Galactic Gladiators Cover Reveal: Rogue

So many readers have been loving being back on Carthago with Vek and Mia in Beast, and I am so thrilled to have another Galactic Gladiators book coming very soon and to share the cover with you!

Rogue has two stories in it. The first novella, Information Rogue, stars arrogant, intelligent information merchant Zhim…who’s having his world turned upside down my a certain hacker from Earth.

The second novella, Desert Rogue, stars caravan master Corsair. This man of desert is determined to help a stubborn, prickly woman from Earth…whether she wants his help or not!

To celebrate Rogue’s cover reveal I have a giveaway: another one of the amazing 2018 gladiator calendars called Warrior plus a signed paperback of Gladiator. Scroll right down to the bottom to enter.

Rogue
Release Date: November 28th

Cover art by the awesome Melody Simmons

Excerpt from Beast featuring Zhim and Ryan, and Corsair and Neve

Ryan tapped on the small screen, her fingers flying. She was flat on her belly in the grass, under some small trees. The control panel that Neve knew of was set into the ground, and had been hidden under a rock.

“Everything’s turned around.” Ryan muttered a curse, trying to work out this strange system. It was like nothing she’d seen before.

“Keep trying,” Corsair said. He and Neve were standing above her, both of them continuously scanning their surroundings for any unwelcome guests. “Your friends’ lives depend on it.”

Ryan snorted. “Wow, thanks for the pep talk.”

The man’s brow creased. “Pep?”

Neve shook her head. “She means that you’re an idiot.”

Corsair stiffened. “I’ve punished people for far less than that insult.”

Neve lifted her chin, her hands tightening on her staff. “Try it, pirate.”

“I am not a pirate. I’m a caravan master.” Another wide, white smile. “You can call me master.”

“In your dreams.”

“Can you guys knock it off?” Ryan grumbled. She hit on something and the screen filled with symbols. “Yes! I got through the system to the Srinar part of it. They’re piggybacking on the existing system in this old ship. The Srinar system, I’m familiar with.” She tapped some more, and images appeared on the small screen.

Neve leaned over her shoulder. “Oh, good, you’ve got the camera feed up. We can see the others.” Then her voice changed. “Uh, oh, they’ve got company.”

Ryan’s stomach did a slow turn. The others were being attacked by bees. Giant freaking bees.

“Get the Srinar cameras shut down, and that door open,” Corsair said.

“I’m trying.” Ryan’s fingers flew over the screen. She shut out the sounds of the angry bees and the shouts of the gladiators.

Suddenly the sound of beautiful singing came through the screen. What the hell?

“Wow,” Neve said. “Mia has a hell of a voice.”

The trio watched on the screen as the bees calmed down, and Galen took care of them. Amazing. Corsair tapped Ryan’s shoulder impatiently, and she got back to work. Door controls. Camera controls. Fucking Srinar and their stupid games. She was going to really mess things up for them.

Ryan fell completely into her zone. This was when everything inside her went still, when she was tapped in deep to a computer system, working her magic.

“Galen and the others are approaching the door,” Corsair said.

“Almost there.” Ryan kept tapping, moving through the system. There! “Got it! Doors are open. And—” she tapped one last time “—the cameras are off. The Srinar are blind.”

“Nice work.” Corsair’s grin was blinding. The man had a rugged, handsome face that begged a woman to take a look—or ten. Ryan idly noted that Neve was studying him rather intently, as well.

“You still in their system?” he asked.

Ryan nodded.

“How about we mess up the Srinar’s little operation a bit before we meet up with the others?”

Ryan nodded, determination filling her. “Excellent idea.” She started deleting information. Anything and everything.

Some things were protected with really tough encryption, but she kept working, her fingers flying.

Then she stopped, scanning the data. Fighter records were flashing across the screen. What if there was information on Dayna in there, somewhere? Or other humans abducted by the Thraxians?

God, what she’d give for a portable data drive right now.

“Speed it up, Ryan.” Corsair pulled a crossbow off his back, aiming it at the bushes ahead of them. “We have company.”

Ryan didn’t see anything, but she didn’t doubt him. “I need a few more minutes.”

Neve lifted her staff. “We can buy you some more time.” She flashed Corsair a glance. “Or, at least, I know I can.”

Corsair smiled again. This time, it was laced with challenge. “Try and keep up, Earth woman.”

Ryan got back to work, conscious of Corsair and Neve moving away from her. Without a sound or a rustle, Nerium guards rushed out of the vegetation.

Yeah, the Srinar were probably going to throw everything they could at them to try and stop Ryan. Delete. Delete. Delete. She smiled grimly.

She saw Corsair explode into action, crossbow bolts firing in quick succession. He dived, rolled and kept firing. Neve was right beside him, jumping high and moving that wicked staff with deadly moves.

Holy hell, the two of them could fight. Ryan had always wanted to be badass, but she knew it required a whole lot of exercise, discipline, and probably early-morning training. Ryan did not do early mornings. She preferred to be a badass with her fingers and a computer screen.

The computer beneath her beeped, and suddenly information flooded the screen. So much data. They could use all of it to crush the Srinar and their operations. She needed to take this with her. Or maybe upload it, somewhere.

She quickly tapped in more commands, trying to make an outside connection. Maybe she could hack some random computer in Kor Magna, and hide the data there. She could recover it later.

“Pirate, throw me,” Neve called out.

Ryan looked up again and saw Corsair grip Neve’s waist. With a powerful flex of his muscled arms, he tossed her up into the air. As she flew, she spun, her staff taking down several guards. She landed in the center of several Nerium, in a crouch. Then she grinned and exploded upward, taking down more guards.

Suddenly, Ryan’s screen blinked and changed. A sharp, masculine face appeared.

“There you are,” the man drawled.

She tensed. If it wasn’t the arrogant boy genius.

“Where have you been?” he asked.

Like she’d been sashaying around on a beachside vacation. “I don’t have time for you, info-boy. This is life or death.”

He frowned. “Can I help?”

She nodded. “I’ve hacked the Srinar system. I’ve accessed their data. All their data. I want everything here, to help shut them down and find others they’ve enslaved.”

“All their data.” A hungry look filled the man’s fascinating, nebula-blue eyes. He cracked his knuckles and Ryan was caught for a second on how long and well-shaped his fingers were. “Let’s do it, Ryan.”

She got to work, and on the screen, she saw his face set with concentration as he buckled down on his end. She could see what he was doing, and dammit, it was ingenious. The man might be arrogant, but he was smart, as well.

Zhim’s link connected, and Ryan quickly started uploading across it. “It’s done. I have to go.”

He stared directly at her. “I look forward to meeting you in person, Ryan Amaya Nagano of Earth. Don’t get hurt coming home.”

A strange feeling swirled in Ryan’s belly. She gave the man a nod, and shut off the screen. She pushed to her feet, and saw that the ground was littered with green-skinned aliens.

Corsair and Neve were standing in the middle of it, back to back. The caravan master turned, sliding his crossbow onto his back with a smile. “I believe I took down one more than you.”

Neve straightened. “You did not.” She spun her staff up behind her back, glaring at him.

“I did,” he insisted.

“You don’t get credit for that last one. I’d already hit him twice. He was a soft target.”

“A draw, then. We took down the same number.”

“I hate cocky men.” In a lightning-fast move, Neve dropped into a crouch and swept her leg out in a half circle. Her boot hit Corsair’s legs, and knocked the man into a sprawl. His colorful curse filled the air.

Neve stood, pushing her dark curls back off her face. “Now, I officially took down one more than you.”

Ryan tried to hide her smile as a disgruntled Corsair rose to his feet.

“Ah, sorry to interrupt the one-upmanship,” Ryan said. “But I’m finished, and we need to get back to the others before they leave us here.”

Calendar and Signed Paperback Giveaway

To celebrate the cover reveal of Rogue, I’m giving away a 2018 Warrior Gladiator Calendar and a signed copy of Gladiator to ONE lucky winner.

Calendar model – Jess Vill Photographer – Salvador Pozo

Open internationally and closes on Sunday 19th Nov. Winners notified by email by 24th Nov. You DO NOT have to use every option below to enter. Just select the one(s) you prefer to do.

ENTER HERE
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