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Queen #1
Bug Queen
A small town with an alien secret buried in its foundation.
A mysterious box willed to an unsuspecting niece.
An insidious parasite with only one goal: to infest and destroy all life on Earth.
One woman with unwanted power and an entire planet to save.
“Do not risk the life of your planet on wishful thinking. The infected must die.”
Vedalia Kirkaldy is deathly afraid of bugs, which makes the scarab-topped box her uncle leaves for her to find very strange indeed. But it isn't what's on the box but what's in it: an alien creature that wants to help Vedalia save her world from the parasitic invader bent on destroying all life on Earth.
Sabra Dempsey’s job is to protect and serve but when she meets Vedalia, she finds herself longing to do more than just guard her from harm. What could be the start of a great new relationship is interrupted by the meteor than crashes into a bean field and unleashes the beginning of the end of the world.
Together, Vedalia and Sabra fight to save the town from being overrun by an insidious parasite that spreads faster than they realize. Either they root out and eradicate every bit of the threat or there’s no hope for them or the rest of the planet.
A mysterious box willed to an unsuspecting niece.
An insidious parasite with only one goal: to infest and destroy all life on Earth.
One woman with unwanted power and an entire planet to save.
“Do not risk the life of your planet on wishful thinking. The infected must die.”
Vedalia Kirkaldy is deathly afraid of bugs, which makes the scarab-topped box her uncle leaves for her to find very strange indeed. But it isn't what's on the box but what's in it: an alien creature that wants to help Vedalia save her world from the parasitic invader bent on destroying all life on Earth.
Sabra Dempsey’s job is to protect and serve but when she meets Vedalia, she finds herself longing to do more than just guard her from harm. What could be the start of a great new relationship is interrupted by the meteor than crashes into a bean field and unleashes the beginning of the end of the world.
Together, Vedalia and Sabra fight to save the town from being overrun by an insidious parasite that spreads faster than they realize. Either they root out and eradicate every bit of the threat or there’s no hope for them or the rest of the planet.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2014
4 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Jen Ponce
52 books152 followersHello! I'm a writer from Nebraska who enjoys fantasy of all kinds. Stories don't always seem quite as much fun without some element of magic.
I started out writing romances because that's what my best friend and I loved to read. (My other best friend and I wrote about our science teacher being an alien and hard boiled detectives.) I have a varied and exciting inner fantasy life, you might say.
My first full length novel was a fun private detective, contemporary, crazy love story. I'm working on rewrites so that I can get it out into the world. The first book I've published is an urban fantasy about a mother who doesn't know how to be a hero, but luckily she's a quick study.
I studied fiction writing at the University of Nebraska at Omaha but didn't truly appreciate the experience. Now that I've written millions of words, I think it might be fun to go back and take some more classes. (It might be fun...or it might be annoying, who knows?)
I love to read and I adore talking to people about writing and reading. And crochet!
Thank you for dropping by and thank you for reading my book. It honors me that you would spend some time in my imaginary world.
I started out writing romances because that's what my best friend and I loved to read. (My other best friend and I wrote about our science teacher being an alien and hard boiled detectives.) I have a varied and exciting inner fantasy life, you might say.
My first full length novel was a fun private detective, contemporary, crazy love story. I'm working on rewrites so that I can get it out into the world. The first book I've published is an urban fantasy about a mother who doesn't know how to be a hero, but luckily she's a quick study.
I studied fiction writing at the University of Nebraska at Omaha but didn't truly appreciate the experience. Now that I've written millions of words, I think it might be fun to go back and take some more classes. (It might be fun...or it might be annoying, who knows?)
I love to read and I adore talking to people about writing and reading. And crochet!
Thank you for dropping by and thank you for reading my book. It honors me that you would spend some time in my imaginary world.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 12, 2014
I got the chills so many times reading this book I had to put on a jacket!
This book is a winner! I call it a chill-inducing factory of fear mixed with a swarm of sarcastic wit that will have you riveted, waiting for the next spine-tingling phrase. The characters are genuine, likable, and some, you love to hate. The folks of Maysville are in for big-city troubles when Vedalia Kirkaldy comes to town. After her uncle dies, the main character discovers cleaning out his bug-infested house will take more than a can of RAID.
More than horror. Mixed with sci-fi. Feels like Urban Fantasy.
It's hard not to get emotionally involved in this story. I had a chronic case of goose bumps. When a book physically affects me, I know it is good. Don't let the creepy book cover fool you; this is not your mama's old paperback fiction. Bug Queen will introduce you to haunting characters with supernatural powers, human emotions that will touch your heart, or make you want to fight to save the world. It's a tough decision. What would you do if your hometown was overrun by an alien invasion? Would you run? Would you protect your loved ones? Would you have the guts to kill those closest to you if they were infected?
Vedalia has that choice to make. Barely over the grief of her uncle, plunged into a mystery surrounding a box, our unlikely heroine talks in questions, but gets no answers. It's adorable. Then it's scary. As the new girl in town, Vedalia battles her sanity, and her past, while discovering a plot to inhabit and destroy our world. But there is a price. And timing.
The sci-fi-horror tale will leave you cold, but the love story will heat you up! LGBT friendly! Jen Ponce is an equal-opportunity monster maker. No one is safe when her mind is creating a storyline. Teetering upon love-at-first-sight romance, the growing feelings for Officer Sabra Dempsey are only matched by the infestation in Vedalia's mind.
"A bug crawled up my nose and told me I have to save the world."
Frighteningly funny! I first read this novel as an ARC, and I loved it. Like Jen's previous books, Bug Queen has strong female characters with a hint of humor that offsets the horrifying plot. Unlike her Devany Miller series: Bazaar and Slipsong, this book is told in third-person narration. Very similar to the love story in this author's novel called Blood Curse, the romance between Vedalia and Sabra is realistic and beautiful.
This story contains a fungal overlord, world-destroying monster, zombie apocalypse, nifty psychic powers, keen bug swarms, a new, passionate love, a test of family ties, and more bugs that do cool things. This novel is on the top of my re-read list. I highly recommend it to everyone! I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
WARNING: this story may cause chronic chills, outbursts of emotion and occasional goose bumps. Read at your own risk!
This book is a winner! I call it a chill-inducing factory of fear mixed with a swarm of sarcastic wit that will have you riveted, waiting for the next spine-tingling phrase. The characters are genuine, likable, and some, you love to hate. The folks of Maysville are in for big-city troubles when Vedalia Kirkaldy comes to town. After her uncle dies, the main character discovers cleaning out his bug-infested house will take more than a can of RAID.
More than horror. Mixed with sci-fi. Feels like Urban Fantasy.
It's hard not to get emotionally involved in this story. I had a chronic case of goose bumps. When a book physically affects me, I know it is good. Don't let the creepy book cover fool you; this is not your mama's old paperback fiction. Bug Queen will introduce you to haunting characters with supernatural powers, human emotions that will touch your heart, or make you want to fight to save the world. It's a tough decision. What would you do if your hometown was overrun by an alien invasion? Would you run? Would you protect your loved ones? Would you have the guts to kill those closest to you if they were infected?
Vedalia has that choice to make. Barely over the grief of her uncle, plunged into a mystery surrounding a box, our unlikely heroine talks in questions, but gets no answers. It's adorable. Then it's scary. As the new girl in town, Vedalia battles her sanity, and her past, while discovering a plot to inhabit and destroy our world. But there is a price. And timing.
The sci-fi-horror tale will leave you cold, but the love story will heat you up! LGBT friendly! Jen Ponce is an equal-opportunity monster maker. No one is safe when her mind is creating a storyline. Teetering upon love-at-first-sight romance, the growing feelings for Officer Sabra Dempsey are only matched by the infestation in Vedalia's mind.
"A bug crawled up my nose and told me I have to save the world."
Frighteningly funny! I first read this novel as an ARC, and I loved it. Like Jen's previous books, Bug Queen has strong female characters with a hint of humor that offsets the horrifying plot. Unlike her Devany Miller series: Bazaar and Slipsong, this book is told in third-person narration. Very similar to the love story in this author's novel called Blood Curse, the romance between Vedalia and Sabra is realistic and beautiful.
This story contains a fungal overlord, world-destroying monster, zombie apocalypse, nifty psychic powers, keen bug swarms, a new, passionate love, a test of family ties, and more bugs that do cool things. This novel is on the top of my re-read list. I highly recommend it to everyone! I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
WARNING: this story may cause chronic chills, outbursts of emotion and occasional goose bumps. Read at your own risk!
November 13, 2014
This is an absolutly fantastic, nail-biting, gross-fulfilling story! The fact that their are bugs gross me out, but the way they're betrayed is fabulous (and still a LITTLE gross, not going to lie!) The story was great, I love the tension, the fighting, the not-so-normal bad guy, the love interest, and the fear.
Jen you are an amazing writer!
Jen you are an amazing writer!
November 9, 2015
Good, creepy story.
Good, creepy story. Deserving of five stars. Especially liked the diversity. It was just a tad too long, so the pacing was uneven. But I loved all of the quirky characters.
Good, creepy story. Deserving of five stars. Especially liked the diversity. It was just a tad too long, so the pacing was uneven. But I loved all of the quirky characters.
May 5, 2015
Bug Queen by Jen Ponce was an excellent read! I must say, there were a few times I got creeped out enough I had to put the book down for a few minutes. Of course, I picked it right back up, though, because I had to know what would happen next. The characters are funny, witty, and sometimes, downright creepy. I’m a big fan of bugs, so I was intrigued by a story of a woman who was the Bug Queen. I loved the alien fungus; it was disturbing and disgusting, and I wanted nothing more than for Vedalia and Sabra to be victorious against it. The romance is minor in the story (the need to save the world obviously takes center stage), but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I could feel the connection between the two women, and it was a nice subplot to remind the reader that even in the midst of total chaos, love is still important. This was a fantastic read, and I highly recommend it!
June 4, 2016
This book was amazing! I am a huge fan of horror (so not a lot of things make me cringe) and I was thoroughly creeped out by this book.I love bugs(except for cockroaches) and I love zombies(which the fungus monsters pretty much were), so this was the perfect book for me :) I also really loved the relationship of vedalia and sabra. I look foreward to reading more books from this author if the others are as good as this one.
March 23, 2016
I read very little horror, but every once in a while, a story comes along that strikes my fancy. Bug Queen won me over, in the first couple of pages. It's well written, tense, & exciting. I can wait to read more from Jen Ponce!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews