Merry's Multiverse Musings October

Hello again, Multiverse travellers! We’ve come to the end of a flurry of fantastic and frivolous fervor (err..yeah, I like alliteration!) for another month over at the Facebook SFR Group. It’s actually quite amazing that there’s never a shortage of things to talk about! The Goodreads SFR Group is undergoing a resurgence, with several thought-provoking topics being raised, along with updates to one of Goodreads’ very useful and fun features, Listopia. Check out the SFR Group Discussion Topics here, folks.

I’ve created a Science Fiction Romance – Cyborgs list on Amazon – not such an easy task now that their Listmania has been consigned to the Great-Features-Removed receptacle. It took a bit of googling, but I eventually found that one must now use the “Wish List” feature. I’m also working on a similar list on Goodreads – a tad glitchy, stand by! – where other readers can both vote on books and add their own favourites.

Meanwhile, here’s a roundup of October’s standout SFR sparklies.

Cover Love

Australian author (yay!), Donna Maree Hanson has recently updated the cover of her book, Rayessa and the Space Pirates, which I read and enjoyed some time ago. The next book in the series, Rae and Essa’s Space Adventures, published in May this year, continues the gorgeous, ethereal theme.

Speaking of covers, my Science Fiction Romance Pinterest board now showcases around 850 books, author websites and blogs!

New Authors

Yikes! There are so many to choose from this month!

The Spiral Path, a novella by Lisa Paitz Spindler is a few years’ old now, but having recently discovered it via Carina Press, I’m attracted by the lovers-parted-then-reunited trope. I do love a happy ending after it takes a couple of goes to get it right!

Generations Beyond, Book 1 in J.A. and P.W. Stinger’s Project: Generations series, which was published in August this year, combines a thrilling battle to uncover the truth about a hush-hush genetic engineering experiment and justice for the resulting “Generations” with the budding relationship between a man and a woman, themselves members of the “Generations”.

Another oldie, published in 2010, but one that appealed to me because it contains a hook-up between an imprisoned heroine and a pirate hero (‘nuff said!) is Marcella Burnard’s Enemy Within. Pirates are cool!

And finally – just because! – a shameless plug for my compatriot, Oz author Jenny Schwartz and her new book, Beyond Regeneration, published this month, about “old grief and new beginnings”.

 

 

Best Read

I know, I know, last month’s book was about cyborgs, but I’ve been on a(nother) binge, OK?! And, I admit, I haven’t read as much this month as I’d hoped. We all have times like that, right?

I really can’t go past the series I’m currently reading, which is Donna McDonald’s Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined. I’ve read and loved Book 1, Peyton 313 (««««« from me; review to follow) and have nearly finished Book 2, Kingston 691. Book 3, Marcus 582, completes the set.

Series Spotlight

I’m really excited about Anitra Lynn McLeod’s Fringe series. Although each book contains different characters and locations, this excerpt from the blurb of Book 1, Thief, has me grinning and eagerly awaiting its SFR yumminess:

“Contains a celibate ship captain who can t abide swearing, a kick-ass woman with a marshmallow heart, a motley crew of misfits, interstellar battles, thwarted groping, sensual seduction, and a total bastard who owns his own planet.”

Some good news about Nathalie Gray’s Femme Metal series, currently out of print. Nathalie has kindly responded to a tweet enquiring about reissuing this series with a resounding “Yes!”.

Squee Moment

As I said on Facebook, I could hardly believe my eyes when I discovered Crisis on Stardust Station, by John Taloni! Not only do we get science fiction, but also cats! I think loving SFR and cats is inextricably linked, don’t you?!

LOL Moment

Well, there are two funny bone ticklers this month…and, yes, they’re both Star Wars related…again! Very popular amongst the SFR denizens and, of course, waiting with bated breath has been occurring for the release of the latest movie, The Force Awakens, on December 18^th.

A surprise on the Death Star

The Stormtrooper Dance

And now, it’s time for a rest!

Merry's Multiverse Musings

Greetings from Oz, fellow Sci-Fi Romance aficionados! I have had the great pleasure of “meeting” many of the wonderful Sci-Fi Rom authors out there in the Multiverse via the dedicated and fun-filled Sci-Fi Romance Group on Facebook, which is complemented by their strong presence on Twitter. 

I’ve learned so much about the vagaries of publishing and the nitty gritty of what it’s like to live in the self-publishing world.  What an eye-opener! Best of all, though, has been an introduction to lots of new authors and their awesome books, and also the wonderful book blogs and publications that focus on our amazing – and fast-growing – shared genre passion. Welcome, then, to Merry’s Multiverse Musings, a snapshot of my monthly favourite SFR treasure.

September, 2015

 Cover Love

Jess Anastasi has not only revamped the cover for her book, Escape Velocity (Valiant Knox Book 1), but the second book in the series, Damage Control, due out on October 26^th, 2015, also sports an equally sexy cover with an icy cool title font to tie the series together.

New Authors

During a cyberspace SFR reconnaissance mission, I discovered an interesting article devoted to some of the “best” SFR novels. Amongst the choices was The Astronomer, by Charmaine Pauls. Quite an intriguing and original variation on the stranger-rescues-damsel-in-distress plot device!

Space Wrangler is the start of Kate Donovan’s new series, Space Rustlers. This one appeals to my love of heroes who happen to be a tad on the wrong side of the law, but who also have “good bones” and a heart of gold.

Best Read

Cyborgs…sigh… My favourite book for September is Cara Bristol’s Stranded With the Cyborg. SFR books containing a sexy cyborg hero are pretty much auto-reads for me, and Stranded With the Cyborg is no exception.  Here’s my 5-star review

Series Spotlight

Thanks to a BookBub recommendation I was introduced to G.S. Jennsen’s Aurora Rising series, which is now available as a bundle in Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into this space opera romance!

E.M. Foner’s Date Night on Union Station, a recommendation from the Book Barbarian, caught my eye, which then led to the discovery of the next six books in the EarthCent Ambassador series. Oh boy, my TBR mountain is groaning with all that weight!

Squee Moment

I have yet to read Sabine Priestley’s Alien Attachments series but I’ll definitely be catching up before the release of Book 3, Liberation, in December, which sounds like a sexy and adventure-filled corker!

LOL Moment

Being a SFR devotee isn’t just about books! We have our fair share of fun and funny segments over at the Sci-Fi Romance Group and this one features my second-favourite Star Wars character, R2-D2 (C-3PO being the first!).