NEW AUTHOR SERIES: S.E.Gilchrist

Time for a new series, and what an exciting one it is - New Authors!

All the featured authors are from the Romance Writers of Australia or Romance Writers of New Zealand, and have just been or are newly published with the digital imprints of Australian publishing houses like - Random House, Harlequin, Penguin and Pan Macmillan.

This week, please welcome S.E.Gilchrist.

S.E. juggles her writing around a full-time job and family duties. She writes in the romance genres of sci fi / futuristic, fantasy, post apocalyptic / dystopian, ancient history.

Her first release, Paying the Forfeit, a short erotic romance story set in a post-apocalyptic world, was published by Momentum Publishing in e-book format under the Hot Down Under series.

Legend Beyond the Stars, is her first single title (debut) release published by Escape Publishers in e-book format and is book 1 in the series, Legends of the Seven Galaxies. A hot short story set in the same world, The Portal, will be published by Escape Publishing on 1st March 2013.

S.E. has also indie published two books / novellas set in Dark Ages Britain and with fantasy elements, Bound by Love and Bound by Lies; available on most e-book sites.

She is currently working on more stories set in the sci fi / futuristic world and the fantasy / historical world.

Title - LEGEND BEYOND THE STARS
Release Date - 10th January 2013 
Publisher - Escape Publishing, a digital imprint of Harlequin Australia 

Call Story - My call story is a fairly simple one. I was impressed with the pitch Escape Publishing gave at the RWA Conference on the Gold Coast, August 2012, particularly how they were interested in Australian authors and prepared to look outside the box.

So on 10th September, I submitted a partial and a 100 word blurb on the New Harlequin Escape website. Kate Cuthbert requested the full on 21st September and on 12th October, I received that special email.

My reaction...similar to my brain imploding I think. Disbelief, heart pounding, a lot of squealing etc etc and I must have read that email a hundred times that night for I was certain I’d misunderstood.

About your book: 
Heroine - Alana Knight, captain in the United Earth Corporation forces and test pilot for shuttles from Earth to Moon / Mars. Alana has been married in the past and tragically, born a still born child and she now focuses on her career. She volunteers to assist oversee the colonists who intend to terra form a new earth-like planet. 
Hero - Tarak El Rajan, Commander of the Darkon Flight, son of ruler of the Darkos currently besieged and on the run from the Supreme Leader bent on obtaining control of their energy source which can be transformed into a powerful weapon.
Setting - The Seven Galaxies, space stations, space ships, alien planets.

Seeking redemption from a mission gone terribly wrong, Captain Alana Knight volunteers to aid a dangerous operation to transport colonists between Earth and alien traders.
But on board the spaceship, she learns of a galactic war raging for power. A power that can be transformed into a terrible weapon.
When the colonists are betrayed and sold, Alana’s mission is re-defined. Nothing will stop her from keeping those in her care safe and finding a passage home. But her new captor is nothing like she expects…
Commander Tarak El Rajan is human, male and equally determined to retain his payload. With his race on the brink of extinction he is under strict orders to transport all females to the planet Isla for research purposes.
In a world of uncertainty, where the wrong decision could mean the death of an entire race, the last thing either of these two soldiers expects or needs is to fall in love.

LEGEND BEYOND THE STARS excerpt
“Planning your escape, my slave?” His breath stirred the hairs at the nape of her neck, as he pushed her hair aside and trailed his mouth to the side of her neck just above the rim of her translator collar.
Alana swallowed over her dry throat. “Escape is a soldier’s first duty when captured by the enemy.”
He chuckled. “As you can see, Cerciron is not an easy planet. Note the cloud formation to your right, my Alana. Already the storm is gathering its momentum. In a bare one rone it will unleash its power onto the earth. At such times, it is best not to be above ground.” His grip tightened. “I will protect you if I have to chain you to my wall.”
“There’s no need to do anything so drastic. At the moment I have nowhere else to go.” She shuffled her booted feet and scowled.
The Commander spun her around to face him. He cupped her face with one hand and his dark eyes scorched into hers with the intensity of a furnace. “And you will go nowhere. Your place is here. By my side.”
“As your slave,” Alana challenged. She glared at his smug expression.
Tarak smiled and Alana could not stop her gaze dropping to follow the slow curve of his mouth. “Of course, what else?”
Her lashes swept down and she turned her face away but she had a sinking premonition he could read her far too well. Crap! His careless words hurt. She dug deep for pride and tried to push past.
“One moment, my slave,” Tarak ordered.
Alana stopped and stared as coolly as she could muster at him.
“It is my duty to also inform you Cerciron is also plagued by other natural elements.”
“Yes I know. Norman told me there are wind storms.”
“Aaaah, but did he mention the eruptions?”
Alana eyes narrowed as she stared at his innocent expression. She chewed her lower lip as she thought, then noticed how he now stared at her mouth. Clenching her fists, she fought the urge to drag him off to the side and run her hands over his taut muscles.
The man was a menace!
“Eruptions?” Alana queried and squirmed inwardly at her husky betraying tones.
Tarak folded his arms across his broad chest. Smirked. Unwillingly Alana met his eyes and her toes curled inside her heavy boots at the urgent hunger blazing in their melanic depths.
Surely he wasn’t referring to ...?
“The mountain range in the distance is subject to volcanic eruptions of lava.” He paused and waved a regal hand towards the horizon. “What other types of eruptions are there?”
Alana blushed to the roots of her hair and stomped off. She could hear him chuckling as he strode behind her. 

Any upcoming releases?
A futuristic short story titled, The Portal, and set in the same world as Legend has been accepted by Escape Publishing and will be released on 1st March 2013.

When Janni, a young salvager, boards a space wreck, she is caught for daring to steal Darkon tech by a patroller and the one man she had thought never to see again.
Several months ago she had allowed him to slip past her defences for a brief and wonderful interlude. But with both of them on either sides of the law, they had walked away. Now they are trapped on a wreck and with an alien life-force hunting them. Will the patroller save her or abandon Janni to her fate?

I hope for a second futuristic short story, titled, Awakening the Warriors, to follow soon.

You can follow S.E.Gilchrist on Facebook or Twitter, or learn more about her on her website.