Today, I welcome fellow author Michaela Kendrick to my blog. She has a new release in one of my favorite genres, Science Fiction Romance. Michaela tells us about her latest release, Dragon's Honor, and her life as a writer.
Tell us about your latest release, including
its genre. Does it cross over to other genres? If so, what are they? Dragon’s Honor tells the story of a young
woman who has escaped the control of a maniacal warlord on her home planet,
only to realize (much too late) that she has married the man who is supplying
the warlord with weapons – and she realizes also that she won’t be able to live
with herself if she sits idly by and does nothing. The book is Science Fiction
Romance, which was a genre I’ve loved reading for years and have been itching
to try. SFR has everything I love in a book: spaceships, cool technology,
really strong leads, and (of course) an amazing love story! What was wonderful
about writing this story was that I adored both of the two leads, and I could
really sympathize not only with how they fell for one another, but with how
their sense of honor drove them apart at the beginning of the story.
Why
did you write your book (or series)? I
see a lot of books now with military main characters, and I realized that my
experience as part of a military family could offer a good look into characters
who struggle with the experience and memories of combat. I wanted to write a
book that did not glamorize combat trauma, but that also showed the hope and joy
and humor that these people have in their lives. Romance novels have a very
positive outlook on the abilities of people to live with and overcome their
demons, and also on the role that love of all types—friendship, family, and
romantic love—plays in shaping who a person is. There are as many experiences
of combat as there are people in the military, so every protagonist in this
series will have a different take on their time as a Dragon, and will have
different weaknesses to overcome if they want to find love!
What do you like to do when you're not
writing? This
is a tough question, because I only transitioned to writing full-time this
year. Before that, I would write early in the morning before my day job, and
then all evening and on weekends. Now I’m not quite sure what to do with my
free time. I’ve been knitting a bit, and also reading a lot of books!
Do you have any pets at home? We do! Our puppy,
Tank, is about 10 months old and is an adorable ball of energy. He’s the first
dog I’ve had and I’m learning to read his body language just like he’s learning
to read mine (he already knows my “you drop that right now” face!). We’re
hoping to get another dog soon so he has someone to play with while we’re both
working.
How
much of your personality is in your main character? There’s a little bit of my personality in every character I write—even the
villains! I think the only way to write good villains is to show a side of them
that is, in a sense, far too familiar to all of us. The villains in Dragon’s
Honor are a cautionary tale of what happens when you let normal feelings of
alienation run away from you, particularly when you are someone who is very
intelligent or successful. Meanwhile, the heroes are people who share all of
our fears and self-doubt (Cade wonders, for instance, how Aryn could ever love
him given the things he’s done in his time as Dragon), and also are a little
bit braver than we are. I aspire to be like my heroes!
How do you balance a life outside of writing
with deadlines and writing muses? It’s difficult. Writing can be a pretty time
consuming and combative experience of staring down your blank page until
something happens. I’ve learned that if I want to make time for the other
things that are important to me (my family and my hobbies) I can’t wait for
inspiration. I love it, and it makes my writing quick and enjoyable, but it’s
so unpredictable that I might never finish a book. It’s important to sit down
and practice quieting your mind even when you don’t really feel like writing!
What themes and ideas do you often
explore in your writing? I also write under pen name Moira Katson, and though many
of my books seem quite different on the face of it (hard scifi vs YA Fantasy vs
Romance!), they all have one decision point in common. In every story, the
characters are dealt a pretty bad hand, and it’s their inner grit and
determination as well as their love of their friends, family, and partners,
that helps them stand up and do the right thing—even when it’s pretty difficult
to tell what the right thing is. In
Dragon’s Honor, for instance, we see Aryn struggle with the idea of whether or
not it’s her duty to stay in a bad marriage, and try to influence her husband
to become a better man.
And now the Book, Dragon's Honor
Blurb:
The Warlord...
From high society banquets in the ice covered skyscrapers of New Arizona, to
the most far-flung outposts at the edge of human-occupied space, everyone has
heard of Ymir. The Alliance's reach is wide, and its soldiers are well trained,
but there are always despots powerful enough to assert themselves, and Ymir has
been one of the most notable failures of human history: a whole planet given
over to a man known only as the Warlord.
The soldier…
Cade Williams was once a Dragon—the most elite fighting unit in known space.
Precise, brutal, and unstoppable, they were a last resort in the lawless wastes
of space colonization. But there was a price: in one horrific mission, Cade’s
unit took down not only a slave trader, but an entire intergalactic carrier.
Cade left and never looked back. Haunted by his past, he’s vowed never again to
kill, never again to fight, and, filling jobs from dock worker to bartender,
he’s managed to keep that vow. But Cade’s life is about to be turned upside
down. Because when at last he runs out of options, his old friend Talon Rift
appears out of nowhere. Talon, the man who ordered him to take down the
carrier. Talon, who wants him to get back in the game. And when Cade won’t,
Talon has a job opportunity he seems to know Cade can’t afford to pass up.
Protect a woman. An innocent. Remarkably little chance of anything going wrong.
And a man needs to eat.
And the trophy wife…
There are two problems: first, that Cade hates Aryn the moment he lays eyes on
her; second, that he wants her like he’s never wanted anyone before in his
life. Or make that three problems: Aryn’s fiancé is a weapons trafficker with a
well-deserved reputation for being ruthless, and Aryn is about to get caught up
in one of his schemes - one that will bring her back to the place she only just
escaped...the mines of Ymir.
Where
to buy:
Dragon’s Honor will be free to read in Kindle Unlimited: smile.amazon.com/dp/B017F8X7HC/
Excerpt:
“Cade
Williams?”
The
words came through the haze of smoke and drunkenness like a hallucination. Cade
knew that voice. He was never, ever going to be able to forget that voice, and
it had to be a hallucination because there was no way in hell the owner of that
voice had chased him across three systems only to walk into a dive bar on the
lower streets of New Arizona. So he went back to his drink.
He
picked up the glass and stared at it. It was a scotch he’d been nursing for
about three hours now, and not just because “scotch” seemed to be a loose term
for colored grain alcohol. When he finished his drink, he had nowhere to go.
And in the ever-drifting snow of New Arizona—he’d never figured out if the name
was born of ignorance or irony—he needed to stay indoors as long as possible.
The cold was fierce, and whatever acid was in the water on this planet, it
would burn his skin raw in less than a night.
And
if he didn’t get ten thousand credits to Osiris within a week, he was a dead
man. But one thing at a time. Cade shook his head and let the moment slide away
from him, a tiny drift into memory and nothing more.
“Williams,”
the voice said again.
That
was definitely not a hallucination. Cade’s eyes traveled along the arm that had
come down on one side of him. Callused fingertips, last joint of the right
index finger missing, the hint of a tattoo poking out from under a blue cuff.
The arm underneath the suit jacket was well muscled, leading to broad shoulders
and a clean-shaven jaw, and with a sinking feeling of dread, Cade looked up at
one of his worst nightmares.
“Lieutenant
Rift.”
“Actually,
it’s Major now.” Talon’s face was expressionless, as it almost always was. He
watched as Cade’s eyes traveled over the understated suit, across the planes of
the handsome face. At last, sensing the question Cade would never ask, he
flipped over the hand on his resting arm. There, glimmering in the faint light,
were blood-red cufflinks.
A
Dragon always wore red.
Talon
absorbed Cade’s bitter smile in silence.
“You
look surprisingly well.” Cade looked down into his scotch and considered
drinking the rest in one gulp. The pours in this bar were generous, and with the
alcohol being of dubious provenance, a gulp might well kill him. Right now,
that wasn’t seeming so bad. It was all coming back to him—without warning, as
it always did. He’d known the moment he heard the voice that this was going to
be a bad night, even worse than he’d thought—and he’d already thought it would
be pretty bad. There was screaming at the corner of his mind, the flashing of
the lights in the bar taking on a reddish hue, the emergency exit sign too
clear a reminder.
He
closed his eyes, clenching his jaw until he thought his teeth would give way.
He had to keep breathing, or the memories would take him, and the world would
devolve into the chaotic mess he so feared, every face reminding him of the
pods, the children pounding on the glass—
He
was going to be sick. His stomach heaved.
“Should
I go?”
“No.”
Cade’s answer surprised even him. He opened his eyes and looked down into his
drink again. He could force the world back into its neat shapes if he tried
hard enough. In the vacuum of space, in the long silences of a courier’s job,
he’d learned to face his fear and press it away.
He
could face this, too.
“Okay.”
Talon sat, pulled reflexively at both cuffs, and looked over at the bartender.
“What won’t kill me here?”
“Don’t
try the scotch.”
“Noted.”
If you are
interested in receiving a free copy of Dragon's Honor in exchange for an honest
review, please contact Michaela at mkendrickauthor@gmail.com!
Bio:
Raised on the Dragon Riders of Pern,
Star Wars, Star Trek, and a whole bunch of historical romances, Michaela grew
up adoring the adventure of Science Fiction and the passion of a good love
story. Filled with double crossing, grand romantic gestures, sarcasm, and
plenty of heat, Michaela's books are just the sort of thing she wants to read
herself!
Where
to find me:
Right now, I’m only on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mkendrickauthor/
Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/bIDsBn
And people can feel free to email me at
mkendrickauthor@gmail.com
