Creating Worlds I'd Want To Stay In #amwriting #scifirom

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and supernatural stories with a romantic soul. A lot of the settings in my books are literally out of this world (though not all). Part of the appeal of writing is creating worlds I 'd actually want to visit, though many are based on locations in my real life. For example, the tropical islands of Metraxi in my scifi romance series Redemption are based on sunny days spent on the local beaches. In fact, I even ran a digital holiday tour of the planet!

Blue Moon Holiday Tours
Find your dream destination among the stars!

Hello, my name is Melanda Troi, and I'd like to introduce you to the latest and hottest destination in our brochure - the tropical idyll of Kasha-Asor on the planet Metraxi. 

Why should you visit? Well, have I mentioned the temperate climate, with 95% guaranteed sunshine during the extended summer? How about the fact that 70% of their land mass is small to medium sized islands, guaranteeing fairly secluded beaches of distinctive pale pink sand?

Or if you prefer moonlight walks by the sea, Metraxi has a single and rather attractive lunar satellite. Their moon also accounts for their gentle tides *hides winter weather statistics*

I suppose some might find the appearance of the native population somewhat...unsettling, but I can personally assure you of their friendliness!

Species: saurian
Planet of origin: Metraxi
Threat rating on the GC scale: moderate

However, visitors should be aware to read thoroughly all pre-arrival information regarding the planet before arrival to avoid any holiday spoilers such as an upset stomach.

Also exercise caution with certain marine species when diving/exploring the vast coral reefs.

Name: Sabre eel
Threat level: high (aggressive and territorial, soporific bite)

So Metraxi has lots to offer. Strings of tropical isles to pick and choose from, warm, safe seas *hides reports of gigantic sea monsters*, pink sand, a pretty moon, friendly natives, and an extensive range of delicious seafood. Why don't you come visit?

Of course, I suppose an endless seaside holiday could get boring after a while, so I make sure to keep my characters on their toes by adventures elsewhere. :P

Part of the first book is also set on a medieval level world based on my love of the period, although I'm not so sure I'd want to stay there for long. Not with the lack of civilised comforts a 21st century human like myself is used to! No proper sanitation, no real medicine, no social media...wait, that last bit is starting to sound attractive...

The other benefit to writing far future stories is all the amazing technology they have. Rooms, even cities that clean themselves and change colour or furniture on request, environmental control, free transport, miraculous healthcare, space travel, equality...who wouldn't want to visit there, or better still live there?! Of course, they aren't all perfect utopias (where would be the fun in writing or reading that?!) but a lot of things that I hope for humanity are there. If only we could stop being so self destructive...

The reactions of my Travellers when arriving on new worlds are based on the culture shock I experienced visiting Taiwan in 2000. But some of my books feature real life places I'd like to go to. My YA zombie novella Restless In Peaceville is set in Louisiana, with much thanks to my friends who live there and were able to correct any of my cultural or geographical errors, and to direct me to the best places to research it. Google Maps also came in handy, allowing me to virtually walk round the town that I based my own fictional one on. I even have an urban fantasy tucked away on my hard drive set in my historical hometown of Colchester, though I don't know if I'll ever finish it.

But in real life, there are other places I'd love to visit. New Zealand and Finland are both high on my list. I'd like to go back to Sweden sometime, and take my kids for their first visit. I have a hankering to visit Fuerteventura, a place hubs and I tried to go before having children, but time and money constraints meant we ended up on Gran Canaria instead - still a beautiful place and we got to see Atlantic dolphins and pilot whales in the wild, but not the original plan. So in the meantime, I have to settle for visiting the ones in my head and making them as exciting and interesting for me to create as it hopefully is for my readers to visit.