Cold Warriors Universe

So pleased to have Clare Dargin with me today, talking about her latest release, Ice and Peace, from her Cold Warriors Universe series:

A Journey Into A New World

            I love watching scifi movies that draw me in.  When I go to the movies and the lights are turned down and film flickers to life and that space ship blasts across the screen I am in a different world.  Lately I've been totally into JJ Abrams interpretation of the Star Trek Universe.   

            It's like when I watch it, I'm enthralled because he immerses us in that world.  From the clothes, the technology, the sounds and the people.  They are just as vested in what they do in their extraordinary lives as we are in our normal ones.  And that's the best part.  JJ draws us into the amazing and makes it appear mundane enough for us to believe that it is plausible.   

            The same thing goes for an amazing book, the first few pages are key for creating an atmosphere of reality to where we as the reader are right there from the beginning to the very end.  And that's what I try to do in every book that I write. 

            For instance, when I was writing Cold Warriors, I would often have long periods between writing (mostly because life got in the way).  But when I wanted to regain the feel of the book, I never had to dig deep in the middle to find it, I just clicked on the first page:

 

 

 

            Excerpt from Cold Warriors  

            Lieutenant Zale Melbyrne, of the U.S. Marines First Platoon Combat Search And Rescue Squadron (CSAR), climbed wearily out of his yellow Harsh Terrain Snow Tractor (HTST). It was his squadron’s fourth check in an eighty-kilometer zone, and there was no sign of the missing Expeditionary Team. He had a sinking feeling that their luck was running out. He stepped forward. His foot crunched against the steadily hardening snow. Greeted by an icy wind, he shuddered. He zipped up his black parka and pulled his hood tight over his cap-covered head to protect himself from the subzero temperatures. Tau Ceti III’s bitter cold was legendary, along with its ability to give cold injuries so deep, muscles and even bones were permanently ruined.

            He squinted and gazed at the snow-covered landscape. Over two miles thick, and in some locations, crusted with long stretches of ice, Tau Ceti III was Satan’s frozen equivalent of Antarctica back on Earth except not as pretty and with no animals or life to speak of whatsoever. Essentially a white desert, the piercingly dry air could rip the moisture right out of a person’s body in a matter of minutes.

            Freezing and thirsty, it was a miserable way to die.

            If I wanted easy then I should have picked a desk job.

             To me, that scene with Zale Melbyrne framed the type of life that the Hero and Heroine have to overcome in order to obtain happiness.  By the way, even though Zale is a minor character, he has developed a little following of his own!

            In the second book in The Cold Warriors Universe, 'Ice and Peace,' the hero and heroine are faced with new challenges to overcome. 

 

 

 

 

A quick blurb-

 

A New Threat? After a long and vicious war, peace is on the horizon for Earth and its allies. However, a series of mysterious attacks on several secret military installations causes hostilities to rise once again. 

Redemption. Having left under a cloud of disgrace, retired Marine Colonel Medoro Keegan is called back to duty. 

Bound. His wife Caitlin, the only surviving member of her team, chooses to embrace life, albeit grudgingly, as a cryo soldier. Seen as sub-human, she is forced to serve a planet that denies her rights as a person.

Driven. Guided by their sense of duty and belief that some things are bigger than them, they are determined to risk it all.

Hope. The cost of war is high. Can their love and marriage survive? Or will it be killed off by the very same mission that brought them together?

~Excerpt~

Caitlin was a sight for sore eyes. She was beautiful. Her petite frame was perfectly accented by the curves of her figure. And her brown eyes and coffee-brown skin was smooth, creamy.

Standing at attention, she did not meet his gaze. Though it was customary not to do as a sign of military courtesy, he could tell she was not doing it for that reason. Her gaze was different. Circling her, he tried to see if he could catch her watching him out of the corner of her eye. In fact, she appeared to be staring blankly ahead.

Peering directly at her, he spoke in a soft tone. “At ease.” 

She relaxed.

“Cate. Can you hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” she responded mechanically.

 Pain pierced his insides. She was definitely not there. Keegan placed his hands on his hips and hung his head in defeat. The one thing that was supposed to go right did not. For whatever reason, they had placed her in a deeper state of mental control than she’d ever been in. He controlled the hostile emotions brewing with him. Touching her face gently, he felt her icy skin. 

This is unacceptable! Not here. I will not let this happen here. Not under my command. 

“Chief, listen up,” he said in an authoritative tone. He knew in this state, it was the only way he could speak to her and still have her respond. 

“Yes, sir.” Her gaze became even more distant. 

Her response fueled his anger. “You are going to hightail it down to the doc and receive a full examination. Tell him it is based on my orders. He will know what to do. Is that clear?” 

“Yes, sir.”

Knowing that she was under the influence of cryo neurotransmitters, Keegan figured the only way to combat it was to get someone to reverse it. They usually wore off once she was away from the stimulus triggers for a long period of time. But considering her stimulus triggers were high-ranking officers in uniform and combat situations, being around here meant she was going to be in a drone zone for a very long time. The last thing he needed was a zombie on board, especially one in charge of the lives others.

Only the jerks in psyche warfare thought doing this to someone would be a good idea. As long as he was running the ship, none of that would be allowed. There weren’t going to be any super zombies soldiers on board his ship. And he’d rollover in his grave before he let them do it to his wife. 

“After you come back from the doc, you will report to me, understood?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Are there any questions?” 

“No, sir.”

“Dismissed.” 

She did an about face before leaving the room. Keegan clasped his hands behind his back. In the blink of an eye, his joy had turned to sorrow. Now faced with the responsibility of looking after his wife, he wondered how could he handle the burden of command and still protect the woman he loved.

 

Cold Warriors and Ice Peace are not your typical military reads.  Futuristic Romances with a science fiction twist, they will draw you in and keep you there, and no doubt you'll love the ride! 

Both Cold Warriors and Ice and Peace are available at all ebook retailers including Amazon.
 

Clare's Blog 2:  The Haven-  http://www.claresblog2thehaven.blogspot.com

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About Clare:
 Clare Dargin is an author of Science Fiction and Romance and has been writing stories all of her life before being published in 2007. She’s a great fan of the two genres and loves promoting them.

An educator by profession, she possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in English from a major mid-western university. She presently resides in the Midwest and she hopes to expand her writings to include non-fiction, historical romance, and contemporary novels.