Being in the Story

Oops! It’s blog day and I just almost forgot. And I never forget since I have a calendar that reminds me of everything. But this week, I’ve been so much into my story, More Than Robotics, I’ve actually been on a computer which has no internet access.

Why you may ask? Well, because I am like every person on the planet who can read right now. The internet is fun and distracting. I can start reading the news and read more and more and more until I realize that I’ve been reading for well over three hours.

So just recently, I decided to get an Aspire. You know…one of those little tiny machines…which has a hard drive, internet access and very little else. I decided the moment I opened the box that I loved this thing. It is small and can fit in my purse. But the most amazing aspect it that other than the software activation of my Word and Excel, it’s never been online. And I plan for it to remain that way as all it will ever be used for is writing and getting things to my editor.

Now, I already have two other computers…a huge graphics oriented desktop…and this graphics oriented laptop that I’m working on right now. Why in the heck did I need another computer? I didn’t in reality. But I do need convenience and the ability to stay away from the internet when necessary. This same machine I can just pick up and walk to another room or go outside in the early morning, have coffee and start typing away.

Which leads me to the crux of this blog today. This week I have checked my email less than ever, I’ve looked at the news only once and that was yesterday. Most of my time has been spent with my head stuck in a story. And for a writer, that’s exactly where it should be most of the time.

Now, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t come up for air. Every writer should but what it does mean that for the first time in a very long time I have been exclusively focused on my chosen profession. I have been so focused that I’ve been writing an average of 5000 words a day. And while that may not seem much to some people, that’s a book a week if the book is small. Basically, it means that I am almost writing to my potential which in itself is a miracle.

Not many writers live up to their potential because life or the internet can get in their way. Some spend years plotting or editing a story because they just want to get it perfect. So perfect in fact that they never get around to finishing it or ever having it ready to submit to an editor.

So this week, I’ve been a good little author and had my head where it should be in my own books. Which is wonderful when you think about it but I have allowed myself some lead way and actually read some books this week as well. My TBR pile had grown enormous over the years and I decided to start at the top. I was amazed at how many books I’ve discarded after the first chapter. It made me wonder why I picked them up at all because I found myself not liking the writing, the story or just generally going yuck and moving on.

But my real passion came back to me as I’m ready more and more sci-fiction based books than ever. I can highly recommend Close Encounters by Katherine Allred. It’s an amazing story about a women sent to another planet to save the people living there. Another one I just recently finished was Linnea Sinclair’s Games of Command. Yeah, it had been on the shelf that long. All I’ve got to say is OMG and wonder why I never picked it up before. Now those are the type of books I want to write. Sigh. I’m working on it.

And in that vein, here’s a bit of my next story in the Orchid Series. The series started with Fluke which was about a woman who couldn’t quite remember her past. It’s a story where she finds the strength to do the near impossible while planning for the future. In it I introduce two new concepts, and yeah, they are copyrighted, clonedroids and mindswiped both of which I use in this new story. Here’s a little bit of this new story, More Than Robotics, set for release October 1 from eXtasy books.

Remember, these are the unedited versions. And thanks for giving this story a look!

More Than Robotics

BLURB: (This is unedited.)

There were only three things in life that Commander BekkaTaylor wanted in life: 1) Command of a Warrior Class Star Marauder, 2) To grow old gracefully and 3) A lover who understood her fiery nature. She was accomplishing two out of her three objectives very nicely when an internal IUA conflict begins to encompasses the whole world as she knows it. Then Lieutenant Javed Malik comes aboard, clearly younger than she, with dreamy eyes and a secret meant only for her. But letting him in means getting rid of years of frustration, anguish and maybe her career as old secrets come to the surface. Can she survive another war or the smoldering looks from her junior officer sent to protect her 24/7?

TEASER EXCERPT: (This is unedited.)

“That’s all for now and it’s most of what I know. But we all share the same concerns as I’m sure you have. Javed has the specifics on our next contact. And please don’t get mad at me for the unconventional way I have instructed him to give those orders to you. It was necessary.”

I turned from the vidscreen to look at him suspiciously. “What is she talking about?”

In less than the blink of an eye, he was again by my side, pulling me up from my chair, his hands taking my face to gaze in my eyes. “Don’t struggle,” he whispered close to my ear. “I think we have prying eyes.” His lips came down fiercely on mine, his tongue snaking in to dominate me and I wanted to do the very thing he asked that I not do. Instead I tried to let myself enjoy the moment as it had been quite some time since I had had this type of human contact.

My hands gripped his waist and pulled him even closer to me. I could feel his legs press harder into me as his arms went completely around me. Within moments, I could feel the hard bulge of his body and mine responded in kind. There was nothing more I wanted to do except rip his clothes off that luscious male form.

He pulled away from me and shuddered, resting his forehead against mine. “We should really stop right now.” His brown eyes looked deep into mine and I nearly passed out as his next words flashed across my consciousness. You are an amazing woman and rest assured, we will finish this.

The last bit had exploded across my brain and I raised a shaky hand to rub my forehead. It was as if he were right inside me, whispering his thoughts.

Don’t fight it. Let it happen. The clonedroids helped us to perfect one of their technologies for our use. This is the major way they communicate between each other. You are now the proud owner of some audiobotic nanotechnology. They attach to your nerves for hearing and other pertainent areas of your brain associated with the function. From now on, we’ll be able to communication this way as we are attuned only to each other. No one else is on this frequency.

I glanced quickly toward the camera I knew Trevor had poised on us. You realize that Trevor was the only one spying on us, don’t you?

A slow lazy smile crossed his face and he gently caressed my cheek. That’s what you think. The other ability that we’ve been given is you will actually sense when someone is a clonedroid. It’s an ability they have as well as they can immediately tell who is clonedroid or who is human. Fallon 2 has been so helpful in our development of these abilities.

I swallowed hard. It would be hard but I knew what I had to do. “Just what do you think you were doing?”

A brief look of surprise crossed his face. Bravo! Well done. Fallon said that you’d be quick to adapt. And because you adapted so quickly, I know you haven’t been brainwashed. Those who have been have some difficulty when trying to access certain aspects of their brain which are necessary when using this technology.

Thanks again…and see you next week!

Lynn

Finding The Science in Science Fiction

This week, I’m going to pull out something I had written a few years ago. I just love science and science fiction and here are some of my thoughts which I’ve written down over the years.

Wow...this topic would be a nice thought for a science fiction book...but the truth of the matter is that we are due for some natural things to start happening to the earth. Being a Geologist, I've had to study the earth's past. And believe it or not, the earth is a violent place. There are things that haven't happened since man started recording time and when looking on the geologic record, it would appear that these things are pretty frequent. Because our lifespan is so small, we can’t really begin to see the big picture.

Basically, we are due for more earthquakes, more volcanic eruptions and those are just for starters. If those things happen, it does change the weather. Part of the reason the weather is changing right now is global warming and ocean currents. No matter what they say. We are a connected system. You can't have something happen somewhere else in the world without it impacting you. It's kinda like your body...if something happens to your toe...your brain knows it. The earth is just like our body, a closed system but we do have outside influences. We all know that there are things we can't help. The weather affects your skin...mine tends to be dry because I live in a dry climate...but put me in Ohio and my skin changes.

Some of the outside influences we earthlings have to look at are meteors, meteor showers, sun flares, going through solar storms and the like. Those are definitely things we can't do anything about. All the meteor movies had a grain of truth in them. There is currently a project that has mapped a fair portion of the sky looking for near earth objects. My problem with that is, so what if we find something heading for us. We might decide on a plan to try and destroy it if we can get every nation to agree on the way we would destroy it. At this point, no one has the authority to do anything to protect this earth. Weird, huh? But the bottom line is we're still stuck here on this rock and we've preserved nothing except what the explorers, should there be any, might find in a distant future should something fall out of the sky on us.

And don’t get even get me started on global warming. Yes, there are a lot of us. Yes, we’re doing damage to this planet with consequences that we can’t even begin to imagine. BUT the undeniable fact is that global warming has happened again and again in the past and is very well documented in the geologic record. At best, all we’ve done is to accelerate something that has happened before and will happen again. We aren’t even a necessary part of the equation for it to happen.

Two of my biggest pet peeves. Global warming and our lack of space travel. We want to preserve humankind, right? So why in the world are we stuck on this rock? We need to explore space. We need to get out there and go other places. Make those alliances of planets that movies like Stargate and StarTrek imply. While it might take its toll, the net worth to the species would be invaluable. And we need to do things to prevent our effect on the planet to become the death knell for mankind.

One of the things that I've been looking at recently is the decline in birth rates and the fertility problems that a lot of humans have. I'm beginning to wonder if that's not going to cause us to die out sometime in a distant future. I have lots of friends who have these problems and some have one child and many have no children. If we aren't replacing ourselves, then the population is declining.

There is just so much bad happening in the world without adding the natural things into the mix. But some days, I just start looking at the big picture and wonder. It’s my geologic nature I guess. There were only two things my professors ever said I did well. One was that I had this unnerving ability to see the big picture which in itself has it's drawbacks. The other was that I could do something most women found hard and that was to spatially see what a deformed crystal looked like when it was whole. Again, two things I found very weird.

Just by writing this, I can still see my love of science and all its permutations coming through. Geez...I should get back to writing science fiction...maybe someday.

I’m happy to report that I am again writing about science and science fiction. After all, it’s the one thing I am truly good at…LOL!

Until next week…

Lynn

Author Interview: Romancing the Edge with CR Moss

Author Interview by A.J. Llewellyn

1. CR, I noticed on your bio you talk about how you grew up in a place with no kids around and little to do that was fun. You said that you wrote stories to entertain yourself…what kind were they? I grew up in a rural section of New Jersey, back when farms were the norm and the word Condo referred to a place in the city. The first place I lived in was nestled between a river and a farm, and the stories I created were fairy tale in nature – the great prince coming to rescue his love. I loved the stories of Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast as a child.As an adult, I still love the story of Sleeping Beauty but it’s the one by Anne Rice now. :-) Then as I grew older and we moved to a dead end street, again with no kids my age and a river at the end of the road, the stories morphed into romantic adventure tales. In my teens, I went to what I call the dark side. Romance? What’s that? Horror baby all the way. I wrote horror in to my adult years and didn’t go back to romance till a friend turned me on to A Knight In Shining Armor by Jude Devereaux.Now I write a mix. In fact the first horror story I’ve written in ages will be released on Halloween. Dirty Little Secret, a story for eXtasy Books’ Fantasy Games line, goes back to my horror roots, and I’m really looking forward to the book’s release! Then for the 2009 Valentine holiday season, my m/m story, Dirty Little Lie, the sequel to Dirty Little Secret, will follow suit.

2. Tell me about the inspiration behind the Si’Ludo Sisters trilogy? And will you really stop at three books? Stop at three books? Nope! (chuckles) The Si’Ludo Sisters trilogy is actually a spinoff of a longer, mainstream series I’m working on, which will consist of several books within two series so far: Si’Ludo Prophesy & Si’Ludo Rising. And I’m working on a sequel story to the Sisters trilogy, where the bad guy gets his due. The inspiration for the first Si’Ludo Prophesy story (Postponing Eternity) came from a dream I had. Then the spin off of the Sisters’ stories came from something my muse spun last fall. So I ran with that idea and incorporated it all together. Atonement, the third book in the trilogy – out September 1st – is a far cry from what I originally thought it would be. The characters took on lives of their own and partake in f/f and m/m scenes due to the ‘religion’ they practice.

3. Hawk-man is a compelling creation. Where did he come from? His 'character' just came to me. I don't know how or from where. The figure appeared and I wrote what I saw. ‘Tis the work of a writer's mind. Hawk-man is actually the war head-dress/mask of the Sufs, so when the men have to confront the heroine for the first time they’re in the official mask to hide their identities. I’m not quite sure where it came from. Maybe I saw something on the web or television. But for the most part Hawk-man is Cor’s dream version of himself when he tries to seduce the heroine. He uses the moon of his true home world as the setting since he feels powerful there.

4. I know you are a practicing Wiccan. How does this influence your writing? I use aspects of it in my writing, but it doesn’t fully influence it.

5. What is your favorite Wiccan holiday? Samhain (pronounced: Sow-win) Celebrated Oct. 31: Witches' New Year, marks the death of the God and his the arrival in the Land of Youth, where he opens the gates so the souls can revisit their loved ones. It is said to be the day when the walls between the worlds are to be the thinnest and when contact with one's ancestors can take place. It is celebrated with the Festival of the Dead. This is a time of reflection on the year and a celebration of our ancestors. Happy New Year! & Happy Halloween!

6. What is your work routine like? Do you write every day? I wish I had the energy/time to write everyday! In the morning I’ll check email, do the promotion tasks listed for the day on my database, then if it’s Tuesday thru Friday I head to my job. There are days on my lunch break I’ll write, or do promo and participate in chats. Other days I’ll critique my crit partner’s work or I’ll edit my own stories. A lot of my writing takes place Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the days I have off from my job.

7. Who are your favorite authors? I know you love Anne Rice…who else? You have such an interesting mix of sci fi horror and erotica…would you say she influences this the most? Yeah, I’m big on Anne Rice, but I don’t think any particular author’s work influences mine. I like to think I have my own voice. I believe my mix comes from the huge range of genres I’ve read over the years and the horror/sci-fi films & shows I’ve seen. With an English background in college I was exposed to a lot of different writing. But when it comes to my own tastes, authors I’ve bought on a regular basis over the years… Stephen King, Clive Barker (met him in person and got his autograph on a book), Jude Devereaux, Fern Michaels. I’m into Frank Herbert right now.

8. That’s funny, I met Clive Barker at a book festival and bought his book and he autographed it. I was astonished how normal he was. How nice. What was your experience like with him? It was great. He was a real nice guy. Answered my nervous, silly questions and drew us some pictures in our books to go with his autograph.

9. I know your favorite all-time band is Rush. Do you play Rush when you’re writing or do you prefer silence? Love Rush! Several years ago I saw them three times during one concert tour, twice in Jersey (we were living there at the time) and once in Las Vegas. Yep, took a weekend trip to catch them at the MGM. The first show we caught in NJ we had 12th row seats. It was heaven. Interestingly enough I don’t listen to Rush when I’m writing. Side note: They just did their first American TV appearance in 33 years. Thank god I have Tivo! Music by Rush is great to drive to.Okay, back on track… music while I write, right? I have satellite television so depending upon my mood and what I’m writing determines the channel I turn on, either Audio Visions (music that you’d hear in a massage therapy session/spa environment) or Squizz-XL (plays a lot of Alternative). Though, if I’m having trouble with a piece, I’ll work in silence until I get through the rough patch.

10. Are you cats jealous of your computer? Do they try and kill the keyboard? Nope. Calvin and Marius leave me alone because I’ve designated my work area as a Kitty Free Zone. So my keyboard and wires are safe from their furry little paws. Calvin was of the Calvin and Hobbes duo, named fourteen years ago after my favorite comic strip. When we knew Hobbes, our husky/lab pooch, wasn’t doing well health wise, we brought our second cat into the house to give Calvin a companion. A week later Hobbes went over the rainbow bridge. That was in October 2007. He was almost fourteen years old and had been born on the day we got married. Marius, our second cat, was a rescue, as were Calvin and Hobbes. Marius is named after the character in Anne Rice’s novels and acts as I always expected a cat to act. Calvin is very reserved and most times you don’t even realize he’s in the house.

11. Is your husband supportive, even enjoy your books? Does he read them? We’re pretty supportive of each others’ goals. He likes to run and is currently training for a marathon, which is not as time constraining (which is nice) as when he was training for the iron distance Silverman triathlon here in town. So I support him in his races and his reacquired golfing goals, and now that I’ve boosted my writing schedule he’s good with giving me space to do what I need to do. He even came to a book signing event I hosted with other eXtasy Books authors.

12. What was that like? And did you sell a lot of books? It was an interesting experience. We held it in a small venue (wine store/boutique) so it’s not like we had droves of people flocking through, but still, I sold a few books and the eXtasy Books’ anthologies (Violet Visions & Atlantis Allure) the other authors had available sold like hot-cakes. I told people “I’ve been to enough of his events that he can finally come to one of mine.” Good thing I can entertain myself with my stories, though, when it comes to his gigs, standing around for 3 to 4 hours while he’s out running a race would be boring otherwise. Yes, he’s read my first two books and I asked him to read the third in the trilogy to give me some reader insight, which he was happy to do. He says he enjoyed them.

13. How do you like living in Las Vegas? I went there almost every weekend for several years covering boxing and it has changed drastically…how do you feel about the grand old hotel casinos being demolished and big expensive ones replacing them? There’re casinos here? Just kidding. We rarely go to the Strip, only when people visit from out of state for the first time or if we’re down there for the LV marathon (look for the marathon and a threesome in my December 1st release Holiday Spirits), and we barely gamble anymore, so when it comes to the old buildings replaced by the new and improved it doesn’t bother me.For the most part I love living here, the heat, the sun, the blue sky. The original reason we moved here was for the weather so he could train for the Ironman in HI.

14. Hawaii? *Perks* My favorite place…did you love it? Sadly, we haven’t been to HI yet. Having been in two bike accidents, my husband has stopped training for triathlons, so the goal of qualifying for Kona is no longer a priority. Hopefully he and I will be able to visit the islands one day, whether it’s for a race or not.

15. Stephen King…who is fond of walking, turns up at your door…all the way from Bangor, Maine (he resists being hit by a car). He asks you to take him to your favorite hangout. Where do you take him and if you could ask him three things, what would it be? I take him to Steiner’s for a great burger and some Death Valley Chips. I thank him for the Dark Tower books and the ending of that series which I was pleased with. Then ask -- Question 1: Dude, what were you thinking at the end of It? 2: What was the deal with Tommyknockers? 3: Could we collaborate? :D

AJ: I’ll bet Mr. King would collaborate! Thanks to CR for her time and her talent…Find out more about C.R. Moss at her website http://home.earthlink.net/~cr_moss/ Check out her myspace page at www.myspace.com/cr_moss Her books are available at http://www.extasybooks.com/