#WeWriWa - MISSION TO NEW EARTH: Sleeping Like a Baby

Each weekend the Weekend Writing Warriors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here.

I'm sharing snippets from my science fiction romance, Mission to New Earth. Three teams are about to launch from Titan (Saturn's moon) beyond our solar system on Christmas Day. The mission: to colonize 3 new planets. The narrator, Sara Grenard, is one team's leader. This snippet begins after the celebration (last week).

Please excuse the creative punctuation, necessary to keep this within the guidelines. It's also edited some from the original.

Marsh sprawled beside me. As usual, he took up three-quarters of the bed—all relaxed, snoring loud enough to wake the dead, the hard planes of his face softened in sleep. He slept like he didn’t have a care in the world, as if he wasn’t going to be crammed into a tube tomorrow and turned into a humongous ice cube for three years.

I, on the other hand, hadn’t even closed my eyes since we turned out the lights—fear slithered through my consciousness, FEAR in capital letters. Despite all the simulations, despite the training, even though I calmly accepted our mission, I was terrified.

Too late to back out now, as if I would.

Excitement and wonder pushed down the fear. I reminded myself that out of the hundreds of thousands of applicants, I was chosen to lead our team on the adventure of a lifetime.

That the people of Earth depended on us.

Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four. Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~ B&N ~ Smashwords

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

#WeWriWa - MISSION TO NEW EARTH: Friendly Rivalry

Each weekend the Weekend Writing Warriors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here.

I'm sharing snippets from my science fiction romance, Mission to New Earth. Three teams are about to launch from Titan (Saturn's moon) beyond our solar system on Christmas Day. The mission: to colonize 3 new planets. The narrator, Sara Grenard, is one team's leader. 

Please excuse the creative punctuation, necessary to keep this within the guidelines. It's also edited some from the original.

         On the evening before our last Christmas in civilization, we celebrated with the other teams, a party that combined Earth’s December celebrations with decorations from Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Mawlid an-Nabī, Dhanu Sankranti, Bodhi Day, even Omisoka because none of us would be here for New Year’s Eve, and the secular symbols made sure those who didn’t follow a religion weren’t left out.

I watched my team, as well as the other two, eighteen of us who were to embark on an epic journey—the laughter was a little too loud, the gaiety forced, not aided by alcohol that we couldn’t have—we mingled, chatted about irrelevant topics, but none of us broached the crises on Earth, or our responsibility to save the people.

Yuri and Kaito cornered me near a viewport.

“What do you think, Sara-san?” Kaito’s black eyes twinkled, “Does your team have the Right Stuff?”

I chuckled, “You bet—and yours?”

“But of course.”

Yuri’s belly laugh made me smile, “Neither of you have as great a team as I. We will reach our new home first, even if Sara has a head start.”

“Whoa, my planet is farthest away.”

“Yours is closest, Yuri,” Kaito said, “It is only fair you go last.”

“That means we will get there first,” Yuri smirked.

Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four. Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~ B&N ~ Smashwords

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and holiday season.

#WeWriWa - MISSION TO NEW EARTH: Are They Ready? #sfr

The Weekend Writing Warriors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here.

I'm changing gears for the next couple of weeks by sharing snippets from my science fiction romance, Mission to New Earth. Three teams are about to launch from Titan (Saturn's moon) beyond our solar system on Christmas Day. The mission: to colonize 3 new planets. The narrator, Sara Grenard, is one team's leader. 

Please excuse the creative punctuation, necessary to keep this within the guidelines. It's also edited some from the original.

We were about to leave on an adventure of a lifetime. Giddiness raced through me and with it the ever-present trepidation. Were we prepared for all eventualities? What if—

I had to stop speculating on the dangers of our mission.

Speeding down the corridor, I passed holiday decorations. The festive trimmings brightened the gray walls. I hoped the modules deposited on Serenity had a better paint job. Serenity—our hope for the future of our new planet. After screwing up Earth, humankind had the chance to do it right this time.

Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four. Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~ B&N ~ Smashwords

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

IWSG: End of the Year

Happy Insecure Writers Support Group Day. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. 

Thanks to this month's awesome hosts: J.H. Moncrieff, Tonja Drecker , Patsy Collins, and Chrys Fey!

Congratulations to everyone who entered NaNoWriMo, whether or not you officially "won" (by writing 50k words). Congratulate yourself. You have more words written now than you did at the end of October. Consider yourself a winner. I do. 

I hope you’ve had a great month and a terrific year. We’ve all had our ups and downs. Winter in Michigan is so dreary. It really got to me in February. My daughter gave me a “happy” lamp to boost my intake of Vitamin D. Despite the emotional aspect, when I feel "down" I don’t want to move. I veg out in front of the TV. Not moving is bad for my back. Then, moving is painful because I’m stiff. A vicious cycle. So, I’m determined to move more and write more.

Despite the rough beginning, 2018 has been pretty good. I released one new book, Numbers Never Lie, a Romantic Suspense, re-released One Red Shoe (another romantic suspense) in ebook form (I need to get it out in print), and released two books that had been ebooks only as print ones: Romance Rekindled and Mission to New Earth. When I released the last two novellas, I hadn’t planned on putting them in print. But, as I did more book events (11 this year), I realized I should offer less expensive books as well as the longer novels.

What’s left for this month? Since 2013, I’ve been a regular contributor for The Roses of Prose blog. In December, each author posts a 3-day holiday short story. Mine will be up starting this Saturday, December 8^th. I hope you’ll check it out.

Something I realized while doing the book events is that people are more willing to buy for their kids (and grandkids) than they are for themselves. I have a YA science fiction story in my computer that I’ve done nothing with. My plan for 2019 is to refresh and publish it. 

Here's my dilemma: my earlier books are spicy (R-rated) while my more recent books aren't but still are more for adults. For a YA, should I develop a new author persona (I have the domain name) along with a new website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.? Rick Riordan and James Patterson write both adult and YA books under one name, so why am I concerned? Am I being overprotective of my (future) young readers? I'm really interested in your opinion.

I hope you’ll enjoy the holidays.

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.

Monday Morning Musing on OUTLANDER

photo credit: IMDB

I had today’s blog post all worked out in my head before getting up this morning. I often do my best thinking in that twilight between awake and asleep. Then I watched the episode of Outlander that I’d recorded last night. Oh my goodness. Such a heartbreaking episode. At least, that’s how I felt as a mother. Then immense joy.

*** Spoiler Alert ***

Have you been watching Outlander? It’s a Starz original series based on Diana Gabaldon’s eight-book Outlander time travel collection. I read the series when it first came out. Everyone was back then. Or so it seemed. The main question in my book group's discussion was would she go back?

When the series premiered in 2014, I was excited to watch it, because of reading the books. I even blogged about it three years ago. Hubs enjoyed the series because of the Scottish history. (His grandfather was born in Scotland.) While he was interested in the battles, I watched for the romance between Claire and Jamie. Of course, I anticipated their happy-ever-after. Would they get it or not? What trauma Gabaldon put them through! What heartache.

I said (above) this episode was heartbreaking to me as a mother. To be reunited with her true love, Claire must leave her daughter (and Jamie’s) behind. It doesn’t matter that her daughter encourages her to go. I’m not sure I could do that. Perhaps, I'm not the romantic I always thought I was.

Amazon

Last year, I wrote a novella called Mission to New Earth. The beginning of the blurb reads: Would you go on a one-way trip to explore a new planet? Would you do it to save humankind? My main character (Sara) has no family to leave behind. My answer to the question in the blurb is no, not in my present life. Never to see my family again? No way. But other characters in my story did leave their families. In a future story (one that's in the early stage), I'll explore the rest of the crew's reasons for leaving those families behind.

When I wrote that novella, I didn’t consciously think about Outlander. Since I can now see the similarities, I must have done it subconsciously. At the beginning, Claire isn’t given the choice to travel back in time. Sara chooses to go on the mission. Later in the series, when Claire discovers Jamie survived the battle of Culloden, she’s torn between her family (daughter) and her true love. That’s what makes the story so emotional. What would we do for love?

I’m looking forward to watching the next episode. What does Jamie feel when Claire returns? How will that affect his life?

Are you watching Outlander?

Come back tomorrow when I share a fun new release from some friends of mine: an anthology titled Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2.

#IWSG: A Great Month

It's that time again. The 1st Wednesday of the month is Insecure Writers Support Group, the brainchild Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. And thanks to this month's awesome hosts:   Beverly Stowe McClure, Megan Morgan, Viola Fury, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Angela Wooldridge, and Susan Gourley!

Don't forget to check out the guidelines for this year's IWSG Anthology Contest!

September was a terrific month. I was more productive those 30 days than most of 2016. And it felt wonderful. As I wrote last time, I released MISSION TO NEW EARTH on August 31^st. To promote it, I planned a blog tour. I wrote articles, visited 22 blogs, and met great people (some of whom are here in ISWG). A huge thank you to all my hosts and to those who visited.

I didn’t just promote a published book. I wrote over 11k words on my WIP. That felt really good. It’s like I got a second wind after completing MISSION. Last week, I participated in Kiss of Death RWA’s Book in a Week. While I didn't actually write a 75,000 word story, having to report in each night made me want to write instead of following social media or playing computer games. I was embarrassed the two days I had to write 0 words. Still, over 8k words in 5 days felt great.

Returning to physical therapy for my back might have given me that extra bit of mental energy. Or maybe it was a conscious effort to finish the 3^rd book in my Alex O’Hara PI mystery series. I still have a long way to go on this story (51k). For much of this year, I waffled between three WIPs. Because I couldn’t decide, I didn’t get down to work. I’d find all kinds of ways to procrastinate.

Making the decision to finish the one closest to the end made me buckle down. Completing MISSION brought the other two to the fore. Which to choose? The one that’s farthest along.

Finish, move on. That’s my motto these days. Quit waffling, write.

This month’s question: how do you know your story is ready? It’s a feeling in my gut. Deadlines help. I’m more a pantser than a plotter, but I do know how the story will end. When I get there, I revise, edit, proof. Repeat. Let go. That last is the hardest. I can always find something to add, something to change, a typo, a better word. 

Letting go is like putting your kindergartener on the school bus. Hard to do. But a must.

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.

And the winner is . . .

Thank you to everyone who participated in the MISSION TO NEW EARTH blog tour during the month of September. So many gracious friends opened their homes (blogsites) and allowed me to natter on about my newest release.

The best part was hearing from you readers. Your answers to the question "Would you go on a one-way trip to a new planet?" were entertaining and thoughtful. Of course, there was no right answer. 

Now for the moment you've been waiting for. Who won the $10 Amazon Gift Card?

Mary Ann C.

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Congratulations, Mary Ann. I will be in touch.

I hope you'll stop by on Wednesday. It's Insecure Writers Support Group Day. I'll be chatting about the blog tour.

#8Sunday MISSION TO NEW EARTH #WeWriWa

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warrior and 8 Sentence Sunday time, the weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Writers share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other writers. You can find them here.

My snippet is from my new sci-fi romance novella MISSION TO NEW EARTH. Sara has diffused a tense situation between 2 team members, Marsh and Tom. She's given the team time off, even though they're due for another simulation. The rest of the team takes off, leaving Sara and Marsh behind.

I strolled up to the man I loved and put my arms around his waist. When I rested my head on his chest, I heard the thud of his heart, normally, a reassuring sound that always made me go weak in the knees, now it beat more rapidly than usual, still agitated

“Hey, guy, everything will be all right. We’re ready--more than ready.”

“I know, it’s just—”

Leaning back in his arms, I reached up and patted his cheek. “Settle down, big boy.” I gave him a long kiss, to which he didn’t respond—still worked up over the latest simulation. Then he gave in, as I knew he would. Not to be smug, but Marsh did like my kisses.

 

This will be my last snippet from Mission to New Earth. Next week: new month, new story. Thanks for all your comments.

The Story:

Would you go on a one-way trip to explore a new planet? Would you do it to save humankind?

In 2172, Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four.

Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~ ARe ~ Smashwords ~ Barnes & Noble

The is the last week for the Giveaway. Don't forget to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now go check out the other authors. 

#8Sunday #WeWriWa ~ Mission to New Earth

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Writers share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other writers. You can find them here.

My snippet is from my new sci-fi romance novella MISSION TO NEW EARTH. Last time, many of you asked what happened between Sara and Marsh. 

“We need to talk,” Marsh said as he blasted past me toward our quarters.

What? I looked around. Where was the rest of my team? Marsh took an impatient whack at the mistletoe ball hung from a garland. Oh, boy. What had gotten into him?

Bill and Tom trailed behind Marsh with Gloria and Ana bringing up the rear. Like me, they wore forest green jumpsuits, and they did not look pleased. Glum was a better word.

        The last simulation wasn’t that bad. 

Here's the story

Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four. Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~ ARe ~ Smashwords ~ Barnes & Noble

#IWSG: Old Dog, New Tricks

It's that time again. The 1st Wednesday of the month is Insecure Writers Support Group, the brainchild Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. And thanks to this month's awesome hosts:   C. Lee McKenzie,Rachel Pattison, Elizabeth Seckman, Stephanie Faris, Lori L MacLaughlin, and Elsie Amata!

We're also announcing the details of the annual IWSG Anthology Contest on September 7!

Old Dog, New Tricks

our old dog Cody

When I retired from my day job, I thought I’d have lots of time to write. Just write for fun. I’d pretty much given up on getting published until a writer friend asked why I didn’t self-publish Switched, my first (and at the time, only) published book to which I had the rights returned. Thus began my learning new tricks.

Holy cow! Did I ever have a lot to learn! I wasn’t even on Facebook. Had no idea what Twitter was. A blog? Huh? Since 2011, I’ve learned so much, thanks to the wonderful writing community. Besides my RWA chapter (Mid-Michigan RWA) members, Authors Helping Authors (an online support group), the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, this group, and so many more helped me learn what I needed to know.

After five years learning new things, I learned a couple of new things this past month. I put my new release up on Amazon for pre-order. I’d heard the horror tales about how if you don’t put the completed book up by their deadline, you can’t do a pre-order for a year. Pretty tough rule. Mine was up well before the deadline. I also discovered Smashwords and Kobo have pre-orders. I’ll definitely do those, too, next time.

My other learning something new? This weekend, I put three of my books up at All Romance eBooks. Friends have long mentioned this venue as another place to have my books available. I almost gave up. The website is somewhat confusing to navigate. Once I figured it out, the rest was fairly easy. I’m glad I pursued this.

As long as I keep learning, I won’t let my brain atrophy from disuse.

This month’s question: How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

Good question. I have a supportive spouse who leaves me alone (most of the time), who cooks when he sees I’m really involved in my writing, and who does laundry. I am so lucky. But I tend to waste time, too, so I’m looking forward to reading what others have to say.

My newest sci-fi romance (the one that was up for pre-order) was released on August 31. Mission to New Earth (a novella) is available at:

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~ ARe ~ Smashwords ~ Barnes & Noble

If you click here, you can read about Mission to New Earth and enter the Giveaway. I’m doing a month long blog tour. If you have room on your blog for a guest, please email me at dmburton72@gmail.com. As I’ve often mentioned, I love having guests here. So let me help you celebrate a new release, too.

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.

Labor Day

Today we (in the U.S.) celebrate the worker. In my day jobs, I was never management, always the worker. My volunteer life with Girl Scouts was another story. Frankly, I liked being a worker bee better.

Retirement is supposed to mean no more work. Yeah, right. Life goes on, and the "jobs" at home continue--cooking, cleaning, laundry, yardwork. I'm fortunate that Hubs (also retired) shares many of the household jobs. Retirement also meant for me more time to write.

I've always treated writing as a job. Fortunately, it's a job I love. Giving form to ideas/dreams, bringing characters to life, going on adventures with those characters (vicariously), falling in love for the first time. What's not to like?

I'll keep writing as long as my mind lets me. I watched my mom slowly lose hers to Alzheimer's. If there's a worse way to go, I don't know it. And it's a fear. Although Mom's was probably due to age, I fear Alzheimer's or any form of dementia. My doctor gave me some good news, though. My writing will (in all probability) keep dementia at bay.

So work is good. I celebrate Labor Day because I can still work.

This week, my work takes me to different (virtual) places. I'll be visiting writer friends' blogs with interviews, articles, and teasers from my new sci-fi romance, Mission to New Earth. Here's my schedule:

Tuesday, Sept 6: Gina Conkle  a teaser

                                 Veronica Scott  "Goldilocks" planets

Wednesday, Sept 7: M.J. Schiller  Meet Marsh Rayburn

Friday, Sept 9: Barbara Edwards  Why I Wrote Mission to New Earth

I hope you'll join us. You'll have more opportunities to enter the Giveaway.

Now I'm off to write blog posts for next week. A writer's job is never done.

Mission to New Earth

a science fiction romance novella

Length: 88 pages (25k words)

Blurb

Would you go on a one-way trip to explore a new planet? Would you do it to save humankind?

Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four. Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

  

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~ ARe ~ Smashwords ~ Barnes & Noble

  GIVEAWAY:

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