Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Hathor Legacy: Outcast (guest post, review, GIVEAWAY) Goddess Fish Tours




Virtual Name Before the Masses Tour for Hathor Legacy: Outcast by Deborah A. Bailey, an Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romantic Suspense book


I have the pleasure of having a guest post by the author of Hathor Legacy: Outcast, Deborah A. Bailey

Why I Love Writing Science Fiction

by Deborah A. Bailey

My love for science fiction started when I was a young girl watching Star Trek and the Twilight Zone. Stories about aliens and space exploration always caught my attention. I've also got a rather large comic book collection stashed away, with my favorites being Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman (and just about anyone else with a flashy costume and superpowers). So it wasn't hard for me to imagine my own characters and to put them into stories.

When I started writing my book, "Hathor Legacy: Outcast," I knew it was going to be set somewhere in another solar system. Though I didn't know exactly where! As I worked on it, the history of the planet unfolded and the pieces came together. In my story, the planet has been colonized by settlers from Earth. After many generations, they developed psychic abilities. These powers allow them to read minds and move objects by using energy from their bodies.

With science fiction, the story elements should be probable and not magical. My heroine has psychic powers--which to some people may seem very un-scientific. But then again, is it really? Depending on which studies you read, maybe not. For instance, if you look at the theories about alternate universes, or time travel--there are a lot of things that might sound like fantasy, but are accepted by the scientific community.

In my story, the characters use aircars. Sounds very futuristic, doesn't it? Well, I recently saw a story about an aircar prototype. You can fly it, and drive it home after you land. So science fiction becomes fact rather quickly these days.

Readers can see themselves on a spaceship bound for Mars, or in a future settlement on a faraway planet. They can fall in love, encounter alien visitors, or try to survive in a future dystopia. Sure, a lot of science fiction stories focus on science and technology, but that doesn't mean they can't also be fun, sexy and full of adventure.


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Blurb:

On the planet, Hathor, a powerful group called the Guardians serves as the security force for Novacorp, the corporation that runs Hathor with its ruthless monopoly. Nadira, as one of the most powerful Guardians, is expected to use her intuition and telekinetic powers to keep the capital city safe from thieves and intruders.

Jonathan Keel, son of a mine CEO on the nearby planet, Astarte, is wealthy, privileged and used to getting what he wants. When his father goes missing after a robbery and explosion at the mine, he defies the authorities and heads to Hathor to search for him and for the robbers.

Struggling with their growing desires, and chased by company security, Jon and Nadira find that solving the crime leads them to endure betrayals from the people closest to them, as secrets are revealed that not only link their pasts but also threaten to destroy Jon's family and separate him from Nadira forever.


Excerpt:

The lift doors opened. It was empty. Nadira had expected to see security officers inside.

"We won't get stopped at the boat?" Jonathan asked.

"There's less security at the ferry."

She had a clear view of the lobby through the glass doors. But there was no way to tell what was waiting for them outside the building.

"So we'll hope a boat is there when we get to the dock?" Jonathan didn't try to hide his skepticism.

"They leave regularly. Even if we have to wait, it'll be all right. Trust me."

As the lift set down at the main floor, she continued to scan the lobby for anything that seemed out of place. The tower residents were moving about as usual, and no one gave her and Jonathan a second glance.

But as they approached the glass walled entrance, she saw two officers standing outside, their faces partially covered by shiny black helmets.

"What now?" Jon asked, dropping his arm from her shoulders.

"Don't say anything," she whispered.

The entrance doors slid open, and Nadira walked out first.  Composing herself, she lifted her hand and identified herself to the officers.

"Guardian," one of the officers said. "We were not aware that you had been called."

"Why are you here?" Nadira asked.

The officer held up a clear tablet in front of Jon's face. It glowed blue and flashed as his ID scrolled across the screen. "We received a report that Jonathan Keel was here. The Sentry Leader instructed us to bring him in for questioning." 


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AUTHOR Bio and Links:


 As a little girl when Deborah A Bailey was watching Star Trek and Twilight Zone, she was writing and drawing her own superheroine comics. When she grew up, she continued to write and followed her love of technology into a career as a computer programmer and developer. But writing was never far away from her heart, so over the years she wrote and published stories set on other worlds and in Earth's future. Ultimately she fulfilled a lifelong dream and completed her first novel.

Her short stories have won awards from the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference and her work has been published in US1 Magazine and the Sun. And she recently published a short story collection, Electric Dreams: Seven Futuristic Tales. In her "other" life, she's a freelance writer who's published two non-fiction books and countless articles that have appeared in print and online. Visit her blog for writing tips, interviews and updates.

Website

Twitter

AMAZON LINKS (book is only on Amazon at the moment)


Hathor Legacy: Outcast (e-book)

Hathor Legacy: Outcast (Print)



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GIVEAWAY

Deborah will be awarding a print copy (US ONLY) of Hathor Legacy: Outcast to two randomly drawn commenters during the tour, and a Grand Prize of a $25 Amazon GC will be awarded to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.  Please enter the rafflecopter and leave a comment about the mental power you would most like to have.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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My review:
3.5 out of 5 stars
Hathor Legacy: Outcast by Deborah A. Bailey is a science fiction and paranormal story that features a challenging planet named Hathor that centers around an organization called Novacorp.  Society is stratified and divided into those associated with Novacorp, civilians, and the Guardians.  Guardians are descendants of the original settlers of the planet and have a range of extraordinary powers but are themselves constrained by a set of strict regulations.  Jonathan Keel, son of the CEO of the high-producing mine on a nearby planet, is inexorably drawn into a confusing upheaval that may cause a shake-up amongst some of the largest players on Hathor.  His interactions with the Guardian Nadira will cause them both to take a close look at the beliefs they have held for their entire lives and the truths they strive to uncover will change their society forever.

This imaginative story gives a glimpse of a complex and stratified society that involves descendants of humanity who are endowed with extraordinary talents yet must deal with   the persistent issues of greed, power struggles and the conflict between following the heart and one’s sense of duty.  There are intriguing elements to the society but I found myself still confused about what was actually taking place and why.  There are plenty of dangling threads that need to be resolved and quite a few unanswered questions about the motives behind various actions and I had trouble with the way the main characters became so fond of each other.  Hopefully, subsequent stories will flesh out some of the issues as this story established an interesting premise that I would be interested in seeing explored more fully.

 A copy of this title was provided to me in exchange for an honest review

24 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Happy to host, thanks for the opportunity!

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  2. I would like to have the mental power of empathy and the ability to use it to heal hearts. If I could have another power it would telepathy. I need to keep close tabs on my kids LOL

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    1. I think empathy would be tough...learning to shield from all of the negative emotions and sadness. I figure I'd be in trouble if I had telepathy because I tend to think snarky thoughts a lot, lol. Thanks for visiting!

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    2. That's a good point! But reading each others thoughts would be interesting at times. Now that sounds like a Twilight Zone episode.

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  3. I really enjoyed the excerpt. Sounds like a great story

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    1. Glad you liked it, Jane, thanks for visiting!

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  4. So, your book is an Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romantic Suspense book...that's quite a mouthful. Which of those is the predominant genre? Do you plan to continue writing in this mixed genre or are there other genres you'd like to explore?

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

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    1. Hi Karen,

      I see my book as a science fiction romantic suspense. But I've been told that it's paranormal, it's futuristic, it's urban fantasy - others have defined it a bit differently than I would've. But I think since it does contain those elements, maybe it really can't be defined as just one type of story or another. But that's probably true of many books today. Stories can cross over and have elements of many genres.

      My short stories are more in the science fiction genre, so I'm more at home there. But As long as the settings are futuristic, I'm willing to try other genres.

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    2. Hi Karen,
      I thought it was more science fiction than anything else but the powers that people have give it that paranormal flavor and of course there is the mystery of who did what and why, lol. Thanks for visiting!

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  5. Hi there! Just finished digging out from the snow storm. Thanks for hosting me today!

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    1. Wow, stay safe. I am in the fortunate position to be in sunny California...we could use a little moisture but I definitely like our temps much better than yours! Thanks for sharing your story with all of us!

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    2. Yes, it is a bit cold here at the moment. Wish I could send a bit of snow and we could get some sunshine! :) Though we did have blue skies and sun today after the storm all day Tues. Funny how that happens. Thanks again for the review!

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  6. Glad you liked it, thanks for visiting, Rita!

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  7. I would like to have kinetic power. I can't win your print book because I Live in Spain but I will put it on my t.b.r. list.

    p.winmill@hotmail.com

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    1. I think that would be a neat power also. Thanks for visiting, Petula!

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  8. this sounds awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing and congrats to Deborah on the new release!

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    1. You are quite welcome, thanks for visiting, erin!

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  9. The excerpt made me want to read more, thanks for the great review.

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    1. It is a fun read, Mary and you are very welcome. Thanks for visiting, Mary!

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  10. Thanks everyone! Glad you enjoyed the excerpt.

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  11. Great excerpt!
    Thanks for sharing it and for the chance to win!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

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    1. Glad you liked it, Natasha, thanks for visiting!

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  12. You're welcome, Natasha! Glad you enjoyed it!

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