Edward Hoornaert's Blog, page 29
August 1, 2019
Picture It #mfrwauthor #PictureIt
My youngest grandson has superb taste in literature!
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In case you don’t understand what I mean by ‘superb taste’, here’s an enlargement of the book’s cover. The hardcover edition of this science fiction novel hasn’t been available for over decade, so the book’s way older than he is:
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Click to see the new cover
July 30, 2019
A cover reveal #mfrwhooks
What is the #1 hook that can loosen readers’ purse strings?
The cover.
So without further ado, here is the cover for Love thy Galactic Enemy, my September SFR release.
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Before you go, let’s talk cover reveals. I’ve frankly never found paying for a cover reveal to be worthwhile. Have you? How do you handle your cover reveals? Thanks in advance for any and all feedback.
Be sure to check out the hooks by other great writers in the Book Hooks blog hop.
Love thy Galactic Enemy
Abandoned to the enemy’s tender mercy
Minta, the reserved secretary for a spy team that spread a man-made plague, leaves the planet too late — the team abandons her on the enemy’s space station. She’s forced to fend for herself until she can make contact with an elusive spy, Watcher, who can take her home. To avoid arrest, she nurses a plague victim — a gentle, whimsical man who spouts Lewis Carroll. But to know this enemy is to love him . . .
When Finn Shanwing falls ill, he doesn’t intend to hide that he’s a high-ranking commando. Neither does he intend to fall in love with the secretive nurse who saves his life . . . but by the time he reveals to Minta she saved an enemy commando, it’s too late for his heart. Or hers. Also too late to escape the wrath of Watcher — half-human, half-machine, and both halves obsessed with her.
Love thy Galactic Enemy is available for pre-order, so order yours now:
Amazon US – Canada – UK – Australia
Barnes and Noble (Nook)
Kobo Books
Smashwords
Apple iBooks
July 29, 2019
Music Monday #MFRWauthor
Today’s post of heavenly music features the Faroe Islands Philharmonic Orchestra. Do you have any idea how astonishingly impressive that is?
The Faroe Islands are one of the most remote, sparsely inhabited places in the western hemisphere. A mere 49,000 people are scattered over 779 subpolar islands. Faroe is 690 km from Iceland, which most people consider very isolated. Yet Faroe has its own symphony orchestra!
Finding enough musicians for a Philharmonic — and an audience — in such a tiny country is a major feat. Clearly not every country shares the US’s snobbish disdain for any music that isn’t Country or Rock ‘n’ Roll.
And the Academy Award nominated oboe solo, from a 1986 movie, is sublime.
July 27, 2019
Effing Feline honors Felicette the cat #wewriwa
I, Effing Feline, am about to reveal the TRUE STORY of space exploration, inspired by the recent 50th anniversary of reaching the moon. I won’t use mere words, either. Words, after all, are a human invention and thus flawed. Instead, I’ll use photos and historical footage to show that cats are the true astronauts . . . though the correct word is astrocat!
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I have more proof, but first, today’s commercial (yawn) from my sponsor. Love thy Galactic Enemy, Ed’s sci fi romance, will be available September 8.
Lou has been abandoned on a space station orbiting the enemy’s planet. She gets ‘adopted’ by a stray pet — a furry, rat-sized mizzet whom she calls Brainless for choosing a destitute woman. Later, when a guy enters her flophouse room in the middle of the night , Lou leaps at him from the top bunk and knocks him out.
But he’s her new roommate, not an attacker. Oops.
Up on the top bunk, Brainless growled a pitiful little squeak. Forgetting it couldn’t fly, the mizzet leaped, seeming to copying her by aiming for the intruder’s head. It missed and thumped to the floor in a rolling jumble of fur that should, but probably wouldn’t, convince the mizzet it was neither bird nor tree cougar. Undeterred, it crept toward the fallen man, its fur standing on end.
The defiant way it stretched out its nose to sniff the intruder reminded Lou of a childhood pet, Katy Kat. One day a colleague of her father’s had brought his Orion Bullhound, a hulking tyrant of a canine who pranced into their small stone house like he owned it. When Jesus — the owner, a minister like her father, had actually named his dog Jesus — sashayed too close to the chair where Katy sat, she calmly scratched the dog’s nose. For the rest of the visit, the bullhound was scared of Katy and didn’t bother her.
The memory cheered Lou. Maybe by pouncing on the intruder, she’d accomplish the same thing. Maybe this guy would leave her alone, maybe?
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Effing Feline here again. Here’s 56-year-old historical footage celebrating Felicette, the first cat in space. (If you don’t understand French, here’s Wikipedia.)
Be sure to visit the other great writers in Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday.
Love thy Galactic Enemy
Abandoned to the enemy’s tender mercy
Minta, the reserved secretary for a spy team that spread a man-made plague, leaves the planet too late — the team abandons her on the enemy’s space station. She’s forced to fend for herself until she can make contact with an elusive spy, Watcher, who can take her home. To avoid arrest, she nurses a plague victim — a gentle, whimsical man who spouts Lewis Carroll. But to know this enemy is to love him . . .
When Finn Shanwing falls ill, he doesn’t intend to hide that he’s a high-ranking commando. Neither does he intend to fall in love with the secretive nurse who saves his life . . . but by the time he reveals to Minta she saved an enemy commando, it’s too late for his heart. Or hers. Also too late to escape the wrath of Watcher — half-human, half-machine, and both halves obsessed with her.
Love thy Galactic Enemy is available for pre-order, so order yours now:
Amazon US – Canada – UK – Australia
Barnes and Noble (Nook)
Kobo Books
Smashwords
Apple iBooks
July 23, 2019
Indecent breezes #mfrwhooks
Time for another hook from Rescuing Prince Charming, a near-future sci fi romance. Dusty Johnson, a mild-mannered tech writer and an alien Kwadran guard have discovered a ticking time bomb hidden in an unfinished starship prototype.
After a wild fifteen minutes, they throw the bomb from a terrace into the ocean, barely in time. Then, because the inimitable thrill of danger made them feel so close so quickly they make love. Afterward, though, the fear of getting caught in the boss’s office looms large.
Someone knocked. Dusty went rigid. She stared at the door as though it was a ticking bomb.
But her hero came to her rescue, bursting into a confident barrage of Shanoog. The guy outside the door answered, sounding respectful or at least patient. He didn’t smash down the door.
“This way.” Her hero—her lover—steered her toward a tall bookcase. He felt along one side of it then slapped something. He clenched his jaw and slapped it again, harder.
The bookcase creaked. Dusty hopped back as the whole thing swung out from the wall. Aside from that first creak, it didn’t make a single noise. Say what you would about Kwadrans—and she probably had, during late-night bitch sessions—but their technology was marvelous.
“A secret passage?” Their machinery could compress and reshape solid rock—she’d love to know exactly how they managed that miracle—so a secret passage would be no big deal to them. She would’ve expected it, if her mind ran to deception and subterfuge.
“Unless you would prefer to meet everyone with your hair in disarray?”
And breezes wafting where no decent breeze should dare. “A secret passage sounds perfect.” Nonetheless, she hesitated. “Thank you for trying to take care of me.”
Be sure to check out the hooks by other great writers in the Book Hooks blog hop.
Rescuing Prince Charming
She’s no heroine. He’s no Prince Charming.
Not exactly the pair you’d choose to defend Earth’s first starship.
[image error]Dusty Johnson, a self-styled ordinary, everyday woman, responds with extraordinary heroism when saboteurs try to bomb the prototype of Earth’s first starship. She wants to return to anonymity, but that burst of courage propels her ever deeper into dangers that tear the scabs off her dark past — and thrust her into the arms of the unattainable man of her dreams.
Reese Eaglesbrood, an alien prince, yearns to restore his tattered reputation by guiding the starship project to completion, but his fascination with the unassuming heroine threatens to undermine his fragile authority. Shunning Dusty is necessary, yet unthinkable — and when the saboteurs strike again, she may be his only ally against Earth’s most elusive enemies.
July 22, 2019
Music Monday MFRWauthor
I’d love to stumble across an artist like this while browsing through a mall. It would almost — almost — make going to the mall worthwhile.
July 20, 2019
Effing Feline visits Gettysburg #wewriwa
I, Effing Feline, told you the catty truth last week about the French Revolution. That’s not the only famous historical event that actually starred felines rather than humans. Another example — the American Civil War.
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The Civil Wariness of puddy tats is proven by an entire museum devoted to the war’s catfights. I swear on my tail, it’s true! More about this museum after this “meet cute” from our sponsor — Love thy Galactic Enemy.
Lou had been a secretary for a business that was a front for a spy team. The team has abandoned her, trapped and fearful, on a space station orbiting the enemy’s planet — and now an intruder awakens her in the middle of the night by entering her flophouse room. We pick up right after last week’s snippet, which ended: “She was cornered, stupid with sleep, almost nude, and without options except surrender or fight.”
She leaped feet-first off the top bunk, praying for a knockout blow to the head before the man even knew where she was.
# [chapter break]
Lou picked herself off the floor and looked back. She’d done it, knocked out the intruder even though she’d hit him only a glancing blow. Success!
The unconscious man sprawled on the floor wasn’t the head cop — that was good news.
He was still breathing — more good news.
But there was bad news, too — he had carried a duffle bag. She’d just attacked her new roommate. She’d hurt him, and she hated hurting people. If he had proven himself an enemy, she might not feel such a horrid, painful knot in her belly, but he hadn’t and she did, and what the bloody plark was she going to do about him now?
Effing Feline here again. The cat museum I told you about is Civil War Tails, located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, site of the war’s most famous battles. It offers a unique and fun take on history, with many dioramas of battle scenes — all of which feature cats! Over 5000 clay cats!
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Click for larger image
Be sure to visit the other great writers in Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday. And and feel free to critique this snippet, as it’s unedited.
Love thy Galactic Enemy
Abandoned to the enemy’s tender mercy
Minta, the reserved secretary for a spy team that spread a man-made plague, leaves the planet too late — the team abandons her on the enemy’s space station. She’s forced to fend for herself until she can make contact with an elusive spy, Watcher, who can take her home. To avoid arrest, she nurses a plague victim — a gentle, whimsical man who spouts Lewis Carroll. But to know this enemy is to love him . . .
When Finn Shanwing falls ill, he doesn’t intend to hide that he’s actually a high-ranking commando. Neither does he intend to fall in love with the secretive nurse who saves his life . . . but by the time he reveals to Minta she saved an enemy commando, it’s too late for his heart. Or hers. Also too late to escape the wrath of Watcher — half-human, half-machine, and both halves obsessed with her.
Love thy Galactic Enemy is available for pre-order:
Amazon US – Canada – UK – Australia
Barnes and Noble (Nook)
Kobo Books
Smashwords
Apple iBooks
July 18, 2019
Picture It #mfrwauthor #PictureIt
Down the street from us is a park with a tree that looks like an ordinary mesquite . . . until you stand beneath it and look up.
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My son and his friend call this tangle of grotesque branches the Demon Tree.
July 16, 2019
Her eyes grew wide and her lip trembled #mfrwhooks
Time for another hook from Rescuing Prince Charming, a near-future sci fi romance. Dusty Johnson, a mild-mannered tech writer and an alien Kwadran guard have discovered a ticking time bomb hidden in an unfinished starship prototype.
After a wild fifteen minutes, they throw the bomb from a terrace into the ocean, barely in time. Then, because the inimitable thrill of danger made them feel so close so quickly they make love. Last week’s hook ended with the hero asking Dusty if she was content. She answers, “Sinfully so.”
From beyond the door came the drone of distant voices. She sighed, sat up, and fastened her bra. “But.”
“But, indeed. The cavern must be crawling with activity. Messages on my implant clamor for a response, and I fear someone will check that this room harbors no saboteurs.”
“I just want to say that I . . .” She had to say it, had to thank him, because there’d be no tomorrow for them. “I never knew sex could be a religious experience.”
His smile was lazy and proud as he stood and held out his hand to help her up. “You have never before had sex with a priest?”
“You’re no priest.” When he didn’t answer immediately, her eyes grew wide and her lip trembled. “Are you?”
Be sure to check out the hooks by other great writers in the Book Hooks blog hop.
Rescuing Prince Charming
She’s no heroine. He’s no Prince Charming.
Not exactly the pair you’d choose to defend Earth’s first starship.
[image error]Dusty Johnson, a self-styled ordinary, everyday woman, responds with extraordinary heroism when saboteurs try to bomb the prototype of Earth’s first starship. She wants to return to anonymity, but that burst of courage propels her ever deeper into dangers that tear the scabs off her dark past — and thrust her into the arms of the unattainable man of her dreams.
Reese Eaglesbrood, an alien prince, yearns to restore his tattered reputation by guiding the starship project to completion, but his fascination with the unassuming heroine threatens to undermine his fragile authority. Shunning Dusty is necessary, yet unthinkable — and when the saboteurs strike again, she may be his only ally against Earth’s most elusive enemies.
July 13, 2019
Effing Feline tells Bastille Day truth #wewriwa
I, Effing Feline, may lie down a few dozen times a day, but I never lie! Therefore you can trust me when I tell you the TRUTH about today, which France’s National Day. Bastille Day commemorates 14 July 1789, a turning point of the French Revolution. The TRUTH? The revolution was all about cats!
Marie Antoinette? A cat. __________________________ Napoleon? Also a cat!
I’ll save the most shocking, incontrovertible proof of the cattiness of the French Revolution after this word from our sponsor — Love thy Galactic Enemy.
A woman currently calling herself Lou was a secretary for a business that was a front for a spy team. The team has abandoned her, trapped and fearful, on Farflung Space Station, which orbits a planet inhabited by her home world’s enemies. She goes to sleep in a flophouse, which is the only place she can afford.
Later — it felt like the middle of the night — light and noise woke Lou up.
The door was opening. A blade of light speared across the far wall. After a pause, as though the light was reconnoitering, the sliver widened to admit an invading army of photons.
Lou struggled toward alertness, but exhaustion fogged her mind. She blinked as a shadow joined the photons. A man’s shadow. Tall, broad shoulders. And when the shadow moved, it limped.
The cop she’d met, Dukelsky, was coming for her. She was cornered, stupid with sleep, almost nude, and without options except surrender or fight.
Effing Feline here again. Cover your eyes if you’re squeamish — because here is proof that the real victims of the Revolution’s guillotines were, in fact, poor PUDDYCATS!
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Now that you know the truth, be sure to visit the other great writers in Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday. And and feel free to critique this snippet, as it’s unedited.
Love thy Galactic Enemy
Abandoned to the enemy’s tender mercy
Minta, the reserved secretary for a spy team that spread a man-made plague, leaves the planet too late — the team abandons her on the enemy’s space station. She’s forced to fend for herself until she can make contact with an elusive spy, Watcher, who can take her home. To avoid arrest, she nurses a plague victim — a gentle, whimsical man who spouts Lewis Carroll. But to know this enemy is to love him . . .
When Finn Shanwing falls ill, he doesn’t intend to hide that he’s actually a high-ranking commando. Neither does he intend to fall in love with the secretive nurse who saves his life . . . but by the time he reveals to Minta she saved an enemy commando, it’s too late for his heart. Or hers. Also too late to escape the wrath of Watcher — half-human, half-machine, and both halves obsessed with her.
Love thy Galactic Enemy is available for pre-order:
Amazon US – Canada – UK – Australia
Barnes and Noble (Nook)
Kobo Books
Smashwords
Apple iBooks
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