Carol Van Natta's Blog, page 13
January 1, 2020
Plans for 2020 (Leap Year!)
December 22, 2019
About Prehistoric Aquatic Sloths (Thalossocnus)
The hero of Shifter's Storm (Ice Age Shifters Book 5) is Dauro de Mar, a shifter trapped in a fairy fantasyland. His animal side is an extinct aquatic sloth (Thalassocnus) from the Ice Age. As you might imagine, this quite surprised his elephant-seal shifter parents. When the story opens, he's been the long-time captive of a greedy fairy who collected exotic aquatic shifters for. She forced all her collection to stay in their animal forms to make it harder for them to escape. Which meant Dauro, the first of the collection, has been stuck in his furry side for many years. Sloths are fascinating creatures to begin with, so it was great fun learning all about prehistoric aquatic sloths.
Gentle Giant Marine Sloths
Fossils of prehistoric ground sloths are common in North America. This is largely thanks to the La Brea Tar Pits and other geological features that trapped and preserved hapless creatures that got stuck in them. Such as giant sloths in the Megatherium genus. Based on the fossil record, sloths found comfortable habitats all over South America. Aquatic sloths, even bigger than their terrestrial cousins, thrived in what is now Chile, Peru, and Argentina. Thanks to large collection of bones (but few complete skeletons), we know at least four or five species probably made their living in shallow coastal waters.
Much like contemporary water-loving mammals such as beavers and otters, giant aquatic sloths had thicker, heavier bones to keep them from floating. Current thinking is that later prehistoric aquatic sloths mostly lived in the sea, the way that manatees do today and sea cows did before humans hunted them to extinction. An aquatic sloth's long, wicked-looking claws were likely for digging up sea grasses to eat. Their teeth and jaw structure suggest they were vegetarian.
Artistic License for Aquatic Sloths
Bones don't tell us much about the organs, muscles, and appearance details of any creature. This is where I, the author, get to use my artistic license for telling Dauro's story. I gave him long, brown, beaver-like fur that keeps him warm (he's built for the Ice Age, after all) and sheds water quickly. Membranes protect his eyes and flaps keep water from going up his nose. He's about 12 feet (3.6 m) long and weighs about 200 pounds (90 kg). I also assumed a bit of shifter magic for Dauro's sloth side to tolerate both salt and fresh water. It could even be true. 
December 15, 2019
Holidays on Distant Planets
In my Central Galactic Concordance space opera universe, society at large has very few holidays. Traditions became fragmented as humans explored the galaxy and found new planets to terraform and settle. Timing became an insurmountable problem. For one thing, 00:00 hours on 1 January on one planet could be 09:43 on 8 May on another. For another, planets have length variations of days or years, so it's an event-planner's nightmare. Fortunately, all planets have two solstices per year. These have become the universal holidays on distant planets across the galaxy.
Gifts for the Holidays on a Distant Planet
In my story Pet Trade, Axur, a cyborg, and Bethnee, a veterinary medic, live in the northern latitude of a new frontier planet. Even by galactic standards, it's far off the beaten path. They each have their reasons for living so far from the new cities to the south, but they embrace the tradition of exchanging holiday gifts. Resources are scarce and financial transactions are taxed. Northern settlers have learned to be creative.
— Holiday Excerpt from PET TRADE —
Bethnee levered herself up onto the crutches and made her way to the fresher, where they’d put her overnight bag to keep it safe from critters. When she returned, she put a package in front of him. “Happy Solstice Day.” She triggered her mealpack’s heater.
Axur blinked in surprise, darting his glance between her and the package. His smile grew as he untied the twine and opened it. “Real coffee!” He held the cloth bag to his nose and took in the scent appreciatively. He held up the other gift. “What’s on the longwire?”
“Common and relic language courses.” She pulled out the utensils from her mealpack. “You said you don’t have anyone to practice with. I only know Standard English and one city’s street slang, and Nuñez has mostly forgotten her family’s Tagalog, so I traded for the courses whenever I treated pets. You can help me expand my horizons. I need more swear words.”
He smiled as he put the longwire in his shirt pocket and patted it. “Thank you.”
Seeing how much the simple gifts pleased him, she vowed to give him as many as she could before he left for wider, warmer pastures. She must still be farked by the chems, because the thought made her want to hug him tight and cry on his broad shoulder.
He triggered the heater on his mealpack. “I have presents for you and Nuñez, too.” Something on his cart beeped, and he grinned. “Excuse me a minute.”
Axur returned with a small percomp strapped to his cybernetic wrist, and removed a disgruntled cat from his chair so he could sit. Beta promptly jumped into Bethnee’s lap and settled.
Pet Trade On Sale for the Holidays
In celebration of this planet's winter solstice, Pet Trade is on sale for 99¢ through 24 December 2019. Happy holidays to my readers and friends across the galaxy.
An injured veterinarian and a cyborg with unusual pets must join forces to save their town.
The vast Central Galactic Concordance strictly prohibits genetic experimentation and alteration of humans on any of its 500 member planets. Animals aren’t so lucky.
On a frontier planet, veterinarian Bethnee Bakonin made a home for herself in the frozen north. Her minder talent for healing all kinds of animals would ordinarily assure her success, but her unwilling stint in the shady pet trade industry left her damaged and scared. She works around her limitations as best she can, and rescues pet trade castoffs.
“Volunteered” for a black-box research project, elite forces Jumper Axur Tragon now has dangerous experimental tech in his cybernetic limbs. He escaped and crash-landed a stolen freighter in the northern mountains of a frontier planet, only to discover a secret shipment of designer pets was part of the cargo. Determined to do right by them, he enlists reluctant Bethnee’s aid in caring for them—a definite challenge, considering Bethnee is terrified of him.
When greedy mercenaries come raiding, can Axur and Bethnee work together to overcome their limitations, with help from their unusual pets, and save the day?
It's a deadly adventure—with pets—in the fringes of space. Grab your copy of Pet Trade today!
The post Holidays on Distant Planets appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
December 11, 2019
Shifter’s Storm – New Release
Hi — author Carol Van Natta here. I'm pleased to announce the release of Shifter's Storm, the fifth book in my Ice Age Shifters® paranormal romance series. This book starts a new mini-story arc, so you can enjoy it without having read the previous four books. However, if you have read them, you might recognize the heroine, Chantal, from her earlier cameo appearances.
December 8, 2019
Excerpt from Shifter’s Storm
The hero of Shifter's Storm (Ice Age Shifters Book 5) is Dauro de Mar. He and his fellow captives were bought by a greedy fairy who collected exotic aquatic shifters. Dauro has been there the longest, and was the first acquisition.
Where is “there,” you ask? A fairy demesne, of course. Think of it as a mini-world, created by fairy magic and imagination. It enforces internal rules that sometimes only bear a passing resemblance to the way things work in the real word. In this demesne, one of the rules keeps all the captives in their animal forms to make it harder to escape. Here is an excerpt from Shifter's Storm that introduces the fairy fantasyland and Dauro.
Dauro ya Ketumino da’Nok de Mar lumbered up onto the bank of the impossible river and snorted forcefully to open his nose and ear flaps. The pretend sun was more than halfway toward the far horizon. He shook up and down to help his fur shed water.
The world shook. Even the distant orchard trees to his left swayed.
What?
Dauro’s giant aquatic sloth form was massive, but not that massive. Certainly not massive enough to shake an entire magical fairy demesne.
The world shook again, longer this time. Water sloshed onto the river’s banks, lapping at his back paws.
When Nessireth, the ancient fairy who created the private fantasyland to house the collection of aquatic exotics she’d captured over the years, went on a rampage, the wind blew heat and the central castle trembled. But she’d died and turned to fairy dust two months ago.
A memory surfaced of feeling something similar a couple of hundred years ago, soon after Nessireth moved the demesne from the high, cold place to a warm island location. The demesne’s anchor had been tugged by a violent real-world storm she’d called a hurricane. After a second one a few years later, she’d used her then-abundant magic to add more anchors. That cured it.
Dauro also remembered a recent comment from Kelvin, the young pygmy hippopotamus shifter who had been Nessireth’s final acquisition. Humans were now living everywhere, and they’d been burning forests and fossils. According to Kelvin, scientists said it changed the climate, and they predicted more hurricanes.
Dauro believed it. Heat and magic were similar—increased energy in a stable spell guaranteed unstable results.
More shaking. The river water surged in a wave, wetting his front paws.
Fairy demesne magic made the circular river flow constantly to provide habitat and feeding grounds for him and the other aquatic shifters and creatures. It hadn’t ever changed… until today.
That brought home to him that he and others needed to get serious about escaping. Nessireth had bragged about spending millennia to construct her demesne, but it was decaying daily without her active magic to maintain it. The false moon wasn’t as round as it used to be, and had a noticeable pink tint. Just last week, the constant breeze had taken to gusting chaotically.
None of the captives knew what would happen if the demesne collapsed with them still inside. Dauro was certain it wouldn’t be good.
His giant sloth side liked solitary peace and quiet, but his suppressed human side knew he needed to check on the rest of his friends. Nessireth’s death had given him more freedom than the others. And his limited telepathic skills as a sloth meant he had to visit them himself. Nessireth had forced each of them to remain in their animal form, and the demesne would keep them that way forever… as long as the magic held.
As the oldest of Nessireth’s acquisitions, he’d become the sinchi, the temporary champion of the collection. In his opinion, formidable size, war experience, and a talent for magic while in animal form didn’t make him a leader, but he was the best they had.
December 5, 2019
5 Gifts for Authors
This post is gift advice for the Beloved Author in your life. These ideas are suitable for gift-giving year-round. Plus I've included a few inexpensive and free options that won't break the bank. And by the way, no, I'm not angling for gifts from my readers. Your gift of buying my books and occasionally posting reviews is the best present ever. These suggestions on 5 gifts for authors are just helpful advice for people with an author to buy for and no clue where to start.
Treats Are Traditional Gifts for AuthorsAuthors forget to eat, or their eating schedule and/or nutrition goes straight to hell when they're on deadline. Supply your Beloved Author with favorite (but healthy!) foods and treats. Take your Beloved Author out for a meal. Bring food, have food delivered, or buy food that's quick and easy to make. If you want to give actual treats, please don't destroy your Beloved Author's diet—that's just mean. Find out what he or she specifically likes. For example, if you were bribing… er, gifting me, I'd be thrilled with Effie's Oatcakes, Walker's shortbread, white chocolate with peppermint, Tim Tams (the Australian version—h/t to Susan & Narelle), homemade chocolate chip cookies … you get the drift.
Online Subscriptions Make for Unconventional But Practical Gifts for AuthorsIf you've got a few minutes, ask your Beloved Author about the monthly and yearly subscriptions she or he has. Add up three, seven, or fifteen, and pretty soon you're talking real money. Therefore, this suggestion is to pay for one of them. I'll admit it's not very romantic, but it's engagingly practical. Buy him a year's worth of mailing-list provider service. Buy her that annual subscription to a premiere graphics service or credits at a stock photo site. In a similar vein, gift your author with fabulous writing software, or a good accounting program, or an online training course. It might take some creativity in finding out what your Beloved Author needs, but it will be much appreciated.
Little Comforts Make Great Gifts for AuthorsI bet if you ask your Beloved Author what one thing their office needs, they could list five gifts they'd love to have. Little improvements can go a long way. Examples include a new journal, a new pen, a better office chair, or a standing desk—pick one from your author's list. If you're handy, offer to install a whiteboard, or come up with a system to organize the myriad cables under the desk. More inexpensive versions of this include little things like fixing the annoyingly squeaky hinges, or installing brighter (or dimmer) light bulbs, or crafting a small stand for the tablet or phone.
Quiet Time Is A Priceless Gift for the Author in Your LifeAuthors at work need quiet time, figuratively, if not literally. This means time to do their work without a dozen little interruptions in a day. Surprise your Beloved Author with a weekend solo getaway at a hotel (with room service!), or at least a cabin in the woods. I'll admit it's a pricey gift. However, there's a free version: Take the family to the zoo, or take the dog for a walk, or run errands, or take care of the author's usual chores, or whatever is needed to give your Beloved Author precious undisturbed alone time. And your author will be profoundly, deeply grateful if you pledge to do it every week.
Celebration Is the Best Gift EverAuthors are self-employed, so they don't usually think to give themselves recognition for a job well done. Celebrate the little victories with them, because the big ones don't come around that often. Acknowledge the hard work or milestone met. If you're crafty, make an actual award or certificate of achievement. The best gift of all: Tell your Beloved Author you're proud of them. Yes, even if you haven't a clue as to what your Beloved Author does. Tell her you love the cover of the latest book, or congratulate him on that excellent review, or for getting a good sales report. Hint to friends and family of Beloved Authors: Releasing a new book is a great milestone to celebrate!
The post 5 Gifts for Authors appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
December 1, 2019
Three Go-To Recipes for Gatherings
I'm a very lucky author. When I'm working on a book deadline (which is pretty much any day ending in ‘Y'), the resident mad scientist does most of the cooking in our secret lair… er, house. However, I occasionally borrow his laboratory… er, kitchen for special occasions such as potlucks and family celebrations. I've perfected a few dishes over the years, and people ask how to make them. So, here are three go-to recipes for gatherings.
Only one of the main characters in any of my books is a notable cook: Jerzi Adams, in my space opera series. He appears in Overload Flux and is a main character in Pico's Crush, and has a well-deserved reputation for culinary skill. Cooking was his way of surviving before he joined the military. Since then, it's become his way of showing his love and appreciation for friends and family.
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Corn Chive Savory Custard – Go-To Recipe for Gatherings
Elegant side dish that works well on a buffet or a potluck table because it tastes good at room temperature as well as fresh from the oven.
16 to 24 oz. frozen corn, thawed, divided
2 Tbl sugar
1¼ tsp. salt
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted and cooled
3 Tbl. flour
1/2 tsp. tarragon
1 tsp. coriander
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives*
Preheat oven to 375ºF and move a rack to the middle. Butter a 9×12 baking dish.
Chop half the thawed corn coarsely using a food processor or an immersion blender. Combine the chopped and whole corn in a large bowl and sprinkle with sugar and salt, stirring to combine well.
In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, butter, flour, and spices. Stir into corn mixture. Add the chives and mix well. Pour into the prepared baking dish. The chives will float to the top, and there's nothing you can do about it. Sprinkle the top with nutmeg.
Bake until just set, about 1 hour. Garnish with more chives if you have any left over. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Alternatively, serve at room temperature.
Heat any leftovers in the microwave or in the oven. It doesn't freeze well, but it's easy to make more.
*If you don't have any fresh chives, I recommend substituting 2-3 teaspoons of onion powder or shallot instead of using the dried chives from a bottle, which tend to taste mostly like lawn grass. And as much as I love garlic, it overwhelms the delicate flavors in this dish.
In my Ice Age Shifters® paranormal romance series, most shifters have acute senses even when in human form. I figure that makes them extra picky or extra appreciative when it comes to foods and spices. For example, I detest the flavor of anise (I don't like licorice, either). If I had superior shifter sense of taste, I probably couldn't even be in the same kitchen with it. But I adore cardamom, so I'd try it in anything vaguely dessert-like. Which is why cardamom ended up in my go-to recipe for cranberries. 
November 23, 2019
Cover Reveal for Shifter’s Storm
At last I can present the cover reveal for Shifter's Storm (Ice Age Shifters Book 5). The fabulously spiffy cover for this and the rest the series are all designed by the very talented Amanda Kelsey of Razzle Dazzle Design.
Shifter's Storm starts a new mini-story arc that will continue for the next two books. I'll tell you more about that soon. I am in love with the characters in this story, but I could be the very tiniest bit biased.
November 17, 2019
More Prehistoric Dire Wolves (Canis Dirus)
And Not the Friendly Kind
My Ice Age Shifters® series is paranormal romance with a twist. Shapeshifters magically share their soul with animals, such as wolves, bears, tigers, bulls, and more. Rare shapeshifters share their souls with ancient animals from the Ice Age. I already told you some fun facts about dire wolves in another post, and about prehistoric bears and prehistoric lions. There are more prehistoric dire wolves in the Ice Age Shifters® world. More specifically, Rayne Chakal, the heroine of Dire Wolf Wanted.
In some hidden communities of shifters, politics and power are on a knife's edge between peace and conflict. Anything that upsets the balance causes trouble. Such as the surprise birth of an Ice Age shifter to ordinary parents. Some Ice Age shifters have a hard time embracing their wild side because it makes other shifters uncomfortable. Not so with Rayne—she embraces her difference and uses it and her extra magic to advantage.
Prehistoric Dire Wolves Were Top Predators
Like modern wolf species, dire wolves species varied by geographic region and environment. In general, they were muscular, with massive jaws, but had more slender legs than contemporary wolves. From the bones we've found, dire wolves probably weighed 30-50 pounds (12-15 kg) more than largest wolf today. Their broad rib cage gave them big lung capacity. This made them relentless marathon trackers who could wear down almost any prey.
Dire wolves and their prehistoric wolfy cousins were also everywhere. Well, almost. Prehistoric dire wolves never made it to Australia. Fun fact, by the way: Australia managed to give the last Ice Age a miss, though it did get a lot colder for a few millennia.
We've found fossils in Central America and South America, where they were top predators. Wolves in England were nearly as big, and considered a scourge by the inhabitants. By contrast, prehistoric wolves in the canid branches of the Eastern Hemisphere and Asia tended to be smaller, about the size of jackals or coyotes.
Though dire wolves died out at the end of the Ice Age, today's wolves today are both revered and reviled. However, as a whole, the canine family is highly successful. They were smart enough to make pacts—and packs—with humans millennia ago.
Dire Wolves in the Ice Age Shifters Series
Two of my Ice Age Shifters series books feature prehistoric dire wolves, Heart of a Dire Wolf and Dire Wolf Wanted. The lead characters of the books are sisters born of different mothers but have the same father.
Since dire wolves had multiple species, I figure they had multiple colors, too. In Dire Wolf Wanted, Rayne Chakal's human form takes after her African mother's family. Her dire wolf side is large and pure white for successful hunting in a snowy clime. In the Ice Age Shifters world, human skin color and animal fur color don't correlate.
Rayne is a covert agent and has perfected the use of magical camouflage. However, she values her inner dire wolf and in dicey situations, is happy to take advantage of instinctive human and shifter fear of dire wolves. She is also happy to take advantage of her immunity to modern alpha dominance. Needless to say, this doesn't sit well with the more insecure leaders of the shifter world.
Rayne can't imagine a less likely place to run into the dangerous but unbelievably sexy shifter who could be her mate than during an undercover operation. Unless it's in the middle of a war. For his part, mythical shifter Arvik Inuktan has secrets within secrets, and must solve the mystery of his past if he ever hopes to have a future with Rayne.
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CREDITS: Colorful wolf illustration licensed from Stock Unlimited. Canis dirus illustration by Nyssa Juneau.
Dire Wolf Wanted (Ice Age Shifters Book 4)
The magical world stands on the brink of war, unless two extraordinary shifters can bridge the gulf between them.
Dire wolf shifter Rayne Chekal works to take down an illegal auction house that traffics in shifters. Arvik Inuktan, secret mythical shifter, infiltrated the auction staff with the same mission. The attraction is instant… and impossible. War is coming.
When Rayne and Arvik meet on the battlefield, can they overcome their differences and work together to stop the evil, or will this war engulf the magical world?
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November 10, 2019
About Mythical Ahklut in the Ice Age Shifters World
In Dire Wolf Wanted, Ice Age Shifters Book 4, the heroine is Rayne Chakal, a covert agent and a prehistoric dire wolf shifter, which makes her very rare. (See my posts on prehistoric bears, lions, and Rayne's sister, also a dire wolf.) The hero of the story is Arvik Inuktan. Actually, because he's a spy, he's gone by many names, but that's his current one. Arvik is even rarer—a mythological shifter who shares his soul with two other forms, a wolf and an orca. I took inspiration from Inuit and Inupiat legends about mythical ahklut to create Arvik's people in the Ice Age Shifters® world.
Mythical Ahklut Were Shifters
The First Peoples at the top of the North American continent were as varied and complex as the native tribes farther south. Geographic isolation created language and cultural variation. However, they knew about other bands and shared legends and beliefs. The most interesting of these is that many animals have inua, spirits with dual natures who can take other forms, including human. In other words, shapeshifters. 
