Coming Release: ETRUSCA'S VOW, AFV Defender Book 3

 

Coming September 15

In paper, e and audio

This is the adventure before and during the adventure.

In Book 2, HERE THERE WERE DRAGONS, the Defender's mission to Nisandros is glossed over, with only a few remarks about some troublesome new crew and the fact that there were orders all over the Fleet, specifying that M'kar would never be sent back to her birthworld of Nisandros -- and yet she was, figuring prominently in a diplomatic mission.

The problem? M'kar was a half-blood, the first daughter born to her clan's ruling family in centuries. Dozens of lunatic prophets were shouting before she was even born that she was a figure of prophecy. They just couldn't agree if she had to die in a bloody sacrifice or be made high priestess and ruler of the planet.

Was there any wonder that her parents fled Nisandros as soon as they could?

In ETRUSCA'S VOW, readers get to follow M'kar from the age of 8, through discovering her Talent, training with Infrenx class, making some enemies and surviving several kidnapping and/or assassination attempts. Until the mission to Nisandros -- which she referred to as the "All the Boys I've Loathed Before Incident."

Read, and find out why!

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.