Hi everyone–
I’m delighted to welcome Jessica Subject who is bringing us some very engaging aliens in her new release, An Unexpected Return. Leave a comment with your email and you have a chance to win a copy of her new book.
Here’s Jessica —
Thank you for having me on your blog today!
I LOVE books, have all my life. They are able to transport me to new worlds simply with words.
I don’t remember the first book I owned, but I remember always having them around, from very old books with cracking spines and yellowed pages, to new ones with that smell readers everywhere can recognize. As a child, I read a lot of Robert Munch, Tomie de Paola, Judy Blume, Ann M. Martin, and Francine Pascal. I loved to visit the local public library, and those at my school to see what adventures I could find. And when the teachers sent home a Scholastic book order form, it was like giving me candy.
Before my kids were born, I read to them books like Guess How Much I Love You and Goodnight Moon. They still love their bed time stories, and often recite the stories back to me, or at least my youngest still does. When my daughter was learning to read, her opinion of books changed. She hated them. So, I set out to write her a book that she would enjoy, something that interested her. She now reads above grade level, and in another language, and I haven’t stopped writing since then.
My reading style has changed quite a bit over the past couple years. With the popularity of YA, I have gobbled down quite a few in the area of scifi and dystopian. I have also been reading short stories and novellas, where I used to only read full-length novels. When I received an ereader for Mother’s Day a couple years ago, I began buying ebooks. Wow! With the internet, I am able to get almost any book I want, and much quicker. I still visit book stores and libraries, mostly for the kids though. My daughter is only starting to read ebooks, and my son is too young yet. But there are still books where I have to have a print copy rather than an ebook.
Still, I read way more books than I used to, and even write some of my own along the way. J
And here is an excerpt from An Unexpected Return:
Rushing down the corridor, [Aristides] ignored the lavish silks of purple and gold hanging on the walls, for the extravagance did not suit him. He wanted to rule his father’s kingdom on Tyto, the moon of Otaria, no more than he wanted Madelia as his queen. Not until he was ready to settle down. The excessiveness of this lifestyle had never held any appeal to him anyway. Even as a child, he’d preferred to explore the caves of Tyto with the common children, or stow away on a supply ship to visit other planets, only to be dragged back home by his guard.
Reaching his father’s study, he burst through the door. The warmth hit him like a brick wall. He drew in a quick breath. “Father, I need your help. Benignus is very ill. He’s been in the lavatory with the sickness. I believe he ate some tainted food.”
The king peered up, examining him. “No one else has shown any signs of the sickness. Seriously, at twenty-one star cycles, I would expect the two of you to have outgrown your antics. What kind of trouble have you gotten into this time?”
“No trouble at all, sir. Please help him. I have him resting in my bed now, but he is too ill to move to his own quarters.”
“Thornton!”
The stout man—and the only Terran friendly with his father—entered the room as soon as the king beckoned. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Fetch the doctor and bring him up to the prince’s quarters.” The king stood up, his purple robe billowing behind him. “Let’s go.”
Aristides hurried to follow his father, hoping Benignus had stuck to the plan.
“Were you in those caves again? You know the black magic there causes the sickness.”
He sighed. The humid caves were filled with bacteria, occasionally causing visitors to become sick if they didn’t wash after returning from them. His father, though, preferred to live in his fantasy world. “No, Father, we went directly to my quarters after dinner.”
“Honestly, you two cause more trouble than any common child.”
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Thank you so much for coming by. Remember to leave a comment for Jessica with your email! And i love blog followers! If you’d like to be on my email list, just go to the top of the right-hand column and sign up.
Beach Balls is coming. Watch for it Friday June 1st! Thank you again. : )