Contemporary Sci-Fi: Not Necessarily a Contradiction by @TheaLanden #scifirom
Not Necessarily a Contradiction
by author Thea Landen
When I was first filling out the forms to send Elysium over to the awesome team at Decadent Publishing, I needed to indicate the relevant genres for the book. Checking off “contemporary” and “sci-fi” made me tilt my head and raise an eyebrow at the screen. I thought, isn’t that an oxymoron? How can something be both contemporary AND sci-fi? Shouldn’t I choose one or the other?
Elysium definitely isn’t my first foray into the world(s) of sci-fi romance. I’ve written stories and books that take place on fictional planets, occasionally on spaceships, with cyborgs and aliens and other types of characters that don’t actually exist. Sometimes there are ties to Earth and our reality, sometimes not. And if Earth is mentioned at all, it’s made clear that the plot events are happening many, many years from now.
Elysium does take place on Earth (to be precise, it takes place in the exotic wilds of…Connecticut). At the beginning of the first two scenes, I included months and dates, but intentionally left out a specific year. If forced to narrow down the time beyond that, I can only say that the book’s events happen sometime between tomorrow and the point in the future where we all walk around wearing identical shiny jumpsuits.
Cars don’t fly in the book. People still use snail mail for packages and some other correspondence. Even the main characters themselves have differing views on technology: Drew is an innovative software engineer, while April only owns an old laptop she uses here and there when she has to. (Cell phones never come up, but if they did, she’d probably only have a basic one that does nothing besides talk and text.)
Sounds contemporary so far, right? Except the plot hinges on highly advanced, super realistic virtual reality, the likes of which haven’t been achieved in the present. While it could happen one day, we’re not there yet. In that regard, much of the book is speculative. So much for the contemporary label.
In the end, I think what matters most is giving readers a pretty good idea of what to expect when they pick up a book. If someone is anticipating a love story amidst an epic space battle between all the species of the galaxy, I don’t want him or her to be disappointed by the lack of aliens and explosions. Likewise, if a reader strongly prefers to only read books one hundred percent grounded in reality, I understand if Elysium is not the best choice.
So “contemporary sci-fi” it is. It’s the clearest, most concise way to set the stage and convey what sort of story lies within the pages. And hey, even if it’s not a widely-accepted genre (yet?), for fans of any kind of sci-fi, it’s just another realm to explore!
ELYSIUM
by Thea Landen
Two years have passed since April Patterson’s husband was shot and killed in the line of duty, and she’s trapped in a haze of grief and uncertainty. Having grown frustrated by all other efforts to engage her in activities where she could meet new people, her cousin pays for a date via 1Night Stand. Not thrilled with the idea, April nevertheless contacts Madame Eve and requests the impossible: a date with her deceased husband.
Brilliant software engineer Drew Monroe created his company, Elysium, to help give closure to those who have suffered the loss of a loved one, through the use of virtual reality. Though passionate about his work, being constantly surrounded by heartache and death has taken a toll on his mental health. When he accepts the case of a young widow referred to him by Madame Eve, her tragic tale depresses him further, but he commits himself to programming April the romantic date she desires.
April arrives at Elysium and prepares to enter Drew’s virtual realm. Will she find the solace she seeks within? Or will she discover she doesn’t need a fantasy world to discover happiness again?
Available from:
Amazon | Kobo | iTunes | Google Play | B & N | ARe | Decadent
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Date Published: March 6, 2014
Genre(s): Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi, Contemporary
Heat Rating: 4 Flames
Page Count: 67
We sat in silence. It was the first time a client had asked me so many personal questions. On one hand, I worried about coming across as unprofessional, but on the other, it felt good to verbalize those thoughts for a change. Putting that aside, April hadn’t come to play psychiatrist with me. I had a job to do.
“Anything else before we get started?” I pushed off the edge of the desk and straightened.
She didn’t get up. “Do you ever go into your own virtual realities?”
“Actually, I don’t.” I ran a finger along the top of one of the screens. “First of all, it needs to be monitored from the outside. I can’t do both at the same time.”
“Got it.” She nodded. “What else?”
A clammy feeling crawled over me. “Nothing.”
“You said ‘first of all.’ That means there must be a second.”
She’d paid attention, I’d give her that. I tried to backtrack. “Forget it.”
Sliding her arm off the chair, she leaned forward, ginger hair spilling over her shoulders. “I want to know what I’m getting into. Tell me.” Face upturned, she stared at me and I struggled to breathe in a normal rhythm. “Please?”
Don’t say it, don’t admit to it, she doesn’t need to know…. Talking to her eased a little of the tension that had been twisting tighter and tighter over time. I ignored the voices telling me not to make a confession, but the words spilled out faster than I’d intended.
“With all the misery and heartache I see in the world, the temptation exists to disappear into a painless fantasy.” The chill spreading through me intensified. “I’m afraid I’d lose myself and never want to come out.”
April blinked her long lashes and straightened in the chair. “That’s one of the reasons I’m anxious about going in there.”
Thea Landen lives in New York with her husband and a variety of houseplants. A former educator, she strives to encourage creativity and passion in all those around her, and uses writing to help inspire. Though she reads and writes in nearly all genres, she has a special fondness for science fiction, fantasy, and adventure and anything that pushes the imagination beyond its usual limits. When she’s not writing, or thinking about writing, her hands and mind are occupied by either yarn crafts or role-playing games.
Contact Details:
Email: thea@thealanden.com
