I’ve always been much more interested in a driving plot than a book full of sexytimes—not that sex doesn’t have its place, mind you. But I want to get to know the characters, and feel that their having sex means more than a 30-second burst of hormones. That’s why I write the kind of stories I do.
A SMALL DEGREE OF HOPE actually came out of an online role play game that my ex-husband and I used to participate in. We created the characters of Kylie and Griff, a little different in that setting, but as I got to know them, I just knew their story should be told in a written book. Kylie Sanderson has a harder edge now as an investigative officer. Griff still has a kind streak that sets him apart from his crueler lizard brothers. But the danger, suspense and mystery drives the story of how they first meet, how they decide they can—and must—help one another, and how they must rescue each other in a society that sees only species profiles and not the individual.
BLURB:
Against her wealthy father’s demands, and the usual blockades of a male-dominated profession, Kylie Sanderson proves worthy of her position as lead investigator of planet Andan’s Scientific and Investigative Research Taskforce. Someone is killing Andan’s women in an attempt to mutate them into reptiles. Kylie makes it her mission to discover who’s behind the murders and prevent more grotesque deaths.
Shapeshifting lizard Griff comes to Andan to stop his brethren from mutating other planets’ women into mindless breeding stock. Overcoming Kylie’s suspicious and defensive nature proves difficult, but he must in order to help the SIRT team thwart his planet’s scientists.
When Kylie is abducted and becomes the first human to survive the transformation, it’s up to Griff to rescue her so SIRT can restore her human form. On the run and desperate to unravel the mysteries of Kylie’s past to solve the crimes of their present, can she and Griff forge a future for themselves?
EXCERPT:
As she took another drink, she noticed a man at a table near the door stared at her, dissecting her in a way that felt not like he was undressing her, but more like he looked past her skin, into her psyche, or perhaps her soul. Kylie stared back, putting a forbidding expression on her face.
Usually, that was enough to scare off a would-be masher. But it didn’t seem to faze this one.
The man’s persistence triggered a defensive response, and she lost interest in the alcohol. She left half a dozen plat coins on the counter, enough to cover her tab and something for Lin, and then headed for the door.
As she approached the man’s table, he stood up. “Please join me,” he said.
“No, thanks, I’m on my way out.”
“Please,” he said firmly. She stopped to look at him. That glance froze her steps. His eyes were the exact yellow tone of the dead woman’s. Exact.
She surveyed the room, but no one seemed to be paying attention. One gesture from her would have garnered assistance, but those eyes compelled her to wait. “Why should I?”
His voice softened. “I have information that could be of use to you.”
“Then perhaps you should come to the Cendiary. That’s where SIRT’s camped while this investigation is going on.” Her mind clicked along frantically trying to reject the half bottle of alcohol she’d consumed. There was something about this man, something about him. His eyes, but more than that. Taller than most men, and broad-shouldered. Hair, perfectly combed, his skin, without a blemish. Not even the hint of an old scar. Clothing, unremarkable. Hands, not quite perfectly proportioned, his fingers a little long, the nails even but lengthy for a man.
“No. I need to talk to you now.” His gaze continued to dance with hers.
She blinked and looked away. “This isn’t a good time, friend.”
He cocked his head, a, thin eyebrow raised. “You consider me your friend?”
His hesitation made her miss a beat, too. “No, I don’t consider you my friend.” She frowned.
“Come to the Cendiary in the morning.” She turned to go, but her wrist was suddenly caught in an iron grip.
Tugging on her captured hand, she looked over her shoulder. He held no apology in his eyes, and his expression was grim. He nodded to the empty chair beside his. “I need to talk with you, Investigator Kylie Sanderson. Please hear what I have to say before any more females are damaged or killed.”
BOOK TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi6OBXl4V6U
BUY LINKS:
BIO:Lyndi Alexander always dreamed of faraway worlds and interesting alien contacts. She lives as a post-modern hippie in Asheville, North Carolina, a single mother of her last child of seven, a daughter on the autism spectrum, finding that every day feels a lot like first contact with a new species.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Website https://lyndialexander.wordpress.com/triad/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lyndialexander13/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13490585-triad
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Lyndi-Alexander/e/B005GDYPU2?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1554826986&sr=8-1
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lyndi-alexander
Thanks so much for hosting me!!
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