Going Back to My Roots

by Lori A. Witt

I’ve been writing romance since late 2008, and publishing since the end of 2009, but I’ve actually been writing for much longer than that. Though I’ve dabbled in various subgenres—cyberpunk, historical, suspense—it’s been nonstop romance for the last several years.

Up until I made that fateful switch to romance, though, most of my writing had been science fiction or fantasy. Even now, SFF still makes up the bulk of what I read for pleasure. I’m a proud nerd—I’ve loved Star Wars since I was a kid, I’ve played Magic: The Gathering since the mid 1990s, and I can still beat The Legend of Zelda. I’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons, though, and despite multiple attempts, have never been able to read any of Tolkien’s work, so I might not be, like, nerd supreme, but definitely a nerd of sorts.

So writing The Tide of War wasn’t just an experiment, it was getting back to my roots. Back to spaceships and aliens, other worlds—the stuff I cut my teeth on and have always itched to write again. These are the kinds of stories where no character is safe. Okay, I don’t quite write Game of Thrones level character extermination, but this isn’t a light story. It’s about war. War involves heartbreak. And these characters get their hearts—and other body parts—broken quite frequently.

(Yes, that sound you hear in the background is me cackling madly.)

Does this mean I’m stepping away from romance? Not at all. Diversifying, really. Letting those science fiction and fantasy plot bunnies come to life after pushing them to the back burner for the past few years. Some stories will have romances in them, some won’t. The Tide of War has a love story, but it’s not the main plot (though it does have a major impact on the plot). Some will have sex in them, some won’t. The as-yet-untitled sequel to The Tide of War may have even less sex than the first one, or it may have more. My other in-progress scifi novel, Mythos, will have some sex and romance in it.

What’s next for Lori A. Witt? Well, the sequel and Mythos, as mentioned above. I also have some fantasy stories brewing. There’s an epic fantasy that’s been simmering quietly in the back of my skull for a good fifteen years now. When will those books be written? When will they be released? Hard to say. All I know is that it’s been a blast to revisit the genre that made me fall in love with writing in the first place, and y’all have definitely not heard the last of Lori A. Witt.

About The Tide of War

Lieutenant Commander Kyle West is one of Earth Fleet’s greatest fighter pilots. Every day, he leads his squadron into battle over Earth’s cities in a seemingly endless war against a vicious alien race, defending his home and his loved ones.

Millions of miles away, the Fleet’s Elite Squadron attacks from another angle, engaging the enemy on its home turf. Casualties are high, and the Squadron needs more of the Fleet’s very best. But joining the Elite is a death sentence—a surety Kyle isn’t willing to face. Until a devastating attack wipes out the family he refused to leave.

Commander Andrei Dezhnyov, an Elite Squadron gunner, isn’t sure what to make of the cocky new American pilot. Kyle is equally uncertain about the snarly Russian, but as they warm up to each other, their tentative alliance becomes a deep bond—one that endangers them both when a daring and disobedient rescue reveals secrets that call into question everything they’ve ever believed about their enemy. Secrets that their superiors would kill to protect.

Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About Author

Lori A. Witt is the fourth corner of the Gallagher-Witt quad, and prefers to play in the genres of science fiction and fantasy over all that romance nonsense. Okay, so romance does show up sometimes, but these are the books she writes when she needs a change of pace. Sword and sorcery, spaceships, and just general weird nerdy goodness—Lori writes it all. Like the other members of the quad (L.A. Witt, Lauren Gallagher, and Ann Gallagher), Lori is in the process of relocating from Omahabad, Nebraskastan to the southwestern coast of Spain. In her spare time, she tries to stay out of the middle of L.A.’s and Lauren’s ongoing rivalry, while never missing a chance to trip Ann when she’s not paying attention.

Find out more about Lori on her Website, Blog, Facebook or Twitter.

Welcome to the Riptide Publishing/Lori A. Witt blog tour for The Tide of War!

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a choice of two eBooks off my backlist (including books written as L.A. Witt or Lauren Gallagher, excluding The Tide of War) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on July 28th, and winners will be announced on July 29th.  Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.

Don’t forget to check out JustJen’s review of The Tide of War to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!