Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 69
September 23, 2013
Not quite there
KindleSo I’m coping. I’m not level yet. I’m kinda right about…
I can’t describe what there is. Level. Stable? Ready to face everything I need to juggle without my head wanting to explode? Ready to just deal with life? I don’t know. I still cringe half the time. I don’t want to hide under the bed 2/3 of the day anymore. I guess that’s an improvement. Not as much as I want. But it’s better.
September 21, 2013
Even the nights are better…
KindleSaturday snippet time…steamy scenes…
Hmmm. How about one of my older ones?
His Every Desire
“Imagining things,” she muttered to herself as she walked through the house one more time, checking all the locks, checking the windows.
She even got her gun out. Emery hated the cold, lifeless feel of it, but she’d be damned if she didn’t feel a little better as she checked the chamber.
Passing by the hall mirror, she paused and studied her pale reflection. She looked like a ghost.
A scared ghost.
How in the hell could just seeing a car do this?
Shaking her head, she started up the stairs, leaving the lights on behind her as she went.
Moving into her room, she closed the door and started toward the bed. She needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow…
“Hello, Tracy.”
That voice…swallowing, she turned slowly, lifting the gun and leveling it at the man who had been hiding behind the door.
Joel! For one split second, she almost flung herself at him. She stopped just in time…it had been three years. Three damned years.
“What are you doing here, Joel?”
A slow smile creased his face. “Watching you. But you already know that. You saw me earlier, didn’t you?”
“Is Vincent here?”
His dark blue eyes flashed at her as he snarled, “If he was, do you think I’d just be standing here?”
Emery swallowed and shook her head. “I don’t know. Joel, it’s been a long time…”
“Three years,” he murmured. “I’ve been trying to find you for a year now. You hid well.”
A year… “You’ve been looking for me?” she asked, her voice tight and rusty.
A slow smile spread across his face. She knew that smile. Knew it well…seconds later, he pulled her into his arms and she moaned as he slanted his mouth across hers, pushing his tongue deep inside, kissing her deeply, his tongue rubbing across hers, sweeping over the roof of her mouth, across the surface of her teeth.
Tasting her—like he had been starving for her.
Whimpering she pressed against him. Heaven knew, she had been starving for him. That worry, the gut-deep fear slowly faded away as he touched her. When he touched her…it didn’t feel as though even a minute had passed since he had last kissed her.
He paused just long enough to mutter, “Fuck, I’ve missed you.”
His hands stripped her clothes away as she rose onto her toes, burying her fingers in his hair. Cool air bit her flesh and then his hands were on her hips as he spun around. She felt the wall against her back, and then…oh, please. She whimpered as he let go of her for a second–
Lauren Dane
Caris Roane
Eliza Gayle
Lissa Matthews
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Myla Jackson
TJ Michaels
Leah Braemel
Felicity Heaton
September 17, 2013
Book list
KindleI’m putting a complete list of my titles on my site, complete with publication year. I break them down by series, by genre, by print, by ebook, but this lists all of them. I’ll put the list here, but it will also be on a permanent list, with a link from my book shelf page.
**Note, I think I have them all. But as you can tell, it’s a hell of a lot of books. If anybody notices one that is missing, by all means, let me know. 
Her Best Friend’s Lover (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2003
Whipped Cream and Handcuffs (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2003
Voyeur (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2003
The Hunters: Declan and Tori (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2003
The Hunters: Eli and Sarel (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2003
Make Me Believe (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2003
Touch of Gypsy Fire (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
The Dragon’s Warrior (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
The Hunters: Byron & Kit (e-ebook) Ellora’s Cave 2004
The Hunters: Jon & Lori (e-ebook) Ellora’s Cave 2004
The Hunters: Ben & Shadoe (e-ebook) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Once Upon a Midnight Blue (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Her Wildest Dreams (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Ellora’s Cavemen: Tales from the Temple IV (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Coming in Last (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Dreamer (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Mythe & Magick (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Mythe: Vampire (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Nebulous (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
His Christmas Cara (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Silk Scarves and Seduction (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Back from Hell (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2005
Telling Tales (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2005
Djinn’s Wish (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2005
Ellora’s Cavemen: Legendary Tails II (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2005
Every Last Fantasy (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2005
Good Girls Don’t (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2006
Sage (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2006
The Huntress (e-book short story) Samhain 2006
Hunter’s Pride (e-book) Samhain 2006
Malachi (e-book short story) Samhain 2006
Talking with the Dead (e-book) Samhain 2006
Always Yours (ebook) Samhain 2007
I’ll Be Hunting You (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2007
His Every Desire (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2007
One of the Guys (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2007
The Missing Berkley 2008
Through the Veil Berkley 2008
Hunter’s Edge (ebook) Samhain 2008
Beautiful Girl (ebook) Samhain 2008
For the Love of Jazz Samhain 2008
Vicious Vixen (e-book) Samhain 2008
Drastic Measures (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2008
Chains Heat 2009
Fragile Heat 2009
Hunter’s Need Berkley 2009
Taking Chances (includes Talking with the Dead & Vicious Vixen) Samhain 2009
Candy Houses (“Grimm’s Circle” series; e-book) Samhain 2009
Redeeming (e-book) Samhain 2009
My Lady (e-book) Samhain 2009
Playing for Keeps (e-book) Samhain 2009
One Night with You (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2009
The Dragon’s Woman (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2009
Guilty Needs (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2009
Hearts and Wishes (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2009
Veil of Shadows (sequel to Through the Veil) Berkley 2010
Broken Berkley 2010
Crazed Hearts (“Grimm’s Circle” series; e-book) Samhain 2010
I Thought It Was You (short story e-book) Samhain 2010
No Longer Mine Samhain 2010
Beg Me Self Published 2010
Tempt Me Self Published 2011
No Prince Charming (“Grimm’s Circle” series; e-book) Samhain 2010
The First Book of Grimm (“Grimm’s Circle” series; contains Candy Houses and No Prince Charming) Samhain 2010
Tarnished Knight (“Grimm’s Circle” series; e-book) Samhain 2010
Never as it Seems (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2010
A Forever Kind of Love (e-book) Samhain 2011
Locked in Silence (“Grimm’s Circle” series) Samhain 2011
Hunter’s Fall Berkley 2011
If You Hear Her Ballantine 2011
The Departed Berkley 2012
If You See Her Ballantine 2012
If You Know Her Ballantine 2012
Stolen Ballantine 2012
Grimm Tidings (“Grimm’s Circle” series; e-book) Samhain 2012
The Second Book of Grimm (“Grimm’s Circle” series; contains Crazed Hearts and Tarnished Knight) Samhain 2012
Blind Destiny (“Grimm’s Circle” series; e-book) Samhain 2012
Beautiful Scars (e-book) Samhain 2013
Lost in Love (includes A Forever Kind of Love & Playing For Keeps) Samhain 2013
The Unwanted (e-book) Samhain 2013
The Protected Berkley 2013
The Reunited Berkley 2013
Wrecked Penguin 2013
The Hunters
Tori and Declan (e-book; also see below) Ellora’s Cave 2003
Eli and Sarel (e-book; also see below) Ellora’s Cave 2003
Hunters: The Beginning (includes Tori and Declan Eli and Sarel) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Byron and Kit (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Jonathon and Lori (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Ben and Shadoe (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2004
Rafe and Sheila (e-book) Ellora’s Cave 2005
Hunters: Interlude Ellora’s Cave ((includes Byron and Kit Jonathon and Lori) 2005
The Huntress (e-book short story) Samhain 2006
Hunter’s Pride (e-book novella) Samhain 2006
Malachi (e-book short story) Samhain 2006
Legends: Hunters and Heroes (includes The Huntress Hunter’s Pride Malachi) Samhain 2006
Hunting the Hunter Berkley 2006
Hunters: Heart and Soul Heat 2007
Hunter’s Salvation Berkley 2007
Hunter’s Choice (Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance) 2008
Hunter’s Need Berkley 2009
Belonging (e-book; also see below) Ellora’s Cave 2009
Hunt Me (ebook) Self Published 2011
Hunter’s Fall Berkley 2011
Hunter’s Rise Berkley 2012
AS J C DANIELS
Sexy Little Surprises Ellora’s Cave 2012
Blade Song self-published 2012
Night Blade self-published 2013
Broken Blade self-published 2014
September 16, 2013
Because weird must be shared
KindleThis is a thing. Really. Happening in Northampton.
I read Stephen King’s IT in the 6th grade. Immediately thought PENNYWISE!
image from Northampton Herald & Post
September 14, 2013
Saturday Snippet… a bit delayed
KindleFrom BREAK FOR ME, a novella coming out in ebook next spring. Part of my RS series coming from St. Martins.
He’d only been waiting half a lifetime, it seemed.
Maybe his entire life.
Sliding one hand down to her hip, he yanked her against him. The feel of her, all slight angles and delicate curves, was every bit was perfect as he’d imagined.
She jumped up and he caught her, the bottle of whisky, the glass falling to the porch.
Feeling like the top of his head about to come straight off, he turned and pressed her against the wall. She arched against him and through the barrier of their clothes, he felt the warmth of her—it wasn’t a seductive, sweet heat.
This was devastation, and he thought he was going to die if he didn’t get his hands on her.
Tearing his mouth from hers, he lifted his head and looked down at the upturned oval of her face. Her breaths came in harsh, labored pants. His breathing was just as ragged and against his chest, he could feel the slight swell of her breasts, rising, falling. Sliding a hand over the curve of her hip, slipping his fingers under the hem of her shirt, he said softly, “When a man’s been dying for a taste of something for as long as I have, it’s hard to think straight, especially in a moment like this. I think maybe we should…”
She pressed a finger to his lips.
“I think we should stop thinking. I’m tired of it.”
Other writers to check out
Lauren Dane
Caris Roane
Eliza Gayle
Lissa Matthews
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
September 13, 2013
Heartbreaking
KindleSouth Dakota seems to be in flagrant violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act, a law designed to keep American Indian kids with American Indian families. It makes sense. The only way to keep their heritage alive is to keep these kids with the families who can pass traditions on. Not to mention…a family shouldn’t be torn apart for no reason. Many kids are taken away for no reason. Some kids are abandoned, some are abused, but instead of seeking relatives or foster care within the tribe, as federal law seems to require (from what I can tell) they shuttle these kids off to white foster facilities or white foster homes.
Every year, hundreds of Lakota kids in South Dakota are removed from their homes and put not with Lakota families, but in white foster facilities. Here is one story (source)
One afternoon in 2008, Janice Howe—a Dakota Indian—waited at the bus stop for her grandchildren to come home from school. They never arrived.
Earlier that day, a social worker had taken Janice’s grandchildren. They were driven to a white foster facility hundreds of miles away. The reason stated in the case file: a “rumor” that Janice’s daughter, Erin Yellow Robe, had been using drugs. She hadn’t. To this day, Janice’s daughter hasn’t been charged or arrested for drugs—or anything else.
For the next year and a half, Janice fought to get her grandchildren back. She called the state’s director of social services. She wrote letters to the governor. Finally, she convinced her tribal council to threaten the state with kidnapping. A few weeks later, her grandchildren were returned…on a “trial basis.”
Many kids go through sexual and physical abuse in the foster homes. The most heartbreaking case, though, is this one. Four children were removed from a home for ‘neglect’… probably because the family was poor. Many native families are. And one girl, under the age of 10, was sexually assaulted, multiple times, by her foster father. He pled guilty. The child advocates who tried to protect her were persecuted by the state-the attorney was fired and both the child advocate and the attorney were charged with tampering with evidence, etc, etc… (source and more info here.)
It would seem the kids were bullied, harassed by investigators as they tried to get the kids to change their story.
One by one, the children faced Agent Mark Black of the Department of Criminal Investigations and a partner. The children were each alone, without an adult present on their behalf.
While being questioned by the agents, the children became fearful and wept, according to someone familiar with the case who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. The youngsters were apparently not told they were being recorded. While left alone for a time, one explored the room, discovered the camera equipment behind a peephole, and began to cry.
The DCI video of the interrogation is now a court document. In a four-minute excerpt that can be seen on YouTube, the agents are taking a break. They’re off-camera, apparently unaware that the microphone is still picking up their voices as they plan their strategy.
One agent says the children “have been f—ing with us.” The men talk about questioning the therapist to whom the children described the sexual assaults. Agent Black says, “I guarantee we put [her] in here. Put the f—ing hot screws in her. Bitch you’re in f—ing deep shit. You better start talking.” Later Black says, “At least we f— with Brandon.”
Why does this happen? I don’t know… but look at this.
National Public Radio broadcast a scathing report, charging South Dakota with rampant taking of American Indian children into foster care. The network said the state receives $100 million dollars annually in federal funds on behalf of foster children of all races, giving it an incentive to keep the numbers of children in care high. (source)
and
However, in the politics of South Dakota’s royally screwed-up Native foster care system, where separating Lakota children from their families for “neglect” (read: poverty) is a lucrative proposition for the state, bringing in thousands of dollars per child in federal aid, getting in the way can get you thrown under the bus. (source)
The Lakota People’s Law Project is petitioning Congress to investigate South Dakota’s abuse of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
A 1976 study by the Association on American Indian Affairs found that 25 to 35% of all Indian children were being placed in out-of-home care. Eighty-five percent of those children were being placed in non-Indian homes or institutions. (source)
This is why that law was created…to keep the families and tribes together.
The state has no right to violate federal law.
Why in the hell is this tolerated?
Sometimes this is me
Kindle
FYI, I’m coping. Not fine, that’s a ways off, but I’m getting through. Each day. All you can do.
Image from yes but no
September 11, 2013
Remembering
Kindle…
9/11 is always a surreal day for me. I was 8 months pregnant and two weeks after it happened, my son was born. I spent most of the day half in shock, like most of the country and I can still remember the way I’d stare at the TV, hardly able to believe what I was seeing.
Has it really been that long?
I took the photo on our trip to New York…at the memorial for the 9/11 victims.
September 7, 2013
From Broke Blade… in the doghouse
Kindle
“Go ahead.” Shoving away from the shower, he came closer. Violence, danger and anger radiated from him and fear pulsed inside me, despite the fact that I knew, deep inside, that he wouldn’t hurt me. Damon was one of the few people who was safe.
Too bad my body didn’t get that message.
He reached up and my breath froze in my lungs as he slid a hand inside my vest. The back of his hand brushed against my breast and the black band of terror grabbed me, held tight.
“You’re so fucking afraid now, Kit,” he whispered, dipping his head to murmur into my ear. “It’s killing me.”
Then he lifted his head and reached down. He caught my left hand and pushed one of my knives into it. “Bloody me.”
I jerked my hand away—or I tried. He still held my wrist and he wasn’t letting go.
“That’s a silver blade, you son of a bitch.”
“I know.” He guided my blade to his chest, his grip relentless. “Bloody me. I’d feel better for it. And if it would do something to take that fear away…” A muscle pulsed in his jaw and he was standing close enough, I could hear the thunderous sound of his heart, racing far too fast. I didn’t have ears as sensitive as his—if he’d been standing any farther away, I couldn’t have heard it. As it was, though, the roar of blood in my ears, the racing of his heart, the adrenaline crashing inside me and the torment I saw on his face…the torment I felt in me…it was too much. “Sam’s not the only one who owes you blood, baby girl.”
Once more, I tried to twist out of his grip. “Damn it, let go.”
Swearing, he dropped my wrist. I put the knife away and darted toward the door.
He slammed it shut before I managed to get it open an inch.
“Kit…”
“Don’t, okay?” I leaned my brow against the wood and closed my eyes. “I need to get out of here. I need to breathe. I need to…”
His fingers brushed across my shoulder and he pressed his head to the back of mine. “I miss you.”
Tears burned my eyes and although it didn’t seem possible, the ache in my heart spread.
I really, really wish that what I’d told Chang was true. That the woman I’d been was dead and gone, that nothing of my old life mattered. If I could believe that, then it wouldn’t hurt so much to stand there.
But I wasn’t going to make myself better, or stronger, or fight my way out of this hell I currently lived in if I kept lying to myself. About anything. “I miss you, too.”
He reached up, resting a hand on my hip.
“But that doesn’t mean anything,” I told him. “Not if I can’t find me again. I’m still lost, Damon. I have to find who I am…I have to find my way again.”
Easing around, I stared into his eyes. Close. He was so close.
And even though I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, the fear was there. He went to pull back and I surprised us both by reaching up and fisting my hands in his shirt, holding him there.
His eyes widened and he stilled, stayed there, one arm braced on the wall by my head while his hand rested on my hip. I could handle this, I decided. The fear was there, but I couldn’t expect that to go away so easily. And…hell. It was Damon. Just having him this close had my heart racing and not all of it had to do with fearful things.
Curious, I placed my hand to his chest and as his heart slammed against my palm, I felt the way my own sped up in answer.
I did miss this…even when it wasn’t a spur of the moment kiss. I missed this. I missed us.
But I wasn’t ready.
“That day, up in the mountains,” I said quietly. “I told you that I was broken…so far from me that I didn’t think I’d ever find my way back.”
A harsh, ragged breath escaped him. “I know.”
“You told me you’d find it for me.” The heat of him scalded me, even as it warmed me. “I didn’t want to hear it then…and I can’t be sorry for that. I can’t let somebody find my way for me. I just can’t. I’ve got to do it for myself. But I’m trying. Okay?”
He stroked a hand down my hair. “I told you…I’ll be waiting.”
“It may never happen.” Turning my face into his hand, I kissed his rough palm. It hurt more than a little as I pushed him away. “You have to understand that.”
He was quiet as he stepped back.
Just before I slipped out the door, he asked softly, “Do you want it to happen?”
The question stopped me in my tracks and I looked back at him. “Do I want what?”
“Us. This.” Those eyes watched me, so carefully. “I’ll wait. Forever. It doesn’t matter how long. But is that what you want from me? Are you coming back to me?”
“I…” I licked my lips and shook my head. It shouldn’t be such a hard question. “I don’t know.”
He smiled sadly, looking away. “That’s fine. Like I said. I’ll be waiting.”
Read more… Broken Blade
Lauren Dane
Caris Roane
Eliza Gayle
Lissa Matthews
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
September 6, 2013
Guys hate romance,all girls love it and other assorted BS
KindleThat’s the theme I got out of this post.
Also, somebody, with his narrow ideals and stringent opinions, get to define what a genre is. Because he says so. He says so, and so it must be.
Another writer well-praised (from every corner) is Lois McMaster Bujold. Her great work is the Miles Vorkosigan series. These are supposed to be military science fiction stories, but they are really at their core Romance novels. At first, they were military science fiction novels of a higher order than most. But the romance elements creep in very early on. Bujold tips her hand in the eloquence of her language (normally a good thing) and the attention to detail that only women would find attractive: balls, courts, military dress, palace intrigues, gossiping, and whispering in the corridors.
That is what define romance? Ah… that would bore me. Probably why I could never get into her books. But that is what he uses define romance? Okay. Since he gets to set his own definitions, then so do I. It’s only fair, right?
I’m going to redefine non-fiction. Nonfiction is now about purple unicorns and sparkly kitties that sing bedtime stories.
From I Can Haz Cheezburger
And guys didn’t like the intrigues, the balls, the court dress… ya know…the detail that made Lois McMaster Bujold’s stories what they were? Really? Wow.
There’s also the underlying idea that girls can’t really write real science fiction. We’re not going get into that debate, because other people have done it far better than I can. It’s apparently the time for all of this to break out, too, because Jim C. Hines is talking about more diversity in SFF and he’s taking on crap for it. People discuss it on twitter and just like any other time we try to talk about bringing more women in genre fic, more people of color into genre fic, anybody outside the traditional orientation…there are people who scream and rage over it.
Actually, romance is pretty progressive when it comes to that. We’ve got gay romance, lesbian romance, interracial romance, although I think we still struggle to get more non-white romances out there. But you can find a little bit of everything, historical pieces from all over the word, so many subgenres to choose from, many nationalities, multiple orientations, many classes, varying heat levels, and a lot of books with strong, positive female influences where the woman isn’t just a toy for the hero to use here and there and toss off when he’s done. And I’m rambling… back on target.
One author interviewed in the Guardian has discussed having more diversity in the classes found in SF… not just the captains, but the working class.
Saladin Ahmed mentions:
He tweeted: “Class diversity also needs to be part of #DiversityinSFF. I want fewer kings and starship captains, more coach drivers and space waitresses.”
Other than writers like Ann Aguirre and S.L. Viehl, SF tends to bore me… or many of the writers annoy me. Basically, after how rude a few of them treated me, I stopped looking at a lot of them and focused more on UF and romance, but I’m going to have to branch out because some of the people speaking up against the author of the Amazing Stories post (Paul Cook) have impressed me. Jim C. Hines has long been on my TBR read list and now, so is Saladin Ahmed.
One thing I found almost insanely hilarious about Paul Cook’s piece?
This line…
…over time with novels such as Miles in Loveand Cordelia’s Honor, you can see that Bujold is a closet romance writer. Not that this is a bad thing, but some of us aren’t that interested in romance.
The implication here is that guys don’t read icky romance. They don’t want to read about feelings and mushy stuff.
And of course this line…
For me, personally, it takes much of the dramatic urgency out of a story if the hero is already married or if during a skirmish comes back to canoodle or wine or dine with his beloved
I highlighted the personally part…see, it’s all about what he thinks. He also claims he’s the most hated guy on the internet, and seriously, talk about arrogance. No, he’s an annoyance, and narrow-minded, not to mention ill-informed on things, but hey, that’s not worthy of hatred. Being a judgmental, sexist asshat isn’t worthy of my hatred. Just my pity.
This part was funny, too.
Lee’s and Miller’s stories in this series are carefully written, but I’d call them science fiction-lite because there really isn’t much tension in these stories
So tension is what defines science fiction?
hmmmm…
Asimovs (an online mag) looks for this…
In general, we’re looking for “character oriented” stories, those in which the characters, rather than the science, provide the main focus for the reader’s interest. Serious, thoughtful, yet accessible fiction will constitute the majority of our purchases, but there’s always room for the humorous as well. Borderline fantasy is fine, but no Sword & Sorcery, please. Neither are we interested in explicit sex or violence. A good overview would be to consider that all fiction is written to examine or illuminate some aspect of human existence, but that in science fiction the backdrop you work against is the size of the Universe.
I don’t see any mention of tension there. How about Tor’s online site
What we’re looking for: Tor.com welcomes original speculative fiction short stories and poetry. We define “speculative fiction” broadly, including SF, fantasy, horror, alternate history, and related genres. We want our stories to represent the full diversity of speculative fiction, and encourage submissions by writers from underrepresented populations. This includes but is not limited to writers of any race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, class, and ability, as well as characters and settings that reflect these experiences…
Nothing about tension there. Funny, though…one thing actually a lot of romance editors will say is a problem with submissions? Not enough tension. Hmmmm. Funny, that. Maybe Cook is actually a closet romance reader and doesn’t know it. Especially if he’s looking for tension. Come to romance, buddy. We got tension.
You go digging around for definitions for science fiction and you get things like this…
Definition of science fiction (n)Bing Dictionary
sci·ence fic·tion
fiction based on futuristic science: a form of fiction, usually set in the future, that deals with imaginary scientific and technological developments and contact with other worlds
or
Definitions of what Science Fiction is and is notIt’s often said that Science Fiction is the literature of change.
and
A science fiction story must be set against a society significantly different from our own — usually, but not necessarily, because of some change in the level of science and technology — or it is not a science fiction story.
from Treitel
and
Definition of Science Fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction in which the stories often
tell about science and technology of the future. It is
important to note that science fiction has a relationship with
the principles of science—these stories involve partially truepartially fictitious laws or theories of science. It should not be
completely unbelievable, because it then ventures into the
genre fantasy.
from ReadWriteThink
So basically, science fiction is about how science and technology will change the future. It doesn’t focus on tension…but maybe it should. Because unless the world of the future totally eliminates sexual desire or the human need for companionship (which most of us, even the guys), then those needs and desires will also be a part of the future…not writing about them kinda means you’re skipping out on a messy, but intrinsic part of human nature.
It doesn’t become romance until the focal point of the story is the developing relationship between the hero and heroine (or whoever the main couple is). Duh. If Cook was so educated about romance, as he seems to think he is, he’d know this.
Because that is the definition of romance. Plenty of books have romantic subplots–didn’t Lord of the Rings have a carefully written subplot about Arwen and Aragorn? You didn’t really get the full story until the end, but it was there, hinted at all the way. Dude. Tolkien is a closet romance writer! Who knew? I’m pretty sure there was a romantic subplot in the John Jakes books I read when I was a teen. And STEPHEN KING! He’s had a lot of romantic subplots, didn’t he? Stephen KING is a closet romance writer! Wow. Oh, Ilona Andrews! She’s got a romantic subplot…and a killer one, too. There are so many closet writers out there. I can’t even name them all.
Actually…No.
To fulfill what a true romance reader is looking for, those who are looking for a romance when we open up a book, it can’t be a subplot. That story has to focus on the hero and heroine all the way through. Otherwise, when we close that book, we’re going to be pretty damn upset, assuming we even finish.
We’ll take a subplot that might detract from the romance, briefly. That is okay. But the romance is the driving force and there can only be one outcome. The heroine and the hero end up together. Happy ever after. The end. That’s it.
Again, I go back to this comment…
…over time with novels such as Miles in Love and Cordelia’s Honor, you can see that Bujold is a closet romance writer. Not that this is a bad thing, but some of us aren’t that interested in romance.
Some of us. Who is us? Is it guys? Does that mean he thinks only girls are interested in romance? Are all girls interested in romance? (Try telling that to bratlet. You might escape unscathed. But then again, you might not.)
That us thing…that only women thing, I just find it all laughable. Plenty of women like SF, and we like it a variety of ways. I like my SF to actually reflect the human condition. And humans do get engaged in all those messy, messy emotions and sometimes we even like to have that messy, messy sex.
It’s one of the reasons I like authors like Ann Aguirre and S.L. Viehl… they write people that I can connect to. These are real people, even if they are situations that I’ll never be in. They feel. They love. They hurt. Why in the world does a space captain try to fight a war anyway if he doesn’t feel or love or hurt? If he can’t feel love, remorse, passion, what drives him to do the ‘right’ thing?
Honor isn’t a good enough reason. Revenge wouldn’t do either, because why does he want revenge if he never loved anybody enough to need revenge? It makes no sense. The human condition is what drives us to do everything…emotion is at the core so many things, but heaven forbid some writers touch on that.
The other thing I find amusing is the unsaid thing…guys just don’t like romance so stop making us read it.
In the years since I’ve been published, I’ve lost track of how many books I’ve sent overseas to soldiers. The majority of them, by far, are men. The books I send? They are romance. And the SOS coordinator who takes receipt of them still sends me emails from the guys who get those books. They love them. They appreciate them. One of my prized possessions is the US flag I received as a thank gift for the books I’ve sent. Many of those books are traded around and shared among the other soldiers. I can remember one email Kelley (my SOS contact) sent me about one of the guys who used to be on her list but is home now…he’s kinda upset about that, because he doesn’t get these kinda books anymore. Not just from me, but the other romance writers who send books out.
So you go ahead, Mr. Cook. Why don’t you hunt up the guys serving overseas and tell them how guys aren’t into romance? While you’re at it, be sure to hunt up all the guys who’ve had me sign their books over the years–their books, not for their girlfriends, or their wives. But for them. It’s not just one or two guys, either.
Have fun with it. I dare ya.
