First of all, a tiny plug: Book 1, Heart’s Last Chance, has been nominated for Best Sci-Fi Book of 2015 in the LRC awards. I appreciate any votes cast my way, since this is the first time I’ve ever been nominated in these annual awards. Thank you!
When I began writing NiKoh’s story, it began to take a strange turn. Writers are strange people, and I soon realized I was channeling both my younger sister and my own daughter’s reluctance to enter puberty. My sister had declared she was ‘never’ going to ‘do that’, yet is now happily married with two children. My daughter wasn’t thrilled when her body began to change, and I was less than thrilled when she became a mother at the tender age of eighteen.
I hope you enjoy this coming-of-age story, at least from GiNae’s point of view. She has her own agenda of working with animals, and has no desire to go through Maturity, meet her Chosen, or even Bond. In her limited experience, she sees this as a threat to her ambitions, plus her nightly dreams confuse her.
In this excerpt, she decides to confide
in her friend and employer, since GiNae has no desire to talk to her mother.
Blurb:
Still mourning the tragic
death of his beautiful mate, could another Chosen one already be waiting for
NiKoh SiLah? To avoid what he’s not ready to accept, he throws himself into his
work at Planet Security.
Leaving the Academy behind
to follow her dream of working with animals, GiNae SoJae returns home.
Preoccupied with work and not ready to take a mate, she’s horrified when her
body enters Maturity. GiNae fights the changes occurring within her. But during
nightly dreams she cannot control, an unknown man teaches her the secrets of
her body.
Will NiKoh and GiNae
succumb to the paths they think have been chosen for them or will they discover
the true Chosen life that awaits them?
Excerpt:
“Can we keep this
confidential? I…think I’m finally entering Maturity.”
“Oh.” RaKel smiled and sat
back in her chair. “Anything you say will not go beyond this office. I imagine
changes are happening, which seem a little scary?”
Her breath expelled in a
rush. She does understand! “I’ve been
having…dreams. And the worst part is, this person is completely unacceptable to
me! What happens if I don’t feel the same way?”
“Slow down.” RaKel leaned
forward. “Dreams involving your Chosen always come with an ‘ick’ factor,
especially in the beginning.”“No, no.” GiNae felt tears prick the back of her eyeballs. “I’m almost twenty years old, RaKel, and the man I’ve—” She swallowed hard. “He’s old enough to be my father.” Twisting her shirt in her hands, GiNae used it to wipe her eyes. There. She’d said it.
“GiNae, has he said
anything to you in person?” RaKel’s tone was neutral.
She looked up. “No. Of
course not. We haven’t spoken of anything yet. It’s all been in dreams.” Do I dare tell her? “He has indicated he’s patient, and will not force me to
do anything. But his kisses—in the dreams—are very pleasant.”
“So it’s only involved
kissing?”
GiNae squirmed. “It, uh,
went a bit further last night, but that was before I realized who he was. His
age is so much older…why can’t my Chosen be someone closer to my own age?” Her
voice dropped to a whisper as tears fell faster. “I took charge of my life,
RaKel, by refusing my placement at the Academy. Is this my punishment? To be
shackled to a man who will tell me what to do the rest of my life?” She covered
her face with her hands and sobbed.
“Oh, honey.” GiNae heard
movement, then RaKel’s arms were around her. “It doesn’t work like that. You
certainly aren’t being punished for choosing to follow your dream. This is
something entirely different.”
“Then what?” Sniffing, she
turned to look at her friend. “What happens if we are Bonded and I’m miserable?
I don’t want to give up the animals. The idea of having children makes me want
to vomit, much less having to care for an old man.”
“When you meet face to
face, and sit down to express your fears, your wants, your expectations, you
may find he will be supportive of your work. If he’s as old you say he is, then
maybe he is a widower who does not want any more progeny, or maybe he’s as
repulsed by the difference in your ages as you are, and may choose to refuse
it.”
NiKoh’s Chosen is available at the
following places:
SCP:
http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=1059&zenid=0ra2iu1dsbggm4d74393kv5pc3
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/NiKohs-Chosen-Matters-Kenzie-Michaels-ebook/dp/B00UYCM43A/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1428442708&sr=1-3&keywords=kenzie+michaels
B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/nikohs-chosen-kenzie-michaels/1121488848?ean=2940151635769
ARE:
Thanks again for having me today, Holly!
