Maria Hammarblad's Blog, page 44

Has it been done before?

Regardless of subject matter, the answer to the question has it been done before is "Probably." Especially if we're talking about art in any form. With about seven billion people on the planet, you can bet that someone somewhere at some point in time has attempted the same thing or gotten the same idea.

The upside is that with so many people and the great span of time, we usually don't know. I'm not talking about plagiarism by design; these accidental similarities are a function of our society, of fashion, and of there being a finite number of things (objects/words/colours/notes/chords) to start with.

Don't believe me? I was a musician for many years, and once you start picking songs apart, comparing them to music from the past, everything resembles something else. I could go into why, but that subject could cover a blog post in itself, so it'll have to wait until some other day. =)

When it comes to writing, every author battles mountains of media. Think about this for a moment: the printing press was invented around 1439. We have been able to mass produce printed products for nearly 600 years. IMDB contains around 300,000 feature films. How many TV shows might there have been since then 1920's? I can't even imagine the number.

When it comes to books, the numbers are even more staggering. According to Pat Bertram, around 15,000,000 ISBN numbers were issued in the US alone in 2012. Granted, many of these aren't used, or are used for different versions of the same book, but this is only one country. There are around 200 countries in the world.

When I released Kidnapped I thought it was a pretty good name. (I still think it's a good name.) There are pages of books with the same name on Amazon. Someone tweeted me a while ago to say, "Isn't that name already taken?" Well yes, they're all taken.

Should artists even try to be original? (Spoofs and paying homage to someone else's work is a different discussion, of course.) I think so, but it's important not to be hurt when someone comments on name, cover, or content reminding them of something else. Regardless of what you do, it will remind someone of something else.

What is romance?

Definitions and categories can create headaches for many writers. Not just definitions in the books, but regarding the books themselves. At some point in time, every author needs to look at their work and decide, "What is this?" If you look at Amazon's category system, it fills pages, and the category you want usually doesn't exist.

I generally tell people I write science fiction romance or contemporary romance. For me, personally, the definition romance means the story has an element of people meeting and caring for each other. It doesn't necessarily have to be explicit sex. In my world, there's a special category for explicit books, called erotica. This is my definition, and not necessarily anyone else's.

I'm talking about this today because I recently submitted a short story to an anthology, and it was refused on the grounds of not containing a romantic element. The main character meets a girl, and they start caring for each other. It's been a year since I wrote this and I don't remember all the details, but I'm pretty sure they kiss, and I intended for the story to end with readers having a feeling of these characters getting together in the near future. To me, that's romance. To this publisher, it wasn't romance at all.

This is interesting, because definitions are so subjective. In my world, the main motif of a book doesn't necessarily have to be about people falling in love to be a romance. I mean, these ingredients have to be there, but romance is something that happens every day in life, while people go about their business of living. It's usually not a matter of, "Hey, today my main objective will be falling in love." Other people have another definition.

According to dictionary.com, the definition of romance is, "A feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love."

What's your definition? Is it about feelings, flirting, sex...? I'd love to hear what you think!

Eye of the beholder!

My good writer friend Patty Froese is celebrating a new book release: Eye of the Beholder. Patty is a wonderful, warm, and funny person, and I'm thrilled to introduce a blog post from her. Particularly since it gave me some good awwww and laugh out loud moments!

Welcome Patty Froese!

My First Christian Guy

I met my husband during my starving artist years.

Those were fun years! I lived on the cheap, worked as few hours as possible at part time jobs, and wrote in every spare minute.  I lived in downtown Toronto in a tiny apartment with a leaky roof and a mouse in the wall. My first published novel was written during that time--so it was definitely productive.

One week, I decided I wanted to go to church again for the first time in a few years, and I looked in the yellow pages (I had no internet at home) for the closest one to my home and then hopped on the streetcar. I didn't own "church clothes" anymore, and I didn't look the part, but I figured that shouldn't matter too much.

My husband was the first person to talk to me when I stepped in the door of that downtown church. To hear him tell it, he spotted me across the foyer and thought, "I'm going to marry her." I think it probably took a little longer than that to get to the commitment stage, but not much. He gave me a little booklet and wrote his phone number inside.

I was clueless. I'd never really dated a Christian guy before, and I thought his phone number was just being Christianly. I knew what things meant with "regular" guys, but Christians? Weren't they supposed to be uber-nice to everyone? But when he gave me his number again the next weekend, my roommate insisted that he was probably interested, which gave us scads to talk about over a pot of tea in our leaky kitchen. Christian men were alien to both of us. So I gave him a call.

We talked all night. He had a thick African accent, so he and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what each other were saying, but it was worth any frustration. He was unlike any guy I'd ever met.

About two weeks later on a long walk together, he asked me to marry him. Two weeks in, I knew it was crazy and I knew exactly what all my friends and family would say to me, so I said, "Yes, I'll marry you. But let's not tell my family just yet..."

It was eight months from "Hello" to "I do." He was the conservative church guy in a black suit, and I was the artsy girl in jeans with a shaved head.  Nearly eight years later, we've balanced out. I have hair, and he's been known to wear jeans to church. (Gasp!) And we're still crazy about each other.


***

Blurb:
Eye of the Beholder
By Patty Froese

Tricia Hunter was an extraordinary beauty... before a horrible bus accident left her irreparably scarred. In an effort to accept the things she cannot change, she heads to her uncle's cabin for some time alone.
Forest ranger Jesse Reynolds recognizes Tricia the minute he sees her, but nothing flickers in her eyes. That's fine by him. The same accident that stole her good looks killed his fiance, and he simply can't bring himself to feel sorry for Tricia like everyone else in her life seems to do.

Thrown together in the autumn woods, they are faced with the past, an uncertain future, and a struggle to find out why God allows terrible things to happen.

Amazon

SFR Brigade presents...

This week has flown by so fast I almost missed this... The SFR Brigade presents! We got this down by now, right? I'll post a little snippet of a work in progress below, and you can go here to see what some other scifi romance authors are up to.  :-)

I just have a short one this week, from my upcoming novel Operation Earth. It will be available in August and I still have some work to do on it, but it's getting there. :-)



Peter's presence in the house seemed more surreal now than when he first entered. 
There’s a tall handsome man I don’t know in my home. A tall, handsome alien man, dressed in uniform and armed to the teeth.
He followed her gaze and patted a gun on his hip. “This is rude, isn’t it? Can I… Do you have somewhere I could put them?”
She nodded towards her recliner. “Knock yourself out.”
An expression of utter surprise flew over his face. “Oh, it means, do what you want. Put them over there, and we’ll go have dinner.”
Why are you here? Why me? She closed her mouth around all questions and went to the kitchen to set the table. Peter followed, standing very close to her. It made her heart race.
He nodded towards the plates. “Can I help you with that?”
“No, I’m good. You can eat Earth food, right?”
The question seemed reasonable, maybe something that tasted good to her would be repulsive to him, or make him sick, but he laughed. “We’re not that different.” 

That was a weird test...

I'm Swedish originally, and I lived there until late 2008 when I moved to the US. For me, English is a foreign language that I learned in school. This becomes a little backwards when attending an American college; I think I'm doing awesome taking classes and getting As in a foreign language, but the school thinks I need to fill a foreign language requirement in order to graduate. (After writing the word 'foreign' this many times in one paragraph it's starting to look funky, hahaha!)

I've been procrastinating. I could have taken classes in German, or Spanish, or something and it probably wouldn't have been too bad since I almost know German already. I can read it fairly well, but their grammar is so intense trying to speak gives me a headache. I haven't wanted to take language classes; I have enough to do anyway, and since I'm a foreigner I already know a language besides English.

Today was the day to prove my skills. I ordered the test online and drove up to Tampa to take it at USF's main location. I get lost every time I go there. The campus is like a little city about the size of my home town in Sweden, and this was only the fourth or fifth time I've been there. I had to stop and ask a security guard for help. He was so sweet and helpful, told me where to go and where to park, and I wanted to plead with him to get in the car and come with me on this scary adventure. I didn't, of course, but it was tempting. :-)

A friendly young man manned the test center, and he told me all the exams for languages not taught by USF come from a Mormon college, because they send out missionaries that have to know a lot of languages. I thought, "Whoa, I'm not sure I like the sound of this."

The test was weird. I expected to have a hard time understanding the spoken portions - I thought they would sound kind of like Pam on True Blood where you can hear an American trying to say the words without really knowing the language. The people talking didn't have much of an accent though, but they sounded like they came from then 1930's. They wouldn't be able to fool a native, because no one talks like that. The written portions were even weirder; poorly spelled and incoherent. Parts looked like a school book from the 1950's, others as if someone translated with Google. You know, a bunch of random words that doesn't mean anything when put together.

The prize question was near the end, telling the story of a woman named Mona who managed to drive to England without stopping. That is quite a feat considering England is an island... I thought, "Fantastic, they're not only bad at Swedish, they're bad at geography too, and these people are scoring me?"


Luckily, I was the only one taking a test. I couldn't help but giggle, I even laughed out loud a couple of times, and other people would probably have found me really annoying.

Jessica Subject on sci-fi romance!

I’ll have some science fiction with my romance, please
Hello everyone! It is a pleasure to be back on Maria’s blog to visit with you again. Thank you, Maria, for inviting me back!
Anyone who has read any of my stories knows that no matter which you choose they are romance stories. The plots follow the romance guidelines no matter whom or what my characters are. But I love to add a dash of science fiction to many of my stories. No, never heavy on the sci-fi. The story may include aliens or clones, be set in the future, or on another planet. All those classify as science fiction romance.
Why do I add the sci-fi aspect to my stories? Looking to the future and beyond our world has always been something I’ve done. I’m curious as to what technologies will develop in the lifetimes of my children and future grandchildren. Look how far technology has come in our own years on Earth. And, I want to know what else is in our universe. What is life like on other planets? To me, it’s not a matter of if there is life, because I already believe there is. I want to know how different or similar they are to us.
Plus, I have always believed in equality for all. My mother instilled in me from a young age, never to judge someone who is different from myself. And I don’t, usually. Though when it comes to harming children, I have other opinions. Anyways, I try to show that in my stories. I show the struggle with aliens and clones finding love, how cultures can clash when two people come from different worlds. But, above all else, I believe that love conquers all.

Intergalactic Heat by Jessica E. Subject

A date on a space station? Alien lovers? Madame Evangeline, owner of the exclusive 1Night Stand dating service is known to be magical in fulfilling the ideal dates of her clients, but she’s outdone herself this time, bring together beings from Earth and beyond. As long as applicants are willing to let go of their pasts and open their hearts and minds, she will find their perfect match, whether they be a former sci-fi television star, a nurse, an employee of the Space Service, a former Marine, or even an extraterrestrial. Because everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after…

Buy Links:Amazon (Canada/US/UK) | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | more
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/8pY8tDTBhbk

Excerpt from Satin Sheets in Space (incl. in Intergalactic Heat) – MFM Science Fiction Erotic Romance
She had her eyes closed, her lips pressed against his, when the sensation started. First, a tingling in her hands and feet, as he swept his digits deep inside her. The buzz spread up her arms and legs until it engulfed her entire body. She no longer sensed the ground below her.
The man continued to drive his fingers into her core with vigor, ridding her of the urge to pull away and find out what was happening to her. She landed with a thud, feeling returning to her limbs. Nothing stopped the man who held her, though. He continued to ravage her mouth, her jaw, her neck, keeping her pressed against the wall.
But something felt different. Gone was the hard brick pressing through her corset and against her skin. She reached behind to brush her hand along the surface. Soft. Almost like cushioned satin. With a whimper, she pushed the strange man away. Where was she? What had she been thinking? This is the stupidest, most insane thing I’ve ever done. 
The Prince Charming she’d had the fortune of being set up with peered down at her, his gaze intense and filled with lust. “My name is Galan, and we’re in my spaceship.”
At least she now knew his name, but wait…. Spaceship? She stared at the man, disillusioned. She could think of no other explanation for how they had traveled to a new location with the press of a button. Oh God, she’d been abducted by an alien. How would she get out of this situation? The first time she’d done something spur-of-the-moment, and she’d ended up being finger-fucked by an extraterrestrial.
Or was this some kind of elaborate stunt Josh had pulled off? But why? He was on his honeymoon, unable to enjoy his handiwork. Her body grew numb; a loud ringing pierced her eardrums. She could no longer think with the clouds invading her mind. Then she blacked out. Bio: Jessica Subject started writing to encourage her daughter to read. Now she writes to keep herself grounded. Although she reads many genres, she enjoys writing Science Fiction Romance the most and believes everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after. She lives Southwestern Ontario, Canada with her husband and two kids and loves to hear from her readers.
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Interview with Misa Buckley!

I love talking to other writers, and the Internet gives fantastic opportunities to get in contact with people one wouldn't normally meet. A scifi romance writer from the UK, for example. =)

Welcome Misa Buckley!

It is a pleasure to have you here! Please tell us your latest news!

My latest sci fi romance – TIN CAT – releases March 4th!

Congratulations! That's a date to scribble down in your calendars everyone. Misa, if you were to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

No, I love it just as it is.

Who is your favorite author, and what really strikes you about their work?

Lauren Gallagher, because I’m jealous of her output. Plus she writes really sexy stories!

She sure has written a lot of books. Is there a single book or author that made you want to write?

I think Gay Gavriel Kay’s Tigana. I long to write something that profound.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I’ve always been a keen reader, but never quite found something I really wanted to read, so I started making up my own.
 
How does your family feel about having a writer in the family? Do they read your books?

My immediate family is very supportive – littlest happily tells her school that I write books – but my kids are a bit young to read what I write. And hubs, though he does encourage me, isn’t a reader unless it’s a car manual, heh.

Haha, my hubby doesn't read either. Do you have a favorite object pertinent to your writing? (Pen, coffee cup, pet, blanket, chair…?

I wouldn’t say favourite, exactly, but I can’t write without my laptop. I have tendonitis in both wrists and literally can’t hold a pen for longer than five minutes.

What do you love about your latest book?

That it’s different to anything else out there. I didn’t mean to write a disabled character, she just was and that impacts on the plot quite a lot.

Do your fictional characters develop on their own, or do you have their lives planned out in advance?

Oh, they invent themselves. Sometimes that requires me rewriting later, but I think it’s important that characters become people as much as possible. They need to be real.

Do you base any of your characters personalities off people you know, and if so, do you tell them?

Yes and absolutely not.

Tell us about your all-time favorite character (of your creating.) Is he/she modeled after a real person?

Gabriel Kemp, of Archangel (out August 2013). Archangel was originally a script, written for a very specific actor. So his personality matches that actor’s rather closely. I’m saying nothing more about that!

When did you discover you are a writer? Was there a specific catalyst?

I started writing fanfic, back in 1999, just because I needed something to do outside of caring for my kids and writing didn’t require any tidying up afterwards. The more I wrote, the more I knew I wanted to do it “properly” and get stuff published.

Of all the wonderful pieces you’ve written (Please list them all so I don’t miss one or worse, misspell one), which is your favorite?

IRONHAVEN was published in 2011, ELEANOR’S HEART last year. This year I’ve TIN CAT, BAYNE, STAR ATTRACTION and ARCHANGEL releasing. My favourite is definitely Archangel. That one means a lot to me.

That's an impressive list! Thank you for coming over today!


To see more of Misa Buckley, visit her website: http://misabuckley.com

Water adventures

This past weekend I didn't have any immediate "must-dos" - no classes, no exams, and no urgent homework. I planned to get some serious writing done; it's almost time to submit Operation Earth for editing, and I have some work left to do on it.

Who thinks it worked out like that? Any takers? No? I usually try to keep my posts up-beat, but this one will be kinda gloomy. Just sayin' - if you're not into gloomy you might want to come back Tuesday for a kick-ass interview with Misa Buckley!

Anyway, late Friday night I thought I heard water flowing in the pipes, it sounded like when the shower runs, and I assumed we forgot the garden tap on or something. It was past midnight, so I thought, "Screw it, the yard needs some water."

Saturday morning, Mikey asked if I heard flowing water too. I called the landlord, she didn't want to call a plumber at all at first since I didn't "see water," but after some discussion she decided that we could have someone come over Monday morning. That way they wouldn't have to pay weekend fees. I said I worried both for the house and for my water bill, because it sounded like a lot of water. She told me to just turn the water on, because if the leak was invisible and under the house, the water would just go into the ground.

I said, "uuuh, okay, I guess" and thought, "I wouldn't do that, but it's not my house..."

Mikey wanders around a lot at night, and got up around an hour after we went to bed. Turns out the leak was big, the concrete slab under the floor became saturated, and we had almost an inch of water in the kitchen. The surrounding carpets were soaked, and I thought, "Well, I wanted a swimming pool, but I didn't expect it to be the kitchen..."

I pulled out all our towels, they were immediately soaked, and didn't faze the pool the least. I saw no way to dry the mess up and thought we'd have to call some form of specialist to come suck the water up. Mikey said, "Okay, you go back to bed and I'll work on this."

"Sure, whatever." Maybe not the most supportive thing to say, but it was 2:30 in the morning and he is a night owl.

When I came up the next morning, he had soaked up 40 gallons of water. (That's about 150 liters.)

I called the landlord again. She said, "Why didn't you turn the water off?"

"Because you told me to leave it on."

"You should have turned it off anyway, at least at night when you don't use it. Who goes to bed and leaves the water on when they know there's a leak?"

A valid point, but we sometimes use more water at night than during the day, and to be honest, it would have flooded anyway. It was a huge leak. We did turn the water off as soon as we realized there was a problem, and she told us to turn it on, because it would all go into the ground... Yeah, I'm not taking the blame for this one. I thought, "I asked for a plumber yesterday, it would have been easy to call one."

She called someone that would come help clean the carpets. (Still no plumber.) The carpet guy showed up after about an hour with something that looked like a giant vacuum cleaner. He was really nice, but didn't get much water up.

Great. Now we had a soaked house, and no water. Everything that was on the kitchen floor - like my china cabinet - became water damaged.

This morning, a plumber finally came. He said, "Why didn't they call us Saturday? It's only $50 extra for a weekend." He had the coolest stethoscope thing and listened to the floor. They went through the outer wall, right on the leak.

Right now, we have water, yay! It's amazing how many times you touch a faucet in a day without thinking about it. Not to mention flushing, and showering, and water for the dogs...

We also have a dehumidifier buzzing along, trying to dry out the house. The kitchen cupboards are kinda warped. The carpets stink, and I get an asthma attack every time I walk through the front door. Wheezing, coughing, nose bleeds, fantastic... I hope it passes as the dehumidifier does its thing, or the remaining months of this year will be long. (I have crappy lungs.) Might be something from the soaked carpets, or from the stuffing under the carpets and the vinyl kitchen floor. Mikey found an old HEPA filter from when we lived in a moldy apartment and that helps a little.

Seeing things from the bright side - we live in Florida, and I have a laptop. I guess the doggies and I will stay in the yard, LOL, just hope it doesn't rain much...

Guest post by Greta van der Rol

Today, I have a special treat! A guest blog by scifi romance writer Greta van der Rol who just released her seventh book! An impressive number from an author well worth putting on the TBR pile!
Welcome, Greta van der Rol!
Hi, Maria, thanks so much for having me on your blog.
For the benefit of your readers, I mainly write science fiction with a scoop of romance on the side. I've just finished my seventh novel, Morgan's Return, which is a sequel to Morgan's Choice. I find it interesting that Morgan's Choice has proved to be the most popular of my books, given the way it was originally started.
A few years ago, when I decided it was time to begin work on my first masterpiece, I had a few notions set in stone. The hero was going to be an admiral. They say you shouldn't use senior ranks for your hero, because in real life, admirals, generals and so on are older guys who don't actually do much more than give orders. Never mind, I'd get around that. And the heroine was going to be a computer expert, geeky type. So I started writing. And after a few weeks I threw the whole thing at a virtual wall and snarled, "what a load of rubbish. Who's going to want to read that?"
Not long after that I watched a TV program speculating on possibilities for future missions into space. The talk was about generation ships, maybe using humans specially modified to use less oxygen, less water and so on. Maybe people would have implants to expand their capabilities. The germ of an idea took root; in fact, a couple of ideas. Morgan Selwood began to take shape, and so did the predicament in which she would ultimately find herself. So I started a second book, which turned out to be Morgan's Choice. Morgan is a cyborg, in as much as she has had her capabilities enhanced. But she's nothing like the Terminator and such. She's very much a woman, strong, feisty, calls a spade a fuckin' shovel and she has zip, zero, no respect for anyone just because they have a military rank and a bunch of fruit on their shoulder boards.
Morgan has proved so popular, that I wrote two short stories about her (Supertech and A Victory Celebration) and now I've finally written a new novel, Morgan's Return.
Here's the blurb.
When you delve into ancient history you never know what strange forces you might unleash. 
When Morgan Selwood and Admiral Ashkar Ravindra travel to Morgan's Human Coalition to learn more about the origin of Ravindra's people, their relationship is soon sorely tested. Morgan is amongst her own people and Ravindra is overprotective and insecure, afraid of losing her.  But not everyone is keen to welcome Morgan home, not when they'd gone to all that trouble to get rid of her in the first place. Soon Morgan and Ravindra have a rogue Supertech on their trail with only one goal – kill Selwood.
Together, Morgan and Ravindra follow a tenuous trail back into humanity's past, to  the time historians call the Conflagration.  But what begins as an innocent archaeological investigation escalates into a deadly peril for both humans and Manesai when Morgan and Ravindra are thrust into the middle of an unexpected conflict. And that rogue Supertech's still out there, itching for revenge.


And here's a short excerpt:
Prasad, Morgan and Ravindra have been to a cathedral, looking for clues. Morgan was unimpressed.
"Silly bitch. She thinks Supertechs are a danger? Huh."

"You could be, without some control," Ravindra said.

"Huh. And what about that stupid war machine? What sort of idiot would make a weapon as inefficient as a human body? Can't fly, can't turn, can't do any damned thing worth doing."

Chuckling, Ravindra released her. "Yes, my dear, you're right. So… what now?"

"That was a crashing waste of time, wasn't it?" They passed through the crumbling archway back into the street. "Now? We get off this dump of a world and…" Morgan sidestepped to avoid a uniformed woman on the footpath, "…sorry. Then we head for Torreno. There's sure to be some clues in the central library."

***
Ellen watched them as they entered an autocab, which disappeared into the heavy air.

Bloody Selwood. She'd walked around her, said sorry. Ellen had worried for a moment, that she would be recognized, that Selwood would detect her as another Supertech. She should have known better. Nobody ever recognized her, especially not the famous Morgan Selwood. Ellen had just been another junior Supertech, hovering around the edges of whatever it was Selwood did, easily ignored, easily overlooked.

The man she was with, though. It had been worth the risk, just to get a better look at him. What a man. He was even more impressive in the flesh, with a beautiful, deep voice, smooth as dark chocolate.The other man was no slouch, either, lithe and graceful as a dancer. She hadn't understood the language they spoke, but Selwood had said 'Torreno'.


Look for Morgan's Return on Amazon and Smashwords It will filter through to other sites in due course, and yes, there will be a print version. 

BIO

Greta van der Rol loves writing fast-paced, action-packed science fiction with a large dollop of good old, healthy romance. Her novel Morgan's Choice was in the top 100 best sellers for space opera on Amazon for several months. But she writes other genres, too. Her historical novel To Die a Dry Death was awarded the bronze medal for historical fiction in the 2011 eLit Awards and her latest work, Black Tiger, is a paranormal romance. Greta lives not far from the coast in Queensland, Australia and enjoys photography and cooking when she isn't bent over the computer. She has a degree in history and a background in building information systems, both of which go a long way toward helping her in her writing endeavours.
http://gretavanderrol.net/ 
http://twitter.com/GretavdR
http://www.facebook.com/Author.Greta.vanderRolAmazon author pageLinks for all my books http://gretavanderrol.net/books-2/

SFR Brigade presents: Kidnapped

Ooh, it's that day of the week again. Magic! The SFR Brigade presents... A number of talented scifi romance writers share snippets from their current books or works in process. Check out this page for links to the others!

Today, I would love to talk about Kidnapped. This was my first book with Desert Breeze Publishing, released last year. It is currently available as an e-book, and will be available as a paperback some time during February, but I don't know the date yet. Soon, anyway.

Let's get to the snippet, and I'll tell you more about the book below!



The silence in the cell seemed almost tangible and she swallowed hard. She didn't have much hope that pleading to the cold eyes staring at her could be successful, but she still tried her best, "Please don't rape me."It was her biggest fear after being murdered, and she wasn't at all prepared for his response; he started laughing.She had the impression he didn't laugh often, and it changed his entire appearance. The handsome side became boyish and even better looking, and the nightmarish part of his face somehow softened. "Rape you? Now why would I want to do that to a skinny little thing like you?"The response made her feel both relieved and offended. Someone looking like he didn't even have a thought of having sex with her?He surprised her again, by sitting down on the floor next to her, mercifully turning the ruined side of his face away. "I'm Travis 152 of the Alliance space control."The phrase wasn't exactly "space control," but it was the closest thing her brain could interpret it to. And, "Travis?" What kind of name was that for someone like him?"You're my prisoner, and this is a holding cell. You're charged for interacting with the rebel leader William Reynolds."He paused, as if checking if his words made any sense to her. Patricia did understand, she understood just fine, and she burst out, "I am an American citizen. Whoever you are, you can't just take me like this."He answered dryly, "Yes, actually, I can. I did. And it's not like your little planet, what did you call it, America, will be able to do anything about it. I can assure you everything will be much easier if you just cooperate and tell me what you know. Do you have a name?"
Blurb:
It's a late winter night when Patricia Risden heads home in her car, on a road she's driven many times before. She doesn't have a care in the world, that is, until a man appears from nowhere, right in front of her.

 The next thing she knows is being a prisoner of the unscrupulous Alliance Commander Travis 152; an intimidating man who demands information and complete cooperation. Travis soon realizes his mistake; Tricia doesn't know anything, and she is incapable of even getting a glass of water from the ship's computer. 

Infamous for being a ruthless executioner, conditioned since childhood to feel nothing besides fear and pain, he still deems her harmless, and finds enough pity for the lost young woman to let her out of the cell; a decision that will change both their lives forever.



If you want to read Kidnapped, it's available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and everywhere ebooks are sold. As soon as the paperback is available, any bookstore will be able to carry it. I'm excited, of course, can't wait to see it in print! =D