Chicago. 1930's. Reporter Jack Fleming wakes up
on a Lake Michigan beach to find someone trying
to kill him. Problem is, someone already has
killed him once. Jack has returned to life as a
vampire, due to a romantic relationship with a
female one five years prior to the current time.
Judging by the healing marks on his body, Jack's
mortal death was a brutal one. But Jack can't
remember any of the details of it. When mortal
private investigator Charles Escott discovers
Jack's secret, the two become allies in a quest to
find out just who killed Jack and why.
The protagonist is Jack Fleming.
The external conflict that drives the plot is
Jack versus his absent memory of his death.
Young Lady Elizabeth (Betsy) Keaton comes to
London to accomplish one of two aims: to either
find a gentleman that she can love and marry or,
failing that, to act so outrageously that her
odious cousin Julian Dameron, will not want her
for his wife. Teddy Earnshaw, smitten with her
but too young to court her, discovers something
of her predicament and spirited character and
decides she would be a good match for his
scholarly brother Charles, the Duke of Bradshaw.
Julian follows Betsy to London determined to
prevent her from making another match and thus
losing him his primary interest--her fortune.
Teddy's machinations and Betsy's own high
spirits lead to misunderstandings between her
and the Duke, even though they both have come
to love each other. Julian engineers an event
at a ball to cause Betsy to be shunned by polite
society. But when the Duke doesn't shun her,
Betsy finally realizes that he really does love
her as much as she loves him. This novel is
for anyone who enjoys light-hearted and comedic
regency romance.
The protagonist is Lady Elizabeth (Betsy) Keaton.
The external conflict that drives the plot is
Betsy versus her cousin Julian.
Human crewmembers from Mars colony mutiny on the
science ship being called to defend Earth from an
attack by the alien Dracs. After putting down the
rebellion by hand-to-hand combat with its leader
(but not deciding to press charges against him),
Captain Matthew Gideon finds they have reached the
battleground too late. The Dracs have fled, but not
before releasing a biological plague into Earth's
atmosphere which will by the estimates wipe out life
on our planet in five years. Captain Gideon is
called to Mars, where he is given command of a
protetype destroyer, the Excalibur, and the mission
to find a cure for the plague. His superiors insist
on choosing some of his crew, but Gideon insists
on having some others, despite any "political
incorrectness." Before being destroyed, another
Earth ship disables a Drac ship, causing it to crash
on Ceti 4. Gideon is diverted to the planet to
capture the ship and survivors, a task he
accomplishes with some help from a mysterious
"technomage" who saved his life once before. After
getting the answer "I don't know." from Gideon to
the questions, "Who do you serve and who do you
trust?" the technomage decides to help further.
The protagonist is Captain Matthew Gideon.
The external conflicts are Gideon versus authority
and the Dracs.
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