6th Annual SFR Galaxy Awards

Tags

Christina Westcott, Pauline Baird Jones, SFR Galaxy Awards, Shari Elder, Tiffany Roberts, Vivien Jackson

Yesterday, the 6th Annual SFR Galaxy Awards were announced.  What a great day!  Not just for the winners, but for any fan of the SciFi Romance genre.  So many great books, not nearly enough time!

I am a judge for these awards, so today’s post will be my winners.  Click on the book cover if you want to purchase at Amazon.  Click on ‘My Review’ to get more details on what I thought about the book.

At the end of this post, I will include links to all the winners and I hope you will check everyone of them out!

Best Original Story
Dustwalker by Tiffany Roberts

When I was half way through Dustwalker, I knew it was going to be one of my 2017 favorites. This post-apocalyptic epic scores big with me in all my scoring categories: Complex characters, intricate plot, intense emotional situations, humanity being tested, slow-burning romance, interesting secondary characters and a really good villain. The story of human Lara and synth Ronin has all of this and more, including an epilogue that will make you cry.  My Review

Best High-Tech Love Making
Wanted and Wired by Viven Jackson

Technology, whether it is computers or programming or hackers or robots, is hard to make interesting to this reader. Vivien Jackson makes tech fascinating. She has a knack for stringing a bunch of words together to form a very readable sentence. Any subject is new and exciting in her hands. Even sex. I admit, I am the reader that just scans the sex passages in order to get to the good stuff. But Heron Farad, high-tech genius, puts a whole new spin on making love and I read every word when he and Mari got together. Mix the sizzling sex with a high voltage plot and you have one of my favorites of the year. Wanted and Wired was quickly followed by book 2 in the series, Perfect Gravity, which is also a feast of words!  My Review

Beyond Book 3 Award
Found Girl (Project Enterprise, #6) by Pauling Baird Jones

There are many series that I stop reading after 2 or 3 books because the plot becomes predicable or the book is formulaic. Not so with the Project Enterprise series. Each book in this series has been so very unique. Connecting characters and technology are what hold the series together, but each book stands on it’s own. Found Girl introduces some new aliens that are so not humanoid. Not even close. There is also a heroine, Arian, that gets more mysterious with each new thing you learn about her. Jones’ creativity astounds me and never ceases to entertain!  My Review

Favorite Cat Hero
Cypher (The Dragon’s Bidding, #2) by Christina Westcott

Cypher was actually published in 2016, but I did not get around to reading it until 2017. I love The Dragon’s Bidding series, and Jumper is the main reason why. Don’t get me wrong, Cypher has galactic politics, an evil villain, a kick-ass heroine, a split-personality hero that really mixes things up, and heart-breaking emotions. All great things in a novel. But Jumper, the talking cat, is one of my favorite cats of all time. With his spot-on ability to state the obvious, a line like “Oh shit, we are so screwed.” lets you know that things are not going as well as they could.  My Review

Don’t Judge a Book By It’s Cover Award
Race to Redemption (Green Rising, #1) by Shari Elder

We all do it. Get sucked in by a pretty book cover. Or put off by a cover because of preconceptions. Based on the cover of Race to Redemption (a lingerie-clad woman and a shirtless man), I would never have guessed the depth of the story that would be found within the pages. In addition to a slow-burning romance, you will find class conflict, a desert planet, flawed characters, sick kids and lots of high-flying action in this book. Shari Elder is a skilled, imaginative writer who wrote a thrilling book with a lot of twists and much less lingerie than you would think.  My Review

Links to the 6th Annual SFR Galaxy Awards

Intro and Tribute

Round 1 – Chris Stock

Round 2 – Heather Massey

Round 3 – Marlene Harris

Round 4 – Riley Moreland

Round 5 – Jo Jones

Round 6 – Eileen Koven

Round 7 – Anna McLain

 

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Interview With a Kaphier Cat — By Christina Westcott

Tags

cats, Christina Westcott, scifi, scifi romance, series, telepathy

Note from Riley:  Today’s post is the final part of our I’ve Got You Under My Skin theme.  I hope you enjoy this fun post from Christina Westcott, author of Cypher.

 

I waited at a table in La Porte Rouge, the five star restaurant atop the tallest building in Striefbourne City, the Imperial capital. One of my contacts had set up a meeting with an anonymous source who claimed to have information about last month’s assassination attempts on our new emperor. All I know is his code name. Jumper.

The hostess headed this way, but I didn’t see anyone following her.

“Your party, Monsieur Jumper.” Her accent made the name sound exotic.

I found myself facing a large black cat, twice the size of a house cat and the thick fur made him appear even bigger. He crossed saucer sized front paws on the table top.

“Howdy.”

The word appeared in my mind, alerting me that this was a Kaphier Cat, a genetically altered intelligent, telepathic feline, one of the so called Spacer’s Cats.

“Your usual, Monsieur Jumper?” the hostess asked.

The cat’s green eyes narrowed at me. “You are paying for this, aren’t you?”

“Yes, of course. That was our deal,”

“Then, yes, Fleurette, but make it a double with extra catnip sprinkles. And a side order of cream.”

“Very good, sir,” she bowed and retreated.

“I take it you come here often, Jumper?” I asked.

“Of course, they have the best liver and creamed gravy in the entire empire.”

“Getting down to business, I’m told you have information about last month’s events concerning the emperor.”

“You mean the Cypher incident?”

“Cypher incident?”

“Yeah, that’s what I call it. It all started when the Boss Man went into the operating tank to have his augmentations updated…”

“Boss Man?”

“Triumvir Wolfgang Amadeus Youngblood.”

“Oh, I had no idea this scandal reached so high up in the government. Then he’s a cyborg?”

“The term is augie, from augmentation. Get it? Don’t you know nothing?”

A waitress arrived with the cat’s dinner, far quicker than the service I’d received earlier for a single cup of coffee. The plate was piled high with thinly sliced meat in a thick white sauce. The fresh green herbs on top must be the catnip.

“Will that be all for now, Monsieur Jumper?”

“A few more sprinkles, if you please.”

She product a blue glass jar and shook more catnip onto his dish before excusing herself and leaving.

I waited as he attacked his meal, licking the catnip off the top with loud slurping sounds that made me cringe, certain that everyone in the restaurant stared at us. Eventually he looked up, pink tongue making short work of the gravy on his whiskers.

I tapped the end of my nose. “You have a little spot here.”

He swiped a paw across his face. “Now, where were us? Oh, yes, while the Boss Man was in the tank the bad guys slipped a program into his internal computer, turning him into a crazed assassin. I was the only one who could stop him…along with FitzWarren.”

“Colonel Kimber FitzWarren? The head of imperial security?” I squeaked.

“Yepper, that’s the Boss Lady. The assassin tried to crash that fancy soiree at Star Henge dolled up like a high priced hooker…”

“Hooker?” My mind was reeling with where this story was going.

“You know, call girl, prostitute, whore? You gotta keep up.”

The waitress returned and Jumper asked for more sprinkles. I waited for the slurping to subside and when he looked up, his pupils were dilated to pools of blackness.

“I blew his cover and then the chase was on. I led the Boss Lady through trackless jungles hot on his trail.”

“Where are there ‘trackless jungles’ in the capital city?’

“The Imperial Botanical Gardens. They count as jungles, don’t they? We narrowly escaped death when he absconded, but I followed him to his secret lair in the Warren.”

I looked away from the wide eyes, realizing a tense silence had descended on the restaurant. Two people—a man and a women—in military garb moved between the tables, headed in our direction. They stopped, one on either side, flanking the cat. Their uniforms were the black of Special Operations, now part of Imperial Security, and each bore on their collars the crossed lightning bolts to signify they were augmented. I attempted to sink lower in my chair.

“What’ve you been up to, Jumper?” the young man said. He folded his arms across his chest, but not before I could see his name tag read Pike.

The woman bore the gold and amethyst collar tabs of a full dragon colonel, identifying her more surly than any introduction.

“What has he told you?” demanded Colonel FitzWarren, her gray eyes steely.

“Nothing,” I managed to croak, my mouth suddenly desert dry.

“What ever he said, don’t believe him. He a notorious liar.”

“And a mooch,” said Pike. “Let me guess…He conned you into paying for his meal?”

I nodded. Jumper ignored the conversation and licked the rest of the cream from the elegant china saucer.

“That’s the third time this week,” said the colonel. “You should know better than to believe anything that a cat hopped up on catnip tells you.” She lifted Jumper and hoisted him over one shoulder. He began singing a slightly off key drinking song.

My tablet chimed as the bill for this little adventure popped up and I gaped at the three figure total on the bottom of the tab. I’d be living on cheese and crackers for the rest of the week to cover this. What did I get out of it? Anything I could use?

As the two augies walked out, the cat peered over the colonel’s shoulder and waved a paw at me. Had any of his story been true or was I just a convenient patsy, good for a free dinner—a free expensive dinner.

Well reader, if you want to know if it was true and what really happened during the whole sorry affair, you’ll just have to read Cypher: Book 2 of the Dragon’s Bidding.  Cypher and the first book in The Dragon’s Bidding series, A Hero for the Empire are available on Amazon and are in Kindle Unlimited.

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Links

Add Cypher to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Cypher or A Hero for the Empire:

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About the Author

If you can’t tell by now, I’m a crazy cat lady along with being a writer of fun and adventurous science fiction stories. As long as I can remember, I’ve had imaginary people living in my head. Cyborgs, mercenaries, wizards, dragons and cats. After continual nagging from this bizarre cast of characters inside me, I decided to turn them loose on the world in my science fiction and fantasy stories. I’m not only a collector of books and cats, but of experiences, riding in rodeos, driving racecars and flying airplanes. All good experience for becoming a writer. I’m a member of Romance Writers of America and a professional member of Cat Writers’ Association.

I make my home in sunny Southwest Florida and delight in telling friends “up north” the local temperature in the middle of January.

Catch me at:
Web page: http://www.christinawestcottauthor.com/
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/kqxcfkz
Pinterest (to see what I imagine my characters look like): https://www.pinterest.com/chriswestcott33/

Cypher by Christina Westcott – Review

Tags

5 stars, artificial intelligence, cats, Christina Westcott, cybernetics, favorite, scifi, scifi romance, series

Review by Riley

For part of this week, we will have a theme.  I call it I’ve Got You Under My Skin.  If you are familiar with the old jazz song, perhaps you will think about the verse as you read these posts.

Today, we have a review of Christina Westcott’s Cypher.  Tomorrow Viola Carr will be here to talk about her fascinating character from The Dastardly Miss Lizzie.  Then I hope you will return on Thursday for a very special guest post from Christina Westcott.

 

About Cypher

A murderous computer program has attacked her cyborg partner’s body and mind, turning him into a super assassin who is driven to destroy everything she’s vowed to protect.

In a high-stakes game of cat and gerbat, Kimber FitzWarren faces her deadliest challenge yet, an assassin with all the skills and knowledge of her partner Wolf Youngblood, but controlled by the mind of a killer. Fitz must find a way to protect her Emperor while keeping her adversary alive until she can free her partner from the program’s influence.

A prisoner in the dark labyrinth of his own mind, Wolf struggles to regain control of his body, concocting a plan to use the killer as a Trojan Horse to lead him to his attacker. In the meantime, he can only watch as a helpless passenger as the assassin plots to kill all the people he loves.

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Review of Cypher

“Oh shit, we are so screwed.”

Said Jumper.  Jumper is a cat. Well, he is a bit more advanced than the typical house cats many of us serve in our own homes. But, you know, still a cat. Cats are easy going. Seemingly lazy. Sleep a lot. And assume we humans will take care of them. So when Jumper is concerned, there is likely to be a crisis brewing.

He is not wrong. Did you read the book blurb? I did, and still, when Wolf-who-is-not-Wolf makes his first appearance, “Oh shit”, was exactly my reaction. Me and a telepathic cat think alike.

Before the story gets to that point, there is a little setup. First of all, the Dragon Emperor has a new face. One that Kimber is willing to follow. As Ari Ranashov’s chief of security, Kimber FitzWarren has her job cut out for her. Constant vigilance is required. That is where her cyber-enhancements come in handy.  And the alien symbiont that heals pretty much any injury is good to have too. Both features have become vital tools in her risky occupation.  Kimber is one cool security chief.

You get a sense that the threat of trouble is ever present. Wolf Youngblood, as the emperor’s military Triumvir is also concerned with security. Between Kimber and Wolf, all threats must be dealt with.

But this time, the threat is Wolf himself. And the nasty bit of bad guy that messed with Wolf. Janos Tritico, who first appeared in A Hero for The Empire, is back and is pulling more strings, causing more problems and just generally, making a huge nuisance of himself. And where Tritico goes, so do the Tzraka, the nasty giant bugs. The bugs are still a bit of a mystery, but every little bit one learns about them causes a shiver. I don’t think they are good for humanity.

The best part of Cypher is the character of Wolf-who-is-not-Wolf. Wolf is a complex character before the addition of what is basically an AI in his body. I find the relationship between the two intelligences to be fascinating. Wolf’s struggle with his body hijacker consumes a large part of the plot and is at the same time an engrossing study of two characters.

The relationship between Kimber and Wolf is intense. If you’ve read A Hero for the Empire, you are aware of everything these two went through to get to the point they are now. Very much in love, each devoted to the other. So when Wolf-who-is-not-Wolf showed up it was a real heartbreaker for Kimber. I truly felt the difficulty that Kimber experienced doing her job, tracking down her love, while all the time, there is a possibility she will have to hurt him or worse. This bit made my eyes water:

“Fitz slid down the slippery tiles into a tight ball of misery. The warm water running down her face disguised her tears. In the short time she’d known Wolf, she’d cried more than the rest of her life combined, because now she had something precious to lose.”

“Oh shit, we are so screwed.” I know, I already quoted Jumper, but I get such a kick out of that line, because it is coming from a cat.  I love Jumper and his ability to state the obvious. His observations and telepathic comments (hence the italics) are always entertaining.

“….when the Emperor says she’s bringing her cat, all a ship’s captain can say about it is ‘What kind of food does she like?’ You’re along to accompany Faydra.” “Guess that makes me the Emperor’s cat’s consort, huh?” He stood and stretched. “I could get used to being a kept cat.” ”

Jumper is not really a kept cat. He really earns his keep. He is Kimber’s eyes, ears, and intuition in dicey situations. His ability to communicate telepathically is ever so handy.  Jumper is one cool cat, hence his affiliation with a cool security chief.

There was a lot of tea with cream and sugar in this book. It happens to be favorite morning beverage, so I am very pleased to know that tea, cream and sugar are easily obtained in the futuristic world of the Late Scyran Empire. There are just enough earthisms in the story to make it accessible but not too many.  The futuristic homeworld of the empire is majestic and gritty – the perfect backdrop for this story.

Like A Hero for the Empire, Cypher begins with a Late Scyran Empire definition:

“Cypher. (Late Scyran Empire— 532 to 893 ER) (1) n. A secret way of writing; a code (2) n. A person of no importance, especially one who does the bidding of another and seems to have no will of their own. (3) v. Military. To erase all records of an individual, rendering them nonexistent.”

These definitions are stage-setters and should not be passed over.  Which definition applies in his book? Hmm.  That is for you to determine.

I think Cypher is even better than A Hero for the Empire, which I loved (review here). The characters are complex and the plot is rich with galactic possibilities. There is non-stop scifi action, gut-wrenching emotion and plenty of twists and turns in the plot. While it is a continuation of book 1 in The Dragon’s Bidding series, Cypher is a stand-alone story. Cypher is a new book for my favorites shelf. I. Love. This. Series!

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Links

Add Cypher to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Cypher or A Hero for the Empire:

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I’ve Got You Under My Skin

I’ve got you under my skin.
I’ve got you deep in the heart of me.
So deep in my heart that you’re really a part of me.
I’ve got you under my skin.
I’d tried so not to give in.
I said to myself: this affair never will go so well.
But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know so well
I’ve got you under my skin?