Inspector of the Cross by John B. Rosenman @Writerman1 #ArtificialIntelligence #IntergalacticHero, #ScienceFiction

The Plot:

Thanks to suspended animation, Turtan is over 3500 years old and travels on freeze ships to distant worlds. His mission is to investigate weapons to help humanity turn the tide against their ancient nemesis…the Cenknife. Vicious aliens, the Cenknife seek to conquer the universe and enslave humanity.

When Turtan discovers just such a weapon, a beautiful, seductive woman stands in his way. He must use all his skills, abilities, and courage to meet the crisis and save untold billions of lives.

About the Author:

John B. Rosenman recently retired as an English professor at Norfolk State University where he designed and taught a course in how to write science fiction and fantasy. He is a former Chairman of the Board of the Horror Writers Association and has published approximately 350 stories in places such as Weird Tales, Whitley Strieber’s Aliens, Fangoria, Galaxy, The Age of Wonders, and the Hot Blood anthology series. John has published nearly twenty books, including SF action-adventure novels such as Beyond Those Distant Stars and Speaker of the Shakk (Mundania Press), A Senseless Act of Beauty (Crossroad Press), and Alien Dreams (Drollerie Press and Crossroad Press). Shorter books include A Mingling of Souls and Music Man (XoXo Publishing), Here Be Dragons (Eternal Press), The Voice of Many Waters (Blue Leaf Publications), Green in Our Souls (Damnation Books), and Bagonoun’s Wonderful Songbird and Childhood’s Day (Gypsy Shadow Publishing). Recent developments: MuseItUp Publishing published two novels, Dark Wizard, Dax Rigby, War Correspondent, and Inspector of the Cross, as well as two stories, More Stately Mansions and The Blue of Her Hair, the Gold of Her Eyes. Visit John at his website, www.johnrosenman.com.

Review:

The college I attended had a writing program, but when I went, there were no genre-specific classes. Everyone was out to win the National Book Award at the very least, and they all looked down on genre fiction. Eventually they added a sci-fi class, but the instructor told me the rest of the writing faculty were still snobbish toward her. Hugo and Nebula Awards meant nothing to them. Mr. Rosenman’s students were lucky, indeed, to have such a good writer teaching them at a college where I’m sure he received the respect he deserved.

In my opinion, the best sci-fi writer of the twentieth century was Robert A. Heinlein. The first of Mr. Rosenman’s books that I read was almost as good as the Old Man’s. Inspector of the Cross, I think, might have had Mr. Heinlein in the same conundrum as me. The book grabbed me on the first page, but somewhere along the way, I caught a red herring. I mean I really caught it. I had that thing scaled, gutted, filleted, and breaded. If I say any more, I might ruin the book. You must buy Inspector of the Cross and follow Turtan on his journeys.

Author Website:  http://www.johnrosenman.com

Warnings:  Some Sex & Violence

Length:  @ 300 Pages

Digital Price:  $5.95 (Free on Amazon for a limited time.)

Buy Links:

MuseItUp Publishing, Inc.  https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museitup/sci-fi/space-opera/inspector-of-the-cross-detail

Amazon:  https://smile.amazon.com/B007USB0YU

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. You can move the file by highlighting it and dragging it to the documents directory in you Kindle you want to move it to. Or right click on it, and then left click copy or move. Or hit Control/C for copy, Control/X for cut, and Control/V for paste.

Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting.

The Owl Goddess by Jenny Twist

Blurb:

The boy watched the star fall. It fell very slowly, and it was not one light but a multitude of lights spinning lazily through the night sky. Then great silver fish flew through the sky and other mysterious lights began to appear on the mountain. At last a great thunderbolt struck the ocean. The sound was flat and hollow and unbelievably loud, as if a giant had stamped on the earth. And the sign of the Goddess appeared in the sky—the sign of the Sacred Mushroom. These are the events that mark the arrival of the Atlantis, the doomed starship, bringing new gods who would change the lives of the boy and his people forever.

About the Author:

Jenny Twist left school at fifteen and went to work in an asbestos factory. After working in various jobs, including bacon-packer and escapologist's assistant (she was The Lovely Tanya), she returned to full-time education and did a BA in history at Manchester and post-graduate studies at Oxford.

In 2001 she retired and moved to Spain where she lives with her husband, Vic, and their rather eccentric dog and cat. Besides writing, she enjoys reading, knitting and attempting to do fiendishly difficult logic puzzles.

Review:

Back in the seventies I read a book called Chariots of the Gods that posited the gods primitive peoples worshipped were actually explorers from other planets who landed on Earth. It suggested these people built such structures as the Great Pyramids, the Parthenon, and created the Nazga Lines, the patterns of which can only be seen from the air. In her acknowledgments at the end of The Owl Goddess, Ms. Twist admits to having read the same book and been greatly affected by it. Although, she puts her own spin on the story—one you’ll have to read the book to discover.

Prometheus is a member of a tribe called the Titans. Around sixteen years old, he’s already a man, and he’s been cast out of the group by Atlas, who wants to be King, and knows he can’t beat Prometheus in the footrace that would determine who will marry Pandora, the Queen who represents the Mother Goddess, and ascend the throne with her. He witnesses the landing of the Atlantis and its eventual scuttling by its captain, Zeus.

The crew settles on a plateau toward the top of Mount Olympus, setting up camp and traveling about in shuttles and escape pods they’ve salvaged from their damaged vessel. They use an energy shield to protect their camp from indigenous animals or people, and wear similar suits when they leave camp, so they appear to be impervious to the Titan’s weapons. On the other hand, when Pandora falls and hits her head on a rock, Prometheus appeals to Athena, Zeus’ daughter for help. Using modern technology, they’re able to heal Pandora, and the two groups become friendly—except for Atlas and some of the younger warriors who resent being bested by the “Olympians” superior defenses.

Many of the Greek myths play out in The Owl Goddess, but in ways that fit the premise. Athena adopts a baby owl, and the Titans worship her as a wise goddess. Zeus banishes Atlas and his cronies across the Mediterranean to Africa as punishment for attacking a group of Olympians who were no longer wearing shields. Pandora talks Prometheus into stealing “fire” from the Olympians and does, indeed, open something that releases chaos and death. However, Ms. Twist left out the fact that at the bottom of Pandora’s box, there was hope.

Altogether, The Owl Goddess was a fascinating look at Greek mythology from a slightly different point of view. Athena doesn’t see herself as a goddess at all. In fact, having been born aboard the Atlantis, she’s the only teenager in the colony, and she kind of has a crush on Prometheus, who is in love with Pandora, so there’s a bit of a romantic triangle going on there. She’s a clone of Zeus, so Hera is her mother, but not in the traditional sense. There’s not too much love lost there, and Athena tends to keep her distance from her. Hera is homesick, bored, and wants her creature comforts back. She’s cranky and demanding, and even Zeus avoids her as much as possible.

The Owl Goddess grabbed me from the beginning and held my attention throughout with well-drawn characters and a really cool twist at the end. I highly recommend it.

Author Website:  https://sites.google.com/site/jennytwistauthor/home

Heat Rating:  PG

Length:  273 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $15.99

Digital:  $4.33

Buy Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Owl-Goddess-Jenny-Twist-ebook/dp/B01DL35084

Thanks for visiting.

Rob’s Rebellion by Margaret Fieland

Blurb:

Colonel Rob Walker always does his duty, even when it means risking the shaky relationship he has with his family. When he’s ordered to bring the treaty negotiations between the Terran Federation and the Aleyni to a successful conclusion, he’s determined to do just that—even though both sides would rather he fail. How can Rob pull off a miracle and avoid a war? One where both sides could be destroyed?

About the Author:

Born and raised in New York City, Margaret Fieland has been around art and music all her life. She is an avid science fiction fan, and selected Robert A. Heinlein’s “Farmer in the Sky” for her tenth birthday gift. In spite of making her living as a computer software engineer, she turned to one of her sons to format the initial version of her website—a clear illustration of the computer generation gap. Her poems have appeared in journals such as Melusine, Front Range Review, and All Rights Reserved. Her book, The Angry Little Boy, was published by 4RV Publishing, LLC, in early 2013. You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com.

Review:

I confess, I’m a sucker for good sci-fi, especially that written by people who cut their teeth reading the masters, such as Heinlein. I especially appreciated Ms. Fieland’s homage to The Old Man in naming a class of starship the Heinlein Two.

Rob’s Rebellion starts with Colonel Robert Walker’s arrival on Alleyne. His first action is to arrest Major Brad Reynolds, the Base Commander—at the foot of the exit ramp of his shuttle-craft, with the rest of his crew barely disembarked. Since this is supposed to be temporary duty, Rob has left his wives and kids back on New Oregon. But it soon becomes a permanent assignment. Despite being acquitted of treason, Reynolds resigns his commission and returns to Alleyne as a civilian, having sworn rolor with an Alleyni family. With telecommunication, rolor is much more intense and intimate than marriage.

Rob’s plural family faces prejudice from the Terrans on base and receives love and acceptance from the Alleyni. And the Terran Federation offers treaty terms that baffle even Rob in their rigidity and lack of fairness, and he finds himself increasingly torn among duty, logic, and the welfare of those he loves.

My only complaints about this book are the usual: it could have used slightly better copy editing, and the dialog was somewhat stilted. But maybe Ms. Fieland envisions a future in which humans no longer use contractions. But my brain wanted to add them, and the lack thereof was somewhat distracting as usual. Otherwise, it was a taut, suspenseful book that kept me on the edge of my seat. I wasn’t so much wondering whether the crazies would destroy the worlds involved. Very few authors get away with ending their books that way. But, I did wonder who’d stop them and how. And I wasn’t disappointed. Grab it and find out for yourself!

Contact the Author:  https://www.facebook.com/margaret.fieland

Heat Rating:  R

Length:  338 Pages

Digital Price:  $5.99

Buy Link:  https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/new-releases/series/robs-rebellion-detail

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. You can move the file by highlighting it and dragging it to the documents directory in you Kindle you want to move it to. Or right click on it, and then left click copy or move. Or hit Control/C for copy, Control/X for cut, and Control/V for paste.

Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting.