Category Archives: guest post

Well, Not Steal Exactly… by Vivien Jackson – Guest Post

09 Tuesday Jul 2019

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Today is release day for More Than Stardust.  Congratuations to Vivien Jackson on her new book!  If you missed my review of this great new book, you can find it here.

Today I am please to welcome Ms. Jackson to Whiskey With My Book.  She has decided to confess…

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Guest Post
by Vivien Jackson

Writers don’t just make up stories out of a vacuum. We steal tons of stuff… well, not steal exactly, not like plagiarism because that is BAD AND DON’T DO IT, but more in the way of references to previous work we have found meaningful and influential. For instance, I’m not sure if you it’s possible to write a book about a manufactured post-human – be it cyborg or android or techno-zombie – without having bits of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein pinging around in your brain. That book certainly took up residence in my mind when I was writing More Than Stardust, a science fiction romance about a self-aware nanorobotic artificial intelligence who dreams of having a body and being a real girl. At one point my characters even reference Frankenstein because that book is so deeply hooked into concepts of manufactured persons. I mean, of course characters in such a situation would think about it.

They don’t overtly reference Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, but I echoed a line of hers in a scene where characters are hiking over a glacier. Points to anybody who finds that line.

I also reference, more obliquely, Theodore Sturgeon’s More Than Human. Like that classic science fiction novel, my book is about post-humans, the “what comes after us” what-of of personhood. Which is where I got the title More Than Stardust from.

There are also homage-type references to all my fandoms, too: Doctor Who and The X-Files and J. R. R. Tolkien and 1980s hair band metal… stuff like that. I wouldn’t be a deep-rooted fangirl if I didn’t throw in those things. When I’m reading a book, I look for the connections between the author and me, things that we might have in common, as evidenced in what the characters say and do. Those things make a character relatable. If the character is only interested in things that I don’t know very well or don’t care to know particularly, I might skip pages. That’s not to say I haven’t read books where I learned something new – those are super fun! – but it’s comfy, to me, to find bits of things I love inside the books I read.

About More Than Stardust

She never wanted to be a god. She only wanted to be a girl.

Chloe, a self-aware, highly illegal nanorobotic artificial intelligence knows a thing or two about wanting. The growing Machine Rebellion wants her to become its god. The technocratic global Consortium wants to cage her, take her apart, and reverse-engineer her. Her family wants to keep her a secret. Her best friend Garrett wants her safe. Chloe is a thing made of wants.

And it’s time the world knew hers.

Available now at
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SY9KR5N
And everywhere else: https://books2read.com/u/mg0qGv

About the Author

Vivien Jackson writes fantastical, futuristic, kissing books. Her debut science fiction romance, Wanted and Wired, was selected as an Amazon Best Book of 2017 and a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist. A devoted fangirl and inveterate gamer, Viv lives in Austin, Texas, with a herd of small, hairy pets. Also a husband. Hang out with her on Twitter @Vivien_Jackson or on the web at VivienJackson.com.

Connect with Vivian at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vivien_Jackson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VivienJacksonWriter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivien.jackson/
Web: https://www.vivienjackson.com

How on Earth Did You Think of That? by Pauline Baird Jones – Guest Post with Excerpt

06 Thursday Jun 2019

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A new book in Pauline Baird Jones’ Project Enterprise series will soon be released.  I have to say, of all the books that are being released this summer, this is the one I have most anticipated.  If you too are looking forward to Maestra Rising, read on.  Pauline is visiting today and offers some insight into one of her characters.

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Guest Post
by Pauline Baird Jones

One of the questions I get from readers is how on earth did you think of that? Lol

I also get some looks that (I think) “you don’t look like you wrote that.”

One friend read a book of mine, and told me, “I thought you were nice!”

I told her, “I’m nice because of what I write.” [Slightly wicked grin here.]

My hubs claims I kill him in every book. That is a huge exaggeration. I’m pretty sure I haven’t killed him for at least ten books. Lol

I do find the inside/outside thing interesting on a personal and authorial level. Someone once told me that writers answer—or try to answer—the questions of their lives in their fiction. I didn’t believe this at first. There is nothing obviously like me in any of my stories. My characters are brave and do hard things. I am not brave and do hard things because I don’t have another option and I’m usually crying inside.

But, I have noticed, that in a lot of books, my heroines deal with an issue that I do struggle with: what they appear to be on the outside as opposed to who and how they feel on the inside (as noted above). It’s like an ongoing identity crisis for me and my characters. lol

I think this bubbles up in my fiction (and in my life) because I came of age during a time where women’s roles were going through momentous change (a long time ago!). I grew up in a world with one set of expectations, and came of age with a whole new set of expectations.

And because I am shy, I knew that the person people saw was not who I thought (felt) I was. I find I still struggle with it as I enter these “golden” years. (What??? Who came up with that description for getting old??) It feels like the disconnect between the outward me and the inward me is getting wider—though my comfort level with myself is getting better (or I’m just more resigned. Lol)

So, yeah, identity still comes up in my books. There’s a scene in Maestra Rising where Nivi is dealing with her identity and what it means:

“I don’t know what to do.” Her tone was flat.

He took another step closer. Now just the Urclock separated them. He lifted a hand, resting it on stone that was both warm and cool. No lines of light ran across its surface, as it did when Nivi touched it, but he felt the spark of energy in it, where his hand rested.

Her lips trembled and she shook her head. “I always know what to do, but I don’t.”

Her gaze met his again. “It matters so much and I—”

He stepped around the Urclock and carefully took her hands in his. This time she didn’t flinch. Her back was straight, but she swayed on her feet.

“You are weary,” he said. Moose eased her carefully close. She leaned into him.

“I don’t know what to do,” she repeated, her voice muffled against his chest.

He stroked her hair. “You don’t have to know everything.”

“But I do—I did.” Her body shuddered in a sigh. “I was always afraid this moment would come. That the others—that everyone would know.”

“What would they know?”

“That I didn’t know everything.”

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Despite my issues, and Nivi’s, I had a wonderful time writing this book and I hope that readers will enjoy it, too. Thank you so much for having me visit your blog today, Riley! I always love stopping by and you’ve helped me find so many fun books!

Perilously yours,
Pauline

About from Maestra Rising

She’s a gifted scientist. He’s a robot with a human mind. Can they save a lost ship and find love among the stars?

Nivi awakes from cryosleep plagued by guilt. The scientific genius had hoped her people would avoid war if she went into cold sleep, but she learns her sacrifice was in vain. And now a vicious enemy approaches a stranded Earth spaceship.

Desperate to reactivate the technology she needs for the rescue, Nivi enlists the help of an attractive robot with a human consciousness and wisdom beyond his years…

Moose survived slavery but never forgot the feeling of worthlessness it forced upon him. After living in the body of a robot for years, he sees an opportunity to help the brilliant Nivi if he becomes human once again. In a new body with new dangers, he worries that the genius scientist will never see him as more than the robot he once was.

Outnumbered by a relentless foe, Nivi and Moose attempt to put their desires on hold to ensure humanity’s survival.

With time running out, can they defeat the enemy and enjoy a future filled with love?

Maestra Rising is the eighth novel in the epic Project Enterprise sci-fi romance series. If you like gripping adventures, captivating characters, and emotional out-of-this-world encounters, then you’ll love Pauline Baird Jones’ thrilling saga.

Links

Add Maestra Rising to your Goodreads shelf:

Pre-order Maestra Rising to take an interstellar adventure today!  Releases June 18.

Pauline’s Website
Amazon
Apple Books
Kobo
Barnes and Noble

About the Author

USA Today Bestselling author Pauline Baird Jones never liked reality, so she writes books. She likes to wander among the genres, rampaging like Godzilla, because she does love peril mixed in her romance. Loves chocolate, bacon, flamingoes, and mid-century modern anything.

Find Pauline here:

 

Everything Scottish – Guest Post from Nancy Lee Badger, author of Heaven-sent Highlander

01 Wednesday May 2019

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There are many time-travel stories about a modern day heroine or hero ending up in the past.   I call these historical romances, and while I enjoy the romantic and historical elements, I always think: Ew, who would want to give up modern conveniences for drafty old castles, food of questionable quality, and, most of all, lack of reasonable plumbing.

How about when the heroine or hero comes from the past to end up in contemporary times?  Now that is the time travel story I can get into.  The Warriors in Bronze series, presents just those types of stories.

Nancy Lee Badger is back at Whiskey With My Book to talk about her newest Warriors in Bronze release, Heaven-sent Highlander.

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Guest Post

Years ago, when I moved from snowbound New Hampshire to sunny North Carolina, I wrote lots of books. In fact, Heaven-sent Highlander is my 26th published novel and I am so glad to share the news with y’all today.

Last year, after Soul Mate Publishing said ‘yes’ to my manuscript for Heaven-sent Warrior, I kept writing. Heaven-sent Highlander has a Scottish Highlander out of his time and a heroine who is a full Fae from the Isle of Skye. My Warriors in Bronze series will include a third book, which is nearly ready to send to my publisher. A love for everything Scottish gets me writing. More ideas come from touring the nearby North Carolina Museum of Art. I also love animals and have included two horses and a Samoyed dog as secondary characters. Why not? This is the second book in the series and will soon be followed by Heaven-sent Flame.

About Heaven-sent Highlander

At an American museum, surrounded by Auguste Rodin’s bronze statues, a Scottish Fae beauty is at a crossroads. Now that Gwendolyn’s friends are engaged, and the demon they fought vanquished, should she return home? After committing a terrible act, she could not explain to her cousin why she had appeared on his doorstep.

Alexander awoke in darkness inside a bronze statue, remembering how the green of Scotland’s Culloden field had turned red with blood that day in 1746. Had he died before awakening nude and sightless in front of strangers in present-day Raleigh, North Carolina? The mystery of how was overshadowed by why. Told that another warrior awoke when a demon threatened to take over the world, had a second demon escaped Hell? When the demon appears and demands Gwen join him, Alex must use all his new skills, weapons, and Heaven-sent powers to keep her and the world safe.

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Excerpt from Heaven-sent Highlander

A tap on the outside of his tomb sent a blast of energy tearing through the Highlander. From the sudden screams of the females, he assumed the Frenchman felt it as well. It was very painful, and his limbs convulsed.

The next moment, air was plentiful, the stone beneath his back gritty, and the scent of something both delicious and sensual forced his nostrils to flare. When he snapped open his eyes, to see the people who had freed him from his dark home, he saw nothing.

“Be this nightfall?” he whispered, finding his throat in desperate need of ale, or whisky. He pushed to sit up with nearly useless limbs. Several large hands grasped him beneath his shoulders and helped him to his feet. He stood as still as his numb legs could manage and blinked. Still nothing. He rubbed his hands over his chest and sides. Recalling a brief memory of a cannon blast, he said, louder, “Do ye see any wounds?”

Still nothing, until a whisper of air and a delicious scent told him at least one of the strangers had stepped closer.

“Sam,” a female voice said, “he is naked.”

Really? They can see all of me, yet I see nothing? Did they know he was as helpless as a newborn bairn? Should he share his feebleness, or would that give them cause to dispatch him without a second thought?

He straightened his shoulders, and their hands fell away. He staggered but kept upright and spread his feet, angling for more control of his limbs. A deep breath was invigorating, but where did the scent originate? Whatever or whoever it was, it filled his lungs with hope and sustenance.

His stomach growled, and the female closest to him laughed. “We should have saved some chicken wings for the lad.”

When delicate fingers stroked his arm, he gasped.

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Links

Add Heaven-sent Highlander to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Heaven-sent Highlander:

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About the Author

Nancy Lee Badger grew up in Huntington on New York’s Long Island, where school field trips to lofty museums were the norm. After attending Plymouth State, in New Hampshire, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education and met and married her college sweetheart. They raised two handsome sons in Rumney, New Hampshire, where Nancy volunteered as an EMT and firefighter while working full-time. When the children had left the nest, and shoveling show became a chore, she retired from her satisfying job as a 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Dispatcher and moved with her husband to North Carolina, where she writes full-time.

Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and the Triangle Association of Freelancers. She loves to travel and attend Scottish Highland Games and is never far from her laptop. She finds story ideas in the most unusual places. Connect with her here:

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