#Workshop: Why #Worldbuilding is the Secret Ingredient

Thanks to SFR Brigade for letting me jump on their blog for a hot minute! Y’all are the absolute best!

One of my favorite aspects of writing is worldbuilding. I am that girl who will sit for hours researching some of the most random stuff because “Wouldn’t it be cool if—?” and “How does this work?” are my two most common settings when it comes to planning a story. I am the girl who spent three months building a religion for a book I haven’t written yet.

I am the girl who builds worlds.

And I love every second of it.

But I’ve realized that a lot of writers…don’t. They have the basis of their world (a planet somewhere, a generic fantasy realm, a bland magic system, a universe with some kind of shifter that is like every other shifter), but they focus much more on the story and characters. That might sound normal, but a fleshed out world is just as important as fleshed out characters and plot.

Some writers just don’t know how to worldbuild. And that’s where I come in.

When I was writing Gemini, my science fiction romance fairytail retelling (say THAT three times fast!), I had an idea of how I wanted my world to operate. I’m an avid gamer, and I also spend entirely too much time on Pinterest, which for me, is filled with writing ideas people have pinned from Tumblr. As a result, I have consumed a lot of interesting detail, and one of the things I wanted to play around with was that basically every alien thinks humans are Chuck Norris. If you’re not familiar with Chuck Norris facts, please do so. I’ll wait.

I also started daydreaming about the way humans use the internet and the running joke about how it’s basically just for cat videos, which led to that gag on Futurama with the Omicronians and their obsession with Single Female Lawyer, a rip-off of Aly McBeal. THAT led to the fact that media from decades ago is likely still pinging around somewhere in space and possibly being viewed by aliens right now. 

All of that resulted in the fahir, a race of highly intelligent cat-creatures, who are primarily used as bounty hunters and hired muscle; and also some plans for the sequels, including but not limited to a cult dedicated to Prince.

And some terrible cat puns (I’m sorry, guys).

All of the above formed the basis for Gemini’s world. One in which humans are feared because they come from a planet where everything wants to kill you, AKA space Australia, so they must be practically indestructible. One in which humans are one of the dominant species, so they have a place on the council (suck it, Mass Effect!), and they’re one of only five species it’s illegal to enslave. Of course, that restriction just makes them more sought out. This background shaped the main characters—Uri, a former slave, and Shadi, a current slave at the beginning of the book—and their relationships to each other and the ragtag bunch who becomes their crew. Without any of those elements, Gemini would be a completely different book.

 Every little world detail snowballs into a world that jumps off the page and can become just as memorable as the characters who inhabit it.

Why Worldbuilding (is the Secret Ingredient) is a 5-week online course, hosted through my website, that is essentially an intro to worldbuilding. We’ll cover what worldbuilding is, how it affects every aspect of your story, what to consider when designing your world, and how to weave those elements into your narrative. Using examples from some of science fiction and fantasy's best known worlds from books, tv, movies, and video games, you'll gain the tools and insight you need to create your own. Why Worldbuilding runs as follows:

Oct 16-20 – Intro to Worldbuilding: What is it? And why should I do it?

Oct 23-27 – The Basics: What you need to know and why you need to know it.

Oct 30-Nov 3 – Playing God, pt 1: The Building Blocks of Civilization

Nov 6-10 – Playing God, pt. 2: Constructing Your World

Nov 13-17 – Weaving the Tapestry: How does it all come together?

Registration starts August 15^th. Each week is $30, or you can complete the set for $130 (save $20!)

Put on your apron, grab your chef’s hat, and join me in October!

Author Bio:

Catherine Peace has been telling stories for as long as she could remember. She often blames two things for her forays into speculative fiction—Syfy (when it was SciFi) channel Sundays with her dad and The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells. She graduated in 2008 from Northern Kentucky University with a degree in English and is still chasing the dream of being super rich and famous, mostly so she can sit around in her PJs all day and write stories. As it is, she's content to spend half the day in her PJs and write stories.

When not being a slave to the people in her head, she’s a slave to two adorable dogs.

​Find her at: 

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | LinkedIn 

Anthology Submission Call: Space Marine Midwives #spaceopera #scifi

There's currently a submission call for a new anthology of Space Marine Midwives. While the Brigade is not involved with or endorsing it, we thought members might be interested in either submitting or becoming involved with the project. At the moment the organizer is simply gauging numbers. To find out more and/or sign up to be notified of future developments, go to the sign up form by clicking HERE. As always, do your research!

#Free #Scifi & #Fantasy #eBook Event

All spent out for Christmas but need to stock up your ereader? The Science Fiction and Fantasy Free Books event has over 100 free books, including box sets and anthologies, available at multiple digital retailers. That should set you up for the holidays. :) Click HERE and pick the retailer of your choice.

The #99cents #ScienceFiction & #Fantasy Sale

Escape the election drama with over 100 science fiction and fantasy titles at 99 cents each, including some award winning scifi and scifi romance by SFR Brigade members. Click HERE to be transported to the home page and pick your favourite digital retailer to access a galaxy of out of this world stories.

An Examination of a SciFi Hero

by Jess Anastasi

If you ever ask me about my favorite sci-fi heroes, one of the first that always comes to mind is John Crichton from Farscape. His journey from scientist without a clue of what he landed himself in the middle of, to badass space soldier who saves the universe is one of my favorite character tropes. 

Back in the late 90's and early 2000's, sci-fi shows were actually doing okay. Maybe it was the turn of the new millennium or something, but there were a number of them on TV at the time, with Stargate SG1 leading the pack. For a while through the late 2000s, a few new sci-fi shows popped up every year, but none of them seem to catch on. Shows like Terra Nova, Almost Human, and Intelligence never got more than one season. It seemed like sci-fi just wasn’t marketable anymore. But with the recent popularity of series such as Killjoys, Dark Matter and The Expanse, and Netflix ordering a remake of Lost In Space, I’m hopeful that’s about to change!

Considering the fact that Farscape, as whacky as it could be with all those puppets and what-not, managed to last for four seasons is pretty remarkable in the current cut-throat, ratings-driven television industry.

One of the things that really hooked me on this show in the beginning was the relationship between John and the ex-peacekeeper soldier Aeryn Sun. After recently re-watching the series, now I remember why.

From the first moment these two laid eyes on one another, the chemistry sparked to life. In the pilot episode, even when they didn’t know each other, they both put the other first to detriment of their own well being. Aeryn spoke up for John when the villain, Crais, threatened to lock him up and experiment on him. Crais turns on Aeryn, and accuses her of being contaminated. When John realizes this means a death sentence for Aeryn, he risks his own life to take her with them when they escape. 

From there the connection only deepened. I don't know if maybe the fact that they were the only two humans on board the ship Moya had anything to do with it or not, but John and Aeryn continually gravitated to one another.

The amount of body-on-body contact these two have in the first four episodes alone is more than some TV couples get in an entire season. They covered everything; when the ship was making an emergency landing on a planet (which structurally it wasn't designed to do), Aeryn and John wedged themselves into a corner and braced against one another. When the ship overheated and Aeryn started deteriorating because her people can't handle extreme high temperature, John lost it for a moment over the fact that Aeryn may die. When D'Argo put on a cuff that made him more aggressive and started shooting at them, they took cover in a corner, pressed up against one another. And let's not forget stuff blowing up and Aeryn landing on top of John. Yep, they were pretty much all over one another. It’s exhausting to keep up with!

The relationship with Aeryn aside, I really love the character of John Crichton. He started out as a scientist lost in space, who didn't know much about weapons or defending himself. In fact in the fourth episode, he blew up Aeryn's rifle when he tried to fire it. And there's several times when he runs instead of fighting. But as the seasons progress on, and he has no choice but to fight in order to save himself and Aeryn, John becomes the Alpha male, but still retains that sensitive side, the one which fell in love with Aeryn so easily and could still hold out hope, even when things were looking so dark.

One other thing that’s so great about John — he’s one of those tough guys who couldn't stop the tears. A bit like Dean Winchester on Supernatural. Yeah, they're tough guys who'll do anything to protect the ones they love, but if something really gets to them, they're not ashamed when a few manly tears roll down those handsome cheeks. And you always remember the first time. Like with Dean, when he made that desperate phone call to his dad, because he was worried about Sam.

For John, the first time we saw this depth of emotion was toward the end of season one. Crais had been relentlessly chasing them all over the galaxy to get revenge for John killing his brother in the first episode (though, it was an accident, a collision that happened only moments after he first came through the wormhole).

Moya’s crew manage to capture Crais, and while he's locked up, John goes to confront him about why Crais wouldn't listen to reason and just leave them alone. Until that point, no matter what had happened, John had just gone with it, adapting as best he could. But I think in that moment, everything that had happened finally caught up with him, and the knowledge that he may never get home to see his friends and family again, that he was stuck in this deadly galaxy he still didn't quite understand, just trying to survive, overwhelmed him, and the emotion needed to come out. Yeah, give me a tough guy who cries, and I'm a sucker.

If you happen to be a sci-fi fan and haven't watched Farscape, then you're seriously missing out. Yes, yes, I know the puppets and the hardcore costumes are a little much at first. But if you can manage to get past that, then you're in for some sci-fi romance gold. In fact, I wouldn't hesitate to say that Farscape has been to date the best example of sci-fi romance and how well it can work on TV, and will probably retain that title for a very long time. 

*This post was adapted and re-blogged from jessanastasi.blogspot.com

Jess has been making up stories ever since she can remember. Though her messy handwriting made it hard for anyone else to read them, she wasn’t deterred and now she gets to make up stories for a living. She loves loud music, a good book on a rainy day, and probably spends too much time watching too many TV shows. Jess lives in regional Victoria, Australia, with her very supportive husband, three daughters, two hyper-active border collie dogs, and one cat who thinks he’s one of the kids.

Atrophy will be on sale for only 99cents from the 1st-8th of August!

www.jessanastasi.com

Twitter @JessAnastasi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jess-Anastasi-Author-Page-129441077081452/

Disability In SF - Taking A Different Approach

Perhaps I'm not the best qualified person to tackle this subject, but it's one that I've thought about a lot this year. I see the constant calls for diversity in fiction, and especially in science fiction. Not enough PoC characters, disability not being considered, not enough gender equality, variety etc. But here's why I struggle with disabilities in my own stories.

In October this year, a man left paralyzed from the chest down was able to walk again (albeit on crutches) using cells taken from his own nose to regrow nerves in his spine. 3D printing has enabled the creation of an artificial spine. I watched a medical show involving a man who had his windpipe damaged in a car crash that left him unable to speak and forced to breathe through a hole in his chest for seven years. After radical, experimental surgery and using an artificial windpipe scaffold with some of his own body cells grown on it, he woke up immediately able to speak and breathe through his mouth. A woman has given birth after having a womb transplant from a donor.

Since I write far future SFR, the fact that we are already able to perform such medical miracles right now makes it hard for me to imagine ANY disabilities existing in my worlds, though they still could. Of course, not all the civilizations are as advanced in my universe, so there are opportunities. But those don't tend to be the focus of my stories so far. So perhaps I need to consider that the whole concept or definition of disability itself will have to change in my stories.

 

An example is the Earth Girl trilogy of YA SF written by Janet Edwards and published by Pyr in the US (my eldest is a huge fan). In these books, the heroine is considered disabled because a problem in her immune system means she can't travel from planet to planet and has to remain on Earth. This makes her a freak in the current society.

I also have a WIP with a heroine who has a similar issue. After breaking her neck which in present day would have left her paraplegic, my heroine's own body rejects attempts to regrow her spine or repair it using stem cells, and she's forced to have a cybernetic replacement. While this actually enhances her abilities in some ways, it makes her a medical liability due to the additional costs and difficulties of providing her with full medical care and repairs (something that must be paid for and supplied by her employer). So the ability to fix and/or prevent leaving her with one disability creates a whole new one.

Of course, current advances in medical science don't necessarily mean we'll be able to fix every form of disability, or that curing it might not have side effects or create other issues such as ethical or religious conflicts, for example. Any ST:NG fan will be familiar with Geordi's blindness and how the writers tackled that throughout the series, including how losing his visor caused major problems, and how an offer to cure his blindness by the Q was used to tempt him. In Neal Asher's The Technician (heavy, far future SF) one character is autistic (autism also runs in my family, so it's something I'm familiar with but don't write for personal reasons. I'm just as guilty of not writing disability into my stories). In X-Men: Days of Future Past, Xavier is taking a drug that enables him to walk but costs him his telepathy (though at the start of the story, he's actually glad to lose his powers). And if you're looking for a story where physical disability is dealt with very well, I suggest you read Tin Cat by Misa Buckley (and here, the hero is curious about the heroine's disability as he's come from a future time where it's curable/repairable). There are many reasons why someone might chose not to accept medical help. I vaguely remember an episode of Babylon 5 where parents refused to let their son undergo life-changing surgery because it went against their religious beliefs to pierce the body, despite the fact their son would otherwise die. The doctor disagreed, went ahead, and was devastated to discover the parents had euthanised their child because of his actions.

Yes, there should be more stories featuring disabilities, and even disabled heroes/heroines. But if you are uncomfortable to write them, or concerned that even with research that you could get it wrong, perhaps it's a good idea to think about what a disability in the far future might be when we are already on the brink of being medically able to do so much more.

With thanks to my daughter for the information on Earth Girl.

Bio:

After spending twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay is now a stay-at-home mum who writes scifi and the supernatural. Somewhere along the way a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moment playing guitar very badly, punishing herself with freestyle street dance, and studying the Dark Side of the Force. Although happily settled in the historical town of Colchester in the UK with her husband of 21 years and three little monsters, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.

Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, blogging at Spacefreighters Lounge, Adventures in Scifi, and Romancing the Genres. Her works include YA and adult scifi, scifi romance, and paranormal titles, and she’s one of eight authors included in the science fiction romance anthology—Tales from the SFR Brigade. She’s also a double SFR Galaxy Award winner, been a finalist in the Heart of Denver RWA Aspen Gold Contest (3rd place), and the GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Awards (2nd place).

You can stalk her at her website, or at her blog, but without doubt her favorite place to hang around and chat is on Twitter as @pippajaygreen. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Goodreads, and Wattpad.

Her latest work is an alternative 1920s superhero romance--When Dark Falls--released 21st November by Breathless Press.

EXCERPT | GOODREADS
Available at... Breathless Press
All Romance eBooks | Bookstrand
Smashwords | Barnes&Noble
Amazon US | Amazon UK

In a city where Dark Technologies Inc. now runs the show, Kadie Williams has more immediate concerns than the fall of Blaze, their guardian superhero. Almost every morning for the last few months she’s woken up with cuts and bruises on her body, and no idea how she got them. There are no nightmares. No evidence that she sleepwalks, or any sign of a break in. And nothing to tell her who’s been cleaning up after her. As just one of thousands of civilians conscripted to slave away in the labs of Professor Dark, she knew there'd be trouble ahead. But she never expected it to be so bad, or so personal.

Desperate for answers, Kadie looks to the new defender of the night, the only person who can hinder the total domination of Professor Dark—Nocturnelle. The mysterious vigilante superhero came from nowhere with her cybernetic sidekick Shadow, set on putting an end to the brutality of Dark's regime. But as his laboratories work on a new secret super-weapon, Nocturnelle and Shadow may not be enough to save Nephopolis...or to save Kadie either.

SFRB Recommends 28: Tethered #SFR #Scifi #Romance

This week's recommendation is brought to you by Sabine Priestley.

Book Description

She can kill with a kiss. But can assassin Tyree also heal one man's grief, and bring peace to a galaxy threatened by war?

For Tyree of the Su, being an assassin isn't simply something she was trained for. It's the sole reason for her existence. A genetically enhanced clone—one of many in Refuge—she's about to learn her secluded lifestyle, and that of all her kind, is under threat by a race capable of neutralizing their special talents to leave them defenseless.

For Zander D'joren, being a diplomat has not only cost him his appearance, but also the love of his life. Scarred, grieving, he must nonetheless continue in his role as co-delegate to the fearsome Tier-vane or risk a conflict that could only end one way.

Now both of them need to keep each other alive and maintain a perilous deception long enough to renegotiate the treaty with the Tier-vane, or throw their people into a war that could wipe out Terrans and Inc-Su alike. But there's more at stake than humanity, whether true or modified. Can the love growing between them save them both? Or merely hasten their destruction?

What I thought

I liked this a lot. I enjoy her style and the British influence in her work. This was interesting in that it raises questions about preconceived notions, social mores, and how those can differ across societies and even species. Love, sex and death were among the top contenders. Well written and an enjoyable read. I did feel the ending could have been flushed out more. It felt a bit rushed, but overall great job.

Author site: Pippa Jay | Sci-fi and the Supernatural with a Romantic Soul

SFRB Recommends #21: Visionary of Peace by Cindy Borgne #scifi #romance

Visionary of Peace by Cindy Borgne

Book Description

Ian Connors had planned to use his visions to spy on Marscorp in order to maintain peace, but flashbacks and nightmares make it impossible. Since two years of peace have passed due to a stalemate, Ian decides to try and live a normal life, until one day he has a vision so horrifying he has no choice but to become the seer he once was or Vallar will have no future. While he struggles to regain his ability, the Marcs plot to capture him alive in order to complete a deal for their return to Earth.

Why is it recommended?

This is the second book in the Vallar Series. For those who met Ian Connors in the first book, it is primarily an opportunity to see what happens to him after he leaves Marscorp. And trouble, it seems, is never too far away.

Borgne weaves a tightly-structured story with plenty of surprises along the way. One can definitely learn from the example she sets in story-craft. 

Author site: Cindy Borgne | Speculative and Paranormal Fiction

SFRB Recommends #20: Aopato by Margaret Afseth #scifi #romance

Aopato by Margaret Afseth

Book Description

Sonia appears to be a typical grandmother at seventy-five. She thinks her worst fears have been realized when she is forced to move into a city senior complex.

She has always felt she was different. When a tiny sphere appears out of empty space, informs her she belongs to a lost race, she is not surprised. As the device knocks her in the forehead, a whole new reality opens up, and Sonia finds herself responsible not only for the welfare of dysfunctional family, but also holding the lives of a rag-tag inter-racial band of survivors. She calls these the invisible ones: Aopato (Ah-or-atos in Greek).

Sonia's life goal will forever be the safety and happiness of those in her care. Why should it be any different now?

But there are those who oppose her, believing she has neither the skills or qualifications to carry out her function. Added to a contentious daughter and jealous brothers is the fact that the species has a natural vicious predator intent on eliminating all of their kind.

How could agape love be sufficient to conquer such hurdles? Will this struggling new remnant die at its birth?

Why we recommend Aopato

This book is very interesting. I found that while it did not really grab me at the beginning, it must be said (primarily due to the opening being set in the "present day" on Earth), the complexity of the alien civilisation that is developed is what is intriguing about this book. The worldbuilding is plausible and very well-structured. Although quite complex in terms of relationship structures, Afseth handles this aspect very well, gradually building up the picture of how the race survives. I especially appreciated the red herrings that surrounded the climax of the story.

The characters are realistic and sympathetic, in that the reader can easily identify with their pitfalls and aspirations. This enables one to buy into the story even as it is complex. Some sequences are repetitive in nature, but Afseth avoids it becoming boring.

And of course, there are surprises along the way.

This book is for readers of all ages.

This book is available from

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Author info: Margaret Afseth profile on Smashwords

SFRB Recommends #19: Starheart by Greta van der Rol #scifi #romance #spaceopera

Starheart by Greta van der Rol

Book Description

Freighter Captain Jess Sondijk thought she had her life under control until Admiral Hudson's Confederacy battle cruiser stops her ship to search for contraband. His questions reopen matters she had thought resolved. What if her husband's death during an official boarding wasn't accidental?

Hudson has his own questions. Who in the Confederacy is trading with the Ptorix? And what price is high enough to pay for starhearts, the prized jewels the aliens call the windows of the soul?

Jess and Hudson's interests collide in more ways than one as they follow a shadowy trail of deceit and corruption in search of the truth. But while Jess is more than willing to put her life on the line to protect what's hers, Hudson must balance the risk of inter-species war at worst and the end of his career at best, in a deadly game of political intrigue, murder and greed.

***

It took me a while to get around to reading this book after I bought it on Amazon. Let me tell you one thing: don't do it. You buy it, you read it. It's that good.

A real page-turner, I really struggled to put this book down. The world-building is excellent, with just a snippet here or there that reveals more of the setting as one gets deeper into the book. The characters are vivid and well-rounded, and there's plenty in here to keep you guessing about... well, a lot.

Overall, an excellent read, and highly recommended.

Find it on Goodreads HERE.
Find it on Amazon US HERE.

Author site: Greta van der Rol - writer, photographer, animal lover, space nut

Writing Influences by Patricia Green

My all-time favorite SF book is Ringworld by Larry Niven. And although the romance is thin, the plot, characters and settings are fulsome. I don't know what inspired the author, what genius spark of intelligence lit up Niven's brain. I do know he was a mathematician during his college years, and loves to delve into theoretic physics in his books. It's that background that informs his writing, and, I believe it's what allowed him to build the incredible universe he did with his Ringworld series.

When I approach writing SF fiction, I don't have a background in math or physics. I took bonehead classes in physics, chemistry, biology, and math. Consequently, I have to do a lot of research when building my worlds. I try not to dip into territory in which I will surely make errors, but I rely on current technology and then imagine where that tech might take us in one hundred, even two hundred years. Although some of it might be magical-seeming, I think science grinds through at a relatively predictable pace in most cases, a pace we can take some chances on foretelling.

I try to set my SFR only 150 years in the future. That gives me some solid footing on which to work. I use my imagination, and inspiration from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, "The Matrix" by the Wachowski brothers, Dreampark by Niven and Barnes, and many others. I try to fit elements of these works into my books without stealing from them, and try to enhance any romantic concepts to give my books a passionate heart.

"The Matrix" introduced me to gel immersion. Current physics led me to nanites, and then I thought, what if there was a nanite gel that affected the brain and body? What could it do? Doesn't that remind you of "Fantastic Voyage" by Harry Kleiner?

So my nanite gel immersion was born. The nanites are so small, they can infiltrate the body through pores in the skin and inhalation of the gel. It causes a sleep so deep that dreamers experience a programmed set of circumstances as though they were real. Thus, we're led into the dream romance.

For other books, I built my world around a more dystopian Earth, where there is a nuclear war between Asia and the West. Cold War politics led me to this future. When you're a person for whom bomb drills were the norm as a child, where "duck and cover" was simply part of the school curriculum, it makes an impression on you. Creating a dystopian future from that was natural, as was creating a fantastic bomb shelter underground where close quarters means conflict and romance.

All authors are influenced by something, something so memorable that it makes an indelible imprint on our brains. Hopefully, it leads us to create equally compelling books that influence a new generation of readers. What influenced/s you?

---------------------------------

Charlotte & the Pirate: Romantek Book 2 is my latest book. Another Romantek book, Eddie, My Love,  is due out May 30, 2014.

Blurb for Charlotte & the Pirate

Charlotte Darrell desperately needs to buy a Romantek dream vacation in the hope that their rejuvenation process can heal her horrid facial scar and restore her life back to what it was before her accident. But her virtual reality dream isn't all she expected.

Rex Boyd is a counter cyber-terrorism expert, working for Romantek. The company is aware that someone is trying to break into their operations and terrorize paying customers. Rex hopes to protect one of the most vulnerable, the rich and influential Marie Carthage.

Once in the dream, fighting the terrorist who has gotten access to Romantek's system, Rex finds the situation confounded by Charlotte's presence. Is she a paying customer like Marie, or is she part of the terrorist's network, there to do harm to Marie and start a firestorm of lawsuits that would bankrupt Romantek? And how will he ever reconcile his feelings for her with his suspicions?

Charlotte finds herself in love and in danger. The dream has become a nightmare, and there doesn't seem to be a path toward happiness.

Links to Charlotte & the Pirate:

Blushing Books

Amazon.com

Amazon UK

Author Bio:

Patricia Green is a full-time fiction writer specializing in erotic romance. She provides the reader with love stories that emphasize fun characters with quirky personalities. Patricia is the author of more than 20 published novels and novellas.

In her personal life, Patricia is married and the mother of twins. When she’s not being the angel of domestic harmony and a semi-crazed creator of fictional friends, she loves to read, crochet, knit and watch hockey and baseball.

Social Media:

You can reach Patricia Green in the following ways:

Email: pig (at) patriciagreenbooks (dot) com

Website/Blog

Facebook

Twitter: @PatriciaIGreen

Google+

Amazon Author Page 

Goodreads Author Page

Valentine #scifi #romance #giveaway

To celebrate the approach of Valentine's Day, Lyn Brittan has organized a giveaway to get you in the spirit. So, want the chance to win one of four scifi romance ebooks or a paperback omnibus? Simples! Just fill in the rafflecopter below. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer - Giveaway ends February 13 at 12:00 AM EST. Open internationally. Warning: content possibly not suitable for minors under the age of 17. eBooks and Digital Prizes will be sent electronically via email. Other prices may be sent U.S. Postal Service or similar service. Winners will be selected on or before 2/123/2014 by Random.org and be notified by email. No purchase necessary. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to participating authors. We do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting winners.

Tales from the #SFR Brigade - rare #print edition #giveaway #scifi #romance

As an early Valentine's Day present, the SFR Brigade is proud to be offering an ultra-rare, not-available-to-buy-anywhere print edition of their first anthology - Tales from the SFR Brigade - a collection of eight science fiction romance stories in a range of settings and heat levels that should appeal to a variety of tastes for futuristic romance. Experience love and adventure among the stars in Tales from the SFR Brigade:

• A space captain discovers the cyborg she loves just might be her greatest enemy.
• A mind-wiped prostitute risks all when she recruits a dangerous stranger to help her escape a terrible fate.
• A prisoner-of-war confronts the comrade who loved her, then left her for dead.
• A space-obsessed physics teacher is kidnapped by a far-too-charming alien.
• An apocalypse survivor battles the biomech-enhanced hunter who seeks to capture her.
• A young artist must choose between her comfortable life on Earth or a war-torn space colony with her beloved.
• A daring thief is on the run from the alien law man who is determined to bring her to justice.
• A widowed rebel leader tries to save the last remnants of humanity, one stranger at a time.

From Earth to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, explore the worlds of Science Fiction Romance with stories from Linnea Sinclair, Marcella Burnard, Erica Hayes, Liana Brooks, Pippa Jay, Berinn Rae, Amy Laurens, and Kyndra Hatch.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Tales From The SFR Brigade

by J.C. Cassels

Giveaway ends February 14, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

 Enter to win

But if you can't bear to wait and see if you're the lucky winner, don't forget you can download the digital version for FREE from most online retailers.

WEBSITE | GOODREADS
Available for FREE from...
 Amazon US | Amazon UK | ARe
 Smashwords |  B&N | Kobo

SFRB Recommends #7: Hope's Folly #scifi #romance #scifirom

I’ve recently read Linnea Sinclair’s novel Hope’s Folly. Twice. I tend to do that when I really love a book, getting details I missed the first time around. Here's the blurb.

Admiral Philip Guthrie is in an unprecedented position: on the wrong end of the law, leading a ragtag band of rebels against the oppressive Imperial forces. Or would be if he can get his command ship—the derelict cruiser called Hope’s Folly—functioning. Not much can rattle Philip’s legendary cool—but the woman who helps him foil an assassination attempt on Kirro Station will. She’s the daughter of his best friend and first commander—a man who died while under Philip’s command and whose death is on Philip’s conscience.

Rya Bennton has been in love with Philip Guthrie since she was a girl. But can her childhood fantasies survive an encounter with the hardened man, and newly minted rebel leader, once she learns the truth about her father’s death? Or will her passion for revenge put not only their hearts but their lives at risk? It’s an impossible mission: A man who feels he can’t love. A woman who believes she’s unlovable. And an enemy who will stop at nothing to crush them both.

This book is the third of Linnea Sinclair's Dock Five series, but it is a stand-alone novel. You don't need to have read the previous two books, even though that is where Philip Guthrie first appears. In fact, although I quite enjoyed the first two books, they didn't really resonate with me. I like my science fiction neat with no fantasy mixers, and Gabriel Sullivan, the hero, comes across to me as something of a superman. In strong contrast, Philip Guthrie is a very fallible human being. 


Hope’s Folly is a love story, set in a time of political conflict and approaching war. The human Empire is being run by Tage, who has usurped the power of a weak and failing Emperor. Tage has decimated the ranks of the Admiralty, replacing senior fleet officers with people more likely to dance to his tune. But not everybody is going quietly. A rebel Alliance has risen to oppose Tage. Amidst the turmoil, the two alien species in the Galaxy see their opportunity to expand their own borders.

When the story opens we meet Admiral Philip Guthrie, who escaped the purge of the Admiralty by the skin of his teeth. He’s 45 years old, with a shattered right leg healing slowly and the weight of the deaths of many colleagues on his conscience. Tage used Guthrie to plan his purge. Now, Guthrie is determined to join with other Alliance leaders to build a new fleet and defeat Tage’s Imperial forces. But the Empire wants him dead and the Farosians want to capture him to swap him for their own leader, who Tage has imprisoned. On top of all that, Guthrie’s new flagship is a very old ex-fleet cruiser which was disarmed, decommissioned and used as a freighter, and he has to enlist a crew from wherever he can, knowing some of them will be plants.

Lieutenant Rya Bennton is the daughter of Guthrie’s captain and mentor, back in the day. A 29 year-old Imperial Security assassin, she turned rebel when her father was killed in that purge. She’s no dolly bird, tall and built with curves and a lovely ass – and a spare thirty pounds she could afford to lose. She remembers meeting Guthrie when she was a pudgy 9 year old and he was a 25 year old lieutenant who showed her how to fire a laser pistol. She, like Guthrie, has a love bordering on obsession for hand weapons. The description when Rya first sees Guthrie’s Norlack laser rifle is a wonderful piece of innuendo. In this scene, too, we see the connection between the two, the way they think alike.

“Is this,” she asked hesitantly, “what I think it is?”
“What do you think it is?”
“Norlack 473 sniper, modified to handle wide-load slash ammo.” There was a noticeable reverence in her voice.
He pulled the rifle out, hefting it. She had a good eye. Norlacks weren’t common. But recognizing it was modified for illegal and highly destructive charges … Then again, she’d seen it in action. “It is,” he confirmed, amused now by the expression on her face. It had gone from reverence to almost rapture.
“That is so totally apex.” Her voice was hushed. “May I,” and she glanced shyly at him, her eyes bright, spots of color on her cheeks, “fondle it?”
He stared at her, not sure he heard her correctly. Then he snorted, laughing. Fondle it, indeed. He handed it to her. She took it, cradling it at first, then running her fingers lovingly down its short barrel. Sweet holy God. He didn’t have enough painkillers in him to stop his body’s reaction to the smokiness in her eyes, or the way her lips parted slightly, the edge of her tongue slipping out to moisten them, as her hands slid over the weapon.

Ahem. Back to the review.

The love story between these two is gorgeous. Rya keeps insisting she has a huge crush on her commanding officer – that’s all. What would he see in her, anyway? And that thirty pounds… Guthrie keeps realising that not only is he too old for her, but he has a duty to her father’s memory to protect her, not lust after her. He also has to get his almost defenceless ship past Farosian raiders and Imperial warships, regardless of Rya and a broken leg. But circumstances fling them (often quite literally) together in what used to be Rya’s father’s ship as Guthrie tries to build a cohesive team from a bunch of disparate people who don’t know each other. And one of them is a mole.

So why did this story grab me and not let go?

Because it’s so real. In Linnea Sinclair’s universe the ships are not run by all-powerful artificial intelligences. To me, they’re not much different from what we have now, with engine rooms, weapons systems and the all-important environment systems all run using computers but with people running the show. Guys get to cut code, hack, mess about in the systems. The ships have blast doors. The pipes gurgle and knock, metal pings as it cools, or creaks and groans. Everything smells – hot engine oil, leather, soap, food, hair. The ex-freighter has a ghostly smell of oranges that comes and goes. And then there’s the cat. Captain Folly, who comes with the ship, leaves white fur all over the place and prefers women to men.

The people are real. Guthrie is tall, smart, the son of a rich family (which has its own drawbacks). But he’s not a superman. He makes mistakes, has his own foibles, calls himself a Galactic-class ass on more than one occasion. I’ve mentioned Rya’s issues with her weight. She’s also impulsive and not much good at saying ‘sir’. The secondary characters are just as convincing, ordinary people forced to cope with extraordinary circumstances.

The politics is real. I have a history degree and these things matter to me. I can see the Empire disintegrating in this way. If I were to be asked for a similar situation in our recent past, I’d go for Stalin taking over in the USSR.

As always with Linnea Sinclair, things move apace – except for the opening chapter, which I enjoyed more the second time around. This is the third book of a series and the first chapter orientates the reader, I guess. From there on, the author works on the basis of ‘if things can go wrong, they will go wrong’. Guthrie’s relationship with Rya plays as an underlying complication to all the other issues the two face. Take out the romance, and yes, you’d still have a great story. But man, you’d miss out on soooo much.

Oh, and before I finish, I must mention the sex scenes. They’re not many and they’re intense, steamy and sensual, but not a how-to manual.

I loved this book, I loved Philip Guthrie. He is very definitely my kind of man. Sigh. I’m too old to be a fangirl. Five stars.

Author site: Linnea Sinclair - Interstellar Adventure Infused with Romance

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Greta van der Rol loves writing action-packed adventures with a side salad of romance. Most of her work is space opera, but she has written paranormal and historical fiction.

She lives not far from the coast in Queensland, Australia and enjoys photography and cooking when she isn't bent over the computer. She has a degree in history and a background in building information systems, both of which go a long way toward helping her in her writing endeavours. 

Find out more about Greta and her books at her website.