Last Day for a "Best Book of 2016" Pets in Space Sale

I'm deep in the editing universe this week, so just a quick blog today to tell you about this special promotion of an Amazon science fiction romance collection that has hit the Amazon top ten science fiction romance list.

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Now is your chance to enjoy one of the Library Journal’s Best Books of 2016 for only 99c. SALE ENDS TODAY!

A Library Journals’ Best Books 2016 pick, Pets in Space features nine of today’s bestselling sci-fi romance authors.

Join the fun in this action-packed anthology filled with suspense, laughter, and romance. The alien pets have an agenda that will capture the hearts of those they touch. Can the animals win the day or will the stars shine just a little less brightly? 

New York Times, USA TODAY, Award Winning, and Best selling authors have eight original, never-released stories and one expanded story that will capture your imagination. Come join us as we take you on nine amazing adventures that will change the way you look at your pet!

This fabulous collection of science fiction romance adventures will only be available for a few more months before this fabulous group of SFR adventures "disbands" forever. 

This may be your last chance to grab it at a very special price!

Available at all these e-book sellers:

Amazon US   Amazon World   iBooks  B&N   Kobo   Google Play

Still not sure? Try a free sampler via Instafreebie: Pets in Space Sampler

 

IF ONLY OUR TECH COULD BE USED FOR GOOD

Here at the beginning of the “winter” television season, as SF favorites THE EXPANSE and COLONY are coming back for another few episodes, I had thought to whine a bit about how nearly impossible it has become to do what I once so enjoyed: review SF shows on television.

With the creative blossoming of SyFy Channel and more than a few innovative programs to talk about (anybody following INCORPORATED?), I could once have had a lot of fun parsing the latest in SF TV. But even professional television critics are finding it impossible to keep up nowadays, between the split seasons of the broadcast networks (fall, winter and summer), an infinite number of cable networks and an uncounted number of offerings from streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. There are only so many hours in a day, people! And I do occasionally get up from my couch and write a word or two. Or sleep.

 

Computer, order 4 sheets of transparent aluminum.

 

 

Sorry,that is not available. Would you like to stream PIMP MY RIDE instead?

But as I was concluding that I couldn’t keep up—and so couldn’t be considered a reliable guide to what was “good” on TV—several otherwise trivial news articles merged into one big, fat clue that what was happening on my flat screen was just a sign of something much more insidious. 

The articles were featured in a single recent issue of THE WEEK, a nonpartisan magazine combining news from a variety of sources from around the nation and the world. They were in different sections of the magazine, and seemingly addressed different topics. But as I read, an underlying theme began to emerge. See if you can pick it out.

--In San Diego, a newscaster read a story on the air about a little girl who used her family’s Amazon Echo to order herself a dollhouse, simply by saying, “Alexa, order me a dollhouse.” Echoes in many of the houses of those watching the broadcast promptly ordered dollhouses.

--French cosmetics company L’Oreal has introduced a “smart” hairbrush to the market (for the low, low price of $200 U.S.). The computerized gadget is capable of analyzing not only your brushing technique, but also ambient temperature, humidity and wind conditions, presumably for those whose bathrooms lack, uh, walls or a roof. Of course, once the brilliant thing has detected the flaws in your hair due to your brushing, it can also recommend the appropriate L’Oreal product to fix them.

--That moment of triumph you experience when you finally reach a real, live human at the other end of your customer service call may be short lived when you realize the company you’re dealing with has analyzed your social media presence and chosen a particular representative to “serve” you based on your special characteristics. Think that means you’ll get better service? Oh, honey . . .

If only all this time, money, energy and technological advancement could be used for good.

I just saw HIDDEN FIGURES, the film story of Katherine G. Johnson and her female African-American compatriots at NASA in the early days of the U.S. space program. Like Laurie (see her excellent post here) I was thrilled and inspired by this unknown piece of history, blown away by how these women helped send Alan Shepherd and John Glenn into space with nothing more than a pencil and a slide rule.

What they had—along with their very impressive brains—was a common goal, set by the president and supported by the nation. There was a sense of urgency, despite very real social divisions. 

In those days, we faced a threat from the Russians, who were beating us in the space race. Today, we face global warming, fisheries decline, extinction of species, the threat of pandemic. And on top of all that, now China and Europe are beating us in the space race. Where is our sense of urgency? Where are our common goals?

I can tell you. We’re too busy developing $200 smart hairbrushes that no one needs. And wasting our huge computing power monitoring the personal habits of our citizens so we can sell them the next thing. And imagining, not a new and better world, but so many television shows that no one could possibly watch them all.

Cheers, Donna

A new way to publish - Pronoun

As I've been doing another round of edits on my new book, I've heard about a new website for publishing to the market. It's called Pronoun. It sounded rather like the excellent Draft 2 Digital site, although it's offering higher royalties at Amazon, it's not charging authors, and it's making payments to Paypal.

I have dipped my toe in the water so I can give you a few impressions. The first one (which amuses and annoys me) is that the site truncated my surname  to 'G. Van'. That's on the pages of the website, not the author field. Over the years, I've had this often - a badly constructed program written by somebody who doesn't understand that people really do have spaces in their names and that truncating at the first space isn't always correct. I even got that from the bank!

The site asked for feedback and that's the first suggestion they got from me! I think it's sloppy at best and actually, quite rude. The solution is a surname field. Simples.

The user interface is pretty intuitive. I uploaded a Word .docx which uses styles. I wasn't impressed with the format of the resulting epub. I complained about that and received a prompt response. This software doesn't want you to add title pages, copyright and the like (it adds those for you), but does expect you to use styles. So please do read the guidelines before loading. It also offers a number of different layouts from which you select the one you like.

If you'd rather, you can use your own epub and mobi files.

Entering the blurb was a trial because it was impossible to cut-and-paste from a document. I was asked to clear my cache and reload the page, which worked. So that's easy.

And then there's adding the categories and key words. Choose your categories by typing in a word or two. The software does a targeted search. For keywords, the software will show you key phrases which match your categories, or once again, try to filter whatever you enter. Good stuff.

Prices must end in .99. You don't even have to type that in.

There is provision for an author page to which you can link all your books, provided they are on  Amazon. That went pretty well - but I did hit a glitch. The cover for The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy was the current one, but the cover for  The Iron Admiral: Deception was several versions old. On this one, I was told the cover would update in time. If it was still wrong in 24 hours, I was asked to provide details. It has updated to the correct cover.

I cannot fault the customer support. It was prompt, friendly, and accurate.

A few things you should know: Pronoun is owned by Macmillan, so if you put a book through them it will say Macmillan is the publisher. But you own all the rights. It's explained in simple English in their contract. One significant item caught my eye. You MUST have your book on Amazon, either through Pronoun, or by some other means. So that suggests there's some interplay here between Amazon and Macmillan. I received an email the other day stating that Pronoun would pay 70% royalties for books at under $2.99, which is Amazon's threshold for 70% royalties. Here's a press release explaining.

I have asked the company how they make their money and this was the response.
"As for how we make money, Pronoun is part of Macmillan Publishers, and we offer paid ebook services to large media companies like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. We also plan to start offering optional paid services down the road (such as cover design or editing -- we trust authors to tell us what they want)."

Anyway, I'll put a foot in the water and see what happens. I've loaded two books with them - both times using my own epub and mobi files. Next time, I'll use a Word docx.

By the way, The Stuff of Legend is nearly here. Myths, legends, action, adventure, romance... what's not to like?

Claimed by the Cyborg: Sci-Fi Romance Inspired by the Royals

Today, we welcome bestselling science fiction romance author Cara Bristol to guest blog about her latest release, Claimed by the Cyborg. Be sure to check out her special prize drawing at the end of the blog.

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One aspect of freedom is the liberty to decide one’s fate, choose one’s occupation, lifestyle, partner. To live as one chooses.

Imagine if your life path had been decided when you born, even before you were born.

People think of royalty and see privilege, power, and wealth. But, there’s a downside people often don’t see: the restrictive expectations and the fact that one’s life has already been decided for you, especially if you are in direct line for the throne. The heir apparent is literally born to rule. He/she will be expected to act in a certain way, attend certain schools, marry someone appropriate and produce an heir. It might even be an arranged marriage. Being monarch sounds good, but frankly, I wouldn’t want to be queen.

A huge crisis and scandal erupted in the British Empire in 1936 when King-Emperor Edward VIII wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite. Because she was twice divorced, she was considered to be socially and political unsuitable to become the king’s consort. Also, at that time, the Church of England did not allow divorced people to remarry if their ex-spouse was alive, and as king, Edward was the nominal head of the church.

His solution? Edward abdicated so he could marry Wallis Simpson. He not only gave up the throne for himself, but for all his descendants. His children would never inherit. Edward’s brother, Albert, the second son, became king, taking the name George V when he ascended the throne. George was the father of Queen Elizabeth, the current monarch.

The constraints upon behavior when one is a royal was one of the inspirations behind Claimed by the Cyborg. Princess Julietta of Xenia was born to be empress. Her bonding to her consort is an arranged one, the actual mate selected by seer. She doesn’t even get to meet him until the day of ceremony. Julietta is resigned to her fate, until she meets a Terran cyborg and falls in love.

Claimed by the Cyborg Description

March Fellows assumed he had all the time in the galaxy to pursue a relationship with Jules, an alien exchange student from Xenia, until she vanished without a trace. After years of searching, he finds his lost love on the eve of her arranged marriage.

The daughter of the Xenian emperor, Julietta never meant to fall in love with a Terran man while visiting Earth. Leaving to fulfill her responsibilities on her home planet opened up a hole in her heart that could never be filled. When March, now a cyborg, unexpectedly shows up just before she is to be bonded, she struggles to find the courage to turn him away a second time and follow through with her duty. Before she can act, the lovers are thrust into a political conspiracy that threatens the Xenian empire and their lives.

Buy Links Amazon: http://hyperurl.co/Claimed-Amz
Paperback: http://hyperurl.co/ClaimedinPrint
iBooks: http://hyperurl.co/Claimed-iBooks
Kobo: http://hyperurl.co/Claimed-Kobo
Barnes & Noble: http://hyperurl.co/Claimed-BN

Claimed by the Cyborg Excerpt:

(It’s the eve of Julietta’s bonding to a man she’s never met. Her completed bonding tunic has arrived and her sister Marji urges her to try it on.)

Marji’s eyes were wide. “You don’t want to see what it looks like? Come, on! I’ll help you.” She scooted off the bed. “Try it on, please?”

“All right,” she capitulated. The tailors had done an excellent job, but it wouldn’t hurt to verify the garment fit—and it would make Marji happy. At only sixteen solar cycles, her younger sister’s bonding wouldn’t occur for several years. Like most girls her age, she talked about her future ceremony constantly, planning what she would wear, who would attend—and wondering who her mate would be.

Julietta stripped down to her panties and a lacy bra. She’d adopted Terran undergarments when she’d attended school off planet. For the bonding ceremony—and thereafter for the rest of her life—she would wear the traditional one-piece Xenian undergarment. Her choice of underwear—one more thing bonding would force her to give up.

She pulled on the pantaloons sewn in the royal huber fabric. Shimmering threads of pale rose were woven throughout so that the garment sparkled. Marji undid the fastening of the shift and held it out. Julietta slipped her arms through it, and her sister did up the back.

The weight of her world rested on her shoulders.

Her sister reached for the headdress.

“That, too?” she protested, but bent at the knees so the crown could be settled on her head. Her legs threatened to buckle, but she shored up her strength and remained upright.

“You look beautiful. Just like an empress!” Marji gushed.

“How appropriate, considering,” she replied dryly.

The ceremony brought her closer to becoming the sovereign. The bonding—and production of an heir—were the only two hurdles left. Then, when her father passed the scepter upon his fifty-first solar cycle, she would rule with her consort at her side.

The last time she’d tried on the dress, the crystals hadn’t yet been sewn on. She took a few exploratory steps.

“How does it feel?”

Crushing. “Fine.”

“It’s perfect!” Marji said.

Could she walk down the aisle without toppling over, without bursting into tears, without making a spectacle of herself in front of thousands?

She would have to—what choice did she have? As firstborn, she was heir apparent. Her future had been decided on the day of her birth, twenty-five solar cycles ago. “Let’s take it off now.” She lifted the crown from her head and tilted her neck from side to side in relief. Marji undid the back of the shift and removed the garment. While she hung up the tunic, Julietta donned her clothing.

“I can’t sleep, I’m so excited for you,” Marji said. “Tomorrow night, you get to see your consort! I don’t know why you never chose to see him before this. As future empress, you receive special dispensation and could have seen him if you’d wanted to. I would have jumped at the chance!” She sighed. “But, like everyone else, I won’t see my future mate until the Sha’A’la and won’t meet him until the bonding ceremony.”

“Whether I see him or not, the future will proceed as scheduled,” Julietta said.

“Father says he’s very kind. Mother says he’s supernova!” she said. “That’s means handsome.”

“I know what it means. Mother has been watching too many Terran vids.”

Marji giggled, and, despite herself, Julietta smiled.

Though she hadn’t seen Earth herself, their mother loved Terran culture and had encouraged her eldest daughter to study there and explore the wonders of the Blue Planet before fulfilling her duty. Julietta had had two glorious years of freedom, two glorious years of being “Jules,” two glorious years of being just another Terran Technical Institute student, two glorious years with a man who most definitely qualified as supernova, two glorious years to pretend the future would never come.

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Cara Bristol Bio
USA Today bestselling author Cara Bristol has been the no. 1 best seller in science fiction romance, bdsm erotica, and holiday fiction on Amazon. She’s the author of two science fiction romance series featuring tough alpha heroes: the Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance cyborg series and the Breeder science fiction romance series, which emphasize character-driven stories written with a touch of humor and sizzling chemistry between the hero and heroine. Cara lives in Missouri with her own alpha hero, her husband.
Website: http://www.carabristol.com
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/9aRJj
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cara.bristol.3
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Cara-Bristol-Romance-178661122147994/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Cara-Bristol/e/B004D8KZTQ/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/carabristol/
Twitter, @CaraBristol: https://twitter.com/CaraBristol
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4136271.Cara_Bristol

Prize Drawing
Do a photogram on Instagram using the cover of Claimed by the Cyborg and enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card. Hurry! Contest ends Jan. 20. Get the entry requirements & rules here.