthology handed out at the 2016 RT Booklovers Convention Interstellar Bar & Grille event.
Sectors Special Forces operator Charlie McBrire had a few days to kill on a layover at Space Station 47. He never expected to find himself in the middle of a miners’ rebellion, fighting to save the life of a casino dancer he just met but can’t imagine living without.

Amazon iBooks B&N Kobo

May 5 2017

SFR Brigade Presents The Golden Token

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 just released a collection of stories from the Sectors universe in a collection entitled STAR CRUISE A NOVELLA: STOWAWAY plus RESCUE and TOKEN Short Stories. These tales had only been available in anthologies previously. (And the anthologies are no longer available.)

One story is The Golden Token, which was for the DEALER’S CHOICE antho put together by Linnea Sinclair for last year’s Interstellar Bar & Grille event at the RT Booklovers’ Convention. It was a paperback book handed out at the event only, never on sale, never in ebook format.

Here’s the story:

Sectors Special Forces operator Charlie McBrire had a few days to kill on a layover at Space Station 47. He never expected to find himself in the middle of a miners’ rebellion, fighting to save the life of a casino dancer he just met but can’t imagine living without.

The Excerpt, as Charlie arrives on the station:

He was the only one waiting in the air lock to debark. Charlie glanced at the ship’s Second Officer standing by the controls. Smiling, she thumbprinted his ticket. “Thank you for traveling with us, Mr. McBrire. If you could move along into the exit tunnel—”

“Shouldn’t we wait for the rest of the passengers?” He hoisted his kitbag.

A puzzled frown crossed her face. “There isn’t anyone else. Sector 47 Station isn’t a normal stop for us, but ICC regulations require we serve stations with no scheduled service, if there’s a passenger.” She leaned close. “You should have heard the captain complaining. But the law’s the law and you’re ex-military after all, so the Line insisted.”

“It’s that isolated?” He was surprised, but then he hadn’t been in this area of the Sectors in a long time.

“The travel agent who booked you is going to get reamed, but his screw up isn’t your problem. Are you staying on the station?” Her tone suggested sympathy if he was.

He shook his head. “Passing through, making a connection with a freighter going my way. I won’t be here long enough to breathe much of their precious air.”

“Kumisarc Corporation’ll hit you up for the oxygen tax anyway,” she said.

He walked into the tunnel, barely clearing the portal at the end before he heard the sound of the grav clamps disengaging as the spaceliner cast off. While following a trail of blinking green arrows, Charlie examined his surroundings. If this corridor was anything to judge by, the facility was huge, built for a time when the Sector had been on the frontier, the mining colonies active and the immigrants flocking to the opportunities to strike it rich. Civilization had passed this place by in the last few decades. His footsteps echoed as he trudged past closed kiosks and arrival/departure airlocks. The air was cold, metallic in his lungs.

A promising cluster of lights gleamed at the end of the hallway and he soon arrived at the only desk where a living being sat. The man barely glanced at him. “Travel docs?”

Handing over his ticket, Charlie said, “The place always this deserted?”

“You’re on the inter-sector arrival deck, not much action. You taking a census?”

“Just curious.”

Rubbing his jaw, the clerk said, “Maybe a couple of freighters a month for me to deal with. I’m normally assigned one level up, where the miners arrive to burn through their paychecks. Up there, yeah, we see a lot of traffic. No other place to spend credits and blow off steam in this Sector.”

Now Charlie was afraid the guy was never going to shut up. Apparently he didn’t get much chance to talk to another human, and one rhetorical question had opened the flood gates of information on a subject Charlie didn’t care two pieces of space debris about.

He plucked his ticket from the man’s fingers, taking a glance to see how much oxygen tax he was paying. “Wait, there’s some mistake here. I’m not staying on the Station.”

Tongue between his teeth as he concentrated, the station agent reviewed the information on the screen before him. “You’re hopping a ride on the Centauri Dawn to your destination in Sector 46, right?”

“Yes, but she’s supposed to be docking later today.”

The clerk shrugged. “Updated info as of an hour ago. Ran into some rogue comets. She won’t be here for three days. Be glad she’s coming at all, would be my advice.” A small alarm sounded and the man held up one hand. “Hold on, this could be your lucky day.”

“I fail to see how.”

“Says here you’re arrival number one hundred for this cycle and entitled to a golden token, redeemable at the Hall of Good Fortune.” He handed Charlie a large, fake gold coin, embossed with a dragon on one side and blank on the other.

Astonished, Charlie flipped the coin over. “You must be kidding me. Nobody uses metal money these days, not even in a backwater Sector like this.”

The other stories in this volume:

Star Cruise: Stowaway: A novella of 22K words, previously in the award winning ‘Pets In Space’ anthology.

Cargo Master Owen Embersson is shocked when the Nebula Zephyr’s ship’s cat and her alien sidekick, Midorri, alert him to the presence of a stowaway. He has no idea of the dangerous complications to come nor does he anticipate falling hard for the woman whose life he now holds in his hands. Life aboard the Nebula Zephyr has just become more interesting – and deadly.

Star Cruise: Rescue: A short story of 9K words, previously in the ‘Romancing the Stars’ anthology.

When a shore leave excursion goes terribly wrong for Mira Gage, a member of the Nebula Zephyr’s crew, Security Officer Clint Miltan races the clock to find her before the ship leaves orbit and abandons Mira to her fate. Clint’s got more than a professional interest in Mira, but will he be able to save her from the aliens holding her prisoner?

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