Hi guys, today we are helping Lexi Ander celebrate her audiobooks Alpha Trine & Striker, from her series The Valespian Pact. We have a fantastic guest post from Lexi and a brilliant giveaway, we also have Tams review of Alpha Trine so she can tell you what her thoughts are about the audiobook! So check out the post and then click that Rafflecopter link for those fantastic prizes! ~Pixie~

Alpha Trine

Lexi Ander

The sole survivor on a science vessel adrift in deep space, Zeus was adopted by the Emperor and Empress of the Mar’Sani, though he is both human and blind, and seen by most as unfit to join the royal family. Though they were able to repair his vision, Zeus does not trust his eyes and the nobles of his parents’ court refuse to ever trust a frail human.

Dargon Kal-Turak, along with his symbiote and lover Alpha, command one of the most dangerous ships in the stars. Narrowly escaping a trap, they dock in a space port to make repairs, but find that the Psionics hunting them are closing in fast. In desperation they kidnap the port Master Mechanic, unaware that the man they’ve brought on board is more than he seems, and will bring far more upheaval to their ship, their lives, and the stars than any of them could have imagined.

Alpha Trine was the winner of 2014 Rainbow Awards

Striker

Lexi Ander

The peaceful respite for which Zeus and his intended, Dargon and Alpha, had been hoping is shattered when Zeus is unexpectedly drawn to the Waters of Poseidon and told that the safety they’ve been promised is a trap. But the Fal’Amoric aren’t the only important cargo on the Oethra 7, and countless others are depending on the success of their mission. If Zeus hopes to break the silent siege on Valespia and protect those most precious to him, he will need not just powerful allies but the fortitude to survive overwhelming odds.

Excerpt

Striker, the story that almost never was. I came this close *holds thumb and index finger up, the two digits almost, but not quite, touching* to leaving Alpha Trine as it was—without a sequel. This isn’t something I will normally admit to, the lack of confidence in a story I pen. Not that I don’t love Alpha Trine. At the time I wrote the story, it was my favorite (Striker stole the favorite badge when I finished it). I allowed the imagination in me to have free reign and the feeling was—freakin’ awesome.

Then I stepped back to look at the story as a whole, and had a small panic attack. I wondered if I pushed some boundaries too far, and even though I loved the story dearly, the belief remained that I would be one of only a handful of people to enjoy book. I reconsidered writing the sequel and completing the series.

Let me take you back to the beginning. Alpha Trine was inspired a story prompt. If you follow my blog, you already know that I’m addicted to them.

“Intergalactic mm romance between a human space mechanic genius and an alien that morphs to be “human” when they mate. Have a way for the “alien” to be able to reproduce despite being male without the aid of technology for the pregnancy itself. Maybe technology was involved in the past and they “evolved” to be able to continue the alien species? HEA of course. Maybe a start of a series? Up to the author. I like series.”

I wanted to do something different, unexpected, so I jumped into world building, working diligently on the plot(s) and the characters. It wasn’t until after I finished that I began to ask myself if the story was too different to draw people in. Could readers identify and empathize with the main characters? Then there was a range of secondary characters who were diverse, not only because they appeared different. The humans were sneered and looked down upon (for good reason). The mpreg wasn’t the typical expected mpreg. There was gender bending. I designed the world so all gender identities could be explored and represented (if I ever wrote stories for certain secondary characters). Even the poly relationship was different enough that I waffled on whether or not if it would be considered a ménage.

One of the main characters, Alpha, Dargon’s symbiote shared paged time as a love interest and he didn’t have a form. Dargon wore Alpha like a piece of jewelry but Alpha had a mind of his own with separate likes/dislikes from Dargon’s. Alpha’s possessive temper dwarfed Dargon’s. Not to mention the secret he hid held a wealth of sorrow that made tear up when writing him.

Dargon was an anthropomorphic marsupial lion. He had a cat form but he wasn’t a shifter because there was nothing paranormal about how he changed forms. He was rude when he felt challenged, especially when it came to Zeus.

And then there was Zeus. Well. There isn’t much I can say about him without giving away spoilers—other than he’s more than he seems.

All of these pieces when put together made the story an absolute blast to write, but at the same time, all those details were what gave me pause when I wondered what others would think. I consoled myself with the knowledge that the person I wrote the story for loved it, which made me very happy, and I decided to leave the story as it was. After much contemplation, I went ahead and made the book available to a third party retailer. What I didn’t expected was the flood of notes and emails expressing how much people enjoyed the story and they all wanted to know what happened next.

I didn’t realize I had underestimated myself and Alpha Trine and the readers. Boy, did I ever! I still become teary eyed remembering everyone who reached out with their kind words and enthusiasm. Their excitement encouraged me to contact a publisher to see if they’d consider accepting Striker. Less Than Three Press took on not only Striker but Alpha Trine as well. In 2014, Alpha Trine won the Rainbow Award.

Looking back on my thoughts and expectations, I’ve learned several things. Stop underestimating myself. Quit looking at my work and assuming I know what people will read, because obviously I don’t have a clue. Even if I have doubts, just put the story out there. In many ways, I was my own worst enemy. If it hadn’t been for the people who reached out to me, the series wouldn’t have continued. So, Thank You, with all my heart. I wrote the first story but you breathed life into the series. I will forever be grateful.

The last several months, I’ve been working diligently to clean my writing plate of an older incomplete series. I think that by the time Bespoken comes out, y’all will have waited long enough. So the plan is to work exclusively on the Valespian Pact and to write as many of the books as possible back to back (because even I will need a break from working on the same story line for such a long period of time). This will hopefully push the release dates closer together.

Including Alpha Trine and Striker, there will be a total of seven books in the series. There is a possibility that I’ll write a couple of standalones set in this world at a much later date. As of right now, the lineup is:

In the next sixty days or so, I’ll start Bespoken followed by Chosen. In the meantime, enjoy the audiobook versions of Alpha Trine and Striker. Michael Stellman did a great job. ^_^

Thank you for stopping by and reading!! Good luck in the giveaway!

About Lexi

Lexi has always been an avid reader, and at a young age started reading (secretly) her mother’s romances (the ones she was told not to touch). She was the only teenager she knew of who would be grounded from reading. Later, with a pencil and a note book, she wrote her own stories and shared them with friends because she loved to see their reactions. A Texas transplant, Lexi now kicks her boots up in the Midwest with her Yankee husband and her eighty-pound puppies named after vacuum cleaners.

Giveaway!

Win! 

A bundle of 3 – 10×7 Unframed Prints From Alpha Trine 

A bundle of 3 – 10×7 Unframed Prints From Striker

Lexi Ander Rafflecopter giveaway!

Review

Title: Alpha Trine

Series: The Valespian Pact 01

Author: Lexi Ander

Narrator: Michael Stellman

Genre: Sci-Fi Menage Romance

Length: 5 hours and 25 minutes

Publisher: Less Than Three Press (02-25-15)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts

Reviewer: Tams

Blurb: The sole survivor on a science vessel adrift in deep space, Zeus was adopted by the Emperor and Empress of the Mar’Sani, though he is both human and blind, and seen by most as unfit to join the royal family. Though they were able to repair his vision, Zeus does not trust his eyes and the nobles of his parents’ court refuse to ever trust a frail human.

Dargon Kal-Turak, along with his symbiote and lover Alpha, command one of the most dangerous ships in the stars. Narrowly escaping a trap, they dock in a space port to make repairs, but find that the Psonics hunting them are closing in fast. In desperation they kidnap the port Master Mechanic, unaware that the man they’ve brought on board is more than he seems, and will bring far more upheaval to their ship, their lives, and the stars than any of them could have imagined.

Warning: This story contains a threesome relationship

Product Link: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Alpha-Trine-Audiobook/B00TZ8UV8O

Review: Zeus was born blind, he is human but he is a fierce warrior by birth. In a strange twist of fate he is adopted by alien royalty and given new eyes. His new parents truly love him, but their people aren’t as open to having a human as their heir. Zeus winds up working as a mechanic in the space station, and gets kindapped by Dargon and his mate, Alpha. You see, this is where things get interesting. Dargon is something like a felid, Alpha is his symbiote mate and they loath humans. Zeus may be the adopted son of the royal family, but to Dargon, he’s a worthless Terran. But there is something about Zeus that calls to Dargon, something primal and sexual.

If Star Wars and Battlestar Gallactica had a baby, it would be Alpha Trine. But with a gay threesome twist, sort of. The early chapters are about Zeus and his adoption by the Emperors, then moves on to his kidnapping and subsequent union with Dargon and Alpha, a symbiote. I really enjoyed the early part of the story with the initial world building and introduction to Zeus. And I was intrigued with the mechanics of the threesome and how that all played out. But somewhere along the way the story started to overwhelm me. There was way too much information and multiple species, types of aliens and such for such a short novel. I think were the story more in depth, it would have been better.

The world building was truly amazing, I was just so overwhelmed that I couldn’t enjoy it. I felt like it was a race to keep up with all the species and who was fighting who, why does this particular race hate this one, and then before I could grasp that feud another race and another issue was introduced. Underneath it all though was this oddly fantastical relationship between Zeus, Dargon and Alpha. I love stories about Imprinting, which is what happens to Dargon and Alpha, they imprint on Zeus. But then another curve ball with this sort of arranged marriage for Zeus with two princes of other royal houses. And then that ending, talk about a cliff hanger.

Narrated by Michael Stellman and I really enjoy the energy his voice holds. He did a great job of keeping characters separated with different inflections and nuances with tone and voice. His narration along with my infatuation with Zeus, Dargon and Alpha are what kept me going and held my interest in all the madness that was Alpha Trine.

If you are a sci-fi fan, like paranormal romance and odd threesome relationships then you will probably enjoy this book. Overall, it was just an okay read for me, but there were some very interesting aspects to the story.

Ebook Review

https://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/2014/06/22/alpha-trine-by-lexi-ander/