Guest - Cheryl Brooks

Good morning everyone!

Once again, we have Cheryl Brooks, a talented Science Fiction Romance author, visiting us. I've had the pleasure of reading both her books, SLAVE and Warrior (you can see my review of Warrior on yesterday's post) and I can only say Wow! Ms Brooks has created a very real, very fascinating new world.

You'll want to read the review because Sourcebooks, Inc, the publisher has offered two blog readers a free copy of Warrior and I explain how you can be one of those lucky readers :D

Now please join me in welcoming Cheryl Brooks!
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When I began writing, it was because what I wanted to read wasn't out there. There are sci-fi romances available now, but when I first thought about it, trust me, there weren't! I was trying to explain to someone just yesterday why I write what I do, and what I said was: “I loved Star Trek and Star Wars, but always thought they would be so much better with sex!” What I've done with The Cat Star Chronicles series is to let my imagination run wild to create an alien race whose men are the sexiest in the galaxy. These guys are so hot, someone decided to destroy them, and there aren't many of them left—only a few lucky women get to know the joy—and, believe me, it is joy!

When you write science fiction, there are no limits to what you can create—be it a man who can do it better than anyone, or the number of orgasms a woman can experience—and that's the reason I keep coming back to it. I've written a number of contemporary romances, and while they're just as hot as my sci-fi novels, they don't offer the kind of creative freedom that going into the distant future can provide. I dearly love creating new worlds and new kinds of aliens and little tidbits that add color to the story.

I had a lot of fun writing Slave—I didn't mince words or put any limits on where my imagination could take me. I just wrote it. Now, Warrior is out, and in it, I explored my inner “witch.” I've always wanted to be the wise woman of the forest—though there are those who will tell you I'm one of the old wise women of our ICU; I was nicknamed “Yoda” a long, long time ago—so I wrote the character of Tisana, and gave her all the powers and abilities that I would love to possess myself. She can communicate with animals telepathically, can whip up a potion with the best of them, and can start fires with a glance of her witchy green eyes! Her man is Leo, a Zetithian slave with all the ability as a lover and a hero that that distinction implies. Together, they embark on an adventure filled with mystery, danger, and sizzling romance!

So, if you've ever wanted to disintegrate C3PO for interrupting Han and Leia in The Empire Strikes Back, you'll understand why I write, and I invite you to join me on a journey to the limits of imagination!

- Cheryl Brooks

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Review - The Cat Star Chronicles: Warrior

The Cat Star Chronicles: Warrior
By Cheryl Brooks
Sourcebooks, INC
October, 2008

When Tisana, a healer/witch, has a nearly dead feline slave dumped on her doorstep by her ex-lover, she isn't prepared for his exotic and erotic sensuality. But as she nurses him back, she wonders if he is The One. There is only one man in all the universe who can impregnate her to father her future daughter. The problem is, she doesn't know who he is.

It's a lonely life for a witch. One man to love but only briefly because whoever the man is, he will leave her. She knows that's the way of it, that's the way it's always been for all the generations of women in her family. And they only have one child, a daughter, to carry on the talent for their family.

But this new man, Leo, surprises her with his willingness to stay. And more, she's surprised when he offers to help find Rafe's kidnapped sons when he could be escaping his slavery. Maybe he really is The One for Tisana.

A while back I had the opportunity to read the first book in this series and thought, hey, this is pretty darn good. Well, let me tell you, the second book, WARRIOR, is even better. Ms. Brooks has created a fabulous world of diverse and interesting customs -- truly, even if the romance aspect wasn't so good, this would be a great read just to see the way she's developed this world. And the plot has some interesting twists as Rafe, the ex-lover, Tisana and Leo track down the missing boys.

Now...I've got some great news for those of you who love good science fiction romance. Sourcebooks has offered a free copy of Warrior to two lucky readers of this blog. All you have to do is email me at LyndaK.Scott @ gmail.com (no spaces but there is a period after the k in my name). Please put Warrior in the subject line and your snail mail addy in the body of the email.

On Saturday, I'll put the names of everyone who has emailed me into a box and let my fluffy buddy, Wookie, select the winner (she loves to grab the pieces of paper I use). Oh, and make sure you read Cheryl's blog with us tomorrow. It's very interesting!

-Lynda

This week on Star-Crossed Romance - Guest Sheryl Brennan

Good morning everyone! Today we have guest Sheryl Brennan who will be talking about one of the great SF type characters - The Geek.

Sheryl Brennan brings the past to awe-inspiring light with her debut book Celtic Sacrifice. Sheryl is not only an author, but also a mother, has a degree in business, and volunteers her time and expertise. She currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her three beautiful daughters.

Sheryl Brennan is offering a Free Desktop Image for all those that Signup for Sheryl's News Letter for the rest of October. Plus, she’s having a drawing for a free autographed copy of her debut book, Celtic Sacrifice. So be sure to stop by for instructions on how to win.

http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/

And don’t forget to check back on Friday to see Skylar Massey’s Star Light, Star Bright Interstellar interview of author Mindy Klasky

Review - Dark Highland Fire

First, let me apologize. I meant to post this yesterday but I've been plagued by ISP problems for the past week and a nasty head cold to boot. But here it is now and, if you see this book in the stores, you need to get it :D


DARK HIGHLAND FIRE
By Kendra Leigh Castle
Sourcebooks, Casablanca


Gabriel MacInnes, a charming, handsome Scottish werewolf, is adrift after the marriage of his twin brother, Gideon. Not that he minds Gideon being married. He likes his new sister-in-law a lot. And he doesn't begrudge Gideon the responsibility that comes with being the Clan heir. It's just that even though Gabriel owns a successful pub, he doesn't quite know what he wants to do with himself.

Then, with one shriek of the Stone of Destiny, everything changes. A mysterious man dumps an exotically beautiful woman, a woman who looks like a stripper, in his arms and extracts a promise that Gabriel will take care of her before he disappears.

But Rowan an Morgaine isn't just any stripper. She's the future leader of her people, if any are left, and she's a fiery tempered demi-goddess who can cut holes in a man's ego with her sharp tongue. Unfortunately, she can't rid herself of one very ardent pursuer who wants to take her back to her world as his bride. Add that she exists on blood, and you can see that she and Gabriel are going to be at odds until they realize how much they need and love each other.

DARK HIGHLAND FIRE continues the story of the MacInnes werewolves who we first met in CALL OF THE HIGHLAND MOON. If you read my review of that book, you'll remember that I thought it was a very good story. But this one, DARK HIGHLAND FIRE, goes beyond the handsome werewolf shapeshifter that we all know and love to introduce us to a whole new world.

There are some similarities between our world and Rowan's but it's different enough to make one sit up and take notice. There are factions competing for power, there are ancient tales that come to life. There are characters we fall in love with and villains we hope get their just rewards.

Let's start with the heroine, Rowan. How many romance heroines start out as strippers? Darn few. I'm not saying that all romance heroines should be strippers but, in this case, it highlights some of the unique differences in Rowan. Gabriel, too, is rather unique among romance heroes. Yes, he's handsome and charming. But when Rowan must stand up for herself and her people, he doesn't get all macho and insist that he do the fighting. No, he stands at her side and treats her as the utterly capable and strong heroine that she is.

It's not often that I find a book that resonates so strongly that I'll read it twice, back to back. But that's what I did with DARK HIGHLAND FIRE. I fell in love with the world, the characters – even the not-so-bad guy, Lucien, had my sympathy. This book is definitely a keeper and Ms Castle is a writer I'll be watching for from now on.

-- Lynda

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