Pauline Baird Jones, Author of Found Girl – Guest Post

20 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by WWMB in Featuring...., guest post

Tags

book feature, exclusive excerpt, guest post, humor, Pauline Baird Jones, scifi, scifi romance, series, space opera

I am very excited today! A favorite author talking about a favorite series. Specifically, Pauline Baird Jones talking about the newest book in her Project Enterprise series – Found Girl. I love her quirky sense of humor. [Hmm. That reminds me. I hope she behaves.]

Welcome Pauline!

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I’d like to thank Riley for inviting me to her blog!

[Looks around for a comfy place to sit and gets distracted by all the books…]

Oh, right, sorry. But she does have some great looking books lying around. I don’t suppose I can just read one?

No.

Okay, I’ll be good.

(Small confession here. I started writing way, way, way back in—well, that’s not relevant. I started writing books because it forced me to “read” slower when I had the write the whole book. I must say, it does really slow you down having to type ALL THE WORDS. Shouldn’t there be an app for that?)

So recently I “read” a new novel in my Project Enterprise series. It’s called Found Girl. In previous Project Enterprise books I’ve hinted that there are other Project ships going in other directions. And this book follows one of those ships into a space load of trouble.

Here’s an exclusive to this blog excerpt from Found Girl: Project Enterprise 6:

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Now that they’d boldly gone somewhere, Colonel Jackson “Coop” Cooper would have liked to do more than talk about how cool it was to boldly be somewhere.

The Boyington’s geeks claimed they had passed the boundary into a new star system during ship night. He’d have to take their word for it. Looking at the projected view outside? All he could see was a whole lot of deep space on one side and even more deep space on the other.

He loosed a silent sigh. Probably not much chance of finding another hidden base full of advanced technology and weapons, no matter how far they got from the Milky Way. In his experience, the universe didn’t repeat the good stuff. In the absence of a hidden base, he would settle for first contact with some actual aliens.

Where was the adventure they’d promised him as a consolation for the trip to Mars he hadn’t got? Okay, so the secret expedition wouldn’t be secret if they went to Mars where the Project Enterprise ships could have been spotted by who knew who—though no one had explained how they’d managed to get out of their system. And they wouldn’t. He was a fighter jockey, the commander of the Boyington’s air group, which meant he got orders, not explanations.

He leaned back in his chair and tried not to yawn as the head geek blah blah blahed about the results of their initial, deep system scan. Sure, he was ecstatic it had so much cool astrophysical crap and a big healthy sun. Who didn’t like finding another sun? He needed to work on his tan. Or here’s a thought. Turn him and his flyboys loose to go look at all of it. Flying sim-drills was not making any of them happy.

He glanced at Pappy, sitting across from him. Not General Boyette’s real name, but the nickname came with the command of the Boyington. Pappy, hiding a yawn with a hand and a cough, met Coop’s gaze and gave a slight shrug. Must be galling to him that they’d missed the battle in the Garradian Galaxy, then been sent here before things hotted up again. On the upside, the Boyington had been upgraded with a lot of the cool tech post battle, enabling it to go further than any of the other expedition ships.

Pappy’s eyes narrowed. “Is it just our point of entry that makes it look like we came in on the empty side of the system?”

It did kind of look like they’d arrived in the system’s boonies.

There was a concerted turn of geeks’ heads as they studied their arrival point, then the cluster of planets huddled on the other side of the system. What appeared to be streams of debris fanned out, as if drawn toward the cluster.

“And what is all this?” Pappy’s finger pointed to the debris fields.

“Asteroid belts?” one geek postulated.

“Not belts,” another disagreed. “Not seeing any with a center of gravity.”

There was a stir of excitement as someone zoomed in on the region.

“Some of the clusters do appear to have gravitational orientation,” someone murmured.

Coop tipped his head to one side. Kind of reminded him of a pool table. Wasn’t sure why that thought made him uneasy, other than the fact the Boyington seemed to be on the cue side of the table. He glanced at Pappy and found him frowning.

“Might be a good idea to do a risk assessment—”

Coop stiffened a half a second before the alarm cut off Pappy’s words. He was up and headed for the hatch opening as the alert began its klaxon call ship-wide. It was, so his pilots claimed, his super power, this uncanny ability to sense trouble coming even before the sensors.

“Clear,” he ordered, flattening civilians and other personal against the wall as he jogged past, headed for the squadron’s hangar bay. Over his comm, the updates started to come in from Ops.

Unknown contacts.

Collision warnings began to blare as the space around them filled with multiple objects.

Unknown risk factors.

Other than the chance of getting slammed by multiple objects? “What do you know,” he snapped into his comm. Lots of explanations, but nothing with meat.

By the time he’d donned his speed jeans and was settling into the cockpit of his Dauntless, Ops was reporting that at least one of the objects was a ship. One possible life sign on board. Low energy signature. Possibly an indication of damage, or it was a dead/dying ship. Or it was just had a low energy profile.

Amazing how fast things could go from “wow, this is so cool that we’re in a new star system,” to “wow, there’s a bunch of UFO’s and an alien ship and I think I just wet my pants.”

Question #1: Does Found Girl tie directly into the previous Project Enterprise books?

Answer: Found Girl does not, well…it kind of does…but…

Question #2: Will new books eventually tie into the previous books in the series?

Answer: That is the plan. 🙂 [Hopefully, the Universe hasn’t taken notice and has my plan on its upcoming hosing list…]

And speaking of Project Enterprise, there will be a spin-off story in Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2, releasing Oct 10, 2017 (but available for preorder now! Link to all vendors: http://www.paulinebjones.com/book/embrace-the-romance). “Time Trap” gives readers Master Sgt. Briggs a story (not to mention an adventure and a romance). “Time Trap” also ties into Nebula Nine. It’s like one of those knot things. You know. The knots. [Pause for a Google search] Endless knots. That’s it. But with explosions and characters shooting ray guns at each other.

And now I’m sure Riley is wondering why on earth she let me loose on her blog. LOL So I’ll stop and thank her again for letting me rampage, er, visit.

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Riley: I’m happy to take a chance letting Pauline loose at WWMB. Thanks for visiting Pauline! Guess what?! I’ve read Found Girl (liked it a lot) and I even wrote a review.

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About Found Girl: Project Enterprise 6:

She likes being lost…

He needs to be found…

Arian Teraz would be perfectly happy if she never returned to her cheerless, hopeless world. Her life changes when her ship is damaged. Rescued by a handsome alien from a distant galaxy, Arian longs to find a place with him and his people.

Hotshot USAF pilot, Captain Jackson “Coop” Cooper knew the risks of boldly going somewhere before he signed up for the Project Enterprise expedition. When an anomaly sends his ship into a mysterious, no-exit sanctuary about to be invaded by a deadly adversary, he is forced to trust the unusual woman who might be his only ticket out.

With an invasion threatening the sanctuary and enemies emerging from Arian’s past, Arian and Coop must combine forces to seize an uncertain future together. Can they save each other as they battle the forces trying to rip them apart, or will the secret Arian’s ship carries – along with those seeking to exploit her – separate them forever?

Grab your copy of Found Girl today and dive into the sixth installment in the award-winning Project Enterprise series – your transport to action, adventure, and romance in space.

Preorder today! Dive into the sixth installment in the award-winning Project Enterprise series – your transport to action, adventure, and romance in space.

Preorder today! The sixth installment in the award-winning Project Enterprise series – your transport to action, adventure, and romance in space.

Preorder the sixth installment in the award-winning Project Enterprise series – your transport to action, adventure, and romance in space.

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Where you can buy Found Girl:

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07344JN1H/ (also available in print)
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/found-girl
IBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/found-girl/id1251605616
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/found-girl-pauline-baird-jones/1126627966?ean=2940154743805
GooglePlay: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Pauline_Baird_Jones_Found_Girl?id=3zQpDwAAQBAJ

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Social Media Links for Pauline:

Website: http://www.paulinebjones.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorPaulineBairdJones
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulinebjones
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/247227.Pauline_Baird_Jones
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulinebjones/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/pauline-baird-jones
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC246_a-liiXa_Y_uRlSQZgQ
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pauline-Baird-Jones/e/B000APFS0M/

Breeder Trilogy by Cara Bristol – Guest Post

18 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by WWMB in Featuring...., guest post

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

aliens, book feature, Cara Bristol, erotic, scifi, scifi romance, series

I am pleased to have Cara Bristol here today to introduce us to her Breeder series, which is being released over the summer. Having read book 1 (review here), I am happy to recommend this series!

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By Cara Bristol

Breeder is a dark science fiction romance set in a world where love is viewed as weakness and ruthlessly stamped out. Culture and law (called “Protocol” in the books) enforce a caste system, decreeing men to be the natural, rightful rulers and women to be breeding slaves.

In this harsh, brutal misogynistic culture, one man and one woman violate all the rules by falling in love. Their forbidden love sets off a chain reaction that begins to unravel their world.

Each book of Breeder trilogy is a stand-alone romance between a different hero and heroine who find their HEA by the end of the book. There are no cliffhangers in the characters’ romances. However, what does continue from one book to the next and isn’t resolved until the final book is the story of the Parseon women and their struggle for equality.

Breeder, which introduces the misogynistic world, is probably the darkest of the novels. Terran is a bit lighter with moments of humor, and in Warrior, there is resolution. Breeder and Terran are currently available for purchase; Warrior will be published in August and will probably go on preorder in late July.

About Breeder

She was only meant to be the Alpha Commander’s slave…but she became his everything.

High Commander Dak, a ruling Alpha of planet Parseon, purchases Omra strictly as a breeder slave. He intends to impregnate her, produce a son, and hand her off to his anointed beta partner, Corren. Any infractions of the rules by her will be harshly punished.

But as Dak and Omra discover a sexual bliss banned by law, Dak begins to question the traditions and ways of his people, causing him to jeopardize his command and endanger the life of the woman he has come to love.

Dak has enemies, men who will not hesitate to exploit his fondness for Omra, and use it to portray him as unfit to rule as Alpha. Can he expose the rampant cruelty and corruption in Parseon culture… or will the protocol he’s spent his life defending, be the weapon used to destroy them and their love?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072QCJRCT
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=YloqDwAAQBAJ
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breeder-cara-bristol/1117315745
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/breeder-17
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1242950901

About Terran

She’s at the mercy of her alien abductor…

After a vicious attack on Earth, Tara Diehl flees earth for the dubious safety of planet Parseon. A vendor in the marketplace, she’s adjusted to the male-dominated culture better than most until she’s kidnapped by Alpha Commander Marlix, one of the five rulers of the planet. At first she’s terrified of her tall, muscled abductor, especially when he doesn’t hesitate to quell her struggle for freedom with a little corporal discipline. After all her methods and ploys to escape fail, she decides to seduce her way to freedom.

But out of subterfuge grows a true intimacy that cause Marlix and Tara to take a stand that drives Parseon to the brink of a civil war, which threatens their love and their lives.

Terran, the second book in the Breeder series, is a “capture” romance involving a domineering but hunky alien and a female with a bad dye job and an even worse attitude.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073FHTB54
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=WHIqDwAAQBAJ
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1252087707
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/terran-cara-bristol/1119461939
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/terran-1

About Warrior

In a fight for freedom, will love become a casualty?

On an alien planet where women are chattel, Anika must perform her duty and become the breeder of an Alpha Commander. Secretly in love with another man, she’s unable to accept the arrangement and runs away. Bound by his duty, her lover Urazi must bring her back to fulfill her responsibility. But as war breaks out, and their planet fights a desperate battle against a villainous despot, Anika and Urazi unite in determination to save their people. With their already lives on the line for disobeying orders, the forbidden love they share becomes the biggest danger of all.

Don’t miss Warrior, the exciting conclusion to the Breeder science fiction romance series.

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Author Bio

USA Today bestselling author Cara Bristol writes steamy science fiction romance with an emphasis on the characters and their romance, with a little humor, heat, and danger added for fun. She is the author of three science fiction romance series: sexy cyborg Cy-Ops Scifi Romance series, the dark erotic Breeder series, and the new humorous Alien Mate series. She likes to say that she writes science fiction for readers who don’t like sci-fi. Cara lives in Missouri with her alpha hero, her husband, and Hannah, her cat and writing supervisor.

Author links:
Web site: http://www.carabristol.com
Newsletter: https://page.co/LQDD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cara.bristol.3
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcarabristol/

The Sweet Spot – Gothic Romance – Guest Post by Kathryn Troy

01 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by WWMB in Featuring...., guest post

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

book feature, dark, excerpt, fantasy, giveaway, gothic, guest post, Kathrn Troy, romance

Kathryn Troy, author the newly released of A Vision in Crimson is here today to talk about what makes a book gothic or a romance. Or better yet, both! Welcome Kathryn!

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The Sweet Spot – Gothic Romance

For some readers, a few small words are all it takes to make them pick up a book: “gothic,” and “romance.” But what do those words really mean, in a literary sense? The terms “Romance” and “Gothic” are, in fact, tied to specific literary movements in the eighteenth century. The Castle of Otranto, the 1764 novel by Horace Walpole, with its dark family secrets and crumbling castle, is usually hailed as the first gothic work. Collectively, both genres deal with very similar themes—something supernatural or fantastical, described in a gloomy or foreboding mood, where characters and their experiences are anything but ordinary. Countless people claim to love these genres, crave them, but not everyone has read an eighteenth-century novel.

I do, in fact, read these genres very heavily, both in the traditional and the contemporary sense. What pulls together works written centuries apart, for me, has everything to do with three narrative components: mood, content, and theme. Both as a reader and a writer, whether or not I think something is Gothic, or Romantic (not lovey-dovey, but adventurous and fantastical), depends on the presence of certain things. Castles? Yep. Magical creatures? Uh-huh. Family secrets? Definitely. Obscured pasts coming to light, sometimes in ghostly form? Absolutely! And as far as I’m concerned with mood: the darker, the better. That, maybe, is the fine, sometimes invisible line between literary Gothicism and Romanticism—the dark factor.

Being eye-ball deep in these literatures for longer than I’ve been a writer, it makes perfect sense that I would be influenced by such tropes. A Vision in Crimson, the first title in my new epic fantasy series Frostbite, is the strongest example in my own writing about how Gothicism and Romanticism go hand-in-hand. Speaking in terms of narrative structure, my fantasy world is fashioned primarily after more classical realms of fantasy—and I do mean classical, for you will find a pegasus, a few minotaurs, some fauns, and things of that ilk that are usually associated with Classical literature. Generally, the setting for such Romances are depicted as idyllic, making them contrast all the more sharply with the dark influences in their world.

And that’s where my brand of Gothicism comes is. I borrowed from Bram Stoker’s Dracula not only the functions of his titular character—his strengths, weaknesses, and motivations—but I also used its deeper themes as a model. Particularly, the idea of Dracula’s invasion of England. If you had to describe A Vision in Crimson using only known literary references, you could say that it is the tale of what happens when Dracula invades Narnia. From the Gothic genre as a whole, I took more: a post-apocalyptic, vampire-driven world as a starting-off point, for one, and nagging questions about family trees for my two protagonists, Kate and Luca. They are both painted as Romantic figures, because both are pulled out of Earth and brought to a magical place filled with equal parts wonder and danger. Their story feels grand, and epic, and adventurous, with varying levels of excitement and peril.

Now romance, with a little “r,” is the steamy stuff that, alongside vampires, will never go out of fashion. A Vision in Crimson has more than its share of steam. But there was no magical moment when someone decided to use Gothic tropes for stories containing sensuality. Dracula had his three brides, and Carmilla before him had strong sexual undertones. It is human nature to be attracted to mystery and decadence, and to feel the allure of people, places, and things that are foreign to us. The fact that we keep reinventing these things, changing features here and there, but still with the same underlying premise: woman discovers dark castle, and its dark lord, and promptly falls in love, pulls at the very fabric of our existence. On any given night, a little Gothic, a little Romance, and a lot of romance can change your life. It’s the kind of story we’ll always want to read. And, it’s the kind of story I will always want to write.

NOTE from WWMB: For more of Kathyrn’s insight about A Vision in Crimson, click on the blog tour banner above. It will take you to Kathryn’s website listing all her tour stops.

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About A Vision in Crimson

Katelyn knows her magic is risky, but Icaryan light is fading fast and she is desperate. Returning to Earth, she crosses paths with Luca, a vampire hybrid living on the outskirts of humanity.

Passion sparks their weary hearts. The rogue hunter follows Katelyn into a world teeming with wonder and danger, forsaking his own quest to root out his father.

But his father has not forgotten him.

A Vision in Crimson is the first installment of a new epic fantasy blistering with romance and Gothicism.

Publication date: June 1, 2017
Series: Frostbite
Genre: dark romantic fantasy
Cover Artist: TS95 Studios
Number of pages: 323
Word Count: 80k

Excerpt from A Vision in Crimson

His dream was broken by the feel of something soft against his mouth. He opened his eyes and blinked, thinking for a moment that he was still asleep. Flooding his vision was the red-haired siren of his dream, crouched above him.

Her dark brown eyes were staring straight into his. He held her glance for a long while, then took a minute to glimpse at the rest of her. Her features were well defined and graceful. Her long luxurious hair, braided in a few places, spilled over her firm, ample curves onto the ground in front of her. Looking at it now in reality, he saw a unique, vibrant shade of red, darker and almost auburn in the shade of the trees, with strands of pure copper and gold highlighted by the sun through the forest canopy. Her large eyes sparkled. They were alight with intrigue and kind concern, but Luca saw a touch of the tired sadness that he was accustomed to seeing in his own dim reflection. Too much for someone her age.

Luca puzzled over her age for more than a few seconds. Her beauty and slender frame suggested a girl nearing her thirties, yet her countenance told him she had been through more than her share of life’s troubles, even for a woman of the rough and unprotected countryside.

She stared at his clear crystal blue eyes, framed by thick dark brows. A straight nose, tightly pursed lips and strong chin completed his face. Despite his pale complexion, he was dark and beautiful. She didn’t let it show on her face, but the woman had become immediately enamored of him.

Her fingers rested lightly on his mouth. After a silence that lasted a bit too long, she was the first to speak.

“I’ll have you out of there in just a minute,” she whispered. “I won’t hurt you, but we have to be quiet.”

She turned her head to the side to get a glimpse of the valley below.

“I’m looking out for a friend, and just spotted you here a minute ago. Once I’m sure he’s okay, I’ll start digging.”

Luca said nothing. When she was sure that he wouldn’t make a sound, she removed her hand from his lips and moved closer to the hill’s edge, looking for her companion. Luca got a better look at what she was wearing.

A plaid scarf in sapphire blue with hints of gold thread was wrapped around her neck and waist, covering a tunic dress of the same shade. Her legs were covered by high, soft leather brown boots and blue leggings, but Luca spied shapely thighs at the edge of her skirt. She wore a utility belt across her chest which hinted at her generous cleavage, despite her modest neckline. Above, his eyes traced the silhouette of her long, pale, comely neck with excitement, but he quickly quashed the flutter in his heart before it developed, and redirected his gaze.

At her hips, she wore two short swords, and the hilt of a dagger peeked out from the top of her boot. She seemed sure of herself, and didn’t appear the least bit threatened by Luca. She didn’t react to seeing him for the first time in the manner customary to women, and even scores of young men; they usually succumbed quickly to his outward charms—his dark aura and hypnotic stare, two of his many vampiric qualities. But she didn’t gasp in fear or swoon in ecstasy. That puzzled him.

A small part of him wondered why she hadn’t immediately responded to his visage, with a little disappointment. He chalked it up to her finding him covered in dirt from the neck down. But he knew that shouldn’t have stopped her from surrendering to his trance-inducing stare, even for a moment. He was intrigued by this girl, who had just happened to appear as his dream self was making love to her.

Her garb made her even more of a mystery. He only noticed these things, which were inconsequential to him, because the fabrics, colors, and design of her wardrobe were infinitely superior, and foreign, to anything he had ever seen, including some of the priciest fashions available in the biggest cities. He much preferred the naked version of her, which had dissipated with her actual presence. But even in all her gear, chosen for its rugged functionality, she looked regal. He saw her gesture to her friend, then she turned to face him once more.

“Okay, it looks like whoever did this to you is gone. I’ll have you walking around again soon. Who did do this to you, anyway?” she asked, as she began to claw at the earth with her hands.

“I did.”

His voice was as toneless and nonchalant as ever. Her hands paused for a moment, still holding clumps of dirt, and she looked at him quizzically.

“You buried yourself? Why on earth would you do a thing like that?”

Here came the part he always dreaded, but was compelled to divulge nevertheless.

“I’m a dhampir.”

“A what?”

Here, Luca thought, was the reaction he had been expecting, but had been unusually delayed. He waited for what he had said to sink in, but it didn’t. She was still honestly waiting for an answer. He repeated himself.

“I’m a dhampir.”

“What’s a dhampir?”

He just stared at her, his eyes going slightly wide.

“I’m not from around here,” she explained, “so you’re going to have to fill me in.”

Now it was Luca’s turn to pause. Never, in his entire life, had he been asked to explain this term. In a world whose entire existence revolved around the struggle between vampires and humans, to find someone who was not familiar with this word was truly unheard of. He experienced an emotion he had almost never had occasion to experience. He was, in a word, stunned.

“I’m part human, part vampire.”

“Oh. Ohhhh.”

She finally got it. He waited now for the standard response. Instead, a look of embarrassment swept over her face as she began hurriedly replacing the soil she had disturbed.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t realize. I didn’t mean to intrude on your resting. You looked like you were having a hell of a dream.”

If you only knew. But, was she actually apologizing for bothering his slumber? Luca’s revelation hadn’t fazed her in the slightest. His amazement at her response only piqued his interest in her more.

“It’s alright, I was just getting up.”

Though she had interrupted him, he felt rested.

“In that case, would you like me to help you?”

“Do what you like.”

She resumed her exhumation of Luca. “My name is Kate, by the way.”

Luca stretched his muscles slightly to a sitting position, the remaining earth above him falling away. He took her outstretched palm with his freed right hand, and they both stood up.

“Call me Luca.”

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Links

Add A Vision in Crimson to your Goodreads bookshelf:

Purchase A Vision in Crimson (on sale for $.99 June 3-June 10):

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About the Author

Kathryn Troy is an historian turned novelist and baker. Her nonfiction book, The Specter of the Indian: Race, Gender and Ghosts in American Séances, 1848-1890, is forthcoming from SUNY Press. Her historical expertise in the supernatural and the Gothic informs her fiction at every turn. Her genres of choice include dark fantasy, romance, horror, and historical fiction. She lives in New York with her husband and two darling children.