Be My Valentine by Jaleta Clegg

Valentine's Day is a special one for me - it's my wedding anniversary. We rarely celebrate on that day, though, because we're mostly cheapskates and hate crowds. Our latest romantic date involved taking the dog to obedience class without our kids. Not what most people would consider romantic, not in the least. And yet, it was.

Romance really bothers me because I can't quantify it or measure it. I'm a science nerd, I want to take things apart and figure out the nuts and bolts. Romance in life and writing doesn't lend itself to logic or scientific inquiry.

What makes something romantic? Is it flowers and music and chocolate and sexy waiters with bedroom eyes serving bubbly drinks with umbrellas? Or does it have more to do with the relationship between the two lovers?

I don't write Romance, I write science fiction adventure with romantic subplots. For me, the romance is not the physical relationship between the characters, but the emotional. Nexus Point contains exactly one very short, chaste kiss. The sequel (which is in negotiation with a publisher, long story) contains a lot more kissing but less romance. The main character, Dace, has no idea what relationships are all about. She's been abused and neglected most of her life. When Tayvis, the hunky lead man in Nexus Point, takes an interest in her, she has no clue how to handle it or even what it means. A major theme of the books is the question, what is love and what does it really mean? For someone who's never experienced it, the question is a tough one to tackle.

Most romance stories deal with the initial falling-in-love stage of a relationship. It's exciting, it's sexy, it doesn't involve the day-to-day drudgery of life together. How sexy is a ratty flannel nightgown when you're seven months pregnant and feeling like something the cat chewed up, barfed out, and left on the front porch for a week? According to my husband, very sexy. That moment is real, and it's one of my precious memories. I was brushing my teeth in my decrepit flannel nightgown, feeling like a beached whale with my pregnant belly (number six, if you want to know), my hair a mess, and feeling like the cat toy, when my husband looked at me with that light in his eyes and said, "Do you know how beautiful you are?"

That, my friends, is real romance.

Giveaway!

Want to experience my kind of romance? I'm giving away one ebook copy of Nexus Point. And since life isn't romantic without chocolate somewhere, I'm giving away a bag of Dove chocolates (US only, please). Email me at jaletaclegg@gmail.com with your idea of a romantic moment and you could win! I'll pick winners randomly on Feb 21.

~Jaleta Clegg writes science fiction adventure with plenty of romance and silly horror stories without romance, although it leaks out sometimes when she's not looking. You can find links to her books and stories at www.jaletac.com


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

Passion: Emotion with High Stakes by Laurie A. Green

Valentine's Day usually brings to mind the softer side of love—fragrant flowers, delectable candy, soft music, a candlelit dinner and the liquid bouquet of a fine wine. Touching, tender moments spent with someone you love.

But love also has a more unruly and tumultuous side.

Passion.

According to Wikipedia, passion is from the Ancient Greek verb πάσχω (paskho) meaning to suffer)…a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something.”What defines passion?

Passion isn’t necessarily confined to the realm of romance. The ancient Greeks saw love and war as virtually the same thing, two pursuits driven by the same emotion. In their mythology, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and Ares, the god of war, were usually paired. Hand-in-hand they were the hallmarks of Passion.

In Science Fiction Romance, love is the tie that binds, but passion can compel a character to do surprising things. To act in a way that defies everything they believe in, to take enormous risks, and put their lives and everything they hold dear on the line. Indeed, passion can “launch a thousand ships.”

In the motion picture Avatar, Jake becomes torn between two worlds when he mentally "drives" an avatar with alien-human DNA and immerses himself in the environment of the sentient moon, Pandora, and its Na'vi people. His tutor and guide, the female alien Neytiri, is at first disgusted by Jake's blundering attempts to learn about her world, which does not compute to the former Marine. In her words, Jake cannot learn because he cannot “see.” Even as he begins to understand and form a deep bond with Neytiri in his Avatar form, his human alter ego is supplying information to a military commander who's twitching for a chance to unleash superior military might on the natives. When Jake is forced to choose between two worlds, it’s passion that drives him to take an insane leap (literally) and win back the respect of Neytiri and her Omaticaya clan, earning a place as their new leader. In doing so, Jake not only puts his life on the line, but his human existence. Love and war again intertwined in a dynamic story of risk and emotion.

Exploring passion in SFR gives readers a stake in the plight of the characters and their futures. Understanding what drives a character to react or rebel brings them to life. What better way to understand their core strengths than by sharing the journey toward overcoming their weaknesses. By mentally joining with them as they gamble their very lives or the existence of everything they believe in.

As a reader, give me a tale that takes a character right over an emotional cliff—and then brings them back again—and you’ll have a fan for life. A story that fails to deliver on passion never lives up to its full potential.

Maybe Joss Whedon, the creator of Firefly, said it best: “Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping…waiting…and though unwanted…unbidden…it will stir…open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us…guides us…passion rules us all, and we obey…Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love…the clarity of hatred…and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion maybe we’d know some kind of peace…but we would be hollow…Empty rooms shuttered and dank. Without passion we’d be truly dead.”

And so would our stories.

Laurie A. Green writes award-winning Science Fiction Romance and blogs at Spacefreighters Lounge. She is best known as the founder of the SFR Brigade community of writers and fans. Always fascinated by stories of romance in the final frontier, she began seriously penning SFRs in 2007. Her first two novels were finalists in the 2011 RWA Golden Heart® Awards and have won numerous writing competitions across the US.

For the Love, Lasers and Light Swords Valentine’s Bash, Laurie is offering a chance to win a full length SFR novel that sizzles—Barbara Elsborg's LUCY IN THE SKY—the story of a heroine from Earth swept away by Three, a lusty alien hunk from the stars. But Three's passion-driven impulse spells doom. If discovered on his mothership, Lucy will be guaranteed a one-way trip into space without a spacesuit. If you are over the age of 18, enter a comment below for a chance to win. Be sure to include a contact email address. (Choice of print or digital copy for addressees inside continental US, digital e-book outside US, or an Amazon e-Gift Certificate).



Be sure to check out previous posts from the Valentine's Day Bash for more chances to WIN!
Arlene Webb
Graylin Fox
Barbara Elsborg

Don't Break My Heart by Barbara Elsborg

How many times have you read – her heart was breaking? Or—He broke her heart. Or she broke his heart. Don’t want to be sexist here. Doctors have identified a condition that mimics a heart attack, most often suffered by post-menopausal women who’ve lost a loved one. But any emotional trauma – grief, anger, anxiety—can trigger a massive surge of adrenaline that overwhelms the heart. It freezes the left ventricle, reducing its ability to contract and pump blood, and causes symptoms similar to an actual heart attack. It’s been called a concussion of the heart and it’s rare. Only 1-2% of people diagnosed with a heart problem have this, but it accounts for 6% of women’s heart attacks. The good news is lasting damage is rare and the heart recovers.

Bit of a morbid topic for Valentine’s Day, but I wanted to write about what a fantastic organ the heart is. It pumps (if you’re lucky) without problem for your entire life. Day after day, week after week, year after year. If only we could invent motors that worked for so long! So far 620 days is the longest anyone has survived with an artificial heart. While I can’t imagine an artificial brain being produced in my lifetime, I do believe that scientists will manage to build a long-lasting heart. Technology advances in leaps and bounds and is catching up with science fiction. Humans will have bodies that are built to last, skin that doesn’t age, muscles that never tire, and a heart that never wears out. When they fathom out a way to control adrenaline surges, then we won’t even have a concussion of the heart, but I suspect writers will still be using the expressions – he broke her heart. She broke his heart.

Don’t do that today. Today make someone’s heart sing by telling them you love them. Then remember to do that the day after and the day after that for as long as your heart keeps beating.

My heroine Lucy – in Lucy in the Sky thinks her heart’s about to stop when she’s whisked into space, but it turns out to be a journey to love. For one randomly picked commentator – I offer an ebook copy of Lucy in the Sky.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

www.barbaraelsborg.blogspot.com

www.barbaraelsborg.com


Be sure to check out previous posts from the Valentine's Day Bash for more chances to WIN!
Arlene Webb
Graylin Fox

Where are their sex parts again? by Graylin Fox

Welcome to my little post on this Valentine's Day.

My question going into any science fiction romance where alien species are involved is simple. Are they *ahem* built like us? I mean does tab P still go into slot V?

I'm currently writing a Science Fiction story called Deadly Beauty and my aliens, the Asrians, are plants that evolved through engineering. I've yet to describe their lovemaking process but it's plant based. So I'm headed back to my old science books on pollen and stuff to see how I can make that sexy. Then again, it's him, her, and the alien equivalent of a bumblebee. Does that count as a threesome? Well, I don't know either.. yet!

But I'm taking suggestions in the comments section. How would lab-created plant-based life forms make love and procreate... go! 

I'm very happy to have joined this little blog here with Jessica and Dawn. It's wonderful to shoot emails back and forth with strange ideas and have them "ooooed" over.. and we do. :)

Remember to read and comment and every post today so you can qualify for the most goodies!!


Graylin

Be sure to check out previous posts from the Valentine's Day Bash for more chances to WIN!
Arlene Webb

Flowers for Valentine's Day by Arlene Webb

“Hi. My name is Flowers Suck (FS). I’m an overworked florist who teleported from the year 2222 to witness the launch of the revamped Backward Momentum blog into a haven for lovers of Science Fiction Romance. I come bearing gifts (a lame basket of flowers) and hoping to crash this party.”

FS drew in a deep breath of dead flower scent. “Red roses, a traditional (boring), and established symbol (archaic) of love (no imagination) has a tried and true pattern of boy/girl meets girl/boy, screws up, re-finds their love and rides either on horseback, driving Volkswagen bug, skipping hand in hand (all too lame to have a spaceship) off into the sunset (clichéd).

“Young Adult by itself is pure and innocent (yep, boring). But add in determined lovers filled with angst, the bittersweet becomes emotional and page turning fun. Paranormal without romance means the green Trix flower (dianthus or carnation family, relatively new to the flower scene and very cool) is just another Dr. Seuss type script of weirdness, but throw in lust and love, the vamp, were, shape shifter is someone who the reader can fall in love with.”

“As to Horror, trust me! clowns are about as frightening as Casper the ghost, while (shudder) Teddy bears can be downright evil. They’ll chop of the head of a hero in a blink of its beady black eye.”

I really hate VD day. FS scowls at the humongous pile of thorns and foliage leaves at her feet. The last thing she wanted to do was blither on about romance when she had eight billion lovely (barf) roses to process, but she’d made a commitment to say something, no matter how trite, in honor of this really (I’m serious) awesome event.

“In conclusion, I know for fact (from the future, remember?) the three SFR writers who’ll run this blog will not only repeatedly make the bestseller list, they’ll also elevate the standards of the romance genre to make science fiction rule !! (throws confetti and bonbons everywhere) over any other.

“Kay, enough blither. Where the hell is the tequila? I’d rather drink the sunrise than shuttle into it. BTW, check it out. Arlene’s gifting a print or e copy of a paranormal romance novel called Ashes, and an e-copy of Splintered Energy, book one in a series of four. Splintered Energy is sci-fi romance. The lucky (ha ha) winner could decide for themselves if science rules over paranormal. Thank you, so much, Dawn, Jessica, and Graylin for hosting me! Bye.” FS races off in search of alcohol.

Welcome to the Bash!

Welcome All to The Love, Lasers and Light Swords, Backward Momentum First Annual Valentine's Day Bash.

I'm one of your hosts, Brodie Mark. If you have any questions, or just want to say hi, you can email me at Brodie Mark of Rebel Souls (at) gmail (dot) com
Please remove the spaces and change the at and dot to the appropriate symbol.

The Rules

I've covered these once, but I'll go over them one more time, just to make sure everyone has had a chance to see them.

Rule One: My house--my rules. No bashing of Science fiction romance, any authors, here or otherwise, or any of my guests. All comments that break this rule will be deleted and the commentor excluded from our drawings. This is for fun, let's keep it that way. You don't want to find yourself on the business end of my laser.

Rule Two: Leave as many comments as you like under the post, but only one comment per post will qualify for the drawings. All comments will be pooled together at the end of the bash, and a Grand prize winner drawn from them.

Rule Three: Scanty clothing--optional. Dancing on the tables--optional. (just don't break anything in my club). Also, please check all lasers and blasters at the door. Can't have any of them going off. Bribery is fine, just realize it won't get you anywhere. Well, maybe not anywhere. Just remember the saying, "be careful what you wish for."

Rule Four: There's another guy running around here somewhere. Cut him some slack. He's had a rough week, lot's of woman trouble.

That about does it. Let's party!

Here's Six for my recently contracted Novella, Courtesan Boot Camp

“Uh hum,” someone cleared their throat, drawing her out of the moment. Startled, Shay looked down at a stocky man at least a foot shorter than herself when she didn’t wear heels. He wore an ambassadorial robe, clashing leather pants, accessorized with a bald pate, ruddy complexion and the worst case of acne she’d ever seen. But worst of all—he doubled her in age. Surely not. “Dayne?”
Be sure to check out the other entries in this week's Six Sentence Sunday.
http://sixsunday.com/

We're having a party and you're invited!

Where? Here
When? Valentine's Day, Tuesday, Feburary 14th.
What time?  All day.
Leave comments under posts for chances to win. One chance per post.

Optimus Prime is my ideal man

No, really.  I was a teenager when the Transformers cartoon showed up. Something about his voice caught me, and still does. He was my hero crush and there he was saving Earth and humanity every weekend. It didn't hurt that it helped my geek cred but I don't think that would have mattered much.

But my imagination is a wonderfully unique place and in my alone moments I could hear his voice. If he could change into a truck in a few seconds, imagine the possibilities in the bedroom. Go ahead, I'll wait.

*whistles*

See! Then movie technology advanced and he got even HOTTER on the big screen. I know I'm not the only woman who gets happy when you hear the Transformer noises. C'mon... I watch the movies every time they come on and I own the DVD's. This is one crush I will never get over... one day Optimus...

Graylin

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."

Science Fiction Romance Couples

Who is your favorite Science Fiction Romantic Couple?


Mine? Princess Leia and Han Solo. I was 11 when this movie released May 25, 1977. While the special effects have been updated for today's technology it is still the amazing journey of Leia, Luke, and Han that makes it memorable. You have to remember the heart throbs of the time were:

Sean Cassidy

David Cassidy












and Leif Garrett.

Hey, I was ELEVEN. Okay. And it was the 70's. Peace, man.








My tween crush on Han Solo (not the actor the actual space rogue) has never gone away. I would still fly across the universe with he and Chewbacca. He started my love/lust for the bad guys in movies and books. 




Who was/is your favorite SFR couple - movies or books - and why?

Graylin

How stories begin

As an author, I find inspiration in so many aspects of everyday life. With my recent release, Never Gonna Let You Go, I was inspired by an assignment I completed in my high school science fiction English class. So, I decided to share this assignment with you. Please keep in mind that I wrote this September 15, 1996. I've learned so much since then.

A Whole New World

Finally, I had reached a new land. After travelling through time and space, it was time for me to explore this new world which lay before me. What I saw amazed me. For as far as my vision could reach, I could see no buildings or signs of inhabitance by human beings. The land I saw was not flat, but full of hills, depressions and mountains covered by vegetation not known to our Earth.

Then I say it. A dark opening in the side of the mountain to my left. It was located thirty meters up and seemed to be high, but narrow. Immediately, I grabbed my mountain gear, and took off to explore. As I was walking through, what were close to bushes, I kept hearing a rustling noise behind me. I looked back , but could not see anything at my level, or on ground level. I took my walkie-talkie from my belt, to tell my group where I was, and where I was going. If something was following me, it would be good if they knew where I was. When I moved, there was rustling behind me. When I stopped, the rustling stopped. After awhile I became so used to the noise, that I didn't notice it anymore.

Finally, I had reached the bottom of the mountain. There was a very rugged path up to the opening of the cave, so I decided to take that. As I was making my way up, a cold chill ran through my spine. I turned around, and saw the most peculiar creature staring back at me. It was no more than a foot tall, and had no hair on its chestnut coloured skin. It's huge eyes showed nothing but curiosity. I did not want to scare this creature away, so I slowly sat down, and waited. It must have been ten minutes before the creature moved, but very cautiously, it started walking towards me. Suddenly it happened, I had made contact.

Phew! Talk about telling and repetition. I could pick out so much more, too. The story has changed so much since this piece, but it's where the story came from.

Never Gonna Let You Go Blurb:

Caught in a tangle of lies, Calla Jacobs must sort through the truth to discover where she truly belongs. A biologist for Planet Core, she finds herself ensnared in a web of deceit. Sent to Airondelle, she must work with a team to prepare the newly discovered planet for colonists from Earth. But the mission does not go as she expected. Her former lover, Erik Edwards, shuns her, sending Calla into the arms of Melina Holloway, their commander, for the attention she craves and more. A confrontation among the trio leaves her with a broken heart, and fleeing from the two people she trusted most.

Attempting to break free from the lies that bind her, she discovers Planet Core has deceived everyone. And when she returns to Earth, Calla learns just how far Planet Core’s control reaches.

Available from Decadent Publishing and other ebook retailers.

Buy Links here: http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?page_id=7889

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/I8hN8O4bVo4

What I've been working on this week.

It's that time again, when I share some short excerpts from my current WIPs. This week it was all about the military. Maybe because my baby enlisted to become a combat medic in the Army this week.

So here we go again.

When my oldest son joined the Marines and contemplated signing up for EOD, it kicked off major research on ordnance specialists, and resulted in my science fiction series, Blown Away.

This time, the story is about a combat medic with the 10th Mountain Division, PTSD and a mysterious cargo in a convoy that could be the start of a pandemic. Here's an excerpt of my project this week:

His unit had been called in to extract survivors of a mangled convey, and ended up needing rescue themselves. Caught off guard in an ambush, they’d been hit hard with anti-armor and IED. They had heavy casualties, and a cargo they were ordered to keep out of enemy hands at all costs.


Everywhere smoke choked the air with the smell of burnt hair, blood and charred flesh, akin to a slaughter house on fire. Men cried out from the dark—for themselves, for their friends—brothers-in-arms.


He couldn’t get to half of them fast enough, and one he’d found in pieces. The sight had churned his guts and he’d ended up leaving the contents of his stomach a few feet away, not his usual reaction, but then again, nothing was usual about what he’d seen.


The soldier clung to his friend’s torso, what little was left of it. He’d begged Justin to save him, all the while continuing to encourage the deceased soldier to keep going, though it was clear his friend hadn’t taken a breath in hours.


Everywhere Justin went there were glassy-eyed stares and mumbles of men, too shocked to speak coherent phrases, injured and completely out of their minds. The kill-site was full of the walking dead—nothing more than zombies.


“Do it.”


“Sir?” Justin said as he pressed the plastic package from the dressing on the sucking chest wound of a radio operator, he’d gotten to just in time. A deflated lung, but if they could load him on a chopper, he’d stand a chance.


“Broken Arrow,” the colonel said softly, so no one could hear the order.


Perhaps he’d heard wrong? Justin looked up from where he bandaged the wound, fighting to seal the hole so the kid’s lung would inflate.


The silver-haired battalion commander, stood in the middle of the disaster, a look of desperation on his face. “You heard me, sergeant,” the colonel said.


Justin blinked. He hadn’t imagined it. “If I take the pressure off this wound, he’ll die, sir.”


“Call in the God-damned air strike.” Colonel Joseph dropped a GPS in Justin’s lap and continued to stare off into the dark, not bothering to look him in the face as he ordered him to commit suicide, and take the unit with him. “When that sun cracks over the horizon, we’re done anyway."


Whatever was in that convoy, the colonel didn’t want the enemy to have it. It had some importance—a Green Beret escort, a battalion sent in to extract, more Taliban than Justin had ever seen in one place. Important enough that a full bird had ordered his own death, and the deaths of everyone in the battalion to ensure the enemy didn’t get their hands on it.


The colonel pulled his side arm and pointed it at Justin’s head. “I gave you an order.”


Justin let go of the dressing picked up the GPS. He gave the commander one last look and called in the coordinates. As soon as he heard “roger,” Justin dropped the radio and reached for the soldier, but it was too late. The radio operator gasped, let out a sound like a nickering horse, and died with blood bubbling from his lips.

From that point forward, everything became a blur. Justin dropped to his ass beside the dead soldier and leaned against the roof of the five ton, turned on its side.


He didn’t know if it had been minutes or hours, but he knew the sounds of F-16’s and A-10s roaring toward them, were answering his call.


“Incoming,” someone screamed. He didn’t want to die, not like this. Justin scrambled to his feet and ran through the wreckage until he reached the end of the destroyed convoy. He dove to his belly in a nearby ditch, covered his head, and replayed his life as the explosions rocked the word around them, knowing they most likely were the last thoughts he’d ever have.

He didn’t have much to look back on. A mother that ran off when he was six. A father in prison for armed robbery, not even a current girlfriend that stuck around while he was deployed.


Debris rained down, everything from rocks, to vehicle parts, and human remains. Something solid connected with the back of his skull, and then chaos fell away.

 “This one’s alive.” Someone pressed fingers against his throat, feeling for a pulse. Justin was lifted onto a stretcher. Pain rode his nerves like they were electrical wires, sending jolts of agony to the tips of his fingers and toes. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Every step the medics took as they hauled him toward reprieve, hurt. Broken bones, burns, he wasn’t sure what was worse--living or dying.  


Let me die. He deserved it. He'd killed them all. 


Whump, whump, whump, the chopper’s blades beat against the air. The pressure seemed to pound down on him as they loaded him on board. He turned his head, opened his eyes and stared out over the battlefield, now a large crater. Below, a graveyard covered the landscape. Soldiers picked through the debris, searching for survivors. It was amazing they’d found any. From the looks of it, the bombs had tried to punch a hole through the planet.

Getting Acquainted

Happy Friday everyone. I'm Graylin Fox and like Jessica Subject I have recently joined this blog. My science fiction book is still one of my Works In Progress but the main character has been yelling at me for days. So it seems it's going to move to the front very soon.

I grew up the daughter of an avid reader. My mother found her greatest joy sitting on the living room couch buried in a book. She taught me to read before I hit nursery school and I can remember pulling a book onto the nap mat with me in Kindergarten.

Writing started out as an escape from a job I *hated* in 1993. Data entry still makes me want to run and hide. So I got a pencil and notepad from the supply closet and while I didn't need my mind to type in numbers for hours it wandered around my imagination and came up with stories. I would take my notepad to lunch and rush to write down everything in my head. It's a strange way to become a poet but it worked for me. I'll never forget writing a horror poem (still not published) that made me skip lunch that day. But I had a stupid silly grin for the rest of the afternoon.

I didn't move onto longer forms of fiction until more recently. My first title, Coming Home, was released by Decadent Publishing on 1/1/11. With another fantasy story released in April 2011, Contagion: A Summer Fae Story. I completed a trifecta with the psychological thriller, Your Biggest Fan, which released in July 2011. I have six or seven other works going right now including the just finished Bloodlines: The Second Summer Fae Story. The current title of my science fiction work is Deadly Beauty and it has made appearances on my blog for Six Sentence Sunday.

I write in my spare time and sometimes that means spending a weekend in the recliner under a laptop. My day job is a psychologist. I have a small solo practice that I love and I get to hear the best stories every day. Some make me laugh and others make me want to weep. I am honored my patients open their hearts up and share their private moments with me.

I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you and can't wait to read the Valentine's Day stuff!

Graylin Fox

You can find me on Twitter or at my Website.

New Writer On The Blog

Hello, everyone! I'm Jessica Subject, and I'm new on the blog, so I thought I'd stop by and introduce myself. But first, I must thank DL Jackson for inviting me to join the blog. Not only is she an awesome author, but a fabulous critique partner, and great friend. Thank you! :)

And hello to Graylin Fox another wonderful author, who also joins the blog! *waves*

So, every Thursday, I will be blogging here, and I'll also be a part of Backward Momentum's First Annual Valentine's Bash. It's the first of hopefully many science fiction romance events we'll be holding on this blog.

About me. Well, I'm a wife, a mother of two, and I also have a part-time job on top of all my writing. I started putting pen to paper when my daughter was in kindergarten. She hated reading, to the point where she would scream and cry when she had reading homework to do. I thought if I wrote her a book about something she liked (superheroes), she might enjoy reading more. Well, that story turned into my Mark of the Stars series (and the superheroes turned into aliens), which she can't read until she's much older. But now she loves reading and reads above her grade level in English, and even reads French.

My first published work is Celestial Seduction, which released in July 2011 as part of Decadent Publishing's 1Night Stand series. I have two other stories as part of this series, Beneath the Starry Sky, and Unknown Futures. The first story in The Underground scifi/dystopian series, Never Gonna Let You Go, releases on January 31, and The Zurian Child, my first novel, and the first book in my Mark of the Stars series releases March 24. I have several other projects on the go right now as well.

Favorites:

Color - green

Food - pasta

Time of Day- in the morning when everyone else is sleeping

Music - pop and dance

TV Show - Castle

Movie - Um, so hard to pick just one, but...Star Trek (2009)

Place to visit - Duchesnay Falls

Superhero - Superman

You can also find me here:

Blog - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Google +

Thanks for stopping by, and we'll see you next Thursday!

All the best!

JES

We're having a party!

Two new co-bloggers are joining me on Backward momentum. Please say hello to science fiction romance authors, Jessica Subject and Graylin Fox.

We've decided to throw a party on Valentine's Day, and invite a few of our science fiction romance friends to help us raise the roof off this place and break it in. Well have fun posts all day, celebrating love and science, some great giveaways, and a few authors you know, and maybe a few new authors you've just got to meet.

So mark your calender, and we'll see you on V-Day.

Say No to SOPA

Yes, artist, musican and author copyrights need to be protected, but not at the price we will have to pay. No controls and way to much wiggle room for big corporations to abuse this law.

As an author, I'm opposed to this bill.
Speak to your congressmen and women, let them know that Big Brother has crossed the line and we will not tolerate cyber-babysitting. Say No to SOPA and make sure those considering passing this law know how you feel.

D L Jackson