Lisa: **Hi, everyone, and welcome! Through the magic of time travel, I’ve secretly teleported to the year 2560 to conduct this interview. Shh, just go with it, okay… ;-)**

Today we’ve got a few very special guests lined up for you—Ricor Simion, Neveed Niaz, Holly Jegs, and Exley (aka Sims, Neveed, Jegs, and Ex) of S.A. McAuley’s the Borders War series—here to celebrate the release of the fifth and final book, Strength of the Rising Sun.

Thanks for taking the time to sit down and chat with me, everybody. What can I get you to drink? I can offer you anything you want…just don’t ask me how I got hold of it, capisce?

Jegs: No need. I brought my own. *pulls out a flask* How else do you think I’ve survived this long?

Lisa: So, since we may have some folks here with us today who haven’t had a chance to meet you in the books yet, let’s start by having you introduce each other. That should be fun, right? Who wants to go first?

Ex: *Raises his hand* Oh! Me first!

Sims: *pulls Ex’s hand down* No fucking way.

Neveed: *grins* Exley is honest, completely transparent, and he knows way too many of our secrets.

Sims: Neveed is the practical one, aka boring.

Jegs: I thought I was the boring one.

Ex: I think you’re confusing boring with cold-blooded killer.

Jegs: Sounds about right. *points down the line* Neveed is the sensitive one, Simion is unpredictable yet logical, and Exley… Well, Ex and I are still learning each other but I’m pretty damn sure he’s more intelligent than all of us combined.

Sims: *gently tugs on one of Ex’s braids* Without a doubt.

Lisa: Jegs, I have to ask you this, one woman to another, what’s it like working with this group of guys?

Jegs: Frustrating as all hell. Half of my internal monologue is what the fuck.

Sims: Half?

Jegs: *shrugs* Ok, most.

Lisa: It’s been some pretty dark and dangerous times, yeah? How do you all hang on to even a modicum of sanity? Is there anything you do for fun that helps alleviate some of the stress? And if you say sex, guys, I swear… *g* Okay, go ahead and say it if you want.

*Jegs, Neveed, and Ex all look to Sims*

Sims: What?

Neveed: *whispers in Exley’s ear* I really want to hear his answer to this question.

Sims: I can hear you, Niaz.

Jegs: Well?

Sims: I enjoy long baths, snuggling with kittens, and braiding Exley’s hair.

Neveed: At least we know one of those is the truth…

Jegs: *lifts flask* And this is why I drink.

Lisa: I know so much of the world’s history remains a mystery, but are there any stories you’ve heard of the past, of technology or creature comforts you don’t have here in the 26^th century that you wish you had? If so, what are they and why do you think it’d be pretty cool to have it?

Neveed: Merq told me once about these things called movies—

Sims: *smirks* I still don’t believe anything like that ever existed.

Jegs: What the hell is a movie?

Neveed: You know all those awful analyst training aircomms I made you watch? Like those, but for fun.

Ex: I’m really sure none of you know what the definition of fun is.

Lisa: There was a time, back in the day, when people traveled by something called a car, and went on something called a road trip, which means they piled into this 4-wheeled contraption and went wherever the notion took them. The driver steered the car along, the passenger in the front with the driver rode shotgun (totally slang, by the way, not with a literal shotgun!), and the riders in the back were the backseat drivers. If you were to go on a road trip, who would drive, who’d ride shotgun, and who’d get stuck in the backseat? And, you have to work this one out with as little bloodshed as possible, okay? Go.

Jegs: No bloodshed needed. I drive. Right, boys? And Exley rides shotgun.

Ex: That leaves Ricor and Neveed in the backseat together then.

*Sims and Neveed share a mischievous look*

Jegs: That’s where the bloodshed comes in.

Lisa: I’m going to steer things a bit more towards the serious side before we part ways. What gives you all the most hope for the future?

Jegs: *scoffs* Hope? You’ve been talking to Merq, haven’t you?

Neveed: Don’t let Simion or Exley start talking about hope. We’ll never leave this place if they start in on their Revolutionary speech.

Ex: *bumps his shoulder against Sims* I think we’re finally getting through to him, Ricor.

Lisa: Thanks for being here today, gang, I really appreciate it. Any parting words you’d like to leave us with?

Sims: *gives his trademark smirk* You haven’t seen the last of us yet.

Lisa: Now that’s a threat and a promise I’m looking forward to! And don’t forget, there’s still time to enter for the chance to win Sam’s Kindle Fire giveaway HERE

Strength of the Rising Sun (The Borders War #5): Merq’s always known there’s only one way Armise and he can end.

The Opposition is losing—both the war and the fight for citizen support—and the Revolution’s victory appears certain. Despite that success, Merq knows his leaders won’t let two of their greatest assets simply walk away. But with Armise fighting for his life, getting out becomes Merq’s primary objective.

Almost two decades of selfishness can’t be alleviated with one right decision, and Merq is faced with the reality of how deeply he has wounded Armise in ways that cannot be seen from the outside. Merq’s world has been upended more times than he can count and he’s always survived, but life without Armise is no longer an option. He just has to prove that to Armise.

Merq believes there are few who are strong enough to challenge them when they stand together. But when the secret Armise has been protecting Merq from is revealed, the truth has consequences neither of them can prepare for.

Reader Advisory: This book contains graphic violence, mention of torture and genetic experimentation.

Purchase Link: Pride Publishing || ARe || Amazon

The Borders War Series

One Breath, One Bullet (The Borders War #1): Face to face, and rifle to rifle. The time and location change, but never the circumstance. Merq Grayson and Armise Darcan are enemies. And neither will be considered successful until the other is dead.

It is the year 2558. A mere decade has passed since the signing of the treaty which ended the three hundred year long Borders War. In the midst of an uneasy peace, the world gathers for the first Olympic games since the war began.

The Rifle competition showcases the very soldiers who fought in the war, pitting former enemies against one another again. Continental States Peacemaker Merq Grayson will once again battle the Dark Ops officer from the People’s Republic of Singapore, Armise Darcan, this time under the flag of their own uneasy truce. The relationship between Merq and Armise is one of violence, secrecy, and a growing intimacy that could have them both branded as traitors.

Buy Links: Pride Publishing || ARe || Amazon

Dominant Predator (The Borders War #2): A relationship is the least of Merq and Armise’s concerns…

With one bullet Merq Grayson set the wealthiest citizens of the world on a collision course with the poorest—with those fighting for their freedom. As the Borders War reignites, the Revolution faces heavy losses. They scramble to maintain their advantage, to strike at the Opposition and crumble their power structure before they are able to rally.

But Merq is in the midst of an internal battle that shakes him to the core. For the first time in his life Merq will have to reconcile the inherent tragedy of war and decide just how much vengeance can be justified by spilt blood. How much can he trust the men and women around him? The President, Neveed, his former soldiers, his parents…and Armise.

Merq and Armise find themselves off grid and on the hunt for Committee members. Merq is just as unsettled with Armise at his side as he was with Armise as an enemy, but they will have to learn how to fight together—or they may just die together.

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of violence.

Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been released under the same title. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.

Buy Links: Pride Publishing || ARe || Amazon

Powerless (The Borders War #3): He was built to be invincible.

Merq and Armise return to the States after their mission to assassinate the remaining Committee members only to find the leadership of the Revolution isn’t as stable as they had thought.

Outside forces come crashing down on a Revolution stronghold, leaving two of their soldiers gravely wounded. Merq’s history with his brothers in arms Simion and Neveed forces him into making decisions that will impact his future with the Revolution.

Merq has always identified as a soldier first. Always known who deserved his loyalty and who didn’t. But with the uncertainty surrounding the leadership of the Revolution, the mysterious disappearance of the jacquerie and increased activity with the PsychHAgs, Merq knows there are few people he can trust.

The only man Merq wants or needs at his side is Armise Darcan. But his reliance on his former enemy may be a miscalculation that will threaten everything Merq stands for.

Reader Advisory: This book contains reference to genetic experimentation on children.

Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been released under the same title. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.

Buy Links: Pride Publishing || ARe || Amazon

Falling, One by One (The Borders War #4)

Whether Armise lived or died was never supposed to matter to Merq.

As the fight for the kids of the jacquerie begins and the war between Opposition and Revolution heightens, Merq discovers that he may not have as much control over his actions as he thought he did. Further complicating their tangled relationship, Armise may be just as compromised.

Desperate to learn the truth, Merq and Armise put themselves directly in the path of a powerful enemy. They’ve spent fifteen years of their lives on the knife’s edge of trust and loyalty. What they learn about each other’s pasts—and what it means for their future—will bring them together or definitively tear them apart.

Merq’s life has always been at risk—one bullet away from death in sacrifice of his mission. As his focus begins to shift, Merq may be too late to understand what, and who, is most important in his life.

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of graphic violence, forced genetic modification, genetic experimentation, genetic experimentation on children and torture.

Buy Links: Pride Publishing || ARe || Amazon