Finding Pictures for Writing Inspiration

Guest Post by Patty Hammond

Black Holes Have Simple Feeding Habits from NASA's Image gallery

Many authors depend on pictures to help inspire their writing. In this modern age of search engines, such as Google, Bing or Yahoo, authors can find pictures on a wide variety of topics using various keywords.  However, many of these same authors have a hard time finding pictures using these standard search engines because the keywords they are using in the search engines are not always associated correctly. Therefore, authors will need to find other ways to help find pictures to inspire their writing.  This blog article is going to explore a few of the resources that may help authors.

Libraries 

One of the best resources that authors can still use to find pictures for writing inspiration are within a library collection. Many local and national libraries have converted print photographs and drawings into massive digital collections that can be accessed via their websites.  These digital collections are organized, usually by topic, and can include pictures on a variety of subjects.  However, many of the pictures within these digital collections cannot be found using standard search engines.  Therefore, half the battle, is for authors to know where to find these digital collections.  Below are a few examples of libraries that offer digital picture collections on their websites:

Library of Congress

One the most extensive digital collection of pictures in the United States can be found on The Library of Congress website.  Below are two examples of the different types of digital collections that can be found on the Library of Congress website:

Master Drawings Collection

"The Master Drawings Collection (about 5,000 original drawings) offers works by artists of various nationalities. Although most of the images date from between 1830 and 1930, the oldest drawings were created before 1600 and the most recent in the 1950s. The collection represents diverse styles and media and includes finished artworks as well as sketches, preparatory drawings, and designs related to fine prints, paintings, and sculpture."

Lamb Studios Archive

"The online presentation of the Lamb Studios Archive offers images of nearly 2,500 design sketches for stained glass windows, murals, mosaics, furnishings, metalwork, and interior architecture. The drawings feature striking watercolors created from the 1860s to the 1990s, primarily for churches, synagogues, and other sacred spaces. The J. & R. Lamb Studios was founded in 1857 and is the oldest decorative arts firm in continuous operation in the United States. The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division acquired the drawings from Donald and Donna Samick, the current Lamb Studios president, in 2003. The firm’s historic business records and photographs were donated by Barea Lamb Seeley and Charles Anthony Lamb in 2004."

For authors who do not live in the United States there are several libraries that also have picture collections that can help inspire writing including:

• The British Library Illuminated Manuscripts
• The University of Sydney Library Digital Collection 
• The International University of Japan Journal Collection

Along with libraries, there are other sources of digital picture collections that authors can use to inspire their writing including: 

National Geographic 

The National Geographic contains many articles and pictures The National Geographic Photography website, for instance, contains two sections that have interesting photographs that can be used to inspire science-fiction romance authors. The first is the StarStruck Blog, which invites readers to "...discover the cosmos and go behind the scenes of space exploration."  The other is the Space Suit X-Ray collection, which includes, just what you think, x-rays of all kinds of Space Suits! 

NASA and Other Government Resources

It is fairly obvious that the NASA website contains pictures, which authors, writing any type of science-fiction story, can use for inspiration. However, authors may not know about the other government resources available.  For example, many of the NASA images are housed on the Defense Video and Image Distribution System (DVIDS), which is "...a state-of-the-art, 24/7 operation that provides a timely, accurate and reliable connection between the media around the world and the military serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain." 

----

I appreciate being a guest of the SFRBrigade Blog and if you want to know more about me, then visit my blog at http://everydayfangirl.wordpress.com.

The SFR Brigade Midsummer Blog Hop!

Hello! Welcome to the SFR Brigade's Midsummer Blog Hop. 37 fabulous authors have a post on the theme of Midsummer, with a prize on offer. Below you'll find the list of participating authors - just click on their names to hop to their blog. And don't forget, each blog you comment on scores you one entry to the grand prize draw, which is open internationally. So what's in the draw?

1st Prize - winner's choice of a Kindle Touch or a Nook Touch
2nd Prize - a library of science fiction romance titles donated by various authors and an Anabanana Gift Card. Most of the books will be in digital format, with one print anthology.


The Blog Hop begins at 00.01am on the 22nd June Pacific Time and runs to 11.59pm by the time on THIS blog (so all day Friday). The grand draw will take place on the 24th June and winners announced on this blog (individual giveaway winners will be notified by the participants and announced on their blogs). So hop along and grab some prizes!

New Member Jael Wye

Everyone please give a warm welcome to our newest Brigade member! 

Jael Wye, reporting for duty. Thanks for the welcome aboard. 

Please tell us a little about yourself.

I am a painter, writer, book addict, houseplant enthusiast, dedicated mom, and my rocker husband's number one groupie. I live in the beautiful northeast, otherwise known as Red Sox Nation. Though I love science fiction with the white hot passion of a thousand nerds, I'm allergic to technology in real life. Seriously, it's all I can do to turn the coffee maker on. It's crazy.

We’d love to hear more about your book.

I'd love to tell you. My first novel, Red Ice, is a retelling of Snow White, set on Mars 300 years in the future. It's a story of political intrigue, high tech, and true love. I'm currently in negotiations with a publisher for it, and when I have more to report I'll be sure to, er, report it.  Here's the blurb.

Red as Mars, white as ice, black as space. . .

Shy, brilliant Bianca Ross has one ambition; to finally go back home to the Mars space elevator her father built, the great orbiting space station where she was born. Instead, her father’s second wife has exiled her down to the surface of the planet and assigned her to take over a mining operation for her family’s company. Now she somehow has to keep the mine’s gorgeous playboy owner at a safe distance, while at the same time uncovering his dangerous secrets.

Cesare Chan will do whatever it takes to save his mining company from the tyrannical Ross family, and to protect the escaped Earther slaves he has taken in. Tracking Bianca across the deserts and canyons of Mars, he is shocked to discover that his lovely, maddening enemy needs his help as much as he needs hers.

There are secrets on Mars that neither Cesare nor Bianca know, and murderous intrigues at work that could kill them both. Betrayed by their allies, hunted by a psychotic assassin, and adrift on a planet as beautiful as it is deadly, Bianca and Cesare must use all their wits and all their hearts to fight for each other, and for the future of Mars itself.

Would you like to share any upcoming projects?

Absolutely. Red Ice is the first book in a series of five scifi/fairy tales. The second book, based on Jack and the Beanstalk, will be finished by the fall.

What do you like about writing SFR?

I like taking existing trends and extrapolating them forward to guess at the wild changes the universe has in store for us centuries from now.  And I like to use the endless possibilities of the future to explore things about human nature that will never change, no matter how smart our computers get or how fast our spaceships go. Things like honor, and lust for power, and of course, love.

What do you find challenging about it?

Trying to predict what's important today that won't be in a few years, and what we're barely aware of now that will someday be absolutely critical. Predicting is hard, especially about the future, as Yogi says.

.

What is your favorite SF book or movie?

Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson. Magnificent hard scifi with mythic themes, huge in scope, decent in execution.

Favorite mode of fictional travel?

Dragonback, like the Dragonriders of Pern!

Thanks,

 Jael Wye

New Member, Cary Caffrey

Please join me in giving a warm welcome to our new member, Cary Caffrey. Thanks for the great interview. I now must have a sarcasm bot!

:)

Please tell us a little about yourself

That's always the toughest question--there's so little to tell! Like all of you (I hope) I'm a huge Science Fiction fan. How huge? Well, If I'd ever learned to sew I'd be one of those crazy Cos-Players you see at Science-Fiction/Fantasy conventions. But alas, I never did learn the fabulous art of costume creation.

 

We’d love to hear more about your book, (fill in here please)

 

The Girls From Alcyone is an adventure story--it's the story of two girls who are taken away from their homes and families when they're very young, to be raised by a corporation who has purchased their life-contracts (a sort of form of indentured servitude). This corporation is also tinkering and poking around with their genetics and training them with some rather nasty purposes in mind.

On their own, far from home, and with no one else to care for them, the girls are forced to rely heavily on each other. At it's core, it's a story of friendship, loyalty, and love (but with a whole lot of feisty action).

 

Would you like to share any upcoming projects (and links)

I'm currently writing the second book in the Alcyone series, as well as working on a screenplay I've had bouncing around in my head (think Bound meets The Thing meets Alien -- a complicated love-triangle, a remote, hostile setting...and monsters!).

 

What do you like about writing SFR?

 

Well, I love a good science-fiction adventure, but all too often that genre is lacking in one particular area, and that'sRomance! I'm often frustrated by the SF/Adventure genre. Too often, the action and scifi elements take over everything, sacrificing (or shying away from) more complex character development. Action is wonderful and all, but without real characters at the core, action on it's own rings very hollow to me.

Writing TGfA was in direct response to what I felt I wasn't getting enough of as a reader. I wanted more 'character reveals', if that makes sense, and I wanted the characters to actually have relationships, on top of all the action. I wanted to fully explore those relationships too. I think that's why I've always loved BtVS (Buff the Vampire Slayer). That series is a great example of mixing fun and action, with interesting characters and relationships that you actually care about. Joss Whedon is a God when it comes to character.

 

What do you find challenging about it?

Finding the right balance. I like a brisk pace. But I also like finding those moments where characters can take a breath, relax and share something more personal--even something as simple as cup of tea together. But even that cup of tea must drive the plot forward (I'm a very impatient reader).

 

What is your favorite SF book or movie?

That's easy. And my answer won't be that original. It's a toss up between Blade Runner and Alien for movies. Both are absolute classics. I own the Blade Runner 'briefcase' edition of the blu-ray release. It's awesome.

For books, that's easy too. I still think Joe Haldeman's The Forever War is the best Science-Fiction book ever written. It was first published back in '73 and it's hitting a whole new generation of readers today, now that it's been released as an eBook. Unfortunately, people reading the eBook are NOT reading the best edition. What's out now is a sort of 'director's cut,' and it's not nearly as good as the original version edited by Ben Bova. (Sorry Joe).

For SFR fans, this is a MUST READ! Don't be fooled by the title. The book may be, to some extent, about war, but there's a wonderful (and tragic) romantic element in the book. Just read it! But try to find an old paperback copy.

 

If you could have a robot that did one chore/task and only one, what
would you choose?

I think I would like a 'Sarcasm Bot'; a machine that would stand beside me and say everything that I want to say, even though I know I shouldn't.

 

What SFR book would you most like to be stranded in and with whom?

Woot! I want to be stranded on Omicron Ceti III (This Side of Paradise, Star Trek: TOS). Okay, it's not a book, but it's my fantasy! lol. That's the planet where everyone gets infected by spores that make them sit back, relax, have a really good time. Hey, if Spock can fall in love, then you know it's romantic.

But of course, like in the episode, Captain Kirk would arrive and 'rescue' us from our terrible fate of perpetual happiness and love (where's the Prime Directive when you need it?). Silly Kirk.

 

 

Favorite mode of fictional travel?

Who wouldn't want their own Millennium Falcon! (except, then your friends would always be asking you to help them move).

 

Brief Bio: Cary Caffrey |ˈkarē; ˈke(ə)rē|: A voracious reader of 1960's pulp Science-Fiction, self-confessed Trekkie, and HUGE BtVS fan.

Back of Book Summary: Sigrid and Suko are two girls from the impoverished and crime-infested streets of 24th century Earth. Sold into slavery to save their families from financial ruin, the girls are forced to live out their lives in service to the Kimura Corporation, a prestigious mercenary clan with a lineage stretching back long before the formation of the Federated Corporations. 

Known only to Kimura, the two girls share startling secret—a rare genetic structure not found in tens of millions of other girls.

But when their secret becomes known, Sigrid and Suko quickly find themselves at the center of a struggle for power. Now, hunted by men who would seek to control them, Sigrid and Suko are forced to fight for their own survival, and for the freedom of the girls from Alcyone.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Girls-From-Alcyone-ebook/dp/B006B9S8R6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322074629&sr=8-1

my website: http://www.carycaffrey.com

Thank you so much for this! I really look forward to the SFR blogs.

Google+ for SF/F authors?

Are you thinking about expanding your social media toolkit to include Google+? If you're like me, this was a tough call. I have enough writing distractions in my life, thank you very much. But a single post on the SFWA blog changed my mind. Drop by Spacefreighters Lounge today if you're interested in joining the discussion about Google+ for authors.

Adventures in Social Media: 
Is Google+ a boon for new SF/F authors?

What does Bond & SFR have in common?

Two great interviews! That's what!

The first involves a live, hot cover model and the other introduces us to one of our own SFRB members.

SFRBrigader Maree Anderson discovered the man on the cover of her latest release, FROM THE ASHES, wasn't a digitally created model but a real live guy.

She interviews Sam Bond, best known for his role as "Atlas" from the UK TV series Gladiators and what a fantastic read! Check it out - Interview with Sam Bond!

Who's That Girl? interview - A lady after my own heart drops in today.

She writes action-adventure SFR (dare I say her work reminds a little of me of Linnea Sinclair!), enjoys reading JRWard and loves going to conferences. She's published with Noble Romance.

Please come on over and say hi to Jess Anastasi.

Introducting Erica Anderson

Hello Brigaders! Please join me in welcoming our new recruit, Erica Anderson.

Erica, Please tell us a little about yourself

I live in Alaska and make the cat-food money by teaching anthropology at the university level. I’ve lived all over the United States and travel as much as I can internationally. I’m pretty introverted, except when I’m teaching. That’s part of the reason I love writing—it’s a solitary pursuit and it allows me plenty of time alone. Well, not quite alone. My kitty Cyrus keeps me company by sprawling on the closest piece of furniture and making sure I don’t forget to feed him.



We’d love to hear more about your book, The Antaren Affair.

The Antaren Affair is a erotic M/F SFR set “dirt-side,” so I can focus on cultural difference and social interactions. It’s definitely more character-driven than plot driven. The hero is a linguist and diplomat who arrives on the planet Antares to negotiate a treaty. He’s presented with a sexual companion as a gift for the duration of his stay, and they end up falling in love. The heroine is being used as a spy by her own people, so I explore issues of trust and communication in the book. She’s also a member of a social underclass, which gives me the chance to deal with questions of equality and gender politics.


Would you like to share any upcoming projects (and links)

Because of the way I write, I have three WIPs in various stages of completion. All three are set in the same universe as The Antaren Affair. I’m about half done with the story of Lt. Jholtan, who was a character in TAA. He meets a woman from the notorious “pleasure planet,” Vanora, and teams up with her in an attempt survive some harrowing adventures. Here’s a link to an excerpt.


What do you like about writing SFR?

I’ve always been interested in other places and other cultures, so writing SF gives me the chance to explore a limitless universe of species, cultures, behaviors, and identities. Though I love to read military SF and space opera, I think my talents are best employed in exploring biological and cultural differences on more intimate levels.

I try to draw on my knowledge of the incredible diversity of human behavior to add depth and detail to my characters’ lives. I’m also very interested in biological adaptation and I try to employ evolutionary principles when I create a new species in a book.

For example, the hero of one of my WIPs sports some reptilian characteristics, including dentition adapted for carnivory and a physical feature he employs to express aggression.


What do you find challenging about it?

As someone who writes erotic SFR, the biggest challenge for me is to make an alien hero or heroine attractive to the prospective love interest (and to the reader!), but retain their “otherness.” Where is the line between what’s icky alien sex and what’s hot alien sex? Obviously the threshold is different for each of us.

I make my sister read everything and then we have conversations along the lines of “Is it gross if I give my hero a ruff like a frilled lizard?” LOL.



What is your favorite SF book or movie?

You want me to choose? I’m a huge fan of the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold, so Shards of Honor ranks very high on my list of favorites.
I also adore the movie Alien and the short-lived series Firefly.


What SFR book would you most like to be stranded in and with whom?
I confess to unrequited lust for Turk from Wen Spencer’s Endless Blue and for Vel in Ann Aguirre’s SIrantha Jax series. Aguirre writes such a great character that the fact Vel is insectoid seems like a minor obstacle to overcome in a romantic relationship. : )

Favorite mode of fictional travel?
Definitely Star-Trek transporter -style “beam me to the planet’s surface.”

AUTHOR BIO: Erica writes stories set in the imagined worlds of the future and the past. She’s able to write almost every day–one of the benefits of no husband and no kids!–but at a glacial speed (that is, glaciers before global warming).
She has a job in the “real world” as a university prof, but dreams of some day writing her way out the office.
In addition to writing, Erica reads voraciously–everything from military SF and space opera to historical fiction, traditional Regencies and m/m romance.
When she’s not reading or writing, she loves to travel, make contemporary-style quilts, and eat peanut butter M&Ms (which are chock full of protein and niacin, BTW).
Her travels have taken her to just about every country in Europe as well as to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru. She lived in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, Florida, and New Mexico before she settled in Alaska, one of the most beautiful places in the world.
She’s blessed to share her life with rescue kitty Cyrus indoors and birds, deer, seals, and bears outdoors.
Erica loves to hear from readers, so leave a comment, visit her at Goodreads, or stop by her blog. She’d love to meet you!

blog: www.authorericaanderson.blogspot.com
To purchase The Antaren Affair http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8459-50-the-antaren-affair.aspx

Book blurb:
Colonel Rakosy Avar is an officer in the Imperial Forces sent to the planet Antares to negotiate an alliance. He’s learned the hard way to trust no one and has only one passion—duty. But when an Antaren kebara is sent to serve him in any way he desires, she proves too great a temptation for the battle-scarred warrior. Although he suspects a trap, he still wants her on her back. In his bed.

Meraya is a woman trained to provide sexual pleasure. A woman whose duty is to serve. She has never known freedom. Or desire. She discovers both in the arms of the barbarian colonel. But Meraya is a pawn in a deadly game of interstellar politics that could cost her everything…including her heart.

When Avar discovers he wants more than the paradise found between Meraya’s lovely thighs, he must play for the highest stakes ever, gambling with the life of a woman he can’t resist. A woman whose betrayal would destroy him.

Spotlight on...Harlequin Single Title

The editors featured the following lines during their presentation - MIRA, HQN, Harlequin Teen, LUNA & Spice.

• Harlequin accepts agented submissions only.
• Harlequin Teen is aimed at the 13-18 year-old market, all genres accepted. They're looking for exception writing and a strong voice.
• MIRA is their main core romance imprint - historical fiction, thrillers, paranormals, commercial literary fiction. They publish in paperback, trade size, hardback and e-books.
• HQN is their single title romance line - contemporary romance, historical romance, western romance, romantic suspense and paranormal romance. Must be fulfilling, romantic reads. 90-100K word length with a unique premise and strong voice.
• LUNA is their single title fantasy with romantic elements line. this line publishes 12 titles/year in trade paperback size. Must have a strong female protagonist, believable world building, single book or series or loosely linked stand-alones OK. They're looking for fresh voices in the following genres - urban fantasy, other-world or fantasy. Manuscripts must be between 90-120K word length. Submissions must have a query letter, 3 chapters & synopsis. Please see website for elements required in a LUNA imprint, see the titles being published now and in the past - these are not your typical romance book.
• Spice is their single title erotic fiction sold in trade paperback size. They're looking for all genres. Can be erotic romance or erotic only. Tone is very sexy, steamy, language is explicit - no euphemisms please, feel free to push the envelope with romance/sex scenarios, all variations accepted. Not necessarily a happily ever after ending but must be satisfying. While this is an erotic imprint the stories must be good and well told.

#NB: While these facts are as up to date as possible the author strongly advises anyone to check the Harlequin website before submitting work. They are the best source of accurate information.

Spotlight on...Ellora's Cave

At the recent RWA® Nationals, I attended a couple of Spotlight on... sessions where publishers highlighted what they were up to in the coming months and what they were looking for in terms of submissions.

For those interested in the the e-pub market, here's what the editors at Ellora's Cave imparted in their session.

• Ellora's Cave is the largest erotic publisher in the e-book marketplace with 450 authors, 3200 e-books & 900 print books on offer.
• Cerridwen Press (Ellora's Cave's non-erotic imprint) is rebranding itself and will be relaunched at the end of the year. Submissions are only open to established authors.
• A book is originally published as an e-book then anywhere from 6 months to 3 years then it may go to print.
• Ellora's Cave is actively seeking new authors - 50 new authors have been signed this year so far.
• Best selling e-books continue to be in the paranormal, erotic and BDSM genres.
• Ellora's Cave has several lines - Erotic, Romantica, GenEdge & Branded.
• In the Erotic line they're looking for the following sorts of genre submissions - erotic steampunk, erotic urban fantasy, fem.dom., M/M. Are keen to find more F/F and are branching into horror erotica, fetish/kink, voyerism. This line doesn't have to meet the requirements of a regular "romance" but does have to have a satisfying ending. Anywhere between 7K(novella-size) to 125K (single title) in length. The flexibility of e-print allows the larger word limit. See their facts page on What is Romantica? to get an idea of what is expected for these lines.
• Gen-Edge is a new line aimed at younger female readers with heroines aged between 18-25yo, heroes can be any age, has be written in a young voice.
• Branded is also a new line catering to a market where readers don't want to see penetrative sex unless it occurs within a marriage. Characters are heterosexual and monogamous. Foreplay and orgasms outside marriage OK, wording can be graphic and explicit. Any genre OK.

Submission guidelines are on-line at their website. No paper submissions accepted, email only.


#NB: While these facts are as up to date as possible the author strongly advises anyone to check the Ellora's Cave website before submitting work. They are the best source of accurate information.

Book Bloggers and Authors Online Conference

Book Bloggers and Authors Online Conference

http://bbpcon.blogspot.com - for details and registration.

Goals of the Conference

Authors and Bloggers are both working together online to reach out to readers and spread the word about the books we read and love.  We all face challenges with online promotion that can be alleviated by working together.  By streamlining the process of co-operative work between Authors and Bloggers we can move forward using social media and online outlets to expose more readers to more books.

How it Works -
Never been to an online conference? - Well here is how ours works.  It is hosted through a private Ning.  The panels are audio using Blog Talk Radio and each has a corresponding chat room so listeners can discuss the topic together.  Panels can be heard live and will accept callers and questions.  After they can all be listened to in archive on the Ning till the end of the month. There is a $15 registration fee and spaces are limited.  This 2+ day event is a great resource to network and meet fellow book lovers.

REGISTER AT http://bbpcon.blogspot.com

(Note: If you can't do the conference right now, but would like access to all the information, you can register and listen to the workshops for a month after the conference.)