Paranormals continue to be strong as does steampunk. In addition, I ran into more authors who have sold sci-fi/futuristic romance than I think I’ve ever seen in one place. For years, Linnea Sinclair was the main author that I knew of writing these types of books, but it seems to be a growing trend.That's because we're money, baby.
In 2011 Carina Press' mix of books will be comprised of 10% science fiction romance up from 6% in 2010. #rwa11
In the Spotlight on Carina Press, Angela James just quoted @ThGalaxyExpress about SFR covers...
I've been reading a lot of those lately, and recently Ann Aguirre's Corine Solomon novels. (http://twitter.com/#!/MsAnnAguirre) Shady Lady is the current title (Full Disclosure: one quote in the praise for the novels section at the front is from "Lightworks" and is a quote from my September 2010 review of Hell Fire).
In a recent Dear Author review of Kathleen Woodiwiss’ landmark romance THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER, one theme that emerged from the comments pertained to the liberating aspects of this romance and others like it of the time period.Tor/Forge Books Announces Digital Download InitiativeAuthor Voices to debut at RWA, featuring co-promotions withTor.com and Heroes and Heartbreakers
New York, NY – Friday, June 24, 2011 – Tor/Forge Books is pleased to announce Tor/Forge Author Voices Digital Downloads, a three-volume digital initiative whereby consumers will download free exclusive content via company social networking sites, website and newsletter. Said content will be available via mobile as well as online at http://us.macmillan.com/ and Tor.com. The exclusives will be promoted at conferences this summer beginning with Romance Writers of America (RWA) next week and San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) in July.
Tor/Forge Author Voices Vol #1 will release at RWA via a QR code at the Tor table and will take fans to a landing page allowing them to download roughly 400 pages in a pdf or epub file. The volume will contain excerpts from upcoming books by section: Urban Fantasy/Horror/Paranormal; Science Fiction/Fantasy; and Thriller/Mystery/Women’s Fiction and Historicals; author articles previously published in the newsletter throughout the previous year; and an original short story by RITA nominated Deborah Coonts, (Lucky Stiff, Forge 2011). An essay titled “5 Tor/Forge Editors talk about Writing, Publishing and Falling in Love” will round out Vol #1. The landing page will also have a newsletter signup, info about the Tor panel at the show, and a reminder to stop by the Tor/Forge table for those accessing the page online. There will also be a note to visit HeroesandHeartbreakers.com, the Macmillan owned community website for romance readers. The file will become available for download on all ebook retailer sites on July 5th, and information can already be found on Amazon.
For more information about Tor/Forge Author Voices Vol #1, or about the following two volumes, please contact either Patty Garcia (patty.garcia@tor.com), the Director of Publicity for Tor/Forge Books, or Cassandra Ammerman (cassandra.ammerman@tor.com), Publicist. For an exclusive early copy of either the pdf or epub file, please contact Cassandra Ammerman.
About Tor and Forge BooksTor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is a New York-based publisher of hardcover and softcover books, founded in 1980 and committed (although not limited) to arguably the largest and most diverse line of science fiction and fantasy ever produced by a single English-language publisher. Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is also the home of award-winning Forge Books, founded in 1993 and committed (although not limited) to thrillers, mysteries, historical fiction and general fiction. Forge includes books by bestselling and critically acclaimed authors such as Douglas Preston, Eric Lustbader, W. Bruce Cameron and Former Secretary of Defense, William S. Cohen. Together, the imprints garnered 20 New York Times bestsellers in 2010.
In Trend Spotting, Smart Bitches invited their readers to predict the next trend(s) in romance. And oh my gosh, have the comments been leaving me giddy, because there’s a good number of folks expressing interest in science fiction romance and steampunk romance.Sci fi romances will never have its day. It’s always the wallflower, right on the edge of the dance floor, never had a proper chance to have a dance. I think it’ll be like that for the rest of my life.
The reason I remain hopeful about blends of SF and romance gaining prominence is that I predict a time when more women will realize that it’s not about needing to be smarter to “get” SFR—because these women are smart already—so much as it’s about getting hip to the fact that they can have fun with things like quantum physics, nanotechnology, astronomy, and bioengineering as well as everything else science fiction has to offer—all within the context of an exciting romance. 
When Jo Walton wrote that “cyberpunk is over” in her Hugo Nominees: 1985 post, I was like “Hmm, I didn’t get that memo.” My guess is that she’s referring more to the cyberpunk movement, which of course began its heyday with the release of William Gibson’s NEUROMANCER.And I start seeing a rash of, "Boys write hard sf. Girls write squishy fantasy." The concepts have been around for decades, of course, but remember, this is a personal history. There are rumbles. There are pushbacks. Articles are written, convention panels are hotly debated, there is even an ad-hoc, mostly comically inspired group called the FFW's--the Female Fantasy Writers, with pink buttons to be worn with pride at conventions. The Eighties ended in a draw. Fantasy was a hot property. Lots of bestsellers. Lots of whom were male. Most of whom, actually, were male.
If there’s one title I’m probably going to remember forever, it’s INVASION OF THE NYLONIANS by J80.
On August 3, 2010, FirstShowing featured an overview of the forthcoming OBLIVION (2012), a “futuristic science fiction love story.” After the prominent sci-fi romance elements in AVATAR and THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, I was intrigued by this discovery and will be keeping an eye on further developments. Here’s what they had to say about the plot:The project was initially announced by Kosinski in late 2009 but has developed in the last year. Oblivion is science fiction story about a young "battle-damaged" scavenger on a post-apocalyptic Earth who discovers a crashed spacecraft and a beautiful woman inside. It is an original idea conceived by Kosinski and described as "a very spare science fiction film, with a small cast but big ideas and big landscapes."
…Here's a more detailed plot synopsis. Oblivion is a futuristic science fiction love story that takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where most people live above the clouds, far from the ""inhospitable place" that the surface of Earth has become. An earthbound soldier who repairs drones that patrol and destroy a savage alien race discovers a beautiful woman who crashed in a craft. They take an epic adventure that changes his world view.
I have grave doubts that galactic empires will ever be possible – but they are a powerful meme. What’s so appealing about galactic empires? The deep, spiritual response to Star Trek and Star Wars suggests almost a Jungian desire for elements of the galactic empire. Could it be that it’s not about the potential realism of future manned exploration of the galaxy, but tuning into desires for certain kinds of experiences?
Gender Roles. The 1974 Mote in God’s Eye is downright paternalistic about women, whereas thirty years later, in Risen Empire, women are liberated to be combat soldiers. However, I think in the future where mankind has spread across the galaxy, readers still prefer strong men and beautiful women, and maybe even damsels in distress.
Last week, I caught up with HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (the film version, as I read the books right after they were published). My goal is to see the next two films in the series before HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART II hits theaters this summer (I know, I know, I need to get cracking).
"It will be interesting to discover which will make you beg. Will it be the pain or the pleasure?"
How do you tame a man without breaking his spirit?
The galaxy is under siege from alien invaders. The Empire is the only force that stands in their way, trading the freedom of its citizens for a tenuous security.
Amidst this chaos, Lt. Adrian Stannis is a brilliant scientist trying to stay out of the limelight. He hides on a research vessel plying the Outer Rim and finds peace of a sort with Kali Mirren, a psi-enabled humanoid. But his days of anonymity may be coming to an end. Someone has discovered his secret and is determined to make him pay for his treachery. He must finish the project he abandoned years ago, one the Council deems essential in its fight against the aliens, but things are never that simple where Adrian is concerned.
Is he more man than machine, or have years hiding behind a mountain of logic eroded his humanity? Can he survive the tangled web of political expediency and psychological manipulation that surrounds him? Will Kali be able to save him from himself, or is there a mystery surrounding him that may explode in their faces?
Everyone wants to know the truth, but will it set them free?
After Alex Wales crash lands on a planet that doesn't even show up on her navigational map and her ship is damaged, all she wants to do is get help and leave the planet as soon as she can. She’s got something to deliver and time is running out. Instead, she stumbles onto a very alluring man who takes her to his village—a seemingly utopian society led by a Priestess.
Stuck on this planet with no way of getting off, Alex finds herself drawn to the alluring Damon. But when locals start turning up dead after being mauled and eaten by some sort of monster, she’s thrust into the middle of the investigation.
As the layers of the mystery slowly unravel, Alex and Damon find themselves facing their pasts, and the many lies woven around the planet of Eden.
Earlier this month Damien G Walter asked guardian.co.uk/books users to suggest the best novels in the genre, following on from the Guardian's special SF-slanted edition of its Saturday Review supplement.
The results went online last week, and displayed a great love for science fiction: more than 500 books, classic and contemporary, were suggested for inclusion. However, according to Seattle-based author Nicola Griffith, who did a bit of number-crunching on the stats, there's an overwhelming bias towards male authors.
Anyway, regardless of whether there’s an issue with the UK or not, the issues raised by Nicola’s blog post, and the complaints I saw about it on Twitter this morning, still need to be addressed. Of course this is yet another post about invisibility and exclusion. It therefore ties in to a long history of complaints about such problems involving award short lists, anthology ToCs, guest lists for conventions (yes, you, Kapow!) and more recently the number of women reviewers, and number of books by women accorded reviews (overview here).