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Bio:
Fantasy poetry driven by myths and legends has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I was published in poetry before catching the romance writing bug. I bring that background to my writing along with a lifelong addiction to horses, an 18-year career in various areas of psychiatric social services and many trips to Ireland, where I nurture my muse. My published works range from contemporary fantasy romance to fantasy historical, futuristic, science fiction and historical romance. Currently I live in rural Pennsylvania with a "motley crew" of rescue animals.
Please share a little bit about your current release.
This is Book III, the concluding volume of my science fiction romance, Scion. In previous volumes, the reader will have met Lela, sold into slavery by her father to outfit her brothers for war. Transported to the planet Thelona, she has endured eight years as a sex slave, sold into worse and worse conditions as her spirit remains unbroken. In this concluding book, she has finally met Caius, the one master who will not sell her. When his political involvement requires him to flee across space with Lela, she is a slave no longer. Will what they have found survive that freedom?
What inspired you to write this book?
Study of the rise and fall of civilizations combined with an ardent love of science fiction, of many years’ standing. I saw an opportunity to draw parallels with troubles that beset our world today combined with a vision of the future, and a story of kindred spirits drawing both together.
Excerpt from House of the 12th Planet:
Her last memory was of sleeping in Caius’s arms. Her first was of his face.
There were other faces, too—human faces unlike her Thelonian Lord’s. More like her own. Shrill beeping noises. Nearly unbearable lights and a cold, sharp smell.
“Just be patient a moment,” one of the human faces said. “We will have you out shortly.”
Out of where, Lela thought, but she could see hands and feel them on her, too. Strange sensations, not unpleasant, but...invading. Removing things from her skin. Through it all, Caius’s steady, calm voice kept her from utter panic.
“You are awakening from a long sleep,” he told her, and she could well believe it. How long could you sleep, to forget where you were and why?
“You are on board a space transport,” he told her. “I have been with you the whole time. Just let the crew help you.”
She lay still, hardly daring to blink.
“There,” a woman’s voice said cheerily. “All finished now. How do you feel?”
Lela’s stare fixed on her. A medico. Fully human, understandable, not a threat. Dimly, she remembered. This woman had given her a substance that made her sleep, with Caius in their tiny cabin accommodation. His heartbeat was the last thing she had felt before she slept. Now she was inside one of the sleeping pods she had seen the crew members use. They had gone into the long sleep, and so had she. There were others, around her, stirring and stepping out of their pods.
“Strange,” she told the medico, then looked past her to Caius. “How long have I slept?”
“Twelve years by our suns. But now we are coming into the orbit of Colony Twelve, where I believe the days and years are somewhat longer.”
She shook her head. She was a simple nonni-girl from Danaali, a farmer, not a learned person who would know such things. It was all very well for Caius to tell her. He had a law-giver’s degree. She was confused except for one thing: on Colony 12 she was no longer a slave.
What exciting s
tory are you working on next?
My next novel will be Warlord, a fantasy romance set against a backdrop of nomadic tribes. Given like a toy to a famous old warlord, Ganina is a young girl with love to give. But giving it may cost her life.
I never thought I was anything else.
Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Although I am technically retired from social work services, I have also been self employed at a number of things. Currently, I have found a part-time niche in local government and you can imagine how busy that is during this time. I write when I can, usually when I should be sleeping, LOL.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Fueling my muse with massive amounts of research, which is especially interesting as I simultaneously delve into antiquity and space exploration.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I have a passionate interest in animal rescue work and currently live with a pack of dogs and anything else that comes along. I have had horses, cats, chickens, a goat, a pig found on the porch, birds, and (good grief) an alligator. There is also a toad that seems to live right outside the house and hops in at every opportunity, driving my dogs berserk
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