I Have Been Tagged!

I think that Heather over at Galaxy Express thinks that I have been AWOL from posting for too long. She tagged me today. She is so evil! So this is the way the game is played:

Copy the list below. Mark in bold the movie titles for which you read the book. Italicize the that you’ve watched. Tag 5 people to perpetuate the meme. (You may of course play along anyway.)

1. Jurassic Park
2. War of the Worlds
3. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
4. I, Robot
5. Contact
6. Congo
7. Cocoon
8. The Stepford Wives
9. The Time Machine
10. Starship Troopers
11. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
12. K-PAX
13. 2010
14. The Running Man
15. Sphere
16. The Mothman Prophecies
17. Dreamcatcher
18. Blade Runner(Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)
19. Dune
20. The Island of Dr. Moreau
21. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
22. The Iron Giant(The Iron Man)
23. Battlefield Earth
24. The Incredible Shrinking Woman
25. Fire in the Sky
26. Altered States
27. Timeline
28. The Postman
29. Freejack(Immortality, Inc.)
30. Solaris
31. Memoirs of an Invisible Man
32. The Thing(Who Goes There?)
33. The Thirteenth Floor
34. Lifeforce(Space Vampires)
35. Deadly Friend
36. The Puppet Masters
37. 1984
38. A Scanner Darkly
39. Creator
40. Monkey Shines
41. Solo(Weapon)
42. The Handmaid’s Tale
43. Communion
44. Carnosaur
45. From Beyond
46. Nightflyers
47. Watchers
48. Body Snatchers

I tag... (and please don't come after me for revenge! :-)
Jace: Jace Scribbles
Cheryl: Butterfly Books
Clare: The Haven
Dawn: Take it to the Stars
Jordan: Jordan Summers

Now I have confirmed my geekiness to all true Sci-Fi aficionados. I have to hang my head in shame.

Sorry that I have been out of sight, but with classes, rain storms and erosion, and trying to write, I have been so tied up. I have two other posts written and ready to go. All it will take is a little time to get the photos ready to go with them.

See you all soon,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

I Am So HTML Challenged

HTML - Hypertext Markup Language.

Does that scare you as much as it does me? I thought so. Well again my marketing loop came through with a goody that I thought that I would pass along. Lisabet Sarai has a wonderful page explaining HTML on her website:

http://www.lisabetsarai.com/html101.html

I confess that I am HTML illiterate. However, I am working on it. If you, like I, are deficient in this area, here is an excellent place to begin learning. My ambition is to create mine own website before I start shopping my manuscript. In any case I will definitely need to know how to handle the website when I do have it. Lisabet's article made some things clear that I had no idea of before. Thank you Lisabet.

Happy writing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

Happy Swiss National Day

Thank you to you, friends from Switzerland, who have taken the time to stop by my blog. I wish you all happiness on your National Day. Since 1291, you have never lost sight of freedom for your country. May you always treasure it.


You have shown the rest of the world that people of different languages and backgrounds can live and work together happily. All the best for the future.

Have a wonderful day in your beautiful country with your children's parades, your bonfires, and your fireworks.

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

Review: MOONSTRUCK by Susan Grant

Last week, I got a good-goodie in the mail. :-D I won a copy of Susan Grant’s MOONSTRUCK from the Galaxy Express Blog. Not only that, but Heather, the GE Mistress, listed me as one of the future Science Fiction Romance writers to watch. MOONSTRUCK and dumbstruck all in one day. LOL Thank you Susan and Heather. And you, inquiring reader, may find their links in my sidebar. Enjoy.

Well, I have finally finished reading MOONSTRUCK (not easy to do when one is trying to blog and write a book at the same time). Although I think that CONTACT may still be my favorite Grant, MOONSTRUCK is a close second. Time and rereads will eventually make all clear. In any case, I highly recommend MOONSTRUCK as fun Space Opera and Science Fiction Romance, with some serious underlying themes. Susan did a really good job of exploring a wide range of emotions in this book. Being a former military officer, and presently an airline pilot, she created a fully believable military world in which her characters could live.

For me, the characterization in MOONSTRUCK was its strongest point. Susan took a gutsy gamble in introducing her heroine as a cold blooded user. It was a gamble which pays off. This was the trick for me: as an author, she made me immediately wonder why the heroine, Admiral Brit Bandar, was behaving in this manner. Brit fascinated me the same way that she fascinated the hero, Finn Rorkken. She is the victim of a terrible grief, and is coping to the best of her abilities. The moment that she truly won my heart was when I realized that she was trying to be fair in spite of all prior prejudices. I admired her for that.

MOONSTRUCK is a good study of the recovery from grief. Brit is hard, but events have shaped her. She changes and grows throughout the book. Finn also has to confront his prejudices, which come from an unexpected source. I liked that these two adults acted professionally. I liked that Finn was always trying to do what was best for his crew and for Brit. I liked that Finn didn’t play the tortured hero. It was refreshing to see a practical man.

Happy reading,

Frances
Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

For the Love of Words

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” ~ Mark Twain

There is something about finding the precisely correct word that makes the heart sing. Poets are the consummate masters of the craft. Every word that a poet uses must be dense, with multiple layers of meaning; and, the poet deserves the highest praise, for his very reason for writing is to make his reader’s heart sing.

On the other hand... there is little that is more jarring to a reader than to be cruising through a book, and to encounter a word which is obviously taken from a Thesaurus, with little understanding of the nuances of the word. The glaring intents of this scenario are: 1) not to repeat a word too often; or, 2) to show that the writer knows some 'really big' words. The result is generally ludicrous.

“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.” ~ Stephen King

As you can see, some authors seem to advocate throwing the Thesaurus away. But, that may not be absolutely true. It would be rather like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Thesauruses are wonderful tools for expanding one’s mind and vocabulary, to say nothing of being sheer fun. It's just that like ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’, Thesauruses should be used with caution... AND A DICTIONARY! A writer who does not fully understand all the implications of the word which he/she plans to use, is playing with fire, or perhaps a bucket of water when the real intent was to light the fire. Wrong in either case.

One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment. ~ Hart Crane

I make no claim to the mastery of words that a poet must exercise. All that I can say is that I love words. I am a merely writer of plain prose. I simply try to choose the correct word to convey my ideas in the clearest possible manner. The correct and careful use of words is one of the foundation stones of civilization. We need to be careful of anyone playing fast and loose with our language.

May we all be discriminating in both our reading and our writing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

Annd Heeereee's Sagittarius!!!

I think that I'm beginning to sound like Ed McMahon.

With the waning of the Moon, now is an excellent time for star gazing... that is, if you can see past the summertime haze, and city lights! Let's hope so.

This month, Sagittarius takes over center stage for the evening hours right after sunset.

Last month, I showed you how to find Scorpius. It has now progressed into the due South position, and will serve to show us the location of Sagittarius. After finding the great fish hook of Scorpius, look a little to the East. The next really bright object that you see is Jupiter. It is presently within the constellation of Sagittarius. Immediately to the West of Jupiter you will see a formation of stars that look like a 'teapot' (remember asterisms?). That is Sagittarius... well not all, but enough to know that you have found it.

To the ancient Greeks, Sagittarius was not just the Archer. He was the Centaur - who shot the Scorpion - who killed Orion - who... oh, never mind. Simply follow the top edge of the 'teapot's spout' (the arrow), and you will see that it points directly at Scorpius. There really is justice. The gods didn't allow Orion to go unavenged. *G*

However, myth is not the best thing about Sagittarius. When we look at Sagittarius, we are looking into the center of the Milky Way. The only reason that there is not an overwhelming glow from there is because there is so much dust between it and us. There is also a great, big, Black Hole there... eating, and eating... Cheery thought, huh? But, let your heart not be troubled. It is more than thirty thousand light years away. Even your grandchildren don't have to worry.

Happy viewing

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

Heads Up for Freebies...Limited Time!

If you like freebies as much as I do then here is a good one for you who like Science Fiction and/or Science Fiction Romance. Tor Publishing is offering some of their titles for free HTML or PDF download from the following URL:

http://tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=577

From what I understand, this will only be available until July 27, 2008.

I downloaded Patti O'Shea's IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, and loved it. I had no idea what to expect because I had never before read any of Patti's work. It was magical. *G* Pun intended. Have fun, and if you have any problems, e-mail me, and I will send you another link. We can only hope that one of them works.

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

The Eagle Has Landed...

Thirty-nine years ago, today, man first set foot on a celestial body other than Earth. I was a student in college in 1969 when Neil Armstrong first stepped from the Lunar Lander, Eagle onto the face of the Moon, uttering the famous words, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

I have always loved this next picture of Buzz Aldrin, taken by Neil Armstrong. You can see the reflection of Armstrong in Aldrin's visor. Also you can see the reflection of the landing leg of the Eagle. I have cropped the picture somewhat in order that you see these reflections, but as a piece of photography, all I can say is, "Wow!"

It boggled my mind then; and, the fact that the foot print that you see here is still on the surface of the Moon today, continues to amaze me. Now when we look up at the Moon, we can actually say, we've been there. How cool is that? Hmmm... But with the price of gas what it is now, I can't see really myself going in the near future. I guess that I will have to live vicariously through my characters' adventures.

I hope that some of you will someday travel to the stars.

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance

Real Love in a Real Future

Ways Reviews Can Help the Writer

I was recently reminded of the importance to the aspiring writer of something that I have done for many years. It has been a great education to me, and I highly recommend it for other aspiring authors. I read reviews of highly rated books. But I also read the reviews of poorly rated books. Why? I want to know what works, what doesn't work, and the reasons why. There are a lot of very smart reviewers out there. One might as well make use of their expertise.

In one of my online writer's loops, Lena Austin, a writer of erotica, went so far as to suggest to aspiring authors that they should become online reviewers. She has some very good points, and more on her website: http://www.lenaaustin.com/. Because of time constraints, I rarely review online, but analyzing is wonderful training for a writer. Her points about becoming an online reviewer were:

1. Professionally, you assimilate what works and what doesn't. Not just what matches your personal tastes, but what's being accepted by the publishers and why.
2. You get free books from all the publishers, so you get to study the house styles without paying a penny.
3. You get a recognized name in the industry.
4. Did I mention the free books? 'Nuff said, right?
5. Most of the review sites are backlogged and desperately need reviewers. This is an excellent way to get your foot in the door of this industry.

Thank you Lena for sharing your wisdom. And dear reader, you will find several links to excellent review sites listed under the Very Fun section of the side bar.

Happy writing,

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future

Coming Down from the Happy Dance...

If you are going to be a writer, you had better check your ego at the door and develope objectivity. Yep! You can give yourself a few days to celebrate the completion of a project; but, when the euphoria clears, you had better be able to look at your baby with clear eyes .

If you are lucky enough to have a few really good friends, they are guaranteed to tell you where your work needs a little more attention. You can either get your knickers in a twist, and say, "They don't understand. My baby is perfect." Or, you can suck it up, pull your lower lip off the floor and say, "Thank you God, that I have good enough friends that they will tell me the truth about how I can improve this prodigy of mine.

But you're not ready for the suck it up routine! That's understandable. Somebody just told you that your precious child has freckles. What do you do? Well, the first thing that you can do is to look around you, and make a list of the things that you have been neglecting in order to write said precious child. Then attack one item at a time, and check them off when they're completed. Checkmarks can make one feel wonderfully superior. That is exactly the frame of mind that one wants in order to make improvements in child prodigies.

Now I'am off to catch a few dustbunnies, and then make my Science Fiction Short Story, SCARS, even better, thanks to some really good friends' advice. Not only did they understand, but they knew what they were talking about. Thank you my friends for caring that I do my best.

Happy writing

Frances

Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future