Living the Reality of my Heroine's (Once) Fictional Time

The past week has been downright unsettling. Not just because of social distancing, virtual lockdown, and an economy teetering on meltdown, but because I suddenly realized I'd experienced this scenario before.

But it was all in my head.

I'm now living in my heroine's time--in Lissa Bruce's era--and it's a bit freaky how her fictional world is becoming our reality. Life imitating art? Considering this book isn't published yet....nope. Just one writer's eerie projection of a future that is looking much too possible.

I say "the future" because at the time I wrote the original drafts, it truly was.

I'm really not supposed to admit this, but The Outer Planets has been in the hopper for over 30 years. When the story originally began to take shape in my mind, the 2040s seemed like a very long way off. Not so anymore.

The novel is currently in edits, but now, with everything going on around us, I'm not sure just when I may be ready--or willing--to release it.

Here's the lowdown.

When I started writing this novel, my heroine's totally sci-fi sounding birth date was the far distant year of 2012. A future that is in our past! So yeah, this year she'd be turning eight years old on 9/9/2020. Her parents are wealthy. In fact, her father is a politician. She still carries deep guilt about all the things she had as a child while her friends and their families were starving.

The story opens when Lissa Bruce is 27 years old. In the year 2039, the next couple of decades in our future are her past tense. The world is experiencing a new dawn, emerging from borderline dystopia, where a global economic collapse and continuing climate change resulted in a scramble to survive.

When did it happen? In the 2020's! That's looking a little less Fi and a lot more Sci at the moment.

[Honestly, I'm not making this stuff up! Do a search for "Outer Planets" on this site and you'll see my blogs about it that date back many years.]

In this fictional future, the melting ice sheets decreased the salt content of the oceans and partially altered the currents of the Atlantic Conveyor, throwing weather patterns into chaos. While the oceans rose, drowning coastline cities worldwide, drought turned former breadbasket regions into dust bowls. The effects on Lissa's society are dire.

Water riots became commonplace. Mobs formed to loot stores—not to steal goods and electronics to resell on the street--but to take the food they need for themselves and their families to survive.

In rural areas, communities formed raid gangs that stripped crops clean and butchered livestock on neighboring farms. [Particularly unnerving, since this is happening right now in other parts of the world--with gruesome recent news reports coming out of South America and Libya.]

Moral principles took a back seat to survival. Outbreaks of disease and anarchy prevailed. The United Nations disbanded as ineffective and costly, and governments refocused these resources on maintaining order inside their own borders and protecting their citizens. Police states and martial law became commonplace.

It's a frightening scenario considering where we are at this moment in time, but even this grim fictional setting is not a future without hope.

By 2030, the climate begins to stabilize, thanks to an enforced planet-wide scale back in greenhouse gas emissions, and the world returns to more normal conditions, socially and economically, leaving mankind still shaking in its boots at what could have been.

And what might be again in their not too distant future.

It's painfully clear to them that the human population has far exceeded the resources of their home planet...and after a worldwide population reduction during the cataclysms, is again growing exponentially.

The Nations is formed, a multi-national entity with a focus on expanding and diversifying our species' interests beyond the “all the eggs in one basket” scenario of having the fate of the humankind tied to one planet.

International resources are pooled to re-ignite a global space exploration program. As part of that plan, ASP—Armstrong Space Port—with its orbiting shipyards, begins construction in orbit in 2030 and is completed by the close of 2035. A year later it houses a population of over 15,500 international military, corporate and support personnel, and the ability to build large ships that are no longer limited by the problem presented by gravity and massive fuel tanks required to overcome it.

With regular shuttle flights from ASP, temporary bases are constructed on the Moon and Mars as the first step in establishing permanent mining operations. It doesn't happen without tragedy. The characters refer to one such catastrophe on Mars Station One more than once in the story.

Once ASP is online, Project Destination follows. Spearheaded by The Nations, it’s an ambitious multi-national exploratory mission to the Outer Planets—Jupiter and Saturn, and more specifically the 100+ moons they share between them—to identify resources, future colony sites, and launching points for interstellar missions to other solar systems.

Construction of the Nations’ Star Ship—NSS Destination—starts. And the debate about crew selection begins...

Whew! Let's hope most of the fictional scenario of this "here, now and about to be" stays just that. Fictional.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive!

The Price She had to Pay #Snippet

I'm off on a junket!

Check back next Monday, October 1st, for a photo blog about my adventures.

Meanwhile, here's a snippet from The Outer Planets, where Lissa Bruce isn't so sure about the voyage she's about to make or the price she had to pay to be included in the crew of the planetary research vessel, NSS Robert Bradley.

*     *     *

Lissa’s mouth ticked down in a hard frown when she caught her reflection on the port surface. This stranger looking back at her was their doing, too. The doctors had made surgical alterations to her appearance, disguising the facial landmarks a human brain correlates to recognition. They’d permanently changed the color of her hair and irises. Platinum to honey blonde. Cornflower blue to aquamarine. She resented the medical slight-of-hand, but bowing to their demands had validated her ticket aboard the Bradley.

The shuttle yawed and rolled in a sharp arc toward the mother ship. Lissa braced and glanced at the pilot.

“Beginning approach,” he said. “You’ll need to strap in, Ms. Bruce. Standard docking procedures.”

Lissa snapped and tightened the crash harness, grateful the sudden maneuver and pilot’s instructions took her mind off her memories. She was still adjusting to her new identity and answering to a different name.

“You’re the last of the crew to arrive?” the pilot asked as he awaited instructions from the Bradley’s instructions.

“Yes. Number seventy-two.” Lissa fought a grimace. "I had an unavoidable delay." She’d pay for her late entrance. Tardiness was a sin Daniel—Captain Storing—didn’t tolerate.

“You’ll be one of the first people to see Jupiter up close and personal. I envy you. Opportunity of a lifetime.” The pilot turned his wistful gaze on the huge ship. “So better late than left behind.”

Lissa wondered if he was one of the thousands who’d applied and been rejected by the program. “Right.” She tried to keep the bite out of her tone. “Never could’ve forgiven myself.”

He glanced back, one eyebrow quirked. “Cold feet?”

“More like hot feet.” The left side of her mouth spasmed when she attempted a smile. “From running into the burning barn.”


Thanks for stopping by Spacefreighters Lounge. Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my upcoming novel.

I'll be back next week to tell you about my adventure.

Celebrating a Special Day with a #Snippet

Writers are quirky. Every year I observe the birthday of a particular person who doesn't exist...except in my mind. When she first took shape on the page, her birthday was in the future. Now time has marched on and that date has come and gone.

My character would be (and now was) born in 2012.

She turned six years old yesterday, on 09/09/18.

Her tale begins in 2039, now just 21 short years into our future.

Her story is titled The Outer Planets.

This is the first introduction to Lissa Bruce, in a place and time where she is forced to face a horrendous truth by doing the one thing she never thought she'd do. It reveals her vulnerabilities and weaknesses, but it also showcases her inner strengths, her defiance, her anger, and her determination not to be destroyed by forces and circumstances entirely beyond her control. 

17 April 2039

“Hello, bitch,” Lissa Bruce whispered.

Outside the portal, a leviathan floated in all her gloating glory . Running lights on full, insignias glowing, silver carbon skin stretched tight over her multi-deck carcass. Damned ship had been nothing but heartache. The research vessel too tough to die.

Seated in a flight couch, Lissa gazed across space while the pilot maneuvered the ten-passenger shuttle along the starboard flank of the big ship, lining up with the docking bay. When the upper hull of the giant blotted out the sun, three-story high letters emblazoned on her side stood out in bold relief:

NSS ROBERT BRADLEY

Lissa’s gut tightened. The vessel had been re-christened in honor of its original skipper. The 45-year-old general officer, an icon murdered in his prime, had left her a widow. Except she hadn’t technically been married, he hadn’t really been murdered, and her identity had been changed to protect the not-so-innocent.

She could imagine him gazing at his ship, arms crossed and feet planted, glancing her way with smug satisfaction.

The definition of irony: When a ship you despise becomes your only safe haven.

Soon after, Lissa must face someone who has played a major role in her life. Neither friend, foe nor love interest, this formidable man may, nonetheless, hold the key to her future--if she has one.

The shuttle made a smooth union with the airlock and green lights activated on the cabin panel. “Dock integrity confirmed,” a voice said on the speaker.

Lissa gathered her two bags from the bin and moved to the hatch. Now for the tough part. Facing Daniel.

The pilot motioned to the com-con switch on the bulkhead to the right of the hatch. Lissa pressed it. “Crewmember Lissa Bruce, requesting permission to come aboard.”

She waited while soft space static played on the speakers.

“The NSS Robert Bradley welcomes you, Ms. Bruce,” a deep and familiar voice answered. “Permission granted.”

“That’s the old man himself,” the pilot whispered. “Captain Storing.”

“In the flesh,” Lissa acknowledged, squaring her shoulders and raising her chin. Daniel wasn’t going to make the most congenial greeting party, but she owed him her trust, her complete and unquestioning support. He had his own cross to bear in proving himself to both Mission Control and his crew.

The hatch hissed open. Lissa nodded her thanks to the pilot and carried her bags into the airlock. The rush of intermingling atmospheres brushed her face and lifted the hair off her shoulders, bringing a sad smile to her lips. So like a desert breeze on a cool spring day. Something she wouldn’t experience again for a long, long time.

The pressure equalized, and the inner hatch popped. Lissa squinted when the Bradley’s interior lighting flooded the small chamber. In the glare stood an imposing man wearing full naval dress uniform and no trace of a smile.

Willing her legs forward, Lissa stepped onto the deck of Captain Daniel Storing’s ship. Behind her, the hatch to the docking bay closed with a clack, followed by a low rumble as the airlock depressurized.

Escape route sealed. Point of no return.

She looked into the commanding blue eyes of the man before her. The eyes of Zeus, as an awestricken friend had once described them. He studied her, neither relief nor anger evident in his gaze, his face molded into its usual professional scowl.

“Welcome aboard, Ms. Bruce.”

As a civilian, no salute was in order. “Thank you, Captain.”

He stepped forward to shake her hand, and she dropped her bags to the deck. His fair hair was cut in a standard military chop, though there’d been no gray at his temples the last time she’d seen him. She waited for his reaction to her new look. None came.

“It’s good to be onboard,” she said, cursing the slight quaver in her voice. So much for keeping emotions in check; Daniel knew her too well, and he wasn’t easily fooled. He must’ve known that stepping onto this ship was like walking into the jaws of hell—but a far safer hell than the one lying in wait for her back on Earth.

Daniel turned aside and spoke to a subordinate standing behind him. “Lieutenant, alert Mission Control our crew roster is complete.”

  

Now that you've you've met her, you can bet she's in for the ride of her life.

Happy Birthday, Lissa Bruce.

May your birthday present next year be 

that your story is being shared with the world.

The Tower of Voices: A Somber Memorial

This week also has the far more sobering anniversary of one of the most horrific events in American history. Tomorrow is 9/11. It's been 17 years since that fateful morning when a nation reeled in disbelief at what was unfolding before their eyes. I was one of them, watching as the first tower of the World Trade Center fell on live television. This country suddenly felt a lot more helpless, and a lot less safe as thousands of innocent people paid with their lives at the hands of a group of indiscriminate terrorists.  

Yesterday, I saw a brief news story on a special memorial that's being built to honor the Hero Flight, and the brave passengers who made the difficult decision that day to fight back against the evil men who had hijacked United Flight 93, which many believe was intended to strike our nation's capital and which, in spite of the brave passengers' efforts to take back the plane, crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing everyone onboard.

This memorial was dedicated yesterday. It includes a monument built on the site of the crash which is now called "Sacred Ground," a visitor center that tells the story of the passengers, and a memorial called the Tower of Voices. The 93-foot-tall structure will, when completely finished, hold 40 wind chimes, one for the voice of each passenger that perished that day.

Here's a brief video from Sunday Morning program titled Voices in the Wind, that shows the memorial and the music from some of the first chimes added, along with more of the story about the sacrifices made by the passengers of what has come to be known as the Hero Flight.

  

May we never forget.

Thanks for joining me. Have a great week.

On Approach #Thanksgiving #TheOuterPlanets

Since we're just T-minus three days and counting to a big holiday (can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving???), and since we didn't get anything up for Snippet Saturday this past weekend, I'll post a segment from The Outer Planets today.

The Outer Planets is an Inherited Stars Universe story, meaning it takes place in the same universe as Inherit the Stars, StarDog and Courting Disaster, but in a different timeline so doesn't share any of the familiar characters. In fact, the timeline it's set in is only a few decades from now.

I'm really not supposed to admit this, but The Outer Planets has been in the hopper for over 30 years. When the story originally began to take shape in my mind, the 2040s seemed like a very distant future. Not so much anymore.

This Near Future novel envisions a global economic collapse brought about by an environmental upheaval in the 2020's. That's looking a little less Fi and a lot more Sci than it did thirty years ago. It also deals with technology that seemed wildly fringe at the time it was originally penned, and now seems on the brink of happening...soon.

Here's a quick introduction to the story.

Blurb
What Lissa Bruce knows could kill her.

A female video reporter with an altered identity and a damning secret joins the crew of a research mission bound for Jupiter, only to find the past she wants to escape is already onboard.

Lieutenant Mitchell Coe, the loyal aide de camp to a murdered General–and Lissa’s late spouse–is the one man with the power to blow her cover…or salvage her heart. But after a series of malfunctions threatens the mission, Lissa suspects she’s not the only one aboard with a dangerous secret.

Scene Set-Up
Lissa Bruce is in a shuttle on approach to the NSS Robert Bradley--a planetary research vessel about to embark on a three-year mission to Jupiter. As the final member of the crew, she's a very late arrival.

Excerpt:

The staccato whine of a digital transmission interrupted her thoughts.

“Beginning final docking maneuvers,” the pilot said.

The shuttle’s retros fired, edging her closer to the mother ship’s extended docking arm. The ships wouldn’t link directly during docking, the potential for collision between two pressurized vessels deemed too high risk to be acceptable. The docking arm’s specialized shock system was engineered to absorb and cushion the brunt of most hard connections.

Most.

Lissa waited, holding her breath, hands braced against the armrests. A miscalculation on the pilot’s part could be catastrophic. There was little room for error in a vacuum.

The pilot’s hands played over his console, and the shuttle’s docking head locked on target. The retros pulsed twice more. Lissa’s seat rattled with vibration when the vessel connected.

“Captured,” the pilot announced, flipping a switch.

A ratcheting sound filled the cabin as the shuttle fused with the docking arm of the Bradley.

“Destination Shuttle Five is locked and secure,” the pilot informed the Bradley docking crew. “Preparing to offload one passenger.” He left his console to assist her as the docking arm swung in a slow arc, bringing the starboard hatch of the shuttle broadside to the mouth of the airlock.

Lissa unbuckled her harness and stood, giving the pilot a quizzical look. “Destination Shuttle Five?”

“Yes, well, it was a major undertaking changing the ship’s name from Destination to Robert Bradley at the last moment. They overlooked a few minor details.” He unlocked the storage compartment near the exit hatch. “Like renaming the support vessels.”

A crooked smile pulled at Lissa’s lips. Good to know at least a few things had escaped Bobby’s brand.

The shuttle made a smooth union with the airlock and green lights activated on the cabin panel. “Dock integrity confirmed,” a voice said on the speaker.

Lissa gathered her two bags from the bin and moved to the hatch. Now for the tough part. Facing Daniel.

The pilot motioned to the com-con switch on the bulkhead to the right of the hatch. Lissa pressed it. “Crewmember Lissa Bruce, requesting permission to come aboard.”

She waited while soft space static played on the speakers.

“The NSS Robert Bradley welcomes you, Ms. Bruce,” a deep and familiar voice answered. “Permission granted.”

“That’s the old man himself,” the pilot whispered. “Captain Storing.”

“In the flesh,” Lissa acknowledged, squaring her shoulders and raising her chin. Daniel wasn’t going to make the most congenial greeting party, but she owed him her trust, her complete and unquestioning support. He had his own cross to bear in proving himself to both Mission Control and his crew.

The hatch hissed open. Lissa nodded her thanks to the pilot and carried her bags into the airlock. The rush of intermingling atmospheres brushed her face and lifted the hair off her shoulders, bringing a sad smile to her lips. So like a desert breeze on a cool spring day. Something she wouldn’t experience again for a long, long time.

The pressure equalized, and the inner hatch popped. Lissa squinted when the Bradley’s interior lighting flooded the small chamber. In the glare stood an imposing man wearing full naval dress uniform and no trace of a smile.

Willing her legs forward, Lissa stepped onto the deck of Captain Daniel Storing’s ship. Behind her, the hatch to the docking bay closed with a clack, followed by a low rumble as the airlock depressurized.

Escape route sealed. Point of no return.

She looked into the commanding blue eyes of the man before her. The eyes of Zeus, as an awestricken friend had once described them. He studied her, neither relief nor anger evident in his gaze, his face molded into its usual professional scowl.

“Welcome aboard, Ms. Bruce.”

As a civilian, no salute was in order. “Thank you, Captain.”

He stepped forward to shake her hand, and she dropped her bags to the deck. His fair hair was cut in a standard military chop, though there’d been no gray at his temples the last time she’d seen him. She waited for his reaction to her new look. None came.

“It’s good to be onboard,” she said, cursing the slight quaver in her voice. So much for keeping emotions in check; Daniel knew her too well, and he wasn’t easily fooled. He must’ve known that stepping onto this ship was like walking into the jaws of hell—but a far safer hell than the one lying in wait for her back on Earth.

________________________________

If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you a wonderful time with family, friends and wonderful food.

We truly have a lot to be thankful for this year, and we'll be taking some time to acknowledge how blessed we are with all the good things in life.

Over the upcoming long holiday weekend, I've committed to getting organized and gearing up to crank out my backlog of titles, so I won't be blogging on my regular day, next Monday, November 27th.

See you in two weeks!

Have a great holiday.

#FreeRead...and More News!

Click here to get it FREE
on InstaFreebie

StarDog is Live...and it's #FREE!

During my July 24th post, I unveiled the new cover for my novella, StarDog, which was originally part of the popular Pets in Space collection that is no longer available.

At that time, I mentioned StarDog would be offered as a standalone freebie for readers via a link in the upcoming Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 collection. Since the story is a prequel to both Inherit the Stars and my new story--Courting Disaster: StarDog2--I think it will make a great bonus.

But you can get it now!

StarDog is live on InstaFreebie and I've offered it to my newsletter subscribers, so I'm now going to extend the same offer to my blog readers.

If you'd like to grab a copy, it's available in .mobi, .epub, and PDF. Click the caption at right to open the InstaFreebie link.

It'll make a wonderful refresher for those who've already read the story, plus Courting Disaster is a sequel to StarDog with references to that adventure, as well as being a great introduction for those who are new to the Inherited Stars Universe.

My Farewell Andromeda giveaway has now ended and nearly 900 copies were claimed. That's wonderful, but my goal for StarDog is to break that record by having 1,000 or more copies snapped up. With nearly 200 copies claimed in just the first couple of days, it's well on the way. Go, StarDog, go!

The Outer Planets Lives!

My edits are back on my second novel and I'm hoping to get this one sewn up and available for sale as soon as possible. This book is a whopper--roughly 20% longer than my full-length 110,000-word Inherit the Stars, so final edits will take some time.

Though I'd love to get it out before my cut-off date of September 10th, it's probably more realistic that it will launch sometime before Christmas.

I'm excited about this next novel, because it's the first in a brand new, Near Future timeline in the saga. This story takes place in the early 2040s, just a few decades from now.

Because of this, The Outer Planets can be read before, during or after previous books released, which in story-chronological order are--StarDog, Inherit the Stars, and Courting Disaster: StarDog 2 (releases October 10th) with Farewell Andromeda being a book in a future timeline of the series.

Here's the blurb for The Outer Planets:

What Lissa Bruce knows could kill her.

A female video reporter with an altered identity and a damning secret joins the crew of a research mission bound for Jupiter, only to find the past she wants to escape is already onboard.

Lieutenant Mitchell Coe, the loyal aide de camp to a murdered general–and Lissa’s late spouse–is the one man with the power to blow her cover…or salvage her heart. But after a series of mishaps threatens the mission, Lissa suspects she’s not the only one aboard with a dangerous secret.

The Outer Planets is an action/adventure/suspense sci-fi romance with a military hero, set on a planetary research vessel with a combined military and civilian crew.

Awards: The Outer Planets was a 2011 RWA Golden Heart finalist, and won First Place in the 2013 Launching a Star, 2011 The Write Stuff, 2010 Heart of the West, 2010 Ignite the Flame, 2010 First and Ten, and placed in the 2010 RWA FF&P On the Far Side, 2010 Great Expectations, and 2010 Toronto Gold competitions.

My Vocabulary is most like...

 

I regularly sharpen my skills with the online Lumosity training games, and the site recently introduced a new insight into my vocabulary skills. By analyzing the words I use in some of the vocabulary drills, it developed a list of six famous people my vocabulary is most like.

Here's the list:

Person                         Score

Agatha Christie.............199

Stephen Covey..............196

Martin Luther King, Jr..196

J.K. Rowling.................186

William Shakespeare....177

Stephen Hawking..........168

 

Though all the names raised my eyebrows, two really jumped out at me.

The comparison to the amazing and brilliant Stephen Hawking was a bit humbling. It's probably because I tend to use a lot of science fiction-y words like trajectory, quantum, plasma, exosphere, holograph, radius, micron, electromagnetic, etc. in my vocabulary tests.

And Martin Luther King, Jr.! If you've followed my blogs you know how much I admire and respect the late social activist. I love that he's also very high (tied for the #2 score) on the list.

I was also delighted to see three influential and diverse authors in the mix. (Or four if you consider MLK Jr. an influential author, which I do.) Agatha Christine? J.K. Rowling? William Shakespeare? What author wouldn't want to be compared to any of them, vocabulary-wise!

But Stephen Covey is up there, too. Hmmm. I've certainly scouted The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, but I seem to have some real issues putting those habits to good use. Maybe I should brush up on the plan. After all, we seem to share the same vocabulary.

I don't know how useful these comparisons truly are, but they were certainly fun and inspiring.

Patio Garden Update--Hail Yes!

It's been over a month now since my patio garden was nearly annihilated by a monster hail storm on June 26th. Though I was heartbroken at the time, some of you commented to take heart, because many of the plants would recover. And you wise peeps were right, because many have, much to my delight. Though some will never be the same as they were before the hail-hammer fell, I thought I'd share a few photos of the then-and-now success stories.

Unfortunately, the flower we deemed "Sloth Flower" (Allium) was a total loss.
That one couldn't recover after being severed in two by hail.

Pansy planter after the June 26th hail storm

Pansy planter yesterday

White Petunias after hail storm

White Petunias yesterday

Various potted plants after hail storm.

The Deep Pinks (Calibrachoa) in nearest pot yesterday.

Garden Sage and Rosemary herbs after hail storm.

Garden Sage and Rosemary (with a random Marigold) yesterday.

The fancy Petunias in the hanging baskets have recovered quite well.

 

The white Alyssum and Lavender Pink Nemesia are now flourishing.



Not only did the Violas recover, but a Black Locust tree sprung up in their pot.
The tree will be moved to a new location in the yard this week.
Black Locusts grow very fast and it will be tree height in about 5-7 years.



 

So yes, Mother Nature has a way of bouncing back even after the worst pummeling. Though some of the flowers never recovered, many came back even better than they were before the storm.

 

There may be a lesson for writers in that. *grin*

That's it for this week. Hope you have a great one!

There's Coffee in That SFR!

Coffee. Yes, I'm one of those. Among the legion of writers who probably couldn't survive without it.

Coffee gets my mental gears turning and gives my muse a heady wake-up call that it's time to get to work. I can't tell you how many scenes I've written while CUIC (creating under the influence of coffee) or WWC (writing while caffeinated).

One of my favorite t-shirts is all about my coffee relationship. It says:

Instant Human

Just Add Coffee 

 

Yeah, that. :)

My fave brand for home brewing? Maxwell House. I know. Borrrrrrring! Though I do have access to David's somewhat more creative array--currently Laughing Man Ethiopia Sidama Light Roast Coffee, McCafe Pumpkin Spice Aribica Coffee, and Gevalia Carmel Macchiatos. And yes, we have both a Keurig and a Cuisinart home brewer that will grind fresh coffee beans when we're in the mood.

 

Ah, the aroma of freshly chopped beans!

 

But I know I'm not alone. Coffee is deeply ingrained into our culture and such an important part of our lives, that it frequently finds its way into popular fiction. And even Science Fiction with/without Romance.

 

One prime example is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Star Trek Voyager franchise. Captain Jean Luc Picard is known for his iconic Earl Grey tea and likewise, Captain Janeway craved her coffee. Black.

 

 

 

Design for products
available on Zazzle.
www.zazzle.com

Probably one of the most famous Janeway quotes is:

 

"Commander, set a new course. There's coffee in that nebula!"

 

Captain Janeway even declared she'd beat the Borg with coffee.

 

Yes, she's a true sci-fi coffee addict, but far from the only one. Just like the Earth-bound variety our fictional coffee worshippers come in many forms.

 

One of the more recent sci-fi epics to come to television is The Expanse, based on a series of novels by author (actually writer team) James S. A. Corey. In case you missed my recent post, you can discover a lot more about it here:

Seven Reasons You Should be Watching This Show.

 

In The Expanse, one of the central characters, James Holden, is on a never-ending quest to find a good cup of coffee in the depths of our own solar system. It seems an impossible quest.

 

In one scene, after taking a sip, Holden deems the coffee, "Criminal." 

 

Ade, a female navigator on the ice trawler Canterbury shows him a trick of whittling match heads into a cup of very bitter brew because the sulphur cuts some of the bite. She then smiles at his dubious expression upon taste tasting the result. "It's an acquired taste," she tells him.

 

Holden and Ade end up bonding over that strange concoction, though Holden continues to search for the remembered goodness of the miraculous product he once enjoyed on Earth. He finally finds what he's looking for aboard a Martian gunship, the Tachi, that he and his crew are gifted as a getaway vehicle after a catastrophe occurs.

 

And what does Holden find on the Tachi-soon-to-be-renamed-Rocinante? Yes! A fully stocked galley bursting with actual brew!

Holden be like...

 

And of course, being the coffee appreciator that I am, coffee also finds its way into my novels.

In Inherit the Stars, the word "coffee" has evolved into "kinna" over the centuries, and a good cup of the stuff is still a sought-after experience. Here's a brief scene where hero Sair is sharing a cup with a fellow crewmember (and former nemesis) in an enemies-to-allies moment.

____________________________________________

Sair and Zjel settled down at a two-person table, mugs of kinna in hand. He gave her a quick smile. “Having a heart-to-heart is something I never pictured us doing when I first boarded the Specter.”

Zjel took a sip of her kinna, screwing up her face. “Specter’s processor makes a damn better product.” She placed her mug on the table. “I had some misconceptions about you, Sair. I was wrong.”

He pursed his lips and rotated his cup in quarter turns on the table. “No harm done. Well, maybe one small scar.” He showed the now-healed line on his palm and grinned.

____________________________________________ 

 

Inherit the Stars
Part I: Flight
is currently being offered
FREE via Instafreebie.

By the way, if you're intrigued with Inherit the Stars, I'm extending a special offering to you that was made available to my newsletter subscribers until May.

 

In addition to being published as a novel, this space opera adventure SFR was also serialized into three parts -- Part I: Flight, Part II: The Network, and Part III: Sacrifice.

 

Inherit the Stars Part I: Flight comprises roughly a third of the entire tale and ends on a terrific cliffhanger. It's currently being offered for free via Instafreebie.

 

If you're curious to see how the characters in this award-winning novel begin their extraordinary partnership, feel free to claim a copy (available in .mobi, .pdf, or .epub formats) by clicking this link: 

 

https://www.instafreebie.com/free/lt2RB

 

But Inherit the Stars isn't the only story that features coffee consumers.

The characters in future release The Outer Planets are on a mission aboard a planetary exploration vessel dubbed the NSS Robert Bradley when they begin to forge a cautious alliance over two cups of Joe in the vessel's self-serve coffee shop.

It's cautious because one of them knows a whole lot more about the other than she's willing to reveal.

____________________________________________ 

The coffee shop was little more than an alcove off the main corridor with five small roundtops and a self-serve beverage and snack bar. Walls of soft blues and greens suggested sky and grass and blended well with faux cobblestone floors. Silk flora sprouted from plant wells to create a park-like atmosphere.

The environs had even been engineered to generate artificial weather. It seemed to be in Quiet Morning mode with artificial rays of soft sunlight falling in slanted diagonal beams from hidden projectors high on the walls. Despite the inviting oasis and not so late hour, the tables were deserted.

Lissa selected a Brazilian coffee blend from the brewer menu. Looking over the holograms of the soy-based donuts with suspicion, she decided she wasn’t hungry. Mitch seemed to come to the same conclusion. Coffee mugs in hand, they settled at a table near the back of the shop.

“So tell me more about you,” Mitch prompted.

Lissa took another long sip from her coffee and lowered the mug. “As a friend. Or am I being questioned by a member of security?”

His foot slipped back to the floor and he shifted forward. “As a friend.”

Lissa drained half her mug and set it down on the table. Why was she always so quick to go on the defensive with him? You know why.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“You,” he answered. “Tell me about your family.”

Lissa gripped the chairseat on either side of her thighs. Simple question for most people. Hot potato for me. “One brother. But we haven’t seen much of each other since…” My father’s death. Five years and I still can’t say those words. “…our father’s funeral.”

“I’m sorry,” Mitch said, with just enough feeling that she knew his words were genuine.

“I never knew my mother. She died shortly after I was born. There were complications.”

Mitch’s gaze fixed on the liquid in his cup. “That must have made for a rough childhood.”

“Well, not growing up with a mom, I never really knew what I missed.” Lissa quirked the right side of her mouth. “I would have liked the chance, though. People tell me I take after her.” She took another sip and batted the ball back into his court. “And you? Family?”

“My parents were killed in a flyer accident eight years ago.”

While on their second honeymoon in Aruba. “I’m so sorry.”

“I have a sister I’m very close to.” Renee. “A couple of nieces.” Tammy and Sarah, who you dote on. “And a brother I don’t speak to.”

Lissa straightened and pulled her feet under her. A brother? He’d never mentioned a male sibling before. From the sudden flatness in his voice, it seemed there might be a good reason. “Should I ask?”

He shook his head and dropped his voice. “No.”

So much for their conversation. “I guess family wasn’t such a great topic after all.”

“My fault,” Mitch muttered.

They both lagged into silence as they finished their coffee.

____________________________________________ 

Now it's your turn.

Have you encountered coffee culture in reading, writing or viewing SF/R? Please tell us more in comments. I'm always eager to seek out new blends and new variations when it comes to coffee in the entertainment universe.

Have a great week.

 

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Stopping to Smell the Roses--Excerpt and More

While in the midst of revising, re-working and re-plotting my next full-length novel, The Outer Planets, I often had to look at a passage and ask, "But what about the roses?"

In what amounted to disassembling the entire story and then deciding which of Humpty Dumpty's pieces needed to be pieced back together again, it required writing some pretty major chunks of the manuscript from scratch to serve as the glue. And that led to some issues. The contrast between the original, highly-polished scenes and the newly penned material was "in-your-face" evident. The "roses" were missing.

"Stopping to smell the roses" is my analogy for layering-in sensory detail, emotions and mental processing to every scene. Being a total pantser, getting the bare bones down and then fleshing in these elements during a later pass seems to be the process that works best.

The subject of The Outer Planets and stopping to smell the roses makes a great segway into this excerpt, where the heroine taps into her deep appreciation for nature.

Imagine being aboard a planetary research vessel while orbiting Jupiter. The year is 2040 and more than a year has passed since you've enjoyed anything as sensory as a quiet walk in the park. You spend your days enclosed in a finite artificial environment of metals, carbons and plastics, breathing scrubbed oxygen and drinking recycled water. And then one day, you walk into the ship's Biodeck research lab...

Lissa took the TL lift to main deck and walked to the Biodeck entrance, stepping through the huge, transparent doors into the botanical realm. It took time for her eyes and senses to adjust to the dense mist and high humidity. She drew in a deep, invigorating breath. The air hung heavy with oxygen and the heady smells of nature.

Brushing droplets of water from the surface of a heart-shaped leaf, Lissa rubbed the moisture between her fingers. Cool. Wet. Organic. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, absorbing the garden through her pores. Nowhere else on the Bradley could she feel so near to Earth, so close to the memory of nature. Nowhere else could she delight in the aroma of blossoms and pungent tang of herbal perfumes.

 

She walked between the stark hydroponic cubes of vegetables growing in rock wool and past the hazy green of algae tanks to stare spellbound at the jungle ecosystem that occupied one section of the huge lab. Tall trees stretched toward the high ceiling, clothed in vines and slippered with ferns and creepers. Vibrant red and orange blooms exploded in the dense green backdrop.

Heaven. Lissa sighed. Heaven in space.

The characters in The Outer Planets develop a deep appreciation for Earth and nature during their long voyage, but these sentiments also have a much darker side--and that behavior is expressed through the villain's POV.

Inherit the Stars to be featured on Backlist to the Future

Ever wonder if there are some really great SFR books out there that you may have missed in the years and months gone by? That became the basis for bestselling author Cara Bristol's new Thursday blog series, Backlist to the Future.

Each week, Cara will highlight a SFR book that has been out for at least six months. The blog includes the usual content like blurb, excerpt, author bio and sales links, but it will also have a special section written by the author where they talk a little about the book's background, backstory or special notes about the story.

You can read more on Cara Bristol's Backlist to the Future info page.

Catching you up to date, featured books have included:

Prophecy by Lea Kirk (Feb 2) where Lea reveals the double double trouble that pushed back the debut of her author career by many years.

Cerelia's Choice by D.A. Hill (Jan 26) where the author dishes on why they wrote the book without even realizing sci-fi romance was a genre.

On Thursday, February 9th, my 2015 novel, Inherit the Stars will be featured, and in the author's section I describe two of the things that make this novel a little different from other science fiction romance stories. Cara created a beautiful graphic for my book's appearance, and here it is:

Pets in Space Wins Two SFR Galaxy Awards

As Donna mentioned in her blog on Friday, we had four--count 'em, four!--SFR Galaxy Award winners associated with Spacefreighters Lounge.

Wow! What an honor. It was especially cool to have winners because this is the 5th Anniversary of the awards. (Check out the special banner below that was created by my--and Pippa's-- fabulous cover artist, Danielle Fine, for the occasion.

Donna's Fools Rush In and Pippa's Quickshot both scored an award, and the Pets in Space collection (which includes my story StarDog) pulled in two more--for Best Anthology and Best Interstellar Menagerie.

Pets in Space has had a wonderful run since its debut in October, previously being named one of the Best Books of 2016 in E-Originals Fiction by LibraryJournal.com.

Here's what the SFR Galaxy Award judges had to say about Pets in Space:

Here's a reminder that this collection of terrific science fiction romance stories -- *with pets* -- will only be available as a complete set until April and then the book will go out of e-print forever. You can read more on Amazon > Pets in Space.

Have a great week!

When Power Outages Strike

A lengthy power outage yesterday threw a wrench in the reactors for my plans to research and write a topical blog post, but I have several authorly and not-so updates to report that should be fun. 

On the Writing Front


I'm moving ahead with novel two--The Outer Planets--though after coming back from my editor, it's in for some pretty heavy revisions that will alter some of the story line and character arcs, shorten the mission timeline and drop one of the four POVs completely.

The good news is this will (hopefully) trim it down by some 10,000 words (it's currently over 120,000) so it will be closer in length to Inherit the Stars.


On the Personal Front

We had a very exciting Wednesday night when one of the two-year-old Thoroughbred colts we bred and raised--Blazing Away ("Zinger")--had his first start at Albuquerque Downs.


Blazing Away - First Race, Albuquerque Downs

We're very proud of "our boy" (we no longer own him, but he's still our kid) who was a perfect gentleman in the saddling paddock as many of the other youngsters were rearing, bucking, kicking and generally creating chaos.

Two year olds tend to throw temper tantrums just like kids, and this was the first time many of these young horses were being saddled for an official race in front of a large audience, so yes...

Crowd + commotion + announcer = freak out!

For his first race, we had two big wishes--that Zinger get through the race safely and that we get lots of great pictures. Big score on both counts. Zinger was off to a slow start, but made an impressive move on the back stretch and ended up running third, which earned him a nifty little pay check for his first race, and the "show" spot on the tote board.

Yesterday, he ran a bullet workout (fastest time of the day for that distance) so we know he recovered from the race without injury and hope to have many more happy updates in the future.

Funny story. Before we had filled out Zinger's application along with our three preferred name choices, we had jokingly dubbed him New Mexico Chrome, after Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome. Though he doesn't have quite as much "chrome" (slang for a lot of white markings) as the champ from California, he does have his fair share of flashy white. 

PETS IN SPACE ANTHOLOGY UPDATE

There's so much happening with this fun new SFR/pets anthology that I'm going to do weekly updates going forward.

These updates may include fun swag, giveaways and other perks, so check back often!

Pets in Space is now on Goodreads!
Yes, the Pets in Space Anthology is now on Goodreads! Click the link above to take a peek.

Please add it to your Favorites, To Read List, and your other custom lists.

Thanks so much for your support!

Guest Post on Whiskey With My Book Reviews

Last Monday, I was featured in a guest post on Riley Moreland's Whiskey With My Book Reviews site, and brought along my two little writing buddy/inspirations. To check out the cool spotlight photo of Katrina and Luna--my mini longhaired dachshunds--just click the name of the site above.

Cover Model Meet and Greet!

Two of our anthology authors--Lea Kirk and Susan Grant--had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with the cover model of the Pets in Space Anthology on Saturday, August 13th--the day the news broke about the project--at the San Francisco Area RWA chapter meeting.

Lea posted about the event on Facebook and Susan put the pedal to the medal on her 747 to arrive in time. She's not only a best-selling author, she's an airline pilot to boot!

Here's a great photo of Lea Kirk (left), and Susan Grant (right) with the wonderful and personable Vikkas Bhardwaj and the Pets in Space Anthology cover I'm sure you've seen his face on many, many book covers--including the Sing a Song of the Stars SFR book bundle (unfortunately, no longer available) that included Farewell Andromeda. We're so proud that Vikkas is the face of Pets in Space. (Click on his name above to see some of his terrific images on VikkasZone.)

And I'm especially proud that Vikkas kinda sorta resembles my Tectolian star navigator hero, Taro Shall. The residents of Tectol, who have a penchant for navigating the cosmos, are primarily descended from the peoples from the South Pacific islands of "original Earth." Taro's even wearing a white shirt in one scene!

By the way, I have it on good authority that Vikkas received a special request to do more science fiction romance style photo shoots. Can't wait to feast my eyes on those! It's sooo hard to find good cover images in appropriate star voyager attire and with props that translate well to SFR covers. I really hope to see something along those lines in the near future!

If you want updates on the important upcoming news on the Pets in Space Anthology and my other work, please subscribe to my Escape to the Stars Newsletter (see link below). It comes with a sincere promise not to spam your email inbox with constant emails, just quarterly updates and special announcements. (And rest assured I will never sell your email address! Hate it when that happens to me.)

>>> Escape to the Stars: Laurie A. Green's Newsletter Sign-Up <<<

 

 

Instant Replays

 

In case you missed Greta's thoughtful post and terrific follow-on discussion, take a look here:

We Need Our Own Genre

 

And Donna had a fun and light-hearted post on Friday about booze in spaaaaaaaaace:

I'll Take Potent Potables in Space for $100, Alex

 

Have a great week!

 

Laurie

 

~~~*~~~