Exclusive Cover Reveal: HATHOR LEGACY: REVELATIONS by Deborah A. Bailey

If you enjoy sci-fi romances that follow the same couple over several books and heroines with extraordinary abilities, then you’ll want to check out author Deborah A. Bailey’s Hathor Legacy series. She’s aboard TGE with an exclusive cover reveal of the series’ third book, REVELATIONS!

Check out this gorgeous cover:

Cover Reveal: Donna S. Frelick’s TROUBLE IN MIND

Earlier this year, author Donna S. Frelick debuted with her sci-fi romance UNCHAINED MEMORY. In February 2016, she’ll have a new release called TROUBLE IN MIND (INK’d Press)! Both books are set in her Interstellar Rescue series. Check out her stories if you like contemporary-set sci-fi romance, intrepid heroes and heroines, and alien abduction intrigue.

Before I help unveil the cover and blurb, Donna S. Frelick kindly supplied me with a few fun gifs to paint a picture about what you can expect from TROUBLE IN MIND!

Blogging at Heroes & Heartbreakers

My latest Heroes and Heartbreakers post is about older SFR heroines and why I love 'em! A tidbit from Space Age: Older Heroines in Sci-Fi Romance:

Older heroines in sci-fi romance are pretty scarce, but two 2015 releases made me realize how much I want more heroines in this category. Older heroines seem fresh and the life issues they face are different from those of heroines in their 20s. I enjoy getting a glimpse into a romance heroine whose life stage differs from mine. I want to be more aware of such issues through the sci-fi romance I read, so there’s a bit of cerebral appeal as well.

Joyfully yours,
Heather

Signal Boost For a Post About Diversity in Sci-Fi Romance

Via Spacefreighters Lounge, Greta van der Rol put out a call for diverse science fiction romances in Diversity pops up its head – again:

But I'm not the only one who has written racially diverse SFR stories. Science fiction is such a wonderful genre for "diverse" stories. I particularly enjoyed Elizabeth Moon's books Rules of Engagement and Once a Hero, from the Serrano series. She paints a picture of worlds colonised by splinter groups. In our SFR niche, SJ Pajonas  writes SFR with a decidedly Japanese flavour. PJ Dean writes racially diverse books. Please feel free to suggest others in the comments. I know SFR is much more diverse than it is given credit for.

Guest Post by Cynthia Sax: Releasing Rage, Cyborgs And Dark SciFi Erotica With Romance

Author Cynthia Sax has a new book out called RELEASING RAGE and it features a cyborg hero and engineer (!) heroine. This book may interest those of you who enjoy your erotic sci-fi romance/romantic SF erotica on the edgy—even brutal—side, with elements such as a dark and intense hurt/comfort fantasy. Even the title is no-holds barred.

Speaking of fantasies, I invited the author to come aboard and blog about some of the fantasies (sexual and otherwise) readers can expect from RELEASING RAGE. Just because women authors write many sexual fantasies and many readers consume them doesn't mean we don't want to explore the "why" once in a while! Ms. Sax was game and in her post she delves into the story's worldbuilding and her take on cyborg heroes. To get you better acquainted with RELEASING RAGE, here's the cover and blurb!

SFR News & Links For September 2015

For those of you for whom September means the kids are back in school and you have more time to read, here's a selection of sci-fi romances for you! For everyone else, please help yourself to this selection of sci-fi romances, whatever the occasion!

New releases

EDEN (Aurora #5) - Amanda Bridgeman

In the wake of the tragic events in Centralis, Captain Saul Harris stands with the weight of the world on his shoulders. With the truth of UNFASP revealed, he realizes that he must embrace his ancestry if he is to survive the coming onslaught. But how far will Harris go to protect the future? Will he sacrifice life as he knows it and become a Jumbo? Or can he face the future as a common man?

Meanwhile Sergeant Carrie Welles has been left devastated by what has happened. Uncertain of the future ahead, and with her nemesis, Sharley, on the brink of control, she struggles to pick herself up. But she is left surprised when help comes from the unlikeliest of places.

As her life veers off in a direction she never expected, Carrie soon understands that she is running a course with a destiny that lies far beyond her control. A destiny that is strangely aligned with her Captain's.

20 Reasons To Sign The Scarlet and Herb Overkill Movie Petition

Scarlet and Herb Overkill (Universal Pictures)

For optimal context, I recommend you read my previous post on the topic of Scarlet Overkill (spoiler alert for MINIONS and DESPICABLE ME): Scarlet Overkill Deserves Her Own Movie—So Here's The Script. However, this post can stand alone if need be.

 

Please note: mild spoilers from MINIONS (2015).

The Australian Ladies of Sci-Fi Romance: Ros Baxter

[This week, The Galaxy Express is spotlighting a number of Australian sci-fi romance authors. I'm pleased to welcome aboard Ros Baxter, Amanda Bridgeman, S.E. Gilchrist, Donna Maree Hanson, Anna Hackett, Shona Husk, and Nicole Murphy. Edited for new addition: Yolanda Sfetsos.

Each informational post will focus on one of the authors and will feature a cover and blurb. Social media links will be at your fingertips so you can learn more about these lovely ladies and their work. Enjoy!]

THE SEEK (New Earth #2) – Ros Baxter

For Your Reading Pleasure: Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly #7

Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly #7 is a veritable bumper crop of SFR goodies brought to you by KS Augustin, Diane Dooley, and me. Check out the delicious flavors that await you in this issue's bountiful 98-page harvest:

* "SFR and the Hugo Awards" by guest columnist Cora Buhlert

* "Are Alien Abduction Trope Mash-ups on the Rise?" by Charlee Allden

* "On "Kick-Ass" Heroines" by KS Augustin

* "On Being an SFR Prospector" by Heather Massey (that's me!)

* Free sci-fi romance short: "Old School Sensibilities" by Christine Tang-Bernas

* book reviews, Ian Sales' Mistressworks, sneak peaks, and more!

Head on over to our brand-spankin' new site and download your free copy of Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly #7!

Joyfully yours,
Heather

SFR News & Links For July 2015

When you're in the mood for a sci-fi romance, here are some new titles to choose from!

New releases

LIBERATION'S KISS - Wendy Lynn Clark

The Old Empire has crumbled. Strong factions prey on the weak, and strongest of all are those who ally themselves with the mysterious Robotics Faction…

Cressida Sarit Antiata is twelve years old when her diplomat parents learn that her name has appeared on the Robotics Faction Kill List, a classified document of dangerous individuals marked for execution. Calling in all of their connections, her parents smuggle her to a small but wealthy ore-producing moon where she grows up in anonymous luxury, secure that her data is safe.

Until now.

Xan | Arch is an x-class android with one mission: execute the target n81, also known as Cressida Sarit Antiata. Although he possesses biological skin, hair, fingernails, and eyes – and extensive conditioning to pass as a sweating, swearing, rough-and-tumble everyman - beneath the surface, he is all machine.

When he arrives at the moon, something unexpected is waiting for him. Something that circumvents his execution order and forces him to protect Cressida instead. Something that gives him the free will to question his makers, control his destiny, and awaken his heart.

Together, they might escape their destinies and forge an entirely new future.

If they can survive...

The Art of Managing Romance In a Danger Zone

During a recent email exchange, a friend and I discussed how much we enjoy reading about characters who are tightly focused on saving the day in (non-erotic) sci-fi romances with some kind of danger component or important mission. In other words, regardless of the characters' ages, the couple conveys an ability to delay sex-related gratification when danger looms.

For me, dangerous situations/missions are at distinct odds with feeling sexy and relaxed. Often time is of the essence, a villain is on the couple's tail, and/or the characters get seriously grimy. Such situations don't seem conducive to nurturing the physical aspect of one's romance, nor do I expect them to.

Many of these stories feature characters who have an important job to accomplish while enduring unpleasant physical situations (e.g., lots of dirt, heat, sweat, alien bugs, injuries, etc.). Yet sometimes one or both of the couple will engage in mental lusting or even sex at a time when I'm thinking, "Shouldn't they be more focused here?". When a couple's lives and/or the lives of other characters are at stake, I bring an expectation that sexual thrills will either already have taken place or be delayed until after the danger/mission has passed. If the couple doesn't seem to be worried about dying or preventing a catastrophe, becoming distracted by sex risks devaluing whatever it is they're trying to save.

New Heroes & Heartbreakers Post: Breeder Themed Sci-Fi Romances

At Heroes & Heartbreakers, I delved into the intense topic of erotic sci-fi romances that feature breeding as part of the story. Trigger warnings for references to rape and non-consensual sexual acts in SF erotica and erotic sci-fi romance.

For a much gentler alternative, check out an interview with OVERLOAD FLUX author Carol Van Natta at Smart Girls Love SciFi & Paranormal romance. This book is for readers who enjoy complex worldbuilding, mystery, corporate crime elements, police procedurals, tortured heroes and heroines, and a mild heat level in their sci-fi romance.

RK: What drew you to SF/SFR as a genre?

CAROL: The science fiction part is easy – I’ve been reading it since I was nine, when my parents figured to shut me up one summer by handing me science fiction to read. The joke was on them, though, because instead of complaining that I had nothing to read, I started complaining that I had no science fiction to read. Romance came a little later, when my high school friends and I were sharing books. I love the endless possibilities of science fiction, and the humanity of romance.

Joyfully yours,
Heather

SFR Shindig: When Zyrlm Met Sally and/or Sal by P.J. Dean

When Zyrlm Met Sally and/or Sal: The drawbacks & perks of other-worldly love connections in SFR/PNR & reader appeal by P.J. Dean

Partners not-of-this-Earth. Lovers with something extra. Why are heroines and heroes of SFR/PNR, and for that matter, the reading public, so comfy snuggling up with extraterrestrials, lizard warriors, zombies or not-quite-human-acting folk? Around the world, readers swoon over a sentient, not-of-this-Earth creature as a human’s love interest. Why?

If you’ve read any SFR/PNR book with this premise, you’ll know that when the parties meet it’s rarely love at first sight. Being curious about E. T. is entirely different from committing to E. T. From my reading of SFR/PNR, I discovered some common drawbacks and perks that can stop and start that love train.

A Place To Start: Casual Diversity

At Spacefreighters Lounge, three authors of sci-fi romance discussed diversity in their books:

"Diversity" in science fiction romance characters – Greta van der Rol

Diversity in SFR II: Seeing The Future Without Blinders – Donna S. Frelick

Stumbling Into Diversity – Pippa's Journal – Pippa Jay

There's a brief discussion about writing diverse characters in response to Great van der Rol's post. In addition to boosting the signal for these posts, I decided to write this spin-off one. Specifically, I'd like to raise the topic of casual diversity. If you're an author who wants to add diversity to her stories, but isn't sure where to start or fears backlash for attempting to write someone of another race, begin with casual diversity.

What might that look like in a sci-fi romance?

Interview With Charlee Allden, Author of DEADLY LOVER

File this one under the more, the merrier! Smart Girls Love SciFi & Paranormal Romance blogger Charlee Allden added an author hat to her repertoire: she debuts this month with a near-future suspense sci-fi romance called DEADLY LOVER (Forbidden Lovers #1)!

I've enjoyed her blog over the years and I look forward to checking out her book. (Indulge me for a moment while I also squee about being the first person to interview her! It's both an honor to help introduce new SFR authors and fun to discover sci-fi romances fresh out of the gate. For me, that's where the real action is at!)

Here's the cover and blurb for DEADLY LOVER:

Cosmic Laughs & Love: Steampunk Romances That Will Tickle Your Funny Bone

There's a side of steampunk romance that's larger-than-life and over the top, aspects that lend themselves to tales with humorous elements. This genre includes so many fun gadgets and characters that inevitably some of them are going to be funny as well! Plus, quite a few stories feature "opposites attract" hero and heroine pairings, which is a gold mine of both conflict and humor.

As part of this week's Cosmic Laughs & Love event, I'm going to highlight a few steampunk romances that will tickle your funny bone.

I Love The Variety In Sci-Fi Romance!

Science fiction romance offers an incredible amount of variety that never ceases to amaze me. Here's a snapshot of the worlds I've visited recently:

CORE PUNCH (Pauline Baird Jones) - futuristic New Orleans; alien police officer hero and Earthling heroine; plot is fueled by a Katrina-level hurricane disaster

HAKUSAN ANGEL (Alex Powell) - cyberpunk; giant fighting machines; features bioengineered heroine and hotshot pilot heroine

A CAPTAIN AND A CORSET (Mary Wine) - alternate history England and Russia; hero and heroine are steampunk wormhole "Navigators"

RAVEN'S AWAKENING (Sherri L. King) - begins on contemporary Earth and then journeys to distant planets; heroine has a secret identity and hero is a shapeshifter; the story holds appeal for fans of JUPITER ASCENDING

See the wonderful variety? That's not even counting things like heat level (the first two are "sweet" and the other two are more erotic), authorial style, character personalities, story length, and theme. And yet they definitely share two common core elements: a science fictional setting and a romance.

A Tale of Two Sci-Fi Romance Heroines

In: sci-fi romance space convict heroines

I was on Twitter the other day and happened upon a discussion about BREAKOUT, the forthcoming book in Ann Aguirre's Dred Chronicles. The readers expressed their enjoyment of the series and indicated a desire for similar fare. For example:

[edited to remove links per request]

"We need more like this!"

"Exactly! And more HEROINES like Dred, too!"

Well! That's exciting to hear. I'm also a fan of heroines like Dred and have read the first two books in the Dred Chronicles series. SFRs with space penitentiary settings and those that feature a heroine in charge of the place are few and far between, so I was glad to see one get released. I've also blogged about kick-ass heroines in SFR multiple times, the most recently being in this post.

Separated at birth?

Plus, I wrote two books with such heroines. One of them, in fact, has a lot in common with Dred. The stories are different, but share a few similar elements. So you can see for yourself, I'm presenting some of them below (Alert: this post includes *major* spoilers for both books).

Interview With Kelley Harvey, Author of BREATHE

During a chance encounter during one of my daughter's school field trips, I met a person with whom I had a scintillating conversation about books. This person later tipped me off about debut author Kelley Harvey and her New Adult science fiction romance BREATHE. How cool is that? Signing up to be a chaperone can pay off in unexpected ways!

On the heels of my (non-spoiler) tag post for BREATHE, I invited the author aboard for an interview so we could learn more about her Devastation series. This series features an alien-hybrid hero, a heroine with a secret, and their burgeoning romance amid both tragic and unusual circumstances. 

Here's the blurb:

The summer after graduation, Lexa falls for Gabe, but can she trust her new love with the secret of a lifetime?

Secrets rule Lexa's life. After her move to Texas for college, she develops feelings for her life-long friend. But Gabe’s gone emotionally bi-polar, ice cold one minute, volcanic the next, and Lexa’s not even sure he is her friend any more. As she struggles to regain control over her shaken world, Lexa wakes one morning with wings. Panic sets in and she keeps her discovery to herself. Everyone has secrets, but revealing hers could land her on a lab table, and that’s not where she wants to spend freshman year.

When Gabe learns he’s an alien-hybrid, it changes everything. Now, he's rethinking his entire existence. After he lays a mind-melting kiss on her, Lexa wants to ditch their platonic status, but Gabe’s certain a move like that will ruin their relationship. However, resisting her is almost impossible. Can he figure out how to keep his secret and his best friend?

They think it can't get worse.

They're wrong. 

***

And now for my interview with Kelley Harvey!

A Potpourri of SFR Links (January 2015)

There's a new, reader-centric site where you can share your love of SFR: The SciFi Romance Group. Huzzah! Here's the description and guidelines:

For Lovers of Scifi Romance. A place to chat about Scifi Romance, make friends who love our favorite genre, discuss the issues, latest news, and topics in relation to SFR and the greater SFR Community. Once a month parties with giveaways and scifi romance fun.

The Rules:
1) No Amazon, direct buy links, or 'I just got a review!' sneaky sneaky self-promo-type posts. These result in insta-bans. THIS IS A GROUP FOR FANS/READERS, not for authors to promo.
2) You CAN post contests/giveaways or blog posts about SFR topics, excerpts, and books. Authors, be creative!
3) NO Vote for me or Buy Me or Review Me
4) There will be parties!!
5) We are all adults, and some of us write adult content. We are also a group open to all forms of love and relationships, including LGBT and Polyamory. For us, the universe is much too big to put a limit on love!
5). Scifi Romance is the genre we celebrate here. We reserve the right to exterminate topics. Don’t make us space you! (Please no vampires, shifters, etc)
6) Be kind, be courteous and HAVE FUN!

-- Your Fun Loving Overlords

Episode 274 of the SF Signal podcast features an interview with FORTUNE'S PAWN author Rachel Bach. SFR super fan that I am, I listened to the whole thing so I could pick out some key quotes for you: