Showing posts with label action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label action. Show all posts

Friday, December 27, 2019

Will they get a second chance at love? BRYCE is FREE Dec. 27 to 31! #FREEread #romance #scifirom #SFR #scifi


Hello everyone! As part of an end of the year celebration, I've been offering a selection of my book titles for FREE at Amazon. Each title has been FREE for five days at a time. The fourth (and last) one starts today. From December 27-31, 2019, you can get BRYCE, a Sci-Fi Romance, for FREE! Here's more about the story...


BRYCE
Galactic Defenders #1
By Jessica E. Subject

A dedicated Defender…

Bryce fell in love once, but after Lalia was ripped away from him, he locked his heart from feeling anything for anyone else. Instead, he devotes his life to the Galactic Alliance, killing every bloodthirsty Erebus he comes across.

A shunned princess…

Lalia Comosova fell in love with the wrong man. When her parents learned of her transgressions, they sent her to Earth to hide her error in judgment from the rest of the kingdom.

A second chance?

When these lovers are reunited after many years apart, they have a chance to find happiness together. But fate steps in and threatens to rip them apart as it did years ago.

Get BRYCE for FREE from:

Enjoy an excerpt:

Bryce raised his crossbow, lining his sights on the creature standing amongst the bushes, its branch-like tentacles undulating in the gentle breeze. Focusing the crosshairs on the alien’s torso, he drew in a deep breath. He had one shot. If he missed, the Erebus would cry out and alert the natives of Terra to its existence, resulting in more casualties. At first glance, no one on the planet, also called Earth, would believe an Erebus anything more than an overgrown bush, but Bryce knew the truth. He’d trained to hunt the creatures from childhood.

Each step carefully placed, he advanced until he stood twenty feet from the Erebus, no chance to miss the shot. With a slight movement of his finger, he squeezed the trigger, sending a zuranium-tipped arrow racing toward the alien.

“Quinn, would you grab me another garbage bag?”

Fornax. The creature lunged toward the female voice, Bryce’s arrow stuck in one of its tentacles. A kill, but not instant.

He loaded another arrow. At the risk of being seen, he charged through the hedges. He had to cut the Erebus off before it had a chance to kill the Terran. He leaped over metal furniture and large urns, keeping his focus on the creature.

“What the hell? Get out of my yard!”

The woman rushed him, but Bryce darted around her. When the Erebus lumbered in front of him, he raised his weapon and fired. A clean shot to the middle. The creature dropped like a fallen log, crushing the furniture it landed on.

Bryce loaded the crossbow again. No time to celebrate the kill. He had to worry about the possibility of other Erebus in the area, along with the Terran woman who had seen him. Instead of running away screaming, as he’d expected her to do, she stared, wide-eyed in horror. Not at him, but the Erebus. Her body trembled as she shuffled backward, mumbling incomprehensible words.

An unexpected sense of familiarity washed over him. He couldn’t draw his attention away from her slim figure, the way her long brown hair flowed over her shoulders. Far more attractive than he’d pictured the Terrans when others talked about them. He took a closer glance. Lalia? How had she traveled so far from home without anyone knowing? She was no stranger, and definitely not Terran. Or, perhaps she was simply a doppelganger of the woman he’d once loved. He had the sudden urge to comfort her, relieve her worry. Hold her in his arms the way he had many years ago. But what if the missing princess had somehow made her way to a planet unaware life existed beyond their own? After she’d left Hemera and him behind without so much as a goodbye, he’d searched everywhere. Though not once had he thought to look on Terra.

A ground-shattering bellow pierced the night. Bryce spun around, finding himself face-to-face with another Erebus. It stared at him with beady red eyes. Thick black goop dripped from its mouth.

Bryce raised his bow, but the creature slammed him with one of its tentacles, flinging him back. The Erebus lunged at Lalia.

Rolling to his knees, Bryce aimed and fired. He hit the alien from behind, launching it forward. Onto his former lover. Slinging the bow over his shoulder, he raced toward her. The creature’s tentacles still pulsed, even though dead. Careful not to trip himself up, he shoved his hands under the creature’s torso and heaved it off her.

Lalia stood immediately and wiped the black goop from her clothes, as if she hadn’t been flattened by an alien. “They weren’t supposed to follow me. I was supposed to be safe here.”




ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT!

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

All for the hope of a better future. SPACE RACE by Laurel Richards @Laurel_R_books #scifirom #romance #books




Space Race by Laurel Richards 

Space Race is a fast-paced sci-fi novel with a sweet romance between the hero and heroine, Max and Clara. The main characters are people without a lot of money or connections, but all they want is a chance to succeed. The land rush on planet Caerus is exactly the opportunity they need.

Inspired by the real-life Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, this futuristic race is a competition for free land on a terraformed planet. Thousands upon thousands of teams are entered to win as much property as they can claim. Cities will form within half a day, transforming Caerus in a matter of hours. And like The Amazing Race, the competition is big entertainment.

First, though, Max and his team have to reach Caerus. Their secondhand ship keeps springing leaks and suffering electrical shorts, making space travel a dangerous endeavor. They take a big risk, all for the hope of a better future.


Blurb:

The race is on! Maxton and his family are entered to compete in the big land rush on planet Caerus. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. The problem? Everything seems to go wrong. Their secondhand ship keeps breaking down, their cousin goes missing, and someone steals half their funds. They have to turn to a staffing agency to get somebody to take a look at their shipboard computers.

When Clara accepts a temp job aboard the Merit, she figures she’ll only be on the ship for about an hour. That’s all the time she needs to run a diagnostic on the computers, but then Max shocks her with an invitation to join his team. The man is handsome and single, and participating in the competition could change her whole life. But can they win?

Although this ragtag group may not look impressive from the outside, they have strength, determination, and smarts. They’ll need all those qualities if they want to win this amazing space race.

Content: This book contains a sweet romance, a dilapidated space ship, and a great deal of running.

Available from: 





Excerpt:

After ten years employed as a temp, Clara had experienced countless first days at various jobs. She usually didn’t get nervous anymore, but she took a deep breath before she got closer to the ship. All her agency had told her was that Captain Quade wanted a Tech Support Specialist to run a diagnostic on his computer system. Clara had no education in computers and was by no means an expert. However, she had picked up a trick or two during some of her assignments, and she could certainly follow a troubleshooting manual. She only hoped the captain didn’t expect some kind of software engineer. 

Pasting on her professional smile again, she closed the distance to the ship. She was about to shout up to one of the crew members silhouetted on top of the hull when a man walked around the nose of the Merit. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and her gaze drifted over his broad shoulders and bare, muscular chest. Either he was tan from the sun, or his skin was naturally golden. She conducted a thorough topographical survey of his physique before she forced her stare back upward. The view higher up was no less striking. His strong jaw, currently shadowed by stubble, was balanced by a straight nose and sharply arched eyebrows. The hair on top of his head was dark brown and tied back into a short tail. The rest was cut close to his scalp and dyed a rich green the same hue as his eyes. He came to an abrupt stop and stared right back at her. 

“Pardon me,” he said. 

Although Clara wasn’t much of a blusher, her cheeks felt distinctly warm. She was certain he was chastising her for ogling him. Then he picked up a shirt that was hanging on the stairs leading up to the ship’s entry door. He slipped the garment over his head, and she realized he was actually apologizing to her for his state of undress. 

“You must be from Forseti.” She had never left Attis, but she had always enjoyed learning about other cultures. The colorful hair, coupled with his Old World manners, gave him away. He also spoke the universal language with a slight accent. “Are you Captain Quade?” 

“Yes, I’m from Forseti, but no, I’m not the captain. He’s inside.” The man reached out to shake her hand with a firm grip. “I’m Maxton Celestino. Most people call me Max.” 

“What do the rest call you?” she teased him. 

His green eyes twinkled when he grinned. “My relatives have been known to use more inventive names when they’re annoyed with me.” 

“Ah, well, family members get special dispensation.” She held his gaze for a moment before she reminded herself why she was here. “I’m Clara Vale with Stellar Staffers. The agency sent me to take a look at your computers.” 

Max’s expression darkened, as sure as if a cloud had passed overhead. “Right this way.” 

He indicated the stairs and stepped back for her to precede him. Then he looked her over and appeared to change his mind. He led the way onto the ship. She was halfway up the stairs behind him before she realized he was being polite again. If she had gone ahead of him, he would have had a clear view up her skirt. Max Celestino really was a gentleman. 

Once aboard, she followed her well-mannered guide to the flight deck. A larger man was double-checking some wiring in the cockpit. His hair was uncolored and long enough to form a large bun high on the back of his head, with a fishtail braid hanging to one side. 

“Korin,” Max said, “Clara Vale is here from the temp agency. Clara, this is our captain.” 

“Nice to meet you.” She met those brown eyes dead-on and reached out to shake his hand. A good first impression was critical on any assignment. “Thank you for choosing Stellar Staffers.” 

“I appreciate you coming so quickly. I know this was short notice.” Captain Quade motioned for her to enter the cockpit. “We had some issues during the flight. I need you to run a full diagnostic on our primary computers and backup processors.” 

Clara tried to appear confident as she took a seat in front of the control panel. In truth, she had no idea if this was the pilot’s chair or the copilot’s chair. This was her first time on the flight deck of a big ship. Her previous experiences were with smaller gliders and planet-based computers. 

She got everything booted up and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a familiar screen. “Nexus 2000. Nice.” 

These computers were more complicated than what she was used to, but they were several years old. She could muddle her way through. If they’d had the newer models, she would have been in trouble. 

“Nice?” Max asked. “We were told our system is outdated and should be upgraded.” 

She shook her head. “What you have is much more reliable. The Millennium 10 OS is awful. It mostly enhanced the security features of the Nexus 2000, with a DNA scan in addition to the retinal and palm scans.” She sniffed. “Half the computers that were upgraded with it crashed during the first boot-up. I’ve heard the manufacturer has put out at least a dozen software patches to try to fix the problems. This older system? I bet you haven’t had one glitch.” 

“Oh, we’ve had glitches,” Korin said. 

“With the operating system?” She was surprised. 

“A short circuit,” Korin admitted. 

“That’s an electrical problem, then. The computers are good. If you’ll log me in, I’ll run a full diagnostic to prove it. I don’t think you have to worry.” 

The captain logged her in with a palm scan and an old-fashioned alphanumeric password. 

“I’ll need you or someone else with the password and security clearance to remain close,” she told him. “I may need to reboot the computers more than once.” 

“Very well,” Korin agreed. 

She worried that he and Max were going to stand right behind her, looking over her shoulder the whole time. Fortunately, they wandered a short distance out of the cockpit. 

“Okay,” Clara whispered to herself. “You can do this.” 


About the Author

Laurel Richards is a fiction author with a passion for shifters, space travelers, and other memorable characters. She has gathered inspiration from lots of different sources throughout her life and is here today to share her imagination through storytelling. Laurel writes sci-fi/fantasy, paranormal, and funny mysteries, all with various degrees of romance mixed in. 



Thursday, April 4, 2019

Writing an adventure story ~ Guest post from Diane Burton, author of RESCUING MARA'S FATHER #newrelease #giveaway #scifi



Thanks so much for having me here today, Jessica!

Writing an adventure is fairly easy for me. All my science fiction stories are adventures. I like action-adventure movies. (I like romantic comedy, too). Star Wars IV: A New Hope hooked me with the music. John Williams soaring score conveyed the excitement of an adventure. A quest.

Early in my writing career, I learned about Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey, based on Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey. That’s sort of what I was doing subconsciously. Once I read the usual steps the hero takes on her quest, the story flowed.

My favorite step is the mentor. Think Obi-wan Kenobi. The older character who guides the hero. In my middle grade science fiction adventure Rescuing Mara’s Father, fifteen-year-old Mara has been working at spaceport with an old mechanic, Basco. When her father disappears (arrested by an evil queen’s guards), Basco helps her. He knows more than he lets on.

Basco reveals he and her father set up an escape route for her, in the event the queen ever found them. But, Basco rarely explains. He partially answers questions then changes the subject. He’s so skillful, Mara doesn’t realize that he’s holding back until later. Still, he gets her off-planet and on the way to the queen’s planet.

Just like Obi-wan, Basco doesn’t go the whole way. No, the hero must do that. When Basco leaves, Mara’s devastated. She can’t go on alone. She’s scared, she’s too young. Basco reminds her she has the skills. She can do it. Before he leaves, though, he offers her an out. He can get her far away from the queen, establish a new identity, hide. But that would mean leaving her father to the queen’s tortures and, probably, death. She can’t do that.

The mentor’s job is done. He’s helped the hero to a point where she is capable of going on alone.

I wrote Rescuing Mara’s Father for my grandchildren. They know I write novels. They also know they have to wait until they’re adults before they can read them. The idea of writing an adventure story for them popped into my head and wouldn’t leave. Since my family’s favorite adventure movies are the Star Wars’ franchise, it seemed logical to write science fiction. I can’t wait to hear their reaction to my story.


3 friends, a hidden starship, a quest

Her father is gone! Taken by the Queen of Compara’s agents. Mara has to rescue him before the Queen tortures and kills him.

Instead of the kind, loving father she’s always known, he’s become demanding, critical, with impossible expectations—not just as Father but also as the only teacher in their frontier outpost. Mara would rather scoop zircan poop than listen to another boring lecture about governments on Central Planets. Give her a starship engine to take apart or, better yet, fly, and she’s happy. Now, he’s gone.

Never mind, they’ve had a rocky road lately.

Never mind, Father promised she could go off planet to Tech Institute next month when she turns fifteen, where she’ll learn to fly starships.

Never mind, she ran away because she’s furious with him because he reneged on that promise. Father is her only parent. She has to save him.

Along with her best friend, eleven-year-old Jako, and his brother 15-year-old Lukus, Mara sets off to find her father. Her mentor, old spaceport mechanic, seems to know why the Queen captured Father. In fact, he seems to know her father well. But, does he tell her everything? Of course not. He dribbles out info like a mush-eating baby. Worse, he indicates he’ll be leaving them soon. And Lukus can’t wait to get off their planet. Mara’s afraid they will all leave, and she’ll be on her own. Despite her fears, Mara has to rescue her father.


“Sit, Mara.” Basco’s quiet order stops me. His tone has such force I do as he says. “Jako gave you good advice that you should heed. You need a plan.” 

“But we’re wasting time sitting here. What if the ship takes off? Call Dockmaster and—and tell him to delay the ship.” 

“The ship is gone.” 

“No.” Despair crashes down on me. I slump against the wall. “We’ll never find him. We don’t know where they’re taking him. They’re Coalition. They could take him anywhere.” 

“We are not going after your father,” Basco says. 

“What?” I cry. 

“He gave me explicit instructions to get you to safety if this situation ever arose.” 

“Why would he do that? How could he even know the Coalition would come after him?” 

Basco sighs. “His actions from long ago have caught up with him. Now, the forces of a powerful person have found him.” 

I’m still anxious to get going, to do something, to find Father. “What did he do? Who’s after him?” 

“That’s not important now.” 

“Yes, it is,” I persist. “How can I know what we’re up against if I don’t have all the facts?” That’s what Father always told me. Get all the facts. “Who is after him?” 

“Queen Bormella of Compara.” 

“What?” Jako and I whisper-shout in unison. 

“The Queen wants Father? Why?” 

Basco eyes me as if trying to make up his mind what to say. I can almost see him come to a conclusion. “Taking Grendarus is a means to an end. The person she really wants is you.” 

I gasp. “Me? Why me?” 

“She has her reasons. That is why I have to take you to a safe place.” 

“Forget going to some safe place. I’m going after Father.” 

Basco gives me a long look. “Do you realize that if you try to rescue Grendarus, the Queen could take you?” 

“So?” 

“Mara.” Lukus finally speaks. “Didn’t you pay attention to anything Teacher said about Compara? About what Bormella does to prisoners?” 

I hate that he reminds me. Of course, I remember the lectures on corrupt governments among the Central Planets, especially Compara. But that was just lectures. Words about places as far away and as removed from us as storybook tales. 

Now it’s real. Father is Queen Bormella’s enemy. Hang on, how would she even know him? We live out on the Frontier. How could he be her enemy? Stars and asteroids, she tortures and executes her enemies. If she wants me, I must be her enemy, too. Fear for Father, fear for myself overwhelm me. I slide down the wall and struggle to breathe. 

“Don’t you get it, Mara?” Jako says. “She’ll torture you . . . or worse.”

Rescuing Mara’s Father, A Science Fiction Adventure is available at:

About the Author:

The first time D.M. Burton saw Star Wars IV: A New Hope, she was hooked on science fiction and space travel. The Star Trek movies made her want to travel to other planets. Alas, she is still Earth-bound. D.M. and her husband live in Michigan, close to their two children and five grandchildren.

Join D.M. Burton's readers’ group on Facebook.
For more info and excerpts, visit D.M.’s website: http://www.dmburton.com

She writes adult fiction as Diane Burton, where she combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides writing science fiction romance, she writes romantic suspense, and cozy mysteries.

For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com

Connect with Diane Burton online.

Sign up for Diane’s new release alert: http://eepurl.com/bdHtYf


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