Story Premise

The Blood Empress is a space opera novel about a galactic empress coming of age in a war torn galaxy. The twist of this story is that Empress Nykostra is actually the villain of the Star Saga universe. I was intrigued by the possibility of writing a compelling protagonist who is in fact, not on the Good Guy’s side of a galactic war.

Other Works

The Blood Empress is part of a greater series of novels called the Star Saga. It was written as a filler novel to go between books two and three of the first trilogy in the saga. Readers need not have read any of the books in the series to enjoy the story by itself. However, if you are making your way through the series, this novel fills in the gaps and helps the reader understand the motivations of Empress Nykostra.

This novel was written in 2013 shortly after I completed The Rising, Book Two of the Star Saga. It is complete and awaiting a final edit. I decided to try InkShares for this project in order to gain a wider audience for my work. If you enjoy this novel, please look me up on Amazon, Kobo and Nook.

Story Synopsis

When your protagonist is actually a villain, who then becomes the villain? In this story the primary antagonist is the head of the Soothsayers, the Kwizarra Lonn. Soothsayers are the closest advisers to the Votainion rulers. They can see into the future and try to change that future by suggesting courses of action. Not all leaders listen to their Soothsayers and some, like Empress Nykostra down right hate them and their meddling ways. The current Kwizarra Lonn has seen into the future and knows that this Empress is responsible for the fall of the Votainion Empire. He will do anything in his power to have her killed for the sake of preserving the greatest stellar empire.

Nykostra begins the story as a girl smothered by her royalty yet not immune from growing hormones and a deep desire to see the universe outside of her cold home world. Her secret communications with a young warrior on another world take a turn for the better when he is entered into a contest to fight for her hand. In the tradition of European knights, a single young male from each of the planets or houses of the Empire vie for her hand in games of combat and skill. But the scheming plans of the Kwizarra Lonn are never far away and in the end, it is he who shapes her destiny more than anyone else.

Empress Nykostra is not without her allies, some of them are soldiers, fighting the war with the human Alliance for her and some of them are her most trusted caretakers. In this story she becomes the first leader of the Empire to venture away from the home world of Voton. Her journey takes her to a harsh desert planet under the control of yet another foe, an enemy that is led by an ex-patriot who teaches her how to fight. On this far away planet ruled by vicious aliens she is forced to grow up and take command of her own destiny.

About The Author

I’ve been writing short stories and novels in my spare time for the past decade. I’ve been traditionally published in a small press anthology and in web zines. My novels are all self-published and include five Star Saga sci-fi novels and one traditional mystery. I work as a software source control engineer and I live with my family in beautiful Boise, Idaho. You can find me on the web at: Ken-McConnell.com, and on Twitter and Google Plus.

With Your Money

I will will reinvest in advertising for this book and others in my series to increase my exposure to readers, with a greater audience comes the opportunity to write more books. Thank you in advance for your support!