Book Details:
Book Title: Horizon by Tabitha Lord
Category: Adult Fiction, 314 pages
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Release date: December 2015
Tour dates: May 22 to July 14, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (There are a few, moderately explicit sex scenes, genocide, rape, and moderate language.)
Book Description:
Caeli Crys isn’t living—she’s surviving. On the run after the genocide of her empathic people, she witnesses a spaceship crash near her hidden camp. When she feels the injured pilot suffering from miles away, she can’t help but risk discovery to save his life.
Commander Derek Markham awakens stranded on an uncharted planet. His co-pilot is dead, his ship is in ruins, and he’s only alive because a beautiful young woman is healing him with her mind.
As Derek recovers, Caeli shares the horror of her past and her fear for the future. When Derek’s command ship, Horizon, sends rescue, Derek convinces Caeli to leave with him. But his world is as treacherous as hers—full of spies, interplanetary terrorist plots, and political intrigue. Soon the Horizon team is racing to defend an outlying planet from a deadly enemy, and Caeli’s unique skills may just give them the edge they need to save it.
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Book Details:
Book Title: Infinity by Tabitha Lord
Category: Adult Fiction, 304 pages
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Release date: June 6, 2017
Tour dates: May 22 to July 14, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (violence, non-explicit sex, language)
Book Description:
In the second installment of the award-winning Horizon series, Dr. Caeli Crys returns to her war-torn world to fight for those she left behind.
Almagest, Caeli’s home, stands on the brink of revolution. Long hidden from the rest of the galaxy, the once-peaceful planet suffers under a regime that grows more violent and oppressive by the day. Marcus, Almagest’s dictator, is building an arsenal of alien weaponry by selling empathic children into slavery. A resistance has risen, but they are outmanned, outgunned, and in hiding.
Joined by Commander Derek Markham and his elite squadron of operatives, Caeli embarks on a dangerous mission to find the Resistance, rescue her captive people, and save her civilization from destruction.
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Meet the Author:
Tabitha currently lives in Rhode Island. She is married, has four great kids, two spoiled cats, and lovable lab mix. Her degree is in Classics from College of the Holy Cross and she taught Latin for years at an independent Waldorf school, where she now serves on the Board of Trustees.
Tabitha’s debut novel, Horizon, won the Writer’s Digest Grand Prize for Self-Published Fiction in 2016, and was named finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and National Indie Excellence Awards. Infinity, the second book in the Horizon series, will be released in June 2017. Her short story “Homecoming” appears in the anthology Sirens, edited by Rhonda Parrish and published by World Weaver Press, and was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is also a senior editor for www.BookClubBabble.com.
Visit her blog at www.tabithalordauthor.com where she discusses favorite topics including parenting, teaching, and her writing journey.
Connect with Tabitha: Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest ~ Instagram
BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE:
May 22 - Working Mommy Journal - review of Horizon / giveaway
May 22 - To Be Read - review of Horizon
May 23 - Working Mommy Journal - review of Infinity / giveaway
May 24 - 411 on Books, Authors and Publishing News - spotlight / guest post/giveaway
May 25 - Bound 4 Escape - review of Horizon / giveaway
May 26 - Cheryl' Book Nook - review of Horizon / author interview / giveaway
May 29 - Book review nature photos and everything in between - review of Horizon
May 30 - Library of Clean Reads - review of Horizon / giveaway
May 31 - Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf - review of Horizon / giveaway
May 31 - Lisa Loves Literature - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 1 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review on Horizon
June 2 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review on Infinity
June 5 - Haddie's Haven - review of Horizon / guest post / giveaway
June 6 - The Autistic Gamer - review of Horizon
June 7 - The Autistic Gamer - review of Infinity
June 8 - Library of Clean Reads - review of Horizon / giveaway
June 9 - Cheryl' Book Nook - review of Infinity / giveaway
June 12 - To Be Read - review of Infinity
June 12 - Deal Sharing Aunt - review of Horizon / giveaway
June 13 - Haddie's Haven - review of Infinity / giveaway
June 14 - Mystery Suspense Reviews - review of Horizon
June 15 - Bound 4 Escape - review of Infinity / giveaway
June 16 - 100 Pages A Day - review of Horizon / guest post / giveaway
June 19 - Elsie's Audiobook Digest - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 20 - Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf - review of Infinity / giveaway
June 21 - Deal Sharing Aunt - review of Infinity / giveaway
June 22 - Books, Dreams, Life - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 26 - Nighttime Reading Center - review of Horizon / giveaway
June 27 - Crossroad Reviews - review of Horizon
June 28 - Baker Kella - review of Horizon / author interview / giveaway
June 29 - Baker Kella - review of Infinity / giveaway
June 30 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of Horizon
July 3 - Book review nature photos and everything in between - review of Infinity
July 4 - Sharing Stories - review of Horizon
July 4 - Books for Books - review of Horizon
July 5 - Lukten av trykksverte - review of Horizon / giveaway
July 6 - JBronder Book Reviews - review of Horizon / guest post
July 7 - JBronder Book Reviews - review of Infinity
July 7 - A Book Geek - review of Horizon
July 10 - Nighttime Reading Center - review of Infinity / giveaway
July 11 - Books for Books - review of Infinity
July 11 - Crossroad Reviews - review of Infinity
July 12 - Lukten av trykksverte - review of Infinity / giveaway
July 13 - A Book Geek - review of Infinity
July 13 - Reviews in the City - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
July 14 - Sharing Stories - review of Infinity
July 14 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of Infinity
Enter the Giveaway!
Ends July 22
Review:
Caeli Crys is one of the few survivors of the Novali people. The Novali have special gifts; Caeli happens to be an empath as well as having the ability to heal people. Because of their gifts, many of the Novali were killed by the other people on her planet, the Amathi. Caeli escaped the Amathi and has been living on her own in the woods. That is-until she connects with the mind of Derek. Derek's spacecraft has been hit and is crashing near Caeli's camp. Caeli arrives at the crash site in time to help heal Derek, but not his partner, Tommy. After several days of helping Derek heal, Caeli and Derek connect on a deeper level. Caeli shares her history and her people's trouble with the Amathi. When Derek's command ship, the Horizon, sends a rescue team, she is granted asylum aboard the ship. However, the Horizon soon learns of another planet under attack and Derek's team is sent on a mission there. Derek knows that Caeli's gifts would be helpful on the mission, but fears putting her in danger again.
This is a fast-paced science-fiction romance that had me hooked from the moment Caeli connected with Derek's mind. I was very interested in Caeli's people and their powers. The story of Caeil's planet, Almagest, that she shared with Derek really drew me in. Through this backstory, I really got to know Caeli's character; I knew how deeply she cared for people and her true strength, with or without her gifts. I really think this could have almost been a story by itself. I am also really interested in how the planet fared after Caeli left, especially with the resistance that was rising. I do appreciate the parallels on Caeli's planet to what is happening in some parts of the world right now. Caeli sums it up best in the quote: "No, but I can't ignore the situation in front of me. My people did that. They chose not to see, not to act, and it cost us everything." Hopefully, this will be explored in the next book! While it was no surprise to me that Derek and Caeli formed a romantic relationship after being connected through their minds; however, for me this happened a little too quickly. Once on Horizon, the pace quickened. I was glad Caeli found her place so quickly as a physician and was valued among the crew. When Derek learns of the threat on the planet Tharsis, I knew Caeli would be involved. The situation was very similar to what happened on her home planet. This section of the book moved quickly and was filled with suspense. At the end of the book I am still left with some questions about Caeli's planet and how humans came to populate all of these other planets. Maybe book two, Infinity will answer these!
This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.
A Guest Post by Tabitha Lord
Writing the Hero
In epic space opera stories, like the HORIZON series, characters have to grapple with epic questions. For example: What decisions, large and small, will they make that will come to define them when it matters? Who will stand and fight, and who will betray their neighbor or simply look away? What is redemption and who finds it? The choices a character makes when faced with these kinds of questions help drive their development, move the plot forward, and define them as a hero – or not.
But writing a hero is, in some ways, a balancing act. The character has to evolve, make mistakes, and grow. They can’t be perfect or they aren’t interesting or believable. At the same time, we have to root for them and trust in their intrinsic goodness, even when they’re struggling. The plot will present them with challenges, but it is their response to those challenges that really connects them to the reader and invests the reader in the story.
Sometimes, for a heroic protagonist, it’s a matter of making the best awful choice out of only awful choices. As a writer, I purposefully throw my characters into some pretty rough situations and let them claw their way out. My main male character in the HORIZON series is an inter-planetary spy. He works for the good guys, but he’s often in situations that require him to make split-second, gut-wrenching decisions. It’s my job to show him grappling with those. If they were easy, or if they didn’t have lasting side effects, readers wouldn’t relate to him.
My main female character is also a heroic protagonist. She’s suffered terrible trauma at the hands of a brutal dictator, but instead of allowing that trauma to crush her, she’s joined a resistance movement and aligned herself with their cause. If, however, her suffering didn’t affect her or impact her future actions and choices, she’d lack depth. And, we’d never get to see her triumph over her demons.
In my opinion, readers don’t want perfect heroes. I think they want human heroes - heroes who are flawed and relatable, but despite having to overcome great adversity, still triumph. So, step aboard the starship HORIZON and meet Caeli and Derek, the heroes of my imagination, and let me know what you think!
Caeli Crys is one of the few survivors of the Novali people. The Novali have special gifts; Caeli happens to be an empath as well as having the ability to heal people. Because of their gifts, many of the Novali were killed by the other people on her planet, the Amathi. Caeli escaped the Amathi and has been living on her own in the woods. That is-until she connects with the mind of Derek. Derek's spacecraft has been hit and is crashing near Caeli's camp. Caeli arrives at the crash site in time to help heal Derek, but not his partner, Tommy. After several days of helping Derek heal, Caeli and Derek connect on a deeper level. Caeli shares her history and her people's trouble with the Amathi. When Derek's command ship, the Horizon, sends a rescue team, she is granted asylum aboard the ship. However, the Horizon soon learns of another planet under attack and Derek's team is sent on a mission there. Derek knows that Caeli's gifts would be helpful on the mission, but fears putting her in danger again.
This is a fast-paced science-fiction romance that had me hooked from the moment Caeli connected with Derek's mind. I was very interested in Caeli's people and their powers. The story of Caeil's planet, Almagest, that she shared with Derek really drew me in. Through this backstory, I really got to know Caeli's character; I knew how deeply she cared for people and her true strength, with or without her gifts. I really think this could have almost been a story by itself. I am also really interested in how the planet fared after Caeli left, especially with the resistance that was rising. I do appreciate the parallels on Caeli's planet to what is happening in some parts of the world right now. Caeli sums it up best in the quote: "No, but I can't ignore the situation in front of me. My people did that. They chose not to see, not to act, and it cost us everything." Hopefully, this will be explored in the next book! While it was no surprise to me that Derek and Caeli formed a romantic relationship after being connected through their minds; however, for me this happened a little too quickly. Once on Horizon, the pace quickened. I was glad Caeli found her place so quickly as a physician and was valued among the crew. When Derek learns of the threat on the planet Tharsis, I knew Caeli would be involved. The situation was very similar to what happened on her home planet. This section of the book moved quickly and was filled with suspense. At the end of the book I am still left with some questions about Caeli's planet and how humans came to populate all of these other planets. Maybe book two, Infinity will answer these!
This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.
A Guest Post by Tabitha Lord
Writing the Hero
In epic space opera stories, like the HORIZON series, characters have to grapple with epic questions. For example: What decisions, large and small, will they make that will come to define them when it matters? Who will stand and fight, and who will betray their neighbor or simply look away? What is redemption and who finds it? The choices a character makes when faced with these kinds of questions help drive their development, move the plot forward, and define them as a hero – or not.
But writing a hero is, in some ways, a balancing act. The character has to evolve, make mistakes, and grow. They can’t be perfect or they aren’t interesting or believable. At the same time, we have to root for them and trust in their intrinsic goodness, even when they’re struggling. The plot will present them with challenges, but it is their response to those challenges that really connects them to the reader and invests the reader in the story.
Sometimes, for a heroic protagonist, it’s a matter of making the best awful choice out of only awful choices. As a writer, I purposefully throw my characters into some pretty rough situations and let them claw their way out. My main male character in the HORIZON series is an inter-planetary spy. He works for the good guys, but he’s often in situations that require him to make split-second, gut-wrenching decisions. It’s my job to show him grappling with those. If they were easy, or if they didn’t have lasting side effects, readers wouldn’t relate to him.
My main female character is also a heroic protagonist. She’s suffered terrible trauma at the hands of a brutal dictator, but instead of allowing that trauma to crush her, she’s joined a resistance movement and aligned herself with their cause. If, however, her suffering didn’t affect her or impact her future actions and choices, she’d lack depth. And, we’d never get to see her triumph over her demons.
In my opinion, readers don’t want perfect heroes. I think they want human heroes - heroes who are flawed and relatable, but despite having to overcome great adversity, still triumph. So, step aboard the starship HORIZON and meet Caeli and Derek, the heroes of my imagination, and let me know what you think!
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