Tag: m/m science fiction

A Special Inside Look at ‘Y Negative’ by Kelly Haworth (Guest Post on Genetics, and Giveaway)

Y Negative cover

Y Negative by Kelly Haworth
Published by Riptide Publishing
Cover art by Jay Aheer

Buy it here at Riptide Publishing

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to welcome Kelly Haworth here today to talk to us about her  latest novel Y Negative and give us a little insight into the inspiration and science inside the story. Welcome, Kelly.

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Hi guys!  I’m Kelly Haworth here with my debut release Y NEGATIVE.  At various stops on this book tour, I’ll be sharing with you what it’s like to live in Ember’s world: where mascs rule and a guy’s gotta fight for his right to live and love freely.  Posts will range from what the difference between a masc and an andro is, to what on earth a guy does for fun in a dystopia.  Hope you come along for this in-depth look. You’ll also have a chance to win a $20 Riptide voucher!

Please follow the tour to check out all the stops.

Counting all the little X’s – The Genetics of Y Negative by Kelly Haworth

Okay guys.  Here’s the deal.  I have a degree in genetics, and a big inspiration for Y Negative involved me completely geeking out over weird genetics and rare genetic disorders.  I’ll be discussing those in this blog, and things get a bit technical.  You have been warned!

Ember lives in a world that has been rebuilt from the ground up.  Everyone knows something happened to mankind to make the world the way it is now, but only the scientists really care to investigate what that event may have been.  Nuclear bombs?  An asteroid?  A volcanic eruption? Whatever happened, I figured that the human population dipped so low that there could be some truly science-fiction-esque changes.  Essentially, the Y chromosome is gone.  Instead, the genes that make a biological male fully functional, what I call the “Y-gene cluster,” have relocated to an X chromosome.  What this means is that Y Negatives (biological females) have the genetic make-up of “XX”, and mascs (biological males) are “XXY”.

It turns out that “XXY” actually exists in our world.  It is called Klinefelter syndrome, and is a genetic disorder that occurs randomly in the human population.  These males are sterile, and only sometimes are there other symptoms, which can include weaker muscles and breast tissue.  Occasionally, the symptoms are severe enough to warrant testosterone injections.   You can read more about this disorder here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klinefelter_syndrome.

The variation of symptoms in Klinefelter syndrome is due to a process called “X-inactivation.” This is the same process that allows a female calico cat to have her distinct markings.  In all individuals with two X chromosomes, each cell randomly turns off one of them.  Cats happen to have fur color genes on their X chromosomes. So the patterns of a calico’s fur are due to different parts of her skin turning off different X chromosomes, and thus displaying different colors.  Think of it like each part of her skin threw dice to determine which color fur it’d grow.  All female humans also undergo X-inactivation, though there’s no convenient color difference for you to see it happening (thank god.).  But in Ember’s world, all females and males have two X chromosomes, and as we just learned with Klinefelter syndrome, males have a hard time with two X chromosomes.

When I learned about Klinefelter syndrome, I knew it applied to my boys and that I wanted it in the book.  Though, I did take liberties to fit my science fiction world, seeing as every male would be at least XXY.  Namely, my males aren’t sterile, and fewer males show symptoms than we would expect to see.  The guys who do show symptoms are called exins. Get it?  “X-in”activation? Hah!

Exins are usually in the same social circles as mascs; they’re just one of the guys. But if they are known to have particularly severe symptoms, or if they need to inject testosterone, they will most likely be ridiculed by their peers. Also, in Ember’s world, exins tend to be shorter, though in the real world, Klinefelter males tend to be taller.

Now I want to look at the bigger picture.  In Y Negative, homosexual relationships are the norm.  Given the quirky genetics I mentioned above, this leads to a pivotal rebalancing of society.  Technology exists that allows two biological males to father a child through the use of in-vitro fertilization.  So when young Y negatives (biological females) have their eggs harvested, the genetic material in the eggs is discarded, so that the genetic material from two masc fathers is used instead.   The resulting child is a biological descendent of both fathers (I actually call them “dad” and “father” because using the same name would have been totally confusing, right?).  So let’s look at the percentages using a diagram called a Punnett Square:

table Y negative
Assuming each male has one regular X chromosome, and another that carries the Y-gene cluster, he has a 50% chance of passing either chromosome to his offspring.  You may notice that only one of the above 4 boxes is going to be female (XX).  That means there’s only a 25% chance of these two mascs having a female child.
What this means for Ember is that he’s living in a world where at the very most, only 1 in 4 people are female.  And Ember points out to the reader that the percentage is a bit less—it’s closer to 20%.  With so few females in this world, so few Y negatives and andros, is it any surprise that they have become second class citizens?  That their voices have become so quiet as to not be heard?  This gives you a glimpse at some of the prejudice that Ember faces as an andro, a biological female, in this male-dominated world.  It’s a good thing that he is stubborn as hell and isn’t going to take that kind of shit lying down.
Thanks for joining me on this rather technical post, I hope to see you at the next stop of the tour!

About the Book

In the last surviving cities of a ruined world, the concept of “woman” has been forgotten to history. Those unfortunate enough to lack a Y chromosome live as second-class citizens in a world dominated by mascs.Y Negative cover

Ember is Y negative. He is scorned, bullied, abused by every masc he encounters, at work and at the gym. Not even his Y negative roommate cuts him any slack. He wants so desperately to be accepted as a masc that he’d rather buy black market testosterone than food. Something’s gotta give—he needs a change in his life, but has no idea how to find it.

Jess is a masc with a passion for studying the recovery of their devastated world. His boyfriend is pressuring him for more commitment, and his father expects him to take over the family business. He can’t wait to get away from civilization for his seasonal research out in the wild.

When Jess offers Ember a job, their lives collide in the isolated wasteland, and their initial attraction turns into a relationship that horrifies those around them. Soon their struggle to stay together and to be who they are turns into a fight for their lives.

Buy It Here: “http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/y-negative“

About the Author

Kelly Haworth grew up in San Francisco and has been reading science fiction and fantasy classics since she was a kid. She developed way too active an imagination as a result, thus, she started writing. Being genderfluid and pansexual, she loves to write LGBTQ+ characters in genres such as science fiction with diverse aliens, and urban fantasies with shifters and fire sorcerers. With degrees in both genetics and psychology, she works as a project manager at a genetics lab. When not working or writing, she can be found wrangling her toddler, working on cosplay, or curled up on the couch with a good TV show or a good book.

Connect with Kelly:

Y Negative_TourBanner

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Y Negative, Kelly is giving away $20 in Riptide Publishing credit! Your first comment at each stop on this tour enters you in the drawing. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 21, 2015. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Follow the tour for more opportunities to enter the giveaway! Don’t forget to leave your email or method of contact so Riptide can reach you if you win! Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

A Free Dreamer Review: Song of the Navigator by Astrid Amara (Double Review*)

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 ★★★★★

Worst Possible Birthday: Being sold into slavery by none other than your lover.

Song of the NavigatorTover Duke’s rare ability to move anything instantly across light-years of space makes him a powerful, valuable asset to the Harmony Corporation, and a rock star among the people of the colonies. His life is luxurious. Safe. Routine.

He has his pick of casual hookups passing through Dadelus-Kaku Station. His one brush with danger of any kind—the only bright spot in his otherwise boring life—is Cruz Arcadio, a dark-haired, hard-bodied engineer whose physical prowess hints he’s something much more.

When a terrorist abducts Tover, hurling him into a world of torture, exploitation and betrayal, it’s with shattering disbelief that he realizes his kidnapper is none other than Cruz. As Tover struggles to find the courage to escape his bondage, he begins to understand the only way to free his body, his mind—and his heart—is to trust the one man who showed him that everything about his once-perfect life was a lie.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of extreme violence and assault. It also contains graphic sexual depictions. It also has a lot of birds. And pirate movies from the future. And romance.

 I didn’t read the blurb all that carefully and thus went into this expecting something much lighter. Song of the Navigator is definitely not light. At times, it’s very dark and violent. The slavery here is real. Tover really does get tortured and there’s no redeeming the slavers. I was positively surprised, to be honest.

Cruz sells Tover into slavery. To me, that seemed like something you can’t possibly forgive anybody and thus a credible romance between Cruz and Tover seemed completely impossible to me. The author works with that expectation. Tover is furious with Cruz, hates him, even, and spends a lot of time thinking about how he’ll kill the man he once loved. I was right there with Tover, absolutely hating Cruz. There is no excuse for betraying anybody like this, even a casual hook-up. But Astrid Amara managed to convince me, and Tover, to slowly forgive and understand Cruz. It took time and there was a lot of hurt for a very long time, but it worked out eventually. That was incredibly well done. Somehow, I went from hating Cruz to really liking and understanding him.

Tover was instantly likeable and I found it very easy to relate to him throughout the many things he experiences. At first, he’s carefree, a bit superficial and also quite vain. He’s cocky and self-assured, which is to be expected. Improvisational navigators are revered. There’s even a bunch of people who think he’s a god. That’s the world he’s lived in since he was a little child. But then he gets kidnapped and sold into slavery. He’s tortured and treated like a tool. Suddenly his world comes crashing down and Tover changes. What follows is some really excellent character building.

The world the author created in this book was intriguing, with lots of creative ideas and enough world building to satisfy even me. The world building was cleverly woven into the plot, without any info dumping whatsoever.

The plot was addicting and full of surprising twists and turns. The end was unexpected and very satisfying. Overall I just absolutely loved Song of the Navigator. If you’re looking for some good sci-fi with real world building and don’t mind a bit (or a lot) of violence, then I’m sure you’ll love this. If you’re looking for a fluffy romance with a dash of sci-fi, however, keep looking. This is not the book for you.

Personally, I’ll definitely check out the author’s other works. Astrid Amara has some serious world building skills.

Cover: The cover by Kanaxa is great. The dark brownish red somehow really fits the tone of the story.

Sales Links:  ARe | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book details:

Kindle Edition, 224 pages
Published May 26th 2015 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
ASINB00SB49GJ8
urlhttp://astridamara.com/portfolio/navigator/
*Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Note: This is the 2nd Review of this Book: When F. D. said she finished reading this story and wanted to write a review, I knew that BJ had already read and written her review which we posted here.  But I was curious, how would F. D. view Astrid Amara and this story?  Too dark?  I should have known better.  Consider this a double recommendation for this amazing author and novel.

Its Back to Science Fiction with Lisa Henry’s Darker Space (author guest post and giveaway)

Darker Space cover

Darker Space (Dark Space #2) by Lisa Henry
Published by Loose id LLC
Cover art by Mina Carter
Purchase it at Loose id | Amazon | ARe

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Lisa Henry here today to talk about her latest series and release, Darker Space. Welcome, Lisa, tell us a little about the writing the characters and the sequel to Dark Space, Darker Space.

When it came to writing Darker Space, the sequel to Dark Space, it meant getting back into Brady’s head which, although always an entertaining place to explore, isn’t exactly filled with rainbows and sunshine. Brady is probably one of my favourite characters to write, but he’s a challenge. In Dark Space he was unhappy, afraid, and filled with anger and self-loathing. In Darker Space he’s grown a little, but he’s still very much a work in progress.

It was important for me to show that Brady’s grown in the sequel, and that he’s trying to put the past behind him. Obviously the past, in the form of Kai Ren, shows up again, but Brady’s also haunted by the past in more insidious ways. At the beginning of Darker Space he’s back on Earth, and he and Cam are raising his sister Lucy together. Lucy was Brady’s main focus in Dark Space. His knowledge that she wouldn’t survive if he was stuck in space for the rest of the term of his military service was what made him so angry, and so hopeless. So living with Cam and Lucy should make him happy, right? Right? Well, not exactly.

It’s not so easy for Brady to let go of the anger and despair that were once big enough to define his existence. Lucy is alive and safe and that should be enough, but every day Brady is forced to deal with prejudice, whether overt or imagined, that he doesn’t fit into the life he shares with Cam. He’s not from the right background. He’s not from the right people. Something as simple as holding a birthday party for Lucy is excruciating for Brady. He doesn’t know how to socialize with the parents of Lucy’s friends. He grew up hungry and poor. He has very little formal education, and his job in the military is on the lowest possible level. He’s got nothing in common with these people at all. More worrying for him, he feels he’s got nothing in common with Cam.

It’s a fine line for a character to walk. I wanted readers to empathise with Brady and his struggles, without making Brady seem like he’s ungrateful or a whiner. And maybe if sometimes he does whine just a little, I hope readers will remember he’s twenty. He’s still a kid in so many ways, who was forced to grow up too quickly and is doing the best he can.

And Darker Space is the book where Brady really does grow. He’s a character who was defined by his fears in the first book. In the second book, he has to not only face those fears, but embrace them. And I think, like always, Brady is braver than he thinks, especially when the people he loves are threatened.

You can find out more about Darker Space at Loose Id.

Blurb

Brady Garrett is back on Earth. He’s living with his partner Cam and they’re raising his sister Lucy together. Life is better than some feral reffo from Kopa has any right to hope, and Brady knows it. He’s even grateful for it, most of the time. He loves Cam, even though he’s afraid that he’s not good enough for him, and he’s still having nightmares about the alien Faceless.

Cameron Rushton loved being a pilot once, and he still feels the pull of the starlight. He’s building a life with Brady now, and with Lucy. Life is good, even if it’s not without its complications. Both Brady and Cam are dealing with the endless cycle of interviews, tests, and questions that the military hierarchy hopes will reveal the secrets of the aliens who could very easily destroy humanity. They have each other though, and together they’re making it work.

But from out in the black, Kai-Ren is still watching and everything Brady and Cam think they’ve won, they stand to lose all over again

About the Author

Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house with too many cats, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Connect with Lisa: Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

Dark Space Series:

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter prize of a book from Lisa Henry’s  backlist, your choice (not Darker Space).  You must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

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A Sammy Review: The Ultimate Team (Juxtapose City #4) by Tricia Owens

Rating: 5 stars out of 5   ★★★★★

“You’re not getting your mythical knight in shining armor,” Parker told him softly. “You’re getting a man who’s trying very hard to be good, but has never been shown how to be. You have to stick by him and show him what’s best within him, Calyx. You have to take his darkness and make it light.”

The Ultimate Team coverFollowing the events of the previous book, Starr is holed up in bad and the team is down a man. That is until the captain assigns none other than Parker to the team. But another psypath on the team, let alone a psypath that has history with Black and knows his secrets? That’s dangerous.

Between the team trying to rebuild again and new threats arising from some unexpected places, Starr and Black have to find a way to balance their secrets, half-truths, love, and duty to the team, all while remaining alive. In other words, just another day in Juxtapose City.

“You don’t need a city, a hiding place, to be happy. I can make you happy. I can take care of you.”

It has been so long since I’ve been able to read a book in this series, and I hadn’t had the time to reread the previous ones before reading this, so I was very nervous that nothing would make sense to me, but it gradually came back to me, and within a matter of pages I was lost in the story yet again.

If you’ve read the previous books (and you should read them in order), you know what a hot mess Starr and Black’s world is, not to mention their relationship that evolved from hate. Adding Parker to the team adds an uncomfortable dynamic, but the author handles it well and doesn’t have the problem go away like magic. It’s there and they have to deal with it.

Unlike the previous books, this one had much more of the romance element to it. Starr and Black spend a lot of time dealing with their flaws, particularly the mean streak of jealousy that Starr has, paired with both of their doubts. And some of it is just so painful, like how Black truly thinks he’s this horrible person, and how sometimes Starr isn’t so sure either, but still manages to love him. It straddles a moral boundary that is so intriguing and wonderful.

On top of it all, Tricia Owens manages to continue to bring the steam. We finally (no, but really) get some penetration, though it’s not quite what I was hoping for or expecting, but it’s a step forward. But it just goes to show that she’s been able to keep up the heat and fire without that.

Black, Jake, Haney and Bee had all killed in the course of their work. But looking across the aisle first at Jake and then at Haney, who immediately gave him an encouraging thumbs up―Calyx didn’t see evil in them, or cruelty. They didn’t look haunted like Black, who carried his sins as if he was half a man without them.

This book also provides some insight into Starr and Black’s pasts. We get to see a bit more of where they came from and what Black went through to get where he is now. There are still so many unanswered questions, but you have to expect that in this series and embrace them.

Not for even a second was I bored. I enjoyed each word and am so happy to get some reacquainted with a favorite couple: Starr and Black.

The cover art is nice in that it fits the rest of the series and is cohesive. Unfortunately, the model for Starr doesn’t quite work for me, but besides that it’s not bad.

Sales Link:  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 207 pages
Published March 24th 2015

A MelanieM Review: Brimstone: Demon Owned & Operated (Brimstone #1-3) by Angel Martinez

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Brimstone Owned and Operated coverDue to circumstances completely within his control, Shax, the Demon Prince of Thieves has fled, er, emigrated from Earth to seek his fortunes out in the galaxy. With his faithful friend, Verin, by his side, they acquire a gently used ship with a drag-queen AI.

Hell for the Company: Brimstone 1
Everything’s going just fine, thank you very much. All right, the anti-gravity cows are a bit problematic and some of Shax’s buyers are bad for his health, but he manages until he comes across an injured angel in a psychedelic alien jungle.

Fear of Frogs: Brimstone 2
While Shax recovers from a near fatality, his shipmates have taken the initiative and found them a lucrative cargo run. Shax is horrified to find out what sort of cargo. Unfortunately, he’ll soon discover that a healthy fear of frogs doesn’t prevent frog-driven disasters.

Shax’s War: Brimstone 3
The boys desperately need a vacation. With the not-quite-ill-gotten gains from the Frog incident, Shax takes the Brimstone’s crew to the exclusive resort planet, Opal. What could possibly go wrong?

I  met Captain Shax and his demon friend… childhood buddy…what have you, Verin, in their Brimstone prequel, Potato Surprise.  That wildly told tale gave us the particulars as to how they fled Earth and demon family (sort of), how they got their hands on the hastily renamed ship Brimstone with its lively IA Ivanna and took to space on all sorts of misadventures.  It had bawdy humor, lots of hot sex, wildly imaginative beings and some unexpected angst.  And I loved it.

So of course I searched immediately for more.  And found Brimstone: Demon Owned & Operated (Brimstone #1-3) by Angel Martinez, three Brimstone stories in one from Mischief Corner Press.  I was overjoyed and plowed right into the novels eager to see where Shax, Verin and the Brimstone went next.  It was quite the journey, a little slow at times, but that last story, Shax’s War?  That’s the one that kept me up thinking and so thrilled that I read this collection.  That’s a 5 star slam bang right there but I’m getting ahead of myself and the Brimstone crew.

Putting all three stories under one title actually makes a huge amount of sense because  of one element that runs through each story.  At the start of the first story, its just Shax, Verin, and the IA Ivanna, in the mid-sized spacecraft renamed Brimstone. When Shax and Verin fled from his demon Uncle (plotting a new war with Heaven), they left everything behind, including his minions which he kind of loved (not that he would admit it), their palace, family (not that they liked them mind), and just everything.  Now its just the two…er, three of them, alone in space.  And sometimes they’ve found that a very lonely proposition.

In each new story, one of the main plot threads is that a new member or members of the crew comes on board and becomes family, replacing the one that Shax and Verin fled/left behind.  How I loved that aspect of this story.  Its subtle and I can’t believe I just said that where one story has pages of frog sex.  And it shows how much heart these tales have (even if one has the hearts being ripped out of the bodies…you are warned).

Hell for the Company: Brimstone 1.  Rating:  3.25 stars.

I  liked this story.  Two words make it kind of magical.  Floating cows. Five make it hilarious.  Cow pies from the sky. Its also where Shax meets his fallen angel lover, Ness.  I was slow to warm up to Ness, both as a companion to Shax and as a member of the crew of the Brimstone.  By book three, I had forgotten I ever had those thoughts, but here in Hell for the Company, they are large and looming.  I can’t figure out why, could be I’m just not a fan of angels but this is my least favorite story.

Fear of Frogs: Brimstone 2.  Rating:  4.25 stars

Fear of frogs, frog sex. All hilarious.  Put your emotions in guffaw mode here.  What is the one thing the Demon Prince is afraid of?  Yep, that would be frogs.  I won’t spoil how Shax and the frogs come into  contact but its a doozy as are the after effects.  Because they lead us directly to the next, last and my favorite story of them all, Shax’s War. And yes, another compadre is added to the Brimstone when Verin finds love.

Shax’s War: Brimstone 3. Rating: 5 stars

Parts of this story are downright gruesome, unexpectedly so given all the other stories that have come before.  I thought there would be some humor, and there is.  Some lovely thoughtful moments and wild hijinks, all that’s here too.   But some of the painful stuff? No, I didn’t expect to read elements of that here.  But there is also a reason for its inclusion.  Up until now, we’ve seen several sides of Shax.  The one that loves his “pretties”, the thoughtful one, the loyal one, and so one.  But never this one.

“You think I’m a nice, civilized demon, don’t you? Fussy, arrogant, unwilling to get my hands dirty.” 

That was Shax about to prove to a villain that the opposite of that was true, that he is the Demon Prince after all, something we haven’t seen up until now.  There are multiple points of view, a wild chase, nefarious goings on, more than a few stomach churning scenes (don’t worry, the worst of it happens “off stage”), more action and suspense than anyone could hope for  and get.  Plus a lot of demon sex, which includes bdsm scenes (spreaders, you name it).   Shax’s War is one wild ride.

At the end, Shax has a crew of beings the like of which is quite wonderful, well on their way to being family.  Shax and Verin each have found their long term loves and Ivanna is happy.  Life is pretty darn wonderful on the Brimstone.  I wonderful what next adventure is coming for them.

I love this crew and their stories.  I highly recommend them all.  I believe Potato Surprise is free at Mischief Corner Books.  Check them all out now.

Cover art by Freddy McKay.  I like the cover, even if that’s not my idea of Shax.  Where’s all that gorgeous auburn hair?

Sales Links: Mischief Corner Press | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

300 pages, ebook, paperback and Kindle editions
Published July 25th 2014 by Mischief Corner Books, LLC (first published March 28th 2014)
ASINB00M4ZHQI8
edition languageEnglish
seriesBrimstone #1-3

Brimstone:

Enter the Dystopian World of Bane by Amelia C. Gormley (Riptide Tour and contest)

Bane_600x900

Bane (Strain, #2) by Amelia C. Gormley
Published by Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist  Kanaxa

Buy Bane at Riptide Publishing

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to welcome Amelia C. Gormley here today as we step back into her dystopian universe of Strain.  Amelia’s brought not only a contest for Bane, but the rough draft of a new Strain universe novel, Refuge.   On our part of the tour, our readers will get the first look at Chapter 1 (part2) of Refuge, .  Welcome, Amelia, and thanks for the opportunity for this first glimpse at your new story!

Bane_TourBanner

Hi, and welcome to the Bane blog tour!

I don’t think it’s any secret that a lot of readers, in the wake of reading  Strain, wanted more of Darius and Rhys. Already by that point I was brainstorming the pre- and peri-apocalyptic story that would become  Juggernaut, but the further along I got on that, the more I realized the situation Zach and Nico were in couldn’t be resolved in the timeframe of Juggernaut. They needed developments that would only make sense to happen after the events of Strain. The plot also required Rhys to have matured a great deal since the end of Strain. Altogether, it gave me a beautiful opportunity to bring closure and an HEA ending (or at least as close to one as you get at the end of the world) for both sets of protagonists.

Thus we have Bane.

Over the course of the Bane blog tour, I’ll be sharing a free post-Bane short story, Refuge. How far post-Bane? Well, you’ll have to read and see. Some developments that happen in Bane are referenced, but not in any great detail, which means the reader should only encounter a few very broad, non-specific spoilers. Obviously, though, it will be best enjoyed if you’ve read Bane already (and Bane, of course, is best enjoyed after Juggernaut and Strain.)

Refuge introduces us to three new characters, Kal, Billie, and perhaps my favorite, Zeus. It’s a completely sex-free story, so you’re safe reading it at work. If my nebulous thoughts on how to continue the Strain universe ever take shape, it’s very possible a lot of material in this short story will be folded into a larger plot with Kal and Billie as the protagonists, and if that happens, you’ll find the smut there.

Each day, at least one stop on the blog tour will contain a section of the story. These segments may end or begin a little abruptly or clumsily at times, as I tried to split them in such a way that no one section would be to long and cumbersome for a single stop on the blog tour. In its linear form, it would simply be a five chapter story. By the end of the tour, all the sections will have been posted. If you need to catch up, you can check out the blog tour page (linked above), or my website, or the “Extras” tab on the Bane product page at Riptide for sequential links to all the posts.

Anyone who follows along on the tour will qualify to win store credit at Riptide. To enter the drawing, leave a comment on this post including a way to contact you (email, Twitter, or Facebook.) Each stop along the blog tour that you visit offers you another chance to enter.Be sure to check the Riptide blog tour schedule for a complete list of other stops. The contest will close 9/26/15. Any entries made without a way to contact the winner will be invalidated, so please don’t forget to provide your email, or your Twitter or Facebook address. As always, you must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

Good luck, and enjoy Refuge!

*****

*Author’s Note: Refuge is completely unedited and un-proofed. What you’re seeing here is essentially a first draft, and like any first draft, it often may be clumsy to read or contain extraneous world-building and info-dumping that would be trimmed and streamlined during the editing process. Actually, I kind of like sharing it with you this way, if for no other reason than to allow readers to see just how much world-building happens behind the scenes and in my head, but doesn’t ever actually make it onto the page.

And of course, there will be typos. Oh so many typos.

*****

Blurb

The weapon that nearly destroyed humanity may be their only salvation.Bane_600x900

Rhys Cooper’s unique immunity to all three strains of the virus that nearly annihilated humanity has brought him the unwanted attention of Clean Zone scientists. They’ve summoned him for testing—ostensibly in the hopes of finding a vaccine—but Rhys’s partner, Darius Murrell, has good reason not to trust any government. He and his comrades in Delta Company were unwitting test subjects for Project Juggernaut, the military experiment that gave them superhuman abilities and unleashed the pandemic. Doubting the government’s intentions, Delta Company refuses to let Rhys go alone.

Fear of infection has kept Zach Houtman and his lover Nico Fernández apart for a decade. They meet rarely, just long enough to coordinate their spying on the head of the government’s virus research division. Secretary Littlewood is a vicious predator, and they suspect he’s trying to acquire the strain of the virus that would make him superhuman. To stop him, they need the perfect bait: Rhys.

For Rhys, helping them might cost him his relationship with Darius—or his life. For Zach and Nico, even if their plan succeeds, they still face the ultimate question: can infected and uninfected people ever live together safely?

*****

About the Author

Amelia C. Gormley published her first short story in the school newspaper in the 4thgrade, and since then has suffered the persistent delusion that enabling other people to hear the voices in her head might be a worthwhile endeavor. She’s even convinced her hapless spouse that it could be a lucrative one as well, especially when coupled with her real-life interest in angst, kink, social justice issues, and pretty men.

When her husband and son aren’t interacting with the back of her head as she stares at the computer, they rely on her to feed them, maintain their domicile, and keep some semblance of order in their lives (all very, very bad ideas—they really should know better by now.) She can also be found playing video games and ranting on Tumblr, seeing as how she’s one of those horrid social justice warriors out to destroy free speech, gaming, geek culture, and everything else that’s fun everywhere.

You can find her self-published Impulse trilogy almost anywhere ebooks are sold, and check out her catalog of Riptide Publishing releases at their website.

 

Refuse, A Strain Universe Novel

CHAPTER 1, PART 2

She landed hard, her shoulder and ribs screaming a song of pain at the impact. Billie’s teeth snapped closed on her tongue and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. She wasn’t sure if the crack she heard was the house collapsing around her, or her own bones fracturing. The basement was even colder than the house above it had been, filled with the odors of wet and mildew, dirt and animal droppings. It was impossibly dark; even the meager moonlight that had filtered through the dusty windows of the house above was all but gone. Around her, rodents squeaked and squealed and chittered.
That was the sound that broke her.
Weeping with fear and despair, she curled into a ball. Even if it didn’t hurt to move, the chances of her finding the stairs in the pitch black were almost non-existent, and if she did stumble upon them by sheer luck, they were just as rotten as the floor had been. More so, really. She’d ventured to check them when she was exploring the house as a possible shelter, hoping there might be something she could scavenge in the basement. The first one had been mushy beneath her carefully-placed foot and she hadn’t dared put her weight on it. Climbing them now, when she was already injured, would just be impossible.
But sooner or later those rats in the darkness were going to overcome their fear at this loud intrusion and start biting her. Then she would die of infection or disease if the cold didn’t kill her first.
She was tired. Too tired to make the effort to try to survive. She closed her eyes and begged whatever powers that be to help her go to sleep or even freeze to death before the pain began.
Something warm pressed against her, whining softly. The dog. It had gotten into the house and down the stairs she wasn’t brave enough to climb. Its cold wet nose nudged her face, its tongue licking her cheek. It stiffened and growled, and Billie braced herself for it to bite, but a moment later it was nudging her and whining again.
That process repeated itself several times—the curious sniffing and licking, followed by a menacing growl. The growl didn’t seem to be for her, though. Finally she realized it only growled when the rats got louder.
Closer?
Was it driving off them off?
Was it protecting her?
Eventually it snarled and lunged at something. A loud squeal and a lot of movement followed, the scratching and clicking of little feet as they bolted in fear. Then there was silence except for the dog, who returned to press against her and whine reassuringly.
She was still cold where she lay on the concrete of the basement floor, but the warmth of the dog helped offset that. Billie grew braver, wrapping an arm around it and burying her face in its fur. It smelled . . . clean. Not like she imagined a wild dog would smell at all. Maybe this was a domesticated dog that had somehow wandered away from the Clean Zone, or perhaps even one that had gone with someone who had left the Clean Zone for the same sorts of reasons Billie had. Maybe that person had died and now it was alone like her.
Feeling safer than she had since she’d run away, despite the cold and hunger, she fell into an exhausted sleep.
When she woke, the dog was still there, and faint hints of light were filling the hole in the floor over her head. It ran off once she was awake, and it was gone for some time before returning. Consciousness was an elusive thing. Sometimes the dog was gone, and sometimes it was right there, radiating warmth. Sometimes it barked at her, begging her to get up and follow it up the stairs. She even managed to crawl a few feet in that direction before the shaking of her limbs and weariness dragging her down had made it impossible.
The dog charged off again, and in that icy, semi-conscious state, she thought she heard it barking in the distance. No doubt berating her for not following.
All she could do was lay there, too cold even to shiver.

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Strain

In the early 22nd century, the US military created Project Juggernaut. It was meant to solve a hopeless tactical imbalance in overseas wars by providing the US military with supersoldiers while crippling enemy resistance.

Instead, it introduced a deadly pandemic that all but obliterated humanity.

The remaining Juggernaut troops work tirelessly to find and protect the surviving uninfected population—even though they themselves are exiled and despised by those they help. But their efforts are hampered by the vestiges of a dysfunctional government, old prejudices that refuse to die, and those few who would do anything—and sacrifice anyone—to become superhuman too.

– See more at Riptide Publishing’s Strain universe page.

 

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A Paul B Review: The Homecoming by J. Scott Coatsworth

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars   ★★★★★

The Homecoming - cover2Aldiss Harrison’s exploration voyage back to Earth became a mission of survival even before it began.  With no hope of returning back to the planet he calls home, will Aldiss and his crew survive the planet their ancestors left over 500 years ago?

The people of Antana had abandoned Earth over 500 years ago.  The ravages of mankind on its home planet had taken their toll.  They have settled on Antara building a new society.  Aldiss Harrison is scheduled on a mission to explore what has happened to earth since their departure.  Aldiss hopes he is more successful than his grandfather, who disappeared without a word on a similar mission.

However, their mission of exploration quickly becomes one of survival as a massive solar flare takes aim at Antara.  The crew of six becomes a crew of four as two of the crewmembers had not arrived in time to launch.  Left behind was Aldiss’ ex Lorin the team archaeologist.  As the team crash-lands into Earth, they realize that their team might be even smaller as one is having trouble coming out of stasis.

Hari is a member of the Blackthorn clan of wolves.  These wolves have two forms.   Their winter form is that of wolves.  Their summer form resembles the two-legged creatures of yore.  Hari is one of the few members of his clan to shift between forms at will.  When Hari sees a streak of light across the sky followed by a loud noise, he sets out to investigate.  When he arrives, he sees an object obviously made by the two legs and a pair of eyes coming from it.  Hari alerts the pack.  Most back off but one, Neru,  goes off alone.  Hari’s mother sends him to keep track of the troublemaker.  When Hari stops the attack on the two leg (Aldiss), Hari finds that he has found his errah, his chosen mate.  Aldiss and Hari must fight dissention among the clan of wolves and make sure the remaining crew members adapt to their new home world in order for them to enjoy their new relationship.

This book clicks on just about every level.  The heartbreak Aldiss feels at the loss of not only his home planet but his ex (even though he states there is nothing romantic between them anymore) is palpable.  The hope of a new home world is quickly set back first by the crash landing and the dangers that caused but also with the troubles of Cat’s illness coming out of stasis.  Add in the inter clan squabbles about what to do with their now returned ancestors and it spells trouble.  Hari is guided not only by his mother but the keh, the spirits of his ancestors.  The two “Law & Order” type twists near the end of the book complete the upheaval.  But the feeling of hope at the end of the book makes the ride worth taking.  This author is new to me and I look forward to reading more from him.

London Burden has come up with one of the most gorgeous covers I have seen this year.  It is drawing of a winter scape, with Hari in his white wolf form, standing on a hill overlooking the crash site that Aldiss’ ship landed.  This cover should make the list of top ten for the year.

Sales Links:   Less Than Three Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book details

Ebook, 71 pages
Edition:  English
Published:  July 29, 2015 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN:   9781620045831

A MelanieM Review: Potato Surprise: A Brimstone Prequel (Brimstone 0) by Angel Martinez

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Potato Surprise coverBefore Ness, before Corny, before Leopold and Heckle and Mac, there was just Shax and Verin and a newly stolen, er, acquired cargo ship. Join Shax on his first adventure in space in which a pampered demon prince has a lot to learn.

When a steel trap of celestial and infernal politics threatens to close around them, Shax and Verin flee Earth’s system in a stolen ship, leaving everything behind. It’s an elegantly simple plan, with a new ship and a new life as carefree brigands among the stars.

But the ship seems to hate them, and in order to have any sort of life they need funds. A frightened man offering them a contract to deliver three mysterious crates comes just in time, and Shax is sure their troubles are over. Out of his environment and in over his head, Shax scrambles to understand the players and the consequences of his new life. With cargo that’s not what it seems, shadowy motives around every turn, and a gorgeous rogue named Julian for a dash of added confusion, Shax’s grand schemes of a new start may be his demise before he can even begin.

First of all. Angel Martinez.  Let’s just get that  out of the way.  That author’s name is all I need to pick up a book.  The title Potato Surprise in combination with science fiction certainly added that dash of anticipation of  the quirky, the oddball, the unexpected, and the highly imaginative.  You will get all that here. Loved it.

Potato Surprise is a prequel to Brimstone (a collection I grabbed up after reading this wonderful story).  Here we get our first introduction to the space faring or fleeing demon Shax, his companion Verin, and their  newly acquired ship, renamed The Brimstone.  The Brimstone has a delightful IA with a drag queen personality, Ivana Cockatoo!  Together the three of them form a slightly less than formidable ship of privateers, willing to trade/ship  merchandise legal or otherwise, especially otherwise across the galaxy.  This includes those surprising potatoes.

Angel Martinez’ imagination is fearless.  Her demons  may know other demons that fit within our prescribed notions of what demons should look like and how demons should act, her demons may even be related to demons that act that way.  But Shax?  He is one surprise after another, loyal, with an endless and often troublesome appreciation for the “pretties”,  his charm is as boundless as his enthusiasms.  I adore Shax.  Verin  is a little more hard core or perhaps hard shell,..hard to say.  The other books I just now reading let me have more of a feel for his character and background.  But here Verin is a solid, loyal as well, presence in both the stories and in Shax’s life and he anchors the stories.   Verin may blow smoke, but there’s definitely fire behind it.

Oh, Ivana!   Ever since Kirk ended up temporarily with a flirtatious computer on the Enterprise, IAs with entertaining or wildly scary personalities have appeared in stories and screen plays.  I love Ivana Cockatoo.  Ivana immediately embraces the new name and new owners.  They certainly are a better fit for Ivana than the previous owner and this IA jumps into the new life with a joy that’s downright infectious.    Ivana is an equal partner in crime and party here, and valued family member.

Why Shax and Verin had to flee Earth is only sketchily filled in here.  More details come in the later stories.  There is a planet side romance, don’t all pirates have one?  That has its own tender, loving element of its own.  There are moments of beauty, scenes of glee and disgust, then its time to leave once more.  Off on more adventures, more travels and certainly more transactions that will get them into danger and the money they need to continue charging through the galaxy together.

The Brimstone’s crew has me hooked good and proper.  This prequel did that job beautifully.  I love Shax, Verin, and Ivana.  I can’t wait to see how far Angel Martinez takes this crew and what amazing things and places they get to go and what mayhem they commit when they get there.  Let me tell you floating bovines is in your future if you love this as much as I do!  Its not to be missed!

Cover art by Fredi McKay.  Wild and includes elements from the story, although not as I had pictured them in my imagination.

Sales Links:  Mischief Corner Books  |  All Romance (ARe)  |

Book Details:

ebook, First, 120 pages
Expected publication: August 29th 2015 by Mischief Corner Books, LLc
original title: Potato Surprise: A Brimstone Prequel
edition language English
series Brimstone 0