Melisse Aires shares Stars Between Us.

  

 AMAZON

$1.99 Novella

 STARS BETWEEN US is a romance  set in a futuristic Space Frontier World, a Wild West, Firefly and Steampunk inspired Space Opera Universe.  The space frontier is a dangerous place with the long risky space journeys and almost lawless settlements. The series leans toward sci-fantasy with some fantasy elements (shifters). 

I was raised in Montana by parents who took us to every historical site in the state. My grandparents homesteaded outside Laurel, Montana. When their hunting dog got a bad hit by a porcupine, my grandfather drove the dog into town, three days by buckboard, to get quills removed. 

My grandfather once traveled with the circus, and I had a relative who had a trading post--and two Native American wives!

My family loved to tent camp in the most remote areas--which can be pretty remote in Montana! I read many westerns as a girl and those crisp starry nights by a campfire area fond memory.

When combined with sci-fi, colonization stories have always caught my imagination.This series is about immigrants to two planets, Celstar, an Earth-like world with carefully planned immigration, and Starlander's Green, which was settled by Terrans but also has a native population.

In STARS BETWEEN US, Odessa, a dock worker with a past, longs to immigrate. Veras will be leaving the space station soon for a new life on a planet.

Excerpt:

“Odessa.” Veras pulled her into an awkward embrace, since Odessa still held Garnet’s seat by the handle. The warmth of his body against her erased any words of greeting. She slid her free hand up and down his back assuring herself Veras was really here with her after all this time. She blinked away tears. This was no place for an emotional moment. He’d think she was crazy, desperate.

“So glad you came.” Veras took Odessa by the hand and pulled her to a booth in the rear of the eatery, a private seating area.

“Glad we could meet before you leave.” She was finally able to speak though her voice was husky. It was important for her to remember Veras was leaving in a couple days, perhaps to never return to the space station.

They ordered a meal and while they waited for it Odessa fed Garnet a self warming bottle of mixed baby formula and breast milk.

“She is smaller than I expected,” Veras said.

“She was born premature, plus her father was short. I don’t think she’ll be very tall as an adult.”

Veras shook his head. “Hard to believe you have a child.”

“I know.” She smiled wryly and wiped a drop of formula from the baby's chin. “I’m clean now, though, so I can take care of her right.”

“How do you know what to do with a baby?”

“I took a class. Plus my childcare woman is really a great resource.”

“You look really good. Healthy. I’ve never seen your hair so long.”

Odessa felt her face heat. “I remember my mother wore her hair long, so I decided to let it grow. Something I could do to try to remember her.”

Their food arrived. “What made your grandfather decide to send you all the way to Charity Wells for medical school?”

I have two other short reads in this series, and have another two longer stories planned.

For fun, I'll pick two comments for an ebook copy of the STARS BETWEEN US. Leave your email!

Melisse Aires

Website

www.melisseairesbooks.com

Gmail

     melisseaires@gmail.com

 Amazon Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Melisse-Aires/e/B002TYRBCK/

Melisse Aires & Alien Invasion

Back in 1954, I am most fortunate to have a hunky alien over. I know my verb tense is a bit confusing, but this alien arrived on earth in 1954, so when you entered my blog today, Melisse transported you back to 1954. And if you decide to remain in the past, I highly recommend you buy some Berkshire Hathaway stock 1955. You won't regret it. 

For those who don't wish to hang about an entire year working some odd job to be able to buy stock and eventually become a billionaire (wealth is over-rated) then we'll try something more rewarding: 

An ebook of Alien Invasion will be given to one lucky commentor who leaves their email address.

AND THE WINNER IS: VANESSA N. CONGRATS!

Yeah! That's much better! Let me ungag Melisse and let her tell you a bit about how this strange book came to be.

Author’s Note:

Hi!

I started reading sci-fi in the sixties, because I was a precocious reader with a generous teenaged brother. He had(still has) a huge paperback library of classic sci-fi. Heinlein and Murray Leinster, Poul Anderson, Andre Norton...and many of those pulpy two short novel per paperback book. Books about planets with giant insects, strange, telepathic children, advanced alien portals stumbled on by ordinary folk. Exciting adventures.

Hubby and I have watched many old sci-fi movies, too.

So I had this idea to write a story set in the fifties, with a non-kick ass heroine. Someone a little like my very ladylike well dressed mother, with hair just so and a handbag that matched her pumps. So Debbie Sue was born.

I live in a city in Wyoming bordered by a huge hogback mountain to the south. The vision of a silver space ship coming over the mountain was inspiring, too. I set this book in the city of Casper(my home) in 1954, and the areas surrounding it. Since I normally write space opera in the distant future, this was pretty fun. I did quite a bit of research on cars and office equipment of the fifties!

Alien Invasion

by

Melisse Aires

Excerpt:

The next evening when Akarak came for supper she noticed he had a slight limp.

“Did you hurt your foot?”

“Akarak drop heavy tool.”

“Ouch.” There was no ice. “The stream is cold, maybe you should soak your foot.”

“Debbie Sue and Bobbee come to ssstream?”

“Sure, it will be fun.”

It was fun. Bobby didn’t care for the cold water but there was a small sandy bank and he discovered digging with a rock. She sat next to him and watched as Akarak soaked his foot in the cold water. The sun was low in the west and when he turned the scales, more prominent on his back, glittered.

“Akakak pitty.” Bobby made baby grabby hands at Akarak’s scales.

Akarak looked at Bobby. “He learn sspeach.”

“Yes. He thinks your scales are pretty. They shine in the sun.”

“Baby learn much?”

“He will but he will be a child for many years, with many things to learn.”

“Children alone in Denverrr. Vinshal take food. Need big ooman.”

“You know where some children are?”

“Yass.”

“Maybe we can find people in town, help them.”

“Yass. People fear Vinshal.”

“They do.”

“Does Debbie Sue fear Vinshal? Fear Akarak?”

“No. I don’t fear you.”

The sky was darker now and a chill was coming on. “I’d better get Bobby ready for bed.”

They walked to the house, the dogs running around, Bobby slumped over her shoulder, half asleep. Debbie Sue made a decision.

“Bobby will fall asleep as soon as he hits the bed. He won't wake. If- if you'd like you can stay downstairs while I put him to bed, then I will bring you up to a bedroom.” Her mouth was dry as she spoke. “We could start, er, an affair.”

“Affairrr?”

Of course he wouldn’t know that word. “Sex,” she blurted out.

“Ah. Yass.” His tentacles waved wildly.

 AMAZON

Website: http://www.melisseairesbooks.com/

Blog: http://melisseaires.blogspot.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MelisseAiresRomance/

 Don't forget to leave a comment and email address if you want to be in the drawing for a free Alien Invasion.

Melisse Aires tells us about Escaping Poison

*Excerpt*

 Brielle's new armcom—since Kyler had her old one for his investigation—was nearly empty of data. She was thrilled to find she could have the entire station archive with her, an amazing body of work, going back more than three hundred years, when Terrans first settled the planet.

The float chair took her deeper into the wild growth, but she was able to stand and walk around an area for some time, examining greenery more closely. She loved the dense darkness of the jungle. She took a blanket to the pool and sat there in the warm shade, watching the trillers flit from flower to flower. They were so cute, like fuzzy pastel bats with delicate wings, listing from flower to flower, pinks, lavenders, greens and yellows, a rare turquoise. She never saw them in bright light, not even where there were many flowers; they preferred shade and were thickest in dark undergrowth. They had long tongues like a butterfly’s to reach nectar inside flowers. The fuzzy puffy body hair collected pollen. The trillers lived in small flocks and would spend time each day grooming each other. The pollen they licked off each other was another important part of their diet, according to the report she read.

One afternoon she found a triller flock whistling and fluttering in one area, clumped together. She slid off her chair and moved slowly toward them to investigate. One tiny triller was on the ground trying to loft, but one delicate fuzzy wing was limp.

“Oh.” Brielle didn’t think it could bite so she cupped it into her hands. It was as long as her smallest finger, a puff of lilac fluff with patterned fuzz on her wings, darker lavender swirls with specks of green. It cried, a piteous whistle, the tiny soft body quivering. Large, round dark eyes and small circle mouth gave it an eerily human face, with a frill of vertical feathers like a tiny crown.

Karvar might know if the wing needed set. She got back in her float chair and flew back to the dome as fast as she could. Brielle gently smoothed its fur. “I’ll take you home. I will gather flowers so you can feed. You can live there in safety until your wing recovers.”

“Karvar, Karvar!” She called for him while she waited for the lock to push out the unfiltered air and the inner door to open.

When the door light turned green Karvar burst into the lock. “What’s wrong, what happened?”

His golden eyes roved all over her, looking for wounds, but his gaze made her feel hot. Weak at the knees.

She really was getting better. This is attraction. Desire.

“I found a hurt triller.” Her voice came out breathy.

He reared back. “Oh. I thought maybe you got hurt.”

“No. I feel fine. But can you help the triller? I think her wing might need help.”

He moved back to his work table and she got out of her chair. 

She frowned. “Trillers don’t like bright light. Can you close the sun shade and dim your lights?”

“Sure.” He quickly pulled on a cyborg visor and lowered the lights. He handled the tiny creature gently and soon had a simple splint tied on with gauze.

The tiny triller seemed to know it was to help her… her lavender, bluish shade indicated female.

“It probably feels better to be wrapped. We’ll undo it in a few days to see how it is healing,” Karvar said.

“She can live in the indoor plants up in the loft, and I’ll make sure to bring cut flowers in for her to feed.”

Brielle floated up the stairs in the chair—stairs were still exhausting—and set the triller under a flowering plant. Then she had to get her a tiny dish of water. The little flyer sipped from the water and then maneuvered herself deep into the center of the plant.

“A nap sounds like a good idea.”

Buy Links :

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Page Foundary

Sons of the Protectorate series features the four sons of the ruler of New Prague (their mother). I wrote the first story, a short story of what is now the book Alien Blood, for an anthology. As things in the epublishing world go, this publisher disintegrated right off the bat. While that was in upheaval, I found a viable publisher and sold Her Cyborg Awakes, thinking I had a home for the series. Alas, that was not to be.

After a year or so of madness, Her Cyborg Awakes was free and I sent it to a publisher who had a very long wait for publishing. Finally I withdrew it and put it on Amazon, and to my surprise, found readers. Alien Blood and Starwoman’s Sanctuary followed. I have to say, I prefer myself as the publisher because I always treat myself well. I always pay myself, which has not always been my experience with other publishers!

Escaping Poison seemed to take a long time to write. My personal life had some huge changes, which factored in. I planned two new series and several  books (yes, I am a plotter).

Also, Karvar was a different kind of hero and I had a hard time finding him. My favorite hero to write is a little bit ornery, like Kaistril in Her Cyborg Awakes. Karvar is more conservative, scholarly…no humor. Finally, Karvar fleshed out and then the book went quickly.

What’s next? I have more books in the Diaspora Worlds, secondary characters in the Sons books. Also have a cyborg series, so far titled Cyborgs of Arden. I am also branching out into a fantasy series, with fauns, centaurs, magic etc. Kind of a medieval flavored Narnia/Hogwarts/Shire inspired romantic mashup. Fun to write!

You can keep track of me on my blog: melisseaires.blogspot.com

Thanks, Liza, for having me today!

Melisse

Nebula Nights, 11 Authors, 11 stories, 99 cents.

NEBULA NIGHTS TOUR

Today, I've a whole bunch of my friends and fellow authors over talking about this mindblowing fabulous deal. 99 cents for not one, not two, not even five or ten books, but eleven books. That makes them 9 cents a book.

Space Rep: Wow! Can I interview the authors?

Liza: All eleven authors? Absolutely not.

Space Rep: May I interview one?

Liza: You may ask one author one question.

Space Rep: Melisse Aires, come on down!

Melisse: Hey Space Rep. What's up?

Space Rep: Why did you choose to bundle? 

Melisse: Why Bundle? Good question, Space Rep.

I had not seriously thought about being in a bundle because the whole idea sounded massively complicated and time consuming! But one day I was hanging around the Sooper Sekrit Brigade Saloon and chatter turned to bundles in general. We realized there was interest and quite a few authors with first in series books ready to go!

Even better, we had a member who was very knowledgeable about the process. It sounded like a good way to meet new readers, so I decided to do it. I 'm glad I did. My co-authors are a fun and pleasant group to work with. Picking the cover and title was fun, and it came together so quickly. It has been exciting watching Nebula Nights move up the charts. A positive experience all around.

Liza: That does sound fabulous. I can't wait until I start publishing my Sci-Fi series so maybe I can do one of these.

Title: Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars

Author(s): Melisse Aires, SJ Pajonas, PK Hrezo, C.E. Kilgore, Cathryn Cade, Catrina Taylor, Veronica Scott, Lyn Brittan, Pauline Baird Jones, K.G. Stutts, and Greta van der Rol

Synopsis:

11 Sci-Fi Romances that’ll sweep you away! 

If you like your science fiction blazing with adventure and your space opera spiced with romance, this boxed set is for you. From first contact to battles for survival and love on war-torn planets, this collection from bestselling & award winning authors, including Cathryn Cade, Veronica Scott, PK Hrezo and more, will leave you sighing with satisfaction.

Her Cyborg Awakes by Melisse Aires 

Her gentle cyborg servant helped her escape violence--but now he's changed into a warrior! Is he safe?

Removed (The Nogiku Series, #1) 

by SJ Pajonas 

In this Japan-inspired tale, one woman’s family destiny is key to the survival of the last city on Earth.

Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc. by PK Hrezo 

Welcome to Butterman Travel, Inc., where time is always in your hands.

Noelle In His Heart by C.E. Kilgore 

Noelle wishes for someone who understands she has love to give but commitments to honor. Stranded on Earth, Steve longs for someone who will understand that his alien heart can love just as deeply.

Stark Pleasure; the Space Magnate's Mistress

by Cathryn Cade 

Kiri te Nawa survives the perils of the galaxy on her wits ... although when it comes to space magnate Logan Stark, she’d rather use her body.
But can she trust him with her secrets?

Birth of an Empire: The Beginning 

by Catrina Taylor 

Three former genetic experiments chose peace over war in a sector that's known only war for a century. As each one squares against their governments they will question the experiences that guide them.

Escape From Zulaire 

by Veronica Scott 

When the planet erupts into war, Sectors Special Forces Captain Tom Deverane must decide whether to save Andi Markriss, the intergalactic businesswoman he loves, or sacrifice her to save Zulaire.

Solia's Moon by Lyn Brittan 

SFR Galaxy Award Winner! When Dr. Solia uncovers her company's foray into creating humanoid life, she enlists the help of her handsome ex, Sheriff Sable, in bringing a little justice to the universe.

The Key by Pauline Baird Jones 

Her orders are simple: do the impossible and do it yesterday. But this time the impossible might actually be impossible. The only way it could get worse? If her heart starts beating for the wrong guy.

The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy 

by Greta van der Rol 

The Galaxy teeters on the brink of war. Can ex-admiral Saahren persuade the woman who hates him to help him prevent the coming conflagration? And perhaps even love him?

Mirror Image by KG Stutts 

Maddie's entire world is turned upside down when she finds out that she is a clone. Now she must work with her counterpart to protect Earth.

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