Guest Post and Giveaway: The Riptide Publishing 4th Anniversary Blog Tour with Reesa Herberth

It seems like only yesterday that Brita Addams contacted me to ask for my participation in helping to promote the launch of a brand new publisher to the LGBT genre. That publisher was Riptide, and it’s hard to believe that was four years ago. I couldn’t be more thrilled to have been asked to help celebrate this anniversary, so without further ado, please help us welcome author Reesa Herbert to The Novel Approach.

Enjoy her guest post, and then be sure to click on the Rafflecopter widget below to enter for the chance to win Free Books For A Year from Riptide!

Good luck!

Thank you for joining Riptide on our 4th Anniversary blog tour! We are excited to bring you new guest posts from our authors and a behind the scenes insights from Riptide. The full tour schedule can be found HERE. Don’t miss the limited time discounts and Free Books for a Year giveaway at the end of this post!

FADE IN:

INT. AUTHOR’S LIVING ROOM – EVENING

A suburban living room, television tuned to a show where adults pretend to be ninjas.  An undisclosed number of cats await their dinner.

MICHELLE, a cheerful blonde woman who gets away with a lot because she looks innocent, is trying to light a fire under her co-author so they can write a good introduction post about their science fiction romance series, THE YLENDRIAN EMPIRE.

REESA, a distracted-looking redhead, is paying more attention to her armchair ninja warrior duties than her co-author.

MICHELLE

What would you say is the main reason people would like the Ylendrian Empire—

REESA

People?  What?  No, you’ve got to hit the trampoline with both feet!

MICHELLE

Ahem.  As I was SAYING.  We don’t have any space ninjas.  Yet.  But we’ve got bounty hunters, and psychic cops—

REESA

Psychic criminals, too.  But the space ninja thing—we should make a note.  And beleaguered technical support staff, respected sex workers…  Plus, even if we don’t have space ninjas, there’s the not-really-zombies on Station 43.

MICHELLE

I think we do a good job making sure our characters are flawed, but relatable. Like Corwin, from Peripheral People.

REESA

His feelings are still hurt because you called him a jerk.  Even if he is kind of standoffish, he has his reasons.  I kind of love that he’s not someone you’d immediately hit it off with at a party.  It makes it that much more rewarding to watch his layers peel back and reveal his ticklish underbelly.

MICHELLE

(Looking interested)

You think Corwin is ticklish?

REESA

I’m sure of it.  It’s probably why he’s so prickly.

(REESA squinches up her nose as she removes a very, very large black and white cat from her lap)

Your original question though, about why people would like the books.  I know you grew up with some geeky tendencies, and I was reading science fiction and fantasy as soon as I could pull it off my parents’ shelves.  As a reader, I find a lot more quality LGBTQ fiction now, but not necessarily a lot of speculative fiction, especially not with a romantic element.  So the Ylendrian Empire books definitely have that going for them.

MICHELLE

Although I don’t think the romantic element takes a back seat.  That was really important to me.  Our characters are Doing Things, but while the action is going on they’re still living the rest of their lives, too.

(Five cats of various sizes and shapes have all arranged themselves near the authors.  All five cats are staring, unblinking.)

REESA

(shifting uncomfortably)

So we’ve got action.  We’ve got romance.  We’ve got impossible odds.  We’ve even got mystery.  But it’s all a blend- I don’t think there’s a stronger pull in any direction.  Romance readers who don’t normally go for science fiction can pick up the books because they’re so character-focused.  Science fiction readers who might not pick up a romance can enjoy them because the plots and worldbuilding are familiar, and again, the characters drive the romance.  And people looking for LGBTQ characters can find them gift-wrapped in a sci fi/romance/action story.

(The large black and white cat returns, and REESA finds herself pinned under twenty pounds of yowling beast.)

MICHELLE

Not that they aren’t fans, but I think the cats want to be fed.

REESA

(Ignoring the chorus of hungry wails at her feet)

What if the space ninjas were cats?

FADE OUT

Kelly Jensen (Chaos Station) says our latest, Peripheral People is “…thrillingly long and twisty and demands to be read in one straight sitting.”  Psychic detectives…in space!  What’s not to love?

If you’d like to dip your toe into the Ylendrian Empire, rather than jumping in the deep end, check out In Discretion, a charming little novella about that awkward moment when you run into your ex on a space station full of (not!)zombies.

About the Ylendarian Empire univserse

The Ylendrian Empire universe is a series of loosely-connected space operas written by Michelle Moore and Reesa Herberth.

Fast-paced heists, gritty paranormal mysteries, rescue missions in far-flung exotic jungles . . . the character-driven adventures and romances of the Ylendrian Empire are a chance to explore a new set of stars, with just enough spice to keep you wanting more.

About Reesa: Reesa Herberth grew up in Hawaii, tried Arizona for a few years, and eventually settled in the D.C. area, where they have trees and rain.

She’s held a variety of crazy writer jobs, including book and video store manager for a defunct chain of music shops, office goddess for an artisan ice cream maker, cheese-cup scrubber at an organic goat dairy, high school secretary, and dye-stained proprietress of a small yarn and fiber business.

When not writing, she can usually be found reading, gardening, cooking, or spinning yarns of another sort entirely. She often resents her need for sleep.

With Michelle Moore, she is the author of the Ylendrian Empire books, including The Balance of Silence, the award-winning space opera caper, The Slipstream Con, and Peripheral People, a sci fi thriller with psychics and squishy feelings, coming soon.

Connect with Reesa:

• Website: michelleandreesawrite.com and ylendrianempire.com
• Email: YlendrianEmpire@gmail.com
• Goodreads: goodreads.com/S_Reesa_Herberth

Anniversary Sale

The Ylendrian Empire collection is being sold in a special discounted bundle by Riptide this week only. Check out the sale on this series and other bundles HERE.

 

THE GIVEAWAY

To celebrate our anniversary, Riptide Publishing is giving away free books for a year! Your first comment at each blog stop on the Anniversary Tour will count as an entry and give you a chance to win this great prize. Giveaway ends at midnight, October 31, 2015, and is not restricted to US entries.