Friday, June 28, 2013
Man of Steel Stole My Heart
Man of Steel Stole My Heart by Michele Callahan
Wow. Not just
wow. Holy super-duper, high-five, snoopy
dance WOW. The new Superman is HOT. (What is it with all the new sexy Australian
actors? First Thor, now Superman? What are they putting in the water down
there?)
I love anything sci-fi, and let’s face it, Superman is about
as Sci-Fi as it gets. Alien baby
transported to earth as a newborn, bad guys from worlds other than Earth
showing up to wreak havoc on poor, unsuspecting humanity. Really cool ships, awesome gear, and a hero
so hot he melts you in your boots?
What’s that spell?
G-R-E-A-T-M-O-V-I-E.
I am pretty darn sure I will go see it again. Maybe twice.
Then I’ll go do a second run of the new Star Trek movie (which was also
fantastic.) Oblivion rocked my world and
made me think for DAYS. My inner geek is
dancing with happiness right now. I’m
feeling inspired to write. I’ve got a
hunky hero from another world with amazing super-powers! Yes.
Yes. Yes. He’s smoking hot, arrogant, and too sexy for
his own good. Raiden was named after the
Japanese god of Thunder, and he deserves it.
When the final battle comes with his nemesis and the scary Immortal
Triscani, things get dangerous, crazy, and out of control very quickly. Good thing he’s got Mari to rein him in,
bring him back down to Earth, and remind him why he came to this planet in the
first place…to save us all.
I hope you’ll go to the movies, have a fabulous time, then
continue on with Alexa & Luke in RED NIGHT,Tim and Sarah in SILVER STORM, or, coming
soon…Raiden and Marina in BLUE ABYSS.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
So What’s a Phage Anyway?
I was fortunate enough to participate in the SFR Brigade
second mid summer blog hop where I shared the blurb for my current science
fiction romance work in progress. In it,
a doctor and champion pilot race across a desert planet to prevent a
bioengineered phage from taking the lives of millions while fighting the pull
of their own hearts and an alien federation out to stop them.
When I share my story with others, a question I often get is
what’s a phage and why use that instead of a plague?
I learned the term phage from Star Trek. In the Voyager series, the Vidiians have been fighting a deadly phage that destroyed their genetic coding and cell structures by stealing the body parts of others to replace those they lost. In fact the first episode that introduced the Vidiians was called the Phage.
A phage,
also known bacteriophage, is a virus that infects and replicates within
bacteria by injecting their genome into their cytoplasm.
Factoid: Phages are incredible common organisms and are used as a natural alternative to antibiotics.
The phage integrates with the host DNA, which in certain stages of its life cycle, reproduces itself with every new
cell created. Thus it has the potential to modify the DNA of the host. And this is why I chose a phage, because I
wanted to deal with bioengineering and bioterrorism that played with DNA structures. In a universe with many different types of
beings, reproducing or conquering others by altering their DNA structure might be a reality. And that is what the phage in my WIP is being engineered to do, alter the DNA structure of one species to become another.
What
about you? Have you read books or are
writing books that use medical and biomedical phenomena? Why do you like them? What don’t you like
about them?
Sabrina Garie is on a journey to create the most kick-ass heroine in romance fiction. Her new book Next Move releases on July 5 from Ellora’s Cave.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Three Times the Charm
I promise, you'll be excited when I tell you why, too: I've been participating in the SFR Brigade 2nd annual blog hop. The team of authors participating includes Sabrina Garie, who also blogs here, so you know there's a great group of prizes... including the one whose cover features here.
;)
We're down to the final two days of the blog hop, so if you want to get in on the prizes listed below, stop by my blog or Sabrina's and leave a comment to enter the Rafflecopter.
1st Prize – $150 Amazon or B&N gift card (winner’s choice) and an ebook bundle (Ghost in the Machine, Bayne, Recast Book 1:Wither, Recast Book 2:Clash, Alien Adoration, Switched, Reckless Rescue, Wreck of the Nebula Dream, Keir, Terms & Conditions Apply, The Key, Marya, The Iron Admiral, Sasha’s Calling, Trouble at the Hotel Baba Ghanoush, Winter in Paradise, Once Upon a Time in Space, the Telomere trilogy, Winter Fusion, Blue Nebula, Demential, Wytchfire, Maven, Fires of Justice, Interface, Girl under Glass, and Breakout. Bonus books – Ghost Planet, The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy and Deception, Games of Command, Stark Pleasure, The Plan, and Starburst).
2nd Prize – $50 Amazon or B&N gift card (winner’s choice)
3rd Prizes – four $25 Amazon or B&N gift cards (given to separate winners and their choice)
Good luck, one and all!
Friday, June 21, 2013
New Release: Wytchfire
In keeping with its shorter length (it clocked in just under 10,000 words), the blurb is very short:
Can she remember enough to save herself? Can she change enough to save her planet?It's available as an eBook at Amazon and Smashwords.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Boring Is Good - Excitement (In Real Life) Is Vastly Overrated
I think I missed my last blog. Since hubby retired and we moved I've lost track of my life. Renovations on the new "old" house are coming along. Walls are getting painted. Furniture is being moved into place. Computers and other electronic necessities are up and running, But my "life" is still up for grabs. I get up every morning and jump into the renovation process. By the end of the day I fall into bed exhausted, but so far the results have been worth the effort. That's hubby there checking out a light switch.
So for today I'm recycling a blog I wrote awhile back about excitement. I'm so looking forward to the day my life is "boring" again.
In "real" life boring is good. Excitement is
vastly overrated.
In "real" life excitement usually means injured or
sick children, ailing senior parents, lost jobs, broken down cars, empty bank
accounts and household repairs. (Not to mention hubby retiring and relocating to Florida.)
I'm not an adventurous person. I'm not a coordinated person.
I can't dance. I can't sing. I can't ride a bike, forget a motorcycle. I tried
riding a motor scooter once. Ended up in a ditch. When my friends convinced me to try again I
managed to fall off the danged thing. So I don't like taking risks. They
usually result in bruises and blood, and the sight of blood makes me queasy. I
prefer my "real" life to be a lovely shade of boring beige with just
a few sprinkles of pastel excitement - visiting with friends and family, dinner
out, a movie, a vacation at a quiet beach.
That's why I adore books, both reading and writing them. In
a book I can dance, sing, or roar down the road on big old hog. I can risk my
life skiing, surfing, treasure hunting, mountain climbing or trekking through
the Amazon jungle. I can shoot guns (without blowing off fingers or toes.) I
can fight invading alien forces here on Earth or off in space. Zombies? Vampires?
Werewolves? No problem. Sitting safe in my easy chair I can handle them. And in
between the explosions and flying body parts, I can have sex with a leather-clad
bad boy - or two. There are no STDs to worry about when your partners exist
only between the pages of a book and your imagination.
In a book I can travel the Oregon Trail or the Trail of
Tears and still be home for dinner. The only danger I face is burning said
dinner while I'm engrossed in the story, but there's even an upside to that -
ordering in pizza. Or better yet dinner out somewhere, one of those pastel
sprinkles of excitement I prefer.
That's why people who tell me they don't have time to or
like to read confuse me. Are their lives so "exciting" that they
don't need or want to escape into another existence even for a short while?
So I'm happy to live my boring "real" life and get
all my excitement between the pages of a book.
To get some "fictional" excitement check out my latest releases:
TANGO IN PARADISE
http://www.amazon.com/Tango-In-Paradise-ebook/dp/B00BR0IKAE
DARK STAR DAWNING.
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Star-Dawning-ebook/dp/B00CJ6FNRS
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Star-Dawning-ebook/dp/B00CJ6FNRS
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Cover Reveal of the Paranormal Suspense Shrouded in Illusion!
Shrouded in Illusion
Someone wants Skye Hunter’s son and they’re willing to kill her or anyone else to get to him. One the run for her life, she is forced to turn to the only person who can help her—a complete stranger with a shared past—David Bishop, a renowned illusionist.David’s life is also an illusion, built of smoke and little else. He meets Skye, a woman filled with passion and conviction, and the pain he sees in her eyes is a mirror to his own soul. But when he realizes she has the same strange, telekinetic phenomenon inside her body that he does, he is forced to question his life, his childhood and the father who raised him. Can these two lost souls uncover the mystery behind their powers and save Skye’s son and themselves in the process?
Preorders are available at KOBO.
Friday, June 14, 2013
The Summer of SciFi
It should be pretty obvious that anyone on this blog would love Science Fiction. Sadly, the last few summers have not actually produced a bumper crop of SciFi movies. This year is trying to make up for it.
And I'm happy to sit back and watch.
It started with Iron Man III. I'll admit, I watch movies with decapitation ratings. So far (yes, I know it's early) but IM3 had the best line. Gwenyth Paltrow/Pepper Potts said at the end "That was a little violent." I love Gwenyth Paltrow!
Next up was Star Trek Into the Darkness. A a trekkie, it took me a while to come to terms with this new timeline. And even sitting in the theatre, I kept opening my mouth to say, 'no, that's not right.' But I love Benedict Cumberbatch and he did a wonderful job as Khan (sorry, spoiler) But I thought it was rather ingenious how they merged the TV episode with him and the movie version. Well done.
This weekend, I'm taking hubby out to a double feature—Monsters University and World War Z. Why the double? Because Brad Pitt annoys me and I think he's going to ruin a brilliant book. And really, who doesn't love Monsters.
I'm not so keen on seeing After Earth, Man of Steel or Epic (Although I love animated movies. But will definitely watch them on DVD/Blu-Ray. Ditto with Pacific Rim. For some reason it just doesn't have that something special to make me line up. I am looking forward to Red 2 (but that's not really scifi). I'm even passing on Wolverine. I really am a Gambit girl.
I'm not quite certain about Elysium but given how barren July is, I might just have to go and get my fix. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters might be a good one as well as I liked the first movie. The World's End is on my radar, just because who doesn't like apocalyptic fiction?
Riddick—I love the franchise although thought Pitch Black was the best of the bunch, still it is Vin Diesel.
And that pretty much takes us back into Fall. Did I forget any that you want to see?
And I'm happy to sit back and watch.
It started with Iron Man III. I'll admit, I watch movies with decapitation ratings. So far (yes, I know it's early) but IM3 had the best line. Gwenyth Paltrow/Pepper Potts said at the end "That was a little violent." I love Gwenyth Paltrow!
Next up was Star Trek Into the Darkness. A a trekkie, it took me a while to come to terms with this new timeline. And even sitting in the theatre, I kept opening my mouth to say, 'no, that's not right.' But I love Benedict Cumberbatch and he did a wonderful job as Khan (sorry, spoiler) But I thought it was rather ingenious how they merged the TV episode with him and the movie version. Well done.
This weekend, I'm taking hubby out to a double feature—Monsters University and World War Z. Why the double? Because Brad Pitt annoys me and I think he's going to ruin a brilliant book. And really, who doesn't love Monsters.
I'm not so keen on seeing After Earth, Man of Steel or Epic (Although I love animated movies. But will definitely watch them on DVD/Blu-Ray. Ditto with Pacific Rim. For some reason it just doesn't have that something special to make me line up. I am looking forward to Red 2 (but that's not really scifi). I'm even passing on Wolverine. I really am a Gambit girl.
I'm not quite certain about Elysium but given how barren July is, I might just have to go and get my fix. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters might be a good one as well as I liked the first movie. The World's End is on my radar, just because who doesn't like apocalyptic fiction?
Riddick—I love the franchise although thought Pitch Black was the best of the bunch, still it is Vin Diesel.
And that pretty much takes us back into Fall. Did I forget any that you want to see?
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
I'M SORRY MR. EINSTEIN
According to
my husband…and Albert Einstein…you can’t go faster than the speed of light or
for that matter, you can’t go the speed of light. Anything that has mass gains mass the faster
you go. Light can go that fast because it
has no mass.
That may be
all well and good for the real world, but not the ones that I create. I need my characters to go faster than the
speed of light. I need them to be able
to go from planet to planet in days or weeks, not years. I want to be able to go to Alpha Centauri,
the nearest star to Earth, in four days, not four years as it would be in the
real world we live in.
But I don’t
write about the real world. I write
about what can be. What may be in our
future. I write about where we might be
in our future and where others out there might be now. Faster than light travel. Warp drives.
Ion accelerators.
In some
books, like Joe Haldeman’s THE FOREVER WAR, travelers age only minutes while
the Earth they left behind ages centuries.
This is what would happen to real space travelers. They could never go home to the Earth they
left behind. It no longer exists. It is gone.
In Bill, The
Galactic Hero, by Harry Harrison, Bill simply expands himself over time and
space to the place he needs to be and then unexpands at the location he needs
to be in. This I can’t see ever
happening. Way too many laws of physics
being broken here, but it was hysterical to read about in the book.
For my
books, I just needed my characters to travel a couple of weeks to the planet
they needed to be at. They do this in a
spaceship and with an ion drive. In my
books, it works quite well, because that is the way I designed it.
I’m not
writing reality. I’m writing
fiction. Romance fiction. Romantic science fiction. FICTION.
In my world don’t expect the laws of Earth to rule.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Akira, my latest heroine coming in September - by Vijaya Schartz
I just turned in to the editor the manuscript of my 35,000 words novella, AKIRA'S CHOICE, part of the Borealis Space Station novellas. It's sci-fi, it's romance, it's action and adventure. Never a dull moment. The eBook is scheduled for release September 1, 2013, from Desert Breeze Publishing.
I particularly enjoyed writing this story, set, like all the Borealis stories, on the decrepit space station at the fringe of conquered space. For the reader, it's like watching episodes of Deep Space Nine or Babylon Five, This story will be number Nine (IX) in the series, but each story can be read independently, since each new installment features a different couple.
AKIRA'S CHOICE features another kick-butt heroine, a bounty hunter with a cheetah, and a handsome rebel protecting a child.
My last contribution to this series was BLACK DRAGON, featuring a female security officer and a rebel disguised as a dandy.
The covers for this series are all alike, only the title and author varies, so look for the same type of cover in September.
Here is what Akira's Choice is about:
Bounty hunter Akira Karyudo knew something didn't add up when she accepted her assignment. Why would the Trans Planetary Protectorate want a kidnapped orphan dead or alive?
She will get to the truth once she finds the boy, and the no good SOB who snatched him from a psychiatric hospital. With her cheetah, Freckles, a genetically enhanced feline retriever, Akira sets out to flush them out of the bowels of the BOREALIS space station. But when she finds her fugitives, the man is not what she expects.
Markku, a decorated rebel soldier, only protects his nephew from the authorities, who performed painful experiments on the boy. Stuck on Borealis, he hides the child. But how can he shield him from the horribly dangerous conditions in the lawless sublevels of the decrepit space station?
Akira faces the worst moral dilemma of her career. Law or justice, duty or love. She can't have it both ways.
She will get to the truth once she finds the boy, and the no good SOB who snatched him from a psychiatric hospital. With her cheetah, Freckles, a genetically enhanced feline retriever, Akira sets out to flush them out of the bowels of the BOREALIS space station. But when she finds her fugitives, the man is not what she expects.
Markku, a decorated rebel soldier, only protects his nephew from the authorities, who performed painful experiments on the boy. Stuck on Borealis, he hides the child. But how can he shield him from the horribly dangerous conditions in the lawless sublevels of the decrepit space station?
Akira faces the worst moral dilemma of her career. Law or justice, duty or love. She can't have it both ways.
EXCERPT:
"Go after that cat and you're dead!" The strong baritone voice came from a tall man aiming a blaster at the two thugs.
He stepped out of the shadows, in full paramilitary gear. His left hand held a long knife. He sidled toward Akira, circling the thugs, who started to retreat at the sight of his blaster.
"Mind your own business." Akira didn't appreciate unwanted help.
The man stepped closer. "These goons know nothing about civilized rules of fighting. They want your body, your hide, your cat for its meat, and your armor and weapons."
"I know that." Who did this man think she was? A neophyte? "There is no honor in killing defenseless creatures."
"There is no honor in this place." His gaze skimmed the sorry lot holding an assortment of blades and clubs, some with protruding metal spikes. "Believe me, they are far from defenseless."
The thugs kept their distance from the blaster aimed at them, but they did not retreat.
"Still. I refuse to kill, if there is another way." None of those rejects would threaten her individually, but their number could present a challenge. As more joined the group, she counted two dozen.
The louts glanced at one another with indecision. At least, they understood the warning. She was trained and dangerous. Not to be trifled with. They widened their half circle in front of her, still hesitating, but they held their ground. Chikusho.
In a few long steps, the stranger joined her side. From his walk and the way he held his weapons, she could tell he had military training. He didn't look like a TPP soldier, though. Something wild lurked in his clear blue gaze. A free thinker. A bounty hunter like her? Or perhaps a rebel?
"You look like you could use some help."
"Do I?" Unbelievable. "Why should I trust you?" She couldn't help the derision in her voice. "For all I know, you could be their leader, luring me into a trap."
He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not one of them, and you are in more trouble than you know."
"Get out of my way." Akira clicked open the defensive claws of her forearm braces then unsheathed a titanium short sword and adopted a defensive stance. "I work alone."
He laughed. "And I'm telling you, this is no place for a warrior from a distant past. Especially, one who cares about something as futile as honor."
Find these everywhere eBooks are sold. Here are the links to my author page on the major sites:
HAPPY READING.
Vijaya Schartz
Blasters, Swords, Romance with a Kick
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