tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post2313658069682383566..comments2024-03-05T13:51:24.898-07:00Comments on Spacefreighters Lounge : Appealing AliensUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-75551337903909785812013-03-09T03:47:54.628-07:002013-03-09T03:47:54.628-07:00Corinne - this is what I love about the option of ...Corinne - this is what I love about the option of self publishing, and of small presses willing, and even preferring to take a gamble on stories that might appeal to a smaller, more adventurous group of readers. And I think all authors should attempt to push boundaries in some ways, not only to keep their writing fresh but to challenge their readers, and perhaps to expand their fan base. (and awww - thank you! Maybe I'll give that one a try.) :)<br />Donna - that is exactly the problem if you're trying to market something as a scifi romance. SF and SFR readers might buy into an unconventional romance, but romance readers as a whole (those who read ALL subgenres of romance without perhaps buying into the SF aspect) may not accept it. Again, I guess it comes down to how marketable you hope a sfr story will be. I think if sfr authors wrote a mixture of conventional and non-conventional romances we might be able to entice some readers over. But at the end of the day I think it really comes down to writing what you feel works for you and hoping some readers will love the story regardless. That's my hope, anyway. I'm sure there's an audience for most things. Pippa Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15146591827060731958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-22374989766712905672013-03-06T16:49:21.414-07:002013-03-06T16:49:21.414-07:00Of course Spock had/has a HUGE following in fanfic...Of course Spock had/has a HUGE following in fanfic as a lover, but then he's humanoid. And there you have the problem, as you point out, Pippa. Non-humanoid species just don't have ROMANTIC appeal. Whether the romance is consummated or not doesn't really seem to matter. There are all kinds of ways around the mere biological or logistical problems of inserting Tab A into Slot B--as Heather says, and as Linnea Sinclair argued recently here, the relationship can be one of nearly platonic love and devotion, or the "sex" can be through a mindmeld (literally "mindblowing")or--well, you get creative. The question is whether jumping through all these hoops will entertain the romance audience sufficiently that they will buy your book AS A ROMANCE. As SCIENCE FICTION, the reading audience is used to all sorts of crazy ideas. But the SF audience is small and can be notoriously insular, particularly when it comes to anything that smacks of romance. You pays yer money and you takes yer choice, I suppose.Donna S. Frelickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16431686010313020234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-77753906750923344792013-03-06T14:51:53.654-07:002013-03-06T14:51:53.654-07:00I'm all for unconventional relationships, but ...I'm all for unconventional relationships, but then again I'm not too concerned with marketability or I would have made my own characters much more generic. I actually prefer to test "genre" limits/conventions instead. I want people to read my stories, sure, but I'm alright with my stories not being for everyone. While I think it is true that some readers may feel more at ease or comfortable with relationships between like beings, I think that there is a growing audience of readers who are more open to the unconventional.<br /><br />For me, I would prefer to read something original than yet another "hot ripped male human-looking alien comes to take an earth girl for an adventure" (Not that I have anything against hot, ripped male aliens, mind you...) I'm just saying that I think writing is about taking chances, and if you feel the desire to write an unconventional character, do it. You'll find readers for it. (Especially with the way you write characters, Pippa.. seriously, you could make a three-headed, green-scaled Thraxian appealing, I'd wager.) Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18303046632580795530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-45977937790086095062013-03-06T14:18:08.965-07:002013-03-06T14:18:08.965-07:00Exactly - I've been considering this from the ...Exactly - I've been considering this from the angle of a romance reader's view, where some sort of physical climax is usually the norm (from my experience so far - I'm willing to be proven wrong about that). A relationship between a non-human and a human could be purely political, a meeting of minds - something beyond a pure need to procreate (and theoretically, even a race anatomically similar to human is unlikely to result in offspring) so producing an heir of any kind isn't necessary. Some of the as yet unwritten prequels to Keir have Quin in a romantic relationship with a being that has no physical form, so it wouldn't quite conform to the kind of relationship that most romance readers might expect/require/want. To me, that opens greater range to explore the relationship but it might not satisfy some readers in various aspects of what they anticipate in a developing romance. <br />And I'm not saying every relationship has to have a sexual context. Just one aspect I was considering.<br />Personally I'd love to write more unconvential relationships, but as you say there is a risk of alienating readers, and/or having something that isn't marketable. I'm still learning. Pippa Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15146591827060731958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-38463009526894967762013-03-06T13:41:38.857-07:002013-03-06T13:41:38.857-07:00Authors can create any kind of SFR hero they like....Authors can create any kind of SFR hero they like. As far as *selling* those stories, it's another matter entirely. It helps to be clear about who one's target audience is as well as realistic about the number of sales one can expect.<br /><br />Many readers insert themselves into the heroine's place so a non-human alien hero is going to challenge that process. For readers who prefer to watch the romance unfold from the "outside" it may hold more appeal.<br /><br />One issue your post brings up is the assumption that a couple's sexual journey *has* to be part of the romance. I'm not so sure that's the case. Not every couple wants kids, y'know?<br /><br />What if one of the characters was paralyzed from the neck down (assuming medicine wasn't advanced enough to provide a cure)? Couldn't that hero or heroine still fall in love? Why would we have to shoehorn a sexual component into a case like that? <br /><br />I think it's possible to come up with a variety of plausible reasons for a character to want just the emotional bond (e.g., celibacy by choice/religion, long-distance relationships, or maybe one of the characters had their consciousness transferred into an android body). I don't think we'll see a flood of such stories anytime soon, but there are quite a few creative workarounds.<br /><br />Re: shapeshifting as cop out: Seems to me like it depends on how important the couple's sexual journey is to the relationship. For many, many readers it's absolutely integral.<br /><br />On the one hand, I agree it's a way for readers to have their cake and eat it, too. And I do question when shapeshifting is introduced purely for the h/h to get it on. <br /><br />On the other, it's an effective way to make alien heroes/heroines more accessible, which in turn will widen the audience for the stories with alien heroes/heroines. Maybe going that route will prompt readers to be more adventurous about non-human aliens in the future.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Heather Masseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00913459109753829391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-26917907089264582132013-03-06T11:36:13.104-07:002013-03-06T11:36:13.104-07:00Oh, I don't have a problem with the Na'vi,...Oh, I don't have a problem with the Na'vi, and you know I share the thing for blue aliens. Just a slight concern over the, er, size difference. ;PPippa Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15146591827060731958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7808733415551134993.post-57219030547965164972013-03-06T11:33:08.082-07:002013-03-06T11:33:08.082-07:00Personally, I don't think there is anything wr...Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with the Na'vi. You know I have a thing for blue aliens. ;) Could be interesting. LOL Thanks for the link to the io9 article!Jessica E. Subjecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14356934162311768234noreply@blogger.com