Character Power Balance - Guest Post by Misa Buckley #amwriting

I've been thinking about this article for some time, never quite committing to writing it, but as Pippa has been generous enough to give me blog space I decided to bite the bullet.

There have been rumblings of late in the romance genre of late and I've been disturbed by what I've read. The novels in question haven't been sci fi romance, but occasionally I have seen the problem surface here. What problem? That of character power balance.

Now I love a redemptive hero. Seriously, the bad-guy-turned-good is my favourite trope ever. He doesn't need to start out badder than bad, or end up a goody two shoes, but seeing him go from self-reliant loner to a guy who's willing to share his life and heart with another makes mine grow three sizes. The problem starts when his power is greater than that of the love interest.

There are pairings that can never, ever work. A WWII story about a Nazi officer having a relationship with a Jew is so wrong that I honestly don't know where to start dissecting it. But at the heart of it there is a huge power imbalance that can't be readdressed. The woman, a Jew in a concentration camp, cannot make a choice that is wholly her own. The officer literally has her life in his hands, and she must watch every word, every look, every reaction – or face the consequences.

It's the same problem faced by the millionaire and the virgin. The kidnapper and the victim. The owner and the slave. Where all the power is with one character over the other, you cannot have a true romance.

Of course sci fi romance has plenty of alien abductions that turn into a love story. It's a trope as old as the genre. I've written a play on it myself. However, that story, along with most of the SFRs I've read touching on the trope have made sure that the heroine (because it usually is the female character) either keeps or regains her own power. She has agency in her own story, with her choices and actions not being dictated by the hero.

A character can believe there is a power imbalance. Taking the most famous sci fi romance of Han Solo and Princess Leia, Han believes Leia is a spoilt brat, while Leia thinks Han is a selfish good-for-nothing. They both think they're better than the other, but yet also aren't convinced they're good enough either. Those misconceptions don't exist outside of their heads, and this is what makes the audience buy into the relationship.

When the power imbalance exists in actually is when the problems begin. And it can be a tricky line to walk – some view Beauty and the Beast as a love story, others as a case of Stockholm Syndrome. Both points are valid. It comes down to the audience's interpretation.

Sci fi romance is a fabulous genre for independent heroines who can be both tough and gentle, who can kick ass one minute and care for someone the next, and who remain the mistresses of their fate even when that throws them a curve ball. It's up to us authors to ensure they retain this agency and that the balance of character power remains equal.

BIO

Misa Buckley grew up watching Doctor Who and Star Trek, so when she undertook NaNoWriMo in 2007, it seemed obvious to her to write science fiction. However, a teenage obsession with her sister’s Harlequin books meant she liked adding a little spice to her stories. This blend of genres continues to this day.

LINKS

Blog: https://misabuckley.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MisaBuckley

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/p0t5ql

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/search?query=Misa%20Buckley&fcsearchfield=Author

AllRomance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Misa+Buckley

Read Only Wednesday - The Amazing Grace Complete Saga by Misa Buckley #superhero #urbanfantasy

Read Only Wednesday is when I highlight a book I've just read, am reading, about to read or added to my towering TBR pile. This week it's a five book series - X-men style superhero Amazing Grace. I read the first way back when, and after checking my Kindle discovered I'd bought books 3 and 4, but not the remainder. I've bought these all as single titles, but there's also a single collection priced at $3.99 (saving you $0.96).

Beginning with Grace Under Fire, Grace McKenna wakes up to find the world in danger – the sky is on fire and the only man who knows how the global satellite system works is languishing in a mental institute. Sent by the director of Global Solutions, she discovers a man largely forgotten by society, a man whose powers intrigue her.

Breaking Benedict Thomas out of the institute might be as crazy as he’s alleged to be, but someone is lying and Grace is determined to find out whom. Especially since those lies have put the entire world in danger…

Ending with Coup de Grace, After being rescued from Hammel, Grace gathers the mutated ex-residents and goes to war, determined to strike a finishing blow against the evil company.

Kindle 159 pages

#Cover #Reveal - Grace Falls (Amazing Grace series #4) by @MisaBuckley #scifi #romance

Blurb: 

"Having learned that Global Solutions has a space rocket facility, Grace McKenna and Benedict Thomas race to stop the launch in the belief there's a bomb. But the launch goes ahead without issue, making Grace wonder what she's missed.

 

When fellow "abnormal" Charity points out the rocket launched is an attempt to control the rain cycle, Benedict surmises that there's something being added to the water. Going against his wishes, Grace heads to Hammel, determined to get the answers.

 

However, the main one, of who is behind the scheme, is waiting for her... and his plans are darker than Grace could ever imagine."

Grace Falls is the fourth story in the Amazing Grace series, and is released 1st December 2014 through Champagne Books.

Grace under Fire by @MisaBuckley - New #release #excerpt #sfr

BLURB: Grace McKenna wakes up to find the world in danger – the sky is on fire and the only man who knows how the global satellite system works is languishing in a mental institute. Sent by the director of Global Solutions, she discovers a man largely forgotten by society, a man whose powers intrigue her.

Breaking Benedict Thomas out of the institute might be as crazy as he’s alleged to be, but someone is lying and Grace is determined to find out whom. Especially since those lies have put the entire world in danger…

EXCERPT: In the middle of the room was a plain, metal table with a chair on either side. One was empty. The other contained a thin man in a shapeless grey overall. His wrists were strapped to the arms of the chair, his ankles to the front legs. Long dark hair shot through with silver hung over his bowed

head. He sat utterly still and only the slight shift of his chest gave any indication of life.

“Don’t worry,” the woman said. “He can’t hurt you.”

“I never would have guessed,” I muttered, unable to keep the sarcasm from my voice. “Is that entirely necessary?”

“Mister Thomas can be… unstable.” Her expression as she stared at him verged on disgust, even hatred. “The restraints are for his benefit as much as yours.”

“You’re all heart.”

“Please, Doctor McKenna. I am aware that this probably looks… medieval to someone more used to dealing with computers, but be assured that we at Hammel MI know what is best for our residents.” She motioned at the table. “Mister Thomas has requested a private audience with you. We have agreed to monitor the conversation on closed-circuit television as long as there is no audio feed. If you will…”

I stepped into the room and she closed the door. Metal clicked as the locks were turned. Claustrophobia clenched my chest and squeezed my throat. I forced myself to breathe slowly, taking in deep gulps of air until the panic passed.

Turning to the table, I found a pair of brown eyes on me, their focus sharp and calm. This was a mad man? It was hard to believe—there was far too much intelligence in that steady gaze. I approached the table. His gaze never broke from my face and my nerves jangled as I took the seat opposite.

“You wanted to see me?”

A thin smile showed beneath the tangle of hair. “Indeed I did, Doctor McKenna.” Benedict’s rich voice belayed his gaunt appearance, the words clipped and precise. “I believe that disaster has struck the Earth?”

I glared at him. “You know that it has. You made this happen.”

The straps didn’t stop him turning his hands over, palms to the ceiling in an innocent gesture. “And how did I do that from this most comfortable of prisons, Doctor? I have not seen the sky, burning or

otherwise, since Callahan declared me insane in order to steal my royalties.”

“Nevertheless, you did something. I saw the schematics and the first satellite. The system was different, it had an addition. And I’m willing to bet that addition is what’s responsible for the sky burning.” I shook my head. “It doesn’t answer why, though. Yes, Global Solutions screwed you over, but people are going to die. The entire world paying for one man’s greed doesn’t seem fair.”

*** 

Find out more from HERE!

Teaser Tuesday - Archangel #PNR #paranormal #romance #angel

 

Excerpt: 

 

The jangle of the shop bell snapped me to alertness. I let Abigail go, not really wanting a confrontation with Angel Shop Guy over why I was holding her. My jeans were a little tight and I might have a hard time explaining that. Pun not intended.

"That was the quickest half hour I’ve ever experienced," I grumbled as I ran through baseball stats. It wasn’t exactly original but it worked. "Guess your boss doesn’t trust your judgment that much."

"It’s not Manny."

Her voice was low, her tone strained. I glanced at her and caught the deer-in-headlights look on her face. A crash came from the shop. The temperature in the back room dropped several degrees.

"Don’t move," I said to Abigail and pulled my Glock from its shoulder holster. Edging to the beaded curtain, I silently took off the safety.

A quick glance revealed three figures in the shop. They were dressed in black and wore ski masks, yet somehow I knew they weren’t here to rob the joint. Mostly because their focus was on the back room and not the till.

Without taking my eyes off them, I asked, "Is there a back entrance, preferably one we can get to?"

"Yes, but it’s locked. And Manny has the keys."

Of course he did. "How solid is the door?"

"It’s a fire door."

"I don’t suppose you have a fire ax?"

"In the shop."

I looked at her. She gave an apologetic shrug. Well, there was no point in berating her, since it was neither her shop nor bad planning on her part, and my time was better spent in figuring a way out. I could take these guys down, but I didn’t want to reveal that side to Abigail. Not until she knew me better.

"I trust you, Gabriel," she said, apparently reading my mind.

Like I needed that on top of everything else.

I considered my options. There weren’t many. Two, actually. I could risk taking my eyes off the men and try to kick open the door, or I could grab Abigail and made a run for it through the shop. Both I could see going very wrong. Time to create a third possibility.

The men assumed that surprise was still on their side, given that they crept up either side of the shop. That left a clear path to the front door, but I wasn’t going to assume they weren’t armed. When in doubt, shoot first and ask questions later.

"Abigail," I said, and held out my left hand, waiting until her slim fingers curled around mine. "Second shot. Don’t hesitate and for fuck’s sake don’t let go."

Blurb: Patient. Merciful. Protective… One out of three ain’t bad.

Small time crook Gabriel Kemp is just trying to make a living when a hit-and-run leaves him for dead. Waking up in hospital to an angel at his bedside gives him a second chance, but one that comes with a condition.

Fleeing San Francisco doesn’t mean he can evade the deal either – he still manages to meet Abigail Harris, the woman he’s promised to protect. He might not believe in the psychic visions she claims to have, but he knows if there’s even a chance she can identify the serial killer terrorizing downtown L.A. then she’s in danger.

The only way to keep Abby safe is to find and stop the killer. If that means taking on the devil determined to turn the City of Angels into the City of Hell on Earth, then so be it.

 

About Misa:

 

Misa Buckley grew up watching Doctor Who and Star Trek and reading fantasies from Anne McCaffrey and David Eddings. So when she started writing NaNoWriMo in 2007, it was sci fi that she wrote. She found writing a much-needed haven from the crazy of raising five children and a Land Rover-obsessed husband. It took her a few years to take the step from writing to submitting, but she is now published through Decadent Publishing and Champagne Books, as well as self-publishing. Her books involve characters who experience adventure, romance and really hot sex on their way to a happily-ever-after.
Misa can be found on Twitter (@MisaBuckley) or at her website (www.misabuckley.com)
 

NEW SCI FI ROMANCE E-PUBLISHER LAUNCHES #sfr

SFR Brigade member and author Misa Buckley has launched an e-publisher specialising in science fiction romance. SUNBURST PRESS opened its doors on May 1^st, 2013 with a submission call for Close Encounter stories, as well as general submissions.

Sunburst has four imprints:

• SUNBURST: single-title science fiction romance novels of 60,000 – 100,000 words.
• FLARE: novellas of 15,000 – 60,000 words.
• ECLIPSE: dark science fiction romance with no happily-ever-afters/happy-for-nows required.
• CORONA: erotic sci fi romance with hot sex scenes (including BDSM) and multiple partners.

All stories should include well-rounded characters and plenty of action. Open door sex scenes are preferable, but not mandatory, and should be part of a growing or an established relationship. SUNBURST includes novels with LGBT characters across all imprints.

The science fiction sub-genres Sunburst is looking for includes Apocalyptic, Cyberpunk, Dystopian, Future Earth (Apocalyptic, Dystopian or other), Space Opera, Space Western and Time Travel. Fantasy elements can be included if there is a scientific reason for them.

How to Submit:

Submissions are by email only.

In the body of your email, please include your book’s blurb, genre and word count, as well as a short bio of yourself, including any previous publications. Please attach your work – emails with novels pasted in the body will be deleted.

Attachments should include a synopsis up to three pages and the entire manuscript. Please label your attachments as TITLE-SURNAME-MS and TITLE-SURNAME-SYNOPSIS.

All attachments need to be .doc or .rtf. Format must be Times New Roman set to 12-point, 1.5 line spacing with no return between paragraphs and one inch margins.

When you are ready to submit, please email: submissions@sunburstpress.com ensuring that the subject of your email reads as QUERY: TITLE–SURNAME

Please allow 4-8 weeks for a reply. If you do not receive any reply by that time, please feel free to email for a status update.

Contest Win - Terms & Conditions Apply

A Science Fiction Romance Short

Okay, so just in case you missed it, my sfr short Terms & Conditions Apply placed in the Gulf Coast RWA Chapter Silken Sands Self-Published Star Award, scoring a 2nd in the short story category. Woo hoo! To say I'm chuffed is an understatement. This is the first contest I'd entered T&CA for, so I was shocked to final. A small part of the kudos must go to friend and fellow SFR Brigader Misa Buckley for her anthology idea that sparked the story, and to my editor and cover designer Danielle Fine for her stellar work on this short. Cheers!
 

Cover Love - Misa Buckley

For this week's cover love post, please welcome speculative romance author and Cliff Simon minion, Misa Buckley, sharing her favourite spec fic covers.

GRAVITY, Melissa West

Despite an aversion to YA, I'm drawn to GRAVITY because of its simplicity. There are no naked torsos or angst-ridden teens, just the Earth from space. The fonts used are beautiful and elegant, and fit the overall theme without dominating. All in, its a very eye-catching cover that makes me want the book, and that's kind of the point.

GHOST PLANET, Sharon Lynn Fisher

What I love about GHOST PLANET is how the main characters are shown in reflection. With one male and one female, it's obvious that the book is sci fi romance but again there's no naked torsos or the traditional cuddle that usually says SFR. This cover is much more subtle, and I think the conjunction also hints at an unbalance within the story. 

A STAR SHALL FALL, Marie Brennan

London in flames and a dragon in the sky. What more do I need to say?!

THE KINGDOM OF GODS, N.K. Jemisin

I have to admit to liking this cover for its likeness to Stargate's Atlantis. The swirling sea hints at danger, while a scattering of stars suggests magic. But what grabs me is the almost-invisible antagonist (I presume) - the eye in the sky. The overall impression is one of beauty with an undertone of freaking creepy.

BLACKBIRDS, Chuck Wendig

I absolutely love this stark black-and-white image by Joey Hi-fi and so have a lot of cover competitions. Miriam (the protagonist, if you've not read this book yet) is shown in relief, her picture made up of birds. This is a strong theme through BLACKBIRDS and sequel MOCKINGBIRD, which has a similar cover. A creepy, grimy (but great!) cover for a creepy, grimy (but fabulous!) book.



Bio
Born and raised in Manchester, UK, Misa Buckley grew up watching Doctor Who and Star Trek. She was fascinated by stars and space travel and avidly followed every Shuttle launch. But while TV fed her love of the future, books tapped into a fondness of fantasy, devouring books by Anne McCaffrey and David Eddings.
The extraordinary fascinated her, but growing up she’d rather be out horse-riding or practising her artwork than writing. It wasn’t until she’d married college sweetheart and had their first child that she discovered fanfiction, which offered her the chance to play in the universes she loved to watch.

Find her at
Website
Goodreads
Twitter

Upcoming release

TIN CAT

A year after the accident that put her in a wheelchair, Amber Gerald has more or less gotten used to living with her impairment. It doesn’t make a difference to running a comic book store anyway, and the customers have been the best support group she could have wished for.
When she rescues an abandoned cat, Amber has no idea that she’s interfering in the mad scheme of a time travelling bank robber. Or that the man that walks into her store dressed like Blade is about to become her bodyguard.
Between being an unwitting owner of an android cat and falling for a cybernetic bounty hunter, Amber finds her life a whole new level of weird as science fiction becomes a very real factual threat.

Released 4th March 2013 from Champagne Books


So what do you think of Misa's choices? Have any caught your eye? 
 

Read Only Wednesday - Tin Cat by Misa Buckley #scifi #sfr #romance

A year after the accident that put her in a wheelchair, Amber Gerald has more or less gotten used to living with her impairment. It doesn’t make a difference to running a comic book store anyway, and the customers have been the best support group she could have wished for.

When she rescues an abandoned cat, Amber has no idea that she’s interfering in the mad scheme of a time travelling bank robber. Or that the man that walks into her store dressed like Blade is about to become her bodyguard.

Between being an unwitting owner of an android cat and falling for a cybernetic bounty hunter, Amber finds her life a whole new level of weird as science fiction becomes a very real factual threat.

Goodreads
Twitter
Website

#Interview with Misa Buckley #sfr #sfrb #scifi #romance

Please tell us a bit about yourself: I was born and raised in Manchester, which is where I still live with my husband of almost 18 years and our five children. I grew up watching Star Trek and Doctor Who, and so became a huge fan of science fiction. But I didn’t start writing until 1999, when I discovered fan fiction. One thing led to another and now I’m a published author of speculative romance.

Tell us about TIN CAT: a disabled comic book store owner has her life turned upside-down when the cat she’s adopted turns out to be a cyborg created by a criminal mastermind. She has to save the world, helped by a very sexy but mysterious time traveller.

Blurb:

A year after the accident that put her in a wheelchair, Amber Gerald has more or less gotten used to living with her impairment. It doesn’t make a difference to running a comic book store anyway, and the customers have been the best support group she could have wished for.

When she rescues an abandoned cat, Amber has no idea that she’s interfering in the mad scheme of a time travelling bank robber. Or that the man that walks into her store dressed like Blade is about to become her bodyguard.

Between being an unwitting owner of an android cat and falling for a cybernetic bounty hunter, Amber finds her life a whole new level of weird as science fiction becomes a very real factual threat.

What inspired you to write this particular story?: Originally it was for a submission call for geek heroes, inspired by a whole glut of family sci fi movies, including The Cat From Outer Space, and too many Saturday afternoons spent in Forbidden Planet. 

Which comes first for you – a character's looks, personality or name?: Looks tend to come first, though more or less along with the personality (one tends to reflect the other). Names will either come immediately or be a pain in the butt.

Any tips for aspiring authors?: Write lots. Read more. Join Absolute Write. Follow Writer Beware. Write what you love, love what you write. And never ever give up.

Questions for fun:

If you had the power of time travel, is there anything you would go back and change? I’d travel back to Los Angeles, 2009 and tell myself to get out of bed and go meet Cliff Simon. Damn jet lag *sighs*

Which fictional universe would you like to live in and why? Probably Stargate’s. I love the idea of almost instant travel to other worlds. Plus, Atlantis is very pretty at night :D

If you could have three wishes, what would they be? To make enough as an author and cover artist to buy a house, to travel to New Zealand, and to go back to L.A.

Which fictional spacecraft/mythical creature/mode of transport/unusual pet would you like to own, and why?: Does Baal count as a pet? Heh. Hmm, probably Talyn (Farscape) The idea of sentient spaceships intrigued me and Talyn was beyond beautiful. His captain wasn’t bad either…

Coffee, tea or wine?: Oh, please. Wine.

And to finish:

What is your favourite book? (aside from one of your own!): Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay

Favourite genre and why?: Ugh, that’s hard. I think I’m going to plump for Steampunk, because I love the mix of historical setting and madcap fantasy. Also, it has krakens.

Favourite colour?: Um, blue. LOL

Upcoming news and plans for the future?: After TIN CAT, I have BAYNE out in May, STAR ATTRACTION in July, and the first of the Archangel trilogy out in August. Future plans include writing ALL THE THINGS, perhaps attending a writers’ conference, and hassling Cliff Simon wherever possible. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us! You’re welcome! :D

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Cover Reveal - Star Attraction

I'm proud to be taking part in a multi-blog cover reveal for my good friend and fellow Brigader and Champagne Books author, Misa Buckley. Behold, Star Attraction!

Blurb: Observatory tour guide Megan Shaw has always had stars in her eyes, so when she all but runs down the otherworldly Raul, she barely blinks. It doesn’t hurt that Raul is hot – whether in his human form or his natural one – and that there’s an immediate mutual attraction.

But Raul is on the run from his alien overlords and soon Megan finds herself fighting against a foothold situation with nothing more than a couple of cattle prods and Muse for soundtrack.

However Earth is not the only planet at risk and with his species desperate to escape generations of oppression, will Raul’s loyalties shift as easily as his physical appearance?

Released: June 3rd.

Bio: Misa Buckley is a sci fi geek who escapes the crazy of raising five children by creating imaginary characters who experience adventure, romance and really hot sex on their way to a happily-ever-after. You can keep up to date with Misa’s latest news by following her on Twitter (@MisaBuckley) or at her website (www.misabuckley.com)

Introducing Raul - guest post by Misa Buckley

Please welcome Misa Buckley to the blog, author of romantic speculative fiction, who is introducing her sexy shape-shifting alien star from her new release - PARADIGM SHIFT.

 

In PARADIGM SHIFT, my love interest is an alien that can shift his appearance to fit in, rather like a chameleon changing its colour. I wanted him to have this ability instead of having a technological disguise, because a shape shifter isn’t a common trope in science fiction.

However when my heroine first meets Raul, he looks human… ish.

I slowed and stopped for a set of red lights. I used that pause to turn to him. Under the orange streetlights, he looked like any other human male: broad shoulders and the lean frame of an athlete. It was his golden skin, like a very deep tan, and the amber eyes that gave his otherworldly origins away.

Not only does he look human, but he looks pretty damn hot. No wonder Megan’s interested! Now I have to admit that Raul’s human form might have had a certain influence – one that anyone who follows me on Twitter will be very aware of. Even the amber eyes… well, a certain System Lord did have eyes that glowed!

Ba'al from Stargate - taken from Wikipedia

But aside from those little nods, Raul isn’t based on anyone. I think he’s more the sort of alien I’d want to meet. Hey, I’m all for fifth contact and encouraging intergalactic relations! Which leads me, in a roundabout way, to his alien form.

As every other writer of sci fi, I was faced with a choice: make Raul truly alien, or cheat and have him humanoid. Given that the story was sci fi romance, and that I wanted a scene between him and Megan, I went for the latter option.

He gave a slow blink, then loosed the belt and shucked the gown off his shoulders. As it pooled around his feet, his whole body blurred, like a TV losing its signal. Then he came back into focus.

I didn’t scream. There was no need to as he was beautiful. His head lost its hair, even the eyebrows, but the eyes and lips stayed the same. His nose was flatter, the nostrils wide and flaring, and his ears sank into the larger skull. But what entranced me was the patination of his golden skin: a crosshatch of brown lines began on the sides of his neck and ran down both arms to the wrists. His chest bore another patch, which then divided to circle his navel. The lines were darker over his thighs, then faded mid-shin. It gave the effect of scales and made my fingers itch to investigate their texture.

I honestly don’t know where Raul’ alien form came from. Some dark recess of my mind, though I think the patination on his skin was influenced by Jadzia Dax of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. All I knew was that I wanted some of his human traits to be reflected in his natural one (or should that be vice versa?) as biologically some things were likely to be universal. I also wanted him to appear attractive, as it IS sci fi romance ;-)

Jadzia Dax - taken from Wikipedia

So that’s Raul, human and Ascellan.

PARADIGM SHIFT

 

Observatory tour guide Megan Shaw has always had stars in her eyes, so when she all but runs down the otherworldly Raul, she barely blinks. It doesn’t hurt that Raul is hot – whether in his human form or his natural one – and that there’s an immediate mutual attraction.

But Raul is on the run from his alien overlords and soon Megan finds herself fighting against a foothold situation with nothing more than a couple of cattle prods and Muse for soundtrack.

However Earth is not the only planet at risk and with his species desperate to escape generations of oppression, will Raul’s loyalties shift as easily as his physical appearance?

PURCHASE INFORMATION

Paperback: Amazon US | Lulu (UK)
Kindle: US | UK

BLOG TOUR

May 1 – Guest Blog & Giveaway @ Close Encounters with the Night Kind

May 2 – Guest Blog, Review & Giveaway @ For the Love of Reading

May 3 – Interview @ Tory Michaels

May 4 – Review @ Sexxy Blogger

May 8 – Book Spotlight @ Cocktails & Books

May 9 – Interview @ Books-n-Kisses

May 10 – Guest Blog @ Readers Edens

May 11 – Guest Blog @ Jacob’s Beloved Books

May 14 – Character Interview @ Picked by Poison

Misa Buckley grew up watching Doctor Who and Star Trek and reading fantasies from Anne McCaffrey and David Eddings. So when she started writing NaNoWriMo in 2007, it was sci fi that she wrote. She found writing a much-needed haven from the crazy of raising five children and a Land Rover-obsessed husband.
It took her a few years to take the step from writing to submitting, but her first published novella, IRONHAVEN, was published in July 2011 by Decadent Publishing. Now contracted with Champagne Books as well as self-publishing, she can be found on Twitter (@MisaBuckley) or at her website (www.misabuckley.com)