Susan Kaye Quinn
Author of Open Minds
About the Author
Series
Works by Susan Kaye Quinn
Associated Works
Savage Stars: 7 Novels of Space Opera, Aliens, AI, and Post Apocalyptic Adventure (2020) — Contributor — 23 copies, 1 review
Savage Stars: 6 Novels of Space Opera, Aliens, AI, and Post Apocalyptic Adventure (2020) — Contributor — 12 copies
StoryBundle: The Crossing Worlds YA Bundle — Contributor — 7 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- female
- Organizations
- SCBWI
- Short biography
- I grew up in California, where I wrote snippets of stories and passed them to my friends during class. My teachers pretended not to notice and only confiscated my stories a couple times.
I left writing behind to pursue a bunch of engineering degrees (B.S. Aerospace Engineering, M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering) and work everywhere from NASA to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) to a little Venice Beach restaurant called The Green Bean (I was the bookkeeper). I've designed aircraft engines, studied global warming, and held elected office (as a school board member). Now that I write novels, my business card says "Rocket Scientist and Author," and I don't have to sneak my notes anymore.
Which is too bad.
All that engineering comes in handy when dreaming up dystopian future worlds or mixing science with fantasy to conjure slightly plausible inventions. For my stories, of course. Just ignore that stuff in the basement.
My middle grade boys clamor for more middle grade books with magic and gadgets and less teen novels with kissing. Unfortunately for them, I enjoy writing both.
I write from the Chicago suburbs with my three boys, two cats, and one husband. Which, it turns out, is exactly as much as I can handle. - Nationality
- USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
I'm fascinated with the idea behind this. Your lifeforce has a certain worth on the open market. If you're dying and don't have long to live, and you're in debt, your lifeforce will be taken as payment, then given to someone with more to contribute to society. Lirium is a debt collector, the person who takes that lifeforce from you and gives it to someone else. Debt collectors get to keep 10% of what they collect as payment. Siphoning lifeforce like that is a rush, and giving it away is show more equally draining, so Lirium has a ritual to help him deal. Only this time someone interrupts the ritual and Lirium gets caught in a trap he might not be able to get out of because it turns out the rush from freely--and illegally--giving away energy to cure someone is more than he ever expected. I want to learn more about this world and see what Lirium does now that things have changed.
The thing that puts me off is the pricing. It's $0.99/episode for 8 eps (first is free), so $8.00. Or you can wait and get the whole book for $4.99 (an okay price for an ebook, imo). But an Amazon.com serial with 12 episodes will cost you $2.99 for the whole deal. The whole book is available now, and since I found this episode interesting I'll likely pick it up. But I won't be paying $0.99/episode; that's a price point that just won't work with me. show less
The thing that puts me off is the pricing. It's $0.99/episode for 8 eps (first is free), so $8.00. Or you can wait and get the whole book for $4.99 (an okay price for an ebook, imo). But an Amazon.com serial with 12 episodes will cost you $2.99 for the whole deal. The whole book is available now, and since I found this episode interesting I'll likely pick it up. But I won't be paying $0.99/episode; that's a price point that just won't work with me. show less
"I extend my right hand, gently placing my palm on his forehead, like I'm an old-time preacher who's giving him a benediction. Only I'm not healing him, I'm killing him.
If only it didn't feel so damn good."
OMG addccting. I can't imagine NOT finding out how this series continues!
Meet Lirium - short for Delirium. Not his real name granted, but who cares what his real name is. He's a collector, death in a black trench coat and squeaky shoes, and when you see him coming, you know your time is show more up.
Because a person who is dying...is only using resources and hospital space and is racking up a debt to society - all your life you are. As opposed to letting them slowly die, collectors come to collect the last of their life and pay it out to others. It helps others live longer, strong, healthier lives. It's helping them search for cures or keep kids alive while they search, by feeding them days or years at at time.
BUT, that's not Lirium's world. His days are filled with collecting. It's a dark life, filled with death and frozen stares, with highs like a drug and lows like depression - all in a days work.
His life, his belief and even his safety all vanish in smoke when one day a girl in a red trench coat and apple shampoo-hair shows up.....and asks for the unthinkable.
I must know how this series continues. I can't wait to read more! show less
If only it didn't feel so damn good."
OMG addccting. I can't imagine NOT finding out how this series continues!
Meet Lirium - short for Delirium. Not his real name granted, but who cares what his real name is. He's a collector, death in a black trench coat and squeaky shoes, and when you see him coming, you know your time is show more up.
Because a person who is dying...is only using resources and hospital space and is racking up a debt to society - all your life you are. As opposed to letting them slowly die, collectors come to collect the last of their life and pay it out to others. It helps others live longer, strong, healthier lives. It's helping them search for cures or keep kids alive while they search, by feeding them days or years at at time.
BUT, that's not Lirium's world. His days are filled with collecting. It's a dark life, filled with death and frozen stares, with highs like a drug and lows like depression - all in a days work.
His life, his belief and even his safety all vanish in smoke when one day a girl in a red trench coat and apple shampoo-hair shows up.....and asks for the unthinkable.
I must know how this series continues. I can't wait to read more! show less
Third Daughter (The Royals of Dharia, Book One) (The Dharian Affairs) (Volume 1) by Susan Kaye Quinn
A fantasy set in a steampunk version of India. This was actually very cool. The country wasn't presented as a monolith; each society's individual culture and climate were shown.
Aniri is the third daughter of the Queen, and as such she will be free to marry for love on her 18th birthday. Having seen her two older sisters marry for the good of their country, she is desperate to live her own life, far from Court. She's in love with a courtesan and they plan to marry and run away as soon as she show more attains her majority. But then her help is needed for the good of her country and of another. If she agrees to marry the Prince of a neighboring country she could help save both their countries; and this agreement would enable her to spy for her mother. Her plan is to accept the proposal, help the Prince attain his throne, spy for her mother, then return home unmarried to resume her planned life of freedom. Obviously, nothing goes as planned. Aniri learns more than she ever thought about her parents, her society, and her own self.
This book was fun. It was full of action, with well-written characters, and a main character I liked very much. Aniri was very well-written and believable. She was brave and naive, sometimes ignorant of things she should know, other times clever and perceptive. She was a mountain-climbing, saber-dueling, loyal and loving person. She was the lens through which we view her culture and the culture of the Prince, and she was open to and excited by new experiences.
(Provided by publisher) show less
Aniri is the third daughter of the Queen, and as such she will be free to marry for love on her 18th birthday. Having seen her two older sisters marry for the good of their country, she is desperate to live her own life, far from Court. She's in love with a courtesan and they plan to marry and run away as soon as she show more attains her majority. But then her help is needed for the good of her country and of another. If she agrees to marry the Prince of a neighboring country she could help save both their countries; and this agreement would enable her to spy for her mother. Her plan is to accept the proposal, help the Prince attain his throne, spy for her mother, then return home unmarried to resume her planned life of freedom. Obviously, nothing goes as planned. Aniri learns more than she ever thought about her parents, her society, and her own self.
This book was fun. It was full of action, with well-written characters, and a main character I liked very much. Aniri was very well-written and believable. She was brave and naive, sometimes ignorant of things she should know, other times clever and perceptive. She was a mountain-climbing, saber-dueling, loyal and loving person. She was the lens through which we view her culture and the culture of the Prince, and she was open to and excited by new experiences.
(Provided by publisher) show less
A Satisfying Conclusion to The Dharian Affairs Trilogy
At the conclusion of Second Daughter (Book #2 in The Dharian Affairs trilogy), Princess Aniri is about to marry her sweetheart Ash – the so-called “barbarian” Prince of Jungali – when her world is torn apart. Literally.
Commandeered by the rogue Second Son of Samir, the skyship known as The Dagger flies over Bhakti, raining death and destruction down upon the Jungali capital. Aniri is knocked unconscious, right there on the temple show more doorstep where she and Ash are to be wed. During her downtime, a small army of Samirian raksakas free the Samirian prisoners; kidnap Ash, as well as Aniri’s just-rescued sister, Princess Seledri, and Seledri’s husband Pavan, the First Son of Samir; and attempt to assassinate Aniri’s mother, the Queen of Dharia. War is imminent, and the Daughters of Dharia are not willing to surrender their crowns and countries to the power-hungry madman Natesh.
But with the Queen of Dharia more or less out of commission, it’s up to Aniri and her oldest sister Nahali to procure peace and (hopefully) liberate the kidnapped royals. Unfortunately, Aniri and Nahali haven’t always seen eye to eye; with disparate upbringings, loyalties, and expectations, the sisters are sure to butt heads. While Nahali readies the Dharian navy for war, Aniri sneaks into Samir in hopes of fomenting a civil war amongst its people, whose allegiances are split between the First and Second Sons of Samir.
With a little help from allies, both old and new – her treacherous Samirian lover, Devesh; her estranged father, who escaped Natesh’s underground dungeons; Mistress Tinker Riva and her band of Free Tinkers; Ash’s Jungali spy, the charming and handsome Akash; and of course Janak, her mother’s faithful and hopelessly (or maybe not?) smitten raksaka – Aniri hopes to avoid war altogether and secure a lasting peace between Dharia, Samir, and Jungali. Yet with rumors of an entire skyship armada running rampant, are the sisters’ missions doomed before they even begin?
First Daughter is a satisfying conclusion to The Dharian Affairs trilogy - I've come to expect nothing less of Susan Kaye Quinn! A rollicking fun ride, it’s filled to the brim with action and adventure – to which the tortured romance between Aniri and Ash takes a welcome back seat. (Don’t worry, though; the lovers get their happy ending!) Quinn continued to both surprise me and keep me glued firmly to the edge of my seat; at multiple times, I thought for sure that the primary plot line was about to be resolved – and at that exact moment is when the author threw in yet another twist. Those who loved the political intrigue, feats and exploits, and steampunk elements of the previous two books will not be disappointed.
I especially loved the interactions between Aniri and her older, “colder” sister Nahali. Groomed from birth to become the Queen of Dharia, on the surface the First and Third Daughters of Dharia couldn’t be more different. Whereas Aniri is impetuous and prone to bouts of uncertainly and public displays of unchecked emotion, Nahali is the opposite: regal, sophisticated, calculating – but with a brilliant tactical mind and a love of mechanics. But both women are driven by the desire to protect those they love, whether it’s friends, family, or state. While the book’s synopsis hints that Nahali may become the story’s female Natesh, thankfully this couldn't be further from the truth: with her mother incapacitated by an assassin’s bullet, Nahali temporarily assumes her position, but with no devious plans to usurp the Queen’s power. Watching the sisters’ complicated and sometimes ambivalent relationship evolve throughout the story is a real treat.
Since both Nahali and Seledri are “with child,” Quinn gets bonus points for depicting pregnant women as strong, capable, and tenacious – neither woman is a damsel in distress, even in her “delicate” state.
While the story is both entertaining and gratifying, my favorite part came at the end: not with Aniri and Ash’s wedding, but rather Quinn’s back matter announcement that she’s not yet ready to let the sun set on this awesome Bollypunk ‘verse she’s created. In the works for 2016 is a new trilogy, set in the same world as The Dharian Affairs, centered around Mistress Tinker Riva (and supposedly her hunky new beau, Akash). Yay!
http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/11/24/first-daughter-by-susan-kaye-quinn/ show less
At the conclusion of Second Daughter (Book #2 in The Dharian Affairs trilogy), Princess Aniri is about to marry her sweetheart Ash – the so-called “barbarian” Prince of Jungali – when her world is torn apart. Literally.
Commandeered by the rogue Second Son of Samir, the skyship known as The Dagger flies over Bhakti, raining death and destruction down upon the Jungali capital. Aniri is knocked unconscious, right there on the temple show more doorstep where she and Ash are to be wed. During her downtime, a small army of Samirian raksakas free the Samirian prisoners; kidnap Ash, as well as Aniri’s just-rescued sister, Princess Seledri, and Seledri’s husband Pavan, the First Son of Samir; and attempt to assassinate Aniri’s mother, the Queen of Dharia. War is imminent, and the Daughters of Dharia are not willing to surrender their crowns and countries to the power-hungry madman Natesh.
But with the Queen of Dharia more or less out of commission, it’s up to Aniri and her oldest sister Nahali to procure peace and (hopefully) liberate the kidnapped royals. Unfortunately, Aniri and Nahali haven’t always seen eye to eye; with disparate upbringings, loyalties, and expectations, the sisters are sure to butt heads. While Nahali readies the Dharian navy for war, Aniri sneaks into Samir in hopes of fomenting a civil war amongst its people, whose allegiances are split between the First and Second Sons of Samir.
With a little help from allies, both old and new – her treacherous Samirian lover, Devesh; her estranged father, who escaped Natesh’s underground dungeons; Mistress Tinker Riva and her band of Free Tinkers; Ash’s Jungali spy, the charming and handsome Akash; and of course Janak, her mother’s faithful and hopelessly (or maybe not?) smitten raksaka – Aniri hopes to avoid war altogether and secure a lasting peace between Dharia, Samir, and Jungali. Yet with rumors of an entire skyship armada running rampant, are the sisters’ missions doomed before they even begin?
First Daughter is a satisfying conclusion to The Dharian Affairs trilogy - I've come to expect nothing less of Susan Kaye Quinn! A rollicking fun ride, it’s filled to the brim with action and adventure – to which the tortured romance between Aniri and Ash takes a welcome back seat. (Don’t worry, though; the lovers get their happy ending!) Quinn continued to both surprise me and keep me glued firmly to the edge of my seat; at multiple times, I thought for sure that the primary plot line was about to be resolved – and at that exact moment is when the author threw in yet another twist. Those who loved the political intrigue, feats and exploits, and steampunk elements of the previous two books will not be disappointed.
I especially loved the interactions between Aniri and her older, “colder” sister Nahali. Groomed from birth to become the Queen of Dharia, on the surface the First and Third Daughters of Dharia couldn’t be more different. Whereas Aniri is impetuous and prone to bouts of uncertainly and public displays of unchecked emotion, Nahali is the opposite: regal, sophisticated, calculating – but with a brilliant tactical mind and a love of mechanics. But both women are driven by the desire to protect those they love, whether it’s friends, family, or state. While the book’s synopsis hints that Nahali may become the story’s female Natesh, thankfully this couldn't be further from the truth: with her mother incapacitated by an assassin’s bullet, Nahali temporarily assumes her position, but with no devious plans to usurp the Queen’s power. Watching the sisters’ complicated and sometimes ambivalent relationship evolve throughout the story is a real treat.
Since both Nahali and Seledri are “with child,” Quinn gets bonus points for depicting pregnant women as strong, capable, and tenacious – neither woman is a damsel in distress, even in her “delicate” state.
While the story is both entertaining and gratifying, my favorite part came at the end: not with Aniri and Ash’s wedding, but rather Quinn’s back matter announcement that she’s not yet ready to let the sun set on this awesome Bollypunk ‘verse she’s created. In the works for 2016 is a new trilogy, set in the same world as The Dharian Affairs, centered around Mistress Tinker Riva (and supposedly her hunky new beau, Akash). Yay!
http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/11/24/first-daughter-by-susan-kaye-quinn/ show less
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- Works
- 66
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- 15
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- 1,984
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- Rating
- 3.8
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