Ever been a fugitive from the law?

Ever known anyone who has?

Ever wondered what it would be like to be a righteous fugitive?

Would you be willing to escape to an isolated moon

inhabited only by soldiers, mining robots–and an invading army?

ESCAPEE

A science fiction romance
by Ed Hoornaert
has just been accepted for publication in early 2016.

Read chapter one of Escapee

A Disillusioned Soldier

Hector Dukelsky is a career soldier and the son of generals … but he yearns to fight a righteous war, not quell riots by downtrodden peasants or defend corporate interests. He loses all hope of fulfilling his dream when his entire command is slaughtered while he’s away, leaving him stranded alone in smoldering rubble on Banff, an isolated, uninhabitable mining moon, where he has no possibility of even reaching the enemy.

 A Pilot with a Chip on Her Shoulder

Catt Sayer, an escapee from a harsh peasant life, ekes out a living by flying supplies on a decrepit airship … but when invaders destroy all army bases, her hard-won career is destroyed. Searching for survivors, she finds Hector and flies him to safety—but safety is not what he wants. Captain A-Hole, as she calls him, wants her to risk her ship and her life on an impossible trip to the other side of the moon to attack the enemy headquarters.

 A Dying Moon

Catt knows Banff. She knows the moon will kill them long before they reach the enemy. She agrees to Hector’s scheme, certain he’ll give up after experiencing the terror of a volcanic eruption. But he refuses to quit, and slowly his noble, self-sacrificing dream—and his love—fills her empty life. Now she risks love, as well as life, while trying to survive Banff’s unconquerable environment … and the only reward for success is a battle against ten thousand enemy warriors.

Escapee is a sequel to The Guardian Angel of Farflung Angel.  You’ve read it, haven’t you? If you  haven’t what are you waiting for? It features the best character I’ve ever created.

I, Fart-Fueled Flying Feline (Effing for short) feel fat. For a mere human, ‘fat’ might be a bad feeling, but for superior beings like cats, it is satisfying, delightful, and wonderful–almost a religious experience.

I’m feeling fat because Mr. V (Ed Hoornaert) is so happy about signing a book contract for a new science fiction romance that he’s feeding me extra. May you sell lots of books, Mr. V!

Here’s selection from the new book, Escapee, which is scheduled to be released early next year. It’s a sequel to The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station, in that it features the brother of Angel’s hero.

In these eight sentences, our heroine, a supply ship captain named Catteroon Sayer (Catt for short–love that name) is about to rescue the hero, who is the lone survivor of an enemy attack on Castle Mountain fortress.

Never before had Catt gotten to Castle Mountain ahead of schedule. Of course, never before had her last stop, Rundle City, been reduced to bloody rubble.

For the last two hundred miles, she’d hidden under the cloud cover, taking advantage of rare calm weather. Now she fought the unresponsive command box to lift Escapee into the clear upper air. When they were free of the clouds, she hesitated before issuing her next command, afraid of what she might see.

“Amplify Castle Mountain.”

“Amplifying Castle Mountain visual,” Lance responded.

Seconds later, after the viewscreen flickered to life, she stared at devastation. She swallowed hard, hoping her lunch would stay down.

 Not only is the heroine named Catt, but the book features a kitten, too. I’m gonna love this story!

Be sure to visit the other writers who’ve posted snippets for eight sentence Sunday. Maybe some of them will write about cats, too. If they do, leave me a comment to let me know, eh?

Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, Effing for short. Effing writes these Eight Sentence Sunday posts on Mr. Hoornaert’s behalf

I, Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, am a soldier model, with built-in weapons and a nasty attitude!

Unfortunately, I can’t prove it, as I’ve never actually caught and killed anything.  Mr. V., aka Edward Hoornaert, has no mice in his house, and I’m not allowed outside to hunt birds even though Southern Arizona hosts the largest number of bird species outside of the Amazon basin.  It’s not fair!

You’ll see the significance of ‘soldier model’ in this snippet from Escapee, which will be published early next year.  Catt, the civilian pilot of a supply airship, has just landed at Castle Mountain fortress, destroyed by an enemy attack.  Here she talks with Lancelot, her android co-pilot.

Whenever fear and hopelessness threatened to overwhelm her, Catt responded by keeping busy, and now she concentrated on guiding Escapee to its softest landing ever. That wasn’t easy, because the wind had resumed its usual howl, a ruined crawler blocked the center of the landing pad, and the northwest quadrant of the pad was blasted to rubbish.

When the ship was down, she scanned all radio frequencies, but static reigned instead of the usual greetings. At least no one ordered her, in nasal, almost incomprehensible Proximanian Basic, to come out with her hands up.

After Catt donned her bio-suit, she handed Lance the only weapons she could find: a carving knife and a heavy propane cylinder to use as a club. “If anyone other than me comes aboard, kill them.”

“Kill?” Lance dropped the ersatz weapons, which clattered to the hollow metal deck plates. “Killing is counter to manufacturer’s parameters, Catt — I am not a soldier model.”

Catt should’ve had me with her. I’d take care of all the #^@% enemy invaders with one claw tied behind my tail!  Grr hiss!

For more great snippets, check out the other posts for today’s Eight Sentence Sunday.

Once a month the Science Fiction Romance Brigade authors showcase snippets from new releases, works in progress, cover reveals or other fun things. Check out all of this month’s participants.

The African Queen in Outer Space?

It was t.s. elliott who said, “Good writers borrow, great writers steal.” I’m not sure if I borrowed or stole — probably borrowed, because I’m not a great writer — but my upcoming release is unabashedly based on the 1951 movie, The African Queen.

The movie is a classic that stills draws raves.  On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an astonishing 100% positive rating.  If you haven’t seen it, you should treat yourself.

Since I was young, I’ve always admired the movie’s blend of adventure, romance, and heroism in the face of overwhelming odds.  So I decided to retell the story, setting it on an inhospitable moon, rather than the African Jungle.

I reversed the sexes of the romantic leads and added some secondary characters. If I didn’t tell you my book was based on the African Queen, you’d probably never notice.

But I don’t care if you know my little secret. Just don’t tell anyone, okay?

“This is really good!”

Lately I’ve been working with one of the fine developmental editors at MuseItUp Publishing on Escapee, which is what I call my African Queen. One of her comments chuffed me up something fierce. At the end of the build-up to the book’s first love scene, she commented, “This is really good!”  With an exclamation point, like the cherry atop a hot fudge sundae.

Here’s the passage between Catt, my lower-class heroine who was abused as a youngster, and Hank, my wealthy career soldier.

What she needed, deserved, was love. And, in order to banish forever the nightmares haunted by the hoary Sir Orlinder, she needed to be in control.

She pulled away from the kiss. Stepped back. He reached for her.

“Take off your clothes,” she said breathlessly.

Passion ruled his eyes. Maybe no other words might have stopped him from embracing her right then. But those words did.

He complied, with haste. If he looked wonderful in a ratty old uniform, he looked far better out of it. Her mouth went dry. He reached for her.

“No,” she said. “Sit on the couch.”

He cocked his head to one side, studying her face. Whatever he read there convinced him to sit, but he sighed. “One of us is naked.”

“Believe it or not, I noticed that.”

“My point is only one of us is naked.”

“Why, I do believe you’re right. How did that happen?”

“And when is it going to unhappen? Catt, you’re torturing me.” His face sobered, which was the last thing she wanted. “Or it that all that you’re trying to do? Tease and torture because you still think I’m a patroon and share the responsibility for your father’s death?”

She swallowed hard. His words struck too close to a truth that lurked in the bowels of her mind. Sir Orlinder—and, perhaps more important, a lifetime of class-consciousness—still lived in the shadowed recesses of her mind. She hesitated.

“You’re playing with a live grenade,” he warned.

She glanced at his midsection, where the grenade—with an enticingly large pin—resided. Yes, very much alive, and as dangerous as a grenade.

“You like looking?” he asked.

Her lips were dry. She licked them.

“What else do you like, Catt?”

Sir Orlinder had always told her what to do. Use your mouth like this. Lie there and spread your legs. Always, he was in charge. She wanted to change that, but even if Hank was patient enough to let her try, she had no idea what to do.

“What do you need me to do?” he asked.

“I need…” With small but deliberate steps, she edged toward him and then stopped an arm’s distance away. “I need you to teach me what I like.”

• Learn more about Escapee.
• Check out the other great writers involved in the SFR Brigade Showcase.

Once a month the Science Fiction Romance Brigade authors showcase snippets from new releases, works in progress, cover reveals or other fun things. Check out all of this month’s participants.

The African Queen in Outer Space?

My upcoming SFRom release, Escapee, is coming out in early 2016 from MuseItUp Publishing out of Montreal. The book is unabashedly based on the 1951 movie, The African Queen.

My version is set on an inhospitable moon, rather than the African Jungle, but in both tales the hero and heroine battle nature and, ultimately, the invading enemy.

How did I transform a movie into a science fiction romance? So glad you asked.

Analyzing the movie

I rented the movie and looked for two things:

• Stages — Charley and Rosie’s relationship go through a number of stages.
• Turning points — The events that caused their relationship to change from one stage to another.

I then devised analogous — but subtly different — stages and turning points for Escapee. Here are a few of them, so you get the feel for how the analysis worked.

Stage 1:  Polite disconnect between hero and heroine.

• AQ — Rosie, a missionary in German East Africa, disapproves of Charley, a crude freighter captain who brings supplies, but treats him with chilly politeness.
• Escapee — Hector, a stuffy career army officer, disapproves of the freewheeling, lower-class airship pilot, Cattaroon who supplies his base.

Turning point:  The enemy invades.

In AQ, it’s the Germans, who leave Rosie alone and stranded — until Charley comes by and saves her.

In Escapee, it’s humans from the Proxima system. While Hector’s on leave, they destroy his entire command, leaving him stranded and alone — until Catt lands, looking for survivors.

Stage 2:  Rosie devises a near-impossible goal that he doesn’t agree with.

• AQ — Rosie’s wants to attack a German warship. Charley agrees, knowing she’ll give up when she learns how dangerous the river is.
• Escapee — Hector wants to attack enemy headquarters. Catt agrees only because she’s certain he’ll give up when he realizes how dangerous a flight across the moon is.

So far the two stories are very similar. Now they start to diverge, though the skeleton remains the same.

Turning point:  When mild danger fails to deter her from her purpose, his true feelings come out explosively.

In AQ, after shooting rapids doesn’t deter Rosie, Charley gets drunk and insults Rosie. She dumps out all his rum.

In Escapee, after getting caught in a volcano’s updraft doesn’t deter Hector, Catt sabotages a cannon stored in the airship’s hold.

Stage 3:  Futile attempts to rebuild a civil relationship.

• AQ — Charley apologizes for insulting her, but she won’t accept his apology unless he agrees to take her to the Germans’ ship.
• Escapee — With the cannon gone, Hector realizes how futile his quest is. Feeling guilty, Catt tries to be nice, but he’s too depressed to talk about it.

Turning point:  He agrees to share her goal.

In AQ, Charley’s (deeply buried!) chivalry makes him give in.

In Escapee, Catt remembers all the friends whom the enemy has killed. Hearing her cry during the night, Hector finally talks, voicing his idealistic reasons for wanting to fight. Inspired by his idealism, Catt agrees to make the dangerous voyage to the other side of the moon.

Stage 4:  Falling in love

Etc, etc.

“Inspired By”, Not a Ripoff

I won’t bore you with all six stages, but hopefully you get the general idea. Analyzing the movie turned out to be a huge help in developing my plot. You ought to try it some time.

I’d like to emphasize that Escapee ended up having a very different feel than the movie. If I didn’t tell you it was based on the African Queen, you probably wouldn’t notice.

If addition to being science fiction rather than historical drama, here are some of the key differences:

• Although both environments are hostile, they’re different — river rapids vs. hurricanes and volcanoes.
• The characters are very different. The genders are reversed, for one thing. Their wounds are very different, as are the lessons they need to learn.
• I added secondary characters:
  > They capture an enemy who tries to sabotage the airship.
  > Hector has an alien pet that is ugly/lovable.
  > Catt’s android co-pilot provides comic relief as well as the book’s most poignant scene, when he dies.
• The ending is more believable, IMHO. AQ’s ending requires an act of God (a rainstorm that floats their grounded boat) and a wild coincidence (their sunken boat nonetheless sinks the German ship). Escapee has a logical ending.

What’s It to You?

If you have a favorite movie you love, you might want to turn it into a book of your own. If so, consider analyzing it for stages and turning points.

What movie would you like to turn into an “inspired by” novel? Tell us about it in the comments.

Suggested Reading

Escapee is the second book in my space opera series featuring the Dukelsky family. The first book is The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station.

Sandrina, a lonely, waif-like genius, conceals more secrets—and power—than anyone on Farflung Space Station. One secret is her hopeless crush on Duke Dukelsky, the handsome head of the station’s security.

But when invaders take over Farlung, Duke needs Sandrina’s help to repel them and rescue the reformed space pirate who cut out her tongue when she was eight. Can she earn Duke’s love even though it means stripping herself of all secrets and forgiving the man who maimed her?

Every month, the Science Fiction Romance Brigade showcases the work of some of its authors. Today I’m delighted to announce that my upcoming space opera, Escapee, is available for pre-order on Amazon and other favorite e-book sites. To celebrate, I’m unveiling my travel poster for Banff, which is what I named the dying moon where Escapee takes place.

In case you haven’t seen them, NASA has released travel posters for many exoplanets they’ve discovered.  I’ve made similar posters for all my science fiction worlds. Here, for the first time on any planet, is the poster for Banff.

Some background:

• Since Catt and Hank must fly all the way around their moon to attack the headquarters of an invading army, I needed a lot of place names. To make it easier (and more interesting, at least for me), I dug out a map of Banff National Park, where the wife and I honeymooned, and stole names.

• Banff (the fictional moon, not the national park) is dying. It used to be an uninhabitable planet that’s been captured into orbit around a gas giant. The giant’s gravity is tearing the moon apart, causing storms and thousands of volcanoes. The environment is even more dangerous than the enemy soldiers.

• After being battered and sexually abused, Catt stole money from her aristocratic abuser and escaped. She fled to Banff because people told her it was the best place to escape from the law. And they were right. Cops don’t bother to chase fugitives to such a ridiculously dangerous moon.

And now you  know the story behind the poster. Do you have any worlds you’d like to visit?

If you simply must remain on earth, at least make sure you visit the other great writers from the SFR Brigade.

Alien Contact for Kid Sisters

The Trilogy of Tompa Lee

Alien Contact for Idiots

The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station

The Midas Rush

Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, Effing for short, writes the Weekend Writing Warrior / Sunday Snippet posts on Mr. V’s behalf

I, Effing Feline, have selected another snippet from Escapee, the upcoming science fiction romance by my pet human, Ed Hoornaert, aka Mr Valentine.

I, too, am an escapee. The vicious, man-eating dog next door (shudder) charged at me yesterday while I peacefully washed my paws atop the fence.  I barely escaped his ferocious, snapping jaws. That darned Chihuahua!

Last week, Catt Sayer saw from the air that the Castle Mountain military base had been destroyed by human invaders from the Proxima star system (Proxies). She landed to look for survivors and finds one — only one — inside a temporary air dome.

It’s the base commander, Captain Dukelsky, who was on leave during the attack. He’s given her such a hard time in the past that she nicknamed him Captain A-hole. Although he’s surrounded by death and destruction, the a-hole is calmly typing and refuses to leave until he’s done.

“I’m not one of your troopers you can order around,” Catt said, “and I’ll be damned if I just sit here while everyone’s dead or captured, just because you have a plarking report to write. What happened here?”

Dukelsky didn’t look up from his typing. “My entire command is, as you so crudely pointed out, dead. All bodies are accounted for.”

And yet he sat there, typing a report, probably describing events in such a way as to exonerate himself.

“The Proxies landed an invasion station at Norquay, on the other side of this moon,” she said. If news of the largest assault ship in the galaxy didn’t get a rise out of him, nothing would.

Dukelsky ignored her and kept typing.

“Rundle City is half-flattened,” she continued, determined to puncture his calm, “and the Proxies have taken over.”

Effing Feline again. Great news — Escapee is now available for pre-sale. Even the stupid Chihuahua next door is getting one. You should, too!

Make sure you read the snippets by other great weekend writing warriors and Sunday Snippets folks.

Escapee — The African Queen in Outer Space.

A science fiction romance by Edward Hoornaert, author of Alien Contact for Idiots.

Cover by Eerilyfair Design

Catt Sayer, an abused peasant and a fugitive from justice on her home planet, makes a meager living flying a decrepit airship that delivers supplies to scattered military bases on an isolated, inhospitable mining moon. When enemies invade the moon and destroy the bases, Catt rescues the lone survivor—Captain Hank Dukelsky, an upper-class army captain. Now Hank wants her to risk her life on an impossible quest to attack the enemy headquarters…and Catt is falling in love with both the man and his magnificently quixotic ambition.

Great movie — if you haven’t seen it, get it today!

Escapee is available for pre-sale, with a release date of April 19, 2016. Rediscover the thrills and romance of one of the all-time great movies, now in a science fiction setting—reserve your copy of Escapee today.

• Amazon  |  Canada  |  UK
• Barnes & Noble
• Apple
• Kobo
• MuseItUp Publishing

Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, Effing for short, writes the Weekend Writing Warrior / Sunday Snippet posts on Mr. V’s behalf

I, Effing Feline, have wreaked my revenge on Chico, the evil chihuahua next door. If you remember, he terrified me as I washed myself atop the fence. Genius that I am, I eventually realized that Chico is too pitifully small to reach the top of the fence … so I have lain there for half an hour every day, calmly enjoying the sun while he yaps himself hoarse. Ah, sweet victory!

Still purring from my success, I selected another snippet from Escapee, the upcoming science fiction romance by my pet human, Ed Hoornaert, aka Mr Valentine. In last week’s snippet, civilian pilot Catt Sayer found a lone survivor in the wreckage of the Castle Mountain fortress — the base commander, Captain Dukelsky, who was on leave during the attack.

Although surrounded by death and destruction, he is calmly typing and refuses to leave until he’s done. Catt fears he’s gone insane … until Dukelsky finally explains himself.

“As for leaving here before the Proximanian army returns, I thought of that long before you did, which was why I hastened to finish my reports.”

The entire moon had fallen into enemy hands and this man wrote reports? Her opinion must’ve shown on her face, because his flinty expression slipped, revealing exhaustion, despair, and a plea for understanding.

“I know I’ll never be able to send them, but…” He ran a hand over his eyes, and the unfeeling martinet was back. “The reports are letters to my men’s families, explaining that they died bravely at their posts, defending New Ontario’s interests.”

Catt opened her mouth. Closed it. Felt her face flame. Facing Dukelsky was like staring into a furnace.

Effing Feline here again.  He calmly types reports, just like I calmly sun myself. I like this Dukelsky dude!

Make sure you read the snippets by other great weekend writing warriors and Sunday Snippets folks.

The African Queen in Outer Space

A Disillusioned Soldier…  Hector Dukelsky, an upper-class career officer, yearns to fight a righteous war instead of defending corporate interests on Banff, an isolated mining moon. That dream seems dead when his entire command is slaughtered while he’s away, leaving him alone in smoldering rubble with no chance to survive, let alone strike back at the enemy.

A Pilot with a Chip on Her Shoulder…  Catt Sayer, a working-class fugitive from the law, earns a meager income carrying supplies on a decrepit airship, but her hard-won life vanishes when invaders capture Banff. While searching for survivors, she rescues Hector and flies him to safety. But he doesn’t want safety. He wants her to risk her life on a hopeless journey to attack the enemy headquarters.

A Dying Moon…  Catt is sure Banff will kill them long before the enemy can … yet she agrees to Hector’s scheme, certain he’ll quit after experiencing one of the moon’s eruptions or ferocious storms. But he doesn’t quit, and slowly his noble dream—and his love—conquer her heart. She pits her life and love against Banff’s lethal environment, even though the only reward for success will be the opportunity to face ten thousand enemy warriors.

Welcome to Mr Valentine‘s pad, the home of science fiction with humor and romance.

Thanks for joining the Little Things Blog Hop. Visit each stop to enter the posted giveaway — and enter a drawing for some great prizes, including a $50 Amazon gift card. More on those prizes in a minute. First, though, let me tell you what you can win right here and now.

• Raise your foot if you’ve seen the classic movie The African Queen? Great, that’s almost all of you.
• Now raise your elbow if you loved the movie’s adventure and the romance between Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. Excellent!

Lucky you — because by visiting this blog, you can recapture African Queen’s excitement and romance.  If you loved the movie, you’ll love my upcoming science fiction romance, Escapee — The African Queen in Outer Space. Even if  you don’t read science fiction, you’ll love this book.

Catt Sayer, an abused peasant and a fugitive from justice on her home planet, makes a meager living flying a decrepit airship that delivers supplies to scattered military bases on an isolated, inhospitable moon.

When enemies invade the moon and destroy the bases, Catt rescues the lone survivor—Captain Hank Dukelsky, an upper-class army captain.

But Hank wants her to risk her life on an impossible quest to attack the enemy headquarters … and Catt is falling in love with both the man and his magnificently quixotic ambition.

Note that Escapee doesn’t escape the publisher’s clutches until April 19, 2016. Can’t wait? Read chapter one.

Want it. Love it. Gotta have it. But how?

Simplicity itself. Just leave a comment.

That’s it. Everyone who leaves a comment agreeing to join my infrequent mailing list (sent out twice last year) will get a copy of Escapee when it’s released. Yep, everyone. Not some of you. Everyone.

I’ll be in touch with you soon after the Little Things Blog Hop ends on April 1.

Okay, I’ve left a comment. What next?

From here, continue on to the next Little Thing, hosted by Linda O’Connor.

Join the Little Things Blog Hop Event for more fun and yet another giveaway.

What about the prizes? You mentioned prizes, Mr Valentine!

See what else is being given away and sign up to win a $50 Amazon gift card (among other great prizes)!

Winner (s) will be chosen by Mr. Random and announced on this page and on the Little Things Event Page by April 6th. Note that Facebook is not in any way responsible or affiliated with this giveaway or the Little Things Blog Hop.

Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, Effing for short, writes the Weekend Writing Warrior / Sunday Snippet posts on Mr. V’s behalf

I, Effing Feline, am out of catnip.

You dare smile at that? It’s series serious! I’m suffering frum the DT’s. Canned eben tipe!

Gotta earn more catnap catnip. Gotta, gotta.  So, real quick, more from Escapee, the upcoming science fiction romance from Ed Hoornaert, aka Mr Valentine.

In last week’s snippet, Catt Sayer confronted Captain Dukelsky, who was calmly typing reports in the wreckage of his former command. Catt scoffs openly. She already disliked Captain A-hole because of an earlier quarrel: his troopers had looked forward to her supply ship’s visits so eagerly that he’d assumed she must be a hooker.

But when she learns the reports are letters to his dead soldiers’ families, she’s mortified.  The last line was Facing Dukelsky was like staring into a furnace.

Catt lowered her gaze. “I didn’t know…”

“Yet you assumed the worst of me.”

Without thinking, she had slumped into the submissive, hunched posture of a peasant being scolded by a patroon. Now, though, she straightened. She wouldn’t let him or any other rich patroon humble her, ever again. “Turnabout’s a bitch, eh?”

She expected him to ask what she meant, but a narrowing of his eyes told her he remembered his cheap prostitute comment. Their gazes locked. Catt refused to back down first.

Effing Feline here again.  For cats, DT means Doggy Terrors — nightmares because of that evil chihuahua next door!

Make sure you read the snippets by other great weekend writing warriors and Sunday Snippets folks.

ESCAPEE — The African Queen in Outer Space

Catt Sayer, an abused peasant and a fugitive from justice on her home planet, makes a meager living flying a decrepit airship that delivers supplies to scattered military bases on an isolated, inhospitable mining moon.

When enemies invade the moon and destroy the bases, Catt rescues the lone survivor—Captain Hank Dukelsky, an upper-class army captain.

Now Hank wants her to risk her life on an impossible quest to attack the enemy headquarters on the far side of the moon…and Catt is falling in love with both the man and his magnificently quixotic ambition.

Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, Effing for short, writes the Weekend Writing Warrior / Sunday Snippet posts on Mr. V’s behalf

Last week I, Effing Feline, told you I had the DT’s because I ran out of catnip. Here’s was happened to me after that:

Photo by tosher, courtesy Deposit Photos

That’s right.  I was in an INSTITUTION, in a STRAITJACKET while I dried out.  (And before you ask — no, this is not my head photoshopped onto beautiful redhead, in a blatant plea for sympathy and salmon tidbits. Do you honestly think we cats can use Photoshop? Get serious!)

Today, another snippet from Escapee, the upcoming science fiction romance from my pet human, Ed Hoornaert, aka Mr Valentine. I’m skipping ahead a couple chapters.

Catt Sayer rescued Captain Hector Dukelsky, the only soldier who survived an invasion of a mining moon called Banff. He wants Catt to fly him in her airship to attack the enemy headquarters on the other side of the moon. Storms and volcanoes make the trip impossible, yet she agrees, certain he’ll abandon his mad plan after experiencing Banff’s fury.

Immediately following a close encounter with the wild winds caused by a pair of volcanoes, Catt pets a pet cat (I loved typing this phrase), certain that Hector will abandon his suicidal quest.

She stared down at the cat and spoke as though Hector wasn’t there. “After that experience he realizes, of course, that flying to the other side of the moon is too dangerous to contemplate. Right?” She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed and focusing on him like surgical lasers.

“The only thing I’m convinced of is that you’re a fantastic pilot,” Hector said. “I had misgivings before, but after seeing you in action, Miss Sayer, I … well, I can’t tell you how glad I am to have you along on this mission.”

“What!”

Hector blinked. This woman sure didn’t accept compliments very well.

Effing Feline here again. I simply must insist that those salmon tidbits be fresh, not frozen or canned. See to it!

Read the snippets by other great weekend writing warriors and Sunday Snippets folks.\

I almost forgot. Mr V is looking for folks who might be interested in posting an honest Amazon/Goodreads/whatever review fairly soon after the April 19 release. If that’s you, Mr V can send you an ARC. (Whatever an ARC is. I’m pretty sure it’s not edible, so don’t get your hopes up.)

<<  ===  >>

The African Queen in Outer Space

Catt Sayer just wants to survive.  The working-class fugitive delivers military supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won livelihood vanishes when invaders overrun her harsh moon. And now an idealistic, upper-class officer wants her to risk her life on a hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned by 10,000 soldiers.

Edward Hoornaert’s romantic space opera, Escapee, continues the saga of the Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station).  If you like The African Queen and the thrill of underdogs finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love Escapee.

Don’t let this rousing tale escape you.  Pre-order Escapee today.

Every month, the Science Fiction Romance Brigade highlights some of its brilliant authors.

Today I, Effing Feline, am getting greedy — which is, of course, a cat’s purrogative. Just ask Garfield. I’m here to talk about Ed Hoornaert’s new novel, Escapee —

Wait up! I see a couple of quizzical eyebrows out there in my audience.  (Yes, us cats have the mystical ability to see what you’re doing through the far side of your computer screen. So CUT IT OUT.  You should be ashamed of yourself!)

Who, you ask, is Effing Feline, and why have I never heard of such an amazing cat? For you ignoramuses, my full name is Fart Fueled Flying Feline, and I am the  master of my pet human, Ed Hoornaert. I am magnificent! And I love exclamation marks!!!

I earn my tunafish by writing a weekly column on Mr V’s website. (Ed is ‘Mr Valentine’ because he inspired an award winning Harlequin novel of that name. Yeah, I agree; that’s pretty boring.) Anyway, in my greed, I’m doing an extra gig this week — and I’m getting paid 18 whole cents to do it!

I’m hear today to tell — not ask, tell — you to pre-order Mr V’s fourteenth book, Escapee, which’ll be released April 19. It’s a great sci fi book, yada yada, and a great romance from a guy who got his start writing for Silhouette Books, blah blah blah.

And I get an extra 2 cents for each copy you folks order!  Wooha!

Don’t worry that I’m underpaid, ’cause I’m not. Do you have any idea how much 18 cents is in cat money? I’ll be hissing rich!

Now go away. Visit the other writers in the SFR Brigade Showcase or something, and don’t bother me any more. It’s nap time.

The African Queen in Outer Space

Catt Sayer just wants to survive.  The working-class fugitive delivers military supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won livelihood vanishes when invaders overrun her harsh moon. And now an idealistic, upper-class officer wants her to risk her life on a hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned by 10,000 soldiers.

Edward Hoornaert’s romantic space opera, Escapee, continues the saga of the Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station).  If you like The African Queen and the thrill of underdogs finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love Escapee.

Don’t let this rousing tale escape you.  Pre-order Escapee today.

Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, Effing for short, writes the Weekend Writing Warrior / Sunday Snippet posts on Mr. V’s behalf

I, Effing Feline, am rich.  My pet human, Ed Hoornaert, gave me another blog post to write and paid me eighteen cents! Do you have the foggiest notion how many millions eighteen cents is in cat money? I’m now the richest cat in the whole state!

I’m skipping ahead to the next turning point of Escapee. In The African Queen, Humphrey Bogart gets drunk because he’s angry at Kate Hepburn for wanting to go on to attack the enemy, even after experiencing river rapids. In Escapee, Catt is angry at Hector for wanting to go on to attack the enemy, even after flying through a volcanic eruption.

Does Catt get drunk? Nothing that tame! While her airship has landed for the night, she sneaks out of the cabin and into the cargo hold, where she uses a forklift to pick up a crate holding the cannon Dukelsky needed for his attack.  (Her ship delivered military supplies, if you remember.)  She’s going to dump the weapon off a cliff.

Or is she?

But as she drove the forklift over the bumpy rocks, her mind betrayed her. This was wrong. Dukelsky was right to fight against the invaders who had destroyed her world. She paused, looking around as though she’d never seen the looming bulk of Escapee before.

The seat of the forklift vibrated as the old machine idled, while she debated right and wrong on the barren, hostile crags of an uninhabitable world. If she debated long enough, the motor would run out of oxygen and its power would die of asphyxiation. Then she wouldn’t have to decide at all. Would that be better than committing the grossest act of mulishness in a life filled with stubbornness?

Uphill from her, the airlock opened — Dukelsky!

She gunned the motor.

Effing Feline here again. Looks like stubbornness is overruling Catt’s sense of right and wrong.

Read the snippets by other great weekend writing warriors and Sunday Snippets folks.

<<  ===  >>

The African Queen in Outer Space

Catt Sayer just wants to survive.  The working-class fugitive delivers military supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won livelihood vanishes when invaders overrun her harsh moon. And now an idealistic, upper-class officer wants her to risk her life on a hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned by 10,000 soldiers.

Edward Hoornaert’s romantic space opera, Escapee, continues the saga of the Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station).  If you like The African Queen and the thrill of underdogs finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love Escapee.

Don’t let this rousing tale escape you.  Pre-order Escapee today.

Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, Effing for short, writes the Weekend Writing Warrior / Sunday Snippet posts on Mr. V’s behalf

I, Effing Feline, caught a mouse today.  That makes me a great hunter!  As great as the chap at right, and just as pleased with myself as he is.

In last week’s snippet from the soon-to-be-released Escapee, we saw Catt just before she dumped a cannon off a cliff (which was, unfortunately for her, sabotage in time of war).  Back inside the airship, Hector advances on her, enraged.

We learn later that Catt was a battered woman, so she expects him to beat her. This is one of the first times she really sees Hector rather than the stereotype she imagines him to be.

He speaks first.

“If your female irrationality demands it, go ahead and scream,” he growled. “I’m curious, though—who’s going to charge to your rescue?”

Catt stared into his eyes. The phrase she bored deep into his soul came to mind, but that was meaningless twaddle. And yet something she saw made her stand a little straighter, a little less frightened.

“You,” she said, sounding puzzled and surprised.

“I’m the bad guy, according to you.”

“Yeah, you are, but … you have a soul in there.” She relaxed her defensive posture, her eyes wide with wonder. “Screaming would bring out the gentleman in you and you’d rescue me from yourself … I think.”

Effing Feline here again. Mr V says I have to fess up about my bragging, darn it. The mouse I caught was … well … it was —

Do I really have to admit this, Mr V?

He says yes. Sigh.

The mouse was grandson Wesley’s plush Mickey Mouse. There, I said it–but oh, the shame!

While I hide my face, go read the snippets by other great weekend writing warriors and Sunday Snippets folks.

<<  ===  >>

The African Queen in Outer Space

Catt Sayer just wants to survive.  The working-class fugitive delivers military supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won livelihood vanishes when invaders overrun her harsh moon. And now an idealistic, upper-class officer wants her to risk her life on a hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned by 10,000 soldiers.

Edward Hoornaert’s romantic space opera, Escapee, continues the saga of the Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station).  If you like The African Queen and the thrill of underdogs finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love Escapee.

Don’t let this rousing tale escape from you.  Pre-order Escapee today at:

• Amazon US  |  Canada  |  UK  |  Australia
• MuseItUp Publishing
• Apple iBooks
• Barnes and Noble
• Kobo Books

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  The blog hop features lists related to all things bookish–characters, authors, titles, and favorites. They’re an excellent way to find new interesting books on a variety of topics, and to connect with bloggers who love the books you do.

This week’s theme is top ten books every X should read, where bloggers get to choose what X stands for.  I chose X=fiction writers, because I read a ton of books about writing craft.

In no particular order, here are some of the books I find useful:

• Techniques of the Selling Writer, by Dwight V. Swain
• Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story, by James Scott Bell
• Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting that You’ll ever Need, by Blake Snyder. Applicable to novel writing, too.
• Believable Characters: Creating with Enneagrams, by Laurie Schnebly
• 45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters, by Victoria Lynn Schmidt
• Hooked: Write Fiction that Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go, by Les Edgerton
• World-Building: A Writers’s Guide to Constructing Star Systems and Life-Supporting Planets, by Stephen L. Gillett. For science fiction writers.
• Writing 21st Century Fiction: High-Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling, by Donald Maas. Or Writing the Breakout Novel.  Or anything of his, really.
• Writing Screenplays That Sell: The Complete Guide to Turning Story Concepts into Movie and Television Deals, by Michael Hauge. Applicable to novel writing, too. Hauge is my current guru for story structure–a great place to start if your talent is for crafting words, rather than telling stories.
• The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

I could go on, but the rules say ten, so ten is all you get.

What about you? Have ever thought about writing books of your own? Tell us about it in a comment. And be sure to check out fascinating top tens by other bloggers.

And finally, since we’re talking about writing fiction … please ignore the following and forgive me for posting it.

The African Queen in Outer Space

Catt Sayer just wants to survive.  The working-class fugitive delivers military supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won livelihood vanishes when invaders overrun her harsh moon. And now an idealistic, upper-class officer wants her to risk her life on a hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned by 10,000 soldiers.

Edward Hoornaert’s romantic space opera, Escapee, continues the saga of the Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station).  If you like The African Queen and the thrill of underdogs finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love Escapee.

Don’t let this rousing tale escape from you.

• Amazon US  |  Canada  |  UK  |  Australia
• MuseItUp Publishing
• Apple iBooks
• Barnes and Noble
• Kobo Books

They say the pen is mightier than the sword. Here’s why.

One of the many great comics you can read for free at GoComics.com! Follow us for giveaways & giggles. Source: Last Kiss by John Lustig, April 13, 2016 Via @GoComics

<<  ===  >>

Coming real soon (April 19) from Ed  Hoornaert:

The African Queen in Outer Space

Catt Sayer just wants to survive.  The working-class fugitive delivers military supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won livelihood vanishes when invaders overrun her harsh moon. And now an idealistic, upper-class officer wants her to risk her life on a hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned by 10,000 soldiers.

Edward Hoornaert’s romantic space opera, Escapee, continues the saga of the Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station).  If you like The African Queen and the thrill of underdogs finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love Escapee.

Don’t let this rousing tale escape from you.

• Amazon US  |  Canada  |  UK  |  Australia
• MuseItUp Publishing
• Apple iBooks
• Barnes and Noble
• Kobo Books

Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, Effing for short, writes the Weekend Writing Warrior / Sunday Snippet posts on Mr. V’s behalf

I, Effing Feline, am expecting a visit — my cousin Lee is coming on Tuesday. Although I’ve never met him, my daddy always spoke of Lee with tremendous respect. I’m sure we’ll have great fun.  I scattered all my toys over the living room floor for him, and I clawed open a new bag of cat food. Such excitement!

More exciting even than this week’s snippet. That’s not to knock Escapee,  my pet human’s science fiction romance that will finally be released the same day Lee arrives (April 19) … but come on already. It’s just a book. And you know what books are, right?

Scratching posts.

After Catt sabotaged the cannon (called a sing-sing) Hector planned to use to attack enemy headquarters, they didn’t talk to each other all day. It was a dark and stormy night when they bared their souls and started to understand each other.

She had to get these words out, had to.

“Sorry.” The word was a breathy whisper blown to oblivion by a loud gust; she cleared her throat and tried again. “I’m sorry I sabotaged your artillery.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters.”

“No, because it wouldn’t have worked. A sing-sing is a brute-force weapon in a situation where stealth is needed. I worked so hard ignoring reality, and the only explanation I can think of is I wanted to die. I guess that’s why I dreamed up such a suicidal plan.”

Effing Feline here again. Sounds like Catt did Hector a favor by forcing him to face reality.

My reality is that while you were reading, I knocked all Mrs V’s Hummel figurines off the south-facing windowsill so Cousin Lee will be able to nap in the sun. Oh, I can’t wait for him to arrive. In the meantime, I suppose you might as well read the snippets by other great weekend writing warriors and Sunday Snippets folks.

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Available this comming Tuesday — The African Queen in Outer Space

Catt Sayer just wants to survive.  The working-class fugitive delivers military supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won livelihood vanishes when invaders overrun her harsh moon. And now an idealistic, upper-class officer wants her to risk her life on a hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned by 10,000 soldiers.

Edward Hoornaert’s romantic space opera, Escapee, continues the saga of the Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station).  If you like The African Queen and the thrill of underdogs finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love Escapee.

Don’t let this rousing tale escape from you.  Pre-order Escapee today at:

• Amazon US  |  Canada  |  UK  |  Australia
• MuseItUp Publishing
• Apple iBooks
• Barnes and Noble
• Kobo Books

Escapee hits the e-bookstores, and a giveaway!

Effing Feline here. My pet human, Edward Hoornaert, has a science fiction romance coming out today, and he wants me to tell you about it. And about a raffle for an Amazon gift certificate or free books.

Yeah, yeah: I hear you saying snidely that I can’t tell you anything because I’m just a cat. Believe it or not, I know I’m a cat. I’m as proud as purr of it, too. But I also have a weekly column on this blog. So there! I’m a very literary cat.

Here’s my idea of what Ed (aka Mr Valentine) would like me to tell you:

Tuesday, April 19, 2016, is the day the world has been waiting for. Mark the date on your calendars and be sure to tell your grandchildren that you were there. The greatest science fiction book of this generation, Escapee, has finally been released by MuseItUp Publishing of Montreal!

Blah, blah, blah.

Here’s what I really think.

Just what the world needs, another book. Yawn.

You can eat books. You can’t curl up sleep on them, unless you’re a very tiny kitten. You can’t pretend they’re a mouse and bat them around the room. So what the furball use is a book — even a book  that delivers the thrills and romance of a classic movie, The African Queen?

You can’t eat a movie, either. Yawn.

In all honesty, there’s only one good reason to buy Escapee … so Mr V can afford to keep me in catnip. And that’s a furbally good reason — so buy the book, won’tcha? I’ll purr for you if you do!

Escapee — The African Queen in Outer Space

Catt Sayer just wants to survive.  The working-class fugitive delivers military supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won livelihood vanishes when invaders overrun her harsh moon. And now an idealistic, upper-class officer wants her to risk her life on a hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned by 10,000 soldiers.

Edward Hoornaert’s romantic space opera, Escapee, continues the saga of the Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station).  If you like The African Queen and the thrill of underdogs finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love Escapee.

Don’t let this rousing tale escape from you.  Buy Escapee today at:

• Amazon US  |  Canada  |  UK  |  Australia
• MuseItUp Publishing
• Apple iBooks
• Barnes and Noble
• Kobo Books

Or read the first chapter of Escapee.

———————————————————————————————-

I almost forgot about the giveaway I promised you.

To enter the Rafflecopter giveaway, click the travel poster (at right) for the moon called Banff, where Escapee is set.

You can win:

• A $10 Amazon gift certificate
• One of two electronic copies of the prequel to Escapee — The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station.

Enter now and enter often!

First Things First

Celebrating the release of Escape: Repelling the Invasion on April 19, 2016, you can enter a Rafflecopter giveaway. To enter the Rafflecopter giveaway, click the travel poster (at right) for the moon called Banff, where Escapee is set.

You can win:

• A $10 Amazon gift certificate
• One of two electronic copies of the prequel to Escapee — The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station.

Under Escapee’s Hood

You may have noticed that the travel poster calls Catt and Hank’s moon ‘Banff’ — which is the name of a town in Scotland and also of a national park in Alberta.

Since Catt and Hank must fly all the way around their moon to attack the headquarters of an invading army, I needed a lot of place names. To make it easier (and more interesting, at least for me), I dug out a map of Banff National Park, where the wife and I honeymooned, and stole names.

• Banff (the fictional moon, not the national park) is dying. It used to be a planet, but has since been captured into orbit around a gas giant. The giant’s gravity is tearing the moon apart, causing storms and thousands of volcanoes. That’s why the travel poster claims that it’s ‘the hottest moon in the galaxy.’

• After being battered and sexually abused, Catt stole money from her aristocratic abuser and escaped. She fled to Banff because people told her it was the best place to escape from the law. And they were right. Cops don’t bother to chase fugitives to such a ridiculously dangerous moon. That’s why the poster proclaims that ‘The cops’ll never find you’.

And now you  know the story behind the names.

<<  ===  >>

Escapee — The African Queen in Outer Space

Catt Sayer just wants to survive.  The working-class fugitive delivers military supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won livelihood vanishes when invaders overrun her harsh moon. And now an idealistic, upper-class officer wants her to risk her life on a hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned by 10,000 soldiers.

Edward Hoornaert’s romantic space opera, Escapee, continues the saga of the Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian Angel of Farflung Station).  If you like The African Queen and the thrill of underdogs finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love Escapee.

Don’t let this rousing tale escape from you.  Buy Escapee today at:

• Amazon US  |  Canada  |  UK  |  Australia
• MuseItUp Publishing
• Apple iBooks
• Barnes and Noble
• Kobo Books

Or read the first chapter of Escapee.