Crash Land on Kurai

 

Crash Land on Kurai by S.J. Pajonas is available now!

 

Yumi Minamoto has the shortest fuse on the ship. She’s just whipped a bully and been confined to quarters, but she’s not staying there. A disgraced journalist trying to clear her name, her job is to document the mission to the Hikoboshi system, and she’s determined to get it right, despite all the trouble she causes. But when unknown vessels fire on their ship, and Yumi's life pod crash lands on a dying moon, she's separated from her family and friends, and her mission falls to pieces. Now she must navigate the unfamiliar and deadly terrain, deal with a society she doesn’t understand, and try to stay alive until rescue comes… if it ever does.

Crash Land on Kurai is the first book in the Hikoboshi Series, an action adventure, space opera series that explores the worlds settled by the Japanese who fled Earth a century ago. Culture, history, technology, and swords clash in a fast-paced future society on the brink of war.

 

Free on Kindle Unlimited! Not on Kindle Unlimited? Get it now for $2.99  here .

 

 

About the author:

 

Stephanie (S. J.) is a writer, knitter, amateur astrologer, Capricorn, and Japanophile. She loves foxes, owls, sushi, yoga pants, Evernote, and black tea. When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing or spending time outside, unless it’s winter. She hates winter. Someday she’ll own a house in both hemispheres so she can avoid the season entirely. She’s a mom to two great kids and lives with her husband and family outside NYC. They have no pets. Yet. When it comes to her work, expect the unexpected. She doesn’t write anything typical. Find her online at http://www.spajonas.com.
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Amethyst Chronicles

Amethyst Chronicles: Winter's Kiss

Amethyst, a team of purple-eyed, genetically engineered super-soldiers and Earth's greatest weapon. Led by Ember Wilson, they destroy a weather machine created by Dr. Clayton Rudo who claimed he was going to use his device to save the planet. Amethyst was tried for treason and placed in stasis. Two years later, Dr. Rudo rebuilt his machine and froze Washington, D.C. and the west coast of the United States.

General Tom Blanchard brought Amethyst out of stasis to work with an elite Air Force team, led by Major Liam Ross. Tensions between Ember and Liam rise as they butt heads. Can they work together before Earth is completely under ice?

Book One  is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.

















Amethyst Chronicles: Croceus Poison

Ember lost it all when she lost Amethyst.

Now, as she recovers physically she must come to terms with her new reality. The struggle to find herself again will push those who care the most away even the men who love her.

In time, an opportunity to recreate her transformation presents itself. Will she risk herself to find what she had? Is it worth her team? Her heart?...

Book Two is now available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo

















Third book in the series, Amethyst Chronicles: Past Reflections, will be available in September!

I need your opinion!

Soon, I will be re-launching my Amethyst Chronicles series under Midnight Rose Publishing and will have a release date for the third installment. In the process, I have been updating the covers. Now I need your help! There seems to be a split between the current cover and the updated one so I wanted to put it to you, the reader, to decide on what the cover will be. Comment here, email me, or vote on my Twitter poll. Do you prefer:

A (the current cover):

 

Or B (the new one):

Or make a different suggestion! I'll have the Twitter poll open for a week but you can comment here at any time. Stay tuned for an announcement regarding the third installment Amethyst Chronicles: Past Reflections. And thank you!


Happy New Year!

I'm not one for the 'new year, new me' that I see a lot of people post online, but I do believe every day is a fresh start. Regardless of what the date is on the calendar, every time you open your eyes is a new beginning. Attitude affects everything around you so bring positivity into everything you do.

This past year was hard for me. I haven't been focusing on my books and writing as much as I should have. My health has been up and down. I'm not where I want to be in terms of job or money. Honestly though, I feel like a change is coming soon. Good things are on the horizon. My husband's hard work is going to pay off soon.

The power to affect real change is in all of us every day. Don't wait for the start of a new year to give it a shot. New Years Resolutions are all well and good, but don't forget what makes the year: You.

Every day I strive to be better and happier than the day before. It's not always feasible, but with air in my lungs and strength in my body, I will reach new heights.

5 goals I want to achieve:

1) I plan on releasing at least two books in 2017.
2) I want to be in a job that not only supports my family, but that makes me happy
3) I intend on getting the strength back in my right shoulder and lower back.
4) I want to spend more time in Charleston, SC with my dad, brother, and nieces.
5) Learn to crochet

Happy New Year, everyone! What goals are you hoping to achieve?

Rest in Peace, Carrie Fisher

When I first heard the news that Carrie Fisher had a heart attack, I was floored. I closed my eyes real tight and said a prayer for her and her family. Growing up a Star Wars fan, Princess Leia as a big part of my childhood. In a year which so many unexpected deaths, the possibility of losing Carrie hit especially hard. I didn't want the news to be true. When a report came out from Carrie's mother (the wonderful and delightful Debbie Reynolds) that she was stable and doing better, I relaxed.

And this morning on Twitter, Carrie started trending. I held my breath as I looked. Maybe it was good news! Maybe she was out of ICU.

I instantly cried at the headlines. Carrie Fisher had passed away.

She was more than just a Star Wars actor. Carrie was an icon. When my world was dominated by Miss Elizabeth and Barbie, I had Princess Leia to look up to as a strong woman in the sci-fi genre. Not a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. She showed me I can stand up for what's right, oppose evil, lead a rebellion. Princess Leia was a bad ass.

Because of her, I wanted to become an author and create more characters like her in a genre dominated by weak and useless eye candy. Carrie herself was so un-mercilessly funny and unabashed in who she was. Her take me or leave me attitude never cease to amaze me and fill me with pride. She wouldn't consider herself a roll model, but she was. Outspoken about her own demons and mental issues, she blazed a trail to bring it to light. It was okay to talk about mental illness. Carrie beat addictions. She freely admitted to struggles with bi-polar disorder. She refused to be a punch line for late night talk show hosts. She was an author. She had influence over major Hollywood scripts.

She was loved by many.

We are down one geek goddess but she will never be forgotten. Her final word in Rogue One I will take with me. "Hope."

I am one with the Force. The Force is with me.

Rest in Peace.

Croceus poison

When I sat down to begin Amethyst Chronicles, I made several different outlines. I'm not one to do a lot of planning, but even though this was going to be a novella series, I knew there was a lot I wanted to put in it and I didn't want to forget. I designed Ember Wilson to be a strong, powerful, and sexy leader, capable of taking on impossible tasks. The first book told the story of her and her amazing team practically superheroes. She even makes a joke partway through. But every superhero as a weakness.

Enter Croceus

I did a lot of research on various substances. I wanted to find something that would seem harmless but would be deadly. My fascination in Latin words brought me to croceus. It actually means saffron. Yellow. I've seen the name combined with another as a scientific term for a flower or a butterfly. Dug a little deeper into saffron. Saffron is used for asthma, cough, whooping cough (pertussis), and to loosen phlegm (as an expectorant). It is also used for sleep problems (insomnia), cancer, “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis), intestinal gas (flatulence), depression, Alzheimer’s disease, fright, shock, spitting up blood (hemoptysis), pain, heartburn, and dry skin. Sounds helpful, but what if the yellow substance could be turned into something deadly?

Ember Wilson: powerful, cunning, major badass. Nearly killed by a crushed yellow flower. Something poetic in that, don't you think?

Next time you feel life beating you down, that you can't defeat the odds, remember that. And smile. 

Power of dreams

Taking a break from my usual book blog to talk about something weighing heavily on my heart today. November 7th, 2000, I lost my mother to cancer. She was 47. I don't know if it's the fact she would've been 63 next week or the fact an author friend recently lost his mother, but last night, I dreamed my mother spoke to me.

The actual dream is a little foggy, but in the dream, I spoke with a woman who had died before she crossed over. I wondered if I could ask her a question but changed my mind.

"She's not upset at you," the woman said. "She understands."

Tears immediately sprung to my eyes. Even now writing it. Before my mom had died, she and I got into a fight. She had been sick for a long time but had refused to go to the doctor so no one knew what was wrong. I was 18 and thought she was going to be fine. My mother was the strongest woman I knew. What bad could happen?

I wanted her to go to the doctor. That's what we fought about. I told her she was being selfish and seeing her like this was hurting me. I slammed my bedroom door and swore I wouldn't step foot outside for the rest of the night. My last thought before going to sleep later was that I should apologize. "I'll tell her in the morning." was the last thing I remember before my grandmother woke me up several hours later with the bad news.

Mothers and daughters fight all the time, especially at that age. But it ate me up that I never got the chance to apologize. She probably had already forgiven me before my head hit the pillow that night. But I never got to say the words.

The woman in last night's dream assured me again: my mother understood my feelings. She was happy and no longer in pain. She was so proud of me and the books I've written. "Especially the sci-fi series." I was reassured my worries would soon be in the past. Even was told in two months, my financial troubles would go away. I have long believed our loved ones don't really leave us and they do find ways to let us know things. I firmly believe last night, my mother spoke to me in my dream. My heart is so open and raw right now. It's a happy hurt.

Dreams are powerful things. It's not something I take lightly. Of course, it could be my brain telling me what I want to hear, but there was so much comfort in the woman's voice. I choose to have faith. I believe.

Never go to bed angry. Don't leave things unsaid. You may not get a chance to say you're sorry. I would give anything to tell my mother one more time I love her.

She knows, but it still doesn't take away the fact it went unsaid. Maybe now the hole in my heart can start to close.

All my love.