The #SFRBShowcase - Fight Like A Girl #scifi #romance

Hello, and welcome to another SFR Brigade Showcase. I'm sharing an excerpt from my scifi romance adventure Tethered, currently on sale for 99 cents. I know I've shared this particular scene a few times before, but it is my favourite! Here, my genetically engineered assassin Tyree had been doing some training to work off her frustrations, but gets interrupted by Zander, the man she's been assigned to protect and who she finds particularly irritating. And she wants to teach him a lesson he won't soon forget...

She sprang forward and aimed two rapid punches at his face. Zander evaded both with a speed and grace totally out of proportion to his bulk. Her third he blocked with little effort, and she stepped back to reassess her strategy. But only for an instant.

A quick step forward and she lashed upward with her foot, snapping his head back. Zander staggered but didn't fall. Her second kick failed as he grabbed her ankle and jerked her off balance. She twisted as she dropped and caught him hard in the knee. Zander collapsed. Both rolled aside, and then jumped up to face each other again.

Not bad.

Tyree bit back a laugh as they exchanged blows, each faster than the last. Zander blocked or evaded most, but not all. His skill almost matched hers, yet his defenses were just a fraction too slow. Each move she made tested his reach, his reflexes and his stamina until she could sense him struggling a little.

Time for the kill.

She floored him with a kick to the chest, the full weight of her augmented density behind it, but as she moved in to finish the fight he dove into her. Tyree landed on her back hard enough to drive the breath from her lungs.

Zander had her pinned to the ground. She bucked but couldn't shift him. The triumphant smile on his face sent rage blazing through her gut. With hardly a whisper, she Misted out and went through him. Golden heat filled her for a second before she pulled free. Zander pushed to his feet and spun to meet her, but she cranked up her molecular density and punched him hard in the chest. He collapsed, gasping and coughing. In one fluid movement she sat astride him at full density, and the air whumphed out of his lungs. She pinioned his arms with her hands, her face hovering mere centimeters above his.

As her breathing slowed to normal, a huge grin split her face. She'd made a vow to herself to jump him, and she'd done it. Perhaps it was childish, but it warmed her heart.

"Your...reputation...is well deserved," he gasped.

"You're not so bad yourself," she complimented him. He'd fought well, but perhaps not quite with the determination—and certainly not the desperation—of most opponents she'd faced. "For a human."

"Thank you. Perhaps we could try this again tomorrow?"

Tyree laughed. As much as he could irritate the hell out of her, he was equally amusing. "If you want to spend most of your morning on the floor..."

He gazed up at her with that easy smile, making no effort to struggle. Most humans, without the influence of her pheromones and the distraction of her naked body writhing above theirs, would not have been so trusting. So compliant. She found herself staring at his mouth. What would it be like to kiss him, without the use of her talents? Would it be as satisfying? As sensual? The warmth of him, the firmness of his body beneath hers, sent heat spiraling through her abdomen.

"Perhaps you could let me up now?" His words jerked her from such musings. What the hell was she thinking?

Tethered is currently on sale for just 99 cents at Amazon (and hopefully other retailers, but you know how it is with some of them!). Just click the links below the book cover to visit your chosen retailer. Then click HERE to visit the other participants in the showcase.

A SciFi Romance Novella
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She can kill with a kiss. But can assassin Tyree also heal one man's grief, and bring peace to a galaxy threatened by war?
For Tyree of the Su, being an assassin isn’t simply something she was trained for. It's the sole reason for her existence. A genetically enhanced clone—one of many in Refuge—she's about to learn her secluded lifestyle, and that of all her kind, is under threat by a race capable of neutralizing their special talents to leave them defenseless.

For Zander D'joren, being a diplomat has not only cost him his appearance, but also the love of his life. Scarred, grieving, he must nonetheless continue in his role as co-delegate to the fearsome Tier-vane or risk a conflict that could only end one way.

Now both of them need to keep each other alive and maintain a perilous deception long enough to renegotiate the treaty with the Tier-vane, or throw their people into a war that could wipe out Terrans and Inc-Su alike. But there's more at stake than humanity, whether true or modified. Can the love growing between them save them both? Or merely hasten their destruction?

A science fiction romance novella, previously released by Breathless Press 24th July, 2014.

#SFRBShowcase - Never Without Her Permission #scifi #romance #giveaway

Hello! Welcome to this month's SFR Brigade Showcase. May is my favourite month of the year - I not only celebrate my wedding anniversary (24 years!) but also my anniversary as a published author, and this time I'm marking five years since my debut novel released. Woo hoo! So I have a couple of giveaways in progress - details will be at the bottom of this post. But while Keir is celebrating his fifth birthday, I'm sharing an excerpt from my scifi romance short Quickshot (which is part of an InstaFreebie giveaway HERE), a SFR Galaxy Award winner for Grittiest Hot and Fast story (and inspired by Guardians of the Galaxy). For this snippet, my heroine Sal is just chilling out when an interloper forces her to demonstrate her touchy trigger finger. But with good reason...

Dinner was the best she’d had in forever. She hadn’t eaten seafood since leaving her home planet. True, it wasn’t as good as the fish gumbo her adoptive parents had made, but the shrimp still tasted of the sea, and Cheery’s hot sauce hid the aftertaste typical of space-shipped food. And with her second triple shot already half consumed, it was looking like a good evening.

Then a man slid into her booth, put one arm around her shoulder and ran his other hand up her thigh while whispering desperately in her ear. “Please. Pretend you know me for the next five minutes.”

Rage hotter than Cheery’s sauce exploded inside her, along with the overwhelming relief of finally having an outlet for her fury.

The next instant, the interloper had the separate barrels of one double blaster either side of his throat so that her fist rested hard against his Adams apple.
“Um.” The not quite a word came out like a whimper as he put his hands in the air

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t spatter your feeble sack of brains against the wall behind you?” she growled. She felt him gulp, his throat moving against her knuckles.

“Because I’ll...pay you? Lots?” Large, semi-translucent shades curved to fit his face hid the color of his eyes, but she saw him blink rapidly as she pushed the gun a little harder into his flesh. “Or, if you wait a few seconds, the local authorities can save you the bother.”

His eyes flicked to the right, and she warily followed suit, leaning ever so slightly around the edge of her booth. Not Imperium rezzers as she’d feared, but the local patroni were indeed at the door, and she didn’t owe them any favors. Mind you, she owed this feck more than a slap after he’d touched her without permission or even an introduction. But she was cargo-less right now, badly in need of the work, and he’d mentioned payment.

She eased off a fraction. “How much to not kill you?”

“Whatever you want. Anything at all.” He said it with such sincerity, his breathing so ragged, that, for an instant, Sal imagined him under her, tied to her bed, naked. The light tan skin at the unbuttoned collar of his shirt was sheened in sweat.

###

Sal, a legal carrier (just about) of whatever comes her way, puts her trust in just two things: her guns.

Keeping out from under Imperium eyes—especially those belonging to a certain Ehi Wahu—while making a living, and trying to keep a lover who can tolerate her twitchy trigger fingers, are the extent of her ambitions. 

Then a kiss from a passing stranger, and a promise of the biggest score in a long time, tempt her. Devin fulfils more than one need, but he comes with more trouble than one woman can handle. And this time it'll take more than her guns to save her. She'll have to trust a man again.

WARNING: for over 18s only. Adult content including sex, bad language, & implied extreme violence. A SFR Galaxy Award winner for Grittiest Hot and Fast story. Pick up your free edition via InstaFreebie. To visit the other participants visit the home page by clicking the banner at the top of the post.

###

To celebrate Keir's fifth anniversary, I'm running a special giveaway for a pair of custom-made crocheted dragonscale gloves in Keir blue, created by Hoot and Luna. This is open internationally but PLEASE BE AWARE - any import/shipping taxes will be the responsibility of the recipient as these cannot be paid in advance by the sender.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And to visit the other participants in the SFRB Showcase, please click HERE to return to base.

SFR Brigade Holiday Showcase: A Merry-traxian Christmas #scifi #romance

Hello! Welcome to the special holiday edition of the SFR Brigade Showcase. Are you looking forward to Christmas? I know I am! Mostly for all the food, as hubs and I no longer give each other presents (it's all about our monsters now). But for this post, I'm offering you a few presents - an event exclusive and free short story download, an excerpt, and a recipe for Christmas Cookies that you can also use as decorations. 

For this month's event, I've finally managed to write a Christmas SFR which I'm giving away for the duration of this event - the story will not be available at retailers or after the 19th, so grab it quick! It features my main SFR couple from time travel series Redemption - Keir and Quin - and takes place four months after the events in Keir's Fall (Book Two). So if you haven't read the two current books of the series, prepare for spoilers!

Excerpt:

Keir glanced up from his reading as Quin came back into the main living room. “Is she settled?”

“Finally, but in with Ferron.” Quin flopped onto the soft seating at his side with a lengthy sigh, then leaned into him. “She wouldn’t sleep without him.”

“He is a good child.” Keir laid down his reader to put his arm around Quin and brush a kiss over her forehead.

“He’s very tolerant. I’m not sure I’d have put up with a younger sibling wriggling in my bed and stealing my blankets, but he seems to find it fun. They adore each other.” Quin raised her head as a stronger blast of wind shook the house. “Sounds worse.”

“It is the solstice today. S’rano says that is always the worst, but at least it means we will soon be past it.”

“I hope so.” She snuggled in closer, grateful for Keir’s warm embrace with the storm raging outside. Even with a decent fire burning in the iron-meshed pit at their feet, the thought of the cold winds and icy rain outside sent shivers over her skin. Winter was definitely the time of year to cuddle up under blankets and not think about going out. “Did you have any kind of celebrations in winter?”

“We had the Midwinter Feast at this time of year. Three days of banqueting in the great hall, with storytelling and acrobats and all kinds of entertainers. Dancing.” Keir sighed, and his voice softened. “Friends and family would exchange small tokens. Visitors would come from far and wide to stay no matter how deep the snow, and the poor could come to the palace gate to be gifted a basket of food and a cup of hot spiced wine each day.” He was silent for a long moment, his muscles tensing under her arm. “I was not allowed to join the public gathering even before my exile, though I would watch from the gallery with my mother when she did not have to be present to greet guests.”

“Would you show me?”

“If you wish.”

A great hall filled with the golden light of candles and members of court in their finery filled her head, along with the sound of music and laughter. But around it she sensed the pain he felt at being excluded from the revelry, a young child banished to the edge of it all, cursed to watch from the outside.

“So many candles,” she murmured, trying to divert his memory from that feeling of exile.

“Yes. We would keep at least one burning from the last day of autumn until the first day of spring, in defiance of Kaltana, the winter goddess. Those who could not afford candles would use red, orange and yellow ribbons or rags tied to their clothing or the rafters of their house, or draw the symbol of flames on their buildings.” The image he had shared with her faded as he let it slip away. “What about you?”

“Well, we had Christmas. We’d put up an evergreen tree, or a fake one, and cover it in decorations. Give each other presents.” The words caught in her throat as she remembered. Damn. So many years since she’d even thought about Christmas. She hadn’t even realized how much she’d missed that precious one day of the year when they’d all be together. So long ago.

“Would you show me that?”

“Here.” She focused on the big tree they used to have, deliberately keeping her memories away from the faces of her two long dead sisters. “We used to put it up the first weekend of December–Christmas was held on the 25^th day.”

“Why a tree?”

“Something to do with it being evergreen, when pretty much all other plants have died back for the winter. Symbolizing everlasting life or something. I don’t really know.” ‘Why’ had never really mattered. Only that it was something they did together every year...until they didn’t any more.

“Anything else?” Keir said when she stayed silent.

“Oh, yes.” Her voice came out husky and she tried to clear it before speaking again. “There’d be a special dinner with turkey and stuffing and...mmm...roast potatoes.” Her stomach growled at the memory even though they’d all eaten just an hour ago. “At least, that’s what we did when I was little and my dad was alive. After he’d gone...so did all the fun. And the food.”

The crackling fire and the wind’s dismal moans filled the silence that followed. Quin blinked away the tightness around her eyes. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought up the subject of holidays.

***

Sorry, Keir and Quin's free Christmas story is no longer available to download, but you can still check out the other current stories in the series by clicking on the links below the two book covers.

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
Goodreads | Webpage
Available from...
iBooks | Nook | Kobo
Amazon | ARe | Smashwords
Print available from...
CreateSpace | B&N | Amazon
The Book Depository

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
Goodreads | Webpage
Available from...
Amazon | ARe
B&N | Kobo | iBooks
Smashwords
Print
Amazon | B&N
The Book Depository

And if you'd like something to munch on while you're reading, here's my recipe for those Christmas Cookies I mentioned:

Christmas Star Biscuits (Cookies)

The basic sweet biscuit recipe for this has been in my family since before I was born, but I’ve added a  twist to create the coloured centers. You will need:

4oz. butter
4oz. caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
8oz. plain flour
Boiled sweets/hard coloured candy (I used blue ones for this batch as they were made to celebrate the book anniversary for my blue skinned hero Keir).

Oven temperature: 350°F

Lightly grease three baking trays. Cream the butter and sugar together, add the egg gradually and beat well. Sift the flour and fold into the creamed mixture. Knead lightly and roll out to the required thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters – for mine I used two different sizes of star and kept the middles too, but you could use any shape. Place on the trays and put a boiled sweet in the hole in the middle – you can crush these to make them melt quicker in the oven so the biscuit part doesn’t overcook. Bake toward the top of the oven for 15-20 minutes until pale brown (the sweet should melt and spread out in the center of the biscuit). Allow to cool before removing from the trays to allow the melted sweet to reset. 

You could also make different shapes and use different coloured sweets to vary the design, even using them to make edible Christmas tree decorations if you make a hole in the biscuit before cooking to thread ribbon. You can also flavor the biscuit (because of the sweets I didn’t add any flavoring to these) by using the following:

2 level tsps. grated lemon rind
2 level tsps. mixed spice or cinnamon
2 tsps. Vanilla essence
2oz. dried fruit
2oz. glace cherries, chopped
Grated rind of one orange.

I hope you enjoyed that. If you'd like more, please check out the other authors participating in the event by clicking on any of the links below. In the meantime...

#SFRBShowcase: Backtrack #scifi #romance #spaceopera #sfrb

Hello! Welcome to another SFRB Showcase. This month I'm going to share an excerpt from a WIP, working title Backtrack. This is a follow on to my space opera short Quickshot (since a couple of reviewers expressed an interest in seeing more of these characters and this universe). No promises when this will be available (sorry!) but you can always go read the current Imperium book if you haven't already. ;) (Warning: this isn't edited yet).

A hissing sound woke her, and she reached for her guns, adrenaline a cold jolt that blasted any sleepiness away. Devin stood at the end of the bed, in front of the multi-screen currently set to reflection. His pure white torso gleamed with a sheen almost like mother-of-pearl as he steadily passed a spray can back and forth over his body. 
She rose and joined him.
"What is that?"
"Chromatic spray." He grinned at her puzzled expression in the mirror. "Watch." His brow furrowed, and his white skin shifted to jet black as if a shadow had run across it. An instant later, he turned light brown, then sickly gray, then a gleaming gold. 
"Wow. And how does that work?"
"Chromatophore elements in the spray, combined with nanotech and my cybernetic implants, I can turn it any colour just by thinking about it. I can even change my face."
"Really?"
"Yup." He concentrated, and his face narrowed as his cheeks sunk as though sucked in. His eyebrows stretched out, points rose on his ears, his jawline widened, before snapping back to how he'd looked before, like the strings pulling it out of shape had snapped. "My visor too." The curved glasses morphed into a single strip of silver, then to huge disks almost covering his face.
"A man of many disguises," Sal murmured, swallowing the slight sense of nausea at the transformations.
"Yeah. When I need them." His skin became the warm light brown she remembered from their first meeting.
"You know, you don't have to do that just for me."
"Thanks. But..." He glanced at her reflection. "It's not just for you, or anyone else. It's for me. So I can look in the mirror and not see some albino freak staring back."

If you enjoyed that you can pick up Quickshot for 99 cents from any of the retailers listed under the book cover below - just click and go! (pssst, I was going to put the price up at the end of June but thought I'd keep it low for the Showcase so it'll go up next week instead). Then hop along to the other participants in the Showcase by clicking HERE to return to the main list.

A Space Opera Short Story
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The #SFRBShowcase - The Romance of Metraxi #timetravel #scifi #romance

Hello! Welcome to another Science Fiction Romance Brigade Showcase. On Saturday I celebrate my fourth anniversary as a published author, so I thought I'd share something about my debut novel for its fourth book birthday. This is an interview with the hero Keir that I wrote a few years ago for a blog hop on what it means to be romantic...

"Romantic?" Keir shakes his head and hands me a glass of red wine. "No. I would not say that I am romantic."

I take a sip and watch him from over the rim of the glass. The wine's good, but not as much as the company. I wouldn't mind him warming me up instead. I shake myself. "I'm sure Quin would say that you are." In fact she has--to me--in private. But why embarrass him?

He smiles, a little shyly, but the light in his eyes now I've said her name makes me feel seven shades of jealous. About five foot six and athletically built, he moves with an easy kind of grace. A narrow face, finely sculpted with high cheek bones. But those probably wouldn't be the first thing you'd notice. No. His blue skin is the most striking feature. A dark, dusky blue, like the sky just before full darkness falls. And the tatts! Wow. My eyes skim over them, which takes some time. He's covered in them! Tribal style, black runes and twisted symbols all down his arms and showing above the edges of his white vest. Even his face and neck are marked. I've heard he has them everywhere on his body. I'd love to know if that's true...

"What more did you need to know?"

I snap myself back to reality. So far he's told me about how idyllic life is on the string of tropical islands in this planet's temperate zone. I'd rather ask about the tatts, but that's not why I'm there. Humans living on Metraxi are a rare thing. A married couple spending their honeymoon there? Even more so. "What about your wedding vows?"

I've surprised him. Bright blue eyes fix on me. "My wedding vows? Why would you wish to know those?"

"That's normally pretty romanctic to people. I mean, you didn't exactly have a great first date. Meeting Quin in a dungeon."

He scowls fine black brows knitting. "No. But that is a moment I will never forget."

He settles himself in a wooden chair opposite and wraps his hands around the glass. Long, slender fingers. His hair is a mass of loose black curls that make me itch to run my hands through them.
"We used the Metraxian vows. The words in Galactic Standard matched what I felt in my heart."

"Would you tell them to me?"

He tugs a hand through his dark curls. I wonder if I've embarrassed him?

"The village chief, L'enko, asked me what I sought. I told him I wished to bind my life to Quin's." His gaze drifts into the distance. "I promised to share my life with her, in love and laughter, through tears and trials. To work by her side and dream in her arms. To love her until the end of our forever."

My throat tightens. "That's beautiful! And you say you aren't a romantic."

"To me, it is not about trying to be romantic," he assures me, very serious. "It is about being honest in your feelings when you love and care for someone. Keeping a promise. Respecting them. If that is being romantic..." He shrugs. "Then perhaps I am."

An alarm beeps on my wrist module--notification that my transport is waiting. I finish the last of my wine. We're on a tight schedule, and much as I'd like to stay for a while, I can't. Being a travel agent isn't all fun. But at least I have an idea to sell Metraxi as a unique romantic getaway to my boss. It worked for Quin and Keir. And I think a wedding planner would kill for the privilege of selling ceremonies like theirs.

"Well, thanks for the info. It's been..." I give him another look over, and he lifts an eyebrow. It's then I remember that he's telepathic. Although I doubt he'd need to read my mind to know what I'm thinking. "...gratifying."

"I hope I have given you what you needed."

A blush burns my face. Information-wise, yes. Otherwise... I sigh. Quin's a lucky woman. I hate her just a little. No, I hate her a lot!

"Thanks. It's been helpful."

He escorts me to the door of the hut. The Metraxian village glows from lanterns filled with bright insects. For all Metraxi's advanced technology, the simple life appeals to them more. It's paradise. I can see why they stay. But now I need to get back to the office and sell the romance of Metraxi to the universe.

Blurb:

A demon waiting to die...
An outcast reviled for his discolored skin and rumors of black magic, Keirlan de Corizi sees no hope for redemption. Imprisoned beneath the palace that was once his home, the legendary 'Blue Demon of Adalucien' waits for death to finally free him of his curse. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise.

A woman determined to save him.
Able to cross space and time with a wave of her hand, Tarquin Secker has spent eternity on a hopeless quest. Drawn by a compulsion she can't explain, she risks her apparent immortality to save Keir, and offers him sanctuary on her home-world, Lyagnius. But Quin has secrets of her own.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes the dormant alien powers within him and earns exile from Lyagnius, Quin chooses to stand by him. Can he master his newfound abilities in time to save Quin from the darkness that seeks to possess her?

Book One of the Redemption series and part of the Travellers Universe. Previously released by Lyrical Press Inc. 7th May 2012.

***

If you enjoyed that, please check out Book One of the series by clicking any of the links below the book cover. Then go visit the other participants in the Showcase by clicking HERE or the Showcase banner at the top of the post.

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
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Available from... 
Amazon | All Romance eBooks
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Smashwords
Print available from... 
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The Book Depository

The #SFRBShowcase - Look But Don't Touch! #scifi #romance #spaceopera #sfrb

Hello! Welcome to this month's SFR Brigade Showcase. This time I'm sharing an excerpt from my latest release (it went live just yesterday), hot space opera short Quickshot. For this snippet, my heroine Sal is just chilling out when an interloper forces her to demonstrate her touchy trigger finger. But with good reason...

Dinner was the best she’d had in forever. She hadn’t eaten seafood since leaving her home planet. True, it wasn’t as good as the fish gumbo her adoptive parents had made, but the shrimp still tasted of the sea, and Cheery’s hot sauce hid the aftertaste typical of space-shipped food. And with her second triple shot already half consumed, it was looking like a good evening.

Then a man slid into her booth, put one arm around her shoulder and ran his other hand up her thigh while whispering desperately in her ear. “Please. Pretend you know me for the next five minutes.”

Rage hotter than Cheery’s sauce exploded inside her, along with the overwhelming relief of finally having an outlet for her fury.

The next instant, the interloper had the separate barrels of one double blaster either side of his throat so that her fist rested hard against his Adams apple.

“Um.” The not quite a word came out like a whimper as he put his hands in the air

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t spatter your feeble sack of brains against the wall behind you?” she growled. She felt him gulp, his throat moving against her knuckles.

“Because I’ll...pay you? Lots?” Large, semi-translucent shades curved to fit his face hid the color of his eyes, but she saw him blink rapidly as she pushed the gun a little harder into his flesh. “Or, if you wait a few seconds, the local authorities can save you the bother.”

His eyes flicked to the right, and she warily followed suit, leaning ever so slightly around the edge of her booth. Not Imperium rezzers as she’d feared, but the local patroni were indeed at the door, and she didn’t owe them any favors. Mind you, she owed this feck more than a slap after he’d touched her without permission or even an introduction. But she was cargo-less right now, badly in need of the work, and he’d mentioned payment.

She eased off a fraction. “How much to not kill you?”

“Whatever you want. Anything at all.” He said it with such sincerity, his breathing so ragged, that, for an instant, Sal imagined him under her, tied to her bed, naked. The light tan skin at the unbuttoned collar of his shirt was sheened in sweat.

###

Sal, a legal carrier (just about) of whatever comes her way, puts her trust in just two things: her guns.

Keeping out from under Imperium eyes—especially those belonging to a certain Ehi Wahu—while making a living, and trying to keep a lover who can tolerate her twitchy trigger fingers, are the extent of her ambitions. 

Then a kiss from a passing stranger, and a promise of the biggest score in a long time, tempt her. Devin fulfils more than one need, but he comes with more trouble than one woman can handle. And this time it'll take more than her guns to save her. She'll have to trust a man again.

WARNING: for over 18s only. Adult content including sex, bad language, & implied extreme violence.

A Space Opera Short Story
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Amazon | ARe | Smashwords
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If you enjoyed the excerpt, you can find the full version at any of the retail links underneath the book cover. In the meantime please check out the other participants in the Showcase by clicking HERE or on the banner at the top of the post.

#SFRBShowcase - She Doesn't Trust Me #spaceopera #scifirom

Hello, and welcome to the March edition of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade Showcase. This time I'm sharing a short excerpt from my upcoming hot space opera short Quickshot, releasing 31st March but up for pre-order now. In this snippet, we get to share a very brief snapshot from the hero's point of view, and he's slightly distracted at first...

She doesn’t trust me. Hell, he wouldn’t trust him either, but then he knew better. He’d been monitoring her and a couple of others as potential exit routes, but in the end his approach had been hasty and definitely unplanned. He’d been lucky. Very lucky.

Yeah, especially as the other two possibilities weren’t female, human, or as sexy as the woman sitting in front of me—

He cut the thought dead. Focus! But he couldn’t forget how she’d kissed him, how his fleeting contact with her soft skin had been like caressing warm silk. How her shoulder-length black braids hung around a narrow, finely-sculpted face with a temptingly full mouth. How she lounged in the chair with careless ease, yet with a hint of barely restrained energy in every muscled line and luscious curve of her body. How her amber eyes scorched him head to toe, assessing him so deeply he felt naked, wanting, and yet totally inadequate at the same time.

“Thirty thousand.”

Her demand snapped him out of his daydream and left him cold, effectively dousing the moment of heated desire.

***

You can check out the blurb and opening preview at Amazon by clicking on the link below the cover. And if you want more, please check out the other participants in the Showcase by clicking the image at the top of the post.

A Space Opera Short Story
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Amazon inc KU 

#SFRBShowcase - Double Cover Love! #scifi #romance #spaceopera

Hello, and welcome to the first SFRB Showcase of 2016. Woot! Today I'm revealing two SFR covers - yes, TWO! - one of which I've been sitting on for a couple of months. You know how hard that is, right? Fortunately I've only had the second for a couple of days, but even that was a struggle to keep secret. And I'd also appreciate any feedback on the blurbs, which I'll be posting with the covers.

So, first up is the cover for Reunion at Kasha-Asor, a side story in my time travel romance series - Redemption. This follows on directly from Keir, the first book of the series. It's different in style to the main series covers (to emphasize it's a side story), and I went for this because the first thing my husband said when he saw it was it's like a holiday poster. Since that's exactly what this was meant to be for my two MCs (in fact, it was meant to be their honeymoon), I figured that was a good sign.

Blurb:

Paradise isn't always what you expect it to be...

Once more back on the island of Kasha-Asor, Quin and Keir need to reconcile a question of trust: of secrets untold and their precarious situation on a planet where Quin has already been betrayed once. Can they find the idyll they seek, or will they be forced to run?

Releasing 21st May 2016 at most digital retailers.

****

The second is an unexpected bonus release for this year. Sadly the anthology I submitted it to fell through, so I decided to go ahead with publishing it myself. Here's the cover for my hot, stand alone space opera/SFR short, Quickshot.

Blurb:

Sal, a legal carrier (just about) of whatever comes her way, puts her trust in just two things: her guns. 

Keeping out from under Imperium eyes - especially those belonging to a certain Ehi Wahu - while making a living, and trying to keep a lover who can tolerate her twitchy trigger fingers, are the extent of her ambitions.

Then a kiss from a passing stranger, and a promise of the biggest score in a long time, tempt her. Devin fulfils more than one need, but he comes with more trouble than one woman can handle. And this time it'll take more than her guns to save her. She'll have to trust a man again. 

Releasing 31st March, 2016 (Amazon exclusive)

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Both covers are the work of my editor, cover designer, and all round heroine Danielle Fine. Please go check out her other work at http://daniellefine.com because she totally rocks! 

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed the preview. You can find more scifi romance awesomeness by clicking HERE to go back to the home page for all the SFR Brigade Showcase links.

The SFRB Showcase - Cold Oblivion #spaceopera #scifi #romance

The SFRB Showcase

Welcome to the SFRB Showcase! This month I'm sharing my brand new release (so new it doesn't actually release until the 7th but is up for pre-order right now) and a never before revealed excerpt. I'm not going to tell you who or what is in this excerpt, but those who've read Book One - Keir - may have a suspicion...

Nameless and uncertain, he waited in the bedroom of the empress. He was conscious of pressure around his neck where Jakhani had fastened a tight collar of some flexible opalescent material, a leaden weight far heavier than it looked. The close-fitting red clothing Jakhani had given him to wear clung so snugly to his skin that he felt naked. His lack of memories left him hollow and lost, an unfinished thing awaiting completion and instruction. He had the terrible sense that something important had been forgotten, something so essential to his existence that its absence left him feeling as though he were bleeding slowly to death. 
The empress came to him, barefoot and beautiful. He stared at her, disturbed by her pallor and the predatory look on her face. She stood as tall as him, her dark eyes level with his own. Why had she chosen him? What did she want?
She placed a hand on his neck, caressing him gently, and he flinched under the coldness of her skin. Her eyes narrowed in anger, and she grabbed a handful of his hair in retribution, pulling hard. She stepped closer, her small nose almost touching his before she kissed him softly. At the press of her lips, the iciness of her seeped further into his skin, into his thoughts, fogging his mind. Sudden pressure built inside him.
“Jakhani says you have no memory of your life before being here,” she murmured, releasing him temporarily.
He shook his head, watching her in desperation. Did she know his past? His origins? His name?
“Not even what you’re called?”
“Not even that,” he admitted, his throat tight.
“Hmmm.” She tilted her head to one side to examine him. “Then I’ll give you a name. Zhuri.”
Something jolted through him. The word was wrong and yet had a familiar ring. Something like it, something that sparked memories of a color. The color of his own skin. A scent...
“It’s a gemstone,” she continued as he stared at her. “The same color as your eyes. Do you like it?”
“Zhuri.” He swallowed. The name told him nothing. “What color are my eyes?”
The empress laughed. “You don’t even know that? They’re blue. The brightest blue I’ve ever seen on a human.” Again, she ran a finger along the line of his jaw. “You are very handsome,” she told him, smiling.
Her words sparked a faint memory, of the same words spoken by another voice and his feelings of confusion and denial then. She kissed him again, harder and more demanding. Automatically, he slid his hands up her slim body, shivering at the contact with her skin even as he held her tightly. The chill she emanated sank deeper into his chest, into his heart, numbing him further. What kind of magic was it that could take all feeling from him aside from desire?
We call it science…
Where had that thought come from? Who had said that when he had spoken of magic? There had been amusement in the speaker’s voice. Warmth. Someone gently mocking his belief in the supernatural. He tried to put a face to the person, but nothing came to him.
“It seems your body remembers what your mind does not,” the empress said, snatching him back from the tenuous memory.
My body remembers…
Yes, the pressure building inside him seemed familiar. The feel of skin against skin. How to kiss, how to touch in such a way to make her breathless. But even in that knowledge, the wrongness of it screamed inside him. Even as the desire to pull her closer, to mold her body to his made him ache, a part of him refused to accept this. Told him to jerk away, to run and fight.
But he could not. Each kiss deepened his detachment, thrust him further from reality. He could not escape from this. When she pushed him onto the bed, he fell willingly. Let her strip the clothing from him until he lay there naked and shivering, her icy skin pressed to his. Returned her caresses until cold ecstasy swept over him and carried him into oblivion.

If you enjoyed that, I hope you'll check out the full version at the links below (book one is also only 99 cents/99 Euros/99p until the end of December). In the meantime, you can check out the other participants in the Showcase by clicking on the link under the banner at the top of this post.

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
Goodreads | Webpage
Available from...
Amazon | All Romance eBooks
Kobo | iTunes | B&N | Smashwords

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
Goodreads | Available from...
Amazon | All Romance eBooks
Kobo | iTunes | B&N | Smashwords
Print available from... 
Amazon | B&N | CreateSpace
The Book Depository