Blog

Geeking Science: R is for Reef and Real Estate Race

Erin Penn 4 Comments

Artist’s illustration of Orbital Reef, a private space station project involving Blue Origin, Sierra Space, and a number of other partners. (Image credit: Sierra Space/Blue Origin)

The International Space Station (ISS) first launched component settled in orbit in 1998 with residents moving in November 2000. “The station has been continuously occupied for 22 years … having surpassed the previous record of 9 years and 357 days held by the Mir space station.” (Wikipedia, International Space Station). The International part of the title has proven well-used with the support of five space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada).

The original plan for decommission was a mere 15 years (2015), but it has been extended several times. Even so, the extensions can’t continue forever. The wear and tear of long-term use, the leaks and holes, are adding up. (Inverse) Also in the mix in the Russia’s shenanigans in Ukraine, and the world hitting them with sanctions. The aggressor might pull out their funding early, previously planned to continue to 2024, in protest of getting called on the carpet for their actions.

2031 is becoming the hard-fast de-orbit date, with 2030 being when the shop will close up for the safety of all involved and the lights will be turned off.

The ISS will join all the Salyut stations (seven from 1971-1991 USSR), Skylab (1973-1979 USA), Mir (1986-2001 Russia), and the two Tiangong (2011-2019 China) in retirement. Once the station lands in Point Nemo, only Tiangong 3 will remain in orbit (2021-present, China).

Unless something changes. And boy-o-boy, are changes in the plans.

Several countries are thinking of creating their own stations.

But the first in line to deliver might be Amazon.

Well, Blue Origin (wholly owned by Jeff Brazos) (Cuofano 2022).

Blue Origin and Sierra Nevada Corporation plan to create a space station for commercial space activities and space tourism. The news brief for the plans released in October 2021, and the plans have been continuing apace, including approval by NASA.

The title for the planned station is Orbital Reef.

Some of the conversations on building Orbital Reef include using the ISS as a jumping point. Basically a port to work from.

Russia has been lifting new modules up for a Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS) – official launch date of 2025. America and the international community of the ISS (without Russia), likewise, are working on Axiom Station and Lunar Gateway for science activities and as part of the Artemis program for lunar landings and human missions to Mars. All these government space stations, as well as several commercial ventures, are hoped to be online before 2030. The Orbital Reef is the most ambitious with a crew size of 10; most of the others are aiming for 4.

NASA’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Development (CLDP) program aims at getting AT LEAST one commercial outpost up and running before the ISS lights go out. Orbital Reef, Starlab (by NanoRacks) and an unnamed concept (by Northrop Grumman) all have received grants after the initial plans have been reviewed and approved by NASA. (Wall)

I’m highly entertained by Orbital Reef being referred to a “turn-key” location, where a (space) business park can be scaled to serve markets. Like one can just go to a relator and state your needs, and they hand you the key to a building.

The large crew of ten for Orbital Reef is aimed at supporting the renters, including a possible space hotel. “We sell only the utilities and services you need to sustain your business: power, cooling, high-bandwidth communication, information and physical security, robotic services, technician attention, stowage, and logistics.” More can be found on this sci-fi, soon to be science fact, location at .

Planning on filming a commercial that needs microgravity? They got you covered. Need microgravity to create the next microchip? Think Orbital Reef.

Key to the dream of the Orbital Reef is Dream Chaser, a pint-sized reusable space plane. Sierra Space hopes to demonstrate viability in a February 2023 launch aboard the ULA Vulcan Centaur booster rocket.

Tons of prep-work and moving parts are in play for 2023 with 2024 being the year of heavy lifting into orbit as things get off the production line. Be interesting to see who wins the low-Earth orbit real estate race.

Bibliography

Clark, Stephen. “Blue Origin and Sierra Space team up for commercial space station.” Spaceflight Now. October 25, 2021. – last viewed 12/21/2022.

Foust, Jeff. “Orbital Reef passes NASA review.” SpaceNews. August 22, 2022. https://spacenews.com/orbital-reef-passes-nasa-review/ – last viewed 12/21/2022.

Cuofano, Gennaro. “Who owns Blue Origin?” FourWeekMBA. September 30, 2022. – last viewed 12/21/2022.

Inverse. “NASA Plans to Obliterate the International Space Station – Here’s How.” (undated). https://www.inverse.com/science/nasa-kill-iss – last viewed 12/21/2022.

Kirk, Benny. “Space Shuttle vs Dream Chaser: Can This Pint Sized Space Plane Really Replace an Icon?” autoevolution. October 21, 2022. – last viewed 12/21/2022.

Orbital Reef. (website, undated). – last viewed 12/21/2022.

The Planetary Society. “Missing Briefings: Blue Origin wants to build its own space station.” The Downlink. October 29, 2021. (email newsletter)

Shields, Ken (of Sierra Space Corp). “Orbital Reef: A Space Station for a New Economy of Space.” IEEE-CNSV Consultants’ Network of Silicon Valley. March 8, 2022. – last viewed 12/21/2022.

Wall, Mike. “Blue Origin’s private Orbital Reef space station passes key design review.” Space.com. August 24, 2022. https://www.space.com/blue-origin-orbital-reef-system-definition-review – last viewed 12/21/2022.

Wikipedia. “International Space Station.” (undated) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station – last viewed 12/21/2022.

Wikipedia. “List of space stations.” (undated). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_space_stations – last viewed 12/21/2022.

Wikipedia. “Orbital Reef.” (undated) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_Reef – last viewed 12/21/2022.

Flash: Q is for Quicken

Erin Penn

Photo by Sara Cervera on Unsplash

“You don’t need to do that, you know.”

Crawling out of the oven, Abigail threw the sponge into the bucket of blackened water to find the witch priestess had joined her in the kitchen. She smiled at the pregnant woman before carrying the water over to the modern double-sink and poured the water down the deeper one. “Then who’s going to get it done, Mistress, with you being in a delicate way and all?”

Lizzo snorted, rubbing her belly. “Emma is not delicate, nothing about pregnancy is delicate. Not the vomiting, not the swollen feet, not the baby gymnastics off the bladder at,” the woman squinted at the digital clock on the cast-iron-looking stove, “3 am.”

“Aye, ma’am there is that.” The house servant nodded, rinsing out the bucket and refilling it with warm water, adding a few squirts of soap the new owners had brought with them. “Still, you should not be doing all the things with the little one on the way.”

“I don’t.” She smiled gently, with satisfaction, continuing to rub the side of her belly, pressing every now and again, “Jonathan does so much, and Malcolm is a great kid.”

“Thanks Mom for the praise.” The dark-haired teenage boy grinned at his mom as he crossed to the humming refrigerator in a pair of gym shorts and nothing else.

The living woman raised her eyebrows. “And what are you doing up, young man?”

“Got hungry,” he said while rooting around the meager groceries they had stocked for their first night at their new residence. “Pizza was great, but doesn’t last long.”

“Nothing does.” Lizzo muttered leaning forward, making eye contact with the ghost giving her new kitchen a deep clean, who smiled back at her, a joke between adult women. Lizzo found her lips twitching. It’s been a long time since she had a proper coven with other women to joke with, one of the things she gave up for her marriage and children.

Her son dumped what was to be tomorrow’s lunch on the wooden island and started making himself sandwiches. Someday she would figure out the calorie intake he needed while growing like a weed, but with pregnancy brain, that wasn’t going to stick for a while.

“Now I understand why I had to pack so little for the move.”

Malcolm shrugged, teasing his mom right back. “I figured you were paying by the pound, better in me than in the truck.”

She laughed at his audacity.

“Want one?” He held up a sandwich from the cutting board he was working on.

Pausing in her tummy rubbing, Lizzo considered before reaching out a hand. “Yes, thank you.” Calories when building another human being were a constant; only problem is her stomach was fighting for room with Emma and losing. She could only eat snack-sized meals and it drove her batty.

The sandwich was thick artisan bread with lettuce and tomato, and deli rotisserie chicken spiced with pepper and thyme. Malcolm dragged his three on the cutting board over to another of the high stools around the prep area, leaving the extra tomatoes, the half head of lettuce, and what was left of the bread and meat out. The mostly solid servant rinsed her hands and moved to put the leftovers away.

“No, don’t do that.” Lizzo ordered.

“Mistress?”

“That is for Malcolm to put away.”

“Mom,” her son whined.

“I’m not going to have Caitlin think I raised a slob.” Lizzo nodded at the debris. “Clean up after yourself. A clean work area…”

“Is a safe work area.” Malcolm rolled his eyes. “Which hat?”

Abby’s head bounced between them, following the conversation from where she had returned to scrubbing inside the cabinets.

“It’s the straw one, but the silk one just may make an appearance.”

“Alright, alright.” The teenager shoved the last of his first sandwich into his mouth and loaded up his arms with the unused sandwich makings. “Better, mom?” he said, slumping into his chair after completing the task.

Lizzo nodded setting down the second half of her sandwich, to find a glass of water on the table. She hadn’t noticed the ghost getting that close to her. “Thank you, Malcolm.” She turned her head to the mostly manifested woman “And thank you, miss.”

The ghost ducked her head. “You’re welcome ma’am.”

“You are something, aren’t you?” the witch shook her head, going back to rubbing her right side.

“Ma’am?” Abby asked, pulling over a step stool to get the upper cabinets.

“I’ve met some spiritual phenomena before, most barely better than a memory on repeat. But you,” Lizzo waved a hand to where the other was working, “you are all of you. And capable of moving things easily.” Lizzo squinted again, studying the ghost, changing her sight to Sight, the gray-blue kerchief catching back the straggly gray-brown hair shifted to a bright blue holding a cascade of rich auburn curls. The pale dress, became alive with bright yellow flowers, and a bright, healthy green aura flowed out of her skin, indistinguishable from a living creature, screaming her natural nurturing nature for anyone who cared to Look. “And learning. You speak mostly modern English, just a hint of an … Irish? … accent, but you work all the modern gadgets like you were born to them.”

“I just am me,” done with her present task, Abby climbed down from the slate counter to rinse out the bucket again, “I don’t know what it’s like elsewhere. It’s not like I can travel none.” After rinsing the bucket out, she set it down, dropping the scrub brush, sponge, and a bottle of soap into the bucket. “But six families have lived here and I help when I can. I’m just sorry you moved in when it was in such a mess. I’ve been sleeping for a bit. If it would be okay, I’ll get the bathrooms next. I only have a few more hours until sunrise.”

“I would appreciate that so much. But again, you don’t have to do this,” Lizzo reassured her. “Any of this.”

“I enjoy it.”

“If this is not out of line, and you can decline to answer of your own free will, may I ask how old you are?” the witch tilted her head, “During daylight hours, it’s hard to see you clearly, but right now, you look barely older than my Malcolm.”

“My father signed me over to a captain when I was thirteen, and he sold my indenture paperwork to Mr. Palmer.” The ghost shifted her stance, looking off into the distance a moment, shadows crossing her face a little more literally than on a normal living being, before continuing. “I worked for him less than a year, the Mistress had my papers resold to the Henrys, the ones who built this house. They needed workers when it got finished.”

“And you said the fire was five years in.”

“Yes ma’am.” The woman brushed her apron and smoothed her skirts, keeping her head mostly down.

“You are only eighteen?” Malcolm moved around the table. “Maybe nineteen?”

The servant lifted her head. “I guess. That sounds about the all of it.”

“Plus another hundred or so years.” His mother added. “Malcolm…” a warning clearly threaded her voice.

“Right.” The teenager blinked, looking over at his mom. “Sorry.”

“We’ll talk more in the morning. Go get some sleep.” Lizzo snapped. “That is a silk hat order.”

“Yes, priestess.” Malcolm rushed out of the kitchen, through the butler’s pantry, to the morning drawing room where the family was camping overnight until the furniture arrived.

After watching him clear the room, the witch turned her attention back to the house ghost. “You lived in a different time. He is still a child.”

“Mistress,” Abby bowed her head before raising it to meet the other woman’s eyes, “I will never act to harm a child.”

“Good.” Lizzo kept eye contact for a moment longer before standing herself. “Thank you for cleaning. I’m going to try and get some more sleep. Am I going to see you tomorrow?”

“Not likely until nightfall, Mistress, this” Abby swung the bucket in her hand, “takes effort and I’ll need some resting, but with the little ones around, the house is happy.”

Frowning at that, but the constant tiredness creeping back into her thoughts, Lizzo had to let it go for another time, making a big underlined fluorescent mental note for there to be another time.

(words 1,409, first published 4/19/2023)

Series: Under Contract
1. N is for Noise (4/16/2023)
2. Q is for Quicken (4/19/2023)
3. Y is for Yield (4/28/2023)
4. Z is for Zzzz (4/30/2023)

 

Book Review (SERIES): The Deadly Seven – P is for Percherczyk

Erin Penn

I love me some Superhero Romance – BUT the good ones are few and far between, the ones which balance Powers and Romance. Ms. Pecherczyk does so in the Deadly Seven series. I love the world concept of the Seven Deadly Sins used to power the superbeings. The challenge of balancing too much or too little of the sin. And the opposite person needed to bring balance to the powered-being.

♥Multi award-nominated series. ♥Finalist in the ARRA Award for Best Ongoing Paranormal Romance Series. ♥Finalist for the RWA Ruby Book of the Year award 2020. ♥Each book can be read as a standalone, but is best read in order to appreciate the overarching plot.

The Deadly Seven is a paranormal/scifi romance featuring genetically modified heroes who must find a lifemate or become the deadly sin they are destined to destroy. Perfect for fans of superhero shows like Batman, Arrow, The Flash and Superman… but with more heartfelt and hot romance from the hero and his love interest. For mature audiences only. Read FREE in Kindle Unlimited.

The Deadly Seven Series by Lana Percherczyk

  1. Sinner (prequel)
  2. Envy
  3. Greed
  4. Wrath
  5. Sloth
  6. Gluttony
  7. Lust
  8. Pride
  9. Despair

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for SINNER

The selfie generation grew up.

And with them, the sin of greed exploded on an astronomical scale. Of course, where one went, the rest were sure to follow. Wrath, sloth, gluttony, pride, envy, lust… all climbed in severity until deadly sin consumed Cardinal City. Violence, murder, and mayhem were only the beginning. To save their city, top scientists created a band of brothers and sisters as deadly as the sins they were destined to fight. But before they were waging a war on crime, they were children born in a lab with no one to look out for them… except a deadly assassin pretending to be a nun and a tortured man running from his past.

If you’re obsessed with superhero movies, but want more romance, then The Deadly Seven is for you. Featuring fated mates and a band of brothers and sisters, tortured alpha heroes, kick-ass heroines, vigilante justice and a steamy romance in each book.

MY REVIEW for SINNER

The prequel to the Deadly Seven series, Sinner follows the relationship the Deadly Seven’s parents, Mary and Flint, as they rescue the children. The manuscript is a novella, far too short for the explosive and powerful love between the pretend nun and the curious nerd. It doesn’t bring anything new to the table for the series, except give a glimpse of how Mary and Flint actually see each other and what drives them to devote their lives to raising seven superpowered beings.

And that is worth the price of admission, especially since the price is free (at the time of this writing 1/12/2021).

I’ve read books 1-6 of the series. I am waiting for Pride to come out in July (ugh – 6 more months) and then Despair. Reading the Prequel may help tie me over.

Superspy romance feel. Good fun and good story. I really like the fact that Mary and Flint had been working up to full being-in-love for over a year. Yes, we only see one day of their lives, but what a day!

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for ENVY

Disgraced hero Evan Lazarus punishes himself in the underground cage fighting scene. He blames himself for the tragedy that tore his family apart and left the city without its saviors. Traveling a dark path toward vengeance, if he’s not careful, he’ll become the evil he was created to fight. And then he meets her—a woman who embodies his sin’s opposing virtue. She’s smart, relentless, and electrifying… She’s everything he secretly craves.

Grace Go almost died in the blast that killed her parents and now seeks justice for the survivors. When her investigation crosses paths with a fiercely protective but damaged hero, she is intrigued. The more she sees him, the more he ignites a desire she thought long gone, and the easier it is to stay ignorant to the secret that could ruin her opinion of him forever.

When a figure from Evan’s past emerges, in league with the evil Syndicate, their scheme threatens to destroy everything he holds dear. Pushed to the limits, he will have to pull his family from the brink of oblivion and become the hero the city needs… or will envy drive him to destroy Grace and his only chance at love and redemption forever?

MY REVIEW for ENVY

Envy is nearly completely consumed by jealousy and covet-ness. He is lower than low, the youngest of his family, with no one believing him. His art brings him little joy as others only want his skill.

Then he meets his opposite. Someone who looked life in the eye and said “enough is enough, I’m going to build everyone around me up”. At times Grace is nearly too good – but it is needed to offset the Deadly Sin in Envy. She is a doctor and Envy is in need of a cure before his sin consumes him. Can Grace kiss it enough to make it better?

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for GREED

Griffin Lazarus’ restraint is notorious within his heroic family. His mastery over the sin of greed is second to none. What they don’t know, is a shameful secret drives his discipline and one slip could mean fatal consequences for anyone close to him. When he’s forced to work with a beautiful, feisty reporter poking around his personal life, his control swiftly unravels. Everything about her throws his beliefs into chaos. She’s arousing, loud and infuriating, and craving her could be his undoing—or his redemption.
Lilo Likeke, an altruistic reporter for the Cardinal Copy, is hunting the story of a lifetime. Who are the Deadly Seven? If she can nail her unicorn story, she’ll finally prove her apple falls far from her corrupt family tree. But when her mobster father is kidnapped, and she’s drawn into his web of chaos, she soon learns you can’t outrun your past, but you can choose your family. Trusting the man behind the mask might kill her story, but it also might save her heart.

With the Syndicate breathing down their necks, none of it could matter if they don’t live to see another day, and Griffin has no intention of losing the woman he covets, even if that means embracing bedlam…

MY REVIEW for GREED

Ms. Pecherczyk gets both romance and supers – and has made an excellent addition to the Superhero Romance Genre with her The Deadly Seven series.

The world concept is seven brothers and sisters were genetically engineered to hunt down sin and destroy it. They were stolen and raised to be heroes instead of killers, but the base nature remains. If they don’t fight it – seek it out and remove it – the sin will consume them entirely. If they do too much good, they also will unbalance.

Greed has experienced directly – the unbalancing – waking with too much blood on his hands. Now he is obsessed with being balanced. For every good act, he does an evil. Then he meets the woman who is the opposite of Greed – who gives everything she has. Can she help him find a healthy balance; can he teach her to be be greedy for one thing — him?

Oh, and another superhero standby, the two meet in a newspaper office. She is a reporter. Superhero tingles all the way!

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for WRATH

Betrayed. Alone. Angry.

Wyatt Lazarus’s ex-fiancée betrayed him in the vilest of ways, and he failed to see it coming. Now alone and ashamed, the unquenchable influence of his sin fuels his anger. Instead of redeeming sinners—he ends them. Wrath becomes his identity until a brutal mistake throws him into the path of a cheeky yoga instructor in need of a savior.

Misha Minski believes in karma, but after years of suffering blackmail from an old mafia acquaintance, it’s hard to stay strong. Soon her number is up. Rather than spend her last days wallowing in self pity, she’s determined to enjoy one last night of pleasure with her new mysterious protector, but instead, finds something much more—a future.

But when the evil Syndicate join forces with Misha’s psychopathic blackmailer, Wyatt must push through his bitterness and reunite with his heroic family, or the woman who gave him back his voice will be lost to him forever.

MY REVIEW for WRATH

Third of this superhero romance series, Wrath follows the troubled Wyatt – who is drowning in his Sin, and not just using being a vicious celebrity cook as his outlet anymore. He looks for opportunities to beat people, and one is delivered at the back of a neighborhood greasy spoon which is being shaken down by the local “protection” racket. Turns out they needed protection from him.

But he discovers his temporary fix has permanent consequences and agrees to hang around for the follow-up. Hiding in the kitchen, he discovers the owner’s daughter is his fated mate. Opposites attract for the Sins, and this Yoga-teaching woman quickly becomes his everything.

Now all he needs to do is stop the local mobster, convince her he is the real thing, and deal with the Syndicate trying to use the opportunity of him being separated from the family to “recruit” him one way or the other.

A strong superhero romance series with each story focusing on different romance tropes, but keeping tight to romance AND superhero themes.

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for SLOTH

She’s a hacker, a legendary gamer, a badass vigilante… if she can get herself out of bed. Read Sloth now in Kindle Unlimited.

Nothing much appeals to Sloan Lazarus, except the burning hatred for the man who stole her heart and then ghosted her—right after she confessed her crime-fighting secret. When he turns up two years later, completely complacent and hot-as-sin, Sloan is determined to make his life a living hell. Then she discovers he is her lifemate… and her unstable powers kick in.

After being dishonorably discharged from the army, Maximillian Johnson has come to the sin-soaked Cardinal City to make a difference. A dark secret drives his motivation, and coloring outside the lines of law enforcement with the Deadly Seven is just what he needs. It doesn’t hurt that he gets to work with the beautiful woman who still holds a long denied place in his heart.

Problem is, the fanatical Syndicate are closing in, and just when the Deadly Seven think they’re making headway, they take two steps back. Sloan must learn to make peace with the brooding security specialist, or suffer the consequences of being imbalanced. If she can’t learn to trust again, and control her devastating new powers, life will be worse than a living hell… it will be deadly.

MY REVIEW for SLOTH

Finding breakouts in the genre of Superhero Romance is hard – few authors understand the need to both Wow with Power and Wow with Romance. Ms. Pecherczyk manages it perfectly.

The world concept for The Deadly Seven is these genetically engineered superbeings were created to hunt down sin and destroy it. They were stolen and then raised to hunt down sin and contain it. Now they are grown, their creators are trying to get them back, get them fully activated, and then release them to destroy the world.

So the seven brothers and sisters are fighting the bad guys, fighting their own programmed natures, and fighting for what is right.

I’ll be honest, I read Sloth out of order – as the second of the series rather than the fourth. And it worked okay. The books have self-contained romances which allow for stand-alone. But the overarc of the bad guys gave me a couple spoilers as I returned to the earlier books. But I had to read Sloth first – a gamer, a computer nerd, and … well, how do you super and sloth at the same time? I just had to see.

Oh, and her opposite. At one time, she asks him, do you ever slow down? (BTW, I can’t wait to see how a romance works between Lust and her opposite. But I’m gonna be good and not jump ahead again, … I think.)

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for GLUTTONY

Tony Lazarus is a man who seems to have everything. Money, fame, movie-star good looks, women… but appearances can be deceiving. Behind the million-dollar smile is a hero losing his battle against the sin he’s supposed to have complete control over. Instead of fighting to keep the city safe, alcohol and drugs are his life until a chance encounter places him at the wrong end of sassy security agent’s ire.

It’s enough to shake sense into him, but now he has a new addiction, and her name is Bailey Haze. She is his lifemate, ex CIA and she wants nothing to do with him. He represents everything she’s been fighting to overcome her entire life – he’s cocky, smug, and entitled.

When a Syndicate failed experiment terrorizes Cardinal City, the two must work together. As their fates become forever entwined, and desire ignites between them, can they forget about their prejudices and join forces? Or will their inner demons dig a grave they can’t hope to get out of alive?

MY REVIEW for GLUTTONY

The opening might throw off readers for a moment. It’s Tony in his movie character. Aside from that distraction – this book is perfect.

Tony has long been so charismatic he has been impossible to not love, and so broken, impossible to love. You want to eat all of him, yet doing so leaves you feeling so full you hate yourself. A constant situation Tony lives in – surrounded by celebrity excess, both loving and hating it and himself.

Then a threat emerges against his secret identity and the studio insists he gets a bodyguard. Overkill for the superhero, but necessary if he wants to continue the acting he loves so much. Bailey Haze isn’t just any bodyguard though; the ex-fed comes with her own problems, many related to dealing with addicts. But his opposite number – Abstinence to his Gluttony, makes Tony’s genetic programming draw them together.

In the background is the stalker, the Syndicate, and … a mobile sentient plant?

Oh joy!!! Ms. Pecherczyk goes all in with the Superhero Romance Genre with a purely absurd villain of the story. …. Only the plant as absurd as Toad in the X-Man movie (hopping and killing people, freaked me out after seeing him usually portrayed as a loser in the comics) and Gorilla Grodd when he is influencing Gorilla City (trust me, the mind control aspect are chilling when written right).

Each encounter with the plant just gets better and better. This whole story is Superhero Romance at its best!

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for LUST

Lies among friends… Liza Lazarus’s devotion to the law is only eclipsed by her loyalty to her vigilante family. The tough, no-holds-barred, city detective crushes it on the outside, but on the inside, she’s losing a battle for her sanity and heart. Sensing lust makes her physically sick. It’s great for catching rapists and murderers, but for finding love? Impossible. Then a childhood friend comes crashing back into her life, and she finds the impossible isn’t so out of reach… if they can get past decades worth of lies between them.

Love among enemies… FBI Special Agent Joe Luciano has been in love with Liza since they were kids. The kind of soul-wrenching, heart-clobbering love that can send a man insane… except she only ever saw him as a friend. When a secret investigation brings him right into the Lazarus family war-zone, he learns they’re not as virtuous as he once believed. They’re the very criminals he’s been hunting. The more embroiled he becomes with Liza and her vigilante family, the more his black and white world crumbles until he’s forced to make an impossible choice… arrest her, or love her.

Betrayal among family… As a child, Despair Lazarus was forsaken by her family, and left to the mercy of the evil Syndicate. She became a brutal, heartless warrior, and the Lazarus family never forgave themselves. So when she finally comes knocking at their door, they welcome her with open arms, blind to the danger they’ve invited into their midst. With the Syndicate, old enemies, and the FBI closing in on her family’s secrets, Liza must learn to control her new deadly powers and piece together where the real danger lies… with her lover, her long-lost sister, or herself.

MY REVIEW for LUST

I jumped ahead to read Lust. Had to. The conundrum of how can you do a romance without Lust being involved.

Simple just have …. oh, spoilers, never mind.

This is a Friends to Lovers trope story, as well as a superhero story, and a romance. Ms. Pecherczyk writes a Powered universe well and I continue to fall deeper into the Deadly Sevens standoff against the Syndicate every story.

Total love for Lust!

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for PRIDE

Genius. Billionaire. Arrogant. Vigilante. Liar.

There are many words to describe Parker Lazarus. Some call him stubborn. Some call him impossible. Some call him a liar. He doesn’t care what anyone calls him, as long as he fulfills his destiny to rid the world of the fanatical Syndicate and leads his family to victory. Of his seven siblings, six have found their lifemate. But it should have been him first. He battles the deadly sin of pride, and he accepts no failure. Especially his own.

When Parker finds out his mate has been under his nose for years, an assassin masquerading as his assistant, his controlled world is thrown into chaos. Not only does he lose his arm because of his unwillingness to accept this truth, but he loses himself when she challenges him in ways he’d never thought possible. How did this woman slip past his defenses? How does she continue to defy him at every turn? Why does he risk everything – even his secret identity – to keep her safe?

Pride becomes more than another word to describe him. It becomes his downfall. And if he can’t learn to open himself up to failure, and to trust the help of loved ones, then his pride will pave the road to destruction. Not just for the Syndicate, but for all mankind.

MY REVIEW for PRIDE

Of all the books of this series, I liked this one the least. I’ve even given some of the other books of the series five stars, I loved them so much.

Pride is, well, prideful. His fall is obvious and painful. He is so deep into his Sin, and his siblings so used to him wallowing in it, that the fall is evitable. The boy needed a spanking more than his preferred fetish.

Overall, the story was a workable romance – but in a series with as many gems as this, workable looks like a lump of coal.

Pride does move the overall plot of the Deadly Seven forward. It does introduce some interesting turns, especially among the Sinners (an upcoming series is hinted at for them – and I would love to see Mary and Raven gets some true love of their owns). The metaphysical hints from the start of the series are finally condensing.

One of the worst parts is the huge payoff of the central relationship – is buried as a email-collection by the author presented as a special bonus epilogue available exclusively through her newsletter. Maybe if I got that relationship payoff, I would be happier with the book – but as it is, the conclusion feels very behind closed doors – even with the hot, hot sex scenes found throughout the book.

Final thoughts: If you are already invested in the overall series, it will be worth a read. Otherwise, read Gluttony or Greed or Sloth and get invested first.

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for DESPAIR

Do villains deserve their happy ever after?

Daisy Lazarus is the genetically modified warrior of the forgotten deadly sin despair. After spending most of her life as the villain, she has finally been brought back into the fold and wants nothing more than to fit in, to find herself, and to prove she was worth saving. But the more she tries to be like her heroic siblings, the more her fears try to pull her back into the darkness.

Firefighter Axel Alvares has done bad things, including being one of the Syndicate’s fanatical thugs for hire. But after refusing to turn a blind eye to Daisy’s torture, he learns the right reasons sometimes have devastating consequences. He’s pulled into the midst of a deadly battle to save the world, to the center of despair, and to the woman who sits at the heart of it…

As the mad leader of the Syndicate diverts from his original plan, kicking up chaos no one saw coming, family bonds will be tested, personal growth may be for nothing and love may not conquer all…

The thrilling, epic, and the heartfelt conclusion to the Deadly Seven Series.

MY REVIEW for DESPAIR

Book number 8 of the Deadly Seven series. All her younger siblings went first, now it is Daisy’s turn in the spotlight – otherwise know by her superpower vice name of Despair. She is paired with a hope-filled firefighter.

While each of the Deadly Seven works as a stand-alone, the overarching story is just as engaging and comes to its cataclysmic conclusion as the superpower groups nemesis continues his descent into madness, sewers, and multi-dimensional planes. Despair must stand between heaven and hell, and reconcile her past of being a villain with the desire of everyone else to see her the hero. Will she heal enough from the damage Justin inflicted on her, both mental and physical, in time and enough to save the world and her family?

It’s been a year since I read the rest of the series, waiting for this conclusion to come out. I am still in love with the superhero prose Ms. Pecherczyk writes so well, I had forgotten how good her sex scenes can be, and the family drama just tickles me (wish there was more of it).

O is for Other: On the Other Side

Erin Penn 2 Comments

Meme created by Erin Penn

During the SAGA Professional Writer’s Conference in 2023, Gail Z. Martin quoted a motivational speaker, saying the words changed her life. I webcrawled until I found the original speaker then made a meme with the appropriate attribution. It was the first of the memes I envisioned during the conference, down to what the picture should look like.

That is always the problem with meme creation, finding the right picture. I was ecstatic when I found the fissure against the fire background. Exactly what I wanted.

Now onto why acknowledging fear is good writing advice. “You can’t write a novel.” because it will impact your social standing, or your ability to make a living, or is too hard and there is a chance of failure. Each of these arguments are based in fear. Because, really, you can write a novel.

It might not be a good novel, but if you want to write a novel, stringing together enough words is the only requirement. Making something good enough to sell is a different issue, but if you WANT to write a novel, there is no deadline, no judge, just time spent doing what you WANT to do.

Anything you WANT to do is possible. Want a new job, then job hunt. Want a vacation – maybe Cancun isn’t in the budget, but a beach vacation is within reach.

Now, you might not WANT to do the work. Writing a novel is lot of work, but don’t let anyone say you can’t when you are capable of writing.

Also remember writing is a learning process. No one masters a job in one year. A person goes through years of training in normal school, then months of specialized training, then “probation” on the job. And still it is three-to-five years before you are really, really good at it. The first novel will suck – it may be possible to polish it to good – but the first draft of the first novel is going to be bad as the first picture you ever drew. You know, the one with your mom’s arms growing out of her neck.

Still, first that first draft of that first novel.

If that is what you WANT.

Meme created by Erin Penn

Flash: N is for Noise

Erin Penn
Photo 102105844 / Victorian Kitchen © Stuart Andrews | Dreamstime.com

Clatter woke Abigail from her sound sleep. Below stairs, laughter and shouts passed between people, footfalls and dropping boxes pounded the floor. She took her time to roll out of her single as her brain caught up with reality, letting dreams drift away and remembering where and who she was. Still a servant, always a servant, she thought looking around her small dusty chamber. Abigail picked up her housecoat, wrapping it around her nightclothes and tying off the belt, before heading to the first floor down the narrow flight at the back of the sprawling manor.

The main floor was bedlam. Small children running about, a father yelling at a much larger boy to help his mother. Standing to one side in the modernized kitchen, Abby took the time to count the young ones. Three in all, in step-stool fashion of a little over two years apart. She approved of the new house master for not pushing his wife harder. Her guess is two, five, and seven, plus the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy who hadn’t come into his manhood muscles yet but seem to be stretching his height up quickly. A woman, as tall as her husband and showing more gray than him, carried a small box against her expanding belly marked in big letters – FRAGILE AND I MEAN FRAGILE – to set it on the area where the icebox used to be before returning to the house front.

A family.

The last owners were there just to change things. While she approved them getting rid of the heavy carpeting and ghastly colors the previous owners had installed in the seventies and eighties, when the two men had decided to destroy and replace the heart pine floors under the carpet instead of sanding and refinishing them, she chased them off. It did mean the fancy electrical was only half-installed, and the plumbing still didn’t run up to the third floor, but those flippers had no respect for the bones of her home.

“Mom!” The boy shouted, staring directly at her from the butler’s threshold. “Mooooom!!!!” His voice cracked as it went higher.

Abagail jumped a little. “You see me?” she whispered. It took a lot of energy to manifest during the day, so she wasn’t trying to be visible.

The boy nodded, while the pregnant woman ran up behind him.

“What?” she asked, huffing.

“Ghost.” The young man stayed on the threshold, but pressed to one side so his mother could stand beside him.

The woman’s eyes narrowed, clearly studying Abigail, making the ancient servant stand taller and retighten her housecoat belt.

The new house mistress asked, “Are we going to have a problem?”

“No ma’am.” Abby shook her head.

“I will protect what is mine.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Where is your space?”

Abby gulped debating. It wasn’t like a search wouldn’t show it, but did she want this woman to know right now?

“Where is your space?” The mistress said in a firm voice. “Don’t make me ask a third time.”

Abby dropped her eyes to the red tiles, nodding, before pointing up the back staircase.

“You will take me and Malcolm to it.” The woman touched her son. “Go tell Jonathan I want to look around upstairs before we get the furniture tomorrow. He’ll be glad I’m not trying to clean anything for a while, then come back here immediately. You need to learn this.”

“Yes Priestess.” Malcom took off running.

Smiling, hoping to get on the new mistress’ good side but not knowing how much the woman could see at the moment, Abby commented, “Your son seems to have only one speed.”

The woman chuckled, rubbing her belly, “All of them. Either full steam ahead or sleeping.” She stepped off the threshold and entered into the kitchen fully, going over to the box she brought in earlier.

“I helped the nanny back in the day.” Abby took a step back into the shadows of the stairwell, where she knew she manifested stronger. But she didn’t push energy into being visible, not yet. She didn’t know if the witch priestess would let her stay, and she might need energy to fight later. Abby would not go quietly; it wasn’t as though there was anywhere else to go if the woman tried to eject her. Having always been a willing and quiet servant since she landed on America’s shores, and measuring the strength of this woman’s personality, Abby didn’t think she would win, but this was her home. She would fight to stay by word or ghastly deed.

Although Abby knew she didn’t have it in her to harm the baby inside the woman, so her options were limited if worse came to worst.

The woman pulled out a half candle embedded in a disc candle holder with a finger loop on one end so one could carry it around without having wax melt down onto your fist.

Brass candlestick holders were a common sight during her living years. Abby smiled, then started gnawing on her bottom lip as the woman waved her hand over the candle and it lit. A warning, that show of power, and the candle a tool now that fire was added. Abby did not like that at all.

Setting the candle aside, the woman pulled out a necklace with three small stones attached to it and placed it around her neck. She pulled out a second necklace, this one with a large metal charm and set it aside. Moving other things around, the woman finally settled on pulling out one ring and placing it on her right thumb, then closed the box and muttered a word to reseal the cardboard. When her son returned, he immediately crossed the kitchen to his mother’s position and put on the amulet she had set aside, then picked up the candle.

“Now, dead one, please.” The woman wave her hand upwards as she crossed the room to the plain wooden stairs.

“Mind the fifth step.” Abby warned.

“Malcolm?” The woman pressed aside letting her son wave the candle over the step. There wasn’t room on the narrow treads for him to pass, but he could bend over with the grace and dexterity of youth to examine the board in question.

“It’s cracked, mother.” The boy bent on one knee and placed a hand on the wood. “Has been for a very long time. Dry rot underneath.” He closed his eyes, humming. “The stairs are no good.” Malcolm looked up at their guide. “Not if you have any weight, but I don’t think the ghost knew that.”

The living woman’s gray-green eyes narrowed and Abby sweated. “I didn’t realize, I’m so sorry mistress.”

The priestess nodded slowly. “Very well.” She reached down and petted her son’s brown hair. “Is it possible to reach your space another way?”

Sagging, grateful for the reprieve, Abby said, “I’m on the third floor, so I think you can go around the front and get to the second floor. But the third-floor front does not connect to the third-floor servant area. You will need to get on these stairs at the second floor and I don’t know if upper flight will be any better than these.”

“They’re not.” Malcolm said. “The house was made from heart wood, oak and pine, some elm, except for these crappy stairs.”

“There was a fire in the kitchen in the fifth year, and it ran up the steps killing the servants and taking out the nursey. They replaced the stairs with these for the new hires.”

“Ah.” The woman nodded. “And you’ve been here ever since.”

Abby flushed, realizing she just explained her death and wondered what type of power that gave the witch. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I guess my visit will wait until another day.” The mother nodded at her son, and they retreated down the steps. At the bottom, the woman reach out two fingers and snuffed the wick. “Put that away please Malcolm.”

Abby drifted down following them, carefully stepping over the fifth tread even though it did not matter for her.

A small vulgarity came from where Malcolm was swinging his hand back and forth. He looked over at his mom, a blush rising up his neck to inflame his face, before he managed even quieter words over the box and it opened easily.

“We will talk more later, Miss,” the mother said. “But for now, I think we can share the house.”

Abby shook her head, and the witch frowned until Abby amended the statement. “I think we can share a home.”

Coming over to stand beside his mother, Malcolm exchanged a look with his priestess before he said, “Yes, we would like that.”

“Subject to further talks,” the mother added, running a hand over her belly, her voice softening, “but I could use the extra eyes with my crowd.”

A masculine voice came from the butler’s closet area, “Lizzo, is it okay to come in now?”

“Yes my love,” Elizabeth said, watching her husband enter the room, carrying their youngest on his hip.

Jonathan looked around the room. “Who were you talking to?”

“Just the house ghost,” the witch said, before looking over at Abby, “ghosts?”

Abby shook her head and held up one finger.

“Ghost.”

Noticing the two-year old focused on her, Abby wiggled her fingers at the baby witch who giggled at the attention and buried her head against her father’s chest.

“Okay,” the early thirty-something master of the house shrugged acceptance, “so the house is haunted.”

“Yes,” the older woman said.

Abby, now she had talked with the priestess, judged her new mistress to be just past her second-score birthday. The child in womb would likely be her last, maybe one more. Six was a strong magic number.

“But I think in a good way.” The witch leaned over and kissed her husband on the cheek. “You chose a good house.”

“Thank you mistress.” Abby said, exhaling slowly.

(words 1,656; first published 4/16/2023)

Series: Under Contract

1. N is for Noise (4/16/2023)
2. Q is for Quicken (4/19/2023)
3. Y is for Yield (4/28/2023)
4. Z is for Zzzz (4/30/2023)