Andre Norton's Forerunner

Forerunner by Andre Norton


I just finished Forerunner last night and feel a little disappointed. I've read Andre Norton since I was in HS and I'm found of her work. I've always loved her strong female lead characters.

Forerunner is written from the POV of the main Character Simsa, who is raised among the Burrowers (simple people who live underground and dig for treasure in old part of the city).

Simsa's black skin and white hair marks her as different. With little to no education, and raised by an old woman who never told her anything about her history, Simsa has to make it on her own after the old woman dies.

When the Starmen come, Simsa sees an opportunity she's been waiting for.

After she sells some old broken trinkets to the Starman Thom, Simsa finds herself in trouble with a local crime boss. She then sets out on an adventure with Thom as he goes in search of a long lost city and his lost brother.

In the end, Simsa finds out who she is and discovers more power than she's ever dreamed of (which reads like God in the machine).

I found the dialogue stilted and the ending abrupt. After a long rambling speech by Simsa, it's as if Norton said that's it, and the book just ends with no real conclusion to the story.


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Windswept Shore by Janice Seagraves

Windswept Shores by Janice Seagraves
$3.50
Coming Soon 02/04/2010

Windswept Shores by Janice Seagraves

Cover Contest Winner erotic contemporary romance novella

(approx 25-30K)

price $3.50

Cover Art by Pink Petal Books with assistance from Winterheart Design

ISBN# to be assigned

BLURB: The sole survivor of a plane crash, Megan is alone on a deserted island in the Bahamas until she finds a nearly-drowned man washed up on shore. Another survivor, this time from a boat wreck.

With only meager survival skills between them, will they survive and can they find love?

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Yup, this one is mine.

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I wrote it two years ago, and when I saw the cover contest at Pink Petal books I liked the second cover, and thought it would be perfect for my ms Windswept.

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So I polished it up and sent it in. I wish I could say I turned my mind to other things. But . . .

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The truth is I felt a little ill, lol.

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It was the first time I have ever sent off a full book length manuscript off. Well it wasn't just like that, I had to make up a submission package first. That's the first three chapter which have to be perfectly edited, the blurb, and the synopsis.

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But I did it.

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Then I got a request for the full manuscript, then after a two week wait I got the word . . . a contract offer on my book. I had to read the email several times just to make sure I wasn't seeing things, lol. I think a lot of writers have that same reaction.

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I have a lot of good people to thank who gave the courage to enter this contest. All the good puppies at Avoid Writer Hell yahoo group. My Mentor Faith Bicknell-Brown she calls us her puppies, and hits us with a rolled up newspaper when we're been bad. Tess McKall, her second in command.

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My writer friends Lisa Griffin, Connie Wood, and Brenda Weaver who I bugged constantly for advice. Which one reads better--one, two or three?

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My first beta reader Gaynor Lewis, who read my baby when it was just a dream and a couple of chapters.

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And the first person to read the whole thing Connie Wood.

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She Beta read the full ms, and gave me lots of great advice. You see my hero is from Australia, and so is Connie.

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I will forever be indebted to her for her encouragement, and her help with the Aussie slang. She also helped me nail down who my hero Seth is, and where he grew up. We decided that he grew up in Sidney Australia, and learned how to surf at Bondi beach.

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It was a lot of fun doing the research for my book. I did tons of web-searches, bought books on how to speak Australian, and on the Bahamas. I also bought a film made by a Bahamian featuring one of the main islands, and another with just film footage of the beaches called Waves. I like to hear the sound of the waves don't you?

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Did you know that there are something like three hundred islands that make up the Bahamas? And only about eighty are inhabited? The water is a natural teal color, and an iridescent purple at night. The sea is somewhat shallow and reefing by boats is a real hazard. That's why I had my hero's boat get reefed.

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My heroine Megan, was heading to the main vacation spot Nassau when her plane went down, she was the first one to the island and had to figure out how to stay alive.

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But life isn't easy on a deserted island, they face dangerously brittle trees, cannibal crabs, meat eating boars, unpredictable weather and even pirates.

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But will they find love?