New Year, New Me?

 

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and supernatural stories to engage your emotions. 

First, I have to apologize for my absence. Lately I've been feeling like my brain is falling out, and stresses at work and home only seem to have made it worse. So for the new year, I'm hopeful science will be able to improve my mental state because right now it feels like it needs rebooting. 🤯

And then maybe I'll get around to the edits on the third novel in my main series that I've had since June. Oh, and the edits on a short story from December 2020. And two from a few years back. Oops? The pandemic did enable me to release a novella that had been sitting on my hard drive for seven years, and another novella in my main sci-fi rom series. So it hasn't all been bad. But I really need to clear this major brain fog that's been growing worse over the past two years.

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Vintro. The planet that had stolen all her dreams.

Melandria Solei has always dreamed of commanding a starship and exploring the universe. When her own dark-eyed older lover steals the position she's worked for, she never expects to go chasing after him in a stolen ship to a world colder than revenge...

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How could a moment's anger destroy so much happiness?

It is a question that will haunt him. When an old enemy comes to Kasha-Asor to kidnap their daughter, armed with a weapon that could end everything, Keir is forced to leave an injured Quin on Lyagnius. But his quest for a cure and their missing daughter will come at a terrible cost.

Book #2.5 of the Redemption series.

Trigger warning: the loss of a child.

So I can't have lost my mind that badly... 😆

Seasonal Stories #scifi #paranormal #romance

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and supernatural stories to engage your emotions. Tomorrow is the spring equinox, and I'm so happy about that. January and February are such gloomy months, and all the more so with yet another lock-down in the UK since Christmas. At least now the days are getting longer and warmer, and I can spend time in the garden soaking up the emerging rays and work on new housing for my much diminished flock of feathered friends.

But with a new book release tomorrow as well, I decided to look back at the seasonal stories I've written, published, or am still agonising over. 

A few years ago I decided I wanted to write some holiday stories. They seemed popular and I like a challenge. Unfortunately my muse didn't like the challenge of Christmas in Space, so that kind of stymied that idea. Fortunately I can't confine myself to one genre (as long as it's speculative) so a paranormal Halloween story offered itself as an option...even if it did start out as a 13 year old young witch who managed to morph into a 30-ish year old warlock. Such fun! It also happened to be set in my favourite season of the year - autumn - but shh! Don't tell the others! Just look at the glorious colours in that cover, part of what I love about that time of year.

But muse still wouldn't play ball with a Christmas story. Instead I turned to more pagan origins and a winter solstice story. I could do that, couldn't I?! Unfortunately muse decided to turn it into a mystery scifi rather than a scifi romance, and that didn't work out particularly well to begin with. When you're a pantser and don't write linearly, trying to hit the correct plot points, deaths, disappearances etc and build up the clues is a pretty hard ask. As a consequence, Solstice on Vintro took a stonking SEVEN YEARS to complete and finally publish.

By this time, muse had gotten over her hissy fit on Christmas in Space to deliver A Merry-traxian Christmas for the family in my main SFR series, and a few years before the solstice story. Ah, well, good things come to those that wait...? The story is very much based on my own thoughts of Christmas and how my family have come to celebrate it and what it means to us. How cute is that alien Christmas tree on the cover?!

So now I have an autumn story and two winter stories. Again, a few years back I came up with an idea for an Easter story, again based on the original pagan festival of Eostre, a celebration of spring. Which...also isn't finished. (This isn't going too well, is it?).

But that still leaves one season out. I did think about a Midsummer story, and that was as far as it got. Until I saw a call for paranormal short stories for an anthology. I wrote an angel story for it, but then the anthology got cancelled. This was not going well. It was only as I struggled for a new title for it because too many stories and songs had the same name that I took note of the time of year I set it, and that decided the title - My Summer Angel. It's still in edits, but at least it's getting closer to publication.

And maybe this year I'll finish that Eostre story too and have the full compliment of seasons. Or has winter been given an unfair advantage now...

For now, I have to share my spring release (even if it isn't exactly the spring themed story I plan to finish one day).

How could a moment's anger destroy so much happiness?

It is a question that will haunt him. When an old enemy comes to Kasha-Asor to kidnap their daughter, armed with a weapon that could end everything, Keir is forced to leave an injured Quin on Lyagnius. But his quest for a cure and their missing daughter will come at a terrible cost.

Book #2.5 of the Redemption series. Releases 20th March, 2021 (pre-order available now)

Trigger warning: the loss of a child.

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)

A Merry Christmas Cover Reveal #scifi #mystery

 

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and supernatural stories with a romantic soul. And this month I'm finally releasing a 'Christmas' story I started seven years ago. Yep, you read that right. It has taken me seven whole years to get this story from idea to completed work. And it's not even that long! Just a winter solstice space mystery novella, a mere 25000 words. But oh, it's been a loooooooong slog. 

A big part of the problem lay in my writing technique...or rather lack of it. Aside from being a pantser, I also don't write linearly. Which kinda makes life complicated when trying to write a mystery that needs you to keep track of who dies when and how, so that you don't have characters having a conversation when one of them died ten pages back or after a particular clue has come to light, only to become irrelevant in the next chapter. There's also the issue of putting star dates at each new chapter, only to discover you skipped a day or got your numbers wrong. And then there's the original mental block of not being able to write Christmas in Spaaaaaace...except I manage to overcome that a couple of years later and release it officially last year.

But in the end, my original Christmas story, which is really a winter solstice story, will be releasing this year (fingers crossed, I just sent what was hopefully the last version off to my editor), so I feel ready to reveal the cover...

Vintro. The planet that had stolen all her dreams.

 

Melandria Solei has always dreamed of commanding a starship and exploring the universe. When her own dark-eyed older lover steals the position she's worked for, she never expects to go chasing after him in a stolen ship to a world colder than revenge...

But if you're looking for something a little more heartwarming, you can always check out my post from last month with a selection of seasonal scifi romances here.

Losing it All: Writing In A Pandemic #scifi #coverreveal

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of sci-fi and supernatural stories with a romantic soul. It's been a while since I actually had a WIP, but I suppose the pandemic has had some positive outcomes. When I was first sent home from work, I threw myself into doing as much of my job as I could from home, closely followed by as much physical stuff as I could to keep my mind off the state of the world, and because the glorious weather just called me to spend time outside (and with my chickens). The thought of writing at such a time... didn't seem possible. I was worried about my family, my friends, my work colleagues, my job, my animals...the list was unending. 

But as life in quarantine settled into the new normality, boredom set in. Apparently boredom is a major trigger for my muse. I had several pieces in my files that were finished, or close enough to finished that really they shouldn't be much work to complete. I pulled open three of them, but one seemed to call into particular. A missing part of my main series that my editor said was needed before book three, that I had half written and knew what the rest of the story should be, but hadn't had the dedication to really stick at until done.

Like several of my stories, this was done more as background between books two and three so I had the details down for reference, but that had never been intended as a piece to be published. My editor was of a different mind. After assessing book three and repeated comments of 'wait, what, who are these people? Did I miss a whole book somewhere?!' I figured I'd better get it done. And what could be a more perfect time? Despite being started years earlier, the darker, more destructive tone of the story was at least in resonance with the near apocalyptic reality!

So months, if not years later than it should have been done, Redemption 2.5 is in the final round of edits. It is not the most romantic chapter of my main characters' life, that's for sure, and I have yet to determine a release date (I originally planned to release it just before book three, but as yet don't have the finances to send that to my editor for edits and a cover). Instead, I have two other pieces booked for edits in September - a winter solstice scifi mystery that I would like to release close to the time of year that it's set, and an angel short that will release next summer. In the meantime, you can read the blurb and get a look at the cover. If it doesn't give you the shivers, I'm hoping the story will...

How could a moment's anger destroy so much happiness?

It's a question that will haunt him. When an old enemy comes to Kasha-Asor to kidnap their daughter, armed with a weapon that could end everything, Keir is forced to leave an injured Quin on Lyagnius. But his quest for a cure and their missing daughter will come at a terrible cost.

The Highs and Lows of #Amwriting

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of sci-fi and supernatural stories to engage your emotions. When it comes to favourite writing achievements, for me it has to be finishing. I've always written but I still have a huge stack of unfinished pieces from my pre-teen years when I would run with a shiny new idea only to tire of it (sometimes with several 'books' of a series part written) and move onto the next one. I couldn't write fast enough to keep up with my imagination.

That changed during a rather traumatic experience as a teen (an age when even little things seem traumatic). With my parents going for the title of world's messiest divorce and my mum undergoing treatment for cancer while I was retaking my A levels at a distant college, the news that my long time favourite sci-fi series - Doctor Who - was about to be cancelled for good was kind of the last straw. My universe was collapsing around me!

And so over three weeks leading up to Christmas I scribbled frantic pencil notes (for some reason I prefer a nicely sharpened pencil to a pen when writing by hand) on my A4 lined paper pad, the sheets held together by metal binder rings. My favourite time to write - the one hour train journey to and from college each day.
And then disaster. I fell asleep on the journey home one day, woke with a jolt at my station, and ran off the train leaving my notes behind! I rang the station and lost and found, only to be told that a collection of pencil written sheets would just have been thrown in the bin. Aaaaaarrrrggghhhh!!!!

Fortunately back then I had a close to photographic memory and was able to rewrite the majority of it (and probably even improve it). I borrowed my mum's electronic typewriter, borrowed a book from my local library on formatting books for submission, and by the time the college term restarted, I had a completed 40K word Doctor Who story. My first ever completed book, and despite all the odds.
After a brief detour to the BBC - I was eighteen and there was no real internet so I didn't know any better - who redirected me to the then publishers of the Doctor Who books WH Allen. They rejected it, but I had a long letter with constructive criticism and encouragement. I learned later via a more famous author - the now sadly departed Graham Joyce (but that's a whole nother story) - that their constructive criticism was actually a request to rewrite and resubmit. I didn't realise that at the time, but eighteen years old me was pretty chuffed even by the rejection and kind words. After all, I never really expected to be a published author. That would be silly, right?? 😆
So my first and favourite writing achievement was also in many ways my most stressful at the time. I still have that original manuscript, nicely bound by a friend's dad who liked to bind his own pieces, and with the rejection letter. That first submission was also the birth of my pen name as I hated my surname at the time. Thirteen years later, a character and an alien from that story teamed up with another from a short story prompted by a dream, to become my first published novel Keir. It all came good in the end...

Keir (Redemption Book One. Part of the Travellers Universe)

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A demon waiting to die...

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An outcast reviled for his discolored skin and rumors of black magic, Keirlan de Corizi sees no hope for redemption. Imprisoned beneath the palace that was once his home, the legendary 'Blue Demon of Adalucien' waits for death to finally free him of his curse. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise.

A woman determined to save him.

Able to cross space and time with a wave of her hand, Tarquin Secker has spent eternity on a hopeless quest. Drawn by a compulsion she can't explain, she risks her apparent immortality to save Keir, and offers him sanctuary on her home-world, Lyagnius. But Quin has secrets of her own.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes the dormant alien powers within him and earns exile from Lyagnius, Quin chooses to stand by him. Can he master his newfound abilities in time to save Quin from the darkness that seeks to possess her?

Book One of the Redemption series and part of the Travellers Universe. Previously released by Lyrical Press Inc. 7th May 2012

​A Science-Fiction Romance Novel, Readers Favorite Contest Awards Finalist 2012​, HOD RWA Aspen Gold finalist (3rd place), The Kindle Book Review's 2013 Best Indie Book Awards semi-finalist, and a 2012 SFR Galaxy Award Best May to December Romance winner.

Available in all digital formats from Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Smashwords. Print is now available from Amazon, B&N, The Book Depository, and CreateSpace. Download a free pdf sample and read the reviews at Goodreads.

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​"One of the sweetest romances you’ll ever read."

        Elle Hill, author of the Hunted Series