Thursday, August 31, 2017

The Lady is Blue for #SFRB Showcase Plus 99c Specials

 SFRB Showcase
Welcome to the SFR Brigade Showcase for September
For this month’s showcase, I’m posting an excerpt from my first novel, The Lady is Blue.
Please remember to check out the posts from the other participants at http://sfrcontests.blogspot.com/p/sfr-brigade-presents.html 

Blurb
What color are your scales? Dr. Lucy Stannis, the chief biologist in the remote human colony on Eden, is thrilled when their scientists make contact with an alien vessel. Undaunted by the scaled bodies and sharp claws of the formidable Atrapako, Lucy befriends the spaceship captain, the Blue, Sa Kamizan Veedak. Her hopes of learning about the aliens are frustrated when they refuse to cooperate.

Appearances are deceptive. Sa Kamizan seeks a safe haven for his people. He has led them on a terrible voyage from their desolate homeland, and he will not permit the colony of puny humans to spoil his plans to settle on the fertile planet. He must rethink his devious scheme after meeting the beautiful, feisty Dr. Stannis. Her skills surprise him at every new challenge, but he cannot claim her without revealing the forbidden Atrapako secret.

Conflict is inevitable. The rigid culture of the unemotional aliens clashes with the lively human society, threatening Lucy’s tenuous friendship with Sa Kamizan. Can the unlikely couple overcome prejudice and work together to save the colony?

If you like plucky heroines and mysteries where deceptions abound, then you’ll enjoy this science fiction adventure and sweet romance with a surprise twist at the end.
Book 1 of Atrapako on Eden.  

 Lady


Excerpt: Sa Kamizan and Lucy flirt after swimming in a mountain pool. 

Lucy rolled back onto her stomach. “Of course, you have no feelings! I forgot.” She sighed dramatically.
“Any more nonsense and I’ll scratch your back,” he threatened.
Lucy wriggled her shoulders and called his bluff. “Good, I’ve got an itch in the middle of my back.”
There was the scrape of scales on rock as he moved to sit near her. He began to rub her back gently. 
Lucy smiled to herself. It was pleasant without his exposed claws. “A little lower,” she directed.
His breath came warm on her neck as he murmured, “You would scrape the skin from your hands if you tried to scratch my back.”
She laughed. “I know. We are totally incompatible.”
His breathing quickened and Lucy felt his hand slide down her body. An uncomfortable flush spread over her. She tensed and said coldly, “You enjoy touching me.”
Sa Kamizan removed his hand quickly and she sat up, hugging her knees to her chest protectively.
He gazed at her face, half kneeling in front of her. “You are beautiful!” he said with an unexpected catch in his voice.
“Do you feel emotion?” she asked, conscious of an electric attraction between them. For the first time, she felt he was vulnerable. He had betrayed a feeling of desire.
He gave a choke of laughter. “I did not claim to have no emotion, only less powerful emotions.”
A sudden insight hit her. “Oh, you mean less powerful than in Azarak?”
Reacting in alarm, his crest hairs stood erect and his eyes narrowed. He grabbed her arm, and grated, “Who told you?”
Without hesitating, she gazed into his piercing eyes and said, “You did.”
“I did not mention Azarak.” He glared at her.
She replied smoothly, “I made a lucky guess at the name.”
“Who have you told, Lucy?” he demanded, tightening his grip on her arm.
She shook her head and gave a rueful grin. “Who on Eden would believe me? Not the Governors; they consider me negligible, or crazy. They are even oblivious to the Blues’ games of dominance.”
He said, “I don’t play those games with you.” His crest lowered as he grew calmer.
“No,” she said in a thoughtful voice. “You don’t scare me. We play other games.” She tilted her chin, offering a challenge.
Sa Kamizan released her arm. “You are a dangerous woman, Lucy Stannis.”
“You are full of compliments today,” she whispered. “You may be the only person on Eden who believes I am dangerous.”
He grinned and lifted a loose strand of her hair. “It is part of your attraction. You keep astounding me.”
“We share a liking for dangerous people,” she said with a gleaming smile.

 The Lady is Blue - Only 99c this week at Amazon

Sassy Scientist Solves Mystery of Scaly Aliens
Quotes from Reviewers:
A sassy human female and an arrogant, scaled alien spaceship Captain collide. What could possibly go wrong? Or go right?”
“This was an enjoyable sci-fi romance with many plot twists and lots of action!”
“Really Captivating and Fun!”

Fun Promos
Sept 2-4: Labor Day Weekend Sale - 99c Science Fiction Romance eBooks at http://www.sfrstation.com/labor-day-weekend-99cent-book-sale/
 SFR 99c Sale


Sept 2-3: 99c Science Fiction & Fantasy eBooks at http://pattyjansen.com/promo
 Patty's promo


Sept 1-30: 99c Urban Fantasy & PNR eBooks at http://bookdragon.club/deals/
 BookDragon

Monday, August 28, 2017

Animals in my #SciFi Stories

 My Books

Animals often star in my Science Fiction and Fantasy stories. I have always loved animals, plants, and nature in general.

The prime example is Grand Master’s Cat, a short prequel to Grand Master’s Pawn, starring a feisty orange kitten. The story is really about Grand Master Athanor Griffin and how his life is changed for the better when he adopts the kitten, Rascal. 

 Cat


My series, the Grand Masters’ Galaxy, has diverse alien species, including sentient plants, amoeboids, and dragons. 

 Pawn

Grand Master’s Pawn, Book 1:  Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay
One young woman challenges the secret rulers of the galaxy, and risks a perilous love.
Young empath, Violet Hunter, dreams of exploring exotic planets as a Grand Master’s pawn. When life-threatening cracks appear in the teleportal web, Violet is tasked with investigating the disruption. Suspicions point to the twelve Grand Masters, and she must penetrate their curtain of secrecy to identify the culprit. Her challenges escalate when she meets the enigmatic man behind the griffin avatar. She plunges into a world of deadly intrigues and risks a perilous love. Armed with only her erratic powers and a mishmash of allies, she must battle the most powerful beings in the galaxy.

 Game

Grand Master’s Game, Book 2:  Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay
Psychically linked lovers fight to save the galaxy.
The rebellious Grand Master, Athanor Griffin, devises a risky plan to uncover the culprits responsible for life-threatening failures in the portal web. His loyal pawn and lover, Violet Hunter, is the key to success as they contend with hostile aliens and Grand Masters. But, she wrestles with her erratic psychic talents and doubts about their unequal partnership. She must surmount her insecurities and recruit allies to survive the inevitable battle with their enemies. Their worst nightmares lie ahead.

 Mate

Grand Master’s Mate, Book 3:  Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay
Young empath, Violet Hunter, and the crafty Grand Master, Athanor Griffin, tackle the villains threatening civilization.
Their worst enemy rampages across the galaxy, while blocked portals prevent normal interplanetary commerce. Compounding their problems, half the Grand Masters on the Council vow to eliminate Violet. To restore peace, Violet and Athanor embark on a hazardous quest for a weapon hidden by the ancient psychic masters. But, the weapon proves elusive, dangers lurk in the ancient sites, and new alliances forged with bizarre entities may not suffice to thwart their foes and save the galaxy. 

 Rift

Cosmic Rift, Book 4:  Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay
          Empath Violet embarks on a new and desperate mission to find her missing lover.
          Violet’s happy family is shattered when Athanor Griffin vanishes. The formidable Grand Master might have teleported anywhere in the galaxy. Violet strives to find her psychic partner, while looking after their baby and fulfilling his duties on the Council. Her frantic search uncovers a new threat to galactic civilization along with resurgence of the infamous Ixioth slavers. The Council dithers in response to her call for action, and even her former allies believe the Griffin is dead. She must risk her son, her psi-powers, and her life to rescue her beloved mate in the hope they can unite to fight the menace.


My Secret Supers series is based on the concept of aliens with super powers who are each bonded with a specific animal. The heroine acquires a superpower and a snarky flying horse after an “accidental” explosion. The hero has a telepathic link with a black jaguar cat. (Books are FREE with Kindle Unlimited.)

 Super Starrella

Super Starrella, Book 1: Amazon
Teen superhero, Starrella, and her flying horse combat vicious killers in the skies of Atalanta.
The quiet summer before her freshman year turns frighteningly weird after Estelle Wright trespasses onto an Army base. Blown into the air and knocked unconscious, she wakes with a nascent superpower. Not to mention a winged horse with a snarky attitude and a mind of her own.
Back home in Atalanta, a serial killer is targeting the students at Goldman University. Before long she must juggle college classes with sneaking out of the house after dark to battle alien monsters. Estelle’s life is in danger, but who can she trust: handsome Mark Copper from military intelligence, or hunky Toby, the tough gangster with a motorbike? Both men have secret agendas, but falling in love is not in their plans.

International http://myBook.to/Amazon-Starrella


 Starrella Falls

Starrella Falls, Book 2: Amazon
Super Starrella faces a bigger challenge and Toby is tangled in alien politics.
College freshman Estelle Wright has it all: a superpower, a flying horse, and a hunky boyfriend. All is threatened when her old enemy swears revenge, ruthless killers target Atalanta, and Toby is under pressure to dump her. But, Estelle’s knack of finding trouble scuttles his plans. Their lives are at stake and they face agonizing decisions where the wrong choice will lead to disaster. 

 Gargoyle Hunt

Gargoyle Hunt, Book 3: Amazon
Danger is the last thing on Estelle’s mind when she visits the University of Oxenford for a summer course. But, mysterious thefts from the archives and shadowy figures on the ancient walls propel her into action. With Toby five thousand miles away, Estelle and her winged horse must hunt for the culprits alone. Soon they are embroiled in a mixed bag of aliens and ancient magic. Toby’s unexpected arrival throws her into turmoil and spurs events into a climax. Under pressure to succeed, Toby is trapped in a web of deceit. The two supers have a week to catch the crooks and salvage his reputation.

 Dragons

Dragons of Vkani, Book 2 of Atrapako on Eden, includes dragon lizards.
Atrapako Blue, Sa Kamizan Veedak, and Dr. Lucy Stannis receive a distress call from his sister. They must undertake the dangerous mission to rescue her from the war-torn planet of Vkani. As an exile, Sa Kamizan risks death if he is recognized. Their motley crew of Atrapako and human scientists will need all their skills to combat treachery by brutal warlords and survive the hostile environment.
Available at Amazon and FREE with Kindle Unlimited.



Sunday, August 20, 2017

Sentient species of Grand Masters' Galaxy Plus #Free Story #Aliens #SciFi

 GM Galaxy

Animals, plants and a variety of sentient aliens star in this series. 

 Gifts


Always free - short story - Gifts of Jangalore: Amazon  iBooks  B&N  Kobo  

Major Sapient Species in the Grand Masters’ Galaxy

Comments: This list is by no means a complete accounting of the species in the stories. In some cases, Violet encountered individuals of undetermined species or questionable sapience. For instance, she met several entities in the oceans of AguaSalva, including one that claimed to be the sole member of its species. 

Aman-ellans: Bipedal feline/humanoid entities with soft fur and cat-like ears.

Brululians: Crustaceans resembling man-sized lobsters with triangular heads bearing eyestalks, ocher carapaces and many legs. Five genders; two compatible genders are required to produce offspring.  

Dragons: Winged reptilian species inhabiting the planet Sythos.

Elyrians: Bipedal, slender humanoids who communicate by telepathy. Each Elyrian bears a colored crystal on its forehead.

Flia: Flightless avian entities with brightly colored feathers, beaks and clawed arms. Only females travel off their native planets.  

Humans/humanoids: Inhabitants of Terra or the many planets colonized by humans over thousands of years. Occur in a variety of sizes and colors.

Ixioths: Giant insectoids with six red eyes, six legs, and a hump-backed carapace with vestigial wings.

Jangalorans: Monkey-like inhabitants of Jangalore with six eyes, six legs and a puff of a tail.

Maanaans: Giant mushrooms with a domed hood and short foot/stalk.

Thoss: Bipedal, tailless reptilian or lizardman.  

Umloa’s Brood: Giant amoeba-like entities that can assume protean forms and engulf food or enemies.

Wistralians: Plantoids resembling giant flowers with three petals, a short stalk, and trailing roots.

Yelliasts: Entities resemble serpents with three round eyes and three pairs of wings. 


Books in Grand Masters’ Galaxy 
Super psychics in space: One young woman challenges the super psychics ruling the galaxy, and finds an impossible love


 My Books

Saturday, August 19, 2017

What the Styx! Snippet from WIP for #WeWriWa #SciFi #amwriting


Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors. Meet writers in various genres and read 8-10 sentence snippets of their stories.

Okay, I’m biting the bullet and offering snippets from my WIP. It’s at 59k words and I’m editing. Among other things, I have to deal with killing off one minor character and rewriting him out of later scenes. This story has several deaths.

Current Tag line: What alien creatures lurk under the ice crust of Europa?

Here are the next few lines of Chapter one. Dr. Nikki Bell is traveling to Europa to study the alien life in the ocean.
It’s not a final version and any suggestions will be especially appreciated.

   The ship’s layout fixed in her mind, she kicked off, traveling diagonally from wall to wall to propel herself through the empty corridor to the nearest life craft.
   Overhead lights flickered and faded to black, leaving only the line of red arrows marking the direction of the exit. The corridor bucked. She banged against the wall and stumbled onto her knees, cringing at the creak of overstrained metal.
    The siren’s whine cut to silence.
   What the Styx did that mean? She had to get out. Nikki struggled upright and flipped on her headlamp. The bay with the lifepod was a few steps ahead. Its door was shut and no one was visible in the annex.


I will probably miss one or both of the next two weekends due to traveling in Europe. So, here's a freebie to keep you amused - 

 Cat

FREE August 20-22nd - Grand Master’s Cat - Short Prequel to the Grand MastersGalaxy
When Grand Master Griffin investigates a wrecked spacecraft, his efforts to rescue the survivors lead to feline disruptions of his plans.

As always, I’ll be happy to reply to your comments.

Please return to www.wewriwa.com to sample the works of the other writers. 

 My Books

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Partitions clanged shut - snippet from WIP for #WeWriWa #SciFi

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors. Meet writers in various genres and read 8-10 sentence snippets of their stories.

Okay, I’m biting the bullet and offering snippets from my WIP. It’s at 56k words and I’m editing. Among other things, I have to deal with killing off one minor character and rewriting him out of later scenes. This story has several deaths.

Current Tag line: What alien creatures lurk under the ice crust of Europa?

Here are the next few lines of Chapter one. Dr. Nikki Bell is traveling to Europa to study the alien life in the ocean.
It’s not a final version and any suggestions will be especially appreciated.

Her arms flailing for a grip, Nikki struggled to catch hold of the handrail. Her emergency training kicked in. Primed by drills every third day of the voyage, she knew what to do. She dived for the nearest oxygen canister. Working one handed while grasping the rail, she fastened the mask around her mouth and nose. Her mind cleared, clicking into logical mode. The spaceship was damaged, possibly hit by a stray asteroid on the outer fringes of the belt.
Heavy partitions clanged shut, separating the damaged sections of the ship. The nearer set slammed closed, and a second, fainter clunk, sounded in the opposite direction. Her section was isolated from the rest of the ship.



You can find a selection of 99c and Free eBooks, as well as two giveaways, at

As always, I’ll be happy to reply to your comments.
Please return to www.wewriwa.com to sample the works of the other writers.


 My Books

Friday, August 11, 2017

Romance, SciFi & Fantasy - 99c & #FREE eBooks Plus #Giveaway

 SpFn

Aug 7-13: Speculative Fiction Romance Sale 99c http://smschmitz.com/dominion-rising
Love Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-fi & Fantasy Romance? Then check out this great sale. Even heroes and heroines need a little romance at the end of a long day of saving their corner of the galaxy. 40+ books only 99c for a limited time.

 BlogandBook
Aug 11-14: 70 Books FREE or 99c in Book Fair/Book Blast http://www.bookandblogservices.com/free-and-99-cent-ebooks-august/

 Romance
Aug 6-13: Instafreebie Romance Giveaway http://SecretWoodsbooks.com/promo 


 Readers Realm
Aug 10-24: Readers’ Realm Fantasy & SciFi Instafreebie http://thereadersrealm.com/free-books/

Giveaway for Kindle Fire
 KindleFire

Aug 1-31: Enter "Back-to-School" Blast Giveaway for KindleFire Plus SciFi & Fantasy ebooks http://www.newadultnoir.com/giveaways/win-a-kindle-fire-hd-tablet-21-young-adult-new-adult-sci-fi-fantasy-novels/

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Reader Answers to 4 Questions about Book Choices #IndieAuthors #WritingTips

 My Books

Results of Reader Survey

Last weekend, I asked my newsletter subscribers to participate in a short survey. I was pleasantly surprised when 99 people responded. This number is probably not a statistically significant sample, nor was the survey designed scientifically, however, the results are still valuable.

Note the caveats. Many of my subscribers joined to get a free ebook or to enter a giveaway. Also, I join promotions and giveaways in science fiction, fantasy and romance because my stories are in those genres.  

I have listed each of my questions followed by the answers and my comments.

Questions for Readers
If you would like to help me by doing a short survey, please answer these questions:

1. Where do you buy ebooks: Amazon, Apple, Barnes&Noble, Kobo or GooglePlay?
Answers:
Amazon 92%; Kobo 12%; B&N(Nook) 9%; Apple(iBooks) 10%; GooglePlay 7%; Other: Smashwords, Instafreebie, BookFunnel, Authors
Although the majority buy from Amazon, many use multiple sources for books.

For Amazon, do you use Kindle Unlimited?
Yes: 17%

2. What is your favorite genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction etc?
Answers:
Fantasy 64%; SciFi 51%; Romance 33%; Mystery 23%; Horror 7%
Other: PNR, UF, SFR, Thriller, Historical
Many read all or a variety of genres.

3. Do you prefer a story written in the point of view of one character or more than one?
Answers:
One POV 23%; 2 or more 31%
Many readers did not care as long as the POV was obvious. A few complained about confusing switches in POV for some stories. 

4. Do you like stories that emphasize adventure or romance?
Answers
Adventure 83%; Romance 32%;
26% of readers said “Both” (included in separate categories).
Other readers said they enjoy adventure with a little romance. 


Are these answers helpful to you? Please comment. 
Aurora

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Or Have a Look at My Other Books http://www.auroraspringer.org/p/my-books.html
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