As the countdown begins to publication for the first installment of The Black Wing Chronicles, all of the pieces click into place.
First the title change to Sovran’s Pawn and now I’m pleased to announce an exciting new cover from Tomomi Ink, who also has designed covers for the fabulous TM Hunter’s Aston West series as well as rising new author Patrick Stutzman’s Alone on the Edge.
I’ll be unveiling the new cover on Saturday. Prepare to be amazed! It’s much better than this one!
It’s Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday time again! As you may recall, SFFS is a ring of authors who share some of their work each Saturday. Anyone is welcome. The idea is to feature a snippet of your work for others to enjoy.
This week’s snippet follows up with Bo and Blade. Waiting in the embarkation lounge to board a luxury starliner for a Five-Point tournament, Bo has learned that her dress is transparent. She’s not sure if Blade, the charming rascal who brought that fact to her attention is helping her, or just trying to pick her up.
***
Chuckling, he leaned closer to her, bracing his hand on the window beside her shoulder, shielding her from the rest of the embarkation lounge with his body.
“Thank you for your gallantry,” she said when she could speak again.
He grinned at her. “I’m not a gentleman under the best of circumstances,” he said. “Don’t confuse gallantry with audacity. I’m the only man here with the balls to turn the situation to my advantage.”
“Oh?”
He took the empty glass from her and set it on the window ledge. “It’s a hell of an opening line, don’t you think? I don’t see anyone else rushing to say, ‘Pardon me, miss, but did you know when you stand here like this I can see you naked?’ Do you? It’s a great conversation starter, impossible to ignore and even more impossible to forget. And I get points for being a gentleman when I’m anything but.”
***
Well, that’s the Saturday Snippet for this week! Please don’t forget to comment by clicking on either the blog title or the little quotation balloon in the upper right hand corner. Tell your friends. Stop back here next week for another!
If you want a little more of SOVRAN’S PAWN, BARRON’S LAST STAND, or to learn more about THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, just click on the links.
For past snippets click here:
#SFFSat 2012/03/03 SOVRAN’S PAWN
#SFFSat 2012/02/25 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/02/18 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/02/11 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/02/04 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/01/28 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/01/21 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/01/14 BARRON’S LAST STAND
#SFFSat 2012/01/07 BARRON’S LAST STAND
#SFFSat 2011/12/17 BARRON’S LAST STAND
From the first pages, Ambasadora had me hooked. I couldn’t wait to see where author Heidi Ruby Miller was taking this story. Her well-conceived, and very complex society explores so many avenues of human nature, making me question why our societal mores are what they are.
I fell in love with the characters. She did a brilliant job of fleshing out the bad guys and making them sympathetic as well. The good guys are suitably heroic with just the right mix of human fallibility to keep them interesting. Until the end, I was never entirely sure which romantic interest was going to end up with whom, and my doubts made perfect sense given the society Miller created.
The only difficulty I ran into was on a personal level. Being a Tampa native, it was disconcerting to me to read about the four moons, all named Tampa, and then reading about the Hub, which is also well-known bar in downtown Tampa, oft frequented in my misspent youth. That gave me a chuckle and I enjoyed sharing what I considered a sly inside joke with the author. But Miller’s brilliant and vivid descriptions soon made me forget all that as I found myself hip-deep in the worlds she’s created.
This book has it all, action, adventure, political intrigue, science gone wild, cyberpunks, social commentary, and romance. It will leave you breathless and clamoring for more.
Ambasadora is a definite E-ticket ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat and turning the pages well into the night. I already have my copy of Greenshift, the prequel to Ambasadora, and I cannot wait to start reading it! But first, I have to catch my breath from Ambasasora.
***
If everyone told you love wasn’t real, would you still be willing to die for it?
Sara Mendoza and Sean Cryer are.
In their multi-partner, caste-ruled society, love and jealousy are considered emotional fallacies, nothing more than fleeting moods and sentiments biased by hormones. Relationships and conceptions in this world obsessed with celebrity, beauty, and power are based on DNA and lineages…or should be. But not everyone believes in the ruling traditions of the all-powerful Embassy. A quiet rebellion prowls the dark underground of this shiny world where techno-militants calling themselves fraggers grow in numbers and bravado. The Embassy intends to silence the fragger movement before the heresy of equality spreads throughout the system.
Sara Mendoza is part of the Embassy’s plan. Captured, tortured, and falsely accused of treason, she is given a chance to win back her freedom. She only needs to charm information from one of the fragger leaders, then kill him. But by the time she figures out the Embassy’s intel is flawed and that Sean Cryer is her true mark, she’s already in love with him.
Sean knows why Sara is on his ship from the start, but as a lonely, anti-social doser, he doesn’t value his life, only his ideology within the fragger organization. Against his better judgment, he becomes her protector, each day caring more about a future he was always afraid to hope for.
***
Thanks to everyone who took part in the poll to rename THE TENNOVA JOB. I am pleased to announce that SOVRAN’S PAWN was the winner by a landslide! This book is the first installment of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, the Space Opera series starring Bo Barron and Blade Devon.
It’s Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday time again! As you may recall, SFFS is a ring of authors who share some of their work each Saturday. Anyone is welcome. The idea is to feature a snippet of your work for others to enjoy.
This week’s snippet moves to a life-changing moment for Bo and Blade. Waiting in the embarkation lounge to board a luxury starliner for a Five-Point tournament, Bo, under cover as a Joy Babe, stands close to the window, taking in the view of the city skyline. Sensing that she is no longer alone, she looks up and sees a great big, sexy, hunk of man reflected in the window behind her, standing much too close for comfort.
***
Behind her sunshades, Bo rolled her eyes. Here it comes…the pickup line.
“I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable standing so close behind you,” he said.
“I’d prefer you step away.”
He held up his drink and took a sip, studying her reflection before answering. “Now I really doubt that,” he said mischievously as he lowered his glass.
Unable to resist his boyish charm, Bo lifted her chin, fighting back a small smile. “Why do you say that?”
“Because with the sun behind you like it is, your dress is virtually transparent.” He grinned, showing a pair of dimples. “Right now, I’m the only thing standing between this room and a peep show.” He shrugged. “If that’s your intention, I’ll be happy to go over there and ogle you like everyone else.”
***
Well, that’s the Saturday Snippet for this week! Please don’t forget to comment by clicking on either the blog title or the little quotation balloon in the upper right hand corner. Tell your friends. Stop back here next week for another!
If you want a little more of SOVRAN’S PAWN, BARRON’S LAST STAND, or to learn more about THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, just click on the links.
For past snippets click here:
#SFFSat 2012/02/25 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/02/18 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/02/11 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/02/04 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/01/28 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/01/21 THE TENNOVA JOB
#SFFSat 2012/01/14 BARRON’S LAST STAND
#SFFSat 2012/01/07 BARRON’S LAST STAND
#SFFSat 2011/12/17 BARRON’S LAST STAND
Busy, busy around here getting ready for the April release of the first installment of The Black Wing Chronicles. Let’s not forget that coming up in a few months, is the release of ARCANA DOUBLE CROSS, one of the recovered novels in The Mercenary Adventures of Blade Devon.
Here’s a first look at the cover art in progress! What do you think? No, those aren’t flames in the silhouette of the girl, it’s part of a nebula – in keeping with the nebula theme – see the stars? Inspiration came from covers of classic Men’s Adventure novels, namely James Bond. Here for your amusement, are the old CASINO ROYALE covers that inspired various elements. How did we do? Did we pay proper homage to these classics?
It’s Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday time again! As you may recall, SFFS is a ring of authors who share some of their work each Saturday. Anyone is welcome. The idea is to feature a snippet of your work for others to enjoy.
But first…
I have to change the title of THE TENNOVA JOB before its April publication date. I’m conducting a poll that lets YOU help me choose the title of The first installment of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, the Space Opera series starring Bo Barron and Blade Devon. So please, take a moment and vote for your favorite title, or comment to add something completely different. The poll is after the snippet so keep scrolling. I’ll post the results here next week along with the NEW and FINAL cover art!
In this snippet, Blade has just been given his assignment by his former Inner Circle handler: to infiltrate a Five-Point tournament (as Darien Roarke) and recover the schematics for a Phase Weapon which is being auctioned off. Blade, having left the IC without permission and also without any intention of returning, has told her thanks, but no thanks.
***
“I have my orders, Devon. If you refuse this assignment, they’re not going to keep looking the other way. You’re absent without leave and have been for some time. Barring your complete cooperation I’m to haul you in as a deserter.”
He grinned. “Think you can manage that by yourself? You’re good, Larianne, but you’re not that good.”
“Think about what it would do to your happy little job playing make believe if you went to a high-security prison like Krakato.”
Bracing his fists on his hips, he laughed, unperturbed by the threat. “Is that the best you’ve got? You know as well as I do that not even Krakato could hold me for long.”
She lifted her chin slightly. “I’m surprised you’re willing to go to Krakato at all,” she went on crisply, “knowing that your brother is in a very dangerous line of work. It would be terrible if he were to have an accident while you were a guest of the Commonwealth. You’ve already lost one brother to an accident, haven’t you?”
***
Well, that’s the Saturday Snippet for this week! Please don’t forget to comment by clicking on either the blog title or the little quotation balloon in the upper right hand corner. Tell your friends. Stop back here next week for another!
If you want a little more of THE TENNOVA JOB, BARRON’S LAST STAND, or to learn more about THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, just click on the links.
For past snippets click here:
The fun thing about writing a book in a series is that you have to come up with working titles to keep them straight. Some of my past working titles have been “Livre de Moi” and “My Bookie, My Nightmare” as well as various versions being named “Old Imaginary World Order” and its companion “NEW Imaginary World Order.”
As in the case of THE TENNOVA JOB it was a working title designed to help keep it straight within the story arc of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES series of books. With the deadline for publication looming ever closer, and Internet traffic and searches on the rise, there has been some confusion caused with the drug company Tennova. Apparently when references to my book under this title show up in a search engine, unsuspecting people arrive at my site expecting information on obtaining gainful employment with said company and instead are cruelly subjected to my fictional adventures. (Which is pretty funny if you ask me…)
So to avoid future confusion, since the drug company seems disinclined to change its name, the simpler course of action is to change the title of my book. This is where YOU come in. Over the course of the week, I will be collecting suggestions for alternative titles. On Saturday, along with Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday’s Snippet fest, I will be conducting a poll, letting YOU vote for your favorite title.
***
BO BARRON is the pawn in two Sovrans’ struggle for power. As the Chief of Barron Clan she commands the Black Wing, a strategic asset crucial to the balance of power in a Commonwealth in contention. That’s the reason she was falsely convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed. Instead of letting her meekly go to her death, Bo’s people risk all-out war by breaking her out and smuggling her into hiding. It’s what they do. They’re pirates at heart.
But if she can’t be killed, she can be manipulated. How? By kidnapping her father. If Bo wants him back she has to take on a false name and steal the schematics for a phase weapon being auctioned off to the Sub-socia at a Five Point tournament.
BLADE DEVON knows all about false names. He has more than his share. As Darien Roarke, he’s a pretty well-known Five Point player. If Blade is willing to use his alter ego to retrieve those schematics, the Inner Circle is willing to overlook the fact that he’s technically a deserter.
A botched assassination under the guise of a bar brawl leaves Bo blind and Blade wondering if there isn’t more to this job than he was led to believe. Never able to resist playing the hero, Blade tends her injuries and delves deeper into the intrigue only to find this mission isn’t about a weapon at all.
The catch is, no one and nothing are what they seem…
***
Vote as often as you like.
I’ll be unveiling the results the following Saturday at the Snippet Fest.
It’s Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday time again! As you may recall, SFFS is a ring of authors who share some of their work each Saturday. Anyone is welcome. The idea is to feature a snippet of your work for others to enjoy.
The cover art and blurb for THE TENNOVA JOB have been finalized, but it still does not yet have a publication date. This book is the first installment of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, the Space Opera series starring Bo Barron and Blade Devon.
This scene is Blade’s introduction to the series. During the course of this scene we learn that he is a man with many aliases. He is a deserter and a burn out. Tonight, Blade has donned the persona of Darien Roarke, a gambler, in order to play in a Five Point Tourney in a night club in the Third Sector, and he has no idea that events have been set into motion that are going to change his life forever. Aware that he is being followed, he isn’t exactly surprised when one of the “predatory females” propositioning him turns out to be someone he knows well and isn’t happy to see.
***
He would have asked anyone else how they’d managed to find him and follow him without being seen, but he didn’t have to. She’d been his handler. Of all the Inner Circle Agents in the First Sector, she probably knew him better than anyone.
“So what do you plan to do with me?” he asked lightly. “Now that you’ve caught me.”
She lifted a delicate eyebrow. “You don’t think I came all this way for a Five Point game do you?”
With a casual ease he didn’t feel, he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her with him onto the dance floor. “I did come here for a Five Point game,” he said. “I don’t intend to go anywhere until I’ve won enough credits to cover my stake.”
***
Well, that’s the Saturday Snippet for this week! Please don’t forget to comment by clicking on either the blog title or the little quotation balloon in the upper right hand corner. Tell your friends. Stop back here next week for another!
If you want a little more of THE TENNOVA JOB, BARRON’S LAST STAND, or to learn more about THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, just click on the links.
For past snippets click here:
Thanks to Frances Pauli for being such a good sport in yesterday’s fun interview!
I got to participate in Backward Momentum‘s 1st Annual Valentine’s Day Bash “Love, Lasers & Light Swords” with a post on SF redefining long distance relationships.
All contributors were asked to take part in a giveaway and I did my part by offering a $15 gift certificate to Amazon.com.
chosen through a random and complex process (I asked my 3 y/o to choose) is…
Barbara Elsborg
Congratulations Barbara, look for your e-gift card to come in your inbox later today! Thank you and congratulations to all the other winners who took part in Backward Momentum’s bash!
It’s too late to enter to win, but there are some great posts there by some wonderful writers and, who knows? You may find a new favorite author!
Speculative Fiction Romance author Frances Pauli decided to stop by today to celebrate Valentine’s Day with us with an irreverent and fun interview as well as a giveaway! Frances is currently on her Blog Tour, Fairies in February , which wraps up today! She’s here promoting the third book of her trilogy SPIDERS FROM MEMORY but we decided to talk about the silly things that writers don’t often get asked.
Over, but only out of pure rebellion. I had a horrid, controlling ex who insisted on under. Once I’d ditched him, it’s been over ever since. How’s that for too much information?
I write fairies. Can you imagine the chaos? Lamps would be broken, papers scattered. Don’t even get me started on the dishes. Still, the little buggers can lift a lot for their size, and there are a lot of them. I suppose if I didn’t mind my books sorted by color and my clothes hung up inside out, it might not be a bad idea.
Pepsi all the way. Coke tastes like syrup. Pepsi, good. Do you remember the Pepsi challenge? Ah, the olden days. I took it many times at fairs and such. I’m a Pepsi girl nine times out of ten.
Now that is a fun scene. I’ve always loved it, not to mention the childhood crush I nurse for Dick Van Dyke’s character in Marry Poppins. But, I assume you mean the random writing prompt and the ensuing, chaotic brilliance. I’m pro penguin—fish slapping ninja or not. Random is good. It makes you stretch, twist, contort (sometimes giggle). I’m also pro writing group. Anything that keeps the brain churning and the fingers tapping is worth its weight in gold…or fish.
Android. First off, I couldn’t take the guilt—those sulky looks and mumbled curses. Ugh. House elves are a great idea, but an android can be programmed to do its duty with a smile. They also have more attachments and would be a better line of defense in the case of apocalypse—zombie or otherwise.
Sex or death. Not for the reason you might think, though. I always swear if I get stuck that I must either write a sex scene or kill off a character. Since I naturally resist doing either, I rarely get stuck. The pure fear of the ultimatum hanging overhead keeps my fingers moving. I have only once had to bring said threat into play, and I’m not about to admit which I chose.
Chocolate. Okay, that’s not writing related. Escapism, possibly. I tend to live in my head, in my dreams, anywhere but in my own ordinary shoes. But when it comes to rejection letters, bad reviews, good reviews, acceptance letters, deadlines or releases, I find that chocolate always manages to fit the purpose.
I’ve read Speculative Fiction my entire life. I adore it. I’m passionate about it. I live in those worlds in my innermost imaginings. Writing anything else would be very much like writing another culture. I’d have to learn it, and even then, would I understand it fully? Could I lend it the same passion and fervor? It might be fun to try, but I think I’ll always know where home is.
Andre Norton, Tanith Lee, and Patricia McKillip are my all-time top three. They moved me at a very impressionable age, opened doors to worlds that still enchant my thoughts and taught me just how fantastic speculative fiction could be. My more contemporary favorites lean toward humor (which may have something to do with getting old and jaded) I read Christopher Moore, Gregory MaGuire, and Terry Pratchett as well as a great deal of amazing fiction by authors I know personally.
Trekkie forever. I love Star Wars (or the older half of it) and I do enjoy Firefly immensely. But my fan levels spike when anything has to do with Trek–Original, Next Gen or DS9 in particular. I’m dating myself there, but I also have an uber soft spot for the Ferengi and an appreciation for the abundance of romantic subplots in the Star Trek franchise. Also, I own a Klingon headpiece, which a woman my age should probably never admit publicly.
I dreamed of Lockland, actually. He showed up in trouble and in need of serious rescue. He demanded, in fact, and I had no choice to provide a story to explain and solve his predicament. I can’t resist an elf, in particular not one with long white-blond hair.
Elizabeth is perfect for Lockland primarily because she is so intensely human. She is flawed, mundane, and at the same time inherently noble. He’s fascinated with her world, and she’s devoted her life and work to protecting his. They both struggle with not fitting exactly into their people’s expectations, and they both are working for the same ideal—equality and acceptance.
If I do, and I’m not admitting anything, I’m not going to share it. Not for all the chocolate and fairy candy in the known universe.
***
Thanks so much for having me and for the FUN questions! I am offering a free pdf of any book from my backlist to one commenter today, and for each stop on the tour that you comment on, you will earn one entry into the final drawing for print copies of all three books. Follow along and enter to win!
Frances Pauli writes speculative fiction with romantic touches. Her books are published through Mundania Press LLC, Awe-Struck, and Devine Destinies, and her short stories are featured in various anthologies. More information on her worlds and writing can be found on her website and blog, and she offers free online stories, web serials, podcasts there as well.
http://francespauli.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/#!/MothinDarkness
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frances-Pauli/112884745408149
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3426477.Frances_Pauli
***
The boundaries between the worlds have fallen. Forced to integrate the creatures of fantasy into real life, humanity struggles against its disillusionment, prejudice and an inevitable feeling of inadequacy.
Once an agent for the embassy that mediates between the worlds, Elizabeth Larson has abandoned her past and slipped into a world of nostalgic addiction to fairy revels, dancing, and the dark lure of her own memories. But when Lockland Sheen, her former partner and lover, goes missing, she is pulled reluctantly back into service. She must venture once more across the borders, into the land that haunts her, facing a string of gruesome murders, the imposing Sidhe rulers and her own addiction in the process.
While the Embassy’s agents attempt to soothe tensions between the races, Liz and her new partner search the fairy realm for Lockland. Fighting the constant temptation of the revels, they piece together the trail of an unknown enemy. But the longer they follow it, the more it appears that the man they came to rescue is more villain than victim. And the more they rely on Elizabeth’s ties to the fairies, the closer she inches toward the madness that lurks behind her fantasies.
http://www.mundania.com/book.php?title=A%20Moth%20in%20Darkness
Something’s rotten in the Fey lands. While Marcus Bramble tracks the lunatic who started it all, Elizabeth and the crew at the Embassy sort through the evidence he left behind. With Lockland back, and the revels behind her, Liz’s world is slowly returning to normal. But on both sides of the borders, shadow creatures spring out of nowhere, and the dark legends surrounding the fey take on a whole new meaning.
Now time is against them. On the mortal side of things, protesters rally to close the borders, politicians descend on the Embassy, and something that shouldn’t exist stalks Elizabeth through the city.
In his world, Marcus faces a madman with answers he doesn’t want to hear. The Fey rulers turn a blind eye on forests teeming with imaginary monsters, and the Sidhe tower stands silent amidst the chaos. Will the race to uncover its secrets solve the mystery of the elves’ past or unleash even more horrors on them all?
http://www.mundania.com/book.php?title=The+Fly+in+Paradise
The Seelie court is gone, and the Tower has fallen into darker hands. Now nightmare creatures terrorize the Fey races, and the whole Fey world turns to frost and shadow.
Liz Larson holds the last remnant of the Seelie Sidhe’s power. The elves look to her for guidance, but all she has to offer them is the disturbing story of their origin, the final truth that will turn many of them against her. With her dwindling number of allies, Liz needs to reopen the borders, to find the missing Marcus Bramble, and to avoid the sudden, terrifiying attention of the new Fey ruler, the Unseelie Speaker and new master of the Sidhe Tower.
While her friends in Mundanity race to pry open the gates, and Marcus searches for the answer to a puzzle that could save or damn them all, the Unseelie Speaker marches north, bringing his army and his wrath to focus on Elizabeth. What can one, fairy-touched human do in the face of the Unseelie court’s full fury? How can she fight when the enemy’s anger is only partly blind, when she can see all too clearly the traces of justice behind it?
Gotta Name My Blog 