I’ve written many contemporary romances, a few paranormals, some
poetry, and nonfiction. My new series, The Shielded Series, is what I’m calling
“low-fat sci-fi romance.” It has a contemporary feel with a few splashes of
sci-fi to change things up a bit.
Let’s face it, the Star Trek version of the future is not going to
happen within our lifetimes. I become more and more certain of this as time
passes on and still no food replicators, no transporters, no Star Fleet
Academy. Once in a great while I hear news of some amazing scientific
discovery, but nothing that leads me to believe we’re on the cusp of meeting
extraterrestrials or truly revolutionizing the way we live.
Hence the birth of my low-fat sci-fi romance—all the fun of pushing the
technological envelope without the pesky, overly-intellectual scientific jargon.
Happily ever afters, of course, are still guaranteed.
SAFE, Book One in The Shielded Series, takes place in the year
2025 and has hovercopters, genetically-engineered characters, a deadly plague,
and a ruined global landscape thanks to science. Life isn’t easy for my main
characters, but they’re doing the best they can considering the circumstances.
They’re approachable too because the sci-fi parts are just a light frosting on
the story. Not many calories at all. Easy to swallow and digest. No additional
sit-ups required after consuming. Darina and Foster aren’t that much different
from you and me of 2016. Their struggles are relatable even if they are living
a few hops ahead on the timeline. Fears, pride, needs, desires—those don’t go
away in the future.
To really dial back on the sci-fi, I gave the main character a wooded
sanctuary where the living is about as natural as you can get. This serene
setting balances out the gritty rubble of the decimated city. I give you equal
doses of the hard, just-trying-to-make-it-through-the-day survival mode of
Boston in 2025 and the
take-a-deep-breath-of-mountain-fresh-air-and-hug-some-trees living of Vermont.
This all combines to give you a reading experience that stretches
imagination, warms the heart, and gives us hope that things can work out even
in the future.
Low-fat sci-fi romance.
Here’s a short excerpt to illustrate what I mean:
“Foster, c’mon. This roof isn’t going to hold much longer.” Darina took
another step closer, wary of the gaping hole in the roof beside Foster. Heat
and smoke poured from it as well as other places on the roof.
He reached forward and put his hand in hers. With a tug, she pulled him
to his feet and they ran to the hovercopter.
She didn’t let go of his hand. Not when she climbed into the craft. Not
when he climbed in right behind her. Not when they settled in their seats. Not
when she signaled to Ghared to get the hell off that roof. The hovercopter ascended vertically, leaving Foster’s building a flaming
beacon below them. Banking around the neighboring buildings, the craft jetted
toward Emerge Tech’s walls.
Foster let go of her hand then to lean forward to Ghared. “Those walls
have a security field above them.”
“Yeah, no shit.” Ghared shot him a sideways glance. “But I got in, didn’t
I?” He reached over and smacked the leg of his copilot—Zeke.
Darina had been surprised to see Zeke in the hovercopter, but Ghared told
her he hadn’t wanted to leave the kid behind so soon after a seizure. She
immediately regretted calling her buddy for help, but he was the only one who
could get them out of there in one piece.
She loved him for not leaving Zeke behind, even if the kid looked pale
and groggy in his seat now. His dark mass of hair was sticking out at odd
angles as if he’d been ripped out of a death-level slumber, which he no doubt
had been. She fought the urge to pull Zeke into the back seat and into her lap,
wanting nothing more than to comfort him.
Foster leaned back in his seat beside her. “Is our pilot’s confidence
warranted, or should I be concerned?” He touched the gash on his forehead and
frowned at the blood dotting his fingertips. He unzipped his pocket and
extracted his tablet.
“I wouldn’t have called someone incompetent for help. I make a point of
only associating with useful people,” Darina said, watching Foster power up his
tablet and attempt—unsuccessfully—to doctor the gash in his forehead.
She slid closer to him and held out her hand for the tablet. After he
slid it into her hand, she focused on lining up the injury in the tablet’s
viewfinder. She absolutely did not notice how beautifully green his eyes were
or how long his dark eyelashes were or how wonderfully that black stubble
framed his tempting lips. She barely registered the artistic way his tattoo
swirled up from his neck to his ear. Nope. Didn’t see a thing.
Grumbling to herself, she scanned his wound and it sealed itself. She
reached under the pilot’s seat and grabbed a first aid kit, which no doubt was
an antique to Foster. Rummaging around in it, she found a cleansing wipe and
gave him one to wash the blood off his forehead.
As she stowed the first aid kit back under the pilot’s seat, she said,
“You’ll live.”
“Thanks.” His voice also sounded as if he had tried—and failed—to not
notice anything about her face as she’d tended to him.
So if you’re looking for something that has a contemporary flavor with
a dash of science our time doesn’t quite have yet, try The Shielded Series.
Darina and Foster are waiting for you in SAFE, Book One, and promise not to
ruin your diet.
Toodles,
Chris
