Sunday, January 5, 2014

Reesa Herberth's IN DISCRETION Blog Tour: Contest, Tags, and More!



Author Reesa Herberth wrote a new sci-fi romance called IN DISCRETION (Riptide Publishing), and I'm here to present you with the cover, blurb, blog tour contest details, informative links, and non-spoiler tags!

Thanson Nez thought his career as a Discretionary would take him to the stars, not strand him on a space station at the ass-end of the Empire. Thanks to his last client, he’s carrying a secret he can’t get rid of fast enough, but his oath to the guild means a swift, painful death if he shares it. Already desperate for help, he runs into yet more trouble: his ex, and an explosion that paralyzes the station moments after their uncomfortable reunion.

Kazra Ferdow, Station 43’s communications officer, is almost as blindsided by the return of his first love as he is by the sudden loss of power and life support. The station is a floating graveyard in the making, and something is turning its inhabitants into savage killers. Fighting human monsters and damaged tech, Kazra and Thanson must put aside their past long enough to  try to save everyone.

The more light they shine into dark corners, the more Thanson realizes how many people might die for the secrets locked in his head—and what he’s willing to sacrifice to make sure Kazra isn’t one of them. 
Click here to read an excerpt.

I had the pleasure of reading IN DISCRETION and would like to highlight a few elements. To discover if IN DISCRETION is up your alley, here are my tags:

* Part of a series? Yes, the Ylendrian Empire series. IN DISCRETION, a novella, can stand alone, but it certainly would enhance the reading experience to enter the series with BALANCE OF SILENCE or THE SLIPSTREAM CON first.

* Type of romance: m/m; reunited lovers. While Thanson and Kazra are reunited when the story opens, before any romance and HEA happens they must negotiate an awkward partnership in order to face the new threat. In some ways, this story falls closer to romantic SF territory since circumstances dictate the heroes have to concentrate on survival first. We learn about their history as a couple as well as the reason for the painful separation mostly through introspection.

* Action-adventure quotient: High. The heroes spend nearly the whole story on the run from and/or battling dangerous, infected station inhabitants. The story features mild suspense and horror elements. Not terribly graphic, but it might spook you in a few places. :)

* Science fictional elements: The setting is a backwater space station and there are multiple references to space travel. Characters use futuristic weapons and all-purpose electronic "notebooks." Hero Kazra is a communications specialist, so there's some tech-speak related to his work. There's another key sfnal element, but I can't mention it because of spoilers. I will say that there's lots of nice worldbuilding detail in this story.

* Political elements: Political elements help drive the story and provide motivation for the characters, but they aren't front and center.

* Interracial romance/PoC characters? Yes! To qualify, ethnicity isn't a focus/issue/theme—Thanson is dark-skinned because the setting is generally diverse.

*Heat level: Mild. IN DISCRETION is an m/m sci-fi romance that makes a strong case for not shoving all GLBQT romances into the "erotic" category. This is a story suitable for readers new(ish) to m/m who also prefer non-erotic SFR.

Tags are fun, but you can also enter the IN DISCRETION Blog Tour contest for a chance to win some goodies! Here's a message from the author:


I’m running a trivia contest throughout the tour, with a winner to be drawn from the entries on Friday, January 10, 2014. I’ll be giving away the winner’s choice of any e-book in my backlist, plus a reading gift pack featuring books and treats! 

The contest is open to U.S. and International entrants. In the event that a winner outside the U.S. is chosen, a gift certificate to Riptide Publishing or Amazon will be substituted for the physical prize. To enter, email me the answers to the following trivia questions (answers to all questions can be found in In Discretion):

1.      What is the name of Thanson Nez’s father?
2.      Who is Tynna?
3.      What item did Thanson steal from Kazra the last time they saw one another?

All you need to do email me the answers to be entered to win.

About the author

Reesa Herberth is the co-author (with Michelle Moore) of the Ylendrian Empire series.  She can often be found tweetingblogging, and messing around onFacebook when she should be writing.  Likewise, she is easily distracted by the sound of new email, and encourages you to contact her atylendrianempire@gmail.com

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Want to know more? Click here for a list of all IN DISCRETION tour stops!

Joyfully yours,

Heather