An Abundance of Aliens

Unexpected

A Scifi Romance Novella

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So Unexpected has lived up to its name yet again. Much to my amazement, it won a SFR Galaxy Award last week (my fourth now since the awards began), for one of the best and most interesting aliens. Of course I love my two MCs, but it's always great to learn someone else did too, and enough that they chose it as one of their standout SFR titles of the year. It's restored my faith that maybe my particular brand of SFR has an audience, albeit a small one. You can see judge Jo Jones' other selections HERE, and check out the rest of the winners and info on the awards themselves HERE.

A Chemical #Romance #science

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of sci-fi and supernatural stories to engage your emotions. I'm also a science technician, once an industrial chemist. So for my February post on the subject of love, perhaps it's not surprising if I take a purely technical view on the whole idea of romance...

love noun

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\ ˈləv  \

Definition of love

 (Entry 1 of 2)

(1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties

(2): attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers

(3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests

Love is one of the most common themes in creative arts. It’s considered part of the survival instinct, a drive that helps keep human beings together to ensure the continuation of the species. Perhaps that’s why it’s such a common theme, particularly in science fiction, where threats to the species can be so much bigger and catastrophic on a galactic, or even universal scale.

But how would that work for a relationship between two different species, as can happen in a science fiction romance? Would a species that might be physically compatible respond in the same way to the pheromones released by a human? What if they had the opposite effect? And if love in a human is the drive to mate and perpetuate the species, how does that work with a biologically incompatible partner? Will we ever find out for real!?

Most of us are aware that love is supposedly the result of a cocktail of different chemicals surging round our bodies. That initial dizziness we feel, the racing heart, the sweaty palms and hot flushes are all down to the release of dopamine, norepinephrine and phenylethylamine. The feeling of bliss comes from the “pleasure drug” dopamine. The racing heart and excitement are due to the adrenaline-like norepinephrine. Together they produce elation, intense energy, sleeplessness, loss of appetite: all the classic symptoms of being in love. When a couple has sex, oxytocin is released during orgasm and creates an emotional bond. The more sex, the greater the bond.

Most of my involved couples have been human (or relatively so!). But romance in science fiction where one or both of the characters isn’t human is part of what gives sfr a greater scope to explore. To pursue a whole range of ‘what ifs’ beyond the simple ‘will they/won’t they?’ get together. That’s what I love about science fiction romance, where a happily ever after may not just depend on that first kiss. For example, in one of my not quite human pairings, the non-human species relies on a chemical signature that tells them 'this is your one true mate', and once found, there's no future happiness with anyone else. A huge pressure on their human soulmate, who may not feel quite the same!

Imprint, featured in the free anthology Tales from the SFR Brigade

And a couple of years ago I finally published a romance with a completely alien character, which presented some interesting challenges. How does a completely different type of corporeal entity even interact with a human, let alone find love?

And I still have one more story in progress where love must try to cross the divide between species. As if finding love isn't hard enough sometimes...

(Adapted from an original post on Backward Momentum, February 14 2012)

GHOSTS? SASQUATCHES? ALIENS? by Sarah Raplee

Hi, I'm Sarah Raplee, author of Paranormal and Steampunk Romance.

For years my husband jokingly claimed there were only three items on his Bucket List. “Before I die, I want to:

1. see a ghost
2. encounter a Sasquatch, and 
3. be abducted by aliens.”

A great Bucket List for me, an author or Paranormal Romance! Right?

Frenchglen Hotel

Believe it or not, we stayed at Oregon’s reportedly-haunted Hotel at Frenchglen, Oregon couple of years ago, and he got to cross “see a ghost” off his list. The experience was not what he’d expected. He thought he’d be cool and nonchalant if he ever saw a ghost, but he was scared to death – even though he told me it was the ghost of a little old lady speaking a foreign language and smiling as she patted the bed. (I didn’t see her, but I heard her walking back and forth around the bed. Gotta admit, that was creepy!)

I suggested he may want to re-evaluate items two and three in light of this experience. After all, we live in one of the counties with the most reported Sasquatch sightings in the United States. “Watch what you wish for!” I say.

Sasquatch?

I’m adventurous, but of a more practical nature. I love trying new things or exploring new areas. I’m not claustrophobic or afraid of heights or a particular animal (although I have a healthy respect for Things That Can Hurt/Kill Me), and this propensity to seek out new experiences with an open mind has made life interesting.

“You never know what life will bring” is tattooed on my soul. Life surprises me all the time. I’m lucky to have an adventurous husband to share it with. 

Who knew we would live in eight different states, explore caves, hunt ghosts (not at the hotel – totally different time and place), hike a hundred miles of rugged, mountainous (and sometimes snowy) terrain, catch snakes, attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans, chase black bears away from a campsite, care for baby osprey, raise a big family, travel to Europe and Canada, sail across the Columbia River Bar into the Graveyard of the Pacific on a small boat, help an archeologist on several digs, raise chickens, mine geodes - the list goes on and on and is far from finished at this point. I plan to be around for a couple more decades.

UFO?

Which means there are plenty of adventures in my future, even without a Bucket List. Who knows? Maybe we will encounter a Sasquatch and be abducted by aliens – although I’d rather just admire the flying saucer from a safe distance. 

What about you? ~Sarah

©2016 Sarah Raplee All Rights Reserved