My Name Is A'yen 99 cent sale!

I'm running my very first 99 cent sale for My Name Is A'yen. The dates are 5/1 through 5/10. It's to celebrate the release of #3, To Save A Life.

Sale price is available at these stores:

Kindle
Nook
Kobo
iBooks
All Romance Ebooks
Coffee Time Romance

I want more books available before I start playing with sales on Google Play.

They've taken everything from him. Except his name.

The Loks Mé have been slaves for so long, freedom is a distant myth A'yen Mesu no longer believes. A year in holding, because of his master's murder, has sucked the life from him. Archaeologist Farran Hart buys him to protect her on an expedition to the Rim, the last unexplored quadrant.

Farran believes the Loks Mé once lived on the Rim and is determined to prove it. And win A'yen's trust. But she's a breeder's daughter and can't be trusted.

Hidden rooms, information caches, and messages from a long-dead king change A'yen's mind about her importance. When she's threatened, he offers himself in exchange, and lands on the Breeders Association's radar. The truth must be told. Even if it costs him his heart.

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Cover Reveal: Bound To You by AR DeClerck

I'm participating in the cover reveal for AR DeClerck's next science fiction romance, Bound To You. I was one of the beta readers for the first draft, and it is one awesome ride! The cover perfectly captures my mental images of Jacks and Lia.

Here's the blurb for it.

Jackson Baine is a man with a gift, and he has never had a problem with selling it to the highest bidder. His newest job is with one of the biggest terraforming companies in the universe, and the money he stands to make will allow him and his crew to retire on any planet in any galaxy they choose. His biggest problem: Ferrell Terraforming has assigned him a company liason to see to his needs and protect their interests. But that’s not his only problem. Lia Bernardi is smart, beautiful and strong, and she entices Jacks in a way no other woman ever has. She is a distraction he cannot afford on the surface. 

Anatolia Bernardi is ready to climb the corporate ladder, get out from under her egotistical boss, and impress her overbearing father. All she has to do is turn one dead, empty planet into an oasis. Her company says Jacks Baine is the key, and it’s her job to make sure he’s productive and happy. Both of which, she soon learns, are harder than she’d thought they’d be. For some reason Jacks can get under her skin and break down every wall she’s constructed between herself and the world. 

On the surface of a long-dead planet Jacks and Lia will be forced to face the startling realization that the past never really goes away.

The book releases 4/24/15. You can preorder it at Amazon.

AR DeClerck lives in the Quad Cities, IL. She is a wife and mother of two daughters. She has two dogs and a cat, and always has her nose in a book. She’s either reading one, or writing one. She writes romance in many sub-genres, and has always had a soft spot for sci-fi romance. She credits her love of reading and writing to her mother, who always keeps a book handy.

Find AR on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

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The Importance of Meeting Reader Expectations

Happy New Year, everyone! This is a long post, and probably controversial. You have been warned.

I write science fiction romance. It's a genre with something for everyone and is one of the most diverse romance sub-genres you'll ever encounter. It's fun to explore. But there are a couple of problems I've noticed in my reading the last few months and they're really bugging me.

The first is reader expectation. I'm not just a romance author, I'm a romance reader. As a romance reader I have certain expectations when I pick up a book labeled as romance. The most important one is that the book centers on the hero and heroine's developing romance. They are the main characters and everything else is secondary. Including the other characters. If you remove the romance the entire story falls apart. The romance is the foundation of the novel.

I'm starting to think there's a lack of understanding within SFR about what a romance really is. The one I most recently finished was billed to me as a romance. It wasn't. It was romantic at best. When I pick up something billed as a romance I expect the focus to be on the hero and heroine, watching them fall in love, deal with their issues, and conquer the conflict keeping them apart.

When you tell me something is a romance, and yet I read it and there's no romance, the author has lied to her readers. That's a great way to turn people off on a genre. Especially when it happens several times in a row. As it did with me last month. I've maintained for two years now that in order for SFR to take off we have to get the true romance reader hooked. That's not going to happen if the romance reader's expectations aren't met.

Which brings me to my other point. When the book's description tells me a certain character is the main character, and yet that character is the one with the least POV space, you're once again lying to your potential readers. The one I most recently finished, and that set this post off, was billed to me by the book description as the thing I love best: a hero-centric romance.

That's not what I got. I didn't get a romance. I didn't get significant time in the hero's head. I didn't even get any plot resolution. It ended on a massive, massive, massive cliffhanger. One with no hope these two people who are supposedly in love ever getting back together. I don't buy their romance, because it didn't go through any of the things a romance reader expects. And there's no book two.

We read romances for the intimate moments of watching two people fall in love. It can be fast, it can be slow, it can be love at first sight, it can be soul mates, it can be star-crossed lovers. Doesn't matter. No matter how it happens, there are still things we expect to see.

I only give so many chances. When my expectations as a romance reader aren't met, I'm gone. And I'm not coming back. I'll also tell other romance readers to steer clear of a certain title.

There's nothing wrong with being an SF writer first. But there is something wrong with not taking the time to understand what truly makes a romance work. In order to have a successful SFR that gains mass appeal and hooks romance readers, you can't shortchange the romance reader's expectations.

We romance readers are the bulk of the fiction readership in the United States. For SFR to survive and thrive, you have to take us seriously and meet our expectations.

*Image courtesy of photostock, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Caught In Amber

Image courtesy of Cathy Pegau

Cathy's a fellow SFRB member.

The description for Caught in Amber attracted my attention when it came out earlier this year. The combination of science and crime fiction isn't one you see very often.

Took me awhile to get around to it though. *coughcough* Sherrilyn Kenyon *coughcough* (I know what I want for Christmas. My very own Acheron! And Nykyrian Quiakedes for my birthday.)

It didn't disappoint! I loved the noir feel of the book. Nathan Sterling, the hero, hit most of my hero buttons. Protective, dedicated, a good guy.

Sasha was very unique and not once did I find myself skimming her POV scenes to get back to him. Kudos to Cathy for getting my attention and keeping it! Not an easy thing to do.

What stood out most to me was the religion element in the book, the Revivalists. It played a key part in Sasha's backstory and in the world building. As a person of faith myself I love seeing futuristic takes on religion and matters of faith. Some modern SF authors ignore faith and religion entirely, as if they have no concept of how important faith and religion have always been to humanity. There's no reason to think that won't continue in the future. I really enjoyed having this element present in the world building. It gave Nevarro's culture a true sense of completeness.

Caught In Amber is set in the same world as Cathy's other two books with Carina Press, but Amber is the only one I plan to read. F/F romance does less than nothing for me. I already have a long history of severe dislike of books without his POV, so I've no interest in exploring a romance without a hero. But if I was willing to read F/F I wouldn't hesitate. If Cathy ever writers another M/F romance in this world I will buy it.

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