I’m happy to welcome poet and author Miriam Newman. Today, Miriam shares her latest release, House of the Twelfth Planet.

Blurb

To whom does Lela owe her loyalty: her own people or the Thelonian Lord who loves her?

Excerpt

Her last memory was of sleeping in Caius’s arms. Her first was of his face.

There were other faces, too—human faces unlike her Thelonian Lord’s. More like her own. Shrill beeping noises. Nearly unbearable lights and a cold, sharp smell.

“Just be patient a moment,” one of the human faces said. “We will have you out shortly.”

Out of where, Lela thought, but she could see hands and feel them on her, too. Strange sensations, not unpleasant, but…invading. Removing things from her skin. Through it all, Caius’s steady, calm voice kept her from utter panic.

“You are awakening from a long sleep,” he told her, and she could well believe it. How long could you sleep, to forget where you were and why?

“You are on board a space transport,” he told her. “I have been with you the whole time. Just let the crew help you.”

She lay still, hardly daring to blink.

“There,” a woman’s voice said cheerily. “All finished now. How do you feel?”

Lela’s stare fixed on her. A medico. Fully human, understandable, not a threat. Dimly, she remembered. This woman had given her a substance that made her sleep, with Caius in their tiny cabin accommodation. His heartbeat was the last thing she had felt before she slept. Now she was inside one of the sleeping pods she had seen the crew members use. They had gone into the long sleep, and so had she. There were others, around her, stirring and stepping out of their pods.

“Strange,” she told the medico, then looked past her to Caius. “How long have I slept?”

“Twelve years by our suns. But now we are coming into the orbit of Colony Twelve, where I believe the days and years are somewhat longer.”

She shook her head. She was a simple nonni-girl from Danaali, a farmer, not a learned person who would know such things. It was all very well for Caius to tell her. He had a law-giver’s degree. She was confused except for one thing: on Colony 12 she was no longer a slave.

Ten Things You Don’t Know About My Character

1) Caius was named by his father, a scholar familiar with Earth history who had an affinity for ancient Rome.

2) He is recognizably humanoid, but well over the height of an average denizen of Earth.

3) Like most Thelonians, Caius has caramel colored skin to protect him from Thelona’s two suns—the rising and ascending suns, equivalent to morning and afternoon.

4) Though his pupils are essentially normal and golden-colored by Earth standards, they can turn blood red under conditions of stress, temper or passion. This makes him intimidating to those unused to it—which is most of the universe.

5) He is the result of a political marriage between his parents—the requisite child to carry on the family name.

6) He was essentially raised by his parents’ slaves. In some ways, he incorporates their values superimposed on his patrician birthright.

7) The conflict with his parents that drove him still is not dead, even though his father is.

8) He once found a woman he could truly, deeply love and walked away from her. She married someone else.

9) He drinks too much and sleeps around too much, but he is secretly looking for the woman he will want to come home to.

10) He does not realize what a dangerous anarchist he is at heart—but other people do.

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Lulu

Author Bio and Links

Fantasy poetry driven by myths and legends has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I was published in poetry before catching the romance writing bug. I bring that background to my writing along with a lifelong addiction to horses, an 18-year career in various areas of psychiatric social services and many trips to Ireland, where I nurture my muse. My published works range from contemporary fantasy romance to fantasy historical, futuristic, science fiction and historical romance. Currently I live in rural Pennsylvania with a “motley crew” of rescue animals. You can see my books at http://www.miriamnewman.com.

Website | Celtic Rose Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

Giveaway

Miriam Newman will be awarding a $20 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

Follow Miriam on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.