Today author Marie Dry is here to tell us about her new book, Alien Redeemed. If you have read any of the Zyrgin Warrior series you know the tales of cross-species romances to be full of trial, tribulation, heart and humor. If you haven’t read any of the series, maybe this would be a good day to start! In order to entice you, Marie is giving us a glimpse of chapter 1…..
Guest Post by Marie Dry
Writing Alien Redeemed was a journey of epic proportions. At one stage I even started to draft, in my head, the facebook post I would put up saying I won’t be able to finish Alien Redeemed.
Going in, I had a lot of it written and I thought this one would at least be easy to write. Famous last words! I deleted most of what I had and started again. And again, and again. It took me a while and a lunch with a psychologist to realize that I was so focused on what Sarah went through in the raider camps that I wasn’t telling the story. What happened now.
That’s when the story slowly started to come together and she and Zaar suddenly had chemistry and sparked off each other. I planned to tie a lot of loose ends with this book, and I did, but there are still a lot happening that will be told in the Zyrgin scars series. Before I started this book, I had already planned to have a series with the Zyrgins in Time novellas. Then a series with Zacar’s brothers that will be set in the unclaimed galaxies. And also a series that will kick off with Zorlof, Natalie’s son. She is the heroine in the first book. The scars took me by surprise and I can’t wait to explore their characters.
I hope everyone enjoys reading Alien Redeemed as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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About Alien Redeemed
On a harsh alien planet, in a faraway galaxy, Sarah, a gentle human woman, is determined to start a new life, far away from the hardship she endured on Earth and the pitying glances of her friends.
Once on Zyrgin, Sarah finds that, instead of being the empress and helpmeet at the side of the Zyrgin leader, she is merely his breeder. She is trapped in a gilded cage, not allowed to go out and interact with the other women on the planet, until she’s proven her loyalty to the empire by birthing Zaar’s child. After her traumatic experiences in the raider camps, and the resultant PTSD, Sarah doubts she could ever make love to her Zyrgin warrior.
Zaar assures her he has a superior plan to cure her of her problem. But is he able to reach through all the barriers Sarah has erected against true intimacy?
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Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Alien Redeemed
(Zaar is watching Sarah while camoflaged……)
“If you can’t spin and kick yet, turn as fast as you can, and kick hard, and with meaning,” the instructor on the TC program said. Zyrgins never gave conquered planets their technology. They improved existing technologies if it was necessary for the smooth running of the planet. The TC that allowed the humans to watch programs and badly reported news, was the most primitive of all the technologies they’d encountered. That went for the instructor of this so-called exercise program, as well. Why did she want to learn anything from this human male that had no muscles and no fighting skills?
Breathing hard, Sarah paused the program and adjusted her stance again. “Julia’s right, I need more exercise,” she mumbled and played the clip again. Sarah turned and kicked. “Take that, Destiny,” she screamed at the same time the solid thwack sounded as her foot connected. Zaar didn’t know which of them was more surprised when her heel hit his groin.
His breeder jumped around on one leg. “Ouch, ouch, ouch.” She stumbled back from him. “What the h… What happened?”
Zaar made himself visible.
She looked up at him and whimpered and scrambled away. “Where did you come from?” Then that Zyrgin-like spirit he’d observed in her several times, stopped her in her tracks. She lifted her head and stood her ground, her gaze flicking from his jacket to his face.
“Who is Destiny?” he asked. His breeder will not have relations with a human male.
She made lines on her forehead again and then touched her hair. “Someone I’m going to kill,” she replied. “How did you get in here?” She moved away from him, in the direction of the door. “And why didn’t I see you enter? I faced the door the whole time.”
He glanced at the corner where the TC still played the exercise program and then looked her up and down. “You do not have the skill to kill this Destiny. It would be better if a superior Zyrgin warrior like me killed him for you.”
She gave a strange laugh. “Oh, I think I can kick his butt without any help.”
“You are small and weak and your fighting skills are inadequate.” He glared at the instructor, still showing off his marshall skills. “Learning from an inferior male like that will not help you. You need a warrior.”
Her face leaked of color, becoming as white as the clouds in the Earth sky. “I don’t need a warrior; I don’t need anyone.” She smoothed her hands over her jeans, all the while watching him with those jewel eyes. “You haven’t told me how you got in here and who you are. I will call Zacar if you take one step closer,” she threatened. Her gaze went to the door, measuring the distance.
“Zacar is under my command and I can be anywhere I want and calling him will not help you.” He ignored the way she trembled and looked her up and down.” You are too puny to kill this Destiny. I will kill him for you.”
She wrung her hands. “You don’t understand, Destiny is—”
She stopped talking and bit her lip. “Thank you, but I can kick his butt,” she said. What was she going to say about this Destiny? Was it a male she met in secret? She inched to the left, still giving the door those furtive glances.
“You won’t make it,” he said gently, not wanting to scare her. But he wasn’t about to allow her to run out, screaming for the guards or Zacar.
She froze and for a moment he saw sheer terror on her face. He’d seen it on many alien faces during his many conquest campaigns. He didn’t want that look on her face when she looked at him.
She took another step back, but pointed her chin at him. “You have no right to invade my privacy like this. Who do you think you are?”
“I am the Zyrgin,” he told her. Obviously, she didn’t understand when he’d told her before.
“I know you’re a Zyrgin,” she added under her breath. “Did he think I missed the green-and-copper skin, bulging muscles, ridge on his head, and those odd eyes?”
Zaar decided to never tell her how good his hearing was. He enjoyed listening to her strange ramblings.
“The Zyrgin,” he corrected.
She rocked back a little, as if the truth had hit her. She touched the band that held her hair together, then plucked at her shirt. She took two more steps back, her eyes so wide, it looked like Earth viewed from space. “You’re the emperor?”
“The correct title is Parenadorz, but you can address me as my leader.”
“If you’re the Parenz-whatever, how can you be here? Julia said it takes a year for your ships to reach us. Surely you can’t just leave everything to travel to Earth to talk to one insignificant human.” She said that pointedly, as if she wanted to convince him she was of no importance.
“Your feeble human mind cannot comprehend my powers and how I can be here,” he told her and she narrowed her eyes at him.
She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her toe. “Why don’t you try explaining it to me? My feeble human brain might surprise you.” She trembled so much, he was surprised her thin limbs didn’t rattle together. But she was brave, standing her ground. He was impressed that she tapped her toes at him, in spite of her fear.
“I do not need to explain anything to you. But you should know that you are the least insignificant human on this planet. As my breeder you have a status above all others.” He knew what impressed breeders. The next time he came, he’d bring jewels and silk clothes. And strings of silk to replace her peasant silk.
“B…breeder?” she stammered. And then in that undertone: “So that’s what Julia talked about? Wonder how she knew?” She sounded disappointed, as if she thought her friend had betrayed her.
“I give you the privilege to become my breeder.” He manifested and presented the gold eduki pelt.
“What’s that?”
“It is the pelt of the eduki that I hunted and killed with my bare hands. You are now my breeder.” Zaar had resolved never to do this again, and yet he felt a savage satisfaction at knowing she belonged to him now.
She shook her head, her hair swinging back and forth. She ran to the door, but he’d programed it to stay close while he was with her. “No, no, no! Not again, never again.” She slammed her hands against the door.
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About the Author
Ever since she can remember Marie Dry wanted to travel. She lived in Zambia, Morocco and Spain and did short stints in Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Rome, Brazil, Portugal, Botswana and Mozambique. Through all the travelling reading romance has been a constant.
She read romances since she was nine and was fairly young when she decided she would write a story that had all the elements she looked for in a romance. Her first book was published in 2014.
There are several wonderful moments in her life that she would never trade for anything. One of them is meeting President Nelson Mandela and the second being published.
Find Marie here:
Website: http://www.mariedry.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariedryauthor/
Twitter: @MarieDry1
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Links
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About More Than Stardust
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.