SFR News & Links For May 2013

Welcome to the latest SFR News & Links roundup! Lots of releases, announcements, and happenings in sci-fi romance this month:

New releases

HER MASTER’S COLLAR – Sara Brookes

The last thing Korene needs in her life is a former Master who abandoned her ten years ago. But when her employees are taken hostage on Mars, she’s forced to work with Roland whether she likes it or not. Sparks fly the moment the perfectly chiseled man saunters into her conference room; a sign their incredible chemistry is still just as potent.

Roland has a job to do, but he struggles with his unrelenting desire for the only woman he ever loved. Seeing the strong-willed Korene on her knees again is enough to shatter Roland’s willpower. And give him a raging hard-on.

Their distracting lust could flame out of control if they aren’t careful.

Read the excerpt.

BAYNE – Misa Buckley

Malia dreams of a life less ordinary but when her planet is visited by the Bayne, Destroyer of Worlds, she surrenders herself to him in order to give her people time to collect the tribute that the Overlord demands.

Despite Bayne being as much machine as man and having a violent temper, he rescues her from the unwanted attentions of his second-in-command and gives Malia a glimpse at the battered heart lying beneath the steel and scars.

As they start their relationship over, Malia discovers a man very different to the reputation that precedes him and probes deeper. However, her investigation uncovers a dark truth: a truth that someone wants to remain hidden no matter what the cost.

SWITCHED RESOLUTION (space opera) – Diane Burton
 

Actions have consequences as Space Fleet Captain Marcus Viator and NASA reject Scott Cherella discover when they switched places. Switched Resolution, which wraps up the Switched series, takes the reader from Earth—where Marcus adjusts to a pregnant Jessie—to the starship Freedom commandeer by rebels, to the chase ship with Scott and Veronese aboard.

ALIEN IN THE HOUSE - Gini Koch

 

Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini have learned the ins and outs of Washington politics, not to mention how to prevail in intergalactic war and foil dangerous plots. But, in the aftermath of Operation Destruction, the Gower girls’ powers are burned out, the entire A-C population has been “outed” as the aliens living on Earth that they are, and, worst of all, ACE is nowhere to be found.

Then murder and mayhem are served up at an important dinner party at the American Centaurion Embassy, and when the dust settles Alpha Team and the Diplomatic Corps have more problems than just a dead Congressman.

Is there a single criminal mastermind—or multiple enemies—behind all the conspiracies that want Kitty dead and the A-Cs gone or co-opted to become the War Division?

The return of the best assassins in the business, the reappearance of two individuals long-presumed dead, Agent Malcolm Buchanan felled by something no one can identify or cure, and new technology that can block even the most powerful empath on Earth … all of this means the game’s officially afoot.

Then Vance Beaumont comes to Kitty with a wild theory that someone is systematically killing off the House of Representatives…

It’s up to Kitty and the rest of the gang to find out what’s really going on and why. But will they be able to stop the killer or killers before the rest of the U.S. House of Representatives become casualties? And will the replacement Representative for New Mexico’s 2nd District, who happens to be Jeff Martini, be the next to die?

DEEP DECEPTION (f/f) – Cathy Pegau

Colonial Mining Authority agent Natalia Hallowell doesn't always play by the rules, but she wouldn't compromise a case either. Put on administrative leave under a cloud of accusation, with no support from her boss, Natalia seeks a little anonymous companionship at her favorite bar. But she's surprised when the woman who catches her fancy starts buying her drinks.

Desperate, Genevieve "Gennie" Caine has no choice but to seduce, drug and tie Natalia to the bed to get her attention. With the Reyes Corporation after something she has, Gennie needs Natalia to open an investigation and distract them long enough for her to get off Nevarro.

Natalia doesn't trust Gennie--despite the growing attraction between them--but the corporation's suspiciously high profits and abnormal business dealings convince her that they must be hiding something. She has no idea just how deep the deceptions run...

Read the excerpt.

ALIEN ADORATION - Jessica E. Subject 
 

Erotic dreams fill her with need…

Night after night, Rachel fantasizes about her sexy, playboy neighbor. But in her small town, no one changes, least of all the bad boy next door. But when Luke rescues her not once but twice from disastrous dates, she dares to believe her knight in black leather armor may be the right man for her after all.

Until she learns the truth...

Life on Earth has never been easy for Luke. Stranded as a little boy, he struggled to craft an existence for himself, but he never forgot the first human he met--and he never stopped wanting to see her again. Returning to Hanton, Luke longs for Rachel. Yet, nothing goes as he plans, and Rachel barely notices him. Convincing her he isn't like all the jerks she's dated means telling her the truth, but can she handle it?

Can she overcome her fears, or will she deny her alien adoration and leave him stranded once more?

Forthcoming SF New Adult/YA romance
 

Courtesy of blogger Laurie A. Green (Spacefreighters Lounge) I bring you news of  ALIENATED by Melissa Landers (February 2014; Hyperion). The publisher tagged it YA and the author identifies as a YA author, but the college setting might nudge it into New Adult for some readers.

Here's the blurb:

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

Authors blogging

At CONTACT - Infinite Futures, Kat Cantrell (MINDLINK) wants to know: Aliens or Elves?

Jessica E. Subject (MADE FOR HER) explores various types of aliens in What DO aliens look like? Part 1 - Hollywood.

SFR Brigade Anthology news

At Spacefreighters Lounge, Pippa Jay (TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY) introduced the table of contents for the SFR Brigade anthology:

Tales from the SFR Brigade (Volume I)

Nine great science fiction romance stories by nine fabulous authors.
(Alphabetical by story title)

“Allure” by Amy Laurens
“Envy’s Revenge” by Berinn Rae
“Imprint” by Pippa Jay
“MISSION: Nam Selan” by Linnea Sinclair
“Nobody’s Present” by Marcella Burnard
“Sensations” by Liana Brooks
“The Stranger” by Kyndra Hatch
“Thief’s Ransom” by Jaleta Clegg
“Whisky and Starshine” by Erica Hayes

The expected release date is currently midsummer.

Yay! This will be a free ebook anthology. The production team is currently seeking a cover contribution. Cover designers, learn more here.

Forthcoming SF-romance-comedy

THE HISTORY OF FUTURE FOLK is a hybrid of SF, romance, and comedy and will hit theaters May 31, 2013 (iTunes June 4).

This alien folk-duo action romp looks very tongue-in-cheek, not to mention over-the-top quirky. I'm guessing the romance is more of the "love interest" type than a device used to drive the plot. Here's the trailer:


 
What do you think? Plan to watch it?

Speculative non-fiction submission call--nominate your favorite SFR articles!

Thea and Ana of The Book Smugglers have been appointed editors for Speculative Fiction: The Best Online Reviews, Essays and Commentary. They're currently accepting submissions:

The goal is to have a collection published annually, rotating editors each year. We are proud to say that The Book Smugglers will be the editors of the 2013 edition!

The first volume, edited by bloggers Justin Landon (Staffer’s Musings – US) and Jared Shurin (Pornokitsch – UK), collects over fifty AWESOME pieces from science fiction and fantasy’s top authors, bloggers and critics (including an essay from yours truly) and is out NOW. All profits from sales of Speculative Fiction will be donated to Room to Read.

The 2012 edition also includes an afterword written by us in which we talk about what we will be looking for as editors of the 2013 edition.

Know of any great 2013 science fiction romance articles to submit? I already submitted ones by Ella Drake, Diane Dooley, Pippa Jay, and Chris Gerwel! Click here for complete details. The more we submit, the more likely SFR will be represented.

Seattle is where it's at!

Marlene Harris of Reading Reality is now writing a romance column for the Seattle (!) Public Library blog. Her first post at Shelf Talk is about science fiction romance! Head on over to check out the three titles she spotlights. (I'll give you a hint: ghosts, alien culture clash, and hot Men In Black).

GeekMom blogger and author Corrina Lawson will be at Geek Girl Con in Seattle (!!) (October 19 and 20, 2013 - at the Conference Center at WSCC) and is developing a panel on the "great relationships" of SF&F. If anyone reading this post plans on attending and wants to participate, give her a holler right quick: https://twitter.com/CorrinaLawson.

Review challenges for women SF/F/R authors

Via Pauline Baird Jones (KICKING ASHE) comes an eye-opening io9 post: Handy charts reveal why you've never heard of most female SF authors. On a related note, former RT Book Reviews reviewer Natalie Luhrs blogs eloquently about Reviews, Genre, and Gender:

So yesterday, Strange Horizons published their SF Count–where, following the lead of VIDA, they count the proportion of books that were reviewed and written by women as opposed to men.

And just like VIDA, Strange Horizons forgot to include RT Book Reviews.

RT primarily reviews romance novels and mentions of RT often draw sniggers from men (and some women) in the SF audience because hey, romance novels are somehow inherently funny. Here’s the thing: they do have a pretty good (if I say so myself) science fiction and fantasy section, one which I was pleased to be involved with for just over eight years.

The above points to yet another reason subgenres like SFR, most of which is authored by women, is still so invisible. This is an important conversation to continue.

Speaking of which, it was great to see that my SF Signal guest post, Looking to The Future: Women on Top of the SF&F World, made the Top 25 SF Signal Posts for April 2013 (#18). I appreciate everyone who took the time to read it.

Now I hand the mike over to you. Got any science fiction romance news/links to share?

Joyfully yours,

Heather