Posts Tagged ‘science fiction romance’

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What’s in a (Character’s) Name?

Jax_Garren | May 14th, 2013

As an adoptive mom, I didn’t get to name my children; at ages 4 and 7, my darlings already had names when they joined our family. Good thing for me I get to create plenty of names for characters!  Sometimes I put a lot of research into names, choosing them based  on their etymology and past usage in literature and history. But sometimes the sound of something strikes me and I can’t call a character anything else. I almost always check a name’s meaning to make sure it doesn’t clash with the character’s personality.

Click the image to find out more about How Beauty Loved the Beast

For The Tales of the Underlight, coming up with Jolie’s name was easy. She comes from Houston, Texas—right near the Louisiana border. Her family moved to Texas out of Acadiana (southern Louisiana), so her name reflects the French influence of that area. Beauty and the Beast is a French fairy tale, after all! Jolie means “beautiful,” and Benoit (pronounced Ben-wah in her family’s case) is a French surname that means “blessed.” I like the way Jolie Benoit sounds, and it makes sense for the character. I had also thought the last name a rarity…and then a fellow Carina author and I had a laugh when we discovered the heroine of her book releasing the same day as my series opener How Beauty Met the Beast (the amazing Undercover Professor—if you like contemporary romance, check it out!) was also named Benoit. What a wild coincidence!

Naming hero Wesley Haukon, or “Hauk” as everyone calls him, was a little more complicated. Since he is Heathen and worships the Norse gods, I decided to pull from Scandinavian names instead of French for him. Though Hauk is a working class hero, his last name is an Americanization of Håkon, from Norwegian royalty, and means “noble son,” a reference to his status as the prince of the tale. It also allowed me to use the nickname “Hauk.” As he is our beast, I wanted to use an animal-related name just as I used the word “beautiful” for the beauty of the tale. Plus he has a phoenix tattoo to represent him rising from the ashes of the fire that scarred him, so I liked the idea of using a bird instead of a more traditional furry beast. (Hauk is the opposite of furry, after all, as his burn scarring doesn’t allow hair to grow!) His first name has a far simpler origin. I paid tribute to one of my favorite movie heroes of all time—farm boy Wesley from The Princess Bride.

What are some of your favorite names? Does the meaning of a name matter to you, or is the sound of it more important?

Jax Garren is descended from Valkyries and Vikings (she’s part Swedish) but was raised a small town girl in the Texas Hill Country. She graduated from The University of Texas with a degree in English and a minor in Latin then found her own Happily Ever After with a handsome engineer who is saving the world through clean energy technology. Jax loves meeting new people, so if you see her out and about say hello! She’s always happy to raise a glass with her readers (or anyone else) to toast courage, adventure and love.

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Posted in Behind the Scenes, Books | 2 Comments »

Would You Be On The List?

Kat Cantrell | April 3rd, 2013

I’m a hard-core science fiction fan, especially when it comes to movies. Minority Report, Total Recall and of course Star Wars and Star Trek in all their iterations are some of my favorites. But the premise of one stuck with me for a long time—Deep Impact (hmm…I guess it was aptly named, no?) In the movie, an asteroid is projected to destroy the Earth within a certain period of time but the human race believes it can prevail by securing a select few in underground bunkers. Fascinating. How do you choose?

Well, asteroids are both overdone and depressing. So I thought it would be fun to put a more positive spin on the same basic idea. In Mindlink, aliens make first contact and invite ten humans to participate in the first universal summit between the two species. But with a twist. My aliens ask for very specific humans who have knowledge of certain scientific principles.

I spent hours devising the aliens’ list…presumably, aliens have been studying us for a long time. What would they consider notable achievements? Cloning? Particle physics? The micro-processor? Jersey Shore? (They’re aliens. They might find Snookie compelling, right?)

Researching some of these areas was a blast and I’m afraid I read more about the Large Hadron Collider than a normal person should. (…well, maybe I’m not ACTUALLY normal…) Finally, I had what I thought was the perfect list of specifications. Then, because I’m tricky that way, I spent a lot of time figuring out how Earthlings would thoroughly mess up in interpreting the aliens’ list and then threw in deliberate human agendas which had nothing to do with adhering to the spirit of the list.

Mindlink_finalThat’s the premise for Mindlink. It’s what happens when aliens and humans try to outsmart each other. And then I made the heroine an actress just because.

If you were in charge of selecting ten representatives from Earth, how would you choose? What human qualities would you consider important to convey to another species?

Buy Mindlink- Kindle | Nook | Carina

Kat Cantrell read her first Harlequin novel in third grade and has been scribbling in notebooks since she learned to spell. What else would she write but romance? When she’s not writing about characters on the journey to happily ever after, she can be found at a soccer game, watching Friends or dancing with her kids to Duran Duran and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kat was the 2011 Harlequin So You Think You Can Write winner and a 2012 RWA® Golden Heart® finalist for best unpublished series contemporary manuscript. Follow Kat on Facebook and Twitter or visit her website.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press | 6 Comments »

War Stories from My Family

Jax_Garren | February 12th, 2013

Click to see the description and for purchase links.
Wesley “Hauk” Haukon, the hero from How Beauty Saved the Beast, is a war veteran from Afghanistan who came home a burn survivor with an amputated limb and burn scars covering most of his skin. Though fortunately no one in my family was severely injured, I am the proud daughter and granddaughter of veterans—my father from Vietnam, and my grandfather from WWII. Like many veteran families, we have our war stories passed around, some of derring-do, some funny, some sad, but all part of the unique lives of soldiers. Here are a few of my favorites  from my father. And check the Harlequin main blog tomorrow (Wednesday) for stories from my grandfather!

  1. Like everyone with a bit of adventure in them, my father has a few scars on his arms from his wild youth. When I was a kid, I was convinced they were bullet wounds from his days in the jungle. When I finally got up the courage to ask, he laughed and said, “Jenny” (my family calls me Jenny), “the worst injury I got in the war was one night when I threw my hands up in the air to emphasize a point and stuck one in a metal fan.”
  2. My father was stationed in the jungle just outside of Saigon, and his life was stretches of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. In a boring stretch, he and some friends started a water fight with the base’s fire extinguishers. The next day the mess hall got bombed…and burned to the ground because they had nothing to put the fire out with. Oops!
  3. Dad was an Army helicopter pilot. Part of his job was flying soldiers into the jungle for missions. Usually the drop offs would be no big deal; they’d land the helicopter, the guys would get out, and Dad would fly away. But if they saw pineapple plants, the soldiers would pick some for Dad to take back to base so that everybody could enjoy fresh pineapple along with their mess hall, er, food.  One time they landed in a pineapple field. Dad was so excited he repeatedly yelled at the soldiers to, “Throw me some pineapples!” What he didn’t realize, because the rotors were so loud, was that they’d landed in an ambush and were being shot at. Bullets were flying, the guys were looking at my dad like he’d lost his mind…and Dad was yelling about fruit.
  4. My dad is a friendly, adventurous, laughing sort of guy. He’s got a big heart, but he doesn’t do serious moments often. Once though, he told me a story about the war without any jokes. He said that flying was hard. He dropped guys off, never knowing whom he’d pick up. He knew with each mission that if the Viet Cong could shoot him, the helicopter would go down and make their job a lot easier. Sometimes it made him wonder why he did this. Then… he was picking up a wounded soldier off a battlefield. Men hauled the guy into the back of the helicopter, and Dad checked behind him to make sure everyone was secure before takeoff. The wounded soldier gave him a look that said the pilot was an angel, come down from the sky to save him. At that look, Dad knew at least part of his job was worth the pain of living in a war zone. He made sure wounded men came home.

Do you have any stories to share? Feel free to honor service members you know by telling us their tales in the comments.

Jax Garren is descended from Valkyries and Vikings (she’s part Swedish) but was raised a small town girl in the Texas Hill Country. She graduated from The University of Texas with a degree in English and a minor in Latin then found her own Happily Ever After with a handsome engineer who is saving the world through clean energy technology. Jax loves meeting new people, so if you see her out and about say hello! She’s always happy to raise a glass with her readers (or anyone else) to toast courage, adventure and love.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Random conversation | 2 Comments »

All I Want For Christmas Is Han Solo!

Stacy_Gail | December 5th, 2012

Hiya!  Stacy here, one of the authors lucky enough to be included in Carina Press’s sci-fi holiday anthology, A GALACTIC HOLIDAY!

PhotobucketAs Anna Hackett, Sasha Summers and I discussed this anthology Angela James put together, we meandered our way onto the subject of what led each of us to the “dark side” of the romance universe, also known as sci-fi romance (see what I did there?  Dark side?  Haha :P ).  Faster than it takes a light saber to fully extend, we realized we had something in common.  Back in the day, all those yummy star-trekking hotties like Han, Luke, Kirk and Spock really tripped our girlish triggers. (What?  Spock WAS hot.  Smart is sexy, dammit!)  Aside from distant worlds, spacecraft and quick-triggered laser guns found in sci-fi, it was soon discovered we each had a secret crush (or two) on Grade-A beefcake smexing it up in zero-grav.

Now that we’re adults, the secret’s out.  We’re openly letting our geek flags fly by showing mad love for the romance found in our sci-fi favorites.  What’s more, we’d like to bring your sci-fi crush out into the open.  Is there a futuristic hero who puts the warp in your drive?  Who would you like to have all wrapped up for the holidays?

 

Stacy:  Let’s start with you, Anna.  Now that I’ve laid the groundwork with extending light sabers and hands that are quick on the trigger, care to share which hero is the space-ace of your dreams?  Just between us, of course. ;)

Anna:  How am I supposed to think straight with all your talk of “extending light sabers,” Stacy? Okay, onto the hero of my galactic dreams…I can’t pick just one! The first sci-fi heroes I fell in love with were the anime heroes of Voltron (OMG, I am showing my geek now, but hey, I was 10) – Commander Keith and Lance.

I love Han and Luke, spent many a moment drooling over Apollo from Battlestar Galactica (the reimagined version), Capt. Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly is a fabulous hero, my fav sci-fi bad boy is the silver-eyed Riddick and I’m with you, Spock was sexy. There’s something about all that repressed emotion that tempts a girl…

Stacy:  Holy cats, Anna, I LOVED Voltron!  Oh, but back to business…*ahem*  Were any of these futuristic flyboys the inspiration for your hero of WINTER FUSION, Savan Bardan, or did Savan insist on building his own personality, the way a strong character often does with us poor, helpless writers? Also, did Savan ever “hijack” a scene from you in a way that made you blink and say, “Okay. That’s waaaaay better than I’d originally planned”?

Anna:  Savan has a bit of a few of my fav heroes in him. He’s definitely the strong, silent type. He’s haunted by his past in the war and very loyal (just like Malcolm Reynolds) and he’s also very self-contained (a little like Spock) but he’s fierce and single-minded (like Riddick) at the trade tables, that’s why he’s the best trade negotiator in the quadrant.

Oh man, Savan and his heroine, Brinn hijacked the entire story! But there is one particular scene where the two of them are trapped by an avalanche in an abandoned ice village and need to get warm. The animosity and desire between the two of them is hot enough to melt ice and Savan showed me (and Brinn) that he’s not just fierce and single-minded at the trade tables. It was great to see this controlled man give himself up to what Brinn made him feel. Sigh. There’s also a naked moment in the snow (-:

Stacy: FYI, I approve of naked moments in the snow!  And Savan Bardan definitely has a strong will and a great capacity to love.  This is a trait shared by Sasha’s hero in her novella GALILEO’S HOLIDAY, a charming rogue by the name of Leo. *fangirl sigh*  Okay Sasha, let’s dish!  There has to be a hero swashing his buckle in your secret sci-fi fantasies, am I right?  C’mon, you can tell me, I won’t say a word. *adjusts halo*

Sasha:  Um, yes. Yes, there was, several, actually: Han, Luke, Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lt. Starbuck, and Alex Rogan from the Last Starfighter. And pretty much all the characters on Firefly – BROWNCOATS UNITE! I adore that show. Joss Whedon is the MAN at writing balanced ensemble casts.

Stacy:  Totally agree on Joss. *waves Joss Whedon Fanclub banner* Leo seems to be an adventure hero in the most romantic sense.  Was he inspired by your secret sci-fi crushes?  Also, is there a scene in GALILEO’S HOLIDAY that’s sure to make every woman sigh and wish they had a hefty dose of Leo in their lives?

Sasha:  Yes, Leo was inspired by my affection for Capt. Malcolm Reynolds. If you haven’t seen any of the now defunct Firefly series, be on the lookout for reruns on the SyFy channel or Netflix it – you can thank me later. Anyway, I visualized Nathan Fillion/Malcolm Reynolds while I was writing… *sigh* Tall, longish-floppy brown hair, calm unless provoked – very Mal. His humor, unshakable loyalty, and way with a weapon puts me into orbit. J Cheesy, yes, but I’m a fan of cheese.

One scene, hmmm… Well, he’s kind of wonderful throughout, watching over Riley while trusting her to get things done. But there’s one scene that gets me weak in the knees. He finds Riley grappling with the loss of her ship and her freedom. He’s supportive and sweet, without saying too much – but conveying just what she needs. He’s a hero after all. Of course, they end up naked pretty shortly thereafter so… yea, it’s a great scene. ;)

Stacy:  Great answers, ladies!  As for me, I’ve always had a soft spot for smartasses (I know—BIG shocker, that).  And I’ve got serious love for futuristic/cyberpunk/earthbound sci-fi, so that means there’s a character out there who makes my little heart go pit-a-pat—Deckard in “Blade Runner”.

Oh. Em. Geeeeeeee.

Just thinking about Harrison Ford’s Deckard brings on the hot flashes in the worst. Freaking. Way.  So naturally when I was building my hero, Edison Wicke, I was given no choice in the matter.  I had to go with a cocky grin, a smart mouth that doesn’t know when to quit and a kiss that’s guaranteed to blow every circuit within a five-click radius.  And if there was ever a scene-stealer rampaging his way through my novella HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS, naughty-boy Edison shocked the stuffing out of me in the steamy shower scene with heroine, Reina Vedette.  Seriously, I had no idea it was going to be like that.  At all.  Well-played, Edison.  Well-played. *fans self*

Now it’s your turn to share!  Who’s the captain of your fantasy space cruise, and are you hoping to find him under your tree Christmas morning?  C’mon, you can trust us—we won’t tell. ;)

 

A GALACTIC HOLIDAY – Carina Press | Amazon | B&N | All Romance

The individual stories can also be purchased here:

HOW THE GLITCH SAVED CHRISTMAS – Carina Press | Amazon | B&N | All Romance

GALILEO’S HOLIDAY – Carina Press | Amazon | B&N | All Romance

WINTER FUSION – Carina Press | Amazon | B&N | All Romance

 

About the Author, Anna Hackett:
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Mining Engineer by day and writer the rest of the time, Anna Hackett grew up raiding her mother’s romances and her father’s action adventure books, so no surprise that her stories combine both. When she isn’t wearing boots and a hard hat, she’s at her computer drinking too much Diet Coke and working on her stories. Along with her husband and son, Anna lives wherever her mining career takes her. She’s always delighted to hear from readers.

Find Anna at:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

About the Author, Sasha Summers:
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Sasha is part gypsy. Her passions have always been storytelling, Hollywood, history, and travel. It’s no surprise that her books include a little of each. Her first play, ‘Greek Gods and Goddesses’ was written for her Girl Scout troupe. She’s been writing ever since. She loves getting lost in the worlds and characters she creates; even if she frequently forgets to run the dishwasher or wash socks when she’s doing so. Luckily, her four brilliant children and hero-inspiring hubby are super understanding and supportive.

Find Sasha at:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

 

About the Author, Stacy Gail:
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A competitive figure skater from the age of eight, Stacy Gail began writing stories in between events to pass the time. By the age of fourteen, she told her parents she was either going to be a figure skating coach who was also a published romance writer, or a romance writer who was also a skating pro. Now with a day job of playing on the ice with her students, and writing everything from steampunk to cyberpunk, contemporary to paranormal at night, both dreams have come true.

Find Stacy at:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Posted in Carina Press | 10 Comments »

Creating a Modern Beast

Jax_Garren | November 21st, 2012

Eighties television and vodka are a potent combination.

Let me back up. My little sister and I have a long history of staying up way too late and watching television reruns. It started back as kids when we’d watch Nick at Nite during summer vacations and nosh on popcorn dripping with butter and snowed in salt. Anybody else remember Mr. Ed and The Patty Duke Show? As teens it was Wings and Quantum Leap on USA, always accompanied by root beer and baby carrots. Don’t judge; you know you’ve eaten stranger things. So have I, but we’re not going there.

Now that my sister and I are adults and, to our sadness, live in different states, it’s harder to find time to indulge in our old habit. The last time we did have the chance, we popped in that old Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton Beauty and the Beast. Instead of the tried and true root beer and carrots, we elected to invent our own cocktails. The evening began with Ron Perlman on the screen and vodka, club soda and an assortment of berries and herbs on the counter. It ended with two drunken women, a lyrical rewrite of Peggy Lee’s “You Give Me Fever” in beastly Ron Perlman’s honor… and the idea for Wesley “Hauk” Haukon, the hero for How Beauty Met the Beast, book one of the Tales of the Underlight. (Book two, How Beauty Saved the Beast, releases in February, and the final book, How Beauty Loved the Beast, releases in May.)

Does anybody else remember Ron Perlman as Vincent? His voice is incredible, the kind that could read me a phone book and I’d be happy. But the makeup job, while beautifully done, always left me feeling… well, my sister summed it up best when we saw the first episode. Somebody asks Vincent why he looks the way he does. He answers, “I have an idea,” but fails to explain it. My sister scrunched up her face and said, “What? That your mom made it with a lion?” Ahem. Yeah. Vincent is sweet, innocent and platonically devoted to his beauty in a way that mimics courtly knights of Arthurian romance. And he looks like a lion. (I couldn’t find an image of him to share without a copyright issue, but you can see a picture on Wikipedia.)

As much as I love Ron Perlman’s manimal, the kind of beast I want to curl up with at night has less of a mane and more of an edge. I want a trained fighter who has a libido—a frustrated one. A bad boy with leather and a motorcycle who remembers what it was like to be a normal man and must deal with the curse of his transformation. I’m also not a fan of cuddly or rakishly scarred “beasts”; in my opinion that attractiveness misses the heart of the story. Hauk’s appearance is the result of horrific burn scarring from a fire he barely lived through while serving with the Rangers in Afghanistan. Jolie, the beauty of the story, first sees him when he’s fighting, and he terrifies her with his looks and his ferocity. The scarring’s impact on both Jolie’s ability to realize she loves Hauk and Hauk’s ability to accept love is hands down the hardest thing I’ve ever written.

No matter what the incarnation, Beauty and the Beast is a story about finding the person behind the facade and falling in love in the least expected place. It reminds us that each one of us has so much more inside than a mirror can reveal. Whether your personal beast-crush leans toward a motorcycle-riding anarchist with war wounds, an arrogant, animated prince under a curse or “a mythic, noble man-beast” (as IMDB refers to Vincent) of indeterminate origins, I hope you enjoy this version of How Beauty Met the Beast.

In case you need your own inspiration, here’s the winning cocktail from that night with my sister:

In a tall glass, muddle strawberries and mint
Add a shot (or two) of chilled vodka and stir
Add a few cubes of ice
Top off with club soda

Because I’m sure there’s another TV reruns night in my future, what is your most inspiring cocktail recipe for my sister and me to try?

***

My sister (in blue) and I (in orange) vs. the ancient shark jaws at the Smithsonian. I'd show you a picture of us behaving like proper adults but I, uh, don't have one.

Jax Garren is descended from Valkyries and Vikings (she’s part Swedish) but was raised a small town girl in the Texas Hill Country. She graduated from The University of Texas with a degree in English and a minor in Latin then found her own Happily Ever After with a handsome engineer who is saving the world through clean energy technology. Jax loves meeting new people, so if you see her out and about say hello! She’s always happy to raise a glass with her readers (or anyone else) to toast courage, adventure and love.

Jax can be found on:

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Posted in Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press | 2 Comments »

Aliens in sock kilts

JL_Hilton | November 13th, 2012

My in-laws gifted my 8-year-old daughter her own digital camera and her bedroom is now a sound stage, complete with “Quiet I’m filming” sign on the door. She’s made several movies starring her dolls. Most of these independent films revolve around Barbie’s rockstar career and/or Barbie’s trip to the mall. I don’t know how I birthed a mallrat. I’d rather go to the dentist than the mall. I’ve never liked Barbies in my life (those were another gift from her grandparents). Oh, and, in case you hadn’t guessed, I’m not a rockstar, either.

But I do have some strange qualities in common with my offspring. We both loved to spin in circles until we fell over, whirly drunk, when we were 5. At age 6, we would lay upside down on the couch, hanging our heads off of the edge of the seat, and pretend to walk on the ceiling. We still believed in Santa and the Tooth Fairy at age 7, no matter what anyone said.

Then, there’s this.

A few months ago, peanut asked me to edit her latest cinematic masterpiece and share it with her Facebook audience – her dad, the aforementioned grandparents and a few aunts and uncles. I popped the SD card into my laptop and began viewing.

She opened with an overhead crane shot of a naked Ken doll riding a “ferry” (box) and finding a sword and some “clothing” — one of her socks, tied around his lower half. Thus girt in trusty sock kilt, he hied hence to a “town,” (box) where he parked himself in front of Barbie’s “house” (another box) and started begging for money on her porch steps.

“Oh, hello,” said Barbie, in my daughter’s girliest of girly voices, which is pretty dang girly, considering that she’s an 8-year-old girl. Barbie conversed with the scraggly-haired Ken, whose very visible plastic package peeked out from beneath his ill-fitting sock kilt, reminding me of a vagrant I encountered once upon a time in a Los Angeles toy store. One of us had been going “commando” in a pair of Daisy Duke shorts at the time, and it wasn’t me.

I stopped the movie. “No. No. Just. No.” And then, as gently as possible, I instructed her about the ills of talking to strange men who beg for change while half dressed on one’s porch.

“It’s OK, Mom. He ends up being rich.” Yes, she’s seen Disney’s Aladdin. What can I say?

“It doesn’t matter. Barbie doesn’t know that. All she knows is that she’s got a bum in a sock kilt darkening her doorway, singing a Jem song from 1986. If you ever see anyone like that in real life, you call the police. You don’t say hello. We’re not going to finish this video. Please, honey, make a different story.”

Spurned by her studio executive like so many directors before her, my child returned to her room. Meanwhile, I returned to the final edit of my latest novel, Stellarnet Prince. and the following scene:

Belloc tossed shirts into an open case. Duin entered the bedroom and eyed the stack of crates beside the closet. “Do all of these contain clothes?”

“Some have shoes or musical instruments. I haven’t packed the pillows and blankets, yet.”

“When I met you, you were barefoot with one shitty wallump suit.”

“Thanks. My mother made that suit.”

“When you were what, eight rain seasons? The pants hardly covered your knees, and the shirt didn’t close in the front. You, bugloim, were a ragamuffin.”

Duin was right. Less than a year ago, Belloc didn’t understand why J’ni would buy more than one dress. When he left Meglin, everything he had would fit in a single sack. Now, he had a closet full of clothes.

“But J’ni loved me anyway.”

“Yes. Because you are attentive, sensitive and handsome…”

I should also add that in the first book of the series, Stellarnet Rebel, Belloc sat in the heroine’s doorway and played music on a flute. She’d saved his life, and Belloc had no family and no where else to go.

And that’s the kind of weird thing. My daughter doesn’t know anything about my books, other than the fact that I’ve written them, and she won’t be allowed to read them for at least another eight years. But I guess the acorn really doesn’t fall far from the tree. Who knew that an attraction to musical diamonds-in-the-rough on one’s porch was a genetic trait?

I’m still telling her not to talk to strangers… unless they’re hot sapphire-skinned alien strangers who are built like Michael Phelps. Maybe then.

To celebrate the release of Stellarnet Prince, book two in the Stellarnet Series, I’m giving away a r’naw eye pendant designed by Gypsy Moon Art Studio and handmade by me. This is in homage to the giant alligator-like creature who attacks our heroes in chapter two.

To enter the drawing, tell me: If you could have anyone on your front porch, who would it be and what song would they sing to you? I doubt it’s this one.

* * *

J.L. Hilton is the author of the Stellarnet Series published by Carina Press, including Stellarnet Rebel (January 2012) and Stellarnet Prince (November 2012), and a regular contributor to the Contact-Infinite Futures SF/SFR blog. Her artwork is featured in the books Steampunk Style Jewelry and 1000 Steampunk Creations. Visit her at JLHilton.com or follow her on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and deviantART.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 6 Comments »

The Speculative Worlds of Carina Press

Diane_Dooley | September 26th, 2012

I’m an author published by Carina Press, but I’ve also been one of their customers since they launched. I’m an eclectic and voracious reader, so I enjoy the wide range of genres that Carina publishes and often find myself tempted, by beautiful covers and intriguing blurbs, to purchase and read a variety of books in genres that I don’t write in. You can call me a happy and satisfied customer.

Most of my purchases, though, are from Carina’s speculative fiction categories and I am continually impressed by the wide variety on offer. Steampunk? Check. Space Opera? Check. Horror? Check. Fantasy? Check. Cyberpunk? Check? Speculative world M/M and F/F? Check. Military Sci Fi? Erotic SF? Time Travel? Superheroes? Check, check, check and check. My joy would be complete if Carina offered a discount purchase program for their authors! (hint, giggle, hint) I do subscribe to the newsletter, though and take advantage of the many special offers and coupons. You can, too, if you haven’t already. Right here.

My own speculative offerings with Carina consist of Blue Galaxy and its recently released sequel, Blue Nebula. They are space opera novellas, set in a dangerous future and populated by damaged people who must do nefarious things if they are to survive evil villains, untrustworthy comrades and even their own family members. The love story between Captain Javan Rhodes and Marisol de la Vega underpins both books, but don’t expect a feel-good romance. Rather, expect twist and turns, lies and betrayals, dark humor, and hard-fought battles for both personal redemption and the survival of Planet Earth. I tend to the darker side of fiction *grin*

If you, like me, are a fan of the speculative worlds of Carina Press, you would probably enjoy the Contact: Infinite Futures blog, in which several Carina Press authors, including myself, blog about a variety of delightfully geeky subjects. You are cordially invited to stop by for a visit.

May I end this blog with a question? Of all the speculative fiction stories you’ve read from Carina Press – which has been your favorite and why?

* * * * *

Diane Dooley writes science fiction, romance and horror – sometimes all in the same story.

You can keep tabs on her website for current and future releases, check out the links to her short stories on her blog or interact with her on Facebook or Twitter. She blogs at Contact: Infinite Futures and is also a regular contributor to The Galaxy Express.

 

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Cover Art | 7 Comments »

Superheroines and the Girls Who Love Them (+ Giveaway)

Ruth_Diaz | August 22nd, 2012

I never read comic books, but I grew up on superheroes. Spiderman and His Amazing Friends was my favorite cartoon when I was seven years old. I particularly loved Firestar. She could create heat and start fires, and she could fly. I was just sure life would be so much better if I had powers like Firestar.

The Superheroes Union: Dynama came about because I read the words “superhero romance” somewhere and couldn’t get them out of my head. After all, it wasn’t like all of us little girls who grew up wanting to be superheroines had lost interest in them as grown-ups. What would it be like to be a superheroine here and now, today, as a grown woman? What kind of challenges would it present?

And how hard would it be to fall in love when supervillains kept wrecking the world and you had to keep your secret identity a secret?

The first character to speak to me was Annmarie Smith–not the superheroine, but her love interest. She asked the most wonderful, practical questions, like who would look after the kids while you were out fighting mad scientists and where did health insurance come from? Saving the world wouldn’t pay the bills.

TJ Gutierrez, who used to be Dynama, answered her. And that’s how the Superheroes Union was born.

Who is your favorite superheroine or superhero? If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Would it really make life easier?

And what would you do if your evil ex really was evil?

Click through to my blog and enter to win a Superheroes Union tote bag or T-shirt!

Buy now: Carina Press store | Amazon.com | BarnesandNoble.com

Ruth Diaz writes genre romances about non-mainstream relationships. She hides a number of publications in a different genre under another name, but The Superheroes Union: Dynama is her first romance publication. For more information, you can subscribe to her blog, like her on Facebook, or follow @RuthDiazWrites on Twitter (where she is most active and, well, opinionated).

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 6 Comments »

In Praise of Nerd Heroes

Zoe_Archer | January 11th, 2012

Hi, I’m Zoë, and I’m a nerd lover.

Hi, Zoë.

As a romance reader, and romance author, I know I’m supposed to love the big, brooding, badass alpha hero.  He’s the guy who can do everything—lead an assault on a nest of vampires, single-handedly take down the drug cartel, defeat the spy ring while flawlessly dancing a waltz and making all the maidens weak with desire.  These heroes are larger than life, and yes, they definitely make a woman’s pulse speed up.

But give me a shy, smart guy, and watch me swoon.

There’s something so utterly charming, something that makes me all weak in the knees when a man who’s known for his brains suddenly loses his composure around the woman he fancies.  He doesn’t have the smooth moves, he doesn’t know the right words to say.  He may even stammer and blush.  He’s more comfortable thinking up complex equations than seducing, and that makes his awkward attempts at wooing all the more irresistible.

Of course, I’m also talking about a romance hero, so my favorite nerd heroes can also kick butt.  It wouldn’t quite work if the heroine had to keep bailing him out, would it?  So underneath his button-down shirt or uniform, you’re going to find a body that’s just as sexy and capable as his brains.  Oh, and you know that famous line from the film “Revenge of the Nerds?”  “All Jocks ever think about is sports, all [nerds] ever think about is sex.” Yeah, that’s definitely true.  Smart guy + sex = very attentive, creative lovemaking.

Lieutenant Nils Calder, the hero of CHAIN REACTION, is the top mind in the 8th Wing’s Engineering Corps.  (The other 8th Wing soldiers refer to Engineering as NerdWorks.)  He’s also the very last person Lieutenant Celene Jur wants accompanying her on her mission of vengeance.  But behind Nils’s quiet, nerdy exterior beats the heart of a true warrior.  All he has to do is survive the mission—and survive Celene.

Tell me some of your favorite nerd heroes!  I’ll pick a winner from one of the comments to receive a copy of CHAIN REACTION.

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You can read an excerpt of CHAIN REACTION here.

Order: Carina, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook

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Zoë is a RITA-award nominated romance author who loves kickass heroines and heroes who love kickass heroines.  Her books include the paranormal historical Hellraisers series and the acclaimed Blades of the Rose historical paranormal adventure series. she enjoys baking, tweeting about boots, and listening to music from the ’80s.  She and her husband, fellow romance author Nico Rosso, live in Los Angeles.

Website, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr


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Posted in Authors, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 19 Comments »

Escape Velocity: Falling In Love All Over Again

Dianne Fox | January 4th, 2012

On the product page for Escape Velocity, beneath the blurb, is a short sentence in italicized type:

First published as Runaway Star, newly revised by the authors.

We first wrote Runaway Star in…probably 2006, and it was first published in January 2008. That was a long time ago, in e-publishing years. This business moves at the speed of light, bringing us new romances as fast as we can read, and we love it.

It was a long time ago in terms of character creation too. When we started talking about revising the novel, using what we’ve learned in the years since it was first written to make it better, we were both a little nervous about it.

It wasn’t the idea of putting all that work into an old manuscript that seemed daunting. No, what made us nervous was one question: Would we still love the characters?

We would be diving headfirst into another year of commitment to these characters, getting inside their heads, living their lives from the inside out, and we’d both grown and changed a lot as writers since 2006, so the question wasn’t an idle one. The most compelling reason we had to go back to the book was to share Elios and Sender with the world one more time. We had to fall in love with them all over again if we were going to write their story.

At first, we decided to read through the old manuscript independently, and we’d report back our findings—Was the old work still good enough to rework? Were the old characters still interesting?

Not a week later and we had our answer: a resounding YES. We were both excited to start, to jump in and get to work on the story. We had so many ideas, and most importantly, we still loved Elios and Sender as much as we ever had. While we gave their story new spark and excitement, we didn’t have to change a thing about our heroes.

We hope you love them too—so much that we’re giving them away to launch them back into the world again!

One commenter to this blog post will receive a copy of Escape Velocity.

And, to spread the love, another commenter will receive a copy of our previous Carina Press book, One Real Thing.

—Anah Crow & Dianne Fox

Websites: www.anahcrow.com & www.foxwrites.com
Twitter: @anahcrow & @diannefox

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Posted in Authors, Books, Contest/Giveaway | 14 Comments »

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