#StarWars Identities Exhibition London: Episode One #scifi

This weekend we made a family trip up to the O2 in London to visit the Star Wars Identities Exhibition, a 'Get to know the characters of STAR WARS™ on a whole new level. 200 original costumes, props, models, and pieces of artwork are yours to discover up close' event. And it was awesome!

I wasn't too sure what to expect after hubs read out mixed reviews to me, but myself and the three monsters (aged 9-14 and with varying degrees of devotion to the fandom) spent an hour and a half inside without realizing, and certainly weren't bored. As well as following and focusing on the similar upbringing of Anakin and Luke and yet how they made different choices, there's a big interactive element. You wear a bracelet and visit ten different stations to build your own unique Star Wars character profile, listen to various talks that delve into nature vs nurture in the SW universe as well as exploring the range of genetics, culture and physiology of various races, and surviving props, artwork, and costumes from the first six films, as well as a handful from the newest ones.

Sketches of characters suggested for the Cantina scene in New Hope.
Not all of them made it from this 'audition' to manufacture.

One of the few surviving character props from New Hope -
one of the 'ugly twins' who assault Luke in the Cantina

Character profiles that didn't make the films

Building their SW character profile was the favourite bit for my monsters, and what won the edge on this exhibition compared to Star Wars Celebration Europe for my older two. It also meant they were occupied while I took 115 photos - and that wasn't even of everything there, just the things that most took my interest - but particularly of some of the costumes. For example, they had Luke's black Jedi outfit from RotJ which I've always wanted to do, so I took particular interest in that. There was also Leia's bronze slave bikini (slightly blurred, and looking incredibly uncomfortable to wear), three of Padme's outfits, Anakin's Jedi outfit (which I've done a version of so have a soft spot for it), and one of Han's outfits (my next planned cosplay). One thing that really stuck out to me was how shoddy some of them are in real life! Or maybe that's because some of them are now thirty years old or more...

Mace Windu beside RotJ Luke

The notorious bronze bikini

Han's Empire costume

Jedi Anakin

The exhibits were also accompanied by interesting facts and figures from the films. Like Lucas debating changing his hero to a heroine halfway through, and ending up using both - Luke and Leia. That Yoda's eyes were meant to belong to the wisest being in the universe - Albert Einstein. That all that remains of the original Jabba the Hutt puppet is its eyes. Or that the face and hands for the carbonite Han belong to Harrison Ford but the rest come from an unknown donor!

Concept art for the final scene in Empire

What could have been - 'Luke' reimagined as 'Leia'

Scary happenings - my camera informed me the subject blinked
after taking this shot!

So who donated the rest of Han's 'body'?!

While we did experience some of the reported issues with the audio - an earphone is provided that only activates when you're within range of the signal for the relevant video accompaniment - I think that was mostly down to a low battery on my youngest's set, so I swapped with him and remembered to keep an eye on my 'on' status. Otherwise, I would say this is a must see exhibition for any Star Wars fan, particularly the serious geeks and the cosplay enthusiasts. At the end you get the full character profile that you've gathered throughout with a fantastic large than life screen display and the option to have it emailed to you to keep forever. So I'll introduce you to my Star Wars Identities family (pssst, I'm Jaya), and a promise to post more photos next week. Extra photos of the costumes will eventually go up at my Tumblr blog - several are blurry but might provide useful details for fellow cosplayers at a future date.

FYI, you can visit the Exhibition store without going into the exhibit itself, and they have store-wide discounts for the whole of the month due to May the Fourth. I treated myself and eldest to something. I'm not a huge fan of big fashion perfumes, but this one smells rather nice. *reads it back* that sounds sooooo weird...

Status Update
I'm so close to done on the edits for Reunion I feel like I might explode! That, at least, should be off to my editor in June even if I still feel like Revived will never make it, and Unexpected is still in need of some work to complete it. Keir's Shadow is still growing so it doesn't seem like I'm getting anywhere (I'm at 32% on revisions) but that tends to happen when you're adding pages. It's now standing at 88K words after being a completed draft originally at 75K. I haven't yet started the Witch-king cosplay.

Happenings

Right now you can stock up your e-readers with some stellar free scifi romances by going HERE.

And if you're not superstitious, you can pick up a thirteenth bonus freebie HERE.

For my fifth anniversary as a published author, as of the 7th, I'm running a special giveaway for a pair of custom-made crocheted dragonscale gloves in Keir blue, created by Hoot and Luna. This is open internationally but PLEASE BE AWARE - any import/shipping taxes will be the responsibility of the recipient as these cannot be paid in advance by the sender.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There will be two more SFR events later this month so stay tuned!

No chook pics again, I'm afraid, as I'm out celebrating my wedding anniversary, but I promise to have some next week.

Intergalactic Romance Free SFR Book Promotion

I'm still on writing hiatus, but wanted to do a quick post today to let you know that Farewell Andromeda is available via Instafreebie (yes, for free), as a part of a fun promotion with eleven other Sci-Fi Romances this week!

Fellow co-blogger Pippa Jay also has a book in this promotion, so be sure to check out Quick Shot, as well as all the other SFR offerings including books by my peers Pauline Baird Jones (Tangled in Time) and Cara Bristol (Stranded with a Cyborg).

What a great time to grab a book by a new-to-you author or a new story by an author you already love!




Intergalactic Romance Instafreebie

Just click the link above to go to the landing page for all the offered books.

More about Farewell Andromeda
Fresh off a painful jilting, the last thing deep space pilot Tiharra Bell needs is another romantic entanglement. Certainly not with the galaxy’s most famous astronomer--who also happens to be single, inconveniently handsome, and a resident of the remote Andromeda Station.

But Tiharra soon discovers two terrible truths about Dr. Dante “Donner” Dane:

1) he’s not the man he appears to be, and

2) he doesn’t have long to live.

Before her fourteen day layover is complete, she’ll put her life and career on the line to protect his heartbreaking secret.

What reviewers have said:

"OMG! This was a genuine gem! Well-written, and a treat to read. To me, the writing was flawless, and I loved the H/h. I'm definitely going to be reading the rest of the series. 5 huge supernova stars!"
--Five star Amazon review by "Mo," April 13, 2017

"I started reading this out of curiosity, and soon couldn't put it down."
--Five star Amazon review by Lisa Pugh, November 6, 2016

"This was a quick read, but it will remain with me for a lot longer. I loved the twists and turns...This is a highly recommended read!"
--Five star Amazon review by "Sol2Sombra," May 3, 2015

My Update

Co-blogger Donna S. Frelick attended the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention this past week, and I'm so excited to hear about all the fun, news, and adventures. Keep your eye out for Donna's upcoming blog on Friday.

My "break from writing" is going well. I've started on my office and general house reorganizing (aka "utter chaos") with carpet cleaning throughout, and meanwhile had a number of new ideas pop into my head (aka "it's working!") for stories and manuscripts.

Meanwhile, the news about Courting Disaster: StarDog2 coming in the October as part of Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 collection was unveiled last week here and on my web site. Click the title above to read the details.

I'm pretty excited about this one. There will be a lot more information to follow, but here's the teaser for my story:

What happened after Operation Reset and the fall of the Ithian Alliance? Two of the characters from Inherit the Stars are about to find out when they set a collision course with disaster.

In other news--horse update! A few weeks back I broke a story on this blog about a big win by a Thoroughbred colt we bred, Blazing Away, in the Winnie Vick Memorial at Sunland Park. (Sometimes You Win Big)

Statistically speaking, the odds were stacked against Zinger, as they are against every young Thoroughbred. Industry wide, only about 66% of Thoroughbreds ever make it into their first race, and of those, only about half ever win a race.

Recently, Blazing Away ("Zinger") was entered in another really tough race--against older, faster, more accomplished horses, at least one of which had already placed in a stakes race! (To give you an idea of the quality of the field, two of the horses were sired by Uncle Mo and Tale of Ekati, both who've had offspring qualify for the Kentucky Derby. And one horse was formerly trained by Bob Baffert.)

In addition to the stiff competition, it was Zinger's first start on a new track--SunRay Park--and he had a new jockey.

We were really concerned he was in way over his head, and our only wish was that he run a safe race (and please...don't come in last!), but Zinger once again did us proud, finishing second!

We're so proud of Zinger and so grateful for his accomplishments, we decided to have model portraits done of him and his dam, Blazing Bartok (who we still own). The artist, Sue Kern Thompson, agreed to let me share a few of her professional photos on social media, so here they are with the artist's watermark. Didn't she do an awesome job?

 

Blazing Bartok ("Blaze")



The real Blazing Bartok

___________

 

Blazing Away ("Zinger")



The real Blazing Away ("Zinger") as a weanling

 

 



We're also going to have model portraits done of Soulful and Echo Eight, but it's been a little trickier to find a suitable base model for "Sofie." We're still working on that search, but I'll share photos of the completed project in a later blog.

 

So there's my news and updates for this Monday.

 

Hope you have a great week.



 

Happy Beltane, Marvellous May & #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2 #scifi #romance

Today marks Beltane, halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, when the beginning of summer is marked by burning fires. While I don't believe in astrology, I'm a fire sign myself and certainly had an obsession with lighting fires as a child (though very carefully so I didn't become an arsonist, even accidentally!).

The elements of fire and water often show up in my writing too. In the Christmas story I wrote for Keir and Quin, Keir mentions a tradition of keeping a candle burning throughout the winter to encourage the sun to come back after the months of darkness, or homes decorated with fire symbols or red, yellow and orange ribbons to represent flames.

For me it marks another change in the year - the coming of summer, of longer days, and when I was a child the endless summer holiday between July and September where I would essentially run free for seven weeks in the fields behind our house or along the country lanes. Now it marks seven weeks of trying to find entertainment for my three monsters (though not so much for the older two now, in their teens or approaching them and with a social life way more complex and busy than mine), and hubs taking a couple of weeks off work to join us, and birthdays for myself and oldest. But until then, it's another point of expected change in the yearly calendar.

This May marks my fifth year as a published author and a fifth book anniversary for my debut novel Keir. It feels like a very long time but doesn't sound it so much, especially as not too long ago five years could be a mere blip in traditional publishing. I struck exceptionally lucky in only taking two years from completing my novel to its first publication, and with my debut too.

So this year I'm going to celebrate the landmark with a special giveaway in collaboration with Hoot and Luna. It'll open on the 7th of May and run until the end of the month. And what can you win? A pair of custom made dragonscale gloves, in Keir blue. :P To be notified of the contest opening, you could sign up to my email HERE, or for a bonus book you can enter my new Instafreebie giveaway HERE (which requires a sign up to my newsletter to enter).

There will also be two Instafreebie events in May, which will also be in my newsletter and posted here, plus a Solstice SFR Sale in June. That should give you lots of opportunities to stock up your ereaders with yummy SFR for your summer reads!

Guardians of the Galaxy 2
I didn't realize until I'd already seen it last Friday that the US isn't getting Guardians 2 until the 5th of May. I'm so sorry! But rest assured you won't get any spoilers from me. I can tell you that it is totally AWSOME! I wasn't expecting too much since sequels have a hard time being up to the standard of the first, but film 2 rocks. You will laugh. You will cry. You will be somewhat horrified and still laughing. You will die of the cute. And if you're lucky, you'll have a crowd like the one in my cinema, who cheered and applauded at the end like it was a party. Tip: watch the credits until the very, very end - I mean right up to the final logo! And don't just watch - read. There are all kinds of little treats all the way through. Take tissues. And don't feel bad at laughing at some of the horrifying bits. If taking kids under ten, be warned - though the violence and humour is about the same level as the first, there are a lot of body parts mentioned that you might not want your younger offspring repeating in the playground next day, and if they're particularly sensitive to death you might want to check the film beforehand to decide if they can handle it. And that's all I'm saying!

Status Update

I won Camp NaNo! Although I ended up having to include my revisions on Keir's Shadow to make up the word count, the edits on Reunion and Revived are complete. Well, ish. There's still some tweaking required but the bulk of them is done and they aren't due to my editor until June, so I still have time. However, I have a third novella that needs completing to get to my other editor by the same point in time, so there's no room for slacking!
I also completed the Tauriel cosplay, but I won't/can't be posting the details at my Tumblr blog as I still have a redesign to finish. So here's a piccie of it in its full glory.

This now means moving onto the Witch-King costume for my 12yo, including some complicated fake metalwork. Fun!
Here in the UK, it's a Bank Holiday today for May Day, so I'll be off out with my monsters. In the meantime, a few pics of our latest walk, through some bluebell woods. No chooks this week as the chilly weather has left them tucked away in their coop, sorry!

Trip, Sale and Pets in Space Anthology Update: #Fun and #Freebie

In My News

I'm just back from a wonderful trip to Louisville (Looeyville * Luhvul * Looaville), Kentucky and a visit to "The Church" of Thoroughbred horse racing, the incomparable Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.

While there we attended live racing--and the surprising return of an iconic jockey!--experienced the Kentucky Derby Museum, Barbaro's monument and burial site, Fourth Street entertainment district, and saw some amazing historical architecture.

Did you also know Louisville is home to the Louisville Slugger bat (the factory gives tours and will even create a bat for you) and fine Kentucky Bourbon? Did you know bourbon--which is a variety of American whiskey--must be at least 51% corn and 100% natural ingredients and can only be aged in new white oak barrels? Bourbon must be made in the U.S., but about 95% of all bourbon is produced in Kentucky. As one bartender put it, "If it's great Bourbon, it comes from Kentucky. If it's great whiskey, it comes from Tennessee." (Bartenders in Looavul know a lot about Bourbon!)

But bats, Bourbon and Thoroughbreds aren't Kentucky's only famous products. Here's a bit of trivia for the Dancing With the Stars fans. 90% of disco balls made in the US are made in Kentucky, with most coming from Louisville!

We'll be posting many more photos from the Churchill Downs race track and the adjacent Kentucky Derby Museum beginning later today on the Facebook page for our Thoroughbred business here: Rising Star Thoroughbreds (Yes, even our horse business has a "spacey" name. :D )

The iconic twin spires of Churchill Downs

Sale Update


99 cent sale!



Inherit the Stars was featured in a big Sci-Fi Romance sale last week where it was offered for the first time ever for 99 cents!

Though the sale ended on Friday, I've decided to extend the sale price for a limited time, so if you missed the first go-round you still have a chance to grab this full-length novel -- winner of the 2016 Carolyn Readers Choice Award and a current finalist for the 2016 Aspen Gold Award -- at this very low price. But hurry! The price will be going back up to $3.99 soon!

Inherit the Stars on sale


Pets in Space Anthology Update

News, fun and freebie!

We're on final approach for the October 11th release of the Pets in Space Anthology of nine new Sci-Fi Romance (+ pets) stories by nine bestselling or award-winning authors.

Pre-orders will be announced soon, but....would you like a sneak peek at the first chapters of these stories? You can get one right now on InstaFreebie in PDF, mobi, or epub versions!

Click here >>> Pets in Space Anthology First Chapters Sampler InstaFreebie!

This fan is reading her Pets in Space First Chapter Sampler InstaFreebie.
So can you! See link above.

And check out the newest Pets in Space Anthology trailer!



Two weeks ago, I announced the "adoption" of Hero Dog Mitch (click to read post and scroll down). Some of the profits of the anthology will go to support this wonderful cause, but I adopted "Mitch" as my own special project.

Going forward, I'll be making donations to his training as part of the Pets in Space support of Hero-Dogs.com, so if you comment below and mention him, I'll increase my next donation for every comment received.

Over on Facebook today, I'm holding an impromptu #pet #mugs fun contest. I'm looking for photos of your pet or #pets, or the funniest, coolest, or most unique #petmugs you've seen. To join in, just go to my profile page, find the post and add your images in the comments. https://www.facebook.com/LaurieAGreen

A few fun facts about my Pets in Space Anthology story StarDog

• It's a companion story to Inherit the Stars
• The title subject of the story is neither a star nor a dog (...exactly).
• It has one shared character in common with Inherit the Stars
• It begins on beautiful Planet Carduwa (there will be a future post on the setting's inspiration)
• Other settings include planet Banna
• For fans of the novel, there will be surprises that expand the Inherited Stars Universe

Want to keep updated on news about Pets in Space Anthology and other upcoming works? Please subscribe to my newsletter, which now has its own title: Escape to the Stars

Have a great week!

Laurie