I’m
so happy to once again host fellow MMRWA member Diane Burton! I’ve read several
of Diane’s books, because they always offer great adventures and loveable,
believable characters – even though they often live in other worlds! Diane has
a brand new release to share with us today – it’s the second in her Outer Rim
series, and it’s called The Chameleon.
Let’s see what Diane has to say about one of the issues prevalent in this book:
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Pretenses
Are
people who they seem to be? Remember when you were a child and Mom said to be
on your best behavior? Or there was your “church” behavior and recess behavior.
A friend of mine and I often talk about the behavior of her five-year-old son
and my four-year-old grandson. So similar. On the Friday of the first week of
school, her boy came home, drop his backpack, and started screaming at her. He
was so wound from being good in school, he had to let it out. My husband and I
know better than to take our grandkids out to dinner on a Friday night. They’ve
behaved so well in school that they can’t be “good” anymore.
When
I taught elementary school, I was amazed when I told parents how well behaved
their children were and the parents didn’t believe me. According to them, their
kids were hellions at home. Then there was the reverse—kids being raised in
such a restrictive atmosphere at home, let it all out at school. It wasn’t
until I had my own kids that I understood the phenomenon.
The
face some people show the world is not who they really are. In a small way, we
all do that. It’s part of getting along in society. Think about Star Trek’s Spock, especially in the
latest movie, Into Darkness. When
Kirk is mad at him for revealing all in his report to the superiors, Spock says
as a Vulcan he can’t lie. He doesn’t get the difference between being truthful
and protecting his captain and friend. Most of our husbands when ask that
dreaded question “does this make me look fat” evade or outright lie. The life
he saves may be his own.
Then
there are the criminals who hide women in their attic, abusing them, and the
neighbors say he was such a nice man. Serial killers like sweet Norman Bates or
pedophiles who are such great coaches are other examples. The person they
present to the world is not who they are.
In The
Chameleon, Jileena Winslott is not who she appears to be. She hates
this dual personality and just wants to be herself. More importantly, she wants
the man who has haunted her dreams since she was twelve to see the real her—not
the fluff-brain Baby Winslott. What
will she have to do to convince him she’s intelligent and capable without
revealing her secret mission?
Blurb for The
Chameleon:
Legally Blond meets Mata Hari
Socialite Jileena Winslott
has perfected the image of the spoiled, rich, bubble-headed daughter of an
industrial magnate. In reality, she’s a smart, savvy aide to her father in
social situations where she is his eyes and ears. She yearns to be her true
self and run the family business. When her father sends her on a covert mission
to the Outer Rim, she has the chance to prove herself. Big problem. He insists
she take along a fake fiancé—the man she’s secretly loved for years.
Security Officer Laning
Servary has better things to do than babysit a spoiled rich girl on a tour of
the Frontier. If he refuses, he can kiss his career good-by. Then Jileena’s
father sweetens the pot. If Laning keeps her safe, his family will receive the
land they share-crop. He can’t refuse.
In the close quarters of her
ship, Laning and Jileena discover they aren’t who they seem. Pirates, weather,
and her recklessness threaten to derail the mission. As Laning and Jileena revise
their impressions of each other, they’ll have to make hard choices about their
goals. Can their budding love survive?
Excerpt from The
Chameleon:
“The company belongs in the family,” Jileena said.
“You have to accept that your brother is dead.”
Despite her heartache, she stood in front of her
father, hands on her hips, determined to bring this to a head. She’d danced
around the subject long enough, dropping hints that he ignored. He may have
groomed her older brother to take over, but she wasn’t going down without a
fight. “I am family.”
With his trademark stare—one that made competitors
back off and employees quake—he pinned her in place. “You don’t have what it
takes to replace me.”
His remark sent such an arrow of hurt through her she
snapped, “Neither did Konner.” The moment the words left her mouth, she wanted
to retract them.
Father slumped back in his chair. The desolation in
his expression broke her heart.
Immediately, she dropped to her knees in front of him.
“I’m so sorry, Daddy. I shouldn’t have—”
In a gesture she remembered from childhood, he
smoothed her hair away from her forehead then tipped up her chin. “What you say
is true. He had no stomach for this cutthroat business. And neither do you,
thank the Divine One.” He patted her head twice. “You don’t have to worry about
that. Now get up. We have work to do. Plans to make.”
“Plans?”
“Baby, I’m sending you to Galeria 7 to check out this
discovery.”
“To the Outer Rim?” Jileena’s jaw dropped. While her
father had sent her on discreet missions before, he’d never sent her that far
from the Central Planets—especially since Konner had died out on the Frontier.
“You will check the site and do your own analysis. Put
that geology degree of yours into practice. If, indeed, it is high-grade
lambidium, you will negotiate mining rights with the local tribe.”
“M-Me?”
He’d done it again and seemed to enjoy surprising her.
He couldn’t mean it. He wasn’t sending her.
He had to be teasing. Yet he’d never been intentionally cruel. At least, not to
her.
“I certainly can’t send Sindaro. As soon as reporters
learn he left for the Rim, rumors would fly and negotiations would fail.”
He was right about that. If secrecy was paramount,
Father had to send someone whose presence was innocuous. Someone like his
fluff-brained daughter.
“Discretion is imperative. No one will suspect you are
going out to the Rim for anything other than a vacation.”
Hope began to trickle through her. He’d never had her
negotiate anything as important as mining rights. He was giving her a chance. A
chance to prove herself.
The Chameleon is available at Amazon,
Smashwords, Kobo,
and Barnes
& Noble.
About the Author:
Diane
Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance
into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense. She
is also a contributor to the anthology How
I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in Michigan. They have two
children and two grandchildren.
For more
info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com
Books by Diane Burton:
Switched
Switched, Too
Switched Resolution
The Pilot: An Outer Rim Novel
The Chameleon: An Outer Rim Novel
One Red Shoe
How I Met My Husband (contributor)
