Book Launch and review: Curved Space to Corsair

 

I am delighted to participate in the launch of the much-anticipated second book in the Viridian System series, Curved Space to Corsair!

Curved Space to Corsair

by Jemima Pett

Book 2 of the Viridian series
genre; science fiction/space opera adventure with some romance.
ebook: 90,000 words; approx 290 pages
paperback: tba

Curved Space to Corsair is the second in the Viridian series, a proposed trilogy. It follows on from the events in The Perihelix, and includes references to events in that book.

Asteroid miners Big Pete and the Swede deserve a holiday with Maggie and Dolores, but the Delta Quadrant is hardly a vacation spot. Pete has kept secret the call from his home planet, Corsair, to rescue them from disaster. He uses the excuse that Dolores is training to become a pilot and needs more space hours, only to send them through a natural wormhole to an uncharted destination.

Meanwhile the Imperium declares war on the Federation, while a little personal business by one of the senators leads him off in the direction of the Viridian System to start a canny land grab.

Excerpt:

“We’ve never been this far out of the galactic plane before. Have we?” Lars Nilsson frowned as he viewed the flight plan displayed in front of the co-pilot.

“I thought we should be away from prying eyes. It’s probably safer than anywhere else.” The co-pilot, Pete Garcia, grinned. The two asteroid miners were enjoying their downtime, but not in their lovely villa on the sun-kissed slopes next to the sea on Sunset Strip. To pass the time while restoration work was being carried out on it, they were playing with their new custom-built space cruiser. It was a far cry from the cramped quarters of their mining craft. All mod cons, a biome to grow fresh vegetables, and two spacious cabins for them to relax with some privacy with their partners.

Pete’s partner, Dolores Azulzambi, studied the console in front of her. The courses Pete was giving her to plan for her pilot training were anything but straightforward. 

“I mean,” Pete continued, “there’s nothing around here for Dolores to bump into when she practices her hops.”

Lars flicked a glance at Dolores, but she was not reacting to Pete’s teasing. She ran through a routine check of her course and systems, and sat back again. “When do you want me to hop, and where to?”

“Try setting a course to go to Balkh from here that swings around the Beehive Cluster.”

“Oooh, Balkh! You mean we can go visit some of those amazing temples they’ve got?” Ancient civilisations had been Dolores’ major, before her planet had been over-run by the Imperium.

“If you pass my test, yes.” Pete grinned, with an evil twinkle in his eye. Lars moved from his seat behind him into the gangway, and opened the locker where the spacesuits were stored.

“What are you doing?” Pete asked.

“Just tidying up. Shall I ask Maggie about lunch? Carry on, Dolores.” Lars went along to the galley smuggling a silver box and two masks in front of him. 

“Okay, Dolores. Have you got your route set?”

Dolores showed him the track she’d laid in, where her waypoints were, and her estimated positions for the start and end of warpshift. 

“Very good. Anything you’re not sure of?”

Dolores looked over her route again. “No, I’m fine.”

She wondered whether there was something about this route Pete wasn’t telling her. The first exercises had been simple point to points; then she’d had to avoid some nova debris. Last time she’d had to navigate by waypoints. Now she was combining these things together. She went over them again, just to make sure.

“Okay, when you’re ready.”

Dolores flicked a comlink: “Prepare for warpshift in ten, nine, eight…” She flicked the comlink off again, since Lars and Pete told her they never bothered to count down out loud. They all did it in their heads instead. Dolores watched the timer hit zero, and held on to her seat, clenching her muscles to keep her stomach stable. The unsettling effect of warpshift turned her inside out, then settled again. Then the cabin lights went red and an emergency klaxon sounded.

“What?” she gasped, as the computer voice said: “Warning, hull breach imminent, warning…” and repeated its message on continuous loop.

“Raise shields!” she ordered, trying to remember the drill she’d repeated during her booklearning.

“Shields inoperative,” the computer responded, while continuing its emergency alarm.

“What? er—all hands to spacesuits!” she ordered.

© J M Pett 2019, Curved Space to Corsair Ch 1

Buying Links:

iTunes, B&N, Kobo, Smashwords
Amazon.com ** Amazon.co.uk ** Amazon.ca ** Amazon.com.au ** Amazon.in
Paperback: tba

About the Author:

Jemima wrote her first book when she was eight years old. She was heavily into world-building, drawing maps, building railway timetables, and dreaming of being a champion show-jumper, until schoolwork got in the way. Then she went down the science path, reading all the scifi in her local library, writing papers, manuals and reports, as well as editing the newsletters for her sports clubs. She changed career aged 42, to a new and exciting cross-cutting science called environmental technology, and worked in energy efficiency and climate change. In her spare time she studied planetary science with the Open University just for fun. A few years on, she was writing stories set on new worlds in distant parts of the galaxy, featuring two guys she’d love to know better, and their women, who seem to be emerging from obscurity into leading characters themselves. Jemima Pett lives in Norfolk, UK, and first started writing fantasy adventures for young teens over ten years ago.
Connect with Jemima Pett:  Blog ** Amazon ** Goodreads ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Pinterest ** Smashwords

 

My Review:

Okay, I think I have to declare myself a biased reviewer. After all, I was a beta reader and editor for this book, so I might be a wee bit invested in it :)  But that said, I still love it, and was in fact eagerly awaiting it!

I first fell in love with Big Pete and the Swede in the early flash fiction bits Ms. Pett wrote featuring the miners. I enjoyed the first book in the series in part for that reason, and encouraged the author not to give up when she decided it needed reworking--which resulted in a much stronger story. This second book in the series shows the effects of that hard work, by being a very strong, tight story, with characters who stand out as individuals and feel entirely human (even when they aren't, if you know what I  mean).

The story is complete and stands on its own, but I think it is better to read the books in order, and though this isn't a cliff-hanger at all, I'm eagerly awaiting Book Three.

In summary (since I'm borrowing a computer and need to give it back): this is a strong and original story with interesting and well-developed characters, good intrigue and adventure, and a touch of humor in the right places. There is a bit of space sex, but nothing graphic, so it's suitable for any adult or teen readers.

One last bit of excitement! A Rafflecopter Giveaway!
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
Full Disclosure: I read and edited a pre-publication version of this book, and received nothing from the author or the publisher in exchange for my input or my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Z is for Zito #AtoZChallenge

Z is for Zito, from the Viridian System

In a Nutshell: He is one of very few big cheeses in the Viridian System, and part of the organising group (aka Council) on Pleasant Valley.  Basically the six most powerful/rich people get together whenever anything looks like causing trouble that would threaten their own interests.

Biggest secret: where he originally came from. Nobody knows, and he claims to have forgotten: “Most people have changed their identity at least once, so if you know you don’t know, you don’t have to remember a lie.”

Favourite line:  “I can get hold of anything for you except space hardware, and if you want that, I’ll introduce you to someone."

The Viridian System series will be resumed next year:
Book 1 - The Perihelix (an interview with the author about this is here).
Book 2 - Curved Space to Corsair
Book 3 - Zanzibar’s Rings
Sign up for the newsletter for the Viridian System series here.

Check out the Viridian System Sampler - second edition (and update your copy if you bought the first)
 

 

 

And...We made it! Congratulations on surviving another A to Z Challenge, whether you were blogging or "just" reading (which might be the toughest job of all). Thanks to everyone who has visited and left comments. I appreciate the support.

P is for...Pete and Peggy #AtoZChallenge

P is for...Pete of the Viridian System, and Peggy of Skunk Corners

So why do the best characters keep falling on the same letters? I couldn't miss either of these, so you get both!

From the Viridian System stories by Jemima Pett, we have
Pete Garcia
In a nutshell: One of many exiles from Corsair waiting to be called to arms to rescue the planet from the Imperium, and biding his time with wine, women and asteroid mining.

Biggest secret: His ear-ring

Favourite line: "Any chance of some food, mate?" As an adventurer and a miner, Pete has his priorities straight!

Pete is one of the central characters in the Viridian System books by Jemima Pett.  Book 1 of the series, The Perihelix, will be reissued around November, and work is underway on Book 2! Meanwhile, check out the short stories that started it all:

And, from the Ninja Librarian books, we have
Peggy Rossiter

In a nutshell: the smartest kid in the Skunk Corners school, and the best mathematician for a long way in any direction, Peggy wants an education like no one’s ever wanted anything before.

Biggest secret: what she thinks of Tommy Colson. She may have other, bigger secrets, before it's all over, but this one's a mystery even to her.
Favorite line:  Explaining why she didn't finish some work: "There was an equation...it took me most of the morning to work it out."

 
 Book Three of the Ninja Librarian books--The Problem With Peggy is the story of how Peggy manages to get her chance at that education. Here's how Big Al learns of the problem, from the first chapter of the book:

When I dismissed the class, I kept Peggy back.

“What’s wrong? When I said school was letting out for the summer you looked like I hit you.” I was almost sorry I asked. The look of desperation on Peggy Rossiter’s face would have broken a tougher heart than mine. She looked like she was about to cry, but Peg was no baby.

“I had a birthday a few weeks ago,” she said as though that answered everything. I kept looking at her, hoping she’d tell me what she meant. “Pa says, now I’m fourteen I should be done with school, like the law says.” Her tone was angry, to keep the tears in.

“The law doesn’t say you have to quit school at fourteen. Only that you can. You’re good at it. You should keep going.” 

Peggy shrugged. “I told him that, and that I want to go on. I even cried, but he won’t listen. Pa doesn’t believe in educating girls. He’s letting me finish this year, but I can’t come back next year. I guess,” she said with a smile that made me want to cry, “I was sorta hoping we just wouldn’t quit, and I could keep on coming to school here forever.” 

The Ninja Librarian’s back in town, school’s out, and all’s right with the world…or is it? Big Al may be looking forward to spending her time swimming in the creek and wandering the hills, but Peggy’s looking forward to a life of drudgery. If Al can’t find a way to sway her pa, the brightest kid in Skunk Corners is going to take drastic action. With a mystery from the past haunting one of the houses and creating the biggest threat yet to the town, Big Al’s going to be kept busy this summer, and not just with practicing her moves for the Ninja Librarian!

 

ebooks:
Amazon
Smashwords
Barnes & Noble Nook book
iBooks
Paperbacks:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

 

#AtoZChallenge D is for Dolores

Following the suggestion of fellow blogger and amazing author Jemima Pett, I'm doing a very simple A to Z with characters from my writing and the books of my author friends! I'm just posting a brief profile, sometimes a quote, and the book cover with links. Though you may also see some of my typical reviews and the usual Friday Flash Fiction.

D is for Dolores

In a nutshell: Spunky and level-headed member of the Viridian System team, keen to better her situation.

Biggest secret: Per the author: Her big secret is that she appears to be hankering after a baby even though she thinks she’s infertile.  Well, hankering after Pete’s baby, to be specific. (Ms. Pett's comment on this revelation: "Is that a big secret?  It surprised me.")

Favourite line: Lars, Pete, Maggie and Dolores are travelling in alien space and have encountered a spacecraft apparently crewed entirely by females.  "Why don't you guys make tea or something?” Dolores suggests, as she continues to attempt to communicate with the aliens.

Dolores features in the Viridian System books, by Jemima Pett. Check her out right now with the Viridian System Sampler. Book 1 of the series, The Perihelix, will be reissued around November, and work is underway on Book 2!

Today is also IWSG post day!

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!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group (click on the badge above for the list) and connect with your fellow writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

Since I'm neck deep in the A to Z Challenge, as well as still trying to get the Pismawallops PTA #3 ready for editors, I'll use the prompt and keep it brief.

The Question: Have you taken advantage of the annual A to Z Challenge in terms of marketing, networking, publicity for your book? What were the results?

Well, as you can see if you've read my blog so far this month, the answer is yes. And of course, in a way that's what it's all about--getting noticed, and hopefully getting readers. But there's a difference between promoting your blog--which is what I've done in previous years--and promoting your books. This is my first time doing the latter, so I don't know yet if there will be results. 

Because I do think we all need to stick together (and yeah, okay, because I don't have characters for every letter of the alphabet), I'm also highlighting the work of some of my fellow indie writers. Jemima Pett gets top billing, largely because this was her idea :) but you'll see some others appear, too. 

I guess I'll be able to report next month if I see any spikes in sales. I'll admit I'm hoping there are--my sales have been pretty much in the area I'd call "depressing." The odd thing is, that doesn't really stop me from wanting and needing to write more books. It only bugs me when I stop to look at it. That has led me to not look, which leads to not doing much promotion--clearly not a good cycle to fall into!

How about you? Have you used A to Z to promote your books as well as your blog? What were the results?

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2017
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated! 

Book Blast: the Perihelix, by Jemima Pett

The Perihelix, a new book by Jemima Pett, is launched this week! You buy it at Amazon, B&N, Apple, and Kobo and Smashwords. So, why should you buy The Perihelix?

The Perihelix by Jemima Pett

Book 1 of the Viridian System Series

• Published by Princelings Publications
• Genre: science fiction/scifi-adventure/space opera (for grownups, although I wouldn't describe it as adult)
• Words/pages: 83,800 / 360
• Formats: all ereaders and paperback
• Price: ebook currently on special offer at 99c (rrp $2.99): paperback rrp $10.99

 

The Blurb:

Two asteroid miners, three women, one spacecraft, and five pieces of a legendary weapon scattered around the galaxy. Big Pete and the Swede are rich, or so they discover after bringing their latest haul of orichalcum in from the asteroid belt. So some well-deserved vacation awaits them. It starts out just fine, with one of the men winning the big flyer-race of the season, but they start to receive odd messages, and despite the attentions from the girls, both realise that someone is trying to drag them back to their pasts, pasts they have tried hard to erase. As they set out to discover who’s bugging them, they are kidnapped by some particularly nasty aliens, which leaves the girls in a mess – stranded on the spaceship with very little idea how to fly it.

What I think of it:

I may be biased, as Jemima Pett is a writing pal and a friend. I read two or three drafts and offered feedback, so of course I think it's great! But seriously, when I proofed the final copy, even knowing the story quite well I couldn't stop reading. I'm definitely in love with the characters! So, you can discount my bias and still know you should read it :)

Purchase links:

Amazon - Smashwords - B&N - Kobo - iTunes - Book Depository

Interview with Jemima Pett

Q: How did you come to invent the characters in your new book?
 It was through my regular flash fiction stories on my blog. We'd had a couple of times when I'd ventured into science fiction, once in a Casablanca/Star Wars mash-up which was called Paradisio, and then those characters got mentioned in a Random Title story called the Orichalcum Library, where two asteroid miners wanted to read real books, so the bar owner on another planet got hold of some which had been swapped for food by some fugitives from the Paradisio story. The asteroid miners turned into Pete and the Swede, and there we go.  

Q. Why did they end up with three women? Isn't it a bit degrading to bring in your female characters as escorts?
Asteroid miners have a reputation for being hell-raisers when they aren't mining. Pete and the Swede want some female company, and after a while they realise they actually want company, good food, people to enjoy their vacation with, as well as bed companions. So when they found escorts who they liked, they rehired them, and if you can afford more company, then why not? As for why are the females escorts, well, in the Wild West women are generally either bar girls (escorts) or pioneer/ranchers' wives, and I didn't have any ranches around. The Viridian system is very much Outback, and although there are a few women in what you might call 'normal' jobs on Sunset Strip, it's not an area that's easy to get to without a sponsor. These girls have quite interesting futures ahead of them, though, as you'll see when you read the book.  

Q. What was the most difficult thing about writing the book?
Having developed my worlds of Pleasant Valley and Sunset Strip, the two inhabited planets of the Viridian System, in part through the short stories, I then had to check the science for them. I've done a course on planetary science, and to me, getting planets that were physically feasible was important. I wanted Sunset Strip to have two sunsets in a Standard day, which led me to realise the difficulties with that, which I've mentioned in the 'world-building' section on the Viridian series website. Now, sorting those worlds out wasn't difficult. But then I realised ALL the other places they go to on their adventures need to be fully realised as well. Oh, boy! Physical characteristics, society, relationships with other planets, weather, occupants.... and keeping tabs on with all with a huge spreadsheet. But it's great fun. As long as my memory holds out!  

Q. How do you keep up with the science?
At present it's hard, because in the eighteen months since I wrote the first draft of The Perihelix (at Camp NaNoWriMo) there have been huge developments in the detection of exoplanets - planets around stars outside our own system - and level of detail we've worked out about them. We've also had hugely more information about the outer planets of our own system. What is emerging is that basically, anything goes; a lot of what we thought would be the rule from what we knew of the solar system has been turned on its head. It's really exciting! Most of my updates come from a couple of websites, from other bloggers who report on interesting things, from the Norwich Astronomical Society and from the excellent BBC programmes The Sky at Night and Stargazing Live. And with a #BritInSpace on the International Space Station at the moment, there is more interest in astronomy and space travel in the UK than there has been for years.  

Q. What's next for Pete and The Swede?
Well, I've already written about 15,000 words of Book 2, some of which are scenes for later in the book. I have a setting, some propositions and some problems, but I haven't got the solutions yet - except there will be a third book, so I don't have to complete the overall storyline yet, just advance the main issues of book 2 to a satisfactory conclusion. No cliff-hangers!  

Thank goodness for that! Thanks for talking to me, Jemima

About the Author:

Jemima has been writing since she was 8 years old, and reading science fiction since she was about 15. She tried writing a scifi book while at college, but was put off writing entirely by a 'friend' who said it was rubbish. Even with a maths degree, a Masters in Environmental Technology and a Diploma in Earth Sciences, Jemima kept writing – although it was mostly manuals, newsletters and research papers. It was only when she moved to Norfolk, on the east coast of England, that she found characters who inspired her to write fiction again – and that led to the Princelings of the East series, now six books long, with the seventh due later this year. Where Pete and the Swede came from is another story entirely, but she thinks the guys who inspired her would probably be flattered, if they realised!