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| Coming January 2013 From Running Press |
Back in October 2010, I asked the following question: “Where
is ‘The Mammoth Book of Sci-Fi Romance’?” It seemed then—and still does—as
though there has been a “Mammoth” book of everything except this particular subgenre. Plus, sci-fi romance anthologies
have historically been few and far between, so having another one on the shelf would be a reason to
celebrate.
Still, knowing that so many obstacles face science fiction
romance, I wasn’t holding my breath about editor Trisha Telep (or anyone else)
releasing one.
Fast-forward to last night: I was doing some research for a
post and had reason to visit author Linnea Sinclair’s site. In her “coming soon” section I
discovered this interesting bit of news:
MAMMOTH BOOK OF FUTURISTIC ROMANCE
Trisha Telep, editor
Release date: January 2013
"Seven Months of Forver" by Linnea Sinclair - a new Sass and Kel-Paten, Games of Command short story!
"Macawley's List" by Linnea Sinclair
Additional stories by Jess Granger, Leanna Renee Hieber, C.L. Wilson, Susan Sizemore, and more!
So, like, wow! Nearly (only?!) two years after my post, THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF FUTURISTIC ROMANCE is forthcoming from Running Press in paperback format. It's even available for pre-order on Amazon. Further research revealed that authors who contributed to this anthology, such as Jess Granger, began blogging about the news as early as April of this year.
Actually, that's not the whole story. Here’s what I mean:
At the site of authors C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp, the
anthology is listed has having a
December 2012 release date (scroll down). Ditto for author Bianca D’Arc,
who presents some background information on her story here. And also Michele Lang.
Here is the announcement
from contributor Leanna Renee Hieber:
THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF FUTURISTIC ROMANCE
Edited by Trisha Telep
Featuring Linnea Sinclair and C. L. Wilson
Release date TBA
"Song of Saire" will feature two recurring characters from Leanna's DARK NEST saga of novellas from Crescent Moon Press
Charlene Teglia reported the news about her story here. You can
read an excerpt from her tale “Nuns and Huns” at Genreality.
It looks like Donna
Kauffman will have a story in it as well, though her details are scarce. (She is a new-to-me author. Does anyone know if this her first sci-fi romance?)
I wonder who the other authors are?
Since I can’t answer that question (yet), let’s unpack the
cover. First, I like that it’s heroine-centric. Or maybe it’s meant to be
female-reader focused. Either way, it’s a nice break from the usual man titty
paranormal covers.
The image is tasteful, but I can also tell that the skiffy
aspects have been massively downplayed. I guess the cover promises “sparkly”
futuristic romance stories? Whatever that means, LOL! Marketing-wise, I guess that's the best way to go? What do you think?
Now for the title. I can understand the choice to go with
“futuristic” as opposed to science fiction romance. Visually, it’s cleaner and
will also draw in romance readers who are more familiar with the “futuristic”
marketing label. Ya win some, ya lose some.
Next, the subtitle: “21 Stories of
Post-Apocalyptic, Paranormal Love.” I’m guessing that the inclusion of
“post-apocalyptic” is meant to capture fans of post-apocalyptic romance and
obviously some of the tales fall into that category. All well and good.
As for the inclusion of “paranormal,” well, hmmm. I’m hoping
the use of that label is strictly a marketing strategy. My hope is that the
stories in this anthology are all unabashedly science fiction romance, meaning
no supernatural or magic-based characters or elements. There have already been
two Mammoth books of paranormal romances. Is it too much to hope for that
sci-fi romance can have its day in the sun?
I’m working on getting the full scoop about THE MAMMOTH BOOK
OF FUTURISTIC ROMANCE for you. In the meantime, are there any other authors out
there who contributed to this anthology? I invite each of you to stop by and
tell us a little bit about your story!
And to my Galaxy Express passengers: please join me in
sharing the news about this forthcoming release using the power of our combined
social networks. Now that I know about this anthology, it’d be such a
disappointment if the release date were pushed back again. Unfortunately, I
can’t find Trisha Telep online anywhere, so we’ll have to try and let her know
we want this anthology in other ways. Thanks so much for your help!
Joyfully yours,
Heather