It's Finally Coming...

It's another audiobook!

Priestess of the Eggstone is finally finished. We're just waiting on ACX to approve it.

Cover Reveal!

I'm working on re-releasing books 2 and 3 in my series. Just a quick polish, and new covers.

Priestess of the Eggstone is now available at Smashwords (all ebook formats) and Amazon (Kindle only, print is coming later)

Poisoned Pawn is now available at Smashwords (all ebook formats) and Amazon (Kindle only, print is still being formatted)

Poisoned Pawn will be coming soon.

Without further ado, here are the new covers for Priestess of the Eggstone and Poisoned Pawn!

Check out the whole series at www.altairanempire.com!
Get the first book, Nexus Point, FREE - use coupon code AA47G.

Poisoned Pawn Release Date This Week!

Book number three, Poisoned Pawn, arrives this weekend. I'm thrilled with the release. This is my third book! Eight more to go in the series. Eight more book launches, at least, in the future. (Go here for links for the whole series.)

This whole journey of writing and then publishing my stories has been enlightening. Why do I do this? Most days I don't know. Writing a book is very personal, at least for me. I get tangled up in my characters, to the point they become real to me. When I send that story out for others to read, it's almost like releasing my most secret diary entries in public. I learn more about myself by writing than I have any other way.

For those who have taken a chance on me as a new author, thank you. For those who have sent me emails and notes, thank you. It means a lot to me to know my story resonates with you.

Here's Chapter One of Poisoned Pawn.
Here's a deleted scene from the book. (The plot needed to be tightened up and quite a bit ended up in the virtual trash bin.)

And here's Chapter Two:

I sat in the cell on Viya Station and fumed. The last time I’d been on Viya, I’d left a trail of destruction and almost caused a war with the Sessimoniss. Most of it hadn’t been my fault, but the station authorities still held it against me. I wouldn’t have come but the only cargo we could get on Tebros was for Viya. The pilot we’d hired, because regulations insisted on two, had gotten into a nasty brawl in the worst bar on Viya. When the authorities showed up, they arrested me. My pilot ducked out and disappeared. If she ever showed her face at the ship again, she wasn’t getting back on. Her contract was void.
I kicked the wall a few times out of frustration. The guard yelled at me to quit or be fined even more. I quit.
Another long hour passed.
The guard appeared, keys jangling. He opened the door and waved me out. “You made bail. Don’t come back.” He gave me a look that promised lots of pain if I did.
“I’m not planning on it.”
Jasyn waited in the foyer area, tapping her foot impatiently, but still gorgeous even though I knew she hadn’t had any sleep for almost two days. Next to her I was short, dumpy, and mussed. She didn’t do it on purpose, she was just so naturally beautiful that I couldn’t compete.
“We’re broke now,” Jasyn said as we approached the airlock of the ship. “We have barely enough to pay docking fees, if we leave in the next few hours. It’s a good thing the cargo I managed to find is pay on delivery. No deposit. What were you thinking?”
“I was getting Letha back,” I said, slapping the controls for the hatch.
“So where is she?”
“I’d like to know myself.” We stepped through the hatch.
“What happened, Dace?” She turned to face me, dropping paperwork on the small galley table. “You’ve got a black eye.”
“Letha was in a bar, drunk and starting fights. I tried to stop her.” I touched my cheek by my eye and winced.
“You were the only one they arrested.” She rummaged in the locker behind her for the small med kit. We had a more complete medical bay in the back cabin, one I hoped we would never have to use. With my luck, I’d spend more time in it than out, I thought sourly. Jasyn put the kit on the table. “I’m the one who’s supposed to get in fights with men who don’t understand no.” Her voice was gentle, taking the sting out of her words but not out of the antiseptic she dabbed on my cheek.
“Letha wasn’t saying no, either, which is where the problem started.”
“I take it we’re short one pilot?”
I nodded while she put the kit away. “You get to hire the next one. I’ve had lousy luck.”

Book Launch Details

Tomorrow from 3-8 pm MST, I'm throwing a party right here at the Far Edge of Normal. There will be prizes, mounds of virtual chocolate, and lots of fun. Stop by and comment and the posts. Answer trivia questions. I'll post a new one every hour. Those who comment will be entered to win prizes, including a grand prize of a goody box with a paperback copy of Priestess of the Eggstone and a replica of the Eggstone itself. So stop by tomorrow afternoon, comment, and you could win.

For those of you who can't make it, I'll leave the grand prize drawing open until 10 pm MST SUNDAY. If you post a comment before then, you'll be entered.

Good luck, and good reading!

Pursued by the Targon Crime Syndicate bent on revenge, the Patrol intent on recruitment, and the Sessimoniss who want their god back, the last thing Captain Dace needs is a handsome copilot with romance on his mind.

journal-store.com/bookstore/priestess-of-the-eggstone

Book Launch Party in 3, 2, 1...

Priestess of the Eggstone officially releases this FRIDAY! *throw confetti* I'm only a little excited, if you can't tell.

To celebrate, I'm hosting a virtual party right here on The Far Edge of Normal. There will be prizes, trivia, fun, chatting, and loads of virtual goodies. So, put it on your calendar - Friday, August 10, 3-8 pm MST. Drop by the blog, leave a comment or answer a trivia question, and you could win something fun.

I'll have details posted before Friday morning.

Chaos is the New Normal and Book Release Prize Ideas?

Chaos is the new normal at my house. We're not talking usual levels of chaos. We're talking over-the-top, total chaos. But chaos is a good thing, for a while. It means changes are happening, big ones.

One I'm tickled pink over is the release of the next book in my Altairan Empire series - Priestess of the Eggstone. It's happening Friday. You can be part of the fun. Just stop by here Friday afternoon between 3-8 pm MST for a chance to win some fun prizes. If you're in a different time zone and it's the middle of the night, stop by earlier. I'll have a general post up Thursday and if you comment, I'll enter you to win some of the goodies.

I need your help. I need suggestions of party prizes you'd like to win. Keep in mind I'm spending all my extra cash on kitchen remodeling, but I can find a few bucks to sponsor this party. What prizes would you like to win? Free books are a no brainer. I'll be giving away some ebooks of Nexus Point, book 1 in the series, and at least one paperback copy of Priestess of the Eggstone. What else? Gift certificates? Nifty space toys? Other SF books? An old avocado green kitchen sink? Crocheted Cthulhu cat toys with jingle bells inside? Obsidian copies of the Eggstone? Please post comments and let me know. Everyone who does will be entered in the grand prize drawing Friday night. Make sure you leave me a valid email address so I can get hold of you.

Now for fun, here's before pics of my kitchen and its current state:

Nervous Butterflies

Today is the day we start ripping our kitchen apart. WOOT! I'm excited. I hate those stupid cabinets that bash me in the head every time I cook.

And in two weeks, Priestess of the Eggstone will start shipping! To tease you, here's a blurb and excerpt:

Pursued by the Targon Crime Syndicate bent on revenge, the Patrol intent on recruitment, and the Sessimoniss who want their god back, the last thing Captain Dace needs is a handsome copilot with romance on his mind.

But that’s exactly what she’s got.

She didn’t realize she was smuggling when she accepted the courier job. Now Targon wants her for stealing the shipment and the Patrol wants to arrest her. The Sessimoniss want their god back. And Jerimon’s aunt is planning their wedding.

She doesn’t know which scares her most.

Priestess of the Eggstone: The Fall of the Altairan Empire Book 2 by Jaleta Clegg
http://journal-store.com/bookstore/priestess-of-the-eggstone/
http://www.jaletac.com

Excerpt:

We rounded the last big moon into clear space. I checked the nav program one last time, to make sure we were headed the right direction before we jumped. The chatter of local pilots was steady as a background noise that dissolved into static as we passed into the moon's shadow. The ship lurched, then slowed, the engines whining.
I flipped switches, trying to find the problem. Jerimon pushed the thrusters all the way to the stops. The engine whine rose in pitch. The ship shuddered. The emergency lights flashed. Warnings hooted through the ship.
"Shut it down!" I yelled over the noise.
Jerimon stubbornly tried to pull more power from the engines. His face was pale and his chin set as he goosed the throttles. I reached across the controls to slam the switches off. Jerimon slumped in his chair, hands over his face. The engines spun down. The alarms shut up, all except one. It was a quiet, insistent beeping with a single, flashing red light.
I checked the screen, then muttered a bad word at the unknown vessel showing on the scans. "Who'd be using a tractor beam out here?"
The ship was bigger, but that didn't mean much. Anything was bigger than my ship. The scanners didn't show any ID traces from the other ship.
"Does it look like pirates to you?" Pirates weren't uncommon in this sector but Rucal had a major Patrol station out beyond the moons. What pirate would be stupid enough to operate under the Patrol's nose?
I knew of at least one, but he was in prison. I scowled at the screen. In a few moments, I wouldn't need the scanner. I could just look outside.
Jerimon dropped his hands to his lap, staring bleakly at the monitor. If he didn't know who was on that ship, I'd eat my socks—the ones I'd been wearing for three days without washing because I hadn't found the time.
"Who are they and why are they dragging us in?"
Jerimon shook his head, eyes locked on the approaching ship. He gripped the chair so hard his knuckles went white.

Gearing Up

August is almost here. Life is going to get very interesting. And very, very busy. The rest of July is booked solid. I'm going on a pioneer trek. Yep, dress up like a pioneer and pull handcarts and learn what those pioneers went through to emigrate to Utah. It's a Mormon thing. I don't have to walk the 36 miles, though. My husband and I are responsible for driving the water truck for them. No, this isn't authentic pioneer re-enactment. We don't want kids dying on the trek. I'll be out of touch for several days. I'll have to post a report when I return.

As soon as I'm back from that, I get to do food for the last camp of the summer season for the space center. Wow, that went by quick. That's eleven summers in the school kitchen, feeding Starfleet officers.

As soon as I'm home from that camp, we pack up our kitchen. Next Monday, we start dismantling cabinets. YES!!! I'm getting a new kitchen. I'm so thrilled about it. Not about losing my kitchen for a month. That will get fun with 8-10 people living here, depending on the day and week. We're cooking in a microwave, toaster, and crockpots when we cook. Dishes get done in the bathtub or on the deck in buckets. We're going to contribute to the landfill with paper dishes as much as possible. But when it's done, I will have a wonderful kitchen that works better for our family. I'll make sure I do before, during, and after photos for you.

I'm not done yet. I'm signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo for August. I've got to get writing longer works again. It's great therapy and with my kitchen torn apart, I'm going to need something besides cooking for therapy.

School starts in August, too. I've got two high-schoolers and two elementary school students to get prepped.

And finally (at least I hope that's the end of my scary list), Priestess of the Eggstone officially releases August 10. WOOT!!! Preorders are open now. 

Things I decided might push me over the edge if I kept them on my list?

SpoCon. I just can't make a trip to Spokane for a convention, not this year. I'm sad. SpoCon is a lot of fun. Anyone want to buy two memberships from me? Just drop me a line and include your email.

Cooking. No kitchen. 'Nuff said.

Sewing. Well, maybe not. Depends on whether my daughter cleans her laundry out of the room so I can get inside. It's nice to do when I get stuck in my book. Keeps my hands busy while my brain figures out how to get out of the corner I just wrote myself into.

I'd love to add cleaning the house, but if I ignore it for a month, I will be even worse. Have to keep some semblance of order.

What are you planning to do in August?

Writing, Re-Writing, and Editing, Oh My!

I've been over my head in rewrites and edits for my series, The Fall of the Altairan Empire. I wrote all eleven books before I sold the first one. Nexus Point came out in December 2009. Priestess of the Eggstone, book 2, comes out August 10. The rest aren't scheduled yet, but I'm working them over so when the publisher asks, I can hand him a finished manuscript. I don't know about other authors, but in some ways, the rewrites and edits are the dreaded part of my writing.

I love putting that new story down on paper, discovering new characters and settings, surprising myself with twists and turns of the plot, struggling to figure out how to get out of the corner I just wrote myself into. It refreshing. I get completely absorbed in the story to the point I start setting places at the table for my characters. (Yes, I really did that. Ask my kids...)

Rewrites are tough. I'm struggling with book 3 right now. I know I need to fix the first half, but figuring out how is proving difficult. I've already written the rest of the series. What if I chop out a crucial piece of foreshadowing? What if I cut a scene they all refer back to in later books? It's like taking apart a jigsaw puzzle, losing half the pieces, then putting the remainder back together into a new picture that's almost like the old one.

I'm also fighting with the name. I've never liked the working title. I need something catchy and intriguing that hints at the plot without giving it away. I hate coming up with titles. I'm rotten at it. With my luck, as soon as I find a title I love, the publisher will ask me to change it.

On to Edits. Painful edits, mostly because I've learned a lot about the craft of writing since I wrote those books. But the stories are good. I find myself getting caught up in the story, even though I wrote it, I want to know what happens next. Book 4 and book 5 have weathered edits fairly well. Minor tweaks, mostly. The plot holds together, pacing is good, characters shine. I'm almost afraid to start on book 6. I know it needs some rewriting but not where or how, yet. Beta readers are invaluable here. I'm waiting on feedback for book 4.

So what do you love about writing? Creating characters and settings? The plot? Getting that first draft down? Or do you enjoy the editing process most?

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.