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.
Recently I completed the latest revisions of THE TENNOVA JOB which is starting to make the rounds in hopes of publication. 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.
***
He was being hunted. After all these years, he knew when someone was after him. His lips quirked into a small smile. Let them come.
He stepped out onto the sidewalk from the underground mass-transit station, leaving the cloying odor of exhaust fumes mixed with stale urine behind him. His blue eyes studied the scene, taking every minute detail in a glance. Spotting no imminent threat to life or limb, he oriented himself by the street signs and headed off in search of his evening’s entertainment. The occasional ground cruiser sped past sending an acrid wave of exhaust fumes roiling towards him. He breathed deeply, reveling in the sheer baseness of it.
That was the beauty of Third Sector cosmopolitan areas like Linnes IV. You still had the modern conveniences of the Inner Commonwealth without the sterile conformity of places like Trisdos or Cormoran. It was still possible to engage in countless forms of vice, all of varying forms of legality.
***
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!
Today, I’m happy to turn over my blog to a guest, author Sandra Sookoo. Sandra has a new book out that is a really fascinating new take on something very old – Fairy Tales. We’re not talking about anything as mundane as modern fairy tales, though. We’re talking about re-imagined fairy tales with a Science Fiction twist. That’s just what FRACTURED is all about. So here to tell us all about her new book, and the giveaway that she’s planned, is author Sandra Sookoo.
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Thanks for allowing me to visit your blog today!
Hi, I’m Sandra Sookoo, and I have an addiction to happily ever afters.
That’s what draws me to writing and reading romance, knowing that after all the drama and trials the hero and heroine will have to overcome, I know there’s always going to be a happy ending. Is it always traditional? Not by a long shot, especially in some of my own work, but sometimes happy endings don’t always end with walking into the sunset or everyone watching shooting stars.
But I still cling to a deep love of fairy tales—although not the overly sweet ones.
When Liquid Silver Books announced their Silver Slippers call for reworked fairy tales, I was in the seventh heaven of delight. Can you imagine? My very own chance to put a stamp on the fairy tale world? To have the opportunity to shake up beloved tales in my own way? I couldn’t wait to get started. I’d already had a reimagined fairy tale (which came out last December) call Wishful Thinking hit the virtual shelves, but I needed more.
But wait… I wanted a different spin on things. I didn’t want the same old blah, blah, blah. So I plotted and planned. I thought putting a sci-fi edge on the story would be good and making the heroine a blood-sucking alien would be even better. Oh, the hurdles my hero and heroine would need to overcome.
Then I was surprised by my editor during edits when she mentioned the fairy tale she thought I’d re-imagined. I had no conscious knowledge of that, but looking back, I can totally see it. I mashed together two fairy tales into this retelling. I guess that’s what happens when I have fairy tales in my blood. What’s the second one you ask? Ah, you’ll need to pick up a copy of the book and see if you can tell!
You can almost hear the wicked laughter in the background, huh? I had the greatest fun writing FRACTURED.
Here’s the blurb: What happens when beauty is the beast?
Major Rick Keenan has a near-impossible mission: repair his broken shuttle, rescue a missing crew member and get off an almost-dead planet. Angry that the U.S. is discontinuing the space program, he wants to find a discovery that will revise the government’s position. Unfortunately, that discovery might just kill him.
Marin is one of the last of her people. Forced to flee to the planet in her childhood, she’s kept herself hidden away in darkness, safe in a castle-like fortress, only coming out when she needs to feed–from human blood. Convinced she’ll never fit in, she shuns all contact, yet taking Rick hostage as a food source chips away at her perceptions.
Though their differences threaten to tear them apart, their humanity binds them together. In a world where only the strong and determined survive, does a happily ever after stand a chance?
Book video:
Now for a short excerpt. In this snippet, the hero Rick and his teammate have just encountered a welcoming party from the planet they’ve landed on.
“I am Sharn. This is my daughter, Elisa. Welcome to Oolita, the village of the damned.” The man rubbed a shaking hand along his forehead.
“Damned?” Rick narrowed his eyes. “How do you figure?” He made another sweep of the medieval-style village and assessed his hosts’ period clothing. This planet’s not as advanced as Earth. Fantastic. Won’t be able to grab some guys from the village to help with repairs.
Elisa took a step forward. “There are beings who hunt these woods. If we do not bring them offerings or they are not interested in what we give, they come to kill. The victim is drained of blood and left as a soulless shell.”
What could you say to that? He glanced at Reigen. “Well, that doesn’t sound good.”
Sharn laid a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Forgive Elisa. The stories still fascinate her. The monsters have not come to the village for months.”
“Maybe they found a new hunting ground.” Reigen shifted his weight from foot to foot.
“No. It is said after they feed, they are satisfied for days before the need arises again and there are many villages scattered in the jungle.”
Rick shook his head. “Be that as it may, we’re here for a couple of things. First, do you have any idea where we can find one of these?” He reached into a pocket on his utility vest and pulled out a flat, square crystal, holding it up for Sharn to see. “We’re also missing a crew member. He’d be wearing clothes like us. Have you seen him?”
Sharn shook his head. “Anything we find of value we take to the ackarn orcha.”
“And that means?”
“Place of death or place of infinite sorrow. Both are interchangeable.” Sharn crossed his arms over his chest, hiding his hands in the robe’s wide sleeves. “We have not seen a man such as you. If he is lost, the monsters may have taken him.”
“Thanks.” Rick tapped his thumb on his weapon. “Any idea how long it takes to get to this place of death?”
Elisa gasped. “Two hours on foot, but no one goes there without an offering.”
“I never did believe in monsters.” Rick shrugged and nodded to his teammate. “We’ll just have to wing it and pray the ‘monster’ will go for my boyish charm.” He chuckled at the joke, but when the villagers merely stared at him, he sighed. “Okay, obviously stand-up comedy is before your time.”
Giveaway: One random commenter will receive book swag (bookmarks, postcards, etc) plus a cute little fairy tale themed necklace. This giveaway is open to US residents and Canada only. Please leave your contact information. Winner will be drawn January 25th.
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 (ten sentences or less) of your work for others to enjoy.
I’m glad everyone has been enjoying BARRON’S LAST STAND, but I’ve decided to shake it up a little today with a snippet from THE TENNOVA JOB. This book is the first installment of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES, the Space Opera series starring Bo Barron and Blade Devon. It is the prequel, if you will, to BARRON’S LAST STAND.
This scene occurs very early in Bo and Blade’s relationship. They don’t even know each other’s real names because they’re both under cover. Her father has been kidnapped and she has to steal a set of plans being offered on the black market if she wants to get him back. Blade has been coerced by the Inner Circle to return to work on “one last mission” to obtain said plans. Bo was blinded in a bar fight and Blade, a former military medic, has been tending to her injuries. After a rare attack of conscience, he’s decided that she would be safer if he sent her home. Unwilling to leave without the plans, she was reduced to begging for his help, but she can’t tell him why without placing her own life in danger.
***
“Somebody has you scared,” he said. “You’re not used to being scared, are you?”
Biting back her tears, Bo shook her head.
“You’re not used to swallowing your pride and begging, either. This must be something pretty big… important.”
He sighed.
“Ah hell… I’m a sucker for the chance to play the hero.” Disdain dripped from his tone. “Of course I’m going to help you. Blind, beautiful, helpless, mysterious… no holofeature writer could have come up with a better script for me. You’d better stop crying before I have to change your bandages again.”
***
THE TENNOVA JOB is currently making the rounds of slush piles everywhere.
I hope you have enjoyed this little snippet, don’t forget to check out the other wonderful authors in the web ring and please comment – writing is a lonely business and we’re such needy neurotic types we need to know our work is appreciated – or maybe that’s just me.
Between the Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippets and my excerpts, I’ve been getting some questions about BARRON’S LAST STAND and THE TENNOVA JOB. As more people are introduced to the characters and the ‘verse I’ve created, I suppose I should take the time to make the proper introductions.
I’ve been working on developing a Space Opera series of books called THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES. No, I don’t have a publisher for them – yet! While I have other Works In Progress (WIPs) the lion’s share of my effort has gone into THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES.
A HISTORY
First begun a little more than twenty years ago, this series started out as a single SF Romance novel – one book with a kick-butt heroine. After discarding two other potential heroes to win her heart, the soldier-turned-actor-turned-mercenary Blade Devon really captured my imagination. Yes, I’m not ashamed to admit that I fell head over heels in love with him. I finished the novel and sent it on its rounds. It was promptly rejected by some of the finest romance publishing houses in the business in the 1990’s. Looking back, I can see how it wasn’t something they were ready for at the time. So I set it aside to focus on honing my story craft skills, and to make a living as a freelance writer while I learned.
At a writer’s conference I was both covering and attending, I had the good fortune to speak at length with two of my heroes in SF – Piers Anthony and Ben Bova. On advice from both gentlemen, and with a promise from the late Barbara Bova to take a look at the next attempt, I went back to the drawing board and worked like a fiend on setting the groundwork for the series.
For varying personal reasons, (death, divorce, marriage, children) the series got pushed aside while life intruded. It sat for more than ten years before I pulled it out and fell in love with the characters and their ‘verse all over again. These characters will not leave me alone until their story is told. I have other stories, other characters, wanting to see the light of day, but Bo and Blade will not accept any more delays, and they are quite insistent. NOW!! They say. I must tell their story NOW!!!
At first, I focused on BARRON’S LAST STAND believing it to be the strongest story, and the one that stood alone with the greatest ease. But the more I worked on it, and the closer I got to completion, the more I realized that, while it does stand alone, much of the best parts of the ‘verse in which these characters lived and operated was lost without the rest of the series for reference.
So with a submission call from a publisher in mind, I switched my efforts to THE TENNOVA JOB, the tentatively titled first installment in THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES. What began as a novella has evolved into a more complex novel laying the groundwork for the remainder of the series. THE TENNOVA JOB is about to undergo a name change as it approaches a final draft. I’m leaning towards BARRON’S FALL, because it begins with The Barron’s fall from grace and sets her on course to save the Commonwealth.
Response from Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday was so overwhelmingly positive that I decided to post a total of three snippets from the same scene from BARRON’S LAST STAND for last week and this week’s installments. As you may recall, the idea is to feature a snippet of your work for others to enjoy.
Our heroine Bo Barron, has just taken her ship into hyperspace following a successful prison break that she was hired to manage. Unknown to her, along with her paid passenger, her estranged husband, Blade Devon, (a government operative also being held at the prison,) followed her and stowed away aboard her ship. Last time, she had just discovered him in her engine room. After hearing him out and extorting an outrageous fee out of him in exchange for passage on her ship, she’s escorting him, at gunpoint, to his quarters where she intends that will be locked in for the duration of the voyage.
***
Admiration shone in his eyes. With no other option, he reluctantly entered his quarters. Hands still on his head, he turned to face her. “Don’t I even get a good-night kiss?” he asked, his eyes settled briefly on her mouth.
Her breath caught and before she could stop herself, she lightly chewed on her bottom lip. She started to lean towards him, caught in his steel blue gaze, but hesitated when the memory flooded back. He’d made his choice and it hadn’t been her.
“Good night, Agent Devon,” she said.
He glanced briefly at the blaster in her hand, then a genuine smile quirked his lips. “For the record, Bo, I’m not your ex-husband. Kah Lahtrec doesn’t allow for divorce.”
***
You can find a brief summary of BARRON’S LAST STAND, along with a link to a longer excerpt on the Works In Progress page. It is, as the page suggests, a work in progress
I’m happy to turn my blog over to Science Fiction Romance Author Jenna McCormick today. Jenna has a new book out called NO LIMITS published byKensington Aphrodisia. It’s a departure from her B Cubed Series and I love the world she’s created!
Jenna, tell us about the relationships you’ve created in NO LIMITS…
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Thanks so much to Cali for hosting me here as part of the No Limits Blog Tour!
When writing futuristic erotic romance, I have to keep reminding myself that no matter how many cool gadgets I think up, no matter how stellar a battle scene is, what’s going to really help the reader connect are the personal relationships. Obviously in erotic romance physical intimacy is a huge chunk of the story, but I’m going to talk about another kind of relationship in my new release No Limits. Family relationships.
Genevieve Luzon is a heroine who lives in the shadow of her formidable telepathic grandmother, Cora. And when I say Cora is a telepath what I mean is she is THE telepath. Cora can pick a thought out of anyone’s head from miles away and even though she’s over one hundred years of age, she’s sharp as a tack and still a total spitfire.
Gen has developed a policy of total honesty, because let’s face it, lying to someone who can read your mind is not too bright. And Cora respects her granddaughter enough to respond in kind, which results in some very unique conversations.
***
Excerpt No Limits by Jenna McCormick
Cora picked up on the first ring, vid screen blocked, of course. “Genevieve Luzon, don’t think I’m so damned old that I can’t turn you over my knee and—”
“Sorry, Nana. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
Cora’s tone turned sly. “Who said anything about worry? I want to know how tricks are going. Have you gotten your groove on yet?”
“Um, yeah, about that. The situation is sort of complicated.” Gen put extra emphasis on the word, hoping Cora would probe her mind and find out all the gritty details. She really didn’t want to say it all out loud over a traceable line. Maybe Rhys did have her believing in some of his conspiracy theories.
Unfortunately, Cora wasn’t tuned in to her frequency. “How on earth can sexual relations with professionals be complicated? I thought you were working for Alison, the whole secret shopper gig. You aren’t running around telling all the man whores about that, are you? Because you know when I was an undercover agent….” Nana rambled on but Gen stopped listening. Usually she loved Cora’s wild tales of the bad old days, how she and Gramps had teamed up to fight a secret government task force but right now she was too preoccupied to hear about how Nana had saved the world. Again.
Damn it, of all times for Cora to be more interested in herself than what was doing with Gen. “I’ve been learning all sorts of stuff.” Come on Nana, read between the lines.
Unfortunately Cora’s mind had wandered too deep into the gutter outside la la land to pick up on her granddaughter’s cues. “What kind of stuff? Oh, do they offer samples? Or maybe a senior citizen discount—”
“Not gonna happen,” Jack called from the background.
***
See what I mean? Unique. Can you imagine discussing your sex life with your grandmother in such detail? Then again how many of our grandmothers are government trained telepaths?
***
I do see what you mean. I don’t even want to think about how that discussion would have gone with my grandmother (shudder).
Thanks, Jenna! I really appreciate your stopping by to share your new book with us! Best of luck with your blog tour!
Make sure you comment below to be entered to win a Kindle FIRE, courtesy of Jenna McCormick! For more information on the rules for the giveaway, click on the tour banner or the link at the bottom.
Be sure to get your copy of NO LIMITS wherever books are sold!
No Limits
Jenna McCormick
Now Available for Kindle, Nook, and wherever books are sold.
All Genevieve Luzon wants is to be loved by one man, a seemingly impossible task in New-New York City at the start of the twenty second century. Sure, she can buy sex as easily as order a pizza on a Friday night, but finding a forever kind of love among her self-centered peers is no easy feat for the unemployed off-world vacation coordinator. When an old friend offers her the position of secret shopper to test out the male prostitutes, Gen can’t think of a good reason to refuse. Hell, if she can’t find Mr. Right, she might as well try on a sampler of Mr. Right Nows.
Yet the perks of her new position don’t compare to the strange attraction she has, not for one of the prostitutes, but a candle that seems to warm places of her she never knew existed. When a man appears out of the flame, Gen is sure she’s found the one. Rhys is an empath, made a slave by the Illustra Corporation and he’s everything Gen could ever want. Except available. Because Rhys is on a mission. One that might claim his life. He must try to free his people, consequences be damned. Now, Gen must choose between turning her back on the only man she’s ever loved and the monumental task he has set for himself. Should she risk her life fighting a war hidden from polite society against those who wish to control us all?
Response from the last Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday was so overwhelmingly positive that I decided to post a total of three snippets from the same scene from BARRON’S LAST STAND for this week and next week’s installments. As you may recall, the idea is to feature a snippet of your work for others to enjoy.
Our heroine Bo Barron, has just taken her ship into hyperspace following a successful prison break that she was hired to manage. Unknown to her, along with her paid passenger, her estranged husband, Blade Devon, (a government operative also being held at the prison,) followed her and stowed away aboard her ship. Last time, she had just discovered him in her engine room. He has offered to pay her for his passage. Knowing that she has him between a rock and a hard place, Bo sees an opportunity for payback.
***
He gaped at her. “One point two mill?” he said, incredulously. “For an extra passenger?”
“For an ex-husband.” She smiled. “If you don’t like the price, you’re welcome to leave. I will be happy to escort you to the airlock.”
He shook his head. “You’re a pirate, you know that?”
“You’re a stowaway,” she shot back. “I’m within my rights if I shoot you now.”
***
You can find a brief summary of BARRON’S LAST STAND, along with a link to a longer excerpt on the Works In Progress page. It is, as the page suggests, a work in progress
The New Year dawns crisp and cold. The last two weeks have been filled with family and food, good conversation around a bonfire underneath a starry sky so bright and clear that the Milky Way looked close enough to cause a hazard to astrogation.
For me, the year ended on a high note with the completion of the second draft of the Space Opera Romance novella THE TENNOVA JOB, the first installment in the series featuring Commander Bo Barron and Inner Circle Agent-turned-holofeature-hero Blade Devon.
To celebrate, I’m offering a link to an excerpt from BARRON’S FALL, a bonus short piece about Bo Barron’s infamous trial and conviction of treason for the Frostfire Massacre. Enjoy!
What better way to kick off this blog than with a snippet from BARRON’S LAST STAND for Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday? The idea is to feature a snippet of your work for others to enjoy. In that spirit, I welcome you to my blog and offer this tiny teaser for your amusement.
Our heroine Bo Barron, has just taken her ship into hyperspace following a successful prison break that she was hired to manage. Unknown to her, along with her paid passenger, her estranged husband, Blade Devon, (a government operative also being held at the prison,) followed her and stowed away aboard her ship. She has just discovered him trying to pass unnoticed in her engine room.
***
With a sound mental shake, Bo tightened her grip on her blaster and clenched her jaw. He did not get to swagger back into her life as if nothing had happened.
“On your knees!” she snarled. “Now! Keep your hands where I can see them!”
“Now, love, let’s not do anything hasty,” Blade said calmly as he obeyed.
“Don’t worry. Anything I do to you I’ve been thinking about doing for a long time.”
***
You can find a brief summary of BARRON’S LAST STAND, along with a link to a longer excerpt on the Works In Progress page. It is, as the page suggests, a work in progress. Provided there are no more world-shattering crises, the finished manuscript should be in the hands of eager publishers and agents by the end of January.
Gotta Name My Blog 