25 Years in the Rearview Blog Tour

I'd like to welcome Jaleta Clegg, one of my fellow authors from the brand new e-book 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror, 52 Authors Look Back. She is here today with a fun post from one of the characters from her own book as part of the 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror Blog Tour. If you enjoy magazine columns and Chicken Soup for the Soul books, then we're sure you'll enjoy our collection of essays, designed to warm your heart, raise your spirits and compel you to examine your own life. Get a full listing of authors, essay titles and retailers HERE 

And now, let's say hello to, Leon Gravis, a character in Jaleta Clegg's book, Priestess of the Eggstone. Leon was a fun character in the story, and you will understand why I liked him when you read his post. Enjoy.....

Hiya, Sweetheart. How ya doing? Got anything to drink around here? I'm parched. Just spent six hours arguing for an acquittal. I'm bleeding? *dabs forehead* Just a scratch. Bully boys thought they could push me around. But you don't work for a crime syndicate for ten years without picking up a thing or two about intimidation. You thought I was talking about acquittal in court, legal proceedings and all that. Naw, working on some back alley negotiations.

Speaking of negotiations, did I ever tell you about how I got off Viya Station and away from the Targon Syndicate? Yeah, I used to work for them. Stupid, really, but I didn't have much choice. My wife's family is all Targon. Married into it, you might say. But I'm rid of her and her relatives.

So, there I was, sitting in the office of Belliff on Viya Station, wondering what I was gonna do. The Patrol was gearing up for a raid. I could smell the trouble. The management had all disappeared. On a retreat seminar. *hand quotes* They left me to catch the blame from the law. You didn't know Belliff is a front for the Targon Syndicate? Everybody knows that.

I was sitting there, deleting files while my wife's idiot nephew watched his vids, when this woman, Dace, walks in claiming to have a courier delivery for me. She couldn't have had worse timing. Those courier shipments were nothing more than illegal contraband. Brilliant idea for smuggling, if you could find a pilot dumb enough to fall for it. The smart ones would figure out what you were doing and either demand a cut of the pie or steal the shipment outright and sell it to the highest bidder. I'm not saying Dace was stupid, just naïve.

I shifted some papers around looking for a way out. That cargo was going to send me away for a long time. I don't do well with incarceration, makes me break out. Ha! Sorry, bad joke. Anyway, I'm digging through the desk when what do I find but a stunner. My escape plan hit me like a sledgehammer. She was a pilot, she had a ship. She could fly me to Freeport, capital of the Federation. I'd take the cargo and sell it to finance setting up my new home. Yeah, the Federation is kinda small and more than a little backward, but they're a lot looser on the law enforcement than the Empire. But they still got laws. Where you got laws, you got lawyers. Like me. See? Genius plan.

So I hide the stunner and make her take me to her ship. Everything was working according to plan until her copilot decides he wants to be a hero. He jumped me. Things got a bit crazy, especially after Dace convinced Viya Station to undock us. Insane woman flew us through a Patrol firefight with these aliens. We took a direct hit and you know what she did? She kept going. We made the jump to hyperspace with a failing engine.

The woman is completely bonkers, you get what I'm saying? Totally bonkers, but she's the best pilot I've ever seen. *shakes head* I'll even forgive her for tying me up and locking me in the bathroom for most of that trip.

Freeport? Nah, never made it. Dace took us straight to Tebros where the Patrol jumped all over me. I turned myself in, gave them everything I had on Targon. Yeah, Targon hates me now, but I'm legal again. You want the rest of the story? You're going to have to bribe the Patrol for it. I'm pretty sure Dace gave them a full report.

And those rumors that she's some kind of secret agent for the Patrol? *leans forward and whispers* Don't believe it. She hates them almost as much as I do.

Now I've got a question for you. What do you think of my suit? Manny made it. He's a great tailor. *stands up to show off blue and purple plaid with stripes of lime green and little yellow flowers* I like a bit of flash, ya know? Catches them off guard. *winks*

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaleta Clegg loves writing stories about interesting characters. She writes science fiction adventure, silly horror, and dabbles in every genre in between. Find more about her at www.jaletac.com

Her second novel, Priestess of the Eggstone, is now available. www.altairanempire.com

Book Blurb: Pursued by the Targon Crime Syndicate bent on revenge, the Patrol intent on recruitment, and the Sessimoniss who want their god back, the last thing Captain Dace needs is a handsome copilot with romance on his mind.

Book Review - Priestess of the Eggstone by Jaleta Clegg

Priestess of the Eggstone

Jaleta Clegg

·  Paperback: 278 pages

·  Publisher: JournalStone (August 10, 2012)

·  Language: English

·  ISBN-10: 1936564475

·  ISBN-13: 978-1936564477

This sci-fi fantasy is the second book of The Fall of the Altairan Empire series featuring Dace, a space pilot who manages to get into trouble everywhere she goes. She was introduced in  the first book, Nexus Point, as was another recurring character, Tayvis.

Dace is flying for a company that hired her to courier sensitive materials, but she does not know Beliff  is a front for the Targon Crime Syndicate, until she goes to get paid and discovers the Patrol is raiding the company offices.  She manages to evade the Patrol, only to discover another major problem. Jerimon, her copilot, stole a god from the Sessimoniss, and the entire sentient species is chasing him, wreaking havoc throughout space. Now the challenge is to find the Eggstone god and return it before the Sessimoniss declare war; a challenge made more difficult because they also have to avoid getting caught by the Patrol and the Targon Syndicate.

Even though I am not a fan of sci-fi and fantasy, I was pulled into this story and, for the most part, enjoyed the read. Dace is a strong character, and strong female characters appeal to me. We have come a long way from the melodramas where Pauline had to be saved by the hero.

The secondary characters were well done as well. I liked Jayla, Jerimon's sister, who joins the adventure when they need a navigator. Leon, who hijacks Dace's ship, is a fun character, and how Dace and Jerimon deal with him is a clever bit of plotting.

There were some things in the story that didn't work as well for me. First was the incessant fighting between Dace and Jerimon. They are attracted to each other, but use the bickering to keep each other at arm's length. Dace, especially, is not open to any kind of romance because she still has feelings for Tayvis based on something that happened in the first book. The bickering just went on too long and kept repeating the same complaints against each other.

The romantic triangle did not work for me either. I found it hard to believe that Dace could have the same strong feelings for both Jerimon and Tayvis, but maybe that was just me. I also thought the romantic issues interfered with the flow of the rest of the story, which was much more compelling.

This was a good introduction to some fascinating alien species and a believable futuristic world.

Jaleta Clegg will be my guest this coming Wednesday, so I do hope you will come back and meet her and her character, Leon. You can see why I liked him so much.

Also, please stop by tomorrow for the Genre Favorites Blogfest,  hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/  Those of us participating will be sharing about our favorites in books, movies, and music and revealing one guilty pleasure.