Twitter, Goodreads and Browsing For Books: The Key, by Pauline Baird Jones

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Twitter, Goodreads and Browsing For Books: The Key, by Pauline Baird Jones

Sheepishly, I must admit, I’m just your typical hypocrite who, on the one hand, bemoans the fact that I no longer have a local bookstore to sip coffee at and browse books; while, the next minute, I’m clicking over to Amazon to buy another book.

I miss being overwhelmed by a bountiful array of book covers—that sensation of so many books, so little time I used to get walking into a bookstore. I’d pick up one book and turn it over to read the back, only to have another glossy cover catch my eye. I’d look through the stalls searching for the perfect cover/back page combination that would make me say, “Enough—this the one!”

Online, my field of vision is limited to a page, a few square inches of Internet. I know there are thousands—millions of other books out there, but I can’t see them. I can’t grab them. What if one of them is the next book I should be reading?

That’s where Twitter and Goodreads come in.

I’ve just finished reading The Key, by Pauline Baird Jones, a book I never would have picked up, or known about, had I not met the author on Twitter. It’s actually the third book I’ve chosen this way. And it’s suddenly occurred to me that as my Twitter and Goodreads’ following grows, so does my field of vision. While Goodreads offers me lists and recommendations, on Twitter I actually get to interact (of course, in a limited way) with the author. So why did I pick The Key? On the author’s Twitter picture, she’s wearing this funky, steampunkie looking hat—a hat that intrigued me and prompted me to check out her books. I have to say, I’m so glad I did!

For me, The Key has all the sci-fi elements I love. It’s got tech and adventure; but most of all, it’s got great characters. There’s also humor and romance and, of course, most it takes place between humans and aliens with special abilities.

The main character in The Key is Captain Sara Donovan. We meet her after she’s crash-landed on a planet and been rescued by a good-looking, though not-much-one-for-words, alien named Fyn. Sara and Fyn quickly became two of my favorite fictional characters. Sara is strong, smart, sassy and, since this is science fiction, more than your average female. Plus, she can play piano, dance and sing! In short, she is everything I’d want my daughter to be. Heck – I want to be Sara! Fyn is strong, mysterious and humble. While he could easily be just another knight in shining armour, he falls for the one girl who, for the most part, doesn’t need one…or want one.

The Key isn’t great literature, but it is great fun. If you love Star Trek, Dr. Who and you’re looking for a book that takes you away from it all and leaves you smiling, this is the book for you.

I wanted to ask Pauline if she ever served in the military. Her ease with military lingo and battle scenes read to me like firsthand knowledge. Who knows, maybe she’ll honor me with a comment.

The Key is the first in Pauline Baird Jones’ Project Universe series, which includes: The Key, Girl Gone Nova, Tangled in Time, Steamrolled, Dreamspell Steampunk and the newest release, Kicking Ashe.

Read more about Pauline Baird Jones and check out some of her other books (she writes mystery and nonfiction too) at: http://paulinebjones.server101.com