SFR Brigade Welcomes Rachel Savage!

A Hearty SFR Brigade welcome to new member Rachel Savage. We shine the bright (but friendly) light on all willing to submit and Rachel bravely stepped up. (Love the avatar, btw! LOL!) And now here's Rachel in her own words:

A little something about myself:

I’ve been married nine years now to a great guy that puts up with my special brand of crazy. Though if he ever suggests it’s a good idea to remodel a home while living in it again (assuming we survive this first one), I might find myself with a slightly lumpy wall in one room. It’s just us, and a tank in the dining room housing a collection of loaches and one slightly cranky pleco. And his office right now – but don’t get me started on that.

When I’m not writing or reading, you can occasionally catch me on the xbox or engaged with one of my various hobbies - making jewelry, sewing, or 3D modeling/rendering. It’s rather scary when a virtual model has a bigger wardrobe than I do (might be tied for shoes though).

Something about my book:

Dark Shame is my latest WIP – a story about making the most out of second chances when the universe is kind enough to give you one.

Captain Darius “Fizzy” Dark has spent the past ten years seeking oblivion at the bottom of a bottle. It’s never that easy to forget the mistakes of the past however – not when the blood of an innocent left a stain upon his soul.

Exiled to the outer territories after a mission gone wrong, Darius is finally given a chance at redemption. One last mission they tell him will salvage his ruined career. All he has to do is find a missing woman. A simple task, one he and his crew are good at, but odd rumors begin to crop up. Things grow more confusing the closer to the target they get. It’s enough to make him nearly break his rule about no drinking while on a job.

Dark’s world is turned upside down when the lover they told him had died is suddenly not so dead. He can’t blame it on the alcohol though – drunken hallucinations don’t usually point a gun at your face. What he once considered truth is called into question, and there might just be a chance that someone out there doesn’t want him to succeed.

What do you like about writing SFR?

Aliens. I love coming up with different life forms and the worlds they live on. It lets me use my bit of background in geology/paleontology in new ways. Bring to that fun and interesting characters and you’ve got something good going on.

What do you find challenging about it?

Aside from attempting to wrap my head around star charts and a plausible way to go from planet to planet? I think the hardest thing is finding a good balance between tech and love. It’s also a factor of how much science – in an area where you can go from space opera to hard sci-fi – you’ve got to know where you want to be before jumping in.

What is your favorite SF book or movie?

Flowers for Algernon is my favorite SF tale. There was just something about the character and his journey that grabbed me and never let go.

Movie/TV wise it’s much harder to pick one single favorite. The Empire Strikes Back (alright, so I have a thing for not quite so HEA endings), Babylon 5 – and dare I say shows like Gatchaman and Airwolf even (can’t tell you how much young little me wanted that helicopter in my back yard).

And hey, I married a trekkie – in uniform even! Except we’re divided on captains. I’m a Capt. Kirk girl while he favors Sisko. Suppose I can forgive him that. He keeps me supplied with anime.

If you could have a robot that did only one task – what would you choose?

The moment they make a cute little robot that can clean my house I’ll be first in line at the store. That might be more than one task though. I really don’t like to clean (really, my office looks like a bomb went off in a book store/bead supply warehouse).

Favorite mode of fictional travel?

Imperial Star Destroyer. Stick some Airwolf copters in one of the landing bays and I’m set for life.

Lovely to "meet" you, Rachel and again, welcome aboard!