Randomize ME

Only Human is a soft sci-fi romp with a touch of romance.

This story has been with me for a long time. I wanted to combine the creative depth that is possible with science-fiction to create a believable environment for my characters to live out their passions. I believe that there is a growing segment of female readers looking for relationship-based stories in a sci-fi environment rather than the magic of fantasy.

(And I have a thing for men with long hair. Due to current fashion trends, it’s something best suited for fantasy stories.)

The female lead is my favorite. I wanted to avoid the tough-as-nails female warrior image that can make it too easy for a strong female lead to overcome her adversaries.

Nova’s inherent humanity and compassion, although initially buried by her duty to her command, needs to emerge in order for her to realize her goals. It is what sets her apart in a world where humans are not in the majority and racism has marginalized her people. The subtle racism, of course, sets the stage for her relationship with the male protagonist who is not human.

She is also slightly quirky, something which initially annoys her straight-laced new commander until he learns to loosen up a bit.

(I must append that one of my antagonists ran away with his plot-line and became an intriguing Bad Guy. I adore that one. I may revisit that in a future story)

I work primarily as a web author, designing mostly small business sites. The graphic design skills gained from that lets me save money on cover designs! It also means a great deal of copy editing.

I have published a non-fiction book about HTML and CSS via Logitell in Montreal.

Of course writing for the web is a long jump from writing fiction. I have been writing fiction since about the age of ten or so. It always takes place in other worlds. There is simply too much gravity here on Earth and so much more is possible elsewhere. I’m not fond of the laws of physics. I don’t think I’d even know how to write a non-fantasy tale.

My first full-length novel is The Gods of Chenoweth, currently available as ePub at Amazon, Kobo and Sony.

Now that Only Human is published (Oct 9, ’12) I am thinking about a story involving a discrepancy in male-female birth ratio and how different, isolated societies might deal with a shortage of girls.

This is happening in places like China and repercussions can range from sequestering females, bride-stealing, and other forms of gender equality. What then, might happen to a society if, instead, the rare females are worshiped? And how would those societies clash?

Well, either that, or I’ll head back into space. Come aboard!