Learning to fly alien spaceraft - Spotlight

Learning to Fly Alien Spacecraft by Fay Abernethy

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Genre: Eco Science Fantasy / Women’s Adventure / Uplit

Tour Dates: 14th - 20th July 2023

Publication Date: 12th July 2023

Formats available: Epub Only

Standalone second book in The Shantivira Series 

Estimated Page Count - 425

What if the secret alien space station protecting the Earth went PUBLIC?

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Hanna Abebe has come far since leaving Ethiopia. All the way to the other end of the galaxy, in fact. And although her course at the Essoona Pilots’ Academy is tough, it’s not as tough as maintaining the ultimate long-distance relationship . . .

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Astronaut Dan Simpson is furious. The Galaksi Alliance have exiled him on a remote planet to stop him telling NASA about them before they’re ready. But by the time they come to take him home, Dan has fallen in love with an enigmatic alien and decides to stay. Only then does he discover what a perilous business his new girlfriend is involved in . . .

At last! Captain Joe Llewellyn has permission to initiate first contact via the UN. But if he messes it up, the Galaksi Alliance could cancel the Shantivira’s funding, leaving the Earth defenceless. So, no pressure. All goes well until a rogue Samaritan flies a cargo ship through months of painstaking negotiations . . .

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This character-driven eco science fantasy is a must-read for fans of Becky Chambers, Ursula Le Guin, Douglas Adams and Doctor Who.

About Fay Abernethy

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Fay Abernethy left the UK more than twenty years ago, seeking adventure.

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When not diving with sharks or falling off horses, she worked as an engineer in the automotive industry. Later, she started her own translating business and settled down in Germany with the man of her dreams.

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Pre-children, they explored the Alps together – on foot in summer and on skis or snowshoes in winter. She now lives the life of a respectable citizen, having discovered that being a parent is the greatest adventure of them all.

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Why does she write? To find out what happens next, of course!

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Follow Fay Abernethy

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/fay-abernethy

Website: https://fayabernethy.com

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Celebrate Weddings Bookish Event

I’m so excited to be a part of N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Celebrate Weddings Bookish Event. The second book in the Destiny Trilogy is featured today. (Each book is a standalone although some characters appear in all three books). My excerpt comes at the end of the book and is a bit of a spoiler - but hey, it may be a science fiction adventure, but it's also a romance and what's a romance if the hero and heroine don't get their h.e.a.? We know it will happen eventually however difficult or seemingly impossible the journey.

https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/post/children-of-the-mist-cwbe

 

I'm just thrilled to be part of this event with so many amazing authors taking part. Check out all books featuring weddings and enter the giveaway to win a $15 Amazon gift card: a Rafflecopter giveaway

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! I also promise that I never have and never will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Celebrate Weddings Bookish Event

Do you enjoy a wedding? I know I do.I’m so excited to be a part of N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Celebrate Weddings Bookish Event. Check out all books featuring weddings and enter the giveaway to win a $15 Amazon gift card: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/celebrate-weddings-bookish-event 

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! I also promise that I never have and never will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

The Word of the Muse - Spotlight and #Giveaway

This is my post during the blog tour for The Word of the Muse by Bridgette Dutta Portman.

The Word of the Muse, the thrilling conclusion to the Coseema Saga trilogy, is perfect for fans of space opera, portal fantasy, art-based magic, coming-of-age adventures, and novels about mental health, confidence, and finding the hero in ourselves.

This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours and the tour runs from 8 till 21 May. You can see the tour schedule here.

The Word of the Muse (The Coseema Saga #3)
By Bridgette Dutta Portman
Genre: Science Fiction/ Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: 25 April 2023

Blurb:
A daring rescue. A villain in pursuit. A battle for the suns themselves.

With Coseema off planet, Olive has bought herself some time—but the clock is ticking. After a risky rescue mission, she and her friends make their way to the center of the rebellion against Emperor Burnash, who is desperate to capture Olive and claim her power for his own. Without her journal, Olive must rely on her newfound courage to elude Burnash and help her friends. But that courage is put to the test as she and Coseema clash in a final showdown—one that will decide the fate of a star system.

The Word of the Muse, the thrilling conclusion to the Coseema Saga trilogy, is perfect for fans of space opera, portal fantasy, art-based magic, coming-of-age adventures, and novels about mental health, confidence, and finding the hero in ourselves.

Links:
- Goodreads
- Bookbub
- Amazon

Earlier books in the series:


- The Twin Stars (The Coseema Saga #1)
- The Silver Sail (The Coseema Saga #2)

About the Author:
Bridgette Dutta Portman is an author, playwright, and teaching artist. Dozens of her plays have been produced across the United States and overseas. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Spalding University, as well as a PhD in political science from the University of California, Irvine. She is past president of the Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco and is currently a member of Same Boat Theater Collective, the Pear Playwrights’ Guild, and the Dramatists’ Guild. She recently joined the board of the Pear Theatre in Mountain View, CA. The Twin Stars is her debut novel, and the first of a planned trilogy. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband Deepanshu and their two young children.

Author links:
- Website
- Newsletter
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Instagram
- Goodreads
- Amazon

Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Word of the Muse. One winner wins a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card (winner’s choice).

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! I also promise that I never have and never will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Promises of the Runes - Spotlight and review

 

Promises Of The Runes

He travelled through time to capture her heart.

The amulet was still in the palm of his hand. Was it some sort of conduit to the past? The image of the anguished woman in his vision was seared into his mind. Perhaps it could help him find her?

Ivar Thoresson is desperate for adventure. As an archaeologist specialising in Viking times, he wants nothing more than to travel back to the ninth century as his loved ones have done, to learn everything he can about the era which fascinates him. And whilst his adopted family have always made him feel loved, the chance to meet a true ancestor, the warrior Thorald, is a temptation he cannot resist.

But while Ivar is preparing to go, he uncovers an amulet which shows him a vision of an arresting woman with red-gold hair. Clearly in distress, she is pleading for help. Convinced of the power of the charm and its message, Ivar’s journey takes on a new purpose. He steps back in time determined to follow his destiny – and find the woman who has called to his heart.

MY REVIEW 

I have always been interested in Norse mythology. Although this series by Christine Courteney doesn't deal with the actual myths themselves, they are sometimes mentioned in passing. However, through her time-travelling main character, we get a first-hand view of the breathtaking scenery, and the history and lifestyle of the ancient Nordic people, which is just as fascinating as the legends. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest book in the series. The characters are interesting and easy to relate to, and the romance between Ivar and Hrefna is beautifully written. The setting is so well described that I could visualise the scenery, the characters and even their clothing and it felt as if I was actually witnessing the events as they unfolded.

If you enjoy time slip romance I am sure you will enjoy Promises of the Runes - and if you're not familiar with Scandinavian history and the real Vikings, not only will you learn something of the everyday life and customs of these ancient people, but you will be drawn into a gripping adventure and a deep and meaningful romance. This is a wonderful addition to the Rune series.

(Five stars)

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Promises-Runes-enthralling-timeslip-beloved-ebook/dp/B0B63MPC24/

https://www.amazon.com/Promises-Runes-enthralling-timeslip-beloved-ebook/dp/B0B63MPC24/

Author Bio –

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes.  Promises of the Runes (time travel romance published by Headline Review 13th April 2023) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Social Media Links –

http://www.christinacourtenay.com

https://www.facebook.com/christinacourtenayauthor?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/PiaCCourtenay

https://www.instagram.com/ChristinaCourtenayAuthor/

 

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Cold Sleep - Spotlight and #Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

It’s the perfect score—stealing valuable data from a VIP in cryo-freeze midway through a decades-long interstellar crossing. If it works, Kara will have enough money to buy what she’s always wanted—a Captaincy.

But with the rest of the crew and the cargo of one hundred thousand colonists still frozen, Kara and her accomplice, Zed, realize they’re not the only ones awake. The murdered woman they find is only the first victim of whoever or whatever has woken from Cold Sleep.

Read an Excerpt

Blood streaks the VIP casket’s pristine white ceramic shell. Crimson handprints mark the controls and edges of the casket’s lid. Bright red spray mars the shining surface of the nearest casket and trickles down across its viewport. The deckplate’s smeared here and there, but the marks aren’t clear enough to make out any footprints.

“No one else in here,” Zed says.

While I’ve been gawping at the corpse, he’s secured the room.

There’s more to him than being a reliable bit of rough. It’s become too easy to dismiss him—the man is capable enough.

“I don’t understand. How could one of the passengers get out of storage?” I ask.

“Look at the casket,” Zed says. “Why’s it still registering an occupant?”

Being careful not to step in any blood, I get closer to her. What strikes me is the way the arcs of blood paint the VIP bay looks like something out of an anti-Ares Cult propaganda piece. The sacrifice of innocent beauty to sate the spirit of Mars. Kind of thing we’d only caught rumors of my first time shipping out. Then the newsfeeds had become more and more clogged with hysteria with every return to Earth. That and the usual.

War. War threatening everywhere.

Makes me think of my brother and hope he isn’t—wait, decades have passed—wasn’t on the frontline.

I drag my mind back from the futureshock and my eyes from the corpse. Getting lost in the past is a sure-fire way to get killed in the here and now.

About the Author:

A Brit now living in the Scandinavian wilds of Denmark with his wife and half-Viking kids, Luke worked as a Criminal Barrister in and around London for over a decade dealing with everything from minor theft cases to a real life axe murder and everything in between. Thanks to parents in the military he grew up being dragged around the world--while living in the Far East he picked up a love for the martial arts which continues to this day, as he passes on what he’s learned to a select dojo of students. Cold Sleep is his third novel. His first was Amazon cyberpunk bestseller Mercury’s Son, his second a UK set supernatural suspense novel 3:33 AM.

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For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! I also promise that I never have and never will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join