Interview With Pippa DaCosta
I sat down (virtually) with Pippa DaCosta for a short interview. Her latest release is Girl From Above (Books 1 – 4), a Sci-Fi Space Opera!
Cynthia Sax: What makes Caleb so super sexy?
Pippa DaCosta: Well, for one, my hero (Caleb) is about as anti-heroic as you can get. He starts out as a selfish asshat. But beneath all the swagger, the dry humor and apparent disregard for anyone but himself, he’s deeply damaged, and bears the emotional and physical scars to prove it. It’s this vulnerability that makes us root for him. As for being sexy? Who doesn’t like the rugged, against-the-odds, underdog fighting against the system kinda guys?
Cynthia Sax: I have a weakness for asshats. (grins) What is your favorite line from Girl From Above?
Pippa DaCosta: “Count the stars.” It’s something Caleb used to tell himself as a boy, when he was cornered and afraid. He passes this wisdom onto a character he cares for, and it carries through the entire series of books. “Count the stars” is about conquering your fear, but it’s also about looking for hope in the darkest of places.
Cynthia Sax: How does Girl From Above start?
Pippa DaCosta: We start as Caleb and his second in command, Fran, are desperate to depart a space port. They have a cargo hold full of illegal guns and the authorities are eyeing their ship like it’s Christmas. They believe they’re away and free, until their beloved ship develops a fault, and stalls. Caleb goes to investigate, and discovers a synthetic human alongside his shipment of guns. It’s not exactly love at first sight (the synth punches him in the balls) and he’d prefer to toss her out the airlock, but she’s got a bounty on her head, and he’s never been one to pass up an opportunity at earning some extra credits.
His day is about to get a whole lot worse.
Cynthia Sax: What makes Caleb and #1001 work as a couple?
Pippa DaCosta: Caleb’s relationships are complicated. He’s been dying to get Fran, his second in command, in the sack since he met her, but she’s too smart to fall for his smooth-tongue. The tension and banter between these two strong-willed characters is hilarious. Bu the main romance in the series comes between Caleb and the synthetic woman, known as #1001. She’s cold, calculating, and can kill at the click of her fingers, and she terrifies Caleb. But they actually have a great deal in common. Both have pasts they’re running from, both are damaged in irrevocable ways, and while they might seem to be complete opposites, there’s a spark between them, born of much more than physical attraction.
Cynthia Sax: Does a character in Girl From Above have a secret?
Pippa DaCosta: They all have secrets. Every single character in the series has secrets. I really can’t say what they are, but we all know secrets don’t stay secret forever, and when those secrets eat away at a close-knit tugship crew, mayhem follows.
Cynthia Sax: Is Girl From Above a series and will you be writing more stories in this series?
Pippa DaCosta: Girl From Above (The 1000 Revolution) is a series. The fourth and final book is out March 4th, 2016. I don’t have any immediate plans to continue the series, but I never say never. These series has been an absolute blast to write. Bad good guys are so fascinating (and so much fun to write). I’m sure my readers will pester me until I eventually write more in this world. I certainly look forward to revisiting Caleb and his crew.
Cynthia Sax: Thank you, Pippa DaCosta, for joining us today!
Pippa DaCosta’s Website: http://www.pippadacosta.com
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WARNING: 18+ only. Adult content. Including sex, drug use, violence, & swearing.
Read the bestselling, fast-paced, science fiction series, readers are comparing to Firefly & Ex_Machina!
After Captain Caleb Shepperd escapes from prison, all he wants to do is keep his head down and earn a living smuggling guns and drugs through the nine systems. But, when a synth known as #1001 stows away on the captain’s ship, bringing with her a ton of problems—including guilt-ridden secrets he thought he’d left behind—he’d prefer to toss her out the airlock. The problem is, she’s priceless tech and he’s fresh out of credit.
#1001 is no ordinary synth. She’s programmed to kill. While human memories of murder and betrayal riddle her synthetic systems with faults, she’s thinking only of revenge.
For Captain Shepperd, there’s nowhere left to hide.
From the bestselling author of the Veil Series comes an action packed story of love, redemption, and revenge.
Buy Now:
On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A8TQUS8/
On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/girl-from-above-4/id1071655181?mt=11
Topics: Author Interviews | 1 Comment »
SciFi Saturday News – Star Wars As Space Opera, Time-Space Ripples & A Self-Fueling Space Junk Eating Machine
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?
“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?
“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
Interview With S. Usher Evans
I sat down (virtually) with S. Usher Evans for a short interview. S. Usher Evans’s latest release is Conviction (Razia #3), a Space Opera.
Cynthia Sax: What is one thing that will really excite readers about Conviction?
S. Usher Evans: The Razia Series isn’t your typical space opera in that it’s less about space and wars of humanity and more about the war within one woman’s humanity. Lyssa, otherwise known as the space pirate bounty hunter Razia, is Daddy issues wrapped up in abandonment wrapped up in snark, and topped off with a bit of sass. What I love about writing her is that she is her own worst enemy most of the time, and now that we’re in the third book of the series, we see her begin to apply the lessons of how not to destroy every relationship she makes.
Cynthia Sax: How does Conviction start?
S. Usher Evans: I like to say that the prologue from Double Life sets the scene for the entire series. Lyssa is eleven years old, with her father at the center of a mysterious phenomenon—and religious icon—called Leveman’s Vortex. Her father is a scientist, intent on discovering what makes this place exist, and Lyssa’s just there to be yelled at and be told she’s worthless. Since she learned in temple that the Great Creator is just beyond an arch with a silvery veil, she decides to go ask the Man Himself. The world begins to disintegrate as she learns the truth—she is as bad as her father has been telling her.
That one experience dominates her actions and thought processes throughout the series. The bottom line is: Lyssa does not think she’s worthy of glory, and yet she still pursues it. It’s an interesting dichotomy that is so much fun to write.
Cynthia Sax: What creates problems between Lyssa and Sage?
S. Usher Evans: Double Life and Alliances are extraordinarily light on romance, but that’s mostly because Lyssa’s too squirmy to even get close to anyone. Her long-time best-friend-but-not is Sage Teon, who has known her since she was kidnapped by Tauron Ball, the pirate who eventually became her mentor. Sage’s main problem with Lyssa is that she gets herself into trouble because her ego gets in the way, and he feels an obligation to protect her. Lyssa’s main problem with Sage is that she doesn’t want his help ever.
Sage is an incredibly complex character, one who is fiercely loyal to those he considers his family. He takes a lot of Lyssa’s bull in the first three books, and even through the fourth book, coming in February. But he finally reaches his limit with her, and then Lyssa finally gets what is coming to her.
Cynthia Sax: What advice would you give new writers?
S. Usher Evans: Everyone has their own path, everyone has their own intentions. The trick to finding happiness is to know what will make you happy. What all that yoga mumbo jumbo means is that you have to decide what you want out of writing (to be published, to create stories, to have those stories read, to make money, etc.) and keep that in mind as you pursue your publication path (self/small press/traditional) and write books.
Cynthia Sax: Thank you for joining us today, S. Usher Evans!
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Clink.
Razia is in trouble. Captured by a fellow pirate, she now finds herself back on probation with a bounty worth zero credits. In the cold reality, she begins to question herself and everything she has been working towards all of her life–and what she’s willing to do to reclaim her glory.
Conviction is the third book in the Razia series.
Piracy is a game. What do you stand for?
Buy Now:
On Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1j2PlCI
On Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/RaziaConvictionBN
On iBooks: http://bit.ly/RaziaConvictioniB
On SmashWords: http://bit.ly/1RhXyhy
On Kobo: http://bit.ly/1N4hQMQ
Topics: Author Interviews | Comments Off on Interview With S. Usher Evans
