Review of My Writing Progress in 2021

 

Every December, I post my annual report about my progress, especially in writing fiction. 2021 was another stressful year. The covid pandemic exacerbated problems with family health and jobs. The major source of distress was my father-in-law’s drastic decline in health. My husband and I helped him find suitable care. He was hospitalized several times, entered hospice and died in September. We are still dealing with his possessions. Our university jobs also became increasingly difficult. We decided to retire in January in order to travel more and to pursue other opportunities such as writing fiction and photography.

Despite the difficulties, I published two novels and took a family camping trip to Connecticut. Here's a view of our first campsite on the way north and a scene from Harper's Ferry on the return journey.   

 

Books Published in 2021

 

Baswin, Book 5 of Taxyon Space

Near future Sci-Fi adventure and romance starring alien mermen

Can a psychic woman from Earth find a home among the alien Warrish?

Alien merman, Baswin Kenton Tallis, Second of his Triad, lives on Earth disguised as a human. When the Earth authorities discover the secret identity of his older brother, Bas must flee to the Warrish base in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

Psychic sensitives, Holly Moon and her younger sister Rosie, were chosen as candidates for Warrish training as hyperspace navigators. Rosie is eager to contribute to humanity’s advance into space. Yet she fears she may not adapt to the neuro-implants or might fail the arduous tests.

Holly meets Baswin on an island in the Pacific Ocean, but their destiny lies farther away. What obstacles will block their journey to a happy reunion with the Flaming Comets Triad? 

Available at: Amazon   iBooks   Kobo   B&N   GooglePlay  Other

 

 

Bridget Bramble and the Wandering Elf

Fantasy romance. A young witch flees the destruction of her home to seek the fabled land where elves and humans live in peace.

In a land threatened by cruel invaders from the east, Bridget Bramble barters medicinal herbs and buttons for a living. When marauders target her village and murder her family, she flees into the woods. Armed with her Granny’s advice and a bag of magic buttons, she sets out on the perilous journey to Oakenwald, the fabled land where elves and men live in harmony. On her travels, she encounters malicious creatures from the worst kind of folktale.

Lost in the foothills of the mountains, Bridget meets the elf, Windswift the Wanderer. He offers to guide her across the mountain range. But what is the elf doing in human lands? Can an ordinary, or almost ordinary, human girl trust a cold hearted elf to lead her to safety? 

Available at Amazon   iBooks   B&N   Kobo  GooglePlay   Other

 

These two books bring my total output for the past 7 years to 20 full-length novels, 2 novellas and 4 short stories, 5 box sets and an anthology of shorter works.

  

Major Promotions in 2021

Grand Master’s Pawn, book 1 in the Grand Masters’ Galaxy, was free in 2021 as an experiment. This strategy did generate sales of the other books, although results were not impressive. People who bought the second book generally continued to the current end of the series. 

BookBub Featured Deal: Taxyon Space Triad, boxset of books 1-3, was accepted for a US and International Featured Deal at 99c in November. The Boxset was briefly a US and International Bestseller on Amazon. It had more than 2500 sales that month plus a good readthrough with sales of the next two books in the series.

 

My Goals for 2022

1)      I plan to complete the second book in my new epic fantasy series Chronicles of Oakenwald.

2)      Next, I hope to finish the sixth book in Taxyon Space, and also publish a boxset of books 4-6.

3)      I hope to produce more print books. Eight of my stories are available in print.

Grand Masters’ Galaxy, my longest series includes a prequel, six full-length novels, and two boxsets. The first three novels are available in print.

Taxyon Space  includes five novels, a short story, and a boxset. The sixth book is planned. Only the first two books are in print.

Secret Supers has three novels, a boxset plus a short story.

Atrapako on Eden comprises three novels and a boxset. The first two books are available in print. 

4)      Besides continuing my current efforts to market my books, I would like to explore new opportunities in social media.

 

Baswin, the alien merman - excerpt for #WeWriWa and #SnippetSunday

 

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday. Sample the work of a new author. Read snippets of stories in different genres.

I’m posting excerpts from Baswin, the fifth book in my Sci-Fi Romance series, Taxyon Space. Baswin is an alien Warrish ‘merman’ who is living in secret on Earth disguised as a human. After masked men searched his brother’s apartment, Baswin decided to take precautions. He has flown to a wilderness region and landed by a creek. You can read about it in last week’s excerpt at https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2021/08/no-signs-of-habitation-exercpt-from.html

This week, you can read about the alien attributes of Baswin, the amphibious ‘merman’.

Confident that nobody was watching, Baswin slipped out of the flyer onto the rock. A bird screeched an alarm from a branch overhead. He looked up. The towering trees with dark green foliage were unlike anything on his home planet. They exuded the scent of pine resin, peace and solitude.

He jumped off the rock slab into the layer of brown needles at the base of the trees and laughed in delight. It seemed an ideal place to make his next transition. He and Alarik had arrived on Earth disguised as wealthy Belters, Rick and Basil Kent. Now, he would become Ben Brown. Ben Brown was a common name in the northern Americontinent, although not so common as to rouse suspicion.

Ten lines and a little more for you to read:

Strolling down to the creek, Baswin stood on the bank and eyed the water longingly. The dry atmosphere at this altitude tended to irritate the delicate filaments of his gills. Crouching on the bank, he splashed a handful of water over his face. Upstream and downstream, sunlight and shade dappled the rippling water. Much of the creek was too shallow and rocky for a swim. But the rock spur where he had landed dropped into a deeper pool, an enticing place for an amphibious Warrish man. If he jumped in, he could wet his gills.

Without further delay, he removed his shirt and boots. He unfastened the lightweight armored vest concealing his alien attributes, his gill slits, four nipples and the unhuman contours of his chest. He stripped off the remainder of his clothes and plunged, feet first, into the pool. The splashes scarcely washed his chest. When he stood erect, cold water lapped at the middle of his thighs. Grateful for the chance to submerge, he flipped onto his back and sank under the surface. His gills opened, filtering oxygen from the water. He stretched out his legs and wiggled the six toes of each foot. 

An alien spy on the run.

Two human sisters chosen to train as astronavigators.

Their paths are destined to converge.

Psychic sensitives, Holly Moon and her sister Rosie, are chosen as candidates for Warrish training as hyperspace navigators. The sisters are eager to promote humanity’s advance into space. Will they succeed? They must pass a series of rigorous tests and adapt to the alien neuro-implants.

Alien merman, Baswin Kenton Tallis, Second of his Triad, lives on Earth disguised as a human. When Earth agents discover the secret identity of his older brother, Baswin must flee to the Warrish embassy in the Pacific Ocean.

Holly and Baswin are swept together on an island in the Pacific Ocean, but their destiny lies farther away and many forces threaten to drive them apart. Can they overcome the obstacles and find a haven?

Follow the adventures of the three brothers of the Flaming Comets Triad in Baswin, Book 5 in Taxyon Space.

Available at: Amazon   iBooks   Kobo   B&N   GooglePlay  Other

I’ll be happy to reply to your comments. 

Please return to http://wewriwa.blogspot.com/ to sample the works of the other writers.

 

Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.

Join me on Facebook and Twitter 

 

No signs of habitation - Exercpt from #Baswin for #WeWriWe

 

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday. Sample the work of a new author. Read snippets of stories in different genres.

I’m posting excerpts from Baswin, the fifth book in my Sci-Fi Romance series, Taxyon Space. Baswin is an alien Warrish ‘merman’ who is living in secret on Earth disguised as a human. He has just warned his brother Alarik about two masked strangers searching his apartment. Alarik plans to travel to the Asteroid Belt, or possibly to Europa, to elude their unknown enemies. You can read Alarik’s story in the previous book, Alarik.

You can read the end of their conversation in last week’s excerpt at: https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2021/08/swim-in-calm-seas-excerpt-from-baswin.html

The final line in Baswin’s pov is: Whichever direction his brother chose to swim, he must take precautions to protect himself.

This week, you will learn about Baswin’s plan to “disappear”.

Pursuing his escape plan, Baswin, under his alias of Basil Kent, had acquired a permit for backcountry camping and traveled to the transit station on the eastern border of the wilderness. When he arrived, he was suitably garbed with hiking boots and a backpack. Instead of taking the trail into the forest, he had hired the rover, a sturdy standard model. Once he flew out of signal range, he had disabled the rover’s route tracker. By now, he had flown three hundred kiloms away from the station. He made a cursory check on the displays. His monitors had detected no drones or any sign of habitation since he left the highway.

He exhaled in satisfaction. So far, his plan had flowed smoothly. This wilderness could become his refuge if necessary to escape any pursuit.

Ten lines and a little more:

Like many Warrish men, his triad of brothers had honed their survival skills in the wilds of Obelle. This forest had fish in the streams and plenty of other animals he could catch and eat. The local carnivores were puny creatures compared to the scaled monsters that roamed the planet of Obelle.

His immediate destination was a small river indicated on the map. Ahead and below, a long sinuous break in the foliage marked the path of the river through the forest.

Baswin angled the rover into a shallow glide toward the creek. Carefully maneuvering under the higher branches, he descended into the space above the water and searched for a safe landing site. A flat-topped spur of rock on the sunlit bank of the stream looked suitable. He lowered the rover onto the hard surface and cut the engines.

Silence descended, broken only by the faint gurgle of flowing water.

He set the monitors to search for infrared signals and watched through the windows for a count of six minutes. Few people lived in this preserved wilderness along the central spine of the northern Americontinent. He was untraceable unless somebody had seen the rover land. The larger animals, bears, elk and wolves did not scare him, although strange humans did.

Nothing stirred outside. The sensors indicated no large sources of heat, confirming the absence of larger animals in the vicinity.

 

An alien spy on the run.

Two human sisters chosen to train as astronavigators.

Their paths are destined to converge.

Psychic sensitives, Holly Moon and her sister Rosie, are chosen as candidates for Warrish training as hyperspace navigators. The sisters are eager to promote humanity’s advance into space. Will they succeed? They must pass a series of rigorous tests and adapt to the alien neuro-implants.

Alien merman, Baswin Kenton Tallis, Second of his Triad, lives on Earth disguised as a human. When Earth agents discover the secret identity of his older brother, Baswin must flee to the Warrish embassy in the Pacific Ocean.

Holly and Baswin are swept together on an island in the Pacific Ocean, but their destiny lies farther away and many forces threaten to drive them apart. Can they overcome the obstacles and find a haven?

Follow the adventures of the three brothers of the Flaming Comets Triad in Baswin, Book 5 in Taxyon Space.

Available at: Amazon   iBooks   Kobo   B&N   GooglePlay  Other 

I’ll be happy to reply to your comments. 

Please return to http://wewriwa.blogspot.com/ to sample the works of the other writers.

 

Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.

Swim in calm seas - excerpt from BASWIN for #WeWriWa

 

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday. Sample the work of a new author. Read snippets of stories in different genres.

I’m posting excerpts from Baswin, the fifth book in my Sci-Fi Romance series, Taxyon Space. Baswin is an alien Warrish ‘merman’ who is living in secret on Earth disguised as a human. His brother Alarik, another covert agent, has traveled to Mars, partly to escape their unknown enemies.

Baswin has called Alarik to warn him about the masked men searching his apartment. You can read last week’s excerpt at:  https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2021/08/swim-clear-of-earth-excerpt-from-baswin.html

The final lines were: Offering a confident smile, Alarik said, “Assuming the captain isn’t sent an order to net me, I’ll change my destination to Europa. Explain I’m planning to sell ores to the mermen.”

Their conversation continues in this week’s snippet:

“Might flow smoothly.” After a short pause, Baswin said, “I’ve already dived into cover.”

His First invoked the usual good wishes, “May you swim in calm seas.”

Hiding his fears behind a smile, Baswin said, “You also. Call from the Belt if you’re free.”

“I’ll transmit in code first. It’s safer.”

“Urish.” Baswin flattened the palm of his hand on his cheek in a farewell gesture.

His brother echoed the gesture and shut the connection.

Ten lines and a little more:

Baswin frowned at the blank screen. His brother risked discovery if the searchers found DNA evidence of his alien origin. But, Alarik hadn’t seemed overly concerned. As First of their Triad, his brother was always optimistic, even overconfident to the point of plunging impetuously into dangerous whirlpools.

He gave a mental shrug. He could not control his brother’s actions. Alarik might be diving into trouble by taking the space ferry to the Asteroid Belt. Whichever direction his brother chose to swim, he must take precautions to protect himself.

Last week, many of you expressed the same concerns about Alarik’s confidence in his plan.

 

An alien spy on the run.

Two human sisters chosen to train as astronavigators.

Their paths are destined to converge.

Psychic sensitives, Holly Moon and her sister Rosie, are chosen as candidates for Warrish training as hyperspace navigators. The sisters are eager to promote humanity’s advance into space. Will they succeed? They must pass a series of rigorous tests and adapt to the alien neuro-implants.

Alien merman, Baswin Kenton Tallis, Second of his Triad, lives on Earth disguised as a human. When Earth agents discover the secret identity of his older brother, Baswin must flee to the Warrish embassy in the Pacific Ocean.

Holly and Baswin are swept together on an island in the Pacific Ocean, but their destiny lies farther away and many forces threaten to drive them apart. Can they overcome the obstacles and find a haven?

Follow the adventures of the three brothers of the Flaming Comets Triad in Baswin, Book 5 in Taxyon Space.

Available at: Amazon   iBooks   Kobo   B&N   GooglePlay  Other 

Please post a comment and I’ll be happy to reply. 

Please return to http://wewriwa.blogspot.com/ to sample the works of the other writers.

 

Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.

Join me on Facebook and Twitter 

 

Swim Clear of Earth - Excerpt from BASWIN for #WeWriWa

 

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday. Sample the work of a new author. Read snippets of stories in different genres.

I’m posting excerpts from Baswin, the fifth book in my Sci-Fi Romance series, Taxyon Space. Baswin is an alien Warrish ‘merman’ who is living in secret on Earth disguised as a human. His brother Alarik, another covert agent, has traveled to Mars, partly to escape unknown enemies.

In last week's snippet, Baswin called Alarik after receiving an alarm about strangers entering his brother’s apartment. You can read the previous excerpt at:  https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2021/07/professional-searchers-snippet-from.html

 This excerpt continues directly. 

Baswin mouthed in their native language, “Are you secure?”

“No bugs here.” Alarik covered a yawn. “What’s the problem, Bas?”

“Didn’t you get the alert? Your apartment’s been rifled.”

“I must have been asleep. What did they hook?”

“Two men entered at night. Searched the whole place. Professional job.”

Ten lines and a little more:

“I left nothing to indicate my true identity.” Alarik fingered the scar over the triad mark on his left cheekbone. “Did they find your super bug?”

Proud of his miniature device, Baswin grinned. “No.”

“Take anything?” Alarik asked.

“Not that I saw.” He added a caveat, “But, they weren’t always in view. You blocked the bug in your wash room.”

“Tantra’s teeth,” Alarik swore. “If they were looking for DNA samples, they’ll pin me as Warrish.”

“Just as we feared.” Baswin placed forefinger across his lips to emphasize his warning. “You’d better swim clear of Earth.”

“My escape route is still open. I’m booked on the ferry to the Asteroid Belt.”

Exasperated with his brother’s blithe unconcern, Baswin shook his head. “How does that help? You can’t survive for long among the asteroids even if you steal a ship.”

Offering a confident smile, Alarik said, “Assuming the captain isn’t sent an order to net me, I’ll change my destination to Europa. Explain I’m planning to sell ores to the mermen.”

 

 

An alien spy on the run.

Two human sisters chosen to train as astronavigators.

Their paths are destined to converge.

Psychic sensitives, Holly Moon and her sister Rosie, are chosen as candidates for Warrish training as hyperspace navigators. The sisters are eager to promote humanity’s advance into space. Will they succeed? They must pass a series of rigorous tests and adapt to the alien neuro-implants.

Alien merman, Baswin Kenton Tallis, Second of his Triad, lives on Earth disguised as a human. When Earth agents discover the secret identity of his older brother, Baswin must flee to the Warrish embassy in the Pacific Ocean.

Holly and Baswin are swept together on an island in the Pacific Ocean, but their destiny lies farther away and many forces threaten to drive them apart. Can they overcome the obstacles and find a haven?

Follow the adventures of the three brothers of the Flaming Comets Triad in Baswin, Book 5 in Taxyon Space.

Available at: Amazon   iBooks   Kobo   B&N   GooglePlay  Other

 

I’ll be happy to reply to your comments. 

Please return to http://wewriwa.blogspot.com/ to sample the works of the other writers.

 

Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.

Join me on Facebook and Twitter 

 

Professional Searchers - Snippet from Baswin for #WeWriWa

 

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday. Sample the work of a new author. Read snippets of stories in different genres.

I skipped the last couple of weekends while my husband and I were traveling to Connecticut to visit our younger son.

I’m posting excerpts from Baswin, the fifth book in my Sci-Fi Romance series, Taxyon Space. Baswin is an alien Warrish ‘merman’ who is living in secret on Earth disguised as a human. He is worried about being discovered. His brother Alarik, another covert agent, has traveled to Mars, partly to escape unknown enemies.

In my last excerpt, Baswin received an alarm about strangers entering his brother’s apartment.

My last snippet on July 4^th introduced Baswin. You can read the snippet at: https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2021/07/intruders-threaten-his-secret-mission.html

 The men made a cautious circle of the open living area. They did not speak. At an unspoken signal, they separated. One man went to check the bedroom and adjacent washroom, while the other scoured the furniture in the main room. Each man searched the cabinets, shelves and drawers, removing individual articles and replacing them methodically. They ran their gloved fingers along the window frames and edges of the doors, feeling for hidden bugs.

Efficient and careful. Professionals, Baswin guessed.

Within a few minutes, the two men reunited by the sofa. Exchanging nods, but no words, they departed.

Ten lines and a little more:

He had to warn his brother.

This intrusion into Alarik’s apartment only intensified his worries. Their mysterious enemies had penetrated his brother’s primary residence and likely compromised his alias as Rick Kent. Pondering the sequence of events, Baswin drummed his fingers on the rover’s control bar. By this date, Alarik ought to have arrived on Mars. He might be safer on that planet, beyond the jurisdiction of any searchers, assuming their bosses were based on Earth.

He keyed the code for his brother’s qtel.

After a minute, Alarik’s face appeared on the screen.

“Bas?” He rubbed his eyes as if he had just been roused from sleep. It might be nighttime in his location on the red planet. 

 

 An alien spy on the run.

Two human sisters chosen to train as astronavigators.

Their paths are destined to converge.

Psychic sensitives, Holly Moon and her sister Rosie, are chosen as candidates for Warrish training as hyperspace navigators. The sisters are eager to promote humanity’s advance into space. Will they succeed? They must pass a series of rigorous tests and adapt to the alien neuro-implants.

Alien merman, Baswin Kenton Tallis, Second of his Triad, lives on Earth disguised as a human. When Earth agents discover the secret identity of his older brother, Baswin must flee to the Warrish embassy in the Pacific Ocean.

Holly and Baswin are swept together on an island in the Pacific Ocean, but their destiny lies farther away and many forces threaten to drive them apart. Can they overcome the obstacles and find a haven?

Follow the adventures of the three brothers of the Flaming Comets Triad in Baswin, Book 5 in Taxyon Space.

Available at: Amazon   iBooks   Kobo   B&N   GooglePlay  Other

 

I’ll be happy to reply to your comments. 

Please return to http://wewriwa.blogspot.com/ to sample the works of the other writers.

 

Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.

Join me on Facebook and Twitter 

Intruders threaten his secret mission - excerpt from Baswin for #WeWriWa

 

Happy fourth of July!

Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday. Sample the work of a new author. Read snippets of stories in different genres.

I’m posting excerpts from Baswin, the fifth book in my Sci-Fi Romance series, Taxyon Space. Sorry I skipped last week due to other events. My snippets will not be posted regularly in July since I hope to be traveling and may not have wifi everywhere.

This weekend, you can meet Baswin, the alien merman of the title. He is living on Earth disguised as a human and is worried about being discovered. His brother Alarik has traveled to Mars, partly to escape unknown agents who detected his transmission. Note, their home planet of Rishalt is mostly ocean with small islands.

Baswin Kenton Tallis, Second of the Flaming Comets Triad, flew the rover over the vast forested slopes of the North American wilderness. Checking on the map, he located a passage between the mountains and gained altitude for the crossing. After programming the route, he flipped the controls to auto and leaned back against the headrest of the seat. He could relax, perhaps hook a little sleep, while the rover flew on a westward course.

He dozed; life in the warm, salty waves of Rishalt saturated his dreams.

Alerted by a tickling on the underside of his left wrist, Baswin woke with a start and glanced at his com. He had incorporated a secret quantum communicator in the standard Earther device. The qtel registered a signal coming from one of his personal monitors. Its alarm was designed to warn him of intrusions and potential threats to his mission of infiltrating Earther society.

Nine lines and a little more:

He tapped on his qtel to locate the origin of the alarm. The signal came from the super bug he had given Alarik to override the monitors in his apartment in the city. The extra precaution seemed warranted after his brother had warned him about the discovery of his hideout in a rented room. Alarik had swiftly abandoned his seedy rental and dropped his secondary alias in favor of his primary identity as wealthy Rick Kent, the mining magnate.

Baswin synched the rover’s display with the viewer on the remote monitor, being careful to select his secret channel and bypass the vehicle’s black box memory. He flipped through the monitors in the upscale apartment.

Two men were standing inside the door. Obviously on illicit business, their faces were concealed by masks and they wore gloves to avoid making fingerprints. Their dark suits gave no clue to their origin. Were they government agents or independent operators? Whoever had sent the intruders, they represented another threat to his brother’s career as a covert agent on Earth.

 

An alien spy on the run.

Two human sisters chosen to train as astronavigators.

Their paths are destined to converge.

They must overcome many challenges to find a haven.

Psychic sensitives, Holly Moon and her sister Rosie, are chosen as candidates for Warrish training as hyperspace navigators. The sisters are eager to promote humanity’s advance into space. But will they succeed? They must pass a series of rigorous tests and adapt to the alien neuro-implants.

Alien merman, Baswin Kenton Tallis, Second of his Triad, lives on Earth disguised as a human. When Earth agents discover the secret identity of his older brother, Bas must flee to the Warrish embassy in the Pacific Ocean.

Holly meets Baswin on an island in the Pacific Ocean, but their destiny lies farther away. Many obstacles will hinder their journey to a happy reunion with Baswin’s brothers. 

Follow the adventures of the three brothers of the Flaming Comets Triad in Baswin, Book 5 in Taxyon Space.

Preorder at: Amazon   iBooks   Kobo   B&N   GooglePlay  Other

I’ll be happy to reply to your comments. 

Please return to http://wewriwa.blogspot.com/ to sample the works of the other writers.

 

Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.

Join me on Facebook and Twitter