As Catt walked toward Dukelsky, she avoided looking at his face, afraid of what she would see around the edges of his respirator. He did or said nothing, just stood there motionless, which keyed her anticipation to the breaking point. She made a wide detour around him, hoping to get inside without facing up to what she’d done.

Guilt weighed down her spirits. Sabotage during wartime…was that treason?

At a personal level, she’d destroyed not just his militaristic bravado, but also his hopes of emerging a hero; she hadn’t touched him, yet she’d hurt him. What would he do to her? Nothing she didn’t deserve, perhaps—but she didn’t want what she deserved. No person honest enough to acknowledge their own faults wanted that.

She wanted him to acknowledge the unfairness of his plan—it was suicide, and it would kill her, as well as him. Above all, she wanted him to recognize her act of sabotage sprang from years of oppression by patroons and was admirably restrained, considering who she was.

Effing Feline here again. Now for the big reveal — how to pronounce that difficult word. It’s pronounced . . . horn-art, with only a slight accent on the first syllable.

Wait, wait — wrong word! My new ism is pronounced fell-in-ism, to rhyme with feminism. NOT to be confused with felonism, you smart alexas!

Be sure to check out the other great writers in Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday.

Escapee

Book 2 in the Repelling the Invasion series

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

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Apple iBooks
• Kobo Books
• Smashwords

Here’s a selection from Escapee, my recently released science fiction romance. Enemies from the Proxima star system have invaded the isolated mining moon where Catt Sayer is a civilian pilot. She picks up a lone survivor, Captain Dukelsky, who wants her to fly her airship to the far side of the moon to attack the enemy’s base.

Not wanting any part of such a suicide mission, Catt destroys the canon he’d hoped to use to attack the enemy’s base. Here’s part of his reaction. I apologize for the length, but there’s nowhere to break it.

“Always with the feelings, you women,” Hector said. “Helen. Sandrina. Now you. You just destroyed military weapons during wartime, a capital offense, and yet you want to talk about my emotions? Well I don’t have any, godsdamn it.”

“Don’t hit me!”

“Hit you?” Realizing he’d advanced most of the way to where she cowered, Hector stopped and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“If you kill me, you’re –”

“Kill you?”

“– stranded on this mountainside until you die.”

“I would never –”

“Yes, you would. Capital offense, you said, and you’re so furious at me—”

“I am not furious.”

“– that your face is all red.”

“I’m disappointed, that’s all.”

“Stop right there!”

Oh, damn, she was right — he’d raised his hand and stepped toward her. She was almost in grabbing distance, except the pilot’s seat was between them and she would just dash to the other side and he’d reach to his left and she’d dash to the right and the chase would degenerate into undignified slapstick.

“If you take one more step,” she said, “I’m going to scream.”

“You already did.” Hector came close to laughing, but this didn’t seem like an appropriate time. He kept his hands in his pocket and forced them to unclench. “If your female irrationality demands it, go ahead and scream. 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. His usual mask was down, perhaps. That was all. And yet something she saw made her stand a little straighter, a little less frightened. He had no idea why.

“You,” she said. Her voice sounded puzzled and surprised.

“Me? I’m going to charge to your rescue? But I’m the bad guy, according to you.”

“Yeah, you are.” She spoke so matter-of-factly he almost believed her. “But you have a soul in there, I think.” She relaxed her defensive posture. “Screaming might bring out the gentleman in you and you’d rescue me from yourself . . . I think.”

Maybe another female could understand her tangled logic. He couldn’t. And yet . . .

Her naive trust vibrated through all the reaches of his body. He was used to dealing with people at a superficial level. He was so used to being misunderstood he’d stopped resenting it. And yet at some cockeyed level, this hot-tempered woman understood him better than almost anyone, just from looking into his eyes.

Be sure to check out the hooks by other great writers in the Book Hooks blog hop. Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list.

Escapee

Book 2 in the Repelling the Invasion series

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

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Apple iBooks
• Kobo Books
• Smashwords

After two hours of oppressive silence, she’d made the tea as a peace offering, but Dukelsky hadn’t even looked up when she gave it to him. An hour later, the tea was cold.

Dukelsky scares me, Catt typed into the instant message app built into the cockpit’s controls, and sent the message to Lance’s console. He hasn’t budged or said anything for three hours.

“But he isn’t—”

“Type, Lance,” she whispered fiercely, “type.”

Lancelot had been programmed to simulate human expressions, and now his eyebrows rose in simulated amusement. He typed a response without looking at his keyboard: You like him, don’t you, Catt?

“What!”

“Type, Catt, type.”

Effing Feline here again. I urge you become a card-carrying member of the Felinism movement. Just send your membership fee of $27,539.97 to me. It’s that easy!

Be sure to check out the other great writers in Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday.

Escapee

Book 2 in the Repelling the Invasion series

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

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Apple iBooks
• Kobo Books
• Smashwords

Here’s a selection from Escapee, my recently released science fiction romance. Enemies from the Proxima star system have invaded the isolated mining moon where Catt Sayer is a civilian pilot. She picks up a lone survivor, Captain Dukelsky, who wants her to fly her airship to the far side of the moon to attack the enemy’s base.

Not wanting any part of a suicide mission, Catt destroys the canon he’d hoped to use to attack the enemy’s base. But that’s sabotage, and she realizes she’s also destroyed his reason for living. After a long, restless night filled with guilt and the kind of heart-to-heart discussion possible only in the dark from opposite sides of the cabin, she realizes that his dream of fighting a Just War is noble. She comes to a decision first thing the next morning.

She debated getting dressed, the more layers the better. But to do that properly and comfortably meant stripping off the skintights, and there was no time for that; Dukelsky might return at any moment. She clothed herself in dignity instead. She sat in her captain’s chair, swiveled it toward the cabin, and composed herself to await his return. She crossed her legs, but then decided on a more formal seated pose. Keeping a confident expression on her face, she waited.

She was considering changing her pose again when the ’fresher door squeaked open. “I’ll do it,” she said in a firm, prim voice.

Dukelsky stopped just outside the door. Sleep dulled his expression and shadowed his eyes. Claws scrambling, the skoot and the kitten raced each other to reach him first. The skoot won and danced around him on its four hind legs, tongue slathering the air. When he lowered his hand, the kitten leapt into it.

“I said, I’ll do it,” she repeated.

He ran a hand through his hair. “Does this mean you were having the same dream I was?”

“Pardon?” After glancing at the front of his shorts, her neck and face flamed. “Not that,” she said with as much frazzled dignity as she could muster.

Dukelsky had dreamed about her?

Be sure to check out the hooks by other great writers in the Book Hooks blog hop. Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list.

Escapee

Book 2 in the Repelling the Invasion series

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

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Apple iBooks
• Kobo Books
• Smashwords

That day stretched into one of the longest and most uncomfortable in Catt’s life. Out of pure stubbornness — and to show Dukelsky who was boss — she made no plans to fly. He finally awoke, but he paid little attention to her. Instead, he studied the cargo manifests, petted the skoot, played with the kitten, slept, or stared off into space.

She made him lunch. Not only did he not thank her, his morose, swampy expression warned off all pleasantries. Her first reaction was to feel insulted, and a lot of the time first reactions told her what another person intended, what they were trying to manipulate her into feeling — but not this time. She was pretty sure he wasn’t being rude. He just didn’t care. He had withdrawn into a space where politeness didn’t exist . . . where she didn’t exist.

Effing Feline here again. Last week, some of you complained that the membership fee to join the Felinism Movement ™ was too high. I listen to my audience, so for this weekend only, I’m reducing the fee from $27,539.97 to $27,539.96.

How’s that for a bargain? Don’t wait — join now!!!!

Be sure to check out the other great writers in Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday . . . even though none of their posts are written by cats.

Escapee

Book 2 in the Repelling the Invasion series

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 torn by volcanoes. That dream seems dead when his entire command is slaughtered while he’s on leave. He returns to 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 career 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 trek 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 mad scheme, certain he’ll quit after experiencing one of the moon’s eruptions or ferocious storms. But he doesn’t quit, and 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 10,000 enemy warriors.

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Apple iBooks
• Kobo Books
• Smashwords

Here’s a selection from Escapee, my recently released science fiction romance. Catt Sayer, a civilian pilot. has picked up a lone survivor of an enemy invasion. Captain Hector Dukelsky wants her to fly her airship to the far side of the moon to attack the enemy’s base. After a long, restless night filled with guilt and the kind of heart-to-heart discussion possible only in the dark from opposite sides of the cabin, she realizes that Hector’s dream of fighting a Just War is noble — and she will help him.

Dukelsky had dreamed about her?

She tingled with anticipation all the way down to her core. Yesterday she had stared into his eyes and found, to her shock, a man she trusted. Staring at them now, she distrusted that trust. He was a patroon, or close enough, and she didn’t think she could forgive him for that.

If she swam with him, she would have no idea where the shore lay.

She took a deep breath, the kind she took before jumping into a lagoon, and spoke in a brusque voice. “I’ll take you to Norquay, or die trying. Uh, I guess I shouldn’t have tacked on those last few words. What I’m trying to say is, I’ve always responded to injustice by running away from it, but maybe I should take a stand. You know, fight a righteous war. Good against evil.”

“Or die trying?”

“Mere existence is overrated.”

Still holding the cat, he stumbled to the couch and sat. He cocked his head to one side and studied her.

Her nipples were hard for some reason. Blushing again, she hid her chest by crossing her arms. She didn’t know why she felt the need to explain herself for agreeing with him, but she did. Something about this man made her dig deep inside herself.

“A person has to have something to live for,” she said. “For me, it’s been keeping this tub flying and supporting my mother and sister. With no one to carry supplies to or buy fuel from, I won’t be able to do either. I need a new goal in life.”

Be sure to check out the hooks by other great writers in the Book Hooks blog hop. Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list.

Escapee

Book 2 in the Repelling the Invasion series

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 torn by volcanoes. That dream seems dead when his entire command is slaughtered while he’s on leave. He returns to 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 career 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 trek 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 mad scheme, certain he’ll quit after experiencing one of the moon’s eruptions or ferocious storms. But he doesn’t quit, and 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 10,000 enemy warriors.

Effing Feline here again. It’s disgraceful, really, how cats got edited out of the Christmas story. Cows, sheep . . . sure they were there — but what about the cats who kept mice from taking over the animals food? CATS WERE THERE! Furthermore, a tabby brought frankincense for the baby, a Siamese brought gold, and a manx brought gold. It’s the Simple Truth. Just ask your own cat!

Be sure to check out the other great writers in Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday.

Escapee

Book 2 in the Repelling the Invasion series

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 torn by volcanoes. That dream seems dead when his entire command is slaughtered while he’s on leave. He returns to 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 career 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 trek 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 mad scheme, certain he’ll quit after experiencing one of the moon’s eruptions or ferocious storms. But he doesn’t quit, and 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 10,000 enemy warriors.

Be sure to check out the other great writers in Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday.

Effing Feline’s holiday wishes to one and all:

“Merry Christmas and bah humbug.
Now get this stupid hat off me!” 

Effing Feline here again. I said I’d tell you the other reason I’m looking forward to 2019. You see, all year long I’ve been stashing bits of catnip when Ed wasn’t looking — and since he’s nursing a broken rib, he won’t be able to move fast enough to keep me from indulging. Come New Year’s Eve, I’m gonna get smashed. Or, as us cats say, CLAWED! Woo hoo!

Be sure to check out the other great writers in Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday.

Escapee

Book 2 in the Repelling the Invasion series

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

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Apple iBooks
• Kobo Books
• Smashwords

Free? Really?

Looking for some great books to read this weekend? Let me draw your attention to a pair of giveaways from Prolific Works (aka the website formerly known as Instafreebie).

The Science Fiction Romance Giveaway includes my own award-winning novel, Escapee.

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

.

The Portals – First in series giveaway, sponsored by Australia’s Patty Jansen, whom some of you may know, features Alien Contact for Idiots, the first book in my science fiction series of the same name.

What’s a woman gonna do when she’s quarantined with an out-of-this-world alien?

After Ell Harmon, a take-charge Seattle biologist, makes first alien contact, she finds herself quarantined with a prince from the future. Is he the man of her dreams? Or a conqueror with unimaginable weapons? She’s about to find out. The hard way.