Kailiri Summers narrowly escaped an arranged marriage by fleeing to another planet. She has artistic ambitions, but life isn’t cooperating. Bartending seemed like a good option to stay afloat. She thought her future bleak until Matt Lorins walked into her bar.
One dinner with the charming and wealthy space trader binds her into a passionate marriage bargain. But he’s a man surrounded by mysteries that she can’t unravel. It's while she's traveling alone with him on his star ship, isolated far beyond all help, that he reveals a terrifying secret. She must choose between battling the darkness—or losing Matt forever.
One dinner with the charming and wealthy space trader binds her into a passionate marriage bargain. But he’s a man surrounded by mysteries that she can’t unravel. It's while she's traveling alone with him on his star ship, isolated far beyond all help, that he reveals a terrifying secret. She must choose between battling the darkness—or losing Matt forever.
Read an Excerpt:
Matt kissed the top of my head and then both my temples. I
drifted off into a drowsy bliss until his quiet voice pulled me back into
consciousness.
“Don’t fall asleep yet, doll. We haven’t toasted our union with
champagne yet.”
I didn’t open my eyes, but I’d known him long enough by now
to at least hazard a guess from the gentle, indulgent tone underlying
his words that his dark eyes must have been sparking with bright
amusement. “Mmm,” I answered, rubbing my cheek against his hard
shoulder. I didn’t want anything but to stay snuggled in his warmth
and addictive, light spice-musk male scent. Although my arms
tightened around him, he slowly pulled away anyway and slipped
from the bed with a parting kiss.
My drowsy brain distantly registered running water coming
from the bathroom. Then the distinctive pop from uncorked
champagne roused me momentarily. Before I drifted away again, Matt
had returned to the bed with two crystal goblets three-quarters full of
golden effervescent wine.
“It’s a Harnaru vintage from seven years ago. I’m guessing
that was a good year for the lucky winery’s grapes back then.” His
lips quirked with a wry smile as he carefully settled on the bed’s edge
near me.
Fruity aromas teased my nose. I sat up, pushed back tumbled
curls from my eyes, and accepted the delicate stem on the crystal he
presented to me.
“To the missing part of my soul that Fate has sent me,” he said
with his gaze boring into mine.
“To you, Matt,” I whispered in a husky voice, acutely aware—
despite the past few hours and our recently shared intimacy—that I
knew little about him. I didn’t dare add anything complacent and
optimistic like “to our future” or “to love.” This impulsive
relationship was surely short-lived, and we’d never mentioned
anything about love between us. Only that troubling imprinting
matter.
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Doris answers some questions for us today
What was the inspiration for the
story?
A trip several years ago to Las Vegas inspired the novella. The steady
stream of newly arrived visitors that swarmed the casinos from all parts of the
world lent a sense of unreality to the city each day there. Virtually every
single one of them—myself included—imagined themselves as high rollers and
dreamed of the big lucky strike. And everyone seemed focused on forgetting all
their stresses and worries back home for a little under the spell of the
surrounding glitz and glamour.
My hotel’s location was such that it allowed me a unique
vantage view of the Strip. I loved to stare out my hotel window from a high top
floor across at the undeveloped desert wilderness that surrounded the
brilliantly illuminated island city back then. The fantastically glowing city
underscored the manic undercurrents of excitement that rippled through it and
seemed to pulsate like a live wire within the atmosphere, itself. A certain
assurance also thrummed through the air that everything was possible.
Then it hit me that this
was precisely what a colonized boom-planet might look like. I fantasized that
the planes zipping in overhead to the airport to McCarran Airport
If you could tell anyone
in the world five things about yourself that really define “you,” what would
they be?
1) I try not to make assumptions about
people, and I appreciate it when they don’t leap to assumptions about me. A
person’s inner spirit is boundless when it’s unhampered by another’s
preconceptions. We’re all complex living books with contents of great stories
and big surprises inside.
2) I’m curious. I’m always seeking the
secret(s) of the universe and why we’re here. I question reality and keep
peeking behind the curtain to see who’s running the ‘show’.
3) I value books, music, and my writing
time—next to family, of course. Reading
is my favorite pastime. As a kid, I often wished I was accidentally locked
inside a public library overnight. And yes—I adored the movie, Neverending Story. I find it amazing
that there seems to be a book for every taste, whim, question, or ailment in
the world. And music for every mood from all over the world.
4) I’m an admirer of the Arts and
Sciences. Both disciplines have impacted and improved our lives. Well—most of
the time. I have been lucky enough to enjoy participating in both.
5) I’m a peaceable person—most of the time—and
my greatest wish is for more harmony in the world.
Thank you very much, Elodie, for hosting me today. I enjoyed sharing some
of the inner workings that drive me and also went into creating The Dark Places.
About the author:
D. Martin likes science and finding out how things work. She was one of those annoying kids, who drove her mom and teachers nuts with continual questions of “Why?” Her career as science researcher gave her the opportunity to play in labs and create some pretty neat stuff—and maybe advance technology a little.
She believes a person can never have too many books. She reads everything, but is fond of science fiction, fantasy, and romance. World cultures fascinate her. She loves science fiction movies and once wanted to be an astronomer to find out what’s ‘out there’. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and daughter, who are both very understanding when she’s off the planet writing
Twitter: @DorisDmartin
That's cool about Las Vegas being an inspiration for this. I can totally see how that would/could translate into your SciFi locations. Great interview!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anya! I truly appreciate your comment.
DeleteD. Martin