SURVEY SAYS . . . ASTRONAUTS STILL SEXY!

Of course, it helps if your astronuat looks like George Clooney!

Bolstering our ongoing argument that space-faring heroes can be just as popular in romance as cowboys or Regency dukes comes this astonishing data from Matt Novak at Paleofuture.com.  A 1962 survey of American women published in Parade Magazine found in the Cedar Rapids Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa listed “astronaut” as the third sexiest profession for men, just after “doctor” and “writer”.  (Personally, I find the second one just as surprising!) 

“Scientist” followed just behind at number four and “engineer” also made the list at number seven.  Of course, “actor”, “athlete”, “airline pilot”, “architect” and “executive” also made the top ten.  But what I find amazing is the ladies’ love for what we would today call “nerds”, men with big brains.  Novak acknowledges there were no details about the women surveyed (who they were or even how many there were), but it is clear they had their eyes on the future.

President Kennedy had set the course of his nation with an emphasis on science and progress, the bright, shining symbol of which was the space program.  Is it any wonder that women who sought partners with money-making potential and good genes would look in the direction of science and space?  God knows what they were thinking about the writers, but doctors, scientists, astronauts, engineers and pilots all made good sense in that context.  Architects and executives were good bet, too, in a booming economy and an optimistic nation.  Then, too, the early NASA astronauts were test and fighter pilots, used to risk taking and hard living.  They had a very sexy image, despite NASA’s attempt to clean them up.

Ah, but you say, it’s a different world today.  Compared to Jack Kennedy’s Camelot, we live in a dystopian pit of despair.  A world of haves and have-nots, of lost hope and shrunken dreams.  The mighty U.S. economy limps; science is honored only in commercial application; even the space program is a shadow of its former self.  Unless we’re talking George Clooney, women don’t find astronauts sexy!

Or do they?

An Internet search revealed one recent Italian survey with rather mundane results on the professions women thought were sexiest for men.  One thousand Italian women were surveyed and selected “policeman” as the sexiest profession.  

 The rest of the top ten for the Italian ladies:

Caribinieri (rifleman)?

Pilot

Barman

Sailor

Doctor

Cook

Bricklayer

Lawyer

As you can see, there are some cultural differences to be taken into account here.  In no survey I can think of would you ever find “cook” on a list of sexy jobs in America.  The Italians take their food very seriously.

The folks over at Way of the Player.com, however, conducted their own survey of “hundreds of beautiful women” to give us a much more relatable list of sexy professions for men (and, in case you need it, a pickup line for each).  Topping the list?  ASTRONAUT!!!  Yes, in the survey, dated January 7, 2012, the women thought rocket jockey to be the sexiest job for guys.   After all, WOTP says, astronauts are “scientists with huge muscles”.  It’s a genetic double whammy!  Take that, New York!

The rest of the list:

Pilot

Fireman

Carpenter

Plastic surgeon (?)

Lifeguard

Architect

Bartender

Lawyer

Doctor

Sad to say, scientists and engineers have fallen off the lists.  Doctors are barely hanging in there.  (The reality of long years of med school, internship and residency before you get to the big bucks may be scaring the ladies off.   Or maybe it’s because more women would rather be a doctor than marry one.)  It certainly says something about our society that a bartender or a bricklayer or even a lawyer could be considered a better bet for a sexual partner than a physicist or a biologist.

But, hey, astronauts still rule!  Just don’t tell anybody most of them are scientists!  Focus on the muscles part.  And mention George Clooney.

Cheers, Donna

Seven Reasons Why You Shouldn't Read This Book

So...

I finished a book a few days ago and I've been raving about it ever since. I've been recommending it. I've been reading the reviews posted by others. I've been tuning into discussions about it. I've been commenting and liking and re-tweeting it...

When is the last time a book had this much impact on me?

Hmmm. A long, long while. Before the age of Goodreads and tweeting and the totally interactive grapevine the online world has become, for sure.

There were a lot of words that came to mind upon finishing The Last Hour of Gann. "Wow!" was probably my first gut-reaction. Followed by "amazing," "fabulous" and "epic!" But the word that seemed to lodge itself and become stuck is in my head is...game-changer.

The Last Hour of Gann is what Science Fiction Romance can aspire to be. Incredibly complex world-building. Remarkably believable interspecies love story. Astounding character transformation, especially in the hero, a Gannite named Meoraq. Uyane Meoraq. (Say that like Bond. James Bond.)  And last but not least, a blow-you-away resolution that you might kinda see coming as a rainstorm until it hits you with the force of a hundred-foot tidal wave.

But Gann didn't accomplish all that by being careful, PC or bowing to the current trends. The Last Hour of Gann is a great book because the author took outrageous chances--and didn't sugarcoat a universe that can sometimes be a horrible, violent, twisted place. Instead this tale proves that sometimes, just sometimes, you can beat the universe at its own game.

So I'm going to give you seven reasons why you shouldn't read The Last Hour of Gann and if I convince you of even one of them, then don't read it. If, on the other hand, you can forgive all these unforgiveables that a "nice" story should never have or be, then by all means, read it! Because if you don't, you might be passing up on one of the most profound SFR reading experiences of the last decade.

1. The Cover is Ugly

Yes, the cover is hideous. It does a horrible job of capturing the essence of the relationship between the heroine and the alien hero. It doesn't even begin to capture the spirit or hardcore determination of Amber, or the questing, seeking, disciple of truth and justice that is Meoraq. Uyane Meoraq. Nope, if you can't get past the cover, then don't read this book.

2. The Heroine is Fat

Amber Bierce begins the story as a very overweight individual. So overweight she may not even be allowed as a passenger on the colony ship she wants to board to escape an even worse fate. She takes steps to be allowed on that ship. Questionable steps. For her it's a matter of survival and doing what she does is a means to one end. To survive. She'll make the same questionable steps throughout the story in order to survive. If you can't stomach the fact the heroine is overweight or makes questionable decisions, definitely don't read this book.

3. The Hero is a Lizard

Wait! you say. Stop right there. I don't want to read a story about a lizard. If you believe that's all Meoraq--Uyane Meoraq--is, then you'll be deprived of discovering a truly remarkable character--his past, his faith, his trials and his beliefs. No, Meoraq is no mere lizardman. He's a Sword of Sheul--a Sheulek. A Striding Foot of God. If you don't know what that means, and don't care to learn what it's like to carry the weight and privilege of that title in Meoraq's world, then don't read this book.

4. It's Too Long

Truth. It is too long. At somewhere around 1,000 pages, and over 400,000 words--it's easily the word count of a hefty trilogy. The beginning is slow. Plodding is one description I used. Yet, when you get to The End, you'll probably do what I did and look for an Epilogue or a Last Word, or anything to give you just a little bit more of this incredible world and characters. And you'll probably wonder how you got through such a huge tome in so short of a time, because eventually the pages just begin to fly by. But if you don't have the patience to read such a lengthy novel, then no, don't read this book.

5. Lizard Sex

Yes, this story contains interspecies sex. If it didn't, most of the really great stuff about this tale would be lost, like the character growth or the tender devotion or the genuine emotion between the hero and heroine who are so very different. But seriously, if you can't abide lizardman-human sex, don't read this book.

6. Rape Content

This book has some very bad characters who do very bad things to other characters and don't give a Gann about human rights or sexual equality. I've heard this story described as a Rape Fantasy, which is laughable, because there's nothing remotely "fantasy" about these scenes of dehumanizing and sometime de-lizardizing violence. I've also heard it described as "misogynistic." Yeah, that's a big part of the message. If you can't handle the concept that people (and lizards) get raped at the hands of those who don't really care about their feelings or their rights as fellow beings, then please, don't read this book.

7. Extreme Violence

The Last Hour of Gann has some scenes of extreme violence, retribution and cruelty. Sometimes that violence is done by lizards to humans, sometimes by humans to lizards, sometimes by lizards to lizards, and--oh shock!--sometimes by humans to humans. There is a lot of violence, but it isn't gratuitous and it isn't included in the story for effect or shock value. Gann is a violent world. So is Earth. Mix contents and stir. And don't read this book.

If you've gotten to the end of this list and haven't found a reason to pass on The Last Hour of Gann, then by all means grab a copy of this book and start reading.

But all you've done is told me why I shouldn't read this book, you say. Why should I read it?

Well, how about this: Dear Author Review: The Last Hour of Gann

Or this: Roni Loren Must-Read Monday: The Last Hour of Gann

Or this by male reviewer Christopher Morgan: Heroes & Heartbreakers: Cold Blood, Full Heart--The Romance Virgin Reads The Last Hour of Gann

Or the plethora of Goodreads reviews: The Last Hour of Gann

Now, if you've made a choice to read this book, please come back when you're done and add your comments--good or bad. Tell us what you took away from the story, or what you didn't. We don't care how long it takes. Seriously. We'll leave the light on for you.

A Love Affair with Space and Time

What kind of Whovian would I be if I don't mention the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who that took place on Saturday 23rd November? Probably the most iconic British Science Fiction show, now watched and even worshipped around the world, I grew up watching the series. I can remember my very first story - The Planet of the Spiders (which I've long since blamed for my arachnophobia) - where Jon Pertwee regenerated into the eccentric Tom Baker. My parents were scifi fans, so Doctor Who and the original Star Trek were regular programs to watch. Then later there was Blake's Seven, The Tomorrow People, and The Tripods. Space 1999, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet. More Star Trek spin offs, Red Dwarf, Torchwood, Babylon 5, Farscape, Stargate. We lost Doctor Who for 16 years, only for the next generation to explode back onto our screens to a new generation of fandom. And while Star Wars might have triggered the switch for me from writing fantasy to scifi, it was Doctor Who that shaped my debut novel.

Me, age 18, with the then 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy, just before the show was cut.

One aspect of The Day of the Doctor that really struck a chord with me was the fact the story revolved around a regeneration of himself that he had deliberately chosen to forget. The regeneration (beautifully portrayed by John Hurt) was responsible for destroying the Doctor's homeworld Gallifrey, along with the whole of the Time Lord race - his own people - in order to utterly destroy the Daleks (something we know ultimately failed as the Doctor has met further incarnations of the Daleks since). But now regenerations ten and eleven (or so we thought) are faced with the regeneration they tried to forget, and forced to relive making the same terrible decision. This time they elect to do it together, because they can't see an alternative. But then they don't. Together with their other selves, they hide Gallifrey instead of destroying it. And the terrible act that has haunted the Doctor for three generations is averted.

Now, I have one issue with this. The Doctor had to make a horrible decision, and while he's always regretted it, that decision has shaped every decision he's made since. In my novels Keir and Gethyon, I also have a time traveller - Quin. When her son Gethyon, and later Keir question why they can't go back and change things, she tells them it's impossible. They travel through time by feel rather than science, and how can you go back to save someone you saw die? It's psychologically impossible. You know they're dead. She makes the point that if they could go back and change such things, they woudn't be the people they are. Here's a snippet of their conversation:

Gethyon: “But you said we can travel in time as well as space. Didn’t you ever try to go back and…?”
“We can’t go back,” Quin snapped, a sudden harshness in her expression that softened at his responding scowl. “And even if we could, if we could put every little mistake right, what would that do to us? We wouldn’t be the people we are now. Would we care so much if we hadn’t already lost things precious to us? Would we have pity for others if we hadn’t suffered ourselves? Everything that we are, everything that we try to do, believing it to be for the best—all of it is born from the life we’ve had, the decisions we’ve made, good or bad. There are so many things I want to put right, but knowing that I can’t means I try all the harder to make the right choices and be the best person I can.”

And that's my issue. For three generations since that forgotten Doctor, he has been shaped by that terrible decision. And now that he's changed what he did, won't that reshape everything he does? Perhaps it won't change the events already passed, the adventures we've seen, but it will inevitably change what he does in the future.We know that Matt Smith is shortly due to regenerate into Peter Capaldi, so the Doctor is going to change anyway, But I'm curious to see what impact the saving of Gallifrey will have on the new Doctor, and whether we'll now see a darker, perhaps more over-confident regeneration who no longer has the death of his own race on his conscience...

In the meantime, I raise a glass to the creators, writers, producers and actors responsible for 50 years of Doctor Who, and who helped to spark my own stories. Here's to another 50 years! *salutes*

Pippa's Journal

Although I haven't hit 50K with my NaNoWriMo story (again!), I've finished the story. It's all there, and waiting for a damn good polish. At 35K, it's certainly exceeded my original 10K expectation, and to date (being my 4th attempt), it's the longest I've managed at NaNoWriMo. So I'm very pleased and proud with that. Even more amazingly, I put five pages and the synopsis into a critique event by Breathless Press...and got a request for the full on completion! Woo hoo! Of course, that's no guarantee of a contract, but since I wasn't even sure this story would even see the light of day as a self published short, it's flattering to know it caught a publisher's eye. Here's my badge of honor!

Ping Pong

Donna and Laurie, I think too many of us take all the Moon missions for granted, and all the politics behind them. When the shuttles were decommissioned, I felt that humanity was somehow giving up the idea of space exploration, and after all we'd achieved, that seemed so tragic. I'm still hoping I might live long enough to see someone set foot on Mars. I wasn't born until eight years after the assassination, but I can imagine that it hit home in the same way news of 9/11 hit the schools and TV - something that makes the world stop.

Laurie, great post on promotion and it certainly sparked a lot of discussion. I think different things work for different people, and there's still no one magical thing to it. I agree we need something more. The question is still - what?

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