I love to interview authors for the AMAZING STORIES MAGAZINE blog and one of my favorite things to do is to ask a group who are writing in a shared universe or along a common theme, like pets in space or translating fairy tales into scifi romance, what their inspiration was. Or something else related! It’s always fun to see how differently each person in the group exercises their creativity to arrive at a great story.
Today I thought I’d highlight some of my recent interviews over at ASM blog – you can jump to the individual posts to read all the fun answers from each author involved and more story details!
Cosmic Fairy Tale Authors Turn Beloved Stories into Science Fiction Romance…
Taking a classic fairy tale and re-telling it in a fresh way is always a fun trope, especially when converting the action to science fiction romance. Recently a group of eight SFR authors tackled that challenge and issued a set of fun stories. I asked USA Today Best Selling Author Tiffany Roberts a few questions about the overall concept and then dug a little deeper to find out what sparked the story for each author.
Collaboration Blurb: Cosmic Fairy Tales is a collaboration in which several authors are retelling beloved tales with a science fiction romance twist. Each book is a standalone, containing its own Happily Ever After, and they can be read in any order.
Veronica for Amazing Stories Magazine: What was the spark behind the idea to create books around this concept?
Tiffany: The concept really just grew from a general let’s do a collaboration! attitude, and was actually one of a few inspired ideas the larger group came up with. All the great ideas posed by the larger group were voted on and narrowed down to two—Cosmic Fairy Tales being one of them. Many of us had long entertained the idea of retelling fairy tales with a sci-fi flare, and this allowed all the authors involved to find their inspiration and run with it in whatever directions their imaginations dictated….
For much more, jump to the post!
Obsidian Rim Authors Talk Shared Universes, Scrapnappers & More…
I’ve really been enjoying the slow rollout of the novels in the Obsidian Rim shared universe and thought it would be interesting to learn more about the project and the individual authors and stories! I asked author Jessa Slade a few basic questions about the series concept.
Veronica for AMAZING STORIES MAGAZINE: Please tell us more about Obsidian Rim itself.
JS: The Obsidian Rim is the remains of a ruined galaxy—actually, it’s our galaxy after a terrible interstellar war hollowed out the Milky Way, leaving only a fragile bubble of habitable systems. And in this precarious realm of struggling worlds and the void between stars, eight authors are each writing a standalone Science Fiction Romance trilogy of their own. In each trilogy, we’re exploring unique angles of the Rim, from riches and royalty to smugglers and scrapnappers. It’s a vast, dangerous place, but maybe the deepest mysteries are in the hearts of the humans who dwell there. Come join us on the journey across the Obsidian Rim!
ASM.: What was the spark behind the idea to create a shared universe?
JS: Writing can be a lonely place—it’s like the outer space of your own mind! Very dark and deep and possibly catastrophically explosive! Having friends along for the adventure has made the creation of the Obsidian Rim more fun. ..(for MUCH more from each author involved hop over to the post…)
USA Today Best Selling Pets in Space 4 Authors Talk About Cats, Dogs & Otherworldly Creatures…
About four years ago, my author friend Pauline B. Jones and I started the Pets In Space® anthology and invited some other science fiction romance authors to join in. We put together an annual collection of all new stories featuring action, adventure, romance and a pet of some sort involved in the story. Sort of like “Lassie in space”. (Not the racier kind of ‘pets’ you find in some steamy fiction!)…For this article I thought it would be fun to ask each of our authors what their first pet on Earth was and then which science fiction pet they’d like to own and why. ..(take a wormhole over to the rest of the post!)
Intergalactic Dating Agency Authors Answer New Release Questions…
It’s the season for the Intergalactic Dating Agency new releases! I thought it would be fun to talk to the authors involved in the current set of books and find out what ‘sparked’ their stories, plus a few other interesting facts. I asked USA Today Best Selling author Tasha Black a few general questions about the series itself to set the stage.
Intergalactic Dating Agency series blurb: Looking for a love that’s out of this world? These strong, smart, sexy aliens are seeking mates from the Milky Way. Just hop onboard with your local Intergalactic Dating Agency and become an Alien Mail Order Bride! Our authors are exploring the friendly skies and beyond with trilogies of cosmic craving, astral adventure and otherworldly lovers. Warning: abductions may or may not be included! Putting the “sigh” and the “friction” in science fiction romance!
Veronica Scott for AMAZING STORIES MAGAZINE: What was the spark behind the shared universe?
TB: The Intergalactic Dating Agency was dreamed up by author V. Vaughn back in 2016 when she was eager to write an Earth-based series about sexy aliens. She invited a group of other authors to join her and many of us are still participating annually. Together we offer hungry readers a fun experience with plenty of books sharing the popular theme. And as authors we enjoy the camaraderie!…(for more on the interstellar date stories from the individual authors, go to the post…!)
And finally, here’s a post I did on what inspires me to start writing a story:
Examining the Story Starters for My Science Fiction Romance Novels…
…My mantra is pretty much “I write what I write and I write what I like to read.” Fortunately for me, there are quite a few wonderful readers out there who seem to also enjoy the way my Muse works in crafting stories! Thank you, readers!
Now that we’ve cleared up those issues, back to the topic of what inspires me to write any given novel. Looking over my backlist in order to write this post,
apparently the majority (not all) are situation-driven. My first ever published science fiction novel with romantic elements, WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM, is
basically “Titanic in space…” as one reviewer said, inspired by the events of the Titanic’s sinking, but set in the far future, on an interstellar luxury liner. ..(for more on what triggered me to write a few other scifi romance novels, travel through hyperspace to the post!)