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Harbingers

The Quest Continues To Stop A Killer “Curse!”

Dame Jessamine is a knight errant with a spaceship for a steed, a woman of science in a galaxy rife with superstition. Follow along as she continues her mission for truth within the barony of Nidaros!

A mysterious crop-withering blight spreads through the barony’s soil. The court magicians have blamed two siblings of spawning the crisis through witchcraft. Convinced of their innocence, Jessamine has rescued and now secretly harbors Verahl Naustvik aboard her spaceship. Meanwhile, his sister Thordia flees to the Harbinger, a crashed space station from the distant and more enlightened past.

Approaching the Harbinger is an act punishable by death, but Jessamine won’t let that stand in the way of a second rescue. Thordia, and the Harbinger’s surviving technological secrets, may be Nidaros’ only hope against the blight. Jessamine prepares to embark—only to be betrayed and set upon by vengeful court magicians.

Now, one wrong word or gesture will lead to deadly charges of witchcraft. Jessamine must protect the Naustviks and brave the Harbinger, all while striking a balance between ritual and reason. If she can’t maintain the peace long enough to discover a cure for the blight, the entire barony will starve—unless its far-off masters decide to “restore order” with military action first!

Harbingers is Book Two of the Sword and Starship series of science fiction/fantasy adventure.

Excerpt

Dag held silent. He was surely scowling at me, but I couldn’t see it and didn’t care. With my right arm, I lowered Ormyr to a seat against the rock again. His limbs obeyed, but he seemed absent mentally, eyes glazed over. I learned the hard way that he was still paying attention when his hand darted to the bolt in his thigh. He tore it out with one swift movement.

“Damn it!” I cried. It just figured he wouldn’t listen. This bit of stubbornness might’ve cost him his life. Heart pounding and hands shaking, I dug into my first aid kit for bandages.

“I’m uninjured.” Ormyr rested his head against the rock.

“I don’t need your denial on top of everything else,” I snapped, struggling to rein in my irritation. That, plus the fog and the dizziness? Not good signs, but I couldn’t worry about myself just then. “Dag, turn on that light again. I can’t see too well.”

“Gamla skíta,” Dag spat. “I’m not helping him!”

“No, you’re not. You’re showing him the power the Naustviks gave you.” There. Something to appeal to the kid’s bravado and sate Ormyr’s curiosity about how Dag had come to wield the Shipbuilder relic. But if Ormyr cared about such a thing at the moment, he gave no sign, his gaze remaining detached.

Dag edged over to my makeshift surgical arena. The bright light cut on again, which the boy aimed directly at Ormyr’s eyes at first. The master adept’s only response was to squint.

“Lower, Dag,” I said.

He complied. Eventually.

About the Author

Ellis has always loved staging adventures in her head before going to sleep each night. When she was twelve, she started putting these adventures on paper.

For the next twenty years, she wrote with varying degrees of seriousness, but always as a hobby. In that time, she fell in love with Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut, the original Star Trek series, and Mystery Science Theater 3000. Science fiction became her favorite domain to work in, but she also enjoyed reading fantasy, horror, Western, and detective stories, and incorporating their elements into her work. One of her favorite things to do was make people laugh.

Ellis denied being a writer for decades. But then she sold articles to The Daily WTF and a short story to Analog Science Fiction and Fact. After quitting her full-time job to finish her first novel, it was time to own up to writing as her calling. She’s currently an editor at The Daily WTF and having the time of her life penning novels and short stories.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+EllisMorning
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/EllisMorning
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7871892.Ellis_Morning

LINKS FOR BUYING THE BOOK:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MZA1BP3
Nook (B&N): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/harbingers-ellis-morning/1125466299?ean=2940157321758
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/harbingers-2
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1194116553

Interview

1. Tell us a little about yourself?

Hi, and thanks for hosting me! I’ve lived in Arkansas, Texas, Michigan, and upstate New York, but have spent most of my life in Pittsburgh, PA. Growing up, I was focused on school and getting an IT-related job, and had many little creative side-outlets that I always thought would be nothing more than hobbies. Now, everything’s turned on its head: I write full-time and have left the rat race comfortably in my rear-view mirror! Novels consume the majority of my attention these days. I also write and edit for The Daily WTF (www.thedailywtf.com), a humor website dedicated to sharing the horrors of IT work. I’m married, and my husband and I have one dear little cat/mischief-maker.

2. Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book?

Harbingers is Book 2 in the Sword and Starship series. It follows the adventures of Dame Jessamine, a galaxy-faring knight errant in a universe where superstition is rampant, but magic doesn’t actually exist (like ours!). She’s on a quest to save a barony and its people from a crop malady that’s been blamed on a “witch’s curse” when it’s actually anything but. Meanwhile, the science and reason she relies on can get her in trouble with the authorities if she’s not careful!

Book 1, Blood’s Force (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015TUD5BG), offers mystery and investigation. Harbingers has more payoff. There’s still plenty of adventure left over for Book 3, which I’m working on right now.

3. If you could have dinner (and dessert) with any fictional character who would it be and why?

Probably the second Doctor from Doctor Who, played by Patrick Troughton. He’s always been my favorite for seeming like a fool, when in fact he’s the smartest man in the room. He exudes an energy and charisma that not only made his character fun to watch, but also kept Doctor Who alive. Think about it: if he’d sucked, Doctor Who would’ve never survived past the 1960s!

4. What is the biggest surprise that you experienced after becoming a writer?

That the novel is a completely different beast from the short story and requires a lot more planning and attention to detail. I didn’t start out as a plotter, but I’ve become one out of necessity.

5. What is your favorite writing tip or quote?

Here are two, from my favorite writers:

“When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away—even if it’s only a glass of water. Characters paralyzed by the meaningless of modern life still have to drink water from time to time.” – Kurt Vonnegut

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” – Mark Twain

6. Tell us a little about your plans for the future. Do you have any other books in the works?

I intend to remain focused on writing novels. I’d like to close out Sword and Starship before starting anything else. Book 3 is in the works right now, and I’m not sure yet how many books there will ultimately be. I’ll keep telling the story until it’s told!

Occasionally, I take a break to write short stories as ideas strike. I give a free collection of short stories to everyone who joins my mailing list: http://eepurl.com/K7D1L

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