New Moon and New Book

Today is the new moon and I also have a new book released by my romance publisher. The Warrior and the Biologist is the first in my new series of science fiction romance novels. Mankind must trust their continued existence to a mysterious alien warrior when a predator impervious to all known weapons descends on their space colonies.

 The series is called the Warriors of Gaviron and the next two books are in development. That means I'm writing some really bad first drafts and hoping to have the second book ready by the end of the year.

As per my other books, my publisher sells new releases exclusively from their website for the first few weeks after their release. This practice makes more money for them and for me. It also takes advantage of their regular customers who are quite numerous. Small publishers come and go. New Concepts Publishing, though not the largest small publisher, has been around longer than most of them. Some of you may have heard of the latest small publisher struggling with revenue. Ellora's Cave has been around for quite a while also but they've cut staff and their authors are worried. Here's more detail in an article on Publishers Weekly.

The last book in my Recon Marine Series, The Marine's Doctor, is now available at all major ebook retailers and is enjoying good sales on Amazon and has garnished some nice reviews here and there. It wraps up that series and answers all the threads of that futuristic world.

I'm looking forward this week to the release of Brent Weeks newest book, The Broken Eye. It's the third book in his Lightbringer series. Can you tell I love to read and write series. I'm also looking forward the DVD release of season one of The Musketeers, the latest remake of that story by BBC America. It's very entertaining if you haven't checked it out yet.

Have you heard about Ellora's Cave and their troubles? Any new books or movies coming out that you're looking forward to? Should I be worried that the warrior on my book might look like a terrorist instead of an alien using a mask to protect himself from Earthling germs?

The Future is Now

I'm honored to be a guest today over at Mainewords where I've been interviewed by Marcy. I hope you'll stop in and hear all about my latest release, The Marine's Doctor. This is the third and final book in my Recon Marines science fiction trilogy from New Concepts Publishing. I hope you'll visit me there.

As someone with a biology minor and having been a health teacher for more years than I want you to know, I have a strong interest in science. One of the areas I find the most fascinating is the exciting advances in genetics. The cures for so many diseases may rest on our understanding of the human genetic puzzle. Since my fictional Recon Marines are genetically engineered soldiers, I thought I'd share some interesting genetic discoveries.

This first article shares the discovery that we tend to pick friends who share genetic similarities with us. Our friends are usually enough like us to be our fourth cousins. Now most of us don't even know our fourth cousins but researchers say that one percent match is significant. The most common shared gene between friends is the 'smell' gene. We pick friends who like and dislike the same odors as we do.

Some disturbing findings coming out of genetic research is that a mother's diet during pregnancy can alter the fetus' DNA. These permanent changes may influence development throughout life and who knows what else. Another worrisome idea is that the more we learn about genetic differences in people the more certain ridiculous people might use such findings as basis for discrimination. There are already people who have suggested that early genetic testing and intelligence tests could be used to separate children into different schools or courses of study in early childhood. Scary, isn't it?

Have you visited Mainewords today yet? Do you know your fourth cousin? Are you surprised to learn your friends are more similar to you than you expected? Do you find the other two findings as unsettling as I do?

How Realistic Are My Recon Marines?

Today I'm posting at IWSG and talking about building your blog audience. And don't forget Wednesday is the monthly posting of IWSG. Be there!

Today my publisher has put my latest up for sale on their site. Many of you who write for a small publisher who sells books directly from their web page know that the publisher and author make a higher percentage on sales where there's no middle man like Amazon to take a slice. So NCP always keeps new releases exclusively available on their site for the first few weeks.

The final book in The Recon Marines series, The Marine's Doctor, revolves around the hunt for the origins of the genetic engineering programs that created the superior beings known as the Recon Marines. Marine Mak joins up with the genius medical doctor and researcher, Molly Drant. They follow a trail of horror, finding evidence of cruel experiments on human subjects. Is it possible mankind would ever allow the type of genetic manipulation that occurs in my books?

I have a biology minor so I know a little about genetics but that field of science has come a long, long way since I attended college. Scientific America has a long list of articles on the work being done in genetic studies. The best use of all the research may be in the possibilities of disease treatment and prevention. A controversial use of the research is in the production of food. How much genetically modified foodstuffs are we eating without knowing it?

But already there are questions about the ethical use of genetic manipulation. Will we use it only to fight and prevent disease or will it be used to create super athletes, geniuses or persons of great beauty? Will the human race end up losing our diversity? In my Recon Marine series, even though each Marine has slight physical differences in many ways they're more similar than they are different. They were designed to intelligent, unusually strong and agile and all had the same skin tone. There's more but you'll have to read the books to learn how far I took the design of those 'super soldiers.'

Do you avoid GM food? Do you know a family that has suffered from a genetic disease such as sickle cell anemia, Tay-Sachs or Huntington's? What good or bad do you believe would come about if mankind develops the skill to manipulate our genes? Isn't my newest cover great?

Busy Times

Just a short post today. I'm too busy doing a final read through for my upcoming release, The Marine's Doctor, Recon Marines III.

The good news for this week is that summer seems to finally be here with hot, muggy days. I love this weather. My favorite time to run is right around noon with the temperature hanging right around 90 degrees. Then a short half hour swim to cool down. You all put up with my constant complaints this past winter. I promise I won't complain about the heat.

Thursday I'll take a day off from running so I can donate blood. I used to be able to donate and then work out later but that doesn't work for me anymore. If you're capable, giving blood is very important. The greatest demand for blood is during the summer months so let the vampires have a pint if you can.

The rest of this month is filled with graduation parties to attend and one wedding. When you get to be the age my husband and I are, you don't get many invites to weddings so we're looking forward to it.

The Budweiser Clydesdales were as cool as I expected them to be. Our little town had a great turnout to see the magnificent horses. They're really beautiful in person.

What has you busy this week? Do you like the heat or are you missing winter? Do you donate blood? Have any summer weddings to attend?