[Sidney Bristol has a new science fiction romance out from Lyrical Press called A KISS FOR A CURE. Given the oh-so-romantic title and cover of her book, I thought it'd be fun to have her come aboard on Valentine's Day to share her favorite SFR romances. Take it away, Sidney!]
Give Me a Star-Crossed Lover in Space--or Anywhere!
by Sidney Bristol
Hello and Happy Valentine’s Day! Okay, so if you’re one of
the non-celebrating types, Happy Thors Day. Go googlefu some abs.
Since it’s the big V-Day and I’m here at The Galaxy Express, I
think it’s only fair we talk about our favorite sci-fi romance plots. I’m
saying plots because romance isn’t exactly the focal point of any of the sci-fi
movies I really love. I’m all for suggestions, so if my favorites aren’t your
favorites, let’s talk it over in the comments! But for now, I give you my top
five picks for a romance plot that makes me sigh.
5) The new Star Trek
I fully admit that I’ve loved Star Trek since I was a kid.
I’m a shameless fan of the original and Captains Kirk and Picard. I spent hours
watching reruns as a kid! I don’t love it more or less than Star Wars, so don’t
ask me to pick. That said, I really enjoyed the romantic elements in the new
Star Trek movie. Sure, we’ve all watched Captain Kirk get the alien girl, the
planetary ruler and the hot priestess in every episode of the TV show, so we
expected an attractive, playboy Kirk in the reboot.
What I loved was Uhura,
this strong, sassy woman kicking him to the curb for the nerdiliscious Spock. It’s
a departure from the normal idea of the main character rescuing everyone and
getting the girl, which I adored, but I loved the idea of a smart woman
choosing a man who is her equal for intellect. I’m looking forward to the new
movie and crossing my fingers it’s better than the previews.
4) Star Wars
Like I said above, I’m both a Star Trek and Star Wars fan. I
would watch Star Trek at home before bath time, and Star Wars with my best
friend after every band concert and marching competition. I think we wore out
her VHS tapes going through the trilogy! When I polled Twitter and Facebook,
almost everyone mentioned Star Wars being in their top picks when it comes to
sci-fi and romance. And how can you not dig the I-hate-you-I-love-you
relationship between Princess Leia and Han Solo?
I grew up with the idea of
being a princess shoved at me from a lot of people. Except I was a tomboy who
did rodeo stuff. Sure, Princess Leia wore a dress, she was poised and proper
when she needed to be – and she could shoot a gun and kick booty as good as the
boys. She was the kind of princess I wanted to be, and I’ve always loved the idea
of a man strong enough to go toe-to-toe with her, and still have her back.
3) The Matrix
One thing I love about the Neo and Trinity romance is that
it takes three movies to evolve. The one thing that I’d like to change about a
lot of the romance plots in movies is that they happen so fast, there’s little
character development and conflict. The Matrix trilogy gives you three movies
to really invest yourself in their sacrificial romance. How hard would it be do
you think to be in Trinity’s shoes? Here’s a woman that knows that the man she
loves is going to do really dangerous things, possibly die and routinely put
other people and things ahead of her. Again, we’re talking about a super strong
heroine. Do you see a theme with my favorites?
2) Stargate
The movie romance that inspired an entire TV show. Or at
least that’s the way I like to think of the romance between Dr. Daniel Jackson
and Sha’uri. I was pretty young when this came out, but I remember begging my
mom to go see it and we both loved it so much she bought us a copy and I owned
that VHS tape up until my VCR gave up a few years ago. At the time I was less
interested in what I saw as an awkward moment to fast forward through and more
into the exciting alien drama and the little guy sticking it to the man.
As
I’ve grown up and watched some of the latter TV series, this romance has
captured my heart. Sure, this is one of those brief flames that is there and
then gone in the plot, but the way the story continues into the Stargate TV
series makes it. I’m by no means a regular to the show, but I know enough of
the plot to appreciate the way that romance arc continued to impact the
Stargate universe. It’s truly a love that reaches across the galaxy and through
gates.
1) The Fifth Element
My favorite! My number 1 top pic!!
This movie has two things going for it that make it a shoe
in for me, and I’ll own them up front.
#1 Bruce Willis
#2 Milla Jovovich
I’m a guilty fangirl over both, and that’s probably to blame
on this movie.
This is another one I begged and begged my mom to take me to
see. I can’t remember if she watched it with me, or dumped me off with my
friends to go see on our own, but I do remember being in the theater and loving
the action and adventure of it. I wanted to be Leeloo, the Supreme Being. I
wanted a tough guy to have my back and beat the bad guys with me. Can you say
hello teen girl crush? I still watch this movie whenever I can because I really
enjoy it. So what if it’s not the most plausible romance? Love doesn’t always
make sense, and when we’re talking about sci-fi, why not just go for it?
I had a lot of great recommendations when I was thinking
about my list. There are a lot of different picks out there, these are just my
top five. What’s yours?
About the author
It can never be said that Sidney Bristol has had a
‘normal’ life. She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary,
and tattoo addict. She grew up in a motor-home on the US highways (with an
occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her
parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with
children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she splits her time
between a job she loves, writing, reading and belly dancing.
What’s a
girl to do when her parents gift her with a man for Christmas?
Caught
between two kingdoms, Jordan has given up the privileged world of intergalactic
court life to become an interstellar biologist researching space sharks.
Unexpectedly saddled with a husband from a race who are rumored to be sex
fiends, her life is yanked in a direction she doesn’t want.
But Cai
isn’t human and he must have the emotional feedback of a mate in order to
survive. Charged with protecting Jordan, can he win her heart and keep her safe
from harm?
Will they
survive the challenges that arise…sexual, emotional and political? Time is
ticking away and it’s not on their side.
---
Excerpt
Christmas
presents were not supposed to move.
Jordan
froze, staring at the seven-foot-long box wrapped in silvery paper. The one
sent by her parents. Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it. No, that
pounding came from the box. From inside the box.
Blood
drained from her extremities. Her chest constricted until she panted for breath.
What had
her parents done this time? She clenched her hands and gritted her teeth. In
the history of bad, over-the-top and gaudy presents, she feared this might be
the worst.
She turned
her back on it and put a hand to her stomach. She needed to sit down,
preferably on something soft and forgiving, but her furniture had yet to be
delivered. The only furniture in her new quarters was her bed. Everything else
was packed up in the utilitarian beige plastos she’d purchased secondhand from
a shipper to get her things to university. They showed their age with scrapes
and dented sides, but they were so sturdy nothing had ever been broken in
moving them from place to place. Plastos were stacked against the walls, in
groupings in the middle of the floor, and in her bedroom. Everywhere. Her new
quarters looked like a cargo hold.
Again, the
pounding came from the box, but louder. She jumped and spun to face the box.
Whatever was in there wanted out. She leaned against the wall and stared at the
silvery paper. Light from the floor-to-ceiling windows made glimmering patterns
against the surface of the package. She could escape the room, since her
upgraded quarters had a real bedroom and a kitchenette, but whatever was in the
box would still be there.
Sucking in
a deep breath, she crept toward it until she could touch the top with her
fingertips. It was cool against her skin, even through the paper. Bending, she
put her ear against it and gently rapped. The box rang hollow.
Maybe she’d
heard something in the Center clanging. There was always the chance there was
construction going on over the holidays since most people were away for several
weeks. Or maybe one of her plastos had fallen.
Something
knocked from inside the box.