Spotlight on My New Book!

by Ava Cuvay

This is my shameless self-promotion (more shameless and more self-promoting than normal blogs ;-)

I know... He looks like a young Fabio,
doesn't he?! :-)

I have released my second book!! "Love and the Corps" is the second book in The Heart Nebula Series. Series should be said with air-quotes because all of these books are and will be stand-alones set in the same galaxy. While some main characters may make appearances in other books, you don't have to read them in order. Because I guarantee you that I'm not writing them in any order. I'm writing them as the muse strikes me (for example, book number seven has been hammering in my brain for awhile... I might have to move it up to number three, even though I'm several chapters into what I assume will be book number three!).

The bad news is if you're looking for another stripper-meets-intergalactic-thief-on-the-run-for-their-lives-with-nothing-to-do-but-boink story with this one, you'll be disappointed. The good news is if you like my "writing voice" and sexy alien men... this one is right up your alley! Or, should I say, right up your Milky Way!

Bound by duty, two soldiers yield to their hearts’ command.

Captain Jo Behsue has never questioned her career with Central Command’s leading military force—until now. Recent mission failures and the constant battle for acceptance from her fellow Corpsmen kindle her frustration, while the attention of a golden-eyed Klorakian mercenary ignites her body. Wrapped in his arms, she discovers even a scarred, hollow shell of a captain can love.

An officer in the Klorakian militia, Lux fights to return the rightful monarch to their homeworld’s throne—a planet which scorns his genetic shortcomings. He is loyal to his cause and king, but faces a bleak future once their mission is complete. His seduction of the combative yet beautiful Captain Behsue provides a glimpse of hope, and he fights for a life with Jo, who finds only beauty in his defects.

Rumor has it that Jo is 90% dude, and she's begun to believe it. Until Lux makes her feel like a woman in more ways than one. Lux is a man with a mission... and an empty future until he meets Jo and realizes his path is in-step with her no matter where that takes them. Believe me, it was fun to write a heroine who stabs first and asks questions later (not entirely unlike the heroine in my first book, "His Precious Cargo," except Jo has better training at it ;-)

Here's a little excerpt:

The Klorakian nodded to the package she still held. When had she become so dumb that she needed to be prompted to act? Maybe when the golden-eyed soldier had stolen the oxygen in their proximity. She glanced again at the package, wrapped in a dark soft cloth, and pulled back the flap. Sure enough, there lay her knife, last seen plunged in the thigh of a PITA and assumed forever gone. Her heart constricted. She’d been careless in battle and had lost it, but for this Klorakian’s thoughtfulness. Just as she’d nearly died, but for his intervention. Jo looked back at him, a hundred words of appreciation on her tongue. None came forth.

“You cleaned it.” Wow, she was a master of the obvious. Way to impress him with your wit. Fortunately, her natural beauty—cough, cough—would pick up the slack.

His grin broadened. If she was a good judge of people, she would say he looked pleased, relieved even, that she’d noticed. He nodded toward the knife.

“It is a fine weapon, and one you should not be without. I thought you would favor its return.”

“I… I do. Thank you.” Two whole sentences spoken. He must be riveted by her conversation skills. The nearby mutters increased in both volume and amusement. Jo could not stop the self-conscious glance at their captive audience. The look confirmed her fear: all eyes—all eager and mocking eyes—were still on them.

“It is why we are here tonight.” The Klorakian indicated the table where his friends lounged. The group seemed oblivious to how many people stared at them with unabashed curiosity. “I wished to return the knife to its proper owner. And to speak with her.”

He paused and again looked at her. His eyebrows lifted in expectation, as if now was Jo’s turn to say something. She had no idea what to say. Truthfully, she was too busy forcing her body to breathe to spare any energy toward speaking or thinking. The Klorakian’s proximity was intoxicating. From a distance, he seemed long and lean. Up close, he was tall and powerful, with broad shoulders and taut muscles wherever the eye could see. How had she missed those back on Ingah’Dohr? The silver chains of hair on his head were unbound and cascaded like a curtain around his elegant face. When he moved, the strands chimed softly. When he spoke, she glimpsed the dark recess of his mouth. Would he taste as decadent as he sounded? As always, his golden eyes bore into hers with an intensity that made her knees quake.

“I am Lux.” He spoke over the silent void between them.

“Your silver eyes must impair your vision.” Another voice intruded. Git stood next to them, having slithered through her group of friends. Jo ground her teeth and again tensed for battle. Git seemed not to notice. “Leave it to a girly Klorakian to hit on a man in a woman’s uniform.”

“My eyes are not silver.” Lux’s voice rumbled as if forced through clenched teeth.

A civilized discussion obviously was not on tonight’s agenda. Jo palmed her knife and plunged it into Git’s chest.

Git howled in pain. “Dammit! This was a new shirt!”

The medi-device would fix his wound, but his shirt was ruined. Served him right, the ass.

“Just making sure it’s still sharp.” Jo turned back to Lux as she extracted her knife from a still-yowling Git. “Thank you for returning my knife. You didn’t need to clean it, though. I prefer it in its natural condition.”

Hope this entices you!