BU Full Moon Blog Tour - Alien Moons Rising #scifi #romance #giveaway

OBERON

"Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania." (A Midsummer's Night Dream, William Shakespeare)

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and the supernatural with a romantic soul. As a writer of science fiction, with the odd paranormal title to my name, moons and moonlight often play a big part in my stories. While I've yet to write a story set on a moon rather than a planet, important meetings often take place by the light of the moon, both ill and good.

In my time travel romance novel Keir (Book One of Redemption), my hero finds moonlight emphasizes the not-quite-so-human nature of his companion:

He glanced across at Quin. She sat very still in the window seat, moonlight adding a ghostly shimmer to her hair and face. It gave her the illusion of a supernatural aura, and it was hard to believe she was no sorceress. Even though he shared her talent for travelling from one world to another, even though she had told him it was science and not magic, her abilities still seemed mystical to him.

While for the heroine Quin, the moons of his world bring back memories of a world she's lost:

Through the flawed panes of glass, the opulent buildings of the northern section of the city dominated the view. Just beyond that, twin moons lit the misted mountains, a fairytale picture.

She made herself comfortable on the padded window seat and stared up into the sky at the major moon. Smaller than the lone satellite of Earth, its cratered surface gleamed pale rose, its tiny companion a faded blue crescent just below. She missed moons. Lyagnius had none, and her planet of origin didn’t exist anymore.

Stop that.

This was no time for nostalgia. 

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
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And from my upcoming release due out in May 2016 (a month with a blue moon on the 21st), Keir takes a risky venture into the sea by the light of an alien moon.

The beach lay empty, a dark glistening ribbon left scattered with weed and odd shells abandoned by the withdrawing tide. Silver tipped the edges of the black waves beyond. No sounds came from any of the other huts, but a few scattered lanterns glowed like golden orbs along the walkways joining them and on the docks close to S’rano’s ship. The sea’s siren whisper rose above the rustling of the trees behind the village. The white disc of the moon glared down on him. He stared up at it for an instant, following the pattern of craters and scars on its surface. Metraxi’s single satellite looked lonely compared to the double moons he had known on Salusan.
His gaze returned to the sea. The waves beckoned him, teasing as they swept in and out. Just a few days earlier he had given into their embrace and tried to drown himself. Could he step back into the water? Dare he?
Just as he had done the night when he had thought Quin lost forever, he strode down to the water. His skin shrank back at the chill of damp sand, then the first caress of a wave, but he kept going. Shivers possessed him. The sea reached up to mid-thigh, each wave swelling up around his hips. It was cold, but not uncomfortably so. He let the water flow around his fingertips. His heart raced, and yet he felt no inclination to retreat.
This is madness… The thought halted him. He had done what he set out to do. He had walked back into the water. Going any further would be foolish.
(Reunion at Kasha-Asor, a side story in the Redemption series)

So while we're on the subject, what exactly is a blue moon? Surprisingly, it doesn't refer to the colour (though certain atmospheric conditions - a volcanic eruption for example- can lead to a moon looking blue due to particles in the atmosphere). According to Wikipedia..."A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: either the third of four full moons in a season, or a second full moon in a month of the common calendar." Because my hero is blue skinned, it seemed quite appropriate to release the third book in his series during a blue moon occurrence, even though it isn't going to change colour just for that.

The origin of the saying 'once in a blue moon' can't be pinned down with 100% accuracy. In the 16th century Cardinal Wolsey wrote that some men would have you believe the moon is blue, using it as a way to refer in an impossibility. 19th century London slang adopted it as a term meaning 'a long time'. So in a way, that also fits in with my series, since the sequel - Keir's Fall - has been a long time coming, finally due for release in November (some three and a half years after book one was originally released). Maybe I should say I only release a series book once in a blue moon? :P

But now for the best part. It's the giveaway!

Please be sure to enter the Rafflecopter below. Prize winners will be drawn on the 10th of November. In the meantime, go visit the other participants in the blog tour by clicking on any of the names in the list below, and see what goodies they have on offer!


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