Cooking Up Something New

Things kind of fell off a cliff for me after my last book. Who knew putting out 13 books in 5 years could be so draining? I tried a new genre and a new pen name, then I stopped writing for a bit. I went from having twenty stories in my head fighting for a place on the page to none, and I did my best to fill the time with other things. I learned Dutch, German, and Spanish until I could read at the beginner level. Then I forgot them all again. I volunteered at the theater until my body quit on me.

And I kept seeing that meme asking: would you be willing to be a pet to a race of super-intelligent aliens? That's where the idea for The Karshe Device began.

It's an apocalyptic sci-fi aventure with three distinct points of view: the human pet, a recently abducted human, and the alien who's trying to save the "galactic wildlife." When I started, I had no plans to publish, but as I reached the home stretch, I realized this is a story I wanted to share. 

To save her species, she must spark a rebellion. Coming soon!

Amp Squad and the Taking On of Labels

Over the past ten years, I’ve accumulated a few LGBTQIA labels - Asexual, Aromantic, Agender… I remember a time when the A stood for ‘ally,’ and I still encounter arguments on the internet about it meaning any and all of my labels. In more recent language, the list stops at Q… which used to stand for ‘questioning,’ but is now generally listed as ‘queer.’ According to some, ‘queer’ being an umbrella term for nonbinary and gender-queer identities, but depending who you talk to, the umbrella could be even bigger. There really can’t be one list that defines all sexual/gender identities because there are so many, and while some might try to use LGBTQIA+ and queer as synonyms, not everyone is comfortable with the queer label.

On the one hand, it’s just easier to say that I’m queer than to explain my assorted labels. It’s easier to say that I’m a queer sci-fi writer and that I write queer characters. Although the word was one used as a slur, language evolves, and (some) modern Pride movements have reclaimed the word, and use it as a positive affirmation. I’m part of a Queer Sci-fi community, and have grown accustomed to calling myself a queer sci-fi author who writes queer characters. Also, given how much in the minority my particular identities are, sometimes it’s just easier to say queer. It simplifies the conversation.

Last year, I wrote about my journey to accepting the trans label, because technically agender falls under trans, whether I feel trans or not. And the thing about labels is that they are personal. You don’t have to accept a label just because someone else thinks you fit in that box. (I wrote a screenplay about this a few years ago.) Part of being queer is realizing the labels you were born with (or the ones assumed to be default) aren’t the right ones for you.

Which brings me to Amp Squad. I debated with myself over whether to use this title, because in Ship Whisperer, the Amps didn’t like being called ‘Amp.’ Tabitha would use it for herself, but respected that others like her were more sensitive about the label, which was shorthand for “amputee.” Three of the five amputees did not advertise their missing limbs, and in the story, I deliberately did not address which limb(s) they were missing.

In Amp Squad, I develop a new terminology for those with super powers: Amplified Power Individuals. The characters appreciate the API terminology, because it shifts the focus from their missing limbs to their growing powers. It also gives the term ‘Amp’ an alternate meaning that they can latch onto with pride. The reclaiming of the word is a slow process, explored internally by the team as they test the label. The bigger battle for them it reminding the military that APIs are not soldiers. They are civilians… except for the main character, Tabitha, whose loyalty to the military is constantly challenged by their treatment of the APIs.

Labels are tools. They are a shorthand to describe something complex with a single word. But words have power — to unite, to divide. Take your word power, and use it for good.

***

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY OF AMP SQUAD TODAY!

 

Amp Squad - Ship Whisperer 2 - Excerpt

Counting down to the release of Amp Squad, the exciting new addition to the Ship Whisperer series!

*~*

Feared by her own kind. Hunted by extraterrestrial forces. Can one super soldier find her place among the stars?

Lieutenant Tabitha Chiu is plagued by doubt and conflict. Still heartbroken over the loss of her AI companion and marooned on a faraway moon, the space marine and her ragtag team of super-powered civilians stand as the last line of defense against alien hunters. But when her powers pick up whispered threats of approaching invaders, she’s horrified to discover her own people have betrayed her squad.

Barely escaping assassination, Tabitha and her fellow psionics flee the hateful moon to the sanctuary of a single surviving combat ship where she hopes to reunite with her AI friend. But when her newly resurrected acquaintance hijacks the craft, the nonbinary fighter is torn between protecting those she loves best and saving humanity from annihilation.

Can this conflicted officer and her misfit allies defeat a formidable enemy intent on driving them to extinction?

*~* 

EXCERPT:

As Tabitha scrambled over the algae-coated rocks and into the makeshift city, hastily assembled from scraps of metal and rock, she heard shouting and saw a gathered crowd—about twenty people and growing. Words like ‘invader’ and ‘Yassi scum’ cut through the noise. Though most of them just stood watching, the verbal assault spread with added suggestions like ‘kill it now!’

“Sheriff, there’s a mob assaulting someone by the S-4 building,” Tabitha reported, reading the identifier off the nearest building. She relayed a similar message to the Nav’s master-at-arms and others she thought could help. The metal warehouses lining the street would become apartments one day, but for now they were either crowded with civilians or supplies. They had just enough insulation to protect people from the weather. S-4 was a supply building, conveniently out of view of casual gawkers.

Tabitha remembered Bailin talking about coming into the city to check on her godson, and she scanned for the child, but didn’t see him. She prayed he wasn’t in the middle of the mob with Bailin.

Bouncing on her heels, Tabitha grew impatient waiting for back-up. She hadn’t heard a telepathic cry from Bailin since the first. Pressing into the crowd, she forced her way closer to the center. There were three stocky attackers with gritted teeth, tattered clothes, and callused hands. Two of the assailants held Bailin upright, pulling her arms to either side. The third had an aluminum bat, and he tapped it against her limbs, taunting her. Bailin’s face was bruised and bleeding, and she could barely hold her head up. The guy with the bat smashed Bailin’s left arm hard enough to break bone, and Tabitha charged in. She’d trained in hand-to-hand combat for years, and as stupid as it was to take on a mob by herself, she couldn’t let them kill Bailin.

Heading straight for the leader, she punched him in the shoulder, grabbed his bat, and kicked his groin, leaving him down long enough to smash his face. She swung the bat with a light grip so she wouldn’t kill him, but she felt his cheek shatter anyway. 

One of the people holding Bailin instantly ran off, not interested in fighting, but the other one charged at Tabitha. She swung around with the bat, but didn’t have enough space to move, and hit them with a weak strike to the ribs. It was enough to make them angry, but didn’t slow them down. Their fist flew toward her face.

“Left,” she whispered, pushing her Yassi power behind the word. She couldn’t control people’s minds, but she could occasionally nudge in a misdirect. The blow glanced her cheek. Thrown off balance, her attacker fell on her, and they landed on the ground. The attacker grappled for the bat, but Tabitha rolled, kicked, and held on. She found her feet first, smacked the bigot’s shoulder with the bat, then hurried over to Bailin’s crumpled form.

The mob hadn’t scattered, but people seemed reluctant to fight her, and they started calling for the sheriff, and for her death. Blood trickled from her nose. If enough of them wanted to kill her, they could stop her heart with a unified thought. That was the fatal weakness of the Yassi, and why they preferred to fight covertly from a distance.

“Tabs, stay out of the city,” Ryo Takumi warned, speaking telepathically into her mind. She and Ryo had been imprinted since childhood, and once Tabitha’s powers activated, their weak intuition for knowing what the other was thinking had evolved into full-on conversations. “I’ll get her to you. Stay in the Nav borders!”

“Too late,” Tabitha said, sending him a mental image of her current predicament. The mob had her surrounded, which emboldened more fighters to try and take her on. Another two charged her, and when she swung the bat, one grabbed it and tried to yank it out of her hands. Not about to surrender the only weapon in the circle, Tabitha threw her momentum toward them, pushing them off balance and into the crowd. Then, she gave them an extra jab for good measure.

“Command them to run home,” Tabitha hollered to Bailin. The woman trembled and clutched her broken arm. Dented, actually. The arm was prosthetic. That didn’t diminish the brutality of her injuries.

“Trying.” Her voice was a whisper in Tabitha’s mind, which meant it would be a whisper in the crowd’s as well. Tabitha heard an echoed whisper say, “Stay down,” and assumed that was meant for the ones Tabitha had already injured. Still, down was never a safe place to be in a mob.

“Eyes covered!” Ryo warned, sending her an image of a flash. Tabitha dove toward Bailin, shielding them both from the light of the flash-bang. The bright light and loud noise startled the crowd, bringing many to their knees. Civil unrest had exploded since the crash-landing, and flash-bangs had become an unfortunately regular occurrence.

The concussive shock hurt Tabitha’s ears, but she knew she had only seconds to take advantage. Scooping up Bailin, she staggered through the frightened crowd, unable to see or hear.

“Ryo, where are you?” she cried. A map appeared in her mind, and she closed her eyes, letting it guide her. Even though foot traffic had worn down the path, the uneven terrain was difficult to navigate. The disoriented crowd bumped against her, but she forced her way through, moving to the edge so she could disappear between the metal buildings. Someone grabbed her arm, and she couldn’t jab without dropping Bailin, so she kicked. 

“Tabs, it’s me!” Ryo said, taking her arm again, guiding her away. He could have been shouting, but she couldn’t tell over the ringing in her ears. There was no time to stop and evaluate Bailin’s injuries. 

They didn’t slow until they reached the Nav border. In the days after landing, the Nav had separated themselves from the civilian population to keep order and maintain control over the supplies needed for salvage. The other officers could move freely in and out of the Nav section to visit family, but for Tabitha and the Amps, this protected area felt more like a prison.

Ryo tried to take Bailin from Tabitha, but Bailin gripped the front of Tabitha’s shirt and pressed her bloody face against Tabitha’s shoulder.

“I’ve got her,” Tabitha said. Her adrenaline had spiked in the fight, and she still had energy to burn. Still, she’d been lucky most of the mob had run from the physical fight.

Ryo shouldered his long-barreled stun rifle, and a few other soldiers flanked them, creating a protective bubble. Tabitha saw Commander Olsen pointing them away from the infirmary hut and toward the shielded Amp hut. The specially coated walls could theoretically protect them from a psychic attack if the city turned against them. Before they reached it, a concussive force knocked Tabitha off her feet. Bailin landed hard on Tabitha’s stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Smoke choked her lungs, and a blazing fire lit up the camp. Ryo crouched next to Tabitha and Bailin, arms wrapped protectively around them as the heat became nearly unbearable. The Amp hut burned at the center of the blaze! Their refuge—their home. Someone had destroyed it.

“Aiwu!” Tabitha hollered, crying for the AI companion who had raised her. While Aiwu’s body had been destroyed in battle, her memory lived on in a quantum cube. Saku gave her a hard time for carrying the cube around all the time, but Aiwu was family. Today was the first time she’d let his nagging get to her, and she’d left Aiwu in the hut. Tabitha crawled toward the flames, tears streaming down her face, but Bailin tightened her grip, grunting as she tried to get out the word “no.”

“Pick me up. Walk toward the forest,” she whispered in Tabitha’s mind, the order coming with a strong telepathic nudge. They’d promised each other they wouldn’t do that—they wouldn’t force anyone to act against their will.

“Hurry. Before someone else tries to kill us,” Bailin said.

“Sand. We need sand. And a perimeter. Make a perimeter,” Ryo said, bringing his shirt up to block the smoke from his nose and mouth. “Tabs—”

“I have to get Bailin safe…” Tabitha trailed off, the shock of seeing her home in flames numbing her senses. It wasn’t just Aiwu she’d lost. At this time of evening, all the Amps and AIs would have been in there. Tabitha and Bailin were the only ones left.

“Right. Medical tent. You stay there with her,” Ryo said, helping Tabitha find her balance with Bailin in her arms. Confusion compounded the ringing in Tabitha’s ears, and she stumbled into the darkness, the fire getting hotter against her back.

“Forest. Please,” Bailin whispered. The nudge came again, weak enough that Tabitha could resist if she wanted. At the moment, she was too numb to argue the alternative. Tears welled in Tabitha’s eyes as she realized what was happening—she and Bailin had to disappear.

*~*

ORDER YOUR COPY OF AMP SQUAD TODAY!

 

 

 

 

 

Unsolicited Wisdom From My 5-Year Self-Publishing Experience

 “You can make a wish, but then you have to do the wish. It doesn’t just happen.” -some kid

September 8, 2022 is my fifth anniversary of my being a self-published author. I did not plan to release Amp Squad on the anniversary; it just sort of happened to be a convenient day based on when all the pieces came into alignment.

In my original 5-year plan (I had a snazzy spreadsheet), I had planned to release 9 books in these 5 years, which seemed do-able, since I had first drafts of all of them. To my surprise, the muse would not be silenced, and more novels cropped up in between. Amp Squad brings my total to 13!

I have learned a great deal about self-publishing in the past 5 years (6 years, actually, because I decided to head down this road in 2016, about a year before the first release). For any of you thinking about self-publishing, here’s my unsolicited wisdom.

1. Self-publishing is not the fallback plan for people who can’t find a publisher. A lot of people put out a few queries to traditional publishers, get frustrated, and expect to self-publish without realizing how massive an undertaking it is. I made a previous post about the many hats of a self-published author. It’s a lot. You are a publisher using a single person’s work (yours) to support your entire company! It’s not the easy road. It’s just another road.

2. You do not have to publish a book a month to be successful. A lot of us are supporting our self-published author careers with a day job, and one book a year is a perfectly acceptable rate. Now that I’ve finished my New Dawn series, I don’t have a queue of first drafts anymore, so producing multiple books per year is both a time commitment and a challenge. I love writing, but part of what keeps it fresh is that I do other things and absorb other art. 

3. Marketing is hard. By far, the best thing I’ve done is align myself with author communities where advice is freely exchanged, and there’s no shame in asking a question that has been answered a hundred times because now it applies to you. My favorites are: Author Ad School, /r/selfpublish, /r/scifiwriting, and Facebook Indie Cover Project. These people *know* things, because they’re on this journey, too! Also, whenever there’s a private author community associated with a book or tool, join it. Buy at least one K-lytics report for your target genre, just so you understand the breadth of what there is to know. 

4. Hiring editors, cover artists, or anyone else to help you in your journey is a process. Do not be afraid to interview, get quotes, and ask questions. You have to work with these people, and you are the project manager. Make sure everyone knows the schedule, budget, and expectations. 

5. Your friends and family are not your target audience. Obviously, those that are fans of your genre and buy multiple books like yours are your target audience, but generally speaking, most are just buying your book to be supportive of you as a human being. But don’t take it personally if they’re not blasting about you on social media, fanning about your characters, and pre-ordering every book you write. Market to readers, discuss writing with writer groups, and let your friends and family be the ones outside who fill you with conversation and ideas, and become fuel for your art. 

I love writing and look forward to many more years of creating art. Happy reading, and be sure to check out Amp Squad! It's currently available for pre-order.

I knit because of sci-fi

I hate knitting.

No really. I'm very project oriented, so I'll buckle down and get it done to complete the project in my head. I'm amazed at the process of knitting, how I can just make knot after knot and suddenly have a hat. I feel accomplished for what I produce. But the process itself grates on my nerves.

I'm not great at knitting mindlessly. It requires my full attention. So I can't be listening to podcasts or audiobooks while I do it. I recently looked up left-handed knitting, and it made a lot more sense to me. I think maybe if I practice that, I'll get into a better rhythm, but I'm so used to right-handed knitting that I'd get turned around in the middle of a row. I'm very slow at it.

Also, knitting really rubs against my minimalist mindset. I don't like clutter. I don't like having all these finished projects lying around my house. I seriously don't need that much stuff in my life. I have this issue with all my craft projects. I love the act of crafting. I hate having to store the finished products.

So why do I knit?

Well, it started with a Jayne hat. It was kind of an icon in the Firefly fandom, and a friend of mine was a super-huge fan. (She worked hard to convert me.) Anyway, I decided to learn to knit in secret so I could make her this hat. I went on to make many more Jayne hats, and now you can buy them commercially. Back then, you needed a friend who was a knitter. I was that friend. Once, I even orchestrated a food drive called "Jayne hats for turkeys" and I sent out many hats to people who donated to their local food banks.

That's how it started. 

Where it stands now... 

Well, I was writing Ship Whisperer, and my main character Tabitha thought she could pay more attention during meetings if she had something for her hands to do. Like knitting. (I've seen this work for other people. For me, it's a very effective way to completely tune out a meeting.) As she started to struggle with a cable knitting patter, I thought "I want to learn how to cable knit." So I dug up some knitting needles and decided on a project.

The last time I avidly knit, I identified as cisgender, heterosexual. That's not the case anymore. So I chose some ace and agender themed colors (purple, green, black, white, gray). 

For the cable knit pattern, I chose arm warmers. Arm warmers are small, and fairly simple if you decide not to add a thumb hole. I discovered there's an issue. I have TWO arms! So after working the first miracle, I had to then replicate it.

I then moved onto a hat, for which I wanted vertical stripes. Vertical stripes are non-trivial, but I adapted a pattern and... such were things.

So now, I have a book, a pair of arm warmers, and a hat. And a ton of leftover yarn. 

SHIP WHISPERER

Maybe one day I'll find knitting relaxing. Maybe Tabitha will as well. But I love how her random thought of "maybe I should try knitting" not only turned into a wonderful character arc, but also a fun side project for me while I was finishing the story.

Ship Whisperer comes out October 14, 2021! Check www.valeriejmikles.com for details.

Singing and Editing - My Playlist for Ship Whisperer

In Ship Whisperer, the character has a song that she hums, that helps calm her thoughts and connect her to her psychic ability. What is this song? Well, it hasn’t been written yet.

I have this pet peeve when I’m reading or watching far-future sci-fi—characters that sing songs older than I am, as if a new classic will not have been written in the next however many centuries. It just bothers me.

So when it came to this story, my choices were (1) annoy the crap out of myself by picking an old, familiar song in the public domain, or (2) write a new song. Well, let me tell you, it is no easy task to write a song when it’s the only song in the universe. There’s too much pressure to have the perfect message that encapsulates the novel.

Now there’s an artist I’ve been listening to recently, and in more than one of their songs, there’s a hummed verse or a chorus of “la la la…” I can’t explain why, but it makes me happy. So I thought “what if there are no lyrics to my song? What if it’s a melody of la la-la la-la?”

My brain couldn’t get behind that either. I dug through some of my old poetry and found one piece called Kinesthesis that seemed like it might work, and I considered using those lyrics and making a song. But it was TOO apropos to the bigger picture of the story, and it didn’t really capture the simplicity of the lullaby I wanted to create. Clearly, I fell into the trap of overthinking this. And so I leave it to my dear readers to find the tune.

But in the meantime, here are some songs that were running through my head while I was editing and proof reading. I usually write in silence, and to be fair, I was also editing and proof-reading in silence. It’s just really loud in my head.

(Links are to versions on Bandcamp so you can support these indie artists.)

- Tiny Paper Elephant by The Doubleclicks https://thedoubleclicks.bandcamp.com/track/tiny-paper-elephant

- A Simple Song (in Troubled Times) by Sunday Comes Afterwards https://sundaycomesafterwards.bandcamp.com/track/a-simple-song-in-troubled-times

- The Horse is a Pain by Sunday Comes Afterwards https://sundaycomesafterwards.bandcamp.com/track/the-horse-is-a-pain

- Space Shanty by Misbehavin’ Maidens https://misbehavinmaidens.bandcamp.com/track/space-shanty

- The Alligators by The PDX Broadsides https://thepdxbroadsides.bandcamp.com/track/the-alligators

- Buffalo by The PDX Broadsides https://thepdxbroadsides.bandcamp.com/track/buffalo

- Klingon by The Library Bards https://librarybards.bandcamp.com/track/klingon

- Sky Full of Phoenix by Rhiannon’s Lark https://rhiannonslark.bandcamp.com/track/sky-full-of-phoenix

- Han and Leia by The Chromatics https://thechromatics1.bandcamp.com/track/han-and-leia

- A Lullaby for Mr. Bear by The Doubleclicks https://thedoubleclicks.bandcamp.com/track/a-lullaby-for-mr-bear-adult-version

I’ve actually done covers of The Alligators and A Lullaby for Mr. Bear on my youtube channel. I’m learning Han and Leia for a future video. Yes, I enjoy musical comedy. No, Ship Whisperer is not a comedy. It’s called balance.

---

Ship Whisperer comes out October 14, 2021. If you'd like to join my launch team as an Advanced Reviewer, please check out my Book Sprout ARC page. 

Power of a Prompt - The Inspiration for Ship Whisperer

“Where do you get  your ideas?” 

It’s a common question, and the answers are as varied as the writers. Did you know that a bonsai tree is genetically identical to the full-sized tree grown in nature? It’s the same seed, but nurtured differently. How many Cinderella stories do you know? Or Batmans? Your seed idea doesn’t have to be original. Your execution and your voice are what make your story unique.

For my new story, Ship Whisperer, it started with a prompt. It was a chilly October. (Or maybe not. I don’t remember the weather.) My writing critique group was meeting at the local Wegmans Café. I had just published my first novel, and my second was slated for rapid release a few weeks down the line. I was knee-deep in writing my series. (I had a five year plan.) At the end of the critique session, we had some time, so our organizer put forth a writing prompt. We had three words and fifteen minutes to incorporate those words into a story. Those words were: blue, Hawaiian shirt, and dog. 

These words don’t really scream “sci-fi story” do they? They didn’t to me, either. I could have written something contemporary, but I wanted to practice my brand of sci-fi. So I created a color-sensitive telepath who used an AI dog to communicate with her crew. The concept of my ship-whisperer had formed. None of the prompt elements survived to the final novel, but from them, I had a character that intrigued me and I wanted to write more of.

Using the character from the writing prompt, I then wrote a short story for my writing group to critique. That was when the military aspect came out, the alien war, and the idea of psychic imprints. The general feedback was that the idea was too big to be contained in a short story. Although, that may have been reader bias. Hardcore sci-fi readers can fill in a lot of blanks from established tropes. But I loved my characters and wanted to play more with them, so I added the story to my “To Be Written Pile.”

I poked at it between other stories, testing my thoughts, seeing what developed. Letting ideas percolate is all part of the process. Then I draft, I workshop, I get input from beta-readers and ideas evolve further. The tree doesn’t resemble the seed.

What would you do with that seed? What would you create? Take fifteen minutes and just write. See what you come up with. Stick with your favorite genre. Practice. Not every prompt inspires a novel, but it’s a fine place to start.

Ship Whisperer hits the shelves October 2021

Subscribe at http://www.valeriejmikles.com for updates

Hybrids, Half-breeds, and Spirits - An Intro to The New Dawn Universe

 

In the TV show Stargate, there’s an episode called “Citizen Joe” where an average barber has been receiving visions of… everything that happens in the show. As he does not know the reality of the Stargate program, he figures his muse is feeding him stories, and he begins to share them. As he shares, his friends complain about the twists and turns, and the fact that there’s more than one type of bad guy. At one point he yells “It’s not confusing! It’s complex!”

I sometimes describe my work as Firefly meets Stargate meets Jericho, but the part of Stargate I’m thinking about is not the militaristic side. Every book faces a different culture, and allows the crew to be the alien explorer. Also, in Stargate there are these powerful ascended beings who occasionally interfere in human affairs, but mostly stay out of the way.

In the New Dawn series, I create a world where beings that exist on an alternate plane interact with different cultures in different ways. Some humans have spirits, but most don’t. Some of these spirit-carrier humans give birth to half-breeds. Some humans develop metahuman (hybrid) powers on their own. Each culture reacts to its special mix, and decides whether to welcome or reject these gifts.

I define a few basic classes of beings:

• Spirit – A non-corporeal alien who has psychic and psionic abilities. 
• Spirit-carrier – A human who has become host to a spirit, willingly or unwillingly. The carrier may be aware of the spirit’s power, but does not control them.
• Half-breed – The child of two spirit-carriers. The half-breed has distinct physical characteristics: taller than humans, jackal-like face, pointed teeth and talons, wings. Half-breeds have paranormal powers like spirits, as well as the ability to shift between parallel realms. Half-breeds can display a range of paranormal abilities, but tend to have one dominant one.
• Hybrid – A human who has psychic, telepathic, telekinetic, or other ability. Abilities occur at varying strengths. Unlike half-breeds, hybrids tend to have one paranormal ability, and they look human. Hybrids are likely to be the child of a single spirit-carrier, but don’t have to be.
• Echo – these are rare humans, and can echo the power of a hybrid or half-breed. (More about them in Book 8!)

I decided to draw a picture of a half-breed once. I’m not that much of an artist, but I wanted to see the creature I had been writing about. There’s an artist I love called Sasha R. Jones who paints very similar creatures, although their work has a bit more avian influence. You should totally check out their work. It’s absolutely breath-taking.

In the New Dawn universe, I often speak of two realms or two planes: the physical plane and the spirit plane. (Very creative, I know.) Each of these beings has a different presence in each realm. The humans and the half-breeds are the only ones that are the same in both realms (although in the spirit-plane, the human is confined to their sphere of consciousness).

When I wrote it, the world seemed to form naturally, but in retrospect, I see the influence of not only science fiction, but of supernatural thrillers and stories of spiritual warfare. It has been an incredible world to explore: spaceships, other worlds, exploring lost civilizations, and finding the threads that bind humanity together.

It’s not confusing. It’s complex. And through it all, there is hope for tomorrow.

 

Check out The New Dawn series on Amazon today.

Sci-fi Books featuring meta-humans, post-humans, and humans of diverse power

Greetings readers!

I am looking forward to the release of my new book Premonition, a sci-fi adventure set in my New Dawn universe. The New Dawn Series features a world inhabited by non-corporeal aliens, who occasionally "possess" the humans who have come to settle there. Over the centuries, some humans have naturally developed powers that tap into this spirit realm. Telekinesis, teleportation, memory reading, conjuring, healing, and more come into play.

I recently asked some fellow sci-fi authors to tell me about their books featuring humans of extraordinary power, and here is what they shared!

***

From author Dan Melson: 

In my Empire of Humanity setting, about 1 in 7 humans currently has extraordinary powers, the proportion gradually rising.  They are part of life, used commercially, scientifically developed, and those who develop powers are taught in organized fashion.

I have nine books currently out in three different series in that setting. You can find all the books on my author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/danmelson

***

From author Marc Neuffer:

My book Startlighter fits the bill. The main character's powers include the ability to sense life and resources at a distance. Specially trained Explorers communicate telepathically at a long distance.

Check it out at: https://www.amazon.com/StarLighter-Diary-explorer-Marc-Neuffer-ebook/dp/B084Q23X6L

***

From author Nathan Smith:

My debut novel, Light, was exactly that: a telepathic, telekinetic massage therapist who tries to save Pride from someone who is much, much better at telepathy and telekinesis than he is. He should have probably practiced with someone other than his cat.

https://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/books/light-by-nathan-burgoine-648-b

***

From author Jeff Deischer:

I have a space opera trilogy featuring an interstellar alliance of psychic warrior-priests!

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Sund-Brotherhood-Sabours-Book-ebook/dp/B00GI4F21E/

***

From author Christie Meierz:

My Tolari are humans stolen from Earth about 6 thousand years ago, genetically engineered to have strong empathic abilities, and then placed on Beta Hydri IV for reasons I haven't revealed yet. Crime among the Tolari is low because everyone around you knows if you're up to something.

But the ruling caste, on the other, is ALWAYS up to something. It's a given.

The series starts here with the PRISM Award winning debut novel:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009MU13LY/

***

From author Stephen B. Pearl:

Cloning Freedom by Stephen B. Pearl will be available Dec 4, 2020, from Brain Lag Publishing: http://www.brain-lag.com/books/cloning-freedom.php 

Human clones have alien DNA grafted into their genome granting them various alien abilities so that they can fight a group of alien pirates bent on the subjugation of earth in the early 21st century.

What these enhanced humans don’t know is that it is actually over a thousand years post contact and they are in fact performers in a full VR plus emotion entertainment.

When an effective death sentence is placed against Rowan, the telekinetic in the group, by the show’s producer Ryan, a studio tech ex-Space Services Captain, liberates her and now must get her out of United Earth Systems jurisdiction into an area where Rowan is a person under the law.

***

And naturally, I have to close with my own book!

From author Valerie J. Mikles:

In my New Dawn series, I have spirit-carriers, half-breeds, and hybrids, each with their own connection to a spirit realm. This connection affords them different powers, from teleportation, to healing, to the ability to fly a spaceship with the power of your mind! In each story, the crew of Oriana encounters a different culture, and comes to understand how they've been affected by this evolution in human ability.

Get the whole series now!

***

I have this premonition that some of these books may be added to your To-Be-Read pile in the near future. Keep reading.

Premonition (Excerpt)

 

Counting down to the release of Premonition, the exciting new addition to The New Dawn series.

*~*

Seeing the future is not the same as saving it.

When the first premonition hits, Amanda thinks it’s a hallucination. She doesn’t have psychic power; she echoes the powers of others. No one on the ship has that power, but the Confluence stones they acquired on Terrana seems to have extended her range. Her sudden ability to see the future has done little to help her crew prepare.

Led off course, their ship finds Nola, a peaceful farming town celebrating their annual Festival. The moment she enters the city, Amanda feels more echoes of power than she can control.

Overwhelmed by both the Festival and the spirit power in the city, Amanda begins a hunt for a powerful human-spirit half-breed that can help her, and finds herself at the center of the city’s battle to purge spirit-kind from their midst.

Can Amanda’s borrowed powers give the crew the edge the need?

Find out in this epic sci-fi thriller, because knowing the future is only half the battle.

*~*

EXCERPT:

The streets of Nola were bustling, the music rising, the vibrant multi-colored banners glittering in the evening light. The air smelled of perfumes, pheromones, and alcohol, the scent getting thicker as Festival-time approached. Prince Corin Toulane hated Festival.

“Corin, you look like a walking tapestry in these robes. I don’t think this style will catch on,” his friend Judith said. She greeted him by the Palace gate with a friendly swat on the arm, causing the beads on his sleeve to rattle. As Prince of Textiles, he enjoyed watching the fashion trends he created sweep through the city, but his Festival robe was one-of-a-kind. After his first Festival, he went around collecting the fallen beads and gems, and decided to make a robe that captured the spirit of the event. He’d been adding to it for two years now. The left sleeve was purple and gold, the right green and silver. The reds went down the back, creating an ombre effect. 

“I’m hoping it makes me unapproachable,” he grinned, kissing her on the cheek. He and Judith had been friends since childhood. She had come of age for Festival a year before him and seemed to love the energy of it. Her purple, blue, and pink robe was shorter than his, cinched at the waist, and adorned with rhinestones and sapphires. The spray-on dyes in her hair matched the three colors of the dress, creating a marble pattern when swept into an up-do.

“I’m taking you to a new venue opened by the Prince of Metallurgy. It’s smaller. More intimate,” she said, clasping both her hands around his. 

“I’m following you,” he said.  

When she smiled, the Festival lights caught the glitter on her lips. Before he came of age, he used to help his father plan for Festival. He loved choosing the color themes and designs. Then he’d attended one. The city-wide party was little more than an attempt to bolster the population through drunken copulation. The realization had killed the magic of the event. Now he dreaded seeing the Festival banners fly. He stuck close to Judith and prayed for the night to end quickly.

“I had to make reservations two weeks in advance. Final selection was by lottery.” 

“Lottery,” Corin huffed. “They see the name Toulane and there’s nothing random about that selection.”

As the son of the town magistrates, Corin was accustomed to selective treatment, especially for solicitations to Festival venues. Corin had trained hard to achieve his rank, but his appointment to the office of Prince meant next to nothing, because he lived in his parents’ shadows.

“Small venue,” she said. “No one is there for show. No one is making fake conversation.”

“It’s fake as long as it’s Festival,” he said, pulling a bottle from his side pocket and taking a sip. He kept a bottle of non-fermented pomegranate juice handy because he didn’t like losing his mind to the aphrodisiac-laced Festival wine. To others, it looked like he was drinking.

“You know who gets to skip Festival?” she asked. “Your sister. Get me pregnant and—”

“You know who doesn’t get to skip? My sister’s husband,” Corin interrupted. “If I get you pregnant again, who am I going to spend my night with next Festival? I couldn’t get through this without you.”

Judith giggled and kissed the back of his hand, leaving a trace of glitter on his skin. He felt their inevitable future—one day, he’d have children with her. There was no one else he loved. And he wished he loved her as more than a friend.

“Try this,” Judith said, producing a pinky-sized purple vial from her cleavage. “It’s Kan. It’s a new one.”

Corin sighed. Festival drugs were called recreational, but they were far more than that. They didn’t lower inhibition between couples; they fueled lust. Last year, he and Judith had tried Etna, and Corin couldn’t remember anything after that first drop. Judith got pregnant and then miscarried a few weeks later. The loss was devastating, and no amount of Etna could make him forget that pain.

“You don’t have to,” she said, tucking the vial away. She slid her hand up the sleeve of his robe to rub his arm.

“What’s it do?” he asked.

“No fertility enhancers, pheromones, or mood-shifters. It heightens your sense of touch,” she grinned, her hand sliding farther into his robe and across his back. Festival robes were designed to double as a covering in the event of public sex.

“Sniff, mix, drop?” he asked, checking her eyes for permission before sliding his fingers down the front of her dress for the vial.

“Drop,” she said.

Corin unscrewed the lid and let a single drop fall on his tongue. A tingle spread through his body, the warmth pooling where Judith’s hand touched his skin. But it didn’t set his body aflame or make him feel out of control. He felt content and comfortable.

“I’ll have some more of that,” he decided, unscrewing the cap again.

“At the party,” Judith promised, taking the vial from him and tucking it away again. “I’m saving a drop for Alyssa.”

Corin pressed his lips together. Alyssa had joined them at Festival before, but she was interested in Judith, not Corin. At Festival, same-sex coupling was taboo, but Alyssa and Judith could get away with it as long as he was there. Corin would rather the women kiss each other than him, so he didn’t complain.

Judith kissed his cheek, and he shivered at the heightened sensation. The Kan didn’t just amplify physical sensation, it amplified his hesitance. His nostrils burned, too.

“Do you smell that?” he asked, pushing her hand out from under his robe.

“Yes,” Judith whispered, her eyes darting about. Then she pointed to a plume of black smoke rising into the dome not half a block away. “Fire!”

Corin swore and ran toward the smoke. Flames rose from the third story of a metal and wood manor. Someone inside threw themselves against the window but was unable to break the moon-slate reinforced glass.

“Call for help,” Corin told Judith, searching for a way to get to the upper levels. There was a faded outline where the escape ladder should have been bolted on.

“Who? Everyone is at Festival!” Judith cried.

“Anyone can haul water!” Corin said. This was the venue he and Judith had been heading toward. They would have been trapped inside!

A uniformed officer came around the building, his jacket pulled up to shield his nose and mouth from the smoke. Corin recognized the him from the Palace.

“Officer Belgard!” he called.

Belgard’s eyes widened and he dropped the jacket, looking from Corin to the building. “How did you get out?” he snapped.

“I was never in,” Corin said. “The escape ladder is gone from this side. Is there one around back?”

Belgard looked up at the building, his cheeks twitching, his expression unreadable. “No. They’ll burn,” he said, seeming disconnected from the tragedy of his words.

“We need a ladder—”

“We will do nothing. The venue is filled with Fotri. Good riddance,” Belgard spat, the numbness giving way to vitriol. 

Corin’s jaw dropped, his blood boiling. Fotri was a name for people who chose same sex partners. People like Alyssa and Judith. Even Corin’s mother expressed anti-Fotri sentiments.

Suddenly, Corin felt a club bash him across the shoulders and he fell to his knees, stunned. Belgard grabbed him by the robe, dragging him toward the burning building. 

“What are you doing?” Corin cried.

“You wanted a way in. Burn with your Fotri friends,” Belgard growled. 

“But I’m not—” Corin began. Even if he were Fotri, that didn’t justify Belgard throwing him into a burning building! Pulling a canister from his robes, he sprayed the Festival drug in Belgard’s face, disorienting the man.

The people trying to escape the upper level could not crack the glass. Corin needed a ladder and a hammer. If he were in the textile district, he’d know exactly where to go. 

“Judith!” Corin called.

Someone jumped on his back and clamped a hand over his mouth, hissing at him to be quiet.

“It’s a good thing you were late,” Alyssa growled, sliding off of him. Her exposed skin was smeared with soot. “Come on!” she said, dragging him away from the fire. She hopped on one leg, favoring an injured foot.

“What? No!” Corin cried, jerking away from her. He quickly shrugged out of his robe and wrapped it around her bare shoulders. “How did you get out?”

“I was on the balcony. Suddenly, all the locks clicked, and I couldn’t get back in,” Alyssa said. “Festival robes do not make reliable escape ropes, but at least... there’s no way in, Corin.”

“We have to try. We can’t leave them to die,” Corin stammered, pointing to the sealed building. The smoke had to be getting out somehow.

“A service officer just killed a house full of Fotri,” Alyssa hissed. “There was no random lottery, Corin. That fire was meant for us.”

She sprayed something in his face, stunning him the way he’d stunned Belgard, then she shoved a pill in his mouth and forced him to swallow. She was getting him out whether he wanted to go or not.

*~*

Premonition is currently available for pre-order. Order the whole series today!

Hope for Tomorrow - The Inspiration for "Premonition"

 The New Dawn series started as a screenplay, then a series of novellas that I workshopped, stripped for parts, and expanded into novels. In the expansion process, I realized that the first half of Book 1 had a different villain than the second half, and the draft was split into two: The Disappeared and Sequestered. That’s why the first four days of the two books overlap.

About half way through writing the first book, I got terribly stuck with my characters, and so I did something that always made me happy. I made a fanfic. You see, by this point in the process, I knew my characters very well. I had two full novellas, I had scenes from multiple books slowly filling up files in a google drive. I had the whole series plotted. And yet, I was stuck.

And so I wrote a story called “Festival of Pairing.” I wrote it as a fan fiction of my own work. In fanfic, you don’t have to introduce the characters or explain the world. You just write the story because the audience already knows it. In a matter of weeks, I produced the nearly complete first draft of Premonition, the story of Hawk meeting and rescuing his Prince. The story of Danny and Sky getting past their inhibitions, of Tray and Saskia deepen their love, and the story of Amanda finding hope that her future wasn’t lost. "The Festival of Pairing" was the first fully drafted book of the series, and I decided to slide it into the 7^th slot, where I think it fits beautifully.

The story has evolved significantly since that first draft, but at the heart of it is the power of hope. The hope that there are those in the world that love us, and that tomorrow will be better than today is a driving force.

The culture the crew encounters in this story is struggling to keep their population up, and homophobic sentiments permeate the culture. Same sex couple keep to the shadows, they’re bullied into false marriages to keep up appearances, and sometimes they’re beaten or killed. When I wrote this story, I was still very new to queer cultures and identities. I was still transitioning from closet ally into a confident one. I worried my books would be rejected because they had queer characters, and I hadn’t even come to realize my own queer identity yet.

I thought about evolving the story and removing the homophobia subplot, but just because I have evolved in thinking doesn’t mean the rest of the world is there. Acknowledgment and acceptance were important steps for me to take, and this story is like a time capsule looking into a fear that I am now past.

I didn’t set out to write a story about two parents learning to accept their queer child. I set out to write a fanfic. A sci-fi adventure with a cast that I loved in a world where supernatural things seem to happen all around them. But the hope for tomorrow comes in the love and acceptance of others. There’s power in everything we do, and you never know when your hello is someone else’s hope for tomorrow.

*~*

PREMONITION
COMING DECEMBER 5^th

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW 

 

Seeing the future is not the same as saving it.

When the first premonition hits, Amanda thinks it’s a hallucination. She doesn’t have psychic power; she echoes the powers of others. Her sudden ability to see the future has done little to help her crew prepare.

Can Amanda’s borrowed powers give the crew the edge the need?

 

ORDER THE WHOLE SERIES NOW!