ECHO 8 reboots with new cover and 99-cent deal

It's a bittersweet moment in my publishing career, for sure. ECHO 8, my third book published by Tor, is available as an indie title for the first time today. That means all of the rights for my first three sci-fi romances have now reverted back to me. Which is a great thing, because I can lower the price and experiment with promotions and Kindle-exclusive benefits. But I do miss my Tor people, and I'll always be grateful to my editor for giving me my first break.

If you haven't read the book, it's a great time to pick it up, as it's temporarily available for 99 cents—its lowest price ever—and has a beautiful new cover by Danielle Fine. RT Book Reviews has been kind to all of my SFRs, and of this one they said:

With her crisp storytelling, Fisher hooks readers from the very first page. Echo 8 boasts a well-crafted, intricate and innovative plot, and Fisher effectively immerses readers in the psi world that Tess inhabits. For her part, Tess is strong and sympathetic, and her passionate connection with Ross is appealing and romantic.

The book won 1st place in the RWA FF&P chapter's On the Far Side Contest, and 2nd place in their Prism contest. I'll include the blurb at the bottom of the post if you're interested in learning more about the story.

ECHO 8 is actually the second book I wrote, and it was the favorite of many of my beta readers. (Spacefreighters founder Laurie Green even named one of her race horse babies after it!) It got the least attention of my three books, I suspect because it launched right when the book market exploded, and I have to admit it bruised my heart a little. Of all my heroines, I think I identified with Seattle parapsychologist Tess Caufield the most. I am very pleased to be able to repackage it and make it more affordable, which will hopefully help it to reach a wider audience.

As for current authorly pursuits, I'm trying to get my head around promo, and I'm writing my fifth book. (My fourth was BEFORE SHE WAKES, an erotic fairy tale collection for Penguin Random House. It includes post-apocalyptic, steampunk, and fantasy tales.) My agency and I haven't decided yet whether to go traditional or indie with the WIP. I'm flexible about that decision, as I think it's good to keep your offerings diverse. The new book is an alternate-history fantasy romance with steampunk elements (and pirates!). It's set in Ireland.

In the world of author promo, I've found a way to actually have fun writing an author newsletter. (What?!?!?) My agency suggested I pick a theme and make it sort of like a magazine, so that's what I did. The newsletter that came out today is all about the launch, but in months I don't have big news to share, I send out The Cozy Read. It includes recommendations for reading as well as for relaxing and cozifying your space. These days I think we can all use more of that! You can see the first issue here.

Quincy knows how to chillax. 

I've also recently gotten into Instagram (@sharonlynnfisherauthor). Yeah, I need another social media distraction like I need a hole in the head. But I enjoy taking photos around our farm, and it's also supposed to be a good medium for book promo, though those posts are a bit more time consuming. Here's a post I created for the ECHO 8 reboot, using Canva design tools (free):

I think that about catches you up! I don't blog often simply because I struggle to find the time, with writing, promo, taking care of a house that's twice the size we need, scooping up chicken poop...

Does this look like a butt that poops? Trust me, it does. 

...and taking riding lessons so I know something about taking care of the horse we just bought our two girls...

Lulu Lemon. We didn't name her, but we love our Lulu.

How all of this happened to this city girl I'm not exactly sure.

I hope you will excuse the rambling post, and if you're interested in hearing more about ECHO 8, here's the blurb:

Three lives. Two worlds. One chance to save them all.

As a parapsychologist working for Seattle Psi, Tess has devoted her life to studying psychic phenomena. But when doppelgangers begin appearing from a parallel world that's been struck by an asteroid, nothing in her training will help her survive what's to come.

After dislocating to Seattle Psi from the other Earth, Jake is confined by a special task force for study. But when he drains life energy from Tess, almost killing her, it causes a ripple effect across two worlds—and creates a bond neither of them expected.

Ross is an FBI agent ordered to protect Tess while she studies Jake. His assignment is not random—he and Tess have a history, and a connection the Bureau hopes to use to its own advantage. By the time Ross realizes his mission could be compromised, it's already too late—he'll have to choose between his love for Tess and his duty to protect the people of his own Earth.

The book will be available in paper format soon. I'll gift up to three digital copies of the book to randomly selected commenters! (Fine print: Kindle only at this time)

A WIP, a Win, and a Race (oh my)

Welcome to Monday.

I'm adding a quick prologue here because I wrote this rather light-hearted blog before the tragic events unfolded Sunday morning in Baton Rouge where three officers--a sheriff's deputy and two city police--were shot and killed by gunmen. (This, of course, following closely on the heels of the terrible incident in Dallas where other police officers were killed.)

In light of this, I felt it would be disrespectful and uncaring not to add this somber preamble.

My heart goes out to the spouses, children, families and friends of the fallen officers and to fellow law enforcement in this stricken community. My thoughts are with them.

Police officers are an integral component of our nation and our communities, and I greatly honor the service given and sacrifices made by these men in the line of duty. May they rest in peace.

Thank you.

[ Moment of silence ]

___________________

Original blog:

This is going to be a very chatty blog, because...well, because the past weekend has been that kind of a time for me--giddy, anticipatory (is that a word?) and fun.

So going backward in time...

SUNDAY

A new story in the Inherited Stars universe is going to my editor tomorrow. Hurray!

What's that? You want more deets? But of course!

 

For readers who enjoyed Inherit the Stars, and its companion novelette Farewell Andromeda, this new chapter will be part of an upcoming themed anthology.

My short story will include at least one character that readers already know, and will flesh out some of the clues laid down in the first novel, Inherit the Stars.

The story takes place just a few moons (months) prior to Inherit the Stars in the Alliance-controlled era before Operation Reset, and takes place on some familiar turf as well as a planet that was only mentioned in the novel--the world of Carduwa.

Possibly the biggest news is that this story will introduce (as a non-POV character) the heroine of future book six--Inherit the Vengeance--the mysterious Captain Dava Jordan of the equally mysterious specialized courier ship, Calypso.

Look for an October release. The anthology will only be available for a limited time, and some of the sales proceeds will benefit a very worthwhile charity.

You want a sneak peek? You got it!

____________________________________

 

Five Quick No-Spoiler Excerpts

1.
"Freeze." When Captain Dava Jordan used that bone-chilling tone, no one asked questions.

Taro Shall, ship’s navigator, didn’t so much as blink as she stalked toward his Nav con, weapon drawn and eyes locked on her target. Thankfully, whatever that target was, it wasn’t him. Her aim was angled to the deck in the general vicinity of his feet.


2.
"I'm back."

Adini looked up from her counter. Taro! Her Flight Authority contact had let her know Calypso had berthed just fifteen tempas ago. It was hardly the first time a crewie had come looking for her as soon as his ship had set down, but it was the most welcome reappearance she could remember.

“Navigator Shall,” she said, giving him a big smile. “Four days almost to the secta. And you’ve really been to Cunari Nebula and back? How did you do it?”

Taro, who’d shifted forward at her warm greeting, now backed off a half step. “Trade secret.”


3.
He saw how her gaze had settled on the red diamond insignia on Calypso’s hull. She was registered in the Solomans, as were half the illicit trade ships in the known galaxy.

“Don’t worry,” Taro assured her. “We’re not pirates.” That much was true, though ‘discreet privateers’ wasn’t far off that mark.


4.
He motioned her to enter the airlock beside him, sealed the outer hatch and flipped several switches on the console. Being trapped in the tight confines with him didn’t seem to phase her in the least. He couldn’t say the same for himself. The gentle floral scent wafting from her hair had his full attention and made his hands twitch at his sides, as if they were being drawn by some invisible force to comb through that dark, shining cascade. It’s been way too long, Flyboy. Don’t embarrass yourself.

Scan beams cut through the thick cloud of disinfectant mist, and a chime emitted from the com speaker. “Cleared to board.”



5.
The captain planted her feet and set her jaw. “I’m not set up to fly passengers and sure as Bradley’s Rift I don’t need any trouble with the Ithian Alliance.” She shot a withering look at her navigator.

____________________________________

In addition to this story, I have two more novellas planned for late 2016 release. Each of these Inherited Stars Universe stories will build on the backstory of what came before and/or offer new insights into what happens next in the multi-book saga.

SATURDAY

RWA Nationals just wrapped for 2016, this time in beautiful San Diego. I didn't attend, but it was interesting to follow along on Twitter and FB as peers and friends posted about all the happenings.

In case you've been living on another planet (hey, it happens with this crew!), the RWA(C) Golden Heart and RITA Award winners were announced Saturday night at the close of the conference. And...we had a SFR Brigade RITA winner in  Paranormal for a Time Travel Romance, Must Love Chainmail by Angela Quarles! Very exciting!

This year, they did the announcements for both the RITA and Golden Hearts winners at the same time, by category. I really like how that worked out. For readers, the "currently available" and "preview of coming attraction" being announced together must have been a hit. :)

Here's the link to the full list of announcements:  RWA(C) Golden Heart/RITA Winners

FRIDAY

This was a moment three years in the making!

In 2013, we bred one of our mares to the then leading freshman sire in the nation, a Thoroughbred stallion named Diabolical.

Echo Eight as a yearling

In early February of 2014, our mare delivered a strapping chestnut colt that we eventually named after co-blogger Sharon Lynn Fisher's novel, Echo 8. Except...the American Jockey Club doesn't accept names with numbers in them, so we had to spell out the "Eight."

We raised little Echo here on our ranch until the summer of 2015 went he went off to prep for auction with dozens of other yearling Thoroughbreds of his crop. He sold in August.

Even though we no longer own him, as breeders we are still connected to him and every time he wins a race in New Mexico, we'll get a nice paycheck. I like how that works!

Echo Eight in the post parade on Friday

Well, Echo Eight ran his first race on Friday, and it was within driving distance for us so we thought it would be fun to go witness his debut. It actually turned into a nail-biter. Echo's debut on the track turned out to be a trial for the $175,000 Mountain Top Futurity, and ALL of the other horses had already run races with three of the four already being accomplished stakes winners or race winners.

Yikes! Talk about sending a high school kid who'd never run a race to the Olympic trials!

He didn't win, but we were very grateful for a safe race and very proud of his effort considering the competition he was up against. If you'd like to see a photo recap of the race and more details, just pop over to our Rising Star Thoroughbreds FB page <(click here) for a run-down.

Oh, and this may not be the end of our "first race" excitement this year. We also have another colt named Blazing Away who's in training and may debut in his first race in the near future.

So that was my weekend. I'm sure Pippa and Donna will have fun posts this week on two big events they attended, Sharon has a new anthology debuting tomorrow, and Greta always has interesting posts, so be sure to stop back and catch up on all the news.

Have a great week.

Laurie