Rebels of Theta by Vickie Adair

Rebels of Theta, Book One in the Gods of Arth Trilogy, is Vickie Adair’s first science-fiction novel.

Under the two suns of the planet Theta, where food is a more precious commodity than life, the native inhabitants live and work submissive to the invading Seraphs and the Thetan Church. After a traumatizing event, Kara, a young Thetan girl, questions the legitimacy of the Seraphs and the honesty of the Church. She makes a horrifying discovery at the Seraph camp, putting her life is in danger. Finding unexpected help from Wer, the outcast, she and some of her people rebel against the Seraphs and even against some of their own people dedicated to Church law, unleashing the human struggle with the question of “faith.” And to complicate matters, she falls in love.

Cover Artwork: Bostick, Charlene
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Third Coast Publishers LLP
Edition: 1ST edition (2011)
Language: English
Cover Price: $12.95
ISBN-13: 978-0-9829498-4-9

Other authors had this to say about Rebels of Theta:

Rebels of Theta by Vickie Adair, book one of the Gods of Arth Trilogy, is a mind-blowing (and mind-touching!!) work of art, which will have you holding your breath from the first page to the last. You’ll feel a bond with the peaceful Thetans and share in their joy, their suffering, and also their loss. This amazing tale of a handful of men, women, and children overcoming incredible
adversity for the right to be treated as people, not savages, is truly heartwarming.

Lun Kikogne, author of Wars of Times

In Rebels of Theta, Vickie Adair delivers a great read, imaginative and fast-paced! Adair has woven a compelling story around the great question of “faith” and how tightly or loosely tied to it our evolution is. She sets up a triangle of opposing forces: the so-called gods, the liars, and the
innocents. These forces wrestle with the inevitable events that accompany humanity’s innate desire to evolve: political unrest, religious doubt, and war.

Kristina Mercier, author of An Agreement with Love

Vickie Adair has mastered the fear of a realistic future dystopian existence for human beings with her Science Fiction debut, Rebels of Theta. Oppression is certain. Fear is certain. The only points debatable are where trust is loyal and if your prayers can be heard in this captivating page-turning novel. You will feel the emotions of life and death as the fate of the Thetans knots
your stomach until the very last sentence.

Michelle Anderson Picarella, author of Livian

You can follow Vickie on Facebook, Twitter and read her Storyteller’s Blog. Visit her author page at loveahappyending.com.

The paperback version of Rebels of Theta is available to pre-order from 3rd Coast Publishing for $9.95 US.

Orange Petals in a Storm by Niamh Clune

Orange Petals in a Storm: A spiritual, inspirational story to feed the soul. In Skyla’s world, we find shelter from every hazard and outlive the longest night.

Skyla McFee, a bedraggled and bruised eleven-year-old child, races through the rain-drenched streets of East London as though the hounds of hell were after her. From whom does she run? What becomes of her once she arrives there? This is a story about a wonderful child who endures great suffering at the hands of her stepfather’s family. Though she lives in a harsh reality, she evolves spiritually despite and because of the hurt she suffers. The magical way in which she transcends her unbearable life transports us into the hauntingly beautiful world of the imagination. Telling you that Skyla triumphs over her situation is not a spoiler – because as you get to know her, you realise there is no other way. She must triumph because of who she is.

Orange Petals in a Storm is available for the Kindle from Amazon.co.uk for £0.86, Amazon.com for $0.99 US and at Smashwords for the Kindle and other devices for $0.99 US.

Orange Petals in a Storm is now available in paperback from Amazon.com for $9.99 US.

Strings Attached by Mandy Baggot

Between the past and the future there are always strings attached…..

Caterer George Fraser has a mission. She’s going to prove everyone wrong. Ambitious owner of catering firm Finger Food and blacksheep of her family, she’s determined to succeed in business where she’s so far failed in her personal life. Asked to cater for gorgeous rock star Quinn Blake’s after-show party, her life suddenly takes a turn for the dramatic.

Magnetically drawn together, George and Quinn embark on a relationship that no one must know about. But is Quinn everything he seems or is there more to his star life than he’s telling her?

Things hot up when George is invited to the wedding of the millennium and her integrity very soon becomes compromised. With celebrity obsessed colleague Marisa in the mix and her beloved Adam spending more time in her life, can George keep her secrets and hold on to her ambition, or will love finally get in the way?

Strings Attached is available at Amazon.co.uk in paperback for £8.99 or for the Kindle for £2.18.

or at Amazon.com in paperback for $14.95 and for the Kindle $3.00.

What plunge is that you might ask? Well, let me tell you. On October 11, in response to my submission to 4RV Publishing, after a successful pitch the previous week, I was offered a contract!

Some of you are saying, yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that already. And you’re right. But this is a huge deal for me. I’ve been on the receiving end of reject letters more times than I can count (or care to for that matter) so receiving the offer was a huge morale booster.

For the first week, I babbled like an idiot. Nothing I said made sense. I was in such a state of awe, that my feet didn’t touch the ground. How I managed to accomplish anything at work still amazes me.

One of the first things I did was tell my fellow writers at two of the groups I belong to of my offer. Then I told everyone at loveahappyending.com. I mean it’s not every day that a contract offer comes along. If it did, then it wouldn’t be such a big deal.

Over the past few years, for many a weekend during the summer, and a week in February I did what became known in our family as “mother-sitting” since my mum wasn’t able to be home alone. I always took my laptop with me and spent many hours writing and revising whilst there. When friends dropped by, whether they’d heard the story before or been introduced to me previously, she always started the conversation, “You’ve met my daughter, Melanie? She’s a writer.”

Sadly, my contract offer came a year too late for me to celebrate with her. When I spoke at her funeral in September 2010, I said she would have been the first person I told after my husband, who has supported my dream all these years, eaten burnt offerings (tonight was no exception since I let the potatoes boils dry) when I’d been deep in writing a particularly gripping scene, or just taken over the kitchen duties for me.

So, since I couldn’t celebrate with my mum in person, I took the celebration to the cemetery, complete with a copy of my manuscript (just back from one of my beta-readers), my contract, and champagne! That was my mum’s favourite tipple. We always had it on special occasions – birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving and sometimes just because…

The last two years, my mum used a walker to get around. She called it D.N. (short for damn nuisance). But even though she depended on it to get around, I think when I landed in at hers and my dad’s graveside she tossed it aside and did a happy dance right along with me.

My dad died when I was twelve, long before I’d been bitten by the writing bug. The reading bug had long since bitten and I almost always had my face in a book or a pencil in my hand drawing. He knew I was creative and maybe even thought someday I’d be a writer or artist.

You can see why the celebration, albeit in a less than conventional location, was so important for me to do. And all of this was just because I’d received a contract offer!

In the weeks that followed, I did a lot of research, read and re-read the contract, asked the publisher questions, digested the answers received. Taking the next step would be enormous. Did I accept? Did I decline?

I didn’t make this decision lightly, although had I gone with my initial instincts, I would have signed immediately. Thankfully, my logical, down-to-earth side of me kept me grounded so that I could ask the questions, do the research and in the end make an informed decision.

Now, two signed, witnessed and notarized copies of my contract are in transit to my publisher – first stage via Canada Post followed by the US Mail. In due course, I’ll receive a copy back with her signature witnessed and notarized.

You can check out 4RV Publishing here. They also maintain a blog here. You can find them on Facebook and Twitter, too.