At SF Signal, I participated in this week's Mind Meld: Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2014.
My latest Coffee Time Romance steampunk column is about steampunk romances that blend technology and magic. The topic always gets my mind spinning with questions:
How does one approach such hybrid steampunk stories? Is it possible to be in the mood for both types of settings at once? If so, how does a reader reconcile a world in which power is generated simultaneously by both magic and machines?PJ Schnyder is guest blogging at John Scalzi's Whatever as part of his ongoing "The Big Idea" feature. Here's a peek at how she's helping to spread the gospel of sci-fi romance:
My stories focus on the development of the relationship between my characters. The romance drives the plot and the decisions my hero and heroine make every step of the way. Kaitlyn and Rygard grow individually and together based on the decisions they make in Fighting Kat.
Plenty of science fiction books contain romantic elements, but there the romance is woven in to spice up the story and not intended to function as the central plot line. You could remove the romantic elements and the plot would still stand on its own.
In my books, the romance is the plot line. If you took it out, it would just be a random series of events and with no driving force behind the actions the characters carry out.To top it off, Yolanda Sfetsos is blogging about Vampires in Space at Smart Girls Love SciFi & Paranormal Romance.
Joyfully yours,
Heather