Announcing Launch of a New SFR Series!

I've been bouncing on the edge of my seat for two weeks waiting to break the big news! Now that all the specifics have been discussed and the contract is signed, I can finally shout it out at the top of my lungs:

I have a Science Fiction Romance series 
set to launch in February 2015!

Yes! That means we're just a few months away from zero hour! I'll be co-publishing my six-book series, along with a number of related shorts and novelettes, through my agent, Amanda Luedeke of MacGregor Literary. (If you've been following Donna Frelick's posts, you know she has a similar arrangement with her agent.)

Co-publishing is an exciting new trend in which authors and agents partner up to share the various tasks and functions in getting a book to market. Generally, the agent/agency is responsible for formatting, uploading and all the business details, while the author is responsible for the cover art and editing. The author also has the benefit of the agent's expertise in marketing and promotion.

I'm doubly fortunate that Amanda Luedeke is considered a marketing guru, and is the author of the self-help book on building platform titled The Extroverted Writer. She has some truly dynamic ideas!

Going the co-publishing route means the book/s can be published in a matter of months instead of a year or more, and the author has more control over how the book is packaged (which for many authors is a big concern since most have little to no input on cover art).

Want to know a little more about the series? Here's the introduction:

The year is 3500 AD—more or less. No one really keeps track anymore. 

Since the fall of peacekeeper planet, LaGuardia, two centuries before, much has been lost. Few remember that LaGuardia was once known as Draxis. Fewer still have knowledge that Draxis once guarded a spatial vortex—a crossrip in time and space—and passageway to a legendary world called Earth where the human species originated.  

Somewhere, hidden in a forgotten archive, is the written history of the known universe...and the chronicles of the men and women who helped forge a future in the stars.

This series is a bit unconventional, to say the least. It spans some 1,500 years (okay, 13,500 years if you count the backstory) and is made up of two "bookend" novels that open and close the series in the same future era, with a single novel and a trilogy embedded in the middle that happen in the present day to the near future. The shorts and novelettes are spin-offs that might take place in the past, present, near or far future within the framework of this universe.

Unorthodox, yes? Well that's part of the fun!

Science Fiction Romance is all about forging new pathways and presenting new ideas. Because it's an unusual series it provides a bonus: A puzzle the reader can solve about how all the various story elements and characters fit together. For the inquiring reader, there will be clues throughout these romantic adventures to help connect the dots on the overarching tale.

I'm also extremely proud to mention that the first three novels in this series have all been recent RWA® Golden Heart® finalists.

Books 1 and 2 were finalists in 2011 under the titles P2PC and The Outer Planets.

Book 3 was a finalist in 2012 under the title Draxis.


In addition, all three have won or placed in multiple writing competitions from 2009 to 2013 including the RWA FF&P On The Far Side contest and the Spacecoast Romance Authors Launching a Star contest.

You can read more about each of these novels on my author web site Laurie A. Green. Pssst! You can also sign up for my newsletter there, on the right side of the Home page. It comes with a promise to keep the newsletter infrequent so I won't fill up your inbox.

Okay, so are you ready for a peek into this new universe?

Here's the opening scene from Book 1:

______________________________

One chance. No mistakes.

       Sair took a deep breath and peered out the open airlock of the merchant ship. This was it. Make a wrong move now and end up the main course at an Ithian feast. He studied his escape route. No threat in sight; he had a clear path to the street outside the hang. He gripped the edge of the hatch, palms slick, legs twitching. Now. 

        No shouts of alarm mingled with the roar of the busy spaceport when he ducked off the ship. Once out of the hangar, he tried to disappear into the crowd on the busy street. He sucked in his breath when a sharp-featured man in a dusty sun cloak strode straight for him.

        Carduwan, not Ithian. Thank the Fire Lords. A neutral.

        Sair caught the man’s arm. “Where am I?”

The Carduwan registered his size and build and his expression melted from annoyance to fear. “Eliptis hangtown.” He edged away. “Sir.”

“What planet?”

The man’s eyes widened and he croaked, “Dartis.”

Just my luck. A sandy, hell-baked ball where the Ithians ran as thick as rats in grain.

Sair tugged the terrified Carduwan closer, staring into the man’s sunshield. “Give me those.”

       “Yours.” The man fumbled the dark frame off his beakish nose.

       Sair grabbed the sunshield and slid it home, glad to hide his eyes. Don’t thank him. You’re Rathskian. He released the Carduwan and glanced back at the hang entry when a chubby man shuffled onto the street.

      He froze but the pilot never glanced his way. He didn’t seem to have a clue Sair had stowed away in his freight compartment to escape. So far, so good. At least he hadn’t been served up on a platter yet.

__________________________________________

Just as an aside, it was a scene in Book 1 that inspired the name of our blog--Spacefreighters Lounge. There's a little story about that on the sidebar (scroll down to Welcome to Spacefreighters Lounge and click the highlighted words From Whence Came the Name). >>>

In the coming weeks and months, I'll be providing more details and spilling more secrets about this SFR series. Please watch for regular updates on Mondays! And thanks so much for stopping by today.