When bugs attack, what’s an author to do? by Vijaya Schartz

ANGEL GUARDIAN - October 2023 release
Find my book page at BWL Publishing HERE

The extreme heat this summer has brought another problem to Arizona. BUGS. Big ugly sewer roaches, looking for comfy air-conditioned places with pet food aplenty and well stocked kitchen pantries.

Sunrise from my balcony

Unlike private homes that can be tented, mega apartment complexes are not easy to control. I’m talking about twenty-two large three-storied buildings totaling over 870 apartments.

So, they recourse to drastic measures, doing sweeps building by building, asking residents to remove everything from drawers, cupboards, pantries, closets, and even linen drawers, for an extreme fumigation operation. It’s backbreaking work, like moving out, then moving back in, on very short notice. Everything is supposed to be piled up on couch and bed, or on the balconies, and everything must be covered with tarps or sheets, or blankets, to protect it from highly toxic fumes. Not conforming to the instructions carries steep fines and a do over.

Of course, you have to leave the apartment for four hours, and pets are to be removed from the premises…

And they are planning a follow-up in a week, but without the backbreaking work of moving everything out. Although, it will require leaving the premises for four hours again.

And all this is happening while I’m polishing my next novel, ANGEL GUARDIAN, to be released in October.

I was afraid King Pasha would panic, but he took all these upsetting events in stride, like a champ. Not a peep, not a complaint. He remained perfectly cool in his pet carrier, and took a nap in the management lobby, while I was working on my book.

But don’t worry, everything will be fine in the end, and ANGEL GUARDIAN promises to be an exciting story, with epic battles in space with angels and demons, Mythical goddesses wreaking havoc, and a hero with amnesia, who doesn’t know he is an angel.

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In the meantime, you can read ANGEL SHIP, the first book in this series, although all my series novels can stand alone. You can also read the sister series, Azura Chronicles, and the Byzantium space station series. Happy reading!

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Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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October, Halloween, new books, and all kinds of bugs - by Vijaya Schartz

Find this new release at your favorite online retailer HERE
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Halloween decorations are up everywhere. Spooky skeletons and shadowy graves, giant spiders, ghosts, and scary sounds punctuate the season. And new book releases on the same theme accentuate the mood.

Around Phoenix, Arizona, it’s also the season when night temperatures finally drop, prompting us to open doors and windows. Of course, the bugs take it as an invitation to get indoors to shelter from the cold… and here, the buggers are big, and some can kill you, like scorpions, centipedes, killer bees, black widows. There are also roaches, brown spiders, moths, horse flies, wood bees, fire ants, and West-Nile- diseased mosquitoes.

I refuse to spray harmful chemicals around my place, so I adopted a direct approach, the smash technique. I’m good at it, and I kill nine times out of ten. No quarters. They invade my home, they want to kill me or suck my blood, they have to die. If I don’t have a fly swatter handy, my bare hand or a shoe will do, depending on toxicity. This favorite technique also keeps my reflexes sharp.

Fortunately, in my constant hunt for bugs, I have some help. Princess Jasmine, my sixteen-year-old calico cat, is also a great hunter of bugs… and lizards… and other critters. Did you know cats are immune to scorpions? They are.

Unlike me, Princess Jasmine usually eats her fresh kill, chewing it with gusto… even if it’s still wiggling. Personally, I prefer to drop the cadavers in the trash… or flush them down the toilet. But, to each his own…

There are none of these bugs in my latest science fiction novel, as space is not a welcoming environment for them. But ANGEL SHIP, Book One of the Blue Phantom series, features a strong heroine, a brave hero, twisted villains, lots of action and adventure, a little romance, and a large feline bodyguard with deadly fangs and claws. Hope you enjoy it.

All my eBooks are currently half off at SMASHWORDS! Hurry!

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 The Blue Phantom glows like a beacon in black space, appears and vanishes, and never registers on scanners. Rumors say it will save the righteous, the oppressed, and the downtrodden… and slay the unworthy without mercy. The space pirates fear it. Their victims pray for it… but its help comes at a price…

Desperate to save her people from the Marauders swarming her space freighter, Kefira prays for a miracle. Blake Volkov, legendary captain of the Blue Phantom hears her plea and deems her and her refugees worthy of his help. Grateful for the rescue, Kefira finds his price shocking. But despite his glowing wings, handsome looks and impressive abilities, Blake admits he is no angel… although Kefira’s feline bodyguard strongly disagrees.

Meanwhile, an old enemy bent on revenge unleashed an unspeakable evil on the galaxy. Time to face past mistakes… time for innocent blood to flow. Nothing prepared Kefira for the upheaval ahead.

Can Blake find redemption? Can Kefira save her people? Can she ever trust and love again?

Find more similar novels set in the Azura universe at:

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Vijaya Schartz, author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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