Excerpt of RELICS, out today in eBook

"RELICS is an intense thrill ride of a futuristic romance; I highly recommend it." Marlene Breakfield - Paranormal Romance


"...an intriguing romance... all the staples of a good science fiction story." - Romantic Times

" ...will keep you captivated from beginning to end." - Gina - Love Romances - 5-hearts rating

"I consider this to be among the best reads of the year!" - Johnna - Fallen Angel Reviews - Rating: 5 angels

BLURB:

The year is 2023, and an alien invader has infiltrated the human race. In a dangerous future threatened by aliens and infiltrated by hybrids, archeologist Celene Dupres witnesses her father's murder. Vowing to avenge him and retrieve his precious alien relics, she finds the perfect ally and protector. But the man she trusts, the man with whom she is falling in love, is the secret agent sent to kill her. Kin, however is more than a killing machine. Despite his love for Celene, can he accomplish his gruesome mission, and save humanity from the threat embedded in her DNA?

EXCERPT:

When the officer walked away with his entourage, Celene thought of following him, but she didn't trust herself to remain calm. Besides, she felt relief at his disappearance, but she found it difficult to breathe, as if the dot of a phase-gun heated her nape. Then she recognized the uneasy sensation. Someone was watching her!


Celene spun around and stared straight at her observer. Twenty feet away, a tall Asian man in a tan Italian suit and black silk shirt leaned against the wall in an easy stance, sipping from a square glass. Who was he? An ORION hit man? Had he seen what happened to her? Was he watching her for personal or professional interest? He looked Chinese, with a curtain of wavy black hair framing a serious face. What a magnificent specimen of raw animal sex appeal. His splendidly muscled frame turned away from her gaze, and the very gesture made her ache for his attention. She hated herself for that weakness but could not help it.

Although troubled by her emotional response to the handsome Chinese, Celene needed to find out why he watched her, so she walked toward the mysterious man who made her pulse quicken. Careful, there. She felt light-headed. Was it the aftermath of her near invisibility, the champagne, or the adrenalin? She wanted him to look at her, she wanted to gaze into the depths of his wide, almond eyes. Even from a distance, he looked dangerous, like a Bengal tiger, never to be tamed.

It took no effort to smile when she reached him. "My name is Celene Dupres, archeologist." She extended her free hand.

With a surprised and slightly embarrassed smile, the stranger faced her in a graceful motion. "Armand Dupres' daughter?" She detected a hint of Mandarin accent. When he took her offered hand in a warm grip, his dark gaze made her legs feel like pudding. "Kin Raidon, avid collector, at your service."

I wish.

"You said something?" His open grin bothered her as he caressed the magnificent jade medallion of an exquisite dragon on his muscled chest. Could he read her feelings?

Celene felt herself flush. "And what do you collect, Mr. Raidon?"

"Please, call me Kin. I specialize in Anaz-voohri artifacts. Found any lately?" His enigmatic expression made the question sound even more dangerous.

Celene cleared her throat. "These relics are rare and most of them have been appropriated by the Global Government. I know of none available for purchase at the moment." She paused. "Why were you watching me earlier?"
His dark brown eyes glinted with flecks of gold. "Maybe I was watching the same man you were watching."
"I wasn't watching anyone." How unsettling to discover she had been so obvious despite her efforts to look natural.

"Yes, you were." Kin nodded in the direction the officer had gone. "He noticed you, and attention from him is never a good thing."

"You know the man?" Celene felt elated at finally learning something useful.

Sipping on his drink, Kin seemed in no hurry to answer. "His name is Jason Carrick, a powerful and ruthless collector. He always gets what he wants, one way or another."

"A collector?" Celene tried to sound casual. "Rather unusual for a military man."

Kin's dark eyes narrowed. "Men of action can appreciate art, too, you know?"

"And what in heaven is wrong with the man's eyes?"

"One of them is made of glass. A battle wound against a hybrid." Obviously, Kin knew much about Jason Carrick.

"Hybrid? As in half-alien, half-human?"

Kin shrugged. "That's his story."

Celene had to take a chance. She looked around to make sure no one stood close enough to hear. "How much do you know about the organization called ORION?"

Kin's face remained guarded. "Not much. They are rather secretive. Are you one of those conspiracy theory nuts?"

Celene did not like the insinuation. "I could take offense, but you know what? For some reason, in the last few days some of these theories are starting to make sense to me. How far do you think Jason Carrick would go to get what he wants?"

Kin sighed. "Whatever it takes."

Celene lowered her voice. "Even slaughtering a team of innocent archeologists?"

Kin remained very still then nodded gravely.

"And what about you?" Celene held his gaze. "How far would you go to get what you want?"

"You ask too many questions." As if to soften the blow, he chuckled, all charm. "It all depends on what I want and why."

The eBook is on sale now at ARE, SMASHWORDS, OMNILIT, and will be in a few days at Amazon and Barnes & Noble


WISHING YOU ALL HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Vijaya Schartz
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

My Archangel twin books in eBooks in January

ARCHANGEL BOOK ONE - CRUSADER:

Michael Tanner, proud, brash, irreverent, half Native American, and single father, doesn't believe in aliens. When a Blue Angel claims to have fathered him, Michael knows his drinking has gone haywire... But a seductive Prince of Darkness born of a nightmare now targets Michael's family. When his girlfriend disappears and characters from his dreams suddenly materialize to threaten his daughter, Michael must come out of denial and overcome his weaknesses, to face the unbelievable mystery of his birth and fulfill his unique destiny.


"...engaging and fast-paced... a harmonious mix of enticing story... where real people do extraordinary things... humorous and hopeful... fluid and entertaining... quick and often droll dialogue... a marvelous tale of good and evil..." The Charlotte Austin Review

"...Lavishly described, expertly written with stirring descriptions that take one's breath away. Author Schartz has written a solidly absorbing, old-fashioned science fiction novel of good and evil, yes and no, the one and the many." - The Book Reader

"...relationships, angels, aliens and seduction... even Satanism... kept this reviewer riveted... compelling fantasy... you won't want to put it down... superior... enthralls, and, at the same time, awakens!" - Metaphysical Reviews

"A mighty fine tale primed to read through in one sitting." - Curled Up With a Good Book.

ARCHANGEL BOOK TWO - CHECKMATE:

To quench his vengeful lust for the Archangel who scattered his remains at the edge of the universe, the Reptilian ruler orders the sacrificial death of Michael's teenage daughter. Half human and a full-fledged Archangel on his father's home world, Michael must return to Earth to save his daughter from fiendish claws, and his native planet from enslavement or worse... But the way home is fraught with dangers, some more insidious than others. Nothing prepared Michael for the kind of trial he must face, when his rambunctious past catches up with him at the worst possible time...

"Sword-and-shield adventure... aliens and angels and dreams truer than life and depraved shapeshifters and evil sorcerers and parallel universes... Funny and sad and very intelligent." - The Book Reader

"Wickedly insightful. Grab this today along with the prequel, Archangel Crusader." - Five stars - Curled up With a Good Book

"...charm that keeps you reading... A fun piece of escapism... hours of sheer entertainment." - Rapport Magazine

"You will be hooked... a good read from start to finish." - Alan Caruba - BookViews

"Rollicks right along at a good clip... a fun concoction and a fast, zippy read... Really, this one is among the most pleasurable." - Writer's Digest

These eBooks from BWLPP will be available in download from all the usual eBook retailers on the web, where other book by Vijaya are already available:

Amazon.com HERE
From ARe HERE

Happy Holidays.
Vijaya Schartz

Welcome Author Theresa Stillwagon

You need to know them!

Your characters, I mean.

Before you even think about beginning to write, you need to know the hero and heroine of your WIP. You need to know them inside and out, past and present. For me, I need to know everything about them from their names to their favorite color. The more you know about your characters; the easier it'll be to write their story.

How do I get to know my characters?

Every writer is different. I have a few different charts and a list of questions I ask my characters to answer. I usually have to do the in-depth stuff after I start writing, however. In the middle, when the plot starts to bog down, getting out the old list of questions works wonders for me. It's amazing what you find out when you allow your characters to speak for themselves. Knowing your characters this intimately adds another layer to your plot.

For my newest Whispers Publishing release, The Gift, I realized half-way through the story that my heroine (Dana) didn't really have a problem with my hero (Ben) being ten years younger than her at all. Her problems went deeper than that. Dana feels unsure if she'll be good enough to keep a man like Ben interested, period. You see her husband was never satisfied with their sex life, and (what I just found out) he was having an affair with a much younger woman. She didn't find out about this until months after his death. So she wondering, how can I think of satisfying this younger man if I couldn't even manage to keep my husband happy? I would've never known this if I hadn't asked her a bunch of questions when I got bog down.

Another good reason to write stuff down is to keep track of your character's description and background. You wouldn't want the heroine to have green eyes in the beginning of the book and gray at the end, or have the hero be thirty at the beginning and forty at the end, unless ten years have gone by. You wouldn't want a secondary character to be blind than suddenly wear glasses. Keeping track of people is especially important when writing a series of books with continuing characters.

You may not remember Rose was a blonde in book one but turned into a red-head in book three. But you can bet some reader will catch it.

You need to know your characters as well as you know yourself.

Theresa Stillwagon

http://tstillwagon.wordpress.com/