Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
If you like your heroes HUGE and green, Dark Strength is the romance for you. (grins)
I love Balvan. He is a giant of a male both physically and in his soul. He stomps on enemy skulls with the heels of his big boots but he also rescues small wounded animals. Balvan is a complex male.
And Elyce, his human genetic match, loves that about him. She is the perfect companion for Balvan.
Dark Strength
The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall.
Balvan, the Refuge’s Gatekeeper, is huge, green, and has a reputation for crushing skulls. He’s a modified humanoid, genetically designed to be the ultimate warrior. One of a kind and considered monstrous by many, he never expects to find his mate, the one female meant for him.
Elyce, snatched from her home half a solar cycle ago, has finally escaped her brutal captors. She arrives at the Refuge barely alive. Only a blood transfusion from the largest male she has ever seen will save her life. But it will also bind her to him forever. Staring up, up, up at him, she wonders why she wants to be free. His gentle touch revives yearnings she thought dead. His lips set her skin ablaze. His massive muscles make her feel safe.
That feeling could be an illusion. Elyce’s captors want their slave back and they won’t stop until they have her. To give his mate her freedom, Balvan might be forced to give up everything he has – his role as the Gatekeeper, Elyce’s love, and his life.
Dark Strength is a STANDALONE Alien SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dark-strength/id1332249866
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-strength-cynthia-sax/1127772582
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/dark-strength
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/775942
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Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
I absolutely LOVE Balvan.
The HUGE green giant of a gatekeeper at the Refuge is complicated…as many beings are. He loves to crush the skulls of his enemies under his big boot heels. But he also loves to rescue and care for small wounded creatures. He is so very gentle with them.
As he is gentle with Elyce, his wounded yet small human female. They are wonderful together!
Dark Strength
The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall.
Balvan, the Refuge’s Gatekeeper, is huge, green, and has a reputation for crushing skulls. He’s a modified humanoid, genetically designed to be the ultimate warrior. One of a kind and considered monstrous by many, he never expects to find his mate, the one female meant for him.
Elyce, snatched from her home half a solar cycle ago, has finally escaped her brutal captors. She arrives at the Refuge barely alive. Only a blood transfusion from the largest male she has ever seen will save her life. But it will also bind her to him forever. Staring up, up, up at him, she wonders why she wants to be free. His gentle touch revives yearnings she thought dead. His lips set her skin ablaze. His massive muscles make her feel safe.
That feeling could be an illusion. Elyce’s captors want their slave back and they won’t stop until they have her. To give his mate her freedom, Balvan might be forced to give up everything he has – his role as the Gatekeeper, Elyce’s love, and his life.
Dark Strength is a STANDALONE Alien SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dark-strength/id1332249866
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-strength-cynthia-sax/1127772582
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/dark-strength
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/775942
Topics: Throwback Thursday | Comments Off on Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
If you like your heroes HUGE, green and bald, Balvan might be the male for you. (grins)
Balvan is the giant gatekeeper at the Refuge, a settlement that is home to some of the most violent beings in the universe. Balvan DOES have a bit of violence in him. He likes to stomp on his enemies’ heads and crush their skulls under his big boots.
But Balvan has a soft side also. He rescues and tends to small injured creatures.
Elyce, his female, is definitely injured. She’s also tired. And she needs a soft place to heal and recover.
She finds that sanctuary in Balvan’s arms.
Dark Strength
The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall.
Balvan, the Refuge’s Gatekeeper, is huge, green, and has a reputation for crushing skulls. He’s a modified humanoid, genetically designed to be the ultimate warrior. One of a kind and considered monstrous by many, he never expects to find his mate, the one female meant for him.
Elyce, snatched from her home half a solar cycle ago, has finally escaped her brutal captors. She arrives at the Refuge barely alive. Only a blood transfusion from the largest male she has ever seen will save her life. But it will also bind her to him forever. Staring up, up, up at him, she wonders why she wants to be free. His gentle touch revives yearnings she thought dead. His lips set her skin ablaze. His massive muscles make her feel safe.
That feeling could be an illusion. Elyce’s captors want their slave back and they won’t stop until they have her. To give his mate her freedom, Balvan might be forced to give up everything he has – his role as the Gatekeeper, Elyce’s love, and his life.
Dark Strength is a STANDALONE Alien SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dark-strength/id1332249866
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-strength-cynthia-sax/1127772582
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/dark-strength
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/775942
Topics: Throwback Thursday | Comments Off on Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
Today is St. Patrick’s Day! And since it is lucky to wear green on this day, I figure it is also lucky to read romances with green covers and/or with green heroes.
My favorite green hero whose story I’ve written is Balvan, the great green gatekeeper of the Refuge and the hero of Dark Strength. He isn’t exactly a gentle giant. (grins) Balvan is a warrior and he enjoys crunching skulls under his big boots. But he does love caring for wounded little creatures.
Elyce, the heroine, is definitely wounded and compared to Balvan, she’s little. (Anyone compared to Balvan is little.) She also deserves someone who will care for her and she finds that someone in the Refuge’s great green gatekeeper.
Dark Strength
The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall.
Balvan, the Refuge’s Gatekeeper, is huge, green, and has a reputation for crushing skulls. He’s a modified humanoid, genetically designed to be the ultimate warrior. One of a kind and considered monstrous by many, he never expects to find his mate, the one female meant for him.
Elyce, snatched from her home half a solar cycle ago, has finally escaped her brutal captors. She arrives at the Refuge barely alive. Only a blood transfusion from the largest male she has ever seen will save her life. But it will also bind her to him forever. Staring up, up, up at him, she wonders why she wants to be free. His gentle touch revives yearnings she thought dead. His lips set her skin ablaze. His massive muscles make her feel safe.
That feeling could be an illusion. Elyce’s captors want their slave back and they won’t stop until they have her. To give his mate her freedom, Balvan might be forced to give up everything he has – his role as the Gatekeeper, Elyce’s love, and his life.
Dark Strength is a STANDALONE Alien SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dark-strength/id1332249866
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-strength-cynthia-sax/1127772582
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/dark-strength
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/775942
Topics: Throwback Thursday | Comments Off on Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
Most of the characters I write about are complex. They have different sides, different layers to their personalities.
Balvan, the huge green gatekeeper hero of Dark Strength, is no exception. He delights in crushing his enemies’ skulls with his big boots yet is super gentle when tending to the small creatures he rescues. Some beings believe him to be a monster yet he protects the residents of the Refuge and the beings he loves.
Elyce, the heroine of Dark Strength, sees Balvan’s complexities. She has survived her horrid past by carefully observing the beings around her. When she meets Balvan, she knows, deep in her heart, she will be safe with him. It takes more time for her to trust that knowing.
Dark Strength
The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall.
Balvan, the Refuge’s Gatekeeper, is huge, green, and has a reputation for crushing skulls. He’s a modified humanoid, genetically designed to be the ultimate warrior. One of a kind and considered monstrous by many, he never expects to find his mate, the one female meant for him.
Elyce, snatched from her home half a solar cycle ago, has finally escaped her brutal captors. She arrives at the Refuge barely alive. Only a blood transfusion from the largest male she has ever seen will save her life. But it will also bind her to him forever. Staring up, up, up at him, she wonders why she wants to be free. His gentle touch revives yearnings she thought dead. His lips set her skin ablaze. His massive muscles make her feel safe.
That feeling could be an illusion. Elyce’s captors want their slave back and they won’t stop until they have her. To give his mate her freedom, Balvan might be forced to give up everything he has – his role as the Gatekeeper, Elyce’s love, and his life.
Dark Strength is a STANDALONE Alien SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dark-strength/id1332249866
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-strength-cynthia-sax/1127772582
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/dark-strength
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/775942
Topics: Throwback Thursday | Comments Off on Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
I’m currently writing the first draft of B Free, a story featuring B, a B Model cyborg. B Models are HUGE and B reminds me physically of Balvan, the Refuge’s great green gatekeeper, the hero of Dark Strength.
Balvan is a gentle giant…when he rescues tiny hurt creatures like his beloved puffkers. He’s not so gentle when he’s protecting his mate, Elyce. He happily stomps on her enemies’ heads, relishes hearing their skulls crack under his big boots.
Elyce is a strong female. She has faced some extreme hardships in her past, has impressively survived all that trauma. But we all need safeguarding from time to time and Elyce is no exception. She finds a powerful and loving protector in Balvan.
Dark Strength
The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall.
Balvan, the Refuge’s Gatekeeper, is huge, green, and has a reputation for crushing skulls. He’s a modified humanoid, genetically designed to be the ultimate warrior. One of a kind and considered monstrous by many, he never expects to find his mate, the one female meant for him.
Elyce, snatched from her home half a solar cycle ago, has finally escaped her brutal captors. She arrives at the Refuge barely alive. Only a blood transfusion from the largest male she has ever seen will save her life. But it will also bind her to him forever. Staring up, up, up at him, she wonders why she wants to be free. His gentle touch revives yearnings she thought dead. His lips set her skin ablaze. His massive muscles make her feel safe.
That feeling could be an illusion. Elyce’s captors want their slave back and they won’t stop until they have her. To give his mate her freedom, Balvan might be forced to give up everything he has – his role as the Gatekeeper, Elyce’s love, and his life.
Dark Strength is a STANDALONE Alien SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dark-strength/id1332249866
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-strength-cynthia-sax/1127772582
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/dark-strength
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/775942
Topics: Throwback Thursday | Comments Off on Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
I have a serious thing for Icy Bob in the TV show, Snowpiercer. (grins) He is definitely a beast hero and also has some wonderful Frankenstein’s Monster vibes. Icy Bob is big and scarred, has been through pain, has done some bad things in his past, and he would make a great Romance hero.
He reminds me a bit of Balvan, the giant green gatekeeper of the Refuge and the hero of Dark Strength. Balvan is fierce. He loves to crush enemy skulls under his big booted feet, enjoys the sounds that makes. But he is also gentle with more innocent beings. He rescues hurt small creatures and nurses them back to health.
It would take a strong female to love a male like that and Elyce is that female. She has been through trauma, is a survivor, and she would protect those she cares about with everything she has.
As a couple, they are magical.
Dark Strength
The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall.
Balvan, the Refuge’s Gatekeeper, is huge, green, and has a reputation for crushing skulls. He’s a modified humanoid, genetically designed to be the ultimate warrior. One of a kind and considered monstrous by many, he never expects to find his mate, the one female meant for him.
Elyce, snatched from her home half a solar cycle ago, has finally escaped her brutal captors. She arrives at the Refuge barely alive. Only a blood transfusion from the largest male she has ever seen will save her life. But it will also bind her to him forever. Staring up, up, up at him, she wonders why she wants to be free. His gentle touch revives yearnings she thought dead. His lips set her skin ablaze. His massive muscles make her feel safe.
That feeling could be an illusion. Elyce’s captors want their slave back and they won’t stop until they have her. To give his mate her freedom, Balvan might be forced to give up everything he has – his role as the Gatekeeper, Elyce’s love, and his life.
Dark Strength is a STANDALONE Alien SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Dark-Strength-Refuge-Book-3-ebook/dp/B078SYYWH5/
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/dark-strength/id1332249866
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-strength-cynthia-sax/1127772582
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/dark-strength
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/775942
Topics: Throwback Thursday | Comments Off on Throwback Thursday – Dark Strength
Mary Shelley – The Movie – Writing Insights
Spoiler Warning: This post will contain some spoilers for the movie – Mary Shelley. If you haven’t watched this movie, you might wish to stop reading now.
Mary Shelley is, of course, a movie about Mary Shelley, the writer of Frankenstein, the book that started the science fiction genre. She was a teenager when she wrote that book and that’s the part of her life the movie dwells on.
This is NOT a documentary. Some artistic liberties have been taken as should be expected with any movie based on real people/events.
I tend to dread movies about writers because, if they’re realistic, they’re deadly boring (staring at blank pages isn’t very exciting – grins), and, if they’re fantasy, they make writing far more action-packed than it is.
This movie, however, gets so much right; I had no choice but love it.
One of the first moments that got my attention was how Mary’s father criticized her writing for being derivative. She was copying other writers’ voices, as many of us do when we first start writing. Her father tells her to find her own voice, to write stories in a way only she can.
It took me quite a while to find my own voice. Like Mary, I copied other writers’ voices. But that feels like wearing someone else’s clothes. It is awkward and unsustainable. Once I found my own voice, writing became much easier and more natural.
I now tell stories only I can. Even if another writer followed the same plot, her story would be different than mine because our voices are different.
I loved how we’re shown how Mary gathered the inspiration for Frankenstein. It isn’t a flash of genius as many movies depict it to be. She picks up bits and pieces throughout her life.
Mary’s mother died soon after childbirth. That prompts a fascination with death, with science, with medical knowledge, with the human body.
Mary is an outcast. She doesn’t fit into society. Frankenstein’s monster is an outcast also. He doesn’t fit into society. The situation might be fictional but the emotions are real. They are Mary’s emotions.
Dr. Frankenstein brings his monster to life. Mary gives birth to a daughter. She creates life.
Mary attends a demonstration showing how electricity can ‘reanimate’ a dead frog. That was the missing piece, the ‘science’ she needed for her story.
She collects bits of her story from her experiences and from the world around her. And then all of those pieces fall into place to create Frankenstein.
Once she has written the story, she hands it to her first critic—her husband. He reads it, praises it, and then asks her to change the story to one that is more ‘hopeful.’ What if the being Dr. Frankenstein created was an angel, a perfect being, and not a monster?
Oh my goodness. I think every writer has received critiques like that, critiques from people who might be talented but who don’t understand what we’re trying to achieve, the story we want to tell. Mary, to her credit, doesn’t take this terrible advice and leaves the being as the monster he was meant to be.
This movie covers other female and writer-related issues. Before she is published, for example, she struggles with her identity as a writer. Can she call herself a writer if she hasn’t published anything? After she has written Frankenstein, she receives rejection after rejection after rejection. People (i.e. male publishers) question that a young woman could write a story like Frankenstein.
I enjoyed Mary Shelley. I wished I had seen it in the theater, surrounded by other writers. That would have been an awesome experience.
***
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Doc’s Orders
She wants both sides of her cyborg—the medic AND the beast.
A fully functional cyborg is balanced. His machine half and his organic half work together to produce the perfect warrior.
Doc isn’t fully functional.
The G Model operates at the two extremes. When his machine is in complete control, he’s the logic-driven medic, saving lifespans. Once his organics take charge, he becomes the savage beast…and beings die.
Both sides of Doc want to be the first to claim his female.
Allinen is one of the few beings in her small settlement who wasn’t born with a fated mate. Determined to belong somewhere, she has crafted a plan to leave the planet.
That plan doesn’t involve a huge stormy-eyed male who alternates between cool seduction and out-of-control ravishment. Doc isn’t her fated mate. Allinen knows that. But his dual nature and forbidden embraces tempt her to forget forever and indulge in more immediate delights.
Neither side of Doc views their relationship as being temporary. Her conflicted cyborg is prepared to battle her family, her planet and death itself to keep her.
Buy Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Docs-Orders-Cyborg-Space-Exploration-ebook/dp/B07RML2WG1
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Docs-Orders-Cyborg-Space-Exploration-ebook/dp/B07RML2WG1
Apple/iTunes:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/docs-orders/id1463105812
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/docs-orders-cynthia-sax/1131529760
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/doc-s-orders
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/938342
Topics: Movie Reviews | Comments Off on Mary Shelley – The Movie – Writing Insights
Interview With Naomi Lucas
I sat down (virtually) with Naomi Lucas for a short interview. Naomi Lucas’ latest release, Star Navigator, is a SciFi Romance with a cyborg hero and is the third standalone book in the Stranded in the Stars series.
Cynthia Sax: What makes Atlas sexy?
Naomi Lucas: Atlas: Adjustable Thickness Length and Size. I love my character Atlas, he has a lot of snark but he’s still a badass Cyborg soldier. I consider him my Frankenstein’s monster in space. What’s great about him is that he’s this killing machine that currently doesn’t have a body, as he was shot down many years before during the Great War so now he’s just a sentient intelligence. And boy does he know how to use his voice to get a girl off! Does he get his body back? I don’t know…you’ll have to read it and find out!
Cynthia Sax: Where is Star Navigator set?
Naomi Lucas: The story is set far in the future several generations after a disastrous galactic war between an alien species the Trentians and us, the Earthians. Tensions are still high although there is a truce. This particular story is about a woman who is given a deadly mission to discover why hundreds of ships have vanished after they have left the network’s reach. She is the last attempt for the Earthian Council to figure out what is happening. Her only crew-mate is Atlas, the acerbic, deadly Cyborg and they are stuck in close quarters for a long time. They have to learn to trust each other as they face many of the deadly aspects of space. Illness, corruption, pirates, and aliens.
Cynthia Sax: What creates problems between Reina and Atlas?
Naomi Lucas: They start off not trusting each other regardless of each other’s’ reputation. Reina has dealt with harassment her whole career in the Space Fleet as being one of the only woman in her field. She has walls built around herself to protect her but she lets them break down because she finds Atlas as a being who can’t physically hurt or take advantage of her. Atlas, on the other hand, has plans of taking control of the ship, taking control of his body, and taking control of Reina. Cyborgs=Control. This is all happening between them as they make their way out to dead space and the possibility of impending death.
Cynthia Sax: Is Star Navigator a series and will you be writing more stories in this series?
Naomi Lucas: This is the third standalone book in this series. Each book is connected but can be read alone and can start from anywhere. I try to write my books in a way that if someone starts on book two, let’s say, it will make them want to read book one and three. I don’t like answering any questions that are beyond my character’s scopes. I find the answers to many of the ‘biggest’ questions take an entire story to explain. I plan on writing five books for Stranded in the Stars, with the last one featuring Larik. But I plan on writing off-shoot series for my aliens and cyborgs. Truthfully, it’s hard to say, I have so many stories in my head and outlined that I might veer off now and again and write something random.
Cynthia Sax: Thank you for joining us today, Naomi Lucas!
Naomi Lucas’s Website: https://naomilucasauthor.com/
*****************************************************************************
Reina stopped caring, and she doesn’t know why.
After years of working for the Earthian Space Fleet, spending her days in quiet anticipation as a back-up pilot, doing her work well, if indifferently, she comes face-to-face with an alien warrior who tries to bargain away her free will and make her his own. Furious and unsure whether she should fight for a life when she was just going through the motions, Reina is approached by her superiors and asked to captain the last mission into the abyss, drastically altering the course of her life.
What does a Cyborg do when he has the power of the entire network? When his actions could alter the course of the universe? And his only obstacle is a woman in desperate need of his help?
Atlas is consumed with rage.
He is the best navigator for The Earthian Council and has been working for them for decades in hopes that they will free him. But when the Council forces his hand, the now sentient intelligence must undertake a mission that could irrevocably destroy his conscious mind. A mission that could force him to transcend his half-life state in order to protect the beautiful, lost captain that he would risk a second-death to claim; and to feel under his fingertips.
Buy Now:
On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Star-Navigator-Stranded-Stars-Book-ebook/dp/B06XBFVM7R/
Topics: Author Interviews | Comments Off on Interview With Naomi Lucas
