Writers on Writing Blog Hop

My friend, Marva Dasef, tagged me for this blog hop. It sounded fun so I'm playing along. Check out her post here. I'm supposed to answer these four questions and tag other authors to play along. So without further ado, here are my answers and taggees:

What am I working on/writing?

I'm finishing up publication on my Fall of the Altairan Empire series, a fun space opera adventure series. It's been years in the making. It's a bittersweet thing. I'm glad it's finally out there, but I'm sad that it's over. But that means it's time for new things. I've got a steampunk/fairyland/elf fantasy (Dark Dancer is due out hopefully this fall depending on how much editing it needs) in the works along with a middle-grade fantasy adventure series and more space opera novels. It's always something.

How does my writing/work differ from others in its genre?

I've been told my writing is reminiscent of pulp sci-fi adventure stories from the 50s. People have compared my books to Andre Norton or Elizabeth Moon, which made me extremely happy. I love both of those authors and adore their books. It's flattering.

I write books that I want to read, which means lots of action and explosions and characters you can admire as well as villains you can hate. I love long series, too, so I wrote an 11 book, million+ word saga. That should keep readers happy for a few days.

Why do I write what I do?

I love adventures and fun characters. I also love playing, "What if?" Aliens, spaceships, other worlds, space in general - I love them all and can't get enough of them. But I also enjoy magic and fantasy settings. Mostly, I just want to tell stories. I love telling stories.

How does my writing process work?

I futz around for a while, answer the phone three times, find my water bottle, find chocolate and snacks, tell the kids I'm writing and they better not disturb me, go to the bathroom, check on the kids, watch a few episodes of my favorite tv shows, take the dogs outside, answer the phone a few more times, realize the day is almost over and I haven't written anything yet, complain to whoever will listen, then maybe knock out a few words and vow to do better tomorrow.

That's true some days, but not always or else I'd never get anything done. On a good day, I hide in the bedroom out of reach of the phone, turn up my music, and WRITE. Once I'm in the zone, the words just pour out. I don't care if they're good or not, not until I get into editing mode which comes much, much later after the book is finished.

And the music? Depends on what I'm writing. I've got movie soundtracks, pop songs, classical, heavy metal, anime, and a whole lot of other music genres in my library. I find something that fits the mood I need and let it carry me away into the story. The latest I repeated ad nauseum for about ten hours were the soundtracks for Medal of Honor and Wing Commander. I've never seen either movie, but I adore the soundtracks. Dr. Who is also good. As is this one:

And sometimes, my playlist even includes MLP:FIM songs. I live in a house of bronies. I can't help myself.

Make sure you visit these authors next week to check out their answers:

Soozcat blogs the most interesting things.

"Since I first started posting to Confessions of a Laundry Faerie in September 2006, I’ve tried several times to nail down what my blog should be about: Journal entries? Personal essays? Short stories? Flights of fancy? Finally I just gave up and ticked “All of the above,” and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since."

Check out Confessions of a Laundry Faerie.

Dene Low has written several books, with the latest being COOKIES TO DIE FOR that came out in May. Her writing spans the genres of Young Adult fantasy to mainstream mystery and some scholarly publications on the side, including poetry.  Her books have won won numerous awards, including being a finalist for the Mystery Writers of American Edgar Award and a selection of the Junior Library Guild. She is a university professor who teaches writing. She and her husband love to see their many grandchildren and travel. She especially likes riding her motorcycle.

Check out her blog at denelow.com

Kathryn Olsen is a Bostonian essayist whose interests range from Chaucer to Challion. She has contributed to iEmily, Voices, What Culture and Authors Publish Magazine and will be featured in an upcoming anthology of Mormon writers. She came to Utah to study English at Brigham Young University and has not yet gotten around to leaving. In her spare time, she travels as much as possible, works full time and talks to her four goldfish.

Check out her blog at http://novel-ties.blogspot.com.

New Release Monday

Winter semester is over. I've got a couple days before spring term starts. So what do I do? Release a few books in new venues.

So, for your reading pleasure, here is the new and improved Nexus Point in print (coming very soon on Amazon!) with a pretty new cover. If you've already read it, I only made a few minor changes, mostly to make the writing better. If you haven't read it, what are you waiting for? It's a fun, exciting adventure story. Nothing heavy like the tomes I waded through for classes this last semester.

If you're looking for something shorter and less of a commitment, Brain Candy is now available in any ebook format from Smashwords, which means it will shortly show up on a lot of other retailers, too. Nineteen short silly horror stories involving dyslexic witches, green gelatin blob monsters and church ladies, great-aunt zombie bridesmaids, bumbling vampires looking for healthier menu options, and lots more. Bonus! Use this code VV98M to get Brain Candy for only ninety-nine cents!

If horror just isn't your thing, even if it is light and fluffy horror, try Soul Windows, a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories. Now available in all ebook formats on Smashwords. I can't put just one on sale - get Soul Windows for only ninety-nine cents, too, using the code AE37A.

SFR Brigade Presents... Cold Revenge

Check out the great story snippets from other SFR Brigade authors.

Here's my contribution - a snippet from Cold Revenge, book 5 in the Fall of the Altairan Empire. And as a bonus, I'm giving away copies of Nexus Point, book 1. Use coupon code AA47G.

I opened my eyes with an effort of will. Everything from my shoulders down screamed with pain. My knee wouldn’t bend. If I took shallow breaths my ribs didn’t creak and protest. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and looked up.
Sitting at my table, drinking from my mug, was an older man. He had an air of suave gentility that didn’t fool me for a second. He looked over at me and smiled.
"Take the ship up," he said to someone behind me in the cockpit.
I turned my head with an effort that sent more pain through my middle. Three people I didn’t recognize were in the cockpit. The engines throbbed in time with my knee. They were flying my ship. Rage overcame pain. I got up and threw myself at the man in the navigator’s seat.
The thugs dragged me back and beat me some more.
When I could think again, I was back on the bench and the ship was well on its way to the jump point. The man at the table was still sipping from my mug and watching me with a cold and toothy smile.
"That was stupid, Captain," he said.
"Where are the rest of the crew?"
"Safe enough. For now."
"Where are they?" I started to stand and but thought better of it when the thug nearest me stepped closer and raised his fist.
"Your concern is most touching. Show her," he said to the thug nearest the cabin doors.
The man opened Jerimon’s cabin door. The thug looming over me jerked me to my feet and dragged me across the lounge to look inside the cabin. Clark and Jasyn sat on one bunk, Ginni held Habim’s hands as they sat on the other bunk. The cabin door slid shut. The thug dragged me across the lounge and dumped me on the bench.
"Where’s Jerimon?" I said through teeth gritted against screaming in pain.
The man smiled, stretching his thin lips wider.
I turned quickly and looked back in the cockpit. Jerimon sat in the pilot’s chair, my chair, he was flying my ship. I was going to kill him, slowly and painfully. Just not right then.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I flung it at the man like a challenge.
"You know who I am, if you think hard enough," the man said. "You cost me fortunes, Dace. I’m here for revenge."
I scrounged desperately through my memories. Who could he be? The list of enemies I’d managed to accumulate was depressingly long. And those were only the ones that I knew. How many more did I have that I didn’t know about?
"Don’t tell me you have no idea who I am," he said and frowned. I preferred that to his false smile. "Does the name Belliff mean anything to you?"
My heart sank. The Targon Syndicate had finally caught up to me.

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.

It's here! Priestess of the Eggstone officially launches today!

Party time! Throw confetti! Toot the horns! Celebrate with mounds of chocolate!

I'm so excited that Priestess of the Eggstone is officially in print. It's up on Goodreads, Amazon, the publisher's site, and all sorts of other fun places.

Today from 3-8 pm MST (2 pm PST, 5 pm EST) I'm running a party right here on this blog. Watch for posts. Anyone who comments will be entered to win fun prizes like their own personal Eggstone, or a skystone (real aventurine!), or some guava candy, or copies of my books, or crocheted Cthulhu TP cozies, or crocheted Cthulhu cat toys complete with jingle bells inside, or a bunch of other stuff. Some will be post specific, gotta comment on that post to win that prize, some will be for the whole party, and the grand prize will run until Sunday night at midnight my time. Post before that, and you are entered to win the grand prize - print copies of both books (Nexus Point and Priestess of the Eggstone), plus an Eggstone and a skystone. I may chuck in some crocheted doohickies, too.

Either way, it's going to be a fun party. To give you a headstart, I'm going to be asking for links to interviews about Priestess of the Eggstone, links to sites where the book is for sale, or links where reviews about it are posted. Think you can find some? It's a scavenger hunt and you have your first item. Ready, set, go!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Announcing...

I have cover art for book 2! And it's gorgeous. I'll share in a minute. First, I have more news to share:

I'm not pregnant! Um, wait, no that's not it. (FYI, I'm NOT pregnant and don't plan on being pregnant ever again. I'm too old and I already have eight children and a grandchild.)

Release date is August 10. Yep, you heard me, just over two months from now I'll have pretty shiny new books that you can read.

Just got a look at the final cover and the name is right, AND it looks even more awesome!  The only issue I'm running into is nobody can get the name right, for some strange reason. They keep listing the book as Princess of the Eggstone. I guess that works, but it should be Priestess of the Eggstone. Here's a peek at the awesome cover art:

Pretty, isn't it? I'm so excited. I love this story. Here's the blurb:

It isn’t Dace’s fault she leaves chaos everywhere she goes.
She didn’t know Belliff, the company who hired her to courier sensitive materials, is a front for the Targon Crime Syndicate. She finds out when she steps into the middle of a Patrol raid on Belliff’s offices. Now the Patrol is after her and Targon wants her head for betraying them. But that’s nothing. Her copilot has an entire sentient species chasing him for stealing their god. The two of them set off on a desperate chase to get the Eggstone god back to avert war with the Sessimoniss while evading the Patrol and the Targon Syndicate.
But the Eggstone isn’t just any rock. The Patrol isn’t chasing her for the reasons she thinks. And Targon’s days are numbered.

Genre Differences

I promised this essay two weeks ago. That was before the flu and a whole lot of hairy deadlines. I've put a lot of thought into this topic. After Nexus Point came out in 2009, I struggled with defining what genre it fit in. Science fiction, yes, obviously. Maybe not. The only spaceship happens in chapter one, where it blows up, and the last couple of chapters. The whole middle of the book takes place on a low-tech world. So what sub-genre did it fit in?

There's also romance in the book. Does that make it Romance? Science Fiction Romance? I've spent time hanging out with Science Fiction Romance authors trying to decide if I fit in their genre.

Romance, of any subgenre, is a very different kind of writing. It's hard to describe because the differences are subtle. It has to do with where the emphasis is in the story, how characters are introduced and described, word choice, and sentence structure. Read enough romance novels and you can understand what I mean. Compare them with straight science fiction, murder mystery (not romance mystery), or fantasy. The fundamental structure is different. Romance puts the relationship, whether physical or emotional, at the forefront. Nothing else takes precedence over the romance.

Nexus Point is not Romance. Romantic, yes, a little, but not Romance. The story structure is wrong for a romance. Romance readers tell me it feels off. They like it, yes, the story is good, the characters are great, but the story itself is just not right. They're expecting the book to be structured and built like a Romance. Those who like science fiction tell me my story is fluff. It's not hard science fiction, it's not about the Great Idea or Science. They like it, but it's not "serious". It's too much romance, not enough science fiction.

If you look at readers of Romance, they are overwhelmingly women of all ages. Readers of science fiction, especially the hard stuff, tend to be men who don't like romance in their books. Look at the classic SF - characters are mainly men. Women are mostly decoration or set dressing. The audiences for these two genres are very different.

Is it possible to mix Romance and Science Fiction? Sure. Lots of authors do it. But who is your audience? Not hard core Romance readers, unless you write Romance with a few rockets and aliens and even then, most Romance readers won't pick up an SF book. Not hard core SF fans. No matter how good your rocket ships and aliens are, the heart of the story is a romance.

After much soul searching, deconstruction of genre, and lurking on websites, I've come to the conclusion that I write Space Opera. It's like summer beach reads for science fiction readers. Lots of action, lots of adventure, a touch of romance. Yeah, it's fluff, but entertaining fluff. So whatever genre you read, step out of your comfort zone this summer and try some space opera.

Nexus Point can be purchased from lots of online sites in many formats, including print. Check www.nexuspoint.info for a full list.

Storytelling in Games and at Work

I'm a fiction writer, a born storyteller. I live with characters, scenes, and stories floating in my head. I see people in the grocery store or in traffic and invent a wild story to explain what I see in that brief glance. When I find a game that captures that same spirit, I'm hooked.

Years ago, I found a game titled "Jack of All Trades." I loved the game, despite a shallow storyline.  (It's still available, pretty much the same game but with some new features added.) You start with a dinky, pitifully weak cargo ship. By delivering cargo, playing the stock market, hunting pirates, etc. you earn money which you can use to upgrade your ship or buy a new one. You determine who you want to work for, where you go, and the rest. There is a bigger storyline built in, so it isn't all just amassing money and getting the biggest ship you can. You are working with an underground spy group, but you can take your time working your way around the galaxy.

I just found a similar game for my iPod Touch. Warpgate from FreeVerse Software The story is a bit more complex, so far, and the controls easier to work, probably because I'm tapping with my finger, not trying to remember which keys work which bit. I'm a total klutz when it comes to games that require coordination, so these two games and their limited need for eye-hand gaming techniques are perfect for me.

What really pulls me in with these games is the story. I confess; I had a major crush on Han Solo, still do. But not just because he's hot, but because he owns his own spaceship and can fly pretty much anywhere. I first saw Star Wars as an impressionable 10yo. Han Solo stole the show. Forget Luke, Leia, and the rest, I wanted to be Han Solo or even Chewie. I wanted my own Millenial Falcon. These two games let me pretend, if only for a while, that I can travel the galaxy.

Is it any wonder that my books follow similar themes? Dace and her ship, flying across the Empire - total freedom. Wait, you haven't gotten to those books in the series yet. She's struggling just to survive. She wants her freedom, represented by her own trading ship. I want that, too. But technology is centuries behind. I'll never have my own starship, except in my imagination.

My day job also lets me pretend, when I'm not doing the mundane tasks I end up with so often. Phone calls, paperwork, copies, all of it is essential to keeping a business running. But I love the days I'm a flight director. I'm a GM for a Star Trek LARP with a very high-tech simulator, video clips, music, sound effects, costumes, actors, and great storylines to back me up. I love orchestrating all of it. My paycheck may be tiny, but the satisfaction of hearing a crew screaming in terror, negotiating with my villain, planning a surprise attack, or cheering in victory is very satisfying to my inner storyteller. It's immediate, too, something that novel writing isn't.

So for those worried that the publishing industry is dying, I say, "Storytelling will never die. It fulfills so many needs deep in the human psyche. The outward form may change, but the need for good stories and storytellers will never change."

Let your imagination run rampant. In my mind's eye, I'm forever young, captain of my own starship, flying free through the galaxy. I'd love to have you share my journey.

Tuesday Teaser

This is the beginning of a background story on some characters in my novel, Nexus Point. The story will eventually end up on the series website as a free read, so let me know if you like it. Some days I'm so close to the trees, I have no idea what the forest is like.

Paltronis paced the narrow cell. The old-fashioned bars mocked her, closing her off from her dreams. The whole fight was stupid, she could admit that, but the satisfaction of beating the smirk from the faces of Jevis and his friends almost made it worthwhile. Almost, if Commander Haywarth didn't kick her out of the Academy. She rubbed the sleeves of her cadet uniform. She'd made it three years without an incident. The fight with Jevis was her fifth in the last two months, enough to land her behind bars instead of just detention. Or maybe it was the number of broken bones she'd left behind this time.
    Jevis had it coming. She caught him extorting money from other cadets, running his own illegal gambling ring. He'd thrown the first punch, but the fight had given his friend time to hide the evidence. Jevis was in the infirmary as the injured party to the whole affair.
    Paltronis kicked the bars in frustration. The resulting pain only soured her mood further.
    The outer door clanked open. The warden stepped in, giving her a cold stare. "You have a visitor. Be civil, if you have any sense at all." He moved aside, letting the visitor pass. "Last warning," he said as he left the cell block.
    The man stopped just outside the bars of her cell, studying her with dark eyes. His face was a mask, giving nothing away.
    She planted her feet, crossing her arms over her chest. She couldn't help the belligerent set of her face. The man's black uniform and insignia scared her. An officer of the Enforcers meant her situation was fast descending into dangerous territory involving criminal charges, not just expulsion.
    He stood motionless, just watching.
    Paltronis fidgeted, waiting for him to speak. Nervous twitches crawled over her skin. The man was tall, looming over her short, stocky frame without even trying. She looked away, unable to hold his stare.
    "Did they send you to press charges or just scare me with the seriousness of the situation?" She studied his face, the one that could have been used for recruitment posters, except it was too cold, like stone. "I know the Commander won't believe me, but Jevis had it coming. He and his friends are running a gambling ring and stealing from the other cadets."
    The man's lip twitched.
    "What do you want me to say? I'm sorry? Because I'm not." She set her chin.
    His impassive expression didn't change.
    "And the other fights? They had it coming, too." She shifted her weight. "Well? Just tell me how much trouble I'm in."
    His relaxed stance didn't mesh with the seriousness of the situation. Maybe he wasn't there to punish her. And maybe space was full of happy little fishies singing happy little songs. She studied him through the bars, trying to guess his motives.
    Silence stretched in the almost empty cell block. Paltronis fidgeted with her sleeves, wishing he'd say something. He wasn't much older than she was, much too young to be an officer, which meant he either came from lots of old money or he was very, very good. She couldn't guess which. He was impossible to read.
    He extracted a mem sheet from his pocket, passing it through the bars.
    Paltronis took it, pinching the lower corner to activate it. She frowned, expecting legal documents. She stared at the page in confusion. "Floor plans?"
    "If you were to assassinate someone in that building, how would you do it?" His voice was deep, smooth and as emotionless as his face.
    "I'm not an assassin." She snapped the mem sheet closed, shoving it back through the bars.
    "You scored very high in tactics. Prove it." He didn't take the mem sheet.
    She watched his face as she opened the paper again. "You're trying to prevent the attack."
    He nodded.

Teaser Tuesday! Excerpt from "Nexus Point"

Check out #teasertuesday on Twitter for a lot of great stories!


Nexus Point - Captain Dace just wants her own ship and a trade route. She has that, until her crew blows up the ship and strands her on Dadilan, a primitive tech world restricted from all unauthorized contact. The natives think she's a demon. The researcher, Leran, rescues her from the native ruler only to threaten her with arrest by the Patrol for interfering. On the way to the Patrol base, they are attacked. During the fight, Dace gets separated and lost in the woods. And that's only the first two chapters.

    He came out of the mist like a primeval god in a really bad romance vid–dark hair, darker eyes, and a face stolen from my most secret fantasies. He wore a leather vest with no shirt, tight pants, and tall boots. He stopped on the other side of the stream, muscles flexing as he folded his bare arms across his chest.
    I swallowed hard, wondering if he was just a dream. I shifted my feet on the stream bank. "What do you want?"
    He looked me over, not answering.
    I lifted the rock, trying to appear as threatening as possible. I lost my hold on it. It fell into the stream with a loud splash.
    His lip twitched as he smothered a chuckle.
    Having a complete stranger laugh at me was the final straw. I thumped down on the stream bank, dropping my head into my hands.
    The man splashed across the stream, his touch gentle on my shoulder. "Are you hurt?"
    I shook my head. I'd felt worse and lived.
    He watched me a moment longer, then put his arm around my shoulders.
    I stiffened at the unexpected touch. No one had ever tried to comfort me. I surprised myself by bursting into tears. I'd lost control. I hated the feeling. I struggled until I finally fought the tears back. Only the occasional hiccuping sniffle escaped.
    "Feel better?" he asked, just a trace of sarcasm coloring his voice. He shifted away, leaving me cold.
    I couldn't look at him, embarrassed by my outburst. I stared down at his vest, at his muscles, at his hands, anywhere but at his face.
    "You want to explain why you're out here?" He waited, still as a statue.
    I finally looked up, at his face. It was a mask, giving nothing away. "I got lost?"
    He raised one eyebrow. "Lost from where?"
    I dug through the information Ameli had dumped into my head. I found little of any help. "My father's house."
    He shifted position slightly, enough to change from sympathy to threat. "You're no native of this planet. You want to try again?"
    I edged away. "No. How do you know I'm not native?" My curiosity got the better of me.
    "You're speaking Basic."
    I hadn't realized it. I repeated one of the more colorful expressions I'd learned from Toiba.
    The man raised his eyebrow higher.
    "You aren't native, either." I sniffled, wiping my nose on the back of my hand.
    He stood. I glimpsed a tattoo on the inside of his wrist, an intricate black diamond that only one group in the Empire had.
    I froze, not knowing if it was good or bad. "You're a Patrol Enforcer."
    "Give me one good reason I shouldn't shoot you."
    "You aren't carrying a blaster."
    He moved fast. He knotted his fist into the neck of my dress, his face barely an inch from mine. "I don't need one. Who are you and why are you here? Don't even try lying."
    "Leran . . ."
    He shoved me to the ground, on my stomach. His hand pinned me to the bank. I struggled to keep my face above the rippling surface of the stream. I planted my hands in the icy water and shoved. His hold didn't budge.
    "You work for him?"
    "Leran? No. He was taking me to the Patrol." I shut my eyes and waited for the man to drown me.
    "Why would he do that?"
    I was a lousy liar. This man would see through anything I tried. I gave him the truth. "Because I ruined his research. I crashed in Baron Molier's cow pasture. He said I was a demon. He was going to kill me. Leran decided to take me to the Patrol base and turn me in instead."
    The man's hold relaxed. I shifted back an inch from the water.
    "Keep talking," he said.
    "We stopped somewhere in the hills. The camp was attacked."
    "And?"
    "There were too many to fight so I left. I got lost."
    "You still haven't told me who you are."
    "Dace. My name is Dace."
    He rocked onto his heels, letting me go. I scrambled away from the water.
    "I don't think you heard me." He flexed his hands. "What's your name, your full name?"
    "Dace." I wasn't about to use a name I'd discarded six years previously.
    "I'll let that pass for now. How did you come here?"
    "My ship exploded. The core redlined. The escape pod landed me here."
    "In Baron Molier's cow pasture, you already said that. What ship?"
    "Star's Grace, Independent trader registered out of Eruus."
    "What was your position, ship's idiot?"
    I'd already embarrassed myself, I wasn't about to let him insult me. I sat, sticking out my chin. "I'm the pilot. And I'm telling you the truth."
    He gave me a look that said he didn't believe it.
    "I'm also the captain and owner."
    He laughed, a short bark of sound.
    "Believe it or not, it's the truth." The anger drained away, replaced by fatigue. I wrapped my arms around myself, wishing I was at the Academy where I could ignore the humiliation the other cadets dished out.
    "You aren't going to cry again, are you?" He looked afraid of the possibility.
    I shook my head and sniffled. I'd wait until later, when he wasn't looking. He watched me fight with myself. He finally sighed.
    "My camp is just across the stream. You look like you could use something to drink." He stood and offered me his hand.
    I stared stupidly at it. He confused me. He wasn't threatening me, not now. I took his hand. He lifted me without effort. I couldn't hide my wince when my feet hit the rocks.
    "This way," he said, pulling me after him.
    I limped across the stream, soaking the bottom of my skirt. He pushed me down onto a rock before stirring up a small fire. My stomach growled. I rubbed my arms, shivering in the night air.
    I studied the man surreptitiously. His hair was longer than mine, very dark with reddish highlights. It curled just slightly where it brushed the back of his neck. He stirred the pot steaming on the fire. The tattoo on his wrist caught the light and my imagination. What was a Patrol Enforcer doing here? Why try to drown me when I mentioned Leran's name? Something was rotten on Dadilan.
    Not my problem; I was leaving. I would face whatever criminal charges were levied against me. I would give them the truth. The Patrol would have to believe me. But this man was Patrol and he didn't believe me.
    The man handed me a steaming cup dipped out of the pot. I wrapped my hands around it and sipped the hot drink. It wasn't enough to counterbalance the cold night air and my wet skirt. My teeth chattered. The man fetched a blanket out of a neat pack on the ground. He dropped it over my shoulders. I clutched it tight. He loomed over me. I felt even shorter than I usually did.
    "Try again." He sat on a rock nearby. "Start at the beginning."
    "I was born . . ."
    "Not that far back." He shot me an impatient look.
    "I told you. My ship was en route to Thurwood with a load of machine parts. Something went wrong. I had to do an emergency downshift out of hyperspace. The core redlined and the ship exploded."
    "Not very professional of you." He poked at the fire with a stick. "You say your name is Dace and you own your own ship."
    "It's the truth." My ship was a cloud of radioactive debris. I sighed again.
    "No crying." He pointed the stick at me. "That isn't fair."
    I wiped my nose on his blanket.
    "What were you doing with Leran?" he asked casually, studying the end of his pointy stick. I sensed the answer I gave would determine how he used it.
    "He pulled me out of Baron Molier's dungeon and offered to have me arrested. It was better than being skewered by hot iron pokers."
    "Why are you speaking like a native now?" The man touched the pointy end of his stick.
    "They used a hypnoteacher. It doesn't work right on me." I sipped at the drink, watching him carefully. The stick was still very evident. "It usually takes me a week or two to get all the information straight again. It's easier just to learn it the old way. What's your name and why are you out here?"
    He studied me, the stick waving in the air between us. After a moment, it went into the fire, pointy end first.
    "Malcolm Tayvis," he said. "I'm looking for my partner. He was supposed to meet me here two days ago. I don't think he's going to make it."

Want more? Ordering information and the first three chapters are here for free: http://www.nexuspoint.info
Or download more at Smashwords - Nexus Point

First Review for Nexus Point

My first official review - and it makes me happy!


http://afstewartblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/sci-fi-witty-and-droll-review-of-nexus.html

Author Interview Week Coming Up

I've got a great week of interviews coming up in two weeks. April 5 - 9, here on my blog, I'll be hosting some Broad Universe authors. Great people, great stories, and GREAT PRIZES! Stay tuned for details... There will definitely be books, there may even be chocolate.

Join me for my first blog tour. Details are coming.

A Movie Worth Watching (Again)

Christmas brought fun and excitement to our house. The present pile wasn't quite as large as usual, but with ten people living in my house, it was still impressive. My share was mostly DVD's. One I still haven't opened. I'm saving it for a quiet afternoon. I haven't seen the movie in years and I want to spend time savoring and enjoying it without a lot of child interruptions. Saturday afternoon is the quietest at my home.

So what movie am I saving? Not a campy sci-fi classic, not this time. I already watched the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad collection, Disney's Snow White, and Camelot. I'm anticipating a wonderful time with Finian's Rainbow. It's a musical, can be classified as fantasy, very silly at times, but overall, it's hopeful and happy, even when things are horribly wrong.

Finian's Rainbow is about a small town, Irish immigrants, and the leprechaun they inadvertently bring with them. Some of my all-time favorite songs are from that movie. If you haven't ever seen it, it's worth tracking down and watching. After all, who wouldn't want a song for your heart, and a smile for your lips? Follow the rainbow, and follow the fellow who follows a dream.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062974/

It's Official!

It's frightening, in a very good way. The journey to this point was long, difficult, and sometimes very painful, but I made it. I'm an official published author!

I'm on Barnes & Noble! http://bit.ly/7hqyDX

And Amazon! http://bit.ly/8WR7w7