GUEST POST
Emissary
by Chris Rogers
Emissary is currently on tour with Worldwind Virtual Book Tours. The tour stops here today for a guest post by the author. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
On a desperate mission to save his entire race from extinction, Emissary Ruell travels to Earth equipped with his two most powerful bargaining currencies - health and longevity - hoping to convince the most powerful leader in the free world that collaboration can save both of their civilizations. Having no way to communicate directly with humans, Ruell must inhabit President Addison Hale's body to carry out his mission.
He quickly discovers, however, that humans are more complex and volatile than anticipated. Only after admitting defeat does he encounter Kirk Longshadow, and ordinary cop who might be Ruell's last chance.
Emissary is a cross-genre science fiction novel by master suspense author Chris Rogers, best known for her Dixie Flannigan detective series.
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Excerpts
Praise for the Book
"Rogers writes with confidence and authority about everything from African politics to Houston police procedure to Mexican drug gangs. There's plenty of action, and the book is populated with interesting characters from political figures to tattoo artists. Check this one out when you're looking for a real slam-bang change of pace." ~ Bill Crider, author of the Dan Rhodes mystery series
Guest Post by the Author
Emissary, the Book I was Born to Write
Growing up, I read voraciously, and like most kids …
I was drawn to science fiction and fantasy. Very soon I discovered mystery, and Nancy Drew only held my attention for a short time. I quickly learned how to sneak into the adult section of our local library and read pithier mysteries, with more blood and stronger plots.
The mysterious escapades of Miss Marple and Perry Mason (yes, he did exist before TV) kept me entranced … but I never surrendered my interest in things supernatural or extraterrestrial. I recall a book titled Survival of the Fittest – author unknown, and at about circa 1955, it far precedes the Kellerman book by the same title. This was about a world where science has gone awry and animals are becoming rapaciously aggressive.
That book kept me up nights and gave me the shivers, but I loved it.
Emissary doesn’t fit into that category, but writing it did require me to dip deep into my love of extraterrestrial lore, where I discovered a pair of characters I literally fell in love with. Okay, "discovered" doesn’t quite fit, because they didn’t exist anywhere in my memory, but once the plot idea started developing, these two characters appeared to me fully fleshed out.
Ruell, an emissary from the planet Szhen, is young and afraid he will fail his mission on Earth, yet his entire race depends on him to succeed. Kirk Longshadow, a Houston cop, has lost everything he loves, including his self esteem. Together, these two characters discover renewed strength and determination to launch a battle plan they couldn’t have managed separately.
After a lifetime of enjoying the separate genres of science fiction and mystery-suspense, I feel I’ve created a richly fascinating story world that readers will enjoy exploring as much as I do.
About the Author
Chris Rogers was born in Texas and raised in the days of EC Comics and B horror flicks that could chill you down to your funny bones. She resides in a small community within commute of the four major Texas metropolises, where she ghostwrites business books and memoirs while turning out her own novels and short stories.
Chris has taught mystery writing at the Rice University School of Continuing Studies, the University of Houston and in private master classes. Her students have received numerous awards and acknowledgements for their works.
After a career in graphic design, Chris became a writer the easy way: she read voraciously and filled blank pages with drivel until her fingers cramped and her brain defected. Eventually, she learned to craft a decipherable sentence. Author of the Dixie Flannigan series (Bitch Factor, Rage Factor, Chill Factor, and Slice of Life), Chris has published stories and essays in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Writer's Digest, among others.
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