Cover
by Lou Harper
NOTE: This is a previously published work, but there has been
some new material added.
Blurb:
In the year 2050, humanity finds
out they are indeed not alone.
Massive space ships appear without
warning above the capital cities of all major nations. The planet Tah'Nar is
dying. Chemical warfare has reduced the once-intersexed warrior race to
sterility. They need fresh DNA in order to reproduce and have an idea for a
harvesting program... and so they turn to Earth.
Earth governments negotiate a
lottery, and Dale Michael assumes he's safe since he's under the Harvest age
limit. How wrong he is. He's illegally harvested and claimed by Tah'Narian
starship captain Keyno Shou. From the moment Keyno sees Dale, he knows he must
claim the spirited human male for his own. What he doesn’t expect is a spitfire
with a mind of his own—and a deadly disease that will require a risky procedure
to cure.
~~~~~~~
Hey everyone! My name is M.A.
Church and I’d like to introduce you to the Tah’Narians, a novel about an alien
species that took me over a year to write. Keyno, one of the main characters,
is a spaceship captain. Dale, my human, will be the one Keyno takes as his
mate. Sounds simple, right? Oh, believe me, this love story is anything but
simple.
I’m going to let Dale and Keyno
tell you their story. I think they can do it better than I can. J
* *
* *
Dale: Well hey, everyone. My name
is Dale Michaels, and I was harvested illegally by my loving mate.
Keyno: Dammit, Dale… Gods, nothing
like just jumping right into the middle of it.
Dale: Oh by the way, I guess you
could say “Dammit, Dale” is my nickname. Keyno tends to say it a lot.
Keyno: Huh, I wonder why.
Dale: *snort* We’re so not going
there. Anyway, back to what I was saying. In a nutshell, the Tah’Narians came
to Earth, told its leaders they needed DNA, and set up a program to basically
‘harvest’ males as mates. A lotto was set up and numbers were drawn. I wasn’t supposed
to be part of the harvest; I was under the age limit that had been set. But it
seems my mate had other ideas.
Keyno:*cringe* I’ve told you why I did what I did, why we do
what we do. And you know my feelings on this. I wish…
Dale: *reaches over and pats Keyno*
I know, babe. I can’t help it if it took me a while to understand. What your
kind did was wrong. *slashes hand through air* I know your species was dying. I get that, and get how that would
make a race desperate. But keep in mind, you guys brought it on yourselves.
Keyno: We did. Attacking the Onfre
was the stupidest thing the old king of our race ever did. We paid horribly and
dragged many other species into our troubles.
Dale: Yes, you guys did. The people
out there need to know you guys aren’t as bad as you first seem. They’ll see.
But, this harvest was different. Things happened that changed history. Out of your
offer to help the Onfre captain, you met Captain Ti of the Onfre. Look what
came form that… all the things that
came from that.
Keyno: True. *laugh* And Colt.
Don’t forget Colt.
Dale: Believe me, that’s hard to
do. He’s… something else, and still makes my hair stand on end. But Colt wasn’t the only person to be changed
by what the Tah’Narians did. I found Chad again, met John… A whole race learned
the true meaning of peace too.
Keyno: All I did was offer Ti help
when he was attacked. You, my chosen, offered friendship with a simple meal. You, my mate, made the difference and
still are. You are my world and I love you.
Dale: *rubs Keyno’s pointed ear*
You overgrown alley cat, I love you too, even if I did want to tie your tail in
knots in the beginning.
Excerpt:
Once our meal was over we returned
to our cabin so I could study more. Keyno had reports he needed to read. I
didn’t want to think how… homey this was. I settled on the couch and pulled the
gadget on. Half way through the hour session, I pulled it off and rubbed my
eyes.
Keyno looked up from the small
desk. A hologram image was in front of him. He waved his hand and the image
disappeared. “What’s wrong? You’re pale.”
“My head’s hurting, and I’m
slightly nauseous.” I patted my belly, trying to settle the grumbling down. “Is
that a common side effect of this thing?”
“No. No one has ever complained
about that before.” Keyno frowned at me. “Maybe I should call our Chief Medical
Officer, Tanlor Kere.”
I opened my mouth to tell him not
to worry abo
ut it when I was seized by a horrible stomach
cramp. The pain in my head worsened, blindsiding me. “Keyno? Ah, shit, I feel
like I’m going to—”
“Gods, you’re green, Dale. Hold
on.” Keyno hurried around the desk and helped me to the bed. He wet a
washcloth, and the coolness did help settle my stomach some. Keyno buzzed their
doctor, and seconds later he arrived with a portakit.
“Hello, Dale. I’m Doc. Remember
meeting me earlier while you ate? I’m going to look you over and see what the
problem is. All right? I won’t hurt you.”
I did remember him. “Hey, Doc.” I
lay on the bed, being very still. The less I moved, the better.
He ran tests on me, his face
carefully blank. Finally, he injected me with something to help with the pain.
With a warm smile, he stepped away and motioned Keyno to follow him. Keyno and
Doc stood outside the door, talking for several minutes before Keyno returned.
Swear to God, were all doctors the same?
Moments later, Keyno returned to
the bedside. “Tanlor—whom we call Doc— requested that you stay in bed for the
next twenty-four hours. What he injected you with will stop the pain and nausea
soon.”
“What’s going on?” I whimpered as
the pain stabbed at me again and then slowly faded.
“Do you remember the conversation
that you had with Chad earlier?” Keyno sighed. “Remember when he told you that
you were injected with our DNA?”
“Yeah,” I moaned as a bolt of
nausea swept through me. “How did you know what we talked about?”
“I asked him to speak to you about
certain things that you needed to know.” Keyno gently settled on the bed.
“Am I having a reaction?” I gritted
my teeth as my stomach cramped up again. When the hell was that stuff going to
take effect?
“No!” Keyno gasped loudly. “No, you’re fine. This just wasn’t
expected to happen quite so fast.”
“What wasn’t expected to happen so
fast?” I was now more worried about why he was avoiding giving me a straight
answer.
Author bio:
M.A. Church is a true Southern
belle who spent many years in the elementary education sector. Now she spends
her days lost in fantasy worlds, arguing with hardheaded aliens on far-off
planets, herding her numerous shifters, or trying to tempt her country boys
away from their fishing poles. It’s a full time job, but hey, someone’s gotta
do it!
When not writing, she’s exploring
the latest M/M novel to hit the market, watching her beloved Steelers, or
sitting glued to HGTV. That’s if she’s not on the back porch tending to the
demanding wildlife around the pond in the backyard. The ducks are very outspoken. She’s married to her
high school sweetheart, and they have two children.
My links:
