Blog
11
Apr
2014

Not In The Stars A Mischief Corner Anthology

Happy Friday to everyone out there reading. I hope everyone has some fabulous plans for today and the upcoming weekend. Today I am excited to have Angel Martinez with me today, one of the authors in the Mischief Corner Press group. All of the authors in Mischief Corner are great and they have a new anthology out with a space theme. As a big space enthusiast (hey, who didn’t want to be an astronaut when they grew up!) and also a lover of sci-fi and futuristic stories, I was very glad to be a part of this blog tour. Below the interview is information about the book, plus two exciting excerpts. At the very bottom is a giveaway so make sure you read all the way through and sign up.

Amanda C. Stone: Before we begin I’m going to do a little fangirlling here. I love all of the Mischief Corner authors. But I’m excited to have you here Angel. I decided to ask some fun outer space, sci-fi themed questions in honor of your anthology. So here goes! If you could travel to outer space, would you?
Angel Martinez: As I am now? Sadly, no. When I was young and healthy, I would have jumped at the chance. What a grand adventure, to leave our little island and travel out into the larger universe.
ACS: I think you’d do just fine in outer space. All of that anti-gravity is good for you. I’m sure that’s a fact. We’ll have to look it up! If time to get there weren’t an option, where in space would you want to travel to?
AM: If I could go anywhere, I would want to take a tour of the most beautiful nebula out there – the Carina, the Ghost Head, the Horse Head, the Nest – gives me shivers to think about actually seeing them in person.
ACS: Those are indeed some amazing things to see. For those reading you can see pictures of the Carina Nebula here; the Ghost Head Nebula here; the Horse Head Nebula here; and the Nest Nebula here. I think I’d enjoy seeing all of those but the thing I’d most want to see would be the middle star of Orion’s belt, Alnilam. On now imagine yourself as an alien. What distinct feature do you have that are different from humans?
AM: Oh, my, there are so many things one can choose from. Even if we take into account theories of convergent evolution on disparate planets, there are still countless variations on the head(s)/torso/limbs construction. If I could recontruct myself as an alien, I would want more arms. I’m not greedy. Four would do. A tail would be practical as well, especially prehensile. Eyes that allowed more light in. A brain that could process sensory input more efficiently. Hermaphroditic sexual functioning. Yes – I went there. For my custom built race, everyone could enjoy everything. Better natural weaponry as well. We need teeth and claws.
ACS: You would make an awesome alien! I think it would be pretty fun to have a prehensile tail myself. What space TV show or movie is your favorite?
AM: No way in all heck I could pick one.
ACS: I know, unfair question for a fellow sci-fi geek. There are too many good ones out there. Name a few of the top ones then.
AM: I loved Firefly and Farscape, grew up on Star Trek and was an avid watcher through most of Voyager (and there I stopped.) Old guard Dr. Who and new (though Tom Baker will always be my favorite – he was my first love.) Twilight Zone, Nightstalker, the list goes on and on – a lot of older shows. I don’t get to watch a lot of TV any longer.
ACS: That takes care of space shows. How about a few movies too now.
AM: Space movies? If there’s space, I’m there, even if it’s a really bad movie. Recently I was wowed by Gravity, though. Really amazing stuff.
ACS: I never got a chance to see Gravity. I heard great things about it. I’m hoping to see it at some point. Maybe by the time it’s free on Amazon Prime Video I’ll get there! Now name your favorite episode or scene from the show/movie.
AM: No brainer. My very favorite scene of any TV show, ever, is the one from the Firefly episode “Our Mrs. Reynolds” where Mal ends up naked in the middle of nowhere. How could you not love that?
ACS: Indeed! Mal naked is pretty much always a winner. Alright, last question. You have the opportunity to appear on a new series of Star Trek, but you have to wear the dreaded “red shirt”. Would you do it?
AM: Yes, yes, I would die a hundred times on Star Trek. So long as it was good Star Trek 😉
ACS: I think I’d do it but make my death scene so over the top spectacular that it would be memorable. Thank you again for joining me today!

Now read all about the book!

Blurb:
Since the dawn of human expression, man has gazed up at the heavens in wonder, inspired by the wheeling of the stars to explain his surroundings. While our perception of those surroundings have changed, from thinking of the Earth as a flat, stable plane to realizing we’re falling through space in a tiny atmospheric bubble, our wonder remains constant.

Space stations, alien races, far-flung planets—join the Mischief Corner authors as they explore the possibilities the stars might offer. The catch? Returning to mundane old Earth might be harder than you think.

Excerpt:
Shax’s War: Brimstone 3
Angel Martinez

Chapter One

Shax yelped as the trauma ball hummed against his palm, the surface shifting from swirling orange toward yellow. Before it could deliver its nastiest shock, he flung the thing at Verin’s head.

“Bastard!”

Sparks flew as Verin swung his horns and batted the ball away. He aimed right for Ness, who sidestepped and caught the ball as it powered back down to blue. Wings spread for balance, tip of his tongue protruding from the corner of his mouth, Ness spun and ran the three steps up the ramp at the court’s far end, aiming for the hovering sphere goal.

At the last second, the goal moved left and Ness’s shot caught the magnetized lip, which hurled the trauma ball back at him at some ridiculous, unsafe speed. Shax winced at the sharp crack when hard ball met angel head.

“Ow.” Ness flopped down at the top of the ramp, rubbing at his temple.

“Someone gonna explain to me again how this is fun?” Corny called from where he balanced on the swinging planks that made up mid-court.

He’d been stuck on the water hazard for several plays, his muscular body and high center of gravity an indisputable disadvantage since the wrong move would send him into the water and cost him a five minute penalty. Their cowboy had figured out the hard way in the first quarter that the pool itself enforced the penalty and didn’t let the penalized player out a second before.

Good thing he can tread water.

The ball was now happily rolling along the elevated sidewall ramps and Shax prepared to jump for the rings that would put him at the right height to catch it when it rolled free. Had they been playing teams…but no one could agree on a fair way to pair the four of them up, so solo it was.

Shax cocked his head, listening to the rumble of the ball as it trundled downward. Ness was still on the ramp. Corny was stuck. Verin was navigating the sponge quadrant where his claws were sticking. Perfect. He leapt, caught a ring in either hand, got a good swing going, and let go with his right hand just in time for the ball to drop from the chute.

With a whoop, he swung free and dropped with the ball clutched to his chest, only to be hit from behind with the force of several megatons. Wind knocked out of him, he could only watch as Verin snatched up the ball.

“Attempted murder isn’t supposed to be part of the game,” he wheezed as Verin took his shot. It seemed to be too far right, but the sphere turned and the ball shot inside.

“You’re all right, you baby,” Verin growled. “Get up before you really get fucked up.”

Shax heaved himself to his feet, staggering a few steps before the floor decided he’d been in one place too long and started bucking.

Ness had moved now, too. “Shax? Sure you’re all right, love?”

“I’m good. There are two of you right now. Don’t mind. Two of you are nice.”

All four of them managed to reach the sand quadrant closest to the near goal where they crouched in anticipation, waiting for the sphere to spit out the ball. Shax got Verin’s elbow in his ribs and a playful shove from Corny as they jockeyed for position but they might as well have stood still. The sphere rumbled and disgorged the trauma ball with a hacking cough, sending it high and wide. Ness, with his superior height and reach, snagged it easily, holding it up to keep it out of reach.

Any second, Verin and Corny would charge him and then Shax wouldn’t have a chance. An evil thought percolated in his mind and he sidled up close to Ness, blew a breath across his bare nipple, and reached down to cup Ness’s balls through the tight game shorts. A strangled whimper caught in Ness’s throat. His jaw slack, eyes saucer-wide, he fumbled the ball and dropped it.

Shax caught it before it hit the sand, snatched a quick kiss, and bounded away toward the far goal. He slammed the trauma ball into the sphere just as it hummed over to yellow again.

“Ha! That’s three for me! Game!”

About The Authors:
Mischief Corner Books is an organization of superheroes… no, it’s a platinum-album techno-fusion group…no, hold on a sec here…

Ah, yes. Mischief Corner is a diverse group of authors who met on a mountain in Tennessee and decided since we probably were too easily distracted to rule the world that we’d settle for causing a bit of mayhem instead.

In addition to making mayhem, we are releasing books as a consortium. The books cover a diverse range of genres and topics… we live to break molds. Our books are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ARe and other outlets.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amartinez2
Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MischiefCornerBooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MischiefCorner

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Not-Stars-Mischief-Corner-Anthologies-ebook/dp/B00JHITVHE/

Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

1 Comment

  1. Thank you so much for having us, Amanda and for the wonderful interview questions! Those were ridiculously fun 😀

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