Tracy St. John's Blog, page 194

Six Sentence Sunday – Nuns of Europa: Sister Katherine (WIP)

These were not men from Earth.  They were aliens.  Worse still, they were the enemy.
Kalquorians.
Her mind tried to accept what her eyes told her, but even with those massive bodies striding down the halls, sending nuns dashing in wide-eyed fear, she couldn’t quite recognize the convent had been invaded.  It made no sense Kalquorians would attack a religious colony of barely 200 women. 
Releasing Summer 2013

First Five Friday – Clans of Kalquor 7: Alien Refuge (WIP)

Chapter 2
The end of the day found Jol at home in the kitchen with his clanmates.  Three times a week, they gave the staff the day off.  That meant cooking for themselves, a task the trio enjoyed.The room was massive, as befitting a colony governor who might have cause to entertain visitors and dignitaries.  Banks of prep tables, ovens, coolers, and kitchen tools spanned an area as large as Iris Jenson’s entire home. 
Releasing March 2013

Shalia's Diary Thursday Post

Bits of interest, small discoveries.  http://shaliasdiary.blogspot.com/

WIP Wednesday – To Protect and Service: Ravenous Virtue

Little factoid for you:  the National Park Service has the highest casualty rate in federal law enforcement.  Not the FBI.  Not Border Patrol.  Not the Marshals Service.  Park Service rangers put their lives on the line every day.  It was no accident that I made my heroine Raven Virtue one of these brave souls.
Just the simple traffic stop is fraught with danger, as any patrol cop will tell you.  Within Park Service boundaries, rangers fill that duty.   You think you’re having a tough day at work?  This scene was inspired by an actual situation I had the misfortune of seeing via a patrol car’s dash cam:
She got out.  As she did so, the driver opened his vehicle’s door and clambered out as well.  His hair looked greasy, but it was probably sweat, she thought.  His unkempt hair was par for the course; his sallow face had two days worth of stubble, his clothes were wrinkled and sweat-stained, and his eyes were sunken.  
Raven put her left hand on her taser.  Traffic stops were the most dangerous part of a law enforcement officer’s job.  Even the most ‘routine’ stops could turn ugly in an instant.  Keeping her tone calm but firm, she called out, “Sir, I need you to stop right there.”
He didn’t show any sign he’d heard her.  In fact, he never looked at her at all.  Instead, the man wandered onto the road, still blessedly empty of traffic, and went to the straight white line that indicated where the shoulder of the highway began.  
“Oh yeah,” he wheezed and began dancing down the line to music only he could hear.  
Definitely impaired, Raven thought.  The man’s legs wavered like spaghetti as he boogeyed to the beat playing in his inebriated brain.  She had to suppress a smile at the sight.  He did look funny.
Steeling herself to do her job properly, Raven tried to talk to him again.  “Sir, I need you to go over and stand next to your truck.  We need to talk.”
The man stopped dancing.  He finally looked at her, and the loopy expression on his face turned to fury in an instant.  “Fuck you!”
Yeah, this is going to be pleasant, she thought with resignation.  Her hand tightened on the taser, readying to pull it out if necessary.  “Sir, I’d appreciate it if you’d step on over to the back of the truck and let’s talk about this.”
Spittle flew as the man screamed at her.  “Go to hell, bitch!  I got nothing to say!”
With that bit of sweetness, he stormed to his truck and leaned in.  Raven started to hurry over to him, afraid he’d get in and take off, making things far too dangerous for himself and other drivers he might meet up with.
“Sir—” she began, starting to draw the taser out.
Raven stopped cold.  The man wasn’t getting into the truck, he was reachingin.  She immediately abandoned the taser and reached on her right hip for her firearm.  As it cleared the holster, the man straightened, coming out of the truck cab.  With a shotgun.
“Put it down!  Put it down now!” she screamed.
The shotgun’s barrel was still coming up, still on its way to sighting on her when she had hers ready to fire.  She squeezed the trigger, but the man was standing sideways to her.  He jerked as she shot him in the shoulder.
His face suffused not with pain, but with rage.  It was not a surprising reaction for those who were psychologically impaired, drunk, or high.  Back at the academy, they’d shown dash cam footage of officers caught in similar situations.  This was the first time Raven had seen it in person, and she lost precious seconds gaping at the man when he didn’t go down.
Instead he screamed, “Fucking cunt!  You can’t shoot me!  I’ll kill you, bitch!”
Training kicked in, and Raven moved back, hurrying to get behind her truck.  She shot again, but she was in the grip of tunnel vision, only seeing the black hole of the barrel sighted on her.  She shot at that instead of at the man who was now running towards her, bringing that deadly maw closer and closer.
A spark of fire emitted from that immense cavern.  An instant later something kicked Raven in the center of her chest, knocking her backwards.  There was a thunderous blast that echoed all around.  It was followed by a horrible, high-pitched scream splitting the air, the screech of a terrified rabbit facing a coyote.  It came from her own throat, shredding the tissues as unspeakable agony burst through the center of her body.
Raven’s left arm went numb just a moment before another gun blast nearly deafened her ears.  He was shooting her, and she was feeling each hit before the sound registered.  
She crashed to the asphalt.  All this time she’d been falling, falling since the first bullet entered her body.  Now she was finally down, thumping hard to the road.  The pain of it was nearly lost in the shrieking hell of her blasted heart and lungs still refusing to stop their work, keeping her alive despite the violence done to them. 
Release date not set

Shalia's Diary Monday Post

Commander Nang enters the story.  http://shaliasdiary.blogspot.com/

Six Sentence Sunday – Clan Beginnings: Clan and Conviction (WIP)

Gelan thought about all the times those arms had clutched around him and swallowed.  He wondered if Wynhod had found a clan.
Having to concentrate to keep his tone steady, Gelan asked, “What has it been, six years?”
“Seven.”  That almost feral smile reappeared on Wynhod’s face.  That smile said he remembered everything, not just how many years had elapsed.
Releasing Spring or Summer 2013

My New Year’s Resolutions (or How I Plan to Drive Myself Insane in 2013)

I’m usually anti-resolutions when the new year rolls around.  I fear failure, so much so that I refuse to set myself up for it.  Yet this year I’ve decided to challenge myself.  For the first time ever, I made a couple of resolutions, one of which might actually interest you.
The first one I’m sure you could care less about.  It wasn’t really even my own goal.  This one my husband dangled in front of me.  “Want to join me in the Couch to 5K Running Plan?” he asked me. 
Hmm.  Get off my admittedly fluffy (and getting fluffier by the second) ass and train to run a 5K.  Bad back ... bad hips ... bad knees.  Ridiculously low level of any real motivation.  I have no idea why I said I would do this.  I have now completed two weeks of the challenge.  As I thought I would, I absolutely hate it.  Only stubborn pride keeps me going to that damned track.  Anyone who wishes to talk me out of continuing on, please feel free to do so.
My other resolution, the one that will interest you, might be even crazier.  This one I set for myself.  I don’t know why except I wondered if I could do it.  The goal?  To start writing a new book each month. 
Please note I’m NOT trying to finisha new book each month.   Even I’m not that crazy (though the 5k thing might beg a different opinion).  The plan is to write my typical 8-12 hours a day, pushing myself to do some work on all my various projects.  Will I manage it?  Good question.  If I do, here are the books I’ll begin this year (most of these are only working titles):
January:  Clans of Kalquor 8 - Alien Caged (Outlining under way.  That’s one down.)February:  Clan Beginnings - Clan Rajhir March:  First Mataras - Michaela (start of a new series of the first Earther women seduced or abducted by Kalquor)April:  Clans of Kalquor 9 - Alien RevoltMay:  Clan Beginnings - Clan ClajakJune:  Post-Armageddon Rescues - Sojan (First in a series of stories detailing the rescue efforts that followed the Earth-Kalquorian war)July:  Clans of Kalquor 10 - Alien BountyAugust:  Clan Beginnings - Clan BacojSeptember:  Clan Companions 1 (First in a series of gay erotic stories about clans who opt to bring Earther men rather than females into their lives)October:  Clans of Kalquor 11November:  Clan Beginnings - Clan ErybetDecember:  Nuns of Europa - Tina
I think most fiction authors would admit to some degree of insanity.  I submit the above as proof positive of my own particular derangement.  I’ll let you know how it goes ... both with the running and writing.  I wish you all luck with your own goals for this coming year.

First Five Friday – To Protect and Service: Ravenous Virtue (WIP)

Scene 2
They ended up at the auditor’s rental, a nice Lincoln with all the bells and whistles.  Bringer opened the door for her like an actual gentleman, which made her blink in surprise.  Most men didn’t bother with such niceties these days, not even in the still somewhat-genteel South.  
As Raven moved past Bringer to get into the car she got a whiff of his cologne, a spicy, exotic, and masculine fragrance that made her insides warm.  She nearly choked on her own spit at her body’s primitive response to the man’s scent.  
Release Date Not Set

Shalia's Diary Thursday Post

It's date night!  http://shaliasdiary.blogspot.com/

WIP Wednesday – Nuns of Europa: Sister Katherine

As I outline this little treat, I find things are much different for Clan Simdow than most other clans.  As you might have noted when I first trotted these boys out a few weeks back, Nobek Miv had a sister who was assaulted, which led to him killing her attacker.  Nobeks are highly protective of those they deem in their care, so you can imagine Miv’s reaction when his clan decides to add Katherine to their group.
This book will be a bit different from what you might have expected coming from Europa’s convent.  We know the issue of forced clanning of prisoners was in place at the time of Europa’s capture.  Alien Conquest gave you a little glimpse into the beginning of the ‘re-education’ process the Kalquorians had at the time.  However, that is not going to be what you see happen to Sister Katherine.  Not with Miv around.
All characters concerned immediately recognize that Miv’s history will make an impact on how this clan deals with their new Matara.  It means Katherine’s journey into a life with three lovers will be handled differently than the other women. 
Even without the Nobek’s concerns, things probably would have been different.  Katherine is my most innocent heroine yet.  She’s got no clue beyond the vaguest idea of what sex entails.  She doesn’t even understand sexual arousal.  The funny feelings she gets in her gut around the clan make her think she’s getting ill.
The seduction will be much slower than usually happens around Kalquorians.  Dramok Simdow knows he has to be careful with his new Matara, both for her and his Nobek’s sake.  His clan will embark on a careful, gentle (for Kalquorians) introduction with Katherine to the delights of intimacy.  Hopefully, you’ll enjoy it as much as her.