Exiled alien prince Jarren Graf has never encountered a
scent like Lissa Reyes.
To Desire the Stars
by Venus Campbell
Genre: SciFi Romance
Exiled alien prince Jarren Graf has never encountered a scent like Lissa Reyes'.
Abducted from Earth by Jarren, high-achiever Lissa Reyes discovered something hunted her scent. Both their scents, that is. As the key to reclaiming his throne and ending generations of galactic subjugation, Lissa knew Jarren could not let her go. But as a prince from a world built on olfactory power, Jarren's passions flared with her close. Every whiff grew their desire. Every touch increased their hunger for each other. By fate or chance, their love would change his civilization.
What are your top 10 favorite books/authors? Right
now- N.K Jemison, Octavia Butler, Sheryl Kaleo, Jon Scalzi, Christopher Pike,
Louise Penny, Anne McCaffrey, Arkady Martine, Stephen King, Virginia Henley
What book do you think everyone should read? For Science Fiction, A Desolation Called Peace. For Romance, Moondust and Madness.
How long have you been writing? I have been writing for more than forty years.
Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write? The main characters are in my head from inception. As I write, other characters pop up.
What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book? I do a lot of location research before I write. I look at pictures of places or of worlds. The beauty of writing science fiction is that I can make up worlds based on what I understand is common assumptions of the fantastical. The rest of my research pops up when something in the story happens and I don’t know enough about it to write it. I have bookshelves of reference books. Mostly on fantasy creatures like fairies or dragons but a few on trees in North America or dictionaries on flora growth. Even books on clothing in different centuries.
Do you see writing as a career? Yes. It is my career. I may not always or regularly make a lot of money at it, but I am blessed to be able to write full time for the moment. IF I need to work for cash, I will still continue to write books for publication. Career or not, writers write. It’s what we do.
What do you think about the current publishing market? The current publishing market is like the record store and music industry market of the early I pod era. And possibly as painful. I have been traditionally and self-published. Trad publishers built companies around a service that could produce high-quality emotional stories. This is their bread and butter. They make profit from that business model. But if an individual has enough talent and resources, they can produce their own phenomenal book without giving a cut to the trad publishers. It is more work and higher costs, but you retain creative power and you keep your profit. It isn’t easy, but it is freeing to be able to create something readers will enjoy without trad publishers trying to reshape and constrain it as they see fit. Self-published succeed or fail on their own recognizance.
Some publishing companies have gotten on board with self-publishing to continue profiting from their established publishing structures, like IngramSpark. Others traditional publishers are just now trying to shift into that now-crowded market. And even still, there are a few holding tight to the old way of profiting. My only gripe is with organizations that restrict their writing contests to exclude self-published authors. Both my editors also work(ed) for the Big Five. My books benefitted from the same editorial talent as the Big Five. I just had to pay out of pocket. My books are of the same caliber of writing quality as traditionally published works. Dear contest runners: don’t exclude good stories from your pools. Let the words speak for themselves. I am sure the Big Five, and their resources, can handle the competition.
Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre? Yes. I read mostly self-published fantasy. Right now, I’m reading J.R Geraci’s Creator of the Stones. I have found that self-published authors are willing to take risks with their stories so those stories tend to be more interesting to me. I also read some sci-fi romance (of course- Thanks Veronica Scott) and I love erotic fiction. Try Sadie Waters and her reverse harem erotic fantasy, Chosen By the Princess.
Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why? Silence. I am easily distracted.
Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time? Because I write in several age groups which require different processes for publication, I write up to three books at once. I just finished the second children’s book of a trilogy. It’s with the illustrator. I am finishing up my new YA fantasy- back from the editor. And I am working through the second of an erotic fantasy- it’s slow-going because it is a lower priority as a second book with no publication date as of yet.
If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose? My respect for the lived-experiences of authors which inform their stories requires me to say I would only want to author my own books. Of my books, I would choose the first of my Guardians series. I traveled to Ethiopia to research the location.
Pen or type writer or computer? Pen or computer. I no longer have a type-writer, although I know what it is.
Tell us about a favorite character from a book. Akasha from Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned is incredibly multi-dimensional. In romance, I’ve loved Nellie Grayson from Jude Deveraux’s Wishes and Eleanor from Virginia Henley’s The Dragon and the Jewel.
What made you want to become an author and do you feel it was the right decision? The thing that gives me purpose is writing stories that help to shape others as books I’ve read shaped me. It is the right decision because I am doing something I love and doing my very small part in guiding our species to greater understanding and kindness.
A day in the life of the author? I get up around 8 am and get my kid and myself dressed. Downstairs for a quick breakfast and getting lunch ready and we are off to the bus stop. After a chat with the other parents and seeing the kid off, I walk back to my house and begin my writing for the day, my admin for the day or my social posts. I am usually interrupted by something- my mother, my kid’s school, my mother in law. SOMETHING. And so I go off and handle that. When I am done I continue writing or thinking (writing for me is more thought and less typing). On some days, I go to the gym. Gotta keep the mind prime. Exercise helps. Then I clean and cook and throw in a load of laundry downstairs. The alarm goes off and I head back to the bus stop for pick-up. And my writing is done for the day.
My kid gets home and wants to watch TV, so we battle about doing her homework and studying her French spelling words. That done, I send her for a snack as I review her homework. Then we do a spelling test and, if I am working on a kid’s book, I will have her look at the illustrations or promotions. We watch a bit of PBS kids and I cook dinner or the partner comes home and cooks dinner. He actually enjoys cooking. I do not. After dinner, the kid gets music videos and I or my partner put her to bed then we get to watch our adult TV. If he puts the kid to bed, I may do more admin or writing while he’s upstairs. As of this writing, we are finishing up the Residence (exceptional!) and starting on Andor and The Last of Us. Then I pack the kid’s lunch for the next day and we are off to get ready for bed.
Advice they would give new authors? Every person has at least
one story to tell. It belongs only to that person. Don’t let any nay-sayer
question your right to write your story. Also expect to have to work all the
time. A writing career is a ton of work. Most of us can’t be Nora Roberts or
Stephen King. We are just doing our best with the reward of doing what we truly
love as our career. When the world knocks you down, remember why you are
writing, then get back up and keep going.
“And why should I suffer alone?” He frowned. The question burned in his
mind. A few moments with the Subduer off couldn’t feasibly produce enough
traceable hormones to endanger anyone. Jarren needed to know she wasn’t a
possible mate. Life-mate, true life-mate, no mate at all. It had to be the not
knowing that was driving him insane. Jarren pressed his thumb over the Subduer,
felt for the little metal catch, and pushed in. Then he stood still a moment.
He didn’t feel any different, but something had changed.
He needed to act quickly. Tracing such a small release of his scent from
off-planet was impossible, but there was no telling when the mercs would locate
Terra and send someone earthside.
Jarren walked out of the bathroom. Melissa stood waiting, itinerary in
hand, her gaze expectant. Reaching out, he approached. “I’ll take a look at
those now.” His voice shook with controlled tension.
“Yes, sir.” Melissa stepped forward then stopped. The papers in her hand
fell with a rustle to the floor as her eyes widened. Her mouth went slack.
Jarren frowned, worried. He hadn’t expected such an abrupt response.
“Melissa?”
As if entranced, Melissa walked toward him, her hands reaching until her
fingers brushed across his heated skin then under his T-shirt. Jarren
shuddered. His body stiffened in anticipation. Her hands blazed a trail up and
over his shoulders as she leaned her body into him, coaxing a gasp of want from
his suddenly parched mouth. Her breasts’ warm firmness connected with his chest
through the material of their clothes, heating the air around them.
Jarren groaned. She might not have been wearing anything at all. He
couldn’t resist. He was starving for her. His arms encircled her waist, pulling
her closer as his body tingled with need. Jarren grew ready. One skirted leg
brushed against him in invitation as all logical thought vanished.
He claimed her mouth, hungry, desperate. The earthy undertones of her
natural fragrance, that Egyptian musk with such sweet papaya, swirled around
him. His hand came up, weaving into the falling tendrils of her hair to hold
her to him. His lips suckled hers, his tongue darting to taste her mouth’s
nectar, stroking the warm insides, lapping at her sweet moistness.
She moaned, her breathing erratic, her mouth searing his lips, tasting,
teasing.
She pulled his
head closer as her tongue danced with his. She caressed the warm walls of his
mouth then drew away, letting the air cool the lingering impression of her lips
against his. Her eyes blazed. She wanted him. He could smell her desire;
potent, heady. It surrounded him. It taunted him.
A breath of Egyptian musk rose like an embracing cloud to envelop them
both. His body vibrated with primitive need as realization struck. On a world
light-years away from home, he’d discovered a possible life-mate. Jarren let go
all control, reclaiming her mouth ardently. He pulled her against him,
devouring her soft lips to dominate her. His nose filled with the fragrance of
blooming papaya. His body craved to possess her, fill her, bind her to him
forever.
She belonged to him and he to her. He wanted to thrust them both over the
brink of desire. Pulling away, he placed demanding kisses along the curve of
her jaw until he found the sensitive skin of her earlobe and drew the
honey-sweet softness into his mouth. She moaned low and pressed closer, her
warm breath caressing his skin. In a musk-induced daze, his eyes were drawn to
the fullness of her breasts, the arching curve of her hips. He tightened in
response, his need rocketing to the hard shaft between his legs.
Her mixture of scents intensified, calling to him, overwhelming him. He
ached. His lips moved lower, tracing passion-heated kisses over the curve of
her collarbone to her shoulder. Her fingers dug into his skin as her head fell
back, the tresses of her hair clinging sensuously to his forearms. She gasped.
He buried his head in the slope of her neck as he was curtained behind
the silky locks of her hair. Gods, how he loved her hair. Lifting her up, he
inhaled her perfection, nuzzling his face against her full breasts. His blood
pulsed as he absorbed the smell of her sweetness. She did belong to him. He
belonged to her. His skin dewed with fever, and instinct took over. He would
claim her now.
He’d just reached to push aside her blouse’s collar when her body
stiffened.
Fighting his instinct to mate, Jarren loosened his grip until her feet
touched the floor; then he pulled away, his breathing jagged. He struggled to
create a thought. Her aroma still tugged at him, drew him like the sweetest
nectar. But he was endangering his world and her by revealing his scent. And he
could sense she’d refused him. He would never force himself on a woman, not
even in the primitive throes of their intermingling essences.
A new awareness crashed into him. The depth of his desire had forced his
sanity to temporarily flee. Comprehension slowly re-emerged, and with it, his
awareness that the ramifications of his actions could be catastrophic. He
looked down at her horrified expression even as the last tendrils of her hair
loosed themselves from the static charge between their bodies. discarded
itinerary on the floor.
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About the Author
Venus Campbell is the Principal of the Book of Venus publishing and the Winner of the Kroger Award for Excellence in Creative Writing. She has finaled in various writing contests such as the Central Ohio Ignite the Flame and the New England Chapter- RWA First Kiss. Campbell is a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and the Authors Guild. Campbell has written professionally since 2006 and has completed five single title manuscripts. To Desire the Stars is her second publication. Campbell focuses on interweaving paranormal elements into romance stories, creating unique worlds which challenge people’s perceptions of self and preconceived notions of human love and relationships.
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