New Release: LISTEN CAREFULLY. Young Defenders Book 2: Tress's Story

 

Sh'hari's mouth dropped open at Tress's answer. The other girls laughed. Then Sh'hari laughed and tipped off a salute with two fingers from the edge of her eyebrow. She bent down and gestured for the four girls to come closer.

"Thanks for your help. I've always wondered how she got around the ship so fast when we're running intruder alert drills. She cheats."

"It's not cheating," Kati said. "You're not cheating when you use something you know, that other people forgot about."

"That certainly sounds like your big brother." The security woman winked and straightened up and gestured for the girls to go ahead of her. "I have to get you troublemakers back on the ship in twenty-two minutes. Any last-minute stops you want to make? Or do you want to just take a leisurely stroll down ramps and check out all the airlocks and get a feel for the layout of the station?" 

The girls chose the leisurely stroll. Sh'hari was always a fun escort, because she always seemed to know people on every station or colony world or outpost where the Defender stopped, and on every ship they encountered. Her parents had been independent merchants and traveled to all sorts of planets and distant star systems, looking for interesting things to import to the Alliance.

Off the Bookshelf: PETER AND THE CROWN, by A.L. Janney

The Phantom of New York, Volume 1

A fun, modern-day origin story that harkens back to old-time radio dramas like The Shadow and the Green Hornet, and stories like The Scarlet Pimpernel and Zorro.

Peter and his parents move to a grand old hotel, The Crown, when his father runs into trouble with a powerful, evil man who wants what he can't -- and won't -- give him. They change their names, his father becomes a maintenance man and his mother works in the laundry, and Peter's life changes drastically.

The Crown is an amazing place to live, and Peter grows as he slowly expands his horizons and reaches out to make friends, and learns some hard and painful lessons.

The legend of the Phantom of New York, the mystery of a boy in a painting who could be Peter's twin, quirky characters who live in the hotel, a boy genius who lives underground, the plucky daughter of a baker, and a real ghost are just a few of the characters who help Peter prepare for the biggest change in his life -- accepting his heritage as the next Phantom of New York.
 

Great fun. And definitely want to read more of Peter's adventures.

New Release: LISTEN CAREFULLY. Young Defenders Book 2: Tress's Story

 Tress sighed, realizing once again that growing up was hard enough, but growing up on a starship with so many rules and regulations and precautions just made everything more complicated. And being the daughter of two members of the command crew just made things worse for her. Both her parents had apologized to her several times in the last year or two, about how everyone expected so much more from Tress because of who her parents were.

And in situations like this, when she knew something that she probably shouldn't have, people assumed her parents told her.

This time, though, they weren't really right, and they weren't really wrong.

Only a few seconds had passed after Sh'hari asked her question, and the other girls laughed. Tress wrinkled up her nose again and jammed her fists into her hips to mimic the security crewwoman.

"Aunt M'kar taught me, when we were playing seek-and-destroy last dec." She barely stopped herself from sticking her tongue out. 

M'kar had also had a talk with her about how expressions and gestures and various parts of body language were perfectly innocent for a girl her age, but in some galaxies and among some cultures, they could be taken very badly. She advised Tress to watch how the captain and other members of the command crew acted around officials and diplomats and strangers who came on the ship. She needed to start learning now to behave like she was going into a tricky diplomatic situation, dealing with people who were just itching for an excuse to start a war.

New Release: LISTEN CAREFULLY. Young Defenders Book 2: Tress's Story

 

"But I heard him. His voice got weird. It echoed, like he was talking inside a box, or one of the access tunnels in the ship," Tress insisted.

"Uh huh." Sh'hari narrowed her eyes at them and gestured for them to step into a lift, to ride to another level. "And just when were you in an access tunnel, so you know how it sounds?"

The other girls laughed.

Tress wrinkled up her nose. That was a stupid question. Everybody knew her father took all the children on tours through what he called off-limits-to-the-point-of-being-paranoid parts of the ship. The parts where the children couldn't have caused any trouble or done any damage unless they took tools with them. So it wasn't really dangerous for them to be there. Her parents and adopted aunts and uncles had explained, in different ways and with different words, that much of the ship was kept off-limits to the children to avoid wondering if someone had touched something they shouldn't have, whenever trouble did happen. 

As Security Chief Decker had growled more than once, during his self-defense lessons and what he called "reminding you of the common sense Enlo gave you, so you don't get as stupid as most politicians" lessons, the Defender had a reputation for a strange kind of luck. If something was going to go wrong, in the worst, most messy and embarrassing way, it would if the Defender's crew was involved. No one really minded, once they were out of the mess. The other part of the Defender's weird luck was that they always came out covered in gold or whatever was most valuable in that part of the universe.

Off the Bookshelf: BE OUR GHOST, by Kate Kingsbury

 

A Merry Ghost Inn mystery, book 3

Audiobook,  narrated by Tavia Gilbert

Let me start off by saying I'm sad to learn there are no more Merry Ghost Inn audiobooks available on Audible. I could binge on these stories. Great fun -- and some heart-stuttering moments, as the danger gets up close and personal. Just like Orville the ghost becomes even more up close and personal as the story goes along. But helpful, in the end.

This time, the dead body isn't at the Merry Ghost Inn, but another inn in town. Liza and Melanie, amateur sleuths who have earned the ire of the local homicide detective for "butting in" don't have a legitimate reason to investigate the murder of a man who, by all accounts, was disliked by quite a few people in town. Until a close friend, and a possible romantic interest for Liza, becomes the chief suspect. Turns out he had a nasty run-in with the victim years ago and threats were thrown about.

Melanie's relationship with Officer Ben is progressing, and the B&B is humming along, busy and successful, and Melanie is making progress on finding out what happened to her mother on a trip to England years ago. So many changes are in the air for the two ladies running the Merry Ghost Inn ... if they survive this latest murder investigation.

Great fun. I hated to "hear" the story end, although it was a successful ending to the investigation, with hope and good news for many people. I want to return to this lovely seaside town, and listen to Liza and Melanie get in more trouble. Please?

New Release: LISTEN CAREFULLY. Young Defenders Book 2: Tress's Story

 Tress held hands with Dafna and the girls trotted to keep up with their teacher. E'bett knew how to hurry without looking like she was running. Why didn’t she react to what that man said? Why didn’t the other girls? Maybe they were scared. He scared her. Tress wanted to ask how that man was able to speak without moving his lips, and why he would say such things to them. Or was he one of those people that Security Chief Decker complained about a few decs ago? The ones who believed their thoughts and ideas were so important that everyone needed to hear them, even if they were rude and made no sense? Was that man a crazy person?

Lt. Sh'hari from Defender Security was waiting for them when they stepped out onto the main corridor. She winked at the girls and spoke into her wristband communicator, acknowledging transfer of the "packages." The girls giggled, knowing she meant them. In moments, E'bett hurried away, and the four girls turned around with their new escort. It was time to go back to the ship.

Tress was sure E'bett would report the crazy man, but maybe she would be so busy with the priority communication that came by courier ship, she might forget. She told Sh'hari about the man, and what she could remember of what he said.

"No, he didn't," Jayna said.

Tress opened her mouth to argue, but Dafna nodded and Kati echoed Jayna. 

"All he did was ask if Mestra E'bett was a teacher,” Jayna said.

New Release: LISTEN CAREFULLY. Young Defenders Book 2: Tress's Story

 

A chime rang through the open area, and a communication panel in the support arch to their right lit up.

"Mestra E'bett of the Defender," the warm, buzzing computer voice said. "Please contact Commander Harmays of courier ship Wingswift. A priority level three communication is waiting from the Academy."

E’bett raised her wristband and tapped the tiny screen, so it lit up green. "This is Mestra E'bett. I am in the arboretum. It should take me twenty minutes to get to the courier docking arm. I must return four students to the Defender, first."

"Security personnel will meet you and escort the students. The Wingswift is on a slingshot course and must depart ASAP."

"Understood. Please notify Commander Harmays I am on my way." She tapped the tiny screen and nodded to the O'goali man. "If you will excuse us, a priority three communication and slingshot schedule for a courier ship cannot be delayed."

"Can't do anything. They're probably watching. Weakling Alliance folk. Always watching." 

Again, the O'goali man spoke without moving his lips. He nodded politely to E'bett and his lips flattened, pressed so tightly together they went white so his face seemed dirty. He watched the girls as they followed E'bett out the other side of the domed area. A doorway half-hidden by a screen of purple leaves lit up, giving them a way out of the arboretum without having to follow the winding pathway to the door where they had come in.

Off the Bookshelf: STEERING THE CRAFT, by Ursula K. Le Guin

 

This is a writing craft book, chosen by the craft book club of Great Lakes Fiction Writers.

I honestly have to say I had a hard time getting through this one. The advice is so applicable, and every little common mistake and misunderstanding she discussed when going through the basics or mechanics, I've encountered in editing. Things about which people who believe they are writers should know better -- and yet make the same mistakes time and again. Like keeping verb tenses and POV constant, and choosing the write voice with which to tell a story. On and on.

I think some of my difficulty was that 1) I have less than a week until our group gets together to discuss the book, and I was reading three or four chapters in a row -- and this is one of those books where you need to read one chapter and let it digest before reading another -- and 2) I'm still fighting with Covid brain fog. (Yeah, I went to a writing conference and somewhere picked up Covid from someone else in the huge convention hotel who either wasn't paying attention to their own health, or was just inconsiderate of everyone else around them ...)

This book is just jammed tight with examples of how writing should be DONE, clear examples of what Le Guin is discussing, and each chapter has exercises, to practice what she is teaching. Highly valuable, and when I have more time I will go back and actually do some of those exercises. Not now, though. Too many projects and deadlines breathing down my neck, and I just don't have the energy. 

Highly valuable writing advice and wisdom from a prolific author who apparently did a lot, if not all. I only knew her from the Earthsea books, but ... yeah, she's done a lot, fiction, non-fiction, poetry. Someone to be listened to, and her lessons applied diligently.

New Release: LISTEN CAREFULLY. Young Defenders Book 2: Tress's Story

 The O'goali man's smile widened and he showed some teeth. "Just checking. You're all academic?"

"Many subjects come under academics." E'bett held out her left arm and twisted it slightly, so her long sleeve fell back, revealing her tool wristband.

It had a small screen that let her communicate with the station and the ship. On past expeditions, she had used the wristband to give the children impromptu tests on the things they saw, the people they encountered, the places they went when they were on planets or space stations. Tress was especially looking forward to seeing a museum in the lower levels of the Fleet part of the station, just because her father was so interested in seeing it. He said it was full of examples of the damage people could do when they jettisoned their common sense and forgot to ask Enlo to protect them from their own stupidity.

"I'm not looking for a gusquacca teacher," the man said, and spat.

Tress flinched. She had never heard that word before, but her mother said she had good instincts for what foreign words meant. That had to be a bad word, and the man had insulted E'bett.

"Fleet people are idiots, sending a useless, fat old woman out with a bunch of helpless little girls," the man said.

Tress shook her head. She couldn't understand how the man had said that without moving his lips. His grin just got brighter, and his voice had that echo for a few seconds.

"Serve them right," that angry voice from the far side of the open area said. "Hope that brute teaches them a good lesson. Children don't belong out in space. They sure don't belong on military ships." 

"Mestra," Tress began, and reached up to tug on the back of E'bett's long vest.

New Release: LISTEN CAREFULLY. Young Defenders Book 2: Tress's Story

 

Tress decided she would ask E'bett. As the five of them stepped out of the tunnel of vines, she opened her mouth and planned what she wanted to say. Then she heard a low, growling voice, coming from the far side of the open area.

"Stupid Nanny Ship. What idiot decided it was okay to send families into space? Waste of a good ship. Waste of training. What good does a ship do if it can't go into a tricky situation, because it has stupid little useless helpless kids on board?"

Tress stumbled, startled by how angry that voice sounded. She looked around, trying to find that person. It was odd, but she couldn't tell if the voice was a man or a woman. It was just angry. It put a bad smell in the air. Like something was burning. And a little rotten.

"Look at them. Nasty little snots. Arrogant little spoiled brats," the voice continued. "Think they're better than everybody else because their mommy and daddy are officers. Somebody ought to --"

Footsteps coming from the pathway behind them echoed a little and the angry speaker stopped. Tress shivered and moved closer to E'bett. She didn't want to get close to that angry person. She hoped the angry speaker didn't see them, but she had the awful feeling the spoiled brats that person talked about were her and her friends.

"Found them. Should I take them now?" One of the O'goali men stepped out of the shadows of the vine tunnel and a slow smile stretched his mouth as he looked at E'bett and the four girls.

Tress looked past him, but nobody else stepped out of the shadows. Who was he talking to?

"You're a teacher, aren't you?" the man said.

That was odd -- his was the angry voice she had heard, yet somehow it had changed. It sounded flat and a few notes lower now. It had echoed a little before.

"Yes. I am the mestra assigned to the Defender," E'bett said. She twitched both hands, using the signal M'kar had taught the children for when they were off the ship on expeditions. It meant to gather together and get behind their leader. "Are you looking for information?" 

She glanced once over each shoulder, making eye contact with the girls as they lined up, two-by-two, behind her. Tress and Dafna held hands.

Off the Bookshelf: DOOM WITH A VIEW, by Kate Kingsbury

 

Audiobook

Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

A Merry Ghost Inn book

And we're back with Melanie and Liza, who have finally renovated and repaired their haunted old house into a lovely b&B, and are having their grand opening.

All is not well, however, with ruffled feelings among the six guests who came as a group. Then the next morning, while making their first official B&B breakfast, Melanie hears her dog Max barking, and goes outside to investigate and finds one of their guests lying in the driveway. Dead. Naturally, the other guests are suspects, and Melanie and Liza, according to the homicide detective, whom Liza refers to as Grumpy. And Grumpy clearly grumps and warns grandmother and granddaughter to keep out of the investigation.

Do they listen? Of course not. They have the reputation of their B&B to protect. Plus the other guests aren't allowed to leave until the case is closed, and another group of guests are coming on Sunday. It's a race against time to identify the killer, find out the truth, and pry information out of the very closed-mouth guests who seem to have a lot of secrets among them. Yet Melanie does have a little time to celebrate her birthday and try to sidestep further matchmaking between her and a certain police officer.

Another lovely mystery at the Merry Ghost Inn -- along with "Orville," the ghost, giving undeniable proof of his presence ... chills, anyone?

New Release: LISTEN CAREFULLY. Young Defenders Book 2: Tress's Story

        "I was thinking this was better than that last hide-and-ambush game we played in the simulator room." Tress gestured around at the narrow winding path through a tunnel of flowering vines.

"Because it's real." Jayna nodded and grinned.

"Because nobody is going to jump out of hiding and scream at us."

"And try to pick us up and carry us away," Dafna added, laughing.

They came out of the tunnel then, into an area that was clear all the way up to the domed ceiling of the arboretum. Starlight shone down on them, with streaks of light coming from the right. Tress thought about the map of Sheffroab Station, and decided that light came from the Fleet docks, where ships were repaired or upgraded or expanded. The Defender was going through that right now. 

Her father growled a lot more lately, ever since they got their orders to come to Sheffroab. Being Chief Engineer, Jasper Lore was the highest authority. Everything had to pass his inspection, and he needed to understand everything before it was added to or done to the ship. At the same time, she had seen him just sit and grin and rub his hands together and sometimes even laugh as he read through the hundreds of screens worth of specifications and descriptions. Tress thought he was excited, and maybe even having fun -- but he growled so much more lately. She planned to ask her mother, after thinking about the puzzle for a few days, but today Treinna was busy preparing to welcome a new crewmember. Lt. Kewsaq was a linguist and would be in Treinna's department and under her command. One of the ship's counselors could have handled the task of greeting the new linguist and her younger brother, getting them settled in their quarters, and taking them through orientation. Treinna didn't want to do it that way. She even told Tress that the Defender was family, and that meant everyone who joined the crew had to be treated like newly discovered distant relatives, from the day they reported for duty. 

New Release: LISTEN CAREFULLY. Young Defenders Book 2: Tress's Story

 

"Mestra E'bett?" Tress said, falling into step with their teacher. "You should know, I didn't hear that from Aunt M'kar. I heard it when my mother was practicing her Nisandrian vocabulary."

"Of course …" E'bett sighed, then she winked at the girl. "Unless you're acting as a translator because your mother isn't around and the translator equipment is broken, I suggest you not use that word until you're much older. Agreed?" When Tress nodded, she rested her hand briefly on the girl's head.

They wandered through the arboretum, and for at least twenty minutes it felt like they had the place to themselves. None of the girls had been down on an actual planet for nearly a whole year, so this was a treat for them. When Lt. M'kar gave them self-defense training, she sometimes used the simulator room to give them an illusion of being down on a planet. Holographic projectors moved and changed the environment around them, so they felt like they were running down forest paths or hiking along beaches. The sensory programs pumped smells and sounds and varied the temperature and humidity, so sometimes they could believe they really were being pushed along by the wind or spattered with raindrops. It never lasted very long. This was much better. Tress laughed when she realized something. The other girls asked what was so funny.

"I was remembering self-defense class with Aunt -- with Lt. M'kar."

She caught herself a little late, but did remember that it really wasn't nice to refer to the lieutenant as Aunt, when the other girls didn't have the right. Lt. M'kar had always been there, just like Captain Arroyan had always been there, good friends with her parents, just a little bit closer than the rest of the "family" of the Defender.