It’s hard to believe that a few years agog – not very many – there were no e-readers, except eBookwise, or reading on your computer. I actually had one – an eBookwise reader that weighed a ton compared to today’s lightweight readers. Demonstrated to me by Angela James (now of Carina Press). I didn’t know Angela very well then, at the 2009 RT convention, barely knew who she was. But I really liked what she had to say and how she said it. She talked about ebooks and ereaders becoming the wave of the future. I believed her, and I went on to buy one just like the one she had in Florida and then to write ebooks myself.
Now I prefer my Kindle. It’s amazing what a few years and a bit of competition will do for technology. I love my Kindle—I must have ordered a dozen books on it three months ago when I came down with pneumonia. It was a godsend. At 2AM, when I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t lay flat at all, actually, I sat propped up on my coach and read, ordering a new book as soon as the last was finished.
It was a thrill when my mother wanted one too, even though technology isn’t her friend. I helped her order a Kindle and then she promptly uploaded my books. That was nice, although I secretly cringed over the thought of her reading my erotic stories. She just laughed me off and said that reading my work increased her vocabulary. Okay.
My dad and my siblings aren’t readers (we haven’t figured out why, but it must be a missing bit of DNA), but my brother-in-law has a Kindle too. He reads mostly fantasy, and to be honest, he wasn’t keen on my books. But he did thank me for showing him the Kindle – and the money he saved and the trees he rescued by reading electronically. Plus I think he was happy that he no longer had to purchase tomes that were heavy enough to bruise if you fell asleep reading them in bed.:)
My daughters (I have two voracious readers) both have Kobo’s. I bought them because you can use them to borrow books at out local library. Unfortunately the libraries haven’t been keeping pace with the changing technology, but they do have a growing number of ebooks available. I can only think that s going to continue. That Angela was right.
Now Angela James leads the editorial team at Carina. I still find her awesome, even though I actually work with another wonderful editor on my sci-fi erotic romance series with Carina. I’m so glad that I met her that day in Florida. My eBookwise no longer turns on, but sits as a heavy paperweight, and testament to the way things change, and the speed of the evolution.
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| At a Chapters signing with Kelly Boyce |
They say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Well, my family loves to read, and that isn’t likely to change. It’s just the delivery. And I wonder what will develop next. I’m favoring holobooks. What do you think?
Undercover Alliance
Sarina is scarred. Her L’inar, the curving nerve lines that enable Inarrii to experience their full sexuality, were severed in battle and she can no longer reach completion. Until she accepts a job as bodyguard to the human ambassador John Bennings, and is astonished to discover that they share a mental bond—a mirrored pathway of thoughts that will allow Sarina to climax.
When John’s the target of an attack and they are forced into hiding, he’s not sorry to be in close quarters with the compelling Sarina. They explore their erotic connection, and John is happy to demonstrate that humans have more sexual skills than Sarina thought.
To prove that she is whole and rejoin her Inarrii clan, Sarina needs John to bring her to climax in public in accordance with tradition. With a roomful of Inarrii and humans watching, will John be willing to perform as Sarina needs—and will their public display make John vulnerable to another attack.
Excerpt:
First impressions could say a lot about a person, but observation of a subject when he was at ease, following a routine he was familiar with, told far more. Sarina studied her charge carefully as he worked. The meeting had been in session for an hour since the last intermission. She’d been introduced briefly to John Bennings by the captain of the Osprey during their meal break. Benning’s handshake had been firm, and his height and muscular frame belied a life of facts and figures. With his powerful, lean muscles, his body spoke more of the strength brought on by hard exercise, perhaps even some human form of hand-to-hand combat. It also spoke softly, seductively of sex.
His hands were long-fingered. He wore a well-tailored white shirt and dark pants, but he’d turned back the cuffs on his sleeves almost to his elbows. Fine, light brown hairs along his exposed forearms caught her attention and held it as she considered where else he might have such silken decoration. He wore the hair on his head short, not like the long locks of a male Inarrii warrior. But there was something about the way he carried himself. He reminded her of someone.
“And that’s enough for today. Thank you everyone. We’ll meet again tomorrow.” The human chairman stood up from the meeting table. “I’ll remind you that we have two weeks until the next meeting of the Treaty negotiation boards. We’ve been making good progress, but there is still a long way to go to finalize the agreements on Earth before the signing of the first Intergalactic Treaty.” He smiled, but clearly the rest of the team had been dismissed.
The lawyers and legal aids began shuffling about, most packing up their datapads and styluses or tapping shut their coms. Not Bennings. He sat still as the rest moved on as a pack, the humans and their unobtrusive Inarrii guards. She watched him watching them until her gaze caught his attention.
He studied her and she returned the look. His eyes were a soft gray, not blue or brown like the few humans she’d met so far, and no where near her own verdant green, the most common Inarrii color. His eyes were beautiful. And it didn’t matter.
She broke the connection and looked around the room, scanning the exits and the few people still within the area.
“Sergeant Tariim.” He used the human equivalent of her Inarrii rank of Soryen and he spoke softly, but she caught the deep timbre of his voice beyond its hushed tones. “I’m beat. I’m going back to my quarters. I won’t be going anywhere, so you can stand down. Get settled in. I’m sure they’ve quartered you somewhere near my rooms.”
He’d gotten close to her without making a sound. She’d been aware of his movements, but if she hadn’t been paying attention, would she have even noticed that he’d stepped closer, let alone come within striking distance of her? Interesting. Even the spongy shoes most humans wore on board ship usually made some noise. Their height was close; she looked directly into his eyes without shifting her stance. A quick flicker of awareness passed over her. For an instant she wondered if he could have some form of m’ittar; it was common knowledge that some humans had proven their ability to share thoughts and emotions, at least to some degree. This is what made them such attractive possible members for the Confederacy.
“Actually, I have had our rooms reassigned. Our quarters are now on the third deck, sector two.” She stated the fact and ignored the flash of attraction that raced through her as she inhaled his muted scent. He smelled of fresh rain along the beach line of her home world. Like an ocean breeze.
“Reassigned.” His eyes took on a steely note. “You’ve had our rooms reassigned together? As in, sharing the rooms?”
“We have adjoining quarters. I cannot guard you from the opposite end of the ship. I will not be…settling in. My shift doesn’t end until the Treaty is compete and I am transferred.”
For a moment she thought he might argue with her. A tiny line of tension formed along the corner of his full mouth. She took a quick breath as the old excitement flickered through her muscles. A fight would be good. A little excitement on a surely boring tour of duty. Perhaps if it became physical they would send her back to the Horneu. And what would you do there? a silent voice whispered within her.
But he broke off eye contact, lowered his gaze to flicker briefly over her body before he nodded. “Fine. I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”
He’d deferred to her. A strange feeling of disappointment settled into her stomach. She shook her head and led the way out of the conference room and through the corridor to the ship’s central lift. What did she think a data-shuffling tech would do, challenge her for dominance? Maybe she was already beginning to lose her mind. She needed his compliance if she expected to protect him. In a dangerous situation, she had to know he would follow her lead. She considered the slight hesitation, the line of tension beside his mouth before he’d accepted the room change. Perhaps he would follow her. Perhaps not. As long as it didn’t get to that point it didn’t matter, and after the mind-numbingly boring meeting she’d just observed, surely no one would be interested in attacking this level of tedious bureaucracy.
Lilly Cain
The Confederacy Treaty Series – Alien Revealed, The Naked Truth, and coming June 25th, Undercover Alliance –
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