Monday Spotlight - Claire Buss has a new book coming!

The Gaia Solution, book 3 of The Gaia Collection

AVAILABLE ON KINDLE PREORDER – mybook.to/gaiasolution

Releases 8^th November 2019 in paperback & ebook

The Blurb:

Kira, Jed and their friends have fled New Corporation and joined the Resistance, but their relief is short-lived as they discover how decimated the human race has become and learn of an environmental crisis that threatens to destroy their existence. Kira and Jed must travel up the mountain to the New Corporation stronghold, City 50, to bargain for sanctuary while Martha and Dina risk everything to return to City 42 and save those who are left. With the last of her reserves Gaia, the fading spirit of the Earth uses her remaining influence to guide Kira and her friends but ultimately, it’s up to humanity to make the right choice.

More about The Gaia Collection series

The Gaia Collection is Claire's hopeful dystopian trilogy set 200 years in the future after much of the planet and the human race have been decimated during The Event, when the world went to war with high-energy radiation weapons. In The Gaia Effect, Kira and Jed Jenkins – a young couple who were recently allocated a child – together with their closest friends, discover Corporation have been deliberately lying to them and forcing them to remain sterile. With help from Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, the group of friends begin to fight back against Corporation eventually winning and taking over the governance of City 42.

In The Gaia Project, Corporation fight back under a new, more terrifying organization called New Corp and Kira, Jed and their friends end up fleeing for their lives trying to find a safe place to live. They travel to City 36 and City 9 in vain and must go further afield.

In the final book, The Gaia Solution, the main characters have ended up with the Resistance and not only do they have to deal with surviving against New Corp but an extinction environmental event is looming on the horizon and they’re running out of time to save what’s left of the human race.

Book Buy Links

The Gaia Effect

The Gaia Project

The Gaia Solution

About the Author

Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet based in the UK. She wanted to be Lois Lane when she grew up but work experience at her local paper was eye-opening. Instead, Claire went on to work in a variety of admin roles for over a decade but never felt quite at home. An avid reader, baker and Pinterest addict Claire won second place in the Barking and Dagenham Pen to Print writing competition in 2015 with her debut novel, The Gaia Effect, setting her writing career in motion. She continues to write passionately and is hopelessly addicted to cake.

Social Media Links

Facebook: www.facebook.com/busswriter

FB Group: www.facebook.com/groups/BussBookStop

Twitter: www.twitter.com/grasshopper2407

Website: www.cbvisions.weebly.com

Blog: https://www.butidontlikesalad.blogspot.co.uk

Guest Post - Timeless by Crystal Collier

Yes, it's Thursday. Because of scheduling issues, look for my usual Thursday recipe to show up next Monday. Meanwhile, check out this new book - 

Welcome Crystal Collier here to share her brand new book!

Title: TIMELESS
Series: Maiden of Time, #3
Author: Crystal Collier
Pages: 253
Publication: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Raybourne Publishing
ISBN: 9781629830056

TIME IS THE ENEMY.

In 1771, Alexia had everything: the man of her dreams, reconciliation with her father, even a child on the way. But she was never meant to stay. It broke her heart, but Alexia heeded destiny and traveled five hundred years back to stop the Soulless from becoming.

In the thirteenth century, the Holy Roman Church has ordered the Knights Templar to exterminate the Passionate, her bloodline. As Alexia fights this new threat—along with an unfathomable evil and her own heart—the Soulless genesis nears. But none of her hard-won battles may matter if she dies in childbirth before completing her mission.

Can Alexia escape her own clock?

Buy: Amazon | B&N

What reviewers are saying:

“A magical, fast-paced, romantic adventure…” --T. Drecker, Bookworm for Kids

“A story of love...true and forbidden love. There's mystery…tension, action...everything.” –Chrys Fey, author of Ghost of Death

"SWOON." --Sherlyn, Mermaid with a Book Reviewer

Leofrik straightened the chainmail net and backed away. He’d been observant and invisible, and now his efforts would pay out. Metal links spanned the spot she always appeared, suspended between a tree and the burned out house.

A chilly breeze washed over him. He grinned, poised to pounce. Success was about to be delivered.

Wind rattled the chainmail and a shriek rent the air. Nothing but mist one second, woman the next. She hit the metal links with the force of a horse-drawn carriage, and the mail caught around her, torn loose from the tree and building. It tangled over her. Leofrik rushed in as she ripped at the metal. He hugged it tightly about her, securing it like a blanket around her torso and knocking her to the ground.

She jerked, arms secured in the web. She kicked at him, but he crushed her legs beneath his own. Her teeth snapped at him. He leaned away, one arm pressed against her collarbone.

Silver eyes glared death at him through a mess of snowy-blonde hair with a hint of sunshine. Cautiously, he brushed the strands back from her face. Thin brows crushed down over upturned eyes. The pink of rose petals warmed her cheeks, and berry wine lips pursed, twitching in rage. She smelled of lilac and a hint of rain—such an intriguing mixture.

Lovely. Beyond lovely. She belonged in men’s dreams, not the light of day.

Her chest heaved beneath him, and he became aware of her form, a shape quite pleasingly proportioned from what he could feel.

Head out of the bedsheets. To your duty, man.

She twisted again, a futile attempt to break free. She slammed the back of her head into the ground with a growl. The sound startled him. Had it come from a wolf or lion it wouldn’t have surprised him, but from a young woman who fit the image of an angel?

READ MORE EXCERPTS

Crystal Collier is an eclectic author who pens clean fantasy/sci-fi, historical, and romance stories with the occasional touch of humor, horror, or inspiration. She practices her brother-induced ninja skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and impossible creatures. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls Florida home with her creative husband, four littles, and “friend” (a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese.

Find her online HERE.

(Email address is required for awarding prizes.)

Drumroll, please!

I've got an exciting announcement. I have a story in an upcoming Baen anthology! Check out the names on the table of contents: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21023216-mission

It's listed to come out in October. 

Now back to my projects:

- working on three different fantasy series

- writing my thesis

- analyzing data for my thesis

- working on a top secret project

- pretending to do housework when it gets bad enough that the dust bunnies start attacking

Enjoy!

Monday Promo Time!

Are you ready for something completely different? My space opera series, The Fall of the Altairan Empire, is finished and published. So I'm switching gears. I started this story a couple of years ago as a Nanowrimo project and was inspired by a book trilogy by my friend Frances Pauli (check it out here). I had no idea what I was writing or where it was going to end up. I'm happy with how it turned out. But then, who wouldn't be happy with elves in fairyland who use magic to power steampunk airships and giant robot men?

Here's a teaser for it. I'm shooting for a late August publication date. It is a stand-alone book, but the world was so much fun to play in, I might just expand it.

The Seligh crushed,
The captives found,
The barrier broken,
The balmorae freed.

A strange prophecy haunts the Seligh lords, rulers of the Fey and controllers of all magic in the Summerlands, a prophecy that foretells their fall.

A banished Seligh lord rules the Winterlands with an iron fist and his pets, the balmorae, patrol the borders against all intruders, guarding the secrets hidden beneath his icy lair.

A young woman rediscovers her heritage, a gift of magic and dancing that opens portals between worlds. She holds the fate of magic in her hands. All who live within the lands of the Fey must choose where they stand—beside the Dancer or opposed to her.

And trust that she won't destroy their world.

Dark Dancer coming soon.

Introducing . . . . . . Myrick, the Magnificent!

A couple of years ago, my friend and I edited a fun anthology titled "Wandering Weeds: Tales of Rabid Vegetation." One of the stories we included was a fun little gem about a wizard-wannabe named Myrick who gets into a lot of trouble and wears magic socks. I'm happy to say that Myrick's story has grown into a whole collection. If you want some fun and giggles, check it out.

Check out the author's post about the book here.

"Are you sure you want to be an adventurer?

"Believe me, there are plenty of dragons, moronic guards, golems, evil sorcerers, zombies, blood-thirsty plants, undead necromancers, bandits, and troglyns out there who do NOT have your health and happiness in mind. If it weren't for my friends--the squirrel-like Nut-boy, the beautiful yet brawny Princess Frederica, and the ever-loyal but brainless Nonac the barbarian--I wouldn't be alive today to warn you about the many dangers out there. Of course, possessing magic running socks helps a lot, too, even though they seem to get me into trouble as fast as they get me out.

"So, I've compiled a few of my life experiences in an effort to convince you, my good friends, to just stay home, lock your doors, and keep a loaded crossbow handy. Oh, and have a barbarian around in case something needs to be thumped senseless."

~Myrick

Pick up your copy today!

Drumroll, please.

Book 8 of the Fall of the Altairan Empire - Chain of Secrets - is now available!

Kindle
Smashwords (all ebook formats)

Print copies will be available very soon on Amazon and Createspace. I'm just waiting on the final proof.

Check out the full series at www.altairanempire.com

Here's a teaser for you:

Chapter 1

"You're headed for the border?" The freighter captain shook his head. "No one wants to get close to the border, especially not near Tebros. My advice is to find a berth and work the Federation territories. Don't mess with the Empire at all. It's not a good place for a spacer right now."

Tayvis pasted a smile on his face. The man was drunk, true, but he was only repeating what Tayvis had heard in every bar on the last six worlds. The Empire was crumbling at the edges and rotten at the center. The Federation grew exponentially as it drew in discontented frontier and fringe worlds. But Dace was somewhere in the Empire, too close to Lowell. "Thanks for the advice. I still need to get to Tebros."

"You'd be better off heading out farther. Lots of new territories opening up. I heard about one not long ago. Trythia, I think? Big Patrol action, but they ran back across the border with their tails between their legs."

Tayvis squelched the urge to pummel the man as he let the crowd pull him away from the bar. It wasn't the first rumor he'd heard about Trythia, told by those with no real knowledge or experience. The memories still hurt. Lowell had pulled the Patrol and run, taking Dace with him. And leaving Tayvis behind. He still wondered why.

He stepped outside the bar into the planet's night. A sultry breeze ruffled his hair. He studied the ships on the landing field, wondering if any of them were headed closer to Tebros and the border. Maybe he should have stuck with Will and the ragged assortment of ships that constituted the Federation fleet. It would have added months to his travel time, though.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shipsuit as he wove through the late-night crowds around the port bars. One of the ships had to be headed the direction he wanted to go. Time was passing and the situation in the Empire would only get worse.

Lowell had Dace. Who knew what he'd sent her into this time.

Chapter 2

I shifted a bale of cargo, shoving it onto the trolley which I pushed across the landing field towards the warehouse. It was raining, a thin drizzle I remembered all too well from winters growing up in the orphanage. I was back on Tivor.

Six weeks hadn't been near long enough to dull the pain. Tayvis, the one man I really loved, the person I knew better than any other, the anchor in my life for the last three and a half years, was gone. The pain helped in some ways. I didn't care if I died on this assignment.

Lowell had sent me here. He said he needed me, and no one else. I was the only one who could do what needed to be done. I still wasn't sure why. What had my mother done that only I could undo?

The wheels squeaked on the trolley squeaked as I shoved it across the cracked plascrete. The plan was for me to hide in the warehouse until everyone from the ship had left. Lowell had a contact in the capital city, he hoped. He hadn't heard from the man for several months. If his contact was there, he would let me out and hide me until I had the right papers and could start looking for the secrets my mother had left behind.

I had three months to push things over the edge into chaos. I wondered again if Lowell really knew what he was asking me to do.

I'd done it before, in less time, with less support. Lowell was confident I could do it here. He tried to tell me not to die doing it. I told him I wouldn't care if I did, right before I walked out of his ship to board the freighter that brought me back to Tivor.

Monday New Release Party!

Check out a basketful of new releases over at http://excerptmonday.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/november-new-release-monday/

The Last Man Anthology is listed there, because it's the new release I knew about in time to set this up. But I wasn't able to get a copy to put in the giveaway basket, so Nexus Point is in there instead.

Stop by and comment and you could be a winner!