UPDATE: The winner is…Ann Ivey!
*~*~*

This is the second year I’m celebrating! I’m a huge Sci-Fi fan. I started watching movies like The Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, loved The Thing (Lord, was Kurt Russell hot!), and loved the Terminator and Alien movies. However, I love watching Sci-Fi series (like Farscape), where the good guys are good and the future gives you hope for humanity. My all-time favorite series are the many Star Trek series. And as I said last year, I began bingeing all the Star Trek series during COVID—and thank goodness, there’s a lot out there because I’m still working my way through all of them.

So far, I’ve made it completely through Star Trek: Next Generation (Picard), Deep Space Nine (Sisko), and Voyager (Janeway), Enterprise (Archer), and Picard. I’ve been struggling through Discovery. I love some of the characters (Captain Georgiou, especially). I love that they shot far into the future, out of the usual Star Trek timeline. I’m waiting for another season of Strange New Worlds (Anson), which is proving to be my favorite Star Trek series, by far, and the animated series, Lower Decks. I also began a rewatch of the Original Series with William Shatner, and all I can say is that Star Trek owes a huge debt to Shatner because his natural charisma kept you watching even when the storyline was silly. I do believe that a different actor wouldn’t have made you care as much about the story.  And good lord, yes, the man was sexy as hell.

If you’re interested at all in checking out the series, here’s a list of all the Star Trek series in the order they appeared—not necessarily in the chronological timeline.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Animated Series

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Enterprise (actually, the first in chronological order)

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Short Treks

Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: Very Short Treks

I couldn’t find a good, uncopyrighted image for this animated series of shorts!

So, there is a contest in here somewhere. I’ve rambled enough.  For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me what Sci-Fi series or movies made you lifelong fans. Are you more of a Star Wars fan or a Trekkie?

UPDATE: The winner is Colleen C!
*~*~*

Tomorrow is International Dalek Remembrance Day! But since I’ll be hosting a guest tomorrow, I thought I might get you in the mood for the celebration. After all, it’s an important one! Yes, I’m waving my nerd flag again. I’m a Dr. Who fan, and the Daleks are iconic Dr. Who villains. If you’ve never watched Dr. Who, do yourself a favor and start with Eccleston’s Who and binge your way forward. You won’t regret it!

But anyway, even if you don’t know who Dr. Who is or know a Dalek from an Adiposian, we can still play a word search game!

I chose to honor the Companions, Dr. Who’s travel buddies, as the theme for the puzzle. Naturally, my favorite was Donna. Poor Donna. I could wax on about how funny and sad her story was, but let’s get to the puzzle.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me whether you’ve watched Dr. Who, and if you have, which actor do you prefer in the role? For me, it’s David Tennant. The man has his heart in his puppy dog eyes.

Pre-order here!

My daughter found the image, and I love it! And yes, it doesn’t look like any other cover I have, and I guess that’s the point. This story isn’t about an ex-military man keen to protect a woman. It’s about a reporter going after a story, who happens to fall for a small-town girl who’s trying to protect her crazy mother. And it’s a setting and a legend I’m well-familiar with while I’m poking fun at it and twisting it all out of recognition. So, while you might think this cover makes it look like it’s out of the 1950s or 60s, it’s quirky enough to suit the story.

So, tell me, does this cover catch your eye?

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
*~*~*

I’m busy working on a book this NaNoWriMo! It’s one I’ve been wanting to write for forever. Seriously. I shaped the opening of the story back in 2002—twenty-one years ago, and those first chapters were sent to many, many writer’s contests, and gained awards, but something happened that pushed this project to the back of the line—I got published. And then I got published again, and again, and again.

I learned what I could write that would sell, and every time I saw Little Green Dreams in my “Future Projects” folder, I’d sigh because I knew (know) it would be a hard sale.

So, why now? I love this story for a whole lot of reasons I’ll try to explain here.

#1 — It’s the only story I’ve set in Arkansas, where I currently live, and where I spent my high school and college years.

#2 — My father, who passed in 2019, led me down the train tracks in his hometown of Gurdon, Arkansas, so that I could get “the lay of the land” when I wrote about the Gurdon Light. He was delighted I thought the legend was “worthy” of a book.

#3 — Many of the characters I write about in the story are modelled after real people I’ve met. If you read the story, you may think I’ve written some over-the-top characters, but yes, they’re that funny and odd.

#4 — It’s a story that’s hard to pin into one genre. It’s contemporary, a romantic comedy, and it’s both a sci-fi and paranormal tale. So, there!

Despite all the reasons I know I should concentrate on something you’ll be eager to read, I’m stubbornly, finally, writing this story—a strange little homage to my roots and my dad.

Little Green Dreams

Still no official cover, but I’m working on it!

Sometimes, Joe Franchetti hates his job at the National Informer, especially when he’s sent on assignment to cover a story involving aliens from another world. When he is sent to investigate the story of a woman in rural Arkansas who claims her husband was abducted by aliens, he vows to debunk her story, no matter how much the truth might hurt her attractive daughter.

Sandra Billingsley has a problem. Her stepfather is missing, and her mother is the prime suspect in his disappearance. In addition to protecting her eccentric mother from a possible murder investigation, now she must contend with a national tabloid reporter set on exposing her mother as a murderess or a madwoman.

While the investigation turns up more suspects and the local townspeople scheme to profit from the “alien invasion”, Joe and Sandra work together to unravel the mystery, knowing their attraction is doomed to end in pain when the truth is revealed.

Pre-order your copy now!
Read an excerpt here!

Contest

I’m a huge fan of Sci-Fi movies and TV. My favorites include ALL THE STAR TREKS, Arrival, Aliens, Farscape, and Firefly.

For a chance to win your choice of story from among my backlisted books, tell me which science fictions movies or television shows you would recommend!

The winner is…Cara!

And yes, the figure is Frank Poole from 2001: A Space Odyssey!
*~*~*

Yesterday, I received my latest Funko Pop! figurine. Yes, I collect these, too. (Yes, I’m that big of a nerd!) But I only collect figures that mean something to me. So, who could this little guy be? Play along with me…

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me the name of the movie the picture represents, and if you want to go a step farther, tell me which character in the movie is represented by my new Pop! figurine!

UPDATE: The winner is…Cindy Bartolotta!
*~*~*

Well, I’m up at O-dark-thirty again. Dratted insomnia. I don’t ever fight it. So, this morning I went ahead and made a cup of coffee and headed in the dark to my computer. The house is quiet; I can Google without feeling guilty. LOL. So, yeah, I’m how old? Self-employed? And I still feel guilty not “working” when I power up.

I went to bed a little early for me last night feeling a little angry. Why? The ending of Star Trek: Enterprise! I’ve been binge-watching the older series for a while now. Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager. All were unique but the same. Know what I mean? I was comfortable with the progression. Enterprise was uncomfortable from the beginning. I liked the idea of it happening before Kirk and was intrigued with the idea of watching “the first” Enterprise begin the star-trekking adventures.

**WARNING SPOILERS**

Problems? I didn’t like the captain. Over the seasons, Captain Archer seemed…a bit irritated and sometimes too aggressive. While I’d found Janeway annoying the first season of Voyager, I came to admire her (after the “Rambo” episode, I loved her). Archer never had that moment where I came to accept his personality. I struggled through the first season, but the show caught me in the second. I loved the evolution of the conflict with the Xindi, and it was odd, but my favorite castmate wasn’t a “regular”. He was a frequent guest—an Andorian commander in the Imperial Guard named Shran. Over the 4 seasons, I actually found him and his mobile antennae to be quite sexy. 🙂

He had a fiery temper, was stubborn, but at heart he was an honorable alien male who loved deeply.

And what did they do to his character in the finale? They made him a criminal! I wanted to see him as an ambassador, having moved up the chain of command through his heroism and good deeds. Nope.

And what else did they do in that finale? They killed my favorite regular cast member, Trip. He never got his HEA with T’Pol—even after they lost their child and all the years they yearned for each other. In fact, the finale fast forwarded years and said they’d broken up six years prior. WTF?

Yeah. I’m not happy. And now, I have to start into the newer Trek series and hope the Powers that Be redeemed themselves. Okay, deep breath. That’s the end of my rant.

Tell me, have you ever been fighting mad over the ending of a series? Tell me about it for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! 

Saturday Puzzle

Following my Star Trek rant, here’s a picture of what my imagined first encounter would look like. Enjoy the puzzle!

I’ve said it before, but I pull a tarot card on Sundays as a part of my planning for the week. Just one card to interpret.

For Christmas, my lovely son-in-law had a very special gift he’d been eager to give me. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, he’d say, “I saw it, and I just knew it was perfect for you!” When we opened our Christmas presents, he watched to see me unwrap it. As soon as I did, I wore the biggest smile because he’d totally nailed it. He’d found this box of Next Generation tarot cards, which combine my love of woo-woo with my nerdy love for Star Trek.

So, I’m not sure how useful they’ll be in the future (I think they’ll likely sit in my curio cabinet with me Star Wars figures), but I shuffled them this morning and pulled just one card, and…

I couldn’t believe it! Out of 78 cards—Worf! Swear-to-God, hand-on-my-heart, WORF! I could’ve pulled the three bars of latinum (Star Trek currency), and it’s just a picture of three gold bars, and I don’t know what I would’ve “read” from looking at the card—but I got Worf!

So, as always, I concentrate on the card itself—what the picture tells me. Worf is naturally the card of Strength. Worf is a warrior, through and through, with a strict code of honor that he adheres to. When he loves, whether friend, family, or lover, he goes all in and he’ll always have your back. When he engages in a conflict, he’s not going in with diplomacy in mind, he’s going to kick ass. So, for me, this week, I’m going in to kick ass!

I checked the accompanying book to see what it had to say, and basically, I will overcome all kinds of obstacles with my indomitable will. Check

Which is exactly what I hope for. I began last week roaring in on my New Year’s ambitions. However, by Wednesday, I was sick with a virus—hacking cough, headaches, runny nose. Not COVID! I did a home test, and then the doctor did one on Friday. Now, I’ve got a mountain of pills to take to kick the infection. I’m hoping today is the last day I’m dragging ass, and that I’m going to “Worf it” this week!

Do you love it when something cool like that happens? Some lucky draw of the card or something just falls into place like it’s supposed to?

Open Contests

1. Happy National Science Fiction Day! (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a $5 Amazon gift card!
2. Breaking Bad Habits (Contest) — Win a hand-painted postcard!
3. 2022 Review: Just reminding you… (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: What are we celebrating next? — Win an Amazon gift card!