SFR Brigade Showcase August

For a little added fun, I’m taking part if the Science Fiction Romance Brigade’s Showcase this month.

You can find out who the other participants are by hopping over to their blog. You might even find some new authors to read. I know I have!

http://sfrcontests.blogspot.com.au/p/sfr-brigade-presents.html

I have a brand new cover to show you, a teaser, a new release, and a character interview! Phew! That’s a lot. So, let’s get started.

Do you have your sunnies on? This cover is a bright one, but oh so pretty!

That’s right. Crave Me Forever, Fallen Star Book 8 is released today! (or tomorrow depending where you live)

You can find it on eXtasy as usual. It will be on Amazon from the 13th of August and other retailers after that.

So on to the good stuff!

This is a little part of Chapter Five. I had to find something with a PG-13 rating, which was a challenge!

This little bit is from my heroine Alexia’s point of view.

“And what is it that you think you can do for me, Kareldan Barkanraal?” I asked even though I had a fairly good idea why he was here.
He stepped forward again, and it brought him alarmingly close to me. My little clearing wasn’t that big.
“You are in Craving, Princess, and need a male to ease you through it. I am already on the list of males the Emperor has chosen for you. He contacted my family twice—once to request I be allowed to assist you, and again to inform us you had entered your craving and would be choosing a male.”
I gritted my teeth in frustration. Damn my father, did he ever have any intention of letting me find a male I liked, or had he planned to force me into choosing one of the males on his list all along? I stared up at Kareldan, studying him, trying to figure out what he wasn’t telling me.
“And you think I should pick you?” I asked. “Did you follow me hoping if I met you first, it would sway my decision?”
Something dark flashed through his eyes, there for a second, then gone, but it was enough for me to draw back from him as he stepped forward again.
“My brother has had a bid in for your hand since you were fifteen. The effect on my family’s standing if my brother married you would be substantial, and his bid would hold a considerable amount of weight if you were carrying my child.”
Pain twisted through me, and I turned my face away before he saw how his words had affected me. He wasn’t here because he honestly wanted me, he wasn’t here because he wanted to help me. It was all about his family and what I could do for them. I had no idea who his brother was or even how old the male was. Father had not spoken to me about the bids for my hand in marriage since the debacle of my first Craving Ceremony.
I had assumed all the bids had been withdrawn. After all, who would want a disfigured wife? Like Alita, who would want a female whose genetics would be passed to their children and mean they were unable to provide one of the most sacred of services to our people?
“I will take your family’s interest into consideration when I make my decision, Kareldan. You will know by tomorrow morning who I have chosen. The Ceremony, if there is one, will most likely be tomorrow night,” I said not looking at him.
He must have crept closer while I wasn’t watching him, and I almost jumped out of my skin when he grasped my chin in his strong hand and turned my face to expose the long scar. How dare he touch me!
“I thought you were the most beautiful female I’d ever seen when you were fifteen, and I was honored to be chosen for your Craving Ceremony, and you’ve only become more stunning, Alexia. I didn’t follow you to try and convince you. I want you, my brother wants you and my family needs the status increase that will come with being bound to the royal family.”
Emotion rolled through me at his softly spoken words. Him telling me he thought I was beautiful even though I was scarred felt nice, but his use of my name without my permission irked me, and I was confused. If he hadn’t come to convince me, but wanted me and his family needed me why was he here?
Before I could ask anything, he slipped his hand into my hair and pulled my head back with a savage yank. A gasp of pain was ripped from me. He hovered over me, his face inches from my own. I stared up into his eyes to see the darkness I’d glimpsed before swirling in their depths.
I went completely still as anger flashed through me. It was all so obvious now. I understood, now, exactly what he had planned, and I wasn’t going to let him take what he wanted. Not without one hell of a fight.
“Let me go!” I growled. “Do you really think you can get away with this? Do you really think I won’t tell my father exactly what you have done? How can expect to force me and have any chance of your brother’s bid being considered? Are you really prepared to throw away your future for your family’s aspirations?”
The hand he had in my hair twisted fiercely, ripping another cry through my clenched teeth.
“Of course I’m going to get away with it, Princess,” he snarled. “You aren’t going to breathe a word of what happens to anyone, or what that initiate did to you during your Craving Ceremony will seem like a child’s game. If I find out you told, Alexia, I will hurt you. I will make it so the only male who will have you is my brother.”

Oh, I want to keep reading!

Now for the part I’ve been looking forward to for days. I always end up with far more planning material than I can fit in a story. Creating character backstories and all the little details that make them a person can become absorbing, and distracting, but is sooo much fun!

Character interviews are one of the ways we can get to know our heros and heroines and even our villans. Frek turned out to be one of those pushy insistent characters who spring to life almost fully formed in your mind and demand you write their stories! Kind of like a child who stands at your elbow going, Mum. Mum. Mum!

So, naturally I asked him a few questions.

Me: So, what’s with the hair? Why did you choose orange? 

Frek: You don’t like it? (pulls his waist length plait over his shoulder and fiddles with the end)

Me: Ah, no.

Frek: That’s too bad. I like it. When Lita asked me what colour I wanted, and told me the options, the orange reminded me of the colour my aayani’s eyes go when she’s seriously pissed. It makes me feel closer to my Hrenkie heritage, so I kept it.

Me: Fair enough. Have you ever been to the Hrenkie home world? Have you met your mother’s people?

Frek: (sits up straighter and leans forward slightly) Oh, we went. When I was about four, Aayani and I went for a visit. I haven’t been back since, but I’ve met other Hrenkie in the years since I left Alloria. (his eyes deepen to a dark gold) They’re an…interesting people.

Me: In what way?

Frek: (grins a very wicked grin) They’re a very physical people. They like to fight, and dance, they like to hunt, and have sporting competitions, and they like sex. A lot.

Me: So you fit right in, then?

Frek: (chuckles) Uh huh. But it’s more than that, they’re a very aggressive people. They’re always fighting for dominance, and social position. When we visited, Aayani had to keep me away from the other children so I wouldn’t fight with them.

Me: But now you live on the Fallen Star and fighting is a way of life, a necessity. Was it hard to find your place among the crew?

Frek: (tilts his head to the side) You would think it would have been, wouldn’t you. I’m the shortest member of the crew, I’m the slightest. You would think they would have taken advantage of that and used it as an excuse to beat the shit out of me or turn me into their little bitch, but I was lucky. Tor’Arr took an interest in me and taught me how to fight. We soon discovered I had a gift with knives and as you humans say the rest is history.

Me: That’s interesting, he usually leaves the training up to Kesh or Brylax. How was it you actually came to be on the ship?

Frek: (flashes straight white teeth at me, in either a very freaky smile or a grimace, I can’t quite tell) I was in a bar and I picked a fight with Kesh. After he put me on the floor in two seconds, he offered me a place on the ship. Don’t ask me why. You’d have to ask him that. I never know what that crazy ass is thinking.

Me: Okay, last question. If you could have your life over again, what one thing would you change?

Frek: I wouldn’t change anything. Every decision I’ve made, every thing that has happened to me led me to this point. If anything changed, I might have never met Alita. I would never have left Alloria and become friends with the crew, nor would I be in a position to fight for what’s right. The decisions we make play such an important role in how our future unfolds. We have to make the decision that feels right to us at the time. We can’t second guess ourselves later, because we don’t know what the future would have brought if we decided differently.

 

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the little snippet of Crave Me Forever, and my chat with Frek. You can find the full first chapter here.

And don’t forget to pop over to SFR Brigade and check out the other authors taking part in the showcase!