Title: Reconnaissance
Series: Paradise Reclaimed Book # 2
By: Aubrie Dionne
Expected Publication Date: May 1, 2013
Published By: Inkspell Publishing
Blurb
Nova Williams has lost her one shot at Lieutenant hood and at love. Lieutenant Crophaven has promoted her rival, Andromeda, all because her lifemate, Sirius, sacrificed their mission to win back Andromeda’s love.
While sneaking out to prove Andromeda is a fake, Nova finds an alien ship hovering over their colony. Lieutenant Crophaven assigns her to a reconnaissance mission, giving her a second chance to redeem herself. Sirius must fly her and a research team to the vessel to decide if they are a threat. Thrown together with the lifemate that betrayed her, she battles with her own jealousy while her team battles for their lives.
Can she forgive Sirius in order to save her team and warn her colony?
Info on Book 1 -Colonization can be found here:
Excerpt
A drone, as deep and low as the growl of a primordial beast, resonated in my gut and I yanked my hand away. My heart sped like someone had fired a starter gun to a race, and my chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe.
That blaring blasphemy wasn’t from my ship.
The sound tapered off, leaving me in silence. I stared at the bones, wondering if I’d imagined it, or if I should hide here in the ruins in case the sound came back.
What am I doing? I’m a team expedition leader, for crying out loud!
I pulled myself back together. Everyone else was attending the ceremony on the ship. The thick hull, designed to protect us from deep space, blocked all sounds from the outside world. I was the only one who would have heard it. The only one who could investigate. I thought about going back for help, but every second I delayed, the source of the sound could disappear. Besides, I didn’t want the credit taken away from me. Not this time.
I scrambled to the window and climbed over the ledge, throwing myself down so fast my ankles exploded in pain. Cursing, I hobbled up the embankment of the excavation site. The sound boomed around me, vibrating the crystals underneath my feet. I fell to my knees and covered my ears. It reminded me of warping metal, growling monsters, and screeching alarms all at the same time.
The sound came from the jungle. I pulled myself up the incline and peered over the edge. A dry, fiery breeze blew my hair back, and I looked above the rustling canopy.
My heart stammered then beat into a frenzy. A massive ring of a ship, twice as large as the New Dawn, hovered over the jungle. Spires jutted from the top and the bottom, like a two-sided pin cushion. Blinking reddish lights adorned the ends. The hull was a dull gray shield of impenetrable metal with no sight panels or markings of any kind.
The buzzing sound made my eardrums throb. I pressed my nose up against the crystal ledge and peered over as my whole body shook. The lowest spire, thick as a nuclear reactor, lengthened from the belly of the ship until the tip hovered a meter from the jungle canopy. A trap door opened, and a beam of white light seared a hole in the foliage. The smell of burnt vines choked my throat, and I cowered against the side of the ledge.
I have to warn the ship.
Guest Blog
Arachnophobia: The Top Five Spider Movies/Books that inspired the alien creatures in Reconnaissance
If you’ve read Colonization, Book 1 in the Paradise Reclaimed trilogy, then you know the threat to the colony is something the colonists can’t see. There’s no giant monster or alien creature at the end. So, when book 2, Reconnaissance, came around, I made it my purpose to give the reader just what they were missing in book 1. I used these movies and books for inspiration for my “creatures.” If you haven’t seen any of these, you should give them a try. But, don’t watch them alone and proceed at your own risk because some of them are pretty scary!
1. Arachnophobia (1990)
From IMBD: A South American killer spider hitches a lift to the US in a coffin and starts to breed and kill.
Scene for inspiration: the way the spiders converted the barn into a giant spider web. One of my favorite characters in that movie is found cocooned there. I wanted to have cocoons in my book.
2. Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers (2002)
From IMBD: While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.
Scene for Inspiration: When Sam has to fight off Shelob, the giant spider. The thing that made this scene particularly scary was the thick body of the spider and its stinger. This gave me the idea for giving my own creatures armor with daggers that can shoot from their legs.
3. It by Stephen King
A group of young kids reunite to fight the horror they faced as children.
Scene for Inspiration: When the inter-dimensional creature finally shows itself as a gigantic spider at the end. The sheer size was scary enough for me. I knew I had to make my enemy enormous.
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
From IMDB: Harry ignores warnings not to return to Hogwarts, only to find the school plagued by a series of mysterious attacks and a strange voice haunting him.
Scene for inspiration: When they find the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest. I thought the shadowy atmosphere made the spiders very creepy, along with the thought they were conscience beings with logic and reason. I made sure the ship for my creatures was dark. Also, if this species could travel through space, then they would have to have some amount of rational thinking and self-awareness.
5. Starship Troopers (1997)
From IMDB: Humans in a fascistic, militaristic future do battle with giant alien bugs in a fight for survival.
Scene for Inspiration: When they capture the giant “brain bug” at the end. These aren’t spiders per say, but they certainly reminded me of them with all their multiple legs. When you see the brain behind them, it gave me the idea that the creatures in my books could have overly large sized brains. How else would they figure out how to travel through space?
So that’s it! My history of spidery characters from my childhood and young adult life. You’ll have to read Reconnaissance for yourself to see how these movies and books influenced my own imagination. Go ahead…if you dare!
Review
Reconnaissance
Book 2: Paradise Reclaimed
by: Aubrie Dionne
Book Review by: Amanda
Aubrie brings back the characters we fell in loved with and the beautiful and dangerous Paradise 21. The story of the new age of explorers, scientists, and congregation of Earth's survivors continues. More danger is in store for the humans and Andromeda must make a very important decision as to how to deal with it.
Reconnaissance is told from Nova's point of view. Will Nova's bad attitude and animosity towards Andromeda put everyone at risk? We see the maturity of many characters continue through this story as well as learn a bit more about the Paradise Reclaimed universe. As always – Aubrie writes a fantastic story with rich characters and a vibrant setting. I loved learning more about Nova and how her brain ticks. From star student to true leader – Nova's journey felt real and personal. Full dandies for a job well done! I can't wait for the next book and learn what's next for the inhabitants of Paradise 21!
5 Dandies!!
About the Author
Aubrie grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over again until she could recite and reenact every single scene in her backyard. She also loved The Goonies, Star Trek the Next Generation-favorite character was Data by far-, and Indiana Jones. But, her all time favorite movie was The Last Unicorn. She still wonders why the unicorn decided to change back to a unicorn in the end.
Aubrie wrote in her junior high yearbook that she wanted to be "A concert flutist" when she grew up. When she made that happen, she decided one career was not enough and embarked as a fantasy, sci fi author. Two careers seems to keep her busy. For now.
Now for the professional bio:
Aubrie Dionne is an author and flutist in New England. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Entangled Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. She recently signed her YA sci fi novel with Inkspell Publishing titled: Colonization: Paradise Reclaimed, which will release in October 2012. When she's not writing, Aubrie teaches flute and plays in orchestras. She's a big Star Trek TNG fan, as well as Star Wars and Serenity.
Author Links:
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Loved the visuals on the movie critters/spiders. I can picture each reference and they fit perfectly with what I imagined as I read the story! :)
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