Fun ways to Weave Sci fi into your Paranormal Tales

by Sam Cheever

One of the best things about the birth and explosion of Indie Publishing is the ability to gender mash. I’m the queen of gender mashing. So much so that I probably never would have gotten traditionally published if I’d continued to try. And one of my very favorite mashes is the combination of adventure, sci fi (futuristic and space opera-ish), romance and paranormal fiction. To my way of thinking, this particular mix has it all and it’s as much fun to write as it is to read. So how in the world (or out of it) does one accomplish this meshing of paranormal and sci-fi? Here’s how I’ve done it:

In the gay Bloodhound bounty hunter series I write as Declan Sands, the main characters are all shifters that originated from other planets and other galaxies. These characters aren’t simply magical creatures of the Earth. They’re magical creatures whose magic is borne of differences between their planets and ours. My main characters (Bloodhound shifters) are from the planet Eninac, which is a planet of dog shifters. Secondary characters include a snake shifter (he’s a ton of fun!) a Hell-hound shifter, and an Earth Fairy. The books are a mix of battles fought on Earth and in outer space, which gives me a wide range of fun world building opportunities.

In my Apocalyptic series, written as Sam Cheever, I’ve meshed time travel, a post-apocalyptic world with zombies, witches and warlocks, adventure, romance and sci fi (yeah, that would go over well in New York. LOL) The main characters themselves are mostly not alien, but they’re able to time travel to the future and utilize tech that allows them to travel between planets and galaxies.

My Sangui: Alphas of the Blood series is based on a race of vampires from another planet/galaxy, who relocate to Earth because their planet is dying. While most of the first book in the series is based on Earth, with the vamps trying to learn their way around in a world that is amusingly confusing to them, the second book took them back to their home planet in a rescue operation.

My recently re-released, Bedeviled & Beyond series incorporates other planets and their inhabitants as secondary characters, each planetary representative having different personalities, physical attributes and cultural oddities. It’s a fun way to flesh out your character list while creating a deep, richly detailed world that is unending in its surprises and delights.


These are just a few ways to intermingle paranormal and sci fi into one great story. I’m sure many of you have used others. However, if you’re a purist and have never mixed any other sub-genre with your sci fi, you might want to tuck the idea away in the back of your brain. In case you get a wild hair someday and yearn to branch out!

The views expressed in this blog post are solely those of Sam Cheever and not the SFR Brigade.　 
 

She’s on the side of good in the war between good and evil, but there’s this one bad guy…


Astra Q Phelps is on the side of the good guys in the war between good and evil. Unfortunately for her, the bad guys have been making inroads on her soul. And when a particularly dark and sexy dark worlder fixes his heated gaze on Astra, the lighter side of her nature quickly finds itself kicked to the curb by her slut-monkey side. But Astra doesn't have time to deal with her love life. She's in the middle of a war between two dark factions...a war that just might mean the end of the human population...and it seems the fate of the world rests uneasily on her shoulders. It's a lot of pressure to put on one feisty halfling...but Astra Q Phelps is definitely...erm...certainly...ahh...possibly up to the challenge.


Currently on sale for only $0.99 – FREE if you’re on Kindle Unlimited!
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Website page with excerpt: http://www.samcheever.com/bedeviled&beguiled.html




Author Bio
 
 
USA Today Bestselling Author Sam Cheever writes romantic paranormal/fantasy/sci fi and mystery/suspense, creating stories that celebrate the joy of love in all its forms. Known for writing great characters, snappy dialogue, and unique and exhilarating stories, Sam is the award-winning author of 50+ books and has been writing for over a decade under several noms de plume.

If you haven't already connected, Sam would love it if you Liked/Followed her wherever you enjoy hanging out online. Here are her online haunts:

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Easing Into Science Fiction

by Sam Cheever

I love science fiction romance. In fact, I find myself inserting a bit of sci fi into most of my paranormal stuff. I didn’t even realize I was doing this until I started seeing the books described as science fiction, futuristic romance. Then I realized reviewers were right. I’ve written flying cars, futuristic food machines and hybrid communication devices since I created my first paranormal series.

I guess that genesis should have told me something about my style of science fiction…I don’t write complex worlds with elaborate naming conventions and multifaceted ruling structures. That type of sci fi is wonderfully intricate and compelling, but it can often take a good third of the first book to get acclimated to it all. I don’t have a problem with those books, it’s just that…well…sigh…I guess I’m a lazy reader.

My world building is a fairly straight forward amalgam of the world as we know it now, the world as we expect it to be in the future, and stuff we haven’t even imagined yet. My characters fly around in space ships (or flying cars) that are fueled by Hydrogen gas, fire O2 guns and lasers, and wear space suits when they’re on planets with non-compatible air.

They might have an altered density so that gravity affects them differently. But they mostly look like us and they’re enough like us to make them easy to understand and accept. My aliens speak a language that is similar enough to ours that they can acclimate easily. They are tied to us in some way through shared history but they’ve evolved differently. They’re distinct enough that dropping them into our world creates instant entertainment. They eat enough like us to survive easily on Earth, but have fun discovering things like chocolate and popcorn. They appreciate our computers and technology, while laughing at our use of paper and street art to communicate.

I use a background in chemistry and biology (I studied to be a nutritionist before I decided I’d rather write #:0) to create my characters and space experiences. I’m like the mad scientist who mixes and matches new and untried science with common, well-known tech.

But my overarching goal is always to make my world-building simple enough to quickly grasp so that the reader can focus on the characters and their antics. The world they interact in is vital…but it mustn’t overwhelm the characters. It should wrap quietly around them, enhancing rather than eclipsing. It’s a flavor rather than an entity…white noise instead of a soundtrack.

I know I’ve succeeded in creating a sci fi world that’s comfortable to newcomers when readers who generally don’t read sci fi enjoy the stories I’ve created. My goal is to help unfamiliar, maybe downright resistant, readers discover this wonderful genre. And I’m happy to ease them into SFR, so those of you who create more intricate worlds can capture them and pull them more deeply into our sci fi web. *grin* Happy Reading, Everybody!


**The views expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author and not the SFR Brigade.
　

She might be the enemy. He might have to take her down. But all he really wants to do is make slow, sweet love to her.







 Grimm Forbes has been captured by sexy spaceship Captain Cari Pascale and turned into her sex vassal. But, as alliances conspire to take down his old friends at the Authority, Grimm worries that the woman who ignites his sexual fantasies might be at the epicenter of the treachery. It's possible he'll have to make a choice between his friends and the woman he wants in his bed. He only prays he has the strength to make the right decision, because the consequences of making the wrong one will be apocalyptic.


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About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author Sam Cheever writes romantic paranormal/fantasy and mystery/suspense, creating stories that celebrate the joy of love in all its forms. Known for writing great characters, snappy dialogue, and unique and exhilarating stories, Sam is the award-winning author of 50+ books and has been writing for over a decade under several noms de plume.

If you haven't already connected, Sam would love it if you Liked/Followed her wherever you enjoy hanging out online. Here are her online haunts:
Newsletter: http://www.samcheever.com/newsletter.html Subscribe to my newsletter and win a free copy of the fun and sexy Honeybun Fever Box Set
Website: www.SamCheever.com
Blog: http://samcheever.com/blog/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/samcheever
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamCheeverAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/samcheever
Pinterest:　http://www.pinterest.com/samcheever1/
Tsu: https://www.tsu.co/Samcheever