Science Fiction?

Science Fiction from a romantic suspense author? What is she thinking?

As authors, we are branded...kind of like cattle. :)  I have a big RS stamp on my rump. And yet, I dared to venture into a different pasture and write science fiction. But how far did I stray, really? 

Aimee Patterson is accidentally taken from her back yard by a nomadic spaceship and whisked away on an adventure in the stars. She visits another planet. She battles alien creatures. She learns new cultures...where's the Romantic Suspense?

Zak. Need I say more? 

Romantic Suspense criteria:

• Good looking guy - check!
• Mutual attraction and tension - check!
• Suspense and danger around every corner - check!

Romantic tension can take place in Chicago, Paris, or the planet Ziratak.  It's all relevant, right? :)

BEYOND was written solely in the point of view of Aimee, however TWO SUNS introduces Zak's thoughts. For such a dark and damaged guy, he actually has moments of wit and humor. LOL

What happens when one of your favorite authors ventures to another pasture? Does it alarm you? Do you try to corral them back into their pen?

Inventing Worlds

As a romantic suspense author, inventing a world comes naturally for me. A sinister house. A potential storm. Let nature and the environment portray an element of suspense. Maybe your last trip to Maine can guide you, or your last walk along a shell-encrusted shore.

But, I have a confession. I have never traveled deep into space (although some will strongly argue that I act awfully spacey at times!) So when it came to writing BEYOND and BEYOND: TWO SUNS, how did I invent a world?

Well, there is a lot of coffee involved. Caffeine is an excellent source of world-building.

 Let's start out with the woods on the back of Aimee Patterson's property. I envisioned the forests portrayed so hauntingly by the Brothers Grimm--the lairs of Red Riding Hood, and Hanzel and Gretel. Aimee had to breech a barricade that severed all sunlight to enter a realm she had always sought to avoid. Have you ever traveled past your comfort zone into that thicket of trees that scared you as a child?

Then, once in space, I had to tackle the Guardian ship, Horus. I could probably post a thousand fictional spaceship pictures here from Star Trek, Star Wars, etc., but none connected with what was in my head. I pictured BIG. The Horus, to me looked like a floating city with little suburbs attached to it as feet. LOL 

In BEYOND, Aimee gets to visit another planet. Bordran is a lush world, filled with the dense foliage of a rain forest, where clouds cling to the ground like a blanket of cotton. Ahhh, the liberties of a fictional writer. I needed to create Bordran's indigenous creatures. 

As Aimee herself described, she was waiting for the purple cyclops to emerge from the trees. But no, instead, imagine a sinister Jolly Green Giant. I know that's hard to do considering he's so jolly. The creatures of Bordran were much more hard-core than the happy guy you see here. They had tree roots winding up their body, and black, lifeless eyes--definitely not an image you'd want stamped on your frozen vegetables.

And then there is JOH. Many science fiction plots contain a computer that has a life of its own. Some go rogue, some are female companions to lonely space fighters...but JOH, JOH is like the most intelligent, attentive talking puppy you will ever meet. And what does he look like? Well, I'll be honest, I envisioned a crystallized Cookie Monster face.  Hey, it's my world and I wanted a crystal cookie monster who could spout out every useless fact about the galaxies. :)

Just when you're thinking that BEYOND is set in a near-droll environment, I introduce the Jay-nine satellite. If you have not read BEYOND, I don't want to divulge much about the Jay-nine, but suffice to say, it's NOT a place you want to visit. Picture a tall hotel lobby, but unlike the one you see here, imagine black marble walls and sinister, spiked balconies...and haunted faces. Definitely haunted faces. 

Anyway, building a world isn't always easy, but with fiction you have the power and tools to construct many wonders.

If you could build a world, what one thing would you want to include?

A Funny Thing Happened...

My brother knows I write romance, so when he screened BEYOND to see if it was suitable for my niece to read, a funny thing happened. He liked it!  He said, "This isn't gushy romance." "This has engineers." "I'm an engineer." "This has a cool space ship."  "This has a Lamborghini!"

Oh yeah...I had him at the Lamborghini.

Mr. Engineer finished BEYOND in a day and a half!  Some of you might remember the brilliant but eccentric engineer brother in my old book, BORROWED TIME...hmm...wonder where that character came from?  

The males in the family shy away from my writing because they think it's all that fluffy stuff. But BEYOND was science fiction.  In his opinion, there was no loss of manhood in reading science fiction. :)  

This is a monumental achievement. I feel like Rocky at the top of the steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As an author, your writing can reach so many, but often it can't make it to the next room. :)

Remember The Gas Crisis?

Having family in New Jersey, it's been hard to watch helplessly from a distance. Communication has been a battle without there being land-line or cell service. But I did just speak to Dad and he said, "Remember the gas crisis of '73?"

Well...errrr...yes...sorta. I was a little squirt at the time, but I do remember that I thought it was odd. And in the infinite wisdom of youth, I thought it was a pain in the butt.  We had to sit in a mile-long line waiting for the gas station. With it being a small town, that line meandered up and down side streets.  They were only allotting something like $3.00 per car per visit.  But Dad had a long commute to work, so we would get our $3.00 of gas and drive around the corner and get back into that long line to get $3.00 more. 

I was in the back seat and Dad reached around to plunk down a hat on my head. Then he'd put a baseball cap on his.  Surely the gas station attendant would never recognize the father/daughter tandem again because we had hats on!

Anyway, that's what Dad was reporting it was like up in New Jersey right now. Perhaps with Halloween having just passed, maybe he is equipped with enough disguises now.

My prayers go out to everyone in the areas affected by Sandy. Be strong. Be safe. I am thinking about you.

BEYOND Blog

Would you like to read Chapter One from BEYOND? Do you want to learn some behind-the-scenes facts? Do you want to be the first to catch some snippets from the next book?

Stay in touch with the BEYOND blog for scenes that were not included in the final production, and you may even catch a few raw sketches I doodled while writing these diverse characters! 

BEYOND BLOG

BEYOND - Excerpt

BEYOND is now available on Amazon and Smashwords, and coming to Barnes and Noble soon!

Excerpt....

“What is it, Zig?” she whispered.

At first she saw nothing.  The darkness was a void barely penetrated by the waning sunlight at her back.  Yet, there was something.  A light.  A reflection.  Something.  A hum.  Definitely a hum.  Not the wind.  Not a motor.  It sounded like the oscillating fan in her bedroom window. 

Aimee squinted.  She swore for a moment that they weren’t even trees overhead and that it was the massive underbelly of a giant vessel.  A spaceship parked atop the forest, obliterating any sunlight.  She rolled her eyes.  Space ships and aliens lurking beyond the Patterson property. 

“Come on, Zig.” she muttered, kicking herself mentally. “Neither of us belong here.  We’re just spooked.”

Ziggy cocked his head and emitted a low growl.  For a moment Aimee wasn’t sure whether he was going to dart deeper into the woods or just stand there barking like an insane puppy.  But he surprised her.  Ziggy, the traitor, took off back towards the pond like a herd of rabid Rottweilers were chasing him.

“Coward!” she yelled, turning to follow.  “You could at least wait for me.”

At least she’d meant to turn.  She’d also meant to follow.  Aimee couldn’t move.  If she’d done what she’d meant to do, she’d be walking nice and easy back around the pond, but she wasn’t.
She thought for a moment that her muscles were locked in spasm from the two laps around the track during gym today, but her hands and arms were paralyzed.  She tried to clench her fingers into a fist and could feel perspiration bead on her forehead from the effort.  She was motionless.

What the hell?

Even her lips could not move to speak those three words.

Light materialized around her as if someone had switched on a spotlight from above.  She tried to squint against the vivid assault, but even her eyelids were frozen in place.   Instead, all she could do was watch as the light grew brighter, bright enough that she could see through her hands.  That freaked her out.  Her hands were transparent, and she could see through them to the mottled leaves on the ground below. 
The hum intensified and she began to feel lightheaded.    

One lurch of her stomach and she felt nothing at all.

Cover Reveal!!

I'm so happy to share the cover for BEYOND!  This is actually the paperback cover.  Angela Waters does such great work.  She designed the ENDLESS NIGHT cover. 

As you know, Young Adult is a different genre for me, but you can rest assured, at the heart of the tale there is romance and suspense. :)  Whether a story takes place in the town next door or 5000 light years from here, romance will always be the same and we'll always want a happy ending!

It is the day after Aimee Patterson’s high school graduation. College beckons, as does her dream of becoming an engineer. On an early evening walk, her cocker spaniel charges into the woods on the other side of the pond. Aimee trails after him, and in the stillness of that forest the unthinkable happens. She becomes paralyzed and watches in horror as her hands vanish before her eyes. 

Waking to the sound of voices, Aimee realizes that she has been kidnapped. Little does she know how far away from home she is, though. In an attempt to flee her captors, she launches from their confines only to freeze at the view outside the window. The sky is black and filled with stars, and in the distance is a familiar blue globe. The planet Earth. 

A group of humans forced to flee their planet after an epidemic destroyed their civilization now travel the galaxies in search of an antidote. Retrieving samples of plant life from every solar system, on this occasion Aimee was accidentally seized instead. 

Aimee must learn to avoid the advances of an awkward young scientist who seems intent on dissecting her, as her own fascination turns to the exotic young warrior, Zak. Having fallen in love with Zak, she is now torn with the decision to return to Earth or live beyond the stars.x