Showing posts with label Sofia Grey. Show all posts

Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Tuesday Teaser - Return to Emerald City by @SofiaGreyAuthor & @AllysonLindt #giveaway

Excerpt from His Reboot Girl (Return to Emerald City):

The second I started to log in, it would register in the main datacenter, but that alone wouldn’t send up any red flags. If I fluffed the login, it’d lock me out of the core network, but what would Donny do then? That wasn’t a great idea.

“What do you want access to?” I asked.

“Your vault.” The words you moron were implied.

“Which part? It’s segmented. There are different logins for each area.”

“The wetware protocols.”

Could I remember the authentication sequence? I hadn’t even remembered my own name until I heard it. I flattened my palm over the reader, and extended my hand so all four fingerprints were read at once. The login screen appeared immediately, a winking cursor awaiting instructions.

Fuck. What was the format? I swallowed hard, and then gazed at the screen, hoping for inspiration. I hovered my fingers over the keypad, unsure what came first.

“Come on, you should know this like the back of your hand,” Donny said.

Was it my name first? Or the vault name? Or a passkey? I closed my eyes and tried to visualize how it looked. How it should look.

Nothing.

I pushed at the black hole in my memory, and winced at how painful it was. Beads of sweat broke out across my forehead. What was the fucking access protocol?

I know how to make it work.

What had I been thinking of?

“Get a move on, or there’s going to be more screaming.”

I scowled at Donny. “If I fuck this up just once, I’ll be locked out of the system.” I spoke through gritted teeth.

“Well you’d better get it right.”

Think, Scott. The wetware protocols were based on the simple premise of linking up the human brain to others in a bio-neural network. Information could be shared at the speed of light. Instructions sent and received as a single thought. I’d struggled with the response times, but had cracked that problem some time ago.

I swiped at my forehead. Think. Squeezing my eyes tight shut, I tried to blank out my thoughts. One name emerged from the darkness. Dorothy.

Blurb

Dorothy’s Red Shoes

There’s no place like home… Dorothy is already feeling homesick for Emerald City, and wonders if taking a job halfway around the world was a mistake. When her love life crumbles–again–will she run for home?

His Replay Girl

If he only had the nerve… Ten years ago, Quinn made the best choice of his life, and the biggest mistake. It’s true, his band, Lionheart, is one of the biggest in the world, but how much does it mean if he can’t tell the woman he loves how he feels?

His Reboot Girl

If he only had a brain… Scott woke up with his head spinning and not much else going on up there. Now he’s a suspect in a terrorist plot, and on the run. One woman insists she's the key to his past and his freedom. Too bad he doesn't remember her.

His Rewind Girl

If he only had a heart.... Cam is as much machine as man. There are days he loathes the CyGes implants that saved his life but couldn't do the same for his family. They replaced his limbs, but now he needs someone to mend his heart.

Buy Return to Emerald City

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MV6IP3K

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/return-to-emerald-city/id929334117?mt=11

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/478473

CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/5000892

Find Sofia Grey Online:

www.SofiaGrey.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6906923.Sofia_Grey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sofia.Grey.Romance.Author

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sofiagrey1/

Twitter: @SofiaGreyAuthor https://twitter.com/SofiaGreyAuthor

Amazon author profile page: https://www.amazon.com/author/sofiagrey

Tumblr: sofiagreynz@tumblr.com

Find Allyson Lindt Online

Website: http://allysonlindt.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Allyson-Lindt/116062025108551

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllysonLindt

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7024176.Allyson_Lindt

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/allysonlindt

Catch Sofia & Allyson blogging at www.GeminiGirls.com

About Sofia Grey:

Romance author Sofia Grey spends her days managing projects in the corporate world and her nights hanging out with wolf shifters and alpha males. She devours pretty much anything in the fiction line, but she prefers her romances to be hot, and her heroes to have hidden depths. When writing, she enjoys peeling back the layers to expose her characters’ flaws and always makes them work hard for their happy endings.

About Allyson Lindt:

Allyson Lindt is a full-time geek and a fuller-time contemporary romance author. She prefers that her geeky heroes come with the alpha expansion pack and adores a heroine who can hold her own in a boardroom. She loves a sexy happily-ever-after and helping deserving cubicle dwellers find their futures together.

Giveaway!

Sofia and Allyson are generously giving away one e-copy of Return to Emerald City and some swag, open internationally. To enter:
Leave a comment with your email to tell me what piece of cool tech you'd like to see in 40 years time.

Thursday, 16 October 2014

Red stilettos and Lightbulbs - Guest Post by Sofia Grey #scifi #romance

You know how sometimes, the best results come about by accident? That’s how Return to Emerald City happened.

I was working on a short story aimed at a Christmas anthology. It featured a heroine called Dorothy, a pair of bright red stilettos, and a longing to go home. Real life got in the way of my writing, and I put my story aside to work on other commitments.

Around the same time, my writing / critique partner—Allyson Lindt—was finishing up a novella loosely named The Tin Man, about a futuristic hero with cybernetic implants. Camden has a lot of implants, and fears he’s lost his heart along the way.

I’m not sure who had the lightbulb moment first, but we both saw the potential for combining the stories. They both had a Wizard of Oz connection. From there we hashed out some details, agreed to each write another (for the Scarecrow and the Lion) and Return to Emerald City was born.

Sounds lovely and simple? The idea was, but like most stunning ideas, it had to be turned into reality. The first issue was creating the world, and this meant futurising Dorothy. I’d written her story as a contemp, but in order to mesh in with Camden’s, I had to shift it forty years into the future.

We wanted the stories to all link together, for the characters to develop across the story arc, and this happened surprisingly easily. Like all good characters, they grew and changed, and shared their stories with us.

We were beautifully organised, sharing documents in Google Drive and trying to keep track of the myriad of tiny details that needed to be consistent across four stories. I’ve lost track of the number of emails going back and forth between us, querying things like:

- is it Mag-Line, Magline, or MagLine?

- What’s the name of Camden’s girlfriend? I’ve forgotten it…

Did I mention that Allyson and I are not only in different time zones, we’re on different dates! She’s in the USA, while I live down under in New Zealand. It made collaborating interesting, to say the least * grin *

And after months of detail-checking, editing (huge thanks to “A” for content edits, and Sotia Lazu for line edits), and hours of poring over Shutterstock for the perfect cover model (isn’t Dorothy beautiful?), it’s finally released.

We had a blast working together on this, and know what? We’re already planning another collaboration for next year. Watch this space…

Excerpt from His Rewind Girl

His smile had gone from playful to dangerous, and a spike of desire drove through her. She fumbled for something witty to say, but every word raced from her thoughts.

“I might be thinking something.” His voice had dropped an octave, and she felt it roll through her as much as she heard it. Her heartbeat increased, and every inch of her pulsed with a hyper-aware sensitivity.

A heavy pause hung between them, and then he dipped his head. His mouth found hers, feather-light kiss touching her lips. She gasped, and leaned closer to deepen the kiss.

He pulled back, and disappointment flooded her. But his hand still caressed her waist. His quiet voice wove through the night. “You should know I’m not in the market for any kind of relationship. Not emotionally, anyway.”

When he shifted his weight, a distant streetlight bounced off something hanging around his neck. She squinted, and sick disbelief crawled into her gut. A gold ring with a tiny diamond hung from the chain. It had to have fallen out during their ride. She swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. “You’re married.”

He glanced down at his chest, corners of his mouth tugging down. He shoved the chain back under his shirt. “No. Not even close.” His jaw tightened, and he dropped his arm. “Never mind. I need to get home.”

Single, emotionally attached to someone else, and oh so alluring. Perfect. She grabbed his synth hand before she could talk herself out of it. She knew CyGes did an amazing job with their implants, but it still occasionally caught her off guard that a fake hand felt as real as any real one, from texture to temperature. It was in the little details—speed, precision, stamina—that the differences shone through.

“Do you have to, really?” She cringed at the plea in her voice, and pushed as much of it away as she could. “I’m sorry if I dragged up bad memories.”

He didn’t pull away, but he also didn’t move closer. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not looking for anything emotional either.” Did people usually talk about one night stands like this? How awkward. Why couldn’t they just do it then go their separate ways? She traced her thumb over the back of his knuckles. “We can go back to my hotel. Or just hang here and talk a little longer.”

Wow, talk about desperate sounding. She fumbled internally for the confidence that had driven her to start this entire conversation.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. This was a bad idea.”

Pride kept her going as much as want. She pulled his hand up and laid tiny kisses along each fingertip. The faint scent of silicone greeted her again, and she tried to be subtle about inhaling. “I didn’t mean to ruin the mood. We can get it back.”

“Probably not wise.” Despite his words, the determination was gone from his voice. His shoulders relaxed, and his expression softened.

She pressed her body as close to his as she could be without making contact. She flicked her tongue out over one of his fingers, and a low growl rumbled from his chest. That was a delicious sound. She sucked the finger into her mouth. A hint of plastic mingled with the taste of skin. Damn, she loved that taste. She closed her eyes, savoring the moment.

Her eyes snapped open, when he jerked his hand away. She was stunned to find him glaring at her, eyes practically a glacier. She frowned. “Did I do something wrong?”

He put more than a foot between them. “You knew.”

She raised her eyebrows. What was she missing? “Knew…?”

He sighed and shook his head, jamming his hands into his pockets. “You knew I’m part synth.”

She shrugged. “So?”

“Fuck.” He spoke between clenched teeth. “I’m not a fucking human vibrator. And I’m not interested in being your fetish.”

The blunt words, as honest as they were, sliced her and dug deep in the resulting wounds. “Excuse me?”

He spun away, already mounting his bike. “Go find someone else’s bike to ride. I’ve got an appointment in the morning.”

She glared at his rapidly vanishing back, as he peeled off and tore down the road. Hurt and embarrassment warred for her attention. She kicked both aside and smothered them with anger.

Asshole.

***

Blurb

Dorothy’s Red Shoes

His Replay Girl

His Reboot Girl

His Rewind Girl

Buy Return to Emerald City

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MV6IP3K

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/return-to-emerald-city/id929334117?mt=11

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/478473

CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/5000892

Find Sofia Grey Online:

www.SofiaGrey.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6906923.Sofia_Grey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sofia.Grey.Romance.Author

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sofiagrey1/

Twitter: @SofiaGreyAuthor https://twitter.com/SofiaGreyAuthor

Amazon author profile page: https://www.amazon.com/author/sofiagrey

Tumblr: sofiagreynz@tumblr.com

Find Allyson Lindt Online

Website: http://allysonlindt.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Allyson-Lindt/116062025108551

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllysonLindt

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7024176.Allyson_Lindt

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/allysonlindt

Catch Sofia & Allyson blogging at www.GeminiGirls.com

About Sofia Grey:

About Allyson Lindt:

Monday, 6 October 2014

Meet the #Author - Sofia Grey (@sofiagreyauthor)

Please tell us a bit about yourself:

Hi Pippa. I’m an English lady, transplanted to New Zealand a few years ago. I have to say the weather is better here * grin *. I write contemp and paranormal romance, with a tendency toward the darker side of life, and have just embarked on a time travel series.

Tell us about Lila’s Wolf: This is book 1 in the Out of Time series. The action moves from 500 years in the future, back to Dark Age Britain, with my time travellers searching for a fugitive – a time runaway.

What inspired you to write this particular story? I have a love of the period, and liked the contrast between the two times, but the story emerged after re-reading a historical novel I’d loved as a teen: The Lantern Bearers, by Rosemary Sutcliff. In this, a young Roman soldier deserts from the army when they’re pulling out of Britain, and he is captured and enslaved by the Saxons. That story stayed with me, and inspired me to write Lila’s Wolf.

Please share a favourite snippet from your book:

“Flavius came looking for Jared, wanting to speak to him urgently. There was a rumour of Saxons raiding on the east coast, and Flavius wanted to head west, taking as many with him as he could. I knew from the Archives that there were no significant raids for weeks, not until after the Romans had left Britain, but Jared didn’t believe me. We argued.”

I’d never seen him so harsh before. The dear friend who showered me with affection vanished with the morning mist. This new Jared looked tough and uncompromising. For the first time, I could imagine him settling in this time period, living alongside Flavius and his friends, fighting for a worthy cause. It worried me.

“The Archives aren’t infallible, Lila. What if they’re constructed on flawed data? Flavius saw the messenger riding through town—‘as though the devil were on his heels,’ was how he described the man. He’s taking the warning seriously and we should too.”

“The Archives are constructed on data that historians like us provide.” I was stung by his suggestion. “We’re not the first historians to be here, so how come we’re the first to hear about this supposed raid? And even if there is one, it’s minor. Not. Significant. We wouldn’t even notice it.”

Which comes first for you – a character's looks, personality or name?: Usually the looks. I’ll spend hours on Pinterest looking at faces before I find one that calls to me, and then the name falls into place.

Any tips for aspiring authors?: When you’re happy with your work, be brave. Find a writing group, and open yourself up to honest criticism. It hurts when they tell you what’s wrong with your beloved manuscript (it feels like they’re saying you have an ugly baby * cries *), but it’s a hundred times worse when it’s readers and reviewers tearing it to pieces.

Questions for fun:

If you had the power of time travel, is there anything you would go back and change? Why/why not?:

Oohhhh... so tempting... I’d love to go back to July 1985, and get tickets for the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium. I watched it on TV, but would have loved to be there in the crowd.

What super-power would you choose?:

Ha! We talked about this in the office recently, one slow Friday afternoon. I chose to travel anywhere instantly. On a side note, one of my nicknames is the Goddess of Cat Summoning, because I have 6 cats. So I already have a kinda super-power...

If you could have three wishes, what would they be?: Eeep! I’m useless with this question. I feel like I should pick something worthy like world peace, but in reality it would be:

To earn enough money writing, to be able to give up the day job

To get a fantastic book contract with one of the big publishers

To have a branch of Marks & Spencer open here in New Zealand. And IKEA. And a branch of Costco

Coffee, tea or wine?: Coffeeeeeeeee! But tea first thing. And wine in the evening. Can I have all three?

What is your favourite book? (aside from one of your own!):

There’s a few, but my constant favourites are:

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier

The Bronze Horseman, by Paullina Simons

After You'd Gone, by Maggie O'Farell

Favourite genre and why?: Eh, that’s like asking me my favourite chocolate! I adore PNR, but I also love contemp. And historical. And sci-fi. I guess they all have to have some romance in them.

Favourite colour?: Pink! I drive my hubby and son crazy with my pink netbook, phone cover, Kindle cover, iPods, Tablet, laptop case... earbuds... external speakers...

Upcoming news and plans for the future?: Right now I’m editing 2 novellas for a collection due out in October – Return to Emerald City. This has 4 novellas inspired by the Wizard of Oz, but set 40 years or so in the future (better tech!). The second book in the Out of Time series is half written, and I’ve got 2 shifter novellas coming out in 2 separate Christmas anthologies.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us! It was a blast, thank you J

Lila’s Wolf (Out of Time #1) is available 4 September 2014, from Hartwood Publishing

Genre: Dark time-travel romantic suspense

The only way to save him, might be to leave him behind

Blurb:

When Lila Cammell is abandoned by her time-jump partner, leaving her alone in Britain in the Dark Ages, revenge is the only thing on her mind. She’d trusted Jared Grohl with her life and her heart, and bringing him to justice will be sweet.

Finding him captured and enslaved by the Saxons changes all her assumptions. Now it’s a fight for survival, but the only way to save him, might be to leave him behind.

Buy Links:

Amazon | AllRomance | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | Hartwood Publishing

Bio:

Music is interwoven so tightly into my writing that I can’t untangle the two. Either I’m listening to a playlist on my iPod, have music seeping from my laptop speakers, or there’s a song playing in my head – sometimes on auto-repeat.

Check out my playlists on Pinterest

www.SofiaGrey.com

Catch me blogging with Allyson Lindt at www.GeminiGirls.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sofia.Grey.Romance.Author

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sofiagrey1/

Twitter: @SofiaGreyAuthor

Thursday, 11 September 2014

The One with the TARDIS and the Grassy Knoll - by @SofiaGreyAuthor #timetravel #romance #giveaway

Why do we get so passionate about time travel stories? Is it the idea of people getting a peek into the past (sometimes the very distant past), or the excitement of getting to see what lies ahead?

If you could travel in time, where would you go? Back to revisit your own memories? Or to observe other people - or famous events?

In an episode of the sci-fi comedy, Red Dwarf, Kryten suggests: "We could go to Dallas in November 1963, stand on the grassy knoll, and shout Duck! "

Or further back? I grew up as a huge fan of Doctor Who, and come on, who hasn't ever wanted a TARDIS of their own? The ability to go anywhere - any-when - would be intoxicating. Even when it's heartbreaking. Do you remember the episode where the 9th Doctor (the dark and brooding Christopher Eccleston) takes Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) back to meet her father - right before he dies? Yep, that one involved a couple of Kleenex on my part.

So let's narrow it down a little, make some rules. You can only take 3 trips. They can be future or past, but cannot be during your lifetime (don't want to risk meeting yourself!). Where would you go?

The best 3 answers will win some Lila's Wolf swag, and yes, I will ship international :)

Excerpt

There was too much in my head to allow me to sleep at the moment. Thoughts of Jared. Memories of last time. I rolled onto my side and peered at Marc sitting up in bed. “Why did you train to be a ghardian?”

His eyebrows lifted and he ran a hand through his hair. “I believe in justice, which is why I became a soldier. But I trained as a ghardian because I wanted to specialize in time jumping.” His hand strayed down to tug at his beard in a brief, uncomfortable gesture. “I grew up when the jump process was being developed and, right from my earliest memories, I wanted to try it. I learned all about the runaways and how their selfish actions can jeopardize the timelines. I like fixing mistakes, I guess.” Dark eyes smiled down at me. “So, why did you become a historian? And why this period?”

“The official answer is that my family group were all trained as historians. Between them, they manage and administer archives around the world. But like you,” I found an answering smile of my own, “I was hooked on the idea of jumping.”

“And this period?”

“This period, the Dark Ages, is one of the least-known eras in our Archive. If I’m going to be a historian, I want to have a specialty, to make a name for myself.”

“Ambitious.”

My cheeks warmed. “A little.”

Lila’s Wolf (Out of Time #1) is available 4 September 2014, from Hartwood Publishing

Genre: Dark time-travel romantic suspense

The only way to save him, might be to leave him behind

Blurb

Finding him captured and enslaved by the Saxons changes all her assumptions. Now it’s a fight for survival, but the only way to save him, might be to leave him behind.

Giveaway

I’m giving away a $10 Amazon gift card and a swag bundle to one lucky commenter. Just leave a comment at whichever site you visit, and you’ll go into the draw. The more sites you visit, the more chances you get to win J

Links

Amazon | AllRomance | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | Hartwood Publishing

www.SofiaGrey.com

Catch me blogging with Allyson Lindt at www.GeminiGirls.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sofia.Grey.Romance.Author

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sofiagrey1/

Twitter: @SofiaGreyAuthor

Blog Tour – find me here:

Date	Host	Blog post
8-Sept	Tirlas Talk	Google & conspiracy theories
9-Sept	Tara Quan	Vampire bonding & eye colours
10-Sept	Parker Kincade	Picture books & virtual streets
11-Sept	Pippa Jay	TARDIS & the grassy knoll
11-Sept	Book Boyfriend Junkies	Solar powered fridges & the right dress
12-Sept	Rosanna Leo	Battlefield & giant library
12-Sept	Diane Saxon	Richard Hammond & exotic food
13-Sept	Cover Reveals
14-Sept	Bookly Booknatics	Ghardians & timelines
14-Sept	Love, Lust & Laptops	Fluffy plans & dark ideas
15-Sept	A Coffee Addict’s Book Reviews	Time travel & love stories
16-Sept	Barb Taub – Writing & Coffee	Paradox & runaways
17-Sept	Epic Narrative Book Reviews	Beautiful society & Ghardians
17-Sept	Those Crazy Book Chicks	Loophole & ideas file
18-Sept	Barbara Elsborg	Rosemary Sutcliff & history classes
19-Sept	Loralie Hall ·	Tetris & good bathrooms
20-Sept	JL Simpson	Giant library & dodgy Utopia

About Author

Romance author Sofia Grey spends her days managing projects in the corporate world and her nights hanging out with wolf shifters and alpha males. She devours pretty much anything in the fiction line, but she prefers her romances to be hot, and her heroes to have hidden depths. When writing, she enjoys peeling back the layers to expose her characters’ flaws and always makes them work hard for their happy endings.

Check out my playlists on Pinterest

Tuesday, 2 September 2014

Tuesday #Teaser - Lila's Wolf by @SofiaGreyAuthor #timetravel

Excerpt:

Marc returned an hour later, tapping quietly on the door in the signal we’d established. Two swift knocks. Pause. One more. Pause. Then another two. I threw back the bolt and practically fell upon him, needing the comfort of another person. Needing his touch. He gave a short, pleased laugh and pulled me firmly into his arms, while sliding the bolt back into place.

“It’s okay. They didn’t see me.” He draped one arm around my waist, the other across my shoulders. I felt his fingers stroking my neck and I buried my face against his throat. The intimate embrace felt strangely comfortable and it was a long moment before I realized Marc seemed equally happy with this. He dropped a soft kiss on my hair. “Lila, we need to talk.”

I snapped back to attention and wriggled free. “He was here.” My voice came out as a whisper. “Rowena brought Jared here. She wanted to know if I knew him.”

Marc’s eyes widened. He grabbed my hand and led me to sit on the bed with him. “Tell me everything.” I recounted the tale, and he listened carefully, prompting me when I hesitated. He held my hand as I spoke, his thumb brushing gently across my fingers.

“The way she said cellar,” I couldn’t hold back a shudder. “It sounded like some kind of punishment. How soon can we leave and get him out of here?”

His hand stilled on mine. “That’s where we may have a problem. I can’t be sure the signal went through. The communicator failed.”

“So that means…”

“It means we wait for the scheduled pickup in two weeks’ time.” He hesitated, and my heart plummeted to my feet. “It means we’re on our own.”

Book Title: Lila’s Wolf

Author Name: Sofia Grey

Name of series and book number in series: Out of Time series; this is book #1

Genre: Dark time-travel romantic suspense

Publisher: Taliesin Publishing

Date of Publication: 4 September 2014

Tagline:

The only way to save him, might be to leave him behind

Blurb:

Finding him captured and enslaved by the Saxons changes all her assumptions. Now it’s a fight for survival, but the only way to save him, might be to leave him behind.

Book links:

Author links:

www.SofiaGrey.com

Catch me blogging with Allyson Lindt at www.GeminiGirls.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6906923.Sofia_Grey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sofia.Grey.Romance.Author

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sofiagrey1/

Twitter: @SofiaGreyAuthor https://twitter.com/SofiaGreyAuthor

Amazon author profile page: https://www.amazon.com/author/sofiagrey

Tumblr: sofiagreynz@tumblr.com

Author bio:

Check out my playlists on Pinterest

GIVEAWAY!!

Sofia is generously offering any single ebook of her backlist internationally - please leave her a comment with your email addy so we can contact you.