Why Do I Write Science Fiction? By Janice Seagraves

I was recently asked on a facebook party why I wrote science fiction romance?

I told her, that it was because of all the possibilities, which are infinite.

Which is true.

But there is a more closer connection.

Back when I was little, I watched Star Trek with my father.

I'd lay on the floor or sit on the couch and he'd be in his big recliner. We'd always laugh at the antics of the crew (usually between Spock and McCoy) or be appalled when one the badies would do to something mean or kill one of the poor red shirts.

You know, the ones who always got killed.

Sometimes when Dad read a science fiction book, I'd ask him to read it to me, and he would read a few pages. He wouldn't read all of it because he said I wouldn't understand or maybe the next scene he thought was inappropriate for me to hear.

About the time I entered High School, I found science fiction books. I'd bring them home and share them with my Dad.

We also saw the first movie in the Star Wars saga together. I still remember see those big words scrolling across the screen that introduced us to the Star Wars universe:

In a galaxy far, far, away...

I loved it, my dad not so much.

"Too much noise and not enough story" is how I think my Dad put it.

 A love of well written science fiction connected me to my father.

I lost him in 1982. I'll always miss him and in my heart I'd like to think my Dad would enjoy the science fiction books that I write. Inappropriate scenes and all.

The Chronicles of Arcon book one:

Alien Heart

Alien Heart, the first of a whole new SF series.
https://www.amazon.com/Alien-Heart-Chronicles-Arcon-Book-ebook/dp/B01N0N73OF/
Blurb: Divorcee and single mom, hardworking Audrey Westberry is the host of a cable TV show called Miz Fixit.
Romance was the last thing on Audrey’s mind when two handsome extraterrestrials join the audience of her show.
Soon Audrey finds out a single word “mated” has different meaning when you are born a galaxy away. After a wonderful night of passion, Audrey finds herself far from home, impregnated and her life turned upside down.
Will she ever be able to leave the alien compound, see her son again, or get home in time to film the fall season of her Miz Fixit show?
But what’s a girl to do with two aliens that smell like candy, and their kisses taste like it, too?

Excerpt:

After filming, Audrey sat at the vanity table, while the makeup girl, Kendra, helped her remove the heavy camera makeup.

“Good show, everyone.” Derek, the director, walked through the dressing room. Tall, dark-haired, with hazel eyes, and oh so married. He leaned on Audrey’s chair and peered into the mirror at her. “So, Audrey, how are you going to spend your summer hiatus?”

 “Oh hi, Derek.” Kendra made eyes at him again.

Audrey frowned at her. If his wife ever saw her do that, she’d go ballistic. To Audrey he was just a dear friend and director, who’d guided her through the complexity of cable television.

“I was going to spend it with my son, but I got a call from my ex. Tony is going away to camp for eight weeks.”

“Camp?” He blinked in surprise. “Whose idea was that?”

“Tony and his best friend decided they wanted to go. My ex put him on the phone, so he could tell me.”

“Ouch.” Derek pulled down the corners of his mouth. “Best friend one, mom zero.”

“Yeah,” Audrey sighed, still feeling the sting of rejection. “He’s at an age now when friends are more important than mommy.”

“And, this is the dressing room where our star puts on her makeup for the camera.” Fox Watanabe, Audrey's agent, was nattily dressed. His straight midnight hair and dark eyes marked him as pure Native American. He seemed to be acting as a tour guide to the aliens.

A cameraman entered the dressing room ahead of the aliens, walking backward as he snapped pictures.

Audrey grimaced. God, what’s Fox doing now?

“The aliens look like elves,” Derek muttered under his breath.

“Yeah, they do.” Audrey noticed their pointed ears and long faces. “They could’ve played extras on the Lord of the Ring movies.”

“Got to go, things to do.” Derek headed toward the exit, but he slowed, and his back stiffened as he got near her agent.

Audrey tensed. Please don't let them get into another argument over me.

“Fox.”

“This is our little show’s director, Derek Alcorn.” Fox gestured toward him.

“Nice to meet you.” Derek gave a nod to the aliens. “I’ve got to button up the set.”

He hurried out of the room.

Fox turned back to the aliens. “He’s a busy man, lots of responsibilities.”

Audrey let out a breath. Fox had once again ignored the subtle dig Derek’s quick exit meant. The show's director didn't like chitchat, but he hated her agent even more.

“They have three penises each,” Kendra whispered in Audrey’s ear. She used a soaked cotton ball and ran it over the side of Audrey’s face to clean off the makeup.

Audrey turned to stare at her. “What?”

Kendra pinched Audrey’s chin, moving her head over to clean the other side.

“I saw a picture on the internet.” She whispered, “Two long ones and a little one. It makes you wonder what their women look like down there.”

Audrey licked her lips, trying to imagine the male aliens naked. Would their equipment look like my favorite toy?

Kendra moved back and smiled. “All done.”

Fox walked over to her, with the aliens in tow. “Here’s our Miz Fixit, Audrey Westberry.”

God, what a thing to tell me, just before I’m introduced to them. Standing, Audrey held out her hand and tried not to glance at their crotches. “How do you do?”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

https://www.amazon.com/Alien-Heart-Chronicles-Arcon-Book-ebook/dp/B01N0N73OF/

Janice Seagraves website:  https://janice-seagraves.org/

Interview of Author B.C. Brown

Today I'm pleased to present an interview of romance author B.C. Brown.

Latest Book: A Touch of Madness
Buy Link

BIO:
B.C. Brown was born with six fingers on each hand endowing her with super powers, thus enabling her to fight crime. When a freak Cuisinart accident severed the additional digits and her powers, B.C. was forced to fall back on her secondary talent - writing. Now she lives between the pages of a book - whether she has written it or not. Until she finds the surgeon to restore her fingers and powers, she has published three novels to date. She has also been included in two anthology collections. She enjoys writing mystery, paranormal romance, science fiction and fantasy but is always in the mood for a challenge to branch out. You can follow her crime fighting or writing at twitter or facebook.

Q: How did you celebrate publishing your first book?
A: By scaring the crap out of my dog. I scooped him up in my arms and danced maniacally. Looking back I’m fortunate no one saw it or else I’d be answering from a padded cell.

Q: Your novel is being made into a TV series/movie. Who’s in your dream cast?
A: Danai Gurira from The Walking Dead of a certain for Abigail St Michael.

Jim Caviezel from The Count of Monte Cristo (and so much more) for Nikolas. Boy, I hope he can do a slight Russian accent!

Q: What is the most important thing you do for your career now, as compared to when you first started writing?
A: I bother with marketing now. In my youthful arrogance I believed my writing was so excellent the books would just sell themselves. I’ve since learned (through having it smack me in the head hard) that I must dedicate as much time to marketing as I do to the initial writing process. Sometimes I need to dedicate more.

Q: How much of yourself is hidden in the characters in the book?
A: My characters are me. In one form or another. Abbey has my scatterbrained thoughts; Rose (from my fantasy novel) is insecure and fearful of herself and abilities; my characters from my short fiction share my sense of wonderment, my desire for lasting love, my childhood disillusionments. I don’t know how to write unless I infuse my characters with at least some of my own blood.

Q: If you could change something about your first book, what would it be?
A: I would have fleshed it out more. There are two other books in the series that I should have gone ahead and combined with the first book, making one epic fantasy instead of turning it into a series.

I also would have put a little more focus into the supporting characters. Some I didn’t give much motivation for their actions. They seem shallow and two-dimensional. Fortunately for me I can remedy both. In six months the contract is up with the publisher it is under and I plan on re-tooling the work and republishing.

Q: How do you choose names for your characters?
A: I don’t really choose. They name themselves. Rarely does one change names after I’ve been writing. I do have a lengthy selection process for choosing surnames. I take from my real life, selecting names that interest me. If possibly, I’ll ask people about their surnames – country of origin, known folklore or stories, common mispronunciations etc. – and then tack them onto the names and mix and match until one seems to fit.

Q: Give one advice tip to an aspiring author.
A: Do your research. Know who you are publishing with; have your contracts vetted by a literary lawyer; check with authors through that publisher and find out if they are disgruntled or happy; learn how to properly promote your book before it comes out; and talk to existing published authors about what works for them and what doesn’t and TRY THEM ALL!

Q: What genre would you like to try writing that you haven’t yet tried?
A: Horror. I adore horror novels. Buuuut… I’ve tried writing them and they seem just a bit beyond my grasp. For now.

Q: Any part of a book that drives you crazy as you write: beginning, middle, or end?
A: Middle. I’m liking a steamroller at the beginning and the end. Nothing can stop me. Then there is that middle section where I have to figure out how to connect the previous dots with the next dots.

Q: Out of your entire backlist, which book has the best opening line? What's the line?
A: Sister Light, Book One: Of Shadows. The opening line: Beware the child with the pale blue eyes embodies the entire series in 8 simple words.

Fun Stuff:
Q: What is your favorite holiday and why?
A: Halloween. I love to make believe. This holiday allows you to be anything, absolutely anything, you want. If you have the ingenuity to come up with a truly kick ass costume too, then you’re rewarded for it.

Q: What are two things people might be surprised to know about you?
A: I’m scared of the dark. No, seriously, I am. I have to restrain myself from running from the light switch to the bed and jumping in. I also won’t walk around my own house in the dark. I keep a nightlight on all the time.

I really need to wear glasses. Vanity holds me back a bit. It just bothers me that, since I already wear hearing aids, I need to wear glasses for reading. Somehow the combination of the two makes me feel a lot older than my years.

Q: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: A best selling author and a pilot. I had big aspirations.

Q: Favorite food.
A: Sushi. I always want it. I will never turn it down.

Q: Favorite happy memory.
A: Pretty much any time I spent with my sisters growing up. Since they were a decade older than me, they weren’t around much after age 7. They did make it a point to visit as frequently as they could however. They’d breeze into town, wine (so to speak) and dine me, and we’d bond. Most of the time I felt like an only child until they would come and visit. Then I felt like I was more part of a family unit.

Q: Favorite drink.
A: Orange juice. Can’t lay off it.

Q: Hot summer days or chilly winter nights?
A: I’m a summer baby, born and bred. I prefer to be hot to cold. I can say there is something about snuggling with someone under warm blankets on a chilly night, however. But I’d still rather be running around nearly naked and figuring out ways to keep comfortably cool. Probably one of the reasons I moved from the Midwest to the Southwest.

Q: What is the top thing on your bucket list?
A: Other than write a best seller? Hmm… Live in a foreign country. I like to know different points of view, different interests. I enjoy learning about people. I feel that it is difficult to really learn about another culture until you immerse yourself in it.

Q: If you could have a super power, what would it be?
A: Perfect mimicry with the ability to blend and modify. Or to fly. I mean, who doesn’t wish they could fly?

Tell us where to find you: website(s), publisher’s page(s), blog(s), Facebook page(s), etc. List them all!
http://www.bcbrownbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazon.com/author/BCBrown
http://www.facebook.com/BCBrowns.Books
http://www.twitter.com/BCBrownBooks
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4104237.B_C_Brown

BLURB:

Abbey St. Michael, former cop and psychic consultant, is trapped in a tricky situation. When her ex-husband enlists her specialized help in bringing his new fiancee’s killer to justice, Abbey finds herself obligated by guilt to take a case she knows is bad news both professionally and personally. But when her former boss gives her the evidence collected to date, Abbey realizes this case may end up being worse than she thought. With the clock ticking to prove the killer’s guilt, she needs to assuage herself of her ex-husband’s guilt and rectify her professional life with her personal life. But when the murders take a turn, Abbey realizes this case may end up changing her life and her future forever.

EXCERPT:
Lieutenant Jason Davis towered in the center of the red haze, a skeletal giant in tweed. The uniformed officer with the green-tinted face escorted me into the room of the posh home on Lakeshire Boulevard in Savoy, Illinois. Upon my entrance, I was clear on why all the cops were downstairs and why they'd drawn straws to see who would escort me up to the crime scene. My stomach made a violent lurch as my brain realized the bedroom wasn't actually painted and upholstered in the bright red color my vision took in.

It lurched but stayed put.

Cookie for me.

I was working on not vomiting at every damned scene I worked. That was, at least, not before viewing anything psychically. Oh shit, I don't know you yet. I'd almost forgotten. Here's my spiel.

My name is Abigail St. Michael; I'm a tactile clairvoyant, meaning I touch objects and people and see the past. Right at that moment I was standing amidst a horrific scene of blood and gore. A pile of fleshy-looking hamburger that used to be a human being was under a red sheet by my aforementioned friend, Lieutenant Davis, lead homicide detective. My job was to lay my beautiful and gifted black hands on that once pile of humanity and psychically “see” the killer responsible for shredding the poor bastard- 
Or is it bitch if it's a woman?
 -poor soul whose blood, brains, and guts were strung like party streamers gone wrong.

Oh God.

I turned to the uniformed officer who'd drawn the short straw and he promptly handed me a trash can.

Where the hell had he gotten that without me noticing?

Yeah, my name is Abigail St. Michael. I am a tactile clairvoyant, a professional on retainer with the Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy, Illinois, police departments. But right at that particular moment, I was busy vomiting up my Belgian Waffle breakfast violently.

Ah, the glamour of a cop's life.


Anything else you’d like to add?
I love hearing from readers. All authors do. For me, whether it’s good or bad, I want to hear your input. I know my voice and style (which is sometimes crass and vulgar) isn’t going to be for everyone. Regardless of what you have to say… Tell me! Shoot me a note, hit me up on Facebook or Twitter or Goodreads, leave me a review. If I can’t stress anything more, review the authors you read. It helps other readers decide who to and not to read. And, believe it or not, some of us authors learn from your reviews. It’s really a win-win. So review an author today!