Alien-ation
By J. J. Lore
I’ve been binging on classic Star Trek episodes on Netflix recently and wasn’t surprised to find how much the series I watched as a child had influenced my writing today. I was surprised at how much I remembered from shows I haven’t seen in twenty-plus years. The social commentary, action, and interesting characters from the series are all reference points I use when writing my own stories.
Some people may remember cheesy sets and the glaring need for seat belts on the bridge, but what I loved as a child were the aliens. I didn’t care if the makeup was questionable, or if the costumes looked like they were made from some 1960’s remnant bin. No, I loved the wild imagination that led to blue skin, antennae, scales, and weird abilities.
When I was writing the Essent Quest, I needed a scary alien for a crucial moment in the plot. My heroes are on a sandy, deserted planet, and my thoughts went to how the ground must shift under their feet when they walk. This led me to remember ant lions and their unique method of trapping prey by digging into the bottom of a funnel-shaped hole and waiting for their prey to slide in where they can be picked off. Well, I needed something bigger than a thumbnail in my story, so I expanded the idea of an ant-lion into something the size of an actual lion, with the added terrifying bonus of tentacles. So my poor guys are unlucky enough to be trapped by one of those and have to escape. These creature’s normal prey items are animals built like tumbleweed that glean nutrients from the sand as they roll across it, so I’m not sure how well my super predator would have dealt with muscular hominids.
That’s the fun of writing sci-fi, building idea after idea into what you hope will be a compelling story that holds together. Star Trek showed me that when I was young and impressionable for that, I owe it great thanks.
Title: The Essent Quest
Author: J. J. Lore
Publisher: Loose Id
Release date:
ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-68252-080-2
Blurb:
Playboy Tellan knows other races consider his people spoiled and arrogant, but he’s determined to put aside fine sheets and elegant meals in order to search for a mythical Domidian elixir for his ailing sister. He’s also smart enough to realize he’ll need help staying alive in the unsettled wastes of the Empty Quadrant. Enter Jorant, an intimidating Atavaq who’s been genetically modified to be the perfect soldier. On the run from his past, Jorant accepts the task of protecting Tellan as they venture to a planet populated by tentacled monsters and space pirates. As they search for the potion, Jorant realizes his Domidian client isn’t as helpless as he’d assumed, and Tellan is intrigued every time the taciturn bodyguard speaks. Will their unexpected attraction to each other survive the dangers threatening to destroy them?
Buy links:
http://www.loose-id.com/the-essent-quest.html
- J. Lore bio:
- J. Lore has been interested in the dashing men who roam outer space since she was transfixed by Han Solo piloting the Millennium Falcon a long time ago in a theatre far, far away. Sadly, there is no way for her to join in the fun of intergalactic adventures unless she writes them, so that’s what she does whenever she isn’t taking care of the business of life. If you can’t find her typing madly on her sluggish keyboard, she’s probably poking around in a thrift store searching for the perfect pair of worn jeans or a vintage kachina bolo tie. These days she puts her anthropology degree to work when she whips up dishes from many different cultures, most of which benefit from a liberal dose of sriracha or a smear of green curry paste. Her favorite reading topics are costume history, epidemiology, and permaculture, all of which she’d like to work into a story if she’s suddenly overcome with a brilliant idea someday.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/J-J-Lore/1393971707546734
Twitter: @JJLore1
Website: www.jjlore.com
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