Sunday, February 28, 2016

Bokerah Brumley shares The Alure of the Antihero


The Allure of the Antihero

Recently, in an interview about an anti-heroine in my upcoming release (Feather, out November 2016), I was asked about the allure of anti-heroines (or a main character that lacks conventional heroic attributes) and how this might have an impact in a social context.

This question prompted a great deal of reflection.

In media, we all love heroes. We love writing them, and we love reading them. We fall in love with them, and cheer them on from the theater seats, sidelines, and margins of our favorite books. From the beginning, heroes are outstanding achievers, courageous, selfless, and noble. It’s easy to root for the squeaky clean knights clothed in shining idealism. We even imagine being the hero, overcoming insurmountable odds, being worthy of applause – saving the world or at least saving the day.

But most of us aren’t equal to the ideal of the cookie-cutter, spangle-hearted heroes.

Enter the Anti-hero.

They’re broken. They’re afraid. They don’t want to get involved or make waves. Antiheroes struggle with the monotony of surviving in a world that doesn’t make sense. They fight illicit addictions, mental problems, or a preoccupation with sex. They’re in the middle of a divorce or a bitter custody battle. The messed up world had just better save itself because they’re regular people, busy earning money to take the subway to their 9-to-5.

Anti-heroes and anti-heroines are characters we identify and empathize with. They’re average, reluctant Joes and Janes thrust into a mold that doesn’t fit them. They arrive in the nick-of-time in stained t-shirts with less-than-stellar physique, only to swipe the last beer from the fridge.

Maybe this is our shared universal truth.

We daydream about the heroes, but we love the raw honesty and comedy of Agent Ordinary to the rescue as he combats the aches and pains of middle age or spends an hour trying to find his glasses.

We want the underdogs to successfully save the planet. After all, if they can win, then maybe we can, too.



Bokerah Brumley is a speculative fiction writer making stuff up on a trampoline in West Texas. When she’s not playing with the quirky characters in her head, she’s addicted to Twitter pitch events, writing contests, and social media, in general. With three urban fantasy novella releases scheduled for 2016, Bokerah has too much planned for this year, but is happily doing it anyway. She lives on ten acres with five home-educated children, three dogs, two cats, and one husband. In her imaginary spare time, she also serves as the blue-haired Publicity Officer for the Cisco Writers Club.
Dogwood Sprocket is SciFi Steampunk novelette available FOR FREE in


Coming Soon
Woe for a Faerie ~ April 2016
Wings Over New York ~ July 2016

Feather ~ November 2016

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Meet Virgin Spaceship Two or read a book, depending upon the depth of pockets.

Space--we all want to go there, right?

Even if it's just a little ways up there.
As you might recall Virgin Galaxies is offering flights in sub-space. Over 580 peeps have paid the fee to fly high.

Now for those of you who don't recall, the first ship built for Richard Branson blew up on its virgin flight. (No pun intended.) 

For a crazy reason too.

Look, the one thing I can say with certainty is that All humans will screw up. It's a given. Now you try not to hire those that screw up all the time, but even the best of humans will screw up eventually.

Sadly, that eventuality occurred on the virgin flight of VSS Enterprise (15 months ago) when the early deployment of the two stabilizing wings caused a catastrophic event. Feathering too soon is a really bad idea. So bad, that the company that built the ship was blamed for not preventing such an event from occurring. 

As a former pilot of little planes, knowing all the stupid-ass things I did, but still survived due to the plane's  (and my instructors') great desire to survive my idiotic mistakes while I learned to fly, I must believe it is a major feat to crib-proof every potential error that a person might make when flying a new space ship.

Fortunately, Richard did not lose his space drive due to a disastrous first flight. 

Nope, he has now unveiled his second Virgin space ship, called  VSS2 



While lots of rich people want to ride on this very fine ship, NONE wish to die, (they've got so much money to live for!)
So VSS2 is going to pay the price for her early sibling's failing.

There will be months of testing before any flights will occur. 

So why bring out the baby to christen the ship? Why the lights, music and drama?

1) Because it's Richard's ship and he is a dramatic fellow. 

2) They didn't wish to prolong or the child might grow into his terrible years and then he might break something (other than the bottle).

3) And finally, Richard is a positive person, and positive people think positive thoughts and the world bows to positive thinking. So he's getting the positive ball a rolling in advance of stuffing 6 overly rich people onto his ship and taking them for a ride.

So what do you get for your $200-250K?
1) Riding piggy back on a two plane carrier.
2) 5 minutes of gravity free floating, during which passengers can see the darkness of space and the curvature of earth approx. as they travel 110,000 miles into space.
3) Hopefully, they'll then have a successful landing.


Are these rich people being foolish spending so much money on such a short flight?

If you have billions, then it is probably worth the experience. If you are a high-end millionaire, it's still probably worth doing.  If you are a single millionaire, stay on the ground and buy a life's supply of sci-fi books instead. You'll enjoy your trip and won't risk your life or half your fortune doing so.


And if you are poor, then sort through the newsletters for free or 99 cent sci-fi books that take you into space. And fret not that you can't afford the trip. 


Reading great sci-fi is so much more fun.






Monday, February 22, 2016

Cyborg Brethen & Building a Series with Cynthia Sax


The Cyborg Brethren
And Building A Series With Cynthia Sax

There are a number of ways to build a standalone series (a series with books that can be read on their own). My favorite, by far, is the sexy brother premise.

This is exactly what it sounds like. The hero of the first book in the series has two or three or four or more sexy, single brothers. In the subsequent books, these brothers find their own heroines (or heroes or heroines and heroes, depending on the stories being told – grins).

These brothers don’t have to be brothers by birth. They could be best friends, soldiers in the same unit, executives at the same company, members of a club or any other group. They have something in common and they usually have a loyalty to each other.

This loyalty is very sexy. It shows these males can form lasting relationships. They have a code of honor. They can work with others (even if they snarl and fight and otherwise misbehave). They’re willing to make sacrifices, perhaps even risk their lives, for others. All of this is Grade A hero material.

My cyborg series is built around the sexy brother premise. The heroes are all cyborgs, all warriors, all linked in their dislike for the Humanoid Alliance.

Crash And Burn, my most recent standalone story in this series, is part of a sexy brother subseries within this larger sexy brother series. Crash, the cyborg hero, is best friends with Rage and Gap. Rage’s story has already been told in Releasing Rage. Crash’s story is being told in Crash And Burn. 

One of the things I love about this type of series is that we already know a bit about the new heroes. We met Crash in Releasing Rage. We know that, unlike many of his cyborg brethren, he doesn’t like fighting. We know he’s self-conscious about his ‘scary’ eyes.

In Crash And Burn, we’ll learn much more about him. We’ll also see Rage, the hero of Releasing Rage, and Gap, the still single ‘brother’, through Crash’s eyes. We’ll learn more about Rage and Gap also. This makes the stories even fuller.

What are some of your favorite sexy brother series?

***


Blurb

Crash And Burn


Crash was manufactured to be one of the best warriors in the universe. The cyborg has spent many human lifespans fighting the enemy. But, unlike his battle-loving brethren, he doesn’t enjoy killing. When he escapes the Humanoid Alliance, he vows to never end another life.

Then he meets Safyre, an infuriating human female, and he considers breaking his vow.

Safyre will do anything to save her friend, the being she loves like a sister. She’ll ravish a huge hunky cyborg, kiss his best friend, and invoke scorching hot desires the male never realized he could feel. Dark soulful eyes, a quick wit, and a tempestuous passion won’t divert her from her mission.

Love, and a planet-destroying weapon, however, might stop her permanently.

Buy Now:






Bio
About Cynthia Sax
USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes contemporary, SciFi and paranormal erotic romances. Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of erotic romance top ten lists.

Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled release day newsletter and visit her on the web at www.CynthiaSax.com
Twitter:  @CynthiaSax





Friday, February 19, 2016

Cougars, BoyToys & True Love by Diane Burton

Cougars, Boy Toys, & True Love by Diane Burton


According to the US Census Bureau’s 2013 Population Survey, over 53% of men marry women who are within three years of their age. Most men marry women who are younger. The rationale being that younger women could produce children. In the not too distant past, children were needed to work the farm. The more children, the more the work could be divided. With women often dying in childbirth, the men grew older and their spouses became younger to ensure procreation. One of my ancestors who fought in the American Revolution outlived three of his four wives, marrying the last when he was in his late sixties, and had twenty-three children.

Then there were the wealthy who needed an heir and a spare. An old adage (possibly French in origin) said it was socially unacceptable to date a woman more than “half your age plus seven.” Remember the old Harlequin romances from the 1950’s and 60’s that featured men in their thirties pursuing girls in their teens? Was that creepy or what?

Today, after going through male “menopause,” many men try to show their virility by buying flashy new cars, ditching their wives, and marrying girls often younger than their daughters. Not to be outdone, women who reach their sexual peak in their forties start looking for much younger men who can keep up with them.

This all sounds so superficial, doesn’t it?

But what if it’s true love? Does age really make a difference? According to Dillan in my science fiction romance THE PROTECTOR (An Outer Rim Novel: Book 3), it doesn’t. He fell in love when he was sixteen. Even though he’s thirty-two and hasn’t seen her in six years, he hasn’t forgotten his first and only love, Rissa Dix.


Puppy love. Rissa thought that Terran expression aptly described the teenage boy’s infatuation. His friends teased him, often within Rissa’s hearing. For ten years, they came to the Outer Rim for danger, thrills and excitement. Mountain climbing, para-skiing, space yacht racing. They had more money than sense. Money freely spent at her tavern. Until Dillan’s best friend died in a rock climbing accident.

After a six-year absence, Dillan Rusteran—heir to a major mining company—is back. No youth this time. He’s a grown man, and he disturbs Rissa in ways she’d forgotten. But he’s a wealthy industrialist from the Central District, and she’s runs a tavern on the frontier of space. The biggest detriment to a relationship, though, is their eight-year age difference. Dillan could have his choice of any sweet young thing. Why would he want a woman who’s already hit forty? A woman who’s finding gray in her hair and whose body is drooping because of gravity.

She maintains they could have a fling. But that isn’t what he wants. He wants forever after. She can’t have children. That doesn’t matter to him. He loves her. What does he have to do to prove it to her?


THE PROTECTOR blurb:

Who knew rescuing two girls from traffickers would bring down a world of hurt?

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a galactic trafficking ring.


Excerpt from THE PROTECTOR:

Dillan woke up to a steady thump-thump-thump. Damn, the sublight engine was acting up again. He rolled over and almost fell out of bed.
Two things hit him at the same time. He wasn’t in the wide, comfortable bed in his quarters aboard ship and the thumping wasn’t his sublight. Thank the stars for that. Still, it had been acting a little wonky lately. He’d have to check it out.
After dressing and taking care of his needs in the small san-fac near the stairs, he ambled down carrying his boots in the event the big Zebori was still asleep. Although how anyone could sleep through all that thumping he had no idea. He followed the noise into the kitchen.
Rissa stood at the island kneading dough. Last night he remembered how much higher than normal the island was. She’d built it to accommodate her height. For a moment, he just watched her as she concentrated on the dough. Several lumps of grayish-brown dough sat on the flour-covered table waiting their turn. Even though he was a few meters away, the yeasty scent hit his nose and brought back memories of the times he’d been there before. And how much he enjoyed her company. Despite her treating him like a kid.
The dark haired teen—Pela?—worked alongside Rissa. She noticed him first. Panic crossed her strong features before she murmured to Rissa.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” She laughed as she turned the dough she’d been punishing into a long, loaf pan. She picked up another lump and went to work on it.
Dillan yawned. “What time is it?”
“Almost Mid-Day.” When she looked up, she did a double take. “Your beard is gone.”
“It itched. When I find the barber, I’ll get my hair cut, too.” He ran his fingers across the top of his head. “It’s Mid-Day? Damn. I wanted to get an early start.”
Without stopping her kneading, she asked, “Early start on what?”
“Going into the mountains.”
“Did you come here to go climbing again?”
Grief hit Dillan the way it had for the past six years any time someone mentioned his former favorite sport. He hadn’t climbed since his best friend died in a freak rock slide. Or so he thought until a year ago.
Rissa’s dark eyes reflected guilt. She stopped working the dough. “I’m sorry, Dillan. I forgot.”
“Apparently, so did Konner.” He didn’t conceal the hurt he’d felt when he learned Konner was not only alive but had a family. “Turns out I was wrong about some things. I’ll, uh, leave you to your work.”
With her forearm, she wiped the sweat off her brow then went back to kneading. “Pela, you did fine. Turn that one into the next pan then get Dillan a cup of sheelonga tea.”
Pela eyed him with uncertainty.
“I can get it.” He sure didn’t want to upset the girl. “Mugs still next to the sink?”
Rissa looked surprised that he remembered. He remembered everything about her. She’d stayed in his mind after every trip from the time he was sixteen. Konner had teased him about being infatuated. Dillan knew it was more than infatuation. Especially after that last visit.



Although THE PROTECTOR is the 3rd book in the Outer Rim series, it is a standalone book and can be enjoyed without reading the previous two.


About the Author:

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction, and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and the Alex O’Hara PI mysteries. She is also a contributor to the anthology How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in Michigan. They have two children and three grandchildren.
For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com

Connect with Diane Burton online

Sign up for Diane’s new release alert: http://eepurl.com/bdHtYf



Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Brace for impact! Lisa Medley's The Astronaut's Princess is landing Feb 16


Brace for impact. The Astronaut’s Princess is landing Feb. 16. 

The Astronaut’s Princess
Cosmic Cowboys Series, Episode 2
By Lisa Medley

Genre: Science Fiction Romance

Publisher: Big Cedar

Date of Publication: 2/16/16

ASIN: B01AKHG5KG

Number of pages: 111
Word Count:  33K


Blurb:
Astronauts, Aliens, and Apaches? What could possibly go wrong?
Working for a billionaire space entrepreneur has its perks:  a nice paycheck, free room and board, and all the space flight hours a guy could want. But everything has a price.  Astronaut Noah Wright has survived an alien attack, time travel and a wormhole, but the Apache princess he brought back through time may be the death of him.
Ela, only daughter of Chief Itza-Chu of the Mescalero Apaches, finds herself out of place and out of time. Everything she knows of her early 1800’s life has vanished. Her savior and protector, Noah, is kind, but he’s not her family and certainly not Apache. Her only wish is to get home, but returning through the wormhole that brought her to the future threatens more than her past, causing her to have to rediscover what home really is.

Excerpt 
Noah sensed the tension the moment he walked through the sliding doors of the sick bay. The doors closed behind him with a whoosh, seemingly sucking the oxygen from the room as they sealed. The bay was in chaos. Broken glass and medical instruments lay scattered across the floor. The entire glass window of the ER room lay in shards before him. He raised his eyebrows, asking the question he already knew the answer to.

“Ela,” Dr. Alice Franklin said.

“Where is she? Is she injured?”

Dr. Franklin shook her head and motioned to the only closed door. “No, she’s fine. Pissed, but fine.”

“What happened here?” Noah asked.

“We cut a strand of her hair for further DNA testing. She took exception to it. Grabbed the scissors and nearly jabbed Curtis’ eye out with them.” Dr. Franklin swept a hand in front of her indicating the room. “Then she did this. She’s barricaded herself in her room. We can see from the video feed that she’s okay, but she’s been screaming for you for the past twenty minutes.”
Noah nodded. “Leave us.”

“I don’t think that’s a great idea. We would have sedated her, but we’d need a tranquilizer gun. She’s like a wild animal. She still has the scissors by the way.”

“I’ll be fine. Go. I’ll take her out for a while so you can set your lab to rights. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. I just don’t know what we’re going to do with her while you’re gone.” Dr. Franklin turned to her remaining team. “Everyone, out. Let the lion tamer work his magic.”

Noah watched Ela on the computer monitor through the video feed.

Dr. Franklin put a hand on his shoulder. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

The staff’s footsteps faded down the hallway as the doors closed slowly behind him. With everyone gone except him, the room was silent. Ela pressed her ear to the wall, trying to listen. Her face scrunched up, and her lips thinned into a grim line. He knew that look. She was curious and trying to determine what was happening outside her room. Her instincts were to be wary, but her curiosity won every time.

He pressed the intercom button then held down the translate button. “Ela, its Noah. Please let me in.”
She looked up at the speaker on the wall then sent a torrent of angry words toward it. Noah pressed the intercom/translate buttons again. “Use the transcom, please.”

She didn’t. Instead, she began flinging the furniture and equipment away from the door, dismantling her barricade so he could enter. Several long minutes later, she backed away from the door and sat on the quilt-covered bed, arms crossed, and waited.

The transcom was helpful, but only when she used it. 
The transcom’s universal software learned the user’s voice. Once a user had utilized the device long enough, it recognized dialects and characteristics. It worked with any Wi-Fi or satellite connected device, static or personal mobile units. High tech algorithms then translated from the speaker’s language into any language in one’s natural voice milliseconds after they started to speak. It was a bit off-putting at first, like the un-synced sound and picture of a television, but it was a million times better than pointing and grunting.
If only she’d use it more.

Noah took a deep breath, steeling himself against the confrontation to come. He crossed to her door and turned the handle, pushing against it with his shoulder, and swung the door open slowly. He hadn’t seen the scissors in her hands. That didn’t mean she didn’t have them at the ready.

He scanned the room quickly, left to right, but found her where he’d left her on the monitor, sitting on the bed, back straight, her expression fuming. For a quick second, he imagined cartoon steam rolling out of her ears and stifled a chuckle. It wouldn’t do to laugh at her, and he’d never be able to explain the reference to her anyway.

“Ela,” he said.

She ran to him, burying her face against his chest. His arms wrapped around her in automatic response. A tumble of words flew out of her, undecipherable even if she had used the transcom. When she quieted, he pushed back from her, lifting her chin to look into her eyes.

“What have you done?” he asked, unable to keep the disappointment from his voice.

She shrank a little under his hard gaze, casting her eyes to the floor briefly, the tone of his words clear even if the message wasn’t. When she looked up at him again, though, her resolve was evident. She’d had enough.

He couldn’t blame her, really. She didn’t know he was going away for a couple of weeks. In fact, he hadn’t planned to tell her at all. Cowardly, he knew, but she was stubborn. A characteristic he doubted had anything to do with her being a misplaced Apache and everything to do with her being a woman. He could feel the eye roll Tessa would give him at that thought.

Janson would stroke if Noah took her off the base, but she wasn’t his property. Since her arrival, she’d been treated more like a science experiment than the refugee and survivor she was. It was time to do something about that. Janson couldn’t throw too big a fit. As far as the government knew, Ela didn’t exist. No birth certificate. No social security number. Nothing.

She’d quite literally fallen from space. No way would Janson bring attention to her in the media or with the government because doing so would expose his top-secret side project: time travel. The wormhole was unpredictable, but Janson had a team anchored to Amun, studying it right now. Noah prayed they never figured out how to open and close the damn thing. The ramifications were unimaginable. He, Cole, and Tessa would have kept their entire experience in the early 1800s New Mexico desert with Ela’s tribe and the alien that followed them through the wormhole a secret. But Ela’s very existence on their ship when they arrived home negated that opportunity.

Still, he could set this right. Or, at least more right than it was now. For his sake as much as for Ela’s.

Stepping closer to Ela, he extended his hand to her. 
He’d never been to the Mescalero Reservation west of the base.

It was time to remedy that.


Catch up on Episode 1,





About the Author:

Lisa has always enjoyed reading about monsters in
love and now she writes about them, because monsters need love too.

She adores beasties of all sorts, fictional as well as real, and has a farm full of them in her Southwest Missouri home, including: one child, one husband, two dogs, two cats, a dozen hens, thousands of Italian bees, and a guinea pig.

She may or may not keep a complete zombie apocalypse bug-out bag in her trunk at all times, including a machete. Just. In. Case.














Saturday, February 13, 2016

Gravational Waves DO Exist.

Gravitational Waves--They do exist!
Back in September 14, 2015, scientist believed they finally had confirmation of gravitational waves.

'BULLOCKS', said grumpy disbelievers. "Einstein said we would never be able to prove they existed, and since he's the one who thought them up, he get's final say."

Fortunately, that's not how it works. 

But it does make Einstein seem incredibly smart. He made up gravitational waves in order to make his math work. And in this case, it was very specific. The waves would look like these only when two black holes get swept away with each other and become one. (Rather like a marriage between two serial killers.)

Honestly, Einstein was a bit disturbing when it came to his ladies....
He knocked up his fellow physicist student (female) Mileva Maric. Pissed his parent's off. 

And thus began a very weird relationship... It seemed they were more comfortable writing each other, discussing Space and what not, throwing a few words of love amidst the precursors of the General theory of Relativity. (Mileva was a physicist too.) 

Finally, they married and those were the most productive years of Einstein's life. It was his years with Mileva that he created the General Theory of Relativity. Then, according to Einstein, Mileva grew depressed and jealous. I have to ponder: were these symptoms caused by Einstein taking all the credit for the General Theory of Relativity and never mentioning her contributions? I wonder if the letters would say...

He wanted a divorce, but she refused, so he set up some rules, limited her responsibilities to housekeeping, cooking, and tending to his clothes. She was not to expect any sex because he preferred his cousin. Also, if he requested she stop talking to him, she must stop talking to him.

Forget that! Mileva moved out and took their two boys with her.

And Einstein's cousin (Elsa) and her daughter moved into his house...and bed.

Ah, it was good to have clean clothes and home cooked meals again. According to the letters left behind, he appears to have at various times desired to marry both his cousin and his niece. ??? That's what one of the sites said.

When Mileva divorced him in Feb. 1919 and he married his cousin a few months later and to properly celebrate the marriage he soon began an affair with his secretary. These were his less productive years. 

This is no concrete proof that Mileva was part of his former brilliance, but his brilliance dimmed without her.

What was he doing instead of being brilliant? Letters prove he cheated on Elsa at least 6 times.  After they divorced, he went really wild. And mind you, they didn't even have Viagra back then.

SPACE REP: EXCUSE ME LIZA, BUT ISN'T THIS BLOG SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT GRAVITATIONAL WAVES?

Yes, thanks for reminding me.

So we've two massive LIGO's in different states that isolated and measured the gravitational wave distortions which were then compared to the math predictions.
GRAPHIC BY JEN CHRISTIANSEN

Here's how close Einstein, with possibly Mileva's input, came to reality. These are the data from the two sites in Washington and Louisiana:



Both sites, upon cleaning out the noise, match the math prediction quite well.

In fact, they match so well, it's probably why it was originally contested. Not even Einstein could be that good, could he? 

Probably not. So consider the power of positive thinking. It wasn't terribly long ago that most people didn't believe in back holes. Now we not only believe, but we have isolated two black holes caught up together creating gravitational waves which miraculously agree with what Einstein calculated before we had equipment capable of detecting black holes or measuring gravitational waves.

Honestly, Einstein and Mileva could have made the whole thing up while describing their relationship: Two black holes creating massive waves. It sounds a great deal like their marriage.

Regardless, due to positive thinking and telescopes capable of finding blackholes and measuring small changes, we've created this reality through our determined observation of what we expected to see.

That observation changes reality is well-established. We just don't like to think about it. I admit, it gives me the heebee jeebees too.  Which is no doubt why I fixated on Einstein's sexual trysts instead. While those don't make sense either, they are totally believable. Happens all the time....well, not to me. But to other people.




Realty is flexible.
&
weird
&
If you really want to find something, you will.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

More Blue Men from Space


Blue men are incredibly popular with authors. We truly love them.
With Valentine coming up I wanted to share even more lovely blue aliens, just in case you want to take one home.





Big Blue Valentine
by
Sue Lyndon

It’s probably not smart to turn a powerful alien prince blue on purpose, but when Princess Minnie thinks her husband, Zak, forgot Valentine’s Day, she impulsively squeezes a lemon slice into his drink. She knows full well the effect lemon has on Aklannians. Now it’s just a matter of time before his golden skin turns a brilliant shade of blue. She plots to have him called back from Parliament so she can confess her naughtiness to him in private, but the scheme blows up in her face.

Prince Zak can’t believe someone slipped lemon into his drink, causing him to postpone his Valentine’s Day surprise for Minnie. But he’s even more stunned to discover his own wife is behind his sudden change in color. Big, blue, and infuriated, he storms through the palace halls in search of his wayward princess. She has some explaining to do.

Note: This story contains a mischievous human girl who delights in all things Valentine’s Day, a hunky alien prince who doesn’t take kindly to being turned blue, a bit of spanking, and other naughty scenes that are out of this world. Please don't buy this book if such material offends you.









Prophecy 
by 
Lea Kirk

One normal day turns into a nightmare when Earth is attacked. Now ER nurse Alexandra Bock is imprisoned aboard an alien slave ship with no way out. She deems all aliens untrustworthy, including the handsome blue-skinned Matiran captain who shares her cell.

One night of betrayal leaves Senior Captain Gryf Helyg a prisoner of his enemies. Because of him, Earth’s indigenous people face extinction and his home world is threatened. But his plans for escape are complicated by his inexplicable draw to the Earth woman imprisoned with him.

One ancient prophecy holds the key to free Alexandra and Gryf’s war-ravaged worlds. Can two wounded souls who have lost everything learn to trust and forgive in order to fulfill the prophecy, and find a love that will last for eternity?










Keir's Fall
by 
Pippa Jay


A seductive tyrant. A lost hero. And a galaxy about to fall...

It’s been a year in paradise for Keir and Quin, but now the idyll is over. After Quin falls sick, they return to the hidden sanctuary of Lyagnius, and what she learns there will not only change their lives, but set them on a journey that could separate them forever.

When Keir falls victim to a ruthless Nercaandi Empress bent on conquering the galaxy with her cybernetic army, it will take all Quin’s diminishing powers and the help of her son to find him. But what waits for her aboard the tyrant’s ship will test her strength and the limits of their love, and put everything she cares about at risk. Including Keir.

With the galaxy itself about to fall, will she be able to save him?


B&N 









Celestial Seduction
by
Jessica Subject

At the end of his obligated commitment to the Space Service, Frey Berger decides to stay on Earth to further experience human emotions rather than return to Ginnun where his intended has already mated with another. Looking for real love and someone to accept him for what he is, Frey enlists in Madame Evangeline’s popular dating service. Although he does not understand the concept of a one-night stand, he hopes to find his perfect mate.

Carrie Cooper’s husband divorced her for someone who could provide him with children, leaving her with little self-confidence and no desire to let a man hurt her again. Her best friend convinces her to join a dating service, claiming Carrie needs to get laid, while not winding up with a broken heart since her date requires no commitment after the night is over.

Can Frey convince Carrie that her perfect mate isn’t human at all, and that one night can lead to a forever love?





Now for the chance to win one of these fabulous books.
"But Liza," you say. "I don't know some of these books."
No worries. Read the blurbs, look for key words, and match them to the favorite lines.  You can do this!

A winner will be chosen from those who get all four right, which you will, if you follow my advice. :)


Just match the book #s to the letters below.




A.
Nameless and uncertain, 
he waited in the bedroom of the empress.

B.
“If you fall asleep, 
then I will need to reevaluate my technique.”

C.
“I’m not exactly like you and most of the people on Earth. I’m….different.”

D.
“I didn’t forget Valentine’s Day, by the way. 
You turned me blue for nothing.”