HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I've been getting used to some new eyeglasses this week. And yesterday (my usual blog-writing day) was my birthday. So, no post today. But . . .

Be back next week with more, um, words. 

Cheers, Donna

The legend of the love lilies

It's Valentine's Day today, the day of love and flowers. Gifts to women a man admires have been around for - oh, ever, really. And I expect it'll keep happening in our science fiction worlds, too.

They don't exactly do Valentine's Day in space - but the Fleet has a lovely tradition. Let me tell you about it with a couple of excerpts from The Iron Admiral: Deception.

Allysha's secret admirer (she knows who he is, but nobody else does) sends her love lilies.

*****

The team had just started on their first exercise when the IS spoke. "Allysha, you have a delivery."

Allysha straightened up beside Sirikit’s workstation. "Delivery?"

"Yes. Flowers."

Leonov’s clerk brought them in and left. Allysha flushed. Flowers again. They were beautiful, ten tall stems with blossoms like wine flutes arranged to display their deep red throats. Their fragrance was unmistakable, delicate and delicious.

"Are they from Brad?" Anna asked, her eyes dancing.

All of the others stared at Allysha, equally curious. She felt like a fugitive under a spotlight as she read the note. ‘I hope your week went well. Brad.’

"Well? From Brad?" Anna repeated.

Please, leave it alone. But they wouldn’t. "Yes."

"Was he there? At that course?" Anna asked.

She had to think for a moment. Oh, yes. She was supposed to have been instructing at a senior officer’s course. "No, he wasn’t."

"Ah hah. So he is a senior officer."

"Where did you get that from?" They were guessing; they had to be.

"The way you said it. As though no, he wasn’t there but he could have been." Anna's eyes sparkled with gleeful delight. "Besides, these are love lilies."

"What?" Allysha collapsed into her chair. She didn’t need this. But she was intrigued. "Love lilies?"

"Yep. It’s a Fleet thing. If a man gives you just one of those," Anna jerked her head at the flowers, "it’s understood to mean he’s serious."

Sirikit nodded, her liquid eyes sparkling.

"They’re hideously expensive," Todd chimed in. Allysha thought he looked rather somber. They might be hideously expensive to a lieutenant, but not to the man who sent these.

"Have you given one of these to anybody, Hassan?" Allysha asked.

"Me? Not a chance. Like Anna said, those lilies make a statement. I’m not ready for that, yet." He scratched at his cheek. "Besides, I wouldn’t want to disappoint anybody."

Todd rolled his eyes at Hassan. "Yes, of course, you’d have to consider your harem, wouldn’t you?" In a different tone he continued, "I gave one to Cornelia and I’ll bet Tensan gave one to Jinsu." He cocked his head at Tensan, who nodded.

"And Brad hasn’t sent one, he’s sent ten." Anna tilted her head and stared at Allysha. "So, you might not think it’s serious, but Brad sure as shootin’ does."

If she told them who Brad was, she was certain they wouldn’t believe her anyway. She took the flowers into her office. Maybe she could pretend they gave her hay fever and throw them away? She shook her head. That would just excite even more speculation. Best to carry on as if nothing had happened.

*****

When she returns home, Allysha asks her Information System to tell her about the Fleet legend.

*****

"Brew me some kaff, Albert, then tell me what you know about love lilies."

Allysha took her cup over to a chair while Albert talked.

 "It’s something of a Fleet legend, Allysha. It harks to the times when space travel took months or years and even moving from a planet’s orbit to a point where a ship could transfer to shift space could take days. Captain Isaac Ishkar finally found the woman of his dreams. But he was called to war before they could marry. He knew months would pass before his return and, having very little time to do much else, he organized with a florist to send his lady one of these flowers every week to remind her of him until he could return."

"Hm. And did he?"

"Yes. He was captured and imprisoned so he wasn’t able to return for two years, but then, at last, they were married. And now it has become something of a tradition for male Fleet officers to declare their intent by giving their lady one of these flowers."

One. He’d sent her ten. "Are they expensive?"

"It depends on the time of the year. Perhaps I should say, they are always expensive. When supply is low, they are extremely expensive."

"Why is that? Surely they’re cultivated?"

"They are. But the cultivated blossoms are not of the same quality. They lack the fragrance and glowing color of the wild stock."

He’d sent her the wild ones, of course. Never mind. For now, Allysha had more important things to do.

***** 

So there you have it. Love and legend are alive and well in the Ptorix Empire. I hope you got the cards, flowers, and chocolates you deserve. Meanwhile, I've got a book to finish.

 

On Hiatus: The Great Chicken Run Build plus Valentine's Day #snippet #scifirom

It's half term here in the UK, so I'm taking some time out with the monsters (me and the boys are currently watching number five of the Harry Potter films as part of a week long HP marathon) while eldest is on a music workshop. Today is also Pancake Day - traditionally served with just lemon juice and sugar, but I daresay the monsters will be opting for the chocolate and icecream version. And later we have Black Panther!
In the meantime, the chicken run build is progressing. The run itself is built, though the proper roof isn't up yet, and we're still putting the new coop together.

Kala checking the foundation beam is properly aligned.

Hubs injured me with a spade - an almost traditional occurrence when we work together.

Foundations laid.

And the run is up.

But the girls still enjoy coming out into the garden.

Temperature indicator - the ice from two days ago still hasn't melted!

Not so little Firefly.

The coop coming together.

Valentine's Day Excerpt
While hubs and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day (we save it for our anniversary, especially as it's our 25th this year), I thought I'd share an old micro story featuring Keir being interviewed about the meaning of romance...

"Romantic?" Keir shakes his head and hands me a glass of red wine. "No. I would not say that I am romantic."

I take a sip and watch him from over the rim of the glass. The wine's good, but not as much as the company. I wouldn't mind him warming me up instead. I shake myself. "I'm sure Quin would say that you are." In fact she has--to me--in private. But why embarrass him?

He smiles, a little shyly, but the light in his eyes now I've said her name makes me feel seven shades of jealous. About five foot six and athletically built, he moves with an easy kind of grace. A narrow face, finely sculpted with high cheek bones. But those probably wouldn't be the first thing you'd notice. No. His blue skin is the most striking feature. A dark, dusky blue, like the sky just before full darkness falls. And the tatts! Wow. My eyes skim over them, which takes some time. He's covered in them! Tribal style, black runes and twisted symbols all down his arms and showing above the edges of his white vest. Even his face and neck are marked. I've heard he has them everywhere on his body. I'd love to know if that's true...

"What more did you need to know?"

I snap myself back to reality. So far he's told me about how idyllic life is on the string of tropical islands in this planet's temperate zone. I'd rather ask about the tatts, but that's not why I'm there. Humans living on Metraxi are a rare thing. A married couple spending their honeymoon there? Even more so. "What about your wedding vows?"

I've surprised him. Bright blue eyes fix on me. "My wedding vows? Why would you wish to know those?"

"That's normally pretty romanctic to people. I mean, you didn't exactly have a great first date. Meeting Quin in a dungeon."

He scowls fine black brows knitting. "No. But that is a moment I will never forget."

He settles himself in a wooden chair opposite and wraps his hands around the glass. Long, slender fingers. His hair is a mass of loose black curls that make me itch to run my hands through them.
"We used the Metraxian vows. The words in Universal matched what I felt in my heart."

"Would you tell them to me?"

He tugs a hand through his dark curls. I wonder if I've embarrassed him?

"The village chief, L'enko, asked me what I sought. I told him I wished to bind my life to Quin's." His gaze drifts into the distance. "I promised to share my life with her, in love and laughter, through tears and trials. To work by her side and dream in her arms. To love her until the end of our forever."

My throat tightens. "That's beautiful! And you say you aren't a romantic."

"To me, it is not about trying to be romantic," he assures me, very serious. "It is about being honest in your feelings when you love and care for someone. Keeping a promise. Respecting them. If that is being romantic..." He shrugs. "Then perhaps I am."

An alarm beeps on my wrist module--notification that my transport is waiting. I finish the last of my wine. We're on a tight schedule, and much as I'd like to stay for a while, I can't. Being a travel agent isn't all fun. But at least I have an idea to sell Metraxi as a unique romantic getaway to my boss. It worked for Quin and Keir. And I think a wedding planner would kill for the privilege of selling ceremonies like theirs.

"Well, thanks for the info. It's been..." I give him another look over, and he lifts an eyebrow. It's then I remember that he's telepathic. Although I doubt he'd need to read my mind to know what I'm thinking. "...gratifying."

"I hope I have given you what you needed."

A blush burns my face. Information-wise, yes. Otherwise... I sigh. Quin's a lucky woman. I hate her just a little. No, I hate her a lot!

"Thanks. It's been helpful."

He escorts me to the door of the hut. The Metraxian village glows from lanterns filled with bright insects. For all Metraxi's advanced technology, the simple life appeals to them more. It's paradise. I can see why they stay. But now I need to get back to the office and sell the romance of Metraxi to the universe.

Blurb:

A demon waiting to die...
An outcast reviled for his discolored skin and rumors of black magic, Keirlan de Corizi sees no hope for redemption. Imprisoned beneath the palace that was once his home, the legendary 'Blue Demon of Adalucien' waits for death to finally free him of his curse. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise.

A woman determined to save him.
Able to cross space and time with a wave of her hand, Tarquin Secker has spent eternity on a hopeless quest. Drawn by a compulsion she can't explain, she risks her apparent immortality to save Keir, and offers him sanctuary on her home-world, Lyagnius. But Quin has secrets of her own.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes the dormant alien powers within him and earns exile from Lyagnius, Quin chooses to stand by him. Can he master his newfound abilities in time to save Quin from the darkness that seeks to possess her?

Book One of the Redemption series and part of the Travellers Universe. Previously released by Lyrical Press Inc. 7th May 2012.

***

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
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