Spectre of Intention

by Tonya Macalino

Kaitlin Osgood has a stowaway. Underneath the glossy shell of the Senior VP for Countermeasures International lurks the tattered remains of the girl she once was: street rat and thief, Ashley Porter. Every day, every decision is brittle with the fear of discovery.

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean on the cruise ship acting as the platform for the latest space elevator, she should finally be safe…

…safe from the sexy, enigmatic eyes of Director of Port Security Camden Glaswell, who seems to see through Kaitlin’s ruse.

…safe from the relentless, burning pursuit of master thief Stephan Chen, the chief architect of Kaitlin’s former life of crime—the onetime lover who haunts her still.

But Kaitlin has another secret: her talent for security comes not from the latest technology, but from her ability to sense people’s emotions, to see the ghosts of their intentions.

It’s a talent she must learn to wield as a weapon before the mistakes of her past cost Kaitlin her life…

When you can’t run any further, you must turn and fight, but if one of the people you have to fight is inside your mind, what then?

Kaitlin is a costume our heroine wears, a persona she pulls on to exude competence and confidence, neither of which she feels the moment she learns the thief she used to work for (her former lover) is on board. Who is the narrator, really? She used to be Ashley—indeed Ashley’s panic over people in her past finding her propels much of the action—but she keeps Ashley locked up as tight as she can behind a door in her mind. Who is she now? Who will she be from this moment forward? All questions she must put on hold, teetering on the edge of forging the unknown future while a homicidal thief threatens her security.

Kaitlin’s friends attempt to help her but full disclosure is not an option. She knows something bad, very very bad, is about to happen onboard the ship but has only hazy details and no rational explanation for how she comes by her information.

The author skillfully winds us in future-tech woven with psi-abilities and explores every person’s right to privacy. Action-packed, Spectre of Intention is ripe with physical vocabulary designed to keep you attuned to Kaitlin’s fear and longing. An intelligent, well-researched scifi is always good to find, and I learned a ton about space elevators. The human story in this book balances the physical science for the technically impaired, mixed in with spicy scenes of passion between the heroine and Cam Glaswell (fans self).

The lovely and multi-talented Ms. Macalino was a kick to hang out with at Orycon 33 (seriously, check out her cosmetic and bath product line if you’re ever in downtown Hillsboro, OR on the 200 block of Main St.; visit Jacobsen’s Books and then pop across the street to the coffee shop.) and this book is one of the fastest reads I’ve picked up in a while, always a sign of smooth writing. Readers have more to look forward to from this author as well; a series set in Venice is next on her agenda. Check the author’s website.

Spectre of Intention is available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com

Same As It Never Was

by Gabrielle Lucas


An artist with recurring dreams and the psychiatrist whose dreams mirror hers…is she a patient who needs his help? Or his soul mate from another time?

Psychiatrist Max Molinari specializes in past life regression. For years, he’s waited for a dream lover—the woman he has loved in many past lives—to walk through his door. Could his new patient be the one?

Artist Roz Lennon needs help unraveling her dreams of places she's never been and a man she's never met. When Roz draws the exact people and scenes from Max’s own regressive dreams, he has to fight to maintain his professional distance.

Roz could be the woman he’s searched for all his life, but he cannot lead her to that conclusion. Will Roz recognize him as they explore her dreams? Or is their soul-deep love all in his head?

How can a man who specializes in discerning delusion from reality rationalize his own experience? Roz is not the one Max expects, certainly--abraisive, abrupt, direct, guarded. And she thought he'd be taller...I enjoyed this brief tale of two people dancing around the truth, each afraid to share too much with the other for fear it wouldn't be true. In between, the author takes us back in time to three earlier eras where these two souls had crossed paths before. Wonderfully romantic in setting and in theme. Highly recommended.

Excerpt:
I looked for the artist’s name. Finding none, I hurried over to Barb and said, “Excuse me. Barb, do you know you drew those pencil sketches near the coat room?”

Eyebrows raised and with a slight annoyance in her voice, she said, “You’re not going to buy anything, are you? The prices are outrageous.”

“Do you know who drew them?” I asked again.

“No, Max, I don’t. Go see that guy,” she said, pointing. “The one near the toilet sculpture over by the door. He’s the owner of the gallery and an art dealer. I’m sure he’ll know. But Max—”

Before she could finish I was halfway across the room.

The owner, a guy named Gil Gregory who looked like he’d just emerged from a smoky, 60s, Beatnik poetry-reading room, told me, “She’s local. I have her card in my office but it’s locked right now and—”

“Can you find it?”

He glanced around the room. “I’m kinda busy right now, Mr.—”

“Doctor. Dr. Max Molinari. You don’t remember her name?”

“She brought these in at the last minute. She’s not really a serious artist. She has a full-time job.”

He said this with some disdain, as if having a regular paycheck was beneath an “artiste.”

“I only put her work in the show as a favor to a mutual friend,” he added.

I took out a business card and handed it to him. “Will you please give her this? Will you be seeing her soon? Can you call her tomorrow?”

I was rambling. I sounded like an idiot. I didn’t care…All my life, I had anticipated that I would see a stranger across a crowded room, she would see me, and we would know. Music crescendos, mad dash to each other, Hollywood ending.


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Book Signing

It occurs to me I should post news here of where I can be found in public.

November 11-13 I'll be at OryCon 33, an Oregon Science Fiction Convention, signing copies of my book in the dealer room, at the table for Jacobsen's Books. Admission to the convention is affordable for these sort of things and is being held at the Portland (Lloyd Center) Doubletree Hotel (ironically, this is the same hotel where I attended Epicon in 2008).

Yes, I'm bringing my camera for all the Trekkers, Battlestar Galactica, Browncoats, steampunkers, and all the cosmic weirdness a scifi con attracts--fun fun fun! I will be in geek heaven.

Just Out of Reach

Just Out of Reach by Lee Darling

After a painful divorce, Jessie Lochwood retreats to her hometown on the Oregon Coast. Her plans for a week of quiet reflection are blown apart when she finds a leather jacket on a lonely beach.

A letter in the pocket swirls her into her past and into a dangerous search for the missing brother of a childhood chum.

Recovering alcoholic Jessie comes face-to-face with ghosts from her past as she pursues a violent, abusive man and the woman he controls.

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This mystery tale brings to life the windy southern coast of Oregon around Bandon, the westernmost point on the continental U.S. For the setting alone I enjoyed the book, being from Oregon myself, but the characters and mystery are well drawn and fast-paced. The reader has the feeling that Jesse is ready to leave town at any time, just after she does this one last favor...well, okay, one more...I can't leave yet, I need to tell--and so the book goes, with our heroine reluctant to get invovled yet unable to deny her helpful nature.

Jesse wants to move forward in her life and heal from past wrongs, but by returning home and involving herself in an old friend's family business she is reminded all too often how she did not fit in back then and still might not. A touch of romance is woven into this journey as well, and a decision many divorcees face--to continue alone, lonely and friendless, in the city where you were abandoned, or return home where past mistakes haunt you but at least the people who remember you care about whether you live or die.

I, too, found myself caring about Jesse and wanting the others in the story to see her for who she is now, not who she was when last she lived in the town. This story shows well the impact of a reputation and the reprecussions, and the uphill battle to prove you've changed. Well done!

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Lee Darling has lived in Oregon since 1961. She has received awards for non-fiction essays and for poetry. Her personal essays have been published in the Write On! column of The Register-Guard. Just Out of Reach is her first novel.

Find out more about the book at: www.scatteredbumps.blogspot.com

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Spirit of the Lake

by Paty Jager is the second in her series about the Nimiipuu tribe (Nez Perce) of the Wallowa Mountains in NE Oregon.

A brutal attack leaves Dove, a Nimiipuu maiden, pregnant and alone. Her tribe refuses to hear the truth—that the White man who took her body also plans to take their land. She walks into the lake to end both her life and her despair.

Wewukiye, the lake spirit, uses his human form to save Dove from drowning. Learning the reason she longs to end her mortal existence, he vows to care for her until she gives birth. Together, they will restore her place in her tribe and prove the White man is not the Nimiipuu’s friend. But to help her he must keep his spirit identity hidden.

As Dove and Wewukiye pursue their quest for justice, Dove reveals spiritual abilities yet unknown in her people, ensnaring Wewukiye’s respect and awe. But can love between a mortal and a spirit grow without consequences?

In the first book, Himiin, the Spirit of the Mountain, fell in love with the Nimiipuu girl, Wren. This story picks up two generations later when Himiin's youngest daughter is an old woman. Wewukiye seeks his niece's assistance to provide a home for Dove while he helps her find a way to prove to her tribe that the white man who assaulted her aims to take over the Nimiipuu lands and drive the tribe away. As one of three--now two--spirit guides to the tribe, Wewukiye cannot let that happen. Yet he is so taken with this young woman that his sister, Sa-qan, is alarmed he'll anger the Great Spirit by getting too involved with mortal matters. (The author has promised to make Sa-qan's come-uppance spectacular in book 3, and I can hardly wait to read it).

This series is a fabulous look at an earlier era in my state's history. The scenery alone is worth reading the books for. Ms. Jager brings to life an ancient people while at the same time showing how the tribe has changed in the two generations that have passed since the first book. Very well researched and painted.

EXCERPT

Wewukiye tugged her hand, drawing her closer. His warm breath puffed against her ear.

"You need only think of me and you will have strength."

His soft silky voice floated through her body like a hot drink.

Dove swallowed the lump in her throat and asked, "When will I see you again?" The thought of sleeping on the hard ground next to the fire in Crazy One's dwelling didn't sound near as inviting as using his lap to rest her head.

The days and nights grew colder; to be wrapped in his arms would warm her through and through.

"You will find me at the meadow every day when the sun is directly overhead." He brushed his lips against her ear.

She closed her eyes, relishing the silky feel of his lips and the heat of his touch.

"Think of me," whispered through her head.

Dove opened her eyes. She stood alone. Her palm still warm from their clasped hands, her ear ringing with his whisper.

Pieces of Me

I'm guest blogging today at Faith V. Smith's blog about how I chose characteristics for my hero and heroine that were different from each other but all traits in me. Join me over there and comment!

Victoriana Adventure

by Heather Hiestand, a rosette-length Faery story from The Wild Rose Press.

Marooned in backward Victoriana by a magical Christmas cracker, Ollie Brown wants to get home to modern Tacoma. The enticing girl who shelters him tempts him to stay in this alternate reality, but what does a nineteenth century princess need with a twenty-first century skateboarding chemist in a world where science is banned?

Princess Lenchen thrills at the chance to assist the handsome stranger who speaks of oddities like candy bars and “grinding.” Ollie offers a breath of freedom, but Lenchen knows he feels trapped and out of place. She reluctantly tries to help him find a way back to his world, though she longs to know more about him—and to escape her cloistered life in the widowed Queen Victoria’s court.

Every girl wants her own Cinderella story, even if she's already a princess—but if Ollie stays with her, will he be allowed to be himself?

This sweet short story is a sequel to Victoriana, a story published in 2006 by Highland Press. In spite of the Christmas theme to the cover and presence of a Christmas cracker, this is not a Christmas story. Follow skateboarding college boy Ollie on his adventure into manhood in another time and another place. Toto, we're not in Tacoma anymore!

EXCERPT

After he chewed the confection, his lips broke into the first genuine smile she’d seen all day.

“This is much better than my stale candy. You did good.”

“I wanted you to have a taste of home,” she confessed, filled with pride and lit from inside by his smile. “I don’t want you to be unhappy.”

He reached out his hand to cover hers. Startled, Lenchen fought propriety to allow the touch. She could feel the strength in his rough, warm hand. Her heart fluttered, and she pressed her lips together to keep from saying something foolish. Her body betrayed her, however, and she bent her head to hide the heat she knew painted pink across her cheeks.

“You’ve been a great friend,” he told her, before releasing her hand.

She stood, shaky. He felt like more than a friend to her, but this would never do. “I should go, before I’m late for tea. Tardiness would displease my mother.”

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