Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Liza Reviews Inherit the Stars by Laurie A. Green







Blurb:
To escape the merciless Ithian Alliance, Sair, a fugitive slave, makes a desperate deal with Drea Mennelsohn, captain of the prototype ship, Specter. But putting his life in the hands of a woman as mysterious as she is beguiling could turn out to be the biggest mistake of his life, especially when the price on his head begins to escalate.

Drea seems to want far more from the fugitive than just payment for his passage on her ship. Though neither can deny the sizzling chemistry and growing bond between them, Sair must soon make an agonizing decision that could result in the loss of the remarkable woman he has fallen in love with—and their chance to inherit the stars.

Although Ithian cannibalism is a looming shadow in the hero’s background, but ultimately Inherit the Stars is a tale of discovery, adventure, unlikely alliances and triumph over oppression.


What an extraordinary story. It would make a great movie. It’s got betrayals, wars, admirals making unpopular decisions and races that kill and eat people. Even better, it has several couples that find love in the non-stop chaos and let me tell you, those were fabulous love stories embedded amongst all the craziness going on.

It’s highly imaginative, well-written, and I couldn’t put it down, reading it in one very long day. 
It’s long, (114k words) but it was worth the time spent reading.
5 stars


Buy Link

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Siren Allen shares Silver a Sci-Fi Romance


Tips from Malia Valdese, the heroine of the new Sci-Fi romance novel: SILVER, on what NOT to do when a sexy stranger kidnaps you, claim he’s your mate and demands you let him cherish you.

1. Don’t make it easy for him. Fight for your right to be unmated.

Just because fate decides a being is perfect for you doesn’t mean you have to agree. Don’t give in without a fight. Fate can kiss my behind. I make my own destiny and my destiny doesn’t include a mate anytime soon. Unfortunately, Silver doesn’t like my plans. Oh well, he’ll just have to accept them because I refuse to give in to him no matter how many times he saves me. I mean, if he hadn’t kidnapped me, I wouldn’t be in danger in the first place.

2. Don’t fall for his handsome looks and charming ways. Remember, he kidnapped you.

This rule is very important. Having a sexy male cater to all of your needs seems like an ideal situation. It’s not. Remember that he kidnapped you. You didn’t ask for this. Yes, it’s kind of romantic when he hand-feeds you chocolate. And yes, it’s cute watching a big bad alpha male try to learn how to cook for you. But don’t give in. It’s all part of his diabolical plan to win your heart, which you’re not ready to give. Stand your ground. And don’t eat too much chocolate or it’ll go straight to your hips. Oh, and ignore the butterflies that form in your belly when he says he loves your curves. (P.S. That last bit is hard to do. But you can do it. I believe in you.)


3. Don’t get accustomed to having him around all the time.

Yes, he’ll treat you like a queen and threaten to kill anyone who looks at you wrong. But, that doesn’t mean you have to love him. Keep searching for ways to escape. Don’t get accustomed to being with him, if you do, you will never leave. And you must leave, if only to prove to him that he doesn’t own you. You are your own person. You make your own destiny. Fight with every fiber in your being to remain true to yourself.

Follow these tips and you’ll not only survive being kidnapped by your mate, you may even escape him and return to your regular life. Us females can do anything we put our minds to. We can even escape a pirate ship that is ran by a crew of the nicest maniacs we’ve ever met.

As for me, I didn’t follow the rules. Which is probably why I’m tied to a table on an enemy ship. Yeah, fate has a lot of explaining to do and so does my mate.


Book Blurb:

All Malia Valdese wants to do is survive in the Outlands and serve food to the patrons of her diner. She doesn’t want anything to do with the handsome silver-eyed stranger who keeps showing up after closing, asking her weird questions and making her feel something she hasn’t felt in years, desire.
She doesn’t care that he’s the sexiest male she’s ever seen or that he stares at her like she’s the main course. Steering clear of him is her plan. Well, it was the plan, before he turned her world upside down with four words…. You’re coming with me.
Apparently she has no say in the matter.

She’s not on the menu. But she’s what he hungers for.
Her scent tells him she’s his and the wanted pictures popping up all over the dark-net tells him he needs to lay low for a while. Having her next to him in bed while he tries to clear his name is the plan. Unfortunately, his enemies are closer than he thought and now they’ve found his weakness…. her. Can he shield his mate from the consequences of his dark past? Or will she flee to his enemies to escape him and the intense emotions he stirs inside of her?

No matter what she chooses, he has no intention of letting her go.

Excerpt

“Yeah,” Silver cleared his throat. “We can talk.” He sat down in his chair and waited for her to do the same.
Seated across from him, she sat with her back ramrod straight and her hands on her knees. “Let’s start with why you showed up at my diner a few wanings ago.”
Oh, she wanted to start from the beginning. Okay. “I was there for you.”
“Why?”
Here goes everything. “Because you’re my mate.”
She blinked. Her mouth opened then closed. Silver waited on her to say something, anything. Her eyes travelled up and down his form and when they returned to his gaze she didn’t seem impressed.
You’re my mate?”
“Please, try not to sound too happy about it.” His sarcastic remark brought the anger out of her. It also brought her out of her seat.
“What the hell, Silver? You can’t just mate someone just because.”
“It wasn’t a just because kind of thing. Fate doesn’t work like that.”
“I don’t care. You have to reverse it.”
“It can’t be reversed.”
“But, but.” She placed her hand on her forehead. “I think I feel faint.”
“You should sit down.”
“No, I don’t want to sit down. I want to stand up. No, I want to throw things.” She grabbed the first item she saw and turned to him.
“That’s yours.”
She stared at the item then put it back down and grabbed another item.
“That’s yours too.”
A frown took shape on her face. “What’s yours in here?”
“You.”
“So you married me so you can have my stuff?”
“We’re not married.”
“Married, mated, same thing.”
“No, married people can get divorced.”
“Oh.” She sat the item down then flopped back down in her seat. He hated the defeated expression on her face. “Unlike married people, I simply have to accept this, accept you, even if I don’t want you.”
Her words struck a nerve. She was his mate. She may not be used to his customs, but all worlds had mates. She should know how this worked, know that he didn’t have a choice.
“Is that it, Silver? I have to accept you even if I don’t want you.”
Don’t want him. Like hell she didn’t want him. “When I showed up at your home you were dreaming about me.” Silver leaned forward in his seat. “I was on your mind even as you slept.”
She shook her head. “I would never dream about you.”
“You can’t deny it. I was there. I witnessed it for myself. Do you want me to tell you what I saw?” She looked away from him. That didn’t shut him up. “You had your hand under your shirt and was grinding against the air.”
“No, I wasn…”
“You even called out my name while you fingered yourself.”
“It was just a dream. Our minds…”
“Your body wants me, your mind wants me and soon your heart will want me.”
“Never. I will never give my heart to a male who took me away from everything I love.”
“You will.”
“I won’t. You may as well space me now. Because I’d rather die than allow you to claim me as a mate.”
“Too late. I’ve already claimed you.” Silver stood up.
“How?” Her eyes widened, mouth hung open in shock. “I didn’t give you permission.”
“It’s done. And don’t go trying to kill yourself. I’ll just bring you back and continue being your mate, the male you had on your mind while you were touching yourself in your sleep.” Silver turned to leave the room.
“Wait, you can do that? You can bring back the dead?”
He placed his fingers against the door panel and waited for it to open. He was too angry to answer her question. The answer was no. But she didn’t need to know that.
“Silver don’t ignore me.”
The door slid close behind him. He pressed the red button on the control panel so he could hear what she was saying on the other side of the door. The scanner beeped recognizing his finger print and allowed him to listen in.
“Did the door just lock?” She beat against the door. “Silver, did you just lock me in here?”
It wasn’t like he could allow her to run wild on the ship, trying to space herself.
Silver leaned closer to the speaker. “I’ll return when you’ve calmed down and are ready to talk like a civilized adult.”
“Silver,” she screamed. “I can’t believe you’ve locked me in this stupid room. Some mate you are. I wouldn’t want to be your mate if you were the last, whatever you are, in this galaxy. What are you anyway? Forget it, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know what you are. I don’t want to know you, period.”
“You’re only lying to yourself, Malia. I know you want me.”
“I don’t want you. In fact, I hate you.”
Silver banged his hand against the door. “Take that back.”
“Never.”
Stubborn ass female. Silver turned from the door and headed toward the flight deck. There would be no getting through to her right now. And in his current mood, he would only end up saying something he didn’t mean. Like she’d just done. At least he hoped she didn’t mean it.
“Silver? Silver did you hear me?”
He kept walking. Yeah, he’d heard her. The ache in his chest was proof of that.


Siren’s Sci-Fi Giveaway: Be sure to enter the rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win a gorgeous Sci-Fi necklace.

Author bio

Hi, my name is Siren Allen. I’m a writer and lover of all things supernatural and romantic. I reside in southern Mississippi where I write steamy romances that are guaranteed to make you blush. When I’m not listening to the characters in my head and jotting down their adventures, I am busy working as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist.
I love to travel, preferably with my husband, so he can do all of the driving. I enjoy time with my family, who are just as silly as I am. My hobbies are reading, writing and shopping, though I hate trying on clothing. If I wasn’t a writer or a Laboratory Professional, I would probably be a Secret Agent. But that’s the beauty of being a writer. You can create your own world and be whoever you want to be. In my imaginary world, I am queen and my siblings are my minions.

Siren’s Newsletter: Join to stay updated on my new releases and giveaways:

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Thursday, September 22, 2016

Pippa Jay talks crystals, then shares Gethyon: A Travellers Universe Novel


I've always had an obsession with shiny things, and especially crystals. Just like a magpie, anything with a bit of sparkle attracts me. I dabbled in alternative therapies and witchcraft as a teen, an area where the mystical properties of crystals play a part. And reading (and adoring) Anne McCaffrey's Crystal Singer trilogy introduced me to the idea of using crystals in scifi. Quartz crystal is used in a lot of modern tech already - who hasn't heard of quartz watches? - and it’s used in radios, radar, sound equipment and television. A more recent innovation is the use of nanocrystals for memory storage. The mineral's versatility comes about because it has piezoelectric qualities, which means it takes on a charge when stressed.
 So when deciding on a particular type of technology for Gethyon's universe, it was a logical choice. Crystophile technology is the norm, and a field Gethyon himself excels in. At one stage in the story, his knowledge pays his way. But at the beginning, it's a piece of crystophilic technology - a CHI (Crystalline Holographic Imager) device - that lands him in trouble in the first place. While meant purely for displaying 3D moving images, Gethyon’s unusual talents coupled with the device lead it to opening a pathway through space...attracting the attention of a dark force seeking just such a talent. Technology isn’t always a good thing...


More facts about quartz - it belongs to the trigonal crystal system and the ideal shape is a six-sided prism ending in six-sided pyramids (the CHI in the story just happens to be a hexagon to follow that idea of the perfect crystal shape). Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, with an overall chemical formula of SiO2. Aside from its usefulness in technology, it's also the basis of several semi-precious gemstones such as agate, carnelian, onyx, amethyst, citrine, and milky, smoky and rose quartz. So it’s not just incredibly useful, but pretty too. And I clearly can’t resist it.














Gethyon: A Travellers Universe Novel


Abandoned. Hunted. Out of control.

Gethyon Rees had always felt at odds with the universe, and hoped for an escape among the stars. But discovering he has the ability to cross time and space with just a thought brings more problems than it solves: a deadly bounty hunter who can follow him anywhere, the unwelcome return of Tarquin Secker—the mother who abandoned him—and an ancient darkness that seeks him and all those with his talents.

When an unforgivable act sets him on the run, it’ll take more than his unearthly powers to save his skin and the lives of those he cares about. It’ll take a sacrifice he never expected to have to make.

A science fiction adventure novel previously published by BURST (Champagne Books), and part of the Travellers Universe. A 2014 SFR Galaxy Award Winner for Most Awesome Psychic Talent and a 2015 EPIC eBook Awards finalist in the Science Fiction category. Also now includes the SF short story The Bones of the Sea

“With colorful worlds full of nuance and dimension, characters that walk off the page, and themes that anyone who has been either parent or child can relate to.” J.C. Cassels, author of The Black Wing Chronicles series

“This fast-paced, gripping ride zips through time and space, love and loss, rebellion and acceptance.” Anna McLain, SFR Galaxy Award judge

Sign up to my no-spam newsletter or click Follow on my Amazon author page.

Pre-order Links:
Print coming soon!



 Gethyon stumbled and fell. Light burst across his vision, a violent assault of color, and he threw up an arm to defend himself. Something brushed against him, spun him, and then another bruising impact sent him backward.
“Watch where you’re going,” someone scolded.
Gethyon dropped his arm and squinted, fighting to keep his balance. People flowed around him, but the man who’d spoken was already moving away, a reproving frown on his face.
Soft sunlight gleamed from smooth marble, a blend of gray, green, and white beneath his feet. Humans bustled in different directions, each intent on their own concerns, with only the odd, inquisitive glance thrown his way as he stood, alone and bewildered, in their midst. He faced a distant horizon framed by the jagged spires of mountains. To either side of where he stood, the mountains ran in tooth-like bronze spines. The plaza seemed to be a main pedestrian thoroughfare in the middle of a wide valley. He stared. Where was he?
“Hey!”
Gethyon dragged his head around toward the speaker, forcing his eyes to focus. Buildings in the same pastel marble filled the valley ahead. Cold shock drenched him at the sight of two uniformed men between him and the nearest edifice, one warden aiming a finger straight at him.
“Hey, no unauthorized teleportation in the plaza!”
Gethyon turned and ran. Shouts from behind told him pursuit followed. He dodged between the idling crowds, staggering as his legs quivered.
What happened?
He’d done it again—sent himself elsewhere—but how? And why could he do it? What was he?


 After spending twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay is now a stay-at-home mum who writes scifi and the supernatural. Somewhere along the way a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moment playing guitar very badly, punishing herself with freestyle street dance, and studying the Dark Side of the Force. Although happily settled in the historical town of Colchester in the UK with her husband of 22 years and three little monsters, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.

Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, and Broad Universe, blogging at Spacefreighters Lounge, Adventures in Scifi, and Romancing the Genres. Her works include YA and adult stories crossing a multitude of subgenres from scifi to the paranormal, often with romance, and she’s one of eight authors included in a science fiction romance anthology—Tales from the SFR Brigade. She’s also a double SFR Galaxy Award winner, been a finalist in the Heart of Denver RWA Aspen Gold Contest (3rd place), the 2015 EPIC eBook awards, the 2015 RWA LERA Rebecca (2nd place), and the GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Awards (2nd place).

You can stalk her at her website, or at her blog, but without doubt her favorite place to hang around and chat is on Twitter as @pippajaygreen.

Blogs –
Adventures in Scifi - http://www.pippajay.blogspot.co.uk
Spacefreighters Lounge - http://www.spacefreighters.blogspot.com

Monday, September 19, 2016

S.M. Schmitz shares The Chosen and how it came to be.


Today, I have the fabulous S.M. Schmitz over sharing her latest: The Chosen. Let's discover what it's about. Take it away S.M.S!

A little about The Chosen and the Resurrected universe


I published the Resurrected trilogy last year with several different goals in mind. First and foremost, it is a love story and one that is meant to defy all that we believe is possible. But there are some challenging scenes in the original trilogy, and the violence is a direct reflection of my days as a world history instructor when I often found myself surprised by the desensitization to violence by young adults today. Finally, the original trilogy isn’t just a second chance romance. The love stories aren’t even just romantic love. I wanted to demonstrate the power that all love has, and the friendship between Eric and Dietrich is key throughout all three books.

I’ve always wanted to return to this universe, so this summer, I decided to write a spinoff standalone to the trilogy. I wrote it so that it wouldn’t be necessary for someone to read the trilogy first and, hopefully, won’t give away spoilers if they wanted to read the first three books after reading The Chosen.

This novel focuses on a different cast of characters, and offers readers another perspective on what it’s like to cross over to Earth and begin a new life. Our heroine, Bella, came to our planet for the chance to live in peace with the man she loved. But just as with Lottie, when Mason brought a body back to life so he could live here, something went wrong. And for him, the consequences are deadly.


The Chosen is a story of revenge and finding love again. And most importantly, it’s a story about the power we each have to control our own lives. 



They promised her happily ever after. Instead, they gave her Hell. Now, she's getting revenge.

When Bella agreed to travel to Earth to start a new life with the man she loved, she’d been promised two things: healing dead human bodies so they could live on this planet always worked, and they could have the happily ever after forbidden to them at home.

But soon after arriving on her new planet, she discovers both of those promises were lies. And the consequences for trusting the wrong people are deadly.

After six years of hiding from the company that helped her cross over, she is approached by a beautiful but mysterious stranger who offers her a different kind of promise: the chance for revenge. And Bella’s journey to end her own nightmare and to seek justice for the man she’d once loved is finally able to begin.





Author Bio:

S.M. Schmitz has an M.A. in modern European history and is a former world history instructor. Her novels are infused with the same humorous sarcasm that she employed frequently in the classroom. As a native of Louisiana, she sets many of her scenes here, and like Dietrich in Resurrected, she is also convinced Louisiana has been cursed with mosquitoes much like Biblical Egypt with its locusts.




Social Media Links:


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Twitter: @sharyn_schmitz

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Friday, September 16, 2016

Veronica Scott shares Trapped on Talonque & her blogging for USA Today.


Today, I have the fabulous Veronica Scott over explaining how she writes her blogs for 

Dark Matter & Killjoys.

(Turns out it's a lot of work, but I, for one, appreciate it.)
Then she'll tell us about her latest book.
Can't get better than this, can it?

Thanks for allowing me to invade your blog yet again, with my new book!
Before we get to talking about the book, I’ve been having fun this summer recapping two scifi shows for the USA Today Happily Ever After blog. I was doing ‘Killjoys’, which as now had its season 2 finale, and ‘Dark Matter’, which will conclude on September 16th. Both shows have been renewed for summer 2017.
It’s been interesting turning myself into a version of a TV show recapper. Of course I had done season 3 of ‘The 100’ as a warmup and learned you can’t just sit and watch the episode once, dash off a quick recap full of humor and insights and be done. At least I can’t.  I was fortunate enough to have access to screeners from NBC/SyFy for these two shows so what I do is watch the episode once on my laptop and just absorb the show like any viewer would. Then I watch it again, usually a day later, and take notes. Detailed notes. Endless pages of notes. Especially with ‘Killjoys’, there’s so much great dialog in any one episode that I love to capture the best bits and share them throughout the recap. But the characters on ‘Dark Matter’ have some zingers as well.
I also look for tiny moments that may be foreshadowing some bigger development, tying up loose ends from a previous episode or revealing aspects of a character. Sometimes there will be nods and shoutouts to other scifi movies and series.  Lots of visual references to “Star Wars” in some of the ‘Killjoys’ flights through asteroid fields, and in, around and through the Archive space station. I regard it as my job to try to hilite these in case the viewer misses them the first time around. I can’t catch them all!
I try to explore issues that have been raised but not yet resolved, maybe do some theorizing. What about the character of Pawter’s sister, left on Qresh in ‘Killjoys’? Of course there will be some snark from me because that’s my nature. For instance, the ‘Dark Matter’ showrunners are constantly having the character of Four watching the galactic news about his home planet Zairon and the war they’re losing. Ok, guys, we get it that Four will be going back there. No surprise!
If I’ve been lucky enough to interview one of the cast, I may add some tidbits from the interview to the episode writeup.
I write the recap from my notes and let it sit overnight. In the morning, after the show has aired, I go through it once more and then submit the draft to USAT/HEA, where my editor does her process and then the recap goes live. Wow. But I really feel responsible to bring value added to my column, if a viewer is going to invest their time reading my thoughts on the show we both love.
The biggest thing that strikes me is how different it is for me to write a science fiction romance novel, with a fairly confined list of characters, always focusing on the hero and heroine, and bring the story through an arc, finishing with the Happily Ever After, versus the way a TV show can bring characters on, drop them, bring them back, introduce plot threads that may never come to fruition, have romances that don’t have an HEA (or maybe not for more than an episode or two), kill off a main character (I still miss One on ‘Dark Matter’) and take other jaw-dropping twists and turns. I could possibly get away with some of them in a series, but not all in one novel!
I’m not recapping any programs this Fall, although I’m going to keep my eye on the three new time travel shows to see if one of them might evolve into something fun to write up in its second season. Doing the recaps is a lot of work but I’ve had so much fun along the way, no complaints from me!
Do you have a favorite science fiction TV show you wish someone would recap?


Trapped on Talonque

By 

Veronica Scott

My latest science fiction romance novel is Trapped on Talonque, where I had a lot of fun writing a Sleeping Beauty story, but with an alien heroine and a Special Forces soldier as the ‘prince’. Here’s the plot:
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?



Trapped on Talonque gives you two great stories in one. It could easily be a 2 book series on its own.
The first half is being captured by a group of people who enjoy the deaths of other. (We had our Romans and coliseum and these evil souls have their games, in which the loser loses his life.)
The first half of the book is the struggle to survive the games and the cruel king and some demented women. Good crewmen lose their lives in the process.
Nate also falls in love with an ancient person who is safely tucked into stasis but can telepathically communicate with Nate. While she uses all her energy to heal Nate after a brutal beating, she remains in certain danger from the evil king who wishes dearly to torture her.
 So they plot an intricate escape that includes rescuing the woman in stasis.
This proves to be very difficult. She just wants to save Nate. She doesn’t believe she can be rescued, but Nate refuses to escape without her. Rescue is hard and escaping even harder. Every time they appear to have escaped death, more minions and priestesses of the king appear and more people die.

This is a poignant story, not just of love, but of the caring of people they meet, of the companions they lose along the way. It is well-written, beautifully tied together, despite the inherent complexity of the plot. I never once had to reread a section. Veronica Scott writes with the best of them. And while I won’t reveal the ending, trust me, she knows how to end a story. 5 stars
Author Bio:
Best Selling Science Fiction & Paranormal Romance author and “SciFi Encounters” columnist for the USA Today Happily Ever After blog, Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own stories.
Three time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job, not her romances! She recently was honored to read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever.”