Ray Bradbury has left us - Rest in peace - by Vijaya Schartz

Science Fiction author extraordinaire Ray Bradbury was born in Illinois in 1920. He wrote his first short stories in his teens, and the Hollerbochen's Dilemma, was first published in 1938.

Since then, he wrote eleven novels and over 600 short stories, novellas, essays, even screenplays, and children's stories. The novel everyone remembers is Fahrenheit 451 (1953), a dystopian, science-fiction portraying a world where books are banned and burned at that specific temperature. That story became a movie in 1966.

But for us authors of science fiction, Ray Bradbury was a symbol. He broke the mold and dared writing about hot political issues in a science fiction context, and many of his stories are moral tales.

Ray, we shall miss you at the many conferences and conventions where you still appeared despite your advanced age. And the ideas you developed in science fiction are still inpiring new authors to cross boundaries and write about true human conflicts in an entetaining way.

I just read: THE SYN-EN SOLUTION by Linda Andrews

Find this book in kindle HERE

As far as Sci-fi romances go, this one has everything. From the space ship battles, the altered beings regarded as inferior by the purely biological entities, to the political intrigues, genocide, plagues, and a voyage to a faraway planet through a wormhole. Of course, between all the action scenes and unraveling mystery, the hero, a SYN-EN, (synthetic entity but not entirely) burns for the soft skin of this stowaway unaltered biological woman he found naked in a pod aboard his ship.

The fact that the woman traveled through time from Twentieth Century Earth provides the perfect device to help the reader understand the technology of this spacefaring modified human race. It makes the jump in time easier. Although the science in this book is irreproachable, it never obscures the human and semi-human emotional conflicts, and the love scenes sizzle with intensity.

I loved the Syn-En solution, a very well written book, and am looking forward to more novels in this very promising series.

I give this book five stars!

Find more of Linda Andrews novels and novellas in print and in kindle at:
 http://amzn.com/e/B001JOWEAU

HOW ALIEN AND HUMAN SOCIETIES EVOLVE

I'm glad I had the opportunity to write the prequel to this series. NOAH'S ARK does explain a lot about how these modern humans who came in a spaceship lost their technology and reversed to a medieval level of civilization. It's not a natural evolution. It was forced upon them by the powerful aliens who claimed and exploited the planet where they crashed. Of course, it had to be an exciting adventure, with a central romance, lots of action and worthwhile conflicts to forge the beginning of this new society. I believe NOAH'S ARK is all of that.

In Book One, WHITE TIGER, after several centuries the human settlers have all but forgotten their true origins. All that remains of their past are legends mixed with superstition. By then they have adapted to this wintry world, they have their own history, and they are ruled and kept ignorant of technology by a powerful advanced race who exploits them for their own purpose. The heroine, White Tiger, raised by a military man, is a captain in the human cavalry. She knows there is hidden technology, although she doesn't have access to it. The hero is a highly educated handsome Mutant, Dragomir... the result of breeding experiments mixing human and alien DNA. And boy, is he gorgeous!

In Book Two, RED LEOPARD, a few generations after White Tiger, the hero is the first human to access the governing council of Kassouk. Terek is highly educated, although the population at large is not, and he is in charge of the city in the king's absence. The heroine is a cool, double edge sword alien female, a warrior princess, who has more human than alien traits, and is considered flawed among her people. The issue here is one of trust.

In Book Three, BLACK JAGUAR, the planet is warming and the human population has reached the stage of building large sea-faring galleons. Our hero is a Zerker prince, Kahuel of Yalta, a descendant of White Tiger's mortal enemies. They now have evolved into a civilized society. When he embarks on a voyage of adventure and discovery, he finds primitive humans who can read minds where no humans should be. As for the heroine, Talina, she is innocent and pure, highly spiritual, connected to the land and her people, and she can read the heart of this warrior prince, who fits the prophecy of her people.

In BLUE LIONESS, still further in time, the kind Mutant king dies a suspicious death and is replaced by a Mutant council hostile to humans. Ariela of Kassouk, a Black Sword captain educated beyond the allowed human limits, feels she is the only one who can help the human race avoid slavery. She needs help, and Starro, crown prince of the Star People, the mysterious tribe from beyond the sea, might just provide what she needs... but he has frightening supernatural powers...


I believe all societies are in constant flux and subject to all kinds of influences. I'm fascinated by history, so writing a society of my own and watching it evolve from book to book was a very exciting experience. I enjoyed writing every page.

Learn more on my website:

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

WHAT'S THE DEAL ABOUT CATS IN SPACESHIPS?

Viking, the rat hunter in Noah's Ark

I love cats. That's no secret. For proof, visit my website's  CAT PAGE. But what could possibly bring a cat into a spaceship? Well, think about it. Space is a lonely place. A cat would be good company for a lone space traveler, or for a small crew. Cats don't eat much, and they bring a lot of love and affection. Their purr is calming in stressful situations... their contact is healing... Pets are known to prolong the lives of their owners... I could go on and on. Even Captain Picard, on the Enterprise, had a small dog. Not as good as a cat, but I'll forgive him. Most guys prefer dogs.

But what would be the scientific justification? Keeping up the morale? Studying cats in space? Maybe. The thing is that if I had to go in space for a long period of time, I'd like to have at least one of my furry friends with me on the voyage.

In the older days of ocean exploration, ship captains used to keep cats onboard. The felines took care of the rodent problem. This could also apply to a spaceship. No matter how sterile the environment, all that food stored in the pantry could fall prey to a stowaway rodent, familiar or alien, and the crew could die of starvation or disease if the sealed packages were ever compromised. Trips to the grocery store are not an option in space.

In NOAH'S ARK, my latest romantic science fiction novel, cats are part of the scenery. Here, of course, they belong to settlers who intend to colonize a new planet, and for them, cats are just part of the natural order they want to bring to their new world. They also have goats and sheep and dogs and even cattle. But as all cat lovers know, cats are special.

In many cultures they are imbued with mystical powers, whether it's good luck or bad luck, but no one can deny the magic effect of cats on people and on their entire environment. In my mind, a well organized society includes cats. From the Egyptians to the Greeks to the Romans, and in all civilizations since, cats may not be sacred, but they have a special place in our hearts.

NOAH'S ARK

Chronicles of Kassouk Prequel

by Vijaya Schartz

When Trixie's star freighter, Noah's Ark, drops out of jump space in an uncharted part of the universe, she believes the M-class planet on her viewer represents hope and salvation for her motley crew and the ragtag settlers aboard her ship.

Kostas, ex Space Marine, the expert survivalist recruited for this expedition, doesn't believe in coincidences, and knows that when something looks too good to be true, it usually is.

Everyone on this voyage to seed a new planet with life, is running from something, and harbors dangerous secrets... including Trixie, who vowed to never let a man control her life again. As for Kostas, he would get lynched on the spot if anyone suspected who he really is. Even Viking, the furry rat hunter, has a secret.

But on this seemingly abandoned planet, others are watching, herding them for evil purposes... And when the truth emerges and secrets unravel, Trixie and Kostas will have to fight for survival, for freedom, and for the right to love...

Find all my books at Amazon HERE

Find out more about me and my books HERE

Why Science Fiction authors also write Historical novels

As an author, I write romance in futuristic and medieval settings, and sometimes, I mix both into the same series, like in the Chronicles of Kassouk, where I pit a medieval society against an advanced technological race. And contrary to modern logic, medieval humans are smart, very resourceful and full of surprises... enough to outdo their betters. Everyone enjoys seeing the oppressed win in the end.

A number of new authors are now also writing medieval as well as science fiction novels, but this is not a new phenomenon. Marion Zimmer Bradley in the eighties and nineties wrote in both science fiction and medieval genres with her Mists of Avalon (Arthurian legends) series and her Darkover (speculative fiction) series, and she met with great success in both genres. Most of her readers did cross over the genres to read all her books.

Writing the past or the future is not so far apart. Research is still research. For the future, instead of researching historical facts, you research modern science in order to project where the next logical evolutionary step will lead, and what kind of future society it will likely engender. Creating an unfamiliar world and making it real to the reader, whether in the past or in the future, requires the same skills, the same kind of imagination that projects into a world with different sets of rules, a different political climate, different dress codes, eating habits, different laws and ethics, different religious beliefs, different taboos, etc.

The only thing that doesn't change through the ages is people. Although we would like to believe that we evolved over the last millennia, we really haven't. Despite our fancy laws, we still have serial killers and terrorists. Given the opportunity, any human being will behave in the same noble or despicable manner now as he or she would have centuries ago. And in the future, it will probably still be the case. Of course, in the future there also might be robots, cyborgs, and clones which might operate under a different set of rules. But is that so different from the rules controlling the slaves of ancient times?

The struggle for justice, however, like the need for love and freedom, are timeless and constant themes that keep repeating in the past, the present, and will most likely endure in the future. Because these needs are inherent to human nature.

In conclusion, whether a writer tackles the past or the future, what carries a story, beyond the action, adventure and plot, is human emotion. We all can relate to that. So I hope you try my medieval romantic series. It's not set in the future, but if you imagine it's on another planet instead of our own in the faraway past, it could very well be.

Happy reading.

Vijaya Schartz

Blasters, Swords, Romance with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

The Chronicles of Kassouk series is complete! by Vijaya Schartz

NOAH'S ARK the prequel to the Chronicles of Kassouk, is now available almost everywhere in eBook. You can find it in kindle HERE, at ARe HERE, also in Nook very soon HERE

Although this was the last book published in the series, it has become the first one, as it's the story of what happened a few centuries before the first book (White Tiger) and explains how human settlers happened to be marooned on this far-flung planet, out of Earth's reach.

When Trixie's starfreighter, Noah's Ark, drops out of jump space in an uncharted part of the universe, she believes the M-class planet on her viewer represents hope and salvation for her motley crew and the ragtag settlers aboard her ship.

Kostas, ex Space Marine, the expert survivalist recruited for this expedition, doesn't believe in coincidences, and knows that when something looks too good to be true, it usually is.

Everyone on this voyage to seed a new planet with life, is running from something, and harbors dangerous secrets... including Trixie, who vowed to never let a man control her life again. As for Kostas, he would get lynched on the spot if anyone suspected who he really is.

But on this seemingly abandoned planet, others are watching, herding them for evil purposes... And when the truth emerges and secrets unravel, Trixie and Kostas will have to fight for survival, for freedom, and for the right to love...

As for Book One, WHITE TIGER, it is now available in paperback as well as in eBook, and other books in this series will follow in print as well. You may order it from your favorite bookstore, or online at Amazon HERE and soon also on B&N. Of course, it's available everywhere eBooks are sold.

On the frozen plains of Kassouk, where a few aliens rule a medieval Human world, Tora, Human warrior trained by tigers, seeks her father’s murderer. But what she finds at the point of her sword confuses her. How dare Dragomir, the handsome Mutant, question her bloodline and her loyalties? And could a new enemy control the savage hordes of the fringe?
Dragomir offers to help, but Humans and Mutants are forbidden to fraternize under penalty of death... Should Tora trust her mind, her instincts, or her heart?

In the vortex of war, treason and intrigue, among blizzards, avalanches and ambushes, will Tora solve the mystery of her father’s death and unveil the secret of her birth? Can she and Dragomir escape persecutions long enough to save their planet from the invaders and fulfill their destiny?

Find more about these books and many others on my website at: http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
And enter my contest to win my next release (not a sci-fi, but a medieval novel with romantic elements, as well asswords and magic) by clicking on CONTEST at the top right of my main page.

Also visit my new medieval blog at: http://medievalnovels.blogspot.com/

Happy reading.
Wishing you the very best

Vijaya Schartz
Blasters, Swords, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/