#IWSG: World of the Outer Rim

Happy Insecure Writer's 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. We are rockin' the neurotic writing world!

The awesome co-hosts for the July 6 posting of the IWSG are J Lenni Dorner, Janet Alcorn, PJ Colando, Jenni Enzor, and Diane Burton! Me? Wow. I love being called awesome.

June was a terrific month. Thank you to everyone who gave me so much support last time. That's what this group is all about, supporting each other, encouraging those who are having a tough time (like me) and celebrating with those who succeed. 

I'm back on the arts & crafts/vendor show circuit. Thanks to some wonderful readers at the White Lake Area Arts & Crafts Festival in Whitehall, MI and at the Lakeshore Arts Festival in Muskegon, I am so pumped about my writing again. Some readers bought books, others said how much they enjoyed my books, and others stopped by to see my tablemate's chicken. Yep, Jean Davis (one of our own IWSG'ers) brings her tame chicken to the shows. That's one way to get people to stop and talk books.

After each weekend, I was exhausted yet energized about my writing. That's a feeling I haven't had in months. I attribute it to the shows, but also to you for your support. Thank you so much.

July 6 question - If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose?

That's easy. I would choose the world in my Outer Rim series, three (almost four) sci-fi adventures. I'd hang out with Celara, Jileena, Rissa, and Genna, strong women on the frontier of space. I admire these fems who carved out their place in a world as harsh and violent as the Wild West of the 1800's United States. Best of all, I'd get to pilot a starship, drive a speeder, and meet the handsome guys who are strong enough to love those enterprising women. 

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.

#WeWriWa THE PROTECTOR - Slave Traders Were Here! #sfr

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

Here's another excerpt from The Protector (An Outer Rim Novel: Book 3). I skipped ahead a little from last week's snippet. The townspeople have gathered in Rissa's tavern for an emergency meeting. 

Apologies for the misuse of commas.

Merchant Graeson climbed up on a chair and whistled shrilly—that got everyone’s attention, “We had a dangerous incident last night, here’s Rissa to tell you about it.”

With a grimace she forced herself to hide, Rissa came around from behind the bar. She’d hoped Graeson would explain about the incident—no such luck.

“Four tendays ago I warned you about—”

“This better not be about slave traders again,” A short, round man from one of the farms stood, “that ain’t gonna happen here.”

As murmurs of agreement began, Sophira’s spouse stood, “Shut up, Ramus—it can and it did, last night.” Murmurs stopped, and when silence met his announcement, he said, “Traffickers took our baby.”

The audience responded with gasps.

Another man stood, “And they tried to take my boy.”

And then another, “Mine, too—if it weren’t for Miz Rissa and her friends, our boys would be sold for slaves, and that baby sold to rich people in the Central District.”

“We should have listened to Miz Rissa last time,” Sophira said.

Who knew rescuing two girls from traffickers would bring down a world of hurt?

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a galactic trafficking ring.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ B&N ~ iTunes

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

#WeWriWa: THE PROTECTOR - Dillan under Rissa's roof

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

Here's another excerpt from The Protector (An Outer Rim Novel: Book 3). I skipped ahead a little from last week. Rissa has offered her spare room to Dillan then immediately has second thoughts. (Alluded to before, this is a May-December romance. Rissa is December.)

He looked so different from the kid who used to come to Astron, he and his friends—rich teens with nothing to do but take risks. Idiot thrill seekers.

The Dillan Rusteran standing before her was no longer tanned from the suns of the various planets he and his friends visited to climb mountains, surf in treacherous oceans, or skydive out of their luxury space yachts. From what little she could see of his face beneath the shaggy, dark-brown beard, he had the pale skin of someone who spent a lot of time indoors. Worry lines creased his forehead and fanned out from his green eyes. His shoulders were broader, and his chest had filled out. Still trim, he had a solidity about him that hadn’t been there before.

This man would be sleeping under her roof. Again.

Who knew rescuing two girls from traffickers would bring down a world of hurt?

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a galactic trafficking ring.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ B&N ~ iTunes

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

#WeWriWa - THE PROTECTOR: Rissa's Guilt

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

Here's another excerpt from The Protector (An Outer Rim Novel: Book 3). Dillan and Rissa are in her kitchen alone late at night. When she tried to send him away, he made himself at home--the way he'd done six years before.

Please forgive the creative punctuation (and changes from the original) to keep within the guidelines.

Rissa caught herself staring at his strong neck, the way his throat worked as he swallowed the ale, and hastily took a sip of her own. Six years ago, she’d tried to remember he was a kid—he wasn’t one then, and he sure wasn’t one now. She regretted not sending him on his way back to his ship, he made her think of things she had no business thinking of, not with him.

“The children are all right?” he asked.

“Yes, Fortuna’s girls are taking care of them.”

His expression—so serious—convinced her he cared about the children. He’d been that serious once before—when he lost his friend in a rock-slide up in the mountains. Even though their other friends left after a few days, Dillan stayed to help the search-and-rescue teams from neighboring colonies, and when those teams gave up, he joined another team hired by Konner’s father to continue the search.

His grief, compounded by survivor’s guilt, had led her to comfort him. Comfort that had almost gone too far. She wasn’t going to think about that time.

Who knew rescuing two girls from traffickers would bring down a world of hurt?

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a galactic trafficking ring.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ B&N ~ iTunes

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

#WeWriWa THE PROTECTOR: Rissa Remembers Him

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

Here's another excerpt from The Protector (An Outer Rim Novel: Book 3). Last week, Rissa discovers the man who helped her rescue the kids is no stranger. 

(Please forgive the creative punctuation.)
 

Rissa pursed her lips, “Dillan.”

“Ah, you do remember me,” he said, giving her a grin that used to make her smile . . . didn’t work.

“I always remember pains in the ass.”

Putting his hand on his heart, he staggered, “Ouch, you sure know how to hurt a guy.”

“Go away—I’ve had a bad couple of hours, and I’m going to bed.” She walked to the alley door and opened it, saying, “Go back where you came from.”

He strolled over to the cooler and reached in for a bottle of ale, as he’d done many times in the past, then sat on a stool, saying, “Is that anyway to treat someone who came to your aid tonight?”

While taking a long swig of the tart ale, he watched the fem who’d turned him inside out six years ago. She looked the same, although her dark hair—still skinned back into one long braid—had a few strands of gray, and a few more laugh lines fanned out from her exotic dark eyes.

A blush started at her neck and rose into her high cheeks as she said, “Thank you for helping us.”

Who knew rescuing two girls from traffickers would bring down a world of hurt?

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a galactic trafficking ring.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ B&N ~ iTunes

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

#WeWriWa: THE PROTECTOR Where Dillan's Heart Lies

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

Congratulations to our own Hywela Lynn for winning Mid-Michigan RWA's Best Banter Contest: Paranormal Romance. Yay!

Sorry for missing last week. I was out of town at a book event, followed by a mini-vacation. I'm back with another excerpt from The Protector (An Outer Rim Novel: Book 3). When we left off two weeks ago, Rissa and her friend Fortuna (a pleasure house madam) are in Rissa's kitchen discussing the rescue of the children when Dillan shows up. Next thing he knows, her bartender (and self-appointed bodyguard) holds a knife to his throat. Despite his beard and overlong hair, Fortuna is the first to recognize him. 

While Dillan disentangled Fortuna’s arms, Rissa sat back down at the island—she did not look pleased. He could hope her tight expression was jealousy, but it probably wasn’t.

Rissa sighed, “Kiran, it’s okay, go back to bed, thanks for being so vigilant. This is one offworlder I can handle.”

“Oh, please, let me handle him,” Fortuna cooed.

While she was a beautiful fem, she did nothing to turn him on, even when she kissed him again and pressed her lush body against his. His attention centered on Rissa.

When Fortuna noticed the direction of his gaze, she huffed, “Oh, pooh, same old, same old. I’ll leave you two alone to get . . . reacquainted.”

Who knew rescuing two girls from traffickers would bring down a world of hurt?

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a galactic trafficking ring.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ B&N ~ iTunes

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

#WeWriWa - THE PROTECTOR:

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

I'm sharing another snippet from my sci-fi romance, THE PROTECTOR. In last week's post, the tall stranger from the spaceport shows up at Rissa's tavern, interrupting her and Fortuna's discussion about the rescued children. Kiran, the bartender, creeps up behind him and holds a knife to his neck. Dillan speaks first.

 

“Sorry, Rissa, Fortuna, guess I should have knocked.”

The three turned suspicious eyes on him, Rissa responded first with, “How do you know our names?”

“Yeah, Offworlder,” Kiran said, “how do you know their names?”

Dillan didn’t think a funny quip, like ones he’d given them six years ago, would work this time—not with the big Zebori warrior looking like he wanted to gut him with the knife he'd lowered at Rissa's motion.

“I used to come here, a long time ago--" he placed his hand over his heart “--I’m hurt, truly hurt, you don’t remember.”

“By the stars, it’s Rusteran!” Fortuna nearly tripped in her rush to get to him, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled down his head.

Dillan enjoyed her enthusiastic kiss—it just wasn’t the one he wanted.

Who knew rescuing two girls from traffickers would bring down a world of hurt?

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a galactic trafficking ring.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ B&N ~ iTunes

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

 

#WeWriWa: THE PROTECTOR - Surprise Visitor #sfr

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

I'm sharing another snippet from my sci-fi romance, THE PROTECTOR. In last week's post, Rissa and her friend Fortuna were discussing what to do next with the rescued children. The last line was Rissa's, “Why does everyone think I know what to do?” This snippet picks right up.

Fortuna reached across the counter and patted Rissa’s hand, “Because you always come through with a plan.”

“Yeah, and everyone wants me to make all the decisions,” She blew out a breath, “if only they’d listened to me before.”

“They’ll listen to you now—you’ll need to call a town meeting.” With a look of chagrin, Fortuna amended, “The merchants, Barlen, and I will contact the town folk. It will be all right, you won’t have to carry this burden all by yourself.”

“What burden?” The tall man from the spaceport stood in the doorway to the bar.

Kiran crept up behind him and held his long knife against the man’s throat beneath his beard. “Hold it, Offworlder, you’d better have a damn good reason for sneaking in here.”

Who knew rescuing two girls from traffickers would bring down a world of hurt?

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a galactic trafficking ring.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ B&N ~ iTunes

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

I'll be gone all day Sunday. I will eventually to get all your blogs, but it may take a couple of days. I really enjoy your snippets.

#WeWriWa - THE PROTECTOR: What To Do With The Kids #sfr

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

I'm sharing another excerpt from my sci-fi romance, THE PROTECTOR. In last week's post, Rissa and her friends got all the kids out of the traffickers ship. I've skipped ahead to where Rissa and her friend Fortuna are discussing what happens next.

“The children are fed, bathed, and clothed,” Fortuna said as she hoisted herself onto a stool at the work island in Rissa’s kitchen, “and my girls have them bedded down for the night.”

Rissa placed a bottle of ale in front of her friend then sat across from her—only on the Rim could a preacher’s daughter be good friends with a pleasure house madam. If her father could see her now, he’d be horrified, even more upset than when he’d abandoned her on Marin 5—serve the hypocrite right.

Rissa picked up her bottle of ale, closed her eyes, and let the cool, tart beverage slide down her throat.

Fortuna rolled her own bottle between her hands as she said, “The children are from a homeless shelter.”

“Then no one wants them back?” Rissa said as she dropped her head on her folded arms.

“What are you going to do now?”

She lifted her head. “Why does everyone think I know what to do?”

Who knew rescuing two girls from traffickers would bring down a world of hurt?

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a galactic trafficking ring.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ B&N ~ iTunes

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 

#WeWriWa: THE PROTECTOR - Dillan To The Rescue #sfr

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

Thanks to everyone who visited last week. I always enjoy your comments. Here's where we are. The stranger offers to help Rissa and her friends rescue kids from a traffickers' spaceship, but they won't come out. We pick up where we left off last week.

 

Rissa Dix. Dillan would recognize her voice anywhere. He couldn’t believe he’d found her so soon . . . and in such a dangerous position. Once inside the cargo hold, he assessed the situation—children of both sexes and a variety of races huddled in small groups against the bulkhead. They weren’t moving.

In his sternest voice, and in Traishan like Rissa, he ordered, “Get out—now—danger.”

She whirled on him. “You can’t—”

Either his tone or his words had the desired effect—the children scurried around Rissa, carefully avoided him, and dashed down the ramp.

Who knew rescuing two girls from traffickers would bring down a world of hurt?

After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from returning. Mining heir Dillan Rusteran has loved her for years. Little do they know that by rescuing more children they're tangling with a galactic trafficking ring.

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords ~ B&N ~ iTunes

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors.