I’m thiiiiiis close to being finished with The Pilot (darn flu had me off my Kindle feed for a while). What a geekgasm! As a fellow devotee of Firefly and anything Trek, I find her voice a delightful homage to those wonderful voyages of the imagination. Aliens, space cruisers, and out-of-this-orbit adventures – Oh, my! Her world is fantastic and fun to get lost in. I’m torn between wanting to swat and laugh out loud with the plucky Celera. And Trevaar . . . MmmMmm. The man can rock the Rim with the best of them! I smell sequels with her deliciously quixotic brother Quin and Trev’s hot best friend, Laning, and will be looking forward to those trips to a galaxy far, far away.
Holy horse pucky! Get ready for a ride!
But first, heeeeeere’s Diane:
Getting to know you:
1. Party dress or blue jeans? Blue jeans
2. TV at home or movie theatre? Movie theatre (big screen, surround sound & popcorn)
3. Broadway or museum? Definitely Broadway. When I was young & single, my girlfriends & I went to NYC and saw 7 shows in 5 days. Prices were cheaper then, but so were teacher salaries. LOL
4. Five words your friends use to describe you: Loyal, helpful, nitpicky, too busy, a little bit crazy (okay, a lot crazy)
5. Five words you use to describe yourself: Loving Nana, caring, intense, too busy, forgetful
6. Favorite books from childhood: Anne of Green Gables & Nancy Drew
7. Three favorite movies: 3? Only 3? Star Wars, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Serenity (Firefly cast). I’m going to cheat and name 2 more: It Happened One Night, Casablanca. And then there’s . . . (I think Nancy cut me off!)
8. What’s on your Bucket List? Alaskan Cruise, train trip thru the Canadian Rockies, San Francisco
9. Something quirky about you that no one knows (we won’t tell anyone!) I organize books and DVDs by subject matter. I thought alphabetizing was a little too OCD
The Written word:
10. Favorite type of hero (Type A bad boy or Type B good guy) Examples. (Which would you rather live with?) Type As are kinda scary but exciting, thrilling. I married a Type B and don’t regret it.
11. What type of fiction heroine would you be? Jane Eyre or Lara Croft? Wish I could be Lara Croft, but I’m more like Jane Eyre
12. Favorite genre to read? (Is it what you write?) Romantic suspense and sci-fi romance. Yes, I write both, though I’m only pubbed in SFR
13. What would you love to write that you haven’t? A (or is it An) historical set right after WWII when the men come home from war and expected the women who’ve worked in the factories, etc. to go back to being housewives.
14. Fiction hero you would run off with: Hands down, Han Solo. Does that negate Question #10? Hey, he’s got a spaceship. LOL
15. What are you reading right now? Mara Jacob’s Against the Odds, second time around. Such a great writer.
A Writer’s Life:
16. OCD plotter or free range pantser? A combination but I’m more a pantser. I know, I know, I’m OCD about other things.
17. Do you have a set writing schedule? Sort of. LOL Usually up by 6 – 6:30, get a cup of coffee (love my Keurig), write while Hubs sleeps; write while Hubs is awake; write, write, write. All of this is trumped by a visit from grandkiddies.
18. First publishing rejection: It came on my birthday and my daughter hid the package until the next day. That was back in the “olden” days when you sent your manuscript via the post office and enclosed a SASE for the manuscript’s return.
19. What’s on your desk? Too much stuff! Pictures of grandkiddies; books, bills (hope I find the unpaid ones before they’re due), receipts, papers and, somewhere, the keyboard & mouse. Good thing I use my laptop.
20. When can we get your next book and what’s it all about? Next book up is Switched, the Aftermath, the conclusion of the Switched series where twins exchanged places on Earth and on a starship and now have to face the consequences. Look for it around Easter.
Latest book out is The Pilot, which kicks off a series about strong women on the frontier of space.
Amazon
Smashwords
Barnes & Noble
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There’s no place like home and he just stole hers. Cargo hauler, risk taker Celera d’Enfaden must work with rule-bound Administrator Trevarr Jovano to save her brother from a galactic gangster.
Excerpt:
Celara pushed her chair away from the table and climbed up on it. “Quiet down, you Rimmer scum.”
The patrons laughed then quieted. Someone paused the Seinfeld vid.
She lifted her drink again. “A toast, Rimmers. Let’s hear it for the wonderful, fantabulous, yada, yada, yada, Administrator Jovano. May he live long enough to enjoy good health.”
To her surprise, silence met her toast. No one raised their glasses or mugs, even in jest. Everyone was looking at her, standing on the chair.
No, they were looking past her. Only thing behind her was the door. Kleema groaned and buried her head on her folded arms on the table. Booted footsteps rapped on the rough-hewn plank floor then stopped behind her.
“Thank you for the compliments and the good wishes for my longevity.” The baritone-and-chokiris voice sounded just over her shoulder.
If she ever needed a personal cloaking device, it was now. Or a magic ring with which to disappear. Sec Admin Trevarr Jovano stood behind her. Waiting. She swore she could feel him breathing.
Undaunted, she turned around. As the room tipped, she reached for the back of the chair. “Whoa, those mudslides sneak up on you.”
Missing the chair, she grabbed the closest thing—Trevarr Jovano’s black-clad shoulders. Beneath her fingers, the strong muscles contracted. “Hey there, Admin Man. Heard my toast, did you?” She grinned down at him.
He wasn’t smiling. “You should sit down before you fall down. Or better yet, go home and sleep it off.”
A dark fury swept away the sweet tranquility of two tall Kruferian mudslides. “I can’t go home, you snake. You stole my home.”
She swung a round-house punch at him, missed her objective and would have fallen ignominiously off the chair had he not caught her. For several long secs, he held her tightly against his chest, her feet dangling off the floor a good twenty-five centimeters. His green eyes caught hers and darkened.
The heat in the room rose ten degrees. Her heart tripped, the air leached out of her lungs. His eyes. She could drown in those green depths.
Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction, and romance into writing romantic fiction. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America as well as the Mid-Michigan, Young Adult and Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal RWA chapters. She is the author of the Switched series, about twins exchanging places—from Earth to a starship and the reverse. With The Pilot, she begins a new series about strong women on the frontier of space. She is also a contributor to the anthology How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in Michigan. They have two children and two grandchildren.
Diane can be found around the Internet at:
* Website * Blog * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads * Pinterest *
What a fun interview! Love your answers, Diane. I agree with Nancy. You've re-entered the world of writing with a powerful launch into the galaxy. May your adventures on the Outer Rim continue with unlimited success!
ReplyDeleteLoralee, thanks so much.
DeleteNancy, thanks so much for the great--no, terrific intro. Yes, I remember those rides to the chapter meetings. I am so glad you're liking The Pilot. It was fun to write. Thanks for having me here today.
ReplyDelete