Lost in space–can a rebel captain find his way? #MFRWhooks

To save his ship and crew, Captain Temms Rogers uses an untested alien device which hurls the Doubtful and its occupants away from a massive space battle. Rogers awakens to find his ship crippled and his crew decimated. They are lost in an unknown region of space, but they are not alone.

With old enemies lying in wait, Rogers must turn to a powerful local group called the Consortium in order to effect repairs to his ship and to find needed supplies. Then a strange autistic boy is found hiding in the ship’s cargo bay. Could the boy help save the Doubtful and its crew?

Book trailer: http://www.dfpbooks.com/dfp/videohorizoncrossover.html

More on the series: https://lyndialexander.wordpress.com/the-horizon-crossover-series/

 

EXCERPT:

“Temms. Say Grace.” Connie was insistent.

And he never dared deny the woman when she was insistent.

They were at the dinner table in the old house on Gilada. Across from him were Alex and Linz, his twins, and at his left, Tommy, strong and whole again. Everyone held hands and Rogers gave thanks for them being together and for the meal they were to receive from the bountiful gods.

When he was done speaking, there was a grab for the bowls of food. The children chattered about school as Connie corrected their grammar and manners. He watched. He could only watch. He couldn’t move.

Connie said something about the Confederation school and Tommy bragged about how he couldn’t wait to become a Confederation officer like his dad.

Temms wanted to tell Tommy he was forbidden to go. He watched as Tommy passed the tray of broiled meat, and small marks appeared on his son’s shirt, red marks that got bigger and more liquid as he started to bleed.

Tommy babbled about joining the Confederation corps as he slowly bled out and Connie looked at Temms, accusing him.

“How could you let this happen? How could you?”

He couldn’t move.

Temms woke up with a smothered yell, trembling. The dream had been too real.

He stalked over to the sink and splashed handfuls of cold water on his face until he was sure he was awake. It wasn’t real.

It wasn’t real.

Temms’ marriage to Connie had ended five years before, right after Tommy had opted to follow his father into Confederation service. She’d blamed him. Still did.

 

Paperback at Amazon • Paperback at Barnes & Noble • Paperback at Lulu • Hardback at Barnes & Noble • Hardback at Lulu • eBook at Amazon Kindle • eBook at Apple • eBook at B&N Nook • eBook at Kobo • eBooks at Smashwords

PAPERBACK [EAN 978-1-936381-54-8 | ISBN 1-936381-54-0] 6×9 trim (254 pages) | Average Price: $12.99

HARDBACK [EAN 978-1-936381-53-1 | ISBN 1-936381-53-2] 6×9 casebound (254 pages) | Average Price: $21.99

EBOOK [EAN 978-1-936381-55-5 | ISBN 1-936381-55-9] EPUPB and Kindle MOBI (95,000 words) | Average Price: $3.99

 

https://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=298515

Great news–book discounts for my special readers!

Dragonfly Publishing has negotiated a great promotion over at Smashwords on the science fiction novels TRIAD, HORIZON SHIFT and HORIZON STRIFE–50 percent off!! That’s less than three bucks or the price of a cup of coffee! Here’s your special codes for those ebooks, and they should be good for the near future.

TRIAD:
After five years of silence, the Arkosian space pirates are back to terrorize the sector where Trezanna Len fights to save her Solarii colony, a small group of Terran descendants settled on the planet Induna. To survive, the Solarii need assistance. And soon. Trezanna could ask for help from the neighboring group called Dragonfleet, but its cruel leader Estrella Drake has been on a rampage to annex Solarii space. Estrella would never agree to an alliance with the Solarii. Or would she?

CODE: Get 50% off at Smashwords with the code: ER34U

 

 

HORIZON SHIFT:
When Captain Temms Rogers of the Confederation spaceship Doubtful disobeys orders to attack innocent civilians, he and his crew become hunted rebels. In the midst of a desperate space battle, they risk using an experimental alien device that opens a wormhole which hurls them into a new universe.
CODE:Get 50% off at Smashwords with the code: DY37V

 

 

HORIZON STRIFE:

In FIVE-STAR REVIEWED  Book II of the Horizon Crossover Series, Captain Temms Rogers and the crew of the spaceship Doubtful are caught between a powerful interplanetary group called the Agency and mystical beings known as the Ancients. With the voices of the Ancients haunting his dreams and a mysterious illness plaguing his crew, Rogers must find a derelict space station and discover its secrets before the Agency destroys them all.
CODE:Get 50% off at Smashwords with the code: NK38Y

Don’t miss your chance to read these exciting space operas! Get caught up on the Horizon Crossover series before the final book, HORIZON DYNASTY, is released later this year.

It’s a great time to share the news with your friends who love action-oriented science fiction, with diverse and interesting characters, and a host of strong women, too.

Please pass it on, and I hope you’re enjoying these soon!

ASDH is here!

Talk about SQUEE!   I happened to stumble over to Amazon and saw that A SMALL DEGREE OF HOPE had loaded up a week early–please give it a read. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever written.  :  http://www.amazon.com/A-Small-Degree-Hope-ebook/dp/B00D0G1B0Y/

Thanks Penny Barber for your dedication in making sure it met your tough standards.  🙂

Don’t just stand here–go get it!! Now!

Is a woman right for a man’s job? If a man can’t do it — SFFS for April 27!

It’s Saturday again! That must mean it’s time for delicious bits of science fiction and fantasy–how yummy. This week’s snippet from HORIZON SHIFT is calorie-free, and deals with a mysterious mission.

The Doubtful is offered the opportunity to retrieve some artifacts they need to rebuild the alien device that sent them into a universe, then exploded. All they have to do to get them is help the Lenci get their priestess back from her journey inside a set of caves. She’s been missing several days, and they’re afraid she might be dead. Oh, yes, and they can only send women on the mission.

Sounds easy enough, right?

***

The Lenci communication had been very sketchy about the rescue mission, perhaps with intention. Even when the team arrived, the Lenci representatives seemed nervous and uncomfortable.

“As I said, Captain, since we don’t engage in trade with outsiders, we trust the artifacts will adequately recompense your team for the dangerous undertaking.” Rez spoke hurriedly, glancing over his shoulder as Malka passed around them with the stinking incense again.

Rogers straightened his shoulders. “You’re sure you need women?”

Liang bristled at the implication in the captain’s voice that women were somehow insufficient. A quick look at Riviera showed a similar reaction.

Rez sighed, and the others twitched and nodded as one.

“The males never come back.”

***

Well, maybe not so easy, then.

HORIZON SHIFT is available at Amazon.com, at Dragonfly Publishing’s new ebook page  and at other online distributors, or order it in paperback from your local indie bookstore.  🙂

For more information, click the tab above to learn about HORIZON SHIFT, and its sequels coming soon.

For more wonderful snippets, visit Science Fiction and Fantasy Saturday and see what’s new!

Alone in the dark –SFFS for April 6

For this week’s snippet, I traveled back to my first published science fiction novel, TRIAD. (Okay, it’s only last year, but it’s about 10 published books in-between, so it feels like the Way Back Machine!!)

TRIAD tells the story of three women commanding different factions of an area of disputed space: the Solarii, run by Trezanna Len, Dragonfleet, led by Estrella Drake, and the Khimeyr, a group that splintered away from Dragonfleet, commanded by Catava Rolon. When the Arkosian space pirates come to attack, hoping to annex all the territory belonging to these factions, they find they have to work together to defeat the enemy. But one of the leaders has her very own agenda that could bring them all to ruin.

When one of Trezanna’s lieutenants is captured by the pirates, he’s locked in a dungeon and left alone. The experience kicks him into flashbacks of his time as a prisoner of war:

***
Winston shuddered again and started over with the multiplication tables.

One times one is one—one times two is two—one times three is three….

Years before, in his days with the Western Alliance, captured soldiers learned ways to focus, to redirect thoughts, to offset brainwashing or other assaults on one’s sanity. Structure, logic, progression. One fact followed another, which followed another, to a known point. Don’t let the mind stray after that creature, the one that sounded small at first but might be larger, might have teeth, might have—

Stop.

Stop.

He took a deep breath, felt it shudder out of him. The tricks only worked so long.

***

TRIAD, a Dragonfly Publishing release, is available at Amazon.com and most other major online retailers, and can be ordered in print at your local indie bookstore! For more information, click the tab above that says “TRIAD”!

BLURB:

After five years of silence, the Arkosian space pirates are back to terrorize the sector where Trezanna Len fights to save her Solarii colony, a small group of Terran descendants settled on the planet Induna. To survive, the Solarii need assistance. And soon. Trezanna could ask for help from the neighboring group called Dragonfleet, but its cruel leader Estrella Drake has been on a rampage to annex Solarii space. Estrella would never agree to an alliance with the Solarii. Or would she?

For more science fiction and fantasy snippets, check out the Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday page this week and every Saturday!

SFFS for 3-30 : We have met the enemy, and he means to kill us

No matter how much you psych yourself up, it’s always hard to hold it together when you come face to face with your enemy. For many of us, it might be an in-law or a boss, or from time to time, a teenaged son. You go over all the things you plan to say in your head, rehearse them until you think it’s perfect, and then the confrontation comes.

Do you remember all those great phrases you’d polished and honed, the ones that would prove your point beyond the shadow of a doubt?

I have to confess, since I’m a lawyer in my day job, I do practice delivering arguments, even when I’m half-asleep sometimes. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that I’d better write the darned things down before they shimmer away into thin air, as they tend to do.

But today’s snippet, from new release HORIZON SHIFT, shows how Captain Temms Rogers handles his personal confrontation with his demon, the fleet commander whose orders he disobeyed. The decision was the right one, morally, but came at a huge cost to both men and their crews. This man doesn’t merely mean to disagree–he’s out for revenge:

***

And suddenly Jal Burko was there.

Sharp blue eyes under close-cut hair of striking black appraised Rogers, unsmiling. He looked much like he had since Rogers’ first days at the Confederation school when Burko had been a part-time flight instructor. He’d actually taken Rogers under his wing for about a year, until the differences in their political thoughts had quietly pushed them apart. He waited for Rogers to open, his stare icy-hot.

Where were all those damned words?

“Commander,” Rogers finally said.

“Captain.” Clipped tone, not giving an inch. Damn him.

***

For more delightful snippets from a cornucopia of talented science fiction and fantasy writers, check out Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday, which every week features free snippets from published works and WIPs, giving you, the reader, a chance to see what’s new on the horizon. Or the Horizon, if you like this book. 🙂  You can pick it up here.

How do you handle those moments when you know that what you’re going to say may affect the whole rest of your life?

 

And it’s out! Read an SFFS snippet, then pick up HORIZON SHIFT in ebook, paper or hardback!

Release date finally! I’m so excited. I wanted to have this book in hand before I started writing HORIZON STRIFE, which is due to the publisher by July 1. Just a chance to immerse myself in Captain Rogers’ world again.  His attitude sometimes reminds me of Mal Reynolds, and I just LOVED that show, always will.

I managed to build my Horizon Crossover page this week almost in time. But it helps fill out the story and has all the buy links. So I’m pretty happy. (Yes, I know THE ELF GUARDIAN came out this week too, but that’ll have to wait for next week’s SFFS.

So, snippet for this week–

Captain Rogers takes his ship down to the nearest planet, Mariel, for repairs. He and a couple of his officers mosey into the nearest town to unload some scrap metal and buy land to bury their dead.

Enjoy!
Careful to stay in character, he waved a hand at the thin almond-eyed server and asked for some sandwiches and more drink.

“Sure, Captain—you’re a captain, aren’t you?” she whispered, sounding desperate.

“Does it show?”

She studied him with more than idle curiosity and then went to the back.

Dani arrived at the bar a few minutes later. The captain pulled out a chair for her and she slipped into it, face flushed. “I unloaded all the uridium scrap for coin and they wanted more!”

Rogers nodded, noting the farm boys  had now focused on his table. “If you want a drink, I expect the boys will buy you one.”

“It might be a great offer, but I’m not looking for love, sir.”

***

But then they don’t leave the bar without the Captain finding himself a wife.  Always something…. 🙂

Find other fascinating snippets at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday today and every week!

Too many stories, so little time–Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday for March 2

Four books releasing in March? What the heck was I thinking???

Oh yeah, I remember. I’m going to That Book Place for  an Author’s Fair in Madison, Indiana, and I wanted to be able to take new books with me. *headdesk*

So I have the fourth book in the Clan Elves series, THE ELF GUARDIAN:

And a story, “A Recipe For Success,” in SIDEKICKS, the new speculative fiction anthology from Alliteration Ink (writing as Alana Lorens):

And a new contemporary romance called BY ANY OTHER NAME coming from Desert Breeze Publishing   March 23…(also writing as Alana Lorens)

Holy Mother of bacon and blueberry muffins, Batman!

I feel like I’m tied to one of the fans on a windmill, spinning around trying to see which book I’m talking about THIS time.

Oh, wait. I know. I’m talking about the first book in the Horizon Crossover series, HORIZON SHIFT.

Here’s the blurb: When Captain Temms Rogers of the Confederation spaceship Doubtful disobeys orders to attack innocent civilians, he and his crew become hunted rebels. In the midst of a desperate space battle, they risk using an experimental alien device that opens a wormhole which hurls them into a new universe.

(Yes, the name of his ship is the Doubtful, and yes, there’s a good reason for it. It’s in the book. 🙂  )

Captain Rogers has a lot on his mind, what with trying to save what’s left of his ship and his crew in the new universe. Even his sleep is troubled with worries:

When he finished saying grace, the children passed bowls of food and chattered about school as Connie corrected their grammar and manners. He could only watch–he couldn’t move.

Connie said something about the Confederation school and Tommy bragged about how he couldn’t wait to become a Confederation officer like his dad.

Temms wanted to tell Tommy he was forbidden to go. Tommy passed the tray of broiled meat, and small marks appeared on his shirt, red marks that got bigger and more liquid. Blood.

Tommy babbled about joining the Confederation corps as he slowly bled out and Connie looked at Temms, accusing him.

“How could you let this happen? How could you?”

He couldn’t move.

****

Here’s another snippet from December 2012 from HORIZON SHIFT, and here’s where you can catch a whole bunch of assorted free snippets from authors around the world at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday– come by and read them all!

SFFS for December 15– A new book for the New Year!

I’ve been absent from the Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday line-up for awhile, having three different manuscripts in the editing process, which is a huge but satisfying timesuck. 🙂  Today I’m excited to share the newest space opera in my repertoire, the first in the Horizon Crossover series, HORIZON SHIFT, which will be out after the first of the year.

 HORIZON SHIFT tells the story of Temms Rogers, a career captain with the Confederation, who leads a rebellion against what he sees as the greedy, grasping hands of his superiors in the Fleet. He uses a bit of untested alien technology to escape a space battle, nearly destroying his ship in the process. When he wakes up, he discovers his crew decimated, his ship badly damaged, and he has no idea where he is. Even once he gets his equipment working again, he finds himself in an area of space no one of his faction—maybe his whole race—has ever been before. Lost, and alone.

 Not quite alone.

 His former commander Jal Burko, bent on revenge, hasn’t given up the fight, determined to punish Rogers for the rebellion he led.

 Desperate, the clock ticking, Rogers enlists an assortment of people to help him rebuild and repair his ship, many of them misfits who deserve a second chance, each with a special talent to share: a runaway bride, a 17-year old navigation whiz sold into slavery, a cocky xenophobic engineer, a pair of genetically engineered lizard-humans. He even finds a friend aboard he never expected.

 A chance meeting with an economic power called the Consortium brings Rogers powerful friends, and the key to putting the clues together.    But the appearance of a strange autistic boy, abandoned in the Doubtful’s cargo bay, becomes the catalyst that may save the ship and its crew from Burko’s single-minded hatred when all else fails.

Rogers, like another captain so many of us love, Malcolm Reynolds, tends to look into people and see the best side of them, even if they seem to be misfits. He’ll have the chance to see how his choices pay off in 2014’s HORIZON STRIFE and then HORIZON DYNASTY the next year.

So here’s our snippet for this week:

“Everyone strap in!” From Rogers’ seat, set in the middle of the back wall of the bridge, he checked each of the other stations. His officers grabbed belts and secured themselves, ready for anything.

‘Anything’ was what they were about to get.

 “Weapon activated, Captain and positioned toward the fleet. Now!”

With a silent prayer, Rogers clenched his fist and waited to see what would happen.

To his surprise, there was no explosion. Nothing left the ship. A ray of red light seemed to flutter in black space ahead of them for a few moments, then it coalesced into a cloudy opening – a wormhole.

***

HORIZON SHIFT will be available from Dragonfly Publishing in the next few months. Thanks for stopping by–read other snippets from talented sci-fi and fantasy writers at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. Maybe you’ll find the next big thing!

How easily power can shift….SFFS for 10-13

It’s been awhile since we checked out the above the bedspread dealings of political gain in the TRIAD universe.

Today’s snippet comes from a scene a little later in the book. Hawk Kenton, previously Dragonfleet’s #2, has learned that the Solarii aren’t all bad, and a joint mission with them has concluded successfully.

While he could go back and join his fellow Dragonfleeters, he takes advantage of Suzanne Taylor’s invitation to remain free and learn more of the Solarii and Khimeyr. When he goes back to tell Estrella he’s leaving, she reacts ratherly poorly to that and tries to stab him. He takes issue with that:

Grabbing her by the hair and the right arm, he spun her away from him, then captured her again, her back against his chest, his arm around her throat, tight, until she gasped for air.

 “Strey, I haven’t betrayed you, but I won’t see Dragonfleet destroyed. By the honor of my father, it will live, with or without you.” As he felt her knees weaken, he shoved her away and she fell to the floor, choking.

“Get out!” she hissed.

Kenton stepped away, keeping his expression passive until he cleared the door. The others regaled him with stories of Estrella’s transgressions in his absence, but he just smiled, self-confidence building by the moment as he saw how they looked to him for guidance and leadership.

“Nothing I haven’t heard or expected, but things can be different if you want them to be.” Hawk’s deep-set eyes twinkled as he read support in their faces: was that his answer?

The Queen is dead…Long Live the King.

TRIAD is a space opera with a large, multi-national cast, set after a Diaspora from Earth has scattered its seed across the galaxy. The pages tell of courage, bravery, deception and betrayal, love and hate, birth and death. Pretty much everything in the unverse short of zombies. (But we do have space pirates!!)

TRIAD is a 2012 release from Dragonfly Publishing, Inc. , available in ebook, paperback and hardback. at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, most other web sources, and can also be ordered through your local indie bookseller!

Thanks for stopping, and check out all the other great authors at Science Fiction and Fantasy Saturday!