To investigate is forbidden - Traitor (Maelstrom Chronicles #2) by Jody Wallace

Captain Nikolas EstherVorn is a traitor. Or so it was decreed after Niko disobeyed protocol while trying to save Earth from other-dimensional creatures. Stuck in a prison cell, the last thing he needs is to be in close proximity to sexy-as-sin Dr. Sarah CallenJoseph. Not with him damn near ready to break out just to get to her.

Niko's desire isn't quite his own…and Sarah can prove it. He—along with the other soldiers on the disastrous mission—were drugged with some kind of toxin. Niko has no clue how the drug got into his body or why, but Sarah suspects there’s a link between the toxin and the fertility crisis of Shipborn humans.

To investigate is forbidden. But as lust becomes something deeper, binding them together in a way neither expected, Niko and Sarah must battle time—and their superiors—to uncover the secret that could save humanity...or destroy it. 

It all started when I wondered what would happen if the Chosen One failed. 

Mythically, the Chosen One always succeeds. Right? The narrative of the story is the arc of the Chosen One’s journey from his or her (usually his) selection until his arduous but final triumph. Sometimes he has to sacrifice himself, like in Stephen R. Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant fantasy series, minus the third set of Chronicles which I haven’t read yet. Sometimes he survives and gets the girl. 

Sometimes the Chosen One is Buffy and her story is ongoing in the comics, but I can pretty assuredly say she isn’t going to survive and get the guy or the girl, because Joss Whedon doesn’t do happy endings. 

If a story, however, starts when the Chosen One bites the big one, that’s a grand opportunity to turn some myths on their ears. 

That was the beginning of the Maelstrom Chronicles – ANGELI. And TRAITOR is what happens after the events of ANGELI, during which the protagonists had to clean up after the Chosen One’s initial failure. TRAITOR toys with that myth as well as myths or beliefs about angels, about evil, about artificial intelligence, even about human survival instincts and the American spirit. The book also contains a lot of side references to pop culture myths and media franchises because I couldn’t help myself. 

But the myth that TRAITOR sort of sustains is that love will conquer all, especially when love has laser guns and really good aim. 

Thank you for having me here today! You can get the first book in my science fiction romance spoof series for free ! It’s very ridiculous. Seriously silly. You can also get TRAITOR for only $1.99 during its first month of publication. Talk about a good deal. 

Jody Wallace grew up in the South in a very rural area. She went to school a long time and ended up with a Master's Degree in Creative Writing. Her resume includes college English instructor, technical documents editor, market analyst, web designer, and general all around pain in the butt. She currently lives in Tennessee with her family: one husband, two kids, two cats. One of her many alter egos is “The Grammar Wench,” which should give you an indication of her character. She is a terrible packrat and likes to amass vintage clothing, books, Asian-inspired kitchenware, gnomes, yarn, and other items that threaten to force her family out of the house. She also likes cats. A lot.

Jody publishes the Maelstrom Chronicles with Entangled Publishing, an Earth-based science fiction romance series. You can find other science fiction, paranormal, and contemporary romances by Jody at www.jodywallace.com, including her horrible science fiction romance spoofs, The Adventures of Mari Shu, which make fun of the Maelstrom Chronicles, among other science fiction concepts and stories.

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