New releases
MIDNIGHT’S SHADOW (Book 2 of the Star Runner Saga) – Sara Brookes
It’s been months since the traumatic and life-altering events on Sulis. Wallace hasn’t been the same and Taran has spent her nights in an empty bed. When a stranger offers her the opportunity to pilot the extraordinary Spyridon—Taran refuses. There’s too much emotional turmoil in her life right now and the less complications, the better.
But Wallace has other ideas and seizes the opportunity without her knowledge. He deliberately sacrifices the one thing Taran loves unconditionally—Eidolon.
Now Taran finds herself captain of a starship that legend paints as haunted. Nothing is as it seems on a ship that appears to have a mind of its own. Forced to accept the consequences before her, Taran will have to put her faith in a man she doesn’t trust as she tries to win back the love of the man she does.
JAQ’S HARP – Ella Drake
“Futuristic Romance/Twisted Fairytale/Biopunk -- Short (ebook)”
In a world of floating islands and bio-engineered beans, the bad guys are taken down by agents of the Mother organization—agents like Jacqueline “Jaq” Robinson. Instead of accepting her next routine assignment, she sets out on a mission of her own—to destroy Giant Corp, the company responsible for her sister’s wasting illness. Jaq must steal her cure from Giant’s headquarters high above the city…even though she’ll be brought face-to-face with Harper English, the man who left her to go deep undercover at Giant.
For Harp, Jaq had been a distraction the mercenary thought he couldn’t afford. But once he sees her again, Harp knows he’s made a mistake. Even though she vowed he won’t have her again, it’s clear they still have a powerful attraction. Harp’s determined to get a second chance with Jaq—if they can escape Giant Corp and get back to solid ground in one piece…
Read an excerpt.
ROMANCE OF MY DREAMS II (anthology) – Includes SFR short “Comfort Zone” by Pauline Baird Jones
Marrying a man she'd met once was a bad idea. When the guy was ET it was insane—even if they were anatomically compatible. He and his world weren't just outside her comfort zone, they were outside her comfort universe. And if he didn't have amazing green eyes, saving her father's career might not have been enough to get her through the wedding...
BLAZE OF GLORY (print release) - Sheryl Nantus
Saving the world is easy for a superhero--unless you're a fraud. Jo Tanis is a superhero, fighting evil on the city streets, using her ability to feed off electromagnetic energy and fire off charges--and it's all just a show. The Agency captures her and others like her when their powers begin to manifest, pitting them against each other in staged, gladiatorial fights. An explosive implant on the back of her neck assures she'll keep right on smiling for the camera and beating up the bad guys.
When Earth comes under attack, suddenly the show becomes deadly real. Unable to deal with a real alien, the "supers" are falling in droves. Millions of innocent civilians are going to die unless Jo can cobble together a team from among the fake heroes and villains the Agency enslaved. Including Hunter, who not only promises to show her how to deactivate the implants, but seems to know more than he should about how the mysterious Agency operates. Forcing a rag-tag bunch of former enemies to work together is the least of Jo's problems. The trick is determining if Hunter is friend or foe--and becoming the hero everyone thought she was before the world is destroyed for real.
Read an excerpt.
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I’m still on the hunt for 2011 SFR releases, so if you know of any that I can add to my 2011 Science Fiction Romance New Release Roundup, stop by and leave a comment or email me at sfrgalaxy “at” gmail.com. I also added that post to my sidebar on the right for easy reference.
Forthcoming SFR releases
Zoe Archer (THE BLADES OF THE ROSE) sold an SFR to Carina Press:And my eyes are on the stars as I get ready for the April 2011 release of my sci-fi romance, COLLISION COURSE.
Speaking of sci-fi romance, here’s a very cool fact: my husband is Nico Rosso, the sci-fi romance author! We definitely keep romance alive in our relationship. If you love sexy space commandos and kick-ass women, be sure to pick up a copy of TAKEN TO THE LIMIT.
Here’s the story blurb:A galactic war is being fought between the corporate giant PRAXIS and the small but dedicated forces of the 8th Wing. Against this backdrop of interstellar conflict, courageous men and tough women will discover passion as infinite as the stars.
Very good news that a mainstream print author is indulging in her SFR side with a digital-first publisher!
Author sightings
DAW Books features an interview with author Gini Koch (ALIEN TANGO). (via SF Signal). On story ideas:Gini: I get most of my story ideas from either my dreams or from rock music. I know, shocker, right? Like you, I write under more than one name, so there’s no idea that can’t be considered. Touched by an Alien came from a dream, a short, dark, noir-ish dream. Basically, I thought I was going to write a dark, noir-ish short story. Kitty’s voice took over, and I allowed it free rein, and pretty soon I had a novel length, humorous, science fiction romance on my hands.
SF author Jeffrey Carver guest blogs at Star-Crossed Romance. (ETERNITY’S END is book is on my TBR ebook pile as I was tipped off that the story has romantic elements. The book was also a finalist in the Nebula Awards.)
I love that Mr. Carver is invested in SF and romance types getting along:I'm a little off my beaten path here, so forgive me if I sit in the wrong chair or something. You see, I'm generally considered a writer of hard SF or sometimes space opera, not a romance writer or even a science fiction romance writer. That notwithstanding, I thought it might be fun to see what interests I have in common with you romance types, rather than focus on the differences.
Lisa Paitz Spindler (THE SPIRAL PATH) recently unveiled her shiny new Web site.
A.R. Norris blogs about Romantic Settings Off World at Jillian Chantel’s joint (via SFR Brigade):Romantic moments happen sometimes by the character’s own planning and design, or they happened by chance or fate. Romance scenes in science fiction are very similar to regular genre scenes, only the location is literally out of this world and adds a little dash of “Other” to it all. Where anything is possible and anyone can find anything…including true love.
A.R. Norris’ debut SFR novel DUTY AND DEVOTION releases June 15th 2011 from Desert Breeze Publishing.
Back at Adventures of a Sci-Fi Writer, A.R. Norris interviews Marva Dasef about her science fiction romance ULTIMATE DUTY. Following the interview is an excerpt of the author’s book.
“the nipple poke”
Ranker ranks “the hottest women who have ever played a girlfriend, wife or random hook-up of a superhero in a film or TV show…” in The 25 Hottest Love Interests from Superhero Movies and TV. Check it out to discover more about “the nipple poke.” (Hint: it’s probably more than you wanted to know.)
And now for something completely different: Laurie A. Green has a great post at Spacefreighters Lounge about the makings of an SFR writer called The Tomboys of Romance:I also noticed that SFR writers often tended to be the more adventurous females as children. We were the tree-climbers, the sole girl on the soccer field at recess, the ones who experimented with motorcycles, fast horses, martial arts or surfing, while our peers were content to dabble in lipstick colors and new hairstyles. We were aspiring Amelia Earharts, Annie Oakleys and Sally Rides.
Call for submissions
Pauline Baird Jones tipped me off about a short story anthology call for submissions from Spencer Hill Press. The anthology premise sounded fun and I thought it might be a way to slip readers more science fiction romance if you’re so inclined to whip up a tale, heh heh heh:Call for Submissions for UnCONventional
(a short story anthology)
We're looking for stories that take place at fantasy/sci-fi conventions or other gatherings in which the convention/conference itself is just the cover for something supernatural or fantastic. Imagine time travelers using a steampunk con to cover their attempt to open a portal to return to their own times, werewolves holding a beauty pageant at a dog show, or vampires holding a treaty summit at Dragon*Con.
Suggested Length: 3,000-7,000 words. Up to 10,000 words is possible, but it will be a HARD sell.
Due Date: July 1st, 2011
Editors: Kate Kaynak and Trisha Wooldridge
Submission Guidelines: Please email your submissions to us at: editor@SpencerHillPress.com.
Put your story into the BODY of the email (no attachments, please!) and put "UnCONventional" in your subject line along with the title of your story.
Legalese: We can only accept previously unpublished stories. Please do not used licensed characters or any trademarked or copyright-protected material without written permission in advance of submission (This is NOT the place for fanfic). Contributor compensation will include a $10 advance paid upon publication, a contributor copy of the paper version, a royalty percentage split between all contributors, and, of course, bragging rights. Stories should be appropriate for adult and teen readers (age 14 and up); please, no explicit sex or graphic violence!
Now I turn the mike over to you. Got any SFR news or links to share?
Joyfully yours,
Heather