Virtual Tour ~ The Star Host by F.T. Lukens ~ (Interview, Excerpt + Giveaway)
Author Name: F.T. Lukens
Book Name: The Star Host
Series: Broken Moon
Book: One
Release Date: March 3, 2016
Blurb:
Ren grew up listening to his mother tell stories about the Star Hosts – a mythical group of people possessed by the power of the stars. The stories were the most exciting part of Ren’s life, and he often dreamed about leaving his backwater planet and finding his place among the neighboring drifts. When Ren is captured by soldiers and taken from his home, he must remain inconspicuous while plotting his escape. It’s a challenge since the general of the Baron’s army is convinced Ren is something out of one of his mother’s stories.
He finds companionship in the occupant of the cell next to his, a drifter named Asher. A member of the Phoenix Corps, Asher is mysterious, charming, and exactly the person Ren needs to anchor him as his sudden technopathic ability threatens to consume him. Ren doesn’t mean to become attached, but after a daring escape, a trek across the planet, and an eventful ride on a merchant ship, Asher is the only thing that reminds Ren of home. Together, they must warn the drifts of the Baron’s plans, master Ren’s growing power, and try to save their friends while navigating the growing attraction between them.
Pages or Words: 258 pages
Categories: Fiction, Gay fiction, M/M Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Once at the hangar, Ren broke away from the two guards and entered the lancer, walking up the stairs, irritation a heavy feeling in his chest.
“Reporting for work,” Ren said, his tone heavily laced with annoyance.
Janus popped up from a console she had been working under, goggles on her face, gray hair sticking up everywhere. “You!” she snapped. “I told you not to come back.”
Ren rolled his eyes. “It’s not my choice. I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here.”
“Where are your guards? I told the dumb one not to bring you back, Abiathar’s orders be damned. I don’t want your kind working on these ships.”
She poked a finger hard into Ren’s chest and he staggered back, and rubbed his hand over the spot.
“What the stars do you mean by my kind?”
Her eyes grew comically large behind the goggles. “You don’t know?” She laughed, bordering on hysterical. “You’re more dangerous than I thought. You can’t try to control it if you don’t even know what you are.”
Ren frowned. His tolerance for the cryptic nonsense everyone had spouted since he arrived was gone. He took a step toward the hull and Janus stiffened.
“Don’t,” she barked.
“Don’t what? Touch it? What will happen, huh?”
Her face paled and her chest heaved with panicked breaths. “You don’t know what you’re capable of.”
Ren laughed. “I’m capable of nothing. I’m a duster, planet-born with very limited experience with tech. You have no reason to be frightened of me.”
He moved closer to the hull, hand outstretched, fingers splayed.
She whimpered. “Please, don’t.”
Ren slammed his hand against the hull, his fingertips leaving greasy marks on the shiny surface. As he predicted, nothing happened.
He turned back to Janus. “See? Nothing–”
His word tangled in his throat, cut off, because suddenly, Ren was consumed with power, rushing from his toes to his fingertips. A blue tint clouded his vision, and his body suffused with golden warmth. And then he was floating amongst the wires, connected to the ship, to the energy source, to everything. The lancer pulsed under his skin, tangling in his veins, its systems integrated with his senses.
It was freeing and frightening.
His consciousness raced along the circuits and he could fix it. He could fix everything. He found the tangle of wires in the artificial gravity system and bypassed it. He found the broken circuits in the air recyclers and with a pulse of power, refurbished them. He saw the static in the com system, a physical entity, and he cleared it away with a brush of his metaphysical hand.
The longer Ren floated through the ship, the less connected he was to his physical body. And if he thought about it, he didn’t need his body. Why would he need his body? He was free here. He moved around with ease, the wires and the systems his route, and the more he pushed, the more he felt the other ships too. They were nearby, on the edge of his perception, and he could go to those, he could jump to the other ones and repair them too.
He could.
He could.
Buy The Book:
Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing F.T. Lukens of The Star Host.
Hi F.T., thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
Hi, everyone. This is F.T. and I’m excited to share with you my debut young adult novel, The Star Host. It is a science fiction adventure which features a bisexual main character and a diverse cast of characters. The story follows Ren and Asher as they attempt to save themselves, their friends, and navigate their growing relationship.
- Do you have any strange writing habits?
I wouldn’t call any of my habits strange, per se. I do write better with headphones on and music playing – something of a rock variety is the best I’ve found. I also enjoy ‘word warring’ with my friends. Basically, we set a time, and we write as fast as we can, and when the timer goes off we compare our word counts. I have one friend who slaughters me every time, but I still love to play against her. Maybe one day I’ll beat her.
- Just as your books will inspire others, what books have inspired you?
There are so many books that I could list here. I’ll go with The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and A Sound of Thunder which is a short story by Ray Bradbury. I’ll throw in Fahrenheit 451 also by Bradbury and of course the Harry Potter series by Rowling. I loved the irreverent and witty humor of Adams. I love the description in Bradbury’s works, and also his vision of the future and humanity’s place in it. And of course I love Rowling’s world building.
- What do you consider to be your best accomplishment (writing or life)?
My best accomplishment in writing is The Star Host. It’s my debut novel and it’s everything I ever wanted to write growing up. It’s science-fiction and fantasy with a twist. I’m very proud of it and I’m so happy it has found a home with Interlude Press. My biggest accomplishment in life is right where I am in it. I’ve been married for almost fourteen years (I got married very young), and I have three kids and a full-time job. I’m happy where I am and the strides I’ve made to be able to do the things I love most.
- Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I hope to be a full-time author in ten years. I hope to be a full-time author sooner than that but we’ll see. It depends on how well The Star Host is received. I hope everyone enjoys it!
- If you had a super power, what would it be?
I would totally choose teleportation! Imagine how awesome it would be to not have to travel between places and the time you would save. I can imagine running out of milk and just being able to pop into the grocery store, pick up some milk, and pop home. Getting to work would mean rolling out of bed, getting ready, and pop – at my desk! Dinner in Italy? Sure! *Pop* The movie starts in ten minutes? No problem. *Pop* You can tell I’ve thought about this a lot.
Meet and follow the author:
F.T. wrote her first short story when she was in third grade and her love of writing continued from there. After placing in the top five out of ten thousand entries in a writing contest, she knew it was time to dive in and try her hand at writing a novel.
A wife and mother of three, F.T. holds degrees in psychology and English literature, and is a long-time member of her college’s science-fiction club. F.T. has a love of cheesy television shows, superhero movies, and science-fiction novels—especially anything by Douglas Adams.
Connect with F.T. at authorftlukens.wordpress.com on Twitter @ftlukens, on Tumblr at ftlukens.tumblr.com and on Goodreads at goodreads.com/ftlukens.
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27830154-the-star-host
Publisher: Duet Books, the Young Adult imprint of Interlude Press
Cover Artist: C.B. Messer
Tour Dates & Stops:
Rafflecopter Prize: $25 Interlude Press Web Store gift card (grand prize) + 5 winners of The Star Host eBook
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for hosting me! :)
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