Natalina Reis's Blog, page 10
May 20, 2023
The Dent in The Universe – New Release
E.W. Doc Parris has a new sci-fi/horror book out: The Dent in the Universe. And there’s a giveaway – a $50 Amazon gift card.
To resuscitate his fading celebrity, tech CEO Stephen Lucas would sell his soul for one more hit. When the subspace network for his holographic gaming empire crashes, his hardware guru makes a discovery proving that, though the mechanics may differ a bit, Einstein was right once again— information can be sent backward in time.
Lucas sees a dream product for procrastinators. Want a pizza now? Send your order back in time 30 minutes. Forgot to make reservations at that chichi french restaurant two weeks ago? No worries. Buy that PowerBall ticket. Invest in that stock. Make a FaceTime call to a loved one that passed away a month ago.
In a culture built on instant gratification, Lucas knows he has a hit that will make Wall Street sit up and beg. But when he rushes into beta testing, he learns that the stuff dreams are made of can quickly become the stuff of nightmares.
Warnings: violence, torture, body horror, branding, implied cannibalism.
Universal Buy Link | Liminal Fiction | GoodreadsGiveaway
Doc is giving away a $50 Amazon gift card
a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
Excerpt
Stephen picked up the keyboard and typed, Watson, come here. I want to see you.
Before he hit enter, the display on his right blinked and displayed a log entry. The display directly in front of him showed the log of the interaction, a white line of text that showed what he’d typed, Watson, come here. I want to see you, and the time sent, 630231 milliseconds. The display on the right, the one that flashed before he hit enter, showed the same.
Walrus said, “Look at the timestamps. The sending input occurred at 630231 milliseconds. The receiving event happened at 629931 milliseconds.”
Stephen looked puzzled. “The clocks are off? That’s a 300…?” he checked his math, “300-millisecond difference.”
Walrus grinned. “Negative 300 milliseconds. The clocks aren’t off.”
“The time server is off?” Stephen knew that was the culprit in the outage.
Walrus shook his head. “Nope. These two chips are in perfect sync to FTL time.”
Stephen stopped and thought. The message appeared to be arriving 300 milliseconds before it was sent. “I’m not getting it,” he said.
Walrus laughed and did his little dance again. “Yes! You are! Tell me what you see.”
Stephen said slowly, “The message looks like it’s being received before it was sent, 300 milliseconds before.” Walrus grinned, and Stephen continued, “But that’s not possible. What’s causing the discrepancy? If the clocks aren’t wrong and the time server was working properly…?” He shook his head.
Walrus’s grin widened. “It’s a time machine.”
Stephen leaned back a bit from the desk. “Right.” Walrus let it sink in. “What do you mean?” He thought Walrus was speaking metaphorically.
Walrus laughed and said, “I mean, this is a time machine.”
Stephen looked at the set-up in front of him. It was a hacked sChip on a breadboard and a couple of displays strung together with cables and alligator clips. This wasn’t a time machine.
Walrus relented. “I’ve tweaked the power supply to dial in a tiny phase variance in the I/O to this sChip, like our customer did by accident. The tensor array interpreted this as an attribute, sending the signal to a point in time before it was sent. 300 milliseconds before. About a third of a second.”
Stephen recalled the chain of events. The right display refreshed a fraction of a second before he hit enter. Examining the log, what he had typed was there. Watson, come here. I want to see you.
He frowned and thought for a few seconds. “A third of a second? It’s the least impressive time machine imaginable,” he said. “This crashed the time servers?”
Walrus nodded, finished his cola, tossed its crushed container in the recycling bin, and peeled open another. “Essentially. I’ve cleaned up the effect, and I’m not messaging the time server. The timeserver would have ignored an invalid time sync transaction. It’s programmed to dump garbage bits. This wasn’t garbage, it was a perfectly normal sync transaction, but the handshake was out of order. The time server software questioned its own reality. It wobbled, tried to regain its equilibrium, and tipped into cascade failure.”
“It’s fascinating, but…” Hard-wired by the last six years to search for a new product, Stephen’s mind was searching for a use for what he was seeing. “I mean, it is cool, but it’s useless—a weird trick of physics. What can we do with it?” He thought for a little more. “This is IP data?”
Walrus shrugged, “It’s a packet like any other packet.”
“So, if it’s packets, then it’s IP, then it’s anything. Form data, text, jpegs, audio, video, holo.”
Walrus nodded and grinned, “Sure. You could surf the web of 300 milliseconds ago…”
Stephen interrupted him, “Can we extend that? Could we rig these in series? Go back further?”
“We could do it more elegantly than that—How much further?”
“You tell me, what’s the theoretical limit?”
“Well, you’d need a receiver. So whatever we end up making would only go back to the first chips that go online. We make a chip today, turn it on, in a week, we could go back to that moment but not before, right? The longer we’re online, the further back we can send things.”
Stephen shook his head. “We couldn’t go back further than tonight?”
Walrus nodded. “There would be nothing to send it to. As soon as we flip the switch on our time machine, we’d be establishing a time horizon. But say we turned on a receiving device tonight. In a year, you could send a message back to tonight. That would be a year in your past. In two years, you could send a message back two years, on and on, until the end of the world.” He laughed and said, “You know that old site, The Way Back Machine? The internet archive? This would be like that but live. You could actually surf the web of the past. Leaving comments on a video from a year earlier.”
Stephen frowned dismissively and said, “What good would that do? I can leave a comment on that same video today. The entire internet is available back to the 90s.”
Walrus smiled, “But it’d be radical!” Radical was not the goal. Stephen needed a killer application, a product everyone would want. Walrus’s stomach growled loudly. “Man,” he said, “I’m starving. Wanna order a pizza? Hey man, that’s what we could do!” he said jokingly, “We could use it to order pizza a half hour ago, so it arrives…” and he snapped his fingers.
Stephen froze. His pupils widened. Instant Pizza. Instant delivery. Instant gratification.
The entire computer industry of the last forty years was built around delivering everything as quickly as possible. Meeting the desires of the customer. Right. Fucking. Now. If no one ever went broke underestimating the American people’s intelligence, as Mencken might have said, it would follow: no one ever went broke catering to their impatience.
Author Bio
E.W. Doc Parris is an American writer known for matter-of-fact, hard science fiction grounded in the current scientific weltanschauung, leavened with wit, and kindled by the warmth of human relationships.
Born within the nation’s capital Beltway, Doc makes his home in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge. A self-taught software developer and solutions architect, he’s made a decent living over the years as a set designer, graphic designer, animator, 3D modeler, iOS developer, puppeteer, and educator.
In addition to his centuries-spanning WalrusTech Reality series, Doc is currently working on his next novel, Land of Nod, an exploration of A.I., nanotech, and the human brain’s neural network.
May 19, 2023
Free Me – New Release
Beck Grey has a new queer romance book out (gender-fluid, gay, trans), Love in the Pacific Northwest book 4: Free Me. And there’s a giveaway.
A gender-fluid cutie, a workaholic hottie, and a hookup gone right.
Blake
No romantic relationship could ever compete with my dream job. Sure, it gets lonely, but that’s what occasional hookups are for. Work-life balance? Who cares? I certainly don’t. Until chest pains bring me to my knees and land me in the emergency room.
It’s a wake-up call I can’t afford to ignore.
When my well-meaning family encourages me to make some major life changes, like hiring a meditation and physiotherapist, whatever that is, I’m worried enough to agree.
Imagine my surprise when my practitioner turns out to be the hookup I haven’t been able to forget.
Stef
What’s a fabulously vivacious gender-fluid beauty to do when stress is high and Prince Charmings aren’t lined up at their door? Head to the club to recharge my sparkle on the dance floor. I have no intention of hooking up with anyone. Hookups are not my thing.
Usually.
Then I see the slightly older hottie in the Tom Ford suit, and all my self-restraint goes up in a blast of glitter.
When it turns out he’s my new meditation client and my friend’s older brother, I’m sure the universe is messing with me.
Because mixing business with pleasure is a huge no-no.
So why does my heart keep shouting yes?
Free Me is a low-angst, opposites attract, worlds collide, contemporary LGBTQ romance about a hookup gone right. It contains no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA.
Warnings: Transphobia by a member of the LGBTQ community on a member of the community
About the Series:
Turns out, perfection isn’t a prerequisite for happiness.
Whether it’s risking your heart on a hookup, falling for your brother’s best friend, taking that second chance when it arrives, or pursuing a relationship that doesn’t look like everyone else’s — life is complex, but love doesn’t have to be.
Snarky, sweet and spicy, Love in the Pacific Northwest is a first person POV, low-medium angst, open door, contemporary LGBTQ romance series of interconnected standalones. No cheating and a guaranteed HEA every time!
Get It On AmazonGiveaway
Beck is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:
a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
Excerpt
I walk out to the bedroom balcony and look down at the patio. Blake is lounging by the pool in swim trunks and sunglasses, reading a book. He looks incredibly relaxed, and it makes my heart happy. “Hey, handsome.” He glances up and his face breaks into a wide grin. Okay, yes, we’ve been together for a few months, but his smile still makes my insides all melty and warm. “You want to come in and eat, or should I bring the food out?”
“Put on a suit and come down. This is my big plan for the day.” He gestures to the pool area and waves his book.
I lean my elbows on the railing and grin down at him. “If you’re trying to seduce me, it’s working.”
“Excellent. Step one in my evil plan is complete. Now come down here. I missed you.”
“Be down in a sec!” I hurry inside, strip out of my work clothes, then lather myself in the sunscreen that smells like coconut. Blake loves the scent, and I love how he nuzzles my neck when I use it. I pull on my tiniest black and white print swim briefs, grab a beach towel from the closet and the food bags from the kitchen counter, and hurry down to the game room and out to the patio. “Should we eat at the table or on the loungers like heathens?”
Blake glances up from his book and his eyes lock on my tiny swimsuit. I do a slow spin, giving him a good view of my ass. “Like?”
He pulls his sunglasses to the end of his nose and peers over them. “That’s new.” His voice is thick with lust. Oh, yeah. Mission accomplished.
“It is! And it’s so adorable!”
Blake licks his lips. “And so tiny.”
“I had a feeling you might like it.” I skip past him to the table and deposit the bags.
Blake practically growls and grabs my hips the moment I put the bags down. “Come here.”
I laugh as he manhandles me, hauling me close and inhaling my skin. He drags his nose across my abdomen and my cock stirs, eager to join in the fun, but my stomach growls with hunger. “Mmm. I’m fully on board with whatever you’re planning here, Darling, but we should eat before the food gets cold.”
Blake bites my hip. “We can heat it up.”
My laugh quickly turns to a gasp as his tongue teases above the edge of my suit. It’s all I can do not to press his head a few inches lower. “Blake, Darling, I have souvlaki and Greek salad.”
He hums and sits back, waggling his eyebrows at me. “You know I love Greek.”
I snort at his double entendre. “As do I, my darling. So let’s eat.” I wink at him. “Then we can eat.”
His chuckle warms every part of me. He pushes to his feet with a sigh. “If we must, we must.”
“We must.” I press up on my tiptoes and pucker up.
He obliges me, but turns my expected quick press of lips into a lingering kiss that curls my toes and has me second-guessing my stance on eating first. As I’m about to give in, he lets me go and pats my backside. “C’mon. Let’s feed you so we can move on to other enjoyable things.”
Author Bio
Beck is a non-binary writer of sweet, sexy, LGBTQ happily ever afters. Why? Because everyone deserves all the happy! They live in the Northeastern United States with their two adorable dogs.
Weekdays are spent working their day job, but nights and weekends are devoted to writing stories involving hot characters, favorite tropes, and happy endings. Any additional time includes reading, laughing with friends, drinking red wine, and playing D&D. If there’s cake involved at any point it’s a win!
May 15, 2023
Foxy Tails- New Release
Yes, I totally forgot to post about my own new release. Yes, I am THAT stressed (or maybe just getting old too fast). But expect a couple things about this book coming soon because this is a book I am so proud to be called its author (yes, I know that’s an awkward sentence). So let me introduce you to my Foxy Tails.
Title: Foxy TailsAuthor: Natalina ReisGenre: Gay Romantic FantasyRelease Date: April 28, 2023Publisher: Hot Tree PublishingCover Designer: BookSmith Design NOW LIVE!Amazon: https://readerlinks.com/l/3028311All Links: https://books2read.com/foxytails
Join a witty fox, a divine healer, and their companions on a voyage filled with danger, magic, romance, and surprises in a world where nothing is what it seems in this stunning MM fantasy romance by best-selling author Natalina Reis. Unloved and broken, Huli knows nothing but hate. Born a nine-tailed fox in a world that hunts demons like him, he does what he must to survive. Until the day fate throws him right into the arms of the Healer. Xiao Ying grew up in a family of divine healers. But when he comes back to find his whole family murdered, he vows to bring them the justice they deserve. Xiao Ying chooses a lonely life, gathering the evidence he needs, and not allowing anything to get in his way. Until the day his life crosses that of a nine-tailed fox and changes forever. Brought together by fate and united by love, Huli and Xiao Ying embark on the adventure of a lifetime. One that will either answer all their questions or reveal truths they should’ve left buried.
Available Now!Amazon: https://readerlinks.com/l/3028311All Links: https://books2read.com/foxytails
Behind him the barking continued relentlessly. They’d be upon him soon unless he figured out a way of retracting his tails. Once his tails were out of sight, they’d lose his scent. Húlí rushed toward the wooden door, hoping it was unlocked and that whoever lived there had vacated the place. Once he was inside, he’d be temporarily protected from the hounds’ sense of smell long enough to calm down and get rid of his tails. At least that’s what he hoped. Busting through the unlocked door, Húlí uttered a quiet thank you, the momentum almost throwing him into the roaring fire in the hearth directly across from the entrance. “Who the hell are you?” a voice exploded behind him. Shit! The house was not empty after all. Awesome. Now I have to deal with this human too. “Close the fucking door,” Húlí begged, bracing his hands on his knees and trying hard to regain his composure. Even a fox like him got winded after such an intense chase. “Not unless you tell me who you are,” the human male said. Húlí turned halfway to look at him. Couldn’t he see his red tails, gloriously—and unwisely—unfurled behind him? Right, he couldn’t. Húlí had no control over the scent his tails exuded but he could glamour them from humans. “I’m being chased,” he sputtered, trying to catch his breath. “Please, can you close the door? I will tell you everything afterward.” The male, a tall young specimen with a mop of dark curly hair carelessly gathered into a high ponytail hesitated for a heartbeat before doing as he was asked. “Thank you,” Húlí whispered, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. Now, he could slow his heart down and cut the trail of his scent. Brushing off the dust from his clothing, he took deep breaths and checked for damage caused by the chase. His arms and hands were scratched and bleeding, leaving a trail of red stains on his light blue long tunic. “Shit. Now I will have to trash my clothes. I liked this shan yi.” His outrage only grew when he found a large rip on his left side where one of the hounds had sunk its teeth in. “Damn dogs.” Húlí shook himself off, his tails swooshing as he moved. Good, they’re retracting. The sound of his pursuers was getting closer, but he wasn’t as worried anymore. In a few more seconds, his scent would be back to human only and the hounds would lose his track. He lifted his gaze to the other man and was surprised to meet a pair of intense lavender eyes studying him. “Who are you?” the man asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He cocked his head to the side. “Why are you being chased by the hounds?” There was sharp intelligence in those beautifully shaped eyes; they were finely cut jewels that glinted in the dim light of the fire. Not jewels. Petals of a lotus flower. Exquisite. “It’s a long story,” Húlí muttered, one last swoosh telling him his tails were finally fully hidden. “I don’t want to bore you with it.” The stranger anchored his feet solidly on the ground and twisted his full lips into a half smile. “I have all day and nothing interesting to do.”
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram Author of We Will Always Have the Closet, Desert Jewel, and Loved You Always, Natalina wrote her first romance in collaboration with her best friend at the age of 13. Since then she has ventured into other genres, but romance is first and foremost in almost everything she writes. After earning a degree in tourism and foreign languages, she worked as a tourist guide in her native Portugal for a short time before moving to the United States. She lived in three continents and a few islands, and her knack for languages and linguistics led her to a master’s degree in education. She lives in Virginia where she has taught English as a Second Language to elementary school children for more years than she cares to admit.
Natalina doesn’t believe you can have too many books or too much coffee. Art and dance make her happy and she is pretty sure she could survive on lobster and bananas alone. When she is not writing or stressing over lesson plans, she shares her life with her husband and two adult sons.
a Rafflecopter giveawayhttp://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ea80a6ed510/
May 13, 2023
Spin the Dawn- Book Review
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked up this book on a whim since it was on sale and the cover was truly lovely. Turns out a really liked it. Great story along the likes of C-period fantasy dramas, a weakness of mine. The characters were well developed, the world building was great without being overwhelmingly detailed, and the romance was beautiful. An easy but interesting read. I already have book two lined up.
May 11, 2023
The Empath and the Soldier – Blog Tour
A.K. Holubek has a new MM Regency period fantasy book out, The Unconventionals book 1: The Empath and the Soldier. And there’s a giveaway.
The situation seemed hopeless. But Tyrran couldn’t pretend to be ignorant of the danger and just wait for his home to disintegrate around him.
As a Favored male, Tyrran belongs to a select group of men born with one of the Four Gifts, a blessing usually reserved for women. Quiet, introverted, and filled with self-doubt, Tyrran has always struggled with living up to the responsibilities that come with being Gifted. Still, he had managed to achieve the near impossible — admission to the prestigious Lyceum Institute in Corvit, the Coarian Sovereignty’s bustling capital city. With this success, Tyrran’s future seems clear: the best education, a position in a Temple, and, one day, marriage to a young man of good fortune.
That is, until sinister forces intervene to shove him down a much bleaker path. Tyrran’s plans are thrown into upheaval when a deadly attack reveals the existence of an insidious evil festering within the ranks of the Sovereignty’s elite.
Now, he must use the privileges afforded him as a Lyceum student to uncover the secrets of a corrupt government. Targeted by relentless assassins and trying to ignore his growing attachment to the handsome exchange student Adwin, Tyrran must gather trustworthy allies to face the dangers that threaten to tear apart his nation and his home.
Bridgerton meets The Magicians in this fantasy novel about the importance of confidence and the strength of friendship.
Get It On AmazonGiveaway
A.K. is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:
a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47280/
Excerpt
At that moment they stopped suddenly, startled by someone crawling out of the pond almost directly in front of them. The someone turned out to be a man—an East Silacian, Tyrran noted right away, due to his black skin. He was shirtless, wearing only white tights, and he looked about Tyrran’s age. He was shorter than Tyrran and his chest, stomach, and arms were muscular—sculpted was the more appropriate term, his skin stretched tight over every muscle. His physique was compact rather than large, he had deep brown eyes, and his black hair was cut close to his head.
Tyrran had always suspected that the Silacian reputation for beauty was exaggerated, stemming from the inferiority complex Coarians held towards Silacians, whose empire was much larger, wealthier, and more advanced than the Sovereignty. But if Nyri and this man were any indication, then their reputed good looks were understated if anything.
“Good morning, soldier,” the man said, addressing Lena as he wiped water from his face with his hands. He spoke the Common Tongue with a sophisticated accent that sounded very similar to Nyri’s.
“Good morning, Adwin,” Lena replied, looking puzzled. “Did you, uh, fall in the pond?”
“Not at all. I was just going for a morning swim.” He smiled as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“In public? In the middle of campus?”
“But of course. This appears to be the closest body of water to our college. However, by your expressions, I assume Coarian notions of decorum discourage public bathing. I did swim wearing my tights, since I know public nudity is frowned upon.”
He may as well have removed them, for what little use they were in covering his nudity. The material clung to his skin, revealing bulging leg muscles as well as other bulges that Tyrran was making a concerted effort not to stare at.
“We do tend to prefer bathing in secluded areas,” Lena said. “Spaces set aside for bathing. Like the bathhouse next to the Barracks House, for instance.”
“I did try the bathhouse, but the water is heated. Quite uncomfortable on a warm day like today. Do you suppose I shall be sent packing back to Silacia for this breach of conduct?” An impudent grin spread across his face.
“It’s early enough that I’m sure no one but us has seen you. Though I do suggest you put the rest of your clothes back on soon. Where are they, by the by?”
“My clothes? I left them further down the trail. In truth, I was swimming about the pond for exercise rather than for bathing, then I saw the two of you and thought to come greet you. And now I think I have finished with swimming. Would you mind accompanying me to fetch my clothes?”
Tyrran could see that Lena was annoyed by the request and had every intention of replying in the negative. But Tyrran didn’t want Adwin to be offended, so he quickly spoke up.
“We would be happy to.”
That earned him an evil look from Lena.
Adwin offered his arm to Tyrran. “Adwin Mekalbe, at your service.”
Tyrran grasped his forearm, “Tyrran Kens, at yours,” he replied, trying to keep his voice from squeaking.
“I assume you do not attend the Military College,” Adwin continued, as the three of them resumed walking along the trail.
“No, I’m at Roothe College. Lena and I are friends from Temple Academy.”
“Ah, yes. In Hifield City. I am truly sorry about the attacks. I do hope you were not directly affected.”
Author Bio
The moment A.K. Holubek stumbled across a ragged copy of The Fellowship of the Ring in his elementary school library, his life changed forever. The rest of his childhood, his adolescence, and even his college years were spent living only part time in the real world. He much preferred spending time in the fantasy lands of his imagination than in the reality of life as a closeted gay kid. As real life got better, he left his fantasy worlds behind. But a few years ago, those worlds called him to return, and to share his created worlds with others who might also need a place to escape. He now endeavors to carry out this mission from his home in Baltimore, supported by his husband and two ridiculous cats.
May 5, 2023
Writing Is Hard
Writing is hard!
Now read that in a whining voice and you know exactly how I sound like right now.
But all kidding aside, writing is hard.
There’s the actual writing of the story (which really is normally the fun part), the never-ending edits, the search for reliable beta readers, marketing, promotions, in-person appearances, newsletters, querying (if you have gone that way), formatting, finding cover art, actually publishing the book… phew, I’m tired just writing this.
But the hardest part by far is finding the right audience. I’ve been published for eight years, I have twenty-one books out and I’m still looking for my readers.
I’ve been a reader my whole life and I always read across genres. Even as a child I read (or was read to) Grimms’ Fairytales, picture books, graphic novels, mysteries, and adventures. Later I added the classics, romance, and sci-fi to my pile of choice reads. That love for a diverse collection of literature translated into the stories I now read and write.
I love stories that defy the norm, that toe the line–or just plain cross it–between genres. My ideal story in often in the young adult realm where the mixing of genres seems much more accepted, even welcome. Some of my favorite young adult series mix fantasy with mystery, romance, adventure, humor, and even bits of horror sometimes. When I read adult fiction I sometimes miss that “union” of genres. So when I write my own stories I tend to follow my bliss, I guess.
That means I am forever searching for my audience. The most common complaints about my stories are that they feel young adultish, that there’s not enough romance or too much of it, that there’s not enough mystery or a bit too much. Not enough or too much of *insert whatever you feel like here*.
The romance reader complains about not enough heat. The fantasy reader complains about too much romance. I get accused of using too much vernacular mixed with more formal language. Some readers complain they get confused with the foreign names in the story.
You see my plight. There’s no happy place for any writer who like me writes a blended kind of fiction. Which brings me back to where I started: writing is so hard!
What do you read? Are you open to the mixing and blending of genres?
April 29, 2023
When hate comes knocking…
**Apologies for the long rant**
Yesterday was the release date for my 21st book, Foxy Tails. I worked extra hard to make this release a successful one since most of my other twenty had been mostly flops. Most of you know I am a teacher, a job that sucks every ounce of energy (physical and mental) out of me. This year has been even harder than before, and I get home with a mile-long list of things to do for my writing business and my personal life, but as soon as my butt hits the couch, my eyes become unbearably heavy and my brain shuts down.
But I pushed through this comatose state to plan, make contacts with bloggers and readers, and organize many events online to bring my new book to potential readers. Many ARCs were given out in hopes of reviews on release day. I spent hours coming up with ad-copy, graphics, research, you name it. I even did something I saw another writer do a few times that I had never had the nerve to do. I placed bookmarks inside some of similar books at the local Barnes and Noble store.
I was exhausted but excited and proud of myself for going all out even at the cost of my own health (no time for healthy meals or yoga) and my finances since some of the marketing/promotion was paid. My wonderful publisher also provided all her support and resources to make this release a success. Not to mention, of course, how long, how carefully written and researched it was, how many edits, beta readers, sensitivity readers it took to bring this book into publication. But that’s for another blog.
A few days before the release, an ARC reader left my book an awful review. For those who don’t know what an ARC reader is, it is someone who, in exchange for a free book, volunteers to review it before publication. While there are no expectations that the reader will like the book and leave a raving review, it is expected the reader be at least civil with her/his words.
This reader found every fault possible in the book, including “a dire need for editing” even though she never once mentions typos or grammatical errors. Instead she blames “bad editing” for the fact I chose the name Ling Ling for the female character.
According to her, Ling Ling is a derogatory term used for an Asian female and that used by a white author (which by her own admission she assumed I was) is unacceptable. Except I did consult Asian-Americans about the manuscript and the response was unanimous: that there’s nothing offensive in the story. I would NEVER use a derogatory (racial or otherwise) term in my books. I have way too much respect for our human diversity to do that. But apparently, the name is used by a few idiots (mostly male) in a derogatory way, which earned it a place in the Urban Dictionary. That said, it is just a name, and a beautiful one at that. Does the fact that some culturally ignorant and hateful people use it in a degrading way make the name any less lovely?
My own name was used constantly as a not-so-nice term to make fun of me, growing up in Portugal. Does that make my name inherently nasty and offensive?
Ling Ling is a great character. She’s strong, beautiful, smart, independent, and loyal. Why would I pick a derogatory term to name a character that I so obviously love? But her accusation didn’t fall on deaf ears. I was crushed and immediately began doubting myself. Had I unwittingly used a racial slur in my book? I rushed to ask a few Chinese-American individuals about it again. The answer was the same as before: no, nothing nasty about the name. Many women carry that lovely musical name. To give you just two examples, violinist and author Ling Ling Huang and actress and fortune-teller Mak Ling Ling.
If that wasn’t bad enough I have received a few more reviews (mostly complimentary) from readers who have read the hateful review and are now afraid that I used an offensive name for the female character, throwing another shadow over my book and my integrity as a writer and human being.
Needless to say that this whole matter totally overshadowed my release on my side of things. Hate has a tendency to do that. I was too upset and worried to enjoy the official “birth” of a book I so love and that I worked so hard to write.
The same reader also complained about the use of many names for the main characters (there is a cultural/historical reason for that) and my awkward writing. She also blames me of “telling” instead of “showing”. But that’s also a subject for another blog (I know, you can’t wait.)
I am not complaining about bad reviews. I totally understand not liking a book. I have read well-liked books that I didn’t connect with. I was honest in my review, but not mean or outright hateful like some. I also understand that my style of writing is not for everyone. That’s not a problem. But hateful rhetoric is a huge problem that seems to have become more and more prevalent in today’s society.
Words are powerful weapons and should be used carefully.
And hate, in any form, is never a good thing.
If you are of Asian ancestry, I truly want to hear your thoughts about the use of the name Ling Ling for a book character. Is it really as offensive as this reader (who I am sure is NOT Asian herself–I could be wrong) says it is? Have I made a terrible mistake when naming my character? Please, let me know. Thank you.
April 27, 2023
The Lucky Starman-New Release
Is Leif really lucky? Stranded in orbit, viewing a destroyed civilization on Earth through the screens of a starship almost out of fuel and food, he doesn’t feel that way.
It wasn’t supposed to be like that.
As the starship Dauntless returns from a successful mission to the planet called Heaven, Earth holds no attractions for Exoplanetary Scout Leif Grettison. He wants only to complete the mission and leave for another star, along with ace pilot Yang Yong. In fact, he would be happy spending the rest of his life flying the starways with her.
But they and the rest of the ship’s skeleton crew awaken from hibernation to find Earth’s solar system dark and silent—no signals, no responses to their transmissions. When they make orbit, the magnitude of the disaster becomes clear: An apocalyptic war has killed billions and destroyed every last source of power and tech that 22nd-Century humans relied on to survive.
Getting down to Earth is only the beginning of Leif’s problems. Those few who survived the apocalypse are still divided, fighting over what’s left. The disastrous re-entry to Earth leaves him with no resources or allies. He lands in the middle of a makeshift family that needs him more than he’s comfortable with and hears stories—even nursery rhymes—that speak of a lucky starman. For once, he’s the only person with tech—but if he’s caught using it, they might kill him.
Can a man back from the stars end the warfare on Earth, or will he make it worse? Can he save a family that might become his? Is he everyone’s lucky starman?
Warnings: Combat situations (one-on-one and armies), named characters die
About the Series:
These are the adventures of Leif, who some have called the Lucky. They begin in the year 2069, when humanity’s last chance for peace is the first ever interstellar mission. However, when you believe you have thought of everything, the universe has a way of showing that you haven’t.
What do you do when it goes wrong, when you can’t call for help, and when adventure leads to deaths? If you survive one journey, what do you do next?
Get It On Amazon | GoodreadsExcerpt
“Leif, we have a problem.”
I heard Charley’s voice as if from a great distance. The post-hib blur was a dense fog in my mind. I recognized the words but could not grasp their meaning. In my defense, I hadn’t even sat up in the hibernation unit yet; its bath was still draining.
I wrenched off the mask and cannula and removed the port from my arm. Then I sat up with a profound groan. Nearly four and a half years’ hibernating did more than blur the brain. Every muscle was stiff. I was surprised my joints didn’t squeak. Multiyear hib did not get better with repetition. I blinked and tried to bring Charley’s face into focus. Dr. Charles Osborne, I told myself. Our ship’s physician. He was supposed to be with me when I came out of hib. He had dark brown skin on a kindly round face, short black hair, and a closely cropped beard.
“Leif, we have a problem,” he repeated. “Yang needs you on the bridge.”
Why did there always have to be a problem? Why couldn’t someone say, Leif, life is great, and the world is beautiful. Why don’t you come share it? But, no, that’s not the way my life goes.
I groaned again and managed to say, “What?”
Charley shook his head. “I don’t know. Look, I’m sorry I didn’t get your equipment off first. I’m, I don’t know, worried. Here’s your OJ. Yang asked you to skip the gym. She really wants you on the bridge as soon as you can get there.”
That bit penetrated the blur. Yong had woken me early on the flight to High Noon, the very first starshot, when the ship’s computer tried to abort the mission after a hib failure. What was it this time?
I downed the orange juice with sugar in one fast chug. Having come out of four previous multiyear hib stretches on starflights, I had learned that the best way to return to the status of a functional human was to follow a carefully escalating workout routine in the gym. It felt awful while I was doing it, but it worked. There would be a good reason if Yang Yong wanted me to skip it. And the good reason would be something bad. Count on it.
I blinked again. “Can I at least get dressed and grab a couple of protein bars from the caf?” I did manage to get the croak out of my voice.
“I’m sure,” Charley said. “Just grab ’em and go to the bridge.”
“I’m on it,” I said. “Where’s the famous laxative pack?”
Charley had that in his other hand. The constipation from hib on an interstellar flight would not, in fact, kill you, but there were times I wished it would.
Once Charley left, I pulled myself out of the unit and stood up, shivering. My muscles shook trying to hold me upright. At least I’d done this often enough to know what would hurt most and how to manage it. The biggest problem was the knee that had been surgically rebuilt after I was wounded on Mindanao back in 2062. That was why I had left the Rangers and the service, and with each long hib, it got harder and harder to return it to normal.
No help for that. I settled for cursing long and loud while I toweled off. Then I pulled on the ship’s polo shirt with its NASA emblem over the left breast and my name, Grettison, embroidered below it. The starshot emblem of a gloved hand clutching a star above STARSHOT xv was stitched over the right breast. Ship pants, ankle socks, and ship boots completed the outfit. We were obviously decelerating at one gee because my weight felt normal, so I didn’t need the SureGrip soles for the StickStrips on the deck.
I pulled open the privacy screen around my unit and stepped out onto the hib deck. All the other units I could see were off. My adrenals squeezed immediately and I felt a sense of panic. Then my mind pulled its memories through the post-hib blur. Of course nearly all the units were empty and off. We had put the colonists down on the planet called Heaven, meaning only seven of us were on the Dauntless for the return to Earth.
I did a set of breathing exercises and got my heart rate and blood pressure under control. It wouldn’t do for me to have a stroke before I heard Yong’s problem. Maybe afterward, if it was bad enough.
With my legs wobbling under me, I took the lift to the deck where the caf was and grabbed energy bars. I took the time to eat one of them and chug another sugared orange juice. I needed to get to the bridge, but I also needed to not fall on my face when I got there.
When I entered the bridge, two energy bars swallowed and two more in my pocket, one of the chairs swiveled around. Yang Yong, pilot-in-command of the Dauntless, stood to greet me. She was a petite and slender woman with high cheekbones and brown hair cropped as short as mine. Small, yes, but there was nothing soft or delicate about her. She’d been a crack attack plane pilot for China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force during the Troubles, which meant we had been on opposite sides of the fighting. Opposite sides, hell. She had damn near killed me on Mindanao when she bombed my platoon’s position the day the world almost ended.
Fortunately, our relationship had evolved from there. We were now two sides of the same coin and had decided to spend our lives flying through the universe together. It’s not that either one of us ever used the L‑word, but we knew what we meant to each other.
She did not smile at me. She did not even give me her tight little grin. I knew her well enough to tell that she was tense, though no one else would see any difference in the way she held herself.
If Yang Yong was tense, something was very, very wrong.
“What’s the problem?” I asked.
“I don’t know. We are not receiving anything.”
“Nothing?” I tried to wrap my mind around that and let my hand drop from the pocket with the energy bars. They could wait.
“Nothing,” she repeated. “We are inside the orbit of Pluto, and there is no signal from the International Space Commission. I have sent transmissions to Earthbase, NASA, and CNSA. We have received no response, and enough time has elapsed for a reply to reach us. Before you ask, I have checked over our equipment. It is fine. The solar system is silent.”
Author Bio
Colin Alexander is a writer of science fiction and fantasy. Actually, Colin Alexander is the pseudonym for Alton Kremer, maybe his alter ego, or who he would have been if he hadn’t been a physician and biochemist and had a career as a medical researcher. His most recent book, The Lucky Starman, is his ninth and the third of the Leif the Lucky novels. Colin is an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America, and the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. Away from writing fiction, his idea of relaxation is martial arts (taekwondo and minna jiu jitsu). He lives in Maine with his wife.
April 20, 2023
Writing “Foxy Tails”
Nothing marks a writer as the biggest nerd on earth as showing your wuxia-inspired cover, featuring a nine-tailed fox in its human form, to your friends and have them step back and go, “Oh, *insert pause here*, that’s *another pause* nice?”
Then there’s a moment of panic. “Oh, my God, did I make the wrong choice for the cover? Are people going to hate it? What have I done?”
Later, you realize you love your cover. It fits the mood of the story perfectly, an Asian-inspired telling of a magical being fighting society’s perceptions of people like him. I might as well accept the nerd label and be proud.
I have been on a diet of Chinese period fantasies for a few years. At first, I couldn’t figure out what was about them that attracted me so much, but I think I have figured it out. Most of them follow a sort of a scheme where things normally start light and breezy with lots of humor and child-like wonder and then become progressively darker and heavier. However most maintain a good balance of humor, romance, and drama. That’s my catnip. If I was to analyze my favorite books of all times (except possibly the great gothic romances) they all have that balance.
That’s also what I like to write, stories that mix the serious with the irreverent, that make you giggle as much as cry, and if that makes me a nerd so be it!
Now, if only I could find my likeminded audience….
What do you think of the cover, my friends?
Preorder today at half-price
Releasing April 28, 2023
⇨ Amazon
⇨ All Links
Join a witty fox, a divine healer, and their companions on a voyage filled with danger, magic, romance, and surprises in a world where nothing is what it seems in this stunning MM fantasy romance by best-selling author Natalina Reis.
Unloved and broken, Húlí knows nothing but hate. Born a nine-tailed fox in a world that hunts demons like him, he does what he must to survive.
Until the day fate throws him right into the arms of the Healer.
Xiao Ying grew up in a family of divine healers. But when he comes back to find his whole family murdered, he vows to bring them the justice they deserve. Xiao Ying chooses a lonely life, gathering the evidence he needs, and not allowing anything to get in his way.
Until the day his life crosses that of a nine-tailed fox and changes forever.
Brought together by fate and united by love, Huli and Xiao Ying embark on the adventure of a lifetime. One that will either answer all their questions or reveal truths they should’ve left buried.
“This story is so engrossing! I was wrapped into it from the first page. The characters are wonderful, the plot full of twists and surprises and intrigue, and it has all the elements of both romance and high fantasy I love so much. SO GOOD!” Beta Reader
April 8, 2023
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin – Book Review
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a fabulous read in a not-your-usual world in the fantasy genre. Great characters, great writing, lots of twists that made me yell out in surprise and a romance that has been through the wringers. And kudos for the cover. Beautiful. I will definitely read the sequel.
There were a couple things that bugged me, not enough to ruin the pleasure of reading it but enough to make me go, “Why?”
There were a few typos throughout the book, a book that is published by one of the big guys of publishing. No fault on the author. Being an author myself I know how many times a book is read and edited before publishing. But it was still a weird thing to find in a traditionally published book.
The other one was that to me the main male character, Malik, comes through as too young to be having romantic feelings for anyone. In fact it wasn’t until well through the middle of the story that I realized he is indeed a teenager, at least 16 years old, possibly older (even though it’s never really stated). I thought he was a ten-eleven year old because he is constantly referred to as a “boy”, and was shocked when he began to have feelings for Karina. She comes through as much older than he is when I believe (I could be wrong) they’re supposed to be about the same age.
Despite this, I so loved this book and can’t wait to read the next one.
