Carol Van Natta's Blog, page 17
December 24, 2018
Snippet from Overload Flux
Since the book is on sale for 99¢ for the holidays, I thought I'd share a little snippet from Overload Flux, the first book in my space opera, adventure, and romance series.
In this scene, Mairwen Morganthur, a security guard with a lot of secrets, is serving as the temporary personal assistant to Luka Foxe, a brilliant forensic investigator. They're on their way to visit a potential witness who might be the key to uncovering who is behind stealing the vaccine for a pandemic. She's seen him in action at a previous crime scene, and knows they bother him in unexpected ways. This time, instead of a witness, Mairwen discovers the body of a torture victim.
I like this scene because it shows both the damage that Luka's extraordinary talent is doing, and that Mairwen is starting to care what happens to him, despite her determination to stay hidden and unnoticed.
“It’s bad,” she said. “Bloody.”
He closed his eyes a moment and muttered a curse. He took a deep breath and looked at her. “I have to see.”
She let him go in, then closed the apartment door behind them and stepped aside, her eyes on Foxe.
He held himself rigidly still, as if fighting something, but soon the despairing, haunted look she’d seen before started creeping into his expression. After first examining the floor in front of him, he took one careful step closer. He crouched down, maybe to get a better angle to examine the woman’s body, then swept his gaze side to side. He lingered over several spots, angling his head at a couple of them, but his gaze drifted back to the body and stalled. He stared as if mesmerized.
Mairwen waited quietly for a minute, watching him closely. He wasn’t moving any more, but his breathing was shallow, and she could hear his heartbeat racing. The haunted look had completely overtaken his features. After another minute, she gave into the growing conviction that she needed to do something.
“Foxe?” she asked softly.
He didn’t respond.
She said his name again, but he still didn’t react. She crouched down in front of him. His eyes were dilated, and tears were streaming down his face. Possibly it was like the old, bad memories, but it reminded her more of a tracker’s sensory overload trance, the first step on the road to oblivion. Not knowing what else to do, she gave his shoulder a slight push. He felt stiff.
“Foxe,” she said. Nothing.
She took off her glove and put her fingertips on his wet cheek. He didn’t react.
She narrowed her focus to just him and flattened her palm on the side of his face. “Foxe… Luka, look at me.” She willed him to respond.
Nothing. His skin felt surprisingly cool against her hand. Just as she was wondering if she should maybe ping someone for help, she saw a slow change in his expression. His lost look faded and his focus gelled on her, and his eyes met hers. His full regard rocked her.
“Mairwen,” he said, as if he was deeply amazed and relieved to see her.
When she would have dropped her hand, he caught it with his own and leaned his face into her palm. “Bíddu. Wait. Give me a moment.”
Two loners fighting to stay alive discover they must now save the galaxy.
The only vaccine for a deadly galaxy-wide pandemic is missing … and the only ones who may be able to find it are a powerful talent on the verge of a meltdown, and a security specialist hiding her extraordinary skills in a menial job.
Brilliant investigator Luka Foxe must act fast if he's going to save the civilized planets of the Central Galactic Concordance. For as a pandemic sweeps across the galaxy, someone is stealing the vaccine. To make matters worse, Luka's hidden mental talents are out of control, leaving him barely able to function in the midst of violence and a rising body count. The convoluted trail leads to a corrupt pharma industry and the possibility of an illegal, planet-sized laboratory. In the face of increasing threats, he must rely on an enigmatic, lethal woman who has secrets of her own.
Mairwen Morganthur hides extraordinary skills under the guise of a dull night-shift guard. The last thing she wants is to provide personal security for a nova-hot investigator, or to be plunged into a murky case involving sabotage, treachery, and the military covert operations division that would love to discover she's still alive. Worse, she knows that two more deaths won't bother their enemies one bit. Their only hope for survival is to share their darkest secrets. With everything in their universe at stake, can they learn to trust one another?
Don't miss this thrill-ride through a futuristic galaxy—get your copy of Overload Flux today!
Ebook: Amazon ~ Nook ~ Kobo ~ Apple Books ~ Google Play
Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU ~ Amazon UK
Paperback: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Audiobook: Amazon (free with Audible Membership) ~ Apple iTunes ~ Kobo Books ~ Tantor Google Play ~ AudioBooks ~ Overdrive ~ Hoopla
The Central Galactic Concordance series:
Last Ship Off Polaris-G (novella)
Overload Flux (Book 1)
Minder Rising (Book 2)
Zero Flux (novella)
Pico's Crush (Book 3)
Pet Trade (novella)
Jumper's Hope (Book 4)
Spark Transform (Book 5)
The post Snippet from Overload Flux appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
December 21, 2018
Cover Reveal for Spark Transform
I'm thrilled to finally be able to post the cover reveal for Spark Transform (Central Galactic Concordance Book 5). I'd hoped to have this book out in December, but life kicked the ass of every deadline I set for this book. I'm probably tempting fate by telling you this book will be out in January.
If you've read Pico's Crush (book 3) and Jumper's Hope (book 4), you may remember a character named Renner who was, shall we say, not a particularly good person. In the last bit of Jumper's Hope, a journalist named Charrascos discovered Renner barely alive in the rubble of a destroyed townhouse. Spark Transform starts some months later, in the same corrupt city of Ridderth, the birthplace of the Ayorinn Legacy that promises freedom for all minders. Renner may be free of the man who collared him like a guard dog, but he's still full of rage and vengeance. Arco Charrascos has made new, more deadly enemies with her explosive investigative stories. Who better to protect her than the man once sent to kill her?
As with my other covers, this one is designed by the fantastically talented folks at Gene Mollica Studio.
If you need to catch up with the previous books, I've listed the novels below. The novellas fit in between them, and have some of the same characters, but you don't need to read them for the big damn story arc that's going on.
The Big Damn Story Arc in the Central Galactic Concordance Series
Overload Flux (Central Galactic Concordance Book 1)
Ebook: Amazon ~ Nook ~ Kobo ~ Apple Books ~ Google Play
Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU ~ Amazon UK
Paperback: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Minder Rising (Central Galactic Concordance Book 2)
Ebook: Amazon ~ Nook ~ Kobo ~ Apple Books ~ Google Play
Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU ~ Amazon UK
Paperback: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Pico's Crush (Central Galactic Concordance Book 3)
Ebook: Amazon ~ Nook ~ Kobo ~ Apple Books ~ Google Play
Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU ~ Amazon UK
Paperback: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Jumper's Hope (Central Galactic Concordance Book 4)
Ebook: Amazon ~ Nook ~ Kobo ~ Apple Books ~ Google Play
Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU ~ Amazon UK
Paperback: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
The post Cover Reveal for Spark Transform appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
December 18, 2018
Jumper’s Hope Is Now an Audiobook
Jumper's Hope is now an audiobook. It's the fourth book in the series, after Overload Flux, Minder Rising, and Pico's Crush. If you like to read with your ears, a.k.a. listen to audiobooks, this is for you. The audio version is the second-most requested item from readers, right after “write more books!” Nigerian princes, on the other hand, merely want my bank account information.
I've talked about the importance of quality production in a previous post. A reader friend put it best when she said, “A good narrator makes a book come to life; a great narrator is like listening to someone right there with you, telling the story.” Luckily for me, Tantor Media signed the ultra-cool Nicole Poole for my books, who handles my made-up words and multiple languages with talent and skill.
Listen to this sample to see what I mean:
http://author.carolvannatta.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/L0080_JumpersHope.mp3
So at last, here's Jumper's Hope in audiobook. It and rest of the series available at the major booksellers, plus some that specialize in audiobooks. I will note that it takes some vendors longer than others to get the audiobook listed (I'm looking at you, Kobo Books), so you may have to check back later.
By the way, if you've got an Amazon Audible membership, you can listen to Jumper's Hope for free.
If audiobooks are your go-to form of escape, here are places you can buy Jumper's Hope today:
Tantor Media Apple iTunes Amazon – Audible Kobo AudioBooks.com Google Play
P.S. If you do read the book with your ears, I'd love to hear what you think.
P.P.S. Once I publish Spark Transform, book 5 in the series, I plan to ask Tantor Media if they would be interested in contracting for that book, too.
Sign up for an Audible Free Trial and read Jumper's Hope for free today.
The post Jumper’s Hope Is Now an Audiobook appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
December 4, 2018
Pico’s Crush Is Now an Audiobook
Pico's Crush is now an audiobook. It's the third book in the series, after Overload Flux and Minder Rising. If you like to read with your ears, a.k.a. listen to audiobooks, this is for you. The audio version is the second-most requested item from readers (the first is “write more books!”)
As I mentioned in a previous post, quality audiobook production is expensive, so I jumped at the chance when Tantor Media offered a contract. Plus, I get the ultra-cool Nicole Poole as a narrator. How could I go wrong? She's already done the other books with style and panache.
So here we are, with Pico's Crush out in audiobook. Jumper's Hope, book 4, will be out on 18 December. They'll all be available at the major booksellers, plus some that specialize in audiobooks.
If audiobooks are your catnip, here are places you can buy Pico's Crush today:
Tantor Media Apple iTunes Amazon – Audible Kobo AudioBooks.com Google Play
P.S. If you do read the book with your ears, I'd love to hear what you think.
P.P.S. Audiobooks make lovely gifts for upcoming special occasions, in case you were wondering.
The post Pico’s Crush Is Now an Audiobook appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
November 8, 2018
A Day to Honor Veterans
✪ I love that we have a day to honor veterans. ✪
My father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had distinguished careers in the U.S. Army. The resident mad scientist enlisted and went to war. I deeply respect anyone in the military, and do my best to honor that service in my books.
We ask so much of our veterans. In my Central Galactic Concordance space opera universe, injured veterans have healers, a millennium of medical advances, and cybernetics. Back here in the real world, medicine helps our men and women survive catastrophic injury, but we’re not yet so good at dealing with the aftermath. A charity called Hero Dogs raises, trains, and pairs service dogs with disabled U.S. veterans and first-responders to improve their quality of life and help restore independence.
Hero Dogs helps bridge that gap.
The Hero Dogs mission holds a special place in my heart. My father was a total cat person, but at the end of his life, when he responded to little else, he always came alive and present again when therapy dogs visited. For the disabled, dogs can provide a helping paw and unconditional love. They can make the difference between shutting down and engaging in the world.
These are the last days to buy Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 and help a great charity. We’re donating 10% of the first month’s profits to Hero-Dogs.org, and the first month is up on 11 November (Veteran's Day in the U.S).
For the price of a cup of coffee, you get eleven original stories by today’s best-selling science fiction romance authors, and the satisfaction of helping improve the lives of veterans, one dog at a time.
Support our nation's heroes ~ Buy Pets in Space today!
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P.S. If you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can read the anthology for free for yourself, AND buy your friends and family copies as gifts, which will give you all hours of reading pleasure.
The post A Day to Honor Veterans appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
November 2, 2018
Minder Rising Is Now an Audiobook
Minder Rising is now an audiobook. It's the second book in the series, after Overload Flux, to be made available for folks who like to read with their ears. These are the second-most requested items from readers, after “write more books.”
As I mentioned in a previous post, quality audiobook production is expensive. Experienced and professional narrators like the fabulous and ultra-cool Nicole Poole are well worth the per-finished-hour price they charge. I know how much work goes into it, because I've done some voiceover work myself. For independent authors like me, that's a high upfront investment to take a chance on making an eventual profit.
Fortunately, Tantor Media likes my books enough to offer a contract. To which I said, “Yes, please, where do I sign?”
And voilá! Minder Rising is now an audiobook. Pico's Crush the next book, will be out 27 November 2018, and Jumper's Hope) will be out on 18 December 2018, just in time for the holidays. They'll all be available at the major booksellers, plus some that specialize in audiobooks.
If audiobooks are your cup of tea, Earl Grey, hot, here are places you can buy Minder Rising today:
Tantor Media Apple iTunes Amazon – Audible Kobo AudioBooks.com Google Play
P.S. If you do read the book with your ears, please tell me what you think. I love my own stories, so I'm not an objective judge.
The post Minder Rising Is Now an Audiobook appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
October 18, 2018
Dire Wolf Wanted Is Out Today
In case you missed the headline above, Dire Wolf Wanted is out today. It's the fourth book in the Ice Age Shifters series, after Shifter Mate Magic, Shift of Destiny, and Heart of a Dire Wolf.
A dire wolf shifter and a mysterious mythical shifter must uncover dark secrets and hope they can forgive each other for the hard choices they must make to stop a war.
Amazon U.S.
Amazon Canada Amazon Amazon UK
~ ~ FREE TO READ in Kindle Unlimited ~ ~
The magical world stands on the brink of war, unless two extraordinary shifters can bridge the gulf between them.
Dire wolf shifter and Shifter Tribunal agent Rayne Chekal poses as a prisoner to take down an illegal auction house that trafficks in shifters. Arvik Inuktan, agent for the Wizard Imperium and secret mythic shifter, infiltrated the auction staff with the same mission objective.
Rayne finds him sexy as hell, but confusing. Her inner wolf says they’re in the mating dance, but to her, it feels more like a flailing tumble down the stairs. Arvik finds her irresistible, smart, and gorgeous. His inner beasts say Rayne is their mate, but he realizes he must track down his dark, forgotten past if he hopes to have a future with her.
However, when the auction house falls, they open a whole new can of worms. War is coming. Separated, they must figure out what they can do to stop this, and hope the other can forgive them for the choices they’re forced to make.
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?
Continue the enthralling paranormal romance with Dire Wolf Wanted, the fourth book in USA TODAY bestselling author Carol Van Natta's fun, action-filled, steamy-hot Ice Age Shifters
series.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Dire Wolf Wanted is a standalone story with an HEA and no cliffhanger, but your reading enjoyment will be enhanced if you've read the previous books in the series.
The post Dire Wolf Wanted Is Out Today appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
October 15, 2018
Sneak Peek of Dire Wolf Wanted
The fourth book in the Ice Age Shifters series is available now, and I'm thrilled to share it with you. See below for a sneak peek of Dire Wolf Wanted.
This book took its time, largely because of my overactive muse, so it's longer than the first three books. I already knew that the heroine, Rayne Chekal, would need an extraordinary hero. She's a dire wolf shifter and an agent for the Shifter Tribunal, the shifter world's version of law and justice. Arvik Inuktan is a spy for the Wizard Imperium and a mythical shifter with centuries of experience and a dark past. Unbeknownst to each other, they have each been sent undercover to take down an underground auction house that sells shifters and other magical species as slaves. She is a prisoner; he works for the auction house as a healer and wizard.
And yes, for those of you who have read the previous books, this is the same auction house mentioned in Shift of Destiny and Heart of a Dire Wolf.
In this excerpt, Rayne has been beaten by the guards and left for dead on Arvik's doorstep. This excerpt describes what Arvik learns:
In the course of the five days and the considerable magical energy it had taken to heal her, he’d made three impossible discoveries.
First, she had more free magic than most shifters, and he’d been able to direct it to help heal her without her shifting, which should have been impossible. All shifters had superb recuperative powers, but recovering from catastrophic injuries usually took shifting to their non-injured form to heal them.
Second, he couldn’t figure out her true animal form or her scent. Her records said maned wolf, with a bad photo of a tall, slender, stilt-legged wolf with a shoulder mane, but his magic said subtle illusion, which made no sense. The intake examiner had completely missed it. Her scent varied from one whiff to the next, which should be impossible. At that moment, she smelled of viburnum and granite. The auctioneer complained that customers wouldn’t buy her because she smelled like rot. Arvik had studied and practiced magic all over the world but had never come across anything like it.
Third, the usually dormant and thoroughly hidden parts of him had woken up to insist she belonged to him, and he to her.
Never mind that he’d been taught that his kind weren’t true shifters and couldn’t have true mates. Never mind that in nearly five hundred years of living, he’d never found reason to doubt it. Never mind that exposing his true nature would get him murdered, probably by her. True shifters hated his kind, with good reason.
Find out what happens next in Dire Wolf Wanted.
Amazon U.S.
Amazon Canada Amazon Amazon UK
~ ~ FREE TO READ in Kindle Unlimited ~ ~
The magical world stands on the brink of war, unless two extraordinary shifters can bridge the gulf between them.
Dire wolf shifter and Shifter Tribunal agent Rayne Chekal poses as a prisoner to take down an illegal auction house that trafficks in shifters. Arvik Inuktan, agent for the Wizard Imperium and secret mythic shifter, infiltrated the auction staff with the same mission objective.
Rayne finds him sexy as hell, but confusing. Her inner wolf says they’re in the mating dance, but to her, it feels more like a flailing tumble down the stairs. Arvik finds her irresistible, smart, and gorgeous. His inner beasts say Rayne is their mate, but he realizes he must track down his dark, forgotten past if he hopes to have a future with her.
However, when the auction house falls, they open a whole new can of worms. War is coming. Separated, they must figure out what they can do to stop this, and hope the other can forgive them for the choices they’re forced to make.
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?
Continue the enthralling paranormal romance with Dire Wolf Wanted, the fourth book in USA TODAY bestselling author Carol Van Natta's fun, action-filled, steamy-hot Ice Age Shifters series.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Dire Wolf Wanted is a standalone story with an HEA and no cliffhanger, but your reading enjoyment will be enhanced if you've read the previous books in the series.
The post Sneak Peek of Dire Wolf Wanted appeared first on Carol Van Natta - Author.
October 9, 2018
Pets in Space 3 Launched!
And we have liftoff for EMBRACE THE PASSION: PETS IN SPACE 3! Hooray, hooray, Pets in Space 3 launched today!
Reasons you should buy Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3:
You love science fiction romance by award-winning and bestselling authors such as S.E. Smith, Anna Hackett, Ruby Lionsdrake, and more
You love pets, and would totally take them to the stars with you if you got the chance to go.
You love a good, rich novella with great romances (no shorter-than-short flash fiction here)
You love a good cause like Hero-Dogs.org, a charity that provides trained service dogs to disabled US veterans and first responders.
Here are the buy links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FNXKQJZ
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FNXKQJZ
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07FNXKQJZ/
Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07FNXKQJZ/
Apple Books: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/embrace-the-passion-pets-in-space-3/id1414010304?mt=11
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/embrace-the-passion-se-smith/1129099896?ean=2940155751496
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ph/en/ebook/embrace-the-passion-pets-in-space-3
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/S_E_Smith_Embrace_the_Passion_Pets_in_Space_3?id=JghkDwAAQBAJ
Pets in Space is back! Join us as we unveil eleven original, never-before-published action-filled romances that will heat your blood and warm your heart! New York Times, USA Today and Award-winning authors S.E. Smith, Anna Hackett, Ruby Lionsdrake, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Carol Van Natta, Tiffany Roberts, Alexis Glynn Latner, E D Walker, JC Hay, and Kyndra Hatch combine their love for Science Fiction Romance and pets to bring readers sexy, action-packed romances while helping our favorite charity. Proud supporters of Hero-Dogs.org, Pets in Space; authors have donated over $4,400 in the past two years to help place specially trained dogs with veterans. Open your hearts and grab your limited release copy of Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 today!
Read all the wonderful stories, including mine, Cats of War. It's set in my Central Galactic Concordance universe, but isn't part of the big damn story arc that starts with Overload Flux.
About our charity: Hero-Dogs.org improves the quality of life for our nation's heroes by raising, training, and placing service dogs and other highly skilled canines with disabled U.S. veterans, free of charge, with lifetime support of the partnerships. https://www.hero-dogs.org/
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October 1, 2018
Dire Wolf Wanted Coming Soon
It's (almost) here at last! Dire Wolf Wanted is coming soon to your ereader. It's book 4 in my new Ice Age Shifters series, and the longest of them so far.
This is the lovely cover by Amanda Kelsey of Razzle Dazzle Design.
I already knew something about dire wolf shifter Rayne, the heroine, but my muse pounced on me when it came to the hero, Arvik. He's a mythological magical species. They're each covert agents for different organizations. They feel the powerful mating call, but they have a lot of issues to work through, such as Rayne's hidden agenda and Arvik's dark and mysterious past. Not to mention, betrayal, prices on their heads, and war.
If you've read the other books in the series (Shifter Mate Magic, Shift of Destiny, and Heart of a Dire Wolf), you might see cameos of a favorite character or two.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The magical world stands on the brink of war, unless two extraordinary shifters can bridge the gulf between them.
Dire wolf shifter and Shifter Tribunal agent Rayne Chekal poses as a prisoner to take down an illegal auction house that trafficks in shifters. Arvik Inuktan, agent for the Wizard Imperium and secret mythic shifter, infiltrated the auction staff with the same mission objective.
Rayne finds him sexy as hell, but confusing. Her inner wolf says they’re in the mating dance, but to her, it feels more like a flailing tumble down the stairs. Arvik finds her irresistible, smart, and gorgeous. His inner beasts say Rayne is their mate, but he realizes he must track down his dark, forgotten past if he hopes to have a future with her.
However, when the auction house falls, they open a whole new can of worms. War is coming. Separated, they must figure out what they can do to stop this, and hope the other can forgive them for the choices they’re forced to make.
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?
Continue the enthralling paranormal romance with Dire Wolf Wanted, the fourth book in USA TODAY bestselling author Carol Van Natta's fun, action-filled, steamy-hot Ice Age Shifters series.
ORDER TODAY
Amazon U.S.
Amazon Canada Amazon Amazon UK
~ ~ FREE TO READ in Kindle Unlimited ~ ~
.
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