Posts Tagged ‘science fiction romance’

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In Praise of Nerd Heroes

Zoe_Archer | January 11th, 2012

Hi, I’m Zoë, and I’m a nerd lover.

Hi, Zoë.

As a romance reader, and romance author, I know I’m supposed to love the big, brooding, badass alpha hero.  He’s the guy who can do everything—lead an assault on a nest of vampires, single-handedly take down the drug cartel, defeat the spy ring while flawlessly dancing a waltz and making all the maidens weak with desire.  These heroes are larger than life, and yes, they definitely make a woman’s pulse speed up.

But give me a shy, smart guy, and watch me swoon.

There’s something so utterly charming, something that makes me all weak in the knees when a man who’s known for his brains suddenly loses his composure around the woman he fancies.  He doesn’t have the smooth moves, he doesn’t know the right words to say.  He may even stammer and blush.  He’s more comfortable thinking up complex equations than seducing, and that makes his awkward attempts at wooing all the more irresistible.

Of course, I’m also talking about a romance hero, so my favorite nerd heroes can also kick butt.  It wouldn’t quite work if the heroine had to keep bailing him out, would it?  So underneath his button-down shirt or uniform, you’re going to find a body that’s just as sexy and capable as his brains.  Oh, and you know that famous line from the film “Revenge of the Nerds?”  “All Jocks ever think about is sports, all [nerds] ever think about is sex.” Yeah, that’s definitely true.  Smart guy + sex = very attentive, creative lovemaking.

Lieutenant Nils Calder, the hero of CHAIN REACTION, is the top mind in the 8th Wing’s Engineering Corps.  (The other 8th Wing soldiers refer to Engineering as NerdWorks.)  He’s also the very last person Lieutenant Celene Jur wants accompanying her on her mission of vengeance.  But behind Nils’s quiet, nerdy exterior beats the heart of a true warrior.  All he has to do is survive the mission—and survive Celene.

Tell me some of your favorite nerd heroes!  I’ll pick a winner from one of the comments to receive a copy of CHAIN REACTION.

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You can read an excerpt of CHAIN REACTION here.

Order: Carina, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook

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Zoë is a RITA-award nominated romance author who loves kickass heroines and heroes who love kickass heroines.  Her books include the paranormal historical Hellraisers series and the acclaimed Blades of the Rose historical paranormal adventure series. she enjoys baking, tweeting about boots, and listening to music from the ’80s.  She and her husband, fellow romance author Nico Rosso, live in Los Angeles.

Website, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr


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Posted in Authors, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 19 Comments »

Escape Velocity: Falling In Love All Over Again

Dianne Fox | January 4th, 2012

On the product page for Escape Velocity, beneath the blurb, is a short sentence in italicized type:

First published as Runaway Star, newly revised by the authors.

We first wrote Runaway Star in…probably 2006, and it was first published in January 2008. That was a long time ago, in e-publishing years. This business moves at the speed of light, bringing us new romances as fast as we can read, and we love it.

It was a long time ago in terms of character creation too. When we started talking about revising the novel, using what we’ve learned in the years since it was first written to make it better, we were both a little nervous about it.

It wasn’t the idea of putting all that work into an old manuscript that seemed daunting. No, what made us nervous was one question: Would we still love the characters?

We would be diving headfirst into another year of commitment to these characters, getting inside their heads, living their lives from the inside out, and we’d both grown and changed a lot as writers since 2006, so the question wasn’t an idle one. The most compelling reason we had to go back to the book was to share Elios and Sender with the world one more time. We had to fall in love with them all over again if we were going to write their story.

At first, we decided to read through the old manuscript independently, and we’d report back our findings—Was the old work still good enough to rework? Were the old characters still interesting?

Not a week later and we had our answer: a resounding YES. We were both excited to start, to jump in and get to work on the story. We had so many ideas, and most importantly, we still loved Elios and Sender as much as we ever had. While we gave their story new spark and excitement, we didn’t have to change a thing about our heroes.

We hope you love them too—so much that we’re giving them away to launch them back into the world again!

One commenter to this blog post will receive a copy of Escape Velocity.

And, to spread the love, another commenter will receive a copy of our previous Carina Press book, One Real Thing.

—Anah Crow & Dianne Fox

Websites: www.anahcrow.com & www.foxwrites.com
Twitter: @anahcrow & @diannefox

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Posted in Authors, Books, Contest/Giveaway | 14 Comments »

The Strong Romance Heroine

Ainsley_Davidson | December 14th, 2011

Lesserblood Lies cover

I love reading a romance where the heroine isn’t afraid to use action, even violence, to solve problems. Smart and skillful, she lives on her own terms. Her flaws and vulnerabilities are overshadowed by her physical strength or psychic supremacy. She’s likely gorgeous, too. This tough woman will meet her love match with an equally powerful man.

I see myself in the strong female character. I get to pretend I’m just that fierce and clever–and dazzling. Plus I get to imagine hooking up with an alpha hottie.

The kick-ass heroine is especially prominent in urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She hunts down demons, or perhaps she is a demon. The fierce heroine is common in science fiction romance, too. The mercenary soldier, the spaceship captain, the intergalactic spy. Even if she doesn’t literally kick ass, she can zap the bad guy with a lethal omega particle beam, or blast the enemy’s ships into oblivion, or poison the evil adversary’s soup with nanobots. She uses technology to get what she wants.

Now that I’ve celebrated the kick-ass heroine, I must confess: The heroine in my new science fiction romance Lesserblood Lies is rather ordinary. Merianne can’t throw a punch, she doesn’t have an amazing futuristic arsenal, and she’s not beautiful. She’s just a mother trying to protect her unusual daughters. Merianne’s strength lies in her ferocious devotion to her children. Her love match isn’t even a genetically enhanced super soldier or a galactic tycoon. He’s a loner scientist. (He is way hot, though.)

CONTEST!

Science
So what do you think? What makes a romance heroine strong? Can a heroine with determination and courage be as potent as her warrior-like counterpart? Do you have a favorite kick-ass leading lady? I would love to hear from you!

I’ll randomly select one commenter, and send the winner this fun ThinkGeek science T-shirt (Size Large).The winner will be announced on the comments thread on Friday December 16. I have a winner! Please see comment thread!

*****

Novel Buy Links:

Kindle | Nook | Carina Press

Lesserblood Lies will also soon be released as an audio book!

Ainsley’s website

Ainsley’s twitter

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 14 Comments »

The recipe for writing Slip Point

Karalynn Lee | November 8th, 2011

Slip Point cover

I don’t usually write science fiction, but nonetheless Carina Press recently released Slip Point, my science fiction romance novella. How did I go about it?

Start with two kids…

Because my family moved around a fair bit while I was younger, I’ve always been fascinated by the notion of growing up with the next-door neighbor’s kid. What would it be like to have a friend in your life who knew you from your earliest days? What would it be like to fall for him? Shayalin and Jayce first meet as children, and it means that you know they’re friends foremost, ones who understand the other’s roots.

But technology has done funny things to our concept of distance, so to make my young couple into true neighbors, I stuck them on a planet colonized by folks who snub fancy futuristic gear. And of course this gives them an easy goal to bond over: get off the damn planet and reach the stars.

Split ‘em apart…

It also gave me an easy conflict: what if only one of them made it?

It wouldn’t make for much of a story if Shayalin, turned away from the Corps, just went home and raised sheep instead. (Although I did frantically research sheep-herding before I realized this.) She still has a dream, and she’s determined to achieve it through means fair or foul.

Toss in a line like, “I am your father…”

In a classic space opera move, I gave Shayalin a father of dubious morality. Who can resist a space pirate? Especially if he’s your ticket to getting your own ship? And it’ll just be following in the family footsteps.

Put ‘em back together again. Sprinkle over with danger.

And speaking of resisting space pirates, certainly a high-placed government minister can’t, not when he desperately needs someone with the smuggling skills that Shayalin has ever-so-conveniently gained over the past several years. And he’s got just the guy to keep an eye on her: Jayce.

Put over heat and let simmer until…

To say much more would ruin the story, but I can promise you (alphabetically, rather than in order of appearance) action, alien first contact, faster-than-light travel, genetic engineering, and of course, romance. To read more, you can buy Slip Point as an EPUB or for Kindle.

__________
Karalynn actually only has three recipes that she can successfully cook, which means friends are mysteriously never invited over for dinner for a fourth time. She dwells in the San Francisco Bay Area with two grimly determined plants and a few sneaky silverfish who think they’ve reached paradise in her library. Find more of her writing at karalynnlee.com.

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Posted in Books | 7 Comments »

We do it for the love

C.J. Barry | October 4th, 2011

When I started writing science fiction romance, I had no idea what I was doing. No clue about markets or distribution or craft. I didn’t even know that the genre I was writing had a name. One day, I just decided that I wanted to write a book, and since I grew up reading science fiction and romance, the combination worked for me. I was so excited and passionate about every word. Plus, hey, I’d read so many books, how hard could it be to write one?

Cohl slid forward another meter. Instinctively, he whipped the laser pistol sights toward a small black object that sailed silently through the air and landed in a heap ten meters from his feet. He squinted under the dimmed lights. It didn’t move. Looked like cloth.

Then another dark object dropped a few meters from it. Was that a sock? He lowered his weapon. What the hell?

The sock’s mate landed next to the first one. Cohl stepped out from his cover and stared at them. He looked up just in time to snag a pair of pants out of midair aimed at his head.

Tess emerged from behind a nearby container, smiling triumphantly and sporting nothing but a black lace bra and matching panties. It took a while for him to notice her weapon pointed at his chest. His was hanging limp from his hand, much like his jaw.

“Gotcha,” she said smugly.

Her breasts peeked luridly from behind the lace. His gaze skimmed down the slender waist and firm legs in direct proportion to his rising body temperature.

He tossed his laser pistol to the floor. “I surrender.” (Unearthed)

Over the next few years, I learned that writing was the hardest job I’ve ever done, my genre was called SFR, the market is quite small, and the readers are fiercely loyal. I also learned that love is love, no matter what planet you set it on or where your characters are from or what kind of craft they drive/fly.

He looked ready to kill as he tossed the suit down and stepped toward her. She stepped back.
“Is that damn plate all that matters to you?” He wasn’t even blinking.

She raised her chin. “Yes.”

“Just so you can become a Majj?” He took another step toward her, the heat of his anger reaching her.

“Now you’re getting it,” she shot back.

“There’s nothing else to you?”

“No.”

“You’re wrong,” he charged, his voice steely.

She blinked at him in surprise. Then shook her head. “My work is my life, it’s who I am. It’s all that I am.”

“Wrong,” he repeated, taking another step and backing her to the wall.

“Ask anyone,” she stammered. “If I lose my career, I lose everything I am. I lose myself.”

“Wrong.”

His mouth closed over hers and if she’d had anything else to say, it was quickly forgotten in the great rush of blood from her brain. (Unraveled)

Love truly is the universal language. It’s why we are here. It’s why we sacrifice, how we connect, and how we keep going when all seems lost. These stories, they are you and me and every soul on this planet. We all tell our love stories in different ways—through music, literature, art, song, food, volunteering, nursing, gardening, and in all the many jobs we hold every day.

“I’ll help you across,” he said quietly.

Lacey shook her head. That meant “No, I’m not going.” He as an intelligent life form, he should be able to figure that out.

Zain took her clenched fists in his hands. He looked down, frowned and carefully pried open one of her fists. She winced and realized blood creased her palm where her fingernails had dug in.

She heard him say something softly, and hen he pried open her other hand.
Slowly, his gaze rose to hers. She waited for him to tell her that her fears were stupid and ridiculous. To tell her in a lengthy, humiliating lecture how she should be able to conquer them like a normal person.

Just like Robert.

Instead, he wrapped her fingers in his and gently pulled her toward him.

“Look at me,” he whispered, and she promptly lost herself in his dark eyes. (Unleashed)

The thing about love is that you don’t know what you’re doing. There’s no guide book, no classes, no training. Sometimes, you just have to hold your breath and jump. How hard could it be?

“You can’t hold it in forever,” Torrie whispered.

A hard shudder shook Qaade’s body as if her words gave him permission to release. He took a deep breath and held it.

She waited as long seconds passed, almost afraid of what might happen when he finally let go. And then he threw his head back and roared like a wounded animal. The plaintive howl pierced her soul and brought tears to her eyes.

Over and over again he roared, unleashing his anger and grief for his lost people.

She wrapped her arms around his torso and held him tightly, trying to get through to the man beneath the pain.

Steam rose from his skin with each tormented outburst, and her tears soaked the back of his shirt. It was like watching him be torn apart from the inside.

How could she have doubted him even for a moment? (Unmasked)

Here’s to jumping.

CJ Barry
www.cjbarry.com
The series on Carina Press
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CJ-Barry-Readers/300678919146
http://twitter.com/#!/cj_barry

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Excerpt | 5 Comments »

Exploring the “Dark Edge of Honor”

Rhianon_Etzweiler | August 17th, 2011

Mike and Sergei, in 'Dark Edge of Honor'Sergei Stolkov is a faithful officer, though his deepest desires go against the Doctrine. A captain with the invading Coalition forces, he believes that self-sacrifice is the most heroic act and his own needs are only valid if they serve the state.

Mike, an operative planted within Cirokko’s rebels, has been ordered to seduce Sergei and pry from him the Coalition’s military secrets. His mission is a success, but as he captures Sergei’s heart, Mike is tempted by his own charade and falls in love.

When the hostile natives of the planet Cirokko make their move, all seems lost. Can Mike and Sergei survive when the Coalition’s internal affairs division takes an interest in what happened in the dusty mountains of Zasidka Pass…?

The premise behind the romance in Dark Edge of Honor isn’t new—falling in love with an enemy soldier is one thing, as a civilian. It’s another entirely as a soldier. Exploring the dynamic of loyalties and ethics between two well-honed professionals takes the reader on an intense roller coaster ride of a journey. It gives the characters common ground and mutual understanding, but it also leaves the door wide open for tension and conflict. Never a dull moment, certainly.

Far from being “just” lovers, Sergei and Mike are seemingly up against impossible odds. Not only does their romance begin as seduction and mutual attraction – the mutual desire has to mature quickly to have any chance of survival against those who’d consider Sergei a traitor and execute Mike as an enemy infiltrator. But both men battle even bigger demons; their background, their lives, their whole past is on the line. Everything that defines them and everything they fought for.

This full-length military science fiction novel began its life in July of 2010 on the internet. Google Docs, to be precise. Rhi and Aleks did tandem writing sessions three to five days a week, churning out between three and five thousand words a session.
Rhi found it difficult to get inside Mike’s head, at first. His character was inspired by a number of various military personnel, none of which were known for their intimately engaging demeanors. She ended up writing a number of stream-of-conscious vignettes, digging around in his past, before things clicked into place. Those pieces are now available as free content on her website.

Aleks kept remembering all the rules of romance writing – and one of them is that the heroes need to have admirable qualities. Neither a spy nor a traitor is really “admirable”. They deceive people, often with disastrous consequences. In a military context, people die. Part of what Aleks wanted to explore was – under which circumstances is treason forgivable. Is love enough? Can suffering pay the debt? What are these things that define us as traitors or heroes?

That, really, is the “dark edge” in the idea of “honor”. Share the journey with Mike and Sergei. Get your copy here.

About the Authors:
Aleksandr Voinov is an emigrant German author living near London. Originally, he studied medieval history with a focus on military history, but he then moved to London, where he works as a financial journalist, dealing daily with the feudal lords of the modern age. His professor would be proud—or horrified—if he knew.
His genres range from horror, science fiction, cyberpunk and fantasy to contemporary, thriller and historical erotic gay novels. In his spare time, he goes weight lifting, explores historical sites or meets other writers. He single-handedly sustains three London bookstores with his ever-changing research projects and interests. His current interests include bonsai, tailored suits, chess competitions, World War II, Afghan history, Roman emperors and Russian oligarchs. He loves traveling, action movies, spy novels and ponders taking up boxing.
Visit Aleksandr’s website at http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com and his blog at aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com.

Rhianon Etzweiler spent her formative years seeped in military culture, and many of her writing inspirations bear that mark – with a definitive twist. Her main genres are science fiction and fantasy, but she enjoys spicing things up with a speculative mixture that sometimes defies an easy label.
Next to Elizabeth Moon and Meredith Ann Pierce, she still counts Jane’s Defense and Popular Science among her influences. “I read articles about cutting edge technology and science, and wondered what impact it would have on society and culture. How we would change, evolve as a species, as a result.”
Visit Rhianon’s website at http://www.rhianonetzweiler.com for links to her blogs and other content.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Marketing | 2 Comments »

Science Fiction Is the Other Historical

Zoe_Archer | April 5th, 2011

ZA_CollisionCourse2

For most of my romance-writing career, I have focused on writing historical stories.  I’ve written about the Victorian and Georgian periods, and loved every minute of it.  I’ll come right out and admit that I’m a research geek.  Maybe it’s the former academic in me, but there’s something very exciting about chasing down facts and tidbits about eras and places I could never go.  I love learning a new detail and then having that detail influence the narrative, and I also love having a specific plot in mind, and finding the exact historical information I need to shore up that plot’s demands. It’s a thrill!  Some people base jump or swim with sharks for thrills.  I go to the library.

So, what’s an admitted history nerd doing writing a science fiction space opera romance?

The truth is that science fiction and futuristics are actually historicals.  Just like in historical fiction, science fiction takes place in eras different from our own.  Instead of requiring research at the library or online, sci-fi writers have to do extensive world-building.  We actually need to write a different world’s history, and make it just as rich and full of unique detail as our own history.  We must invent customs, legends, figures of speech, rules of conduct and laws, clothing, vehicles, taboos, spiritual beliefs—in short, we have to create whole cultures and make them relatable so that readers aren’t completely alienated (heh) from the story.

When I decided to write COLLISION COURSE, I took everything I learned from writing historical romance and applied that to realms beyond the stars.  Give detail, but not so much that it overwhelms the narrative or the characters.  Remember that the world exists to support the romance, not the other way around.  Unlike with historical romance, however, I couldn’t hope that my reader already knew certain facts about a time period or place, so I had to integrate details in such a way that made sense but also didn’t grind the action to a halt.

Ultimately, I wanted to tell a story with a ton of action, some very steamy scenes, a very sexy hero, and a heroine who unapologetically kicks ass.  It doesn’t matter what era in which I set my romances, it’s all about having a good time.

So tell me, do you think science fiction is the other historical?  What are your favorite time periods to read about?  Leave a comment, and I’ll pick a commenter at random and send them a print copy from my backlist! (US and Canada)

For more information about COLLISION COURSE, including an excerpt, visit my website.  You can also find me on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.

COLLISION COURSE is available from Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other retailers.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 24 Comments »

There’s No Time Like the Past

Dana_Grimaldi | March 10th, 2011

by Dana Grimaldi
eHarlequin Copy Editor

I am not a competitive person. But when it comes to time travel, I’ll put all reservations aside.

Let me explain. Every Tuesday morning, I go to work looking forward to the Carina Press acquisitions meeting. I love discussing the manuscripts I’ve read with fellow team members, and I love hearing about the new books we’ll be publishing. One of my favorite parts of the meeting comes when Angela goes through the list of books we’re going to look at for the next week. If I hear that a manuscript we’re considering involves time travel, the competitive spirit awakens within me, and I’ll jump at the chance to read it.

So far, I’ve read two time travel manuscripts for Carina Press, and I’ve been thrilled to recommend that we acquire both of them. Reading these books only served to remind me of how much I love a good time travel story, which got me to thinking…what makes a time travel story good? The best time travel stories make the most of the genre’s unique strength: characters who travel in time can do things characters in your average story could never imagine. I’ve made a list of the top three things that are (for the most part) unique to time travel stories.

1. Characters can reunite with someone they’ve lost.

One of my favorite moments in time travel stories is when a character runs into an older/younger/alternate version of someone they’ve lost. One of the best examples of this occurs in the story Days of Future Past. For those of you not familiar with the comic book heroes known as the X-men, I’ll give you some background. At the beginning of the story, Kitty Pryde, the newest and youngest member of the X-men, finds herself struggling to find her place among the superhero team. She’s particularly frightened by the mutant Nightcrawler, whose demonic appearance once made him the target of a violent mob in his native Germany. When the future Kitty Pryde travels back in time to inhabit the body of her younger self, she finds herself surrounded by the loving adoptive family who, in her time, were almost all killed—including Nightcrawler, whom she’d grown to love and trust. The future Kitty’s reaction to seeing her friends is heartbreaking. Especially when she embraces Nightcrawler and calls him by his given name: Kurt. The ability of time travel to bring people into contact with those they’ve lost is a compelling storytelling device. I think the reason I find it so interesting is that in a way, it’s like time traveling gives characters the ability to defeat death.

2. Characters can fix a past mistake.

In the movie Timecop, police officer Max Walker is unable to prevent his wife and unborn child from being killed in a violent home invasion. The 20th century cop is no match for the group of thugs with futuristic weapons who surprise him in the night. Years later, he gets the chance to go back and make things right; he saves his family using his knowledge of the past as well as impressive kicking skills. We’ve all wondered what life would be like if we could go back and change something in the past, which is why it’s so satisfying to see characters get the chance to do so.

3. We get to see what life might be like in the future or what life was like in the past.

For years, writers have created compelling visions of what the future might be. Anyone who remembers what life was like before cell phones and the internet knows how fast technology is changing, and how much those changes affect our everyday lives. The chance to see what these changes might be is always interesting.  One of my favorite parts of Back to the Future part 2 is Marty’s experiences in the future Hill Valley. I’m still disappointed that hover boards haven’t been invented yet!

The flip side is equally interesting—looking back to see what life was like in the past and how people lived. One of the time travel manuscripts I read for Carina Press is a great example of this. In Ruth A. Casie’s time travel story, a woman travels back to 17th century England. I loved seeing what everyday life in an English manor house was like. The story shows how some aspects of our lives haven’t changed that much, while others seem very strange to a reader with “modern” sensibilities. The heroine found out just how different things were when she was attacked by a band of assassins: she was expected to cower in fear while the men took care of things. I don’t want to spoil the story, but I will say that this didn’t go over well with the feisty Rebecca, who holds a black belt.

While I was writing this post, I couldn’t help but remember a few of my favorite time travel stories. I love all three Back to the Future films, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and especially Primer. My favorite time travel books include The Singing Stone by O. R. Melling, A Handful of Time by Kit Pearson, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling, Once a Gambler by Carrie Hudson and a new favorite, Ruth A. Casie’s soon-to-be-retitled Carina Press book.

Did I miss any great time travel stories? What are your favorite time travel books and why do you like them?

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Posted in Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press | 11 Comments »

Rustling up a space cowboy

Ella_Drake | November 23rd, 2010

Silver Bound by Ella DrakeWhen I started writing Silver Bound, I found that the lead character, Guy Trident, was shaping up to be quite unusual. And I liked it.

Guy’s normal day-to-day is split between being sheriff of his small town and owner of a ranch on a planet that has been technology limited. But in a time of easy space travel when the wealthy live on lawless space stations, upholding the law sometimes takes him not just out of the saddle, but off-world.  He can rustle up some steer as well as steer a space shuttle. (“steer” get it? *groan*  I went there). He’s as comfortable living the small-town life as he is crossing the galaxy to make things right for Jewel, the heroine of his life. He might be on a space station, but he’s wearing his cowboy boots.

So can I help it if, while writing this story, I kept picturing a time in my past when I frequented a country bar and rode a mechanical bull? As fun as it was to climb up on that thing, I only did it a handful of times and haven’t done it since. It was a little scary, a lot of fun, and exhilarating. But here’s a secret, it was incredibly sensual for me. Did I feel slightly uncomfortable with those feelings in a bar with dozens of people watching me? Maybe a little. Maybe this is why I haven’t ridden one since. Maybe this is why I should hunt one down and take the husband on a date to a country bar.

But it helped me to imagine the feelings Jewel has when she rides an “air skate” with Guy when they’re young (picture something like a hovering skateboard with handlebars). How did I get from a mechanical bull to an air skate? It just works. It painted the emotions for the character Jewel in a real life way. At only thirteen, she’s starting to feel for Guy in ways she doesn’t quite comprehend, but riding with him gives her a heady freedom. That freedom of going on a ride without control of what you’re doing or how you’re getting there, and small feelings of sensuality heightening it.

For Guy, that air skate scene and others like it added to the flavor of a cowboy whose skills surpass ranching and into anything he can guide, steer, rope, or pilot. A cowboy, no matter where he is. Whether he faced a bull on the ranch, or a mechanical bull in a futuristic setting, I like to think he could take it on.

What about you? Have you done something that surprised you with a bit of unexpected sensuality? Like riding a mechanical bull, maybe? Or, have you done something that gave you a surprising rush or a strong reaction? Or, just tell me something fun you’ve done. Share!

Tomorrow (24th) at 11:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time) I’ll pick a random commenter to win a copy of Silver Bound!

***

Ella Drake is a dark paranormal and science fiction romance author. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, & Goodreads where she revels in to her love of romance with a flare of fantasy or the unusual.

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Posted in Authors, Contest/Giveaway | 12 Comments »

Zombie Chickens and Scorpions

Maria_Zannini | October 20th, 2010

I’ve lived in big cities, little towns, and now my address is in the middle of nowhere. Evidently, I’m very adaptable. :)

I think of all the places I’ve lived, I’ve enjoyed this last home the best. A quarter mile to the north, there’s a big cat preserve while my neighbor to the south raises llamas.

At night I’m serenaded by the lions, but that’s okay because I think it keeps the feral pigs from getting any closer. (You do NOT want to meet a feral pig if you’re hiking the woods.)

Even though I grew up in Chicago, I’ve become quite the homesteader. What with zombie chickens and my faithful rotties, Tank and Iko, every day is an adventure in survival.

It’s always a crapshoot to find out what’s going to eat me next. I’ve been stung, bitten, clawed, scraped, burned, electrocuted, slimed and necrotized. And that was just last week. I ought to be a zombie by now!

But like any good professional, I covet all these precious (painful) moments and save them for the next book. Nobody does pain like I do. LOL.

Aside from my daily torture sessions, it’s an idyllic setting. Lots of trees, fresh air, and the occasional missile attack from kamikaze squirrels.

I let the chickens loose during the day and they carry on like drunken sailors on shore leave. They like to hide in the bushes then ambush me as I walk by. Da bums! They’re just looking for handouts. A couple of them are so brazen they try to hop on my shoulder.

It’s at this point I shake my fist at them and threaten to put them in the pot. But they ignore me and pick my scalp for bugs.

I get no respect.

At least it’s better than the scorpions. We are mortal enemies. And though I’ve killed my fair share, one of them managed to sting me while I was in bed.

Worst. Pain. Ever.

I’m a professional at pain. Believe me when I tell you, a scorpion sting is like getting hit with a ten pound hammer. There’s no redness, no swelling, just horrible throbbing pain.

I hate scorpions and they hate me. I’m pretty sure they’ve got a hitman after me, but so far I’ve been lucky. That’s why I let the chickens out during the day. I’ve heard chickens will eat scorpions.

If they know what’s good for them, they better make sure I stay safe.

Tell me about where you live. What sort of creature terrorizes your neighborhood?

***

To buy or read an excerpt from  TRUE BELIEVERS go here.

I’m giving away a copy of True Believers to one person who comments on any of the blog posts I post today. I also have a big blog tour going on with a chance to win a Texas-sized prize. Go here for more information.

Bio: Maria Zannini used to save the world from bad advertising, but now she spends her time wrangling zombie chickens, and fighting for a piece of the bed against dogs of epic proportions.
Follow Maria on her lively Blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

What’s this? Maria needs your help. Her story, “Mistress Of The Stone” is in the running for a book contract but she needs your vote.  Read the excerpts here and vote.

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