Who are the DARKSHIP THIEVES?

On January 5, Baen Books released Sarah A. Hoyt’s DARKSHIP THIEVES. I’m excited to share that this book is a science fiction romance, albeit one that’s slightly undercover. The author presents a fascinating and at times mind-boggling account about the book’s path to publication. Her journey reveals how important timing—and persistence—can be when it comes to submitting projects like SFR.

What did I mean by undercover? Check out the basic premise of DARKSHIP THIEVES from the publisher's site:

"Athena Hera Sinistra never wanted to go to space. Never wanted see the eerie glow of the Powerpods. Never wanted to visit Circum Terra. Never had any interest in finding out the truth about the DarkShips. You always get what you don’t ask for. Which must have been why she woke up in the dark of shipnight, within the greater night of space in her father’s space cruiser, knowing that there was a stranger in her room. In a short time, after taking out the stranger—who turned out to be one of her father’s bodyguards up to no good, she was hurtling away from the ship in a lifeboat to get help. But what she got instead would be the adventure of a lifetime—if she managed to survive . . . ."

But as intriguing as this marketing copy sounds, there’s nothing in it to suggest science fiction romance, or even romantic SF. Huh!

Now even if I had perused the book’s information at Baen’s site, I would have overlooked it as far as this blog is concerned. It’s only because of word of mouth that the author brought her book to my attention. Thank goodness for that, or I would have missed the chance to enjoy and blog about a new SFR release for who knows how long.

While describing the book, Sarah A. Hoyt shares that “If you like non-military space opera with a strong female main character who doesn't roll over at the first sign of trouble, you'll love Athena!” The author guest blogged about the book and revealed that DARKSHIP THIEVES “…features the world’s weirdest love declaration…”

Wow, where do I sign up?!

You can read the first three chapters of DARKSHIP THIEVES for free. Here’s a list of places you can order the book online, as provided by Baen Books.

Happy reading!

Joyfully yours,

Heather

SF/F Romance Gets Its Own Category in the Golden Quill Contest

Attention published authors!

I got a hot tip about a published authors' contest from Skiffy Rommer Mary Fitzpatrick. GOLDEN QUILL, an award bequeathed by the Desert Rose RWA of Phoenix, AZ, seeks entries of published books in multiple romance genres including science fiction romance. This is for books published in 2009. The great thing about this contest is that there is a separate category called "Fantasy/Science Fiction/Futuristic."

Not that there's anything wrong with paranormal :P, but the more contests that provide a clearer delineation between subgenres, the better.

You can read the contest guidelines for more information. And there's no time to submit like the present, because the deadline is January 15, 2010!

Joyfully yours,

Heather

Calling All Authors

When I started The Galaxy Express, I did so with the understanding that I would need to be proactive in unearthing as many science fiction romance books as possible. I made a commitment to spending time every week seeking out new life and new civilizations the latest news and events in the subgenre. The challenge and thrill of discovery is a tremendously fun part of the process.

I love to hear about forthcoming science fiction romance books even before the ink on the contract is dry. I’ve been learning how beneficial it is to unearth this news as soon as possible. With a subgenre as niche as SFR, such information is crucial to its survival. I envision this blog as a way of connecting readers with the flavors of stories they enjoy the most. The more books readers know about, the more they can support the artists who create them.

To obtain the necessary information, I visit numerous sites on a regular basis. However, I can’t reach them all every week. Scandalous, I know. So what’s a blogger to do?

We all know that blatant promotion in the comment section is a drag, but here at TGE I’m actively seeking new books in the science fiction romance genre, so I appreciate authors who are proactive about providing the information where appropriate. If you’re conducting a promotion for your SFR, I’m all ears. Have a new cover to share, or you’ve just revamped your Web site? Bring it on!

The Galaxy Express is a niche blog for a niche subgenre. But it’s also a part of a larger science fiction romance community of readers, authors, editors, and publishers. The more we know—and the earlier we know—the more we can spread the buzz buzz buzz.

I’ll admit to being perplexed at times when authors don’t take advantage of promotional opportunities whose only costs are time and imagination. Authors are busy people—absolutely understood. And there are life circumstances that prohibit promotion at times. But in an age of publishing industry upheaval, fierce competition, and little publicity support from publishers, online communities will play an increasingly important role in connecting authors directly with readers.

All I’m trying to say is, if you have any news related to your SFR books, contact me at any stage in the process at sfrgalaxy “at” gmail.com. If you bring the news directly to me, I can act on it faster than if you depend on me to make the rounds. To the authors, readers, bloggers, and editors who have been doing this already, I thank you.

Remember, during my monthly “SFR Linkfest,” anyone is welcome to post SFR news, links, and current events in the comment section. I will do my best to get the information out there. I can’t promise the moon, but when possible it may show up in venues in addition to The Galaxy Express (Hello, Loveletter! Hello, Tor.com!).

Why, feel free to hit me up right now!

Joyfully yours,

Heather

An Oldie But A Goodie: JARAN by Kate Elliott

One aspect of science fiction romance that I find both enjoyable and challenging is that it has a tendency to take on a different form at times—you know, kind of like a Transformer (my favorite one is Soundwave if you must know. Remember the cadence of his computerized voice when he uttered the line, “Laserbeak, transform!”? Too cool for skool, that robot). Anyway, such permutations involve several factors such as the time period in which the book is written, the individual author’s style, and the sub-genre’s hybrid nature.

Some time ago, I’d learned that quite a few readers placed Kate Elliott’s JARAN under the science fiction romance umbrella. So when I had some birthday dinero burning a hole in my pocket, I bought JARAN to read and discover the adventures therein. Now that I’ve finished it, I’d like to highlight a few bits of the story’s personality so the fine passengers of this locomotive who haven’t read it can decide if it’s a book they’d like to try. Here’s a minimalist description of the story.

I will endeavor to keep this post spoiler free.

JARAN was originally published in 1992. According to the author’s introduction in the 2002 tenth anniversary edition (the version I read), she wrote the first draft of the story from 1980-81. In the decade that followed, the manuscript went through “seven major revisions.” While I knew nothing about the story going in (I even avoided the back cover copy), I’m glad I read the introduction because it helped shape my expectations for the story. After having read a slew of recently released books, I had to re-orient myself to both a new-to-me author as well as the style of an SF book written nearly thirty years ago.

The version I read is 494 pages long. It’s epic in length and pacing, but not so much in scope. The reason I conclude that is because the majority of the story is narrated from the heroine’s POV. To me, JARAN felt like a heroine-centric coming-of-age tale with a singular focus on the point in her life when she develops a relationship with the hero. In other words, the romance in this book does quite a bit of heavy lifting. The length allowed for nearly equal development of both the romance and the external plot—or rather subplots as it’s difficult to pinpoint any one of them as more important than the other.

Another aspect of the book I found interesting is that, stylistically, it read like a fantasy much of the time. This is because there’s a quest involved in a low tech setting, and the execution uses many fantasy tropes (not a bad thing unless you just don’t feel like fantasy at the moment). If you’re coming to SFR from a strictly fantasy reading background, then JARAN is a great place to start. Also, if you love fantasy romance, then you’ll probably enjoy it as well.

The high tech science fictional elements serve to bracket the coming-of-age story more than anything else. Let me put it this way: If you’ve always been fascinated by Star Trek’s Prime Directive, then JARAN explores that theme in an interesting way. I enjoyed learning how it significantly impacted the romance.

JARAN is a very character-driven story, almost to the exclusion of other elements at times. Even when the heroine, Tess Soerensen, wasn’t with the hero, she was often thinking about him or discussing him with other people. Speaking of the hero, Ilya Bakhtiian is an intriguing example of a non-jerk Alpha hero. He’s intelligent, a warrior, and driven to lead. He’s also arrogant and ruthless, but the author provides clear motivation and gives the reader a direct window to the forces that shaped his personality. The romance in this book is between two mature, deeply contemplative people. Incidentally, all of the lovemaking scenes occur behind closed doors.

Slight, non-major spoiler if you have certain expectations for a heroine’s physical relations: Prior to realizing her true feelings for Ilya, Tess has a few healthy sexual relations with two other men. This is, after all, the future, but it’s also a normal component of the culture in which she’s immersed at the time.

Also, JARAN is the first in a series. It works as a stand alone, especially as far as the romance is concerned (some might consider it a Happily For Now). However, if you’re a plot gal or guy, there is one thread left unfinished (a political one that’s a set up for the next book). I wasn’t frustrated by it, but your mileage may vary.

Overall, the mix of SF and romance in JARAN met my expectations for the sub-genre. It holds up very well, and I was intrigued by how Kate Elliott executed and merged the romance and science fictional elements. I definitely recommend it if you're in the mood for a science fiction romance classic.

Joyfully yours,

Heather

Win Jess Granger's BEYOND THE RAIN & SFR Submission Opportunities

Over at The Bradford Bunch, Jess Granger is hosting a free contest to win either a signed copy of her debut novel BEYOND THE RAIN, or a sneak peek at an exclusive excerpt of her forthcoming release, BEYOND THE SHADOWS (May, 2010).

Hurry, the contest ends January 4. To enter, all you need to do is ask her a question. Have some fun with it!

I also have two science fiction romance submission opportunities to tell you about, courtesy of Skiffy Rommer Lisa Paitz Spindler who found them on S.L.Viehl's blog Paperback Writer.

Here they are:

Absolute Xpress submission guidelines

Wily Writers submission guidelines

Joyfully yours,

Heather