GUEST BLOG - THE $64,000 QUESTION: WHY IS SCI-FI SEXY?

The $64,000 Question: Why Is Sci-Fi Sexy?

 by Patricia A Knight

    

In the time-honored tradition of storytelling, I will try to illustrate with words why Sci-Fi is sexy. Here are a couple of paragraphs that came hot off the keyboard. 

Clear your mind. Settle into your chair and relax. Now imagine this:

       I, Darla Marie Dexter, object of alien fixation and thus representative for the entire human race, sat alone in my neighborhood Chicago bar – the one with the too-loud music and the tacky plastic tablecloths that my ex used to disparage. But I was waiting for a male from the planet Vortus. What would he know from plastic tablecloths?
       It was late, but the joint was packed. A good local band had played tonight. I chatted with Max, the bartender, and sipped my girly mixer with the pineapple on a stick and a cheesy little umbrella. I was always too embarrassed to order one in front of my sophisticated former boyfriend but I was a sucker for anything coconut.
       Max’s head lifted and his eyes shot to the door to draw my attention to the new arrival. I would have known, regardless. I felt it when he walked in. Because of my seniority with the Office of Extra-terrestrial Assistance,  I’d been assigned as personal, cultural liaison to the Vortian. You know, prevent any social faux pas, educate the alien on how earthlings behave, that sorta stuff. I just didn’t realize how intimately he wanted to liaise. I hoisted my cocktail and tried not to stab my eye out with the umbrella as I gulped the entire contents.
       “It’s the Vortian, Darla. Back to work.”
       “Yeah, Max. I know.”
       I ran shaky fingers through my page-boy hair cut. First putting my brunette locks behind my ears, then pulling the hair back to cover the blush that heated my cheeks.
       I did know. I could feel the Vortian’s arousal. I could feel the blood pounding into his groin. I could feel the expansion of his male, ah, parts . . . yeah, you heard right, parts. See, that was the thing. I didn't imagine I felt it. I really felt it. That mind telepathy stuff made the male delegates from Vortus a real hit with us earth ladies. Well, that and the extras that wrapped around and tickled your, ahem, while they, ah, stroked inside with the other, ah, thing. I picked up my bar coaster and started to fan my face.
       And then I was looking at me through his eyes. I could see my slender body perched on the barstool, my miniskirt barely decent, my four-inch stilettos caught on the wrung of the stool. I inhabited his body – a body that was, whoa, gorgeous, and equipped with that little something, ah, extra. And all the time there were these erotic images of what he wanted to do to me rolling through my mind like classy porn – memories of what I had looked like coming apart underneath him the last time he’d done me. Holy multiple orgasms! Take me to your leader.
       I shoved the empty fruit-drink toward Max.
       “Maxie, I need some ice water, fast.”
       The closer he came, the hotter I got. The bar stool I was sitting on was getting a little slippery from all the extra moisture down there, if you know what I mean. I knew, without even turning around, when he reached out to touch me. I could see it through his eyes.
       “Darla.” The deep whisky velvet of his voice added to the sensory overload and I turned with a brilliant smile.
       “Ulrik.”
       “Are you ready?”
       “Absolutely.” Oh, lordy, the things a woman will do to save Earth.

~ ~ ~

       There! Now, dear reader, you are going off to have sex with a telepathic alien with vibrating parts. Can you get THAT on earth? ( If you can, will you please give me his number? )

"Verdantia draws strength from the duo, but the sentient planet whispers to Ari that a third is necessary – Ari’s aide de camp, Visconte Doral deLorion, an angelically handsome, skilled assassin who silently surrendered his heart to Ari long ago."

Author: Patricia A. Knight
Pages: 349 pages
Publisher: Troll River Publication on June 2013
Form: E-book (from tour for an honest review)
Genre: Erotic Romance, Sci-fi/futuristic
Series: Verdantia #1
Amazon: Buy / $3.99 (Kindle) ( EU price, click to see yours )
Kobo: Buy / $2.00 (E-book)

"Conte Camliel Aristos deTano, Ari, has long spurned the marriage forced upon him. Princess Fleur Constante, his contractual bride and the beautiful future queen, though young and inexperienced, is willing to risk everything – including her own sanity – to save her planet.

The inhabitants of the sentient planet, Verdantia, are poised on the precipice of extinction following a brutal invasion by an off-world, nomadic horde. Verdantia’s capital, Sylvan Mintoth, must have its failing energy shield restored, or the planet is doomed. The Elders know the shield can draw energy from only one thing—a very arduous and grueling coupling of two specific people pre-chosen by the planet, Herself,  and promised by prearranged marriage contract.

Verdantia draws strength from the duo, but the sentient planet whispers to Ari that a third is necessary – Ari’s aide de camp, Visconte Doral deLorion, an angelically handsome, skilled assassin who silently surrendered his heart to Ari long ago.

The trio struggles to make this surprising partnership harmonious, pushing through pride, scars of past abuse, fears of inexperience and distrust. To save Verdantia, they must overcome their individual weaknesses and realize their full potential. Only the tetriarch and their combined synergy, can harness Verdantia’s immense power to shield its citizens from invasion."  ~ From Goodreads

The blurb pretty much says it all. But instead of sci-fi and futuristic that it promises this is pretty much fantasy for me, how you ask? It's the language they use, the hierarchy they have, the horse transportation, the archaic society, it was so fantasy, you just missed the elves. So you can imagine me expecting one thing and getting another took some adjusting. And we all know by now that I have issues with books promising one thing and delivering another. It's a pet peeve.

The sex was a little weird. There I said it. They used sex to be this higher connection to a sentience of the planet to protect them against an evil space race. Nothing wrong with that, it's not far fetch for me as my brand of spirituality includes tantric sex. But boy is it odd in this. There is a lot of shouting stop and crying and all kinds of weirdness that just wasn't sexy to me. At least she got tied up, that was interesting. ;)

The romance between Ari, Fleur and Doral was like mentioned in the blurb tough and Fleur's sheltered character didn't help matters, luckily as the book went on we begun to see courage and strength in her as well.

I got to say I acknowledged the excellent writing by Ms. Particia A. Knight, she's got the storytelling and world building done to a t, and that takes great effort and courage and she sure made it happen. She's also got a nag of making supporting cast credible and real, props for that! :)

I know I'm bit on my own in this review, as there are tons of 4 and 5 stars ratings for this at Goodreads, but all I can say is I expected sci-fi, and when I get something else I don't take it well. I imagine if I had expected fantasy I would have a whole lot of different stuff to say. Just my two cents.

Rating :

MY FINNCON 2013 EXPERIENCE (WITH PHOTOS)

Those who know me know I'm a Sci-fi and Fantasy nerd - those who don't, I'm a Sci-fi and Fantasy nerd. ;) 

I spent two days last weekend in Finncon which is Europe's biggest Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention! It was the first time I've gone to one of these, as I didn't know they had 'em, my sisters clued me in and we spend the fun weekend going to the Panels and Lectures, and checking out the cool Cosplays ( costumes of characters ) - and I'm telling this story now with photos. ;)

 Arriving to Finncon - Ghostbusters

Peace with Velocity raptor ;) Got some gear. 

Panel on "The Four Adaptations of the Consulting Detective". 

What could this blue box be? 

We found Balin! 

And Thorin!

 "Queer, Queerer, X-Men" a Lecture about the gay allegories in X-Men series, so so funny and so witty!

 Yes, The blue box as TARDIS! I took so many pics it's embarrasing. ;)

Fans enjoying The X-Men lecture. 

I just wanted to follow these guys everywhere! Who you gonna call? 

 Ghostbusters! Oh, and Uhura.

Raptor and trainer kept everyone happy outside. 

So what was the whole X-Men Trilogy about? Shirtless Hugh Jackman. ;) 

The Doctor Who Meet! Can you spot me? 

More awwww dino! 

Sherlock Holmes panelists - got a lot of love. 

The Bimbo Panel, showed clips, vids and talked smack about popular culture and sci-fi! Great fun! 

My sis and I before the Tardis, before I found my Dalek shirt. ;) 

 It's gonna eat me! Run!

Game: Team Fortress, cosplay! 

Harlequin!

 Iron Man, Dwarfs and Ghostbusters!

The "Mothers, Whores and Virgins, the Female Archetypes in Movies" panel is about to start soon!

Medusa? 

My other sis and me by Tardis, I told you there were tons of shots. ;) 

 Collection 1

 Collection 2

 Arpine Lusene the gentlemen thief and the Universal Solvent, Don Rosa ya'll. ;)

Lots cool links too.

Fun in the Tardis. ;) I told you there were tons of shots... did you think I was kidding? ;) 

The "Book Critics vs. Book Bloggers" Panel, oh so interesting! From bloggers being biased to Critics being snobs, it was fun and entertaining but not all fluff at all. best panel in this years Finncon!

Oh crap! The Predator found the Tardis! 

( not my pic )

Iron Man passed out in the Tardis, I guess it took a lot to fight off the Predator. ;)

( not my pic )

The best picture of the whole weekend by Mikko Löppönen!

I had an absolute blast and have every intention to go back next year even though it's held couple hundred kilometers away in Jyväskylä... my sisters and I just have to make a weekend road trip about it. I'm gonna keep this entry short as I've slept way less than normal this past weekend, *yawn* see you all tomorrow!

Oh, have you or do you actively go to Conventions like these? Do you like to Cosplay? It be cool to see if you guys are into this as well?

BARCODE: LEGEND OF APOLLO / AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Niina : Welcome to For The Love of Reading, Kashif Ross, I’m glad you could make it!

Kashif Ross : The pleasure is mine.

Niina : Let’s get started! Can you tell my readers here 4 fun unknown facts about you so we can break the ice?

Kashif : 1) When I was in undergrad, I used to carry a red bear on my backpack from Victoria Secret. Written across its belly were the words, "Sexy little bear." I thought it was fitting because I was short and I think I'm pretty damn attractive.

2) Just last year, I was training to be an animator with professionals from Dreamworks. I couldn't afford to continue doing it, but it was fun and taught me a lot about bringing characters to life.

3) I'm a damn fast writer. I've written a 75k novel in a week. I've also written three 100k+ books. Each took me three weeks to complete.

4) I often refer to myself as a ninja in my day-to-day conversations. For example, "How'd you get here so fast." My response, "I'm a ninja." It adds some spice to my life.

Niina : A VS teddy, huh? ;) Tell us a little about your book “Barcode: Legend of Apollo”, in five sentence or less?

Kashif : The story was written to appeal to people sick and tired of the standard hero's journey where good triumphs over evil and a vampire/wizard boy saves the day. Do not read this if you're looking for a happy ending because it's for readers that want something different. Barcode is based on humans that can harness the powers of gods. It's about a boy that wants nothing to do with his destiny, but he can't run from it, no matter how much he tries.

Niina : What chapter did you most enjoyed writing and why?

Kashif : There's a chapter where one of the villains gets his butt handed to him by a guardian of the arena. However, I'm not happy he gets smacked around, I enjoyed writing the tension and the shock on the audience's faces when they watch him stand up to their hero.

Niina : Which way are you going with series?

Kashif : Down a dark and twisted path. The more you read the story, the more deaths will appear. Though it's a fantasy, I'm trying to keep things "realistic" in a sense. I don't want all the heroes to make it out safely just because they can. I want to create a level a tension where readers can't predict what will happen next. Some characters may even come back to life.

Niina : Dark and twisted is good! What character did you most enjoyed writing and why?

Kashif : It's a close call between Kode and Michelle. Though I loved creating a strong female character, I really had a thrill making Kode full of mystery and murderous intent. I purposely made it difficult for readers to get a grip on him. I even made things more twisted in the end, but that's where I had the most fun.

Niina : I absolutely loved Michelle myself. :) What sparks your inspiration?

Kashif : Music! I play certain songs in order to draw out specific emotions in the readers. For this story, I played a lot of Paramore: "Ignorance" and "Monster." For the intimate and emotional scenes, I used Trey Songz, "Me 4 U." For the second book, I used "Monster," but it was by Jay-Z and Kanye West. I also used Paramore's "Misery Business."

Niina : Kanye West has some awesome music, very author friendly. ;) How did you find your cover and if you didn't take part in the search, what is your opinion of it?

Kashif : I asked a college friend to design the cover for me, Stephanie Yang aka Sheep. She partnered up with Glynnis Koike. I sent them ideas of what I wanted from other anime shows or album covers and they did the rest. It requires a lot of teamwork to get the cover done. They ask a lot of questions and turn my words into ideas. It's fun and challenging, but in the end they created some delicious nom-nom!

Niina : The cover really got me, I was wondering who's the alien, until I started reading and went, 'wait not an alien!' Err... so, what’s the best and worst advice for writers you have received?

Kashif : I can't really narrow anything down. Everyone has advice, but I take it with a grain of salt. Really it's all about what you do with the information you receive that's important.

Niina : Can you tell us five fun/quirky things about the hero that we didn't learn from the book?

Kashif : These contain minor spoilers - 1) Spencer is intentionally a jerk. I made him that way because I wanted his character growth to be awesome. That leads me to,

2) Spencer's character was built around Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter. I wondered how much more interesting HP would've been if the story began with the prick that no one liked.

3) Spencer is actually slowly becoming evil like Anikin Skywalker did in Star Wars. He's not meant to be a good guy. Some readers wonder why they still don't like him in the end, though he did so many great things. It's because there's evil in his heart.

4) Spencer was one of the last characters added to the story. It was originally written without him in mind.

5) He's a breast man.

Niina : I liked Spencer being such a jerk, it added depth to the story and it was bit odd. ;) Now to more personal questions! Would you rather meet real vampires or werewolves? (not the Disney versions)

Kashif : Grr...neither. After Twilight, I'd like to stab one in the heart with a stake and shoot the other with a silver bullet. That's a friendly warning to any sparkly eyed fantasy pretty boys that try stepping in my neighborhood.

Niina : LOL! What is your signature dish?

Kashif : I make a mean plate of Italian sausage spaghetti, but that's not for everyone, so I have to give it to my fajita grilled chicken burrito.

Niina : What is your favorite guilty treat/pleasure?

Kashif : Women with nice butts...that's probably not what you meant, huh?

Niina : LOL! I'll accept it. Not even the raciest answer I've gotten! (the raciest rhymes it bildos) What’s on your night stand?

Kashif : A teddy, ink cartridges, and change.

Niina : Before we finish, here are some Quick Fire Questions:

Night or day?  Day
Pick-up or Mini-van? Pick-up...rawr
Boots or Heels?  Heels if she has sexy feet.
Beer or Wine? Meh...non drinker here.
Cocktails or Shots? You alcoholics always want to know about drinks.
M&Ms: With or Without Peanuts?  With! Are you crazy? Who buys the one without? You have no soul.
Treats: Sweet or Salty? Sweet. Salty makes me feel...dirty.
Date: Going to Park or Going to Movies? *Gasp* Can't choose. *Hides in corner and hugs knees* Can't choose!
Winter or Summer? Summer.
Women:  Talkative or wallflowers? Wallflowers...dammit I hate when people don't know when to hush. Plus, mysterious floats my damn boat!
Women:  Curvy or Slim? Curvy. Sorry for those of you without a figure. Somebody loves you.
Tattoos or Piercings on a woman? I love art so I'll go with tats. Plus, Barcode is all about intricate tattoos.
Brunettes or Blonds? Is this really a questions? Brunettes. Dark and mysterious always wins with me.
Cops or Cowboys? Native Americans.
Time-Travel or Sci-fi? Aren't they the same?
Romance or Erotic Romance? Erotic. How can life really happen without something kinky going on in your pants?
Male POV or Female POV (Point Of View)? Male. I love strong female POV, but most stories are written with weak women that I'd be tempted to slap in real life. Just saying.
Times New Roman or Courier? TNR

Niina : Thanks for visiting the For The Love of Reading, Kashif! Any news would you like to share with your readers, or websites they can check out?

Kashif : Of course. What author wouldn't tell more of what's to come? I'm currently finishing Barcode: Cavern of Youth. I expect it to release on June 2nd. If you want to read updates, head over to kashifross.com. Thank you very much for this opportunity. I love this website.

Niina : Thanks! Glad you came by!

Review of Barcode coming up soon! 

Unfortunately this blogger is feeling quite under the weather and hadn't pre-written this review so hang in there it's coming up as soon as I feel good enough to write.

REVIEW - A HINT OF FROST

"Lourdes has to change the binding agreement promising Rhys her hand in a true marriage with the price of saving her sister. But Rhys has secrets, and his interests in marrying her seems much more than just political scheming, but can she trust him, after all she seems to have nothing in common with the flesh eating, poisonous, scheming Mimetidae Clan of skilled mercenaries."

Author: Hailey Edwards
Published: Samhain Publishing on April 17th 2012
Pages: 122 Pages
Form: E-book (from the author for an honest review)
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Araneae Nation #1
Amazon: Buy / $7.63 (Kindle) Pre-Order ( EU price, click to see US price )
Barnes & Noble: Buy / $4.56 (Nook) Pre-Order
Samhain : Buy / $3.85 (Ebook) Pre-Order
Excerpt: Chapter 1

Lourdes has agreed to bind herself to Rhys, a political "marriage" of sorts to the questionable Mimetidae, to keep her Clan of silk weaving Araneidae safe and to revenge her parent’s murder which has made her the leader of her people.

But when her sister is kidnapped by their old guards, turned her parents' murderers Lourdes has to change the binding agreement promising Rhys her hand in a true marriage with the price of saving her sister.

But Rhys has secrets, and his interests in marrying her seems much more than just political scheming, but can she trust him, after all she seems to have nothing in common with the son of flesh eating, poisonous, scheming Mimetidae Maiven and her Clan of skilled mercenaries.

A Hint of Frost was one excellent fantasy novel, with romance to spice it up. From bear riders to spider like clans of people it was unique read, even to a mild case of arachnophobia like me. I loved the Araneidae people, the artisans of the nation, them spinning silk stronger than any metal to armor and to soft to touch fabric. I loved how much fantasy this novel had and how well it was used to tell an interesting story that is begging for a book two!

The plot was interesting, Theridiidae Clan went back on their word killing Lourdes’s parents making her the youngest Maiven of the Araneidae Clan, which forces her to make a deal with the Mimetidae Maiven ( equivalent of a Queen ) to marry one of her sons for the protection of her Clan against the Theridiidae. Lourdes expects one of the poisonous cannibalistic brute warriors and is shocked to find herself with a man with kindness and understanding. But that’s not all, her sister has been kidnapped, and on her search for her they come across a deadly gruesome plague that turns animals and people to something unnatural and bleeds them yellow.

The romance in A Hint of Frost was suggestive and mostly sweet, protected Lourdes had no clue how things were to go, and having Rhys tempt her and protect her gave a interesting feel to their romance. I probably would have loved more romance in the book, I felt it was perhaps left too much in the end. The book almost had a slightly christian feel to it with the innocence and the waiting, but when things got hot there wasn’t much christian about it.

I enjoyed the contrasting religions of healing and science, I liked seeing it explored in the book. I think this book introduced the characters well for the future books, left a lot of interesting openings for future relationships and political intrigue. Great fantasy, lovely romance and interesting twist on the mesh of spiders and people and their culture.

Rating :