Sunday, December 29, 2013

Sci-Fi Romance Giveaway: 3 Yolanda Sfetsos RECAST Titles

What better way to finish off 2013 than with a science fiction romance giveaway?

Author Yolanda Sfetsos came aboard with her three Recast titles (Samhain Publishing) and we'll give away a digital copy of each novella-length story to one lucky passenger!

Winner's choice of mobi, PDF, ePub, imp, zip, Sonypdf, or rb!

To enter, leave a comment by making a word from "science fiction romance."

The deadline to enter is midnight EST on 1/3/14.

Enjoy the covers and blurbs! Clicking on the title will bring you to the book's Samhain Publishing page so you can read an excerpt.

WITHER
Recast #1


WITHER by Yolanda Sfetsos

Betrayal. Lust. Secrets. It’s enough to send a space cowboy riding hell-bent for stardust.

Wrangling is in Colt Marshall’s blood. He was known across the galaxy for his skill at roping horses and cattle, but found that the woman he loved wasn’t so easy to tie down. Now a mysterious client has him wrangling a man who may or may not be fully human. Colt doesn’t know and doesn’t care, as long as he gets paid. Until his pursuit of the escaped captive lands him on his former lover’s planet…and her request for help threatens to crack the armor around his heart.

With Colt’s unexpected arrival, Brynn Wright’s problems could be solved…or multiplied a thousandfold. She doesn’t expect him to understand why she left him, but she sure could use his help ridding her planet of the feral creatures terrorizing her town every night. It doesn’t help that he looks just as good as she remembers. Or that even after five years, their mutual lust is very much alive.

Their desire rivals the heat of the planet’s skin-peeling sun, stripping away layers of secrets to expose the truth. And a secret that could be their death sentence…

Warning: This book contains a space cowboy with an attitude, a female sheriff with a kick-ass past, an AI dressed like a deputy, feral creatures, and a planet scorched by its proximity to the sun—but still not as hot as the cowboy and sheriff are for each other.

CLASH
Recase #2

CLASH by Yolanda Sfetsos

When revenge, secrets and lust collide, there can only be chaos.

Jenks Maine is dead, but the devastating effects forcing Recast to fight in the arena goes on. Half-Recast Ace Abu is determined to put a stop to it. All he needs is to get to the planet Fray, locate the concealed Clash Arena, and destroy it. But first he has to cross half the galaxy before the sound and smell of his partners’ nonstop lovemaking drives him mad.

By the time he parks himself on a barstool in the town of Grit, he’s more than ready for a few beers. Except the sexy singer on stage is only making him—and his inner beast—burn hotter.

Ely’Shea longs for the freedom Jenks stole from her. She’s his right-hand
woman, but when the boss is away she steps out of her enforcer role and ducks into a remote bar to indulge her passion: singing onstage. The night she catches a glimpse of an alluring cowboy in the audience, he ignites a spark inside her she never thought she’d feel again.

Unable to resist temptation, they’re consumed by passion…but once the fuses are set, their deepest personal secrets could blow any chance of forever all to hell.

Warning: This book contains a very lonely shapeshifter in need of some loving, a kick-ass singer leading a double life, a serious case of mutual lust, an arena filled with enslaved warriors, and so many secrets it can only end in total madness.

SHIVER
Recast #3

 SHIVER by Yolanda Sfetsos

Blood made him a monster. Passion could be his salvation.


After narrowly escaping brutal captivity in the Clash Arena and the bite of a bloodsucking creature, all Eniell Knox wants is to get off the crappy planet that ruined his life. When he steals an abandoned ship and is shot down over freezing northern Fray, he finds nothing but more trouble. An alluring young woman who stirs his hunger—and her shackle-happy mother—could push him over the edge.

Day after day, Lian Shan lives like a prisoner, fending off a parade of creepy potential husbands her mother tries to force upon her. She longs to experience life outside the confines of her ice castle and meet the man whose face haunts her dreams.

When a handsome, mysterious man crashes onto the estate her world breaks apart, spilling unfathomable secrets. Some of them her own.

Though Eniell and Lian’s mutual attraction explodes off any known star chart, there’s something her dreams left out—he’s been bitten by a monster. Which means if he turns into one, the first thing on his menu could be her neck…

Warnings: This book contains shared temptation hot enough to melt ice caps, a warrior with a blood craving, a rebellious heroine who isn’t afraid to share hers, and the galaxy’s most dysfunctional family.

Related post: Yolanda Sfetsos provided non-spoiler tags for SHIVER in her guest post here at TGE.

Joyfully yours,

Heather

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Drake Doremus' EQUALS Might Be A Sci-Fi Romance Film


Seems like I've been reporting on science fiction romance films about every few months this past year (UPSIDE DOWN, HER, JUPITER ASCENDING). And there's more to come!

Drake Doremus is a director whose next film, EQUALS, is reported as being a story mixing SF and romance. It's listed as in pre-production at IMDB with a possible release year of 2014.

Deadline broke the news in this article. Actors Kristen Stewart (TWILIGHT) and Nicholas Hoult (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS) are reportedly being courted for the lead roles. For some actor eye candy, here's a news clip about EQUALS:
Fingers crossed that EQUALS a) ends on an upbeat note and b) it's good. 

You can follow Drake Doremus on Twitter

Joyfully yours,

Heather
 

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Is JUPITER ASCENDING A Sci-Fi Romance Film?

I'd like to show you the trailer for JUPITER ASCENDING, the forthcoming film (July 2014, USA) from the Wachowski siblings. It stars Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, and the ever-yummy Sean Bean. Here's a description courtesy of IMDB:
In a universe where humans are near the bottom of the evolutionary ladder, a young destitute human woman is targeted for assassination by the Queen of the Universe because her very existence threatens to end the Queen's reign.

As far as tags I picked up from the trailer, the story includes a heroine with a secret past; a superhuman bounty hunter hero; damsel-in-distress; kidnapping/captivity trope; Earth-is-not-alone; corporate; far-future setting; power hungry villainess; royalty-in-space; and action-adventure, thriller/suspense elements. Possibly a forbidden romance? It certainly looks like a "romance on the run" type of story.

I wonder if there are more romance-heavy scenes than the trailer indicates. Based on the trailer and what we know about the film so far, would you tag it as a full-fledged science fiction romance or romantic SF?

Joyfully yours,

Heather

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Jeff Lemire's TRILLIUM: An Experimental Comic And Possible SFR



A.V. Club has an in-depth article on a comic book series by Jeff Lemire that's really piquing my interest: Trillium's structural experimentation creates a unique sci-fi romance. Here's a taste:

A science-fiction romance about two people from completely different time periods, Trillium is all about perspective, and Lemire has used the time-bending plot to experiment with methods of depicting separate points of view with the opportunities afforded by comic books. The flip-book Trillium #1 was just the beginning of Lemire’s structural experimentation, although not all the layout changes have been as drastic as that first issue. There’s no flipping required for the series’ second chapter, which changes the shape of panels to show how William and Nika view the world differently: William’s pages stick to rectangular panels while Nika’s pages incorporate circles to give the futuristic character less traditional layouts.

The last sentence indicates this series offers readers an unpredictable story path. I will investigate further because if the ending is HEA or HFN, that'd be a case of sci-fi romance expanding in the comic book medium in a very unique way!

Vertigo is releasing this series. Here's the story blurb:

Thursday, December 19, 2013

I Want More Action Heroines—Not Just For Me, But Also For My Daughter


I've rounded up a few articles about SF/F action heroines in the film and television mediums. Specifically, why audiences aren't seeing more of them. Warning: these articles might induce rageface.


It's possible that the science fiction reading public, overwhelmingly masculine, are worried that their conception of the hero might be disturbed. In the nerd world, feminism is costly. Remember, for instance, the case of American feminist blogger Anita Sarkeesian who last year was harassed and threatened — an online game offered its players to beat up her likeness — after she launched a campaign to create a new series on the representation of women in video games.

What about The Hunger Games?

This entire controversy is a massive paradox if you understand that science fiction was born in 1818 with Frankenstein, a visionary novel written in just three weeks by 19-year-old Mary Shelley. Or if you consider, two centuries later, the masterpiece that is the worldwide bestseller The Hunger Games. In this trilogy, author Suzanne Collins manages to portray a complex heroine, who is a far cry from the wallflower cliché and is warlike without being a tomboy. Yes, it is possible.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

NAUGHTY OR NICE Holiday Anthology To Benefit Nathan Fillion's "Kids Need To Read"



I'm excited to share that I contributed my sci-fi romance short, FORTUNE CAT'S VISIT, to the NAUGHTY OR NICE anthology, a collection of holiday-themed stories. 

Even better, all the proceeds will go to Kids Need To Read! This non-profit organization was founded in 2007 by author PJ Haarsma and FIREFLY actor Nathan Fillion.

Kids Need to Read Mission Statement:

Kids Need to Read works to create a culture of reading for children by providing inspiring books to underfunded schools, libraries, and literacy programs across the United States, especially those serving disadvantaged children.

Kids Need to Read Vision Statement:

All children and adolescents will have access to quality books no matter their race, economic status, or capabilities. Further, our organization will provide inspiring programs to increase literacy rates and decrease dropout rates throughout the United States. These programs will be presented in a manner that will foster and uphold dignity and self-respect. We will consistently demonstrate to children and adolescents the need to read, as we believe literacy contributes to school and life success.
NAUGHTY OR NICE includes a fun lineup of stories. Some are humorous, some include mystery, and some contain paranormal or, in the case of my story, sci-fi elements. Click here to purchase at Amazon (the price is a budget-friendly $1.99).

Here's the description:

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Yolanda Sfetsos Tags Her Sci-Fi Romance, SHIVER


[Heather's introduction: Author Yolanda Sfetsos writes a science fiction romance series by the name of Recast. The next book, SHIVER, will be released by Samhain Publishing on January 7, 2014. In light of her forthcoming book, I invited Ms. Sfetsos aboard to tag her book for us. Entertaining, yet informative!]

I’d like to thank Heather for having me over, as well as suggesting that I come up with some tags for my SFR story, SHIVER. This is the third installment in my Recast series.

Here they are:

*Hero is an arena gladiator with a severe blood craving
*Vampires in SF
*Rebellious heroine not afraid to get her hands dirty to help others
*Psychic powers in SF
*An instant attraction hot enough to melt the ice caps
*Set inside an ice castle located in the middle of an icy tundra
*A control freak, meddling mother running a hidden dirty business
*The galaxy’s most dysfunctional family with way too many secrets
*A secondary character begging for his story to be told
*Generous side serving of cyberpunk with bots, AI, active Network and an evolving processor
*Action-adventure quotient: high
*Heat level: passionate, but sweet

Want to know more? Here's a link to the excerpt.

Thanks for reading,
Yolanda

RECAST blurb:

Blood made him a monster. Passion could be his salvation.

After narrowly escaping brutal captivity in the Clash Arena and the bite of a bloodsucking creature, all Eniell Knox wants is to get off the crappy planet that ruined his life. When he steals an abandoned ship and is shot down over freezing northern Fray, he finds nothing but more trouble. An alluring young woman who stirs his hunger—and her shackle-happy mother—could push him over the edge.

Day after day, Lian Shan lives like a prisoner, fending off a parade of creepy potential husbands her mother tries to force upon her. She longs to experience life outside the confines of her ice castle and meet the man whose face haunts her dreams.

When a handsome, mysterious man crashes onto the estate her world breaks apart, spilling unfathomable secrets. Some of them her own.

Though Eniell and Lian’s mutual attraction explodes off any known star chart, there’s something her dreams left out—he’s been bitten by a monster. Which means if he turns into one, the first thing on his menu could be her neck… 

Warning: This book contains shared temptation hot enough to melt ice caps, a warrior with a blood craving, a rebellious heroine who isn’t afraid to share hers, and the galaxy’s most dysfunctional family.

About the author

Wife. Mother. Writer. Bibliophile. Dreamer. Animal lover. Intrigued by the supernatural. Horror freak. Zombie enthusiast. Movie & music fan. Slave to her muse.

Yolanda lives in Sydney, Australia with her awesome husband, lovely daughter, and cheeky cat.

Connect with Yolanda Sfetsos: