by
Jessica E. Subject
One of the joys of writing
speculative fiction—which includes science fiction romance—is that as the
author, I get to predict the future. And I’m not just talking about future
technologies such as spaceflight and gadgetry that is based in science. We can
also predict the future on a social level. This includes governments, religion,
and even romance. Will class structures in society become more distinct? Will
there be a greater divide? And when we do meet beings from outer space, will discrimination
play a factor in our interactions as they unfortunately still do with those on
Earth?
I look at these social aspects in
many of my stories, including my 1Night Stand story, Another Night, Another
Planet. And, of course, I like to add in some possible futuristic technology,
too.
Here’s
an excerpt from Another Night, Another Planet:
Buzzing through the heavy
traffic on her hover bike, [Ava] reached the spaceport in record time. Perfect.
She found a parking locker in the cold, dank underground lot to squeeze her
bike into, then dashed toward security. If she could pick up a faint signal,
maybe she would have a chance to check her email one last time before take-off.
Unlike the guests on board, she couldn’t afford to connect her tablet from
space to the wireless system on the mother traveler, not since she’d paid for
her one-night stand. Though once a week, all crew were allowed a video call
back to Earth. And she called her mom and dad.
She’d been raised by
middle-class parents with little chance of furthering her education past what
the government paid for. When her father had received a pink slip from his
employer of twenty star cycles, any hope she’d held onto of going to college
flew out the window. And without that diploma, she could only find meaningless
jobs that paid less than the effort she put into them.
Bags checked, Ava dashed down
the plain, white corridors of the employee level, pausing for the vacuum seals
to release on doors along the way, until she reached her room for the duration
of her stay. After thumbing the security pad to open the door, she crashed on
the bed to the left, the right one belonging to Michelle, her best friend, who
had convinced her to apply to housekeeping aboard Star Spirit. They’d been
interviewed together, and started space training the very next day.
Four star cycles later, she was
all set to venture out on her seventh tour. Though she didn’t have much of a
life traveling through space, the pay was better than she would find anywhere
on Earth. Her basic needs of food and shelter were met, and when she returned
home, she always split her earnings between her parents and her savings account.
She couldn’t let the people who had raised her suffer because she’d found an
opportunity they hadn’t.
Giveaway!
Tell
me: What societal changes would you like to see in the future?
Answer
this question for your chance to WIN Another Night, Another Planet in ebook OR
audio format. Must be 18 or older to enter. Contest is international excerpt
where prohibited by law. Good luck!
About
Another Night, Another Planet:
Limited
by status…
Ava is a housekeeper aboard
Star Spirit, a luxury cruise ship that travels between the Milky Way and the
Belvarian System. Coming from a middle-class family on Earth, she is considered
by passengers as nothing more than an object to be tossed away when they’re
done with her.
Shunned
because of his lineage…
Being banned from several
planets across the universe has made it hard for Nate to run his interstellar
shipping business. But the DNA of an exterminated race runs through his blood,
giving him a diluted form of their powers, and leaving him labeled as a
terrorist.
Both
searching for the one…
Through her 1Night Stand dating
service, Madame Evangeline matches these two together for a celestial escape on
the pleasure planet, Elatia.
Will Ava and Nate find what
they’re looking for, or will their date go up in flames?
Available from
Now an Audio Book!
Narrated by Audrey Lusk
*You
can listen to a sample at Audible and Amazon*
At
Amazon, if you buy the Kindle format, you can get the audio book for a reduced price.
About
Jessica E. Subject:
Jessica Subject is the author
of contemporary and science fiction romance, ranging from sweet to erotica. In
her stories, you could meet clones, or a sexy alien or two. You may even be
transported to another planet for a romantic rendezvous.
When Jessica isn't reading,
writing, or doing dreaded housework, she likes to get out and walk. Fast. But
she just may slow down if there is a waterfall nearby.
Jessica lives in Ontario,
Canada with her husband and two energetic children. And she loves to hear from
her readers. You can find her at jessicasubject.com
and on twitter @jsubject.
Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon | Authorgraph
#jsubject, #1NS, #1nightstand, #onenightstand, #MadameEve, #decadentpub, #scifiromance
Id ike to see people stop thinking that they have the right to tell others how the should live their lives and the things they think aren't good for them.
ReplyDeleteYes, very true, Lori. Some people do it because they want what's best for a person. Others, because they're ignorant.
DeleteTechnology slowly dies away and after the riots because we're all depended on it, the world will become something else entirely. More steampunk, less cyberpunk:)
ReplyDeleteYou're right, we are becoming too dependent upon technology. We have a lot of zombies (people who walk around staring at their phone without paying attention to where they are going) around here. They'll be so lost if everything crashes.
DeleteCongratulations to Ella Grey, who wins Another Night, Another Planet in ebook or audiobook format!
ReplyDelete