Thursday, July 18, 2013

Welcome Roy Huff

I'd like to welcome Roy Huff to On The Precipice. He's the author of the bestselling, epic fantasy series, Everville. Please enter his international giveaway for a chance to win a copy of book 1 in the series, Everville: The First Pillar. The giveaway runs from July 20th to August 20th. Stop in for a daily entry and updates from Mr. Huff, including an interview, other announcements, and information about the next book in the series.


http://www.amazon.com/Everville-First-Pillar-Roy-Huff/dp/0988936402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374173616&sr=8-1&keywords=roy+huff
Owen Sage is the emblematic college freshman at Easton Falls University. With all the worries about his first year in college, he was not prepared for what would happen next. His way of life was flipped upside down when he mysteriously crossed into another dimension, into the beautiful land of Everville. His excitement was abruptly halted when he discovered that there was a darkness forged against both the natural world, which he knew well, and the new land which he discovered, Everville. He must devise a plan to save both worlds while joining forces with the race of Fron and The Keepers, whom both harbor hidden secrets he must learn in order to gain power over the evil that dwells in The Other In Between. With a race against time to save both worlds, his short time at Easton Falls did not quite prepare him for the evil, dark forces he must fight in order to conquer The Other In Between.
 
 
Excerpt:
“This is where the breach occurred,” said The Keeper as I looked at his lanky finger, which pointed to a few odd-looking characters that I didn’t understand. 

“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Well, it means we have less time than I anticipated.”                                                                       
“Less time for what?”                                                                                                                    
“Less time to repair the breach and restore balance to Everville, of course!”                                 
“What exactly is out of balance?” I asked hesitantly.                                                                       
“Why, everything!”                                                                                                                                   
Not seeming to be making any progress figuring out what was out of balance, I decided to change my line of questioning. 
“Well, how do we fix it? How do we restore balance to Everville?” 
Roy Huff is the author of Amazon's #1 international bestselling epic fantasy novel, Everville: The First Pillar. This is the first installment in the remarkable Everville series which combines elements of epic fantasy and young adult fiction in a form that nearly anyone will enjoy reading, young or old. He is a man of many interests including but not limited to science, traveling, movies, the outdoors, and of course writing teen and young adult fantasy fiction. He holds five degrees in four separate disciplines including liberal arts, history, secondary science education, and geoscience. Roy Huff's background includes work in art, history, education, business, real-estate, economics, geoscience, and satellite meteorology. He was born on the East Coast but has spent more than half his life in Hawaii, where he currently resides and writes his epic fantasy sagas.


Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Twelfth Paladin by Nora Weston



Today, I'd like to welcome Nora Weston to On the Precipice. She is sharing an excerpt and does a guest post to explain how she successfully mixes romance and sci-fi. Please leave a comment below to be entered into a drawing to win an ebook of The Twelfth Paladin.


Guest Post: Nora Weston (Author of The Twelfth Paladin & Guardian 2632)

Mixing Sci-fi and Romance

Soaring through the frigid Milky Way, a mischievous crew aboard Serenity get entangled in a government cover-up, involving a beautiful and deadly psychic, named River…which leads to a space-western adventure where Death makes itself at home. Captain Malcolm Reynolds discovers something atrocious and fights the good fight with his feisty crew, but his inner demons wage war against his morals as well.

It’s one of my favorite Sci-fi movies because even with Captain Mal involved in near death experiences where he shines as the reluctant hero…he also craves the intriguing Inara. She adds further tension to the plot by frustrating him. It’s positively splendid how Joss Whedon deepens the storyline with sexual tension.

It’s a human thing, the need to love and be loved. Can that powerful, often explosive, emotion be denied in the distant future since humans are supposed to evolve into something better? I believe the ability we possess to make ourselves vulnerable to love is the best thing about humans. Aliens are frequently depicted as cold, barbaric, soulless creatures like in Alien and Predator. They can time travel and build weapons of destruction to astound our human minds, but my favorite aliens are the ones who can love.

Buckle up! I’m going into the past now…all the way back to 1984, but watch Starman with Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen to see how well Sci-fi mixes with romance. Jenny Hayden is beyond shocked when her dead husband Scott is cloned by an alien. She witnesses miraculous things with Starman/Scott, so she eventually sets out to help him. They have three days to get to his rendezvous point, or he will die. It’s funny, heartwarming, and also an adventure as Starman races to escape the US Army and police. Basically, this movie highlights “humans are at their best when things are at their worst.” Jeff Bridges plays Starman as a creature capable of tenderness, even love. I must watch this one again soon!

Back to the future with Andrew Niccol’s 1997 science fiction thriller, Gattaca. Starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, with Jude Law, these three strive to survive as best they can amidst a society where genetic discrimination is forbidden, but happens. Valids get the best jobs, yet in-valids are stuck with menial jobs because it is believed they will get sick more often, be less educated, and live shorter life-spans.

Ethan Hawke plays Vincent Anton Freeman (an in-valid) who dreams of going into space, and his task is to impersonate Jerome Eugene Morrow (Jude Law), a superstar swimmer with a genetic background few could compete with. The two strike a deal. The genetic warfare begins.

Where’s the romance? Ah…enter Irene Cassini who is a valid (Uma Thurman) and passion ignites! Vincent is thrust into a murder investigation where he becomes a suspect. The plot thickens as he hides his true identity and attempts to make it know to his brother, who is a valid, that fate is determined by each individual and not a genetic rap sheet.

This Sci-fi thriller has a sleek look to it, and it would have been all too easy to abandon the romance angle, but Vincent and Irene connecting and falling in love, despite the odds of them ever meeting, makes the film for me.

Becoming an astronaut? Absolutely, that is very cool. Gattaca (the agency in the film) has a futuristic setting, yet the technology certainly does not outshine the need for love and acceptance. Finding one’s place in society, one’s destiny…is never easy. In the world of Gattaca, Vincent decides his own destiny, and wants to share it with Irene.

It’s been said love makes the world go round. So without love as part of what makes us human, Earth might as well stop spinning.  Sci-fi and romance? It’s written in the stars.









In The Twelfth Paladin, good against evil battles as an angel, demons, and a temptress extraordinaire, named Rachel Darnell, vie for the soul of Jake Cottrell. Jake foolishly dares Hell to burn him. Hell agrees. Scarred with angelfire by a rebellious angel, named Micah, Jake Cottrell is sanctioned to become the twelfth paladin in Micah 's supernatural unit of slayers. However, regret abounds as Micah is banished and ordered to protect what he now despises a human he believes is unworthy of such an honor. Never fear, Jake is a seeker of mischief who soars on a blistering blacktop to escape the wrath of Hell while he transforms into the twelfth paladin.


 

 

Excerpt

 Forbidden desire incited, I fell into Rachel’s maddening world feeling her splendid, bare breasts upon me. No rest for the wicked. A bit delirious, “Damn you,” slipped through my lips knowing I stood upon the jagged edge between life and death. Fuming with monstrous hunger, I danced on that edge feeling good and evil collide in every cell of my body. “Wait…oh…my God, just wait,” I said running my fingers through her black as midnight hair. “I’ll wait for nothing,” said Rachel skimming my neck with claws fit only for a beast. “You’re mine.” More bewitching kisses, irresistible and dreadful at the same time, demanded I fall into chaos. Tightening my grip on sin, I said, “You’re unbelievable, magnificent.” The computer screen flickered with a deep blue light as hatred in my soul grew for Rachel, but my flesh…cursed and weak, was so anxious for her essence it made me sick. You’ll be the death of me, but I’d die a happy man. Uh, hold on a second. I don’t want to die. Ready to escape her vindictive entrapment, I dared to look upon Rachel’s eternal beauty saying, “I won’t…can’t let you in.” “Too late.” Refusing to budge, Rachel slithered her smoking-hot body all over mine sparking a wildfire in my lust filled skin. “You beckoned me,” she said mesmerizing me with eyes so dark they had to be portals to Hell. Soft laughter, accompanied by a playful caress, extracted all fear while Rachel ingested the precious beams of moonlight. “You need me, Jake.” Left awestruck by the mystical presence, shadows froze at the mere sight of her. “Wrong…you need me,” I proclaimed as every inch of my throbbing, hard body burned for her. “Choose your words carefully, well…that is if you want to keep your tongue.” Sitting on top of me, she scraped my jaw with those deadly claws saying, “So shut up. I know what you crave. Yes…I…do.” Rachel slid down my tormented body making sure I’d regret rejecting her. Molten hot lips scorched my flesh, and then she chanted a devilish spell that devoured all guilt. Sexual torment, synthesized to the nth degree of potency, ignited in my veins with a vengeance. No, stop—don’t ever stop. Sh—shit. This can’t be happening again. No mercy existed as Rachel licked my face and then bit my bottom lip drawing fresh blood to quench her primitive thirst. Glaring into my eyes, she smiled wiping warm blood from her perfectly glazed, red lips. “Um, sin-filled wine.” Soulless eyes gleamed with unadulterated evil as her intoxicating scent and mouthwatering body seduced my soul. Choppy, maniacal rambling echoed like thunder and then dulled to become a terrifying murmur the likes of which only the Tower of Babble could contain. The hushed turbulence in the room frolicked with Rachel’s enticing lawlessness, until at long last…my conscience revved up to kick my ass. I halted Rachel saying, “I don’t want you anymore. To Hell with you!” I awoke sweating and exhausted from the lunacy buzzing throughout my mind. Heavy from the encounter, my eyes twitched. Free from Rachel’s spell, moonlight attacked optic nerves extinguishing the rampant fire inside me. Light? Yes, it’s virtuous…and when light is summoned, it’s an almighty force to be reckoned with. That was a priceless lesson for this seeker of mischief to learn. In the unguarded stillness of the night, I sat up in bed shaking my head while marveling at Rachel’s ardent pursuit. That beautiful…but dangerous bitch is still messing with me. Will it ever end? Feeling fresh, blood-ridden wounds on my chest made my heart flutter. “I let her into my dreams and now look at me,” I whispered catching my breath. Well, thank God I survived this one. Close call…yeah, really close. Sorry to say, the netherworld had splattered my nighttime reality with enviable, but hazardous sexual antics that, if accepted, had the ability to conquer any sense of righteousness I still retained.


Buy Links:

 







About The Author:

 


Nora Weston’s fiction and poetry slips in-between and all around science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Her publishing credits include the novels Guardian 2632 and The Twelfth Paladin, plus anthologies, magazines, and e-zines. Themes found in Nora’s work relate to good against evil, Internet safety, the powerful consequences for one’s actions, and the ability we all possess to improve the world. She’s had the pleasure of reaching people through the airwaves on radio stations throughout the US. Recently, her work was published for BĂȘte Noire and Crack the Spine. Feel free to download previous interviews and segments from Desmond Haas/Romance Radio Network and Blog Talk Radio’s Not Picture Perfect, plus B.K. Walker has interviewed Nora on Blog Talk Radio as well.
 
 
 
  
Contact Nora Weston: noraweston.nw@gmail.com
 
 
  
 
 
 
Nora Weston Blog
 
 
Nora's Facebook