The Transport is AWAY! #amwriting #amediting #comingsoon

In other words...StarDog is off to the editor!

My former Pets in Space (1) story, now a full-blown novella after nearly a year's work, is off for its final prep before publishing as a standalone, when the story will take its place in my Inherited Stars Series as a prequel to the anchor novel, Inherit the Stars.

The story now includes expanded scenes, changed scenes, embellished scenes, an added love scene, and an epilogue that answers a lot more questions in the "what happens next" department.

I had a few readers comment that, although they loved the story and its conclusion, they still felt a little bad for the hero at the end. And yeah. I agreed there was a little more closure needed there. I did leave the poor guy out on a pretty precarious limb. In my defense, at the time it was originally written I was working under a word count limit...and it was already over by nearly 2000 words (which ended up being allowed in the original short. *Whew*)!

So that rather sudden conclusion has now been fleshed out in an all new epilogue.

I think the story has the same heart as the original, it's just grown up and added a lot more muscle. I'm also super happy with how much the story evolved in providing key insights into some of the future books.

I know it's been a couple of years since anyone has read the short story it was based on, so here's a quick reintroduction by way of the trailer I created for it.

[Sorry, ignore the last part. It's not yet available on Amazon. Hopefully soon!]

So, next up...

*cracks open Courting Disaster to begin upgrades*

*opens a brand new doc for a third StarDog story*

...at the same time!

Cover me, I'm goin' in!


And That's a Wrap!

The SFR Galaxy Awards have been announced! and with it, my host and coordinator duties have concluded for another year! *whew*

This year, 27 SFR Galaxy Awards were given out in seven rounds, once again supporting the double-bladed mission of the awards to find greatness in SFR and to help connect readers with books that might want to read.

The list has now been recreated on the SFR GalaxyAwards site (Awards Archives: click to see), but better yet, Carol Van Natta posted the entire list with buy links on her site, so you can easily grab the ones you want to read. Here's Carol's post: 2018 SFR Galaxy Awards

Oh, and might I also mention that a member of the Spacefreighters Lounge crew has once again been graced with an award. Congratulations to Donna on getting the nod for the latest novel in her Interstellar Rescue Series, Not Fade Away. Yay!

Have a great week!

IT'S CELEBRATE GREAT SFR DAY!

Congratulations to all the winners of the seventh annual SFR Galaxy Awards recognizing standout books (and other media) in science fiction romance for 2018!

In case you have been living on an asteroid in the Outer Rim somewhere for the last seven years, these unique awards are like no others, in that there are no nominations, no standard criteria or defining rules the judges must go by to determine their choices. The individual judges (who may be bloggers, librarians, authors, readers or any combination thereof, but who all share a love of SFR) simply honor a book (or film or television show) for Best Lovers or Weird Alien Species or Space Battles, etc. and carry on.

The inspiration for this different approach to literary awards comes from SF/F pioneer Ursula K. LeGuin, who believed recognizing excellence in writing didn't have to be a zero-sum game. "I wish instead of picking one and dumping the rest," she once said, "we celebrated our writers continually and in droves." (LeGuin, sadly,  passed in 2018. This year's Awards are dedicated to her.) 

The noted author, winner of the Hugo and Nebula and other such awards herself, suggested writing awards should be given something like they are at a neighborhood pet show. Thus the SFR Galaxy Awards can be serious (like Best Behaved) or quirky (like Goofiest Grin). 

They can even be literally awarded to dog characters, like this year's designation of Favorite Dog Hero, awarded to Happy from my own Not Fade Away, Interstellar Rescue Series Book 4. Yes, turns out I'm an SFR Galaxy Awards 2018 recipient! Thank you, judge Riley Moreland!



You can read more about how the SFR Galaxy Awards came to be, see a list of all the judges and, best of all, see all the winning authors and books, movies and shows here.

Cheers, Donna

News and Fun on the SFR Front #amwriting #sfrgalaxyawards #MLKDay

I've got a very newsy blog this week. Here's the latest on what I've been working on in the SFR community, with my writing, and on the author front.

But first an observance...

A Very Special Day

I need to recognize, as I do every year, that this third Monday in January is set aside to honor a very special man in our history. In 1983, fifteen years after the honoree's death, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill designating this day as a national holiday and day of observance for all time.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was, in my opinion, one of the greatest voices in history. (And probably one of the most powerful writers of our time, though he's seldom recognized for that.) He spoke with reason, with compassion, with a message of hope for those struggling to overcome adversity and a request for understanding for those who refused to see injustice. 

Deeply influenced by Mohandas (Mahatma) Ghandi and a devout Christian, he called for nonviolent civil disobedience--challenging the status quo in an effort to overcome the racial segregation and inequality that was so prevalent in the turmoil of the 1960s and before.

On August 28, 1963, he spoke with great eloquence and clarity, putting forth that he hoped his children would one day "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." If you've never read his iconic, world-shaking speech, I urge you to read his words here:

I Have a Dream

And if you'd like to see his personal commitments explained, read his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, written after he'd been imprisoned for peaceful demonstration and criticized by the local clergy.

Sadly, throughout our history, those who strongly disagree with someone's views and fears their influence might seek to silence them forever. Tragically, that was the fate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was assassinated by an escaped convict on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Every year, I like to revisit one of the phrases in his I Have a Dream speech to recapture the spirit of his message. Because we live in a very troubled world, and as this great man once said:

"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, 

adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. 

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. 

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Powerful words to try to live by.


The SFR Galaxy Awards are Coming!

As this year's event coordinator, I get to have the first sneak peak at all the upcoming award presentations this year (sorry...my lips are sealed!) and I'm very excited by the line-up that's taking shape.

The 2018 SFR Galaxy Awards will be announced on January 31st beginning at 10AM Eastern Time and will continue with new rounds posted every hour throughout the day. Judges can present awards for up to five SFR books for each round, so a lot of awards will be handed out to totally surprised authors on that day.

The awards have a dedicated site, and you can stop by and save the link now: SFR Galaxy Awards

This is the seventh annual presentation of the only know all-SFR awards, and with major award programs dropping like flies (to use a cliche) in the book industry, it's going to need the support of the SFR community to keep it returning in future years.

In a poll recently posted to the SFR Brigade discussion group regarding knowledge about the awards, here's how members responded:

50% (44) responded: I’ve heard of the awards, but I’m not really sure of the details.

29.5% (26) responded: I love the SFR Galaxy Awards! I think they're important to authors and a great way for readers to find books they want to read.

20.5% (18) responded: I don’t know anything about the SFR Galaxy Awards.

0% (0) responded: I know about the awards, but don't really pay much attention unless one of my books happens to win an award.

88 Responses to Poll

With only a third of the SFR Community members who weighed in saying they actively follow the awards, clearly we've got some work to do!

Please help get the word out and show your support by sharing information about the award rounds as they're released on January 31st. Please post links to the site on social media, your blogs or your websites, and talk about the awards with your readers and peers. Thank you!

StarDog Set for Final Return Flight to the Editor

I've just finished the final re-furbish of my former Pets in Space offering, StarDog. It now has new scenes, enhanced scenes, tweaked scenes, and a few uber-altered scenes, plus some all new material and an epilogue that I feel gives the story a little more closure in the "what happens next?" department. It heads back to the editor for a final scrub on February 1st.

StarDog was actually written as a prequel to my first novel, when the tensions with the Ithian Alliance are just coming to a head. It also sets up an important bit of backstory for a future novel's heroine and for my next project, Courting Disaster.


I added a brief Afterword that explains how the story segues into the series anchor, Inherit the Stars.

One of the elements I really struggled with was the addition of a second love scene, but I'm happy with how it (eventually) turned out. That scene probably got more attention than all the other passages in the story combined!

Overall, I'm super pleased with the changes and the bump-up in word count from novelette length to full blown novella. Although StarDog introduces several new characters to the series, it also features cameos and "guest appearances" by some familiar faces from the novel.

I think this story is going to do wonderful things for the universe-building in my fictional little corner of the Milky Way, and I'll be very proud to add it to my Inherited Stars Series line-up.


Inherit the Stars Scores Wonderful Recognition

There are days that being an author is no picnic, and then there are weeks like this past one where Inherit the Stars scored two wonderful recommendations of note.

Available on Amazon

The first was a five star BookBub recommendation (the first for Inherit the Stars or any of my books, to the best of my knowledge) that said in opening..."This is a lively read, with skillful worldbuilding. The book begins with a daring escape, slows down a bit so readers can get to know the characters, then pivots into a suspenseful space adventure with ultra-high stakes and villains you love to hate. " and later adds, "No superficial story here, which is probably why I liked it so much."

The reviewer tagged the book as: "Action-packed," "Great world-building," "Happily Ever After," "Original," and "Wonderful characters."

Oh, what a feeling!

Here's the link. (If you want to acknowledge the time and effort this reviewer invested in writing this recommendation, please give it a "like.") BookBub Review of Inherit the Stars

Then, Inherit the Stars got even more attention at the Sidney Public Library in Sidney, Iowa where it was recommended as a staff pick by Library Director Riley Moreland.

That, in itself, was quite a thrill, but just look at the company it was keeping!

Yup, that's none other than Nora Roberts' Year One and Julie McElwain's Murder in Time, both highly acclaimed Science Fiction fare.

There are some weeks when being an author pays back tenfold. This is one of those weeks.

Hope you enjoy the rest of yours.

Another Turn Around the SFR Galaxy

I'm back from our holiday hiatus and have been plunked down squarely in the coordinator's seat of something I really hadn't planned on. Because it's January, and that means...

The SFR Galaxy Awards are coming!

For the second year in a row (and probably my last), I've been asked to take the reins and shoulder the responsibilities so the awards can again be presented at the end of January. Although I hadn't planned on the added time commitment in my schedule, my deep-down gut feeling is that these awards are too important to the SFR community as a whole to abandon.

This will, after all, be the seventh successive year that the awards will be presented. In our rapidly changing industry, that's almost an era!

Here's an explanation of what these awards are all about from the SFR Galaxy Awards site.

_________________

What is the “SFR Galaxy Awards”?

The SFR Galaxy Awards is an annual, multi-award event for science fiction romance books. Launched in 2012 by bloggers Laurie A. Green of Spacefreighters Lounge and Heather Massey of The Galaxy Express, the goal of this event is to honor a variety of standout stories.

How is this award event different?

The theme of the SFR Galaxy Awards is inclusiveness. Instead of giving an award to a single book, this event will recognize the worth of multiple books and/or the standout elements they contain. The basic philosophy behind this approach is to help connect readers with books.

Authors of the winning books will be awarded the “SFR Galaxy Awards” graphic icon for their blogs or websites. Naturally, they are encouraged to share this news on their sites and/or social media venues.

How does it work?

A select group of science fiction romance readers and bloggers will each create unique awards for up to 5 books released in that year. Judges will create award categories based on criteria of their own choosing. The goal is to deliver a group of awards that are fun, unique, meaningful, and informative for readers.

The awards can range from serious to fun to quirky. Examples: "Best Interstellar Kiss;" "Most Plausible Use of Technology;" “Best Worldbuilding;” “Funniest Line of Dialogue Overheard in a Space Station Bar.”

On January 31st, the awards for the previous year will be posted on this blog. Additionally, the news will be shared on various social media sites.

Eligibility

Any science fiction romance book in any given year is eligible (published, self-published, print, digital; all lengths, subgenres, and heat levels). As long as there is a cover and a buy link available (including free or discounted books), a judge can consider a book for an award. Although current year book titles are the focus, the judges may also select a title from a prior year and may select a film, television series, video, graphic novel or game containing science fiction romance. 

Books released by any of the current judges or coordinators are ineligible.

_________________

One of things that makes the SFR Galaxy Awards so unique is that the authors don't submit their own books for consideration. Judges--who are book bloggers, avid readers and reviewers--make their selections from the books they've read that have made a lasting impression, so an author may be completely unaware that they are an award winner until it's announced on the site or they're contacted by the coordinator.

Please mark your calendars for Thursday, January 31st, and tune in to this year's award rounds, which normally begin at 8:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, followed by a new round posted every hour. You can also sign up to follow the SFR Galaxy Awards site, as shown on the right sidebar of that site.

Hope to see you there!

Our Thyme was not Endless - A Grateful Goodbye

As I've mentioned a few times on this blog, we had a very fun and exciting 2018 in our Thoroughbred endeavors after our trainer, Justin Evans, brought home a wonderful four-year-old race mare that he'd bought at the January Keeneland Sale in Kentucky.

Endless Thyme is the daughter of a champion sire and she'd already won a race at the iconic Churchill Downs, with two more back-to-back wins at Belterra Park a few months earlier in the summer of 2017. We were very excited to be offered half-ownership of this very promising mare.

Thyme ended 2018 with eight starts at four different tracks and never finished off the board, with two wins, three seconds and three thirds--a very impressive record! We had friends and family with us to celebrate when she won this race in August by a spectacular seven length margin!

Sadly, Thyme was entered in a claiming race on December 29th, and was promptly claimed by a new owner. We'll miss her very much, and we wish her every success with her new connections.

For us, 2018 will forever be the Year of Endless Thyme.

Just a few days ago, I was surprised to discover a video that my iPhone had spontaneously created that captured a few moments we shared with Thyme and watching the morning workouts at Albuquerque Downs on July 3rd, 2018. I had no idea my phone had created it--complete with a soundtrack--until I stumbled on it. It will forever be a very special keepsake for us.

I'm happy to have this chance to share it with you.

Have a great week.