Launching Romance into the stars.
Showing posts with label Lasers and Light Swords. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lasers and Light Swords. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Communicating from a Distance

Science and love. I had to really think about how this affects us in our daily lives and how that translates into my science fiction romance and erotic romance.

Last year at this time, my son, a Marine, was deployed to Afghanistan. My daughter-in law had just had a baby a few months before he left. She stayed with us, for company and sanity. Many a night I'd hear her laughing as she Skyped with my son, and it brought me back to a time when I was in her position and my Skype, had been a letter home or phone call. I remember the overwhelming joy of hearing my husband's voice, or reading his words as he told me how much he missed me.

How does science affect our daily lives? Well, as you can see from my example above, It gives deployed soldiers a chance to look into their lover's faces, gaze into their eyes and engage them visually, as well as verbally, even though they're on the other side of the planet. Something I longed for twenty-two years ago.

And how wonderful that is. Our faces truly can convey so much meaning, from longing to love, anger, sadness. Even though I relied on letters and phone calls, truly advanced communication compared to someone one hundred years ago, who had to wait for the ship to come in, and perhaps then they'd hear news of their lover, it's nothing as advanced as what my daughter-in-law used to talk to my son.

It's been twenty-two years since I was the woman, on the other end of the letter of phone, longing for the day I could hold my husband and see his smiling face. I wonder, if we've advanced at the rate we have in that short span to the way it is now, how will lovers, those separated by miles, sometimes light years, communicate with one another in the future?

Will they have a three dimensional holo to dance the night away, sit with at the table while they eat, or play a virtual board game? Will they be able to whisper sweet words in their lover's mind as they sleep? Could they put on a body suit and visor, feel their lover's touch through sensors and holographic images, taking phone sex to a whole different level?

Here are two short excerpts with lovers of the future, communicating:

Rebel Souls: 

As she stared into his eyes and pressed her hand against the screen, she knew without a doubt, this was it. No going back. Her lips opened, but her throat tightened and everything she’d wanted to say, stuck on her tongue and refused to come out.

“Ava.” He raised his palm and placed it over hers. His gaze beseeched her to stop. “Don’t do…”

A punch of a button and she cut the link. No. Come and get me—tell me in person. That wedge of metal had forced a more than a rift between them. No, she couldn’t hear his rejection, his order to go home, nor would she give him the chance to say it. All or nothing. No more denial, no more crying at night and sharing a bed with a man she didn’t love beyond friendship. No more.

Collateral Lives: 

"Knock it off.”

The voice shocked her out of her dirty play, and for a second she stopped. Then she realized why it irritated him. The corner of her mouth curled into a wicked smile.  “Make me.” She went back to work, pleasuring herself.

“I’m in a tactical meeting. I don’t need to come in my pants.”

Trouble threw her head back and laughed. “And that’s incentive to make me stop?” She closed her eyes and stroked herself again. “Suck it up, princess and focus,” she threw his words back at him, knowing they’d get right under his hide.

“Persist and find out what happens.”

“You’re not that bad. I’ll take my chances.” She started to laugh again. Oh, that felt good. The bastard deserved a little of the same shit he dished out. “How does it feel?” She worked her fingers on her g-spot. “You like that?”

Silence filled her thoughts—the first she’d had since she’d woken up on the station. She stopped laughing and opened her eyes. “Avery?” Trouble screwed up her face and looked toward the latrine door and the trail of clothes that led to her... Shit. She scrambled out of the shower, slipped and slammed to the metal decking. “Fuck.” That would leave a bruise. Never mind—it would blend with the others. Trouble rolled to knees and pushed to her feet, her knee now bleeding. She snagged a towel and rushed across the decking for the door, slipped again and landed on her ass. She climbed to her feet a second time and darted for the entrance with a mild limp, hoping she’d reach it before Avery. How far away was his meeting? Certainly he wouldn’t beat her… As she skidded to a stop in front of the door and reached for the lock, the steel panel slid open.

“Crap.”

There he stood in all his glory, his chest rising and falling from hauling ass to her front door. His eyes traveled down her naked body. Trouble lifted the towel in front of her, covering her nudity. Avery reached out, grabbed the tail and yanked, leaving her completely exposed. “Next time you find the balls to challenge me—remember to lock the door. Better yet—remember to keep your door locked. There are a multitude of reasons people are on this level—none of them good.” He dropped her towel and did one more head-to-toe sweep of her body. “I need a drink.”

So, two examples. One with the ability to cut the link, the other without. Both heroines communicate from a distance, sometimes sharing not just words but touch. Thanks for stopping by our bash. Be sure to leave a comment under each of the posts to maximize your chance to win some of the great prizes.

Be sure to check out previous posts from the Valentine's Day Bash for more chances to WIN!
Arlene Webb
Graylin Fox
Barbara Elsborg
Laurie A. Green
Jessica E. Subject
Jaleta Clegg
Heather Massey
Rebecca Royce
Pippa Jay
Heidi Ruby Miller
J.C. Cassels
Sara Brookes
Misa Buckley

My love of sci-fi by Sara Brookes

I have my father to blame for my love of sci-fi. To this day I still vividly remember standing in line at the movie theatre as we waited to see The Empire Strikes Back (sorry, I’m a Star Wars snob – that whole “episode” mess is just…no). I was five. And I thought it was the coolest thing that my dad had taken me to meet Darth Vader.


When I was twelve, it was Star Trek: The Next Generation. I still remember curling up on the floor in front of the television set while he sat in his recliner as we watched the show. Mom would roll her eyes, with the only understanding that her “nerds” were watching their weekly dose of sci-fi.

Well…the love of sci-fi runs deep in my family—I’ve evidently passed along to the love without really even trying. When the new Star Trek movie was released, it was one of the most awesome experiences for me to sit in the IMAX theatre with my dad on one side of me and my then 12 year old daughter on the other side of me. She was jumping around and talking about the movie as soon as we left the theatre and it was like I’d jumped in a time machine (DeLoren, if you please) and saw myself.

So, share your love of sci-fi, in whatever form it may come.

~*~

Sara Brookes is an award-winning author who has always been fascinated by the strange, the unusual, the twisted and the lost (tortured heroes are her personal favorite). She is an action movie junkie, addicted to coffee and has been known to stay up until the wee hours of the morning playing RPG video games. Despite all this, she is a romantic at heart and is always a sucker for an excellent love story. Born and bred in Virginia, Sara still lives there with her husband and daughter. The entire family is owned by two cats, Galahad and Loki, who graciously allow the family to cater to their every desire.

Giveaway!
Sara is offering an ebook copy of one of the books in her Sypricon Masters series (winner's choice). Leave a comment for your chance to WIN!


Be sure to check out previous posts from the Valentine's Day Bash for more chances to WIN!
Arlene Webb
Graylin Fox
Barbara Elsborg
Laurie A. Green
Jessica E. Subject
Jaleta Clegg
Heather Massey
Rebecca Royce
Pippa Jay
Heidi Ruby Miller
J.C. Cassels

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Meet Brodie Mark and get some deets on the LLL Bash

Good Morning, before I go too far and turn the blog over to Brodie, I’d like to introduce him. Brodie Mark is my antagonist in Rebel Souls, my upcoming science fiction romance release with Decadent Publishing. He will be one of the hosts for the LLL Bash this Valentine’s Day and will keep you all posted with any updates. If you have any questions, please feel free to address him directly. He prefers it that way. Okay, without further delay, I turn you over to Brodie Mark.


“Good Morning, off-worlders. My name is Brodie Mark, leader of the Nexian Underground, club owner, and one of the hosts for Backward Momentum’s, Love, Lasers and Light Swords Valentine’s Day Bash.”

*Grabs a chair, straddles it, resting arms on the back.*

“Before we get started, I want to tell you a little about the party, who’s coming,” *grins,* “who’s attending,” *chuckles,* “and who has no business being in my club.” *Pulls laser and sets it on the table.*

“First off,” *strokes laser,* “I won’t tolerate rudeness in my club. If you don’t have anything nice to say—get out, before I escort you out from the business end of my laser. Sorry, I won’t apologize. My club—my rules. Any posts that bash authors, science fiction romance, or any of my patrons, will be promptly deleted, and your entries into the contests, null and void. We speaking the same language?” *Looks around.* “Good. Everyone is here to have fun. Let’s keep it that way. *Spots Jessica.* Speaking of which… Hey, sweetheart. What’s a nice writer like you doing with a group like this? Come over here.” *Kicks chair out and nods.* “Take a seat and hand me that guest list, will you.”

*Inserts chip Jessica hands him in a holo-cube and hits the button.* “We may have some late bloggers who haven’t sent back their RSVP. I’ll keep you posted. For now, this is the lineup. Entering the give-aways will be easy. All you have to do is leave a comment under the post. Yes, bloggers may participate—you’re guests too. You can comment as much as you like, but it will still count as one entry per post. The more posts you comment on, the better your chances of winning. The bash runs until midnight, when the pumpkin turns into a rocket ship, and I collect entries and draw winners.”

Here’s the list of bloggers and prizes:

Rebecca Royce $10 Amazon gift certificate

Barbara Elsborg ebook: Choice of Rocked or Lucy in the Sky

Pippa Jay $10 Amazon or $15 Lyrical Press gift certificate

Jaleta Clegg ebook: Nexus Point + Dove chocolates (US only)

Heather Massey ebook: Queenie’s Brigade

JC Cassels $15 Amazon gift certificate

Diane Dooley ebook: Blue Galaxy + Audible.com gift certificate

Heidi Ruby Miller ebooks: Ambasadora, Greenshift + bundle with both

Laurie A. Green Lucy in the Sky

Jessica E. Subject ebook: Winner’s choice of my 1NS stories + $10 ARE gift certificate

Arlene Webb Undecided.

D L Jackson:  Signed copy of Blown Away, or ebook. Winners choice. (Host will also be kicking in a $25.00 gift certificate to Amazon, a box of Ye Goode Shoppe Chocolates from a local chocolatier for a grand prize drawing.)

Graylin Fox: $15 Amazon gift certificate.

“Now, as a surprise to the bloggers, I have three prizes from http://www.thinkgeek.com/ to give to the authors of the top three posts.” Looks around and smiles. “So, to keep it fair, because I don’t like popularity contests, I have impartial judges lurking around on the blog that will let me know at the end of our bash, who they’ve judged to have the best posts. I won’t say who they are, so you can slip them some credit, or get your friends to hold them hostage. I don’t work that way, but you’re welcome to try to get it out of me. Bribery is never turned down—even if it won’t get you anywhere—well, almost no where.” *Raises hands.* “I’m a guy; it’s the nature of the proverbial beast.”

*Rises from seat*

“Okay, mark your flight logs for Valentine’s Day, February 14th, all day. You don’t want to miss this.” *Leans closer and nods toward sign.* “Hey, do me a favor and snag that badge. Link it to the party at http://backwardmomentum.blogspot.com.” *Turns and walks toward door, holstering laser.*
"See you around."