Nearly published...

I'm feeling a bit like my baby's grown up and is about to move out!

Earlier today, I was sent cover images and advance review copies of my novella, Knights Errant, which is going to be published on Friday.

It's probably best described as an adult romance, as I wanted to tell a story first and foremost, just one which included steamy scenes. I occasionally read lightweight escapist stories with happy endings, but always thought the "love scenes" were just a little tentative. I don't think anyone would say that about my writing, but the story is what I really felt I had to write.

I'm really excited about it, as this story is something I've devoted a lot of my free time to. My constructive critiquing group gave me a lot of positive comments and some really good suggestions, for which I'm very, very grateful. 

And I was over the moon when Fireborn Publishing offered me a contract.

Their team have been great and I know the story is better-told for their suggestions.

I'm really pleased with the cover their artist created. Getting involved in finding images for the cover on stock websites was the first of my new writing-related experiences... As soon as I saw the guy, I knew I'd found my main character Paul. The blonde woman looked perfect for Hayley, and the brunette grinned at me and said "Hi, I'm Becky". Her slightly cheeky grin is just right. 

Now I know about it, I'm going to work on that earlier for future stories. And it might give me a clearer idea of what my character looks like when I write their story.

I think my next writing-related experience is about to start. Marketing and publicity. I'm not the world's most outgoing person, and like many others, I found writing to be a pleasantly solitary activity. But jumping up and down to try and get people to think about treating themselves to my nicely-written and entertaining story? Teeny bit scary! 

Already started with some pre-publication tweets and posts in Facebook groups, and I've just created and published a Facebook author page which I'll use as my main "writing" page (click here for a link).

So, as soon as I've got links to the various e-book outlets, I'll be posting them here and anywhere else I can! Along with the blurb.

Writing an outline of the story to submit was bad enough, but trying to describe a 34,000 word story in two blurbs, a shorter one of up to 50 words and the other up to 150? Well, here's what I came up with.

Short blurb:
Widower Paul is ready for a new relationship. Best friends, Becky and Hayley, attractive and very different, make their interest in him perfectly clear. This knight in armour has to defeat his demons and win one without upsetting the other.

Longer blurb:
Lonely widower Paul knows he's ready to move on and start a new relationship, but doesn't expect to meet two attractive and interesting women at the same time. They want to recruit his jousting display team to feature in a TV show.

Becky and Hayley are best friends, as different as chalk and cheese, and both clearly fancy Paul. A decent guy at heart, he hopes to win one without harming their friendship. But the women don't make it any easier when they turn up the heat and leave him wondering what's going on.

A fantastic prize is within his reach. He just has to overcome his deepest fears, self-doubts, and fragile self-confidence. And be Hayley's leading man in the TV show she hopes will make her name. So no pressure. Just take a deep breath and let these two intriguing women lead him way outside his comfort zone.

That's as much as you get here... After all, the idea of the blurb is to tempt you to read more!

Featuring guest author Nikko Lee, author of recently published "Wolf Creek"

Today's blog features Nikko Lee, fellow writer and friend through Facebook and the ERWA. Her novel "Wolf Creek" was published by Prizm in September.

Nikko Lee is the pen name she uses to write genre fiction from erotica to horror, and to blog about hiking, writing and science at www.nikkolee.com. She's a scientific curator. Born in Canada, she moved to Maine after completing a PhD in Zoology and her post-doctoral training. She resides near Bar Harbor with her husband, daughter, two cats and malamute.

She describes Wolf Creek as a non-erotica novel, an LGBT-friendly new adult urban fantasy. I loved her tag line! "Life as a gay omega werewolf is no fairy tale" is far more catchy than anything I've come up with so far for my own writing.

 

Josh is willing to risk his life to get away from his oppressive pack. He gets a chance to earn his freedom after his leader suffers a fatal heart attack. As a rare omega werewolf, Josh is the only one who can find an alpha strong enough to control the pack. The only problem is that Josh has no clue how.

During his search, Josh befriends a ditzy Amazon trainee and a disarming park ranger. They become more of a family to him than the pack which is at each other's throats. Things only get worse when a local is mauled to death and the Amazons order the entire pack killed.

Now all Josh has to do is restore order to the pack, convince the Amazons to reinstate their treaty, survive a new best friend who might be more dangerous than his enemies, and stop himself from falling for a man who wants someone else.

Maybe then he can start a new life.

The book is available from Prizm and Amazon, and click here to see a brief Wolf Creek trailer.

As is my habit with guests, I asked her some questions

What do you have in mind for your next writing project?

I’m currently working on a BDSM thriller. Psychiatrist Jacob Riley is used to being in control, especially in the bedroom. The murder of a former submissive thrusts him into the middle of the investigation. He must find the killer before he becomes the prime suspect.

Is there anything you remember which prompted you to start writing? When do you remember first wanting to write?

I can remember writing my first story that was not a school assignment in seventh grade. For me, it was a way of confronting feelings and emotions that were bottled up in my head. I was always very shy and, at least in my fictional worlds, my characters acted in ways that sometimes I wished I had the courage to act.

How long did it take you to write this book?

Wolf Creek started off as a National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) project. In 2012, I took an outline that I had written the previous summer and dedicated the month of November to writing the first draft. I did manage to write 50,000 words of the novel during the month. Needless to say it took a lot more writing and re-writing before the finished manuscript that I started shopping around last year. Three days before my daughter was born, I signed the contract with Prizm.

What are your ambitions for your writing career?

I would love to find a book that I’d written for sale in an airport. I want to write stories that entertain and allow people to escape the mundane of the everyday.

Do you have any strange writing habits (like standing on your head or writing in the shower)?

Sometimes I find that my most productive writing sessions occur in a busy environment. I used to write during class in high school. A busy café or a work meeting provides suitable background and allows me to focus on creativity instead of being bored. But it requires a little bit of stealth. The outline for Wolf Creek was written during a basic first aid course. Don’t worry, I still passed the course.

Do you have a day job as well as writing?

My educational background is in genetics. My day job as a scientific curator keeps me immersed in mouse genetic research.

Do you ever experience writer’s block? If so how do you get past it?

I experienced a long writer’s block when I started undergraduate studies. I’d finished my first novella about a drug company using a small town as an unwitting test population. After that, I didn’t feel the passion to write until I discovered erotica. I started writing short pieces for myself, then for online groups in a roleplay community. There’s nothing better for a writer’s ego that an appreciating audience. Whenever I hit a block, I try to remember why I write and what I love about my story. That usually gets me writing again.

What’s your passion in life?

Writing is high on my list of passions. I’m also an avid hiker. My husband and I are slowly making our way north along the Long Trail by hiking sections every year. I’m a volunteer search and rescue team member. Generally, I love being outdoors.

Tell us about the genre you write in.

I often struggle with pinning down my stories and novels to a specific genre. Take Boson’s Mate (published in Valves and Vixens), it’s gay steampunk sci-fi erotica.

I think most works of fiction contain elements of different genres. Beyond letting booksellers know where to shelve a book, genres also set up the basic expectations of a reader.

What’s a romance without a central couple that get together? What’s a mystery without a perpetrator? What’s erotica without sexuality?

Wolf Creek presented me with a particular challenge as far as defining its genre. The story is about werewolves and other fantastical creatures, but the setting in central Maine is hardly metropolitan. So urban fantasy was out.

Then there was the age range of the target audience. The main character Josh is around twenty-one. Too old for young adult but not old enough to be well-established in his own life. Turns out that’s exactly the right age for new adult fiction.

I hadn’t heard of the genre before looking for a publisher. The threshold into adulthood is full of its own challenges. From making it on your own to finding out who you are. I think the struggles in new adult fiction are ones we never outgrow even after our first romances, careers and gray hairs.

In Wolf Creek, Josh is given a chance to escape his oppressive werewolf pack, but only if he finds its next leader. Instead of running away from his problems, Josh learns to face them and his own self-doubts head on. He makes new friends, finds an unobtainable crush, and learns to believe in himself.

So what genre is Wolf Creek? I’m leaning toward new adult gay paranormal fantasy.

Spolier alert! While there are elements of romance in the novel, there is no happy couple at the end. I don’t like to have my happily-ever-after occur so easily. Josh will get a boyfriend in the sequel.

Many thanks, Nikko, and I hope Wolf Creek finds an enthusiastic readership

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/88nikkolee88

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3132914.Nikko_Lee

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Nikko-Lee/e/B004LO51T6

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NikkoLee88 #omegasrule

Website: www.nikklelee.com

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nikko_lee88

Reading, Thinking, Writing

Since I started writing my own fiction, especially since I joined a critiquing group, I've increasingly found myself reading stories with part of my mind in "reader" mode, part in "reviewer" mode. Reading other writer's work is a great way to help me understand how to write, giving me good and not-so-good examples of ways to tell a story, which I can use as I try to develop my own "writer's voice".

Elmore Leonard's "Be Cool" gave me a fantastic example of how to deal with a lively and violent action scene - get someone involved to describe it in a conversation! I'd already seen the film adaptation of "Get Shorty", the prequel to this story, so my head insisted on casting John Travolta as the character he'd played in the film.

Andy Weir's "The Martian", soon to be released as a film, was an example of how research can pay off. I really bought in to the character, a gifted engineer trapped on Mars after an accident, as he struggled to defy every mishap and disaster and just stay alive. I felt that the materials and machinery around the astronaut were just a little more advanced than today, which made it easy to imagine and accept. And the character was so realistic and plausible -  tough, bloody-minded, with a wicked sense of humour.

Spencer Dryden's "The Memory of Mermaids" is a total contrast. It's a lively, imaginative and really fast-paced modern-day fantasy, with gangsters, the FBI, sea monsters from the dawn of creation, treasure from the Spanish Main, research scientists and mermaids. I really enjoyed it and found it pretty endearing. It has enough "adult" moments to be erotica. I just wished Spencer hadn't been in such a hurry, as I wanted to get to know his characters better!

I recently really enjoyed reading "The Good Knight", by Sarah Woodbury. This is the first in a six-story series of "Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mysteries". The mystery acted as the pivot around which the story was told. I must admit that I didn't really care "who dunnit", but I really enjoyed the story. Sarah clearly knows her history, but gave me just enough to paint the scene, not deluge me with detail. The story is set in 12th century Wales, then still independent of England and run by various Kings and nobles. I found the characters interesting and engaging. They used modern-day dialogue, which worked for me. After all, they would have used equivalent phrases in 12th century Welsh or Danish. Not using "sort of" period language helped keep the pace, I felt. By "sort of" period language, I mean the style Ellis Peters used in her Brother Cadfael mysteries. What struck me most about Sarah's book was how details and incidents kept me firmly in the period. The first stone castles being built. Dublin being a settlement of Danish vikings. Justice down to the whims and moods of your local lord. Politics played for real, when being stabbed in the back meant exactly that.

But the story which made me think most about my own writing was Bram Stoker's "Dracula". According to wikipedia, it's an "epistolary", apparently compiled from the accounts of the various different characters. In that form, it seems very like a modern TV or film drama, where we jump from one character to another as the story progresses. Aside from giving the author a wide range of "voices" to help tell the story, it means Bram was able to play with something called "unreliable narrator", where the reader isn't quite sure what they're reading is completely accurate... I've not developed the confidence to use this myself yet, but I have adapted one of his ideas in a draft novella, including press reports about an incident.

Delighted and Slightly Anxious?

What am I on about?

A couple of weeks ago, I had an e-mail from a publisher about a novella I'd submitted. It was one of those "oh wow or what?" moments, the offer of a publishing contract for the story. I've had five short stories published in the past, four in anthologies, but this felt even better than my very first acceptance.

But like many people in this position, my inner doubts spoke up. Is my story really good enough? What will the editor say about it? Will anyone buy it? Will they like it? What will they say in reviews? 

Well, I told my inner doubts that it's been read by people who publish stories as a business, and they're prepared to take a chance on it. 

In other words, "naff orf, inner doubts".

So various paperwork formalities to deal with, do a lightning-fast review for embarrassing typos and inconsistencies, write short and long book blurbs, and send everything back asap. 

Note to self (1): Write various drafts of both short and long blurbs before submitting in future.

Then something I'd not thought about all that much. Cover art. 

The publisher's website had examples of previously-published covers and some pre-prepared ones I could select. But none of them seemed quite right. So I spend a few hours searching their preferred stock photo agency for photos of models who looked something like my mental pictures of the three main characters. Which none of them quite did. So, identify nearest-fits with comments, and hope their artist can come up with something we all like. And I apologise now for any headaches my amateurish approach might cause. 

Quite a few Facebook friends who are authors post photos of models they're using to develop their ideas about characters, a complete reversal of my approach.

Note to self (2): Next time I'm developing a story idea, find photos I like and use these to imagine what my characters look like. 

Now I'm waiting to hear from the editor assigned to work with me on my story, hence the "slightly anxious" comment. 

I don't doubt for a second that their comments and suggestions will be constructive and intended to help make it a better version of the story than my draft. But I've got this odd "it's my baby" feeling! This is by far my largest piece of work to be professionally edited, and one I put a lot of time and effort into. They'll understand that, of course. 

My objective self is saying "see what they say, think about it, discuss differences of opinion and deal with it like grown-ups". 

I'll leave my subjective self to talk to itself. Listening closely will not be helpful.

I hope this story will be the first in a series. I'd already started working on book 2, which will follow-on directly from book 1 and wrap up the minor open ends. I've already written some fairly long stories with the same characters, which I'm confident I can develop into novella-length stories. 

I've got ideas for stories based around other characters in the same fictional world. But how much can I use books 1 and 2 to introduce these characters? Their stories would add a major supernatural element to the relatively normal fictional world I've created. Do I write these other stories as a self-contained storyline and ignore the "overlaps" between the two?

But as I try to remind myself, if it was easy, it wouldn't be as much fun!

So, what's my story all about? 

I'll be a total rat-bag and say nothing for now. 

But I will say more as things progress. Watch this space...

Reading and thinking...

I can't help it.

I've been thinking as long as I can remember and reading for nearly as long.

And since I took an interest in writing fiction, I've been thinking about that, too. 

While I can read books about writing stories and novels, I can also read stories and novels and think about how they were written, what works for me and what doesn't. And then apply these to my own writing.

I recently read and enjoyed two novellas by Samantha Cole, "Leather and Lace" and "His Angel", the first two in her "Trident Security" series (available on Amazon and probably other e-book retailers too). I suspect each book in the series will feature a different member of a cast of characters, an idea I rather liked. They're both fast-moving erotic BDSM romances, which I'm not a big fan of personally, but I'd offered to read and review them. 

What struck me was that there seemed to be a chunk of "tell", a chunk of narrative describing the backstory of some of the characters. One of the things writers are encouraged to do today is "show" rather than "tell", using the story to reveal background details rather than spell them out. But in these stories, I felt it was a useful device to keep up the pace and limit the overall word count. It worked well enough to keep me engaged. But I felt it was something I didn't want to use in my own work.

I'm currently listening again to some favourite audiobooks. As I have a 50-minute drive to and from work, audiobooks are a great way to enjoy some stories. I'm currently on the second of three related stories by Molly Harper, "How To Flirt With A Naked Werewolf," "How To Seduce A Naked Werewolf" and "How To Run With A Naked Werewolf". Set in contemporary Alaska, these are fairly light-hearted romantic fantasies revolving around a pack of werewolves. Listening to them again, I was struck by how well I was carried away by the stories and characters, even to the extent that I didn't mind several "continuity errors" and minor inconsistencies which had survived the editing and reviewing process.

While I can't be sure my storylines and characters are as engaging as I hope, at least I can do my best to avoid the same sort of minor errors which might irritate readers.

Listening to lots of audiobooks has illustrated the importance of choosing the right narrator and their performance. For me, Amanda Ronconi does a fantastic job with Molly Harper's stories. Most of the audiobooks I've listened to had great performances. I've got a version of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" with two narrators doing a great job with the different characters. But a few books irritated me in one way or another, which spoiled my enjoyment of the story. The worst I've come across was having a female narrator for a story with a first-person male character... I can suspend disbelief, but only so far.

So Is It Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day?

Happy Mother’s Day!

You've not forgotten, have you? Mother’s Day? Or is it Mothering Sunday?

I remember making a Mother’s Day card every year at primary school, copying down whatever twee verse the teacher put on the board. That was back in the good old days, before there were family restaurants and pubs doing family Sunday lunches. Dad always made dinner and my sister and I washed up. Now, mums can expect tasty and reliable food. Without the kids arguing about the washing-up. Or worrying about the state of the kitchen after dad’s annual solo cookery effort.

I guess schools still get children to make greetings cards, though.

Hang on. Is it Mother’s Day or Mothering Sunday?

We tend to think of Mothering Sunday and Mother’s Day as the same thing, but they’ll actually two different celebrations held on the same day.

In Europe, we have Mothering Sunday, a Christian festival which falls on the 4th Sunday in Lent. It’s always the middle Sunday in Lent, half way between Shrove Tuesday and Good Friday. The religious calendar is a complete mystery to me. I’d be lost without subtle hints in the shops reminding me to buy a nice card. Or helpfully suggesting lots of other things my mum might like.

Many countries have Mother’s Day, a celebration of motherhood, held on either the second Sunday in May (as in the US) or 8th March, International Women’s Day. Reviving an earlier campaign in the US for a national Mother's Day holiday, Anna Reese Jarvis and her friends won influential support and their efforts resulted in the holiday being granted in 1914.

Many celebrations of mothers and motherhood world-wide evolved from ancient festivals celebrating Goddesses rather than mothers. An annual festival in ancient Egypt honoured Isis, the mother of the pharaohs. The ancient Greeks had a spring festival for Rhea, mother of the better-known gods and goddesses. The Romans celebrated Hilaria in mid-March, honouring their mother goddess Cybele. The Christian church developed this into an event honouring the Virgin Mary and “mother church”.

The term “Mothering Sunday” in Britain appears to have started in the 17th century. Historically, people regularly worshipped at their nearest parish (“daughter”) church, but they thought it was important to visit their home (“mother”) church, the one they’d been baptised in. In time, worshippers tended to make this trip annually in the middle of Lent, and it became known as going “a-mothering”. This annual trip was also a family reunion.

Back in the good old days, children might leave home to work at the age of ten. This led to the tradition of young people, particularly domestic servants or apprentices, being given the day off to visit their families. Though presumably only those who were close enough to walk there and back in a day.

The Lent fasting rules were relaxed on Mothering Sunday meant it was also known as Refreshment Sunday. Young people returning home on Mothering Sunday might bring their mothers gifts or a "mothering cake". Simnel cake is associated with Mothering Sunday, but it dates back to at least medieval times. It’s usually a fruit cake with a layer of marzipan in the middle, topped with more marzipan or a saffron-coloured flour and water crust. It had to keep until Easter, so it was boiled then baked. There may well be a lot of Victorian embellishments in the modern telling, but it’s still a nice story.

Another dish associated with Mothering Sunday was “furmety”, wheat grains boiled in sweet milk, sugared and spiced. In northern England and in Scotland, it was pancakes made of pease fried in butter (pease is basically boiled dried peas).

I like old traditions being kept alive. But would my mum really appreciate a long-life fruit cake, a wheat version of rice pudding, or mushy pea pancakes? Maybe a tasty meal in a nice pub would be a safer bet.

By the early 20th century, Mothering Sunday was little more than a religious festival in Europe. It was revived in Britain when US servicemen billeted in British households during the World War Two thanked their hostesses with presents and flowers on their Mother’s Day in May. The British picked up the idea. After the war, the new idea of Mother’s Day merged with Mothering Sunday. The commercial opportunities were not missed. A little relentless promotion turned it into a nation-wide event by the 1950’s.

So, whether you celebrate Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day, it’s the one day every year when we do what we can to make our mums feel appreciated. It’s the thought that counts, whether it’s flowers, a nice meal or some other treat. Many will say they don’t want any fuss, but don’t believe a word of it - they all appreciate being made to feel that little bit special for the day.

Joining Pippa Jay's Release Day Blitz for "Restless In Peaceville"

My writing chum Pippa Jay's latest book, Restless In Peaceville, is published today. I was delighted to help publicise the release day "blitz" for the print edition.

I've read and really enjoyed a few of Pippa's previous imaginative and entertaining stories and this one will definitely be going on my "to read soon" list.


Blurb:
 
Welcome to Peaceville, population 2067 and rising...from the grave...

     Luke Chester has had enough. He’s the school geek, the girls laugh at him, he’s lost his dead-end job at the pizza place, and in the midst of the world’s messiest divorce his parents don’t even know he exists. An overdose of his mom’s tranquilizers and a stomach full of whiskey should solve all his problems...
     But they don’t. Instead, Luke finds himself booted out of the afterlife for not dying a natural death, with nowhere to go but back to his recently vacated corpse and reality. How the hell is he going to pass for one of the living without someone trying to blow his brains out for being one of the undead?
     And it just gets worse. He’s got to fight his own desperate craving to consume the living, evade the weird supernatural hunter who’s having a field day with the new undeads rising, and there’s this creepy black shadow following him around. Add to that the distraction of female fellow undead Annabelle burning to avenge her own murder, and clearly there’s no rest for the wicked. Jeez, all he wanted to do was R.I.P.


Restless In Peaceville is a young adult zombie story with a twist, set in a Louisiana that never was and released by Lycaon Press on the 20th August, 2014.

Add it to your Goodreads shelf HERE.

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Lycaon Press | Bookstrand | All Romance eBooks | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Web page to other links

Print format

A couple of excerpts:

 I suppose I should count myself lucky they hadn't started carving me up, and that I'd gone for an overdose rather than throwing myself in front of a truck or out of a window. I'm in damn good condition...for a corpse. Still in one piece as far as I can ascertain, and that ain't easy to determine, let me tell you. You know how an arm or a leg goes after you've sat on it for a while, cutting off the circulation? But before the blood flow starts again and you get pins and needles? That numb heaviness? My whole body is like that. Like every part of me is full of lead.
     Also, the not breathing is weird. I take a couple of breaths out of habit, for the familiar feeling of air moving in and out of my chest. After that I don't bother. It takes too much concentration and there are other things I need to focus on. Like, what do I do next, for instance?
     So, what, I'm just gonna lie here?
     It's an option, but I'd probably give the next person who opens up my drawer a heart attack. I don't want another death on my conscience. Not when I already have my own.

***

     A creak is all the warning I'm given before the floor gives way and I plummet through the rotten woodwork like a kingfisher diving through the water. I can't see a thing for dust and chunks of wood, but I know I've gone through the ground floor of the house when I break through a second layer of wood and hit earth. Damn, how long will this body hold up if I keep crashing like this?
    I lever myself up, and find my head just above ground floor level while more dust and splinters shower down around me. I turn, looking for some way to pull myself back up...and find myself being stared at by three kids.
    Oh, shit. For a moment we all just gaze at each other, no one sure what to do or who's going to do it first. Then one of the boys, maybe eight or nine and his mouth hanging open points at me and screams, "Zombie!"
     What else can I do? I yank myself out of the hole and lurch at him, moaning fit to scare them to death. They don't hesitate. Each of them competing for the most piercing holler, they scarper out of the house so fast I expect to see scorch marks from the acceleration.
I laugh. Seriously, it's the funniest thing I've seen since I died. Maybe I could get to enjoy this.

Pippa's Biography

After spending twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa is now a stay-at-home mum who writes scifi and the supernatural. Somewhere along the way a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moment playing guitar very badly, punishing herself with freestyle street dance, and studying the Dark Side of the Force.


Although happily settled in the historical town of Colchester in the
UK with her husband of 21 years and three little monsters, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.

Pippa is a dedicated member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, blogging at Spacefreighters Lounge, Adventures in Scifi, and Romancing the Genres. Her works include YA and adult stories crossing a multitude of subgenres from scifi to the paranormal, often with romance, and she’s one of eight authors included in a science fiction romance anthology—Tales from the SFR Brigade. She’s also a double SFR Galaxy Award winner, been a finalist in the Heart of Denver RWA Aspen Gold Contest (3rd place), the EPIC eBook awards SF category, and the GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Awards (2nd place).

You can stalk her at her website, or at her blog, but without doubt her favorite place to hang around and chat is on Twitter as @pippajaygreen.

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Cover Reveal - Keir, by Pippa Jay

British sci-fi and fantasy author Pippa Jay is revealling the cover for her next e-book, Keir. It will be available from May 7th 2015 and it'll be on my kindle asap.

I've read and thoroughly enjoyed two of her stories, No Angel and When Dark Falls, and have more of her short stories in the "read this soon" collection on my kindle. I interviewed Pippa about When Dark Falls in a blog posting in December last year. I've been impressed with her imagination and writing, and strongly recommend you give her stories a try.

Blurb:

A demon waiting to die...

An outcast reviled for his discolored skin and rumors of black magic, Keirlan de Corizi sees no hope for redemption. Imprisoned beneath the palace that was once his home, the legendary 'Blue Demon of Adalucian' waits for death to finally free him of his curse. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise.

A woman determined to save him.

Able to cross space and time with a wave of her hand, Tarquin Secker has spent eternity on a hopeless quest. Drawn by a compulsion she can't explain, she risks her apparent immortality to save Keir, and offers him sanctuary on her home-world, Lyagnius. But Quin has secrets of her own.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes the dormant alien powers within him and earns exile from Lyagnius, Quin chooses to stand by him. Can he master his newfound abilities in time to save Quin from the darkness that seeks to possess her?

Keir is Book One of the Redemption series and part of the Travellers Universe. Previously released by Lyrical Press Inc in 2012 and a SFR Galaxy Award for SciFi Romance for Best May-December Romance (2012), Aspen Gold Readers Choice Award 3rd place finalist (2013), Readers' Favorite International Book Award finalist (2012), The Kindle Book Review’s Best Indie Book Awards Nominee for Best SciFi/Fantasy (2013).

If you like the look of it, please help Pippa and add it to your Goodreads shelf HERE.

Pippa's biography

After spending twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay is now a stay-at-home mum who writes sciifi and the supernatural. 

Somewhere along the way a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moment playing guitar very badly, punishing herself with freestyle street dance, and studying the Dark Side of the Force. 

Although happily settled in the historical town of Colchester in the UK with her husband of 21 years and three little monsters, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.

Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, blogging at Spacefreighters Lounge, Adventures in Scifi, and Romancing the Genres. Her works include YA and adult stories crossing a multitude of subgenres from scifi to the paranormal, often with romance, and she’s one of eight authors included in a science fiction romance anthology—Tales from the SFR Brigade. She’s also a double SFR Galaxy Award winner, been a finalist in the Heart of Denver RWA Aspen Gold Contest (3rd place), the EPIC eBook awards, and the GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Awards (2nd place).

You can stalk her at her website, or at her blog, but without doubt her favorite place to hang around and chat is on Twitter as @pippajaygreen. Sign up HERE for her no-spam newsletter for special previews on cover reveals, new releases, the latest giveaways and discounts, and upcoming news.

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