New Release! FORCE OF HABIT - Contest!

All she wanted was a breath of fresh air. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently so.

Isobel Enid Schuster never planned to go into space. She almost wished there had been no Vatican III, and the clergy had not gone co-ed, or at least the Jesuits had not.

But all those things had happened. The Galactic Union Space-Troopers teamed up with the St. Bennedetta Jesuits to form the Space Academy Preparatory School, and now Bel is a Professor of Extra-Terrestrial Humanities and Value Systems on a starship.

Restricted shore leave on the planet Llannonn is better than staying on the ship, especially when Bel swaps clothes with a close-look-alike Llannonninn woman and slips out to see the sights. But the woman is the target of a criminal from another planet. The woman thinks Bel is a police agent, come to take her place. The criminal thinks Bel is his target. Yet another criminal thinks Bel is a VIP he can kidnap and hold for ransom.

The only thing between Bel and a life of slavery in the provinces is the tenuous friendship she's formed with Tetra Petrie, a language professor from the planet Gilhoolie.

Gangsters aliens, local law enforcement and highly placed political operatives all get into the act, as a tangle of misunderstanding, miscommunication and mistaken identity land Bel in court, facing what passes for a legal system on Llannonn.

AND, I'm running a contest on my blog:

What are the prizes?

• a copy of EEL'S REVERENCE (eBook)

• a copy of FORCE OF HABIT (eBook)


• a copy of LONNIE, ME AND THE HOUND OF HELL (eBook)


• a copy of THE KING OF CHEROKEE CREEK (eBook)


• a copy of MA'S MONTHLY HOT FLASHES: 2002-2007 (eBook)


• a MomGoth's Sweet Little Baby Angels pin


• the name of your choice in the story I write to promote my next eBook release, SIDESHOW IN THE CENTER RING. Holly Jahangiri, who won this in the last contest, called it, "Best. Prize. Ever."

How do you win?

• leave a comment on this or any other blog on which I post, saying you're entering the contest. One entry for each post on which you comment.

• If you've already bought and read one or more of my books, write a review (or reviews) and leave a comment on this blog linking to the review(s). One entry for each review.


• Mention the contest on your blog and your social media networks (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, whatever) and leave a comment on this blog saying so. One entry for every place you spread the word.

Entries will be numbered and winners chosen by Random Number Selector. First entry drawn gets first choice of prizes and so on.

How long does it run?

Until midnight EST October 31.

Ready. Set. GO!

Click here to read the first chapter.

Click here to read a sample and buy from Smashwords in multiple formats.

Click here to read a sample and buy from OmniLit in multiple formats.

Here’s a link to a post about turning fanfic into original fiction.

Here’s one about the roots of this novel in Star Trek (TOS) fan fiction.

Here’s a link to a post about cross-genres and mash-ups relative to FORCE OF HABIT.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes