Monday 26 September 2011

Welcome Sara Creasy!

Please welcome our first guest of honour to the party, the wonderfully talented Sara Creasy, whose Scarabaeus books have been taking the world of sci fi romance by storm. Welcome, Sara!


A small admission: I don’t write romance.

I read romance. I read a lot of other stuff, too. But I don’t write romance. Officially I write “fast-paced, action-packed books of science fiction with a strong romance thread.” That’s the wording from my contract for my first two books – Song of Scarabaeus and Children of Scarabaeus. I know from reader feedback that romance readers are enjoying my books, as are sci-fi readers who aren’t necessarily looking for romance. Crossover appeal! That’s got to be a good thing.

So, the Scarabaeus books are driven by a futuristic plot – highly trained hacker Edie is kidnapped by space pirates for her skills in terraforming alien worlds, and, in the second book, falls back into the hands of the evil bureaucracy that taught her everything she knows – but I’ve never written a story that didn’t also have a romantic relationship. In this case, Edie is assigned a bodyguard, Finn, one-time freedom fighter and now a slave, who will die if she strays from his side.

The relationship I wrote for Edie and Finn is my favorite kind – the initial intensely personal connection, the tentative baby steps toward understanding, the bonds forged in adversity that will outlive lust-at-first-sight because here are two people who are learning to truly trust and respect and like each other.

Enjoy this short excerpt from Children of Scarabaeus (out now from HarperVoyager) – where it looks like Edie and Finn finally get the chance to turn up the heat.

GIVEAWAY: One reader will win a set of both books, along with a spiffy autographed Children of Scarabaeus bookmark. Just comment on this post to enter the draw, and tell me your favorite science fiction couple (from books, movies or TV).
 



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Excerpt from Children of Scarabaeus:


Finn had moved toward her, a few casual paces that she’d somehow failed to notice. Edie’s fingers closed around a nearby strut and she backed up a step, half hiding behind the rack. She’d been closer to him on more than one occasion but this was different. There was a look of determination in his eyes that only added to her ambivalence. If she stayed behind… if she had the courage to stay behind, was it fair to let him believe this was the start of something when it was really the end?

“You look beautiful.”

She soaked up his words for a few seconds. “There were supposed to be shoes…”

“The boots make you look like you.”

“We made a deal once, remember? You comb your hair, I wear a dress.”

He made a small grunt of apology and came to her. “I didn’t comb my hair.”

Edie pushed her fingers through his dark curls, still too short to really need a comb anyway. She urged his head lower—not that he needed encouragement—and then lost her nerve at the last moment, nose-to-nose with him and frozen with her lips parted. She breathed in time with him, allowing herself to feel the tension building between them, for the first time not needing to clamp down on it. He kissed her instead, his hands sliding around her, pulling her close.

Something was wrong. He was tense.

“What is it?” she asked.

He shook his head slowly. “Feels strange… not having you in my head.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Yeah.” He slowly rolled his head from side to side. “I don’t know. I got used to you.”

“It wasn’t me, not really. Just static interference from a malfunction in the receiver—”

“I got used to you,” he repeated. He cupped her face between his hands and tilted it upward. His thumbs lay across her cheekbones, warm points of pressure, and he kissed her again.

Lacing her fingers behind his neck, she responded aggressively, welcoming the groan from deep in his throat that signaled his surprise and pleasure. His hands were all over her skin and the racks clattered when he backed her up against them. It wasn’t until he cupped her bottom to lift her onto the front rail of the racks, pressing between her thighs to show her where this was going, that she remembered a moment ago she’d been considering letting him go. She had to let him go.

Yet she was desperate for him…



Find out more about Sara and her books on her website: http://www.saracreasy.com/.


Sara is giving away a set of both books, together with a signed bookmark, to one lucky winner who answers her question: Who is your favorite science fiction couple (from books, movies or TV)? This contest will close at midnight tonight, and the winner will be announced tomorrow on this thread.

21 comments:

  1. HI!!!

    These books look GOOD!! You are a new to me author and I must say, thumbs up Marie for inviting her here.

    Favourite couples....Riker and Deanna Troy? They were the first to come to mind...hehe!!!

    Valerie
    in Germany

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  2. Hi so erotic and juicy story , really you understand the psychie of your readers , there is great beauty in expression of sex , congrats dear

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  3. Hi Valerie and Jarnail! I love this excerpt too :). And yes, always likes Troy and Ryker together! Like The Matrix couple too, although their names temporarily escape me :).

    Sara, since you don't write "romance" as such, did the world of these books come to you before the characters? Or was it more of a "chicken and egg" situation? :).

    Marie

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  4. I cannot recommend the Scarabaeus books enough (I want another one!). They are my top pick for anyone who wants SF with good pacing, depth of characters, and realistic relationships (not to mention the romance ;-).

    As to fav couple, Edie and Finn are my most recent favorite (yes, I know, I sound like a total fanboy, but I don't read much "with a strong romance thread”). Aside from them, though: Mal & Inara of Firefly, Phedre & Joscelin of the first Kushiel trilogy (by Jacqueline Carey), Kamala & Colivar in the Magister trilogy (by CS Friedman).

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  5. Olivia and Peter from Fringe. Your books sound really good. I have not read very many sci fi books yet. Thanks for the giveaway.
    Sue B
    katsrus(at)gmail(dot)com

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  6. Dan, that's quite an accolade! I've just moved Sara's books up the top of my TBR :). With you on Mal and Inara, too!

    Hi Sue, I've never managed to see Fringe yet, but a good romantic couple always adds something, doesn't it?

    Oh, and I've just thought of Mulder and Scully from the X-Files! :).

    Marie

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  7. I had really high hopes for Ripley and Hicks from Aliens, but then they KILLED him in Alien 3, so that went nowhere. Since they brought her back in Alien Resurrection, maybe they'll bring them both back in Alien Resurrection Revisted?

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  8. Nice to see all these scifi fans here!!!

    I was always hoping that O'Niell (with two L's!) would finally get together with Carter....sigh!!!

    Valerie
    in Germany

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  9. I already see some of my favorite couples here, and would add John and Aeryn from Farscape.

    caity_mack at yahoo dot com
    cathy m

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  10. Sniggering at Zita :). I'm afraid I lost Alien after the first sequel though...

    Valerie, did O'Neil and Carter not get together in the end? I did lose Stargate, but I'm sure an episode where O'Neil retired just so he could be with Carter. I've a vague recollection of them sitting in a quiet garden together :).

    Oh well remembered Cathy - yes, definitely John and Aeryn!

    Marie

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  11. Sounds like a great sci fi read! My favorite sci fi couple is Troy and Warf!

    books4me67 at ymail.com

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  12. Oh man... I'm drawing a blank. There are some great ones already mentioned. So, I'll take the liberty of throwing comics into the sci-fi genre and say Rogue and Gambit from the X-Men. lol

    Your books look great, Sara! I love reading that kind of relationship like the one between Edie and Finn.

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  13. Marie, I didn't know there was such a thing as SF romance when I started writing the book (11 years ago). I read SF and I read (contemporary) romance, but never the twain met. So I thought I was writing straight SF that happened to have a romantic lsubplot, as many stories of any genre do. The world and plot and relationship all developed side-by-side.

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  14. Last great couple I recently encountered were Chasidah and Gabriel (Gabriel's Ghost & sequels). I hope to keep finding more.
    a dot charol at yahoo dot ca

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  15. Thanks for your enthusiasm, Dan! I love Mal & Inara too. Inara's character could so easily have been bleccch, but she was great.

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  16. I looooved Mal and Inara and Kaylee and Simon from Firefly! Kaylee and Simon were very sweet, but in the end I wanted more for Mal and Inara!At least a kiss! :-)

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  17. Alright, I'll try one more time...
    I agree with many of tlove the comments above. I Mal and Inara from Firefly, O'Neil and Carter from Stargate but my FAVORITE are Phedre and Jocelyn from Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel Series. A slightly more complicated answer is Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series character Maya. No, that's not a couple but she is in multiple couples!
    jepebATverizonDOTnet

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  18. These books look really great! My favorite scifi couple is still Capt. Chasidah Chaz Bergren and Gabriel Ross Sully Sullivan from Linnea Sinclair's Dock 5 series.

    junegirl63(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. Good to hear about all these couples, some of whom I will have to check out for myself! Especially the very strange Maya!

    Thanks for your answer, Sara! I think a lot of subgenres of romance are pretty recent. And despite choosing to host a party blog based on themes, I don't believe a good story has to be labelled any particular genre to be enjoyed by reader or writer :).

    Sara, thank you so much for joining the party today! I'll be back in a few minutes with your winner...

    Marie

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  20. And Sara's winner of both books plus bookmark is...

    MARIA D!

    Congratulations, Maria - I'm jealous :). Please send me your postal address (Marie AT MarieTreanor DOT com).

    Marie

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  21. Yay, congrats, Maria D!!!

    Valerie
    in Germany

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