Cover Reveal: "...Walk Into A Bar" by L.K. Hatchett

 

Harry's Bar was always in need of bartenders. Josh wanted the job because he thought the bar had character. He just wasn't prepared for the characters that walked in.

A paranormal scifi horror comedy, "A Zombie, An Alien, and A Vampire Walk Into A Bar" will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Kobo on November 13, 2015. Friday the 13th!

Cover Reveal! Convergence Point by Liana Brooks

This new book by Liana Brooks sounds very intriguing!

Convergence Point Blurb:

Agent Samantha Rose has already died once…and knows the exact date she’ll die again.

Having taken down a terrorist organization bent on traveling through time to overthrow the government, Sam figured she was done dealing with the unbelievable. Finally out of backwater Alabama, she’s the senior agent in a Florida district, and her life is back on track.

Until a scientist is found dead. And then an eco-terrorist. And then a clone of herself…again.

As the pieces start to fall together, they paint a picture that seems to defy everything we know about time and physics. But the bodies are all too real, and by partnering up with Agent MacKenzie once more, they might just figure out what’s going on. And when.

Available November 24^th everywhere ebooks are sold! To be reminded of the release...

Sign up for Liana’s Newsletter

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My Past Life as a Dung Beetle Cover Reveal Re-release

"My Past Life as a Dung Beetle" by L.K. Hatchett has a new cover! Ashley Atkins did a fantastic job of capturing the essence of the story with her wonderful drawing. There were a few other changes as well as a dedication page added, so the story has been re-released as the 2nd Edition today.

BLURB:

Jim Williams loves to collect stuff, but his wife thinks it's all crap. He may have led a past life as a dung beetle.

REVIEWS:

RamenNoodleBookReviews.com

Yes, it’s only 11 pages long, but in these 11 pages is a truly wonderful, unique story that has you thinking and laughing with every sentence. It’s about a man who believes that in his past life he was a dung beetle, of which he is quite proud. Why would anyone want to be a dung beetle, you are probably asking? I know I was. By the end of this book, you’ll have that answer, along with a warm feeling in your heart for the man and his family.

(The 2nd edition is 13 pages long.)

H. Temple

Finally a book of hoarder justifications! Junk collectors and their families would appreciate this book. This book won’t cure junk retention, but it might make you laugh.

Maria Hammarblad

My past life as a dung beetle is about a collector of random stuff and his family. I had no idea what to expect when I started reading it, and the first couple of pages both amused and confused me. They were funny and cute, but I didn't get it. Then, the story really got going, and I hurried through it with a smile on my lips. All the pieces fell into place and everything made sense.

I'm sure I stem from a genetic line of gatherers. I save all sorts of crap because it might be useful at some point in the future. My husband has a collection of collections. My past life as a dung beetle made me smile with recognition, root for the hero, and sympathize with the heroine. It is a touching story about life, well worth reading.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GP3HF5O

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-past-life-as-a-dung-beetle-lk-hatchett/1122768575

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/my-past-life-as-a-dung-beetle

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1047811384

This story was edited by Michelle Browne at Magpie Editing.

Thanks for stopping by!

Review: The Alchemist's Kiss by AR DeClerck

 

 

 

BLURB:

London 1869

A dark wizard has arrived in London, at exactly the time unrest among the non-magical community is coming to a head. London is under the protection of wizard and alchemist Icarus Kane and his loyal friends Cora Mae Jenkins and Archimedes Merriweather, and together they must chase down the threat while dodging the riots and the angry poor along the way. Icarus has no use for science, but there will be no escaping it as the aether, the very heart of magic, is threatened. All of London may perish if the dark wizard gets his way, and Icarus could lose his best friend and his lover in the battle. All the world could be destroyed under the tide of the oncoming storm unless Icarus can face his own power and embrace his inner darkness.


REVIEW:

The story captured my attention right at the beginning with Gettysburg. I love when history is mixed in with science fiction, which is much of the point of steampunk I suppose. Plus I worked as an archaeologist on the Antietam battlefield, so I feel a little bit of a connection to Gettysburg as well. Then I ran right into demons and magic and my interest went down (I did not have the book description before reading, as I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and I hadn't seen the cover either, which is gorgeous, btw). I'm not sure why I can like mummies and magic, like in The Mummy, but as soon as demons, witches and wizards are introduced, I'm done. However, I can be objective towards them, as many people do like stories with them, so I continued to read for the sake of reviewing.

As I got more into the story, the gratuitous use of magic became more clear. Science exists within the storyline with the idea that there were people of science and magic users in competition with each other. Science vs Magic. It was an interesting plot point where a war between science and magic needed to be prevented, that there had to be a way science and magic could coexist, that there was room for both. I liked that idea.

This is a story of good vs evil, family betrayal, redemption, and love. The characters are delightful. I especially loved Archimedes. In the beginning, I was wondering why he didn't have Cora's heart either and felt he definitely needed a love interest. By the end, I wasn't disappointed.

There was a lot of fun humor mixed in too. This passage made me laugh out loud:

"My father is not just any wizard. He was the Grand High Master for many years. We will be lucky to live through the night."

"See?" I tweaked a curl with my fingers. "You're coming around already. A moment ago we were already dead."

I was having a little trouble with the way Icarus spoke to Cora, thinking it was a flaw with the writing. Then Archimedes said at some point, "You aren't talking to her, you're talking at her," and it clicked. That was the problem and I was relieved to see that it was done deliberately. Archimedes was such a helpful character. Did I mention he has mechanical parts that tick and click around? He does! And I love that aspect of him too.

Of course, the romance. The conflict between Icarus and Cora, both inside and outside, was great. I'm a sucker for tortured souls and Icarus was fighting a very dark past with a perception that he wouldn't be accepted as a lover, nor did he feel he deserved to be loved. I liked seeing how that played out and the revelations of what really happened in his past were excellent! Though, it was a little disturbing that their first kiss was while people were screaming, being burned alive, during a vision from his past.

This passage was wonderfully romantic:

"I never want you to wonder how I feel about you, Cora Jenkins," Icarus said.

"Then never stop telling me."

Has to be my favorite line of the book.

The sleeping beauty ending was pretty cheesy, but the after the end was a nice touch.

The way the story was structured was pretty unique. Cora's point of view was told in first person and Icarus's was in third. I found that I liked that. It changed the pacing without interrupting the flow, if that makes sense. It's hard to explain, but I liked it.

All in all, I liked the story and would give it 3.5 stars. Since you can't give halves, I'll round up to 4.



(The Alchemist's Kiss is available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Alchemists-Kiss-AR-DeClerck-ebook/dp/B010MOJXRE)

Covet Blog Tour: A Review of Covet

Hiding in an isolated Newfoundland outport, Scarlett Winters is the living bearer of the secret of immortality. Sebastian Sinclair, vampire and stealer of souls, might be her only hope to escape a deadly power struggle. But can she trust him? Caught between sacrificing her morals and betrayal by those she trusted, Scarlett will risk everything to escape...unless she dies trying.

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tina Traverse fell in love with writing at the age of eight when she wrote her version of the bible story, The Good Samaritan, for a homework assignment.

This love grew into a passionate affair and has been ongoing for thirty years; and there are no signs of it waning.

Though, she admits, when she was pregnant with her son Christian, the affair cooled.

Tina’s desire to write came calling once again when she needed to find a way to cope with heartbreaking news.

Christian was diagnosed with autism in 2010.

Her method of coping was to write a story about his journey called Forever, Christian.

Tina likes to joke that a girl can only write about real life for so long without jumping back into the world of make believe.

She loves to venture into the world of the supernatural; vampires and witches are her favourite!

Tina enjoys all sorts of vampires but admits that she is fascinated with the modern romantic vampire (think Twilight and The Vampire Diaries).

She is currently working on a vampire series based on her first published book, Destiny of The Vampire and has other projects in the works.

When Tina is not at the computer creating her exciting, magical worlds, she is kept on her toes by her two sons, Christian and Brandon.

Sometimes the author manages to curl up in her favourite chair with a good book.

            

The entire story is in first person present. I like this because it makes me feel the words and move with the story as if each scene is happening right now. It also serves to bring the characters to life, makes them more real.

 

However, the story is told through first person present by four different characters. Each chapter is labeled with the character's name so we know whose point of view it is we're reading, but I still found myself fumbling with it on a few occasions. I would be reading a passage, forget the point of view I'm in and have to read back so I could remember. Then I'd forget the previous person's point of view and go back to reread that.

Having said that, all the characters we are watching the story unfold through are very intriguing and likable. The writing for each one is very vivid too. The characters leap off the page. This passage really drew me in: "A shriek slithers its way up from the frigid pit of my stomach, choking me until I have no other choice. I set it free."

The story starts off with a bang and ends with a bang. It's action packed with a great twist near the end. While reading, I was very much into each character, getting to know them very well, but had a hard time understanding how all of the events would come together. There is a lot of dialogue that I was confused on who was saying what and there isn't much explanation to the events. The events are simply happening and the reader is left to simply go with it, which I did.

The characters do eventually come together, but there are some aspects with the events that I'm still confused on. This is a trilogy, however, so I have a feeling it will all come together by the end.

The way the story is told is very mysterious. Small pieces are revealed bit by bit, making me turn each page to get all the answers.

Each chapter is like looking through a window of one point of view to the next, like looking through a window of a single intriguing event unrelated to the next. There's not much sense of time, though 2 months was mentioned in ch. 24 and the passing of more time was mentioned after that.

Sebastian and Declynn are very funny. I love their twin antics. The way they work together after their transition is pretty scary! I still like them, though. Their dialogue made me laugh.

That flashback where Declynn's mother catches her and her friend. Oh man, that made me catch my breath! 

The relationship between Scarlett and Elijah moves a little too fast. One moment she's employed by him and the next they're kissing. Though, I was under the impression a lot of time had passed. I felt bad for Elijah's fate, then wondered if it was set up that way by him and Diana. Still, though, he seems like a tortured soul that needs to find his true love.

Diana's relationship with the Leblanc brothers was pretty vague. Since much of this book read like an introduction to the characters, I'm thinking there will be more revealed on this in the next books.

To sum it all up, the characters are the main focus of the story. They are introduced through numerous action packed, nail biting, events, but the events aren't necessarily related. What eventually comes together are the characters. The story is told in a unique way. All in all, I liked it!

Follow the tour crew and tour by clicking on any of these tour buttons from participating blogs!

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The SFR Brigade Cafe Androids & Aliens

 

Welcome to the SFR Brigade summer café! This is the 4th week of the café and we are serving up Androids and Aliens this week. 

 

 

 

Androids & Aliens on the SFR Brigade blog

 

Androids and aliens are near and dear to my heart. I love reading books involving them and I love writing them. My favorite is when there is a mix of the two.

My writings involve aliens made from pure energy that have robotic bodies to contain the energy: sentient robotic aliens from the planet Beryll. They cannot take an organic form because their energy core would burn up an organic body. Being called 'robots' is very offensive to Beryllians, though, so I have to be careful with that word.

Despite having robotic bodies, their movements are very fluid and smooth. Think more like Ultron from "Avengers" instead of Robby from "Forbidden Planet." They are able to manipulate their energies along with their bodies to project matter and retract it too. They do this through a form of pair production, a technology humans want to replicate once they come into contact with humans. Humans call them Materializers because they have mastered pair production and contain it so fluidly that it appears that they materialize matter out of nowhere.

Even though Beryllians are pure energy at their core, they still have to have an outside energy source to help fuel their mechanisms and circuitry. There are several ways they can ingest fuel. They can consume it like a liquid; Earth gasoline isn't their favorite, but it does the trick. They also have tiny solar cells lining their upper backs and shoulders that they can manipulate to face any direction. I suppose a nice appetizer would be to sit out under the noon sun and soak up some rays.

Since we're human and can't soak up energy from the sun as sustenance, I have a very simple recipe for a nice refreshing drink on a hot sunny day. Not exactly an appetizer, but it's filling enough to be an appetizer, certainly a pallet cleanser before the main course.

Refreshing Lime Fizzy

1 gallon Lime Sherbet ice cream (or sorbet) straight from the freezer
3 quarts of pale Ginger Ale (chilled)
2 cans of Sprite (chilled)

Dip out frozen sherbet ice cream into a punch bowl. Pour ginger ale and sprite over the sherbet. This recipe is great with raspberry sherbet as well! Enjoy!
For a more adult drink, substitute a strawberry Moscato wine instead.

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My short story 'starters' are available on QuarterReads:

"The Skellyd Hunters"

With a core-bonded strength few understand, Bazin and Miaxa are Beryll's finest warriors. Sometimes they go a little too far and Ander is left with the consequences, for better or worse. (Rated M)

"Meet Douglas Fir"

Being human isn't easy with robotic alien residents misunderstanding the simple stuff. Though, Alex can't imagine his family life without Bazin and Miaxa. Time to have them over for Christmas. (Rated PG)

QuarterReads is a wonderful site for buying and selling short stories, but it does require a $5 subscription (with that subscription, you get 20 reads, which at a quarter a piece equals to $5...hence QuarterReads).

However, I'm gifting 2 reads to anyone who comments below (no subscription required), so you can read "The Skellyd Hunters" and "Meet Douglas Fir" for free (again, no subscription required, so it's completely free)! Please include your name and email in your comment and you will receive 2 free reads from QuarterReads. (There will be a week delay since I will be on vacation at the time of this post. Also, I know Brigade members are trying not to bogart all the prizes, but please go ahead and comment if you'd like a couple of free reads. I have plenty of reads to gift out to people.)

I have several works in progress regarding the Beryllians and can't wait to further introduce them soon.

 

If the rafflecopter code doesn't work below, click this link to go direct: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f2d2ed1116/ 

 

Also, please visit the other participants to find out their serving of science fiction romance!

Inlinkz Raffle a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Keir by Pippa Jay

 

 

When I first started reading Keir, it was not what I was expecting, feeling more like a fantasy novel when I was hoping for science fiction. I didn't like Keir's people and liked the whole witchcraft, burn 'em at the stake, even less. What kept me reading were the characters, Keir and Quin, and Pippa's amazing ability to paint a picture with words. I really liked these two characters and wanted to see how the romance was going to work, especially since they weren't particularly into each other at first. I enjoyed the slow build to their relationship. And, oh my gosh, finding out the relationship of a certain character to Keir was one of those revelational moments that kept me turning the page (don't want to say who...spoilers and all).

While the first part of the book wasn't my favorite, it was necessary to understand who Keir is and where he is coming from. The second part of the book gives more insight into who Quin is and where she is coming from.

Lyagnius was getting closer to the science fiction and I loved the descriptions of Surei, the avian doctor, as well as the other aliens there. The med fac with the memorphorm beds was cool. Really, the descriptions of just about everything was excellent. Have I mentioned Pippa's ability to paint a picture with words? It makes me want to read anything and everything she has written.

There was a scene with a couple of characters that seemed abruptly introduced, as well as a change in feel and tone, as if two books were put into one, but it was all pulled together pretty well as I kept reading. One could expect such a change while traveling with someone who can go anywhere in time and space.

Then we get to Metraxi. Oh my gosh, this is exactly what I was looking for! The imagery and world building was excellent! I loved T'rill, T'reno, S'rano...all the Metraxians, even R'hellek. He was a fun villain to read. I absolutely loved this description of T'rill's audience chamber in the Metraxi palace: "Light poured through a giant crystal set in the roof, dancing across the chamber as though shining through clear, tropical waters." I could just see it perfectly. Breathtaking.

The part when they were fishing and Keir didnt want her to lead the way had me in giggle fits. Then I felt so bad for him how Quin misinterpretted his unease. The romance was excellent! I loved the balance between their points of view, each of their thoughts of how the other couldn't possibly be interested. There was great emotional conflict and Pippa's ability to bring those emotions to life was masterful.

There are also a few mainstream influences that I particularly enjoyed. Keir's persecution for being different reminded me of how people treat mutants in X-Men. Keir himself was vaguely reminiscent of Nightcrawler. Quin traveling through time and space with a companion was reminiscent of Dr. Who and the Emissary reminded me of Darth Vader. The story is unique and stands on its own quite well, but I did enjoy these elements, especially since they are three of my favorite things.

I love how nothing was held back either, nothing was too horrendous to touch upon. There are a couple of shocking events that really got me going. When an author is capable of making me feel so much for an imaginary being, I'm a fan for life. Bravo!

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Book description:

A demon waiting to die…

An outcast reviled for his discolored skin and rumors of black magic, Keirlan de Corizi sees no hope for redemption. Imprisoned beneath the palace that was once his home, the legendary ‘Blue Demon of Adalucian’ waits for death to finally free him of his curse. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise.

A woman determined to save him.

Able to cross space and time with a wave of her hand, Tarquin Secker has spent eternity on a hopeless quest. Drawn by a compulsion she can’t explain, she risks her apparent immortality to save Keir, and offers him sanctuary on her home-world, Lyagnius. But Quin has secrets of her own.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes the dormant alien powers within him and earns exile from Lyagnius, Quin chooses to stand by him. Can he master his newfound abilities in time to save Quin from the darkness that seeks to possess her?

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You can find the book on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Keir-Book-Redemption-Pippa-Jay-ebook/dp/B00WY5CT9E

Sign up to Pippa's no-spam newsletter to get updated on the latest releases, giveaways and special offers. Exclusive snippets and stories coming soon! http://pippajay.blogspot.co.uk/p/newsletter-signup.html  Her favorite place to hang around and chat is on Twitter as @pippajaygreen.

Enjoy!

Cover Reveal! Love in the Time of Coffee by AR DeClerck

 

 

 

 

Blurb:

 

Life as a geeky math chick with little patience and time for men is never easy. When a handsome stranger spills a caramel macchiato all over her term paper Irissa Daniels thinks her luck just might be a 'changin. Mac McCleary is tough, smart and sexy and he treats Irissa like the only woman in the world. Things are going great, but life seems to get in the way. Mac's dad is sick, his business is in trouble and his only hope to keep it going is to get involved with a very shady character. Soon Irissa begins to wonder if she and Mac will make it to happily- ever-after after all.

Love in the Time of Coffee is very complicated indeed.

Cover Art by Rachel Olson at No Sweat Graphics. The book will be available May 22!

Follow AR DeClerck's journey through reading, writing and publishing: https://sites.google.com/site/amydeclerckauthor/

Cover Reveal! Zombies in Love by Nora Fleischer

Jack Kershaw just wants to hold on to his new job at Lisa Alioto's pizza parlor, and to keep Lisa from finding out that he's a zombie. But Jack learns that he and Lisa are in serious danger. His second chance at life is the inadvertent result of a lab experiment by two graduate students, and Winthrop University-- a school which knows how to keep its secrets-- will do anything necessary to conceal that someone on campus raised the dead. With the help of Boston's zombie horde, can Jack and Lisa escape Winthrop's sinister clutches?

Excerpt:

All the peace that had come over Jack in the morgue was gone. Even though he was jogging back to Lisa’s apartment-- and getting some strange looks because he was wearing a set of scrubs and a pair of flip-flops he’d liberated from the hospital-- he felt a terrible restlessness. Like he couldn’t be still, ever again.

No, that wasn’t it-- he felt the sort of prickly awareness of a mouse being watched by a owl. It felt as though something was after him, something with a stride matching his own, something that reached out with a pale cold hand...

He reached the door of Lisa’s apartment, thudded up the stairs, and pounded at the closed door. She opened it like she’d been waiting next to it for hours. Out the door came the rosy scent of her body, the heat of her, and in the center of the candle flame, Lisa’s beautiful daredevil smile.

"You're back! How'd it go? I dropped off the satchel, just like we planned, and the guy seemed to know exactly what it was for," she said. He followed her in. "I’ve never done anything like that in my life. Wasn’t that crazy, wasn’t that wild?"

"Stick with me, honey," he said. "We’ll have fun."

She smiled and squeezed his bare upper arm roughly enough for him to feel it. Heat seared his cold skin. "And tomorrow, we go back to work, and I know I’m going to be standing there, giving people their pizza and thinking, ‘All you people, you don’t know a damn thing about me, you don’t know what I’ve been up to.’ Me and my secret life."

And then it all made sense. He knew what he wanted. He reached up and kissed her. For a moment she seemed surprised, but then she pressed closer to him, and he became aware of how thin his scrubs were, and that her body heat flew through them as if he were naked. And the way her mouth tasted! He could feel it over his tongue, the unique taste of her body, as if it was sinking into his body, changing all of his cells, drawing a little of her into him, forever...

"You smell like lilacs," he said, "did I ever tell you that? Like lilacs and cinnamon. And you’re so warm."


The book is available at http://www.amazon.com/Zombies-Love-Nora-Fleischer-ebook/dp/B00NUA5CJQ/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 

Bio: Nora Fleischer has a PhD from Winthrop University, and promises every word of this story is true. She lives in Minneapolis with her lovable husband Sven and children Wolfgang and Anastasia. She’s on Twitter as @zombinanora and blogs (sometimes) at norafleischer.livejournal.com.

April Fools for Love

April Fools for Love

Welcome to the SFR Station April Fools for Love event! I'm super excited to be a part of this blog hop, as fools in love are so fun to read and write. For my entry in this event, I've decided to include an excerpt from my Fracture War series work in progress.

This particular excerpt shows two characters, Ander and Zerra, as they are starting to admit to themselves that they like each other. They are mechanical beings in opposite factions, Gathons vs Skellyds, of a civil war that is tearing their planet, Beryl, apart. They first met after a horrific event both factions have dubbed 'The Vega Massacre.' During the massacre, Zerra lost her core-mate, her lifelong partner. As a result, she is suffering from an imbalance in her systems that could eventually kill her. The events of the following excerpt occur many years after her mate's death.

Both are doctors, but Zerra finds herself as a patient of Ander's. She tries to hide her true ailing condition from him, but he figures it out and does the most extreme procedure a Beryllian doctor could perform on a fellow Beryllian patient. He connects his own systems with hers in order to try and re-write the corrupted coding that is making her severely ill. In doing so, he finds that she is also suffering from extreme energy deprivation and transfers all his energy to her in order to keep her functioning.

She thinks he's a fool for going to such great lengths to help her and he thinks she's a fool for believing she doesn't deserve to live.

Without further ado, on to the excerpt! Check out the posts of all the wonderful authors listed above. My excerpt runs a little long, so if you're in a hurry now, you could come back later. The event lasts all month long! Browse around all the posts at your leisure and enter in the Rafflecopter giveaway below. 

Enjoy this event all month long on Facebook too: https://www.facebook.com/events/1545629019032391/

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Zerra came out of quiescence with a start. She was disoriented. Someone's hand rested on her chest-plating and she could feel ex-vented air near her audio. The weight of the hand felt nice. The next thing she realized was that she was not in pain. Yet, she knew she wasn't waking from a nightmare and that this wasn't her core-mate, as the intense lonely void of losing Gren was still an abyss in her core. Taking air into her own vents, she turned her head to look at whoever it was.

It was Ander. The events of the previous cycle hit her processor all at once...Ander finding her and, doing nothing less than what would be expected of any doctor, helping her. Not sure if she was grateful or not, her pump raced. She would have died if he hadn't established full integration.

Wouldn't she rather be dead? Though, she did feel better after having been able to get some sleep and the fact that he was blocking the pain was a welcome change.

Still fully connected, she could feel traces of his core through the connection. Without a core bond, she would never be able to feel his core fully, but she could catch a sense of it through a full interface such as the one they had. His core was so different from her core-mate's, yet strangely comforting.

Zerra's next alarming thought was what he might have accessed while she was in such a vulnerable state. She had been entirely too weak to block anything from him. She quickly ran a systems check to see what all he'd done. What she found surprised her.

Other than what he needed to help repair her failing systems, he didn't access anything at all. He didn't try to find any useful information that could be used against the Skellyds. He didn't look at one memory. All he got was what couldn't be avoided, since thoughts always drifted through integrated connections. He hadn't even taken advantage of her. Not one line of pleasure code had been touched.

Most Skellyds she knew would have jumped at the chance. A Skell would have helped her, but he would have taken what he wanted for his trouble. Maybe Gathons were more honorable, maybe they weren't, but she didn't feel at all as violated as she thought she'd feel while integrated with one.

Of course, having been a Skellyd, she didn't feel compelled, as Ander obviously did, not to sneak a peak at a few things. She didn't like the idea of someone snooping around her files, but she wasn't against doing it herself. Like she said to Miaxa, she never said she wasn't a hypocrite.

Zerra just wanted to get a sense of who Ander truly was. She would respect his memories and leave them alone, just as he had done for her, though the temptation was undeniable.

She accessed a directory on his characterization. Ander held a deep seeded love for every Gathon. He became attached to them, breaking every emotional rule of being a battlefield doctor. He possessed a gentle core that few rarely saw. To his patients, he seemed detached from them, but it was all just a facade that hid his true compassionate nature. He had just the right amount of balance between doing whatever it took to save someone as a function of his programming, even if the method was extreme, and caring about that being while he did it.

Ander was good at what he did and he knew it. He possessed a deep sense that he could improve or prolong Beryllian lives immeasurably. All they needed to do was just listen to him and follow his instructions exactly. Therein lied the source of his problems, as nobody ever listens to their doctor. That's why he was so rough with his patients. He had ways to make them listen, or, in the very least, make them wish they had listened.

If Zerra had never bonded, she was certain that she could have come to love this mech. She found that she was comfortable in that admission to herself. She truly loved and held dearly to Gren, but he was now gone, through events that neither one of them had any control over. She would never dishonor his memory and she would probably lose her life because of his loss, but she knew, without a doubt, that if circumstances presented themselves, he would not want her to be forced to die alone.

None of this was what she ever wanted, but this was where she was and she never imagined that she would find herself falling for a Gathon.

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Ander felt...warm. It was a soothing warmth that permeated his entire being. He knew he was recovering from an energy dump, but he never felt this good after having done so before. In fact, he didn't recall ever feeling good at all after a full energy transfer.

He drew the source of the warmth closer to his frame, then felt warm caressing digits on his face-plates.

"Ander, you fool," he heard a voice say. It was cold, biting even, but the presence within it was warm.

The warm presence had a warm frame and he pulled it ever closer to himself, sighing softly, contentedly, as an audio brushed across his mouth-plates.

"You comfortable?" the voice asked next, a twinge of sarcasm behind it.

Ander's optics snapped open in a moment of recognition, his disorientation dissolving in a rush of sobriety.

He released her immediately. "Quantus," he chastised himself before saying, "Zerra, I'm sorry."

He made a motion to sit up and then realized that they were still attached, dizziness threatening him as he hadn't fully recovered from the transfer.

"It's okay," Zerra assured. "Lay back down. You're going to offline yourself."

Extreme embarrassment for snuggling against her so shamelessly poured through the connection.

Zerra raised her optic ridges at him, "Don't be so embarrassed. I was feeding the feeling." A mischievous smile graced her mouth-plates as he ascertained that she had accessed a pleasure center to make him feel nice and warm when he woke up.

"You were what?" Ander wasn't sure whether to be ecstatic that the full integration and energy transfer helped her or angry for the violation.

He immediately disconnected from her central processor to keep any thoughts away from her.

"Damn you and your Gathon honor," she snapped, her central processor connection to him coming free as well.

"It's not about honor, Zerra," Ander replied. "It's about trust."

They glared at each other for a long moment. She didn't regret making him feel good, and he found that he didn't really regret it either. He just didn't know how to handle these feelings he was having towards her, towards a bonded mech. Sure, her core-mate was dead, but she was still bonded. He knew what she couldn't give him.

A spasm wracked her systems and she winced as the pain spiked beyond what Ander was capable of blocking with the current code. The doctor in him kicked in again and he dove through the connection; scanning, analyzing, searching until he found the source to re-write the code. 

"Better?" he asked, once her shaking subsided.

She simply nodded, watching him as he struggled with his emotions. He was afraid of losing her, yet he knew the inevitable.

As soon as he was sure that she was stable and he had recovered enough not to feel dizzy every time he sat up, he went to disconnect their data cables.

"I should go check on Bazin and Miaxa," he said softly, though he knew Zerra could see through the connection that it was just an excuse. 

She clapped her hand over the integrated cabling, effectively keeping him from breaking the connection.

"No, wait," she said, quickly stamping down a slight sense of panic.

They were too integrated for Ander not to catch it. She really needed to feel someone close, some assurance that she wasn't alone, just to have someone to be there with her, on the inside and outside of her being.

"Please stay," she said, a bit more composed this time. "Just for a little while. I would," she hesitated, "really like the company."

Ander nodded, leaving the connection in place as he pulled her hand to his chest. Laying back down, he didn't say anything and just held her.

Zerra wasn't alone. She wouldn't be alone again for as long as she lived.

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Kyndra Hatch is the author of 'The Stranger,' a science fiction romance short story published in "Tales from the SFR Brigade." 'The Stranger' was the 2014 SFR Galaxy Award winner for Outstanding Debut Story.

 

You can find more short stories by Kyndra Hatch on QuarterReads at:
https://quarterreads.com/writer.php?id=13






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Alliances by S. Usher Evans Blog Tour

About the Book

Lyssa Peate has found a tenuous balance between her double lives - the planet-discovering scientist and space pirate bounty hunter named Razia. No longer on probation, Razia still struggles to be thought of as more than a chocolate-fetching joke, and Lyssa can’t be truthful to those closest to her. But both lives are turned upside-down when feisty government investigator Lizbeth Carter shows up to capture the same pirate Razia is after.

Lizbeth’s not interested in taking Razia’s thunder; rather, she convinces the caustic bounty hunter to help solve a mystery. Somebody’s hiring pirates to target government ships, and there’s a money trail that doesn’t make any sense. From the desert planet of D-882 to the capital city on S-864, the investigation leads them deeper and deeper into a conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of the Universal Government - and to one of the most painful chapters in Lyssa’s past. Purchase on Amazon

 

Preview from Chapter One:

The room was dark, with a single, dingy lamp hanging over a table where three men sat, each holding a hand of cards. They said little, except for the occasional grunt or movement to tap their grungy mini-computers to up their ante. The first sighed and rubbed the scruff around his chin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter.

"You hear that Llendo is running for re-election?" he said, cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"What else is new?" The short, squatty man and whose toes barely brushed the floor, threw a few chips into the virtual pile using his mini-computer. "The guy’s a puppet. There ain’t nothin’ that comes out of his mouth that ain’t been sent through the ringer about a million times."

The other two men chuckled and shuffled around their cards. The third man, with a long face and sallow complexion, pulled two more cards for his own hand and shuffled them together and apart again.

"But who else is there to vote for?" he asked, counting his cards and stacking them together again.

"That general? You know that buffoon Peate works for him. He ain't getting my vote until I know he's gonna play along."

The second shrugged and said, "Nobody’d vote for him in a million years."
"You and your millions." The third rolled his eyes. "Everything you say has been done a million times."

"Bah, can it," the first barked. "And hurry up and make your move."
"I'm taking my time. Don't want to get fleeced again," the third said. "You're all a bunch of crooks."

"Takes one to know one." The second man peered at his cards through a pair of thick glasses, hunched over.

"I am retired," the first man said, sitting back and taking a long drag of his cigarette. "None of that piracy crap for me anymore. Getting too dangerous for me."

"Gonna break a nail?" the second snorted. "Bad enough you got that girl. Whatsherface."

"I hear she's doing all right," the third said. "Kidnapped Jukin Peate's brother and held him for ransom last year."

"And what's she done since then?" the second said.

"More than you've done."

"I'm just saying, it's unnatural to have a woman out with the men," the first said. He paused for a moment and began to smile. "Although I can't say I hate seeing her scamper around '882."

"Shame she doesn't wear tighter pants," the second said. "I seen pictures. She wears these baggy things. I bet if she wore something that made her look like a girl, she wouldn't even have to fight nobody."

"She could come capture me any day of the week. I don't care what she looks like," the third said. "I'd lay down and let her do whatever she wanted to me."

"Care to test that theory?"

The three glanced up sharply at the sound of a distinctly female voice in the doorway.

"Hey, hey," the first man said, standing up. "We don't want no trouble. We're retired here, lady."

"You are," Razia said, stepping into the light with a smirk on her face. She turned her eyes on the third man in the room. "He isn't."

About the Author

S. Usher Evans is an author, blogger, and witty banter aficionado. Born in a small, suburban town in northwest Florida, she was seventeen before she realized that not all beach sand is white. From a young age, she has always been a long-winded individual, first verbally (to the chagrin of her ever-loving parents) and then eventually channeled into the many novels that dotted her Windows 98 computer in the early 2000's. After high school, she got the hell outta dodge and went to school near the nation's capital, where she somehow landed jobs at National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and the British Broadcasting Corporation, capping off her educational career with delivering the commencement address to 20,000 of her closest friends. She determined she'd goofed off long enough with that television nonsense and got a "real job" as an IT consultant. Yet she continued to write, developing 20 page standard operating procedures and then coming home to write novels about bounty hunters, teenage magic users, and other nonsense. After a severe quarter life crisis at age 27, she decided to finally get a move on and share those novels with the world in hopes that she will never have to write another SOP again.

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Bound to You Cover Reveal!

This cover is beautiful. I can't wait until this comes out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title: Bound to You

By: AR DeClerck

PRE ORDER AVAILABLE!

Blurb:

Jackson Baine is a man with a gift, and he has never had a problem with selling it to the highest bidder. His newest job is with one of the biggest terraforming companies in the universe, and the money he stands to make will allow him and his crew to retire on any planet in any galaxy they choose. His biggest problem: Ferrell Terraforming has assigned him a company liaison to see to his needs and protect their interests. But that’s not his only problem. Lia Bernardi is smart, beautiful and strong, and she entices Jacks in a way no other woman ever has. She is a distraction he cannot afford on the surface.

Anatolia Bernardi is ready to climb the corporate ladder, get out from under her egotistical boss, and impress her overbearing father. All she has to do is turn one dead, empty planet into an oasis. Her company says Jacks Baine is the key, and it’s her job to make sure he’s productive and happy. Both of which, she soon learns, are harder than she’d thought they’d be. For some reason Jacks can get under her skin and break down every wall she’s constructed between herself and the world.

On the surface of a long-dead planet Jacks and Lia will be forced to face the startling realization that the past never really goes away.

Pre Order today!

http://www.amazon.com/Bound-You-AR-DeClerck-ebook/dp/B00TZ9ZA7K/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1424901152&sr=8-13&keywords=bound+to+you



 

Author Bio:

AR DeClerck lives in the Quad Cities, IL. She is a wife and mother of two daughters. She has two dogs and a cat, and always has her nose in a book. She’s either reading one, or writing one. She writes romance in many sub-genres, and has always had a soft spot for sci-fi romance. She credits her love of reading and writing to her mother, who always keeps a book handy.

Links:

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/authoramydeclerck

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www.twitter.com/@ARDeClerck

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