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Balancing life and writing has always been a challenge for me because I started writing when I had three young children and was working part-time. It’s a long journey to learn the basics of writing a novel and then there is the actual writing. Most writers have an early novel or two they never publish.

I used to write whenever I had a free moment. I’d write while my daughter had flute lessons or while my children had soccer practice. I’d write early in the morning or in the evening after the children went to bed.

I’d develop scenes in the story in my head as I drove and discuss ideas with my husband on walks. I attended writer’s groups and writer’s seminars to learn from other authors.

I typed my first manuscript on a typewriter. Later, I purchased a Macintosh personal computer. That made writing much easier and faster. Though I still write my first draft by hand. As an artist, I like the connection between the hand and paper for working with the creative right side of the brain.

Now my children are grown and I have my own writing space and more free time. However, I’m still working part-time and I am a caregiver for my 101-year-old mother and help with my three grandsons. During covid, my husband and I watched all three of our grandchildren and I did very little writing.

I’ve tried lots of different things to make sure I make time for writing. I have a calendar where I write down what I wrote each day and set up deadlines for finishing chapters. I’ve also been in critique groups where you exchange work regularly, which serves to keep you motivated and on a schedule.

I’m an indie author so I have to make time for publishing and marketing as well as writing. When I’m nearing a launch, I have to put aside the writing to focus my efforts on getting the book into the world.

It seems like the world has speeded up and the balance between life and writing is always there. Things come up like my mother getting sick and one of the grandchildren needing a ride. And fun things like birthday parties and holidays, getting together with friends, or reading a book by an author I know.

There are many things that can keep me from writing. I find I need to come back to the important question of why I write. What is the message I want to share? What is the story I want to tell? Writing is one of my creative outlets and I know I need to make time for it in my busy schedule and just keep moving forward on my author’s journey.

Can a small band of heroes save their world from a ruthless interplanetary conqueror?

The Star Rider series is an exciting space opera series that takes place in a distant galaxy during an intergalactic war. The first three books are about two undercover operatives, Toemeka and Erling, and their friends, lovers, and enemies as they fight for the freedom of their world.

The next three books are about Toemeka and Erling’s young adult children as the war continues and a new generation is pulled into the struggle for peace.

You’ll love this thrilling series if you like stories that take place in other worlds with feisty heroines, brave heroes, space battles, and starships.

Star Rider on the Razor’s Edge

He wanted to rule the stars. He shouldn’t have murdered her family…

Toemeka Ganti won’t rest until the universe is rid of the sinister sorcerer-deity who killed her parents. Working undercover to liberate a peaceful people from his ruthless usurper, she attempts to develop a weapon that can break through the tyrant’s shields. But she’s barely begun her work when she’s captured by the despot’s dark agents.

Rescued by a mysterious and handsome warrior-priest, Toemeka and her team join forces with the planetary resistance. But without her device to knock out the enemy defenses, their budding rebellion could swiftly be crushed. And her time to complete it has almost run out…

Can Toemeka free an oppressed planet and light a spark of hope throughout the galaxy?

Star Rider on the Razor’s Edge is the electrifying first book in the Star Rider space opera series. If you like feisty heroines, high-tech weapons, and courageous crews, then you’ll love Heidi Skarie’s thrilling saga.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Toemeka raced through the dense, ominous forest, pursued by Talon soldiers and their vicious hounds. More hounds rushed out from behind trees. Saliva and blood dripped from their fangs as they growled and stalked her from all directions.

Toemeka jerked awake, her heart pounding and body shaking. Only a nightmare, she reassured herself, drawing a deep breath to control the anxiety. She felt awful – hung over and thickheaded. Not knowing where she was, Toemeka shoved a damp lock of hair off her aching forehead and sat up. In a nearby berth less than five feet away lay Michio, sleeping soundly.

Distorted memories of the previous evening sprung to mind. Hammering music. A snake slithering around a man’s neck. Rochambeau shot. The smell of a ship burning. She wasn’t sure what was real and what was an illusion caused by the drug.

Monitors along one wall dimly lit the room. The low drone of engines and a distinct vibration suggested she was on a starship or perhaps a space station. Stars and planets shone as dots of light in the blackness of space when she looked out the porthole. Most likely a space station with simulated gravity, she decided.

She pushed the silver space blanket off her clammy body and slid off the berth. Her bare feet hit the cool floor. She took a soft step, swayed unsteadily and threw out a hand, pressing it against the wall to regain her balance. Michio’s brown leather jacket hung from a hook on the wall. She crept quietly towards it in hopes of finding his energy gun.

Michio rolled over; she froze. once his breathing became regular again, she thrust her hand into the jacket pocket. empty, but something heavy clunked against the wall. Underneath the jacket hung his gun belt. Her hand closed around the solid handle of a Juggernaut 50, a powerful energy gun; she pulled it from its holster.

The berth creaked. She swung around and aimed the Jug 50 at Michio as he leaped out of the berth. He coiled before her like a huka panther ready to spring, radiating self-confidence. He had the muscular body of a warrior and seemed taller and more dangerous than he’d appeared when asleep. He wore nothing but loose-fitting silk sleeping pants that hugged his taut stomach.

Blast it! Why did she feel vulnerable when she was the one holding the Jug 50? Then it hit her. The weapon was of little use because she would never shoot someone who might be an ally. “Stay where you are!” she exclaimed.

He studied her with piercing eyes. “I see you’re finally awake.”

She held out her free hand. “Give me the Viper’s keyless remote.”

He scowled. “Are you crazy? Do you think I’m just going to let you steal my ship and leave me stranded in space?”

“I’m sure you know someone who will come get you. Now give me the remote or I’ll blast a hole in your thigh.” Feeling weak and nauseated, she locked her knees, afraid her strength would give out.

“So this is what I get for risking my life to rescue you.” His stance remained guarded.

“If you were rescuing me, you won’t mind taking me back to my apartment.”

He shook his head. “It’s no longer safe for you there.”

“I’ll decide what’s safe and what isn’t.”

“Fine,” he snapped, “but I need to get dressed before we go anywhere.” He reached for his clothes hanging on the hook behind her.

“Stay back. I’ll hand them to you.”

“Don’t push me. And put the Jug 50 away before one of us gets hurt.”

“Not likely.” She kept the gun trained on him, then turned to snatch his clothes off the hook.

He sprang, knocking her backwards, slamming her right arm against the wall. The gun discharged with a flare of light as it flew out of her hand and onto a berth. She pushed against his unyielding chest.

He pinned her against the wall. “Now will you listen to reason?” His eyes flared with fury.

About the Author: Heidi Skarie is the author of the Sci-Fi, Space Opera series The Star Rider Universe. The sixth book in the series, Golden Cord of Light is a new release and the seventh is coming out in 2024. She was inspired to write Star Rider on the Razor’s Edge after having a series of six dreams that was like watching a movie.

Heidi Skarie loves writing and creating stories. She especially enjoys writing science fiction and fantasy because it allows for creativity, imagination, and freedom of ideas. All inventions come from a feeling or dream of possibilities that can later manifest like computers, cell phones, zoom calls, and self-driving cars. She vividly remembers the amazing day when Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon and the possibility of space travel became a reality.

Skarie teaches classes on writing and has spoken on podcasts, radio, and television.

She lives in Minnetonka, MN with her husband, Jim, and their cat, Lucky. To find out more about her journey as a writer visit her website and blog.

The series is free on Kindle Unlimited.

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