SFR News & Links Extra, February 2013

Free SFR Reads

Space pirates, ahoy! Cathryn Cade’s HEART OF STONE is an erotic science fiction romance featuring a space pirate hero. As of this posting it’s free at Smashwords.

 

He's a reformed space pirate ... or is he?

On the planet of Frontiera, Rose Thorne is out to save her brother. But when she holds his disreputable boss at gunpoint, Stone Masterson shows her just how ruthless he can be ... and how tender. 

Their passion will scorch the heat shields on his space cruiser. But with pirates on the loose, is she safe in his arms, or just a pawn in his quest to rule this wild, new planet?

Another red hot space opera from the author of The Orion Series.

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Author Craig Hallam posted a free steampunk romance short on his blog: THE HEART IS A CLOCK. It’s so cute! Here are some tags that came to mind as I read it:

What’s The Secret Of A Successful Science Fiction & Romance Combination?

We’ve discussed ways to mix science fiction and romance many times here and at other SFR blogs, but with each new release in this subgenre comes the possibility of seeing the SF-romance combination in a new way. It’s an ever-evolving conversation, and a recent author guest post prompted me to reflect on the issue again.

Via the RT Book Reviews blog comes a post by author Karen Lord: On the Boundaries of Science Fiction and Romance. Here’s the introduction, which I’m sharing for a specific reason:

Interview With ONE FOR KAMI Author Charlene Wilson, Plus Giveaway

Charlene Wilson is the author of ONE FOR KAMI, a science fiction romance short story you can read on your lunch hour—or anytime at all! ONE FOR KAMI released this month and so I invited the author aboard to tell us how the story came about. But first, here’s the blurb:

Can love be true if shared with more than one? Kami doesn’t think so when she finds Ian is an elite and required to take three wives to eliminate the poverty- stricken population. Why can’t he be poor the way she thought he was when she fell in love with him?

Determined to find a realm that doesn’t have such dictates, she travels to dimension Three-Two-Three to begin her search. But is love truer in a place that only allows one spouse than it is in Ian’s heart?

Click here to read an excerpt from the story.

Charlene Wilson also has a digital copy of ONE FOR KAMI to give away. Details follow the interview!

PC Gamer Debate About Romance In Videogames Like MASS EFFECT

Via PC Gamer comes Do romance options hurt storytelling?  It's fascinating post about “Player-directed love stories” in videogames. Editors Tyler Wilde and T.J. Hafer debate how best to execute romances in games like MASS EFFECT:

Tyler: “Alright team, we designed an interesting, complex character, but something’s missing. What’s that you say, every libidinous teenager? Wouldn’t it be neat if players could manipulate the character’s variables with the goal of fulfilling their carnal fantasies? Yes! Instead of a character, we’ll make a doll that comes to bed and says ‘I love you’ when you squeeze it.”

T.J: OK, I’m going to refrain from derailing this whole thing with an anti-neo-Victorian rant on how our society is irrationally afraid of sex, and make my case this way: relationships are a core part of being human, and just about any story about humans. Adding player romance to a game makes it feel more real and complete as an experience. Thinking about it from a gamist “manipulating variables” perspective is missing the point. And it’s kinda gross.

The article raises several interesting questions:

Deep Freeze Blog Tour from Lyrical Press

Lyrical Press collaborated with a number of bloggers to bring you the Deep Freeze Blog Tour. Two authors of science fiction romance are participating: Sidney Bristol (A KISS FOR A CURE) and me.

In conjunction with the release of my new steampunk romance IRON GUNS, BLAZING HEARTS, I’m blogging about steampunk romance related topics. Ostensibly, this tour is to help spread the word about my book, but I also saw it as an opportunity to share things I enjoy about all kinds of steampunk romance titles!

Along the way, you can enter for a chance to win a digital copy of IRON GUNS, BLAZING HEARTS.

Here are the dates and participating blogs: