SciFi Saturday News – Star Wars As Space Opera, Time-Space Ripples & A Self-Fueling Space Junk Eating Machine

By Cynthia Sax on December 5, 2015

Here is the round up of the SciFi stories that inspired me this week


George Lucas 1977 Star Wars Interview

How much science needs to be in SciFi? According to George Lucas, not much.

In a 1977 Star Wars interview, George Lucas shared

“I think of this as a movie Disney would have made when Walt Disney was alive.”
“I call it ‘space opera.’ That’s a genre that’s been around a long time, in the books of Burroughs and Heinlein, but never really done on film.

“What I attempted was science fiction without the science. I wanted an engaging Saturday matinee movie, but not camp or parody. And not a heavy intellectual trip like ‘2001.’ Think of this as ‘The Sting’ in outer space.”

Investigating Time-Space Ripples

Want a little time travel in your SciFi Romance?

Elizabeth Howell shares

“In a long-running quest to find gravitational waves in space, the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched a mission yesterday (Dec. 4) to test wave-finding technology.

The mission is called LISA Pathfinder and will not actually search for waves itself. Rather, the mission will serve as the trailblazer for the technology scientists hope will help find these ripples in space-time.”

A Self-Fueling Space Junk Eating Machine

If you need a human-made device that could possibly create a universe-wide disaster or add a horror element to your SciFi Romance, how about a self-fueling space junk eating machine?

Lindsey Kratochwill shares

“Space junk–both manufactured and natural–has been orbiting our planet and threatening satellites and spacecraft with collisions. And accordingly, engineers and scientists have been devising ways to get rid of the mess. But whether it’s a spacefaring robot or spacecraft carrying nets or traps, it requires power, and that’s an expensive prospect. So, engineers at the Tsinghua University in Beijing have proposed a design concept for a space debris engine that can eat its way through the junk and convert it into plasma fuel to sustain its mission.”

More Photos From Space

National Geographic has shared some inspiring space photos

Including this photo of Saturn’s rings and a crescent Enceladus, the planet’s third largest moon.

What has inspired you this week?

***

Subscribe To My Release Day Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/

Vapor is the most advanced cyborg the Humanoid Alliance has ever developed. He’s a finely honed weapon, a warrior without parallel, half man and half machine. No lock can contain him. No being can stop him. Whatever he wants, he takes.

He wants Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter.

She’s his one temptation, his sexy target. Vapor shouldn’t crave her caresses, steal her kisses, make her scream with ecstasy. The cyborgs want her dead and they would question his loyalty if he didn’t kill her. The humans would shoot him on sight if he dared to touch her.

Their love is forbidden. Their desire could be lethal. One human and one cyborg will risk everything for a moment of passion.

Buy Now:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breathingvapor-1897324-340.html

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breathing-vapor-cynthia-sax/1122718203

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/breathing-vapor

Topics: SciFi News | Comments Off on SciFi Saturday News – Star Wars As Space Opera, Time-Space Ripples & A Self-Fueling Space Junk Eating Machine

SciFi Saturday News – Writing Star Wars, Having Sex In Space And Photos Of Distant Galaxies

By Cynthia Sax on November 21, 2015

Here is the round up of the SciFi stories that inspired me this week

George Lucas And Writing Star Wars

You’ve written the first draft of a SciFi romance. You know it is a mess. Most first drafts are. How do you start cleaning it up?

You might wish to look to George Lucas and Star Wars for inspiration. In his first draft, he had MANY more characters. Luke Skywalker was a less sympathetic older hero (with a beard) and Han Solo was green and had gills. It was very violent and very complicated.

In other words, it was a mess. If George Lucas could save Star Wars, you can save your story.

http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/star-wars/239140/how-george-lucas-brought-star-wars-to-the-big-screen

Having Sex In Space

If you want to work BDSM into a story, I found this article EXTREMELY interesting. (grins)

When asked about having sex in space, astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson shared

“So if you want to get together and stay together, you need something to keep you together during all the normal body movement that would characterize having sex in space. Bring a lot of leather belts to keep things strapped down and you will be just fine.”

Photos From Space

Wired shared some more inspiring space photos

Including this photo of MCG+01-02-015, a ‘lonely’ galaxy.

A Show For Star Trek’s Worf??

Michael Dorn, the actor who played Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation, is campaigning hard for a spin-off show for Worf. Sign me up! I love me some Worf.

He shares

“The Worf Chronicles idea was right in that wheelhouse, because the Klingon Empire is gritty. It does have a dark quality. It’s Shakespearean, it’s about assassinations and coups, the power behind the throne – so we’re going to continue that with plan B.”

What has inspired you this week?

***

Subscribe To My Release Day Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/

Vapor is the most advanced cyborg the Humanoid Alliance has ever developed. He’s a finely honed weapon, a warrior without parallel, half man and half machine. No lock can contain him. No being can stop him. Whatever he wants, he takes.

He wants Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter.

She’s his one temptation, his sexy target. Vapor shouldn’t crave her caresses, steal her kisses, make her scream with ecstasy. The cyborgs want her dead and they would question his loyalty if he didn’t kill her. The humans would shoot him on sight if he dared to touch her.

Their love is forbidden. Their desire could be lethal. One human and one cyborg will risk everything for a moment of passion.

Buy Now:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breathingvapor-1897324-340.html

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breathing-vapor-cynthia-sax/1122718203

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/breathing-vapor

Topics: SciFi News | Comments Off on SciFi Saturday News – Writing Star Wars, Having Sex In Space And Photos Of Distant Galaxies

SciFi Saturday News – Star Wars Posters, New Star Trek Show, Terraforming Mars and Close Calls In Space

By Cynthia Sax on November 7, 2015

Here is the round up of the SciFi stories that inspired me this week

Star Wars Posters And A Fun Q&A With JJ Abrams

Famous folks bombarded Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens’s director JJ Abrams with questions in an amusing Q&A.

Even George Lucas participated.

The Week shares

“”JJ, what happened to Darth Vader’s grandchildren?” Lucas asked.

“Oh, George, this is great. You tell me man, you made all this sh** up.””

Close Calls In Space

Do you need an exciting plot twist in your new SciFi novel?

There’s a great new series called Secret Space Escapes, which highlights near misses on space missions.

Astronaut Jerry Linenger shares

“Whenever you’re operating on the edge of human ability, you’re going to have close calls. We’ve had quite a few. But because we usually come out of them successfully people say that it’s fine when it’s actually quite hairy.”

Terraforming Mars

Thinking about setting a story on Mars?

Mars’ atmosphere will make terraforming (turning Mars into an Earth-like planet) even more difficult.

Bruce Jakosky, principal investigator of NASA’s MAVEN mission, shares

“It’s [atmospheric CO2] not there. It’s been removed from the solar system entirely, so it’s not possible to bring it back.”

New Star Trek Show

As of this date, we know very little except there will be a new Star Trek show in 2017.
io9 had some fun musing about what they’d like to see.

Inspiring Photos

Wired shared some truly inspiring photos from The NASA Photo Archives.

Including this photo of dust surrounding V838 Monocerotis, a red supergiant.

What inspired you this week?

***

Subscribe To My Release Day Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/

Vapor is the most advanced cyborg the Humanoid Alliance has ever developed. He’s a finely honed weapon, a warrior without parallel, half man and half machine. No lock can contain him. No being can stop him. Whatever he wants, he takes.

He wants Mira Breazeal, the Designer’s daughter.

She’s his one temptation, his sexy target. Vapor shouldn’t crave her caresses, steal her kisses, make her scream with ecstasy. The cyborgs want her dead and they would question his loyalty if he didn’t kill her. The humans would shoot him on sight if he dared to touch her.

Their love is forbidden. Their desire could be lethal. One human and one cyborg will risk everything for a moment of passion.

Pre-order Now:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breathing-Vapor-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B015UN87JC/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-breathingvapor-1897324-340.html

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breathing-vapor-cynthia-sax/1122718203

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/breathing-vapor

Topics: SciFi News | Comments Off on SciFi Saturday News – Star Wars Posters, New Star Trek Show, Terraforming Mars and Close Calls In Space