Low-fat Sci-fi Romance by Christine DePetrillo

I’ve written many contemporary romances, a few paranormals, some poetry, and nonfiction. My new series, The Shielded Series, is what I’m calling “low-fat sci-fi romance.” It has a contemporary feel with a few splashes of sci-fi to change things up a bit.

Let’s face it, the Star Trek version of the future is not going to happen within our lifetimes. I become more and more certain of this as time passes on and still no food replicators, no transporters, no Star Fleet Academy. Once in a great while I hear news of some amazing scientific discovery, but nothing that leads me to believe we’re on the cusp of meeting extraterrestrials or truly revolutionizing the way we live.

Hence the birth of my low-fat sci-fi romance—all the fun of pushing the technological envelope without the pesky, overly-intellectual scientific jargon. Happily ever afters, of course, are still guaranteed.

SAFE, Book One in The Shielded Series, takes place in the year 2025 and has hovercopters, genetically-engineered characters, a deadly plague, and a ruined global landscape thanks to science. Life isn’t easy for my main characters, but they’re doing the best they can considering the circumstances. They’re approachable too because the sci-fi parts are just a light frosting on the story. Not many calories at all. Easy to swallow and digest. No additional sit-ups required after consuming. Darina and Foster aren’t that much different from you and me of 2016. Their struggles are relatable even if they are living a few hops ahead on the timeline. Fears, pride, needs, desires—those don’t go away in the future.

To really dial back on the sci-fi, I gave the main character a wooded sanctuary where the living is about as natural as you can get. This serene setting balances out the gritty rubble of the decimated city. I give you equal doses of the hard, just-trying-to-make-it-through-the-day survival mode of Boston in 2025 and the take-a-deep-breath-of-mountain-fresh-air-and-hug-some-trees living of Vermont.

This all combines to give you a reading experience that stretches imagination, warms the heart, and gives us hope that things can work out even in the future.

Low-fat sci-fi romance.

Here’s a short excerpt to illustrate what I mean:

“Foster, c’mon. This roof isn’t going to hold much longer.” Darina took another step closer, wary of the gaping hole in the roof beside Foster. Heat and smoke poured from it as well as other places on the roof.

He reached forward and put his hand in hers. With a tug, she pulled him to his feet and they ran to the hovercopter.

She didn’t let go of his hand. Not when she climbed into the craft. Not when he climbed in right behind her. Not when they settled in their seats. Not when she signaled to Ghared to get the hell off that roof. The hovercopter ascended vertically, leaving Foster’s building a flaming beacon below them. Banking around the neighboring buildings, the craft jetted toward Emerge Tech’s walls.

Foster let go of her hand then to lean forward to Ghared. “Those walls have a security field above them.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Ghared shot him a sideways glance. “But I got in, didn’t I?” He reached over and smacked the leg of his copilot—Zeke.

Darina had been surprised to see Zeke in the hovercopter, but Ghared told her he hadn’t wanted to leave the kid behind so soon after a seizure. She immediately regretted calling her buddy for help, but he was the only one who could get them out of there in one piece.

She loved him for not leaving Zeke behind, even if the kid looked pale and groggy in his seat now. His dark mass of hair was sticking out at odd angles as if he’d been ripped out of a death-level slumber, which he no doubt had been. She fought the urge to pull Zeke into the back seat and into her lap, wanting nothing more than to comfort him. 

Foster leaned back in his seat beside her. “Is our pilot’s confidence warranted, or should I be concerned?” He touched the gash on his forehead and frowned at the blood dotting his fingertips. He unzipped his pocket and extracted his tablet.

“I wouldn’t have called someone incompetent for help. I make a point of only associating with useful people,” Darina said, watching Foster power up his tablet and attempt—unsuccessfully—to doctor the gash in his forehead.

She slid closer to him and held out her hand for the tablet. After he slid it into her hand, she focused on lining up the injury in the tablet’s viewfinder. She absolutely did not notice how beautifully green his eyes were or how long his dark eyelashes were or how wonderfully that black stubble framed his tempting lips. She barely registered the artistic way his tattoo swirled up from his neck to his ear. Nope. Didn’t see a thing.

Grumbling to herself, she scanned his wound and it sealed itself. She reached under the pilot’s seat and grabbed a first aid kit, which no doubt was an antique to Foster. Rummaging around in it, she found a cleansing wipe and gave him one to wash the blood off his forehead.

As she stowed the first aid kit back under the pilot’s seat, she said, “You’ll live.”

“Thanks.” His voice also sounded as if he had tried—and failed—to not notice anything about her face as she’d tended to him.     

  

So if you’re looking for something that has a contemporary flavor with a dash of science our time doesn’t quite have yet, try The Shielded Series. Darina and Foster are waiting for you in SAFE, Book One, and promise not to ruin your diet.

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

Hooking Readers by Christine DePetrillo

The hardest part about being an author is getting your work in front of readers. Writing the story is a piece of cake compared to finding people who genuinely want to read your books and who will leave reviews that get other people to read your books. I’m not a very outgoing person. I don’t like to shove my work into people’s faces. I can barely get myself to give a bookmark to someone who has already shown an interest in what I write. The one time I did resulted in a bank teller giving me her phone number and saying that she had “experiences” she could share with me that I could write about. Think Fifty Shades experiences, people. Not what I write at all.

And now I had to switch banks.

I’m also not a look-at-me person. I’d rather be the wallpaper in the restaurant than the flaming dessert the waiter has wheeled into the middle of the room, causing everyone to gasp and clap and be wildly impressed.

Yeah, I’m sweating just thinking about that sort of attention.

I’ve done price promotions, newsletters, book excerpts, blog tours, book signings, made book trailers, ran contests… the usual stuff. I’m wondering in this post today what other authors have tried with good results.

I’m also curious about what readers want. What lures you in to try a new author? What turns you off?

 

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

SAFE, Book One, The Shielded Series, available now!

Cuddling with Strangers by Christine DePetrillo

I read an online article about someone who hired a professional cuddler. Yeah, I said a professional cuddler. As a person who isn’t all that fond of hugs from people I know, I was morbidly intrigued by the idea that someone would hire a total stranger and… umm… cuddle with them.

The article described how this person browsed through cuddlers’ profiles much the way you would do on an online dating site. There are rules, of course, about the kind of contact allowed and the preferences of the cuddler and… cuddlee? Some of the cuddlers even went so far as to outline what the person receiving the cuddling should wear. Maybe this is why I don’t successfully cuddle. I’ve been dressing all wrong for it.

I don’t know.

The dude who wrote the article tried out two different female cuddlers, both resulting in a description that sounded rather awkward to me.

But still… I was interested enough to think about this some more. My writer’s brain engaged. What circumstances would lead someone to hire a stranger for cuddling? What situations would unfold before, during, and after the cuddling? What kind of snacks does one serve at a “cuddling?”

Could a long-term relationship with a happily ever after bloom from such an encounter?

Suddenly I had two characters almost fully developed in my mind. Humorous scenes flashed before my eyes and lines of clever dialogue filled my ears. I even saw the cute dog the male character owns—an enormous bullmastiff who of course wants to cuddle too.

And he thinks he’s a small dog.

So I’m jotting things down in my writer’s notebook like an author possessed, getting more and more pumped for this new, shiny Idea when it hits me.

I still have three more books in the paranormal-contemporary series I’m currently working on to finish. I can’t put all that on the backseat to play with these cuddling characters who just decided to show up. Uninvited.

I can’t stop thinking about them though. Every day they whisper something to me. They refuse to be quiet. Or patient. They want their love story told.

They want to cuddle.

Does this ever happen to you? An idea—writing or something else creative—that won’t quit? How do you keep it under control while you finish other projects?

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

SAFE, Book One, The Shielded Series, available now! 

New Release by Christine DePetrillo

If you've ever visited Boston, you know how the busy streets sound, you know the hustle and bustle of city folks, you've ridden The "T," and every now and then, you get the feeling that our founding fathers are walking with you. It's a great city, full of history and life.

Until a fiction author gets a hold of it as I did in my newest release due out on August 25th. SAFE, Book One in The Shielded Series, is set in a ruined Boston, year 2025. Here's a description of the Boston that exists in the not-too-distant future:

Foster rubbed his eyes, certain they were bloodshot, not only from the pepperblast but simply from being in the city. Running through dilapidated Boston took its toll on the body. The stink of trash and decaying carcasses—animal and human—made breathing difficult. Summer temperatures didn’t help. Everything smelled as if it’d been marinated in sour milk then roasted on sun-scorched asphalt. The uneven pavement was tricky to navigate and hell on the feet. Something sharp had jabbed his heel through his black combat boots as he’d run through the city, and now his sock felt wet. He didn’t dare stop to heal what was probably a deep gash.

Have to keep moving.

He picked his way along the alley, staying close to the building at his right. Fortunately the brick façade was continuous and offered good cover. Red bits of brick flaked off as his fingers trailed along the stone, sounding like rain pattering on the street. He’d loved the brownstone buildings in this part of the city where he’d lived before the Anarch attack. They’d been so cozy, nestled next to one another along the narrow streets, old-fashioned iron lampposts lighting the way for nighttime walkers on summer evenings. Boston had been such a historic city, filled with the sights and symbols of America’s fight for freedom.

Now it was no more than a wasteland.

Rubble and litter ruined the landscape. The sound of cars bringing people here and there no longer filled the day and night hours like a steady, healthy heartbeat. Instead an eerie quiet—an odd absence of city noise—hung over the skeletons of broken buildings. Business no longer thrived here. Social activity no longer thrived here. 

Nothing thrived here.

Do you want to visit this Boston? Are you a little freaked? I hope so. This series is sci-fi romance with a contemporary feel. You'll forget it's 2025. You'll forget this is just fiction. SAFE will be followed up with PROTECTED and finally, SECURE. Don't worry. There are still happily ever afters in all of them despite the destruction. They are just earned in a grittier, harder world and with riskier actions on the characters' parts. 

Cover Art by Wicked Smart Designs

I hope you'll give SAFE a try. It's available for PRE-ORDER right now at all the usual spots. For more information, visit my website.

Also...

In celebration of SAFE being up for pre-order, I'm giving away one $50 Amazon Gift Card. Just go to my author FB page to find the entry options. One winner will be randomly selected on August 27.

Do you think about how things might be different in the future? I do. I always wish for the Star Trek version with Star Fleet Academy, but know it probably won't go down that way. A shame, really. 

Toodles, 

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com 

The Maple Leaf Series, Books One to Six, available now. More Than Pancakes, Book One, is always FREE in ebook!

SAFE, Book One in The Shielded Series, pre-order today!   

Worried by the events on the news by Barbara Edwards

I am worried by the events on the news 

I admit that the attacks in Paris have reawakened the fear I felt after 911. My heart was in my throat when the second plane hit the Towers. Then the Pentagon was hit and finally those on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Every hour brought more horror.

In the years since there are a number of people who don’t remember. They were too young, in a different part of the country or didn’t understand. 

It scared me to pieces when President Bush said this war would last for generations. .It turns out he was right. 

Our country, our soldiers will be fighting to keep us safe. The men and women in my family have served in the Navy, the Army, the Marines, the National Guard. I don't want to lose any of them to a terrorist.

I hope I’m wrong, but I worry about another attack happening here. 

So what can a person do?

If I plan to go to the mall, I pick a time when its not crowded. Crowds are prime targets for suicide bombers. 

In a lot of ways I’m lucky. Being a trained police officer, my husband is always aware of his surroundings. When we are in public he knows what’s happening. I depend on him. 

I always look for and locate where the exits are. 

I go to church but arrive as the service starts and sit near the exit. There are too many components of a religious war in this conflict. Several churches have already been the site of shootings.

Recently, there was a warning posted for parents of children. If there is a shooting, bombing, attack at your children’s school ,’Don’t go there!” These cowards are trained to have a second attack in place to kill the emergency response workers. Wait to be told where to pick up your child. I know this is a time filled with panic. Be safe.

Be alert when out in public. No one noticed the Boston bombers drop backpacks on the sidewalk. 

Get a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Attacks have been stopped by return fire,

Notice someone who’s clothes look too bulky. A vest bomb is heavy.

Don’t be ashamed that strangers make you nervous. This is your commonsense working.

Don’t be embarrassed to call the police if you see something suspicious. 

Another thing I learned. Keep an emergency kit close. Have what you need to survive for several days if you're cut off.

I no longer think I'm paranoid. 

So what do you do to stay safe?

Visit me, Friend me, Follow or Tweet. I’d love to hear from you.

Website: www.barbaraedwards.net for excerpts and buy links

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