Tag: Science Fiction Romance

#SFFSat – 06/09/2012

On By jccasselsIn Black Wing Chronicles, SFFS5 Comments

Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. On the surface, it’s a web ring of authors who post snippets of their work for comment. In reality, it’s a close-knit group of friends and colleagues working together to support and encourage one another and promote the science fiction and fantasy genres.

This week’s snippet is a departure from SOVRAN’S PAWN. Don’t worry. We aren’t going far. I’ve been hard at work on Book Two of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, tentatively titled THE WATCHTOWER. Still in the first draft stage it’s nearly ready for the endless revisions to begin. Here is your first look:

***

Bo lay there a moment in the darkness, struggling to hold on to her consciousness as the pain threatened to overcome her. Taking shallow breaths, she fought for control.

Above her, the sounds of pursuit spilled through the hole she’d left. She didn’t have the luxury of being injured. Forcing herself to her feet, Bo shook her head in an effort to clear it. She leaned heavily on a large boulder waiting for the world to stop spinning around her. Then, with one last look up, she started painfully down the mountain.

It was slow going. Her left arm hung at her side, useless. She had no idea how long she’d been descending through the rugged, wooded terrain. Wedging herself safely between a couple of boulders, and exhausted, she closed her eyes and rested. All around her, patrols tramped through the woods looking for her.

***

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’re interested in more about:

SOVRAN’S PAWN

United by extortion, divided by duty, someone wants them both dead. They want each other. The catch is, nothing is what it seems…

Convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed, Bo Barron is the last person who should be infiltrating a Sub-socia weapons auction. But when her father is kidnapped and the ransom demand is the schematics to an experimental weapon, she has no choice but to go under cover with her uncle to get it.

Nobody counted on former-government-agent-turned-holofeature-hero Blade Devon’s infatuation with her. 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. It’s about two Sovrans’ maneuvering for control, with Bo and Blade as their pawns.

All Bo and Blade have to do is figure out how to survive the game they didn’t know they were playing.

#SFFSat – 06/02/2012

On By jccasselsIn Black Wing Chronicles, SFFS26 Comments

Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. On the surface, it’s a web ring of authors who post snippets of their work for comment. In reality, it’s a close-knit group of friends and colleagues working together to support and encourage one another and promote the science fiction and fantasy genres.

This week’s snippet is a departure from SOVRAN’S PAWN. Don’t worry. We aren’t going far. I’ve been hard at work on Book Two of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, tentatively titled THE WATCHTOWER. Still in the first draft stage it’s nearly ready for the endless revisions to begin. Here is your first look:

***

The talons of the hook dug into the hard stone with a satisfying thunk. Her downward plunge came to an abrupt halt as the line ran out, the force of it jerking her arm painfully. Like a weight on a pendulum, Bo swung toward the buttress. Ignoring the twinge in her shoulder, she eyed the stone structure, timing her approach. At the last moment, she lifted her legs, taking the jolt of contact with her feet and knees. Moving carefully, Bo edged her way around to the inside of the support structure, away from the edge of the cliff. Once satisfied with her position, she released the line from her wrist launcher and slid down the buttress.

She missed something in the darkness. Either a loose stone, or a protruding one changed her angle of descent. Instead of sliding harmlessly to the ground, Bo was thrown from the structure. With no time to do anything, she hit the ground hard, her left arm exploded in agony.

 ***

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’re interested in more about:

SOVRAN’S PAWN

United by extortion, divided by duty, someone wants them both dead. They want each other. The catch is, nothing is what it seems…

Convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed, Bo Barron is the last person who should be infiltrating a Sub-socia weapons auction. But when her father is kidnapped and the ransom demand is the schematics to an experimental weapon, she has no choice but to go under cover with her uncle to get it.

Nobody counted on former-government-agent-turned-holofeature-hero Blade Devon’s infatuation with her. 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. It’s about two Sovrans’ maneuvering for control, with Bo and Blade as their pawns.

All Bo and Blade have to do is figure out how to survive the game they didn’t know they were playing.

#SFFSat – 05/26/2012

On By jccasselsIn Black Wing Chronicles, SFFS24 Comments

Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. On the surface, it’s a web ring of authors who post snippets of their work for comment. In reality, it’s a close-knit group of friends and colleagues working together to support and encourage one another and promote the science fiction and fantasy genres.

This week’s snippet is a departure from SOVRAN’S PAWN. Don’t worry. We aren’t going far. I’ve been hard at work on Book Two of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, tentatively titled THE WATCHTOWER. Still in the first draft stage it’s nearly ready for the endless revisions to begin. Here is your first look:

***

“Well, well, Barron,” a synthesized voice broadcast from the speakers scattered around the compound.”I finally have you. I will entertain your request to surrender now.”

It was a matter of time before those black-clad thugs rushed her. If she was going to make it out with her skin intact, she needed to act quickly. Bo adjusted the power setting on her blaster, then the beam dispersal. Her eyes passed over the high walls, orienting herself to the map she’d memorized before she’d embarked on this suicide mission.

Choosing her spot, she leveled her sidearm at the outer wall and fired repeatedly until the thick wall exploded in a mass of molten rock. The concussion drove her back a few steps, but she’d been ready for it. Without waiting for the smoke to clear, she holstered her sidearm and raced for the hole, diving through headfirst. Once clear of the wall, she twisted mid-air, pointed her left arm at one of the buttresses supporting the structure, and clenched her fist, launching the grappling hook attached to her wrist. Silently praying she wouldn’t run out of shimmersilk line before the hook found purchase, Bo held her breath.

***

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’re interested in more about:

SOVRAN’S PAWN

United by extortion, divided by duty, someone wants them both dead. They want each other. The catch is, nothing is what it seems…

Convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed, Bo Barron is the last person who should be infiltrating a Sub-socia weapons auction. But when her father is kidnapped and the ransom demand is the schematics to an experimental weapon, she has no choice but to go under cover with her uncle to get it.

Nobody counted on former-government-agent-turned-holofeature-hero Blade Devon’s infatuation with her. 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. It’s about two Sovrans’ maneuvering for control, with Bo and Blade as their pawns.

All Bo and Blade have to do is figure out how to survive the game they didn’t know they were playing.

What Do Writers Read Over the Summer?

On By jccasselsIn Book Review, Uncategorized1 Comment

Did you ever wonder what writers read when they curl up with a good book? My friends have asked me to share my Summer Reading List with them. As a fan of SF (science fiction) and M (mystery), there is a lot of it on my list, most of it R (romance), but not all of it. I have to admit that all of the books on my TBR list are by authors I’m acquainted with and owe reviews to. Some of them are so talented they make me want to give up writing altogether!

Here are only some of the books I haven’t read or finished yet, but are on my list of summer reading. It is an incomplete list, but these are the books I hope to have finished before Labor Day. I am looking forward to reading every one of them. Click on the book title for the Amazon sales link:

THE WHISPERING TOMBS:  A Quality Times Novella by Gayle Ramage (SF-humor)
In ‘The Whispering Tombs’, Quality and Tim are residing at the luxurious Baala Haven Resort, on an unpronounceable planet, when they’re invited on a quest to find ancient hidden treasure by a wealthy alien archaeologist. Reaching the caves of Azrokaran, however, loyalties are tested to the very limits as those within the group reveal their true colours. 

EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE by Liana Brooks (SFR)
A super villain at the top of his game must choose between the world he wants and the woman he loves. 

PARADIGM SHIFT by Misa Buckley (SFR)
Observatory tour guide Megan Shaw has always had stars in her eyes, so when she all but runs down the otherworldly Raul, she barely blinks. It doesn’t hurt that Raul is hot – whether in his human form or his natural one – and that there’s an immediate mutual attraction. But Raul is on the run from his alien overlords and soon Megan finds herself fighting against a foothold situation with nothing more than a couple of cattle prods and Muse for soundtrack. However Earth is not the only planet at risk and with his species desperate to escape generations of oppression, will Raul’s loyalties shift as easily as his physical appearance?

KICKING ASHE by Pauline Baird Jones (SFR)
Seems Time has a new hobby: kicking Ashe (and shame on It for doing it when she’s down). 

Not that she plans to stay down. Or give up the guy.

DEAD MAN’S FORGE AND OTHER ADVENTURES by TM Hunter (SF)
(the entire Aston West series actually)
Everybody’s favorite Space Pirate.

ALONE ON THE EDGE by Patrick Stutzman (SF)
After accepting a job as a robotic engineer that sends her to a mining station at the edge of explored space, Anna Foster finds that her position is not what she expects and must adjust to life as the only living being aboard, struggling to keep her humanity while a relentless computer lords over her existence. But, the discovery of a secret could prove to be the key to her freedom.

No LimitsNO LIMITS by Jenna McCormick (SFR-E)
All Genevieve Luzon wants is to be loved by one man, a seemingly impossible task in New York City – though she can buy sex as easily as she can order pizza on a Friday night. Needing a job and sick of being alone, Gen enlists as a pleasure companion at a premium escort service…During Gen’s first training session, she meets Rhys. He is an empath, a man with the extraordinary ability to fulfil her most secret desires. His dangerous mission might claim his life, but Gen is not about to let something she’s wanted for so long get away now that she knows how good it feels…
You can read all about it here in an earlier post when Jenna was my guest!
https://jccassels.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/jenna-mccormick-no-limits-guest-blogger/

GREENSHIFT by Heidi Ruby Miller (SFR)
(Prequel to Ambasadora)
David Anlow, a former captain who was betrayed by both the fleet and his ex-lover, now spends his lonely days shuttling around a group of scientists for hire.
Boston Maribu, Mari to her friends, is one of his passengers, a young botanist who is as beautiful as she is naïve and innocent. 
When Mari asks David to teach her about more than just piloting the Bard, nights on their ship heat up and their feelings for each other mature into a relationship neither expects. But a suspicious new client shows up with wicked plans for Mari, and the soldier inside David comes alive, ready to fight for the young woman who stole his heart.

THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK by Jason Jack Miller
(not sure how to categorize this one, it’s billed as Appalachian Gothic)
Preston Black has a nasty habit of falling in love with the wrong type of woman. But girls who don’t play nice are the least of his problems. This handsome bar band guitarist isn’t washed-up, but he’s about to be. He’s broke, he’s tired of playing covers and he’s obsessed with the Curse of 27.
He’s about to add ‘deal with the devil’ to his list.
Lucky for Preston, he has help. Like the angelic beauty who picks him up when he’s down. And the university professor who helps him sort through old Appalachian hexes and curses to find the song that may be his only shot at redemption. And when things get real bad, he has the ghost of John Lennon to remind him that “nothing is real.”

***

Next week, I’ll put together a list of books I’ve already read and highly recommend!

What’s on YOUR Summer Reading List?

#SFFSat – 05/19/2012

On By jccasselsIn Black Wing Chronicles, SFFS24 Comments

Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. On the surface, it’s a web ring of authors who post snippets of their work for comment. In reality, it’s a close-knit group of friends and colleagues working together to support and encourage one another and promote the science fiction and fantasy genres.

This week’s snippet is a departure from SOVRAN’S PAWN. Don’t worry. We aren’t going far. I’ve been hard at work on Book Two of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, tentatively titled THE WATCHTOWER. Still in the first draft stage it’s nearly ready for the endless revisions to begin. Here is your first look:

***

Without bothering to aim, Bo pulled the trigger, blasting an enormous hole in the wall. She dove through it before the smoke cleared. On the other side, she came up quickly to a crouch and looked around.

Finding herself alone, she rose and moved along the corridor, heading in the general direction of the exit. As she reached a junction, a handful of large, black-clad commandos stepped out from the shadows and opened fire on her. Bo ducked and reversed course, heading back the way she’d come. She passed the hole she’d made just as more armed commandos swarmed through it. She fired at them and turned, racing full speed down the corridor.

The maze of intersecting hallways would have confused even the best sense of direction. Bo alternated left turns and right turns until she finally emerged into a high-walled courtyard.

She bit back a curse. She’d ended up on the wrong side of the compound.

***

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’re interested in more about:

SOVRAN’S PAWN

United by extortion, divided by duty, someone wants them both dead. They want each other. The catch is, nothing is what it seems…

Convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed, Bo Barron is the last person who should be infiltrating a Sub-socia weapons auction. But when her father is kidnapped and the ransom demand is the schematics to an experimental weapon, she has no choice but to go under cover with her uncle to get it.

Nobody counted on former-government-agent-turned-holofeature-hero Blade Devon’s infatuation with her. 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. It’s about two Sovrans’ maneuvering for control, with Bo and Blade as their pawns.

All Bo and Blade have to do is figure out how to survive the game they didn’t know they were playing.

#SFFSat – 05/12/2012

On By jccasselsIn Black Wing Chronicles, SFFS25 Comments

Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. On the surface, it’s a web ring of authors who post snippets of their work for comment. In reality, it’s a close-knit group of friends and colleagues working together to support and encourage one another and promote the science fiction and fantasy genres.

This week’s snippet is a departure from SOVRAN’S PAWN. Don’t worry. We aren’t going far. I’ve been hard at work on Book Two of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, tentatively titled THE WATCHTOWER. Still in the first draft stage it’s nearly ready for the endless revisions to begin. Here is your first look:

***

It was a trap – baited to perfection. The only question remaining was how the trap was sprung. She slowly circled the pedestal studying the problem from every angle. The blaster rested on a stand atop the pedestal. She glanced up at the light source. Was the trigger in the light beam or another pressure sensor in the pedestal itself? It went without saying that the weapon’s power cell had been removed. She had extras.

She glanced at her chrono once more. No more time for speculating. If she was going to make a move, she had to do it now. Never one to play it safe, Bo pulled a power cell from one of the pouches on her gunbelt and held it in her left hand. Flexing her right hand and fingers she reached for her sidearm. Taking one more deep breath, she released it in a rush. With lightning reflexes, she snatched the pistol from the pedestal and slammed the power cell into the base of the grip.

Immediately alarms went off and warning lights strobed and flared around her. The door swung shut with a loud clang.

***

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’re interested in more about:

SOVRAN’S PAWN

United by extortion, divided by duty, someone wants them both dead. They want each other. The catch is, nothing is what it seems…

Convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed, Bo Barron is the last person who should be infiltrating a Sub-socia weapons auction. But when her father is kidnapped and the ransom demand is the schematics to an experimental weapon, she has no choice but to go under cover with her uncle to get it.

Nobody counted on former-government-agent-turned-holofeature-hero Blade Devon’s infatuation with her. 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. It’s about two Sovrans’ maneuvering for control, with Bo and Blade as their pawns.

All Bo and Blade have to do is figure out how to survive the game they didn’t know they were playing.

#SFFSat – 05/05/2012

On By jccasselsIn Black Wing Chronicles, SFFS33 Comments

Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. On the surface, it’s a web ring of authors who post snippets of their work for comment. In reality, it’s a close-knit group of friends and colleagues working together to support and encourage one another and promote the science fiction and fantasy genres.

This week’s snippet is a departure from SOVRAN’S PAWN. Don’t worry. We aren’t going far. I’ve been hard at work on Book Two of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, tentatively titled THE WATCHTOWER. Still in the first draft stage it’s nearly ready for the endless revisions to begin. Here is your first look:

***

Bo Barron stepped lightly across the floortiles. Pressure sensors dotted the floor at random intervals. The key was not to set them off. Moving quickly and with the lithe grace honed by years of zero gee exercises, she slipped through the tangle of sensors unnoticed. Once she reached the fortified door at the far end of the room, she pulled a sequence changer from her pocket and held it close to the door lock.

The changer softly hummed and whined as it manipulated the data inside the locking mechanism. After an interminable moment, the display shifted from red to green and a dull click echoed loudly in the silent chamber.

She palmed the door open and stepped inside. Her amber eyes darted around. In the center of the chamber, on a pedestal and under a brilliant blue light sat the Capre X2S Mergent Arms blaster pistol that had been handed down from Barron to Barron for centuries.

It was too obvious.

She held her position. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the pedestal.

It was a trap.

***

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’re interested in more about:

SOVRAN’S PAWN

United by extortion, divided by duty, someone wants them both dead. They want each other. The catch is, nothing is what it seems…

Convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed, Bo Barron is the last person who should be infiltrating a Sub-socia weapons auction. But when her father is kidnapped and the ransom demand is the schematics to an experimental weapon, she has no choice but to go under cover with her uncle to get it.

Nobody counted on former-government-agent-turned-holofeature-hero Blade Devon’s infatuation with her. 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. It’s about two Sovrans’ maneuvering for control, with Bo and Blade as their pawns.

All Bo and Blade have to do is figure out how to survive the game they didn’t know they were playing.

“What’s Next? What’s Next?”

On By jccasselsIn Black Wing Chronicles, Mercenary Adventures of Blade Devon, Update2 Comments

Now that SOVRAN’S PAWN is out in the world for everyone to see, the question I keep getting is “What’s next?” I am delighted to know my meager efforts have been so well-received. I’d like to thank everyone who has already bought an e-copy of my book and assure those waiting for the paperback, that it won’t be long in coming. Look for it sometime in June. Yes, I will have a supply on hand, signed, that I will happily sell direct to you at a discount, plus shipping costs.

As for what’s next, look for ARCANA DOUBLE CROSS sometime this fall. It is the premiere installment of THE MERCENARY ADVENTURES OF BLADE DEVON, a companion series of books featuring the man himself in all his swashbuckling glory. (Be still my heart!) You can find an excerpt under the tab at the top or by clicking the link.

The first draft of Book Two of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, tentatively titled THE WATCHTOWER, is two-thirds complete. Plans are for a release in Spring 2013, provided we all survive the Zombie Apocalypse of December 2012.

I hope to be spending a lot of time at the beach between now and then, doing research. Much of THE WATCHTOWER is set on the Outland Fringe planet Kah Lahtrec whose people have adopted Blade as a native son. He has a pretty nifty villa on the beach there that was given to him by the Lahtrecki government in recognition for… well, you’re just going to have to wait and see. Book Two is going to be a lot of fun as it introduces some of my favorite characters in the series:  Ballanshi – Tryrium te Kah Lahtrec, his lovely and formidable wife Madine – Tryrine te Kah Lahtrec, and the wizened old holy man Tahar. Book Two also explains the how and why of Blade’s leaving his career in holofeatures for the life of an itinerate mercenary, complete with the scene in the theater which is part of Blade Devon lore.

Not to worry, the romance with Bo continues, as she carries on her quest to clear her name and find her father. Book Two finds Bo settling into her new role as a facilitator in her brother’s organization, and she has learned to have fun. With a new confidence, her puckish sense of humor emerges, but her resolve is put to the test as she draws closer to finding the answers she so desperately seeks, one of which threatens to destroy her relationship with Blade forever.

Now that I’ve told you entirely TOO much, I’m off to get back to work making all of these claims a reality.

#SFFSat – 4-28-2012 SOVRAN’S PAWN

On By jccasselsIn Black Wing Chronicles, SFFS27 Comments

Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. On the surface, it’s a web ring of authors who post snippets of their work for comment. In reality, it’s a close-knit group of friends and colleagues working together to support and encourage one another and promote the science fiction and fantasy genres.

Today’s snippet returns to SOVRAN’S PAWN. (Released last week and now available in e-book and Kindle on Amazon and Smashwords.)  Tennova, under the guise of offering friendly advice, is warning Blade to leave Bo alone. I hope you enjoy it, and remember ~ Nothing is what it seems…

***

The bartender set three fresh drinks on the bar in front of Tennova. “If you like breathing and want to continue doing so, you’ll stay away from her. I’m only warning you once. If you’re smart,” Tennova winked and scooped up the drinks, “you’ll listen.”

Without waiting for Blade to comment, he backed away from the bar and slipped through the crowd towards his party. Blade watched him go before he picked up his glass once again.

The swiveling lights passed over him, reflecting off an oily prism of color floating on the yellow surface of his drink. He hesitated, then slowly lowered his glass back onto the bar top untasted. Smiling to himself, he slid the drink towards the bartender and pushed himself away from the bar.

Blade didn’t know how he had done it, but while Tennova had distracted him, someone had slipped something into his drink. Exactly what it was, Blade didn’t care to find out.

***

That’s the snippet for the week. Thank you for stopping by. Please take the time to visit the other wonderful authors taking part in Science Fiction/Fantasy Saturday!

***

If you’re interested in more about:

SOVRAN’S PAWN

United by extortion, divided by duty, someone wants them both dead. They want each other. The catch is, nothing is what it seems…

Convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed, Bo Barron is the last person who should be infiltrating a Sub-socia weapons auction. But when her father is kidnapped and the ransom demand is the schematics to an experimental weapon, she has no choice but to go under cover with her uncle to get it.

Nobody counted on former-government-agent-turned-holofeature-hero Blade Devon’s infatuation with her. 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. It’s about two Sovrans’ maneuvering for control, with Bo and Blade as their pawns.

All Bo and Blade have to do is figure out how to survive the game they didn’t know they were playing.