We love a good outlaw story—underdog against the powerful big bad, risking everything to do what’s right, even if the law says it’s wrong. And rogues capture our heart with their swashbuckling ways and independent streak. So maybe it was inevitable that we’d come up with stories about both—in two completely different time periods!
Salvage Rat is the first solo novel by my husband (and frequent co-author) Larry N. Martin. It’s set in the far flung future, and it’s a fast-paced space adventure. In Salvage Rat, Rogue teams up with Outlaw to become unwilling heroes, running from a corrupt interplanetary mining corporation because they’ve discovered the company has been killing mining crews because it’s cheaper than bringing them home. I think of it as ‘Bonnie and Clyde meet V for Vendetta in a Firefly-esque universe’.
Here’s the blurb: Star Force pilot and hero Wyatt McCoy left his medals and career behind after the Rim Wars, disillusioned and bitter when he learns the truths behind the conflict. He takes his converted gunship, the Nellie B, and heads to the Near Fringe, salvaging derelict ships and abandoned stations and mining colonies. Dr. Beth Parker is a space archeologist, documenting the history of planetary expansion and colonization for Kalok Enterprises and the Interplanetary Mining Group. A piece of alien technology embeds itself in Beth’s arm, giving her the ability to see the energy impressions of long ago people and events. When Beth uncovers proof of genocide that could bring down the big mining companies, she’s the target of assassins. Wyatt makes a split-second decision to intervene, launching them both into a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game with some of the most powerful organizations in the system. They can prove Kalok and Interplan killed millions—but can they live long enough to tell their story?
My newest epic fantasy, Assassin’s Honor, also features outlaws and rogues, in a medieval setting. Consider it ‘Butch and Sundance as medieval assassins’. It’s buddy flick epic fantasy, funny-serious, with a thrill-a-minute plot. It’s also, by design, under 300 pages long (skinny for epic fantasy). My goal is to woo back readers who are too time-crunched to dive into a giant book, but who love the epic fantasy feels.
Here’s the recap: Joel Breckenridge and Garrett Kennard are King’s Shadows, elite assassins serving the crown of Landria. When a shadowy itinerant holy man starts captivates the nobility with treasonous whispers, Ridge and Rett go rogue to stop the threat, save the kingdom and protect the king–while landing on the ‘Most Wanted’ list themselves.
I really enjoyed writing Assassin’s Honor, because in part because it was lighter in tone and shorter in length than my usual epics, but also because I’m a sucker for outlaws and rogues. Ridge is very much a rogue in the rules-are-for-other-people sense, while his partner, Rett, worries about the details. When saving the kingdom requires them to turn outlaw, Ridge embraces it, while Rett struggles with breaking the rules to do the right thing.
Whether your taste runs to speeding spaceships or galloping horses, check out our books with their outlaws and rogues for your fall reading!
My Days of the Dead blog tour runs through October 31 with brand new excerpts from upcoming books and recent short stories, interviews, guest blog posts, giveaways and more! Plus, I’ll be including extra excerpt links for my stories. You’ve got to visit the participating sites to get the goodies, just like Trick or Treat! Get all the details about my Days of the Dead blog tour here:
Book swag is the new Trick-or-Treat! All of my guest blog posts have links to free excerpts—follow the tour and grab them all! Enjoy this excerpt for Salvage Rat: https://www.ascendantkingdoms.com/books/salvage-rat/salvage-rat-excerpt/
And this one for Assassin’s Honor: https://www.ascendantkingdoms.com/books/assassins-honor/assassins-honor-excerpt/
Enter my Rafflecopter giveaway to win a Kindle Prize Package with a free copy EACH of — Tangled Web, Assassin’s Honor, Salvage Rat, The Dark Road and Sons of Darkness! http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9751c04215/?
Let me give a shout-out for #HoldOnToTheLight 2018, back for more with new authors and fantastic new posts! 150+ genre authors blogging about their personal struggles with depression, PTSD, anxiety, suicide and self-harm, candid posts by some of your favorite authors on how mental health issues have impacted their lives and books. Read the stories, share the stories, change a life. Find out more at www.HoldOnToTheLight.com
About the Authors
Gail Z. Martin writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria. Newest titles include Tangled Web, Vengeance, The Dark Road, and Assassin’s Honor. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance. Books include Witchbane, Burn, Dark Rivers, Badlands and the upcoming Lucky Town.
Larry N. Martin is the author of the new sci-fi adventure novel Salvage Rat. He is the co-author (with Gail Z. Martin) of the Spells, Salt, and Steel/New Templars series; the Steampunk series Iron & Blood; and a collection of short stories and novellas: The Storm & Fury Adventures set in the Iron & Blood universe. He is also the co-author of the upcoming Wasteland Marshals series and the Cauldron/Secret Council series.
Find them at www.GailZMartin.com , on Twitter @GailZMartin and @LNMartinAuthor, on Facebook.com/WinterKingdoms, at www.DisquietingVisions.com blog, on www.Pinterest.com/Gzmartin and on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/GailZMartin. She is also the organizer of the #HoldOnToTheLight campaign www.HoldOnToTheLight.com Never miss out on the news and new releases—newsletter signup link http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj
