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Tag: Rockstar Romance

Love story in which one of the main characters is a rock musician.

Book birthday: Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire #Pietas #SciFi

Congratulations, it’s finally a book birthday!

Holding Bringer of Chaos in my hand — both book 1 and book 2 — what a feeling! As a rule, I don’t use exclamations on this blog, but for this? A book birthday is a wonderful thing. You can have a book birthday on the anniversary of its release, but for this event, I’m claiming today as the day the book is born. Officially.

I started writing it years ago. I was 17 and sound asleep at home, dreaming. I was walking the length of a vast receiving chamber, headed for the woman who sat on the throne at the end. The empress was the twin sister of a dangerous man who was not present. He was older but he was not the king. I didn’t know why but I knew that made him dangerous.

I had to walk through rows of soldiers who stood at attention, facing forward. I could not see their faces. I was not afraid to approach the throne. The woman looked amused at how long it took me to go such a long distance. I kept walking and walking but never seemed to get closer. I turned around to see how far I had come. That’s when I saw the faces of the soldiers, and my breath caught.

Every one of them had the heads of gray cats.

I woke up and sat straight up in bed. Why that image should have been so frightening, I don’t know. No one was attacking me. No one glared at me. They just looked right at me, and that was enough. All these years later, that dream still haunts me.

From that dream was born most of the Tarthian Empire series. The woman on the throne became Empress Rheyn Destoiya. The cat-headed soldiers became the Praetorian Guard, peopled with the Kin, a feline-humanoid race. (My Kin do not have cat-heads but they are quite catlike and have pointed ears higher up on their heads than a human’s.) Her missing older brother became Pietas, hero of my last two books.

By releasing Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire, I’m telling the story of that missing sibling and how he came to be such a dangerous man.

I hope you’ll get to know him as I have. Discovering the Bringer of Chaos has been a lifelong attempt. Below is an excerpt from the book for you to sample, and you can download the entire first three chapters here. 

Book Birthday – an excerpt

In this scene, Pietas discovers that his friend, Six, has been taken hostage by Mahikos, Pietas’s father.

“Are you looking for this?” His father’s unmistakable voice came to him before the man’s faint outline revealed itself in the dark.

Mahikos had captured Six and pressed a knife blade to the ghost’s throat. At the point where the blade dug into him, blood oozed.

The blank passivity on his friend’s face revealed what Pietas had feared. Six had been compelled into submission. He would stand there and let Mahikos kill him.

Rage propelled Pietas forward.

“That’s far enough, Son.” He dragged Six backward. “Unless you want your own hands covered in this human’s blood.”

Pietas ground his teeth. For this, his father would forfeit his life. “I will end you, old man.”

“Will you?” Mahikos dug the knife edge into Six’s neck. “You dared bring this abomination into our camp after it threatened your mother–the woman I love–and you want to end me? This thing is going to die by my hands!”

Time slowed to a crawl. Someone had told him.

Joss? Too loyal.

The twins? Too detailed.

Dessy? Had she been so quick to betray him?

Pietas drew every vestige of Compulsion he had and threaded Chaos along its invisible bands. Mahikos was immune to both, but aligned, they might soften his will.

Wait. Immune. Immune!

That word rattled around his head, a stone bouncing off the sides of a bottomless metal pit.

Pietas had practiced compulsion, sending command after command to Six.

The man was immune.

Six, blink twice if you hear me.

He gave two quick blinks.

How he treasured this man! Good job, ghost. You stalled him. If you’re hurt, blink once.

Six remained steady.

Excellent. I should never have left you. I’m sorry. On my mark, drop and get out of the way. Joss, go right. Distract him.

I serve. Her mindvoice packed the simple Ultra vow with raw emotion.

Now!

Joss screeched a war cry and bolted right.

Pietas shot to the left.

Startled, Mahikos flinched.

Six hit the ground and scrambled aside.

Reversing course mid-step, Pietas used his full bodyweight and slammed Mahikos into the ground. The knife flew from his father’s hand. The two men rolled, each grappling for supremacy.

Mahikos was a full foot shorter and similar to others in the scientist class, slight of build. He’d altered his own genetic makeup and now possessed the greater strength of the warrior class. The man got in one blow to Pietas’s jaw and a second to his head.

The world went white hot–then red.

Nothing existed beyond this enemy.

This retribution.

This hatred.

This rage.

Pietas flipped his father onto his stomach and rolled atop him. One arm beneath the man’s throat, the other bracing the first, he crushed his father’s airway.

Mahikos clawed at the arms pinning him, but without air, soon weakened. His struggle slowed, then ceased. In one swift move, Pietas shoved his father’s face into the dirt.

That would have killed a human, but the Ultra metabolism had kicked into battle mode while they fought. The man healed before Pietas could move back. Gasping, Mahikos clawed for the knife.

With his longer reach, Pietas claimed it first. He rolled his father onto his back and knelt atop the weakened man’s arms, pinning him.

He showed him the knife. “Are you looking for this?” he asked, echoing his father’s earlier words.

Mahikos stared up at it and then at him, wild-eyed, choking for air.

Pietas wrapped both hands around the hilt, drew back the blade, and plunged it down.

“No!” His mother’s voice rang out. “Pietas!”

He stopped the blade but the tip had already punctured his father’s skin. Pietas ached to ram it deep, deep, all the way past skin, muscle, and bone, straight into the man’s heart. Twist it. Break it off.

“No!” His mother pleaded. “He’s your father. Pietas. Please! For me. For me.”

He held his father’s life in limbo, suspended between cold indifference and hot fury, buffeted by his mother’s plea.


When the immortal Pietas is marooned on a barren world with no food and few survival tools, he knows it could be worse. He could be alone. But that’s the problem. He’s not.
Half a million of his people sleep in cryostasis, trapped in their pods and it’s up to Pietas to save them. But before he can, he must take back command from a ruthless enemy he’s fought for centuries. His brutal, merciless father. Immortals may heal, but a wound of the heart lasts forever…

Celebrate the book birthday on Amazon and in print. Free on Kindle Unlimited
http://amzn.to/2ABIcCI
Review this book on #NetGalley https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/127569

Please help me celebrate this book birthday by sharing this post with your friends.

#starwars Love it or hate it #MaytheFourthBeWithYou

StarWars with MikeyTrue confession: I am a geek and proud of it. I love StarWars and saw the first movie in a theater when it first came out. I was pregnant with my first child at the time. When StarWars: the Force Awakens came out last year, I took her youngest child to see it. I felt as if I’d gone full circle.

StarWars Opinions

Everyone has an opinion about this series. I won’t go into the platitudes about it or state the obvious about how it changed cinema forever. It’s obvious that it did. The technology to create the first film revolutionized filming. SteadiCam anyone? In the same way, Avatar made 3D a new force to be reckoned with (no pun intended).

When fans say “May the Fourth be with you” on every May 4th, it’s a tribute to the legacy of the series. The Jedi say “May the force be with you” as a means of farewell, and a blessing that is more than “good luck”. The fan phrase is also a reminder of the fun to be had when watching the films. When I saw The Force Awakens I loved seeing all the Easter eggs (references to things fans would recognize). There were entire blogs devoted to listing them. Here’s a trailer that claims to list them ALL.

https://youtu.be/8Rfs8Mx3Xx8

Created by George Lucas, the first film in the series was released in 1977. It began with the Episode 4: A New Hope. Episode 5 and 6 followed, and then several years later, episodes 1, 2, and 3 were released. With episode 7, we are beginning a new leg of the series. It’s a fan joke that we teach our kids to count this way: 4-5-6-1-2-3-7. Seriously, when you ask someone if they’ve seen the first StarWars, they invariably ask “Episode 1 or Episode 4”? Because 4 was the first, but 1 is the fourth, while still technically being the first episode. It’s like being a termite in a yo-yo. You go around and around with this.

But however you add it up, StarWars is one of those series you either love or hate. It’s polarizing, and hard to explain. I guess you’ll have to see it for yourself. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Whether you are a new fan or one from way back, may the fourth (and the force) be with you.

With Love, to Spammers #humor

Stop Spam.

Dear Spammers,
Thank you for the many emails you’ve sent me. I’ve become quite adept at spotting them. One trick I particularly like is when all of you decide on a specific topic for the subject line of your emails, and then you all use it the same day. Such as “Notice of Extreme Win.” Nothing grabs my attention like seeing six of these lined up in my inbox, all from different people.

Another favorite — and recent trick — was a flurry of notes that advised me about my “ex” saying bad things about me, or in some cases, that he was posting bad pictures of me. That had me puzzled at first, especially since I’ve been married to the same man for 37 happy years and don’t have an ex. But it helped me spot you!

Then there’s the “Can you tell English is not my first language” message. Topics such as “Plese to be my frend” or the oldie but goodie “strive to use for benfitting of ze chilldren.” I also like the tried but true “this massage no the spam” one.

No Spam

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank you for reminding me that I, too, can add an extra inch to my manhood. The fact that I’m female apparently doesn’t make any difference. How nice to know. Recently, you brought to my attention that there is “strength in the extra inch” — so I guess those old commercials about being a “silly milimeter longer” might have been right. And of course, I can always “Watch it grow bigger.”

Thanks, too, for the email subjects that begin “Dearest One” or “Dear Winner” or “Dear Beneficiary.” I look forward to these because they show me how many people out there love me. People I have never even met, but who go out of their way to show me how much they want to get to know me. I appreciate the opportunity to share with you, especially your kind requests for my checking account information, credit card secret number, passwords, and the like. The internet is an amazingly friendly place. People like you make it “oh so special.”

End Spam

Another good thing you’ve provided is the reminder that to get the full benefit of your email, I should open and download attached documents. These have contained items that remind me of the fall of Troy, and that big horse that was left for its residents. Good of you to note in your subject that “this message is verified safe” — which is what I know most of my true friends would put in their subjects to reassure me.

Stop Spam Forever

Lately though I’ve wondered about a few of you. Why do you put ***SPAM*** in the topic of your email? Do you think it will somehow miss the target that I’ve set for it on my mailbox system? I have to say, that isn’t one of your better decisions. Kind of like painting a target on your back and chest. I am disappointed that you’ve gotten that lazy. I’ve been having fun trying to figure out which message is from you and which from real friends. I have noticed though that friends don’t tend to send me emails telling me where to score the best drugs. Some of my friends might ask *me* where to get them — but few will volunteer that info in the open.

Overall, I wanted you to know that I take special pains with your messages, and even have a folder just for you. Nearly all of your messages go directly there. I’ve trained my email program to recognize most of you. For those who are new, take heart. I’m sure I’ll figure you out eventually, and you’ll be routed to my exclusive list of “special emails” or that elite folder I’ve set up for you and your friends. Till then, My Dearest, may your inbox never be empty.

Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.