Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly, Issue 2

2 through to the new sub-genre of steampunk. Yes, I jumped to a conclusion but you have to admit, I had a precedent.

Welcome to the issue Pretty much the first time I heard about a new subgenre called "steampunk", I hated it. Why I hated it can be explained with a much more recent development involving a writer called Paul S. Kemp, so bear with me.

Kemp writes both SF and Fantasy and a couple of months ago, he penned a post entitled "Why I write masculine stories". Kemp explained to the reader that he liked writing characters whose behaviours are, in his words, "almost hyper-masculine, really".

This means: they're drinking, sometimeswomanising, violent, emotionally-repressed, stoic, courageous, honour-bound men.

Kemp is free to write whatever he likes but the reason I mention him is that his list is a pretty nice summary of why I was a steampunk-hater from early on. You see, as an SF fan from childhood, the types of "masculine" characters that Kemp purports to write populated almost everything I read. Everywhere I looked, the books of my favourite genre were filled with emotionally repressed, womanising, violent men. The women were either cardboard or invisible.

It was only when I got older that I realised that this was all a crock. The trait to meet violence with violence, for example, is (a) not solely masculine and, more importantly, (b) not warranted in every situation. Likewise, I'm sure you know an emotionally-repressed or borderline-alcoholic woman or two. And to call out "courage" or "honour" as hyper-masculine traits is to open up a whole other can of worms.

I want to be clear on this. I'm not highlighting Kemp because I think he's some kind of "throwback Neanderthal pig" (his words). I'm highlighting his list because it is a good and succinct capsule of my SF reading history and, quite honestly, not only was I sick of such dysfunctional male characters in my books, I was afraid that those traits would carry

The other reason I disliked the genre before it even fully coalesced was because the British Empire era that is typically used as the model for steampunk was a happy one only for a particular segment of the Anglo-Saxon population. For us non-Anglo-Saxons, the name for the heyday of the Empire could be summed up in one word. Colonialism. To us, the "era of steampunk" was characterised by exploitation, genocide and barbarity, the consequences of which a lot of societies are still grappling with.

Despite my reservations, I am an SF geek at heart, so it was only a matter of time before my curiosity won out. I read a steampunk short story, you know just to test the waters. Then a novella. Then a novel.

Hmmm, maybe several novels. Some of it may have rubbed my anti-colonialist sensibilities the wrong way, but the genre was fresh and lively in a way that I hadn't seen in years.

When Heather turned in her Cosmic Lounge column, I was eager to see whether she'd seen the same things I had: an energy, a verve that seemed to make every reading day a little brighter. As usual, Ms. Massey didn't disappoint. :) This issue's column outlines in beautiful form what overcame my reservations and got me reading (and yes! loving) steampunk: more true-life relationships, emotional depth to characters, meaningful and equal partnerships and, I'm happy to say, diversity dammit! Please go read her column, it's a celebration and a wake-up call all in one. I was smiling by the end of it.

Charlee, in this issue's Scopebox column, sounds as if she and I were in the same boat regarding steampunk, although we might have been on different decks! The insights she gleaned from several writers of steampunk are illuminating and entertaining. I hope you find them as interesting as I did.

We welcome Carrie Sessarego to this issue's Opinion page. Just because SFR straddles more than one genre doesn't mean writers can be lazy in how they treat either the SF or romance components.

3 Carrie explains the what and why. I took notes and, if you're a writer, I'm sure you will too.

This issue sees the addition of an Interview column and, to kick things off, we have two interviews for you, both from authors known for their steampunk.

That would be, of course, Beth Ciotta and Gail Carriger.

And I can't possibly close off this Editorial without mentioning The Kissing Machine from author Danielle Davis. I'm sure you'll enjoy Ettie and Amos' tale as much as I did.

In addition to all that, we have our usual round-up of new releases and reviews. The team and I had great fun putting this issue together but, as always, if

you see anything that needs tweaking, be sure to drop us a line.

Go read!

Kaz Augustin * ADMINISTRATIVE POSTSCRIPT: I'd like to remind authors and publishers that the ad rate for SFRQ is increasing to US$16/ad from next issue. This is to help us with our future plans and I'd like to thank all of you in advance for your enthusiasm and ongoing support.

Releases - December We strive to include as many sci-fi romance releases as possible, but with current time constraints, we apologise in advance if your release was not included in our round-up.

DAAMON’S CHOICE: Fallon Mates #5 (Jory Strong, novella, US$4.45eb, Ellora’s Cave) After finally acknowledging his sexual attraction to the human scientist he’s been protecting, Daamon d’Vesti intends to return to Earth and act on it—only to learn he’s been matched to a female, and is expected to choose a co-mate and claim her. Torn between duty and desire, but unable to withstand the primitive, possessive hunger for Grayson, Daamon succumbs to temptation, allowing himself one taste, one day inside Grayson’s body before fulfilling his obligation to his people.

On the cusp of adopting a child, Grayson fights his fervent desire for Daamon, the mysterious friend and neighbor his foster son calls “Batman”. Mind-blowing sex isn’t enough, especially when Daamon infers his own future doesn’t include a male lover. But when a

CONTENTS Editorial........................................................................2 December releases..................................................... 3 Reviews: The Book Pushers................................... 6 January releases...................................................... 12 Opinion: Elements of Awesome!......................... 17 February releases......................................................18 Review: Toni Adams............................................... 23 Interviews: Beth Ciotta / Gail Carriger............ 25 March releases......................................................... 28 The Cosmic Lounge: The Allure of Steampunk ............................................................... 30 Reviews: Jo Jones.................................................... 32 Charlee's Scopebox: Steampunk with Cyborg Squirrels? Maybe not ............................................ 34 Reviews: Marlene Harris...................................... 36 Fiction: The Kissing Machine............................. 40 This issue's team...................................................... 49

4 blackmailing ex threatens the adoption, Daamon proves to be not only the man Grayson wants, but also the hero both he and Parker need.

Inside Scoop: This story contains urgent, unforgettable male/male sex.

HOT REDEMPTION (K.D. Penn, 238pp, US$4.99eb, Dragonfairy Press) A dual point-of-view pits hero against heroine in this sizzling, sensual futuristic thriller. In a world where androids and robots flood the job market, it’s almost impossible for humans to find work. But stealing comes easy for Epic and his brothers, who rob strip clubs for the electronic currency they need to take care of their family. When the scintillating Phoenix steps into their lives, she snatches away their bounty and fogs up Epic’s mind with her seductive scent.

Shots blare, a chase ensues, and both sides refuse to yield. The small compromise that comes is brought by chains and a promise for a bigger hit—on a planet far away from Earth. Can Epic and Phoenix work together to rescue themselves from poverty? Or will they find another type of redemption, one lathered in lust and warmth, pleasure, and the type of undemanding love that no human can live without?

IN DISCRETION: Ylendrian Empire series (Reesa Herberth, 30,000 words, US$3.99eb, Riptide Publishing) Thanson Nez thought his career as a Discretionary would take him to the stars, not strand him on a space station at the ass-end of the Empire. Thanks to his last client, he’s carrying a secret he can’t get rid of fast enough, but his oath to the guild means a swift, painful death if he shares it. Already desperate for help, he runs into yet more trouble: his ex, and an

explosion that paralyzes the station moments after their uncomfortable reunion.

Kazra Ferdow, Station 43’s communications officer, is almost as blindsided by the return of first love as he is by the sudden loss of power and life support. The station is a floating graveyard in the making, and something is turning its inhabitants into savage killers. Fighting human monsters and damaged tech, Kazra and Thanson must put aside their past long enough to try to save everyone.

The more light they shine into dark corners, the more Thanson realizes how many people might die for the secrets locked in his head—and what he’s willing to sacrifice to make sure Kazra isn’t one of them.

PASSIONATE BY MOONBEAM: Alien Abductions #4 (Cynthia Sax, novella, US$4.45eb, Ellora’s Cave) Vern has dedicated himself to healing his people, seeking to prove his worth. He faces an uphill battle to claim Winona, a human astrobiologist. While Vern’s days are filled with hard work, his nights are spent engaging in steamy online encounters with his lusty human.

He tells himself he can wait to touch her, taste her, love her…until enemy forces attack Earth. Now Vern will do anything to keep her safe. He will defy his Rulers, storm across a carnage-filled battlefield, take Win in every way a woman can be taken.

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PHOENIX LEGACY: The Phoenix Institute #2 (Corrina Lawson, 272pp, US$10.50pb, Samhain Publishing) A man too dangerous to live.

A woman whose survival depends on forgiving him.

Philip Drake is immortal by virtue of a psychic power that heals all but the worst injuries. He’s needed every bit of it as a black ops agent, a life so violent that the line between pain and pleasure is tangled up in his head.

When he walks away from the CIA, the last thing he expects is to discover someone stole his DNA to create a race of superhealers. And that the expectant mother is a woman from his past who’d consider it her pleasure to spit on his grave.

One moment, Delilah Sefton is listening to a seriously hot, seriously deranged man giving her some halfbaked explanation as to why she’s pregnant with no memory of how she got that way. The next, armed men swarm into her bar, and she and Mr. Sexy-Crazy are on the run.

Safety at the Phoenix Institute is only temporary, but it’s long enough to put the pieces together. A madman plans to steal her son in a plot to take over the world. And to stop him, she must learn to trust the baby’s father—a man she blames for her greatest loss.

WHITE CHRISTMAS (Ros Baxter, 29pp, AU$1.19, Escape Publishing) What if your only chance at survival was to seduce the man who broke your heart?

Seventeen years after the Apocalypse, Admiral-class Explorer Tabysha is caught up in a firefight and shot down over Tyver, where ice vampires hunt human warmth. Seeking shelter in an ice cave, she is instructed to stay put and await rescue. But after

another ship crash-lands, and the Hunter Gatherers stalk its wounded pilot, Tabi breaks protocol.

When it turns out the survivor is the man who stole her heart then skipped out on her ten years before, it seems to Tabi that no good deed goes unpunished, and things can’t get any worse.

But she’s so wrong.

As the Hunters pick up the escalating heat signature of the former lovers, Tabi has to tell Asha that there is only one way to repel the creatures stalking them.

And it involves picking up where they left off ten years before.

THE ZOASTRA AFFAIR (Victoria Pinder, 85,000 words, US$2.99eb, Soul Mate Publishing) A hundred years from now, Earth has trading partners with alien beings, mostly humanoid.

However, going into space has brought forth an unknown enemy who attacks Earth at will.

The Zoastra are part of the Earthseekers, an organization originally designed to go into space.

Its new mission is to find Earth’s enemies.

Ariel, stuck on a Victorian planet, steals Grace’s body in order to get off the planet. Now Grace must get her body back before Ariel bonds with Grace’s husband, Peter. Then there is Cross, the man on a mission to find those who killed his family. Ariel is attracted to Cross, but she’s stolen someone’s life.

What can she do?

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AN ACCIDENTAL GODDESS (Linnea Sinclair, Bantam) Review by The Book Pushers

Raheiran Special Forces captain Gillaine Davré has just woken up in some unknown space way station, wondering where the last three hundred years have gone. The last thing she remembers is her ship being attacked. Now it seems that while she was time-traveling, she was ordained a goddess…. Gillaine’s only hope of survival rests with dangerously seductive Admiral Mack Makarian, who suspects her of being a smuggler—or worse. But he can’t begin to imagine the full extent of it. For Gillaine is now Lady Kiasidira, holy icon to countless believers, including Mack—a man who inspires feelings in her that are far from saintly…feelings she knows are mutual. But when their flirtation is interrupted by a treacherous enemy from the past, Gillaine’s secret—and secret desires—could destroy them both…

With Has’s Sci-Fi Romance feature last month, I realized that it’s been awhile since I’ve read my all time favorite sci-fi romance. I adore almost everything Sinclair has written, but for some reason this book just resonated with me.

Gillie wakes up in a hospital room, no idea how she got there or where she even was for that matter. When she realizes that she is 300 years in the future, and has been made into a goddess, Gillie is more than freaked and a little unsure about how to proceed. Although Gillie wants nothing more than to keep a low profile, an imminent attack by her world’s enemy forces her to show her hand, and possibly ruin a religion that was hundreds of years in the making.

Mack has prayed to the Lady his whole life. When he meets Gillie, he is convinced she is a smuggler and keeps an eye on her. But that extra eye he is keeping on her turns into so much more, and the attraction between them can’t be denied. But when the truth about Gillie is revealed, Mack is torn between his love for the woman, and his devotion to his goddess.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much love I have for this book. I think it’s because of the internal conflict that Gillie has to go through with the realization that she has been made into a goddess. The struggle she has with just being normal, or “just Gillie” as she calls herself. She has always been somewhat revered by the Khalaran people, and finding out that they made her into a goddess was just too much for her to deal with. That internal struggle she had with herself, if she should come clean and ruin their entire religion was such a strong and potent theme throughout the book, I just loved it.

Sinclair is probably the best when it comes to science fiction romance, in my opinion. I love the fact that her Sci-Fi aspects are so strong. Everything is so well thought out, so developed, and explained so well that I always find myself in awe. I love the other worlds that she creates, how she mixes in the perfect blend of romance and science fiction aspects. I’m not a huge fan of really hard-core sci-fi, with long explanations of the science, and I think Sinclair has the right mix of actual science and fantasy.

The romance in this book was a little slow to develop, and was never really on stable ground. Gillie is constantly worried about revealing herself to Mack, and always has to be on guard. With the help of her AI ship, Gillie has to remain vigilant that she doesn’t spoil hundreds of years worth of religion. Once it

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becomes obvious that Mack and Gillie can no longer control the connection between them, there are a few good days where they are both genuinely happy. Until Gillie has to reveal her secret and Mack is stuck wondering how to balance the woman he fell in love with, and the goddess he has always followed.

I think that aspect of their romance engaged me the most. Knowing the struggle that Mack had to undertake to work out the differences between Gillie the woman, and Gillie the legend. Knowing that she is his “goddess” doesn’t make it easy for Mack to see her as a woman, and watching that struggle makes their romance all the sweeter.

All in all this is my all time favorite sci-fi romance book, even after a few re-reads. I love the romance between Mack and Gillie. The internal struggles that Gillie has to go through in regard to revealing her true self, and the conflict Mack has in reconciling the truth about Gillie’s past makes this book that much more special. Add in the threat of invasion and doom, and this is the best science fiction romance book I’ve read to date.

I give An Accidental Goddess an A+

FIGHTING KAT: The Triton Experiment #2 (PJ Schnyder, Carina Press) Review by The Book Pushers

Intergalactic mercenary Kat Darah has been ordered to keep her shape-shifting ability a secret from everyone but those closest to her, for her own safety. She’s learned how to control the feral rage…for the most part. But when Lieutenant Rygard’s military unit goes missing, she’ll use every skill she has to find her man.

Lt. Christopher Rygard has witnessed his girl shift, and he still wants her. After Kat rescues him from alien clutches, he’d like nothing more than to wrap her in his arms again, but his first duty is to his men. And half of them have been shipped off-planet to be sold as slaves.

Kat and Rygard will need to form a new team to go deep undercover, posing as gladiators and learning to fight together in order to survive. In the arena, it’s all about who is the strongest predator…

This blurb came from the author’s http://PJSchnyder.com/blog/ website.

I remember seeing the release of the first book in this series Hunting Kat but for some obviously foolish reason I failed to pick it up. When the list of this quarter’s releases came out and I saw Fighting Kat, I made sure to examine the blurb. I thought it looked very fascinating so I requested it. When I finished reading, the first thing I did was tweet the author to find out if she was going to write more in this series.

Thankfully she is planning on more full-length novels. The second thing I did was go out and buy the first installment. As I proved, it is possible to read and enjoy Fighting Kat without reading Hunting Kat but I recommend you start at the beginning because you will understand the role of a few supporting individuals and how Kat’s relationship with Lt Rygard started. This review will include some spoilers from Hunting Kat. Kat was the subject of forced genetic manipulation via a virus. She was transformed from a military cadet to a jaguar shape-shifter who found some sense of home and stability as a mercenary. Her fellow

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mercenaries had an idea of what she could do but also made a concerted effort to encourage her human side. It was during one of those efforts she met Rygard. Those events are detailed in Hunting Kat. I found Kat a lot of fun to read. Her character was extremely complex which made me think she risked so much more than what most of the other characters realized when she volunteered to take part in a rescue mission.

She was fiercely protective of those she cared about or who she felt were part of her captain’s territory but at the same time she was also extremely private. Just like she only let a few individuals see her softer shy side, she didn’t like exposing her cat with its associated instincts unless necessary.

I knew I was in for a treat when the opening scene showed her acting territorial over the medical bay that doubled as her room. The recipient of that show was her full human mercenary and ship’s Captain, Dev, who knew exactly how to calm her down and reinforce his position as her alpha. His calm steadiness and protective nature had become a staple in Kat’s life and she needed that stability as events unfolded.

Rygard was more of an enigma to me because I had not read the first installment. His character growth wasn’t the focus of this story so he appeared less complicated than Kat. However, he had some unexpected depths that appeared as he saw more than a glimpse of Kat in her shifted form fighting for survival. As a result, I didn’t find the story characterization uneven.

Rygard and his team of men were running reconnaissance on a planet suspected of serving as waypoint for slavers. The planet seemed to have forest type creatures but no human presence other than some encampments suspected to support the slavers. Rygard’s unit hired Kat’s Captain to bring additional military reinforcements to expand the original mission. Included in the military reinforcements were an enhanced K9 team, Tracer and Max, and a prisoner, Bharguest, who wasn’t exactly as he seemed. As Kat’s ship approached the planet they received a message and some surveillance footage detailing the attack, overrun, and capture of Rygard and his team. By the time Kat is able to discover where Rygard was being held, half of his team was already shipped off planet.

I had a basic idea of the main players by this point in the story but it was during their attempt to rescue the remainder of Rygard’s men their essence really came through. In the arena and waiting cages the team of five, Kat, Rygard, Tracer, Max, and Bharguest, had to learn to fight together, not kill each other between fights, and survive Bharguest’s mind games with their inner-selves intact. I loved the tension between the five of them and how it showed who they really were or could be. I also understood Kat’s very real fears about letting her cat loose and Rygard’s reaction but she had to take risks for them to survive.

I found Fighting Kat a complex story. The relationships Kat previously had with her shipmates and the new ones she developed as the story progressed all had an impact on who she was. I thought Rygard’s belief in Kat and his ability to see all of her as attractive person was another element in Kat’s drive to retain her humanity. I also liked how she had to learn some harsh lessons from Bharquest without adopting his mindset. His input was crucial but it wasn’t altruistic. The trust Tracer and Max had in Kat as well as their honed teamwork taught Kat some valuable lessons.

Fighting Kat was a very entertaining read filled with fascinating characters. I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next installment because developments at the end of Fighting Kat have left me curious.

I am also curious about the other characters and who will return as well as Kat’s future developments.

Schnyder provided space travel, romance, danger, shapeshifting, secrets, a varied cast of characters, and adventure. I am glad I picked this up and I can’t want to see what else is coming.

I give Fighting Kat a B+

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THE LIMIT OF DESIRE (Nico Rosso, Liquid Silver Books) Review by The Book Pushers

Captain Jessa Tok is a veteran soldier, but when an artillery strike separates her from the squad she commands, it may be the end of her career and her life. Then a single Dawn Soldier fights his way behind enemy lines to find her. The last man she’d expect. The one soldier she’d had a fling with and was trying to forget.

Sergeant Ryder Hiltop never thought of himself as a hero. He’s a career soldier, just trying not to get killed.

But when his captain is lost during an attack, he has to go find her. And not just for the sake of the other Dawn Soldiers. A shore leave with Jessa left an indelible mark on him, and he’ll do anything to make sure she’s safe. But is it a suicide mission to find her? And if they manage to fight their way to safety, can their brief affair grow into something more?

I’m a big fan of science fiction romance, and when I got this request from Rosso I was nervous about starting in the middle of a series, but super excited to read it. Even though it’s the third book in the Limit War series, it was really easy to follow and readable as a stand alone.

Jessa is captain of her squad and a hard-core soldier. Her one extended fling was with a man from her squad and, with him, she feels like a woman first and foremost. During a somewhat routine mission, Jessa gets separated from her squad and hurt during an attack. The last thing she expects is for Ryder to come and rescue her.

Ryder is content being a soldier, but if there is anything he wants more than to just survive, it’s Jessa. He risks everything by going to rescue her. And even after he finds her, they embark on a suicide mission behind enemy lines. But will their time together be enough to convince Jessa to take a chance on him?

Being a fan of both science fiction romance and suspense books, this novella was right up my alley. I loved that Rosso kept the plot moving right along. The action was high intensity and kept the story at a fast pace. I really enjoy the premise of the Limit War and the battle and fight scenes were very well done, I could picture everything running through my mind like a great movie.

I was also really impressed with how well Rosso was able to write a real and genuine female character. I’ve read some male author heroines before where it doesn’t always work out that way, and I was so happy to really click with Jessa so early on in the story. Her struggle to find a balance between super-soldier and her feminine persona was something that endeared her to me that much more. I loved her finding peace in deciding to be with Ryder and making it known to her squad that she could still be a badass and in love at the same time.

Ryder was great as well. He had such a laid back way about him, but when it really mattered, he was also ready to kick ass and take names. His desire for Jessa was obvious, and I really liked that he didn’t let her just brush him aside. That he was ready to fight for her and them, regardless of the potential loss.

All in all I really enjoyed this novella—I will definitely be checking out more books by Rosso in the future.

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The romance was real and sweet and sexy, the action was so realistic and kept the story moving at a pace that kept me engaged and at the edge of my seat. Science Fiction Romance fans will definitely want to check this one out!

I give The Limit of Desire an A-

ON BLISS (KS Augustin, Sandal Press) Review by The Book Pushers

After a scientific mission, Hoara Felin crash lands in a prison planet called Bliss where none of the inhabitants are able to leave. Her two crew members didn’t survive the impact, and Hoara is the only survivor who is found amongst the wreckage by Toh, an alien shifter and a prisoner of Bliss. Both Toh and Hoara share and succumb to an instant attraction but any respite and time has disappeared because the crime-lord of the territory, B’nen, is suspicious. He is also tracking the missing crew-member, Hoara, who needs to leave the dangerous planet because what B’nen planned for her is not something she will accept.

On Bliss is a premise that I truly love in my Sci-Fi Romance. I love struggle for survival stories, especially in a harsh setting that Bliss is set on. KS Augustin’s description of Bliss is stark, desolate and atmospheric. I liked the idea of different territories being run by crime-lords who are lethal and ruthless. Toh, an alien shifter, struggles for acceptance. Even though he is a fellow prisoner, the other humans view him with hate and suspicion.

But when Toh rescues Hoara, he comes alive and more animated because she ignites feelings he thought were long dormant inside him. They soon embark on a relationship and their romance is sweet and hot, although I did find the romance did have the instasex trope and I would have liked more of a build-up for better tension. But this was a short story and within its confines, KS Augustin created a fun and sexy overtone with the love story and you got to love a hero who is multi-talented with his shape-shifting abilities.

I really enjoyed Toh and Hoara’s characters; they were both engaging and likable. However, I think I was intrigued more with Toh being an alien shifter. I liked the concept and the ideas that Augustin presented in the story about his culture and world. It was interesting especially in contrast with the hate and prejudice they face by humans because of a misunderstanding between the two species which views them as suspicious and dangerous. Yet in reality they were more spiritual and inquisitive, and their main focus was exploring the universe. I wished there was more time spent on this story, because the ideas and themes that were highlighted were strong enough for a longer story, and I think this was the one main negative aspect of the story. I really wanted to learn more about this world and even though I was satisfied with the romance and overall story, Augustin has certainly laid out an intriguing world that I hope she explores again in the future.

Overall, On Bliss is a fun and sexy read that will help while away a lunch-hour or evening. The worldbuilding is solid and vivid, and the story flows really well. The romance, is the best element because it was sexy and I was thoroughly entertained!

I give On Bliss a solid B-

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Releases - January We strive to include as many sci-fi romance releases as possible, but with current time constraints, we apologise in advance if your release was not included in our round-up.

ALMOST REAL (Charlotte Stein, novel, $5.95eb, Ellora’s Cave) When Margot signs on to pose as one half of a married couple for the cloning company she works for, she doesn’t expect her partner to interest her in the slightest.

It’s just a job—albeit one that comes with a fake marriage.

To an undeniably sexy fake husband.

Sergei is an immense stone fortress, cold and calm and—worst of all—so compelling Margot can hardly stand it. She’s supposed to be protecting and maintaining the labs, but all she can think about is unearthing the man beneath the controlled façade and wrapping herself around him.

Even if the man she uncovers is far more than she ever bargained for.

ANGELI: Maelstrom Chronicles #1 (Jody Wallace, short novel, $2.99eb, Entangled Ignite) He’s no angel…

Gregori’s last mission is to save Earth from the demons threatening to take control.

He doesn’t care if he survives as long as he does his best to save a world he believes is worth rescuing despite his superiors’ conventional wisdom to the contrary—until, that is, he meets Adelita, a human refugee, whose spirit and

determination give him a renewed reason to fight.

And live. He’s falling for her, despite the fact he’s told her nothing but lies and there can’t possibly be a future for them.

Adelita can hardly believe the archangel Gregori, sent to save mankind, has lost his faith and his edge. After he saves her from a demon attack, she vows to help him recover both, by any means necessary. But can she keep her own faith when she learns the truth about who and what Gregori really is?

ASHES & ALCHEMY: Gaslight Chronicles (Cindy Spencer Pape, 30 000 words, $2.69eb, Carina Press) London, 1860 Police inspector Sebastian Brown served Queen and country in India before returning to England to investigate supernatural crimes alongside the Order of the Round Table.

If his wifeless, childless life feels a little empty sometimes, that’s not too great a price to pay in the name of duty.

Minerva Shaw is desperately seeking a doctor when she mistakenly lands on Sebastian’s doorstep. Her daughter Ivy has fallen gravely ill with a mysterious illness—the same illness, it seems, that’s responsible for taking the lives of many of Ivy’s classmates.

Seb sniffs a case, and taking in Minnie and Ivy seems the only way to protect them while he solves it. But as mother and daughter work their way into his heart and Seb uses every magickal and technological resource he can muster to uncover the source of the deadly plague, it’s he who will need protecting—from emotions he’d thought buried long ago.

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EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES: Universal Defiance #3 (Chandra Ryan, short novel, US$5.20eb, Ellora’s Cave) Julian hadn’t wanted to become a genetically enhanced soldier. His father, the colonel, expected it. But when he sees his commanding officer for his first mission, he admits there might be some perks.

Commander Gates is a wet dream wrapped up in a standard-issue military uniform.

He knows better than to screw around with an officer though. The last thing he wants is the complication of a relationship. But when the mission goes sideways and soldiers start dying, he realizes sex might be the best way to simplify things, especially given the scorching encounters Gates provides. A relationship though? They’ll have to survive the mission before they can worry about that.

Inside Scoop: Gates and Julian share some super-hot male/male action on a planet where gruesome monsters deal out grisly death.

FEARLESS: The Survival Race series (K.M. Fawcett, novel, $3.99eb/$17.00pb, Forever Yours) Two souls Myia, a shaman-in-training, wants desperately to protect her peaceful village from the barbaric Highland invaders.

To hone her powers of prophetic visions and healing, the village elders send Myia on a quest: to heal the Highland warlord’s heart and stop a brewing war. Myia’s mended many souls before, so this should be an effortless

duty…until she meets the gorgeous, stubborn Highland warlord.

One desire Kedric, a gladiator who escaped enslavement, only wants to liberate the villagers from their common foe—a race that breeds humans for blood sport and genetic experiments. Fueled by his rage, Kedric is determined to take down the brutal enemy. So when a raven-haired beauty with a body made for sin tries to sabotage his mission, Kedric wants her gone. Yet no woman’s touch has ever left Kedric more annoyed…and aroused. Kedric knows he should shun her soothing embrace-but he can’t seem to stay away. As their passion grows, Kedric must decide between fighting his war or surrendering his rage—and his heart—for Myia’s love.

FIGHTING KAT: The Triton Experiment #2 (PJ Schnyder, 83,000 words, $3.59eb, Carina Press) Intergalactic mercenary Kat Darah has been ordered to keep her shape-shifting ability a secret from everyone but those closest to her, for her own safety.

She’s learned how to control the feral rage…for the most part. But when Lieutenant Rygard’s military unit goes missing, she’ll use every skill she has to find her man.

Lt. Christopher Rygard has witnessed his girl shift, and he still wants her. After Kat rescues him from alien clutches, he’d like nothing more than to wrap her in his arms again, but his first duty is to his men. And half of them have been shipped off-planet to be sold as slaves.

Kat and Rygard will need to form a new team to go deep undercover, posing as gladiators and learning to fight together in order to survive. In the arena, it’s all about who is the strongest predator…

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GILDED HEARTS: The Shadow Gild series

lose more than just his job.

(Christine D’Abo, 400pp, $17.00pb, Grand Central Publishing)

P.I. Saul Kildare’s business is running on borrowed time. Due to a messy break with the police, he can’t get a referral to save his life. When an enigmatic stranger bangs on his door one night and promises a windfall for a missing-person case, it seems too good to be true. But the two men have an immediate connection, and Saul can’t pass up the chance to spend more time with Reegan, even if he’s clearly hiding something.

First love is never forgotten Piper Smith is an Archivist, one who extracts memories from the dead—and her first job is more difficult than she ever imagined. Not only is her subject the victim of murder, but the first man to arrive on the scene is the last man she ever expected to see again: handsome, tormented, and devilishly sexy Samuel Hawkins. Years ago, he fled the Archivists’ Guild unceremoniously, leaving behind both unanswered questions…and Piper’s aching heart.

Sergeant Samuel Hawkins of the King’s Sentry can hardly believe the strong, beautiful woman before him is the same shy girl he once knew. His instincts scream to hold her, to kiss her, and to make amends for disappearing from the Archives—and her life. Yet when Piper’s extraction of the victim’s memories reveals something unsettling, the line between ally and enemy suddenly begins to blur. And the question becomes whether their fragile love will blossom or fade like a distant memory.

PARADOX LOST (Libby Drew, 84 000 words, $3.99eb, Carina Press) Time-travel tour guide Reegan McNamara’s job—taking eager tourists to whenever they want to go—is usually a breeze. A trip back to 2020 to watch a world-changing speech seems no different, until a woman runs away from his tour group before the jump home. Now her tycoon husband is demanding her safe return—or Reegan will

Saul knows he shouldn’t trust Reegan, and Reegan knows he can’t get involved with Saul. But as their attraction evolves into feelings neither can deny, will they have the strength to take a leap of faith—together?

PRIME SUSPECT (KS Augustin, 27,000 words, US$1.99eb, Sandal Press, reissue) A lonely being in a lonely galaxy…

Heron Meed has two strikes against it. It is an hemaphrodite in a galaxy dominated by twogendered beings. And it’s a convicted criminal.

After six years of incarceration, Heron is trying to start a new life, but that isn’t easy when so many avenues are closed to it. It finally finds a refuge of sorts on the Castor Xeni Orbital and a surcease from its pain in the arms of voluptuous Subah Doisson, but then various systems on the Orbital start getting sabotaged.

With a small engineering population, and Heron the only newcomer to the station, how can the hermaphrodite prove its innocence amid a sea of entrenched prejudice?

(A Gaylactic Spectrum Award finalist)

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QUEEN’S QUEST (Suz deMello, novel, US$5.95eb, Ellora’s Cave) Janus is a planet that lacks both tilt and spin. Its Shadowlands is the pewter band of dusk dividing the violently hot Lightside of the planet from its Darkside, which is imprisoned by eternal night. Birth rates on the planet are low and indiscriminate mating and ménage sex are encouraged.

Audryn, Queen of Shadow, has reached that time in her life when she must choose a king to rule with her or fail to bear an heir, casting not only her realm but all of Janus into chaos. Despite her duty, she is reluctant to share power, even a bit distrustful. Janus’ nobles vie for Audryn’s hand.

Although she enjoys trysting with all her suitors, none seize her heart.

Then Storne, the warrior Prince of Darkness, arrives to claim her as his bride, and she finds she cannot resist his masterful ways.

Inside Scoop: This book contains lots of hot ménage action including an F/F/M scene.

SHIVER: Recast #3 (Yolanda Sfetsos, 43,000 words, US$4.50eb, Samhain Publishing) Blood made him a monster.

Passion could be his salvation.

After narrowly escaping brutal captivity in the Clash Arena and the bite of a bloodsucking creature, all Eniell Knox wants is to get off the crappy planet that ruined his life. When he steals an abandoned ship and is shot down over freezing northern

Fray, he finds nothing but more trouble. An alluring young woman who stirs his hunger—and her shacklehappy mother—could push him over the edge.

Day after day, Lian Shan lives like a prisoner, fending off a parade of creepy potential husbands her mother tries to force upon her. She longs to experience life outside the confines of her ice castle and meet the man whose face haunts her dreams.

When a handsome, mysterious man crashes onto the estate her world breaks apart, spilling unfathomable secrets. Some of them her own.

Though Eniell and Lian’s mutual attraction explodes off any known star chart, there’s something her dreams left out—he’s been bitten by a monster.

Which means if he turns into one, the first thing on his menu could be her neck…

Warnings: This book contains shared temptation hot enough to melt ice caps, a warrior with a blood craving, a rebellious heroine who isn’t afraid to share hers, and the galaxy’s most dysfunctional family.

THE TROUBLE WITH MEMORIES: Martian Mating #1 (Eva Lefoy, novella, $2.99eb, Decadent Publishing) Helium toads!

Lieutenant Lucy Borasco has her phase pistol ready and her ex-boyfriend in her sights. She has every intention of making him pay for choosing his career over her. But she hadn’t factored in a Martian sneak invasion, Cal’s incessant need to save the universe, or the risk of permanent damage to her complexion.

Getting Cal back will cost her more than she thinks, leaving her changed forever.

Captain California Sykes’ memories are gone, his career is in ruins, and his ex-girlfriend nearly kills him with a kiss. Can he overcome the Martian invasion, save the rest of the team and win Lucy back again in the process? Or will his seat-of-the-pants

16 plans and the canned fish rations cost him everything he holds dear, including his sanity?

Renjiro Ito has dreamed of a woman for five long years. As the Commander of the Justice Officers, the plight of one woman will turn his life upside down.

WAR’S END: Reunion Trilogy #1

But there’s more going on than just the fate of one woman. The chances of a future together are slim, but they’ll take any chances that come their way. Will it be enough?

(Imogene Nix, novella, $2.99eb, Beachwalk Press) Selina Codecko is an Indy Pilot…without the citizenship of the Federation, she’s treated like a second class citizen.

But when she’s caught up in a brawl she’s arrested and in the hands of the Justice Officers.

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Will Sera give him a chance, or will Adam be left in the cold, never more than her alien admirer?

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Elements of Awesome!

Carrie Sessarego

In the world of literature, the two genres most persistently maligned are science fiction/fantasy and romance. In all fairness, there is some truly terrible science fiction/fantasy out there, there’s some truly terrible romance out there, and there’s some science fiction romance that is so terrible that it rivals the poetry of The Vogons in its awfulness. But there is also science fiction romance that combines the greatest of both worlds – the vision of science fiction with the emotional drama of romance. At its best, speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, and alternate histories) combined with romance can truly transport us to new realms, engage our emotions to the fullest, and make us think, marvel, and feel deeply.

There are formulas in romance, and a writer would do well to be aware of them if she or he wants to make the readers happy. Above all, there must be a happy ending that is believable, earned, and satisfying. But you can’t just read a bunch of romances, decide you know the formula, and start plugging in nouns and verbs, and throw in a space ship and some alien sex to make it sci-fi. ANY good book, in any genre, must do a great job with these elements: 1.

World-building. Every writer creates a setting for the reader. Some use a lot of detail and some use a little, but we must have an idea of where and when we are, and know enough about how things work that we can follow the story. The only thing about this that sets speculative fiction apart from any other genre is that the speculative fiction author must create their world (complete with culture and customs) from scratch. The more original and detailed the world, the better!

2.

Character. Whether you are reading Charles Dickens or Lois McMaster Bujold, there must be characters to care about. In romance, characters and their emotions take center stage, but they are important in any genre. Characters must seem like actual, layered, interesting people, not just placeholders in a formula.

3.

Dialogue. People have to talk like people, unless they are computers or robots or aliens, and then they should talk in a way that shows us their differences. Every character has to have their own unique voice.

4.

Plot. Maybe the plot is: “Some guy and his friend whose name is ‘Andre’ have dinner and talk a lot while eating pretentious food”. Maybe the plot is: “Man and woman fall in love on alien planet, become the leaders of a vast interplanetary power, intrigue ensues”. But the reader has to constantly be wondering, “What happens next?”

In speculative fiction, it’s especially important that we believe in the world created by the author, because we can’t fill in the blanks based on our own experience. In romance, it’s especially important that we are deeply invested in the romance—it should be the primary thing we care about. Other than that, the same thing that makes a speculative fiction romance good are the same things that make any book good—strong, inventive writing about interesting people and places. When it’s done right, nothing is more delightful!

Here’s just a few examples of the genre at its best: ¤

A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold (science fiction regency-style romance)

¤

Riveted, by Meljean Brook (steampunk romance)

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¤

Collision Course, by Zoe Archer (science fiction romance)

¤

The Stolen Luck, by Shawna Reppert (m/m fantasy romance)

These books vary enormously in tone, in level of explicit sexuality, in subject matter, in length and in style, but they have what every book needs: fluid use of language, compelling characters, and interesting plots.

On top of that, they have what every work of speculative fiction needs: finely rendered, imaginative, detailed world-building and interesting ideas. Above all they include relationships that the reader believes in. Speculative fiction romance of this caliber teaches us to think hard, dream big, and love as though the universe was counting on it!

Releases - February We strive to include as many sci-fi romance releases as possible, but with current time constraints, we apologise in advance if your release was not included in our round-up.

ENTHRALLED IN SILVER (Vivien Dean, novella, $4.45eb, Ellora’s Cave) For over half a century, lovers Seth and Simon have been trapped in service to one of the most dangerous vampires on the West Coast—who abuses them severely when she’s displeased. When they discover there’s a way to break the spell that binds them, getting free becomes their only desire.

Until they meet Claire, the granddaughter of the mage who enslaved them. Suddenly, seducing her seems like a much more pleasurable alternative. If they can convince her to use the magic she inherited, everybody wins.

All they have to do is survive long enough to make it happen.

Inside Scoop: Two men in love, one curvy heroine who wants them both. The heat in this m/m/f ménage is more than chemistry—it’s magic, made stronger by one violent scene not necessarily suitable for the faint of heart.

HOSTILE INTENT: Universal Defiance #4 (Chandra Ryan, short novel, $5.20eb, Ellora’s Cave) A few hours of passionate, meaningless sex is all Renee needs to take the edge off before her next reconnaissance mission. And the dangerously handsome stranger she meets on the space station docks is more than happy to give it to her.

But her quickie turns out to be a Coalition soldier who’s been ordered to kidnap her. Adam has no idea how tempting his new mission will be or how quickly his intended victim will work her way under his skin. And when someone tries to kill her, he must decide where his loyalties lie.

If they’re going to survive, they’ll need help from Renee’s longtime lover. As an investigative reporter, Michael has the contacts and access to information they need. He also has a raw sexual chemistry with women and men alike, and Adam can’t resist.

19 Inside Scoop: This ménage features some scorching male-male action.

HAUNTING BLACKIE: Cyborg Seduction #8 (Laurann Dohner, novel, US$5.95eb, Ellora’s Cave) Eve’s mission is to rescue cyborgs from termination centers on Earth. She is blindsided by the overwhelming attraction that draws her to one of them. He’s handsome, sexy, and she wants him, craves his touch as she has no other. She must send him to freedom but she makes him promise to wait for her.

Blackie cannot forget the courageous woman who saved him. He never learned whether she died during the rebellion or just changed her mind about leaving with him but he holds her within his lonely heart. He exists to serve Advertisement

the Cyborg Council and protect the new world cyborgs have created. This changes when he discovers the woman who haunts his dreams is alive and the cyborg leaders left her behind to die. He’ll never lose her again and he’ll fight his own kind to avenge and keep her.

LINE AND ORBIT (Sunny Moraine and Lisa Soem, Plus novel, US$12.28pb, Samhain Publishing) What he’s been taught to fear could be his destiny…and his only hope.

Adam Yuga, a rising young star in the imperialist Terran Protectorate, is on the verge of a massive promotion…until a routine physical exam reveals something less than perfection. Genetic flaws are taboo, and Adam soon discovers there’s a thin line between rising star and starving outcast.

Stripped of wealth and position, stricken with a mysterious, worsening illness, Adam resorts to stealing credits to survive. Moments from capture by the Protectorate, help arrives in the form of Lochlan, a brash, cocksure Bideshi fighter.

Now the Bideshi, a people long shunned by the Protectorate, are the only ones who will offer him shelter. As Adam learns the truth about the mysterious, nomadic people he was taught to fear, Lochlan offers him not just shelter—but a temptation Adam can only resist for so long.

Struggling to adapt to his new life, Adam discovers his illness hides a terrible secret, one that the Protectorate will stop at nothing to conceal. Time is growing short, and he must find the strength to close a centuries-old rift, accept a new identity—and hold on to a love that could cost him everything.

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LUNAR REUNION: Decadent Moon #2 (Shona Husk, novella, $4.45eb, Ellora’s Cave) Six years ago Filid made the mistake of falling for another officer in the Allied Planetary Military. He walked away before they both did something they’d regret. Yet he can’t get her out of his mind, even now.

Silva has never forgotten Filid, but he is the last person she expects to see on the pleasure resort of Decadent Moon. This time she won’t let him walk away without exploring the fantasies she had about being with him.

Filid wants more than one night. This time he is determined to hold onto her no matter the cost.

Inside Scoop: Filid comes equipped with sexy tentacles that cannot be missed!

SETH: Cyborgs:More Than Machines #5 (Eve Langlais, 54 900 words, $4.99eb) His mission: Blend in with the humans. Save the cyborgs. And seduce the only woman he ever loved, without getting killed.

Cybernetic spy models are different from other humans turned machine.

For one thing, they never completely lost touch with their humanity, or their memories. But retaining their identity doesn’t mean the military didn’t mess with their lives. Seth lost the woman he loved because of their web of lies. When the chance arises to make things right, he relies on his superior intellect—and irresistible charm—to prove his innocence, and make Anastasia his again.

Anastasia might possess upgraded parts and

programming, but the scientists never could cure her of her biggest weakness, jealousy. The volatile emotion made her walk away from love once. Can she overcome it and recognize the truth? Or will she continue to let the military manipulate her emotional strings?

STAR PIRATE’S JUSTICE (S.E. Gilchrist, 245pp, AU$4.99eb, Escape Publishers) A brand new installment in SE Gilchrist’s bestselling erotic SciFi series about a dark and delciious alien race on a desperate quest for survival—and the human women who can cure their years-long curse.

Carly has one focus in her life: to return home to her terminally ill younger sister.

When she learns that a Darkon traitor possesses gateway maps to Earth, she uses all her skills to track him down. But capturing the charming star pirate turns out to be trickier than she anticipated…

Volkar is determined to prove his innocence to those who drove him to a life lived on the Outer Rim, and he will overcome anyone who gets in his way. But his suprisingly sweet captor has some skills that will come in dandy, so he strikes a deal: the maps for her help. Neither expect their partnership to turn into more, but as dark secrets are revealed, their lives become forfeit—and the relationship blossoming between them nothing but a starburst of happiness in the deep shadow of the sky…

TAMING A HEALER: Galactic Lust #3 (Kathleen Lash, novel, $5.95eb, Ellora’s Cave) Governance Hunter Gabriel Ryker is dying. His partner Nolan is obliged to stay with him until his illness transforms him into a mindless killer. That’s when Nolan will end Gabriel’s life—thus is the fate of all hunters. As Gabriel prepares to face death, a plea

21 for help from the planet Natura is received from the only woman he’s ever cared about.

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Sadie’s planet is infested with vile creatures that are growing in numbers daily. When beckoning the Governance for assistance, she never expects a lone pair of hunters to answer her call. Gabriel, Nolan and Sadie take refuge in the only safe place—a cave.

Stuck together until help arrives, old misunderstandings are dealt with and discarded. The only thing left between them is the searing flames of desire from a decade ago. Sadie learns the boundaries of a hunter. They remain paired for life in all circumstances, especially sexual situations. In order to have Gabriel, she must accept Nolan too.

YEARNING’S SAMIEL: Windverse #14 (Charlotte Boyett-Compo, novel, $5.95eb, Ellora’s Cave) Wrongly convicted of high treason, Kaizen Samiel has everything taken from him—his career, his freedom and the woman who is the center of his Megaverse.

Condemned to a hell-hole prison in the frigid darkness of space, all he wants is revenge on the men who had him sent there and the woman who has forsaken him.

When Capt. Kathleen McGregor’s scout ship is attacked, the last face she expects to see on her vid-com screen is that of a man she’s thought long dead. She has kept her love for Kaizen safely ensconced in her heart where no one can take him from her.

Now, looking into his beloved face and seeing only hatred, vengeance and retaliation aimed directly at her turns her world upside down.

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Write for us!

Short stories sought for publication in online quarterly journal focused on Science Fiction Romance Length 1,000 - 7,500 words. For Issue #3, we're accepting general SFR stories; that is, they must include SF and Romance elements with an upbeat ending. We also prefer stronger heroines to passive ones.

Payment $25 (U.S.) paid upon publication, promotional biography w/two links, and a complimentary quarterpage advertisement.

Deadline for Issue #3 May 01, 2014.

Rights Sought Six-month exclusive world digital rights from date of publication; nonexclusive thereafter.

Other Info One short story will be published per quarterly issue so please send only edited and polished work, with the understanding that the majority will be rejected. Due to time constraints we are unable to give personalized feedback on rejected stories.

Stories that tie-in to a previously established world will be considered, but story must stand alone.

All sub-genres of science fiction will be considered.

Any heat level from sweet to erotic will be considered. Be aware that the fiction editor prefers her erotica on the literary side.

Original, previously unpublished fiction only; no fan fiction, please. **Submit**: Standard manuscript format, please .

Send brief cover letter with biographical information and publication history along with attached story (.rtf or .doc format) to Diane Dooley: fiction {@} SciFiRomanceQuarterly {.} org by deadline.

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RAJASTHANI MOON (Lisabet Sarai, Totally Bound) Review by Toni Adams

I want to preface this review with a simple statement so everyone is clear on where I stand: I admire the author’s prose but most of the subject was definitely not in my realm of comfort.

If I were to attach the word “bondage” or “BDSM” to a novel, it could be taken mainly in three ways. One is complete excitement for those who are into this experience. Second would be mild curiousity. Third would be indifference.

I fall into the indifference category. I have read many books with these words tagged on and they barely passed to elicit any excitement at all. This novel will charge you up. Whether it’s charging your sensual drive or breaking point, you cannot read this through without an emotional attachment of some kind.

If you consider being set up with fuzzy handcuffs as bondage, this novel will definitely rock your core and toss it over the wall.

It contains flogging, double penetration, female-to-female interaction, robotic-operated bondage, whipping, and dildos to name a few. If you’re searching the internet for these terms, then I will pause here so you can gain your breath back.

This was intense. This was such an intense read, I actually had to stop to take a breather. Sarai writes so well that you actually feel like you’re there. And what’s going on during those scenes can either make or break your sexual boundaries.

The whole novel almost reads like an elaborately produced pornography feature film. There is a pattern of exposition, sex scene, exposition, sex scene, repeat, and then hastily wrapped up end scene. I can easily see this on a feature film for Vivid entertainment or any major pornography film studio. If the entire novel was intentionally set up in this order, then I give my nod of gratitude. You can always skim through if you can’t stomach the graphic nature of the sexual scenes.

Our story involves a Cecily Harrowsmith. Cecily is a top notch spy (as we are told very repeatedly) with a mission from the Queen of England. The mission is to travel “secretly” to Rajasthan to figure out why they refuse to pay their taxes and how they are surviving without viridium, an energy rich mineral that England monopolizes. So insteand of flying discreetly (due to her fear of flying), our top notch spy travels in a carriage through the desert. We begin with her using a crab-like contraption to give herself some selfpleasure. While on a mission.

This was the first of many pauses when I kept reading the novel. She is a spy. On a mission. So she masturbates. Granted, I was amused and curious about this contraption. Must be a very convenient contraption but I also wondered about how one maintains its cleanliness. I also understand it must have been a long and boring journey through the desert. It’s just, well, you’re a spy,on duty, traveling through an unknown land. Shouldn’t you be focusing your attentions on studying the culture of where you’re going?

Maybe practice your “secret identity”? I doubt focusing on your self pleasure would keep your senses honed to danger around you.

Oh, no. A highwayman just arrived. Who could have seen that coming?

The eye rolls are definitely spinning. I couldn’t help but laugh at this part. It was a very comical and

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embarassing situation. As the story progresses, I also just can’t help but wonder about Cecily’s ability as a spy. So many oppurtunities to fight, use her so-called master skills, and outsmart her captors, went to waste.

Instead, there is some sort of flimsy excuse about it not being the right moment. Or even more frustrating, when she develops feelings out of nowhere for them. Seriously, nowhere. Her captors put her through intense and testing sexual acts. Acts that would elicit more emotions of embarrassment and vows of revenge. Yet, she has deep, romantic feelings. I refuse to see this as a romance. I honestly do.

Especially after the werewolf penetration scene. Yes, I honestly wrote that. That was when I was flung out of the story and had to stop. I was shocked. This is not the type of subject matter I prefer to read. I know a lot of readers enjoy this genre and the freedom it enables with its lack of sexual boundaries (or I should say, the more use of sexual bounding). It’s not mine and does not give me any sense of joy. I view the sexual scenes as acts in a pornography movie than any act of mutual love or understanding.

I do not partake in the BDSM community but I understand the core of its philosphy. I respect that BDSM is about trust. Trust that you can be open and free to one another without judgment or unwished harm. I feel this novel disobeys that core philosophy. Most of the sexual acts are initiated by the captors through cruel tactics with no regard to the wishes of the women. Even though there is one chapter that hints at the chagrin of one of the male characters, he remarks that both the men would have stopped if there was any indication that the women did not enjoy it. Oh I disagree completely. There were clear and repeated dialogues where Cecily voiced her discontent. The other woman partaking in these acts, Sarita, does not give any voice to her situation. However, based on Cecily’s perspective, it seems that Sarita does not enjoy the acts either.

Therefore, I view this novel as not of the BDSM category but pure unbounded fantasy. This is pure captor/kidnap fantasy. The novel is not meant to be valued for its story content but for its abilty to give you racy, steamy, gritty sexual scenes. The kind of scenes where you know it’s socially wrong and contemptible but it’s there. And you can’t help but read through and envision it. Sarai had written those scense so well, that you can smell the oil that is lathered upon the women. You can hear the snap of the leather. The sounds of slithering robotic manacles would give you shivers.

My major compaint is the lack of any substantial science fiction element in this novel. I am not counting the robotic arms or the dirigible. The viridium that “powers” the tecnology in England is a mineral. Or something that is described like a mineral. The “science fiction” elements were technology modifed for sexual needs or as tools. They were more of a filler. This novel is more of a fantasy with the thinnest wisps of science fiction.

Another small tidbit that annoyed me: if the captors enjoyed the smooth skin, why would they mar it with the flogging? Was the rajah just paying attention to Sarita now? I would have expected her smooth skin to be crisscrossed with scars if he had bestowed attention to her before. The men were whipping those women enough to draw blood. I suppose there was some sort of magical cream that could heal and vanish scars. I honestly hope so.

So you ask, why? Why did you review this book? I initally chose to book because it sounded different. Once I started reading, I quickly realized this was not the kind of adventure I usually pick. I kept reading though.

Despite my jaw dropping open, my mouth going dry, and increasing awareness that I should not read this in public, I still kept reading. Sarai is a very talented writer. The type of writer that will grab a hold of your hand firmly (or apparently with nifty robot manacles) and coast you through the story. No matter how much you squirm, squawk, or squeal, you’re there and you’re experiencing it. As an erotica it is high on sex, low on story, so if you’re aiming for an unapologetic and proud presentation of carnal adventures, have a go at this.

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SFRQ interviews Beth Ciotta SFRQ: You wrote a number of historical and contemporary romances before delving into the world of the Victorious Glorious Darcys. What drew you to steampunk romance?

Beth Ciotta: I confess, I was oblivious to the term “steampunk” when I first developed the concept for The Glorious Victorious Darcys. I knew the stories would involve a historical aspect, high adventure, with a global treasure hunt, romance, and lots of cool sci-fi like gadgets and gizmos. I was inspired by movies like The Great Race, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Time Machine, and the like.

When I described the concept of GVD to writer friends, they said, “Sounds cool.

Sounds steampunk.” As soon as I looked up the term bells rang and angels sang.

Nirvana!

Who are the Darcys?

Although connected novellas feature close friends of the Darcys, the three main novels revolve around three siblings—Amelia, Simon, and Jules Darcy. Amelia is an aviatrix, Simon, an engineer, and Jules a science fiction writer (at least that’s his “cover”.) All three are related to Engineer/Visionary Briscoe Darcy who’s historically known as The Time Voyager.

Here’s an overview of the arc of the series…

In celebration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee (1887), an anonymous benefactor promises fame and fortune to the first man or woman who discovers and donates a technological “invention” of historical significance to Her Majesty’s British Museum in honor of her beloved deceased husband, Prince Albert.

Jules Darcy, Simon Darcy, and unbeknownst to them, their sister, Amelia Darcy set off in search of three different “lost” legendary inventions. Whilst on their quest, all three fall prey to a spinetingling danger, sizzling romance, and the perils of an unstable society. In the end, one sibling will bring glory to the British Empire, another scandal, while the third becomes an unwitting accomplice in a plot to assassinate the Queen. Will love or technology save the day? Will the Darcys prevail or perish? Mystery, passion, and adventure abound.

How would you describe your particular brand of steampunk?

Considering the way the stories evolved and continue to evolve, I’m no longer sure that this series qualifies as strict steampunk. In addition to steampunk (and romance), I also incorporated paranormal, time-traveling, and retro futuristic aspects. Unlike my strict historical and contemporary romances, these romantic adventures appeal to both male and female readers. I think I’d describe The Glorious Victorious Darcys series as a genre-bender.

Do the books stand alone or are they best read in order?

To date there are two novels and one novella. The novella, HIS BROKEN ANGEL, is a bridge between HER SKY COWBOY and HIS CLOCKWORK CANARY. I worked hard so that they each stand alone. However there are recurring characters and an overall running arc. Therefore, for maximum enjoyment, I’d suggest reading them in order.

What kind of groovy steampunk gadgets can readers expect to encounter in your stories?

Oh, so many! Here are just a few. You’ll have to read the stories to learn their specific use.

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1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Aquarian Cosmology Compendium Clockwork Propulsion Engine Corneatacts Disprupter 29 Skytown Stun Cuff Tele-talkie Thera-Steam-Atic Brace

Can you give us a hint about what’s coming in Book Three?

Before book three, I’ll be releasing another novella, GVD 2.5. HIS BEAUTIFUL ENIGMA features the Darcy brothers’ best friend, aviator, Phineas Bourdain, and Dr. Bella Caro—personal physician of Jules Darcy. Phin and Bella were introduced in HIS CLOCKWORK CANARY and now they join in a dangerous search “down under” for Jules Darcy who’s gone missing. While there, they’ll also tangle with familiar enemies of the Darcys—Lord Bingham and Captain Dunkirk.

Book 3, the full-length novel, HER MAJESTY’S MAN will feature Jules Darcy, wrapping up the Darcy saga with a time traveling trip to the future where readers will at last meet the original Time Voyager, Briscoe Darcy. A retro-futuristic adventure with an astonishing finish. I, for one, can’t wait!

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SFRQ interviews Gail Carriger SFRQ: When and where do you usually write?

Gail Carriger: I usually write the first draft at home or in my office, at my desk, in the afternoons. If I’m really struggling, I find a change of location helps, so I frequent a local coffee shop. I must hide away and do my second draft when the office is empty, because I read the whole thing out loud.

If I did that in public people would think I was bonkers. I usually red pen a hard–copy of the third draft on an airplane, things just arrange it so I’m always traveling at that point in the writing process. I go over the copy edits with my best friend and beta on the couch in her living room with many cups of tea and much companion hilarity.

What are you most proud of about the series? And is there a serious underlying theme that you hope readers will pick up on?

I’m most proud that these books combine so many different sub-genres without, so far, really offending anyone. I’d rather they were not taken too seriously. I’m hoping they bring people joy. I like to think my books are more like a nice cup of tea than a three-course meal. That said, I suspect, whether I like it or not, there are underlying themes. Tolerance and loyality, for example, are key in all my writing. Also, I tend to write pragmatic women who are capable in their own right but accomplish things with the help of others. I’m not

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one for the “solitary tough guy against the universe” plot. Alexia, Sophronia, and Rue are all strong, but a good deal of their strength comes, as each series progresses, from a growing band of friends.

Mad scientists are the villains in the first book, and invoke Dürrenmatt’s play “The Physicists”, which questions ethics in science. What are your views on regulations on science and scientists? Do you see such dangers (both in the form of mad scientists and overly strict regulations) in today’s science?

In this aspect I was parodying Gothics like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which represented a switch from fear of religious monsters (for example, moral corruption like that in The Monk) to the demonization of science and the creatures it could produce. However, if you look at some of my other books you’ll realize that I myself am not entirely supportive of this demonization. It is not the science itself that is at fault, but a lack of ethical grounding. My real fear, and the thing my characters are always battling in society, is obsession. What’s bad about my evil scientists is not their science, but obsession with that science, allowing them to take it too far.

In Changeless, for example, I vilify obsession with immortality. In Blameless, I tackle religious obsession. In Curtsies & Conspiracies it’s obsession with stopping the bad scientists!

What one steampunk book would you recommend to readers who are unfamiliar with the genre but would like to give it a try?

I’m going to branch out and pick a graphic novel. There’s none better than the original League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Before getting published you were part of the SF&F literary community for a while. What changes have you noticed in these broad genres, and are these good or bad changes?

Everything is shifting. I need hardly say, the publishing industry is struggling to cope with both digital media and social media. Something’s going to give soon and it sure as heck isn’t either of those medias. The subject matter is changing too. Everything is turning YA. Steampunk is struggling to define itself. Hard core sci–fi is dying. Urban fantasy is the sub–genre no one wants to acknowledge is there to stay, but it is. I’d bet good money on epic fantasy shrinking into something more snack–sized and less falooting. As to forms? Hardback will become a luxury good. In fact, it already has. Are these good or bad? I have no idea. Neither I, nor any of my characters, can see the future.

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Releases - March We strive to include as many sci-fi romance releases as possible, but with current time constraints, we apologise in advance if your release was not included in our round-up.

AT STAR’S END: Phoenix Adventures #1 (Anna Hackett, 43 000 words, $2.99eb, Carina Press) Dr. Eos Rai has spent a lifetime dedicated to her mother’s dream of finding the long lost Mona Lisa. When Eos uncovers tantalizing evidence of Star’s End—the last known location of the masterpiece—she’s shocked when her employer, the Galactic Institute of Historic Preservation, turn its back on her. Left with no choice, Eos must trust the most notorious treasure hunter in the galaxy; a man she finds infuriating, annoying and far too tempting.

Dathan Phoenix can sniff out relics at a stellar mile.

With his brothers by his side, he takes the adventures that suit him and refuses to become a lazy, bitter failure like his father. When the gorgeous Eos Rai comes looking to hire him, he knows she’s trouble, but he’s lured into a hunt that turns into a wild and dangerous adventure. As Eos and Dathan are pushed to their limits, they discover treasure isn’t the only thing they’re drawn to…but how will their desire survive when Dathan demands the Mona Lisa as his payment?

EVOLUTION: ANGEL: Evolution Series #1 (S.A. Huchton, novel, $2.99eb) Candace Bristol has always been obsessed with comic books, but in a world where the nightly news often mirrors these inked stories, her dreams of becoming a real superhero could actually come true.

After being rescued by members of the government’s AdvaNced Genetic EvoLution (ANGEL) Project four years ago, getting recruited for this elite team is all she’s wanted.

Now 18, she’s finally reached her goal after years of study and physical training, but little could have prepared her for life as a genetic experiment. As though coming to terms with her new ability to manipulate water isn’t tough enough, she never expected to be swept off her feet by one of her fellow recruits.

With genetic alteration, the threat of physical and mental instability hangs over every superhero like a shadow.

When one of their own tumbles over the edge of madness, Candace will have to choose between protecting the world, and saving the one who holds her heart.

SANTUARIO (GB Gordon, 224pp, $16.99pb/$7.99eb, Riptide Publishing) Police teniente Alex Rukow has spent his life trapped on Santuario, his people’s isolated home-slash-prisonisland. They’ve been living in poverty under the tyrannical regime of their own elite familias for the last two-hundred years, ever since their generation ship landed on the planet and found it already populated by earlier Earth settlers, the Skanians, who banished them to the inhospitable south.

Increasingly shamed by the decisions of their ancestors, the Skanians seek to open their borders.

29 But dissent exists on both sides, and in the midst of this explosive political situation, a dead body appears on the island.

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Bengt, a Skanian investigator, is shipped to Santuario to lead the murder investigation—which, he quickly realizes, the local teniente wants nothing to do with.

As far as Bengt is concerned, things can’t get worse than the brutal climate, his own memories, and a growing attraction to a partner who will barely say two words to him. But then he and Alex run afoul of the local familias, and the problems with their investigation and their budding relationship seem like nothing compared to just getting out of this whole mess alive.

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The Allure of Steampunk Heather Massey

2008 was a year of steampunk resurgence in science fiction. What’s steampunk, you ask? Steampunk can be broadly defined as Victorian-era science fiction featuring steam-powered technology. Think oversized gears, majestic airships, visionary inventors, automatons, clever gadgets, and tales ranging in tone from grimdark to light-hearted action-adventure.

The increase of titles wasn’t huge, but was significant enough that more readers started paying attention.

But one published book stood out from the rest of the offerings because the story also featured a romance: Dru Pagliassotti’s Clockwork Heart.

Discovery of Clockwork Heart inspired me to write a post called Steampunk Is The New Black on 9/22/08. The reason? I wanted something that wasn’t being offered in significant numbers by publishers, namely, steampunk romance.

It was pretty much a given that traditional steampunk would be unlikely to include a romance, let alone leading female characters, People of Color, and characters with disabilities. I knew I had to look elsewhere for those elements.

Since there were so few titles available, I began advocating—and I wasn’t above the occasional begging—for steampunk romance through blog posts and any other way I could get the word out.

Others must have been thinking along the same lines, because in an astonishingly short amount of time, romance authors and publishers answered the call.

These days, we have various steampunk romance anthologies from publishers like Samhain, Carina Press, and DAW. Meljean Brook, Zoe Archer, Nico Rosso, Cindy Spencer Pape, Beth Ciotta, and Kate Cross all launched steampunk romance series. You can also read stand-alone stories by authors such as Nathalie Gray, Pauline Baird Jones, Leslie Dicken, Katie MacAlister, Bonnie Dee, Christine Danse, and more.

Combining steampunk with romance became a groundbreaking and envelope pushing venture. How so?

Well, steampunk romance, as a niche genre, gives authors the freedom to encompass a wider variety of perspectives. Defining it was a work in progress, so authors were free to experiment with characters and plots that hadn’t been attempted before (at least in terms of published stories).

Because of the intersection of steampunk technology and a budding romance, the genre can explore issues such as the impact of prosthetic limbs on intimate relations. When one has two artificial legs, such as hero David Kentewess from Meljean Brook’s Riveted, activities able-bodied people often take for granted—like lovemaking—require a different strategy.

Steampunk romance offers the opportunity to challenge our assumptions about people with disabilities (e.g., that a person with a prosthetic limb isn’t whole, or is ugly/inferior compared to an able-bodied person). These tales can also deliver a heroine made extraordinary by virtue of her prosthetic, like Kalindi MacNeil

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from Zoë Archer’s Skies of Gold.

Steampunk romance is a very young genre. Given the popularity of Victorian England as a setting, chances are slim that authors will venture beyond Great Britain very often. But some authors are ahead of the curve, like Lisabet Sarai with Rajasthani Moon and her short story Green Cheese (Steamlust: Steampunk Erotic Romance anthology).

Does steampunk romance have the potential to feature more People of Color? Yes. Currently you can read Nico Rosso’s Nights of Steel, and all the titles mentioned above for racial diversity. Steampunk romance has room for far more such stories, however.

One final glory of steampunk romance is its heroines. This is a genre populated by smart, adventurous, progressive, and sexually confident women. They’re inventors, spies, airship captains, pirates, and engineers. They love action-adventure, and they especially love sharing it equally with the hero.

From this point forward, I invite authors to keep writing steampunk romance, and that they do so with all kinds of diversity in mind. We’ll be all the more richer for their creativity.

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HOW TO LOSE AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN 10 DAYS (Susan Grant, HQN Books) Review by Jo Jones

How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days is the third book in a three-book series by Susan Grant. Susan is a former Air Force pilot who now flies international routes for United Airlines. In her spare time she writes Science Fiction Romance.

I liked all of the books in this series, but How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days is my favorite. It takes an unlikely hero, Reef, and a suburban housewife, Evie, on a series of desperate adventures. Reef stands for Robotically Engineered Enemy Fighter and is the villain in the first book in this series. He is a cyberpowered assassin who has been programmed and sent to Earth to kill Earth’s connections to one of the extraterrestrial powers. He was not successful and found himself with his internal computers turned off and his programming no longer working.

Enter, Evie, a divorced suburban housewife with family connections to the same representatives Reef was sent to kill. Evie has her own set of problems.

Someone thinks her chocolate business is laundering money for the mob, and her ex-husband want to take their two children. What Evie needs is a bodyguard and Reef ends up with the job. Evie gives Reef ten days to prove he can do the job, thus the title of the story. Evie and Reef both have issues.

It is fun to watch how they interact and of course fall in love. The solutions they find make this an exciting read.

How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days won a Prism Award.

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In case you’re interested, the books in the Otherworldly series are: Your Planet or Mine My Favorite Earthling

PRIME SUSPECT (KS Augustin, Sandal Press) Review by Jo Jones There is a lot packed into Prime Suspect’s 68 pages. First there are the characters, then the plot, then the back-story and finally the setting.

The setting is the Republic and Prime Suspect shines more light into the universe where Augustin sets many of her Science Fiction stories. Prime Suspect offers is a glimpse into the Republic Space Fleet and how the Republic looks at aliens. Heron served in the Space Fleet until he questioned an order.

That order involved shape-shifters, another alien species and got Heron tried for mutiny. All of that is back-story and adds to the world that Prime Suspect is set in.

There are several important characters in the book. Acqui K'liven is the Security Chief and from the first I was inclined to dislike him. Subah Doisson

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rents Heron a room and soon becomes very important in its life. The maintenance crew Heron works for play a part but the job Heron does is more important to the story.

Then there is Heron itself. I found it the most fascinating character of all. Heron Meed is a hermaphrodite. It has both female and male characteristics. Heron’s race is from the Morhea Sector and is known throughout the Republic.

Heron had its own description of how the citizens of the Republic see hermaphrodites. They are “alleged carriers of terrible venereal diseases. Because they were apparently abominations in the eyes of several major deities. Because they were immoral, oversexed beings bent on taking over the galaxy.” In spite how others looked at Heron, it had been a member of the Republic’s Space Fleet.

I think the role of the hermaphrodite was very difficult to write. I kept seeing male characteristics in Heron and had trouble thinking “it” instead of “him”. What I did see was a person with honor and integrity. Its time in prison did not change that. Woven into this is the plot. There is a romance. Heron is a very sexual being but it does not want to risk alienating Subah. It likes and wants her but makes no move. It was fun to watch Subah try to break down Heron’s resistance.

But this is not just a romance. Someone is trying to destroy the station and Heron discovers the sabotage.

Heron is a suspect just for who it is. Reporting it would be the thing to do but Heron does not know whom to trust.

Put all of this together and you have an exciting, well-written story. There are twists and turns, several surprises, danger and a romance that changed both Heron and Subah. Prime Suspect is a good addition to anyone’s Science Fiction Romance collection.

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Defining Steampunk with Cyborg Squirrels? Maybe not Charlee Allden When I learned that this issue of SFR Quarterly would be steampunk themed, I must confess, I did indulge in a brief moment of…panic. Not what you were expecting? Perhaps you were expecting “delight” or “unbridled joy” or something along those lines. I’m sure those would have been my reactions, if I actually had any practical knowledge of the genre. It’s not that I don’t like the genre; I just hadn’t quite gotten around to exploring it.

But I did know a bit and, like any inquisitive woman should, I know how to research and seek the knowledge of experts. So, instead of trying to speed read a suitable number of volumes of steampunk romance treasure, I dug in and got to work learning about the subject from the experts: the readers and writers of the genre. I can’t wait to share their wisdom with you, but first let’s start with what I did know.

Steampunk, I had heard from the old guard of the SciFi world, is a branch of alternate history. But this, I thought, could be said of many things, so maybe I needed a definition. One definition mentioned steam-powered machinery, to which I said a very ungraceful—duh. Another mentioned anachronistic technologies and retro-futuristic inventions, to which I said—huh. From there, I moved on to searching out the origins of steampunk. My scholarly resources mentioned H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, which I already assumed, so maybe I know more than I thought. And then I learned something I didn’t know. The term “steampunk” came into popular use in the 1980s and is generally thought to be a play on “cyberpunk”…aha! Now we’re getting somewhere. Or maybe not.

It was at this point that I turned to the authors of the genre. I started by asking why they write in this difficult to define genre. Zoë Archer, who writes in the popular Ether Chronicles, alternating books with her husband Nick Russo, admitted that, “Honestly, I started writing steampunk accidentally, since people began labeling my Blades of the Rose series as steampunk.” In her series she was using Victorian-era technology and advancing it. “Think Q’s gadgets from James Bond, except using Victorian tech,” she said. From there, Zoë explains that she was eager to take the opportunity to write the Ether Chronicles.

“I like combining the historical elements with lots of action, technological innovation, and, best of all, heroines that can really kick ass. With alternate history like steampunk, you can have greater parity between the sexes, so I can write heroines who are spies, scholars, and engineers. I can do this without having to explain why a woman during the 19th century would be able to step outside societal norms. Plus, flying ships! Ether guns! And lots of tall boots.”

When I got in touch with Cindy Spencer Pape, author of the Gaslight Chronicles and the award-winning Steam & Sorcery, she summed things up nicely, saying: “I think my favorite thing about writing steampunk romance is the capacity to mash up all the things I love into a single book—history, suspense, adventure, fantasy, science fiction, and romance all tied up together in one gear-studded bow.”

Shelley Adina, whose Lady of Resources is the latest in her Magnificent Devices series, had this to say of steampunk. “It’s only limited by the borders of your

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imagination. Steam-powered vehicles that operate on land, air, or sea? They’re de rigeur. Ray guns that shoot lightning? No problem. And airships controlled by artificial intelligence? Whyever not? If you can dream it up, in this genre you can put it on the page.”

I was beginning to see a theme that went beyond the common elements of the genre to the “punk” at its steam-powered heart.

Emma Jane Holloway, author of The Baskerville Affair series, said: “Why steampunk? I hate boundaries.

This is such a flexible genre, if you want a female heroine, or a bit of romance, or no romance, or cyborg squirrels, it’s all good. I hope steampunk artists continue to do whatever they want to. I would hate to see the genre get hemmed in by a lot of ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’. That’s the fastest way to take the joy out of something.”

In A Study in Silks, the first of her series, she combines machinery and magic to set the niece of Sherlock Holmes on a path that will eventually lead her to the hunting grounds of Jack the Ripper—all with a mysterious rake at her side. Okay, I can definitely see how that would be fun.

And very much punk.

And maybe that is all the definition we need.

That only leaves the best part of research, identifying and studying exemplars. I need some reading recommendations! Once again I turned to my experts. One suggestion came up time and time again: Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series.

Blair Bancroft, author of Airborne—The Hanover Restoration, said: “My all-time absolute most favorite—Gail Carriger’s series, which begins with Soulless. The books are a combination of Steampunk and Paranormal, marvelously flavored with humor and imagination.”

Maeve Alpin, whose novels As Timeless as Stone and As Timeless as Magic add Egyptian mythology and a time travel twist to steampunk, also praised Carriger. “I adore Gail Carriger’s fresh and quirky take on werewolves, vampires and other paranormal creatures. The characters are so memorable, even the secondary ones. Gail Carriger is gifted at witty, humorous dialogue. I love Alexia Tarabotti and the Steampunk World Gail Carriger has built for her.”

Maeve even provided quotes from Carriger’s books. Here’s one of my favorites: “I never gossip. I observe. And then relay my observations to practically everyone.” —Gail Carriger, Timeless Despite the heroine’s denials, plenty of people are gossiping about The Parasol Protectorate, but I need more recommendations.

Rebecca Andrews, author of A Season for Justice, and newly minted steampunk reader, suggested Bec McMasters’ Heart of Iron. “She [McMasters] is my first foray into steampunk and I like her very much.”

Zoë Archer said: “Some authors in the genre I admire are, Karina Cooper, Nico Rosso (naturally!), and, of course, the queen, Meljean Brook.”

I think that should keep me reading for a while! I’d like to wrap things up with a thank you to all the authors who helped me learn more about the genre. They had far more cool stories (like Shelley Adina’s experiences with airships!) and insights to share than I was able to include here, so please go find out more about them for yourselves. I hope I leave you with some new books to try and this one last thought on the wonderful world of Steampunk—never forget the punk!

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THE DESCARTES LEGACY (Nina Croft, Entangled Edge) Review by Marlene Harris

The Descartes Legacy takes a fairly standard romantic suspense story and enhances it with a bit of science fiction in order to create a “can’t stop reading” experience.

All the elements of romantic suspense are right there; heroine experiences a major life change event that makes her investigate something mysterious. Said investigation pushes the buttons of some very shady customers and heroine finds herself in serious jeapardy without knowing why. In swoops hero to save her life and help her with her investigation. Bad guys continue to pursue for nefarious reasons. Heroine makes life-changing discovery. Evildoers attempt to suppress heroine’s knowledge. After climactic fight, hero and heroine start new life together.

Just because something follows a formula, doesn’t mean that the author hasn’t taken the elements of that formula into new and interesting directions.

In the case of The Descartes Legacy, those elements were born on the moon.

Really.

Jenna Young believes that she is dying. She believes that she has a genetic disease and that her father-the-doctor has been giving her medicine to keep the disease at bay. Then he dies suddenly and she’s running out of meds.

She thinks she’s sick, so she turns to another doctor to get the medication she needs. Her friend gets tortured and killed, and she has no idea why.

What she did makes perfect sense, based on what she believed. But what she believed isn’t true. Over the course of the story, Jenna discovers that nothing she believed about herself and her origins is true.

Her father didn’t just lie, he covered up his part in a world-spanning power-hungry organization called “The Conclave”. An organization whose genetic experimentation both created Jenna, and ordered her “termination” at age 4.

Jenna’s always known she was different. But as she is forced to dive into the murky politics of The Conclave, she discovers just how different she is.

And Jenna’s not the only one peering into the depths of the Conclave’s evil, nor is the death of her doctorfriend the only torture-and-murder to be laid at their door.

Lucas Grafton has been looking for revenge against that organization for ten years, since they murdered his wife and daughter. But Luke’s search for justice runs him headlong into Jenna’s need for the truth.

Luke starts out uncertain whether Jenna is an innocent bystander, a co-conspirator, or bait in a trap.

Eventually he discovers that she is all three, but by then, he’s willing to sacrifice anything to keep her safe.

And she feels the same way about him.

Escape Rating A-: The story ends with a series of stunning revelations that make the reader yearn for more. It doesn’t feel so much that things have concluded as that there is a pause in the action. Jenna and Luke’s story isn’t over, and I want to know what happens next. Very, very much.

The science fictional elements in The Descartes Legacy are of the “laboratory” variety rather than the

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spaceship type. It’s not just that Jenna was created through some very tricky genetic engineering, but it’s the source of some of her genetic material that pushes the story through the science fiction envelope.

The “Descartes” in the title is not a reference to Renaissance philosopher and mathematician René Descartes, at least not directly. It refers to the Descartes Highlands on the moon, and to Apollo 16’s mission there.

The Conclave is a many-headed, completely heartless beast of an organization. The plot that Jenna and Luke discover is chilling in its inhumanity. Discovering the nature of that plot and stopping it add to the breakneck pace of the story.

But this is also a romance, and that part of the story hinges on the chemistry between Jenna and Luke. For all the science fiction, their story together has a few too many times when Jenna is a drugged and helpless captive, waiting for Luke to rescue her. Considering the powers she discovers during the story, she gets kidnapped a bit often.

And there was definitely a touch of insta-love in their relationship. But the thriller and suspense elements still kept me racing to finish the story.

SILENT BLADE (Ilona Andrews, Samhain Publishing) Review by Marlene Harris

Revenge is a dish best served hot and with a side of passion cones.

Although the revenge that Meli Galdes plans and the revenge she actually gets are two different things.

Blame it on those passion cones, which are a dessert in the province of Dahlia on this futuristic world that Ilona Andrews has created for her Kinsmen series.

The future is a dangerous place. As envisioned in this series, the ability to survive interplanetary journeys and planet colonization was provided to certain families through genetic modification. Their descendants rule, through the inheritance of lethal talents and deadly implants.

Those with special abilities are Kinsmen. Survival of their families, and their family corporations, is considered the highest achievement—by any means necessary.

Meli Galdes was a casualty of two families’ desire for greatness. A daughter of the Galdes, she was contracted in marriage when she was ten to the heir of the Carvannas family. Unfortunately for Meli, young Celino Carvannas saw their impending marriage as a fence around his freedom. As soon as he could, he disavowed the contract, leaving Meli unmarried but still bound. No one else would court her for fear of angering Carvannas should he decide to someday claim his bride.

So Meli chose to be disavowed by her family, so that she could do business for them in secret. Deadly business—we call it “wetwork”. As an “excise”, Meli became her family’s best and most deniable assassin.

When she tires of the game of death and the loneliness of her life, Meli retires. But her father asks her to

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take one last job—to kill the man who broke her heart, all those years ago. Killing the head of the Carvannas corporation will save the Galdes family business from ruin.

Meli gets close to Celino by turning herself into a woman he can’t resist. The problem for Meli is that it makes her the woman she once trained to be; the perfect partner for Celino.

So should she condemn her family by sparing her target, or kill the man she has come to love?

Escape Rating B+: This is too short! The world creation looks fascinating, but I want to see more of it.

How did the families get this way? What other powers are available? How do they know how rare particular talents are?

Underneath the futuristic setting, Silent Blade is a second-chance-at-love story. Meli and Celino missed it the first time around, because their six-year age difference loomed large when they were 16 and 22 respectively, but is miniscule now that they are adults.

Celino was also a selfish asshat, because he could have set Meli free instead of leaving her in limbo. (On the other hand, selfish, 22 and privileged go hand-in-hand.) Celino had the world at his feet, and he didn’t think beyond his own desires.

Meli comes back into his life and makes him desire her. She is just what he is looking for, but doesn’t know it. She, on the other hand, knows perfectly well what she is setting up. She just doesn’t expect that her own emotions will be engaged. Again.

She can destroy him. She can even manage to destroy him in such a way that her family survives the crisis that started this mess. It takes her a long time to accomplish her mission without leaving dead bodies in her wake.

Even though she is left broken-hearted again, at least this time, she has company—a man who finally realizes that it is worth breaking his own chains.

SILVER SHARK (Ilona Andrews, NYLA) Review by Marlene Harris

Silver Shark is set in the same universe as Silent Blade, but tells a much different love story and shows us a much different side of this particular future.

It’s also twice as long, which gives the reader not just more world building, but also more character development.

And it’s still too short.

This is not a peaceful future that we see. Resources are scarce, and interplanetary conflict is a fact of life.

Brodwyn has been at war with Melko for all of Claire’s life. Each faction claims the planet Uley, and neither will give up.

Everyone contributes to the war effort. Claire is drafted at age 14, forced to leave her terminally ill mother behind so that she can put her “psycher” talents to use for Melko. Claire is extremely powerful, able to infiltrate and kill on the bionet. She fights because that’s all there is to life in her world.

Then Melko surrenders. The talent that has been her biggest asset suddenly paints a target on her back.

The conquerors will be certain that she is too dangerous to live. So she hides her abilities, making herself seem like any other refugee, no matter what painful tests are administered to smoke out psychers like her.

As an ordinary refugee, she is sent to Rada, the home planet of the first book, Silent Blade. Her shielding is

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so perfect, she appears mind-blind, making her the perfect candidate for a job with Ventura Escana. His firm specializes in security, and he is a powerful psycher.

He thinks Claire’s mind is restful because it’s so quiet. He has no clue that the woman he has hired to be his administrative assistant is nearly as powerful as he is. He doesn’t discover that the reason she is so capable, that she is so perfect at anticipating his needs, is because she is just like him.

Ven just thinks she’s perfect.

Until she is forced to open her shell and save her fellow refugees. Ven is as fascinated with the female psycher he battles on the bionet as he is with the admin he is not supposed to touch.

Then he finds out they are one and the same.

Escape Rating A-: This story goes into more depth about this futuristic world. We see Rada through Claire’s eyes, as she learns to adapt to a life that has a future other than war and more war. She wants to live, and maintaining her shield is a requirement, but we see her struggle.

There’s also an element of the classic love trope where the admin or secretary falls in love with the boss, and it’s done very well. Unlike so many stories of this type, Claire and Ven really are equals in power, even if he doesn’t know it. He needs someone who will challenge him, and Claire is more than capable of being very challenging on every level.

We see more of Claire’s perspective than Ven’s, but both of them are interesting, likeable characters and the reader wants to see their happy ending. But the ending was a bit sudden, and Ven is way too accepting of the fact that Claire has been deceiving him all along. I’d love to have seen them take a bit more time to work things out.

While it isn’t necessary to read Silent Blade before Silver Shark, reading both does provide more background for the world, and it makes the scene where Ven brings Claire to meet Meli and Celino that much more fun.

40

THE KISSING MACHINE by Danielle Davis “I can’t get the lips right,” Ettie growled as soon as Amos closed the door. He didn’t have to ask how she knew it was him—nobody else dared to risk themselves on the creaky set of stairs that led to the attic Ettie had turned into her workshop.

He glanced at the way she hunched very unladylike over something on the table. Since her back was to him, he could admire the way the fat curls of hair cascaded down her back like party streamers. The hair wasn’t actually blonde—he saw streaks of tan, darker brown, and a pale yellow so light it was nearly white under the sheen of the gas lamps hanging from the corners of the room. The silk twill of her gown was a light blue that complemented her hair perfectly. But to him, just about anything she wore seemed to complement her perfectly.

He glanced at the papers pinned to the walls. Each showed complex-looking mechanical designs. One, in the fashion of da Vinci’s Vitruvian man, showed a naked figure with mechanical legs fitted to each hip. Another showed a bullet-like airship moving through the air without wings, an observatory section underneath the belly. Yet another was an anatomical drawing of a heart with a series of bolts and small gears fit tightly inside.

That one had several equations scrawled to the side of the picture, all in Ettie’s tight, tiny handwriting. The drawing always made him feel a little queasy, as if he were watching a surgeon operating on his insides, so he turned away.

Though he knew he didn’t have long before needing to return to his station in the coatroom, he examined the shelves. There was always something new in her workshop, so he’d turned it into a private game to spot the New Device. He’d been up there enough that the boxes of cogs and gears, sorted in their bins by metal type and size, and the various half-finished gadgets lying about didn’t interest him. But the hourglass on the middle shelf caught his eye.

He bent forward, peering at it. While most hourglasses he’d seen were encased in a wooden frame, this one was held in place by a series of wires attached to two large metal coils on either side of the glass. The sand inside had almost finished falling into the bottom bowl.

“Is this new?”

Without turning around she asked, “The bug or the timepiece?”

“The hourglass. What does it do?”

“Tell time.”

He threw a disgusted glare at her back. As he turned back to the shelf, the last grain of sand fell. The hourglass began to shake and buzz as if it were filled with bees.

He drew back a little, eyes growing wide. “Is this supposed to—?”

With a loud snap, the hourglass sprang into the air, flipping end over end, close enough that he felt a breeze on his face.

He cried out and staggered backwards, only to bump into Ettie’s chair.

He turned to see the wire she’d been carefully winding around a coil snapped in half. “Damn it, Amos!”

She turned to him, and he fell back with another cry. The metal goggles strapped to her face magnified her eyes to three times their normal size as she blinked at him. She scowled, pushing the goggles up with one hand so they sat on her forehead.

“I’ve been trying to get the tension right all afternoon. And in two seconds, you’ve ruined a whole day’s work.

41 What’s got you so jumpy?”

Flustered, he pointed over his shoulder at the shelf housing the hourglass. “Your thing, it just—” It was in the same spot as before, but now the upper bowl was full of sand. He stared, open-mouthed, then pointed an accusing finger at it. “That was not like that before.”

“That was yesterday’s project.” Her tone suggested he should’ve already known that. She paused, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, then peered up at him. “Why’d you come up?”

He put a hand over his chest in dramatic fashion, feeling the quick thumpthumpthump, and took a deep breath. “Your mother’s looking for you.”

Ettie’s face slid into the irritated expression she got whenever someone mentioned her mother. “What social function is she headed to now?”

Amos cleared his throat. “Ah, that would be your debutante party.”

Ettie froze with a panicked look. “Oh, no. That’s today?”

With one last resentful glare at the hourglass, Amos straightened his coat. “Actually, Madam Henrietta, it started about thirty minutes ago.” Ettie scowled as he used the formal address all staff were to use with the house masters. He hadn’t used it in years, but he still liked to tease her with it. “I’ve been sent to find you and drag you to your chair so you can pretend you appreciate everything your mother does for you.”

From his droll voice, Ettie knew her mother had phrased it very close to that. “That’s the last place I want to be right now,” she moaned.

Amos caught sight of the object she’d been working on. “What’s this then?”

Ettie brightened and turned back to the table. “It’s a kissing machine!”

The object was metal and oval-shaped like a human head. There were two small watch faces for eyes, an indentation the size of his thumbpad where the nose should have been, and two slender rubber tubes that formed a mouth.

“What’s it for?”

Ettie’s eyebrows rose as she looked at him with exasperation. “It kisses. Hence, kissing machine.”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Yes, but why? Who’d use something like this?”

Ettie thought for a moment. “Spinsters. And I’ve heard odd things can be found at certain Oriental markets.”

Amos’s mouth twisted at the memory of some of the things he’d seen at such markets. “How does it work?”

“Like this,” Ettie said, with an enthusiasm that made it obvious she’d been waiting for him to ask. Cupping the cheeks of the “head” between her hands, she lifted it to her face and pressed her lips to the tubes. With one finger, she flipped a small switch behind one ear. Muted metallic grinding noises echoed from inside the headcase, and the lip tubes plumped as air hissed through them. Ettie closed her eyes and moaned with dramatic enjoyment.

Amos raised an eyebrow. “Is that how you think it works?”

Ettie looked up and frowned at him. “Of course. I built it.”

“No, kissing. Is that how you think it’s done?”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug, turning the machine over in her hands to examine it. The lip tubes deflated, then hissed again as air refilled them. She flicked the switch off and the noises stopped. “Well, it’s not quite right yet. I can’t get the lip pressure the way I want it. The tubes have to inflate in a way that mimics a real person instead of a bicycle tire.”

Amos tried to bite back his snicker but failed. Her face darkened, and her lips thinned to a hard pink line as

42 she jutted her chin forward. It was a habitual expression her mother had been unsuccessful at breaking.

“What’s so funny?”

“Really, who would buy this?” Amos chuckled. “How desperate do you really think someone would have to be to—?”

“Spinsters!” she hissed. He saw the beginnings of a blush creep up her cheeks.

He cupped his chin with one hand so that it obscured his grin. “Okay. Let’s say for a fantastic moment that I think this is a good idea—which I don’t. How will you know when it’s working right? When did you become an expert at kissing men?” He kept his tone light, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear her answer.

Her shoulders sagged as she gave the metal head a rueful glance. “I’ve been guessing. It doesn’t feel like… It’s not yet how I’ve read about it in books.”

He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until it flew out in a small puff all at once. “You can’t believe everything you read. Some things you just have to try yourself to get the full experience of.” It was the boldest statement he’d ever made to her.

But she just smiled at him as if he’d suggested something absurd. “Right. Because I’ve got so many opportunities to do that now, don’t I?” Suddenly she scowled. “And speaking of opportunities, I need to get to that party.” She sighed as she stood up and began stripping off her equipment, then arranging the head parts in a certain way on the table. “I’ve been promised a dance with pretty Thomas Mendeville, and my mother would be quite displeased if I didn’t show up to do it.”

Her tone was mocking, but Amos felt his smile fall away at the other man’s name. “Pretty Thomas Mendeville, huh?” He couldn’t help the bitter emphasis he added, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Yes. Mother’s determined to have me married to him by my next birthday. She told me his being here was my present today.” She stuck out her tongue to show what she thought of the gift, and Amos managed a halfhearted smile in response. The idea of her getting married made him feel sick. No, he corrected himself, the idea of her marrying anyone else.

“Well, you’re going to miss it entirely if you don’t go change now.”

She frowned up at him. “Change? I’m not changing.”

“You can’t wear that to your coming out party. Isn’t that a tea gown?” He gestured at the length of her.

She gave him a strange look. “Since when do you notice what I’m wearing?”

I always notice, he thought. But he just shrugged instead, which she seemed to find some answer in.

“Well, Mother will have to be happy I’m dressed at all. I don’t really have time to change, now do I?” “She’s not going to be happy,” he warned. Amos still felt the need to say such things, mostly because she didn’t seem to care and he felt someone needed to say them.

She rolled her eyes as she brushed past him. Tossing a quick smile over her shoulder, she strode away. From her loud, determined steps, he was pretty sure she intended to stomp into the parlor like a Clydesdale. Not for the first time, he wished he was one of the kitchen servants. Then he’d get to see the party, including her mother’s reaction. Or, at the very least, keep an eye on Thomas Mendeville.

With images in his head of her pressing her lips to Thomas’s face, cradled as carefully between her palms as her machine’s had been, he headed back to the coatroom.

It was only a few hours, though, before he was summoned again. Matthew, the head attendant had been with the family for years, but now something had upset him to the point that he barely managed to stammer out that everyone was leaving early before running off again. As Amos fetched coats and wraps and elegant beaded shawls, he caught snatches of fervently-whispered conversation between the guests as they departed.

43 Anxiety twisted his stomach into knots at the snippets he heard, but he managed to smile and “good day” all of the guests out the door without any problems.

Once everyone was gone, he went in search of Ettie.

He burst into her room without knocking, pausing to close the door behind him. She jumped to her feet with a cry when he entered, but let out a loud sigh when she recognized him. “Amos! I nearly died of fright. What are you having at, to burst in here like that? My mother would have you beaten if she caught you in here.”

The room looked washed-out to him: pale yellow walls, with light-patterned drapery and sheets. He noted that she’d fetched her kissing machine at some point and had placed it on the edge of the washstand. He leaned his shoulder against the tall post at one edge of her bed.

“Really, Ettie. I understand he deserved the slap,” he began slowly. “After all, there are few things more insulting than a marriage proposal, but after you’d already lit the man aflame? The fire didn’t get the point across? You had to hit him, too?”

With a frustrated moan, she sank on the bed and placed her head in her hands. She sighed and there was a depth to it that caught his attention. He reached out to comfort her, with his hand hovering inches above her shoulder, only to lose his nerve and put it back in his pocket.

“He didn’t catch fire until after I’d hit him. And that was an accident.”

“The fire or the slap?”

Another sigh. “The fire.”

“Care to catch me up? It’s hard to get quality gossip from people who don’t even know you’re alive.” His lips twisted into a smile, but he realized it wasn’t very funny because it was true.

She turned her head toward him but still didn’t meet his eyes. “I slapped him because he tried to take my necklace. And the fire happened after he’d asked for my hand.”

He swallowed hard at her confirmation that there had been a proposal, but kept his face neutral. When he didn’t say anything, she tossed her hands up and let them flop in her lap. “It’s just… it started off fine. My mother was angry, I could tell, but was just glad I’d arrived at all. Then later, Thomas came to talk to me and it was just me and him. Everyone gave us this wide space. It was so obvious that they were trying to give us privacy like a real couple.” She rolled her eyes. “But he started teasing me about my dress and then my necklace.”

His eyes dropped to her neck, at the delicate copper key looped through a blue satin ribbon that matched her eyes. The tip of the key nestled gently between the slight swell of her bosom, and he looked away quickly. He knew the key well—he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her without it.

“He told me it was an ugly thing and that it didn’t match the rest of me. He offered to help me take it off.

When I declined, he thought it a game and kept taunting me, trying to sneak his hand around to untie it. The feeling of his hands on my neck…” She grimaced and Amos looked away, jaw clenching and unclenching.

“So you hit him?”

Ettie gave him an incredulous look. “What else should I have done? I told him to stop and he didn’t.”

Amos laughed, a stuttering chuckle of disbelief that eased some of his anger. He nodded as her story clarified some of the things he’d heard the guests gossiping about. “You hit him because of a necklace.”

She closed a hand possessively over the key. “Not just a necklace.”

The ferocity in her voice made his mouth feel dry. He licked his lips and looked away, clearing his throat.

“And, uh, the fire?”

“He’d just asked for my hand in marriage. I told him I’d have to think about it, just because I didn’t want to be

44 rude to him in front of everyone. Not with my mother already fuming over the slap. But instead of making a joke or laughing it off, he got this serious look on his face, like I’d made him angry. And he sneered at me and told me everyone knew my opinion but it didn’t matter anyway.”

She turned intent eyes to him. “And, Amos, it occurred to me that he was right. It was true. Nothing I say determines what I will do, not while my mother and father make their plans for me. But I don’t want that, and I didn’t want Thomas, and… It just made me mad. So without thinking, I pushed him to get his smug face out of mine. Only Gilbert was just coming out with the cherries jubilee and…it was unfortunate timing, that’s all. And it was only the shoulder of his jacket. He hardly risked his life.”

“Not to hear him tell it.” Amos remembered the Mendevilles as they’d been leaving: Thomas, with his mother swooning over him as if he’d been to war as she clutched his scorched jacket, the furious expression of his tight-lipped father. A thought occurred to him, and he fidgeted with his fingernails a little before he gave voice to it. “You know your mother’s just going to find someone else, right? Setting Tommy Mendeville on fire doesn’t change that.”

Ettie twisted her lips in response. She glanced around her room, and he watched her, knowing that her eyes weren’t seeing furniture and drapes but mechanical items on shelves. “I just want to be left alone to tinker and read and do whatever I want. Not because someone tells me to, but because I want to.”

Amos rolled his eyes. “Right, because you’ve got such important work to do.” He gestured grandly at the metal head and was rewarded with a smile from her.

“I like machines better. They’re easier to understand.”

“People might be if you spent as much time with them as you do with those…things.”

“Not likely,” she snorted. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and fingered the teeth on the key around her neck.

He realized he was staring and jerked his gaze away as a flush crept up his neck. “Why not?” He hoped she didn’t notice the long pause before his response—he had no idea how long he’d been studying her lips pressed against the pink tip of her tongue as she concentrated.

Advertisement She shot him an irritated glance. “You can’t usually tinker with people the way you can with machines. You can’t just open them up and see how they tick.” She paused. The accidental hypocrisy of her words hung heavily in the air between them, and they shared a look that said they both realized it and wondered if the other was going to comment on it. After a few moments, Amos decided to let it go, as he often did. Though this time, a sense of dull resentment sat in his chest—why must he always be the one to protect her feelings? Why was it never the other way around?

“That’s why,” he said in a droll tone, “if you spend time with people, they will sometimes open up for you and tell you those things themselves. A novel concept, conversation.” “People lie.”

“And machines can’t love you!”

What he’d meant to say in exasperation came out with more force than he’d intended, as if he hadn’t just told himself to let it go the way he’d done hundreds of times

45 before in other conversations. But it seemed that his heart couldn’t bypass it anymore. The anger in his voice startled both of them and they stared at each other in surprise. Then, as if that one outburst had merely been the first piece of flotsam in a flood, all the bitten-back comments and pushed-aside frustration spilled over his self-control.

“You spend so much time hiding away in that room. It’s no wonder people like Thomas don’t want to get close to you, Ettie! You’re a hermit! You shun people like they’re monsters and then complain when they do things you don’t understand. How can you understand people and how they work when you don’t invest any time in getting to know them?”

“I don’t think you’re a monster,” she said in a quiet voice.

“Does it really matter?”

She stood and moved toward him, but he backed away quickly. He saw the concern in her eyes and wished it was anything but pity.

“Amos, you—” “Don’t say it, Ettie. I’m angry, not stupid.” He passed a hand over his face, feeling the flushed skin of his cheeks.

“I was just…” Ettie paused, then pursed her lips and frowned. “You’re still you, Amos. I didn’t change that.

Nobody can.”

He hated the way he still hadn’t had the courage to say what he actually meant and hated her for seeing through his angry outburst. It wasn’t concern for her social skills that burned inside him—and she knew it.

Then, just like that, his emotions seemed to drain from his chest down through his legs, leaving him feeling weary and strangely empty. He looked at her and, for once, didn’t try to school his expression into something more appropriate.

“How would you know? You already said you don’t know how people tick. You think you can set people on fire to get rid of uncomfortable situations.”

She stepped toward him, following even as he backed away, until his lower back pressed against the door. “I told you, that was an accident.” Her voice was soft as her hand touched his sternum over his jacket, then slid up his chest to rest over the lump that sat where his heart used to be. He knew she felt the ticking that everyone mistook for a heartbeat. He turned his face away, unable to meet her eyes and unwilling to see the emotions that were never what he wished they were.

She leaned close to him. “All I did was fix a broken thing, replace one faulty piece with one that worked.” Her voice pleaded with him to understand.

He laughed, a rough noise that made her flinch away. “Well, you did a terrible job if you call this fixed.”

She furrowed her brows as she looked down at her hand. “You don’t know how bad it was, Amos. You would’ve died if I—” “That’s not what I mean!” he shouted. He whipped his head around to face her and let his eyes meet hers. The anger was back, surging hotly through his stomach like a furnace. She frowned and tried to step back but he slapped his hand over hers, pinning it to his chest. Through the delicate bones in her tinker’s hand, he felt the ticking increase as the gears whirled and ground to keep up with his increased bloodflow. “You don’t get it,” he snarled. “You’ve never gotten it.”

He took savage delight in the uncertainty that flickered across her pretty face. A cruel voice at the back of his mind goaded him to keep going, even as he knew he should pull his emotions back, get them under his usual, tight control before he said something he shouldn’t. He felt like he was barreling toward a precipice, though he didn’t know why. But he knew this path let to something permanent, something he wouldn’t be able to

46 take back. The cruel voice demanded more, wanted to see shock spread across her features and it wouldn’t be denied. He wanted her to finally react with the some semblance of the fire he felt now.

He followed her backwards until she found herself pinned against the side of the wardrobe. Her other hand snaked up to slap his cheek, but the motion barely registered as he caught the hand and pinned it to her side. He leaned his upper body into her, crushing his hand on top of hers between them. The pounding of the gears was like a drum in his ears.

“I was not a machine to be tinkered with, Henrietta! Do you think you ever would have noticed me before the accident?”

She squirmed against him, but it wasn’t fear that flashed across her face now. It was anger.

“Stop this, Amos! Have you lost your mind? We’ve been friends since we were children—” “No, we’ve known each other since we were children. We weren’t friends until you saved my life.” He spit the words at her as if they were foul-tasting things.

“And that upsets you?” she said, with a sarcastic twist of her eyebrows. “You wanted me to let you die instead?” Her eyes flashed at him like dark jewels.

“I wanted you to notice me before, the way I was. The way I noticed you. You only really seemed to see me as something other than background noise once I became another one of your devices.”

There it was. Out of his mouth and hanging in the air like the traitorous emotions they were. Once again, he cursed the accident for not taking away his feelings entirely so that he could be an empty automaton.

She stopped moving and stared up at him in surprise. Her eyes moved over his face almost wonderingly, as if she’d discovered some new feature there she’d never noticed before. “Oh you stupid, foolish boy,” she breathed.

He stepped away from her, confused. Of all the reactions he’d ever dreamt of after he declared his feelings, this was not one of them. “What do you mean?” he asked, feeling as if he were the butt of a joke he hadn’t understood. Her hand slid off his coat and fell limply to her side.

“How could you not know after all this time? I couldn’t have made it any plainer.”

His mouth opened and closed like a fish as he struggled to make sense of how absurd the conversation suddenly seemed. “I, ah…I don’t think I follow. Is this one of those monthly mood swings your father’s always complaining about?”

She looked down at the floor, seeming to weigh her words before she spoke them, while she absently fingered the key necklace. When she straightened, her smile was like the sun breaking over a rooftop at dawn. The way her face lifted, as if a great weight had been taken from her, made her seem both younger and more beautiful in a way that made his clockwork heart ache. He’d dreamed of her smiling like that at him but couldn’t remember ever actually seeing it in his waking moments before.

“Amos, why do you think I saved you? If I never saw you, as you say, why go through the effort of saving your life?”

He found himself half-smiling back at her. “Because you like to tinker with things?”

She laughed and he found himself laughing with her, as if he were caught under some witch’s spell. The whole experience was surreal. He’d never seen her act this way with anybody else, though he knew he was closer to her than most. The laughter, the unguarded way she smiled up at him, so wide he could see most of her small, perfect teeth… It was so close to his private fantasies, he was scared to trust it.

“I have never known how to talk to you,” she confided. “You were this quiet, intelligent boy who seemed to understand me better than anyone else. And I always seemed to be the apple in a basket of oranges.” She

47 glanced over at her bed. “But then you got hurt. And they didn’t know what to do with you, and I… I felt my chance slipping away.”

She stepped forward and glanced at him as if asking permission. When he gave her a quizzical look, she pushed aside the lapels of his coat and began unbuttoning his shirt.

“This is not happening,” he murmured. She favored him with a small smile and focused on the buttons. He wasn’t sure which was more unbelievable: this unguarded version of Ettie or her being this close to him. If he bent his head just slightly, he’d be able to kiss her slightly-pursed lips, touch the tip of her tongue with his.

The touch of her fingers on his skin made him gasp. They crept like soft spiderlegs across the hair on his chest, over to the convex glass window protecting the gears that kept him alive. For some reason, the skin there was always hotter than anywhere else on his body, likely from the friction produced by the neverceasing whirl of the gears’ motion. With her palm against the glass, her fingertips felt cool where they pressed against the skin just above the copper edge of the gear casing.

He stared at her with a carefully blank expression, the one he’d perfected in her presence that hid the chaos he felt inside. He felt like he was experiencing every emotion he’d ever felt, all at once. Even if he appeared calm, he knew she felt the truth hammering away under her palm.

When she looked up at him, her mouth was set in the familiar twist she had when she tried to explain complex mechanical concepts to him. That twist said I know you won’t understand, but I’m going to tell you anyway because no one else will listen.

“I didn’t know how to talk to you when you were one of them. But I knew how to buy myself some time. And once I got in there—“ she tapped the glass lightly “—I got a better idea of how much I really don’t know.”

“You’re the reason my heart beats,” he blurted out.

“Of course I am,” she responded in a matter-of-fact voice, and he realized how foolish and naïve he sounded.

He took a steadying breath. “I just mean, you didn’t have to take me apart to know what made me tick. I’d gladly have told you if you’d asked.”

Then he bent his head and did kiss her, pressing his lips against the softness of hers as gently as if they were made of rice paper. She drew back and stared up at him with wide eyes.

“You’ve always had my heart, Ettie,” he whispered. “Even before you fiddled with it.”

She fingered the key that rested in the hollow of her throat. “Do you want this back?”

“I’d trust it with no other.”

She smiled at him, the unguarded smile he was coming to love, and leaned towards him again. This time the kiss was anything but gentle as their lips slid and ground against each other like the cogs in his chest. She uttered a small “oh!” and drew back, though her hands remained clenched in the lapels of his coat. She looked over at the kissing machine on the washstand.

“Are you okay?” he asked, afraid he’d hurt somehow hurt her. But she wasn’t paying attention to him at all.

“I wonder if I could make it do that,” she mused. The realization that she’d already turned back to her work left him staring slack-jawed at her.

With a deliberate movement, he walked forward and pushed the mechanical head off the table. It crashed to the floor with a metallic twang as gears of all sizes exploded from a hole above the ear.

Ettie shrieked and turned to him in shock. He set his jaw and stared at her, daring her with his eyes.

“What in the bloody hell was that for?” she yelled. “Three months of work, gone! Do you know how long it’s going to take me to get the lip pressure back to normal?”

“I’d say at least a lifetime.” He grinned at her and moved to put his hands on either side of her waist. “It’s an

48 obsolete model anyway.”

She leaned away as he attempted to kiss her again. Her hands tried to push his off her hips. “Don’t you dare try to cozy up to me after that. Three months! Wasted! I’m not playing, Amos—” “And neither am I.” She stopped pressing at his hands but continued to scowl at him. He really did love it when she scowled. “You don’t need that thing anymore. You’ve already got a kissing machine right here.”

She continued to scowl, but a small smile played at the edges of her mouth. “Your lip pressure’s not quite right, either.”

“Care to help me calibrate it?” He grinned at her. “I’m not too good with machines.”

And then there it was, that smile again. This time when he leaned into her, she let him.

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49

Meet the editorial team Editor: KS "Kaz" Augustin loves space opera, SFR and all things geeky. She currently lives in Malaysia, where she loves the shopping for tech gadgets, but hates the heat! Her website is at www.KSAugustin.com and she also runs Sandal Press (www.SandalPressOnline.com).

If you're a Twitter fan, you can find her at @SandalPress . Send all feedback to editor {@} scifiromancequarterly {.} com (I hope we don't have to tell you how to string an email address together; we're all geeks, right?)

Fiction Editor: Diane Dooley is the Fiction Editor for Science-Fiction Romance Quarterly.

Born in the Channel Islands, raised in Scotland and now resident in the USA, she is an author, an editor, a voracious reader, an unrepentant troublemaker, and a geek of intergalactic proportions. You can follow her on her blog or on Twitter. Live long and prosper!

Releases Editor: Heather Massey is a lifelong fan of science fiction romance. She searches for sci-fi romance adventures aboard her blog, The Galaxy Express. She’s also an author. Her stories will entertain you with fantastical settings, larger-than-life characters, timeless romance, and rollicking action. When Heather’s not reading or writing, she’s watching cult films and enjoying the company of her husband and daughter. To learn more about her work, visit HeatherMassey.com .

This month's cover image. Artwork by KS Augustin

This issue's contributors Charlee Allden is a long time fan of SciFi, love, adventure, and happily-ever-afters. She grew up in Florida where a huge fallen oak tree in the swampy woods near her home served as her very own Star Ship Enterprise. Luckily the alligators were almost never a problem on her space ship as the flight deck was several feet above the muddy ground. She did lose a few tennis shoes on away missions, though. By day she’s a technical writer; in her spare time she pursues a variety of geek endeavors, including blogging. She is the founder of the Smart Girls Love SciFi and Paranormal Romance blog. When the moon is full, she writes fiction. She’s a veteran of Dragon*Con, a member of Romance Writers of America©, and has a tendency to take on more projects than any sane woman would. Sanity is over rated, anyway.

Toni Adams is here to voice her opinions. Toni Adams resides in Los Angeles. Among the normal plane of reality, she has B.S. in Molecular, Cellular Developmental Biology and works as a veterinary technician. She has dealt with Felis catus, canus lupis familiaris, reptilian creatures, various avians, lagamorphs, rodentians, chelonians, and testudines.

In her loving care are four felis catus, one canus lupis familiaris, and one pogona vitticeps. In summary, she really loves animals.

50 When she is able to shed off the shroud of a Responsible Adult, she partakes in so many guilty pleasures that the guilt has long worn off. To name them all would make your brain explode from the sheer power. Just know, that it involves a blue police box, ponies with absurd markings on their rumps, a norse alien god, a rock band from the nineties, gaming (trading cards, board games, consoles), random international romantic dramas, and lots of crafting. The guiltiest pleasure of all has been decades of reading romance novels. From corset ripping heroines to gun toting she-devils, she continues to devour story after story.

Romance and science fiction is a blend that can either intoxicate her to dangerous levels of excitement or entice boiling frustration. Bring on the excessive transfer of heat and get some hydrogen elements shakin'!

The Book Pushers are six book-loving girls from around the world who share a love of all things romance. From small town contemporaries, to sweeping historicals, to gritty paranormal, to the futuristic science fi, they read it all. They are known for their fun, conversational style joint reviews, and can be found lurking at their website, on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Booklikes.

Marlene Harris is currently the Technical Services Manager at The Seattle Public Library.

She's also one of the co-editors of SPL's Romantic Wednesdays feature on Shelf Talk, which gives her a chance to expose her love of romance novels. In addition, she's also a reviewer for Library Journal's Xpress Reviews, and the author of their annual Librarian's Best Ebook Romance feature. Because she can't resist talking about the books she loves, and occasionally the ones she hates, she has her own book blog at Reading Reality. In her professional persona, before coming to Seattle she previously managed Technical and Collection Services Departments at libraries in locations from Gainesville Florida to Anchorage Alaska to the Chicago Public Library.

Jo Jones is a retired pilot who, after retiring, had an RV and traveled 6 months out of the year. After traveling seven years she left on a trip and realized that she was ready to spend more time at home so she sold the RV. She isn't giving up travel; she just takes the trips that did not fit with RVing. When at home, she gardens, reads, plays bridge, hikes, visits with friends, and volunteers. Jo is an unabashed big cat lover and shares her home with TC, her shelter cat. Both of them live in the Ozarks in Northwest Arkansas which, they unanimously agree, is one of the best places in the country to live.

Danielle Davis is a liar, a cheater of cards, and a misrememberer of song lyrics; only two of those are true.

She’s had dark fantasy and speculative fiction published by several people with excellent taste and has a current novelette published at JukePop Serials, which she strongly recommends you check out. You can find her on WordPress, Tumblr, Twitter, and beyond. She will go out with you for tea, but only if you don’t keep her out past her bedtime. Don’t make direct eye contact, and don’t ask her any questions you don’t want the answer to.

Carrie Sessarego is the resident “geek reviewer” for smartbitchestrashybooks.com, and the creator and writer of geekgirlinlove.com, as well as the author of Pride, Prejudice, and Popcorn: TV and Film Adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre. When not reading and writing, you

51 can find Carrie volunteering for the Sacramento Public Library, and getting into trouble with her mad scientist husband, amazing daughter, suitably mysterious cats, and highly neurotic dog. Carrie’s zombie apocalypse kit contains copies of Jane Eyre, Lord of the Rings, and many, many Oreos.

Storytelling comes naturally to award-winning author Beth Ciotta. Dubbed “fun and sexy” by Publisher’s Weekly, Beth specializes in writing Romantic Comedy with a Twist of Suspense and is published in contemporary, historical, steampunk, and paranormal romantic fiction. “I can’t think of anything more fulfilling than writing stories where everyone (except the villain, of course) gets a happy ending!”

Beth lives in NJ with her husband, two zany dogs, and a crazy cat. A retired professional performer, Beth now pours her artistic passion into her writing. To learn more about her colorful life, visit her website at

www.BethCiotta.com New York Times Bestselling author Gail Carriger writes to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Ms. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She resides in the Colonies, surrounded by fantastic shoes, where she insists on tea imported from London. You can read more about her at her extensive website.

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