Monday, August 29, 2016

Liana Brooks shares Decoherence, A Time & Shadow Mystery



Multiverse. Alternate realities. The Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum theory… they’re all names for the idea that there is more than one version of reality. More than one version of you. It’s a fun idea that’s been played with more times than I can count.

In the Time & Shadows series I played with this idea; we know who Jane Doe is, but not which reality she came from.



In the first book, THE DAY BEFORE, the reader only sees a momentary glimpse of one other possible iteration of time. In CONVERGENCE POINT the readers get to see two. In DECOHERENCE the narrative weaves between several different interlacing realities. There’s not only more than one possible version of history, but there are multiple variations of the main character, Samantha Rose.

Genetically identical, each Sam is a unique individual. Being able to play with the multiverse theory and examine what happens when one person makes a different choice in each iteration of time was one of the joys of writing these series. Characters are so often stuck in their choices, with a plot driven by consequence, that they don’t get a chance to think What If?

DECOHERENCE comes out in e-book on September 13th, with the print edition to follow in October.


Before you run off to buy the books and get started reading, tell me, what’s one life changing choice you made?  



Readers of Blake Crouch's DARK MATTER and Wesely Chu's TIME SALVAGER will love Liana Brooks' DECOHERENCE--the thrilling, time-bending conclusion to the Time & Shadow series!





Samantha Rose and Linsey MacKenzie have established an idyllic life of married bliss in Australia, away from the Commonwealth Bureau of Investigation, away from mysterious corpses, and—most of all—away from Dr. Emir’s multiverse machine.
But Sam is a detective at heart, and even on the other side of the world, she can’t help wonder if a series of unsolved killings she reads about are related—not just to each other, but to the only unsolved case of her short career.
She knows Jane Doe’s true name, but Sam never discovered who killed the woman found in an empty Alabama field in spring of 2069. She doesn’t even know which version of herself she buried under a plain headstone.

When Mac suddenly disappears, Sam realizes she is going to once more be caught up in a silent war she still doesn’t fully understand. Every step she takes to save Mac puts the world she knows at risk, and moves her one step closer to becoming the girl in the grave.






Liana Brooks write sci-fi and crime fiction for people who like happy endings. She believes in time travel to the future, even if it takes a good book and all night to get there. When she isn’t writing, Liana hikes the mountains of Alaska with her family and giant dog. Find her at LianaBrooks.com or on Twitter as @LianaBrooks





Friday, August 26, 2016

Check out the Secret Supers series by Aurora Springer, Bk 2 recently out.



Starrella Falls, Book 2 of the Secret Supers

College freshman Estelle Wright has it all: a superpower, a flying horse, and a hunky boyfriend. All is threatened when her old enemy swears revenge, ruthless killers target Atalanta, and Toby is under pressure to dump her. But, Estelle’s knack of finding trouble scuttles his plans. With their lives at stake, they face agonizing decisions where the wrong choice leads to disaster. 

If you enjoy superhero adventures with quirky animals, thrilling chases and a rollercoaster romance, read this fun story.


 It’s non-stop action from beginning to end. This time, the giant creatures threatening humans are reptiles…far larger than they are supposed to be. The romance between Toby and Starrella looks shaky through much of the book, but love always finds a way.

I give this a 4.5 rounding up due to so much action. I lost count of all the attacks…seriously.


Buy Links



Excerpt
Their meals arrived and Toby tackled the burger with his usual gusto. While he was occupied with the food, Estelle chewed slowly and stared around the pub. A man entering drew her attention by his formal attire of a dark suit and tie, unlike the regular customers in their casual clothes. A short beard and dark glasses hid the stranger’s expression. He strolled to the bar and stared at the rows of bottles on the mirrored wall.

Estelle nudged Toby. “Don’t look yet. He just came in.”

“Who?” Toby mumbled through a mouthful of fries.

She hissed in his ear, “I think it’s Croaker in disguise. Imagine him with a beard.”

“Blast! He’s seen my photo from those kidnappers.” Toby swallowed his fries too fast, and smothered a cough with his hand. Examining his half empty glass of beer, he looked around as if in search of the waitress with a refill. “Reckon you’re right,” he whispered. “He’s seen us. Watch out! Croaker’s dangerous. Uses poison darts.”

Squeezing his fingers, Estelle hissed, “Okay. What’ll we do?”

“Finish our food, pay up and walk out like we’re cool.”

“Sure. My hands are itching to flame.”

“See what he does first,” Toby advised. “Don’t want to create a scene.” He beckoned to the waitress and asked for the check. While they waited to pay, he asked, “Where’s the mare?”

“Not far. We’re in contact.”

They eased out of the booth. Toby slipped his arm around Estelle’s waist and they strolled to the rear exit leading to the parking lot. Estelle glanced back before they reached the door. Croaker stood facing them.

“He’s watching,” she murmured.

“Call Rockette,” Toby whispered. When they stepped outside, Toby gestured for Estelle to wait where she would be concealed behind the door. “Let him spot me first.” He walked to his motorcycle and bent on one knee, pretending to examine the front tire.

The man came out and focused on Toby. His face twisted in an evil smirk and he raised his hand. A needle point glinted. Estelle blazed at his fingers.

He dropped the dart, cried a Zarnoth curse and lunged at Estelle.

Racing across the parking lot, Toby grabbed Croaker’s arm and swung him round. In a blur of motion, a second dart shone in Croaker’s hand. Toby punched his fist into Croaker’s chin.

Croaker crumpled. Catching him under the arms, Toby eased him to the ground.

Brakes squealed and a man yelled, “Hey!” Mark Copper jumped out of his white sedan and Diane slid out of the passenger side. “What’s going on?” Mark called.

Straightening and gazing at Mark, Toby drawled, “It’s that guy who’s wanted for murder.”

“What guy?” Mark strode over and stared at the body.

“Croaker, the man wanted for murder,” Estelle explained. “We recognized him when we were in the pub. He followed us out here.”








Books by Aurora Springer

Atrapako on Eden 
Feisty scientist solves puzzle of scaly aliens on the remote planet of Eden.

Grand Master’s Trilogy 
Super psychics in space: One young woman challenges the super psychics ruling the galaxy, and finds an impossible love
Grand Master’s Cat, Short Prequel

Secret Supers
Teen superhero, Starrella, and her flying horse combat vicious killers in Atalanta, a sunnier, southern Gotham City.

Standalone Novel
For refugees from an overcrowded Earth, dreams of a better life on an alien planet transform into a terrifying battle for survival.

Novellas and Short Stories
Captured by the Hawk A space operetta, fun and fast-paced.
Rosemary’s Quest Young adult fantasy: teenage witch meets demon king and white wizard.
Gifts of Jangalore Short story set in the Grand Masters’ universe.
Lonely Hearts on Mars Short story set on Mars in the near future.


Author Bio
Aurora Springer is a scientist morphing into a novelist. She has a PhD in molecular biophysics and discovers science facts in her day job. She has invented adventures in weird worlds for as long as she can remember. In 2014, Aurora achieved her life-long ambition to publish her stories. Her works are character-driven romances set in weird worlds described with a sprinkle of humor. Some of the stories were composed thirty years ago. She was born in the UK and lives in Atlanta with her husband, a dog and two cats to sit on the keyboard. Her hobbies, besides reading and writing, include outdoor activities like gardening, watching wildlife, hiking and canoeing.

Media links:



Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Finally, Flying Cars are in the works

The flying car has arrived.
God Help Us All!
All the time I was driving to and from work in deadly NJ traffic I dreamt of a car that could fly itself out of trouble. 

And now when I stay at home working as an author for 17 hours a day, they finally fulfill my greatest desire:
A CAR THAT FLIES AND DRIVES.
OR
DRIVES UNTIL THE ROAD COMES TO A DEAD STOP THEN IT FLIES ABOVE ALL THE NONSENSE.

When I dreamt of this car, honestly it looked more like this, with small jet engines:
After all, how is a car with wings going to drive on NJ Roads? We can't stay in our lane and not smash things when we have lines drawn on the road.  What hope do we have when we fly in unmarked air space? 

I remember the day I realized it was a fool's dream. I had just gone from 70 miles an hour to a complete stop in less time than my cursing response to the fiasco took. 

My mind went immediately to my dream of being able to simply initiate the jet burns, pull up on the wheel and soar above the smashed cars further up the road.

Then my fabulous dream image turns into a nightmare as EVERYONE tries to escape the road and fly into the sky. 

The result will be worse than the Hindenburg. Oh, the inhumanity! Oh, the days before all the broken bits of human and metal are removed from the highway!

But on the positive side, there might be a lot of job openings soon after.

Still, Airbus is seriously declaring 2017 the year of the flying cars. Looks like Singapore may be first. 

Do you know why our current planes don't crash into each other? No, it's not just the equipment  they have. That helps, but not so much in close proximity, such as when they are landing. They have strange, sometimes demented, but highly trained people staring at the radar equipment advising the pilot of the plane what to do.

I remember when I was on my first solo flight and needed to land at controlled airport. I announced my presence and the air controller speaks so fast and cryptically that I had no clue what he said. So now I'm left pondering what to do. Should I fake it or fess up I had not clue what he'd just said. So I worked through my options. What might happen if I fake it? I imagined a Jet hitting me as we both go for the same runway. So I went for option 2. I confessed, I was on my first solo flight, I hadn't understood a word he said. After a pause, a very slow voice came over the radio. "Hello, 3 Mike Alpha", and then he gave me very clear instructions and which runway I should land upon. 

It turns out commercial pilots can comprehend the rapid abbreviated words that controllers speak, but I don't think normal humans will ever comprehend it. So rule one, is we can't use the control centers that airplanes use. It would be the equivalent of mass murder.

Next problem, they've created a plane/ car with long wings. It looks a bit like the Cessnas I used to fly, except fatter. 
It's not going to fit on our roads. EVER.

And then there is the issue of letting millions of people flying willy-nilly all over the sky.  We aren't great on the roads, but the reason it only kills 40K people a year in the US is because the roads are paved into the ground. You do NOT go driving off into a field because your destiny is in that direction. No. You stay on the road and follow the roads signs.

There are NO roads nor road signs in the air. So the average human would be totally lost in the air. And do not expect Air Control to help you. They expect you to call them and announce your arrival. It does not work out well if you call them declaring you have no idea where you are and can they see you...Yeah, I did that. And no they couldn't help me. Then I flew right over their airport, quickly announced I was landing and got called to control tower to explain what happened.  I didn't get in trouble, but I was grounded until the weather improved.

But what happens if 300 peeps try that at one small airport?

I'm pretty sure we could raise the death knoll to over a million a year if we have flying cars.

I mean seriously, do you know how many times I almost hit another plane in the air? OK, it only happened three times. But that's 3 times too many! And one of them was a fighter jet going so fast I didn't see him in my visual check and the next second he's zipping in front of my nose.

Technically speaking, planes are supposed to work on the rule that the slowest plane gets priority in the air. So I can't fly in front of a glider, and fighter jets aren't supposed to go zipping by in front of me because I had no chance to even say "oh shit!" 

Fortunately, when I flew a plane, the skies were mostly empty. Now we have kids (some being adult kids) flying drones so high they lose sight of them. But out of sight doesn't mean out of trouble.

Could a drone take out a Cessna? I'm sure it could. How about the car/plane above.  Definitely. How about a jetliner? If a goose can take out an engine, then I'm certain a drone can too. Good thing they have more than one engine.

So here's our future:
7 billion little drone planes and about 4 million flying cars crashing about the sky. It'll be a Hindenburg every five seconds.

But what if drone planes just fly you directly to your workplace with you as a passenger? Skyways would need to be charted, but that is possible. Still, you begin on the ground presumably at home. So how do you safely get from the ground into your allocated space in the sky to go to your office without intersecting someone else's path. The plane will no doubt have technology to warn you of other planes flying too close, but will it actually prevent all accidents? Based on our self-driving cars, I think not.

Thus, people in their homes will be at risk from planes crashing on their homes, and unlike our current major airlines and, often times, heroic captains to save the day, you'll just have a plane or maybe two crashing through the roof and catching on fire.

This will never go mainstream. Despite my long dream of a flying car, it's too dangerous...


So let's talk about my next Sci-Fi series instead. While Alisha loves to fly, she flies a windcatcher and if it fails the only person who will die is the SkyRyder, unless its Alisha. She has skills beyond the SkyRyders' imagination and can even survive a chute failure.



Meet Alisha: A young woman who refuses to live the life her parents want.
In a single month, Alisha Kane has gone from a wealthy debutante to street girl to scavenger.  While testing her new flying skills in the Cully Canyon, Alisha incurs a near-death crash landing. She’s “rescued” by a colonel of the SkyRyders and her life changes forever.
Meet Logan: A SkyRyder colonel in charge of a sleepy fort with little to do other than arrest the occasional scavenger.
For the first time in his life, Logan’s attracted to a young woman, only she’s probably a scavenger and he’ll have to arrest her.  But first, he offers her a shower and food while he checks on his crew. His Videographer has captured her extraordinary flight through the Cully and her flying is astounding!
He forgoes arresting her and puts his career at risk by asking MAC to assess her skills and integrity as a potential SkyRyder. If he can get Alisha into the SkyRyders, it will be his greatest contribution to the Corps.
Meet MAC: the Artifical Intelligence that runs the SkyRyders Corps.
Upon seeing her arrival, MAC upgrades Alisha’s test. Her flying skills are not just excellent; they exceed what was previously thought possible. MAC classifies her as its #1 asset and soon she proves her value.  

But…the SkyRyders remain a male-dominated Corps where Alisha’s sense of right and wrong often clashes with her superiors. How long can a rebellious young woman survive in a regimented Corps?

 BUY LINK

The SkyRyder’s Series, Book 1

Scavenger’s Mission

AMAZON

Pre-order your copy now

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Melisse Aires shares Stars Between Us.

  


$1.99 Novella

 STARS BETWEEN US is a romance  set in a futuristic Space Frontier World, a Wild West, Firefly and Steampunk inspired Space Opera Universe.  The space frontier is a dangerous place with the long risky space journeys and almost lawless settlements. The series leans toward sci-fantasy with some fantasy elements (shifters). 

I was raised in Montana by parents who took us to every historical site in the state. My grandparents homesteaded outside Laurel, Montana. When their hunting dog got a bad hit by a porcupine, my grandfather drove the dog into town, three days by buckboard, to get quills removed. 

My grandfather once traveled with the circus, and I had a relative who had a trading post--and two Native American wives!

My family loved to tent camp in the most remote areas--which can be pretty remote in Montana! I read many westerns as a girl and those crisp starry nights by a campfire area fond memory.

When combined with sci-fi, colonization stories have always caught my imagination.This series is about immigrants to two planets, Celstar, an Earth-like world with carefully planned immigration, and Starlander's Green, which was settled by Terrans but also has a native population.

In STARS BETWEEN US, Odessa, a dock worker with a past, longs to immigrate. Veras will be leaving the space station soon for a new life on a planet.

Excerpt:


“Odessa.” Veras pulled her into an awkward embrace, since Odessa still held Garnet’s seat by the handle. The warmth of his body against her erased any words of greeting. She slid her free hand up and down his back assuring herself Veras was really here with her after all this time. She blinked away tears. This was no place for an emotional moment. He’d think she was crazy, desperate.
“So glad you came.” Veras took Odessa by the hand and pulled her to a booth in the rear of the eatery, a private seating area.
“Glad we could meet before you leave.” She was finally able to speak though her voice was husky. It was important for her to remember Veras was leaving in a couple days, perhaps to never return to the space station.
They ordered a meal and while they waited for it Odessa fed Garnet a self warming bottle of mixed baby formula and breast milk.
“She is smaller than I expected,” Veras said.
“She was born premature, plus her father was short. I don’t think she’ll be very tall as an adult.”
Veras shook his head. “Hard to believe you have a child.”
“I know.” She smiled wryly and wiped a drop of formula from the baby's chin. “I’m clean now, though, so I can take care of her right.”
“How do you know what to do with a baby?”
“I took a class. Plus my childcare woman is really a great resource.”
“You look really good. Healthy. I’ve never seen your hair so long.”
Odessa felt her face heat. “I remember my mother wore her hair long, so I decided to let it grow. Something I could do to try to remember her.”

Their food arrived. “What made your grandfather decide to send you all the way to Charity Wells for medical school?”


I have two other short reads in this series, and have another two longer stories planned.

For fun, I'll pick two comments for an ebook copy of the STARS BETWEEN US. Leave your email!

Melisse Aires

Website

Gmail

 Amazon Page:



Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Callie Bourde shares Colors of Power


Today, we have Callie Borde and her sci-fi, Colors of Power, which comes with a touch of romance. 



A serial killer is operating in the Galaxia Alia. Senior Investigator Baath Drid is determined to prevent more deaths.

Artist Jaimi Tarnii has left crime scene work behind. Will she agree to help him?




CHAPTER 1
A Year Earlier
Gentle Winds Commerce Court, Jump Station Delta, Delta Sector, Galaxia Alia

Jaimi paused at the door, foot traffic moving behind her. The Gentle Winds Commerce Court on Jump Station Delta was busy – she saw many civilians and even more tourists. Happily, the restaurants and stores looked like they provided an interesting mix, good news for her workshop and retail business. She should do well here.

Her shop was on the first of five levels of stores, restaurants, and businesses that were arranged on mezzanines open to the central fountain. The “gentle winds” actually referred to small ornamental trees from a little known planetary system in Gamma Sector, whose dramatic turquoise and coral blooms, shaped like small birds in flight, provided the color cues for the whole commerce court.

She still could not believe that this was happening. She smiled at herself in the heavy blastglas of the door and set her palm to the lock. There was a snick and she pulled the door open.

Leaving it ajar, she glanced around. This area, roughly a square, was separated from the rest of the larger space by a half wall which formed a display counter. It was planned as a combination gallery and retail shop and would be perfect for her.

The workshop extended behind the low wall. It was twice the size of the gallery, forming an ell, with the retail space as the short leg. The area directly behind the counter was in full view, while the rest of it was around the corner and out of sight. There were two large loading doors in the back.

The high ceiling provided plenty of height to display her large wallhangings and plenty of room back in the workshop to create them.

Lost in her thoughts, she started when a tentacle passed in front of her eyes and a mechanically produced but pleasant voice spoke in her ear. “Sustenance!”

Eagerly, she grabbed the proffered mug of caf’eene, and the tentacle whipped away. Still looking at the workroom, she said, “Thanks. I needed that, but I’ll never understand how you can be so quiet.”

The large land based cephalopod behind her snickered. “Just part of the skill set for any apex predator.”

It was a running joke, and keeping to the script, Jaimi said, “Well, just remember, eating your employer can be a strategic mistake… if you want to be paid.”

They had met on the first day of school. Two of the smallest students, they’d been mercilessly bullied. Their friendship had endured through university and beyond. It was the two of them against the world…

Now, a tentacle wrapped around Jaimi’s shoulders and she was pulled close. She relaxed against her best friend as Alig asked quietly, “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, but I will admit, part of me never believed this dream would actually come true.”

“I always knew it would. This is by far the best use for someone with your talent.” Alig wrapped a second and third tentacle around Jaimi, giving a more thorough hug, before releasing her. “It’s safer, too.”

When Jaimi ignored the last comment, Alig delicately swiped her tablet screen. “According to this, the first grav-sled of equipment should be arriving right about… now!”  A fourth tentacle pointed at the loading doors, just as the security buzzer sounded.

Moving swiftly on her rear tentacles, Alig headed to the door. At the second buzz, she called, “I’m coming. I’m coming. Settle down already!” Over her shoulder, she said to Jaimi, “Now remember, let me handle this. This is the time to let people know that you’re the Artist and too important to deal with the day to day. You have a shop manager for all that.”

AMAZON



I have really enjoyed planning and writing this series, even if I *seriously* underestimated the world building.
The Galaxia Alia universe, and specifically the Artist in Residence Series, is what happens when a serial crafter writes SciFi. ;-)
Each story ties in to a craft that I have either done or wanted to do or know someone who does… Most fall into the first two categories.
In college, my area of concentration was Lighting Design, like An’Ish in Beams of Power.
While I have always done artistic things, professionally and for relaxation, *just drawing* wasn’t one of them. I DID learn to make perspective drawings for my MFA in Scene Design, but just sitting down and drawing? Not so much…

When I first heard about and researched Zentangle, it struck a chord with me. I could understand its appeal in terms of its *no pressure, the joy is in the doing* mindset.

When I started working on the Galaxia Alia universe and the Artist in Residence series, playing the *What-if* game with the idea of Zentangle and Doodling was a natural progression. In fact, I have detailed story notes on each of the AMA levels. ;-) They didn’t make it into Glyphs of Power, but maybe later on!
These days, my Go To Craft is beading, in part because it is portable. A few years ago, my mom (who has since passed) went through several hospitalizations. I was her main caregiver. Because she had a problem with sundowning,(Isn’t that an amazing term? It means late day and night time confusion.) I would spend the night at the hospital with her, sitting beside her bed while she slept.

I beaded a LOT of the rope necklaces mentioned in Strands of Power. I could bead half a necklace in one night. At the moment, I am beading a silver and gold necklace for my sister, while listening to writing blogs.
I have a lot more books planned in the AIR series, so I hope you’ll think about joining my list… You can sign-up on my website.

Visit my FaceBook page and say Hi! ;-)


Sunday, August 14, 2016

R.Harrison takes us on a hike before sharing Frankenkitty

Today, I have R. Harrison over to discuss the similarities of writing and climbing. 

Writing is quite a bit like peak bagging. Sometimes you can see where you’re going:

And sometimes you can’t.


I think the peak’s ahead, up there somewhere. Anyway, that’s uphill.

It can lead you onward on a smooth path that leads the wrong way:
We want to be on that other mountain, don’t we? The one to the south (left in the picture.)

Sometimes things are stark, but unexpectedly beautiful:
Other times, who knows what lurks in the depths of the cavern.

I hope these pictures put you in the mood for something light, vaguely gothic, and decidedly tongue in cheek.  For your delectation (love that phrase), consider Frankenkitty, the story of what happens when teenagers discover the good Doctor’s lost notebooks.



Jennifer has just lost her cat, Mr Snuffles, in an unfortunate incident with a car. Her neighbor, who is moving to assisted living, has something for her.
In a way I do. Please come mit me, I haf something for you.”
Her mother nodded at her, and Jennifer helped the old lady back across the street. They entered her house and Mrs. Jones painfully lowered herself onto one of the stuffed chairs in the living room. Then she pointed to a wooden box. A shipping crate the size of a footlocker sat there on the other side of the room. It was from the late 1940's when she and her husband had come to America.
That is for you, my dear. Use it vell.”
May I see what's in it here?”
Ov course.”
Jennifer opened the lid and looked at the contents. They were books. Dusty old hand-written books.
Mrs. Jones, what are these?”
They were my great grand-uncle’s. From his laboratory.”
Jennifer opened the one she held and tried to read it. “It's in German. I don't know German.”
Not German, Schwabish. Bring it here and I'll read the first few words. You'll soon learn.”
I will?”
It's an ancestor of English. Not Hoch Deutsch.”
Jennifer took the first volume to Mrs. Jones. The old woman opened it and began to read, “Experiments in the reanimation of dead tissue.”
What?” Jennifer asked, “What is this?”
Didn't you know, I am a descendent of the great Dr. Baron von Frankenstein. These are his journals.”
Did he really do it? Make dead things live again?”
I don't know.” Mrs. Jones smiled at her, “But it might be fun to try.”
But why me? Surely your family.”
Mrs. Jones reached over with a shaky age-spotted hand and tousled Jennifer's hair.
Ach, I had these from my mother, she from hers, and she from hers. With a sacred charge to guard them. Not let them be used for evil. Mein daughter, she'd just sell them. I trust you.” She paused, “Besides, this way I know I'll have at least one visitor at the Towers who wants to see me.”