Five Things I Learned Writing SF Romance

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Five Things I Learned Writing SF Romance

by SE Gilchrist

Actually I’ve learned a lot more than five things since I first started to write science fiction romance. The best one is that in the name of research I have the ultimate excuse to buy all the sci fi movies and TV shows I can afford!

However I won’t keep you here for three days, so I’ll focus on my next release, When Stars Collide and only mention five.

  • Tying up all those loose ends is hard.
    The external story line in my Darkon Warriors series is based on the war between the Darkons and their enemies the Relics who had aligned themselves with the Elite Forces. So in When Stars Collide the war finally comes to an end, I had to remember who to re-introduce into the story, what story threads I’d left hanging, what I still wanted to remain a mystery so I can use that snippet in another story. And I had to decide, how the hell am I going to do it?

 

  • Sci fi romance has a fascinatingly wide scope where anything can happen.
    A writer can explore awesome stuff like: manipulation of fetus DNA, test-tube babies, futuristic weapons and technology, space battles, interplanetary mining, adventure, space craft, and different worlds, such as volcanic planets and ice planets. My series features draptiles that drool acid and coda worms that first stun with an electrical charge than strangle their victim. Then there’s always politics and religion.

 

  • I love writing bad guys (and gals, for that matter).
    I love their twisty little minds, their sneaky underhanded actions, their selfishness, their complete lack of empathy, the way they insinuate themselves into the story as nice characters and suddenly reveal themselves as a villain – and yes, that happened in When Stars Collide. It took me by surprise.

 

  • Pretending to be a contortionist bubble dancer so I can choreograph moves was NOT a good idea; evidenced by the hilarity experienced by my family and my aching joints!
    Even my dogs wondered what the heck I was doing.Last Xmas my kids and I went to see this amazing show, Empire by Spiegelworld where Australian contortionist, Lucia Carbines, did an act inside a bubble. Volla! When I began to write, When Stars Collide, I just knew Reece had to be a contortionist bubble dancer.bubble dancer
  • Writing sex / love scenes is NOT getting any easier.
    Really there is only so many times you can describe the actual act. It isn’t going to change unless I write in some strangely shaped male alien with shall we say, an additional appendage! (Now that’s an idea.) But what I do love about these scenes, is the opportunity to either strengthen the characters’ relationship or shatter it. There is nothing like making your characters suffer.Or giving them the moon wrapped up in love.

What’s your favourite aspect of science fiction romances? I’d love to hear what readers think of this genre.

And if you haven’t read one yet – I hope I’ve spiked your curiosity.


20206A brand new installment in SE Gilchrist’s bestselling erotic Sci-Fi series about a dark and delicious alien race on a desperate quest for survival — and the human women who can cure their years-long curse.

Carly has one focus in her life: to return home to her terminally ill younger sister. When she learns that a Darkon traitor possesses gateway maps to Earth, she uses all her skills to track him down. But capturing the charming star pirate turns out to be trickier than she  anticipated…

Volkar is determined to prove his innocence to those who drove him to a life lived on the Outer Rim, and he will overcome anyone who gets in his way. But his surprisingly sweet captor has some skills that will come in handy, so he strikes a deal: the maps for her help. Neither expect their partnership to turn into more, but as dark secrets are revealed, their lives become forfeit — and the relationship blossoming between them nothing but a starburst of happiness in the deep shadow of the sky…

Start the series from the beginning!

8867Seeking redemption from a mission gone terribly wrong, Captain Alana Knight volunteers to aid a dangerous operation to transport colonists between Earth and alien traders. But on board the spaceship, she learns of a galactic war raging for power. A power that can be transformed into a terrible weapon.

When the colonists are betrayed and sold, Alana’s mission is re-defined. Nothing will stop her from keeping those in her care safe and finding a passage home. But her new captor is nothing like she expects…

Commander Tarak El Rajan is human, male and equally determined to retain his payload. With his race on the brink of extinction he is under strict orders to transport all females to the planet Isla for research purposes.

In a world of uncertainty, where the wrong decision could mean the death of an entire race, the last thing either of these two soldiers expects or needs is to fall in love.

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