Author Spotlight - Excerpt from "Kidnapped"

Thank you so much for supporting Maria during her spotlight week. Leave a comment today, tomorrow and Sunday on the Excerpt post and included your email. Maria is giving away a PDF copy of her story, Kidnapped. One lucky winner will be chosen on the following Monday, 11 JUN. Enjoy the Excerpt!

Moderator Steph

********

Something poked Patricia, awakening her from a deep sleep, and she yelped, thinking it might be a rat. When she focused her eyes, she stared at Travis's legs right in front of her. He had nudged her with the toe of his boot. She still held the soft little cup clutched to her chest, and didn't let it go even as she fought to sit up. "Oh no."

He answered dryly, "Yes, I'm happy to see you too."

It took a couple of seconds for reality to sink into her mind. Offending him would be bad, maybe even lethal, and she tried to talk her way out of the slip, "I was hoping it was a dream."

His next words weren't at all what she expected. "You wouldn't cause any trouble for me if I were to let you out, right?"

The prospect of seeing something besides the bare walls of the cell felt almost intoxicating, and she shook her head eagerly. Travis smirked, "You wouldn't, say, try to overpower me with that really dangerous cup or anything, would you?"

Had he seen her? Had he been watching her? All night? She felt herself blush, but still clutched the cup harder. It was hers, the only thing she had, and she wanted to keep it. She still dropped it when he reached a hand down to pull her up. Accepting the offering seemed dangerous, but rejecting it even more so. Putting her hand carefully in his, half expecting pain and death, it surprised her to find it warm and human.

"It'll take us a few days to reach Central. Any mischief and you get to spend all that time in here, do you understand? If you try to contact William, try to steal the ship, sabotage it, anything, it's back to the cell. Am I making myself clear?"

She nodded obediently and glanced down at her hand still holding his. It surprised her she wasn't as afraid of him anymore. He almost seemed like a real person. Looking up, she found herself staring at the ruined part of his face. That too seemed less frightening and revolting now. If anything, it looked painful and filled her with sympathy. "Why are you doing this? Being nice to me, I mean?"

He made a dismissive gesture, "I don't know. I should kill you and get it over with, but I guess you're harmless."

Dropping her hand and turning abruptly, he walked out with long strides, and she hurried to follow. As soon as she got into the corridor her head started to spin, trying to take in all the unfamiliar sights and smells, and she had to jog to keep up with him to the elevator. If she'd still had doubts about where she was they evaporated. This thing, whatever it was, couldn't have been made on Earth.


*****

Review snippets:

"Kidnapped will hold your attention from beginning to end. You MUST read it."
Paula L. McElwee

"I highly recommend "Kidnapped" to anyone who enjoys, action, romance, sci-fi and a spectacular read!"
Mrs. Michael

"With taut, escalating action, Kidnapped is a thoroughly intriguing read."
Chelsea Perry, Apex Reviews

"In a genre where minutely-detailed descriptions of nanorobots in the blood stream make quite a few appearances, Maria Hammarblad makes her traditional narrative refreshing -- not cliché. The jury approves."
The Scattering


Book trailer link: http://youtu.be/GDmhI7c69iM

Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Blog: http://www.scifiromance.info
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Buy-link Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00825645A
Buy-link Desert Breeze Publishing: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-292/Kidnapped-Maria-Hammarblad/Detail.bok

Author Spotlight - Human Aliens by Maria Hammarblad

From time to time, people ask me why my aliens seem so human. Shouldn't they be eight foot tall, blue, and have tentacles and ray guns? Well, some do, but in my imagination most people the heroine runs into are more or less human. I concoct a convenient explanation of a common past, where the race spread or was sent all over the universe. The species might have developed differently on different worlds, but is basically the same. There are definitely culture clashes, though.

Why do I do this? It is interesting to imagine what life on other worlds might look like. If there is life out there, I'm convinced it doesn't look anything like us. (I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!) Life takes on so many forms on our planet alone, and it might develop along quite different lines on another world.

I write science fiction romance, and while I like to think love is indifferent to species - I love my dogs, for example - I do think romantic love and attraction is connected to more basic needs. Romance is about falling in love, about physical attraction as well as attraction of the soul, and there has to be a certain genetic compatibility to make it feasible. Would a human heroine from Earth fall for a spaceman that looked like a giant purple jellyfish? Maybe, but it seems more likely she'd fall for a humanoid.

Book trailer link: http://youtu.be/GDmhI7c69iM

Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Blog: http://www.scifiromance.info
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Buy-link Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00825645A
Buy-link Desert Breeze Publishing: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-292/Kidnapped-Maria-Hammarblad/Detail.bok

Author Spotlight - Interview with Patricia, heroine of Kidnapped

STEPH: Patricia, what was the worst part of being in space?

PATRICIA: Being in space! It was absolutely horrifying. It's beautiful, but really big and scary. Well, after I got past the first shock, I think it was the food. These people are so fixed on efficiency you wouldn't believe it. It's like… eating a bar of cereal, but more like hay, day after day after day. I would have killed someone for some real food. Not killed, exactly, but you know what I mean…

STEPH: Travis took you to a restaurant though, right?

PATRICA: Yes, he did. I was so scared at the time, but he did his best. I don't think he understood why I didn't want to eat anymore hay-bars, but he tried to fix it for me. He even got me chocolate!

STEPH: I hear you had a problem with your clothes too?

PATRICIA: Oh, yes, what an ordeal that day was. I stepped into this personal cleanser; it's a tube that's their version of a shower. It's a carwash - it sprays stuff over you and dries you off. You get clean, but it's not pleasant. Anyway, when I got out of the tube, my clothes were gone, and I thought someone took them. Imagine standing on a spaceship in the middle of nowhere, no clue of how to get home, without a thread to wear. I had to put on some alien clothes, Travis said they were from prisoners, I don't even want to know where he got them.

STEPH: If your life was a movie, who would play you?

PATRICIA: Mila Kunis, definitely. Everyone says I look just like her. *fluffs hair* My writer says it might be hard to accomplish because she's very famous and probably busy, but hey, a girl can dream, right! I always say if you do something, you should do it right.


Book trailer link: http://youtu.be/GDmhI7c69iM

Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Blog: http://www.scifiromance.info
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Buy-link Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00825645A
Buy-link Desert Breeze Publishing: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-292/Kidnapped-Maria-Hammarblad/Detail.bok

Author Spotlight - Free-floating chips, ants, and black holes! by Maria Hammarblad

In documentaries, cartoons, and some science fiction movies, one can see astronauts float around in zero gravity. Being able to push oneself from one wall to another does look cool, but not very practical. In The Simpsons, Homer goes to space and has to utilize his zero-gravity chips-eating skills when he spills snacks all over the cockpit. Unfortunately, he also spills ants. I don't remember how the episode ends, but it's rather funny.

I thought a lot about gravity and the lack thereof when I wrote Kidnapped, and I had an explanation to how Travis's ship can have artificial gravity in one of the first drafts. It slowed the story too much, so I took it out. Patricia is in the middle of an adventure, and who cares how she can walk. She walks. Right…?

Anyway, the subject intrigues me. The common trick in novels and movies is making a spaceship spin, creating an illusion of weight through centripetal force. I don't know if it would work in a bigger scale or not; at least in my mind, the ship would have to spin rather quickly to have an effect. I wonder if a person inside would know the ship was spinning? Sounds like a way to get motion sick, for sure.

Truth is, we don't really understand gravity. It's connected to mass, and we know what it does, but the theory behind it is still iffy. When I wrote "Kidnapped," I thought, "You'd need something really heavy. Lots of mass, so high density to make it smaller than a planet…" What is the one thing we know of that has extremely high density and high mass? So high it eats anything that comes to close? A black hole!

In my imagination, Travis's people have learned to master the science of black holes, putting one the size of a pinhead in the bottom of the ship. It's surrounded by a nifty containment field, controlled by the computer. Ta-da, all gravitational problems solved. Patricia can run around, jump, and feel quite at home without having to worry about drifting to the ceiling. If she were to spill something, it would end up on the floor where it belongs. Travis's floor is self-cleaning. I want one!

Book trailer link: http://youtu.be/GDmhI7c69iM

Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Blog: http://www.scifiromance.info
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Buy-link Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00825645A
Buy-link Desert Breeze Publishing: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-292/Kidnapped-Maria-Hammarblad/Detail.bok

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Maria Hammarblad

STEPH: I don't know much about "Kidnapped." What's it about?

MARIA: Kidnapped is about a girl who is in the wrong place at the wrong time; she's abducted by mistake. It's a bad situation. She wakes up in a spaceship surrounded by peculiar objects, and a very scary person is interrogating her in a language she doesn't understand. She tells herself it isn't real, but eventually she has to accept what's happening, and try to survive and get back home.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

MARIA: I wrote the first version when I was a teenager, and forgot all about it for decades. When I remembered about it, getting the story down was a pretty quick job, but I've rewritten it over and over again.

STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

MARIA: That is an excellent question. The story is set in space, and there are spaceships, other worlds, and a battle between good and evil. I evidently made all that up. However, for any story to become believable, it needs traces of truth. Earlier in my life, I've taken classes in Earth and Space science, and when I wrote Kidnapped, I took a college class in Astrobiology. It was a lot of fun!

Any science in my books is mixed up with lots and lots of imagination. It's fiction, and even though many scifi readers have a good grasp on science, I do think it's okay to ignore some facts in favor of the story. For example, I know a moon would most likely be too small to maintain an atmosphere, and that its gravity would be too low for a human to just walk around on it like we do on Earth, but having someone land on it, seeing a giant planet hang in the sky, is much cooler than reality!





STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story within?

MARIA: Better than I dared dream. I love how you see the Earth in the background; it's there, but ways away, and Patricia works so hard to get back to it. Holographic maps are mentioned a couple of times in the book, and the map has a nice symbolism to it. Patricia is lost in so many ways, and she sure could use some guidance.

STEPH: Patricia is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weakness?

MARIA: She likes people, and she's an optimist. People don't see her as a threat, and she's so likeable they want to help her. She's also impulsive and follows her heart, for better and for worse.

STEPH: What does Travis find appealing about her?

MARIA: She's a pure soul, if that makes any sense… She's innocent, forthright, and very different from everyone else he ever met. She can show kindness without ulterior motives, and no one has been kind to him before, not even when he was a child. Afraid of him, sure. She is afraid of him too, but she still has the ability to feel sympathy.

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

MARIA: I'd say, Hope. Bad things happen, but it's important not to give up.

STEPH: As a writer, where do you draw inspiration from?

MARIA: Everything! Things and people I see around me, people I meet online, the news… I see something and my mind starts playing a "What if" game. I'm writing a story right now that started when I was driving to the store and saw a guy on a motorcycle in the rear view mirror. "What if that guy follows the heroine?"

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

MARIA: For the longest time I thought I didn't need one; I read on an iPad and was quite happy with that. Then, I thought that since I write e-books I should at least try a real e-reader, so I bought a Kindle Touch. I like it much more than I thought I would; I love that it works in sunlight, and the text to speech function is convenient. I mean, it misses to pause at periods and new chapters and such, but it's pretty good for being a machine. I plug it into the car stereo and listen to books when I'm driving.

STEPH: Fun question: Summer vacation is coming up. Any plans?

MARIA: I should make something up, shouldn't I, hahaha! I don't have any big plans; I live in Florida and it's pretty much a vacation paradise. If I have some time off, I like to sit in the back yard with the doggies, or go to the beach. I do want to go to Kennedy Space Center, we'll see if I get around to it.




Book trailer link: http://youtu.be/GDmhI7c69iM

Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Blog: http://www.scifiromance.info
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Buy-link Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00825645A
Buy-link Desert Breeze Publishing: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-292/Kidnapped-Maria-Hammarblad/Detail.bok

Author Spotlight - Excerpt from "Janus" by Gail Delaney

Thank you all for supporting Gail during her spotlight week. If you would like a copy of the free read "A Lifetime Ago," the prequel to the Phoenix Rebellion Series, leave a message in the comments below along with your email address. Also, **everyone** who leaves a comment will be entered to receive either a free copy of "Revolution" (Book 1, The Phoenix Rebellion Series) or "Janus" (Book 1, The Phoenix Rising Series). Remember - leave your email so I can get ahold of you. Now enjoy this excerpt from "Janus."

Smiles
Moderator Steph

***********

Briggs was hot on Montgomery's heels, which seemed to be her preferred position, and President Tanner beat them to the door, opening it for them. As soon as they were alone, Jenifer took the single stride needed to bring her into John's space. He straightened slightly, but didn't move to back away from her intrusion. With him leaning on the counter, they were nearly eye level. He inhaled, his jaw working. She just stared, her hands planted at her waist, then arched a single eyebrow.

He actually chuckled and looked down, a humorless grin tipping his lips. "I'm no' hidin' anythin', Jenifer. Yeah, we looked at everythin' Nick mentioned when decidin' where I'd go, but I told him I didn't want to go to Chicago. The other cities ruled themselves out for various reasons."

"Why not Chicago?"

He raised his chin again, but his eyes didn't meet hers. He focused downward, staring at maybe her chin to avoid her eyes. "Silas was supposed to go with me."

She almost asked, "What's that got to do with anything?" but her brain engaged before her mouth and she stopped. Drawing a slow breath, Jenifer nodded. "You didn't want to take him back to where his mother died."

"He still remembers." He did look straight at her then. "He was five years old. He remembers the bombin's, and runnin' with his mother and me to find safety." John paused, his jaw working as he ground his teeth. "He remembers his mother dyin'."

Jenifer forced her shoulders to relax and looked past him, finding a chipped spot of paint on the wall to stare at. Some of her anger drained away, unable to maintain it once she understood the reason for his decision. She'd once pegged John to be just like every other politician she ever had the misfortune of dealing with -- egotistical and fake -- but the more she shared space with him, the more she learned of him as a man, the less she believed he was the typical politician. Creating a new problem for Jenifer. It was easier to protect someone she didn't like, because every choice and action was based on reaching a final outcome -- keeping him alive, whether she thought he deserved to be, or not. The fact she actually liked John Smith had the potential of clouding her judgment, and changing her perspective. Caring didn't equate with getting the job done.

If she was smart, she'd walk away now and leave him to his own devices or to the care of Connor Montgomery and his Firebirds.

If she was smart.

*********

The Phoenix Rebellion video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CybGNoUuhdI&feature=youtu.be

FIND GAIL AT:

My site: http://www.GailDelaney.com

Facebook for general writing: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorGailRDelaney

Facebook for the Phoenix series: http://www.facebook.com/PhoenixGailRDelaney

Publisher's Buy link is:

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-297/Phoenix-Rising-Book-One-cln-/Detail.bok

Author Spotlight - What's the world like after "the" war? By Gail Delaney

At the end of The Phoenix Rebellion, mankind -- with a new group of allies (I don't want to give away too much for those who haven't read it) -- fights back against their enemies and oppressors. The war is short, fighting lasts only three days, but the effects are devastating.

Phoenix Rising brings us back to a post-war/near-apocalyptic Earth. Entire cities were leveled in the attacks before the actual war ever began, a show of power by our enemies intended to keep us submissive. More than 3/4 of the planets population is dead. Our eco-system is suddenly floundering after being carefully controlled by technology for decades, and now not only is the technology gone, but we suffered a planetary war. Even or continents look different because entire portions have been destroyed. Coastlines are reformed, oceans and waterways rerouted. Technology, something we had begun to rely so heavily on, is spattered and undependable. Providing shelter, food, and medical care to the citizens of his world are the primary concerns of the planet's newly appointed president.

Phoenix had once been the rebellion. They had been the men and women hiding in secret to take down the enemy. Now, they control the planet. They are the saviors of a fumbling world. A new rebellion has begun, the Xenos. These are humans determined to rid our planet of all alien influence, despite the fact the DNA of our allies runs deep within our own genetic make up (That's explained in the first series, sorry...) They are not rebels, they are terrorists, killing their own for a pointless, blind cause.

But, despite all this destitution and destruction, there is hope. We have beaten back those who wanted to make us little more than slaves. We have reclaimed our world. We have made allies with races willing and able to aid us, not oppress us. We now know we aren't alone in the universe. We are regaining our sense of self, reviving old traditions and beliefs, finding our paths back to our forgotten truths. Faith and hope walk hand in hand, and we are revived.

No one believes for a moment it will be easy, each day is a struggle, and full recover could be decades away, but as the tagline says...

Out of Ashes Humanity Will Rise Again.

Author Spotlight - What's the future like before "the" war? by Gail Delaney

I love writing speculative/futuristic romance because I can really let my imagination ask the question "What if..." The big 'what if' question in this whole series is "What if we made First Contact in 2008 with a superiorly advanced race who claimed to be our ancestors?"

There are many tangents that question can take, but I'm going to focus on the way I see our world changing given this situation. Since I am writing these books set mid-21st Century, I had the latitude of adding advances while still making the world feel very similar to our own. When you consider the fact those people who would be middle aged in this series would be children now. How would this decade affect an adult in the future?

I had to consider the fact that after that point of first contact, everything changed. There might be set points in time, such as the earthquake in Japan, but social events would change. Since in this theoretical timeline, George W. Bush would have been president at first contact, I theorize everything after that would be different. It is very likely Barack Obama would not have been president as the political situations that encouraged his election would not be at play after we suddenly share our world with aliens. There would be a focus shift. And all elected officials after that, right up to the first planetary ruler in 2017, would be different.

So, in the 2050s when the Phoenix world begins, we no longer have individual countries and governments. The Earth is governed by an elected president, but prior to the 'war' our government had begun to be strongly influenced by our alien 'benefactors'. Medicine has advanced to include genetic screening, DNA manipulation, and we were just flirting with the idea of planned parenting (in that individuals would be matched for reproductive purposes with the best possible income). Many genetic defects have been theorized to have been removed from our gene pool.

Religion has slipped from our everyday lives as people have fallen under the influence of our extra-terrestrial benefactors who have convinced far too many that belief in a being greater than themselves is foolishness. Holidays as a whole, whether it be Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, any country or ethnic holiday, have been slowly removed from our calendars.

We have space flight, but only so far as our benefactors will allow, slowly feeding us tiny bits of knowledge so we feel as though the world is progressing when in truth we're being held back.

But, beneath all this are those few who think beyond the words of the aliens. Those who don't swallow the lies. Those who seek the truth. That story begins in The Phoenix Rebellion, and continues in this new series... Phoenix Rising.

Come back tomorrow to read how things are 'after' the war.

Author Spotlight - Gail Delaney casts the characters in Janus

John and Jenifer came about in an odd, organic kind of way. When I wrote The Phoenix Rebellion series, I had no definitive plans to write another series. So, when I decided I wanted to do another series I revisited the first for possible new stories.

John Smith XXXIV (yes, that's the thirty-fourth -- John says the Aretu of people of habit) of Aretu was introduced in the third book of The Phoenix Rebellion -- Gaining Ground. While he played a significant role, he wasn't a primary character. In my mind, John Smith was modeled after Christopher Eccleston, a British actor. For those of you who may be fans of Doctor Who, you may notice the 'double meaning' in his name. ☺

Christopher Eccleston isn't your usual hunky, good looking hero... but there is something about him I find very appealing. So, I played on that in Janus. John Smith is known across the planet as the Aretu Ambassador to Earth, and much to his chagrin, he's also considered a bit of a sex symbol. As Connor Montgomery asks his second-in-command (a woman). "So, is it the whole alien thing?"

If John was a secondary character, Jenifer should have been little more than a blip on anyone's radar. She appeared in two whole scenes in the first series -- at the end of book two -- Outcasts and the beginning of book three -- Gaining Ground. John and Jenifer have connections to each other, but never meet. That whole 'six degrees of separation' kind of thing.

My best friend and partner in crime, Jenifer Ranieri, was in a way inspiration for Jenifer. When writing the series, Jenifer asked me to write a total kick-butt heroine, even if she was there and gone, and name her Jenifer. So, I did. Little did I know she would be the perfect match for John Smith in another series.

As far as picturing Jenifer, I see Clair Forlani. She's beautiful, but there is something hidden deep behind her eyes.

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Gail Delaney

STEPH: I don't know much about "Janus." What's it about?

GAIL: Janus is the first book in a new "Phoenix" series titled Phoenix Rising, which picks up almost a year after the end of the series The Phoenix Rebellion.

It's been a year since Humanity rose up against their alien oppressors and took back Earth from the Sorracchi. The war left Earth devastated, crippled, but not beaten. Under the leadership of President Nick Tanner and in collaboration with their new Areth and Umani allies, the Earth seeks stable ground again.

John Smith of the Areth was a soldier before his queen asked him to serve as ambassador to Earth, and he is out of his element. Restricted in his position from carrying a weapon, he has no way of defensing himself or his adopted son when the Xenos -- a group of Humans wishing to purge the Earth of all alien influence -- decide they want him dead.

Jenifer is a soldier for hire, and answers to no one but her own common sense. She first refused the "job" of serving as John's bodyguard, but a glimpse at the heart of the man convinces her to accept the responsibility.

John has two faces: a soldier and an ambassador of peace. Jenifer has two faces: the steel-skinned warrior and the forgotten person she once was. Too many people hide behind masks, and it's those hiding who want John dead.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

GAIL: Way too long! I began the novel in 2008. Yes, 2008. I had several false starts, and ended up setting it aside to write a different novel -- Something Better -- contributed to the Borealis anthologies, and finish revisions on some other novels. I picked it up again this past year, and finally found the right road. Once I got started it took about 8 months.

STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

GAIL: Not much, in truth, as it is set in the future. On occasion, I would look up a scientific fact so it read true, but other than that much of it is speculative. Most of my 'research' was going back to the original series and looking up facts and details so things read true from one series to the other.

STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story within?

GAIL: The book is titled Janus because Janus was a Greek god of two faces -- reflecting beginnings and endings, masks we wear, etc. This is a theme within the story: People hiding who they really are behind masks, lives beginning, parts of their lives ending. The cover was created with a reflective image to illustrate that duality.

STEPH: Jenifer is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weakness?

GAIL: Her strength is her independence. She is, overall, a very strong personality. She lives on her own, for herself. She has a strong sense of loyalty to those who have proven themselves worthy of it, but she takes no guff from anyone. She lives by her own rules.

In actuality, this is also her weakness. She has put up so many walls, and pushed aside so many elements of herself, she has lost who she could be behind who she feels she has to be.

STEPH: What does John find appealing about her?

GAIL: Her mystery. John is Areth, an alien, and nearly every Areth citizen has what is known as a Talent -- a psychic ability (often more than one). One of John's many Talents is the ability to sense others emotions, their intent. He can't read minds, but if you are upset but hiding behind a stoic expression, he can feel it. But Jenifer is a blank slate to him. In the beginning, he senses absolutely nothing from her. And he finds this both frustrating and appealing. He admires her strength, admires her beauty, her intelligence, and even her sharp wit. She draws him because she pushes him away.

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

GAIL: Duplicity. Although the clearest element of this is illustrated with John and Jenifer -- both have pasts and elements of themselves they hide from everyone -- there are other forms of duplicity as well. Duplicity of the worst kind. Enemies in the guise of friends.

STEPH: As a writer, where do you draw inspiration from?

GAIL: Oh, all the place and often never the same place twice. But, per inspiration, I'd have to say much of it comes from dreams. I suppose one could argue dreams are influenced by every day events -- books we've read, things we've watched on television, conversations we've had, things we've seen but perhaps didn't even register at the time -- so, it really does come back to 'all over the place'.

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

GAIL: I have two. I first had a Nook first generation, which I still love. But, last year I was given an iPad as a birthday gift and I use the iBookstore app on it to read. I really love the size of the screen, the ease of changing font size and screen brightness, and the overall 'look' of the page. But, I would recommend both. If you want 'less' in your reader (don't need apps, bells and whistles) then the Nook is great.

STEPH: Fun question: What are your plans for Memorial Day?

GAIL: I actually don't have any at the moment. My husband and I had discussed flying back to the East Coast for the weekend to take care of some family matters, but then 'other' family matters came up and I think that has been put on hold. In all likelihood I'll end up just catching up on other work. I'm going to a one day writer's convention the following weekend, so I might be packing. ☺

Author Spotlight - Excerpt for: Noah's Ark

Thank you all for supporting Vijaya during her spotlight week. Leave a comment, today, Saturday, and Sunday along with your email so we can get ahold of you. On Monday, I'll pick a winner to receive a print copy of "White Tiger."

Smiles
Moderator Steph

****

Blurb:

When Trixie's star freighter, Noah's Ark, drops out of jump space in an uncharted part of the universe, she believes the M‑class planet on her viewer represents hope and salvation for her motley crew and the ragtag settlers aboard her ship.

Kostas, ex Space Marine, the expert survivalist recruited for this expedition, doesn't believe in coincidences, and knows that when something looks too good to be true, it usually is.

Everyone on this voyage to seed a new planet with life, is running from something, and harbors dangerous secrets... including Trixie, who vowed to never let a man control her life again. As for Kostas, he would get lynched on the spot if anyone suspected who he really is.

But on this seemingly abandoned planet, others are watching, herding them for evil purposes... And when the truth emerges and secrets unravel, Trixie and Kostas will have to fight for survival, for freedom, and for the right to love...

EXCERPT:

Kostas glanced at the man’s retreating back and smiled at Trixie. "Captain, may I have a word?"

"Make it brief." She rubbed her gloved hands together.

"I took the liberty of loading two large pallets of weapons." Kostas pointed to the place in the column where he’d positioned them.

"How typical!" Trixie’s voice erupted loud and cutting, with a hint of exasperated sarcasm. "I specifically requested survival supplies only." She counted on her gloved fingers. "Livestock, food, medicine, tools..."

Her attitude sluiced Kostas like an icy shower. Tempted to clam up, he decided otherwise but struggled to keep his tone neutral and low. "You’ll need these weapons if whoever shot us down comes looking for us."

"We were shot down by automated defenses on the small moon." Trixie shook her head in obvious frustration. "No one manned the guns. We detected no ships in the vicinity."

Trusting his instincts, Kostas refused to capitulate. "Still..."

"Still what?" She took a quick breath. "You military types are all alike. Shoot first, think later.
These pallets could have carried more food rations."

Kostas ground his teeth, then struggled to keep his voice civil. "I beg to disagree, Captain. Whoever built that moon station did it for a reason. Some advanced civilization staked a claim on this planet, and they may return at any time."

"If they ever return." Trixie’s visible efforts to calm herself failed as her voice rose again. "That battery of cannons might have been on the moon for centuries. That race may never come back, or not in this millennium. But without food, many of these people will die of starvation or related disease before the end of the winter."

"Hold it, Captain." Kostas wouldn’t let her blame him for doing the right thing. "We still might be able to get more rations tomorrow."

"Orders are orders, soldier." Her voice dropped to a quiet but threatening level. "I expect you of all people to follow them to the letter."

Kostas refused to apologize for his actions. "May I remind you, Captain, that we are not on your ship anymore. You have no authority on land, and I am the survival expert on this expedition."

She just stared at him, open-mouthed. Afraid he’d say something he might regret, Kostas tightened his jaw and held Trixie’s glare without flinching. She didn’t flinch either. So much fire in those cool blue eyes. Damn! She was beautiful when angry.

GIVEAWAY:

A paperback copy of WHITE TIGER (Book One in the series) will be sent to one commenter. Please leave your email so we can contact you about where to mail the book.

Hope you enjoy this series.

Find Vijaya on the web at: http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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Finishing the series gives a writer the blues - by Vijaya Schartz

It’s only been a month since Noah’s Ark was published, and while I have temporarily turned to a different series for another publisher, I’m still grieving. Leaving a world I’ve been living in for several years is always a sad thing. So sad that I’m already thinking about returning to the world of Kassouk. It’s going to be a while, but when my current project is over, I’ll probably add another book to the Chronicles of Kassouk. Whether it’s the story of Humans finally finding the planet where the original settlers crashed, or something that happened between the prequel and Book One, I still don’t know. But deep in the recesses of my brain, somewhere out of my reach, a new story of Kassouk is brewing.

I miss the swords and blasters, and the courageous humans fighting for their freedom from bondage against impossible odds. I miss the snow. Would you believe it? I don’t even like the cold. That’s why I live in Arizona.

When I first started writing White Tiger, it was destined to be a short story, a novella at best. It was also a challenge to overcome my distaste for the cold. What better than a frozen planet? Little did I know that this short story would end up taking me on such a wondrous journey. With five complete novels, this series is becoming some kind of entity with a life of its own. Kassouk might someday find its way into the encyclopedias... or at least Wikipedia. Why not?

I’ve always loved to get lost in a world created from a writer’s imagination. Long ago, when I was still in France (where I was born and raised) I used to read the DUNE series by Frank Herbert. It was a fascinating world of dunes, a sea of sand. Little did I know I would someday create a world of my own, and sustain it through the course of many novels.

A writer is allowed to dream. What’s next for this white, snowy world? A Kassouk TV series? A blockbuster movie? Don’t be afraid to dream. In this world of instant media, anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Pardon the cliché.

In the meantime, I invite you all to read the complete CHRONICLES OF KASSOUK, in eBooks from the Prequel down to the four next books. And if you only read print, WHITE TIGER (book one) was just released in paperback, for a very friendly price...

Find Vijaya on the web at: http://www.vijayaschartz.com
Friend her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vijaya-Schartz-Author/109777709045040
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Why science fiction authors write medieval novels – By Vijaya Schartz

As an author, I write romance in futuristic and medieval settings, and sometimes, I mix both into the same series, like in the Chronicles of Kassouk, where I pit a medieval society against an advanced technological race. And contrary to modern logic, medieval humans are smart, very resourceful and full of surprises... enough to outdo their betters. Everyone enjoys seeing the oppressed win in the end.
A number of new authors are now also writing medieval as well as science fiction novels, but this is not a new phenomenon. Marion Zimmer Bradley in the eighties and nineties wrote in both science fiction and medieval genres with her Mists of Avalon (Arthurian legends) series and her Darkover (speculative fiction) series, and she met with great success in both genres. Most of her readers did cross over the genres to read all her books. I was one of them.

Writing the past or the future is not so far apart. Research is still research. For the future, instead of researching historical facts, you research modern science in order to project where the next logical evolutionary step will lead, and what kind of future society it will likely engender. Creating an unfamiliar world and making it real to the reader, whether in the past or in the future, requires the same skills, the same kind of imagination that projects into a world with different sets of rules, a different political climate, different dress codes, eating habits, different laws and ethics, different religious beliefs, different taboos, etc.

The only thing that doesn’t change through the ages is people. Although we would like to believe that we evolved over the last millennia, we really haven’t. Despite our fancy laws, we still have serial killers and terrorists. Given the opportunity, any human being will behave in the same noble or despicable manner now as he or she would have centuries ago. And in the future, it will probably still be the case.
Of course, in the future there also might be robots, cyborgs, and clones which might operate under a different set of rules. But is that so different from the rules controlling the slaves of ancient times?
The struggle for justice, however, like the need for love and freedom, are timeless and constant themes that keep repeating in the past, the present, and will most likely endure in the future. Because these needs are inherent to human nature.

In conclusion, whether a writer tackles the past or the future, what carries a story, beyond the action, adventure and plot, is human emotion.

Hope you enjoy reading the CHRONICLES OF KASSOUK SERIES as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Find Vijaya on the web at: http://www.vijayaschartz.com
Friend her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vijaya-Schartz-Author/109777709045040
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The Chronicles of Kassouk, an example of how societies evolve

I’m glad I had the opportunity to write the prequel to this series. NOAH’S ARK does explain a lot about how these modern humans who came in a spaceship lost their technology and reversed to a medieval level of civilization. It’s not a natural evolution. It was forced upon them by the powerful aliens who claimed and exploited the planet where they crashed. Of course, it had to be an exciting adventure, with a central romance, lots of action and worthwhile conflicts to forge the beginning of this new society. I believe NOAH’S ARK is all of that.

In Book One, WHITE TIGER, after several centuries the human settlers have all but forgotten their true origins. All that remains of their past are legends mixed with superstition. By then they have adapted to this wintry world, they have their own history, and they are ruled and kept ignorant of technology by a powerful advanced race who exploits them for their own purpose. The heroine, White Tiger, raised by a military man, is a captain in the human cavalry. She knows there is hidden technology, although she doesn’t have access to it. The hero is a highly educated handsome Mutant, Dragomir... the result of breeding experiments mixing human and alien DNA. And boy, is he gorgeous!

In Book Two, RED LEOPARD, a few generations after White Tiger, the hero is the first human to access the governing council of Kassouk. Terek is highly educated, although the population at large is not, and he is in charge of the city in the king’s absence. The heroine is a cool, double edge sword alien female, a warrior princess, who has more human than alien traits, and is considered flawed among her people. The issue here is one of trust.

In Book Three, BLACK JAGUAR, the planet is warming and the human population has reached the stage of building large sea-faring galleons. Our hero is a Zerker prince, Kahuel of Yalta, a descendant of White Tiger’s mortal enemies. They now have evolved into a civilized society. When he embarks on a voyage of adventure and discovery, he finds primitive humans who can read minds where no humans should be. As for the heroine, Talina, she is innocent and pure, highly spiritual, connected to the land and her people, and she can read the heart of this warrior prince, who fits the prophecy of her people.

In BLUE LIONESS, still further in time, the kind Mutant king dies a suspicious death and is replaced by a Mutant council hostile to humans. Ariela of Kassouk, a Black Sword captain educated beyond the allowed human limits, feels she is the only one who can help the human race avoid slavery. She needs help, and Starro, crown prince of the Star People, the mysterious tribe from beyond the sea, might just provide what she needs... but he has frightening supernatural powers...

I believe all societies are in constant flux and subject to all kinds of influences. I’m fascinated by history, so writing a society of my own and watching it evolve from book to book was a very exciting experience. I enjoyed writing every page.

Find Vijaya on the web at: http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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Author Spotlight - Q&A with Vijaya Schartz

STEPH: What is "Noah's Ark" about?

VIJAYA: It’s about the female captain of a star freighter full of human settlers and domestic animals, and plant seeds, and frozen embryos, on a scientific mission to jump-start life and settle a new planet. When they fall out of jump space in the vicinity of an M-class planet, she realizes they are lost in an uncharted part of space. Then they are shot down, and crash land on the planet, which happens to be habitable, although freezing cold. Her survival expert is a Space Marine, Kostas, but as a military type, he has a very different idea of what must be done.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

VIJAYA: It takes me about five to six months to write a full length novel. For most authors, it’s considered slow. But I want my books to be unique and fascinating. I want my characters to come alive on the page, I want an unpredictable plot and action, as well as deep emotional conflicts.

STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

VIJAYA: Funny enough, for this fifth book in the Chronicles of Kassouk series (although now it comes first in the series) I had to research... my own books. I had to reread and take apart all the other books in the series, because it’s been a while since I wrote the first books, and for this prequel I had to gather all the tiniest clues and threads I had sewn into the tapestry of this world I had created. It’s like writing a story backwards. In the previous novels, I alluded to all kinds of things that happened in the past and had turned into legends or traditions. Now I had to dig out these legends, like an archeologist, examine the evidence, and reconstruct the true facts behind the myths. It was kind of fun.

STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story within?

VIJAYA: I love the cover. It’s perfect. The star freighter is marooned in the snow, in front of this medieval citadel of Kassouk, which is the background for most of the covers, and most of the stories in this series. It’s incongruous, just like the situation of my human settlers, faced with medieval technology. But of course, there is a lot more going on...

STEPH: Trixie is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weakness?

VIJAYA: She is a leader, a captain, and her responsibility is to keep crew and passengers alive and well. But she also hide deep wounds. She didn’t do so good in her private life. She is fleeing from an overbearing father and running away from a disastrous marriage. She swore she would never let a strong man control her life again. Yet she is a lover and an optimist to a fault. She wants to believe that this planet is their lucky break despite the tragedy that befell them. It takes her a while to realize that the hero was right, and their situation is not exactly what it seems...

STEPH: What does Kostas find appealing about her?

VIJAYA: Her optimism. He is the exact opposite, and for good reasons. As the survival expert of the expedition, he points out everything that can and will go wrong. And he is a warrior, not a lover. But secretly, he admires her ability to keep a positive outlook and to make the most of any bad situation. He cannot help being attracted to her bubbling, charming personality (even when she berates him for not following her orders).

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

VIJAYA: We can overcome any odds and love can triumph in any circumstances. Love is just as important as hope, food, and technology for a community to survive in the direst conditions. Love and compassion is their salvation, whether or not they are aware of it. Another underlying theme is overcoming racism, not just skin color, not just cultural differences... not even alien races. It’s something much more insidious, invisible, yet fundamental and gut wrenching...

STEPH: As a writer, where do you draw inspiration from?

VIJAYA: Night dreams, hours of daydreaming, the science channel, the history channel, I’m avid for knowledge of the past and the possible futures. I read, I watch movies. My mind is constantly absorbing, analyzing, digesting, and plotting new stories.

STEPH: Do you have an eBook reader? If so, which one?

VIJAYA: I love my kindle. Since I bought it I can’t stop reading. I’m discovering new talented authors. This eBook revolution is the best thing that ever happened to enrich the human mind.

STEPH: Do you plan another story in the Chronicles of Kassouk?

VIJAYA: Not at this time. But if I did, it would be a much later story in the chronicles, the story of the humans of Kassouk making first contact with humans from earth. What if a vessel from earth came to them? How would both parties react to the way their cultures have changed over many centuries? It would be an interesting confrontation. Would they be friends or enemies? That story is brewing in the back of my mind and might one day surface as a novel.

Find Vijaya on the web at: http://www.vijayaschartz.com
Friend her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vijaya-Schartz-Author/109777709045040
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Author Spotlight - Excerpt from "That Syncing Feeling"

Enjoy this excerpt from "That Syncing Feeling" by Michelle Levigne.
Moderator Steph

*****

The airlock signaled all clear, pressure equalized, and something small and dark stepped into the shadows of the airlock. Nureen watched all the sensor readouts, both displayed in front of her and what came through her ship link, straight into her brain. Everything looked good -- at least, nothing had been detected that would endanger her life. That meant nothing, because Rovers knew, better than anyone else, that there were weird and wonderful and terrifying things out there beyond the range of the most modern technology and sensors. Just because the equipment couldn't see or sense something didn't mean it wasn't there.

Okay, I give in, she silently groused. I need some shore leave badly.

In response, the airlock pinged, signaling it was ready to open. She made one more check of the readouts, took a deep breath, and sent through the mental signal to open the airlock.

Two seconds later she nearly went to her knees. Nureen managed to hold back the automatic "awwwww" as she stared down at her visitor.

It was less than a meter tall, with enormous emerald eyes and big tufted ears. Its fur was silver shading toward lavender, and its four arms and four legs were short and chubby and sported four fingers or toes with blunt silver nails.

It was all she could do not to go to her knees and scoop up the creature in her arms to cuddle it.

"Hey, wait a minute." Nureen took two steps back from the goomibah. For good measure, she held her breath, in case the totally mythical, appears-only-in-children's-entertainment-vids-creature gave off mind-altering substances that registered as totally natural. They wouldn't set off red flags in her sensors, even as her brain melted and she lost three-quarters of her intelligence rating.

Oh, I'm so sorry, that buzzing voice said into her brain, without the creature's lips moving. I thought this form would make it easier for you to accept me.

This form? Nureen definitely needed shore leave. Metamorphic creatures were the stuff of legend, just like the goomibah.
We don't have time to discuss history and fable. The Synch is going to catch up with us. Those horrid hive creatures damaged my ship, and I certainly can't leave you out here unprepared. You'll have to trust me.

"Trust you for what?" Nureen dodged sideways, guided by instinct before her conscious mind registered that the goomibah was ... flying, straight at her. Without wings.

She shrieked, biting back a string of curses, when it flattened and wrapped around her neck and shoulders. All right, it was warm and soft and smelled of vanilla and ambrosia apples -- but it shouldn't have been able to do that. And wasn't there a parasitic flying plant on Congress IV that smelled like paradise when it wrapped around its victims' heads, rendering them unconscious before digesting them?

I'm protecting you! that voice insisted. Look outside your ship!

Nureen listened to her gut instinct more than the warm, soft sheet enfolding her, and braced herself for the worst as she looked.

It was worse than the worst. Mostly because she usually only imagined one thing at a time as "the worst." The "worst" she could imagine right now was to see the Talroqi ship bearing down on her.

She was wrong.

The vortex had expanded and was reaching out greedy fingers for her.

It had already grabbed hold of the Talroqi ship and was tearing it apart.

She figured if the vortex had the Talroqi for dinner, she was dessert.

********

REVIEWS FOR: THAT SYNCING FEELING:

Many thanks to Candy at Single Titles for a great review of my Borealis novella, "That Syncing Feeling."



Star Rating: 4.5 Stars


Rover Pilot Nureen Keala’s joy ride comes to an end when she receives an SOS from an alien running away from a Talroqi queen ship. Nureen rescues the telepathic shapeshifting creature named Tessur. The anomaly that captured Tessur suddenly grabs Nureen’s ship and tosses her into an unknown dimension ruled by a dictatorship called the Trans Planetary Protectorate (TTP). The TTP is a corrupt government out to rule their entire universe. Nureen’s appearance lets them know that there are new and unexplored areas of space left to conquer. To keep the TTP from her homeland, Nureen depends on Tessur and a dead hero from her own dimension. Can a simple pilot stop an invasion?

Five years earlier, Tedrin Creed fell into the same anomaly that captured Nureen. Creed hopes Nureen can help him get home. First he must convince her that he is really Tedrin Creed. According to Nureen, Tedrin Creed died fifty years ago during a space battle. Creed must convince Nureen that the anomaly captured him and that he did not die. Creed is a hero to Nureen. He was her grandfather’s best friend. Will Creed convince Nureen of the truth before the TTP can invade their universe?

Michelle Levigne takes a young pilot and tosses her into a situation that will change her life forever. Nureen had a crush on Tedrin Creed and dreamed of fighting aliens at his side. The anomaly presents Nureen with her fondest wish, but she does not trust Creed. He is too young to be the hero of the Talroqi war. The Trans Planetary Protectorate rules most of the known universe and is a brutal dictatorship. Ms. Levigne presents a story with lots of action and a forbidden love that should not be possible. Will Nureen help Creed return home and prevent the TTP from learning how to navigate the anomaly?



Major thanks to Long and Short of it and Night Owl review sites for their very kind words about my SF books.



First off:
Borealis: THAT SYNCING FEELING
New from Desert Breeze Publishing




Here are some snippets from the review:
Rating: 4.5 Books

Reviewed by Foxglove


That Syncing Feeling is a sweet and delightful love story, filled with adventure and humor, and unusual creatures. 

Michelle Levigne has added to the Borealis family with a romantic story of finding love where you least expect it, and with the most unlikely couple. I found this to be a fun filled and action packed adventure, with tongue in cheek humor, sweet first love and lots of danger along the way. 

Nureen Keala is smart, courageous and a bit of a dreamer. She is following in her grandfather’s footsteps, and trying not to disappoint those in command of the Fleet. ... I loved Nureen, with her daring attitude and her sassy remarks. I liked that she didn’t instantly believe Creed was the real deal, but made him prove his identity. ... I like Creed’s determination and his tenacity, and the way he finally was able to come to terms with his feelings for his best friend’s granddaughter.

The secondary characters in this are few but interesting. Tessur is a morphing shape changer, able to become anything that is even remotely organic, and this talent saves the day more than once in this adventure. My favorite comic relief was the addition of three TPP scientists assigned to keep watch over Tedrin Creed, Drs. Moek, Kerli and Lairy. They were clueless as to Creed’s intentions, and his ability to trick them was priceless.

There is a bit of adventure and danger as the trio of Nureen, Tedrin and Tessur make their escape from Borealis, and I was on the edge of my seat through most of the story. Do they make it back to their dimension and find a life together? You’ll just have to read That Syncing Feeling to find out.

Author Spotlight - Michelle Levigne talks about the inspiration behind "That Syncing Feeling"

Like I said on Monday, there were certain elements I wanted to play with. I wanted to have fun and be silly. I wanted a "merry chaos" story, where the main character kept muttering, "Why ME?" as one weird, inexplicable thing after another happened, and no matter how hard she tried, it just all kept going downhill.

I had this shapeshifting character named Tessur that I had created for a series of Star Trek fan fiction stories for the club I used to belong to. Essentially, my character, Lt. Mikara (animal telepath, cultural anthropologist) meets up with Cyrano Jones on her way to join her ship. Yes, that Cyrano Jones, of "Trouble with Tribbles" fame. Poor Cyrano, trying to get rid of this little three-legged stool that could walk ... and Mikara meets Tessur. They torment her captain with things that he's sure he shouldn't see, and Tessur gets Mikara out of trouble when she's temporarily assigned to the Enterprise (she's positive it's a death sentence) and "loses" her landing party team to a planet-wide mental "reprogramming" field.

In "Syncing," Tessur takes on various faces/bodies to get Nureen and Creed out of tight spots, and acts as a translator for her when she lands in an alien dimension. And he drives her crazy the first time she sees him "melt" into new shapes that shouldn't exist.

I torture my characters. It's fun!

Author Spotlight - Michelle Levigne talks about her favorite Science Fiction Show

Right now, it's Warehouse 13.

Essentially: Secret Service agents travel the world, looking for weird, magical, sometimes malevolent gizmos that are wreaking havoc in people's lives. Like Edgar Allen Poe's pen, that makes the things it writes happen. Or Marilyn Monroe's hairbrush, that turns a woman's hair platinum and makes her act like ... well, a dizzy blonde bimbo! Or stones from the Tower of Babel, that scrambles languages. On and on. The agents neutralize the gizmos and take them to Warehouse 13, where they're controlled and kept from hurting people.

All the weird gizmos are great. The challenge of short-circuiting the dangerous gizmo that is either malfunctioning or has fallen into the wrong hands. Or identifying what crazy things is suddenly creating havoc.

But more important is the cast of characters. They're all unique, they're all individuals, and they care about each other, even as they're sniping at each other and teasing and griping and being totally frustrated with each other. I love the ensemble, the family feel -- don't we often want to just strangulate our family, despite how much we love them? Pete and Mica are so different, but such a perfect team. Pete is the big, goofy little brother who enjoys all the weirdness. Mica is the smart, anal-retentive, analytical big sister trying to get Pete to be serious for more than two seconds in a row. Then there's Claudia, the super-geek rocker, so smart she scares herself. Like she said one time to Artie, "I'm not even my own age." There's Gina, who certainly deserves more screen time, who cares, who looks after them. Artie, the overburdened, frustrated, "can we get serious now?" father of this brood. And scary Mrs. Fredric! Love her. I sure hope that watch that McPherson left for Artie has what it takes to fix things. The last we saw of Mrs. Fredric, she was a pile of dust and bones on Gina's living room floor!

Warehouse 13 has humor and snarky fun. It's clean. It saves the world at least twice every season. And there just aren't enough episodes.

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Michelle Levigne

STEPH: I don't know much about "That Syncing Feeling." What's it about?

MICHELLE: It's a tie-in to my full-length novel SF romance, "Blue Fire." Nureen, the heroine of "Syncing" is childhood military brat friend with Rhianni, the heroine of "Blue," and even shows up several times.

Nureen is a hot-shot pilot, out having a snit-fit in a scout craft, because she's stuck patrolling dead space instead of being in on the action, supporting Rhianni. She gets a distress call, and ends up falling through a vortex into another dimension -- the Borealis universe -- with a shapeshifting creature named Tessur. On the Borealis, she runs into Tedrin Creed. He's been there 5 years, after falling through a similar space anomaly. Problem: Nureed knows who Creed is, her grandfather's best friend, a war hero, who is presumed dead after a massive space battle 50 years ago. Naturally, she doesn't believe he is who he says. Creed has bigger problems: they only have so much time to get to the space anomaly and get home before it closes. Maybe permanently.

STEPH: How did you become involved in writing for the Borealis Science Fiction Series?

MICHELLE: Gail asked for more victims -- err -- intrepid writers willing to try to play in her playground. I got my start writing fan fiction, playing in someone else's playground, and it sounded like it might be fun!

STEPH: What inspired your story?

MICHELLE: I wanted to give Nureen an adventure. I had to figure out how to get from the "Blue Fire" universe to the Borealis universe. Answer: Space anomaly. Then I thought about all the trouble you can get in if it's not only distance, but time that's messed with. Then I had this shapeshifting critter I created for a bunch of Star Trek stories years ago, that I wanted to take out of retirement. And I wanted to have some fun.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

MICHELLE: Maybe 1 week for the first draft, then maybe 2 days each for each revision. When you're having fun, the stories just flow.



STEPH: How did you come up with the title "That Syncing Feeling?"

MICHELLE: Tessur, the shapeshifter, refers to the space anomaly/vortex as the Sync -- as in "synchronizing" as well as "sinking." And I wanted to get a little silly -- play on words, "Sinking Feeling."

STEPH: Have you read other Borealis stories?

MICHELLE: Yes! Fun. I read them for research before I got started. Big shoes to fill!

STEPH: Did you grow up with a passion for Science Fiction?

MICHELLE: I think so -- I can remember playing Star Trek on the elementary playground. The climbing tower was our spaceship. We slid down the poles for our "transporter." I always got to play Spock because I was the only one who could do the Vulcan salute.

There's always been SF around. I loved it when they started publishing the Star Trek novels. Then the original Star Wars came out when I was in high schoo. I can remember going to the SAME theater to see Star Wars for my 16th and 17th birthdays.

STEPH: What's your writing space like?

MICHELLE: Right now it's a mess. Lots of bookshelves at one end of the room. computer desk and worktable at the other end of the room. Papers everywhere, notebooks on the floor, where I'm organizing/sorting/ridding notes for upcoming books. Don't even look in my closet, where it's always a jumble of promo materials and packing boxes and projects I haven't finished yet. But it's all MY mess, and it's a comfortable place with a big chair that's good for sitting and typing for a looooong time. I have my music to shut out the rest of the world, a window that looks out on the back yard with a creek and trees and bluejays and deer walking through.

STEPH: How long have you been writing?

MICHELLE: Feels like forever! I can remember scribbling stories in junior high, daydreaming and rewriting TV shows that didn't satisfy me, or continuing the storyline of movies and books that really caught my attention. I started seriously writing books, actually FINISHING them, in 10th grade. So yeah ... forever!

Author Spotlight - Excerpt from Blue Lioness

BLURB FOR BLUE LIONESS:

In the face of Human slavery, Back Sword Captain Ariela of Kassouk must do the unthinkable. Rebel against the Mutant regime. But she cannot do it alone.

Ariela suspects the king’s death is no accident. And the tyrant who usurped the throne looks guilty as hell. As leader of the Human rebellion against the Mutant rulers, Ariela is desperate for help, and Lord Starro, the handsome Crown Prince of the Star Children, offers the technology the Human faction lacks. But can Ariela trust a spoiled, arrogant foreign prince who never fought a battle, and thinks he is destined to rule the universe? Is she trading one tyrant for another? No matter how kind, handsome, or fascinating, Starro has frightening mental abilities. And this alliance is not safe, especially for Ariela’s heart.

EXCERPT: different from the one on the publisher's website.

Starro closed his eyes and the golden light caressed the regular planes of his face. "Still no sign of pursuit."

Ariela wrenched her gaze from his athletic body, a hint of shame warming her cheeks. She scrutinized their surroundings. "Assassins use stealth. We must keep our eyes open."

"I don't need my eyes to know there are none close to us." His neutral tone barely covered a subtle impatience.

"What exactly can you do that Humans cannot?" The question had been on Ariela's mind for a while. "If you explain it to me, I won't have to bruise your precious ego at every turn."

"You speak straight as an assassin's arrow." Starro gave a short, nervous laugh. "But it wouldn't be wise to tell our secrets to a foreigner. All foreigners are potential enemies."

Ariela couldn't help the flare of anger in her voice. "I thought we were allies against Lord Kohl and his blasted Mutant freaks!"
He flinched. Did her swearing bother him? Too bad.

His expression turned serious. "We are allies. So, I guess I should tell you." He straightened his long, muscled legs. The loose silk trousers tucked into white boots showed signs of dust, and the trek had scuffed the fine material. "We Star Children do not take these gifts lightly, and keeping them secret insures our advantage when conflicts arise. We pride ourselves in resolving most disputes without bloodshed."

"Blood is shed all the time." Ariela scoffed. "You can't avoid spilling blood, especially in an all out war."

"Yet, our gifts allowed us this luxury... thus far." He sighed. "I fear this is the end of a peaceful era. The specter of war is upon us."
"So what are these mysterious gifts?" The words came out sharper than Ariela intended.

He flashed an uneasy smile then stared at the ground.

Ariela resented his stubborn silence. "What if I give you my word as a warrior never to tell a soul? Will you trust me then?"

"I do trust you, Beloved mine." His warm voice in her mind again. "But even the best of us can be made to talk."

Ariela sighed, finally accepting that he could speak in her mind. "I guess you found that out in Kohl's dungeon."

He lifted his piercing gaze, and his jovial smile returned. "All right. I owe you the truth. We inherited our gifts from a now extinct race called the Estrell."

Find the book on the Desert Breeze Publishing site, or for your specific eBook reader, wherever eBooks are sold.

Vijaya Schartz
Award-winning Romantic Science Fiction with a kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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