Exiled for her intolerance. Seduced by a dangerous attraction. One woman must risk her life to open her heart. Priestess Tehi snubs the holiest of her goddess grandmother’s religious rituals to avoid mixing with a race she deems unworthy. And when her grandmother punishes the gifted scientist for her blasphemy, Tehi is forced down a treacherous path into the darkness of her own soul. Banished and tasked with heading the garrison stationed at a landing beacon in a remote, technologically backward village, Tehi secretly brings along her risky medical research and desperately tries to hide it from unworthy eyes. But when the magnetic and enigmatic village chieftain ignites her passions, her sacred vows and closed mind are challenged by the power of love. Will Tehi and her forbidden desires survive the wrath of her gods? The Moreva of Astoreth is the first book in the epic Peris Archives science fiction series. If you like headstrong heroines, dangerous liaisons, and dilemmas of the heart, you’ll love Roxanne Bland’s engrossing, eye-opening tale. "It takes a great writer to make a reader forget that they are seeing the world through the eyes of a blue-skinned priestess, but Roxanne Bland pulls it off beautifully in this original work of science fiction and fantasy." -- Mindy Hood, SPR "A sci-fi romance that will appeal to readers who like feisty women determined to fight for their desires." -- Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review "A heartrending romantic fantasy novel in which love proves to be a bridge across cultures." -- Jeremiah Hood, Clarion Foreward "An intriguing blend of science fiction and romance...a solid start to what could be a highly entertaining genre-blending series." -- Blue Ink Review "A beautiful mix of romance and science fiction...possesses an emotional depth that few science fiction adventures do." -- Literary Titan "Bland may well be the Alice Walker of science fiction." -- Vincent Dublado, Readers' Favorite You might say that The Moreva of Astoreth, a science fiction romance, was 40 years in the making. While in college, a friend and I took turns collaborating on a story. I don't recall the details, but it went something like this: A princess is exiled from her desert homeland because she refused to marry a man her father had picked out for her. She travels north. Many adventures later, she arrives at a village willing to admit her. The village chieftain is enamored but doesn't want his people to know since she's a stranger. The princess genuinely dislikes him. After being at each other's throats for a while, she falls in love. The chieftain confesses his feelings. They marry.   The remorseful king gathers his army to look for her, and heads north. He arrives at the village where the princess lives. He demands she return with him. She refuses. The king threatens war. The chieftain accepts his challenge, and the story concludes with both the princess and the chieftain killed in the fighting.   Not a very happy ending, is it?   Years later, I read Zecharia Sitchin's Earth Chronicles series. He says that ancient astronauts—the Annunaki—from the planet Nibiru in our solar system came to Earth looking for gold. While here, they created humans to use as workers, and founded the Sumerian civilization. Sitchin has his loyal adherents, and his scholarly detractors. But whether one believes it or not, it's quite a tale.   More years pass and one day, I was stuck in a novel in progress. I'm what's called a "pantser," meaning I write "by the seat of my pants." Instead of plotting a story, I just write, and the plot reveals itself as I go along. Unable to figure out where to go next, I leaned back in my chair and let my thoughts wander. I started reminiscing about my friend and the story we'd written. Then I started thinking about Sitchin's works. An idea came to me. What if I melded the two stories in some way?   Here's the weird part. In the next moment, the story's outline came to me. That's never happened to me before. After I stopped marveling, I filed the outline away for future use. But I couldn't get on with my novel in progress because the outline kept knocking at my brain. Since there was no point in trying, I put the novel aside and started The Moreva of Astoreth. It's very different from the story my friend and I collaborated on in college.   I think she'd approve.  The stubborn, spoiled, favored granddaughter of the Devi goddess Astoreth, Moreva Tehi has failed to perform her sacred duty and now she must be punished for her transgression. Temporarily banished from Temple life, she is dispatched to Mjor—a backwater village in the Syren Perritory—to assume the roles of custodian of the landing beacon as well as the spiritual leader and commander of Astoreth's garrison stationed there. In this perilous place of wild beasts, outmoded technologies, and harsh seasonal change, a fragile peace exists between the distrustful hakoi and the