Lost Prince by Ainsley

Title: Lost Prince - Bk. 1 Salt Road Saga

Author: Ainsley

Author Website

Release Date: July 2011

Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press/Torrid

Genre: SF Erotic Romance

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Blurb:

The only thing that’s kept Alaric, the so-called Lost Prince of Calixte, from giving into his grief over his beloved homeworld is the thought of revenge against the man who betrayed his people. But he couldn’t be more wrong about Haydn, who actually saved two thousand Calixten soldiers from certain death and secreted them on an inhospitable planet. There, they’ve launched a fledgling rebellion against the Coalition. They only need their prince to lead them.

Alaric needs a pilot to get him to his soldiers, someone too desperate to betray him. Katriel, a hot-shot deserter pilot enslaved to Haydn by debt, is perfect for the job. But neither Katriel nor Alaric realize how the battle over Calixte binds them closer than blood. When they find out, their collision will send shockwaves through the universe.

Welcome to Sizzling Releases, Ainsley. I’m so pleased you could join me today. What is your Sizzling Release?

Thanks for having me! My latest book is Lost Prince, an erotic science fiction.

What is Lost Prince all about?

It’s an unlikely romance set against the backdrop of a massive trade route across six galaxies and the junta that controls it. Alaric is a prince who lost his homeplanet, Calixte, when they refused to bow to Coalition rule. Katriel, a Coalition pilot, lost her husband in the war over Calixte.

That sounds very interesting. How did you come up with the idea?

I’m a huge Star Wars fan, and I always wanted to write space opera. When my publisher was seeking SF, I knew I had to try my hand. I wanted two characters who were strong, independent, damaged, and unlikely to make a couple. So I put them on opposite sides of the battle over Calixte, gave them both severe losses and devastating secrets, fast forwarded two years, and locked them into a tiny spaceship together.

I know this is book number one in the series Salt Road Saga. Did you begin writing with a series in mind, or did your muse take over?

When I started, it was meant to be a stand-alone. But my publisher came back asking for a series, and you don’t tell your editor no when they ask for more. So I held a contest for the series name on my blog and I’m just getting ready to start brainstorming the next book.

As a multi-published author, what advice do you have for those just beginning a career as a writer?

Find a good critique group that tells it like it is. You’ll be glad you did when your editor picks apart your work. Writing from the heart and proper craft are not mutually exclusive. Write a million words. Write a million more. (I think I hit a million in 2007 or so, I’m sure I’ve looped that since.) As soon as you want your words out there, everything changes. Writing is creative, selling is a business. The reader is your god. You can learn a lot about writing novels by writing short stories.

That’s probably enough for now… J

Tell the readers about your backlist.

I have Quencher 

and Quenched 

both from Torrid. They’re part of a series about a vampire dating service.

What are you working on now?

I just finished writing the second installment for my urban fantasy series featuring hot demon twin brothers who war against the demon King Asmodai. Sentinel: Archive of Fire will be out in January 2012. Right now I’m under deadline for a commissioned short story. I’m revising a futuristic thriller, which seems to be a never-ending project, and I’m going to be brainstorming the next book in Salt Road Saga in the next few weeks. It’s a busy summer for me.

Do you have an evil day job, and if you do, how do you find time to write?

No evil day job, but I have a fun one raising my kiddos Alex (12) and Grace (9). Ours is a very creative, messy, noisy household, so I’ve learned to write under all circumstances, and at all hours. But mostly I work when they are at school.

Do you have a favorite character you’ve written but still think about?

Probably Aidan and Kaelin, the twins from the Sentinel series. They were my first characters after coming back to writing after a long hiatus and I’m so excited to get their story out there. They are very young and broken. Mending them is going to take at least four books.

What does your family and friends think about you being a published author?

Generally they are very supportive until they run out of clean socks. J

July is all about celebration. How does/did your family celebrate the 4^th of July?

We spend it in the mountains at Grand Lake, Colorado. We have a second home there and it’s a big party on the beach, hundreds of people, Navy flyovers, lots of friends, kids running all over, music and games and fireworks.  I also set part of each of the Sentinel books in Grand Lake. It’s home.

Hotdogs or hamburgers?

I grew up in Chicago and spent my summers in Door County, Wisconsin. I’m a bratwurst girl.

Watching community fireworks shows or having them at home?

We do some of both, but you have to be careful of fires in the mountains. It’s been a wet year though so there were no bans. The fireworks display up there is spectacular, over the water with the mountains behind.

Thank you so much for being here. Is there anything else you’d like the readers to know?

I always like to give a shout out to the magazine I help edit, Electric Spec.  We’ve been going for 5 years and we have some great short speculative fiction in it.

And before we go, can we get a juicy excerpt from Lost Prince?

Of course!

EXCERPT:

Alaric met her right outside the cockpit doorway. Unspent power radiated from his hard body. Piloting required a physical battle with the cockpit, speed of reflex and sometimes strength to make controls obey. Gunning required more adrenalin than muscle. A sheen of sweat slicked his bare chest, his tanned skin painted rosy from the red atmosphere shining in through the real-time display and small port viewglass.

“Good flying.” Alaric’s voice was quiet and deep. His wet, clipped blond hair looked almost black; his purple eyes shadowed to cobalt. He smelled of smoke, ozone and lubricants from the gunport, and male.

A tingle started deep in Katriel’s belly and settled between her legs. Faint desire tugged at her clit and tightened her nipples. She realized her chest was heaving, like she’d run laps around a spaceport. She hadn’t breathed enough in the cockpit. A wonder she hadn’t passed out.

“And damn good shooting, Your Highness.”

“Don’t call me that.”

But he moved closer, his gaze intent on hers, a slight smile playing on his lips. She felt his nearness, almost tasted the salt of his sweat on her tongue. But he didn’t make her nervous, not like when the scarred pirate had drawn near. Rather, she had to keep her hand from reaching out to him.

Focus. Say something.

Alaric stared somewhere near the vicinity of her hairline. Deep lines etched concern into his fine features, hardening him into a warrior.

“You’re bleeding,” he said.

She touched the sore spot where she’d banged her head earlier, just as he reached for it. Their fingers bumped and she startled. He caught her hand and drew it away.

“It’s not bad,” he said, leaning still closer, studying the cut. “I’ll see to it for you.”

She looked up at him, meant to pull away. But the universe narrowed to his heliotrope eyes and the hard planes of his tanned face, the energy still racing through her veins, the thrum of his hand gripping her wrist.

He lowered his face to hers and kissed her.

His mouth was insistent, ravenous, hard, and she answered with the same raw hunger. He pressed her back a step and trapped her against the smooth hold wall with his muscled body. His bare chest slid over her sweat-dampened tank and pushed against her breasts. Her nipples tightened further, tingling as he kissed her harder, his tongue exploring her mouth.


OTHER BOOKS BY AINSLEY:

Quench is a discreet place to fulfill your fantasies, no matter how wild, and it’s exactly what Detective Ethan Harper and his girlfriend Savannah need to rev up their sex life. In the midst of a serial murder investigation, they seek some unconventional relaxation there—a sizzling threesome with the striking, enigmatic Rafe. Over the course of examining new scenes and interviewing witnesses, Ethan discovers that all the leads point right back to Quench and Rafe. Rumors involving vampires surface. When Rafe comes after Savannah and proves his true nature, Ethan realizes the case has gone well beyond the powers of the police department to solve. Vampires are very real, and only one thing can stop them: another vampire.

At Quench Dating Services, you can experience a sensual night with a match that looks like the celebrity of your dreams—guaranteed, no fee, no gimmicks.


They only ask that you give blood.

Chere Richardson fantasizes about women. After her boyfriend proposes, she feels compelled to divulge her bisexual tendencies thus shocking him into breakup. Frustrated and lonely, Chere meets with her best friend, Adrianna, who is secretly a vampire. To help Chere realize her desires, Adrianna arranges a date for her through Quench. The date backlashes when scandalous photographs of Chere surface, igniting a firestorm of blackmail, jealousy, and investigations that could expose the truth about Quench. And the vampires behind the dating service will kill, not only a mortal like Chere, but even one of their own, to keep from being discovered.