The Future

I mentioned in my last post how science fiction romance is a very popular sub genre at the moment. Lucky for me that is where my space opera romances fall and they have been my most popular books so far. And I really enjoy writing them.

I was pretty young when the first Star Wars movies came out but I found a ride to theater numerous times to watch it. It may have been the first movie I saw multiple times in a movie theater. At least it cost much less then. But that was the movie that made me fall in love with the genre. Then came Stargate the movie and then the TV show. Firefly and the movie Serenity. The remake of Star Trek has also created more fans of the genre. Great stories set in a futuristic society with space travel a routine part of life. I hope humans do someday get to travel through the galaxy and discover other societies and lifeforms though I know it won't be in my time. If I make it to heaven, (I'm really trying), I expect to get all the answers there to what lies out there among the stars.

Romance novels are mostly about the characters but successful space operas have to have more than some kisses and sexual tension. As I create the universes my series are set in, I have to decide what will human society be like. Will there still be bars and pubs? I believe so. Will there be military units? What will health care look like and education? Will there be class divisions by economic factors or perhaps birthright? What will government look like and law enforcement? Usually one of those questions will be the basis for the external conflict that brings my characters together.

In my Recon Marines series, the futuristic issue I addressed the creation of genetically-enhanced soldiers and the questions of their humanity. In my Warriors of Gaviron, encounters with alien species drove the conflict and adventure. My newest series, The Galactic Outlaws, focuses on a corrupt central government that keeps the working class under their thumbs and the rebels who rise against it are the heroes. The first book in that series is not yet released.

For each of these series, I create societies different from the others but also with some things in common. I believe colonies in space will rely on renewable energy sources such as solar power. Health care will make major advances but just like on good old planet Earth, resources won't be distributed evenly. Like on Firefly, some settlements will be poor and not have the best doctors or educational opportunities. There will be corrupt politicians, greedy industry owners, common criminals and all the human failings we witness today. In the end, the same societal flaws of today will always be with us because humans are not perfect.

In other news, the second book in my much traveled Futhark Chronicles, Beyond the Gate,  is now available on my publisher's website. My publisher keeps exclusive to there for a few weeks to cut out the middle man like Amazon taking their share. The first book, Keepers of Sulbreth is now on Amazon and other online retailers. Unlike science fiction romance, epic fantasy isn't having a big popularity bump. Despite the success of Game of Thrones, the fantasy market lags far behind many other genres. But I'll keep trying.

What things do you think will remain the same in society centuries into the future? Do you believe humanity will find its way into space beyond our solar system? Do you read or write in a genre that doesn't have a big market share?

New Things

I hope you'll stop over to the IWSG site today. Guest poster Heidi Hormel, multi-published author, is sharing a fill-in-the-blank press release. Every writer should have one ready or at least know what goes in one. Heidi makes it really easy. See her post today.

During last years A to Z Blogging Challenge, one of the blogs I came upon and fell in love with is Alex Hurst, Fantasy Author Living in Kyoto. She shared an amusing post about purple prose words. Read them and see how many you've used and how many you've never heard of.

During my post for IWSG last week, I mentioned the concerns about Kindle Unlimited and thedifficulty of small presses and indie authors competing against the Amazon monster. My publisher threw around some ideas and I know a number of your publishers are trying the same thing. My publisher has released my two recent series in boxed sets.  The Recon Marine series and The Warriors of Gaviron Series. The third Warriors book is part of the boxed set and for now, only on Amazon. The series set has a great ranking even in the paid department so I hope this newest strategy works out for me, my publisher and my readers.

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Sometime before the year is out, I'll let you know how that is working out. I'd love it if some of you could share your experiences in the comments like so many of you did on my post last week.

Last Friday, I taped a short interview and reading with Demi Stevens, organizer of the upcoming York Book Expo that I'm part of. Demi is CEO of Year of the Book Press. She's great at making her guests relax for the recording. I'll share that sometime in the future and you can hear what I have to say about writing and being an author. I hope to rope Demi into a guest post here or on IWSG at some point.

Don't forget if you're awake tomorrow night after midnight, it's that time of year to see the Perseid meteor shower.

Do you need a press kit? Check out Heidi's post. What do you think about buying or selling books in boxed sets? Going out after dark to see the meteor shower?

Series Bible

I write my books in series and I love reading books in series. My fantasy series are one story arc carried out over three or four books. My romance series are each complete stories on their own but occur in the same world and always with connections between characters. For example, in my Recon Marine romance series, all the heroes were connected by being part of the same disbanded regiment of genetically engineered soldiers. My latest series, Warriors of Gaviron, deals with the three warrior survivors of an alien race who come to the rescue of distant Earthling colonies.

One of the ways I keep track of the fantasy and futuristic worlds I create is by starting what I call a bible for each one. I use small writing journals where I write things that are not the plot, but other details of these fictional places and characters. Each main character has their own page where their age, physical traits and a short note about their fears and goals. On the page after theirs are related characters like family or work colleagues, etc.

Other pages will have special vocabulary or descriptions of the magic or science in that series. There will be climate facts and geographical notes and even a map. In my science fiction novels that often take place on other planets, I need to know how long each day is, are there moons and how close the next human colony is.

As those of you who are published know, you might have to write something promotional about a book long after you've moved onto the next book. Looking over the facts in the bible always helps me get back into the heads of my characters. I like to use durable little journals for my bibles. This picture shows just a few of them. I pick them up for one to two dollars at stores like Michael's craft store, BAM clearance table and even Walmart during their back to school sales.

Like most of you who live north of Florida, yesterday was a brutal day temperature wise. Here's a picture of the cozy spot where I prepared this blog post and answered some emails. Only problem was that I had to sit on the floor.

Don't forget to visit Alex J. Cavanaugh and add his upcoming release, Dragon of the Stars, to your Goodreads list and enter a contest to win a copy.

Have you heard the term, 'bible,' used in reference to the writing process for series? How do you keep everything in your fictional world straight? Were you chilly yesterday? Some wisdom for The Old Farmer's Almanac: According to scientists, Wednesday if usually the warmest day of the week. Agree?

The Old and the New

When I'm writing I almost always have a movie or TV show playing, mostly as background noise. I grew up in a large family and have six children myself so quiet is too strange for me. Anyway, yesterday I had Star Trek playing on the DVD. Stargate, the movie or the show, Firefly are also among my favorite noises. Since my WIP is the last book in my Recon Marines science fiction series, the futuristic nature of those flicks hit the right note.

One can't help but think of how fictional a lot of science fiction is or for how long it will be fiction. Smart phones and 4G tablets, genetic engineering ... how long until we have transporters and wormhole travel? If you're old enough to do so, compare the technology of fifteen or twenty years ago to now.

But as I sit here preparing this I'm battling a sore throat. At my right hand is a cup of hot tea with honey and lemon in. The same thing my mother would give me when I was a child and her mother before her. For lunch, I'll probably have some chicken noodle soup, also the traditional remedy for flu-like symptoms.

Fifty years from now, I expect my children will give their grandchildren hot tea or soup when they're sick. The treatment will be just as effective and never go out of fashion. The only difference is they might use a hover cycle or maybe one of those transporters to go get the soup.

Can you think of anything you would have thought of as science fiction years ago that is now available? Do you have family non-medicinal remedies for illnesses? Do you think a genetically-engineered guy like Kahn would develop a god complex or would he be a super efficient, duty-bound soldier like my Recon Marines?

Best Job

If you've been with my blog for any length of time, you know I retired from teaching last fall. I highly recommend retirement. It's the best job I've ever had. I miss my students but not enough to wish I was still teaching.

The other best job I have is writing. I'm busy working on the last book in The Recon Marine

The old and the new side by side in Boston

s Series. I have goals for finishing up though the deadline is of my own making. What's better than being your own boss.

With another storm in the forecast, I very glad I won't have to worry about all those makeup snow days this year. It could mess up with my Valentine Day's plans. My husband and I have a date with my daughter and her roommate in Boston for dinner. Now if only we don't get that foot or more of snow they're predicting and even more for the Boston area. I think there's a glacier forming in my backyard.

And another word of wisdom from my Old Farmer's Almanac Planner. It's appropriate for Valentine's Day if you're wondering if you love someone. From English poet George Meredith, 1828-1909, "Kissing don't last, cookery do."

Don't forget that today is Abraham Lincoln's real birthday. When I was in school, we always had this day off. Now I have it off again.

I won't be posting on Friday as hopefully I'll be traveling. I'll try to visit everyone over the weekend. What are your plans for Valentine's Day? Are you in the path of the next white-out blizzard mega storm? Is your job as wonderful as mine?