Book Blast, Giveaway & Interview: Frontier Resistance by @RaeYesac

 

Frontier Resistance

Frontier

Book Two

Leonie Rogers

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Publisher: Hague Publishing

ISBN: 978-0-9872652-8-9

ASIN: B00MTACKWK

Word Count: 133,000

Cover Artist: Emma Llewelyn

Book Description:

The much awaited sequel to Frontier Incursion.

The Garsal have landed and Frontier has changed forever. Now Shanna and her friends must master their new gifts that will enable them to seek out the alien invaders before they enslave her world.

On the plateau the Council under Tamazine (the Senior Councillor) allies with the Starlyne race. Only united do the Scouts, their starcats, and the Starlyne have any chance of surviving, but Tamazine's distrust of the alliance creates a fatal weakness.

Below, the Garsal plot. They need a new pool of human slaves to expand their empire, but first, they must locate the humans already on Frontier and subdue them. Time is running out for both invader and settler, and the outcome hangs in the balance.

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/tvymDYRwj6Y

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SHANNA ran. Insectoid limbs scythed through the vegetation behind her, and red beams slashed past on either side, scorching as they grazed her skin. Her feet seemed mired in mud, and her pack dragged her backwards, overbalancing her towards the six-limbed creatures that dogged her steps. She flung her head frantically from side to side, desperately seeking her starcats. Where were Storm and Twister?

Ahead of her, she saw Allad stumble and fall, the tall scout’s body a smoking ruin as the beams sliced across him. Satin snarled and leapt at the invaders, only to perish in turn. Where were the others? What had happened to them? Still alone, Shanna struggled on, forcing one leaden leg after the other. She tried to discard her pack, but the straps refused to loosen, and then she stumbled over the first body. Storm. His fur was burnt and his eyes staring, and she burst into tears, sobbing as she ran, wanting to do nothing more than stop and cradle him, yet unable to do so for fear of the aliens hunting her. The tears threatened to blind her, but a voice, screaming from ahead, spurred her on.

Her breath was like fire in her throat, and now she could hear the sounds of offworld footsteps only seconds behind her, while a mound in the vegetation ahead told the tale of another body. Frantically she tried to change her course, but her heavy legs refused to turn and she almost fell as she tried to hurdle the still form. A plaintive “No!” burst from her lips as she recognised the familiar cadet insignia and name on the sleeve of Verren’s bloodstained uniform.

The first clutch of an alien limb on her pack almost threw her backwards. Sobbing to breathe, she forced the words out. “Get away! No!” Drawing a ragged breath she tried to turn, but chitinous limbs restrained her. She fought them, but they dragged her back inexorably until she was stranded on her back, held down by the hard alien carapaces, unable to move. She flailed her arms desperately, but they were too heavy. And then she woke, disorientated, lathered in sweat, and panting.

For a moment she panicked, still unable to move and not understanding where she was until a plaintive hum jerked her into the present, and the weight upon her resolved into the anxious faces of two starcats, tidemarks glowing dimly in the darkness. Her muscles lost their terrified tension and she let her head collapse back against the unfamiliar softness of a pillow.

“Storm? Twister?” Relief flooded over her, and one of the feline bodies moved, and then she was able to lift her arms to caress the silky heads. Soft purrs sounded, and she felt the huge cat bodies curl gently around her, providing sorely needed comfort.

For a few moments she just lay there, but the vivid images from her nightmare remained - or rather, the real images of the last year replaced them, devastating in their rawness. Arad’s tear streaked face as he sat with Breeze’s still form vied with the sound of the alien vehicles destroying the beauty of her home world, grinding relentlessly towards the plateau that housed her people. Images of sliders, swarming towards her as their sensitive antennae quested for living flesh, mixed with a jumbled montage of cliff faces scarred by alien aircraft and flashes of the fear she’d experienced when they’d rescued the human slaves from their Garsal captors.

Then came more images - her brother, Kaidan, standing on the front lines with his bow; Verren binding gaping wounds in the aftermath of the battle; Ragar and Zandany sending their starcats to stand guard on the alien prisoners, and Taya and Amma, standing as stunned as she had, before the glowing Starlyne she’d thought was only an animal but had now proved to be so much more.

Her breath caught in her throat once more. She was inside a Starlyne habitation - she’d gone willingly, because of two images sent by the creatures as they’d communicated with the human beings of Frontier. The first image had shown her the origins of her starcat friends. Within the Starlyne memories, she’d seen a tiny feline creature, newly arrived on a crashed starship and accompanied by a human child, yet frolicking in friendship with a Starlyne youngling in a sunlit glade. The second image had featured Storm, Twister and herself as the hope of both human and Starlyne, and it had engendered a burning desire within her to know more about their intentions and her place within their plans. Surely the fate of colliding worlds could not rest with her and her two starcats? The sweat on her body chilled suddenly, and she convulsively grabbed at the two huge heads next to her. Ear tip tidemarks cycled soothingly as if her cats knew what she was feeling, and slowly the overwhelming emotions were submerged once again by physical exhaustion, and she descended back into the blackness of sleep.

***

A soft chime sounded and Shanna raised her head, rubbing her eyes. Two warm, furry bodies rumbled, purring as she rolled over on the unfamiliarly soft bed and pushed herself upright. As she did, the tenderness of her recent bruises made themselves painfully evident. A dim light emanated from the smooth walls around the room, and she could see her classmates stirring sleepily around her, their starcats stretching and chirping, tousled heads slowly appearing.

After she’d gone back to sleep, her dreams had continued to be full of confused nightmares and disjointed emotions, cycling from one to another in a constant whirl, but she suppressed the lingering fears born of her unconscious mind ruthlessly in case they overwhelmed her ability to function. Storm turned knowing eyes on her, but she distracted herself by scratching his head and hoping that her nightmares hadn’t disturbed anyone else.

As she lay there, she remembered the moment from the day before, after they had left the pungo grove and followed the Starlyne into the wilderness of Below, when Teacher had paused after several hundred metres of silent travel to speak to them all.

“Your fellows will join us,” had come the silent words, along with an image of Nelson, Perri and Barron. The group had exchanged startled glances, and the Starlyne spoke again. “We can speed their healing, and you are needed as a complete unit. Barron will bring a starcat cub for Arad. He has already been chosen.” With that startling comment, Teacher turned again and began to glide silently through the trees, her glow illuminating the vegetation.

The patrol had followed almost automatically. Their subsequent trek through the vegetation of Below had been completely free from predator encounters, which Shanna had found oddly eerie. After several hours of walking, the Starlyne had led them into what appeared to be a natural cave. Twenty metres into the winding tunnel, the rough granite walls had become smooth, then after an S-shaped curve the walls began to glow softly, providing a dim illumination that enabled the Patrol to see where they were walking. The starcats padded softly beside their human companions completely unperturbed, while their partners walked wide-eyed, glancing warily around them. Shanna had run a hand down each cat’s silky head, and tried to avoid the sudden tremble of apprehension that ran through her body. Teacher had conveyed them without words through the tunnels, winding through a complex maze of many branchings that had made Shanna so dizzy she wondered if she’d ever find her way out again, before showing the Scouts and cadets to their current quarters ; two large sleeping rooms, each with an adjacent bathing facility, and a large communal room between, furnished with long low tables and a yielding floor dotted with large cushions. They’d all washed rapidly in the bathing pool, before falling exhausted into the large beds provided. There had been little conversation, and Shanna had felt as if she were in a strange and alien dream.

Now, as she stretched luxuriously, wriggling from side to side, Shanna took another look around the sleeping room. The bed was low and fashioned from what appeared to be a solid piece of polished wood, which was topped with a vaguely organic looking mattress. The bedding looked bizarrely normal and smelt faintly of something freshly aromatic. As she moved around, easing herself out from under her cats, she noticed that the surface under her was oddly yielding, almost conforming to the contours of her body. She yawned widely again, scrubbing her eyes with her hands before running them over her hair, feeling oily wisps sticking out everywhere. Looking around for her pack, Shanna noticed for the first time that there appeared to be small storage compartments built into the walls of the room, and that while she had slept, somehow her pack had ended up tucked neatly into one of them. With a sigh, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood, noticing that she’d apparently taken the time to change into a singlet top and shorts before falling asleep. She must have been exhausted not to remember changing.

“What do you think we’re meant to be doing?” asked Amma through a yawn, as she climbed out of the bed next to Shanna. “I think I need to bathe again ; I was so tired last night that I seem to have missed a few bits, and I think I might have bled on the pillow.” She rubbed at a bloodstain with distaste. Shanna smiled stiffly, feeling the puffy side of her face crinkle uncomfortably, and investigated with a careful fingertip.

“I wouldn’t mind another scrub myself, and then perhaps we can get Verren to stick our damaged bits back together.”

“Did someone say my name?” Verren lifted a tousled head from under his bedding and yawned widely at the two girls.

“Yes, that was us,” laughed Amma, “we’re a bit battered still. Can you do a bit of a repair job when we’re clean and dressed?”

Verren struggled to a sitting position and stretched stiffly, before swinging his legs gingerly over the edge of the bed and leaning his elbows heavily onto his knees.

“I suppose so.” He yawned again. “Give me a few more minutes.” He waved a sleepy hand at the two girls, who busied themselves in their packs.

“We’ll grab the bathroom then,” said Amma. “Shan, do you want to give Taya a poke? We’ll get the three of us out of the way, and then they can have it.” Shanna grimaced slightly, but rounded Verren’s bed and approached Taya, who was sitting up in bed and examining her now grossly swollen left ankle.

“Bath Taya? Amma and I thought the three of us might snaffle the bathing room first, and then Verren’s going to patch us up.” The other girl looked up and nodded tiredly.

“Can you give me a hand up?” Surprised, Shanna nodded and hauled the other girl to her feet. Taya winced as she placed weight on the leg and hobbled a few steps with Shanna’s support. From her bed, Spinner watched carefully and then poured himself off it, easing his large body under Taya’s other side with loving gentleness.

“That looks nasty!” Shanna dropped to her haunches, and ran an eye over the swelling and the purpling bruise. “How on earth did you walk on that yesterday? Verren, I think you need to take a look at this now!” She and Spinner carefully eased Taya back onto her bed as Verren pushed himself resignedly to his feet and, squatting down, gently eased the swollen ankle onto his knee.

“Show me how much you can move it, Taya.” He frowned as Taya slowly moved the ankle up and down, then side to side, wincing as the movements pushed into pain. He gently probed the ankle with his fingertips, then grasped the heel and tested the ligaments. Taya gasped in pain as he drew it forward. “Well, that’s good,” he said, and gently placed her foot back on the floor.

“Good?” gasped Taya, “that nearly killed me!” She narrowed her eyes at Verren.

“It means you still have some ligaments attached,” replied Verren. “If it hadn’t hurt, you would’ve been in much more trouble! It’ll take a little while to settle down, but if we strap it, it’ll feel a lot better, and then you’ll need to do some specific exercises. It’ll be some weeks until it’s properly right, but once you get over the next few days, you should be on the mend. When you’ve had a chance to get clean, I’ll strap it. Shan, help her to the bathing room, and Taya, make sure there’s not too much hot water on the ankle or the swelling will get worse.” He yawned again, and began rummaging through his pack.

Shanna supported Taya over to the bathing room while Amma sifted through the other girl’s pack for some clean clothing. Their four cats purred their way towards the warm bath, dipping their paws into the water with pleased hums. Multicoloured tidemarks rippled in happy rhythms. Shanna supported Taya while she shed her clothing.

“Can you just slide in Taya? And then we’ll prop your foot on the edge.” Shanna and Amma lowered the injured girl to the edge of the pool, and she slid gracefully into the water at the shallow end, flipping around and propping her foot on the raised edge, before sinking back into the water with a grateful sigh.

“Thanks, guys,” she even smiled briefly at Shanna, which made her more uneasy, and the three of them began a thorough scrub, shaking out their hair and using handfuls of soapleaves to lather themselves thoroughly.

“So what do you think will be happening today?” asked Shanna. Amma shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

“After the last few months, I’m not sure anything would surprise me.”

Taya wrung out her hair, and tossing it back, began to lift herself out of the warm water, wriggling her toes carefully.

“Who’d know? Two days ago, we thought Starlynes were animals ; special animals but still animals, and now we’re having a bath inside, I suppose you’d call it one of their houses ... ” She shook her head dazedly, and Shanna found herself nodding in agreement. “Well, time to get dressed, and let the others in to get clean, although I think I could stay here all day. Spinner!” Taya called her cat who had been happily lounging on the edge of the pool, paddling his paws in the warm water. The other three stirred themselves, padding over to Taya and after allowing her to use them to balance on while she dressed, assisted her out of the bathing room - Spinner and Spider on each side, while Storm and Twister carefully pushed the door open and held it back.

“Finally!” Ragar greeted the three girls as they exited the bathing room. “Zandany’s just about gone back to sleep waiting for you!” Zandany stretched and yawned as he levered himself off his bed.

“You all smell much better,’ he grinned, standing back to let Taya hobble to her bed again. She lay down, elevating her ankle with a sigh of relief, and carefully began to comb her long dark hair.

The three girls exchanged smiles, even though Shanna felt slightly awkward about Taya’s sudden camaraderie. Picking up her own comb she ran it carefully through the snags in her hair, wincing as the comb stuck in a particularly large tangle. As she tugged the comb through the strands, she resolutely decided it was time to find out what had caused the sudden change of heart.

“Taya?” Shanna’s tone was hesitant, and the dark haired girl lifted her head and looked up with a raised eyebrow. Shanna pulled the comb out of her hair, placed it on her bed and gathered her courage. “Why are you being nice to me?” Across the room, Amma’s head lifted with a sudden jerk, and she dropped the sock she was putting on.

There was a long silence, while emotions chased themselves one by one across Taya’s face. Some of the old hatred flickered briefly, followed by a dull rising flush, then her shoulders sagged and her face crumpled, while a surprising tear slid down one cheek. Taya ducked her head and scrubbed at her face. There was complete silence in the room; Amma sitting statue-like on her bed. Shanna slowly dragged her comb through another tangle while holding her breath, and the four cats were uncharacteristically silent.

The tableau was broken as Spinner gently nudged Taya’s hands with his nose, ruby tidemarks glinting softly. She raised her face, and Shanna was horrified to see a torrent of tears pouring down the other girl’s face. She made an involuntary movement towards Taya, but stopped mid-movement as Taya cleared her throat noisily and scrubbed her hand across her face again, drying the tears on her trouser leg.

Clearing her throat, Taya set her shoulders back, and turned to look over her shoulder at Amma.

“Come and sit over here. I’m only going through this once. It may as well be now, and then you can tell the others.” She sniffed, looking much younger than Shanna had ever imagined that she could. Amma wasted no time, and carrying her boots and socks over to where Taya sat on her bed, settled herself on the floor next to Shanna. The four cats settled down at their partners’ feet, as Amma and Shanna exchanged puzzled glances.

“It was two years ago that it began,” said Taya. She wiped a final tear from her cheek and shook her dark hair back. “My father is a stone mason, and my mother works as an artificer for the council. I was with my father at a quarry east of Watchtower, waiting for him to arrange delivery of an order of stone for one of his projects.” She paused, and deliberately pushed her hair off her face again. “The owner had a starcat ; a large male called Phantom, with deep violet ear tip tidemarks.” She raised a hand as Shanna leaned forward, stopping the younger girl’s sudden exclamation. “I know ; he’s one of the cats bred by your parents.” Shanna went to speak again, and Taya impatiently hushed her, some of the animosity returning to her face. “He was the first starcat that I’d met up close, and I found him absolutely fascinating. For an hour he allowed me to stroke him, and I was flattered that he seemed to like me so much. Well, Dad finished up his business, and we hopped back into our wagon and headed off home to Watchtower.” She paused and cleared her throat, tears glinting in her eyes again, but defiantly rubbed her hand across her face and continued.

“We were only on the road for about fifteen minutes, and I was telling Dad all about Phantom, when it happened. We’d been laughing and chatting about how great it would be if we could have our own cat, when Dad stopped laughing. His face went white and he was staring at me.” Taya paused, her eyes looking into the distance. “He couldn’t even speak, and I was looking around frantically, wondering if some predator was about to pounce. I was saying: ‘Dad, Dad, what’s wrong?’ But he just kept looking at me, and then he reached forward with one hand, and it was shaking so much that I thought he was ill.” Taya’s face was crumpled, and her voice was quivering when she finally managed to continue. “He, he, f-finally managed to hook one f-finger into m-my hair, and pulled it over my sh-shoulder so that I could see it. And there it was…glowing. Exactly the same shade and pattern of Phantom’s tidemarks.”

Taya paused, and then deliberately pulled a lock of hair forward over her shoulder, and before Shanna and Ammas’ astounded eyes, the lock of hair began to glow in the familiar rippling patterns of a starcat’s coat. As they watched, the rest of her hair took on the pattern, gently twinkling and shining iridescent ruby against the background of brown so dark it was almost black. As Shanna and Amma sat, silently astounded, Taya went on.

“My father was horrified. He kept telling me to stop, and eventually he began to shake me, and shout at me. He became more and more angry when I couldn’t make my hair stop glowing. Eventually I had to climb out of the wagon because he was hurting me.” Her eyes were haunted. “I ran in the end, and hid in the bush. He shouted and shouted for what seemed like hours, but I stayed hidden deep in a patch of pungo trees, until eventually he stopped shouting, and began to plead for me to come out. I was frightened. I’d never seen my father like that. He was so angry with me!” Again Taya wiped tears from her eyes, hair glowing incongruously brightly, reflecting off the drops rolling down her cheeks.

“When I finally crawled out of the bush, he was sobbing, down on his knees at the edge of the road, begging me to come out and come home. Even then, he could barely look at me. When I finally came back to the wagon, he made me wrap my hair up in an old cloth, and then run from the wagon into the house when we got home. He wouldn’t look at me or talk to me the whole way there. I ran into my room, and looked into the mirror. My hair was like this,” she held up a strand, “glowing in Phantom’s patterns, except that now, it glows in Spinner’s patterns.”

“But Taya, how come we’ve never seen your hair do that before?” Amma broke in.

Taya looked at the two of them.

“When my mother found out, she was furious with my father. She came into my room, and just looked at me, then after covering my hair with a scarf, she took me to see Master Cerren. In her position as an artificer, she’d heard enough about him to know that he might be able to help. I felt like a freak, and I was sure that if people found out about my hair they’d react like my father had.” She looked around then, and nodded sadly to herself. “We’ve all spoken about the physical changes in the population. No-one worries about the little ones, but it’s different when things are so obvious, and it wasn’t only the visible changes with me. When we reached Master Cerren’s office, my mother ushered me inside and pulled the scarf off my hair. By that time, I was exhausted and shaking. I just stood there, while Master Cerren looked up at me.” Amma put a hand on Taya’s arm, and Shanna found that her own hand had involuntarily risen to her mouth.

“For a few moments he said nothing, and then asked the two of us to sit down. His old cat, Prince, strolled over to me, and nudged me with his head. My hair immediately changed colour to match his tidemarks, and then the clock over the mantelpiece stopped ticking. It was quite loud, so the sudden silence was very obvious, and then, to make things worse, all the lamps went out.”

“But, but ... ” Amma was unable to get any further.

“Amma, it was me. Master Cerren was calm, as was my mother, and after the initial surprise, they tested me with a number of devices in the Masters’ offices. I was a freak. Lamps went out, mechanical devices ceased working around me, and my hair kept changing colour and pattern ; I literally glowed in the dark.”

Shanna took a deep breath.

“But you must have learned to control it, because none of us had any idea!”

Taya nodded.

“Master Cerren worked with me for several days before I was able to change my hair back to its original colour. He talked me through what was going on, and tried to convince me that it was just a simple change, in fact perhaps an enhancement of our genes as a result of our time here on Frontier ; you know what I’m talking about ; we’ve been over it time after time since we first found the Garsal aircraft. And now, we find out that the Starlynes have been tampering with us the whole time we’ve been there ; and it’s probable that I’m not really a freak. It took me months to get everything under control properly, and then I began Scout training.” Taya’s hair dimmed to its natural colour, and then the walls around them began to pulse in Spinner’s tidemark patterns. Shanna blinked several times in disbelief.

“Taya, was it because of Phantom that you hated me so much?” Shanna’s voice trembled, and she had trouble meeting the other girl’s eyes.

The dark haired girl grimaced.

“Partly ; I’d spent so much time trying to learn to control myself and stop glowing in the dark, or extinguishing lights and seizing mechanical equipment, and then, all of a sudden, there was the possibility of ending up with one of your family’s starcats ; and one of those had provided the catalyst for my abnormalities to make themselves known. The truth be told that it wasn’t just the starcat that bothered me, but that you were so much younger than the rest of us ; and so normal! And then you turned up with two cats, and every time I was near you and those two cats, it became harder and harder to stop my hair changing. There was something about the combination of Storm, Twister, and yourself, and the constant nearness of Spinner, that seemed to erode my self control. I was continually struggling to avoid showing everyone how different I was, and the closer I got to Spinner, the harder the struggle became. Shanna, you were everything I wanted to be, and you were way too young! And way too normal! Every time I turned around you were there, doing it better Even now, it’s easier to change the wall colours just because you’re near me. Even one of your cats near me makes me edge closer to losing control!” A trace of the old resentment flashed across Taya’s face.

“But Taya, I didn’t know! I didn’t mean to make anything difficult for you ; and I wouldn’t have a clue why the boys and I make things tougher!” Shanna was almost crying, and she cleared her throat, frantically trying to control her emotions.

Amma put her other hand on the younger girl’s arm, and gripped it gently.

“Shan, this isn’t your fault, and Taya, your abilities are not your fault either ; like you said, they’re most likely to be one of the changes that the Starlynes have facilitated.” She looked grimly at the other two girls. “And who knows what they’ve done to the rest of us? I, for one, intend to ask some very direct questions!” She tied her bootlace with a firm tug, and looked firmly at the other two. “And one more thing Taya, are you sure that you can only fade with the assistance of Spinner?” Amma’s voice was accusing.

The other girl looked slightly guilty.

“Every time I tried without Spinner I could feel my control slipping, and I knew that you’d all find out about me, so I pretended that I needed Spinner to help me ; that way I could stop my hair glowing, but still fade. It made me so angry that everyone thought that learning to fade was such a great thing, but that I still needed to hide what I was.” Her voice trailed off. Shanna looked at the ground as she wondered what to say.

“Well, that was interesting!” Ragar’s voice startled the three girls, and they realised that he and the other two young men had probably been listening for some time. “Do we really need the new wall decorations Tay?”

Taya gave a start, and the walls returned to their previous soft glow.

“Sorry, forgot I’d done that.” She ducked her head, looking at the floor in some embarrassment.

“You know,” said Verren thoughtfully. “Here we are ; in quarters provided by an alien race, knowing they’ve been fiddling with our genetic makeup in ways we don’t understand, but ready to learn whatever they teach us, to deal with yet another alien race ... and one of us has learnt to vanish, another glows in the dark and turns off equipment, so who knows what they’ve done to the rest of us? It’s not really what I signed on to Scout training for! I think my head’s about to explode!” He flopped heavily on to his bed. “Someone tell me if I start growing tentacles!”

There was a collective laugh at the bizarre nature of their predicament, and some of the emotion in the room eased to a more manageable level as the cadets went back to finishing their dressing, and tidying away their belongings, just as if what they’d heard was an everyday occurrence.

Shanna’s head buzzed with Taya’s revelations. The root of all of the older girl’s animosity was now bare for her to see, and there was a small hope that their relationship might really begin to change for the better. After all the frustrations of the last months, Shanna wasn’t quite sure how to proceed though, and as she tied her bootlace and tucked her trouser leg back down, she sighed internally yet again. A thought struck her.

“If Master Cerren knew about you, Taya, and how to help you learn to control things, there must be others who have changed and required help! Who and where are they?”

“Part of the answer is here.” Spiron’s deep voice caused a sudden cessation of activity in the room, and the cadets turned as one to the adjoining door where the Patrol First was standing. He opened one hand and a soft glow, similar to Taya’s hair, outlined it and radiated from his palm, finally appearing to hover like a ball of light above it.

For a longer excerpt visit http://haguepublishing.com/sample/FrontierResistance.html

Did you always wanted to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

When I was four I wanted to be a lift driver. You know, the person who stood in the lift and Pressed The Buttons! I thought that was the height of ambition, because no-one was allowed to press the buttons except the lift driver. Sadly there are no lift drivers any more.

When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?

I first considered myself a ‘writer’ when a school teacher handed me back homework with the words ‘talented’ and ‘What can I say?’ written on the work. Those words have stayed with me for many years, providing that boost to keep me writing. I think of that teacher very fondly.

How long did it take to get your first book published?

From writing the first word of Frontier Incursion, (Book 1 in the Frontier Series) to the publishing date, was about five years. Over that time, I did a number of rewrites, had moments of self doubt, sent it off to several agents and queried a few publishers, and like all authors had a fair few knock backs.

Do you do another job except for writing and can you tell us more about it?

Instead of becoming a lift driver, I became a physiotherapist. So instead of pushing buttons all day, and whizzing up and down in a lift, I treat injured people, and help them back on the road to recovery. I can do all kinds of clever things with strapping tape, and my injured characters always have well thought out injuries, and appropriate, injury specific treatment when they’re injured. (And they never, ever, treat an acute joint injury with heat.)

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?

The name of my latest book is Frontier Resistance, Book 2 in the Frontier Series. In less than 20 words? Here goes: The Garsal have landed, and the world is in peril. Can Shanna and her starcats save her whole world? Phew - that was difficult!

Who is your publisher? Or do you self-publish?

My publisher is Hague Publishing (www.haguepublishing.com) a specialist Science Fiction and Fantasy publisher, based in Western Australia

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?

It takes me about a year to write a book. I usually know what the beginning is, where the end is, and a few bits and pieces that have to happen along the way, and then I start, and write from beginning to end. Sometimes I write things that ‘just happen’ that I didn’t know about when I started.

What can we expect from you in the future?  ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

I’m currently working on a few different ideas. I have a couple of adult science fiction books in mind, (my current books are YA sci-fi) and there’s another story as well that keeps demanding my attention. It involves a talking wombat that sleeps on the end of a bed, so I guess you’d call that fantasy!

What genre would you place your books into?

My two published books are young adult science fiction. They’re pretty soft science fiction, and are character and adventure driven stories that have big glow-in-the-dark starcats in them.

What made you decide to write that genre of book?

I’ve always loved to read fantasy and science fiction, and when I saw the first image of the story in my mind, I knew that the action was taking place on a different planet. I tend to write from the pictures inside my mind. They come complete with backstory and lots of little details.

Do you have a favorite character from your books? And why are they your favorite?

The problem with me is that I have too many favourites! I really like Shanna, my main character, because she’s not a passive person. She’s always in the thick of the action and discovering new things. She’s also very clever and an amazing trainer of starcats.

Having said that, I have a real soft spot for Nosey the starcat cub. Starcats are huge, glow-in-the-dark cats (100kg) who live and work with their human partners but still like to sleep on the bed. In Frontier Resistance, one of my minor characters needed a new starcat because his had been killed in the battle with the alien invaders. I have a cat called Nosey, and he snuck his way into the story and hijacked a little bit of it for himself. (I disguised him by turning him into a girl.)

How long have you been writing?, and who or what inspired you to write?

I’ve been writing since I was a child. Somewhere there’s a book of poetry published by one of my great aunts, with one of my early poems tucked away in it. I’ve always liked to write, and I was fortunate enough to have two highschool teachers who were particularly encouraging to me. I dabble in poetry, have discovered that I love to blog, and really enjoy creating stories.

Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?

I have a few things I like to do when I write. As I’m sitting here, typing the answers to these questions, I’m in my favourite chair in our loungeroom with my laptop. I’m also buried under about five kilograms of Nosey cat. Sometimes when I need to escape both the cat and the internet, I wander off to a cafe not far away. The lovely owners allow me to tuck myself away into a corner, drink coffee, stare into space and type furiously for hours. They’ve even been known to drop off a free coffee and a biscuit as they pass by my table.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

I do read quite a number of the reviews. I’m on Goodreads and several Goodreads people have mentioned that they love it when an author ‘likes’ their review. There’s all kinds of etiquette around what authors should and shouldn’t do with reviews. Many authors suggest not looking at them at all, but I like to learn from them. It’s interesting (and occasionally painful) to see what people think worked or didn’t work. I appreciate reviews, because as a writer, I need to keep learning. Reviews are one way of helping that process along. My own personal rule is to never comment on a review other than ‘liking’ it.

Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?

I write the book first and then choose the title. Sometimes choosing the title is harder than writing the book!

How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?

I often invent character names by rearranging syllables and sounds and just seeing what they sound like. Because I’m primarily writing speculative fiction, I can call my characters pretty well anything I want to. Sometimes I play with words when I’m writing about places. In the Frontier Series, I’ve given the three moons names from a local indigenous language as a salute to the place where I first had the idea for the story.

Are character names and place names decided after their creation? Or do you pick a character/place name and then invent them?

Can I say that I do it all at once? Most of the time the picture in my mind comes with a label. I know that sounds weird, but as soon as I get the gist of the character, the name seems to just happen. Place names are usually thought about a bit more - I see the image, ponder on the location and then name it.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?

Once again it’s a bit of both for me. I have a pretty good idea about my main character before I write the whole book, but I’ve realised that my minor characters quite often develop minds of their own as I write them and head off to do their own stuff.

Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story is..”)

I’m not sure you’d call my messages hidden, but there are a few messages. Frontier is a planet whose human population has developed a truly egalitarian society. There is no sexism. You’re valued for your skills and achievements, even if they’re a little weird, such as Shanna’s ability to vanish at will. No-one cares whether you’re beautiful (or not) either. They do care whether you can do your job, and how good you are at doing it. Survival has a way of making sure that superficiality is a long way down the list of desirable traits.

Which format of book do you prefer, eBook, hardback, or paperback?

I just love books. We have six bookcases, two kindles and four Kindle apps in our house. I’ve become a fan of the eBook in the last three or so years, and each year I love them more. Our daughter, despite loving her Kindle, tells me that she adores the smell of paper books and that nothing will ever replace it, but I love the way that my Kindle holds hundreds and hundreds plenty of books, so that I’m never without a book at the doctors surgery or while on a train or aeroplane. I love the fact that it doesn’t concuss me if I accidentally fall asleep reading a one thousand page story.

What is your favorite book and Why?  Have you read it more than once?

How difficult is it to decide on just one? I think my absolute favourite book is probably The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I read it at least once a year, and am always swept up in the story just as if I’ve never read it before.

Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favorite/worst book to movie transfer?

Some books transfer well to movies, and some movie makers transfer books well to movies. Some do it appallingly badly. My favourite book to movie transfer is probably Swallows and Amazons. I remember seeing it as a teenager still in love with the books and just loving it. It was everything I’d imagined the story to be.

My worst book to movie transfer is absolutely and utterly Starship Troopers by Robert E. Heinlein. I remember watching the movie in complete disbelief. Although it’s apparently? meant to be a parody, I just couldn’t ever watch it again. All I can say is that when a movie takes a character mentioned briefly in the first chapter of the book, and whose only activity  in the whole story is dying, changes their sex and turns them into the love interest, you know that something’s gone sadly wrong along the way.

Your favorite food is?

I’m a bit of a carnivore. I really like rack of lamb! Cooked nicely pink inside…Yum!

Your favorite singer/group is?

I’m fond of all kinds of music, so it’s probably easier to ask what I don’t like. I really don’t like rap, or screamo. (Screamo makes my throat hurt just listening to it.) I enjoy movie sound tracks and musicals the most, but I probably don’t have an absolute favourite. I just love music that moves me emotionally.

Your favorite color is?

BLUE!

Your favorite Author is?

Once again I’m struggling to find just one. My favourite/s are CS Lewis, Brandon Sanderson, Terry Pratchett and Anne McCaffrey.

 

 

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Originally from Western Australia, Leonie now lives in NSW in the Upper Hunter. She is the author of “Frontier Incursion” (YA Speculative Fiction) published in October 2012 by Hague Publishing, and also works part time as a physiotherapist. She dabbles in poetry, and has had a short story published in Antipodean SF.

Frontier Resistance, part two of the Frontier Trilogy was published on the 3rd of October 2014, and she has also finished the first draft of the concluding book. They’re full of glow-in-the-dark cats who like to sleep on the bed, alien invaders, and a planet out to kill the unwary.

She has a past life as a volunteer firefighter and State Emergency Service member, and once trekked almost six hundred kilometres with eight camels and several other human beings. She is married with two late teen kids, two dogs and two cats, one of whom frequently handicaps her ability to use a laptop computer.

Twitter: @RaeYesac

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leonierogersauthor

Wordpress blog: www.leonierogers.wordpress.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6542929.Leonie_Rogers