Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The Alchemist's Kiss



A Brand New Teaser Trailer for The Alchemist's Kiss!
 
 


Just a bit of drabble...

 


Last night was the bi-weekly Quad Cities Writers' Meet-Up, and our writing assignment was a bit of drabble (a short vignette based on a random sentence)

My sentence was:

 

"How about we start by taking out those wires you seem to have shoved in your leg"

&

This is my drabble.....

 

  “How about we start by taking out those wires you seem to have shoved in your leg?”

   “I’d rather not. They appear to be integral to the function of that appendage.”

   “I see.” He cranked up the resolution on his bifocal magnifiers and stared hard at the jumbled mess of wires, cogs and springs hanging from the leg of his new friend. “And how, pray tell, did you happen to find yourself in this predicament?”

   “An apparent misfortune that began in the home of my creator. As I ran after the man who murdered him, I became entangled in a fisherman’s net and fell. At which point this,” he pointed to his leg, “happened.”

   “Someone murdered your creator? By Jove! A devil of a thing!” The Professor stroked his beard. It was neither well-cared for nor much loved, but it kept his chin warm on cold nights in the laboratory. “I suppose we’d best get you off the streets. The copper and silver in your chassis would fetch a fair price at market to the right salvager.”

   “Indeed.” The metal man stood as best he could with one mangled leg, wobbling a bit but managing to stay upright. He tipped his tall, copper stovepipe to the Professor. “I must find the man who murdered my creator.”

   “Tell me why,” the Professor urged as they hobbled slowly along the dank cobblestoned street. It was nearing midnight, the fog hanging low and the lamplight dim. Every step the metal man took was a creak and a scream in the night.

   “It is against the law to murder someone.”

   “What do you know of law?”

   “Only what I have been programmed to know. But I read books as quickly as I can. I wish to learn more.”

  The Professor was quiet as they approached a door set back in the wall of a tavern. He opened it with a jangling set of iron keys and allowed his comrade to lean on his shoulder as he hopped up the stairs.

   The metal man looked around at the Professor’s laboratory. “You are a scientist as well?”

   “A dabbler, at best,” the Professor demurred. He pulled out a stool, to which the metal man slumped. The gray haired man bent over the twisted metal of the leg and pursed his lips. “This will require more expertise than I have.”

   “I require a set of pliers and three ingots of copper, if you have them. I will repay you when I can, of course.”

   The Professor hunted through his haphazard box of tools and supplies before handing the items to the steam-driven man. He watched in awe as the metal man set about repairing his leg with delicate precision. Much more quickly than any human could have done.

   "And now you’ll away to chase down your master’s murderer, I presume?” the Professor said wistfully. He admired the work of the genius which could have invented such a bonny work as this.

   “I must,” the metal man confirmed as he stood. “I have to avenge my creator, if I can.”

   “Then allow me to follow,” the Professor said with a click of his booted heels, freshly sooted with ashes from his fireplace. “I daresay one last adventure in my dotage is just what I need.”

   The copper man seemed to consider, but at last he nodded. “As you wish. My creator always said that a man’s greatest asset are the friends he chooses for his own.”

  “Are we friends, then?” The professor inquired with a grin. It was his greatest adventure, indeed, to be befriended by a creature such as this!

   “Yes. You shall be my very first friend."

 

artwork courtesy of Steampunk Steampunker



Sunday, September 27, 2015

 
 

New Release Breakdown

 

Stranded With the Cyborg

by Cara Bristol

 

Blurb:

Penelope Aaron, the former Terran president’s daughter, regrets how she got Agent Brock Mann booted from the security force. But now that she’s an interplanetary ambassador about to embark on her first diplomatic mission, she still doesn’t want him tagging along. Especially since he seems to be stronger, faster, more muscled, and sexier than she remembers. And pretending to be her husband? This mission couldn’t get more impossible!

Ten years ago Penelope Isabella Aaron had been a pain in Brock Mann’s you-know-what. Much has changed in a decade: “PIA” as he code-named her, has grown up and is about to attend her first Alliance of Planets summit conference, and Brock has been transformed into a cyborg after a near-fatal attack. Now a secret agent with Cyber Operations, a covert paramilitary organization, Brock gets called in, not when the going gets tough, but when the going gets impossible. So when he’s unexpectedly assigned to escort Penelope to the summit meeting, he balks at babysitting a prissy ambassador. But after a terrorist bombing, a crash landing on a hostile planet, and a growing attraction to his protectee, Operation: PIA may become his most impossible assignment yet.

 

 

 

BROCK

 

Stranded with the Cyborg Excerpt

“Ten years have passed. Penelope is different now,” Carter said.

Brock doubted that. “Does she know about me?”

“That you’re a cyborg? Of course not. She hasn’t been told anything about the program or even that you’re the one who’s been assigned to her.”

“Yeah, spring it on her. That will go over well.” He could envision the tantrum, and, after she calmed down, the scheme she would devise to circumvent the decision. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been emerging from his quarters half-dressed, a triumphant smile tilting her lips. Shortly thereafter, two fellow agents had come to arrest him.

President Aaron had exonerated him, the transcripts from the investigation had been sealed, and he’d been offered reassignment. Instead, he’d taken a position with an anti-terrorist investigative organization. His unit got attacked; his fellow operatives had died. Carter, who’d been working with Cy-Ops all along, had swooped in and saved his ass.

“I’m not saying I’ll do it, but, hypothetically, if I had a computer meltdown and agreed, what would be my cover story? I couldn’t tag along as her bodyguard because that would unsettle the Xenians.”

Carter poured another shot of Cerinian brandy and downed it. He met Brock’s gaze dead-on. “You’d accompany Ambassador Aaron as her husband.”

“Oh, hell no!”


BUY LINKS:

 
 


Author bio
 
Multi-published, Cara Bristol is the author of more than 20 erotic romance titles. She writes science fiction, contemporary, and paranormal erotic romance. No matter what the subgenre, one thing remains constant: her emphasis on character-driven seriously hot erotic stories with sizzling chemistry between the hero and heroine. Cara has lived many places in the United States, but currently lives in Missouri with her husband. She has two grown stepkids. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading and traveling.
Cara Bristol web site/blog
 Author Newsletter

 

An interview with a cyborg from Stranded with the Cyborg
By Cara Bristol
Author’s note: Cyborgs are known for being tough. They’re also tough interviews. Getting anything out of Brock Mann was like pulling teeth.
Cara: Thank you for meeting with me today.
Brock: I owed a favor to Carter, my boss.
Cara: Well, for whatever reason, I’m glad you’re here. Please tell my readers a little bit about yourself.
Brock: My name is Brock Mann. I’m thirty-seven years old. I hold advanced degrees in business administration and law. I’m vice president of operations for the Terran corporation TransWorld, Inc.  I enjoy Isbetian golf, jog a minimum of 10K every day, and collect antique PeeVees
Cara: Is any of that true?
Brock: My name and age.
Cara: I’ve heard you’re a cyberoperative with Cy-Ops.
Brock: No comment.
Cara: Can you at least confirm that you’re a cyborg?
Brock: If I were a cyborg, that would be classified information, and I couldn’t tell you.
Cara: Hypothetically, if you were cyborg, could you tell me a little bit about what it’s like? How you’ve changed?
Brock [Clenching his right hand into a fist] : Hypothetically, if I were a cybernetic organism, I would be a human who had been modified with mechanical and computerized parts. For instance, I might have a prosthetic arm and/or legs and cyber-enhanced vision and hearing. I would have computer chip implanted in my brain and nanocytes would circulate in my blood.
Cara: I understand you used to work for the Terran Central Protection Office.
Brock [Grimacing]:  That’s correct. My duty was to protect the President’s daughter.
Cara: Problem?
Brock: Nothing I couldn’t handle.
Cara: I heard she became an ambassador, and you’re going to be escorting her to Xenia.
Brock [Pushing back his chair and standing up]: This interview is over.


Thanks to Cara (and Brock) for stopping by to share Stranded with the Cyborg! I can't wait to read this book!

 


Thursday, September 17, 2015

 

Amy's End of Summer Book Review

Part IV

 

A Study in Silks
by Emma Jane Holloway
 
 
Steampunk, mystery and Sherlock Holmes? Sign me up!
 
 
As a lover of the steampunk genre I sometimes become disillusioned by all the stories that simply focus on the science and not the characters. Holloway's A Study in Silks was a pleasant surprise for me when I found myself instantly liking Evelina Cooper and the mysteriously roguish Tobias Roth. Of course, the fact that Evelina is the niece of the illustrious Sherlock Holmes, and the fact that she grew up in a traveling circus only made her more interesting. Holloway's world building, bringing the reader to London controlled by six steam barons, is immaculate and it could be said that the world itself is a complex and beautiful character on its own. There is secretive tinkering, murder and intrigue to keep the reader on their toes throughout the entire novel. I have said, and will say again, I WILL READ MORE EMMA JANE HOLLOWAY.
 
 
 
BUY LINKS
 
 
Author Bio:
 
Ever since childhood, Emma Jane Holloway refused to accept that history was nothing but facts prisoned behind the closed door of time. Why waste a perfectly good playground coloring within the timelines? Accordingly, her novels are filled with whimsical impossibilities and the occasional eye-blinking impertinence--but always in the service of grand adventure.

Struggling between the practical and the artistic--a family tradition, along with ghosts and a belief in the curative powers of shortbread--Emma Jane has a degree in literature and job in finance. She lives in the Pacific Northwest in a house crammed with books, musical instruments, and half-finished sewing projects. In the meantime, she's published articles, essays, short stories, and enough novels to build a fort for her stuffed hedgehog.
 
 





Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Teaser Tuesday



 
 

And the Big Bad Wolf Came to Huff and Puff and Blow the House Down....

 

Wild Moon

by AR DeClerck

The world became nothing but pain. Her shoulders screamed in agony as her weight dragged on them. Her legs shook with the effort it took to hold herself up, and she felt blood on her wrists as the rope bit into her flesh. The contractions were closer together, and when she could think she timed them out at eight minutes apart. She gave up trying to stay quiet, and she screamed when the rolling cramps swamped her. She felt the weight of the baby deep against her pelvis and she knew it pressed against her, ready to be born. She resisted the urge to push, doing everything she could think of to stall the process.
We do not have much time. The child comes.
I know. I’m trying to stop it.
There is no stopping this. We must be prepared to Merge. Why are you so afraid?
I don’t want to be a monster like Dyer. I want to be me. I want to be Jessy.
You are not like Dyer. You have to let go of this fear, Jessy. We must Become to save the child.
She knew her beast was right. The villagers wouldn’t help her, their fear of Dyer was too strong. Yalla was hurt, or dead, and she begun to realize that Bas would never find her in time. They were too far north, deep in the arctic tundra where only the caribou and the native Sami dared to roam.
You have always feared me. It is time to let that fear go.
Tell me how.
Let go. Trust me.
Jessy felt the tears on her cheeks but she didn’t remember crying them. They crystallized in the cold, and she blinked to get her lashes off her cheeks. The pressure against her pressure grew, and she bit her lip, drawing blood, to stifle the screams. She knew Dyer was nearby, enjoying every tormented sound she made. The contractions were closer now, less than five minutes apart and she knew the baby was coming. She had no choice but to do as the beast wanted.
I’m ready.
Trust me, Jessy. Let me in.
I trust you. I’m ready.
It was a tidal wave of his consciousness as it swept over her. She struggled as it threatened to push her under, drowning her in his strength. She was so tired that she gave a moment’s thought to simply letting go.
Don’t give up. Take control, or you will become like Dyer. The moon rises soon.
His warning snapped her out of her complacent drowning. She fought harder, pushing against his instincts as they wrapped around her mind. He was smart and cunning, able to lie in wait for hours for his prey. He could see farther, run faster than she’d ever dreamed. He hungered for the chase, and it made her a little sick, but as she began to Merge with him she saw that it was the same wild nature that made him want to run against the wind and howl at the bright silver moon. It was simply a part of who he was. Of who she was Becoming. She could temper that hunger with her own thoughts, her own human nature. She was still Jessy, but she was better. Smarter, faster, stronger.





 
 

Available November 27th from Raven's Seduction Press

 


Wednesday, September 9, 2015

End of Summer Book Review Part III

 

Amy's End of Summer Book Review

Part III

 
 

Avion (Cyborgs:More than Machines Vol 7)

by Eve Langlais

There's much to love about Eve Langlais' Cyborgs series, and this book is a perfect example. Once upon a time cyborgs were expendable, until they woke up and began to remember who they used to be. A group of cyborgs is traveling the stars in search of others they can rescue, and they find one. The best one. The most flawed one of them all. She is broken, but she is perfect. Avion is dying as his nanites cease to work after he is captured and tortured by humans. Still, he cannot give up on the idea that this cyborg woman is his.
 
I did a big no-no and jumped right into the middle of this series with this book, but the story has enough weight to carry it as a standalone. The characters are complex and the underlying idea behind their quest kept my interest peaked. I became attached to the cyborgs and their plight pretty easily, and Langlais did a great job making them imperfect enough to be likeable and downtrodden while still being kick-ass heroes.
 
I'd suggest this books for lovers of Sci-Fi romance and humor. There's always a smart-ass comment or a quip waiting around the page for the reader to lighten the sometimes dour mood of the overall story. I give this book a grade A, and I'm definitely going back to get the scoop on the rest of the cyborg clan.
 
 
BUY NOW:
 

 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

Hello, my name is Eve and I am a Canadian author who loves to write hot romance, usually with hot shifters, cyborgs or aliens. I should warn you that I possess a twisted imagination and a sarcastic sense of humor something I like to let loose in my writing.

I love to write, and while I don't always know what my mind is going to come up with next, I can promise it will be fun, probably humorous and most of all romantic, because I love a happily ever after.

Thanks so much for coming by and checking me out. If you'd like to know more, read some excerpts or find out what's coming next, then please visit me at http://www.EveLanglais.com

Or sign up for my new release email list at
http://www.evelanglais.com/newrelease

Happy reading!
Eve Langlais


Stick around for more of my End of Summer Reading List and check out my facebook page for announcements and upcoming titles! ~Amy




Monday, September 7, 2015

 

AMY'S END OF SUMMER BOOK REVIEW

PART II

 

 
SPARK RISING BY KATE CORCINO
 
 
There are tons of reasons to love this award-winning debut novel by Kate Corcino, but Alex Reyes is probably the only one that counts. (kidding, kidding there really are lots of reasons!) Welcome to a world where the combustion of fossil fuels has become impossible thanks to a government warfare experiment gone wrong. Now the only way to power the world is to use the abilities of the people who have been infused with the Dust. The strongest Sparks are male (right?) and all Sparks are expected to do their duty to help power the world.
 
Enter Lena Gracey. Strong Spark girls were disappearing, so her parents hid her away until she was old enough to leave the Relo-city where she lived and make her own way, alone, in the desert. That's just how Lena likes it, too, until a tall handsome stranger appears to make a deal. Lena's no fool, and her connection to the Dust tells her that the man is dangerous. Head to head she faces off with Alex, the man convinced that she is the strong Spark woman he's been looking for.
 
Alex and his friends have a plan for a revolution that will tear down the current regime and bring Sparks a voice in the world. They need a catalyst to unite the Sparks, and they think Lena is the one.
 
This book is full of immaculate world building, deep characters and a full plate of gut-wrenching action, plus a smidge of romance to keep us romance-lovers happy. Corcino's first book takes readers deep into a world where one woman could make or break the future. This is a must-read for 2015, because book 2 is coming soon and you don't want to be left behind when Corcino's revolution hits the stores.
 
BUY NOW:
 
 
 
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
 


Kate Corcino is a reformed shy girl who found her voice (and uses it...a lot). She believes in magic, coffee, Starburst candies, genre fiction, descriptive profanity, and laughing over wine with good friends. She was raised around the world as an Army Brat, moving every three years. Perhaps that enforced flexibility is what led to her belief in the transformative power of screwing up and second chances. Cheers to works-in-progress of the literary and lifelong variety!

The nomad finally settled with her family in her beloved desert Southwest. She is currently celebrating the publication of IGNITION POINT and SPARK RISING , the first books in the Progenitor Saga, a near future dystopian adventure series with an urban fantasy feel with romantic elements, science, a hint of magic, and plenty of action.






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