JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS
Book Hooks is a weekly cooperative meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog.
It's a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors.
Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.
A Book Fair for Lovers of Holiday Romance
A bundle of high-caliber authors with great stories for book lovers.
This special event showcases all subgenres and flavors of sci-fi romance and may include cyberpunk, dystopian, fantasy, young adult, hard scifi, military, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, robots, sci-fi romance, soft scifi, space opera, technothrillers, time travel, urban fantasy, and more.
Join us! Holiday Romance Book Event
[bctt tweet="Celebrate the holidays with a sweet romance. Or a hot one #Holiday #Romance #Fantasy #FairyTale #BookFair https://storyoriginapp.com/to/Nl4wHHg?via=kayelle" username="KayelleAllen"]
Love Contemporary Romance?
Can you fall in love again when the love of your life has gone?
Try my book, A Romance for Christmas, on all retailers.
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The Left Hand of Darkness
50th Anniversary Edition (Ace Science Fiction)
by Ursula K Le Guin
Foreword by David Mitchell
50th anniversary edition—with a new introduction by David Mitchell and a new afterword by Charlie Jane Anders.
Ursula K Le Guin's groundbreaking work of science fiction—winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
From the Amazon book page:
A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants' gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization.
But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...
Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.
---
I read this book the first time many years ago, when I was developing the concept of my Chiasmii people. A Chiasma would be fully male and fully female, but would alter between the two genderphases (San - female, and Pter - male) every three months or so. In the "between times" they would be gender fluid. Pregnancy was avoided by avoiding penetration during the female phase. They were telepathic, and universally blond-haired and blue-eyed.
Unknown to them, they had been created to be "genetic vessels" capable of being impregnated by their own seed, creating a single-parent host. This provided ample room for added DNA, which could turn them into other creatures.
In my current story universe, it's been thousands of years since their creator contacted them, and they have only fleeting memories of myths to remind them.
Reading this book inspired me in so many ways. I highly recommend it.
[bctt tweet="50 Years since landmark book The Left Hand of Darkness #SciFi #WriteLGBTQ #HugoAwards https://books2read.com/u/m0lYkV" username="KayelleAllen"]
Download a printable book list or a list of trigger warnings for all books. Claim your immortality by signing up for my newsletter
Immortal Reviews Rock & Rule - Join the Review Team
~ Copyright ©2025 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!
My characters may be found in multiple books in my story universe. Pietas images Nik Nitsvetov as Pietas cosplay.
A Stolen Heart
Luc, a former space pirate who's gone straight, rescues a vulnerable child adept at breaking into things. Nothing is beyond the boy's reach. He's even stolen Luc's heart...
In this scene, Luc is carrying three-year-old Senth and meets Nikko, his Deshai (apprentice) in the hall.
Earlier, one of the other Deshais had brought a policewoman to the house, and idBot (the security company Luc owns) discovered she'd left behind trackules - a type of spyware. Luc needs to go out to deal with a related issue.
Excerpt from A Stolen Heart
Outside Luc's bedroom door, he met Nikko as the young man came up the stairs. A glance told Luc what he needed to know; idBot had informed everyone.
Senthys squirmed, so Luc set the boy down.
"Nikko?" The boy tapped his brother on the leg. "Can you take care of me? Please?"
"What? You know it. I'll always take care of you, Senth." He turned back to Luc. "I'm sorry I doubted you. Why would Orella do that?"
Luc locked his door. "There's no proof she did it on purpose."
"I don't get it." The young Deshai looked at him askance. "First you accuse her, and now you defend her?"
"Nikko?" Senthys tugged on the young man's hand. "Will you play with me and my bears? Please?"
"Not yet, Senth."
The boy sulked. "But I said please. Ms. Fasra says when someone says please then you are supposed to do it."
"Yes, you did, and she's right." Nikko squatted. "But adults can't always stop what they're doing and play. Even if they want to. Sometimes we have to do adult things first."
An unfortunate truth. Like hunting monsters when you'd prefer rocking a sweet little boy to sleep and putting him into bed where he was safe. Luc slid one hand into a pocket.
Senthys pouted. "But I don't want to adult."
"I don't either sometimes. Neither does Luc." Nikko flashed a smile up at him. "Right?"
"Exactly right."
"Then play with me."
"In a few minutes." Nikko stood.
The boy gave an exaggerated sigh. "Okay."
"Um..." Nikko hesitated. "What were we talking about?"
"Orella and trackules. I never accused her. I said I suspected there might be spyware. Shohn Lexius at idBot thinks she might have been dusted with trackules without her knowledge, and I agree. I doubt Orella would jeopardize her relationship with Kaydn."
"Okay, I can see that. But how could she be dusted and not know?"
"I plan to investigate, that, Nikko. I hope she didn't do it herself. Now, I'm going to need help with something important. Who else is home?"
"I'm here," Brinn called out, coming up the stairs. He stepped out onto the second floor.
Holding his bears, Senthys ran over to him. "Will you take care of me, please?"
"Take care of you?" Brinn gave Luc and Nikko a questioning look. "You know it, little brother."
"Can we play?"
"Sure. In a few minutes. I have to talk to Luc first."
"Okay." Senthys heaved a drawn-out groan. "I know. You have to adult."
Antonello Brothers
Click covers for the buy link. Click text for the website page and excerpts.
#SciFi #Romance
You'll find these characters mentioned in many books in my story universe.
Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.
Download a printable book list or a list of trigger warnings for all books. Claim your immortality by signing up for my newsletter
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~ Copyright ©2025 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!
My characters may be found in multiple books in my story universe. Pietas images Nik Nitsvetov as Pietas cosplay.
Crystal Clear Truth
Introducing a new book in the Antonello Brothers series, a slow-burn, forced proximity romance set in the far, far future in an empire full of treachery, mystery, and long-hidden secrets...
His entire life, Joe worked for this moment: Primary Terraforming Scientist assigned to the firestorm planet. Yet tragedy mars the day with the accidental death of both parents. Grief-stricken, he plods through family decisions and moves forward, surviving day by day. While reading his mother's handwritten diary, he discovers a folded flatpic of a teenaged girl and the cryptic words, "our son's mother." He searches for details, determined to know more.
When a friend asks Shohn to help a locate someone, she jumps at the chance. She's researching the firestorm planet for her employer, who seeks access to eyes-only information. Helping Joe might be her opportunity to uncover long-hidden secrets.
As their unexpected friendship deepens into more, each mystery they solve reveals yet another hidden layer. The truth they seek could immobilize interstellar commerce in the empire. To protect the Empire they both love, they must solve the riddle behind this elusive young woman, and trust one another.
But how can they trust when the "truth" they've been fed is a lie?
Crystal Clear Truth - Chapter One
Tarthian Empire, Kyrenie
Fenris City, Taskya District
Birit 40, 4669 Tradestandard
From the moment Joe Townsend had learned of his folks' accidental death a week ago, life had screamed past him. A banshee bearing a never-ending whirlwind of around-the-clock decisions. He leaned against the inside of his parents' front door and slid down.
Today, he'd said his formal goodbyes at their memorial. He'd smiled like a wooden soldier at the unending I'm-so-sorrys and the non-stop oh-poor-Joe-how-are-you-doings.
How did they think he was doing?
Life had plunged him into a lightless, inescapable world of sympathetic platitudes.
How could he move forward when everywhere he looked, the past held him fast?
How could he move forward when every step he took led him that much further away from the people he'd loved most?
How could he move forward and somehow lever past this pain?
There had to be a better way to handle heartbreak. A saner way.
Joe stood and dusted himself off. He should throw himself into his work. That's what his dad always...
A fresh ache swept over him as he recalled the man's sage advice.
"Whatever you can't change, accept and work through, Son. Focus on what you can do, what you have to do, and don't waste time looking back."
Joe braced an arm across his stomach. Would he ever think of his father's words of wisdom again without this foreboding sensation of loss? This sense that part of himself was missing? Or of his mother and her strength? Her abiding belief in him, encouraging him, guiding the way?
Dragging his feet, Joe staggered through the house, back to the room that had been his when he lived here as a boy, now stripped bare. His parents had put the house on the market and accepted an offer a week prior to their deaths. The new owners would arrive tomorrow.
Nothing remained of the place Joe had once called his haven.
There was no home to go to. Starting tomorrow, this place would be someone else's. Not his. Not his parents'. Not anymore.
This sterile room symbolized everything he'd lost.
He couldn't think about this tonight. Couldn't think about work, even work he'd prepared for his whole life.
Primary Terraforming Scientist assigned to the firestorm planet. Part of the elite team studying the formation of fiery tornado-like monsters that ripped across the planet Kyrenie, leaving wakes of sand crystalized in an instant. Joe had studied his whole life for the opportunity to follow in his father's footsteps. Carried three doctorates, each chosen with an eye to firestorm science.
The pride he'd felt when appointed had rivaled the thrill of working at his father's side. The joy of raw discovery, uncovering new truths while pushing the frontiers of knowledge to the nth degree.
Right this moment, science felt like a meaningless distraction.
Exhausted, he curled up in the middle of the floor, surrounded by nothing but loss. He'd spend one last night in this empty shell of a place he'd once considered home. Come morning, he'd walk away from his past forever.
Currently, there is no release date for this book other than "early next year." I'm about half-way finished writing it. Want to read chapter two? Nothing to sign up for. Just click and download in a format you prefer.
The first book in this series is permafree and introduces all the major players in my Tarthian Empire. Check out A Stolen Heart, linked below.
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Sign up for my review team.
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~ Copyright ©2025 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!
My characters may be found in multiple books in my story universe. Pietas images Nik Nitsvetov as Pietas cosplay.
JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS
Book Hooks is a weekly cooperative meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog.
It's a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors.
Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.
Meet three of the authors and their books!
Book Fair for Free Books
A bundle of high-caliber authors for lovers of SF/F & PNR.
This special event showcases all subgenres of sci-fi and may include cyberpunk, dystopian, fantasy, young adult, hard scifi, military, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, robots, sci-fi romance, soft scifi, space opera, technothrillers, time travel, urban fantasy, and more.
[bctt tweet="New book fair with Paranormal, plus Science Fiction & Fantasy @AldreaAlien @BethanyShaw77 @JennaCollett28 #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #PNR #Romance https://storyoriginapp.com/to/JNKbBnj" username="KayelleAllen"]
Colonies of Man
Click covers for the buy link. Click text for the website page and excerpts.
#SciFi #Fantasy #Romance
You'll find these characters mentioned in many books in my story universe.
Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.
Download a printable book list or a list of trigger warnings for all books. Claim your immortality by signing up for my newsletter
Immortal Reviews Rock & Rule - Join the Review Team
~ Copyright ©2025 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!
My characters may be found in multiple books in my story universe. Pietas images Nik Nitsvetov as Pietas cosplay.
It's the year 2465, two hundred years since the stars were opened to humanity by the invention of the shift drive.
So began the First Interstellar Expansion Era, catapulting humanity into a deadly race for the limited resources of navigable space.
Now tensions between the human nations are threatening to boil over into open hostility. Into this maelstrom steps the exiled Commander James Somerville of the Royal Space Navy. Banished from London to the survey ship HMS Drake he is about to make a discovery that may change his fortunes and throw Britain into a deadly war with its closest rival.
The Void War is a military science fiction novel and first book of twelve by author DJ Holmes.
Available on Amazon
You'll find these characters mentioned in many books in my story universe.
Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.
Download a printable book list or a list of trigger warnings for all books. Claim your immortality by signing up for my newsletter
Immortal Reviews Rock & Rule - Join the Review Team
~ Copyright ©2025 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!
My characters may be found in multiple books in my story universe. Pietas images Nik Nitsvetov as Pietas cosplay.
Sci-Fi Book Fair for Free books
A bundle of high-caliber authors for lovers of SF/F.
This special event showcases all subgenres of sci-fi and may include cyberpunk, dystopian, fantasy, young adult, hard scifi, military, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, robots, sci-fi romance, soft scifi, space opera, technothrillers, time travel, urban fantasy, and more.
Join us! SF Free Book Event
[bctt tweet="Ooh... a book fair for gamers who love to read #GameLit #SciFi #UrbanFantasy #Fantasy #Dystopian https://storyoriginapp.com/to/iYj8XvC?via=kayelle" username="KayelleAllen"]
You'll find these characters mentioned in many books in my story universe.
Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.
Download a printable book list or a list of trigger warnings for all books. Claim your immortality by signing up for my newsletter
Immortal Reviews Rock & Rule - Join the Review Team
~ Copyright ©2025 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!
My characters may be found in multiple books in my story universe. Pietas images Nik Nitsvetov as Pietas cosplay.
Tales of the Chosen
Pick up Wulf for $0.00 -- This book is permafree on all retailers.
Then pick up Alitus and Jawk to claim the entire Tales of the Chosen series.
These books are in the same universe as the Antonello Brothers, and Antonello Brothers: Immortal books.
Click the cover for a universal buy link.
Wulf
Alitus
Jawk
Complete Set
You'll find these characters mentioned in many books in my story universe.
Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.
Book Fair for Free Steamy Books
A bundle of high-caliber authors for book lovers
This special event showcases all genres of steamy romance sci-fi and may include cyberpunk, dystopian, fantasy, young adult, hard scifi, military, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, robots, sci-fi romance, soft scifi, space opera, technothrillers, time travel, urban fantasy, and more.
Join us! Hot Free Book Event
[bctt tweet="Fun book fair with Free Steamy Romances for November #Steamy #SciFi #Romance #Contemporary https://storyoriginapp.com/to/s9CKfxJ?via=kayelle" username="KayelleAllen"]
You'll find these characters mentioned in many books in my story universe.
Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.
Download a printable book list or a list of trigger warnings for all books. Claim your immortality by signing up for my newsletter
Immortal Reviews Rock & Rule - Join the Review Team
~ Copyright ©2025 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!
My characters may be found in multiple books in my story universe. Pietas images Nik Nitsvetov as Pietas cosplay.
Tales of the Chosen
Pick up Wulf for $0.00 -- This book is permafree on all retailers.
Then pick up Alitus and Jawk to claim the entire Tales of the Chosen series.
These books are in the same universe as the Antonello Brothers, and Antonello Brothers: Immortal books.
Click the cover for a universal buy link.
Wulf
Alitus
Jawk
Full Set
You'll find these characters mentioned in many books in my story universe.
Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.
When a star blows up, someone's going to pay.
Humanity has been fighting the alien threat for decades, and the war just ratcheted up a notch.
Sent to aid a dreadnaught under siege, Dani Devereaux and the crew of Alaska's Vengeance find themselves caught in a trap.
A trap that brings a new ultimate weapon to the battlefield, destroying an entire star system.
Narrowly escaping, she returns home to find victory parades turned into lines of questioning reporters all wanting to learn the details of her failure.
But endings can create new beginnings, and when Dani hits rock bottom, she finds a way to regain her pride—and though not her honor, at least she'll have her vengeance.
Available on Amazon - Free on Kindle Unlimited
[bctt tweet="An exciting beginning: Vengeance Lost by JL Stowers #SpaceOpera #SciFi https://amzn.to/2ZfUpMc" username="KayelleAllen"]
Download a printable book list or a list of trigger warnings for all books. Claim your immortality by signing up for my newsletter
Immortal Reviews Rock & Rule - Join the Review Team
~ Copyright ©2025 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!
My characters may be found in multiple books in my story universe. Pietas images Nik Nitsvetov as Pietas cosplay.