Hello to my amazing followers!

We have reached over 100 pre-orders, a number I never dreamed we would attain. Curio Citizen is still in 2nd place, but 3rd and 4th continue to gather orders and are right on our tail. There are only 9 days left in the contest!

Please, I ask each of you to seek out one person who might want to pre-order a copy and encourage them to do so. It would be so helpful! I am getting a lot of "likes" and "shares" on social media, but the actual pre-orders are slowing down. I know people are excited about Curio Citizen, but they might need a little nudge to get them to contribute monetarily.

If you are following this and haven’t pre-ordered, I ask you to please consider doing it now. I am so excited to share Curio Citizen with all of you and see it on bookstore shelves, but it will not be published if I don’t stay in the top 3.

Thank you so much for your help! Now, as promised, I will be posting sneak peeks into the second two books of the Curio Trilogy to give you a taste of where this sci-fi saga is going! Today, I have posted an excerpt from Curio Conspiracy.

But first, I’ll start with a brief introduction of the primary villain of Curio Citizen:

Dignidad Fortalacen is an ambitious politician. As our story begins, he sits on the High Council, the most powerful seat of government, which is based in the Capitol, but oversees the entire planet. He is the youngest person ever elected to the position of High Counselor, and although he is now middle-aged, he still has years separating him from his wizened peers.

Fortalacen is a strict proponent of isolationism and sees Carmen as a threat to paz traditions and safety. He is arrogant, shrewd, and far more power-hungry than paz are bred to be. How far will he go to stop Carmen? Will he push the confines of his peaceful society in his quest for power?

,

               
                    "’We are present today to discuss Curio 0924,’ a man with a smooth, deep voice said. His skin was slightly darker than most paz, though not enough to suggest a different race. He had deep-set eyes and a slightly sloped-back forehead, with a square jaw and a biting elegance. ’A designated species of Planet 0924, established on Paz as of Fifday, the thirty-sixth of Month Eight, Year 601 of Forward Peace. We have viewed the provided footage and annotated assessment analyses you have submitted, and—’

                   ’She is a human, Counselor Fortalacen,’ Inquieto boldly interrupted. ’A sublevel intelligent species to a degree that no curio has ever been assessed, neither at the Curio Life Museum of the Capitol, nor any smaller city museum on Paz. She has a name, and it is Carmen O’Dwyer. She comes from a planet called Earth, on which her species is the dominant species, much like our own species is on Paz.’

                  Fortalacen listened to this explanation in a silence as smooth as his butter-knife voice. When he spoke, he revealed its subtle edge.

                  ’Whatever your perceptions, Citizen Reúnen, this council will decide whether or not the curio is worthy of being designated as a sublevel intelligent species or not,’ he said. ’Or are you confused about why you are here today?’

                  Inquieto placed his hands on the back of the chair behind me.

                  ’I am here today,’ he said slowly, ’to submit a petition for Carmen O’Dwyer’s citizenship.’

            

                  I blinked in surprise and looked up at him. Then I frowned at Counselor Fortalacen, who was laughing. He was joined by a few others; the rest looked stunned and rather dubious."

Thanks so much!

--Katherine