Escapee
Repelling
the Invasion
Book
Two
Edward
Hoornaert
Genre:
Science fiction romance
Publisher:
MuseItUp Publishing
Date
of Publication: April 19, 2016
ISBN:
978-1-77127-794-5
ASIN:
B01BUI0T60
Number
of pages: 262
Word
Count: 63,000
Cover
Artist: Eerilyfair Design
Book
Description:
The
African Queen in outer space
Catt
Sayer just wants to survive. The working-class fugitive delivers
military supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won
livelihood vanishes when invaders overrun her harsh moon. Now an
idealistic, upper-class officer wants her to risk her life on a
hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned by 10,000
soldiers.
Edward
Hoornaert’s romantic space opera, Escapee, continues the saga of
the Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian Angel of Farflung
Station). If you like The African Queen and the thrill of underdogs
finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love
Escapee.
The
books of the Repelling the Invasion series can be read in any order
or as standalones. The first book of the series is The Guardian Angel
of Farflung Station.
Excerpt:
“You
see no bodies, Miss Sayer, because I buried them over the past seven
days."
Catt
waited for him to continue, but he didn't. “Oh yeah?” she
scoffed. She knew he was lying, because she’d crawled over the
twisted remains of the fortress’s backhoe, whose micro-explosives
enabled it to burrow into Banff’s rocky ground. “You dug graves
by hand in solid rock. Yeah, right.”
“Enemy
bombs blasted the graves. I just filled the holes with bodies and
rubble.”
For
one body, that was believable. For more than a hundred, though? Catt
bit back a retort. From anyone else she’d suspect sarcasm. From
him, she didn’t know what to expect.
Then
she noticed how red his skin was, as though exposed far too long to
the moon’s corrosive atmosphere. Lighter patches marked where he’d
worn goggles and a respirator. “You did all that without a
bio-suit?” Like most people, she didn’t trust respirators for
more than a few minutes at a time. The man was either suicidal or
insanely devoted to duty.
“I’d
left my bio suit here while I went on leave, and it was destroyed in
the attack. As for leaving before the Proximanian army returns, I
thought of that long before you did, which was why I hastened to
finish my reports.”
The
entire moon had fallen into enemy hands and yet this officer wrote
reports? Her opinion must’ve shown on her face, because his flinty
expression slipped, revealing exhaustion, despair, and a plea for
understanding.
“I
know I’ll never be able to send them, but…” He ran a hand over
his eyes, and the unfeeling martinet was back. “The reports are
letters to my men’s families, explaining how they died at their
posts, defending New Ontario’s interests.”
Catt
opened her mouth. Closed it. Felt her face flame. Facing Dukelsky was
like staring into a furnace. She lowered her gaze. “I didn’t
know…”
“Yet
you assumed the worst of me.”
Without
thinking, she had slumped into the submissive, hunched posture of a
peasant being scolded by a patroon. Now, though, she straightened.
Embarrassment warred with anger, yet she wouldn’t let him or any
other patroon humble her, ever again. “Turnabout’s a bitch, eh?”
She
expected him to ask what she meant. He didn’t, though a narrowing
of his eyes told her he remembered his cheap prostitute comment.
Their eyes locked. She refused to back down first.
About
the Author:
What
kind of guy writes romance? A guy who married his high school
sweetheart a week after graduation and still lives the HEA decades
later. A guy who’s a certifiable Harlequin hero—he inspired Vicki
Lewis Thompson’s Rita Award finalist Mr. Valentine, which is
dedicated to him.
Ed
started out writing contemporary romances for Silhouette Books, but
these days he concentrates on science fiction romance. He’s been a
teacher, principal, technical writer, salesman, janitor, and
symphonic oboist. He and wife Judi live in Tucson, Arizona. They have
three sons, a daughter, a mutt, and the galaxy’s most adorable
grandson.
Interview
Tucson, Arizona. Before that, a tiny town in the
northern Canadian Rockies. Before that,
a wilderness island halfway up the coast between Seattle and Alaska. Before that, Chicago’s south side. Before
that, my mother’s warm, snug womb.
Tell
us your latest news?
My fourteenth published book, Escapee, was released a month ago. Escapee is a science fiction romance loosely based on one of my
favorite movies, The African Queen.
Catt Sayer just wants to survive. The working-class fugitive delivers military
supplies on her decrepit airship, but her hard-won livelihood vanishes when
invaders overrun her harsh moon. Now an idealistic, upper-class officer wants
her to risk her life on a hopeless voyage to attack enemy headquarters – manned
by 10,000 soldiers.
This romantic space opera continues the saga of the
Dukelsky family (begun in The Guardian
Angel of Farflung Station). If you
like The African Queen and the thrill
of underdogs finding love while battling a hostile environment, you’ll love Escapee.
When
and why did you begin writing?
Back in the 1980’s, before the computer revolution, I
was teaching elementary school in an isolated town of 1500 that had no opportunity
for learning a new career. Aware that computers were the coming thing, I taught
myself a couple of programming languages and soldered together my first
computer from scratch. But how to make a career in such a small place?
Combining my interests, I wrote a programming books for youngsters and discovered
that I loved writing. And the rest, as they say, is history.
When
did you first consider yourself a writer?
It crept up on me. For a long time, even after I’d
had two non-fiction books and three Silhouette romances published, I often felt
like an imposter pretending to be a writer. Somewhere along the line I began
feeling like the crusty old gunslinger in a Western movie, the guy who’d seen
and done it all.
What
inspired you to write your first book?
My first novel was a little autobiographical – but
only a wee bit. Perfect Ten was about
an amateur oboist who falls in love with a conductor. However, while I am indeed
an amateur oboist, I’ve never loved a conductor.
At a deeper level, the conflict between the leads – a
working class heroine who feels intimidated by the hero’s moneyed background –
is something I deeply identify with.
Do
you have a specific writing style?
Readers sometimes say I have a distinctive voice, so
I guess I do. Whatever my style is, it developed organically, rather than by
imposing a theory or someone else’s style.
How
did you come up with the title?
For Escapee,
I had a hard time finding a title. Then I realized Catt was an escapee from the
law, her airship was named Escapee,
and the hero was an escapee from the expectations of his illustrious family. I
felt a bit stupid not to have realized sooner that the title was staring me in
the face.
Is
there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Even if I start out with a theme in mind, any
pre-determined theme always melts away like snow in Arizona. Instead, the theme
grows from the lesson the main character learns. In Escapee, the theme is don’t
judge a person by externals, but by what they are inside.
How
much of the book is realistic?
Well, it’s set on a made-up moon using made-up weapons,
so it’s utterly unrealistic.
On the other hand, I thoroughly researched what a
world would be like if it had been captured as a moon of a giant planet; I
researched volcanoes; I researched airships. So in this sense, it’s as
realistic as I could make it.
Are
experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I’m tempted to say no, but that’s not quite
accurate. My uncle was a pilot who happened to be flying near Mount Saint
Helens when it erupted. The experience he recounted stuck in my mind, and
reappeared in much-fictionalized form when Catt flies too close to an eruption.
What
books have most influenced your life most?
That is a tough, tough question, because there are
so many. Early influences are often the strongest, though, so I’ll say the
young adult sci fi books by Robert Heinlein.
If
you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Another really hard one. I’ll go with Kathleen
Gilles Seidel, a romance writer who understands her characters extremely deeply.
I admire her psychological insights, and try to emulate them in my own work.
What
book are you reading now?
As usual, I’m reading several:
·
A
Heart on Hold, by Sara Barnard
·
Jane
Austen: Real and Imagined Worlds, by Oliver MacDonagh
·
Smoke
Sky: A Dark Sky Novella (unpublished beta read), by Amy
Braun
What
are your current projects?
I recently finished a sequel to Escapee, tentatively titled Constellation
XXII. It’s a standalone book set in the same ‘universe’ as Escapee, featuring another member of
Hector Dukelsky’s family.
What
would you like my readers to know?
That I am profoundly grateful to anyone who gives my
books a try. Without you, storytellers like me would be fearsomely lost and
alone. Heck, we probably wouldn't bother writing. That makes you an essential
part of the writing experience, so take a well deserved bow!
Tour
giveaway
$25
Amazon gift certificate
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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