Guest Post by Sandra Sookoo - FRACTURED

I'm delighted to be hosting the lovely Sandra Sookoo on the release of her new scifi romance FRACTURED. Please make her feel welcome by leaving a comment! :) (and of course to be entered into the giveaway too.)

Giving fairy tales new life

Thanks for having me on your blog, Pippa! You're very welcome, Sandra! :)

Anyone who knows me also knows I’m a big fan of fairy tales—old, new and retold.  Fairy tales are one thing every reader has in common.  We’ve all read them in various versions.  They’re comfortable.  They’re warm.  We all know going in that we’re promised a happily ever after.

Sigh.

Yup, that’s why I love them.

But, of course, I couldn’t march to the beat of my own drum if I didn’t try to put my own spin on the classics.  When Liquid Silver Books announced their Silver Slipper call for reworked fairy tales, my brain went into overdrive thinking about what I could do with that.  I was in heaven.  I’d already had a reimagined fairy tale (which came out last December) but I needed more.  My muse wanted another shot at something else.

So FRACTURED was born.  It’s a blending of two popular fairy tales, and no, I’m not going to tell you which ones they are in this post.  You’ll have to read the book and see if you can guess!  The great thing about doing fairy tales in the modern day is…well, it’s modern with electricity and technology, but I went a step beyond that.  I set FRACTURED in the future, but I didn’t stop there.  I wanted the heroine to be something other than the usual fairy tale gals.  I made her…well, I won’t ruin it, but let’s just say she’s purple LOL

And, here’s a secret exclusive to this post, the real-life event that set the whole story up was the US discontinuing the space program.  Frankly, I’m still annoyed by that decision.  I guess that’s why my hero Rick is too.

Here’s the blurb:  What happens when beauty is the beast?

Major Rick Keenan has a near-impossible mission: repair his broken shuttle, rescue a missing crew member and get off an almost-dead planet.  Angry that the U.S. is discontinuing the space program, he wants to find a discovery that will revise the government's position.  Unfortunately, that discovery might just kill him.

Marin is one of the last of her people.  Forced to flee to the planet in her childhood, she's kept herself hidden away in darkness, safe in a castle-like fortress, only coming out when she needs to feed--from human blood.  Convinced she'll never fit in, she shuns all contact, yet taking Rick hostage as a food source chips away at her perceptions.

Though their differences threaten to tear them apart, their humanity binds them together.  In a world where only the strong and determined survive, does a happily ever after stand a chance?

Book video:

And a short excerpt from the beginning of the book:

"Major, I'm under attack!" Static crackled over the com-link, but didn't hide the panic in Private Jenkins' voice. "...requesting back-up!"

Rick Keenan depressed the talk button on his handheld com-link. "Where are you?" He'd made the decision to send the lieutenant out alone. The man had escaped from trickier situations than this before. It shouldn't have been a problem.

Another long period of static broke the response. "...castle... couldn't see... Oh, my God!" The static gave way to a man's terror-filled scream.

Rick's gut clenched. "Be there as soon as we can. Hold on." He glanced around the Redemption's interior. Auxiliary power flooded the cramped space with anemic white light. Hoses hung from a few built-in compartments while the crystal panel gave off intermittent flickers then finally blinked off. We're so screwed.

"Reigen, what do we need to get this bird back in the air?" Rick barked out the question as he strode to the crystal panel. Down a power source, they'd be sitting ducks to any being—dangerous or otherwise—on the planet.

"Without a whole crystal array replacement, we're not going anywhere. Power core's busted, but I think we can get moving, given enough time." The wiry, red-haired man turned to face him, his long face tight with stress. "Core's needed for hyperspace; crystals are needed to get airborne. You choose which you want more. I’ll figure out how long we’ll survive without both."

"No time to argue. Grab your gear. We're going after Jenkins." Barely waiting for an acknowledgement, Rick strapped a dagger to his right thigh. "If we're lucky, we’ll find someone who can help us."

"And if we're not?"

"Then we'll have a fight on our hands."

Available at -

All Romance e-books

Amazon 

Liquid Silver Books

I hope you’ll pick up a copy of this book.  I had the greatest fun writing it, and besides, the ending is sigh worthy!




  Want to connect with Sandra?  Find her here:

Website 
Believing is Seeing blog 
Twitter 
Facebook 

Giveaway open to international guests:  One random commenter will receive book swag (bookmarks, postcards, etc.) Please be sure to leave your contact info.  Name will be drawn January 16th.

Thanks so much, Sandra! I'm going to put this on my TBR pile, and I absolutely LOVE that cover. :)