Guest Blogger ~ Laura Baumbach

New Characters to New Worlds—even new or *improved* body parts!
Writing in the sci-fi genre

That’s what you can achieve when you write sci-fi.
Hello. My name is Laura Baumbach. I’m an author and publisher of M/M erotic romance. I write for several publishers including MLR Press, Aspen Mountain Press, Samhain, Changeling, LooseId, Torquere, and Forbidden Publications. I written in several different sub-genres such as paranormal-vampires, werewolves and ghosts, suspense, contemporary, crime drama, thrillers and my current fixation - science fiction.
This month I'm spending all my time that isn't taken up by my family or my business writing my latest novel GENETIC SNARE. This one is the second in my sci-fi DETAILS series. The first on was the 2007 EPPIE finalist DETAILS OF THE HUNT.
This series came about when I took a challenge off the Sci-Fi Channel's website to write a story using the theme of pirate treasure and outer space. I thought it would be fun to change around the traditional story and make the pirate the treasure. I realize there are modern day pirates, and will probably be pirates in the future, but when I think about them I imagine the swashbuckling, cunning buccaneers of the 18th century.
But then came the challenge of how to incorporate an 18th century earth pirate into a futuristic space tale. Obviously, I needed to add time travel elements to my story, remembering that anything I did couldn't affect the time line continuum in the process of telling my story.
I didn't want the travel to be a common occurrence either. I wanted the talent to be restricted to an ethical few. So I created a race of warriors that had the ability to time jump. These beings, six to seven foot tall, gray skinned, muscle bound, slightly reptilian looking, fierce warriors, would have learned over time to keep the source of their talent secret, and to use the ability for the benefit of not only themselves but other races. Thus was born my time traveling alien bounty hunters, the Oracan.
The Oracan accept petitions for hunts from anyone, anywhere in the universe. The one requirement is that the hunt must have some type of altruistic goal, a benefit for more than just personal gain. They procure anything from inanimate objects to people. Those Oracans that choose to become Hunter have a high moral code to go with their extreme physical skill and warrior upbringing. Think navy seals/secret agents on massive growth hormones and steroids. *lol*
My Oracan hero is named Talos. Mr. Tall, Gray and Stoic. High moral fiber, strict rules of conduct and an attitude that comes from knowing he can take any male in the room on and win without even trying. I mean, Oracan cultural ritual practices eating the hearts of their fallen enemies. Tough guys personified. And this one learned to speak English from watching ancient Earth gangster films from the 1930's an 40's. When he calls a woman a 'dame' he's not referring to any type of British title. *g*
Once I had my 'big guy' I had to create my 'small guy'. This is a dynamic I love to write. It may not be your thing, but it is definitely mine. I like the physical contrasts, making imbalance of power dynamic. I like showing that my 'little guy' can be just as tough and manly as the 'big guy', and in some cases like in MEXICAN HEAT, even more stoic or scrappy than his partner.
Aidan Maymon was born out of this dynamic. I wanted my pirate to be young in keeping with the short life expectancies in the 18th century, cunning and quick-witted as he would need to be to survive the times and be captain of a buccaneer ship, and brave enough to stand up to the worse of the immoral criminals that made up a fair share of the seafaring men. Quick with his sword and a creative curse, Aidan has a core of fair play and goodness wrapped in a survivor's thick, clever, conniving hide. And he's an excellent pickpocket. *g*
And the marvelous, wondrous thing about writing sci-fi is that you have the flexibility to combine two such radically unique characters in one story and still make it work. As long the author creates a believable world and sticks to their own rules through the novel or series, anything they can imagine is possible. Which s how I ended up with an 18th century pirate pairing with a 6th century alien bounty hunter for adventure and love.
I'm continuing the adventures of Talos and Aidan in the series with GENETIC SNARE. I have a total of seven books planned, one per year. Originally it was written as a two-hour buddy flick movie script for a TV pilot with an additional six episodes. The script won a couple of minor awards but never went anywhere. The cost of producing a sci-fi movie was a big stumbling block.
But I love the characters and didn't want them to go to waste. So I moved that buddy flick relationship over the line to lovers and rewrote the story a bit to develop that relationship into a M/M erotic romance. Since that was were I was inclined to take it when I wrote the mainstream version, it wasn't a difficult task. The end result earned DETAILS OF THE HUNT a nod as a 2007 EPPIE finalist for best GLBT novel.
No where but in sci-fi do I find the freedom to be as unorthodox as my imagination can be. And trust me, my imagination can run a lot of wild places, some of them maybe even in my upcoming December release (hopefully) GENETIC SNARE!
Pirates, aliens, bounty hunters, mating rituals, combats rituals, murder, mayhem and LOTS of steamy, and uniquely alien-endowed lovemaking in this one. My muse was looking for an unrestrained run.

Guest Blogger ~ Jason Edding, a new star!

JB: I'd like to thank ManLoveRomance Press debut author Jason Edding for joining me at The Sweet Flag today. Jason is the author of Dark Robe Heart: Dark Robe Society 1 part of the two author anthology, Space Escapes with Angela Fiddler. So, Jason, first, let's get the nittygritty out of the way, tell us a little about yourself.

JE: Thank you Jeanne for having me today. I was born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. My family is fairly large. I have nine brothers and sisters, and while we still lived on the Cape, we had a virtual farm of animals living with us. Cats, dogs, a skunk, rabbits, a snake, a turtle and I'm not sure, but possibly one or two other wild animals. I was too young to remember all of these critters, because when I was four we moved to Maine. I started reading when I was pretty young and we moved around a lot, so books became very important to me.

JB: Can you tell us about the premise of your story? Since the title says Dark Robe Heart: Dark Robe Society 1 I'd suspect we'll be seeing another story in the series. Will this be a stand alone or do you envision doing it as another novella with one of MLR Press's wonderful cadre of authors?
JE: Jack Harrow is a clone who has escaped to find his own life. At first he thinks all he wants is to get away from it, but he realizes he wants to destroy the Dark Robe Society and end their total domination of the world. They are the world leaders. They control the military, and in fact there is nothing they don't control. He meets Edge Fland who has been sent to kill him and return with something Jack has that the Dark Robes want.
Yes, Dark Robe Heart is book one. When this story came to me, I envisioned a huge world and I keep telling a friend of mine, 'this story could go on forever.' I am currently working on the sequel. The title is Dark Robe Edges and will have not only Jack and Edge returning, but two new heroes: Alton Tees and Toren Mir. This story will tell how they go against the Dark Robes and their leader, the Hierarch Ernst Venderhem... As of yet whether it will be a novella or stand alone is up in the air. LOL

JB: Do you think you might incorporate your love of cats in your stories? I know this might sound a bit weird, but when we got our little kitties earlier this year, I wound up putting a cat in a sequel I was working on.
JE: I have another story on the back burner involving vampires and a young book collector, who just so happens to have a cat who has the same name as my kitty, so yes, I have every intention of having lots of cats in my stories. I have to plug them now and then. LOL

JB: Did you find your love of astronomy made it easier to write a story that takes place in space?

JE: I found that my love of astronomy spurred me on to write sci-fi. I have countless astronomy books and I'm always searching for more information. The universe is so vast and we'll never know it all. I've found the Hubble images of the universe to be thought provoking. And every time astronomers find a new planet out there, it's exciting! So, to answer your question, yes, it certainly helped me write.

JB: An author can choose the genres in which they write. What led you to write not only a sci/fi story, but one with gay characters?
JE: Hmm, writing sci-fi and gay romance. Well, I've always found it fun and interesting to write gay erotica. To write a love story between two men is something I've always wanted to do. To have them in a sci-fi, space, futuristic environment at the same time is just icing on the cake. Besides, it's really so much fun to create the passion.

JB: What's on the horizon for you? Will you be doing any stories not in the Dark Robe world?
JE: On my horizons. Well, I have the vampire novella/novel that I'm working on from time to time, and I've got an idea for a totally new sci-fi story that may or may not take place on the planet Saturn. I've always wanted to write a fantasy novel, but no plans for one yet. Those won't be in the Dark Robe world. However, in my mind, the Dark Robe world may be here for a long, long time.

JB: Now for something totally frivolous: What are your favorite scifi shows or films and if you could, what two heroes do you think would make a hot couple?
JE: Favorite tv shows? Hmm, I love Battlestar Galactica. I mean, I froth over it. The new version. Omg, what a fantastic show! Also I watch M*A*S*H five days a week. My mom and I would watch it together, and she has passed away. It's one of my ways of remembering her and her laughter. Two heroes that would make a hot couple... oh boy. Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. LOL That's my dream couple. I'd love to know what readers think.
Thank you Jeanne, this has been a great time for me.

JB: You're quite welcome. I always love having guys visit The Sweet Flag!

EXCERPT:
Jack shrugged. "When one show stops, another begins soon after."

"Shit, I'm living in here." Edge guzzled his liquor, until only half still remained.

"I found a contact with the information we need," Jack told him, fingering his bottle.

Edge leaned close. "Yeah? Where?" He looked around the dim joint.

"The owner. Don't worry about that part, the less you know for now, the better," Jack replied quickly.

Edge smiled at Jack and shrugged. "Too many secrets spoil the fun, Jack."

Jack placed his hand on Edge's. "I'm glad you liked the show, because they've already picked the next two guys to fuck."

Edge clanked his bottle against Jack's. "Good, I'm not even close to being satisfied. That young guy had a hot cock and a sweet ass; I'm surprised he's down here." He threw his head back and stretched to the ceiling. "Hot ass...wonder if I could get him out of here and to our bed."

Jack nodded slowly. "That young guy has probably been bought and sold more times than you've pissed on the ground," Jack told him. Edge had told him he liked to be one with nature, back on Earth. Jack had wished he had been there to see it, but hearing it was the next best thing.

"Good, there'll be a new show soon." Then he added, "Part of the deal I made was that the next two men to go into that cubicle to fuck will be you and me." Jack grinned, but he was frowning behind the mask.

"What?" Edge's mouth dropped open and he let his bottle drop, spilling half of its contents across the table and his lap.

Copyright 2008 Jason Edding

JM Snyder :: Other speculative fiction

Other speculative fiction
When Jeanne first asked me to participate at her blog, I didn't think I would have much to contribute because I don't consider myself an author of paranormal stories. However, I do write a lot of speculative fiction. My first stories with most all of my publishers were spec fic:

• Operation Starseed (iUniverse) is a sci-fi novel in which a team of star-mappers discover a lost colony ship.

• Trin (Aspen Mountain Press) is set in a dystopic future where one young man longs to meet the run-gunner of his dreams.

• Persistence of Memory (Amber Allure Press), also set in a dystopic future, has one man scrambling to recover memories the government took away.

• World Enough and Time (Torquere Press), again with the dystopic future, only this time the world is on the brink of destruction.

Sense a theme?

Seriously though, I have more spec fic in my resume than most authors who also write contemporary fiction. There's a story about merrows, which are Celtic mermaids (in my case, mermen), a tale about a man who uses virtual reality to create a lover more real than he knows, and a whole series about Vic and Matt, my 'superhero' characters, whose lovemaking imbues Vic with comic book powers. The positions in which they have sex help determine which powers Vic will get. I'm finishing up a 12-part series with these characters, entitled The Positions of Love, and a paperback collection of all twelve stories should be released in December (Amber Allure Press).

For more information on all my writing, please visit my website at http://jmsnyder.net. There are free stories and book excerpts for you to enjoy. I also have a separate page set up for Vic and Matt, at http://www.vic-and-matt.com.

Thank you, Jeanne, for having me here! And thank you everyone who commented! E-mail me at jms@jmsnyder.net for a prize :)