A Unique SFR "Mission"

A Galaxy Express passenger, whom I'll call "D.", recently wrote me with a very interesting request. She gave me permission to share our exchange in a general way on The Galaxy Express.

D. is taking an astronomy class. One of her assignments is to read a hard SF book set in space and then examine the science aspects of it. My first thought was, where the heck can I sign up for an astronomy course like that?!

D. was looking to avoid thriller type stories as well as those with a strong focus on gore and sexual content. She had one book in mind and asked if it fell into the hard SF category. I had read the book in question and while I enjoyed it, I was 100% certain it wasn't hard SF (but I hope D. reads it anyway!). 

So I came up with a short list of sci-fi romance/romantic SF titles based on a) my reading experience and b) her personal tastes and c) what I thought might fit the requirements for her class. Given that there are few SFR authors who incorporate hard SF into their stories in a major or at least significant way, the list isn't super long. (Given the subjectivity factor, an argument could be made for expanding the definition of "hard SF".)

I'm presenting the book titles pretty much as I had arranged them for D. After reading over the list I realized I had included various tags. And so that's another reason I had asked D. if it was okay to share them with the rest of the passengers!

Interview With Emma Jane Holloway, Author of A STUDY IN SILKS

Emma Jane Holloway recently made her debut with A STUDY IN SILKS (Del Rey), part one of a new steampunk romance trilogy. Book two is A STUDY IN DARKNESS (October 2013). The final installment, A STUDY IN ASHES, releases in December 2013. Click here for complete information about the trilogy.

I haven't read it yet, but the author assured me that the romance arc completes in the third book. Based on the research I did, lots of mystery and steampunk elements seem to abound in this trilogy. If you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes, a sweeter heat level, magic, steam barons, and political intrigue, then A STUDY IN SILKS (September 2013, might be up your alley.

Here's the blurb:

Evelina Cooper, the niece of the great Sherlock Holmes, is poised to enjoy her first Season in London’s high society, but there’s a murderer to deal with—not to mention missing automatons, a sorcerer, and a talking mouse . . .

In a Victorian era ruled by a Council of ruthless steam barons, mechanical power is the real monarch, and sorcery the demon enemy of the Empire. Nevertheless, the most coveted weapon is magic that can run machines—something Evelina has secretly mastered. But rather than making her fortune, her special talents could mean death or an eternity as a guest of Her Majesty’s secret laboratories. What’s a polite young lady to do but mind her manners and pray she’s never found out?

But then there’s that murder. As Sherlock Holmes’s niece, Evelina should be able to find the answers, but she has a lot to learn. And the first decision she has to make is whether to trust the handsome, clever rake who makes her breath come faster, or the dashing trick rider who would dare anything for her if she would only just ask . . .

I invited Emma Jane Holloway aboard for an interview so we could learn more about the trilogy!

Coyote Con Sci-Fi Romance Panel With Eva Caye and Veronica Scott

Authors Eva Caye (DIGNITY (To Be Sinclair)) and Veronica Scott (ESCAPE FROM ZULAIRE) ran a science fiction romance panel at this year's Coyote Con. Here's the link to the transcript!

My favorite part was Eva Caye's observation about one reason SFR can be so appealing:

...if you have some devastating whatsit, dystopian future or what have you, most revolve around catastrophes or really huge occurrences, wars and such. And those mind-bending, world-shaking things MAKE people want to connect to each other.

Exactly! In various ways, science and technology have a direct impact on relationships and can also influence the very formation of many relationships. SFR focuses on that point in time when science intersects with romantic love.

Visit Coyote Con this coming weekend for another round of panels. More information here. Have fun!

Joyfully yours,

Heather

SFR News & Links For October 2013

It's time for another dip into the science fiction romance goodie bag!

New releases

AGAMEMNON FROST AND THE CROWN OF TOWERS – Kim Knox

Book three of Agamemnon Frost

Edgar Mason is losing Agamemnon Frost despite everything they've been through—the passion, the torture, the heat. Frost's fiancée, Theodora, is back, and Mason can feel his lover gravitating toward her. Every day he sees them together, it tears at his heart.

Frost feels raw himself. His brother and sister-in-law are missing, and his guilt about failing to save Theodora from Pandarus eats at him. His feelings for Mason, whom he has put through hell twice already, just twist the screws tighter.

On top of that, Pandarus and the Martians are back to make their final push to Earth, and Frost and Mason are duty bound to fight them. People are vanishing. Bodies are turning up burned beyond recognition in the slums. The bleak, human-less future Frost and Mason saw in the hollow ships has nearly come to pass.

And in order to prevent it, each man will have to make a final choice: lose his lover or doom the world.

Find out how it began in Agamemnon Frost and the House of Death.

Read the excerpt.

Christine Pope's BREATH OF LIFE: A "Beauty and the Beast" Sci-Fi Romance

You may have noticed that The Galaxy Express is a science fiction romance blog. :) Therefore, I can't discuss my new book from Lyrical Press, LORD OF SNOW AND ICE, because it's a fairy tale romance. It even has a "Beauty and the Beast" theme, but too bad, Heather. It's not science fiction romance. :P

 

But I can spotlight Christine Pope's BREATH OF LIFE, a B&B inspired sci-fi romance. Now that's what I call an SFR for the win!

BREATH OF LIFE (2011) is the first book (novella length) in the author's Gaian Consortium Series. Here's a description of the series courtesy of the author's Web site:

A series set in the far future, where Gaia (Earth) has aggressively colonized a significant section of the galaxy. The Gaians are not the only humanoid race in the galaxy, however, and humanity's interactions with the other races range from peaceful to openly hostile. The Gaian Consortium seeks to continue its outward expansion...sometimes with less than positive results. As with the Tales of the Latter Kingdoms series, these books are connected by setting rather than by characters.

I can't remember exactly where I learned about BREATH OF LIFE, although I came across it in a discussion thread several months ago. It sure was a fun discovery! Here's the story blurb:

Anika Jespers, a homesteader's daughter on a Gaian colony, thinks she's destined for a dull existence on her family's farm. But when her father makes an impossible bargain with their neighbor, one of the alien Zhore, she faces a future different from anything she could have possibly imagined.

The familiar story of Beauty and the Beast takes on new life in this inventive SF romance novella, with the Beauty a homesteader's daughter and the Beast an alien on a faraway colony world.

[This will be a non-spoiler post.]