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 Lexi Post
I sat down (virtually) with Lexi Post for a short interview. Lexi Post’s latest release is Pleasures of Christmas Past, a holly jolly Paranormal Erotic Romance.
Cynthia Sax: What makes Duncan so freakin’ sexy?
Lexi Post: Where do I begin? I totally fell for Duncan Montgomerie, then again according to the heroine, who hasn’t? First, he’s Scottish but from the late 1700s so he has a lovely old-fashioned Scottish accent. Second, the man is built, barely fitting into his modern day t-shirt and jeans. Third, he has a good heart. Fourth, he is a good friend. Fifth, he will risk all for those he cares about. And in addition, his residence is a castle that has been in the family for six centuries! I just love castles :-} Of course, he “isna’ perfect” as he might say. He’s arrogant, far too sure of himself around the lasses, and has more sexual experience than a man has a right to. He was so much fun to write!
Cynthia Sax: Where did you get the idea for Pleasures of Christmas Past?
Lexi Post: I love this question! I write erotic romances inspired by the classics, so for Pleasures of Christmas Past I used Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I don’t re-tell the classic, I get inspired by it. My thought on this story was, what if the Spirit was the one who learned something from the visit to the living person? So in my story, instead of a Scrooge I have Holly, a young grieving widow. Instead of Marley, I have her deceased husband, Cameron. And the Spirit of Christmas Past is Jessica Thomas a brand new Spirit Guide out on her first assignment, so she needed a mentor, and who better than Duncan?
Cynthia Sax: Tell us one super exciting thing about Pleasures of Christmas Past?
Lexi Post: As a writer, what I love about this book is the multilayered story. I hope it’s what my readers like as well. Not only do we see Jessica and Duncan’s relationship develop, but we also get to see Holly and Cameron’s story both in present time as widow and spirit and in the past as we witness the scenes the Spirit of Christmas Past brings us to. I didn’t realize what a challenge I had set for myself until I was writing scenes with both Holly and “young Holly” in them along with all the other characters. In addition to this, we get to witness Holly’s growth as well as Jessica’s and Duncan’s and all because Cameron didn’t want his wife to be so heartbroken on her first Christmas without him…or so it appears 😉 I have to say, I have a whole new appreciation for the talent of Charles Dickens!
Cynthia Sax: Is Pleasures of Christmas Past part of a series and will you be writing more stories in this series?
Lexi Post: Absolutely! This is only the first book in a 4 book series. Holly has just visited her past, and to be true to the classic story, she must visit the present and future as well, plus as far as I’m concerned, she has to have her own happily ever after. But like Holly, we all have to wait until next year for the second story when Desires of Christmas Present is released.
Cynthia Sax: Thank you for joining us today, Lexi!
Lexi Post’s Website: http://www.lexipostbooks.com/
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When present day American social worker Jessica Thomas is assigned her first case as a spirit guide, she’s excited to serve as the Spirit of Christmas Past for her client and prove she knows her profession well. Unfortunately, her mentor, the very hot, very single, and very Scottish Duncan Montgomerie has little faith in her ability and plans to catch her when she falls. As far as she’s concerned, he’s going to be waiting a very long time.
Bachelor Duncan Montgomerie hails from late 18th century Scotland where he enjoyed life to its fullest, something he continues in death. Having been dead a while, he is well equipped to handle the afterlife where time doesn’t exist and phasing is the norm. What has him stymied is his connection to the uptight Jessica and the strange feelings he’s experiencing being around her, even though she refuses to listen to his advice. Duncan needs to figure out what it all means and fast because the rules change after death and the path Jessica is headed down could cost her her soul.
Buy Now:
On Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013EVYRV4
On Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1jICy8T
On iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1026485012
On Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/pleasures-of-christmas-past
Topics: Author Interviews | 1 Comment »
Interview With N.J. Walters
I sat down (virtually) with N.J. Walters for a short interview. N.J. Walters writes hot time travel romances for Ellora’s Cave and her latest release is Strands of Love. I absolutely adore N.J. She not only is a talented writer but she’s a huge supporter of new writers.
Cynthia Sax: Where did you get the idea for Strands of Love?
N.J. Walters: The Tapestries series originally began back in 2005 because I wanted to try my hand at writing a ménage at trois story. I had a heroine in mind but didn’t know what her story was going to be. About the same time, I ran across a book on Medieval tapestries and the two ideas came together. I decided that there would be a tapestry infused with magic, one that would take single, unattached women to another world, one where they have the potential to thrive. But their choice of whether to remain with the warriors of Javara or return home to their own world wouldn’t always be an easy one.
With Strands of Love I wanted to shake things up a bit. So this time, not only does the heroine travel to Javara, but the two warrior brothers end up on a modern day Texas farm. It was interesting to see how they reacted when plucked from their world and thrust into an entirely new one. Up until now, it’s basically been the women doing all the adjusting. Now all of them need to search their hearts to decide what they truly want out of life.
Cynthia Sax: Why does Strands of Love start where it does? ?
N.J. Walters: The story opens with the heroine Samantha Calloway at the bank trying to get a loan. Both her parents have died in the past few years and her brother was killed while serving overseas. She’s the last Calloway and determined to hold on to her family legacy—the farm that’s been in her family for several generations. And she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen.
Sam is no stranger to hard work and challenges. Her entire life has been about working the land alongside her family until one by one they are all gone. Now the bank has turned her down for a much needed loan, her fast-talking, cheating ex is trying to get her to sell, and she’s discovered two strange men wandering her land. Sam’s life just got a whole lot more interesting and complicated.
I started the story here because it shows that Sam has a deep connection to her home and community. That makes her choices later on all the harder.
Cynthia Sax: What creates conflict between Sam, Darian and Jace?
N.J. Walters:The conflict comes from several different places. When Sam finds herself in Javara she won’t believe she’s in another world and thinks Darian and Jace have kidnapped her. They have to get her to believe what they are telling her is the truth and help her understand the magic of the tapestry—they have three days until it reappears and she must choose either them or her home. Then there is the fact that both Jace and Darian are competing sexually for her favor. In Javara women are scarce and brothers must share, but only one of them can marry her and claim the children as his own.
There is conflict among the brothers as well, especially because in this book there is a twist and they end up in Sam’s world for a time. They are faced with hard choices—their loyalty to their land and their family and their growing love for Sam.
Cynthia Sax: Will there be more stories in the delicious Tapestries series?
N.J. Walters: Strands of Love will probably be the last Tapestries book. I hadn’t originally planned on writing a series when I wrote the first book—Christina’s Tapestry—but I fell in love with the characters and the land of Javara and couldn’t stop. But I think that after seven books it’s time to end it. It’s hard to do because I love writing the Tapestries stories so much, and I know readers love them too.
Thank you, N.J. Walters, for joining us today!
N.J. Walters’ Website: http://www.njwalters.com
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Seventh in the Tapestries series.
Samantha Calloway is desperately working to keep her farm from financial ruin. It’s the only thing she has left from her deceased family and she’s determined to make it a success at any cost.
Darian and Jace Hunter live in a world where women are in short supply and brothers must share. The magic tapestry has always brought a potential tapestry bride to Javara, but this time it transports the two brothers to a strange land.
When Samantha finds two strangers on her land she doesn’t believe their stories of magic tapestries and other worlds. But when she suddenly finds herself in Javara, she doesn’t know what to believe. And when the tapestry transports them all back to her farm, Sam has a choice. She must decide if she will be true to her family and their legacy or if she will abandon it all for a chance at love.
A Romantica® time travel erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Buy From Ellora’s Cave: http://www.ellorascave.com/strands-of-love.html
Topics: Author Interviews | 8 Comments »
