Contest Entry for Emerald City's Opener!

Every year, for the last 4 or 5 years, I've entered my first 7 pages of my current work in progress into my local RWA chapter writing contest. And I have to say that every year the response back from those who judge the contest get better and better.

I'm more of a paranormal or science fiction romance writer, but a few nanowrimo's ago I finished a contemporary romance novel. I decided that I was going to submit the first 7 pages of the novel that 2 agents requested a full manuscript copy of last year at the Emerald City Writer's Conference, and the first 7 of my contemporary novel.

They limited the entries for each, and as of 7:13 pm on the last day (5/31) for entry only one category had met it's limit:

Contemporary -25 max entries -limit met
Historical -12 entries
Paranormal - 11 entries
Romantic Suspense - 21 entries

Fortunately I can submit my contemporary novel under romantic suspense, so I paid the $20 (non-RWA member fee) for each entry, and hope that I get awesome judge feedback!

If you're reading this on 5/31, you can still submit your entry! If you're not, there is always next year!

Contest entry is open from 4/1-5/31 each year. This is the first year the limited entries, so I don't know if next year will yield the same.

Keep an eye out for Conference information (this is an awesome event!) and contest information through Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America website, and subsequent links to media on through their page.

Book Review- Liberation's Kiss (Robotics Faction #1)

First let me say that I was given a free advanced copy of this book for an honest review by the author Wendy Lynn Clark.

Now that that is out of the way, let me say that I loved this novel! And I can't wait for the next in this series. I'm a big fan of science fiction romance (there is never enough of this stuff to go around), and I was glad to see a new series pop out on the market. Review after book blurb.

Liberation's Kiss (Robotics Faction #1):

The Old Empire has crumbled. Strong factions prey on the weak, and strongest of all are those who ally themselves with the mysterious Robotics Faction…

Cressida Sarit Antiata is twelve years old when her diplomat parents learn that her name has appeared on the Robotics Faction Kill List, a classified document of dangerous individuals marked for execution. Calling in all of their connections, her parents smuggle her to a small but wealthy ore-producing moon where she grows up in anonymous luxury, secure that her data is safe.

Until now.

Xan | Arch is an x-class android with one mission: execute the target n81, also known as Cressida Sarit Antiata. Although he possesses biological skin, hair, fingernails, and eyes – and extensive conditioning to pass as a sweating, swearing, rough-and-tumble everyman – beneath the surface, he is all machine.

When he arrives at the moon, something unexpected is waiting for him. Something that circumvents his execution order and forces him to protect Cressida instead. Something that gives him the free will to question his makers, control his destiny, and awaken his heart. Together, they might escape their destinies and forge an entirely new future.

If they can survive…

Review:

This book felt like a new take on the Terminator series set in the future with more romance thrown in. Xan is a machine that's been produced to blend in with the human population and get things done by using a back log of subroutines to help him get his desired responses out of the population, while Cressida is a human who is used to following orders in order to stay alive since she found herself unlucky enough to be placed on a kill list.

This action packed book takes the reader on a wild ride of action, romance, and more action while this duo work together in order to try and keep Cressida alive. 

I loved the unusual set of dichotomies and themes that ran throughout the entire book that I found really interesting and defiantly lead to a rich novel (and I'll try not to give away any spoilers). 

• While death and destruction happen throughout this entire book the population as a whole seems unaffected by it. Is that because they have a chance to be reborn, if they have the backup chips, or is it a result of population having dealt with this type of destructive action before (the overseeing powers that be are known for coming in and taking over however they deem fit)?

• The machines that are released by said overseeing governing body are strong, smart, and highly adaptable, but the every day, I'll call them police units although more like peacekeepers, are dim witted and slow. Which only made me wonder what would really get the police units in an uproar, and if the place was more Utopian before the governing bodies that be took over?.

In the end this novel feels more like a science fiction plot with strong romance elements, but I really enjoyed the interactions between the characters, the fight scenes, the plot development, and the overall feel of the novel.

** Spoilers:

Awesome points: 

Character development was amazing. You really get a feel for all the characters in the novel. The author does a good job giving each person a separate and unique personality that really helps bring this story the richness it has.

Action scenes, after Xan rescues Cressida, the action gets better and better. Each interaction is not the same as the last, and just when I thought I had the next scene figured out, the story took a surprising and awesome turn ( I  love that I couldn't guess where the story was going, but I also didn't feel lost in what was happening)

Environments, each new environment that the author placed her characters in were unique and had it's own flavor. They were rich and populated with traits that brought the scene clearly to the forefront of my mind without being bogged down by long drawn out descriptions.

Frustrations:

I'll lay it out there, the really frustrating scene for me was when Xan and Cressida fully come together the first time. I had my hopes up from the prior time they interacted, but I was disappointed that I was unable to connect to any of the characters in this scene, but I loved how they interacted throughout the entire book. I can't stress that enough.

We never learned why Cressida was placed on the kill list, not even a little bit of a hint to move that subplot along (since the main was is to keep her alive while she's being searched for by some crazy robots). I hope it gets moved along in the next novel.

Spoilers over **

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction with strong romance elements. You can currently preorder this novel for $0.99 before it releases July 1st, before it returns to it's original price of $4.99.

I can't wait for the second novel in this series, Liberation's Desire

My personal rating scales for this novel are:

2 out of 5 for bedroom steaminess, 4 out of 5 for storyline/romance 

Cover Reveal for Awesome Author AR DeClerck

Amy-Riddle-DeClerck is an awesome writer of several genres and will soon be adding a new genre to her repertoire. She has a contemporary geek chic romance, Love in the Time of Coffee, releasing May 22nd! The wonderful cover is below followed by a book blurb, credit for the fantastic cover goes to Rachel Olson at No Sweat Graphics. Keep an eye out for this wonderful novel!

Blurb:

Life as a geeky math chick with little patience and time for men is never easy. When a handsome stranger spills a caramel macchiato all over her term paper Irissa Daniels thinks her luck just might be a 'changin. Mac McCleary is tough, smart and sexy and he treats Irissa like the only woman in the world. Things are going great, but life seems to get in the way. Mac's dad is sick, his business is in trouble and his only hope to keep it going is to get involved with a very shady character. Soon Irissa begins to wonder if she and Mac will make it to happily- ever-after after all. 

Love in the Time of Coffee is very complicated indeed.

Holy Crapoly!

Dang,

Has it really been since 2012 that I posted a blog about anything? I guess that would be right around the time I started college again, and went full throttle with it too. Well, going on 3 1/2 years of school later, with only one summer off (with a full time job), I can say that I am half way there (please oh please let me be closer!) since I'm hoping to get into a Masters Prosthetic and Orthodics program.

A lot has happened since 2012. For one, I've read so many books that attempting to review them all would never happen. So I'll just start afresh from what I'm reading now. I am still writing, but hoping to up my actual writing and revising (dear god the amount of revising that needs to get done!), but on the plus side of things, I did have 2 agents interested in the sci fye novel I've written (yeay!), now I just need to get it ready.

Way more has obviously occurred, and will probably get into that in later on.

I've made a lot of author friends, so you'll probably see more information regarding their books on here (not a lot, only like 6 authors), just as a friendly author to author shout out.

I will be going on a 11 week trip to Europe for a study abroad course offered through my university, so it won't all be fun and games (but there will be some fun and games).

Keeping this short, but keep a look out for my blog posts (with a shout out to my 1 follower!)