Thursday, June 29, 2017

SPOTLIGHT w/GUEST POST - LGBT SCI-FI ROMANCE - The Finder by J.E. Lorin

The Finder
by J.E. Lorin
Date of Publication: March 15th 2017
Cover Artist: Everpage Designs
Genre: LGBT Sci Fi Romance
 
BLURB
At the age of sixteen, August Goodson developed a strange and mysterious power overnight: he can find people. Victims of murder, suicide, kidnapping, accidents, and rape; August can find them all, usually dead, but sometimes still alive.

Nine years later finds August volunteering his services to the police. He's still smarting from the loss of his long-time love Dante, who cheated on him with his best friend, and harbors a deep crush on the incredibly handsome, and oh-so-straight, Detective Luke Williams. But there are bigger concerns on August's mind: a serial killer is loose in the city, one whose victims are a little too much like him for comfort.

When August finds a living victim who may be one of the serial killer's, he's drawn even deeper into the case. Will he make it out alive, or will he soon be the one in need of finding?

Buy Link: Amazon




Help me.
My eyes popped open to a pitch black room. For a few seconds, I lay where I was, sprawled on my back in my own bed. I wasn’t sure yet whether the voice I’d heard was real or whether I’d dreamed it. The room was unusually silent. My tiny studio apartment was normally filled with the sounds of the downtown street below. Not now, though, so I figured it must be late. Even the drunks had gone to sleep. Everything was still, quiet; I convinced myself I must have been dreaming. Just as I closed my eyes, I heard it again.
Help me.
Groaning, I rolled onto my side. With one hand, I groped for my cellphone on the end table, knocking something off in the process. Whatever it was, I didn’t hear it break, so I shrugged it off. I’d figure it out later. My hand landed on the phone. I picked it up, pushing the button to light up the screen; it was only three-thirty in the morning. I groaned again. I really didn’t want to get out of bed but it had to be done; the voice wouldn’t go away on its own. I could ignore it, but that had never worked out. I refused to go through that again.
Grumbling, I clambered out of bed and snatched the jeans I’d shucked off only a couple of hours before. Being sort-of psychic can be a real pain in the ass. I never know when a voice is going to call to me. It could be like now, in the middle of the night. It could be while I’m at work, which means I have to have a flexible job. Or it could be during the middle of sex, which makes relationships difficult, especially since I don’t like to tell people about what I can do.
Having a psychic ability is also weird. It doesn’t always work and I have no idea of the full extent of it. Sometimes I can do something useful, like avert a crime or a death. Most times I just find dead bodies. I know it’s a turn off. Most people, I figure, don’t want to get with a guy who’s basically a cadaver dog.
Buy Link: Amazon
 
GUEST POST FROM J.E. LORIN ON WHY SHE LOVES SCIENCE FICTION
I love science fiction.

I’ve been reading and watching it since I was a kid. Rather than “outgrowing” it, I’ve found myself increasingly invested in sci fi as I’ve gotten older. I own costumes for both Star Trek (generic medical officer from the more recent films) & Star Wars (Obi-Wan). I’m currently watching a Top 100 sci fi movie list (nearly done). And of course, I write sci fi romance. It’s a huge part of my life. But the question is, why?

What’s so appealing about sci fi?

The thing I like most about sci fi is the creativity. It places no limits on imagination. When you write sci fi, or even when you read or watch it, you can build that world in any way you desire. No one can say, “Hey, that’s not realistic!” because who’s to say what is or isn’t realistic in that particular universe? Sci fi is transportive. It can take you to other places, other times, helping you to forget your worries for a little while.

And yet, at the same time, sci serves an important, more serious, purpose: to help us work through societal issues in a comfortable setting.

I think that’s what is really clever about science fiction. It’s no coincidence that interest in sci fi seems to peak during times of great upheaval, such as during the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s/early 1900s, or during the early Atomic Age of the 1950s. It’s not just about imagining a better, or different, future. It’s also about exploring our feelings about the chaos we’re currently experiencing.

For example, as part of that sci fi movie list I mentioned above, I recently watched the 1956 version of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” It was very clear pretty early on in the film that the body snatchers were an allegory for Communism. It was a way for those filmmakers, and their viewers, to work through their fears about the “Red Scare” without ever having to say those words. Star Trek has always done this very well, addressing issues such as racism, homophobia, oppression & inequality, in a way that never calls out a specific contemporary group or person. In this way, sci fi gives us a safe space to express and work through our anxieties.

Add a little romance to that, and I think you’ve got the makings of a very appealing book or movie. You’re using your imagination and exploring ideas in a protected, comforting environment, all while watching two characters fall in love and work their way toward a happy ending. Personally, I love a happy ending. While I may put my characters through the wringer—I’m fond of endangering them—they will always come out on the other side as happier people.

If, like me, you enjoy creativity and love, then sci fi romance really is the best of all worlds.


Author Info
J.E. Lorin was born and raised in Michigan. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Germanic Studies from Indiana University, she lived in six different states before landing in the San Diego area, where she resides with her husband and their cat and dog. Her mission is to write interesting stories that just so happen to have a little sex in them.
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