Writer Wednesday: Greta Van Der Rol

I know I’ve reviewed a lot of other writer’s books before. I enjoy reading them, so why shouldn’t I review them as well?

Anyway, I was looking back through my archive and thought I would pick out a gem of a review to remind you of a great writer… and if you’re new to my blog  (and why wouldn’t you be) and reading this for the first time, then I hope I will be introducing you to some wonderful writers this way.

Once I run out of Past Reviews, I’ll start writing reviews of all the new books that I’ve read over the last few months! Happily, I have a kindle full of books I have yet to read, so I’m going to be well entertained for a while!

So here’s Greta Van Der Rol… Enjoy!

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The first book is To Die a Dry Death

 

June 1629. Laden with treasure and the riches of Europe, the merchantman Batavia, flagship of the Dutch East India Company, sails on her maiden voyage from Amsterdam bound for the East Indies.

But thirty miles off the coast of Terra Incognita Australis-the unknown south land-she smashes into an uncharted reef. The survivors-women and children, sailors, soldiers and merchants-are washed ashore on a pair of uninhabited, hostile islands, with little food or fresh water.

Desperately seeking help, the ship’s officers set out in an open boat to make a two-thousand-mile journey to the nearest trading post. While they are gone, from the struggle for survival on the islands, there emerges a tyrant whose brutal lust for power is even deadlier than the reef, which wrecked the Batavia.

This is a true story. The level of historical detail in this story is astounding, but instead of what could be a rather dry account of a tragic shipwreck, you are immersed in a gripping story of adventure and murder.

GVDR is a superb writer and her characterisation makes you wish that the characters you have invested so much emotion in, could evade their historically recorded fates.

I’m not a historical genre fan. I find they can be quite difficult to read, but Greta’s is seriously absorbing, the story enhanced by the facts, rather than weighed down by them.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Die-a-Dry-Death-ebook/dp/B003GSLX72/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308692126&sr=8-1

The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy came next…

Politics. Hatred. Star systems on the brink of war. A species under threat of extinction from a deadly virus.

Ex-Admiral Chaka Saahren goes undercover to discover the truth. Systems Engineer, Allysha Marten, takes one last job to rid her of debts and her cheating husband. On Tisyphor, deadly secrets about the past explode, as Allysha and the undercover agent scramble to prevent the coming holocaust and xenocide.

When the ex-Admiral’s identity is revealed, she must come to terms with her feelings for a man she thinks caused the death of innocent civilians, including her father.

In a race against time, Allysha must set aside her conflicted emotions and trust a man she barely knows. Saahren must convince the woman he loves to find the truth as he once more assumes his position as … The Iron Admiral. 

When I first read the cover blurb to this book, I rather assumed that it was going to be your usual hot and heavy romance with a light overlay of Science Fiction. In fact it’s the complete opposite!

There is sufficient SF detail to satisfy the Geek in me with an emotionally adept character led story line that has enough erotic flavour to get me hot under the collar… TOH never knew what hit him after I read The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy. This is one of those stories that begs to be made into a movie and I can fully see Nathan Fillion playing Saahren.

Anyone fancy camping on Joss Whedon’s doorstep with me to beg him to make this into a movie?

Ahem… anyway. Romance readers will love this. SF Readers will love it as well, though. The worlds and the technology are well thought out, enhancing the space opera feel. The whole package is beautifully presented and I can highly recommend this book.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/45072

Thirdly I introduce a novella called SuperTech.

Ensign Morgan Selwood was almost too good at her job and far too casual about Fleet rules and regulations. Tasked with designing a control system for an untested attack fighter seemed like a dream come true and a real career booster. But the specs and modules tell only part of the story—what Morgan discovers can put not just her career, but lives at risk. 

Morgan Selwood is the kind of character I can love. She is sassy and sexy, with a seriously high level of intelligence.

The story centres around Morgan’s work in an edge of the galaxy Fleet Base and the technology is a realistic extrapolation of current experimental medical techniques.

This is an enjoyable titbit, a little something to whet the appetite for more of the character. Roll on a whole book!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/55414

Now for the main event…

Morgan’s Choice

He will use force if necessary to remind her of her place…

Autocratic, aloof, Admiral Ravindra wants to use the strange alien female and her gifts in his battle against an unknown force threatening to annihilate his worlds. Born to rule, a man of wealth, power and privilege, he will have what he most desires.

She will use courage and independence to carve a new future…

Morgan Selwood is a Supertech, bioengineered from birth to stand against the horrors of the Cyber Wars. Her abilities and appearance are the stuff of legend, exactly what the resistance needs to throw off the yoke of millennia of oppression. Caught in the crossfire Morgan must choose sides.

Together they will face a threat beyond imagining.

Morgan Selwood, as I mentioned in the last review, is an intelligent, sexy and sassy main character.

In this outing, she is joined by an accountant who I find rather objectionable. He’s certainly not the sort of man I would expect to see Morgan with. Enter Admiral Ravindra. On the GVDR scale of hotness, Ravindra ranks at about a nine. He’s got a way to go to beat Saahren at 10, but he is certifiably sexy.

The story begins in the middle of a mission that Morgan is involved with and the situation rapidly escalates into a situation that will test Morgans abilities to the hilt and also test the reader’s ability to put the book down as she is catapulted into the middle of an alien species and their troubles.

GVDR is perfectly in tune with her characters. Each one is well rounded and believable. The story is engrossing and you are on the edge of your seat with wondering what the next page will hold.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/68088

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I hope that you enjoyed reading this and that I have inspired you to seek Greta out and put her work on your bookshelf or kindle.

Where can you find this wonderful author? Take a look here!

http://gretavanderrol.com/

http://www.facebook.com/greta.vanderrol

http://www.pfoxchase.com