And Another Release

Book 9 is now live!

Check out An Indecent Proposal - Dace faces her most challenging enemy yet: Linas-Drias high society ladies. The claws are out after the second most eligible bachelor in the Empire announces his engagement to Dace. It might have helped if he'd asked her first. And if Lowell had remembered to tell Dace that Tayvis was very much alive and waiting for her. But her engagement to the Second Speaker, Vance, is a golden opportunity for her to spy out the real traitors trying to tear apart the Empire. When her sham engagement starts becoming all too real, Dace is in too deep to escape.

Kindle
Smashwords
Look for the print version in a couple of weeks on Amazon

And if you haven't tried the series yet, go get book 1, Nexus Point, for FREE.
Coupon code: AA47G
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10672

Nexus Point - a beginning, the origin point.
With a single flap of a butterfly's wing, a massive typhoon is born. Within a single moment, a single chance encounter, lie the seeds of destruction or salvation.
Dace only wants enough freedom to fly her merchant ship where the trade takes her. But fate and circumstance conspire otherwise. Trapped on a primitive planet, hunted by drug smugglers and betrayed by her crew, Dace's only hope of survival is the Patrol agent trying to kill her.
Here begins the Fall of the Altairan Empire.

Cover Reveal! And an update

Nexus Point is now out of print. The ebook is still available but the paperback is no longer published. I'm working on a revision for it, but it's slow going. I'm embarrassed by how bad the writing is. I think I'm good at characters and plot, but the writing itself sucks. Big time. Fortunately, writing is something you improve with practice. Lots and lots of practice.

So, here's to improved writing and better story flow. For those of you who read Nexus Point and still loved the story, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for wading through that horrible prose and sticking with it enough to see the story and fall in love with the characters.

As soon as I'm done revising book one, I'll pick up book eight and get it published. My original goal of one book a month has been derailed by school and health issues, but I only have four more in the series. Thanks for your patience.

If you enjoyed the series so far, please tell your friends. Word of mouth is really the only way anyone finds books anymore. If you would post reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, Scribd, B&N, Smashwords, and anywhere else, I will love you forever, no matter how many stars you give my books.

Okay, whiny writer rant over. How about a look at the new cover for Nexus Point? I'm in love with this one.

Finally! Book Seven is coming...

Yes, that's a fractal.
from www.sgeier.net/fractals

This has been a tough one for me. First the cover design gave me fits. Then I realized another edit needed done before the final read-through and proofing. All this was on top of writing papers and creating projects for class and dealing with work drama. But, classes are fun and most of the papers are finished. Work drama has been resolved, mostly. And the edits are almost finished.

Here's a teaser for you:

I slouched at the table, the same one I'd been at for most of the last three weeks. The Golden Pig, an upscale bar on Proxima, was quiet with few customers. The bartender didn't seem to mind me spending hours sitting at a table near the back as long as I bought drinks and paid my tab.

Tayvis was twenty three days overdue. We'd agreed to meet here, when his enlistment was finally up. It looked like he didn't want to keep his promise.

I didn't blame him. The last time we'd seen each other he'd arrested me. And the time before that I'd shot him. I shouldn't have been surprised that he hadn't come. I didn't want to believe it was really over between us, but three weeks of waiting were beginning to convince me.

Jasyn, co-owner of my ship and my best friend, had lost patience. Her hints that we should move on had become blunt and hard to ignore. She was right, I had to let go. Tayvis wasn't coming.

I'd never expected it to hurt so much.

I looked across the bar to the front windows. The sun of Proxima blazed out of a clear summer sky. The door opened, sending a flash of bright light across the polished wood of the tables. I squinted and groaned when I saw who had just entered.

Lowell stood near the door, surveying the room. Darus Venn, my father, hovered over his shoulder. I considered sliding under the table. Lowell saw me and strode across the room. He wore a captain's bars on his uniform this time. He rarely wore his true insignia. He preferred to slum with the lower ranks. Darus wore an engineer's gears.

"Go away," I said as Lowell pulled out a chair.

He sat anyway. "Is that any way to greet me, Dace?"

"Or me," Darus said, taking a second chair.

"I'm not in the mood, Lowell. Hi, dad. How have you been?"

"Try saying it like you mean it," Darus said.

"Whatever you want," I said, standing up, "the answer is no, Lowell. So don't even try."

"I need your help."

"I don't want yours."

"I think you want to hear this," Lowell said quietly. I deliberately stepped away.

Something dropped onto the table with a soft chime, like crystals muffled in cloth. A tiny prick of emotion stabbed into my heart. I stopped, my feet glued to the floor despite my best intentions to leave. Jasyn was going to rip me into shreds when she found out I'd even listened to Lowell. I turned back, I had to find out what ace Lowell held.

He poked a small bag on the table in front of him, a nondescript thing of worn cotton. I dropped into a chair, feeling the pull from the bag.

"I thought that would get your attention." Lowell pushed the bag towards me.

"I'm through, Lowell. You promised to leave me alone. Remember?"

My hand closed over the bag. A wave of pain, anger, and need washed through me. I knew what was in the bag. I closed my eyes as my fingers fumbled to untie it.

"Two weeks ago," Lowell began, "a ship limped into Viya Station, the only Sessimoniss ship to be sighted in almost a year, with a single survivor on board. He died not long after reaching the station, despite everything they tried to do for him. The only thing he said that anyone could interpret was your name." The Sessimoniss were a reptilian sentient race that lived beyond the fringes of the Empire. Only four non-Sessimoniss had ever landed on their world and returned alive: me, Jasyn, her brother Jerimon, and Tayvis.

The top of the bag opened. Tiny glittering shards of crystal in every hue of the rainbow spilled out. Tumbled emotions and jumbled images poured into my mind. This was the Eggstone, the god of the Sessimoniss. A few pieces of it, at least.

Here Comes Another Book

Cold Revenge (book 5) is coming very soon, look for it in early September. Did I mention I had the series completely written before I tried to hook a publisher with book one? All eleven books. My goal is to publish one a month until they're all out there. I've got the rights back on book one, so I'll be retooling that one after book eleven releases. Are you excited yet?

Here's a teaser for book five:

Cold Revenge
When Jerimon shows up at the Phoenix after serving only a year of his prison sentence, Dace knows something is off. But Jasyn welcomes her brother aboard the ship. Tensions are high between them. Add in a shortage of money and two stowaways running from the oppressive practices of the theocratic Sidyatha, and the last thing Dace expected: Jerimon's allegiance to the Targon crime syndicate.

And a sneak peek:
“Target acquired,” Touk announced. They’d been chasing the ship for the last ten hours through a pocket of the nebulae. Hide and seek in thick dust and radiation fields was a stressful game to play.
Tayvis brought the ship into his sights. It sat at a full stop. No fancy tricks, no last minute weapons fire, nothing; not what he expected.
“On my command,” Darus Venn, the Gunnery Commander, said over the com, “fire to disable if possible.”
“Acknowledged.” Tayvis lined up the ship in his sights then waited, his finger over the firing button.
“That’s strange,” Mryah said on his other side. She and Touk were his spotters, sorting through scans to locate and mark targets.
“What?” Tayvis asked.
“The ship comes up as a registered trader. I'm not picking up any weapons. Shielding reads as standard navigation shields only.”
“It’s supposed to be a smuggler,” Lorien the runner for their team, said. “Good cover, having a real ship id.”
Mryah shook her head. “The beacon checks out.”
“Fire when ready,” Darus’ voice came from the com.
“What’s the name of the ship?” Tayvis asked Mryah.
“Phoenix Rising,” Mryah said, squinting at her screen.
Tayvis hit the lock button, shutting down the weapons. “Hold your fire,” he said into the com to the other three gunnery teams.
The com crackled. “Are you countermanding my orders, Ensign?” Despite a rough start, Darus and Tayvis got along quite well in the two months since Darus was assigned CO for the gun batteries on the Avenger.
“I don’t think you have all the pertinent information, sir,” Tayvis said. “I want your personal authorization to fire on that ship.”
Darus hurried down the narrow corridor to the portside gun station. He crowded past Lorien. “Well?”
“What’s the delay, Commander Venn?” It was Captain Suweya on the com asking this time.
Darus leaned over Tayvis to speak into the com.  “I’m checking on that, sir.”
“It’s Dace’s ship,” Tayvis said.
“You sure about that?” Darus leaned close to the targeting computer, Mryah’s station, to check the readout. “What in blazes is she doing mixed up in this?” He straightened. “Hold your fire, all gunnery teams, repeat, hold your fire!”
“Did I just hear you correctly, Commander Venn?” The captain did not sound pleased.
“Sir, permission to come to the bridge and explain.”
“You’d better, Commander.”
“Lock your station, Tayvis,” Darus ordered. “You’re coming with me.” He looked at the merchant ship hanging in the targeting sights of the Patrol cruiser. “What’s she playing at this time?”
Tayvis had his station locked in record time then followed Darus. The two of them hurried through the ship to the bridge.
“Bet you fifty credits that Lowell’s behind this,” Darus said.
“That’s not a bet,” Tayvis countered, “that’s a certainty.”
“Keep your mouth shut when we get up there,” Darus instructed as they approached the bridge. “Let me do the talking.”
Tayvis didn’t dignify that with any sort of answer.
The door to the bridge slid open. Captain Suweya gave Darus a dark look then switched his attention to Tayvis. “Ensign Tayvis, you refused a direct order. The customary response to that is to space the mutineer. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t toss you out an airlock right now.”
“Because that ship isn’t the smuggler you think,” Tayvis said. “It’s a merchant ship. And I’m sure the crew’s been framed.”
“Commander Venn?” The captain turned to Darus. “You countermanded my order. Why?”
“Because Ensign Tayvis is right, sir. We’ve been led on a fool’s chase.”
The captain studied both of them for a long time. His eyes, a brown so dark it looked black, were cold and hard. “I’ll give you one more chance to explain.”
“That ship, Phoenix Rising,” Darus said, “belongs to my daughter and two very good friends of mine. None of them would get mixed up in smuggling. There’s more to this than you think, Captain.”

Excerpt from book 4 - The Kumadai Run

I've been writing lots of stuff lately, just not fiction.

Want to read a review of a book chapter titled "The Architecture of Instructional Design"? It's been rewritten at least a dozen times now. Yeah, I didn't think you would. I found it an interesting topic, but then that's the graduate program I just started.

How about a handout that I created for a Cub Scout Leader Powwow on teaching cubs astronomy? Maybe? Drop me a note and your email address and I'll send you the pdf.

How about a snippet from my book four in my series? Kumadai Run is now available!

Kumadai Run, Chapter 1
If you ever find yourself as crew on a small ship with newlyweds, don’t go.
I winced as another thud sounded against the wall. Jasyn and Clark had been married a little over a month. The first couple of weeks were peaceful, for me, because they were off on their honeymoon. I had the ship to myself.
Things had gone pretty well the week after that. We were headed out of the Cygnus sector and into a part of the Empire where I’d never been. Hopefully, the Targon Syndicate didn’t reach that far. I still had a price on my head.
Another thud sounded against the wall, along with some muffled shouting. I swiveled the pilot’s chair and leaned back to close the door of the cockpit.
I heard more muffled shouting. I didn’t want to know what it was about. I’d made the mistake of getting involved in their first fight, something about socks. I refused to even listen to either of them now. It was their fight, they should resolve it.
Things got ominously quiet. I stared at the streaks of light on the viewscreen and wished we were a lot closer to our destination. We still had at least five days of hyperspace travel.
We were hauling a load of medical equipment and supplies that needed to get to Parrus as soon as possible. The shortest route there, the Kumadai Run, was the trickiest, passing through two active nebulaes and skirting at least one black hole. Most people didn’t even attempt it. We were promised a huge bonus if we could deliver the supplies in less than ten days. Jasyn, the navigator and co-owner, said it wasn’t a problem. I signed the contract.
We were over halfway there and so far the only problems had been between Clark and Jasyn. The ship flew smoothly and the route hadn’t given us problems. Five more days and I could find some excuse to get away from them for a while.
The door slid open. Clark dropped into the copilots seat. I snuck a look at him. His green eyes, normally full of mischief, were angry.
“She locked herself in the cabin again,” he said. “I don’t understand her.”
I stared at my controls and wished he would go away. I didn’t want to be dragged into their fight. I didn’t want them to insist I take sides. He didn’t get my subliminal message.
“Dace, help me. You know her. You tell me why—”
“I don’t know what to tell you to do.”
He sighed heavily and lounged back in his chair. “She’s so unreasonable about things.”
I would have got up and left but there really wasn’t anywhere else to go. He was going to make me part of the argument whether I wanted to be or not.
“She asked me how she looked in that new dress she bought. So I told her and she started throwing things at me.”
I sighed and put my head in my hands.

Time for a Teaser

Poisoned Pawn, book three in my Fall of the Altairan Empire series, will be released in one month - April 18. I'm excited. I love the characters. I love the stories. Want a taste?

Go here for links to all the books (feed my fish while you're there, please). Book one, Nexus Point, is available at a variety of online retailers. If you go to the Smashwords link, you can download the first half of the book for free to see if you like it before buying. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Just to whet your appetite for book 3, here's a teaser from the first chapter:

Lowell thumped his feet on the desk and leaned back in the chair. He held a handcomp in one hand, the screen set on the station data feed, but he wasn’t paying attention to it. He watched the busy Patrol docking bay through the wide window in the office. Several ships had docked in the last hour, three courier class and one large hunter class. He rubbed his upper lip as he considered his options.

An aide opened the office door. He frowned when he caught sight of Lowell. “You are going to have to leave. We have a visiting commander who requested this office. You shouldn’t be here when you’re off duty, anyway. The enlisted lounge is on deck seven.” The man planted himself in the middle of the office.

“I’m well aware of the location of the lounge, but my rank tends to make the enlisted men nervous.”

The aide’s gaze flicked over Lowell’s plain black uniform. “You aren’t wearing any insignia.”

“Would it make you feel better if I borrowed a set of Admiral’s pins?” Lowell’s handcomp beeped. He glanced at the new message. He raised one eyebrow as he shifted his feet from the desk. “That’s going to cause a few problems.”

“A Commander Lowell requested use of this office.” The aide wasn’t giving up.

“And you are bothering him.”

“Sir?”

“The ship that just docked, escort the pilot to this office. His name is Trevyn Clark.”

The aide shifted his feet, uncertain.

Lowell tapped his com, impatient with the man. “Paltronis, please escort Major Trevyn Clark to the office. He just arrived on the station. And please remove the man who doesn’t believe me when I tell him I’m the Commander who requested use of the office.”

“If you wore your rank pins, this wouldn’t happen, sir.” The woman on the com sounded amused.

“Worse would happen.” Lowell fixed the aide with a steady gaze that had unnerved fleet admirals.

“I’ll have Major Clark in the office in a few moments, sir.” Paltronis signed off.

The aide dripped nervous sweat. “Sorry, sir. It’s easy to mistake you in that uniform. Station Commander Morgan sent me to assist you with whatever you need, sir.”

Lowell turned his attention back to the handcomp. “Then fetch me a sandwich. And something to drink.”

Poisoned Pawn, The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 3
Release date - April 18

Publisher site - scroll to the bottom for information on buying the books