Futuristic Romances – Bring ‘em on!

Jenna Ives writes futurist romances that are hot, hot, hot. I recently had a chance to read her Tau Cetus Chronicles, which features….

…sexbots.  🙂

It’s a very cool idea and makes for some very interesting reading!

Meet Jenna:

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Thanks, Tracy, for having me on your blog today! Like you, I write Sci Fi (actually futuristic) stories. My latest is a three-book series called The Tau Cetus Chronicles, which features sex robots and police agents trying to protect their world.

I’m taking a deep breath and will try to answer these questions so your readers can get to know a little about me 😉

Who are your favourite authors?

I read across a wide variety of genres, but I love Stephenie Meyer (the Twilight series), Marie Lu (the Legend series), Veronica Roth (the Divergent series) and Suzanne Collins (the Hunger Games series). And of course, Tracy Cooper-Posey – one of my faves is Bannockburn Binding! [wow! Thank you! – t.]

What is your favourite novel cover?

I have to be totally selfish and say my favorite cover is for my story Programmed To Please. The Beautiful Doll sex robot on the cover is my heroine exactly!

What’s the best Hero Moment you’ve ever seen in film?

In Titanic, when Jack saves Rose but then drowns.

What’s the best Hero Moment you’ve ever read in a book?

When Jamie Fraser says to Claire at the end of Outlander (excuse me for paraphrasing), “If ‘I love you’ are not the last words on my lips when I die, know that it’s because I ran out of time.” Or something insanely romantic just like that!

What reading device do you use for reading ebooks on?

I read on the Kindle app on my iPad Mini.

What is your take on the indie author phenomenon?  What do you think the book industry will look like in five years’ time?

I think the indie author phenomenon allows non-traditional writers to connect with readers without the “gatekeeper” of a publisher. I mean, how many times have we heard that vampire stories are dead, and yet people (including me) still love to read them?

Do you ever skip the “I love you!” scene in your novels?  Do you feel you’ve been cheated if they’re missing in other authors’ books?

I never skip the I Love You scene in my novels. I’m an erotic romance author, but I’m all about the happy ever after.

What’s your take on eBook piracy?  What would you do about it if you were given carte blanche?

It’s terrible, but like shoplifting in stores, eBook piracy will always be around. The more we try to stop it, the cleverer the pirates simply become. I have decided not to stress about it and just write the next book.

If someone offered you immortality, but you could never write again…would you take the offer?

In a heartbeat! I would love to live forever.

What do you want your epitaph to read, at the end of your life?

Wait… I thought you just offered me immortality, LOL! Oh, okay… well. Let me think. Maybe, “She gave good hero?” or “She was passionate about passion.”

What are you currently reading?  How’s that going for you?

Actually, I’m reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I have no idea whodunnit, but I know I would never write a heroine like Rachel – the things she’s doing in this book make her too stupid to live!

What will you be reading next?

Grey, by EL James. I almost don’t want to start it, because I don’t want the guilty pleasure to end.

The Desiree Staccato

In honour of Desiree Holt who started this Saturday Night Live style tradition:

Favourite colour? Violet

Favourite drink?  Malibu rum mixed with a little pineapple juice and Orangina

Favourite writing outfit? Shorts & a tank top

Favourite food(s)? Lobster

Favourite music? Loud rock & roll

Favourite sport? Tennis

Favourite body part? Lips

Favourite spot in the world? Scotland. It’s hauntingly beautiful.

Favourite movie? Too many! But if I had to choose one… Tristan & Isolde with James Franco & Sophia Myles

Favourite TV show? The Vampire Diaries – I’m still in shock Nina Dobrev left

Favourite flower? Orchids

Favourite thing to do at knock-off time? Words With Friends (I’m SUCH a writer!)

Tell us about your book.

Here’s the blurb for Programmed To Please:

Very human Tau Cetus police agent Jai Turner is sent undercover as a Beautiful Dolls sex robot in order to bring down the planet’s most notorious arms dealer, Marque Callex. Jai’s assignment is to use the Beautiful Dolls’ legendary sexual techniques to coax information out of Marque on his illicit dealings – information that will lead to his conviction.

Reclusive arms dealer Marque Callex only accepted an invitation from Beautiful Dolls because with his deadly line of work – and the dangerous secrets he’s keeping – he can’t afford to let a real woman into his life.

But neither Jai nor Marque are what they seem, and their week together has consequences neither expect.

Book excerpt

Chapter One

“Turner, I’m sending you undercover as a Beautiful Dolls sex toy.”

Jai Turner stared at her boss, Commander Talis Rainey, convinced she couldn’t possibly have heard him right. She and her partner, Leith Wyatt, had been called into his office at the end of their duty shift. It had been a long day, as they all were on Tau Cetus in this post-apocalyptic era, and she was in no mood for a joke.

She shifted tiredly on her feet in front of his desk. “Sir?”

For an answer, Rainey leaned forward in his chair and pushed a button on the console on his desk. “Send in Mr. Carron.”

A minute later, a short man stood in the doorway. His eyes darted nervously as he checked out the spartan office before taking an apparently reluctant step into the room. He was such a stereotype that Jai felt herself stiffen. Thick glasses… hair askew… frankly, all he needed was a lab coat with a pocket protector to complete the picture. Savant. Adept. Carbon-copier.

Maybe her boss hadn’t been making a joke.

Rainey cleared his throat. “This is Anson Carron. The creator of Beautiful Dolls.”

Carron’s eyes locked on Jai, and scanned her up and down in a way that felt decidedly intimate despite the generic, navy blue one-piece uniform that she and everyone else on the Tau Cetus force wore.

“Yes,” he murmured. “I suppose I can work with this.”

“This,” Rainey said hotly, “is Jai Turner, one of my best agents. She’s human.”

The little man seemed lost in his own train of thought. “She meets his prime criteria. Of course, it would be better if I could see her without her clothes on before I make a final assessment.”

What the hell? Jai stiffened even more. “Commander!”

Rainey let out a loud sigh, then glanced at Jai and the two men. “Sit. All of you.”

Instead, Carron took a step closer. “Can I touch her, at least?”

Behind his desk, Rainey blew out a breath. “I said sit!”

The three of them took the hard chairs arrayed around Rainey’s desk. Jai crossed her arms and legs defensively, and even Wyatt turned his chair around to straddle it. It was obvious neither one of them anticipated liking whatever the Commander might be about to say.

Rainey ran a hand through his grey-black hair and looked at the partners. “Before I start, I have just one thing to say to you two. Marque Callex.”

Jai gasped. “What?”

That changed everything. The infamous name had both her and Wyatt leaning forward in their chairs, now eagerly waiting for Rainey’s next words.

“You know how long we’ve been trying to get close to this guy. We may now have a chance, albeit by a very unconventional route.” Rainey nodded toward their guest. “A month ago, Mr. Carron here ran afoul of the law. No need to get into the specifics, but in an effort to save his neck – and his very lucrative business – he suggested a unique proposal in return for us not pursuing charges against him.”

“What kind of proposal?” Wyatt asked.

“A clever one, as it turns out.” Rainey smirked. “Mr. Carron agreed to send out an… invitation… to Marque Callex, in the guise of offering ‘a select number of high-powered businessmen’ the chance to sample the latest model of Beautiful Doll for free, in exchange for their feedback on the product. In reality, Callex was the only person to get this invitation.”

Jai’s mouth set in a disgusted line. “And he accepted.”

“He did,” Rainey confirmed. “It was a gamble, but it paid off. In this supposed ‘latest model,’ clients are able to customize their girl. Callex filled out the form specifying the criteria of his ideal Beautiful Doll, and now all we have to do is fulfill his requirements.” The Commander gave Jai a pointed stare. “With you.”

Jai’s eyes went wide. “You want me to impersonate a sexbot?”

“He’s requested certain specifics,” Anson Carron spoke up. “Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Lean, athletic build.”

Jai let out a relieved breath. “Well, that rules me out then. I’m brown-haired and brown-eyed.”

“Easily fixed,” her boss pointed out. “You fit the most important characteristic: athletic build. We can’t fake that, but we can correct the other things with hair dye and contact lenses.”

Uneasy, Jai leaned forward in her chair. “Sir, do you really believe a man who can have any model of girl he wants, would pick a B-cup and not a triple-D? For a sexbot? Come on, Commander. Are you sure Callex is even serious about this?”

Rainey stroked his chin thoughtfully, and then shrugged. “Well, we’ll have our answer on Monday, if he shows up at the Beautiful Dolls boudoir. Until then, prepping you for the assignment is the way we’re going to proceed. That is, if you’re agreeable.”

Jai scowled. There was absolutely no way she was going to volunteer for this. Have sex on command? Not a chance. Not even to bring down a man they’d long been after for suspected weapons smuggling. Besides, she could never pass for a sexbot. She had a heartbeat, for Christ’s sake!

Jai re-crossed her arms and legs. There was no way – absolutely none – that she was going to be anyone’s personal sex toy.

Rainey sighed into the stubborn silence. “Do I really need to play the Joran Breaux card with either of you?”

A spark of anger shot through Jai, even as she heard Wyatt shift uncomfortably on his chair. Joran was the second – and definitely much more personal – reason they were after Marque Callex. Joran had been sent in to infiltrate Callex Industries from the inside, to discover how one of the government’s top weapons contractors was secretly diverting arms to militant countries. Joran’s cover as an employee had seemed secure until two months ago, when the police force had lost contact with him on the very day he’d scheduled a meeting with Marque Callex. Three weeks later, Joran’s body had turned up – in pieces – in a recycling center a hundred clicks away.

Joran had been Wyatt’s partner before Jai.

Jai would relish the chance to avenge the death of a fellow Tau Cetus agent, but was becoming a sex slave really the best way to do it?

“How do we know Jai won’t end up the same way Joran did? Dead?” Wyatt rasped. Raw emotion was clear in his voice.

“Because we’re embedding you as the Beautiful Dolls concierge,” Rainey answered. “You’ll be there secretly taping the sessions, close by to protect her if things get out of control.”

“Good God,” Jai balked. “You plan to record the sex encounters with Callex?”

Rainey scowled. “You know how long we’ve been trying to get to Marque Callex. This may be our best chance. But if you’re not up to it, Turner, I’ll find another female agent with athletic build who’s more committed to her job.”

“I’m committed to my job, Commander,” she protested hotly.

Rainey waved a hand. “I probably shouldn’t have even offered it to you two. Wyatt is too close to this case. I just thought he’d want a crack at the guy who murdered his partner. But you’re right, Turner. Wyatt could very well be a liability.”

“I didn’t say –” Crap. Now the Commander was accusing her of letting down the force and her new partner. The guy was a master manipulator.

Silence stretched in the room while Jai considered her options. Her very limited options. As in, none. “I’ll do it.”

“What?”

Jai’s mouth set into a mulish line. What real choice did she have? Marque Callex needed to be stopped. “I said I’ll do it. If this is our best – and possibly only – chance to get to him, well, then, I’m in.”

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Giveaway Details: Jenna is offering an ebook copy of Programmed To Please to a randomly-selected winner who can answer the following question: My heroine’s name is Jai Turner and my hero is Marque Callex, but what’s the name of Jai’s police parter? (Hint: you can find the answer in the excerpt above.)

Leave you answer in comments below.

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