In the beginning, there was a waterfall ~ Post by Author Jessica E. Subject

IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS A WATERFALL

by Jessica E. Subject

Photo by Jessica E. Subject ~ Duchesnay Falls, North Bay, Ontario, Canada

While celebrating 12 years published last month, I also shared a bit about the story and series I was currently working on. Since then, I have finished revising 4 UNITED, submitted the story, contracted it to Decadent Publishing, finished content edits, and have a cover (to be revealed first in my newsletter). I still have to do line and galley edits. And I don't have a release date yet, but those are coming. I have also started plotting the next book in the Romance Tales from the Quadrants series, 2 FANS. But I've put that story on pause, already having plotted and am now writing a story for a secret group project. It is more paranormal than scifi. I'll share more on that when I can.

But for now, I want to talk about 4 UNITED. I've been working on this story for about a year. A long time to be working on a story for me. But, I had one child go off to college, another child return to in-person learning after 2+ years of online learning, an old, sick dog who we finally had to have put down, and the adoption of a new dog. It was a lot of adjusting for me, especially mentally. And now I can say it's done and I'm moving onto the next story.

In my previous posts, I've talked about pets in sci-fi romance. And I've talked about including water in my stories. Well, 4 UNITED does not have any pets in it. (Though 2 FANS does.) But, 4 UNITED does have water. In fact, the story begins at a waterfall.

Photo by Jessica E. Subject ~ Duchesnay Falls, North Bay, Ontario, Canada

Here's an excerpt from the beginning of 4 UNITED, when two of the main characters are young teens...

It was my last night on Ma’an. Though I didn’t know it at the time. I had climbed up the rocky left bank of Galsana Falls to Pentor Point, the best view of the waterfall and the land below. Nunki sat beside me, both of us with our legs hanging over the edge of the rockface. He was always with me. At thirteen-star cycles, we lived next door to each other, and had spent most of our lives together. I believed that would never change. In a few star cycles, we would marry. And in a few more, we would visit a doctor, and I would be inseminated with Nunki’s sperm plus some from two donors. Because that’s how babies were made on my home planet.

“Do you want an eipa?” Nunki opened a cloth, showing me the sweet and fruity pastry wrapped inside. Probably something his moema had sent along with him.

“No, it’s okay. You can eat it.” As much as I loved eipaes, I didn’t want to eat Nunki’s. Though I was sure he would let me have a bite.

He reached into his sack and pulled out another cloth. “I have two. Moema said to make sure you get one. She made them especially for you, anyway.”

Of course. She always fed me. More so after my poepa died and my moema had been busy planning for his funeral. Maybe she did that so I wouldn’t be sad. The adults I knew on Ma’an were often sad when a relative died. But I couldn’t be sad when it came to my poepa. I barely knew him. He was always at the Official Rotunda for important meetings, whatever that meant. And when he wasn’t there, he traveled off planet to make trade deals with the governments of other worlds within the Quadrants. I guessed communication through the comm system wasn’t good enough, no matter how many times I had sworn I wouldn’t interrupt him if he stayed home. He never used comms to talk to the governments of other planets, or to call home when he traveled. When I did see my poepa, he came for dinner before he took my moema to her sleep pod and closed the curtain. She would giggle and moan his name all night. Then he left the next morning for several more lunar cycles. I knew my l’sida’s poepa better than my own, and he owned a shipping business and made deliveries all across the quadrants. But he still made it home far more often.

My moema grieved with my poepa’s passing, cried a lot when she didn’t think I could see her. So, maybe I grieved, too, but for her. I wanted her to be happy again.

After taking the sweet treat from Nunki, I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Tell your moema, thank you. She makes the best eipaes.”

Nunki’s cheeks turned red before he took my hand in his. “We’ll be best friends forever, right?”

I nodded. “Of course.” I’d never doubted the idea. Nunki being in my life remained an irrefutable fact, something that would never change.

And here's the blurb for 4 UNITED...

Why would I ever return to Ma’an?

My moema and I escaped from the planet star cycles ago, to avoid her being forced to remarry after my poepa’s passing. I grew up well far away from there, not worrying about being betrothed to some government official just to bear his children. And now I work for the Universal Space Racer Association, traveling all over the quadrants to decide whether new teams meet the qualifications to join.

I never expected to be on a shuttle, heading back to Ma’an. The new chairman of Ma’an and the USRA assured me I’ll be allowed to leave at the end of my evaluation of the planet, but I have my doubts. I can’t even get out of the assignment. Trust me, I’ve tried.

At least I’ll be able to see more of Deyal, my only family member still alive. Plus, my best friend is convinced the three childhood friends I left behind are my fated mates, two of which are on the team, and the other is my shagard. I’m not ready to commit to one person, let alone three. And polyamorous relationships were banned on the planet long before my birth. But the three of them have grown from the cute boys I remember into sexy strangers.

It’s too bad I have a rule to never sleep with the racers I’m inspecting.

4 United is the first book in Jessica E. Subject’s sweet and spicy Kaddim Brothers spinoff series, Romance Tales from the Quadrants. 4 United features Eta, who escaped Ma’an with her moema just as her hair was starting to turn pink, her three childhood friends who grew up to be very sexy men, an unexpected assignment, fated mates, true love, and other family and friends getting involved to make sure the four of them get their happy ever after. If you like MMMF relationships, second chances at love, friends to lovers, and fated mates, read 4 United today.

Learn more about the USRA and space racing here

Learn more about the Kaddim Brothers series and space racing here

Find the writing playlist for 4UNITED here

Happy reading!