Getting Distracted #cosplay #StarWars

Just lately I've lost the enthusiasm to write. Unlike previous such attacks, it's not so much the I Suck Fairy but a lack of inspiration, coupled with the knowledge that I don't have the money to publish the stuff already in my files, let alone new stuff. Even a sub call that caught my eye hasn't actually got me writing even though I have characters. I have no plot, and muse is just shrugging at me.

But I get restless if I'm not doing something creative. Cosplay has filled that need and kept my hands busy while my mind wanders. This week, however, despite splashing out on some fabric from an actual shop to continue with my eldest's Rey cosplay, the rapidly approaching Star Wars Celebration reminded me that I don't have a complete costume for the event. And it's getting closer!

 A couple of years back I picked up a Star Wars themed pattern from eBay, and made myself a basic Jedi tunic and cloak. I don't look like anyone in the SW universe, so being a generic Jedi is more my preference.

With the celebration happening in just under two weeks, and the British weather actual set to pick up temperature wise, I think the heavy wool cloak I made is going to be a no-no. While I love the tunic, the belt I made for it is too wide for a shortie like me and makes me feel like I can't bend in the middle. I'd spotted some leather Jedi belts on eBay, but the cost had made me hesitate previously. Running out of time and feeling my outfit somewhat inferior to 11yo's Hux cosplay, I decided I had to go for it.

I was quite impressed. Despite the high price tag, I was expecting something fairly naff in fake leather. Instead I got a heavy duty belt with bright, shiny working buckles and thick tooled leather. I've opted for my own makeshift lightsaber holder rather than the 'proper' ones you can buy - I'm using a carabine d-ring which comes out a fifth of the price of the holder (maybe I'll invest in one later).

The other problem I have is a lack of pockets. I've bought myself a black canvas backpack to carry my supplies in, but I'm not happy about letting important things like my wallet and train ticket roll around inside that. You can buy Jedi belts with the pouches, but those are obviously more expensive, and the pouches themselves cost. I had some black fake leather in my fabrics box so I decided to make some pouches of my own.

I soon regretted it. I used a couple of digital camera cases to give me an idea of size and structure for the pouches, and the main body of my own version was fine. It was the side panels I struggled with. For one thing I couldn't get them into my sewing machine to stitch (not that it hadn't already struggled with a double layer of fake leather with heavy weight interfacing for rigidity). So I had to hand stitch them. Fiddly and hard work (my poor fingers!). But in the end, it looks okay and will fulfill the function for which it was made.

I've no inclination to make another right now. Again, I'll be posting this over on my tumblr blog HERE over the summer. The posts will begin on the 27th of July weekly with the full details of the Hux cosplay, the Rey one to date, and the pouch.

Happenings
The Summer of Magic blog hop is happening right now! Hop over HERE to win prizes galore on each post, then enter the main rafflecopter for a $75 Amazon gift card, plus an ebook and print book bundle. Open internationally!

And don't be sad if you miss out. On the 11th of July, the SFRB Summer Blog Hop sets off from HERE to explore Other Worlds, with more prizes to be won.

And just as that finishes, there's a huge scifi romance sale event going on. For more details, please sign up to my newsletter HERE.

Status Update
Gethyon is still in edits. Are you tired of me saying that yet? Ditto Revived and Reunion. I've signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo, but I'm not sure I'm going to finish or hit target for this one. >.<
See ya next week!

It's the End of the World: Civil Wars, Apocalypse & Brexit #scifi #politics

I guess it's oddly appropriate that at a time when my country is tearing itself apart and in turmoil over the EU referendum that I finally saw Captain America: Civil War and X-Men Apocalypse. Maybe I should finish it off with Independence Day: Resurgence for the full dose of doom, gloom and destruction. Lol.
I haven't found much to be happy about in any of them. After over an hour of boredom in Civil War, the only highlight for me were two action scenes: the chase with Bucky, Black Panther, Captain America, and Falcon, followed by the odd humorous twist (finally!) during the big airport fight. After that...well, by the end of the film I pretty much hated all of the main characters. I get the film is about friendship, loyalty, choosing to do what you think is right vs what the rest of the world thinks is right (rather like Brexit, and look how that's turning out), and the futility of revenge. But I've never been a Cap fan, and this film didn't change my feelings. I liked the Iron Man films but in the Avengers Stark has become more of a jerk than he started out as (even if he had good reason in Civil War, and that was a great, unexpected twist). My boys enjoyed it, which is okay I guess. But I think I'm done with Avengers films.

I am and have been a much bigger fan of the X-men films, but again Apocalypse left me cold with only Quicksilver and Nightcrawler (and Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult) keeping me watching. I'm confused. Have we now negated everything from the original films? I thought Days of Future Past put the timeline back on track, but Apocalyspe seemed to take it away again. And why didn't Quicksilver tell Magneto who he was?! Surely that would have made for a better turning point that a few memories of Xavier?

Whatever, the characters now seem to have more multiple reality origin stories than Spiderman and Batman. I'm pinning my hopes on Guardians of the Galaxy 2 to restore any faith I had in Marvel. And there's Rogue One coming from Disney: I have high expectations based on The Force Awakens.

As for Brexit... Our PM has resigned, there's no new leader though we're likely to end up with blond buffoon Boris Johnson, our economy is tanking, businesses are abandoning the country, racism has sky rocketed, the Leavers are suffering buyers' regret, and no one knows what the hell is happening next. Apparently not even our government had actual plans in the event of a Leave vote. Kinda thought that was the job we voted them in to do. I'm starting to feel we're entering Neal Asher's Zero Point. O.o Right now we need our very own Toruk Makto to reunite the tribes of our not so United Kingdom. Sigh.

Happenings
The Summer of Magic blog hop starts on the 4th of July, and while there's no fireworks there is a $50 Amazon gift card and ebook bundle giveaway, plus visitors to my blog have the rare chance to pick up a bundle of my short stories. The theme is all things summer so I'm sharing a never-before-published excerpt featuring my characters from Keir's Fall on an all too brief holiday.

And no sooner does the Summer of Magic end than the SFRB Summer blog hop begins! The grand prizes will be three $50 gift cards and book bundles. The theme is Other Worlds so I'll be taking you on a short tour of some of the planets featured in my time travel romance Keir.

And as that ends on the 15th of July, there'll be a stellar SciFi Romance sale event coming up. To receive details on that, please sign up to my newsletter HERE.

In less than three weeks I'm off to the Europe Star Wars Celebration, and I'll be meeting up with another fellow Brigader - Patty Hammond. I'll be going in cosplay, and my equally Star Wars obsessed 11yo will be joining me for one day in his Hux cosplay. I'm so excited!!!

Status Update
Gethyon is ready to go back to my editor but she's taking a well deserved holiday right now. Revived and Reunion are still awaiting my attention.
The Rey cosplay is coming along nicely, but I'm now being held up by lack of funds to buy more fabric. I need to tweak my own Jedi outfit for the Star Wars Celebration in less than three weeks! Then a week later I'm off on my seven week social media break. Eep! Too much to do! *runs away*

Androids or Aliens - Which Would You Pick? The SFRB Summer Cafe #scifirom #giveaway

Welcome to my post for the Androids and Aliens menu in the SFR Brigade's Summer Cafe! If you like dishy aliens or delectable 'droids, this IS the post you're looking for. ;)

I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and the supernatural with a romantic soul. And I'd like to introduce you to some of my heroes and heroines from my scifi romance universe, a wonderful place full of diversity. First, I'd like you to meet Soren, a sub-avatar on the luxury resort of Venus Ascendant space station. In other words, a very specialized android...

"Marie stared at him…at it. She’d heard about the VA avatars but never been so close to one. She’d learned from the space station’s blurb that the main AI took the form of a young Indian woman called Ganesa, spoken of with as much reverence as the bronze-cast deity behind her. This particular avatar had been crafted into a ruggedly handsome, if stereotypically human, male. Thick blond hair left a shade too long framed his face perfectly; darker brows arched over eyes the most glorious shade of deep blue she’d ever seen. He was broad shouldered and athletic, and the thin, snug-fitting one-piece in gray outlined the welldefined musculature of his torso in a way no doubt intended to draw attention and tease the imagination of potential clients. A shapely hint of what lay beneath without full disclosure, like the metallic foil used to cover chocolate treats. Also a complete contrast to the man she’d hoped to see, and all too perfect to be real." 
~from Terms & Conditions Apply

Too artificial? How about a cloned assassin, capable of walking through walls and killing with a kiss?

"Mirsee.
Flawed Su. Terran co-delegate and bondmate to Zander D'joren. All through her debriefing, the hologram had stared at Tyree as it hovered above the data pad, the face a perfect mirror of her own. As she expected it to be. Her long, straight black hair was worn differently, of course, and her expression far more placid than Tyree had felt at that moment, but essentially her double in all respects. Blue-eyed, black-skinned, a narrow face with a pointed chin, high arching eyebrows and a broad, curving forehead. The only fascination now was the knowledge that both she and her deceased twin came from bonded Inc-Su parents rather than a single entity. 
Could she see either of those unknown parents in their shared face if she stared hard enough? Unlikely. The majority of Inc-Su were similar in form—tall and lanky, with slight variations in coloring—as all those in Refuge were cloned from the thirteen council members. The only thing she could be reasonably sure of was she wasn't one of M'roc's grouping. She'd seen those around before and they were unmistakable with their heavier build, brown eyes, and caramel skin." 

~from Tethered

I guess cloning still means technically man-made. How about someone alien? While my hero Keir isn't technically an alien (on his world, even another human arriving on the planet is viewed as otherwordly) his unusual appearance is due to a trace of alien DNA in his bloodline that had an unfortunate affect on his skin, resulting in him being named a demon and cursed by his backward society.

"Muted sunlight flashed from a blade in motion. Quin wriggled in panic, expecting a fatal strike on her companion’s undefended back. Instead, the sound of ripping cloth filled the air as Caiman slashed the robes and rags into useless tatters, stripping Keir’s head and back to reveal the so-called demon underneath.

For a moment, Quin stared. No. No, it can’t be...

Her chest locked tight, and her blood went cold. Now, too late, she understood the nickname given to him and how the legend had misled her into believing the Blue Demon might be the sentiac she’d sought. His bare torso was the rich blue of an evening sky, his long, unkempt hair a knot of black curls tangled at the nape of his neck. Deep black tattoos, resembling some form of runic lettering, were carved into every inch of his skin. No monster, but no normal man either." 
~from Keir, Book One of Redemption

And that's barely skimming the surface! If you'd like to meet another of my alien heroes, you can pick up Tales from the SFR Brigade anthology for FREE by going HERE, and meet Tevik in Imprint (psst, it's the first story in the book), as well as more androids, aliens, and intrepid humans in the other seven stellar stories included. Book Two of Keir will be releasing later this year, and if you don't want to sign up to my newsletter you can just click Follow on my Amazon page (just under my author photo) to be notified when it's available.

In the meantime, another treat for you. Since a reviewer once compared part of Keir to the film Blue Lagoon, I felt the drink of the same name would be the perfect accompaniment while you read. 

What you'll need:

2oz Vodka
1oz Blue Curacao
Lemonade
Ice
Cherry for garnish

Add ice to the bottom of the glass. Pour in the vodka and Blue Curacao. Top up with lemonade and mix all the ingredients together. Garnish as desired and serve chilled.

© Dana Rothstein | Dreamstime Stock Photos

And now for the bonus prize. You can win a choice of either two of my short stories (Terms & Conditions Apply, a scifi romance featuring one of my awesome androids, and No Angel, a futuristic urban fantasy) or my scifi romance novella Tethered (a cloned succubus-like assassin and a grieving human diplomat take on a race of feline aliens set on wiping them out). Tell me whether you'd rather have an android made to your personal specifications or a handsome alien to whisk you away to the stars! Leave a comment with your email addy for a chance to enter. And don't forget to fill in the rafflecopter too - my scifi romance novel Keir is part of the ebook bundle being given away for this week's Summer Cafe, as well as hopping along to the other blogs listed below to see more!

a Rafflecopter giveaway