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Author of queer, wry sci fi/fantasy books. On Amazon.
Editor of all fiction genres.

Friday 30 August 2013

The Underlighters: Launch!


August 30th: the Dust is here! Now available exclusively on Kindle and in print—The Underlighters!

Buy from Michelle Browne’s author page here: http://www.amazon.com/Michelle-Browne/e/B00BGWZRCW




Nightmares are bleeding into her waking world. Children are going missing. To save them, she must overcome her wreck of a personal life and a closet full of skeletons. She doesn’t know if the horrors in the shadows are real...or if she is going mad. 

18-year-old Janelle Cohen is an electrician in an underground city. The world above has been swal-lowed by mind-destroying Dust. Her small life changes forever when a dragon attacks her on the way home from work. 

Her friends worry that she has the Fever, Dust-induced insanity. As more monsters strike down citizens, they change their minds. A terrifying trip to the surface of the world, the ancient and abandoned Up, deepens the nightmare. With no world left above, she and the other Crows cannot afford to fail… 

5 stars: “…You will be rewarded with a dive into the depths of imagination that may leave you questioning, breathless and inspired.” –www.TracingTheStars.com

5 stars: “… Engaging, ground breaking prose that is not afraid to test the reader’s boundaries. “—Sara Celi

5 stars: “…A wonderful read that is full of life, nightmares, fear, and dreams.” –Casey Peeler

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for an exclusive chance to win a very exclusive prize pack! Three winners will be selected…don’t miss out!



Art by Kit Foster, © 2013. used with permission of the artist. http://www.kitfosterdesign.com/

*****
Thanks for dropping by the nest once again. Don't miss any of the phuquerie. Find Michelle on TwitterFacebook, and on Tumblr. More interviews and witty commentaries are coming. Keep checking back to see those surprise posts, too. This is your darling SciFiMagpie, over and out! 




Sunday 25 August 2013

A Dame to Reckon With: The Multi-talented Dianne Harman

Hello hello!

I have a real treat for you today. A long time ago, I ran into Dianne Harman around the internet. I really enjoyed the story in Blue Coyote Motel, and Dianne herself proved to be an indecently charming lady with a very eclectic history. When BCM hit the bestseller list and became an ABNA quarterfinalist, noone was surprised. So, as a noire interruption to our usual sci fi content, please welcome the lovely dame Harman! 


***** 

Q: Describe yourself in 20 words or less.

A: Have to try new things. Loyal to a fault!


Q: Tell us about your novels.

A:  Blue Coyote Motel is the story of six wayward travelers with serious life issues, who spend a night at the Blue Coyote Motel and all their previous issues leave because of a “feel good” drug piped into the air conditioning. Their lives, and the lives of the motel owners, are thrown into chaos as the drug wears off.

Tea Party Teddy, while a political novel, is also the story of a woman who finds love and in the journey, finds herself.


Q: One of your series is an Americana travel-romance and the other is a political tell-all. How did those interests arise?

A: Blue Coyote Motel came about when my husband and I were wedding guests at a boutique hotel in Palm Spring, California. It was 106 degrees out. I remember saying to my husband, “Wouldn’t it be interesting if someone put a ‘feel good’ drug in the air conditioner?” He looked at me and said, “There’s your novel!” And so it was.

My husband was a California Senator so I spent a lot of time in Sacramento, California, going to political functions. Two nights in a row I was seated next to the most biased, bigoted politician I had ever met. Over the next few days I wondered what his home life was like, how did he get to be that way, and what was his wife like? It stemmed from that.

Get it here. Cover provided by author. 


Q: There are some definite noire aspects to Blue Coyote Motel. What inspired its genesis?

A:  I can’t say there was an inspiration for it, it just happened. I often felt I was reading the novel as I was writing it.


Q: Freedom was a very interesting drug. Tea Party Teddy also explores freedom, in a sense. Do you consider the books to be related?

A:  Wow, there’s an interesting concept! Have never thought about it, but now that you bring it up I am very independent, and definitely believe in the concept of freedom (notice the little “f”) for everything and everybody!


Q: Americana is a big theme in your works. Will you keep setting your work in the good old USA, or do you plan to work in other settings?

A:  Coyote in Provence, the sequel to Blue Coyote is set in Afghanistan and Provence, France (yes, Michelle, added 14 new chapters since you’ve seen it). As to others, I don’t know. I love to travel, so imagine that places beyond California will be a part of future novels.


Q: How have your life experiences informed the direction of your writing?

A:  I don’t think you can write without drawing on life experiences whether it’s a phrase someone spoke or a place you’ve been. While my books are fictional, I have traveled to the Mani Rimdu festival in Nepal, I have spent some time in Provence, and I love to cook and eat, so there’s some of that in my books as well. A reader told me that my books were rich in description, that he felt he was in the places I described – even rooms. I was an antique and art appraiser for 20 years, so evidently some of that is going into my novels.


You have no idea how much mischief there is behind that grin! Photo provided by author. 


Q: What do you plan to write or publish next?

A: I have written the third in the Coyote series and there may be more. Just had a beta reader tell me that she loved the characters so much I had to write more books. I like Bob and Nina in the Teddy saga. I have a sequel written to that and am in the midst of the last of the sage. I also have written a “boomer book.” Beyond that, I don’t know. 


Q: Which foods do you absolutely hate?

A: Creamed corn and I have no idea why. Other than that I love food!!!


Q: What is your favorite noire or black and white movie?

A: I’m not a good one to ask. I’m a voracious reader and prefer to see things in my mind.

*****
Thanks for dropping by the nest once again. Don't miss any of the phuquerie. Find me on TwitterFacebook, and on Tumblr. I have more interviews and more cool stuff coming. It might even get political in here, and you don't want to miss that. This is your darling SciFiMagpie, over and out! 

Saturday 17 August 2013

Breaking News: Over 500 Fans, And A Snippet Of The Meaning Wars!

Hello hello!

Ask, and ye shall recieve. I'm about to kick off a noire month, so this is not quite in theme--but we just hit the 500 mark on my fanpage! I asked you what you wanted as a reward, and everyone wanted a snippet of 'The Meaning Wars', which continues the stories of Crystal and Sarah. It's still a work in progress. Enjoy!

*****


(From Ch 1) 
Midnight. The midnight past midnight, on this dwarf planet too far from the sun to know what real day was.  She missed the aurora effects on Io a little bit at times like this, but the stars were still pretty. Sarah slouched home again, to the pod complex and to sleep. She opened the door to find Toby asleep in a chair.
She leaned over and gently shook his shoulder. “Tobes. Wake up. It’s okay, I’m home.”
He startled and woke suddenly, turning a bleary face to her. “Zzz...wha? Oh good. Go to sleep,” he said.
She smiled in spite of herself. “Thanks for waiting up. Now go on.”
As he staggered off to bed, she sat up in the kitchen and made herself tea.  Bed could wait for half an hour, she decided. With hands around her cup of dark, caffeinated relief, she thought about loss for a while.

Ch 2
Crystal wiped her mouth and straightened. Space sick again. It was one of the things she hated about small craft like these. Mostly psychological , or a reaction or stuttering gravity generators, but it still bothered her.
Then again, she thought wryly, it’s a moral sickness too. She tapped her implant and brought up a page of news. The cybernetically enhanced and perfected faces of two casters beamed seriously at the audience.
The ticker scrolling up the side flashed with bits of info. INDUS STILL UNSTABLE  + RIOTS WORSEN, TERRAN GOVERNMENT MAY INTERVENE + SOLAR FLARES IN FORST SYSTEM CAUSING CLIMATE INSTABILITY + MITOCHON PRICES HIGHEST IN A DECADE + SCIENTISTS SAY NANOTEC H PARTY PAINT POSES HEALTH RISK…
She scrolled back up the sidebar and chose the link to the article on Indus. There were a few murky comments on allegations of abuse; SNN was choosing its words very carefully. She abandoned the article at the halfway point, giving up on the too-careful wording, and chose a different headline. The video played as she inserted the Colgator. As the bacteria-eating slug wrapped around her teeth and happily canoodled over her gums, she listened absently to the broadcast.
“...Thanh, than we get some footage of the devastation?”
“On scene, emergency workers are responding...” black smoke filled the screen behind them. Through the billowing darkness, Crystal saw a hint of greenery. “The terrorist cell is currently holed up in the woods. Their camping and tenacity is surprising even strategists who’d—”
“Terrorists?” Crystal spoke without realizing it. “They weren’t ‘terrorists’ last week. Why are they being bombed?”
“Honey, are you watching the news in the bathroom again?” called Jai. Crystal rolled her eyes and cut the cast, leaving a ticker running at the corner of her vision. Spitting the Colgator back into its nutrient liquid, she replaced it on the shelf.
“Why do you watch it if it upsets you so much?”
“Because it’s important!”
“I follow it too, but...” He reached out and set a hand on her shoulder. “We’re 300 lys away from everything. Even if you wanted to, not only would the ship take days, it would—“

“Yeah, yeah.” Crystal said, brushing it off. “I guess we should get to breakfast.” Jai shot her a worried look, which she ignored, and harrumphed to himself. It was going to be one of those mornings. 

e than half a dozen fantasy novels, including: Shadow of the Dragon, Elfblood, and Firebrand. As a child, Kyra'sfavorite stories were those that told of ordinary children being whisked away to magical lands. She has yet to find her own secret wardrobe or rabbit hole, but she hasn’t given up the search. You never know what might be waiting over the next rainbow.

*****
Thanks for dropping by the nest once again. Don't miss any of the phuquerie. Find Michelle on TwitterFacebook, and on Tumblr. More interviews and witty commentaries are coming. Keep checking back to see those surprise posts, too. This is your darling SciFiMagpie, over and out! 

Monday 5 August 2013

A Quick Feature--The Elfblood Trilogy by Kyra Dune

Hello hello!

Just a quick post today--a very cool YA fantasy series by Kyra Dune has just made its debut, so before I kick off the theme for the month, I thought I'd let all y'all know about this one. A little YA fantasy makes for a perfect summer read. If you like it, you might also want to have a look at Chris Shields' or Kirstin Pulioff's work.


Image provided by author.

Summary 

Charlie has finally reached the City Of Magic, where waits the lost elven magic he has been searching for. But the city is a ruin, his friends are missing, and there is a darkness known only as the Void slowly creeping over everything.

When Charlie comes across a group of elves, he hopes they will be able to help him locate the Silver Catacombs. But everything is not as it seems. There are two groups of elves in the city, one who resists the Void and one who worships it. It’ll be up to Charlie to figure out who his true allies are. Danger lurks around every crumbling ruin and betrayal always comes from within. 

Bio

Kyra Dune was born in Oklahoma, but spent most of her life travelling with her family. She is the author of more than half a dozen fantasy novels, including: Shadow of the Dragon, Elfblood, and Firebrand. As a child, Kyra's favorite stories were those that told of ordinary children being whisked away to magical lands. She has yet to find her own secret wardrobe or rabbit hole, but she hasn’t given up the search. You never know what might be waiting over the next rainbow.


*****
Thanks for dropping by the nest once again. Don't miss any of the phuquerie. Find Michelle on TwitterFacebook, and on Tumblr. More interviews and witty commentaries are coming. Keep checking back to see those surprise posts, too. This is your darling SciFiMagpie, over and out! 

Friday 2 August 2013

Pippa Jay: A female Doctor Who?

Pippa Jay: A female Doctor Who?: I can hear a few people keeling over in horror already, and a few others doing fist pumps and victory dances. With all the recent fevered di...

Thursday 1 August 2013

The Underlighters: Something Wicked This Way Comes




The Underlighters

Nightmares are bleeding into her waking world. Children are going missing. To save them, she must overcome her wreck of a personal life and a closet full of skeletons. She doesn’t know if the horrors in the shadows are real...or if she is going mad. 

18-year-old Janelle Cohen is an electrician in an underground city. The world above has been swal-lowed by mind-destroying Dust. Her small life changes forever when a dragon attacks her on the way home from work. 

Her friends worry that she has the Fever, Dust-induced insanity. As more monsters strike down citizens, they change their minds. A terrifying trip to the surface of the world, the ancient and abandoned Up, deepens the nightmare. With no world left above, she and the other Crows cannot afford to fail… 

5 stars: “…You will be rewarded with a dive into the depths of imagination that may leave you questioning, breathless and inspired.” –www.TracingTheStars.com

5 stars: “… Engaging, ground breaking prose that is not afraid to test the reader’s boundaries. “—Sara Celi

5 stars: “…A wonderful read that is full of life, nightmares, fear, and dreams.” –Casey Peeler




Janelle’s world is about to get very, very dark. Are you ready? On August 30th, nightmares are going to become a little too real for comfort.


Art by Bonnie Patton, © 2013. used with permission of the artist. http://bpwordeater.com/

*****
Thanks for dropping by the nest once again. Don't miss any of the phuquerie. Find Michelle on TwitterFacebook, and on Tumblr. More interviews and witty commentaries are coming. Keep checking back to see those surprise posts, too. This is your darling SciFiMagpie, over and out! 




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