Athena Grayson

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About Athena Grayson
Athena Grayson loves to write characters who are more than they seem, and loves to play with beloved genre tropes in engaging and unique ways. She adores smart, sexy, beta heroes, and savvy heroines who aren't afraid to demand--and get!--the best from their relationships. Underneath it all, she has a love of language and a deep respect for how words can uplift and transport us to a higher state of being, even if only for a few hours.
Her latest narrative adventure is space opera with sizzle. Written in part as an homage to all the science fiction books, movies, and TV that shaped her into the proud nerd that she is today, and in part to introduce a thread of romance into those adventures (combining her two great loves in fiction), the series set in the Star Empire promise complex settings and compelling characters.
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Blog postIf you met me on the street, you’d never know I walk around with this crazy, delicate balance of being scared and wary versus being excited and eager to see what’s around the next corner.
We like to talk about being brave and fearless and embracing the authentic, but I live in a culture that has about 129 guns for every person living in the US. (to “defend” – your property, your family/loved ones, etc. Only the gre
3 years ago Read more -
Blog postBeing a writer feels like a constant struggle between desperately wanting to tell stories and desperately eager to hear other people’s stories. One of the most enduring questions a writer gets is, “Where do you get your ideas?” And most of us will tell you that it’s not getting an idea that’s the hard work, it’s slowing down the onslaught and picking the best idea. Because I have ideas all the time. Lots of random or discrete things from the news will hit me and some of them will burrow into3 years ago Read more
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Blog postOne of the most enjoyable things I get to do when writing sci-fi and fantasy settings is to create the kind of spaces I’d love to visit. Even the places with, ahem, challenging environments, are still fascinating to me if only to understand how they got there.
Varuna is not one of those “challenging” environments, however. Officially known as Iolia 16, it’s the 16th moon of the gas giant Iolia. Iolia is considered “r
3 years ago Read more -
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Blog postSocial Media was one of the big inspirations that lived in my creative space when I started dreaming up the stories in the Scions of the Star Empire. When I was writing the story, it felt like the height of social media’s influence on us (heavens, did I underestimate, or what?). Turns out my imagination couldn’t keep up with reality and I’m still not sure we’re hitting “peak social media.”
On the overcrowded city-planet of Landfall, careers rise and fall via social media, same as can3 years ago Read more -
Blog postA Year of Sneaky Progress 2018 was a year of doing brave things, but sneaky. Like a ninja. At the beginning of the year, I challenged myself to be brave and confront the deep-seated fears I have been carrying around. So I published 3 books in 3 different series and one omnibus while I wasn’t paying attention (nobody else was, either, but hey–I’ve got all the time in the world to run promos).
I finally did some promo that didn’t feel like I was going to bring down the world if I didn’3 years ago Read more -
Blog post“Presentation”
If I go any further down, I’m going to be going uphill on the other side of the world. Niamne’s legs ached from the downhill trek. Her fingers were sore from grabbing onto the cart through rough patches, uneven bumps, and one sharp dip that nearly broke the bird’s leg. And her head was starting to hurt from squinting into the gloom and jumping at far too many shadows.
So when the first filmy spectres appeared beside her, she was almost too tired and dull-witted3 years ago Read more -
Blog postChristmas Eve on Friendship Station An original send-up by Athena Grayson (with apologies to Clement C. Moore, Coca-Cola, and astrophysics)
‘Twas the night before Christmas, all through the space station
Not a creature was resting, or taking vacation.
The techs shifted cargo from shuttle to ship
While inspectors checked mass outside gravity’s grip.
The launch window opened, the countdown proceeded
For the vessel undocking, bringing Mars what it needed.4 years ago Read more -
Blog postOne of the most beloved elements of high fantasy is the feeling that you are in another world. Without the history or the limitations of our own world, the rules can (in theory) be anything you want them to be. Yet there’s a tendency to stick with a “medieval Europe” analogue that’s hard for a writer to break out of, simply because it’s rather familiar from the titans of genre who have gone before.
Part of the reason for that is everyone’s favorite twist–magic. The closer you get to t4 years ago Read more -
Blog postAhh, November. When the autumn sets in for real (or the spring, if you’re in the southern hemisphere) and the weather’s firmly set on the next brutal season and the last vestiges of the previous one are fading. And writers everywhere hunker down in front of their keyboards and “go dark” in varying degrees on Social Media because November is National Novel Writing Month.
I’m no stranger to the NaNo craze – I’ve been “NaNo-ing” since 2002. I haven’t “won” every year, but I have learned4 years ago Read more -
Blog postNo one likes an ivory tower quite like a mage likes an ivory tower and no matter the school of magic, the world’s practitioners tend to keep apart. So much so that even though the farmfolk who follow the Corn goddess and the priest-caste who serve Lady Flame live together in the Barony, they don’t tend to mix much, and never take apprentices from outside their own peoples. They share the land, but the lines are clearly drawn.
Of course, the gods don’t care for lines drawn by men.
4 years ago Read more
Titles By Athena Grayson
Authors include: Michele Stegman: A Book of Life and a Trick
Jennette Marie Powell: Looking for Mr. Goodwrench
Athena Grayson: The Game of Love
Brenda Hiatt: Halloween Hooker
Gwen Williams: A Good Friend
Nancy Morse: Grandma's Wisdom
Meredith Bond: Not So Awful After All
Cassandra Carr: Friendship to More
Janet Fox: He Had a Stake in the Outcome
Margaret Caroll: A Walk Through the Plaza
Lyn Cote: The Light that Illuminates
Patricia Lieb: Lumps in the Mattress
Judy Lynn Hubbard: Destined
Eileen Cook: Christmas Tree Magic
Mary Campisi: I Found Love at the Grocery Store
Julie Lence: Traitorous Dealings
Nikki Duncan: Love in the Lunch Line
Diane Burton: Intervention
Jenna Ives: Only an Englishman Would Do
Cris Anson: They Danced into My Heart
Beate Boeker: Around the World to Find Love
Victoria Roder: I wouldn't Have Married You if I Didn't Love You Kind of Guy
Cindy Spencer Pape: The Geek and the Townie
Janis Susan May Patterson: Love Begins Late
When Amaryllis flees a cruel Otherworld prince, she finds herself in the human world of 1972, where women like her have won the right to choose their own destinies. Ryder, outcast from both Winter and Summer Courts, has committed the ultimate transgression and annexed a realm of his own. Without an ally, he could lose it all to the eternal war of the Otherworld, unless the runaway princess agrees to be his bride. When Otherworld politics break through to the ordinary world, Ryder and Amy must find strength in themselves—and trust in each other—to keep both worlds in balance.
With every scumbag in the solar system on their tails from the outer worlds to the beating heart of the empire, the secrets surrounding Treska's missing memories begin to reveal themselves and Micah may be the only one she can trust to get to the truth. The secrets locked in Treska's missing memories can bring down the Union--if he can get out of her handcuffs and into her mind.
>>>THIS BOOK IS A BOX SET OF BOOKS 1-4 OF HUNTRESS OF THE STAR EMPIRE<<<
Part 1: The Chase
Part 2: The Snare
Part 3: The Catch
Part 4: The Release
A snowstorm forces a wounded American soldier to find shelter in a remote Japanese ryokan. The snow witch can only have him for a single night, but the foreigner thaws her icy heart so completely that she will defy a thousand years of tradition to become not only his bride but his wife.
Before the draft, Spencer spent his life studying folktales, and Uncle Sam put him to work using that knowledge to scare the enemy in the jungles of Vietnam. But when an injury takes him out of combat, hospital healing isn’t enough to exorcize the ghosts that haunt his dreams.
A mountain storm brings hapless travelers to her inn, but Yukiko is no ordinary hostess. The American soldier can only be hers for one night, but her heart wants more. The snow bride must break her curse if she hopes to become not only a bride but his wife.
A Winterjacked Frost Bite that first appeared in the "Spirits of the Season" Anthology.
When Niamne is tricked into delivering the yearly Tithe to the Dread Lord, she never expects to be part of the sacrifice. The last necromancer is a creature of terrifying legend, but the reality is more compelling than frightening, and very much a man.
Orphios finds better company with the dead than the living. One week of the year he takes the Tithe of goods and treasure and...other things...that keep the dead from rising from their rest. A sharp-tongued acolyte with a holy blessing that clashes with his magic was not part of the deal.
When the dead reject the Tithe, the ancient magical contract fractures. Niamne must choose--fulfill the contract and bring down the curse of her goddess on Orphios, or break it and unleash the restless dead on the world of the living.
Before the week is up, Orphios and Niamne must outmaneuver the treachery of town leaders and outwit the rules of the gods before the dead rise up and take matters into their own hands.
Slake your craving for gothic fantasy romance and enter the world of Strange Magics. Magic is capricious when hearts get involved.
Among Landfall's elite, reputation runs everything--even the economy. Princess Ione has cashed in on playing the party girl for most of her life, but not even an imperial princess can escape the fallout of one too many scandals. Her efforts to repair her reputation have tanked, but she gets one last chance to make good, by planning a charity function for an embattled colony world. If she's going to go from party princess to people's princess, she's going to need all the friends she can get, including the man who could have been her prince, but can now only be her secret.
For Den Hades, his rising star comes with a dangerous tail. His father's rage has only grown since Den's one act of defiance ruined his House's chances of alliance with the Imperial House--and kept him away from the princess who captured his heart. Den's rising Social Capital edges him closer to achieving Scionhood and freedom, but his father's influence peels more of Den's friends away. As his friends buckle under pressure from their own Houses to choose sides, his only chance is to find allies among his enemies and keep his secrets closer than ever--including his secret relationship with Ione.
It's not the fall that'll kill you...It's the sudden stop at the end.
They can have anything they want...except a future.
Nothing infuriates Princess Ione Ra more than having someone else take control of her reputation from her, and her old nemesis--gossip journalist Jaris Pulne--is poised to do just that with pilfered pics of her caught in a compromising position with her power-couple partner. As someone who's no stranger to manipulating the markets on her own social life, Ione knows the wrong scandal means social suicide.
Privilege is a prison...
For the other half of the power couple, Den Hades, his survival has depended on staying in his powerful father's shadow in order to protect his secrets. But on the very night of his one chance to earn a shot at becoming a Scion--and freedom from his father's ambitions, scandal threatens to tear him from Ione, or worse--force them together before their time.
The Release (Episodes 10-12)
When Micah's incarceration brings him face to face with the head of the Union itself, he discovers a devastating weakness in the Union's stranglehold on the star system...and a shocking truth about his people.
Now a fugitive from the Union she so loyally served, Treska is forced into uneasy alliance with the Restoration. As the lies holding the Union together at the top begin to unravel, so do the thin threads maintaining Treska’s false identity.
With her world shattered and her identity in crisis, Treska’s only ally is the man whose mental powers terrify her. It’s going to take all of Micah’s mental talents to set her free, but her fear of his gifts may make Treska a prisoner of her own mind.
***THIS BOOK IS A BOXED-SET BUNDLE OF EPISODES 10, 11, AND 12 OF "HUNTRESS OF THE STAR EMPIRE"***
--Episode 10: State of Flux
--Episode 11: Alternate Reality
--Episode 12: Set To Rights
About the Huntress
Ever since she was found in the aftermath of alien attacks, Treska Sivekka has been trained to one purpose--to hunt down threats to the security of the Union that gave her an identity. But when the Union's biggest threat inspires desire, and not fear, it’s going to take all her training to protect her principles against his persuasive onslaught.
The Huntress's neuro-collar and repulsor cuffs may keep Micah bound to her mercy, but they can't stop him from challenging her convictions, and the lies she's been told about his people. But when the secrets surrounding her own missing memories begin to reveal themselves, he may be the only one she can trust.
"Huntress of the Star Empire" is a sci-fi romance series adventure. For more about the series, visit http://www.athenagrayson.com/huntress or sign up for the newsletter at http://bit.ly/AthenaNews
The Catch (Episodes 7-9)
Micah’s mission to strike at the Union takes on dangerous complications when his suspicions about Treska’s mysterious past are confirmed. Treska's secret could hold the key to breaking the Union’s uncanny stranglehold on the star system...but at the cost of her mind.
The Union gave Treska an identity and purpose she could believe in, but outside of its influence, she’s forced to question not only the official policies, but her own beliefs about psypaths, especially Micah. Rather than laying her doubts to rest, the arrival of a Union battle cruiser pulls Treska into a web of deceit with her identity at its center.
The line between allies and enemies blurs when you can't even trust your own mind.
***THIS BOOK IS A BOXED-SET BUNDLE OF EPISODES 7, 8, AND 9 OF "HUNTRESS OF THE STAR EMPIRE"***
--Episode 7: Double-Edged Sword
--Episode 8: Heart of Betrayal
--Episode 9: Lost Girl
About the Huntress
Ever since she was found in the aftermath of alien attacks, Treska Sivekka has been trained to one purpose--to hunt down threats to the security of the Union that gave her an identity. But when the Union's biggest threat inspires desire, and not fear, it’s going to take all her training to protect her principles against his persuasive onslaught.
The Huntress's neuro-collar and repulsor cuffs may keep Micah bound to her mercy, but they can't stop him from challenging her convictions, and the lies she's been told about his people. But when the secrets surrounding her own missing memories begin to reveal themselves, he may be the only one she can trust.
"Huntress of the Star Empire" is a sci-fi romance series adventure. For more about the series, visit http://www.athenagrayson.com/huntress or sign up for the newsletter at http://bit.ly/AthenaNews
The Snare (Episodes 4-6)
She’s bound his hands…now she’s working on his heart.
A simple job turns to a fight for survival when Treska crash-lands on a remote moon, far from the heart of her Union. On the run from space pirates and planetary insurgents, she must rely on Micah to help them both survive when they learn the bounty on her captive’s head is nothing compared to the bounty on her own.
But the moon’s peculiar atmosphere wreaks havoc on Micah’s mental talents, mixing memories of his lost lover with his current captor. Blurring the lines between his mission and his affection might make it impossible for Micah to protect his enemy from his allies.
***THIS BOOK IS A BOXED-SET BUNDLE OF EPISODES 4, 5, AND 6 OF "HUNTRESS OF THE STAR EMPIRE"***
--Episode 4: Hard Landing
--Episode 5: Crystal Dreams
--Episode 6: Unknown Horizons
About the Huntress
Ever since she was found in the aftermath of alien attacks, Treska Sivekka has been trained to one purpose--to hunt down threats to the security of the Union that gave her an identity. But when the Union's biggest threat inspires desire, and not fear, it’s going to take all her training to protect her principles against his persuasive onslaught.
The Huntress's neuro-collar and repulsor cuffs may keep Micah bound to her mercy, but they can't stop him from challenging her convictions, and the lies she's been told about his people. But when the secrets surrounding her own missing memories begin to reveal themselves, he may be the only one she can trust.
"Huntress of the Star Empire" is a sci-fi romance series adventure. For more about the series, visit http://www.athenagrayson.com/huntress or sign up for the newsletter at http://bit.ly/AthenaNews
Jack Winters seems to be living up to his name. His marriage started out smooth as an ice rink, but ended in frosty civility. Rather than burden his friends with his mess of a life, he's frozen out the people who know him best, including the old flame who never quite caught fire. But she's back in his life, and what could have been is now becoming real...right when an unreal family legacy might bring it all crashing down like an avalanche. Is there a chance at ordinary happiness for someone having an Otherworldly mid-life crisis?
Book One in the WinterJacked Cycle
To the young, impossible dreams are magic. At forty, they’re a mid-life crisis.
Lin Sanada thought she was long over her college crush and the missed connections that kept her and Jack Winters “just friends” for nearly twenty years. She’s moved on, and left wishful thinking behind. But when a winter night, a full moon, and a little magic lead her into a very real relationship with the man of her dreams, she finds a reality far more fantastical than her wildest imaginings…
Sometimes you reinvent yourself…Sometimes you redefine reality.
If Jack wants to earn a new chance at a future, he’ll have to confront all the raw wounds failure left on his expectations. And he’ll have to choose: keep clinging to the shreds of his old life…or make a whole new reality.
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