Bridges Burning by Marina Landry – Feature with Excerpt

Tags

book feature, excerpt, Marina Landry, romance, scifi

About Bridges Burning

Earther Ana Silvan is looking forward to working at the new prison and leaving the farming life behind.

For generations, natives of Earth have been forced to export large quantities of food to Unity, the spacecolony their ancestors built to guarantee the survival of the human race. Realizing Earth has begun to heal, the UPG military corporation has built a prison on Earth to hold and hide the Freestanders fighting to end its oppressive reign over the citizens of Unity.

Ana soon realizes the rebels are not the real criminals in the prison.

Bearing fresh scars, Hart James leads his fellow Freestanders to escape the UPG prison. When he discovers Ana’s role in his freedom and the extraordinary sacrifices she made, Hart pledges to support her efforts to oust the UPG troops from Earth.

Together, Ana and Hart struggle to overcome personal tragedies, accept the passion igniting between them, and provide justice for the citizens of a new Earth. Through their tests of courage, they forge an unbreakable bond of love.

*********************

Excerpt from Bridges Burning

No, this is too fantastic, too unbelievable. I must be going mad. She noticed the smell of fermentale. Insanity! No one was given the luxury of water in this hell, much less fermentale.

But the odor became more powerful, the more she tried to deny its existence. The sour smell of fermentale, combined with the stench of the Solitaire pit, seemed to swirl around her face.

The nightmare! The smells in her nightmare. The cold, the blackness, the powerlessness and despair. The smell. The dream, it was real. It was happening to her at that moment.

The narrow hatch opened above her head, just as she had dreamt it. She was too terrified to scream.

She stood paralyzed as Hart’s face came into view. A hoarse rattle erupted from her throat, but still she could not scream. Hart’s arms reached down for her, grasping, groping. It’s my nightmare. It’s madness.

The fermentale brought pain; she felt it rack her body. Humiliation swept over her as Hart’s hand grabbed for her. He is only saving me from Resin so he can use me himself.

“Ana! Give me your hand. It is me, Hart.”

Hart. Yes, Hart’s come to pull me out of this hole. Hart. The one who had pushed her against the wall in rage to hurt her — but who had not. The one who had chased her ruthlessly through the forest to prevent her from reporting his escape — but who carried her back to spare her from the pain in her ankle. The one who kept her emotions in turmoil, who made her feel childish and anxious — but who always had confidence in her, always accepted her. The one who pulled her body against his, hard and hot in his lust for her — but who never forced her, never berated her, never hurt her.

Never hurt her. Never.

She raised her trembling hand to his… and touched love. His grasp charged her with strength and courage. His whispered reassurances poured warmth and safety flowing over her. This is Hart; this is real. This is love.

He grabbed her other wrist and lifted her out of the madness.

He sat her on the ground and fell to his knees beside her.

“Ana, my love. Are you alright?” He rubbed his hands over her body as if to be sure she was unharmed.

She clung to him desperately, absorbing the warmth and strength from his body. This is real. “Oh, Hart. I love you. I love you.”

Gently, he grabbed her shoulders and pressed her back so he could look directly into her eyes. With a tender smile, he said, “And I love you. I have loved you very much… for a very long time.”

*********************

Links

Add Bridges Burning to your Goodreads shelf:

Pre-order Bridges Burning (available 8-1):

*********************

About the Author

Marina Landry has loved to write stories that intrigue and entertain readers since elementary school. The written word became her favorite medium for reminding others that love and trust exist, and, despite challenges, there is a place each of us fit perfectly in the universe. Her heartwarming, emotionally intense, character-driven stories of love and courage have gained attention in both the romance and science fiction communities.

Marina has taught language arts and mathematics in south Louisiana for 19 years. She speaks on the craft of writing and teaches all levels of writers online. Though her formal education has not followed a typical path nor timeline, she has Masters Degrees in Education of the Academically Gifted, Secondary Mathematics Education, and Adult Education.

You can contact Marina at MarinaLandry5432@gmail.com to receive her newsletter with information on giveaways, new releases, and more. Feedback from fellow booklovers is always welcome.

Connect with Marian at:
Website: www.MarinaLandry.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B072KXRJZ2
Email: MarinaLandry5432@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/marinalandry541
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marina.landry.754

Blog readers can email me for a free science fiction romance short story at MarinaLandry5432@gmail.com.

Advertisements

Why I Write Steampunk by Juli D. Revezzo, Author of Vesta’s Clockwork Companions – Guest Post with Excerpt

Tags

excerpt, guest post, Juli D. Revezzo, romance, Steampunk

Juli D. Revezzo is a new-to-me author who has a new steampunk novel out.  I do love a good steampunk adventure and have Vesta’s Clockwork Companions on my TBR list.  Check out the great cover!

Guest Post

Why I Write Steampunk

To ask this question goes to asking about my influences and whole history as a reader and a writer. Once upon a time, while I was bored in study hall, a teacher and I got to talking about what I liked to read. Honestly, I don’t remember how the subject came up, but you get the idea. Anyway, he recommended I read the work of science fiction author Julian May. Around the same time I was reading Isaac Asimov’s Robots of Dawn and also a friend had just turned me on to Michael Moorcock’s Elric series(and hello, the alt-history fantasies Von Bek and Gloriana!), an author whose works I have never fallen out of love with. I was also a fan of Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, and of course, Star Wars, to name a few (and, though admittedly, this was a much later discovery, the gone-but-still-very-much-loved series Firefly). All these things hit my emerging writer’s mind at roughly the same time. (*Insert comic book Zap Pow! Sound effects here!)

After high school, I spent a few years in college studying literature and art history, and world history (specifically the Renaissance and Victorian age) in general. Somehow, the romance of the Victorian age, and the gadgets of science fiction, and the magic in the various fantasy novels I devoured, all this merged altogether in the first couple manuscripts I wrote, and those I first tried to submit. Problem was (and this will date me), back then, what the heck to call it?

Oh, right. Now we call it steampunk. 🙂  (Alas, at the time, though some authors were using it, I don’t recall that word showing up in many, if any, Writer’s Guides To….)

Why do I write steampunk? If you ask me, except for a few experiments into Urban Fantasy (with my witches of Antique Magic, and fantasy romance with my Celtic Stewards Chronicles), I think I always have!

Heck, let’s be honest, it’s just plain fun to let my worlds and characters wander off the edges of the map and see what happens. Give me a couple kernels, a blender, a dash of magic and flash, and I’m a happy gal.

The result of all this blending is my latest steampunk romance, Vesta’s Clockwork Companions, which combines historical romance hallmarks, with a steampunk aesthetic, and maybe a nod or two to Dickens and Thackery. *rubs hands* The result was such fun to write!

S’cuze me, now. I have to catch an airship for a date for tea with Mr. Tesla and Merlin. 😉

*****************

About Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

When Vesta Bartlett, a wealthy alchemist and inventor, arrives in England to finalize an arranged marriage and help overhaul a family friend’s outdated ironworks, she never expects to find the family so secretive, nor to develop feelings for her fiancé’s younger brother, Henry.

But the growing attraction between Vesta and Henry is just the beginning of their troubles. Things really heat up when they’re drawn into a secret project for Queen Victoria’s military, one that requires Vesta’s knowledge of clockwork and Henry’s iron.

An epidemic has wiped out all the dogs in Britain, and beyond. If the military fail in their effort to restore the species, a clockwork creation may be all that stands in the way of a world without canine companionship.

Are Vesta and Henry up to the challenge?

*****************

Excerpt from Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

(FROM CHAPTER SEVEN)

Ahead, Acton led him up a staircase that wound around the premises. They ended by traversing a hall. At the terminus of the hall, Henry found another door, unassuming, like any in his home. Except another set of armed guards again barred their way.

Acton reached into his coat as he approached and produced a circular device. A small button on its face caused it to glow with a faint yellowish light. He presented this device to the guards. “We’re here on the major general’s orders.”

The guard turned his attention from the device to stare at Henry. “And him?”

Acton laid a hand to his arm. “He’s a new recruit.”

The guard on the left—a tall man with cropped blond hair—nodded and pulled the door open. “Five minutes.”

“I’m what now?” Henry asked as Acton escorted him inside.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be all right.”

“How so? It sounds to me like you’re trying to induct me into the corps.” He frowned and turned back to the doors. “Forget it. I have no military ambitions.”

“You have no ambitions I’m aware of. Except, maybe, to help your family.”

The new voice drew his attention. Deep, yet there was an odd tone about it, enough to stop Henry and intrigue him. His first glimpse of the speaker satisfied the curiosity even as it raised new questions.

Major General Charles Gordon rolled up to a desk in an old-fashioned wheelchair. His eyes, his air, all the same as portraits he’d seen of the man in the newspapers. And yet, he was different from the other men around him, even aside from the fact that he was rumored dead.

The gold emblems of rank dotting his coat, the epaulets, these alone would tell anyone the major general’s identity. None of these held as much interest for Henry as the man’s face.

Or lack thereof. His head, from the outline of a hairline, to his lips and chin, all these, some clever surgeon had replicated in brass. The brass continued down the man’s neck, to meet up under the dark jacket. The hands settled on the desk and folded together, likewise, all brass.

Henry met the major general’s gaze. “By the gods!”

“You might sssssay that.”

The voice issuing from the lips and slurring all his s’s made him sound like a lethargic teapot. Henry didn’t know how else to describe it. All other explanation sounded childish even as he thought about it. Wondering what caused the difference, Henry found himself trying to investigate the speaker further. “Sir, I mean … forgive me, I didn’t mean to stare.”

“You wished to see us, Major General,” Acton said, breaking into Henry’s verbal astonishment. “Here we are.”

“Yes, Mr. Wren, I’m pleassssed with what I’m hearing of your work with our men.”

Henry saw no visible reason for why the major general dragged out his “s” that way. He’d never heard of the man having a lisp. Metal tubes and thin wires ran down his cheeks and neck to disappear into the chair behind him. He didn’t want to offend him by trying to take a closer look at the tech. A general guess that his speech was helped along by some sort of steam-powered mechanism involving those attachments was the best Henry’s imagination could supply. But he saw no hint of steam exhaust in the man’s vicinity.

Curious. I wonder if Vesta has ever seen such a contraption.

*****************

Links

Add Vesta’s Clockwork Companions to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

*****************

About the Author

Juli D. Revezzo writes fantasy and romantic stories filled in with elements garnered from a lifetime love affair with magic, myth, witches, wizards, and fated lovers and legend. She is the author of The Antique Magic series and the Paranormal Romance Celtic Stewards Chronicles series, steampunk historical romances VESTA’S CLOCKWORK COMPANIONS, WATCHMAKER’S HEART, and short stories published in ETERNAL HAUNTED SUMMER, LUNA STATION QUARTERLY, among others. She is also a member of the Independent Author Network and the Magic Appreciation Tour.

Find Juli at

Website: https://www.julidrevezzo.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julidrevezzo/
Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782712.Juli_D_Revezzo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julidrevezzo/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jewelsraven/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/julidrevezzo
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/juli-d-revezzo

Newsletter signup at: http://bit.ly/SNI5K6

Heaven Sent Warrior by Nancy Lee Badger – Guest Post with Excerpt and Giveaway

Tags

excerpt, giveaway, guest post, Nancy Lee Badger, paranormal, romance, series

What do you do when you NORMALLY write books featuring Scottish heroes and heroines or Scottish dragons, and a Frenchman from the late 19th century screams in your head? This happened to me many years ago, about the time I was publishing books like My Honorable Highlander and Dragon in the Mist. I loved this paranormal romance because I set it in my adoptive state of North Carolina. My readers kept demanding more of the Highlanders and dragons, so it stayed hidden in a drawer (actually, on a flash drive).

A year ago, I set out to see if I could interest a publisher in Heaven-sent Warrior, mainly because I had an idea for a series called Warriors in Bronze. Did I mention I had made the heroine a modern woman of Scottish descent? The book has always had the same title and I am pleased that Lori Polito from Soul Mate Publishing listened to my pitch at the RWA Conference in Orlando, and asked to read the full story. She bought it, and the book was just released! Better yet, she has agreed to publish the 2nd book in the series: Heaven-sent Highlander. Coming soon!

Book Blurb for Heaven-sent Warrior

Henrí Chevalier’s last memory, before stumbling naked into a museum’s moonlit garden, was Auguste Rodin and his dusty Paris studio in 1886. To escape his broken heart, Henrí volunteered to sleep inside a statue until needed. Expecting to die, he discovers he must learn to use the unexpected powers Heaven has given him. Without them he will fail his mission against otherworldly creatures, such as demons and faeries.

Kenzie Mackintosh, a dedicated art museum’s curator, spies a naked man hiding among bronze statues. A quick glance ignites desire within her, but she is too tied-up in work to act on it. Unaware of her fae heritage, their relationship heats up as he disrupts her job. While Henrí tries to process modern buildings, cars, and a broken elevator, a demon attacks and forces Henrí and Kenzie to enlist the aid of her powerful fae relatives. When the demon possesses the body of her ex-lover and threatens to kill him, then use her to take over the world, Henrí and Kenzie must learn to trust each other, even if Kenzie’s death might be the only answer to the world’s salvation.

Excerpt

Kenzie couldn’t get her mouth to work, but she knew the second Henrí had read her thoughts, because he nodded, then kissed her. She strove to be fearless and confident, but everything flew out the door when he slipped his tongue into her mouth. In the next two seconds, she’d either sink into his embrace and never stop kissing him back, or run.

“Stay with me tonight, mon ange,” he whispered.

He’d drawn his luscious mouth back a few inches, but his words sounded . . . familiar.

“It means my angel, since you have the look of the heavens in your lovely hair and exquisite eyes. You taste like ambrosia.”

“The mythical food of the gods?” she asked. She wanted to fan her face, but she’d locked her hands around Henrí’s neck.

“There is only one true God, mon ange.”

Kenzie nodded as her fingers tangled in his hair and pulled his mouth back down to hers. Anything to keep from considering the circumstances.

She withdrew, sucking in a breath. Circumstances? She had her tongue down a stranger’s throat after someone, whom Henrí called a demon, had nearly broken into her home. The feelings, sweeping her better judgment away, were foreign.

“Oui, I am French,” he whispered.

“Stop doing that.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re spooky.”

Actually, he’s too close, too enticing, too . . . male.

Henrí chuckled, then lifted her into his arms. At five feet ten inches, she was close to his height, but he didn’t so much as wheeze as he carried her to her bedroom. He lay down on the bed and snuggled up beside her, without taking his hands off her body.

What am I doing? This is wrong on so many levels.

Henrí’s head shot up, and his eyes darkened. His brows lowered, and he seemed angry. She pushed away the fear. He wouldn’t hurt her. He’d already saved her more than once.

“Serves you right,” she said, “because it’s not polite to listen to a person’s private thoughts.” She attempted to appear chagrined, but his suddenly guilty facial expression made her smile. How could he be angry with her? He lay on her bed, arms wrapped around her, making her body feel . . . great.

He didn’t dare say a word. Smart man.

**************************

Links

Add Heaven-sent Warrior to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Heaven-sent Warrior from Amazon US:

Other purchase links:

https://nancyleebadger.blogspot.com/p/books.html

**************************

Giveaway

Stop by my blog for a chance to WIN my Giveaway.
I call it HEAVEN-SENT WARRIOR … Clay, Candy & Love Notes
(no purchase necessary) https://nancyleebadger.blogspot.com/p/contests.html

**************************

About the Author

Nancy Lee Badger grew up in Huntington on New York’s Long Island. After attending Plymouth State, in the White Mountains of 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 New Hampshire and 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 Nancy Lee Badger

Website          Twitter          Facebook
Amazon Author Page          Blog
BookBub          Goodreads