Cynthia Lore's Blog

Update

Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you know Hive Mind is progressing rather nicely, now that I am in a better mental state. I know I said a publish date of August of this year, but that will have to be pushed back, because of all my previous delays. However, this book will be finished sometime later this year! This is really exciting to me, Hive Mind being my first full length novel.

After Hive Mind is complete, I will be concentrating on finishing the next in the Alien Instincts series. I imagine writing this book will go considerably faster. Both because I’m in a better head space, and because I’m hoping to make this story considerably shorter than Hive Mind, but still longer than War Games. I wish I could post some cover art and an excerpt, but I’ve been concentrating so much on finishing Hive Mind, that I haven’t had time for that! I will let you know, though, that I do have plans to make this series a total of at least 4 books. Much more information about the Morian race will be explained in the series, and the rest of Markar and Rae’s relationship. So don’t worry too much about all the mystery, because everything will eventually be fully explained in the next 2 books!

Its taken me a long while, but I have been healing. Thank you to everyone, for your prayers and good vibes. They’ve meant so much to me! It truly is amazing how much life can change, with just a little bit of time. :)

Thank you all, and best wishes.

– Cynthia

Back from the dead

First of all, I want to thank all of my fans for your positive attitudes and for patiently waiting on me. I really appreciate every message of support and appreciation that you have sent me. It’s absolutely miraculous to me to find out that other people appreciate my work.

I’ve recently experienced a personal tragedy in my life that has thrown a bucket of wrenches into my publishing schedule, and truthfully, made it hard for me to write at all. I’ve only just recently been able to start writing again, and as always, I am determined to get these books out to all of you. The publication dates will just have to be moved much farther into the future than I anticipated.

I apologize for the long wait. I promise that I have no plans to stop writing. I have many other books lined up for the future. The next book in line for being published is, of course, Hive Mind. I am also working on a second book in the Alien Instincts series, and have plans for a third, where we will find out what has happened to Rae and Markar.

I have two more independent books I am working on that I will preview as soon as I get covers made and the first chapters edited.

Now, as far as actually predicting the publishing date for anything, you would have to put a gun to my head for that! But if you did, I would have to say that Hive Mind will take me about another year to finish, edit, and publish. So for now, I will have to say that August 2015 is a safe date to expect to see another novel from me. And Hive Mind will indeed be a full-length novel.

Thank you all, and best wishes.

– Cynthia

Preview: Hive Mind

Hive Mind

© Cynthia Lore

This story is in progress right now and is the main one I will be focussing on for a while. I will set a temporary publish date for no earlier than February 2014. Keep in mind that date is very optimistic!! That is a total guesstimate, though. Anything could happen at this point!

While I am working on Hive Mind, I will also be writing the next in the series Alien Instincts featuring Jakar.

Click on the Subscribe button at the bottom of this post to get updates on published books!

Summary of Hive Mind:

Warning: This story will contain sexual content and a multiple partner relationship.

Rachel Dupree hates attention, she hates crowds, and she hates interacting with people. With social anxiety like this, Rachel doesn’t know how she became friends with Jane- the most outgoing woman in the world. Now Jane’s dragging Rachel to the mall, but this is not just any shopping trip. Jane’s shopping for men, and these are not just any men.

The news reports are calling it an “Alien Invasion”, but to Rachel the whole thing seems more like spring break gone intergalactic. Who would want such a thing? Apparently thousands of women, who are all applying at their local malls to become one of the “queens” that the alien men are searching for.

The thought of having an actual harem of men is so foreign to Rachel that she refuses to think about it. She must admit to herself, though, that in the darkest corners of her mind she wonders what it would be like to have that much attention. Until she remembers she hates attention.

Excerpt from Hive Mind:

Rachel rolled her eyes once again at the news program she was watching. Alien invasion, yeah right! Sounded more like spring break gone intergalactic. Women were actually throwing themselves at the “invaders”. They were all so desperate to be the one the alien men were searching for. As if that situation could ever be anything more than horrible. Taken away from everything you once knew to a distant alien planet? Not on Rachel’s to do list. That’s why, even though her friend, Jane, demanded they go take a quick look at what all the fuss was about, Rachel was going to hide in the back and probably cramp an eye muscle from all the rolling the spheres were going to do.

“Come on Rachel! I have to get closer if I want to get in line!” Jane dragged Rachel forward relentlessly. Rachel was at the mall with her friend for moral support, but every step they took towards the crowd was making her uneasy. Not only did Rachel not like crowds, she wasn’t a fan of attention either. The local media was filming the mob of women gathered at the mall in hopes of catching a glimpse of the “queen” the aliens were searching for. Rachel grumbled unhappily as she tried to duck behind other hopeful women so the video cameras wouldn’t record her for the late night show.

Once Jane managed to plow her way through the mob of woman, the two friends could see what was at the center of all the mayhem. A temporary stage had been set up next to a black tent. The women had formed an extremely long line that led upwards to the stage, and eventually disappeared inside the tent.

“This is going to take all day!” Rachel complained to no one in particular.

“Are you going to do this with me or not?” Jane shouted over her shoulder as she moved relentlessly forward.

“Oh, I’m not going to do anything. But a promise is a promise, and I said I would stay by your side throughout your ridiculous quest for alien hunks.” Rachel couldn’t help but try to covertly search for said hunks. They were supposed to come in packs, so she expected to see one or two walking around. She had seen the footage from their searches in other cities, and the aliens were indeed extremely attractive. The only problem in Rachel’s mind was that they weren’t human, and their love came in multiples.

She shivered as she remembered the descriptions of their mating practices. The men from space were open about their needs and what they would offer, in hopes that the women from Earth would help them. Apparently some sort of disaster struck and decimated their already small female population. They had searched the universe hoping to find women to help them repopulate their species, and had all but given up until they found a tiny blue planet at the edge of the Milky Way.

Why she shivered was because they were a “hive” culture. It was one woman for every group of men! The number of men changed drastically depending on their position in their society, but it was always just the one woman. The thought of having an actual harem of men was so foreign to Rachel that she refused to think about it. She had to admit to herself, though, that in the darkest corners of her mind she wondered what it would be like to have that much attention. Until she remembered she hated attention.

Jane came to a sudden stop at the back of the long line of women. Rachel ran into her because she was still looking everywhere for a glimpse of an alien. “Sorry.” She muttered as she righted herself. Jane hardly noticed. She was doing her own visual search of the crowd.

“How are we supposed to know we want to spend the rest of our lives with these guys when we can’t even see if they’re hot or not!” Jane said indignantly.

“The aliens on the television were pretty good looking.” Rachel thought back to the men who were interviewed in the beginning of the ‘invasion’. “Hey, what do you mean by ‘we’. I do not want to be involved in this, remember?”

Jane rolled her eyes at her best friend. “Of course, honey. We all know your fear of male affection.”

“What! I’m not afraid of men.” Rachel said as she pouted. Not exactly afraid of men anyway, just attention in general. She liked her privacy, and she didn’t meet too many people that she felt she could get along with. Years of disappointment had caused her to start to shun human interaction. Perhaps it was because she was so good at reading people, that she found out she usually didn’t like the person deep within. She found that people were generally just selfish creatures.

Rachel shifted self-consciously in the growing line. Because she was standing next to her friend, it looked like she was in the line of women eager to apply to the aliens. She was starting to feel like she needed a break from everything. Rachel tapped Jane on her shoulder to get her attention. “Do you want something to drink? I think I’m going to go over to the food court.”

Jane glanced back at her absently as she kept looking curiously around the mall. “Yeah, grab me some iced tea, would you?” Rachel nodded, even though her friend wasn’t watching her, and left the line to try to wade through the huge crowd.

It felt like it took an eternity to get through the mob, and then finally purchase the drinks. As she turned around with the two huge cups of liquid, she ran into one of the largest men she had ever seen. “Oh! I’m so sorry!” she stammered as she stood there awkwardly watching the spilled liquid seep into his shirt. Both her hands were occupied by the now half empty cups, so Rachel shifted awkwardly as she tried to find somewhere to rest them so she could help the man clean up. But she froze when she heard his deep voice.

“It’s alright. There is not very much.”

Rachel looked up into his face at that and couldn’t prevent her reaction to his physical perfection. He smiled down at her like spilled tea was the happiest thing in the world. She smiled back vacantly as she was struck dumb by his looks. He was easily a foot taller than her, and his shoulders were so wide that she could hardly see around him. Every inch of him was covered in well-defined muscles that made him look incredibly masculine. But it was his face that had struck Rachel dumb.

It was beautiful in a purely male way. Everything about it called out to her. It looked kind, honorable, and strong all at once, and she found she couldn’t see anything she disliked about it. It was framed by shoulder length blond hair that was so luxurious looking it made Rachel want to reach out and touch it. He was quite simply, the most handsome man she had ever seen.

Still awkwardly clutching the two iced teas in her hands Rachel mumbled another apology and then fled into the crowd. The people seethed around her as she pushed her way through, and when she glanced back to where she had left the man he was gone. Silently cursing herself for looking like a fool, she made her way back to the line.

It took Rachel forever to find Jane, because the line had moved surprisingly fast while she was gone. When she got back in line with her friend, everyone gave her dirty looks for cutting, but Rachel ignored them.

“Are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” Jane asked while grabbing her drink from Rachel’s hand. Taking a long sip out of the straw, she raised one eyebrow questioningly at her friend.

“Yes. I just spilled some of my drink. You know me… clumsy.” Rachel laughed uncomfortably as she remembered her social disaster with the hot guy. She was definitely clumsy.

The line moved steadily forward, and before they knew it, they were onto the platform. Here there was a man taking information and applications from the women. Jane handed hers over and he turned towards Rachel. “Can I see your identification, miss?”

“Oh, I’m not interviewing! I’m just here for moral support.” The man scaled her body with his eyes before he gave her an enigmatic look. Frowning, Rachel examined him as well. He was of average height for a man, but he did not have average looks. He had rich toffee colored hair that he held back in a short ponytail. Instead of making him look more feminine, the hair only emphasized the ruggedness of his facial features. High cheekbones were framing a masculine jaw that was covered in short stubble. His eyes were hawk-like in the way he took in everything around him.

He interrupted her inspection of him. “You wouldn’t want to reconsider that? You have already waited in line, why not apply?”

Rachel let out awkward laughter at that. “No thanks. Not really my kind of thing.” She looked around her to see that the other women in line were now glaring at her. She shifted uncomfortably when she realized they had been holding everything up with their conversation.

“You should try it. Maybe you will be surprised.” His piercing eyes gleamed as if he was joking, and his mouth lifted in a slight smile.

“Oh no. I couldn’t.” Rachel looked over to Jane and was surprised to see she was gone. She had already entered into the area where the interviews were being held.

“Why don’t you follow your friend?” The man indicated for Rachel to enter. Unsure of exactly where she should go, and now excruciatingly self-conscious of everyone in the line staring at her, she began to move towards where the man had pointed.

Pushing the black curtain to the side, she walked into the dimly lit tent set up for the event. There were a couple women just waiting around, discussing the aliens between themselves, beyond them was another entrance to the back of the tent. Rachel looked around for Jane, but could not find her. Unsure of what else to do, she decided to take a peek behind the second curtain and the back of the structure.

The room beyond was pitch black. Rachel strained her eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness. Leaning in a little farther, she suddenly heard movement in the dim room.

“Rachel?” The voice was unfamiliar to her, and startling to hear coming out of only shadows. It was a male voice, deep and melodic. The kind of sound that made you want to hear it again. “Rachel? Is that you?”

She blinked her eyes, uselessly trying to adjust them to complete darkness. Taking one tentative step forward in order to try to see better, she responded. “Yes?” On the next blink, Rachel was sure the room had gotten slightly brighter, although she couldn’t pinpoint where the light was coming from. The shape of a man formed in the center of the room, although it was still so dark that Rachel couldn’t be sure if she was imagining it or not.

“Could you come closer?”

It seemed like such a reasonable request that Rachel took a few steps into the room before she began to question the situation. The brightness seemed to be becoming more pronounced, or perhaps Rachel’s imagination was really going haywire. “Who are you?” she responded in suspicion.

The form of a man could be seen in the center of the room, sitting at a small table. He gestured her forward. Rachel took a few more steps, more because she wanted to see whom it was than because he had beckoned her. Even though it was still shadowy, Rachel could see the man’s wide shoulders and well-muscled body sitting behind the table. A strong aquiline nose and high cheekbones set off dark straight hair that went down his back. There was a chair across from him that he nudged towards her with his foot. “Sit.”

Rachel looked around the room, realizing it was indeed brighter than it had been before. Not sure of what else to do, she sat in the chair. She could now see the beautiful blue eyes of the man in front of her. Staring in bewilderment at how handsome he was, she saw what she thought was a slight smile come from him, but it was gone before she could check. “Rachel Dupree?” he said in a crisp, formal tone.

“Yes… that’s me. Am I in trouble?” Rachel thought back to when she had gotten back in the line with Jane and everyone around them had given her dirty looks. Could they have all thought she cut in line, and now mall security was going to fine her or something else just as crazy? Rachel watched the man in front of her suspiciously, waiting for his answer.

“No, you are not in trouble. How do you feel in group situations?” He waited patiently for her to respond.

“What… I don’t like groups.” Rachel sat there in confused silence, trying to figure out what was going on.

The man frowned back at her, then looked down at some papers in his hands. “Would you say you get along with most types of people?”

Rachel blinked back at him. “Uhh… no. I’m not around people that much. Not a big fan.”

He looked back up at her at that. “Not a big fan? Of people?” He said in shock.

“Yeah. Not a big fan of people. Look, can I go now? I need to find my friend.” Wanting to get up and leave, Rachel settled for fidgeting in her chair.

“Just a few more questions, please. Do you think you have a calming presence around others?”

Rachel shook her head in confusion. “I’m not even sure what that means.” she said in a dry voice.

The man frowned at her again. “Never mind.” He sighed in exasperation. “Have you ever been with more than one man before?”

Rachel froze. There was only one reason he would need to ask her a question like that. Somehow, she had accidentally stumbled her way into the interviews for potential alien mates. Her face paled, and then she felt the blood surge back, blushing her entire head. The man’s eyes seemed to catch her mental hiccup, and cocked his head to the side as he studied her mortification. “Wha… what?”

“I said, have you been with more than one man before. Perhaps dated two men at once? In a situation that would require a delicate emotional balance?” His eyes never left Rachel, watching every shocked reaction she had with interest.

“I… uh… think I’m in the wrong place. Sorry. I didn’t mean to get in here.” Rachel began to get up to leave.

“Wait! I still have more questions.” The man put out his hand to try to catch her, but Rachel was already up out of her chair.

She turned back to look over her shoulder at him as she rushed out of the room. “Really sorry about this! It was all just a big mix up!” Rachel tripped on her foot on her way out and stumbled awkwardly towards the exit. Once she staggered her way out of the tent, she stopped and took in a deep breath. She had never even wanted to come with Jane on this crazy adventure of hers, and now all of Rachel’s fears had come true. She had accidentally interviewed to be the only female in an alien harem. Thinking about it made her begin to hyperventilate, and she took a few more calming breaths to get herself under control.

“Hey! Rachel! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Jane sidled up to her mid breath, but Rachel didn’t want to interrupt her rhythm. Jane put her hand on Rachel’s arm in concern. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

After she had decided she had breathed normally for long enough, Rachel let out one final sigh. “No I am not okay. I’m not even sure what happened back there, but I think I accidentally interviewed.”

Jane’s eyes widened in shock at her friend’s statement. “Are you for real? You actually interviewed? I didn’t even have the courage to interview! I chickened out.” Jane looked dejected at the thought. “That’s awesome that you decided to stop being so shy! You go Rachel!”

“No. You don’t understand, Jane. I accidentally interviewed. I didn’t mean to at all! I just stumbled into the room like an idiot and he started asking me questions!” At the end of her rant, Rachel could feel the panic start to set in again.

“Holy shit! Uhhh… I mean…” Jane looked around for somewhere the two could sit. “Let’s get you somewhere where you can rest.” Dragging Rachel along by her arm, Jane led her to a bench at the far corner of mall. “Now just calm down. You just talked to somebody. You didn’t agree to anything yet. Everything will be fine.” Jane rubbed Rachel’s hand, trying to comfort her anxious friend. Ever since she had known Rachel the girl had been terrified of people. Shunning crowds and social situations at all costs, Jane was one of her only friends.

Rachel paused from her heavy breathing to glare at her friend. “Wait a second- what do you mean you didn’t interview? That was the whole reason you dragged me along!”

Jane laughed awkwardly. “Ooops! I got too nervous and didn’t go through with it. But, hey, it was a great experience! We got to see first hand the event of our generation! We might have even seen some aliens!” She tried to put a good spin on everything that happened today. Jane always wanted to be in the middle of everything. “Did you see any when you interviewed?”

“I didn’t actually interview!”

“Okay, okay. I get it! But did you see any aliens?” Jane persisted.

Thinking back over the men Rachel had met, none of them looked definitely alien, but yet again, she knew from news programs that they weren’t supposed to look any different than humans. “I don’t think so.” Rachel responded uncertainly.

Jane looked so disappointed it was almost comical. “Are you sure?”

“No I’m not sure! I was hardly in there for more than a second. Quit acting like I’m best friends with aliens now!”

“Sorry, Rachel. I’m just curious. The whole reason I wanted to come was to see some sexy aliens, and I haven’t seen one!” Jane pouted. She always knew how to turn a situation back to her.

“Lets just go home and forget this ever happened. And if there is ever another ‘alien invasion’ you’ll have to go alone. I’m done.”

End of Excerpt

© Cynthia Lore

Self published author: War Games (Alien Instincts, Book 1)

I never expected  this. I originally wrote War Games expecting to sell about 10 copies or so. Needless to say, the success I have had with this has been overwhelming. This is the first book I have ever written, and I purposely wrote a short story because I did not expect to get much out of my efforts. Now that I know that my writing is not in vain, the next in this series should be longer and more flushed out.

The next book in this series will focus on Jakar and reveal a lot more about the Morian race and society.

I really cannot believe the success I have had with this story. Absolutely unbelievable to me. Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way.

Summary of War Games:

This is the military’s first encounter with extra terrestrial life! Rae’s tasked with interviewing the alien one-on-one. However, when she arrives nothing goes as planned. She ends up kidnapped by Markar, who doesn’t seem to know why he’s so attracted to the small human, but he intends to find out!

Rae’s always wanted a little more adventure in her life, but is this more than she can handle?

Markar came to Earth on a mission of diplomacy, knowing his species was superior to humans and that the Earthlings offered no threat to them. Now he knows the truth. Humans have one threat that could destroy the fabric of his species’ society: females. But if they offer such a great threat, why can’t he stay away from Rae?

Warning: Contains adult content.

Excerpt from War Games:

Rae picked up the pace as she moved through the narrow passageways in the underground government facility. The human species’ first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life! It was truly awe-inspiring! She couldn’t help but feel the adrenaline racing through her veins, as excitement became her prevalent emotion. Rae was aware of her reaction to the debriefing only minutes earlier, and took steps to control her mental state. She took pride in being able to look at any situation logically, an asset that had helped her countless times when moving up the ranks in the army.

Once Rae looked at the situation from a cooler perspective, she couldn’t help but feel unnerved at the way her superiors were handling it. Of course the country would want every advantage when dealing with an alien species, but only one woman for this meeting? She was well versed in her directives, but wouldn’t a larger group be more intimidating? What did the government hope to gain from this situation? Rae was confident in the art of self-defense and could handle a gun like no other, but to only have ballistic glass separating the alien from her was an alarming idea.

Stopping at her destination, an inconspicuous door within the long hallway, Rae took a deep breath. She was prepared to do her job, like she had done countless times before, but this was an unprecedented situation. She was going to be a part of history in the making.

The room she entered was dim with nothing but a single chair and desk in the center. Beyond that, was a reinforced titanium wall. In the center of that wall was a window big enough to fit a small car through, but thankfully five layers of high-grade ballistic glass thick. Rae couldn’t help but feel it wasn’t enough. As she sat down uncertainly into the only chair within the room, the rest of the fluorescent lights in the room flickered to life. Leaning forward on the table, Rae prepared herself for what was to come.

Rae tapped her pen anxiously against the table. She had been sitting in the small room for a while now, and nothing seemed to be happening. She looked a little uneasily at the large, dark window in front of her, and then glanced towards one of the cameras in the room. If she was expected to just sit here for another half an hour, there was going to be an issue.

Rae had been under the impression that the alien was open to human interaction, and was well versed in the art of conversation, and that the interview was to be started immediately. Beyond the reinforced window was only darkness, where she expected the being to be. Rae glanced uneasily toward the camera again, hoping for some direction from her superiors. Was she misinformed about something?

Not one for inaction, she hesitantly got up and explored the barren room. She was supposed to be interviewing the alien and helping to determining it’s impact on the human civilization, but the situation was beginning to seem a bit odd. Perhaps she had gotten the time wrong.

Slowly moving around the room, Rae made her way to the large window, through which she was supposed to be conversing with a sentient being. Only, there didn’t seem to be anything on the other end, only a vast black void.

Peering into the depths of that black nothingness, Rae nearly had a heart attack when something hit the window, cracking five panes of the strongest glass known to man. Rae cursed as she stumbled back from the shock, effectively falling on her ass. The large glass window began to bow towards her, slowly bubbling out into the room.

“Holy shit!” Rae whispered. This interview was not going how she planned.

Alarms started blaring, and still the window seemed to be extending outward. Its progress halted for a second, but then over the blaring sirens Rae could hear the impact of something hitting the window and cracking it further. Scrambling to the opposite end of the room, Rae stayed low to ground, frozen in shock.

Finally forcing herself to move, she had the fortitude to slowly remove her handgun from her holster. With shaking hands, she aimed the gun towards the void beyond the window and waited for what was to come.

Rae screamed and covered her face to protect it from flying shards as the window suddenly blasted outward. In the flashing lights the alarm produced, Rae could barely make out the hulking figure of a large humanoid shape emerge from the room beyond.

Once again lifting her gun and aiming at the alien life form, her shaking hands pulled the trigger, and did not stop until the entire barrel was empty. Still, the form kept progressing towards her, completely unfazed.

End of Excerpt

© Cynthia Lore

This ebook is available for purchase  at these locations:

Smashwords.com

Amazon.com