The second installment of the Silver Springs Pack will be out on July 4th. If you’d like to be part of the cover reveal or want more information about it, click the link below. In celebration of Beck’s Pack being released, the entire week of July 3rd, book 1, Beck’s Wolf ebook will be on sale for $0.99. I’m so excited. It was such fun to write and I hope you all have fun reading it, too.
https://www.silverdaggertours.com/tour-sign-ups/becks-pack-cover-reveal-sign-ups
Beck Landusky was five years old when he lost his parents in a car accident leaving him without family. Thrown into the foster system, he bounced around until he was twelve when he was placed with Ellie, a used bookstore owner in the small town of Drummond. Life in Drummond was slow, quiet, and sometimes boring. Certainly nothing extraordinary. Until one cold winter morning when a tall, dark, and handsome man arrived in town and changed everything.
Shawn Montgomery knew the moment he held newborn Beck in his arms that they were fated mates. When Beck and his parents suddenly disappeared one night, he was devastated. As soon as he turned eighteen, Shawn began searching for his lost mate until fourteen years later, mere weeks before his ascension to Pack Alpha of Silver Springs, Shawn got word that his mate had been found.
With his ascension looming near and the appearance of a rival pack in Drummond, Shawn must find a way to tell Beck they are fated mates and claim him. There’s just one problem – Beck has no idea who or what he is.
Book Series – A New World
A little blue world, the third planet from the sun. It’s home to 7 billion people with all manner of faiths, beliefs and customs, divided by bigotry and misunderstanding, who will soon be told they are not alone in the universe. Anyone watching from the outside would pass by this fractured and tumultuous world, unless they had no other choice.
Todd Landon is one of these people, living and working in a section of the world called the United States of America. His life is similar to those around him: home, family, work, friends, and a husband.
Mirtoff Esmi is the first of her clan to be the Leader of the Nentraee. Her sole focus is to find them a home before their fleet of ships can no longer carry the last survivors of their dead world. With her brother, niece, and Faa (her companion animal) supporting her, she carries the weight of her world on her shoulders.
Mi’ko Soemu remembers the Nentraee home world for both its failures and its triumphs, which is why he holds the position of Vice-Speaker, and supports the efforts of the Nentraee Leader. He is a father and husband first, and will do what he needs to ensure his family and his fellow nentraee are safe and make it to a new world.
These three beings hold the weight of two civilizations in their hands. Will they be able to bridge the gap for both the Humans and Nentraee, amongst mistrust, terrorist attacks and personal loss? Will this be the start of a new age for both species or will bigotry and miscommunication bring these two people to their knees and final end?
Buy Link:
UBL: https://books2read.com/A-New-World-Contact
Author Bio:
M.D. Neu is an international award-winning inclusive queer Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to Science Fiction and Paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Alfred Hitchcock, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Rice, and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.
Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.
When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric his husband of twenty plus years.
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Excerpt
A New World-Contact
M.D. Neu © 2019
All Rights Reserved
The scene is a confrontation scene between one of the alien generals, Gahumed, and the leader of the alien race, Mirtoff. For me this scene is a lot of fun and it shows off these two powerful women who aren’t afraid to stand their ground.
Pronunciations:
Rádo (RA Doo) – The á is a hard ‘A’ sound.
Gahumed (Gah Mead)
Mirtoff (Mir Toff)
Tuma (Tu ma)
Candra (Can dra)
Dála (DA la) – The á is a hard ‘A’ sound.
J’Veesa (J Vee Sa)
Za’entra (Za En Tra)
Martween (Mar Tween)
U’Zraee (OO Zray)
Nentraee (Nen Tray)
*****
“Madam Speaker, welcome to the Rádo.” The female officer stood and bowed.
“Thank you.”
“You honor us with your presence. I’ll let the general know you’re here.” The officer returned to her seat and started tapping on her terminal.
Mirtoff examined the reception area; unlike the civilian ships, this place had a claustrophobic feel. It was built for function, nothing more. She remembered when the ship was under construction at the Candra Shipyards. They barely had the drives working prior to the evacuation. It took five additional years to complete, but the end result was worth it.
“Madam Speaker. You can go in.” The officer bowed again.
Mirtoff bowed in return and proceeded into the general’s office.
The office wasn’t nearly as formal and polished as hers or the vice speaker’s, but it was bigger.
Probably needed to be this large for Gahumed’s girth. Or perhaps her ego.
Various monitors mounted on the walls ran status reports for ship-to-fleet control. This one office could manage the majority of the task force. The monitors displayed only the Nentraee Government Seal. The design comprised of seven gold patterns, each a symbol for one of the clans.
A bank of windows on the back wall showed a view of the internal command center. A large workstation loomed nearby, as did chairs and the conference table that could hold all the generals comfortably for any type of meeting. In this large space, the colors were drab.
I’m not a soldier. I could never work in a place like this. There needs to be plants or color. Something.
“Madam Speaker.” Gahumed offered a curt bow as she stood from her desk. She was a big woman, born for the military, with broad shoulders and a tall frame. Mirtoff was always impressed with how the general managed to keep her brown hair in such snug braids and an even tighter bun.
“General Gahumed. You run a remarkable ship. You should be proud.”
“I’m honored to have such a post within our government.” She tapped her workstation. “Dála, please, bring in two chilled cups of tuma.” She turned to Mirtoff. “You enjoy tuma, correct?”
“Of course.”
Gahumed pointed to the conference table. “Please, come. Let us sit.”
Taking a seat at the table, Mirtoff waited for Gahumed to join her. “I assume you’re here to talk about my suggested plan for dealing with these humans?” Gahumed almost hissed out the word ‘humans.’
“I am.” Mirtoff pulled out her datapad and loaded the information, then swiped it over to the largest of the monitors on the wall. The image started with the Earth rotating. Once it hit the area of the planet she wanted, she zoomed in on a small island continent. The image moved in closer to a smaller island mass off the island continent’s coast. “Your proposal to occupy the area known to the humans as New Zealand is dangerous.”
“I don’t agree.” Gahumed rested her hands on the table. “I picked that area with defense in mind. It’s remote. The land mass is small enough, and we can easily control the surrounding space. They have a limited population of four point six million that can be relocated to Uztralia—”
“I believe they call it Australia,” Mirtoff interrupted.
“Regardless, they share a similar language and background. I don’t see an issue.” Gahumed brought up demographic information of her own. “New Zealand can be made to become sustainable for our needs and allow us business options with the humans.”
“A forced relocation won’t work.” Mirtoff’s ears started to swell and warm up.
Relax. Don’t let this plan anger you.
Mirtoff took a breath. “How will that help us build a positive enough relationship with them so we can conduct trade?”
“We could offer them helium-3 for the territory,” Gahumed countered.
“And what if the Australians don’t want four point six million new humans?”
“Why not?” Gahumed smirked. “They have the land mass, and from the reports, the two territories have good relations.”
“The issue, as I understand it, is none of Earth’s governments are willing to give up their territory to us—”
“Madam Speaker,” Gahumed interrupted, “they are a barbaric species that fight among themselves for land all the time.”
“And how would we be any different?”
“It’s not the same thing,” Gahumed said.
It’s exactly the same thing. You don’t want to see it. You’re a hypocrite.
“We can’t trust them.” Gahumed swiped her hands over her datapad. “They won’t work with us in peace and certainly we can’t trust them to be truthful with their motives. Despite what you and the vice speaker may think. We can easily go there and use our military to take over the area. Then we move the humans and make reparations.” She picked up her datapad. “Denes and my staff have run the scenario based on the information we’ve gathered. The losses were negligible.” She swiped the data up to the monitor.
“Yes, General Gahumed, I’m sure the work of your son is admirable and perfect.” She rubbed the tips of her ears. “Just like him—”
“Are you mocking the abilities of my son? He is a fine male with a brilliant military mind. He is the type of male that every Nentraee of his gender should strive to be.” Her full lips pulled into a stiff line, and her ears started turning an angry shade of blue.
“Of course, General Gahumed, he’s the perfect male. Unlike all others. We are all aware of this fact.” Mirtoff forced her gaze not to move from the general’s. How poor Denes lived with the pressure for perfection was impressive.
It’s possible, on that fact alone, he may actually be perfect.
“I don’t appreciate your tone, and as a full member of the Speaker’s House, I would expect better.” Gahumed didn’t bother to hide the tips of her ears.
This isn’t going well.
“My apologies.” Mirtoff offered a stiff bow. “You want to go to war with the humans for territory? That is not the way of J’Veesa.”
“Don’t assume to understand J’Veesa’s will. Your people don’t have the relationship with J’Veesa that mine do.” Gahumed’s ears flared.
Mirtoff kept quiet.
Your people. My people. What is the difference? J’Veesa sees us equally.
Gahumed swiped information to the largest monitor. Battle statistics filled the screen. “I don’t consider it a war, more of a forced relocation. We’ll be fine.”
“And if they decide to involve other countries?” Mirtoff rested her datapad on the table. “Then what? It’ll be the Clan Wars all over again. Haven’t—” She stopped and her chin dropped to her chest.
We’ve been through that once on our world. How can we force that on another?
“It’ll be nothing like the Clan Wars.” Gahumed sat taller in the seat. “Once, these humans see our military might, they won’t challenge us. They would lose even if they used their strongest military deterrents. It would be nothing like the slaughter that your clan caused back then.”
Mirtoff’s eyes shot up. “The Za’entra? They were fighting back your clan because they had no choice. Your clan and the Martween and U’Zraee clans were slaughtering them. It was only because of their numbers that they were able to endure. How can you say—”
“I speak the truth.” Gahumed slammed her hands on the table, causing it to shake. “You and your clan have always blamed us for that war. We never started it—”
The soft chirp of the door interrupted them. They both turned as Dála entered, holding a tray with two cups on it. She quietly placed a cup in front of each of them and left the room.
“I’m sorry, General Gahumed.” Mirtoff stood, the tips of her ears on fire. “I appreciate your proposal. However, I came to inform you that your suggested plan for New Zealand has been rejected. We will not risk war with the humans to gain territory.” She glanced at the tuma and then back to Gahumed. “I appreciate the offer of the cup of tuma. However, I’m afraid I can’t stay.”
“This is a mistake, Mirtoff.” Gahumed stood. “You’ll see when they resist the arm of peace that you and others in the Speaker’s House extend to them. My idea is the only one that can guarantee the safety of our people.”
“No, General. I would sooner leave this planet than go in and slaughter them.” Mirtoff headed out of the office, her hands in tight fists.
There is a peaceful solution. I need to find it and keep the military generals from forcing us into an armed confrontation. I won’t be the first speaker general to go to war with an alien race.
The first time I wrote a word of fiction, it was with a number two pencil on wide-ruled loose leaf paper while sitting cross legged on my twin bed. I was sixteen years old and the story was about teenagers surviving in a dystopian world. I can’t remember where the idea came from, but I still have those pages tucked in a box with all my other youthful flights of fancy I committed to paper.
Life interrupted my writing until I was twenty-four and a severe mental breakdown changed everything. All that beautiful creative energy was turned inward where I used it to come up with horrible ways I could die. At my therapist’s suggestion, I turned that energy outward to writing. With my mother’s encouragement, my father’s story idea, and an old Gateway laptop that still used flopping disks (I’m dating myself here), I embarked on a writing adventure that took me to the 1930s and an alternate universe of magic and mystery. it opened the gates to my imagination and the words poured out. I have yet to finish that story, but it paved the way for my future.
In my early thirties, I took a job that required a train commute of one and a half hours one way. It was during this time, sitting on a hard plastic seat of a swaying train, that I wrote the first draft of a mystery novel that to this day is still in progress. It’s a trunk novel that may never see the light of day, but over the years it has been rewritten many times and given my craft a boost. I’ve learned a lot while writing that novel; mostly about what not to do. I still have plenty of room for improvement.
Now in my forties, I have graduated from the TV tray I used to write Blind Date, Only You, and Wounded Heart, to a glass desk tucked into a corner of the lower-level family room. I have two picture windows that let in the light, a sofa if I choose to write with my feet up, a small television that I turn on for background noise, and an aging laptop that gives me fits. Between the computer and the iPad, I get the words written.
One edge of my desk is lined with reference books and sticky notes. A couple of white boards and dry erase pens sit ready and waiting for me to chart out a timeline. In front of me sit knick-knacks, skulls, and unicorn stuffies that make me smile, as well as print copies of my own books that serve as reminders of past success. On the walls are pictures of encouragement from my parents and my name tag from the first romance writer’s conference I attended. On the TV stand are incense and candles in scents that promote focus and creativity.
In this corner, I have created my own little world where I can leave reality behind and create love stories for others to enjoy. My writing space has changed and evolved over the decades, as has my writing. One thing I know will not change anytime soon, is the fact that I will always be writing. no matter where I am, or the medium I use, I will continue to put words on paper, spin tales of mystery and romance, and entertain my readers for as long as I am able.
Hello, everybody. It’s been a while since I’ve done two things – published a book and posted a blog. Ever since the pandemic I have struggled getting ideas onto paper and I honestly have no idea why. While 2021 wasn’t as painful as 2020, it still seemed to be a year where my focus wasn’t where I wanted it to be.
During these past two years, however, I’ve discovered a few things to keep my brain active. I’m currently learning Mandarin through Duolingo. Awesome app, by the way. Chinese is a difficult language to learn which is probably why I’m loving it so much. I’m also thinking about learning Korean in the near future. The challenge has been so much fun and every time I finish a lesson, I feel like my brain has woken up and I’m prepared to take on anything.
Also, sometime during 2020, I stumbled upon Chinese, Korean, and Thai dramas, and have immersed myself in them. I am particularly fond of the BL (boy love) dramas, which is not surprising given the genre I write. There are quite a few unique storylines that I haven’t come across in America. I’m sure they exist; I just haven’t found them. What I truly find interesting about these BL dramas is the way they’ve shaped my own ideas and writing.
The novel I’ve been writing over the past year or so has felt deeper and richer than my prior novels as I watch and learn from these shows. I’m taking my time, doing what feels right for the story, and reminding myself of the joy creating stories gives me. I lost that somewhere; that enjoyment. I forgot why I dream, create, and write down the love stories that find their way into my head.
But it’s okay. I’ve grown, improved, and found my way back to my “why.” When Shawn’s and Beck’s romance is written, my hope is that you will experience my renewed love and happiness through them. Until next time, happy reading. 🥰📚
Been quite the year, hasn’t it? Damn. I don’t know about anyone else, but this has hit my creative core hard. In 2019, I was writing a novel in 3-4 months. This year, I’m struggling to get one book done. As some of you may know, I don’t write full time. I write in my spare time. My full time job is in healthcare where I’m the Lead Medical Assistant for an Internal Medicine clinic. The patients we see are all high risk so COVID isn’t being taken lightly. As far as the medical field goes, it’s nothing all that out of the ordinary, just more strict guidelines, but the fear, anxiety, and contagious nature are quite a bit higher than we’re used to. It’s not fun and this delta variant is no joke. I’m finding it hard to write after a day spent in those conditions. I wanted to take a few minutes to let my readers know that I am, indeed, still writing and I will have books coming out in the future, but I’m definitely going slower than I, and likely all of you, would like. I hope you all stay safe and if you’re unlucky enough to catch this virus, my wish is that you heal fully and quickly.
Hi, everyone. Being a healthcare worker full time and everything going on in the world right now, I almost forgot to let you all know about my newest release coming out Monday, 3/30/20, from NineStar Press. It’s the fourth and final installment of the Chevalier Series where Ean finally nails down Matthias. It takes some underhanded sneakiness, but Ean will do anything to end the pain of being separated from his mate. The pack’s willingness to help Ean achieve that goal, doesn’t hurt. Matthias, however, has secrets he’s always kept and exposing his past mistakes to his mate and the rest of the pack is daunting. The circumstances the Chevalier Pack find themselves facing finally gives Matthias the courage to claim his young wolf mate, and obtain the love and happiness he’s always wanted. Now available at ninestarpress.com and other ebook retailers.
Only You was my second book to be published and saw release day back in 2017 from NineStar Press, and I cannot believe it has been that long. It doesn’t feel like so many years have passed since I started this amazing whirlwind journey that is my writing life. I have enjoyed every second of it. Even through the hard times when resistance was strong and I felt like words were never going to flow from my fingers again. Only You is one of my contemporary romances where the characters really pushed me hard to get their story written. I remember this book being difficult to write because of the emotional load poor Rawley was carrying and the fact that Case was from a different generation than me and his soon-to-be-partner. I love the age-difference trope, though, and I’m sure readers who have been with me through more than one book will have noticed that. I’m excited to announce that for this Throwback Thursday, NineStar Press has placed Only You on sale for $2.99 until the end of February. Just click that lovely word “sale” to get your copy today.
Below you’ll find an excerpt from the book. After reading the book, or if you’ve already read it and would like to read a short epilogue, there is a post in the archives titled Forever You.
EXCERPT
Rawley had spent the past four days in his truck with his trusty radar gun, nailing speeders at various points across town. The past two days, he’d been sitting at the railroad crossing at the edge of town; a hot spot for teenagers speeding down the main road and over the tracks without looking. It had been a year since the last death occurred on these tracks and he intended to keep the streak going. He sighed loudly as he tore off the latest ticket and gave the seventeen-year-old boy behind the wheel his usual speech about safety. He’d given out half a dozen the past couple of days, but if it saved a life by making the kids think twice, it was worth the mind-numbing boredom.
Rawley climbed back into his truck, shut off the emergency lights, and drove back to his parking spot partially hidden by the wall of the feed store near the tracks. It had been the usual quiet on the crime front the past several days, which was typically a welcome occurrence for Rawley, but ever since Case Holden’s arrival, Rawley’s thoughts had been plagued by gray-blue eyes, dark hair, and a perfectly toned body. He spent his nights tossing and turning, imagining Case in any number of different scenarios, every one of them sexual. The whole situation was frustrating him. He took the edge off every night with his hand, but it didn’t satisfy the deep need he had for another man’s body—Case’s body in particular.
Rawley shifted on the bench seat and adjusted himself. He seriously needed to get a grip. The moment Case climbed into his truck, drenched from the rain, Rawley had suspected he was gay, but after running into each other several times around town the past few days, Rawley was now certain. The knowledge only worsened his predicament because he knew if he wanted Case badly enough, he could have him. The man didn’t even try to hide his sexuality or his attraction to Rawley. When they’d seen each other the day before at the general store, he’d been wearing a dark-blue T-shirt that had “Out and Proud” stamped across the chest in rainbow lettering.
They’d found themselves face-to-face in front of the dairy display — Rawley in his tan police uniform and Case looking like a model in his skintight T-shirt and painted-on jeans. Conversation had been polite but stilted. Rawley knew it was his fault because he was too busy noticing every little dip and curve of Case’s body to speak coherently.
Knowing Case was gay and that he wouldn’t make a play for the younger man had Rawley short-tempered and sniping at everyone. That was why he was sitting alone on the outskirts of town, doing traffic duty; no one wanted to be around him, including himself. Rawley stared into the distance, wondering what the hell he’d done in this life or a past one to earn him this level of torture, when a vehicle he would’ve been hard-pressed to miss caught his attention. The bright-gold Mustang roared past him, registering ten miles per hour over the speed limit.
“Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me,” Rawley muttered. He turned on the emergency lights and siren as he pulled onto the road.
There was only one person in Clover City who drove a Mustang. He caught up to Case quickly, and they pulled to the side of the road, Rawley coming to a stop a few car lengths behind Case. Rawley exited the truck and walked up to the driver’s side of the car to find Case had rolled down his window and held out his license and insurance card. Rawley took them, willing his body not to react to the beautiful smile Case offered him. Rawley couldn’t help but notice that Case wore a black shirt that made his hair seem even darker and those gray-blue eyes brighter.
“Get pulled over a lot, do you?” Rawley asked, averting his gaze to Case’s papers.
“My car tends to draw attention,” Case answered. Rawley rolled his eyes at Case’s nonchalant shrug.
“Your car draws attention,” Rawley muttered.
Everything about Case drew attention, or at least Rawley’s. He put his mind to the task at hand, making sure Case’s license and insurance were up-to-date before handing them back through the window.
“I didn’t get pulled over driving my aunt’s Jeep.”
“Did you speed in the Jeep?”
Case shrugged. “It was a manual with no oomph.”
“Slow down,” Rawley said as he turned on his heel to return to his truck.
It’s already the week before Thanksgiving? How did that happen? Just so happens, it is also three days pre-release of Hearts of Magic, Chevalier Book 3 and…Wow! That seriously snuck up on me. I blame the trip to Ireland and the subsequent two and a half week bout of pneumonia I came back with for the time warp I just experienced. I’ve been caught unprepared. I have no blog tour or giveaways set up for this release date. For that, I apologize to my fans. As a result, Theran and Colby will greet the world with less fanfare than their predecessors, but I promise they are just as sweet, sassy, possessive, and protective as the rest of the Chevalier Pack is of their mates. Colby was quite the pain in the ass to write, but he’s actually a nice guy (ahem, stubborn and a bit egotistical). I hope you all enjoy reading this series as much I’ve enjoyed writing it. Book 4 is the final installment so stay tuned.
Ireland was the most amazing trip. It’s humbling to be in a country with a history as rich and old as theirs. Dublin was a Viking city established in the 800s. Wow! Upon arriving at Castle Hotel, after the strange experience of being in a European car and driving on the other side of the road, the four of us went to our rooms. Keri and Tigz room looked like any other hotel room – warm creams and browns. Mike and I ended up in a solid white room that looked like a 10-year-old girl’s attic bedroom that brought to mind images of The Shining. I mean, why is there a chandelier? The tight, odd, blood-red hallways with doors that only led to stairs probably didn’t help with that illusion. It was quite the maze. We ended up getting lost at least twice during the week.
I was excited to see Donegal, the county my family heralds from, during the bus tour to Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-A-Rede. I hate heights so the fact I did the Shepherd Steps at the Causeway and the rope bridge of Carrick-A-Rede was quite the accomplishment. In Dublin itself, we did a walking tour and visited a few museums. One of which was, of course, the Dublin Writer’s Museum. Tigz and I loved that place.
Despite going places and doing things every single day we were there, so many more things to see and do ended up on our list for “next time.” I can tell you, I’ll probably not enjoy Guinness poured in America as much anymore having had it there. So creamy and rich there. For some reason, it just doesn’t taste the same here. The Guinness brewery was a fun excursion. We also did a whiskey tour that was fantastic where we learned how to drink it properly, pair it with cheese and chocolate. So delicious. The only thing I wouldn’t have minded skipping was the walking pneumonia I brought home with me. A week later and I’m still healing from that.
The live music we got to hear on the street and in the pubs was invigorating. Being the introverted writer that I am, this was the biggest social experience I’d had in years. They say travel is good for sparking creativity and hitting that reset button. Now that I’ve experienced it, I agree wholeheartedly. I’m sure the family will continue to push me to spread my wings and experience more of the world in this way.