Reesa Herberth's Blog

We’ve waited a long time to be able to share this book with people- nearly 20 years, if you count back to the first appearance of Ethan and Nick.  We’re so proud of the story, and judging by our early reviews, other people are falling for Nick and Ethan almost as hard as we have.

We’re running an Amazon instant giveaway right now, and if you can follow our virtual book store for the chance to win a $20 gift certificate to The Ripped Bodice.

Amazon Instant Win

Detour Virtual Blog Tour Dates:

May 7, 2018 – The Novel Approach

May 7, 2018 – Boy Meets Boy Reviews

May 7, 2018 – La Crimson Femme

May 8, 2018 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

May 8, 2018 – Open Skye Book Reviews

May 8, 2018 – Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

May 8, 2018 – MM Good Book Reviews

May 9, 2018 – OMG Reads

May 9, 2018 – Bayou Book Junkie

May 9, 2018 – My Fiction Nook

May 10, 2018 – Love Bytes Reviews

May 10, 2018 – Book Reviews and More by Kathy

May 10, 2018 – Jessie G Book Reviews

May 11, 2018 – Dog-Eared Daydreams

May 11, 2018 – The Day Before You Came

May 11, 2018 – Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

 

Samhain Publishing is OFFICIALLY (for the second time…?) going out of business at the end of this month. If you purchased any books through their site, you need to login and back up your files. They will be pulling their website down.

This also means that two of our books, The Balance of Silence and The Slipstream Con, will be going out of print at that time. Michelle and I will be investigating other options to put them back on the shelves. At some point it’s likely that we will self-publish those titles to make sure our entire series remains available.

If you’re wanting copies of those titles, I’m not entirely sure what to tell you. Samhain has maintained their royalty payments thus far, and I want to believe that will be the case throughout the closure. I have paperback copies of The Slipstream Con. Going forward, we will likely publish a revised, expanded edition of The Balance of Silence and offer a paperback option. If you want ebooks, you may want to purchase them ASAP and make certain you’ve downloaded a backup copy of the files.

We met and worked with many wonderful people at Samhain, building relationships that will continue beyond the end of the company. Beyond business, they helped us meet and entertain our readers, and that’s what we’ll keep doing.

And with that, it’s back to work on the end of our next book!

Wishing You the Stars-

Reesa and Michelle

I never make resolutions. Except this year. It’s time.

In 2017, I vow to wean myself off extraneous U’s. It’s a ridiculous affection I picked up in my teens, enforced by weirdly-integrated British colonial spellings that linger in Hawaii, and my own thwarted plans to move to Canada. Somewhere between “this is cute/will be useful when I move to Ottawa” at 17 and my early 20’s. it became a habit I didn’t even notice anymore.

Now, it means I have to go back through every book I write and strip extra vowels before I can submit a manuscript anywhere.

Goodbye, Friend U. I will miss you. You were the closest I ever got to moving to Canada.

I wrote a Thing on Facebook the other day, partially in reaction to a friend who posted some meme, partially in general frustration.  My Facebook isn’t author space, or even public for the most part, but several people asked if they could share the post.  I thought maybe I’d share it here, too, even though I usually don’t get specifically political (or terribly personal) on the old (neglected) blog here.

TW: Discussion of sexual assault, both personal experience and in the media.

In the past ten years, two men I didn’t know have felt so entitled to what they want that they groped my breasts. In public. In broad daylight. One of them stuck his hand through the window of my car at a gas station and reached into my shirt. The other tried to shove me off a trail in a public park, while kissing me and licking my face as he touched me. When I managed to fight him off, he went 50 feet down the trail and assaulted another woman. While she was holding her infant son. While her three year old daughter walked in front of her. While I was there, screaming at him to get away from her.

If you truly believe, whatever political slant you view the world from, that I am upset because Donald Trump, a man running for President, said the word “pussy”, you and I live in different worlds.

In my world, a man who boasts about grabbing women’s genitals because he wants to, because of his power and position, is a sexual predator. A man who thinks his desire to touch someone means more than their consent IS A SEXUAL PREDATOR.

If you think I’m offended by Donald Trump saying the word “pussy” because I’m a delicate, politically correct liberal flower child, you’re wrong. I’m offended by his consistent pattern of sexism and misogyny- absolutely.

But if you think what I heard in that tape was the word “pussy”, let me correct you. I heard a sexual predator bragging about his assaults.

I’ve met that man. I know that he thinks rolling down a window to help someone with directions means “yes”. I know that he thinks smiling at him means “yes”. I’ve met him at gas stations, in parks, at shows, at the soda fountain in a restaurant, at countless places and ages. Sometimes I’ve gotten away from him before he could take anything from me. Sometimes I haven’t.

I know you’re aware of my world, because I’ve told you about it. In my world, there are court cases, restraining orders, years of therapy. There is PTSD, depression, anxiety so inescapable that it robs people of security, relationships, sometimes of life itself.

I’m offended that the only thing you think could possibly -be- offensive was “pussy”, and not “grab them by” or “when you’re a star, they let you do it”. They don’t. Consent doesn’t happen after the fact.

I’m not offended by the word “pussy”. I’m fucking ENRAGED that HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people have told you, over and over again, what it looks like, what it sounds like, what it FEELS like to live in a world created by people like Trump. People who believe what they want is more important than anyone else’s right to deny it to them.

And you still think we’re upset over the word “pussy”.

Michelle and I are going to New York!

Let me backtrack.  Peripheral People has been named a finalist in the Speculative Fiction category at the Fourth Annual Bisexual Book Awards.  We’ll be attending the awards ceremony and reading in NYC on Friday, June 3rd, 2016.  Want to join us, and hear some wonderful authors and artists do readings and celebrate diverse art?

Get tickets, directions, and event info here.

Don’t worry if you can’t make it- if we win, you’ll be able to hear our squee from space.

Woohoo! It’s new release day for Michelle’s latest story! Welcome back to everyone’s favourite beach town, Playa Escondida- where the history runs deep, the magic runs just below the surface, and everyone who’s ever driven a car seems to have bought it from the same guy…

Jay’s an average lifeguard. Sure, there’s the family curse—a connection to a demon who shipwrecked on the coast centuries ago—and being the last heir to the heretical sect of monster hunters who failed to destroy that demon. So he’s mostly an average lifeguard.

Dan Green wants nothing more than to find and tag a sea turtle, and finish his degree. He’s starting to think he should have picked a different beach. Even his degree isn’t worth getting tangled up in old ghost stories, demonic curses, and a monster hunt 400 years in the making. But Jay? Jay just might be…

Buy Links:

Less Than Three Press

Amazon

Barnes & Noble (Coming Soon)

All Romance eBooks

The newest Ylendrian Empire story, Peripheral People, is finally available!

 

We’ve got a great blog tour started, which you can follow here:

Stops for this tour:



May 11, 2015 – The Novel Approach
May 11, 2015 – Love Bytes Reviews
May 12, 2015 – Cup O’ Porn
May 12, 2015 – The Blogger Girls
May 13, 2015 – Prism Book Alliance
May 13, 2015 – Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
May 14, 2015 – Natural Bri- Pursuits of Life
May 14, 2015 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
May 15, 2015 – TTC Books and More
May 15, 2015 – MM Good Book Reviews
May 15, 2015 – Rainbow Gold Reviews

You can enter to win one of two amazing Ylendrian Empire prize packs:

Enter the rafflecopter giveaway here:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/eb16f44f4/” rel=”nofollow” data-raflid=”eb16f44f4″ data-theme=”classic” data-template=”” id=”rcwidget_kdw06ltw”>a Rafflecopter giveaway
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And for the more adventurous, check out the Ylendrian A-Z Countdown for a hidden word scramble!

Michelle and I are incredibly proud of this book, and we can’t wait to share it with our readers.  And if you’re heading to the Romantic Times convention in Dallas this week, hit us up on twitter and we’ll make sure we say hello in person!

Z is for…

Zillions* of things you could do to help us launch our book –

(*or slightly fewer)

Let’s not beat around the bush- if you bought the book, we’d be super stoked. You can purchase your very own copy of Peripheral People in trade paperback or the ebook format of your choice at any of the following fine booksellers:  Riptide Publishing : ARe : Amazon : Barnes & Noble : iBooks : Your Local Bookseller – The paperback is available through standard distribution channels, and your local bookstore should be able to order it for you.
Read back through the Ylendrian A-Z posts, snag the word scramble letters, and enter to win the really cool  (and ever-expanding) prize pack.  (Contest info and rules listed at the bottom of every post.)
If you’ve read our books and enjoyed them enough to do so, tell other people about them!  Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or just a friend or two who likes a good story.  We appreciate it each and every time someone recommends our books to a new person.
Feeling generous?  You could buy a copy of  Peripheral People for a friend- we all know that a friend who gives books is a friend for life.  For that matter, many shelters, libraries, and school libraries would love a donation.
Do you blog, or have a lively Facebook, tumblr, or twitter presence?  Want us to come visit you and bring prizes?  Contact us at ylendrianempire (at) gmaildotcom and we’ll set something up for you.  We’ll answer (almost) any question you want to ask us, and we have fun stuff to give away, including books, swag, and gift certificates.
If you’re not feeling spendy, no worries- Peripheral People is in circulation in many library systems! If it’s not available through your local library, asking your librarian how you can request it is an awesome way to make them aware of the book, and the demand for diverse fiction in general.
Leave a review of Peripheral People or one of our other books somewhere- Amazon, Goodreads, your own blog, twitter, or the dust on your back windshield- whatever floats your boat and doesn’t get you in trouble is fine by us!
Do you attend conventions?  Are you interested in having Michelle and Reesa, or other authors of diverse sci fi/romance appear at conventions you attend?  Request panels that highlight queer speculative fiction, or romance featuring queer and POC characters.  Offer suggestions for authors you’d like to see speaking about those topics.  If you’d like to hang out with us, we’d like to hang out with you.
Hit us up on twitter – @reesah and @marigotc, respectively, and tell us about your favorite books.  I don’t mean spam us with a thousand and one empty promo tweets- tell us why you think our readers would like XbookX.
If you bought our book and liked it, please take a moment to tell us!  We’re frequently available on various social media outlets (listed below), and knowing someone loved what we wrote is like food that nourishes us through the writing of the next book.  If you’re too shy to say hello, please know that we appreciate every single person who spent their valuable time and money in our worlds, and we don’t bite.  We got a stern warning from our teachers about that back in kindergarten.

Where can you find Michelle and Reesa online?

Twitter

Michelle – @marigotc

Reesa – @reesah

Facebook – The Ylendrian Empire Fan Page

and any comments left here!

Thank you for helping us count down to our release date- now you can enter the contest to win our awesome prize package!

Today’s Peripheral Passphrase Letter is: M

Welcome to the countdown to Peripheral People!  Every day until our release date (May 11, 2015), we’ll be giving you a glimpse into our universe, the Ylendrian Empire.  And every post will include a new letter in our scavenger hunt/word jumble contest.  Catch the new letter each day, unscramble the words, and start submitting your contest entries on May 10, 2015 to be entered in a random drawing for the Ridiculously Cool(er) Ylendrian Prize Pack, which includes all of these prizes:

One (1) Slipstream Laboratories lunch cooler- a lovely powder blue insulated bag, proudly emblazoned with the Slipstream Laboratories corporate philosophy: Ethical Dilemmas Are Only a Problem If You Have Ethics

One (1) e-book of your choice from our backlist

One (1) $10 (US or equivalent currency) gift certificate to one of the following bookstores: Riptide Publishing, Amazon.com (or .country for non-US residents), or Barnes & Noble.com (Winner’s choice)

One (1) signed, full-wrap cover print of the cover art for Peripheral People, by the amazing Simone

Contest submissions open May 10, 2015 through May 24, 2015.  Winner to be announced May 25, 2015.  Contest open to US and non-US residents.  Shipping for physical items will be paid by the authors; any duties or taxes due upon delivery are the responsibility of the prize winner.  Winner will be notified via email, as well as announced on this blog and various social media outlets.  Eligible entries must contain the correctly descrambled phrase, contact name, and valid email address.  Winner will be chosen via random number generator.

 

Y is for…

Ylendrian Founding –

 Before Empirium 0060 – First Contact – Human and Trakoran communication commences after several years of near-misses
B.E. 0057 – Second Contact – Akeloans offer peaceful overtures to both Human and Trakoran homeworlds
B.E. 0055 – Neutrality Treaty – Planning for the first exploratory contact mission, all three races agree to a strict code of cooperative neutrality
B.E. 0053 – Ylendrian Landfall Mission – Combining the technological advances of the three races, subspace wormhole travel is achieved.  Choosing a planet deemed uninhabited and hospitable to all three races, the first ships are sent to a designated rallying point.
B.E. 0053 – Ylendrian Landfall – Humans, Akeloans, and Trakorans meet  face-to-face for the first time since contact was established eight years prior.  Despite difficulties adapting the subspace technology and physiological requirements, emissaries from the three races pledge to further explore and expand their known universe.
B.E. 0050 – Ylendria Rising – Ylendria, the planet of first meetings, is officially colonized by all three races.  Terraforming begins, and the first five year research missions are deployed, seeking allies and planets for further colonization.
B.E. 0023 – Imperial Genetics Begin – The first Human-Akeloan hybrid, Meloy Parth, is born to a Human mother and a stunned Akeloan father.
B.E. 0003 – Triumvir – Meloy Parth is adopted as a member of the Trakoran royal family, becoming Meloy Parth Wrintu, (Mel’Par’Wrin to the Trakorans)
After Eempirium 0000 – Imperial Founding – Expanding from their original colony on Ylendria, the three races join under the leadership of the first Empress, Meloy Parth Wrintu, and claim their fifteen colonies as Imperial planets.

 

Today’s Peripheral Passphrase Letter is: R

Welcome to the countdown to Peripheral People!  Every day until our release date (May 11, 2015), we’ll be giving you a glimpse into our universe, the Ylendrian Empire.  And every post will include a new letter in our scavenger hunt/word jumble contest.  Catch the new letter each day, unscramble the words, and start submitting your contest entries on May 10, 2015 to be entered in a random drawing for the Ridiculously Cool(er) Ylendrian Prize Pack, which includes all of these prizes:

One (1) Slipstream Laboratories lunch cooler- a lovely powder blue insulated bag, proudly emblazoned with the Slipstream Laboratories corporate philosophy: Ethical Dilemmas Are Only a Problem If You Have Ethics

One (1) e-book of your choice from our backlist

One (1) $10 (US or equivalent currency) gift certificate to one of the following bookstores: Riptide Publishing, Amazon.com (or .country for non-US residents), or Barnes & Noble.com (Winner’s choice)

One (1) signed, full-wrap cover print of the cover art for Peripheral People, by the amazing Simone

Contest submissions open May 10, 2015 through May 24, 2015.  Winner to be announced May 25, 2015.  Contest open to US and non-US residents.  Shipping for physical items will be paid by the authors; any duties or taxes due upon delivery are the responsibility of the prize winner.  Winner will be notified via email, as well as announced on this blog and various social media outlets.  Eligible entries must contain the correctly descrambled phrase, contact name, and valid email address.  Winner will be chosen via random number generator.

 

X is for…

Xenophobic colonies – There are, or were, several Ylendrian colonies in the second and third wave who opted for single-species colonization. Two of the Human-only colonies suffered failed terraforming and were abandoned.  One of the second wave Akeloan colonies launched their own successful exploration program, searching beyond the boundaries of Imperial space for more worlds to inhabit.  It’s believed that at least two exploration worlds were in the process of being terraformed when the Akeloan plagues began to spread through the empire, but no one knows if they escaped the same death the rest of their species fell prey to.  Other than Kaleia, which is a Human-only planet by default, there are currently no exclusively single-species worlds within the Empire.  

Today’s Peripheral Passphrase Letter is: I

Welcome to the countdown to Peripheral People!  Every day until our release date (May 11, 2015), we’ll be giving you a glimpse into our universe, the Ylendrian Empire.  And every post will include a new letter in our scavenger hunt/word jumble contest.  Catch the new letter each day, unscramble the words, and start submitting your contest entries on May 10, 2015 to be entered in a random drawing for the Ridiculously Cool(er) Ylendrian Prize Pack, which includes all of these prizes:

One (1) Slipstream Laboratories lunch cooler- a lovely powder blue insulated bag, proudly emblazoned with the Slipstream Laboratories corporate philosophy: Ethical Dilemmas Are Only a Problem If You Have Ethics

One (1) e-book of your choice from our backlist

One (1) $10 (US or equivalent currency) gift certificate to one of the following bookstores: Riptide Publishing, Amazon.com (or .country for non-US residents), or Barnes & Noble.com (Winner’s choice)

One (1) signed, full-wrap cover print of the cover art for Peripheral People, by the amazing Simone

Contest submissions open May 10, 2015 through May 24, 2015.  Winner to be announced May 25, 2015.  Contest open to US and non-US residents.  Shipping for physical items will be paid by the authors; any duties or taxes due upon delivery are the responsibility of the prize winner.  Winner will be notified via email, as well as announced on this blog and various social media outlets.  Eligible entries must contain the correctly descrambled phrase, contact name, and valid email address.  Winner will be chosen via random number generator.