I have a guest today! I've been marathon-watching Stargate Atlantis (for the third time...), and appropriately have Jamie Lynn Miller here to talk about her latest M/M sci-fi release: An Endless Sea of Stars.
Let's start with some questions:
Is there, or has there been, a person in your life you dreaded telling
about writing M/M romance?
My husband. It was four years after we got married that I started writing gay
fiction (I'd previously been writing m/f). Telling my husband that I wrote
male/male stories was one of the most awkward and difficult conversations I’ve
ever had in my life! At least on my part! Turns out I’d worked myself up for
nothing. Bless his heart, he took the news without even blinking and has been
my biggest supporter ever since my first book was published in 2008. Like he
said, it’s perfectly acceptable for a man to get turned on by watching two
women together, why should it be any different for a woman and two men? Smart
man, my husband.
If you could live a day in your favorite film of all time, knowing to come
out of the experience alive and well no matter the genre of the movie, would
you?
Yes, absolutely! And the movie would be Star Wars, hands down. I'd give anything
to either wield a lightsaber or fly an X-Wing!
Have you studied anything that you consider backs you up as a writer?
Yes, actually, I have. I've been interested in law enforcement since I was a
kid and over the last several years I've taken more than 72 weeks of citizen
police and fire academy classes. I used my knowledge to write Memory's
Prisoner, Burnin' for You and Out of the Shadows.
Almost everyone has a quote that has stuck with them for a long time. Do
you have one?
"To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge
from almost all the miseries of life" - W. Somerset Maugham
This
was on a bookmark I found inside a hardcover book I bought at a used bookstore.
I couldn't believe how appropriate it was. I've always escaped into a book when
things got tough, from when I was a kid. I think it's why I ended up becoming a
writer.
Do you believe in the supernatural? If so, what kind, i.e. UFOs, ghosts,
rebirth, poltergeist?
Yes, absolutely! I believe in ghosts, aliens and reincarnation.
What's the best fortune you've ever gotten in a fortune cookie?
Honest to God, about five years ago I got one that read "You will become
an accomplished writer". I nearly fell out of my chair! I immediately
taped it to my computer monitor where it still is today, inspiring me every
day.
You can only watch one TV show for the rest of your life. What show is it?
Why?
That would have to be The X-Files, hands down. I loved every aspect of that
show, from the aliens to the creature of the week to Mulder and Scully's
amazing relationship.
Could you just stop writing, for the rest of your life?
Good lord, no! There are way too many stories locked up inside my head and I
don't see myself running out of ideas. Ever.
You’re going to end up on a desert island, all
alone except a couple from one of your published stories. You get to choose,
but keep in mind you’d probably end up witnessing them trying to kill boredom
with sex. A lot. Which couple would you choose, and why?
I think I'd pick Cade and Toby from An Endless Sea of Stars. They're both
quite comfortable being in and around water. So I'd get to watch them walk
around in just their underwear (or nothing at all!) and frolic in the ocean. No
way could I ever get bored!
Writing summaries and blurbs, love it or hate it?
Hate it! LOL! Writing a 50,000 word story is easier than having to try and
condense the whole thing down to a couple of sentences.
Well, thanks for that. I haven't had the internet since I moved houses, so I've been watching TV series while I've unpacked. Among those were Firefly (and Serenity) and Stargate Atlantis. I also watched Star Wars as a child and they certainly made an impact on me. Those who know me know I'm a sucker for sci-fi. So, here's the guest post:
Many thanks to Erica for having me here today to talk about my new
novella, An Endless Sea of Stars. I've been a sci-fi fan since 1977, the year
that a little film called Star Wars hit the movie screens. I was only six years
old back then. While my friends wanted to go see Bambi I was begging my dad to
take me to Star Wars. My mother thought I was nuts and refused to go, saying my
dad was just wasting his money because I wouldn't understand the movie. Seven
days later and seven consecutive trips to the movies with my dad and she had to
admit she'd made a mistake. :-)
To this day Star Wars remains a big part of my life. My home is
filled with about a thousand pieces of memorabilia and photos of myself with
many of the actors. I also love shows like the original Battlestar Galactica,
Stargate SG-1, Firefly, Buck Rogers, Babylon 5, Fringe, Doctor Who and Alien
Nation. I also read sci-fi novels voraciously.
So why it's taken me to this day to write my first m/m sci-fi
novella I have no idea! LOL! But inspiration finally hit and An Endless Sea of
Stars was born.
This is Book One of the Genesis Project series, which follows the
lives of a test pilot and an engineer as Earth strives to build a starship that
will take them beyond the Milky Way and into deep space. My friend Gina calls
the book a "futuristic romance" and I love that description. While it
has sci-fi elements to it, the story takes place entirely on Earth with its
focus on the love story between Toby and Cade.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
BLURB:
The year is 2121. While Earth has conquered exploration of the Milky
Way, we have yet to develop an interstellar engine to take us beyond our own
galaxy. Thus the Intergalactic Exploration Alliance and the Gemini Project were
formed.
Lieutenant Tobias Dekker is fresh out of the IEA academy and
determined to be assigned to the Gemini engineering team. Putting career above
all else. He knows from experience that relationships have no place in the
Alliance. Commander Caden Flynn is equally determined to see the Gemini
prototype take flight to uncharted space. The engine is his late father's
design and he wants nothing more than to be the test pilot that breaks the next
light speed barrier.
Two men dreaming of a sea of stars find that it's instead an ocean
here on Earth that brings them together. Can Cade convince Toby to open up his
heart and take a chance on love and explore the universe with him, side by
side?
EXCERPT:
Toby rolled
his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Anyone ever tell you you’re a
smartass?”
At that Cade
finally let loose with his suppressed laughter. “I had you going there, though,
didn’t I?” he smirked.
Toby waved his
hand in dismissal. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll have you know that’s never happened
to me before. I would’ve gotten us outta there. I just needed another minute…or
two,” he finished with an embarrassed grin.
“You know, I
really should report this to Hank,” Cade quipped as he finished removing his
wetsuit. “But!” he held up his hand before Toby could say anything. “We can
forget about the entire thing if…” he trailed off for a second and rummaged in
his duffle bag, pulling out a bottle of Kentucky bourbon and showing it to
Toby. “…you have a drink with me.” He shrugged one of his shoulders. “Since I
couldn’t get you to a bar with me I thought I’d bring the bar to you.”
Toby paused.
Alone, in the dark, sharing a few drinks. This wasn’t a good idea. He should
politely decline and say they needed to start heading back. But his mouth was
apparently not listening to his brain, because before he could stop himself…
“Deal.”
A very pleased
smile crossed Cade’s face and he reached over and squeezed Toby’s bare shoulder
before turning back to the duffel bag and producing two plastic cups. A few
minutes later they had donned their t-shirts and shorts and were relaxing on
the bow, sitting close enough that their shoulders were almost touching. The
clouds had dissipated, revealing millions of stars twinkling in the clear sky
and a full moon reflecting on the water.
Cade took a
swallow of bourbon and turned his head toward Toby. “I can’t get over what an
amazing feeling it was, being down in those caves tonight.”
Toby took a
drink as well. “Been through those caves ‘bout a hundred times. But like I said
earlier, there’s something different every time. It never gets boring.”
Cade looked up
toward the sky. “It’s like being out in the stars. I don’t think I’ll ever get
tired of it.”
Toby couldn’t
help his wistful, and envious, sigh. “Closest I’m probably ever gonna get to
the stars is in one of the flight simulators.”
“From what I
hear you’ve made some fabulous improvements to those simulators,” Cade said. “I
wish I’d had you building and programming them when I was in flight school.”
Toby turned to
look at him. “How did you know I was on the simulator team?”
Cade shrugged,
took another drink. “After we met I took the liberty of looking into your
Academy history.” He grinned. “I was curious as to who was going to be teaching
me.” Cade shifted so that he was turned more fully toward Toby. “And I was damn
impressed at what I read. You need to stop selling yourself short when it comes
to your dream of working on the Gemini project. You’re in the top two percent
of your class, Toby. Alliance Command is not going to overlook that when they
hand out assignments next month.”
Toby shook his
head. “Don’t you think they’d want someone older, more experienced, working on
something as monumentally important as Earth’s first hyperdrive engine?”
“Just because
you haven’t been in space doesn’t mean you’re not qualified to work on a
starship engine. It’s about technical expertise, not flight time.”
Toby now
turned to face Cade, a tinge of excitement in his voice. “Tell me about that.
What’s it like up there? I’ve gotta admit that as much as I want to experience
it for myself, it makes me kinda nervous, too.”
“It’s a lot
like scuba diving, actually,” Cade began, then tipped his head up toward the
sky, his voice gone quiet. “Surrounded by an endless sea of stars instead of
water. It’s beautiful. And so serene. But there’s so much more out there to
explore than in just our galaxy.”
Toby couldn’t
help but smile at the passion and wonder in Cade’s voice. “You said we’re close
to breaking barrier three?”
Cade nodded
and finished off his drink, poured himself another and topped off Toby’s. “The
engine tests we’ve been running are really promising. Captain Hoffman’s team is
burning the midnight oil.”
“From what you
told me last month it sounds like you are, too.”
Cade blew out
a breath. “You know how badly you want in the Gemini program? That’s how badly
I want to pilot that next barrier flight. It’s going to come down to myself,
Logan Ramsey, Kenji Tran or Padma Singh. And they’re all damn good test
pilots.”
“Well let me
give you some sage advice that a friend of mine gave me,” Toby said with a
grin. “Don’t sell yourself short.”
Cade gave him
a look. “Now who’s the smartass?”
Toby just
laughed and knocked his cup against Cade’s. He settled back to look up at the
stars, and Cade did the same. They let the quiet of the open ocean surround
them for several minutes, nothing but the sound of gentle waves against the
hull.
“Does this
place have a name?” Cade asked quietly.
“Not that I
know of,” Toby answered.
“Then I think
we should call it Dekker’s Cove.” He once again turned his head to look at
Toby. “Thanks again for taking me out here. This is your spot and you didn’t
have to share it with me.”
Toby turned
his head to look back at Cade, his voice sincere. “I wanted to. I knew you’d
appreciate how special it was.”
Cade pinned
him with a gaze full of hope and desire. “There are a lot of things I’m finding
are special down here.”
Toby’s breath
caught in his throat. It would be so damn easy to give in to Cade’s
flirtations. To say the hell with it and just reach over and touch him. Because
Toby knew that’s all it would take. One touch. But then what? A summer fling,
like they were teenagers away at camp? Toby just wasn’t wired like that, for
one-time hook ups. Especially with someone like Cade. He knew he’d want more
and he knew it’d never work. He just needed to keep reminding himself that it
was Cade’s friendship that was most important, what he really wanted,
was the only thing that would work between them. But it was getting harder and
harder to do with each passing day he spent with Cade. His heart was warring
with his head. And he honestly didn’t know which was going to win.
The moment
stretched on between them, Toby knowing Cade was waiting for something
from Toby, but he didn’t trust himself to speak.
Cade glanced
away, then back. “Toby, I…”
And Toby’s
stomach somersaulted, certain of what Cade was going to say next. He wasn’t
ready for this…
“…I have to
leave tomorrow.”
Toby blinked
and released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “Wh-what?” he
stuttered, completely caught off guard by Cade’s words, so far from what he had
been expecting.
Cade sighed.
“I’m needed back at Alliance HQ. I found out this morning but was putting off
telling you.”
“That – that’s
okay. I understand,” Toby replied, trying to hide his disappointment.
“I even
brought a holo vid of a rugby match I was hoping to show you tomorrow,” Cade
grinned and Toby chuckled. “Next month, okay?”
Toby nodded.
“Next month.”
Next month.
One last chance for Toby to sort out his feelings for Cade. And be able to live
with that decision with no regrets. He had a sneaking suspicion that was going
to be easier said than done.
BUY LINKS:
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/ng25ocw
LuLu (Paperback and epub): http://tinyurl.com/qe5oeal
Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/ow92qj2
Also available at the iBookstore
CONTACT INFO:
Jamie Lynn Miller
Jamie Lynn Miller has been writing
fiction since childhood and decided to take the plunge and go pro in 2008,
finding to her amazement that people truly enjoyed her love stories. She’s a
romantic at heart, and her tales reflect the desire we all have to find “the
one,” persevering through trials and heartache for that happy ending.
Jamie has a degree in fine arts
and has spent the last twenty years working as a graphic designer, though she’d
much rather be writing. She was born in Chicago and still lives there today
with her husband and their two furry, four-footed children, er… cats.
If she’s not brainstorming story
ideas, you can find Jamie at a sci-fi convention, in front of a furnace doing
glass blowing, or on a mat twisted into a yoga pose.
