Romantic jewelry, past and present

Posted on November 15, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

This post originally appeared November 13, 2012, on the Everybody Needs a Little Romance blog.

I describe myself as a storyteller and jewelsmith because I’m both an author and an adornment artist who creates unique, wearable items inspired by science fiction and fantasy. I always include jewelry in my stories and I have a lifelong fascination with the stories behind jewelry.

The most well-known piece of romantic jewelry is probably the engagement ring, which dates back to ancient times. Early engangement rings were made of bone, iron, leather or woven hemp, and have been worn on the “ring finger” of the left hand for centuries as a kind of charm to bind the wearer’s heart.

18th century English posy ring. Inscription reads, ‘Many are the stars I see but in my eye no star like thee.’ Image courtesy of the British Museum.

The posy ring was a simple band of gold with an inscription of love. Messages included ‘Feare not mee, i’le faithful bee,’ ‘In love abide till death devide’ or ‘True love is endless.’ These were popular from the 16th through the 18th centuries in England and France.

The diamond is now a popular symbol of love and romance. The 189-carat Orlov Diamond was given to Catherine the Great of Russia by Count Grigory Orlov in the hope of winning her love. Richard Burton bought the 69-carat “Taylor-Burton Diamond” for his wife Elizabeth Taylor.

But diamond engagement rings didn’t become common until the 1930s. One hundred years earlier, in the 1830s, Queen Victoria wore an engagement ring shaped like a serpent with an emerald set in its head.

Another popular piece of romantic jewelry from the Victorian Era is the dearest ring, where each stone begins with the letters that spell D-E-A-R-E-S-T – diamond, emerald, amethyst, ruby, emerald, sapphire and topaz.

Claddagh ring, image courtesy of Claddagh.com

If you’re of Irish ancestry like me, you’re probably familiar with the claddagh ring, a love token that might be given to friends, family or a spouse. It features two hands clasping a heart, and the heart is topped with a crown. The hands represent friendship, the heart love, and the crown loyalty. These rings have been made in Ireland since the 1700s.

In my Stellarnet books, the Glin don’t have rings, but they do have romantic jewelry, because even aliens need a little romance. They have something called a nagyx or soul stone. Every Glin wears their soul stone from birth to death, unless they meet their soulmate. Then they exchange stones to symbolize a bond that goes beyond marriage – and in fact, some Glin have both a spouse and a nagyx. A soul bond is one of the few things the Glin consider absolutely sacrosanct.

What’s the most romantic piece of jewelry you’ve ever received? One of my favorite pieces is an amber pendant my husband bought in the gift shop of the Art Institute of Chicago, while we were on our honeymoon. He knew I loved amber, and later when our second daughter was born, he suggested Amber for her name.

Another piece I love is an art nouveau-style pendant that he gave me before our engagement. On one of our first dates, we attended an Alphonse Mucha exhibit at an art museum. He saw how much I loved art nouveau and later bought me the pendant. To me, this is a perfect example of romance. It doesn’t have to be roses, chocolate or diamonds. Romance is paying attention to what matters most to the one you love.

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in Romance, Stellarnet Prince, Stellarnet Rebel, Stellarnet Series | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Romantic jewelry, past and present

Aliens in sock kilts

Posted on November 14, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

This post originally appeared on my publisher’s blog at CarinaPress.com on November 13, 2012, the release day of Stellarnet Prince.

My in-laws gifted my 8-year-old daughter her own digital camera and her bedroom is now a sound stage, complete with a “Quiet I’m filming” sign on the door. She’s made several movies starring her dolls. Most of these independent films revolve around Barbie’s rockstar career and/or Barbie’s trip to the mall. I don’t know how I birthed a mallrat. I’d rather go to the dentist than the mall. I’ve never liked Barbies in my life (those were another gift from her grandparents). Oh, and, in case you hadn’t guessed, I’m not a rockstar, either.

But I do have some strange qualities in common with my offspring. We both loved to spin in circles until we fell over, whirly drunk, when we were 5. At age 6, we would lay upside down on the couch, hanging our heads off of the edge of the seat, and pretend to walk on the ceiling. We still believed in Santa and the Tooth Fairy at age 7, no matter what anyone said.

Then, there’s this.

A few months ago, peanut asked me to edit her latest cinematic masterpiece and share it with her Facebook audience – her dad, the aforementioned grandparents and a few aunts and uncles. I popped the SD card into my laptop and began viewing.

She opened with an overhead crane shot of a naked Ken doll riding a “ferry” (box) and finding a sword and some “clothing” — one of her socks, tied around his lower half. Thus girt in trusty sock kilt, he hied hence to a “town,” (box) where he parked himself in front of Barbie’s “house” (another box) and started begging for money on her porch steps.

“Oh, hello,” said Barbie, in my daughter’s girliest of girly voices, which is pretty dang girly, considering that she’s an 8-year-old girl. Barbie conversed with the scraggly-haired Ken, whose very visible plastic package peeked out from beneath his ill-fitting sock kilt, reminding me of a vagrant I encountered once upon a time in a Los Angeles toy store. One of us had been going “commando” in a pair of Daisy Duke shorts at the time, and it wasn’t me.

I stopped the movie. “No. No. Just. No.” And then, as gently as possible, I instructed her about the ills of talking to strange men who beg for change while half dressed on one’s porch.

“It’s OK, Mom. He ends up being rich.” Yes, she’s seen Disney’s Aladdin. What can I say?

“It doesn’t matter. Barbie doesn’t know that. All she knows is that she’s got a bum in a sock kilt darkening her doorway, singing a Jem song from 1986. If you ever see anyone like that in real life, you call the police. You don’t say hello. We’re not going to finish this video. Please, honey, make a different story.”

Spurned by her studio executive like so many directors before her, my child returned to her room. Meanwhile, I returned to the final edit of my latest novel, Stellarnet Prince. and the following scene:

Belloc tossed shirts into an open case. Duin entered the bedroom and eyed the stack of crates beside the closet. “Do all of these contain clothes?”

“Some have shoes or musical instruments. I haven’t packed the pillows and blankets, yet.”

“When I met you, you were barefoot with one shitty wallump suit.”

“Thanks. My mother made that suit.”

“When you were what, eight rain seasons? The pants hardly covered your knees, and the shirt didn’t close in the front. You, bugloim, were a ragamuffin.”

Duin was right. Less than a year ago, Belloc didn’t understand why J’ni would buy more than one dress. When he left Meglin, everything he had would fit in a single sack. Now, he had a closet full of clothes.

“But J’ni loved me anyway.”

In the first book of the series, Stellarnet Rebel, Belloc sat in the heroine’s doorway and played music on a flute. She’d saved his life, and Belloc had no family and no where else to go.

And that’s the kind of weird thing. My daughter doesn’t know anything about my books, other than the fact that I’ve written them. But I guess the acorn really doesn’t fall far from the tree. Who knew that an attraction to musical diamonds-in-the-rough on one’s porch was a genetic trait?

I’m still telling her not to talk to strangers… unless they’re hot sapphire-skinned alien strangers who are built like Michael Phelps. Maybe then.

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in News & misc, On writing..., Science Fiction, Stellarnet Prince, Stellarnet Rebel, Stellarnet Series | Comments Off on Aliens in sock kilts

The real reason I write about love triangles

Posted on November 13, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

This post originally appeared November 10, 2012, on fantasy author Tia Nevitt’s website.

I’ve avoided talking about this for more than a year, because it’s a spoiler. But Stellarnet Rebel has been out since January, and the upcoming sequel Stellarnet Prince certainly gives it away, right there on its Amazon page:

Human blogger Genny O’Riordan shares two alien lovers.

So, I guess the secret is out. Genny is soul bound to Duin, who is fighting for the liberation of his people, while also married to Belloc, who is fighting for his identity. They don’t carry on like cats or bunnies – it’s not an erotic series. In fact, many readers and reviewers will tell you it’s not “romance” at all but science fiction “with romantic elements” because the series is also about action, adventure, planetary war, ecological devastation, first contact, video games and lots of other things.

Their relationship might be unconventional for us, but Duin and Belloc aren’t human, they’re alien. They’re not going to be exactly like us, physically or culturally. Their world is dangerous, and exclusive pairing would impact their species’ survival.

But it’s time for me to admit that the real reason they’re in a polyamorous relationship is because I’ve had a lifelong frustration with the 1967 movie Camelot. I can’t remember exactly when I saw it for the first time. Sometime in the 1970s, on TV, maybe around age 8, which is when I also developed an interest in Shakespeare because of my fascination with my mother’s 33rpm record with excerpts from Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet.

Throughout my childhood, teen and college years, I watched Camelot more times than I can count, deeply moved by King Arthur’s heartfelt – entirely surprising and otherwise unrepresented in mainstream media – attitude toward his wife sleeping with his best friend.

Portrayed by Richard Harris, he says: “Could it possibly be civilized to destroy what I love? Could it possibly be civilized to love myself above all? What of their pain and their torment? Did they ask for this calamity? Can passion be selected?”

It broke my heart that his beautiful kingdom had to fall to ruin simply because society wouldn’t accept what he himself accepted.

In interviews, when I’m asked about inspirations for the Stellarnet Series, I’ve answered – honestly – that I can pinpoint several influences: V for Vendetta, Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables, Babylon 5, North and South. The one I’ve failed to mention is Camelot, because it was totally off my radar when I started writing Stellarnet Rebel in 2009.

Richard Harris, left, Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave in “Camelot.”

Just a few weeks ago, I watched Camelot with my daughter. It was my first viewing in over twelve years, and her first viewing ever. Only then did I realize Duin bears an uncanny resemblance to Richard Harris, bouncing about and pontificating. Belloc also comes from a far-off lake and can’t be defeated in battle, and “Genny” is what they call Guinevere throughout the movie.

Something buried in my subconscious had entered, unawares, into my writing. The relationship between Duin, Genny and Belloc was my attempt to resolve a lifelong and long forgotten heartache, in cyberpunk clothing rather than medieval armor. I wanted to give Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot a happily ever after, together.

Have you ever been heartbroken by a fictional romance that didn’t turn out as you wished? Do you find love triangles to be exciting or frustrating? Who are some of your favorite love triangles?

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in On writing..., Romance, Science Fiction, Stellarnet Prince, Stellarnet Rebel, Stellarnet Series | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The real reason I write about love triangles

Ruth Diaz interviews J.L. Hilton

Posted on November 12, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

This interview originally appeared November 10, 2012, on author Ruth Diaz’s blog.

Ruth Diaz: What got you started writing?

J.L. Hilton: I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t telling tales. Before I could read, I drew picture books and acted out stories, either by dressing up or by using dolls and puppets. I won several writing contests in school, and had a short story published in Dragon magazine by the age of 18. I went into journalism and did the non-fiction thing for newspapers and magazines for awhile, then drifted back into fiction again after my kids were born.

Ruth Diaz: What draws you to science fiction?

J.L. Hilton: I grew up with science fiction – Star Wars, E.T., Star Trek, Alien, Twilight Zone, just to name a few. I used to write a lot of fantasy and supernatural, but with age I’ve grown to love technology more and magic less. I have a passion for the Internet, video games, devices, social media, and all of their potential. We live in remarkable times. The future is now.

Ruth Diaz: The thing that got me hooked on Stellarnet Rebel, even before I developed an attachment to the characters, was the world building. What were some of your inspirations for the colony on Asteria?

J.L. Hilton: Thank you so much for saying so. It took a tremendous effort to build the background for my characters, and I spent many hours doing research on everything from NASA and the International Space Station, to the United Nations and world history, to the physiology of dolphins and electric eels.

In 2009, I re-watched Babylon 5. That show was made fifteen years ago, before we had the Internet, smart phones and laptops. Also before widespread use of security cameras, I guess, because I often found myself wondering how so many people got away with so much on that space station! Where were all of the security cameras?! And they still read printed newspapers in 2258? Really?

I found myself wanting to see something similar to Babylon 5, but extrapolated from the social trends and technology that we have right now. When I began writing Stellarnet Rebel, I wasn’t trying to write “cyberpunk.” I was trying to envision a future where people used the Internet and whose lives revolved around social/interactive media and gaming, as they do now. What would the world be like when the current generation of MMORPG-ers, Tweeters and Facebookers grows into middle age? And what will it look like when that technology moves into outer space?

Other inspirations included: 1) a book I read about Biosphere 2, and 2) my husband’s obsession with Legos (he bought them for the kids, of course). I came up with the idea for standardized space colony modules or “blocks” that would interlock. Hallways, stairwells, pipes and wiring would line up and interconnect when the modules were set side-by-side or on top of each other. Blocks could be manufactured by different countries and still match up, wherever they were sent in the universe. So you could start a settlement with one block, or ten, and keep adding to it very quickly and efficiently. No need for building tools or construction workers on the planet itself. Not even any need for an atmosphere or fertile soil, because each block – ideally – would have its own air processors and greenhouse. Though, as we see in Stellarnet Rebel, that’s not always the case.

Ruth Diaz: Which comes first for you, the characters, the world, or the plot?

J.L. Hilton: Stellarnet Rebel came to me in my sleep. I had a dream of Duin and Genny meeting for the first time. The characters, the setting and the basis for the plot were all there, and that scene appears in the book pretty much just the way I dreamed it. The characters, setting and – to some extent – the basic plot all happened simultaneously.

Even when I’m awake, it seems to come to me as a package deal. A few of my WIP: Dreolan and Cuilleen are raggedy adventurers trying to survive in an alternate-reality Dark Age Europe by accepting preternatural employment. Ephelia is a visitor to a far-flung space station turned interstellar cultural crossroads who hires Raldr to protect the alien art she acquires for collectors back on Earth. Vera and Boon are orphaned farm kids turned con artists in a weird west where hell literally breaks loose and a steampunk ouija board might be the only thing that can save their lives.

For me, who the characters are stems from where they live and what they are doing. So far, I’ve never conceived of a character without a home, or a plot without characters. But I dunno, if I HAD to pick one, I’d say characters come first, then setting, and the plot continues to develop as I plan, outline and write.

Ruth Diaz: Tell us a little about your new book, Stellarnet Prince.

J.L. Hilton: It’s the sequel to Stellarnet Rebel, and continues the story of interstellar news blogger turned Net celebrity Genevieve O’Riordan, who is the first journalist to break the news of an alien war and also the first human to have a relationship with an alien. Or aliens, plural, in this case. That the series turns into a M/F/M storyline is a bit spoilery, but anyone who reads the reviews of the first book and cover copy of the sequel will know it, anyway. How they reach that M/F/M situation by the end of book one is a bit unconventional, and repercussions from their triangle continue to be felt and dealt with in book two, as do the challenges they face from bigotry and xenophobia, some pretty dangerous secrets and further strife on the Glin home world.

Stellarnet Prince is classified as science fiction and romance, and there’s plenty of both (the first book is classified as science fiction and thriller). The sequel delves deeper into the personal struggles of the heroes and their relationships to each other, as they are faced with a whole new set of challenges. But the story also gets bigger, introducing new characters, new technology and new twists only hinted at in the first book. We learn a lot more about the Tikati invaders, the world of Glin, the heroine’s family and what Earth is like in 2062.

Posted in Movies, On writing..., Romance, Science Fiction, Stellarnet Prince, Stellarnet Rebel, Stellarnet Series, TV Shows | Comments Off on Ruth Diaz interviews J.L. Hilton

Telling tales with jewelry

Posted on November 4, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

This post originally appeared November 2, 2012, on An Eclectic Author.

I love to tell stories. Sometimes I tell them with words, sometimes with glass, wire and broken pocket watches.

I’m an author and a jewelry designer, and I’ve been doing both for as long as I can remember, drawing picture books and stringing beads by the age of 4. In elementary school, I twisted colored wire into bracelets and rings. In junior high, I wove bracelets with embroidery floss or made friendship tokens with beads and safety pins. I published my first short story at the age of 17, around the same time I began using my dad’s pliers to repair and refurbish old jewelry.

I have a fascination with the stories associated with adornment. In my youth, I spent hours looking through my mother’s jewelry boxes. She had nothing of real value – no gold or gems – but it was a magical treasure chest of memories, hopes, dreams and love.

“This belonged to my grandmother.”

“I’ve had this one since high school.”

“You father gave this to me…”

Jewelry is a scrapbook, a story, and a secret language. A wedding ring says we’re married. A religious symbol expresses our values. There’s the jewelry we wear to the office to say we’re serious and professional. Or there’s the jewelry we wear in the evening to feel sexy and have fun.

I enjoy creating steampunk jewelry because it’s full of stories. Who would wear a necklace made out of clockwork? A time traveler? Mad inventor? Airship pirate captain? I take my inspirations for jewelry design from stories such as Something Wicked This Way Comes, Somewhere in Time, Time Machine and the sci-fi western Firefly.

My jewelry designs are featured in art books and jewelry also makes its way into my novels. My alien Glin wear soul stones – rocks found with natural holes or notches and tied to a cord around the neck. They keep these stones with them all of their lives, and when they die, their families pass the stones on to their descendants, believing that souls are reborn into the same family, again and again.

The only time a Glin will give away his or her soul stone is when they meet their nagyx, or soul bound – what we would call a soulmate. This connection is considered unbreakable and more than marriage. In Stellarnet Rebel, Duin gives his stone to a human news blogger, Genevieve O’Riordan, who shares his passion for saving his people from mysterious, water-thieving invaders.

In the sequel, one of the characters is shot during an attempted theft of their soul stone. I won’t tell you which one, you’ll have to find out in Stellarnet Prince, available November 12 from Carina Press.

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in On writing..., Steampunk, Stellarnet Prince, Stellarnet Series | Comments Off on Telling tales with jewelry

Foxy Ladies and Ferrets at the Charlotte Geek Gala

Posted on October 29, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

Saturday evening was a whirlwind of nerditude for a great cause, at the Geek Gala in Charlotte sponsored by the Charlotte Geeks and Spandex City. Proceeds benefit the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina.

Carnival-style games included a nerf shooting gallery with Edward Cullen as the target, bowling for Jar Jar, Ewok toss, Daleks vs. Zombies, Hulk toss (basically a bean bag throw, but you had to wear big green hands), Tron identity disc toss, and one whose name escapes me but involved hitting a zombie version of Sarah Palin in the head. I totally pwned the IRL Angry Birds, bringing down the entire structure with one bird, and I got a bullseye at the Hunger Games archery shoot. Like a boss.

Photo courtesy of the Charlotte Geeks

While waiting in line for a tarot reading, I complimented this beautiful woman on her awesome costume. We discussed Pam Grier for awhile, and then I had my reading. I ran into her again when she sat down beside me to judge the Geeks Got Talent competition and I learned that she was media queen and CBS Charlotte personality Francene Marie!

Also judging with us was writer/producer Stan Peal. Both Stan and Francene were so nice and so much fun. And we really enjoyed the talent acts, which included comedy, poetry, a sign language interpretation of the Ultimate Showdown, burlesque, and some very unusual music with ferrets and ocarinas.

And if that wasn’t enough, they had a trivia quiz, buffet, zombie face painting, zombified portraits by Eric Melton, and a raffle for some big prize baskets. The next morning, some of us met for breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and the fun continued.

Kudos to Joey Paquette and the Charlotte Geeks for putting on such a great event. I can’t wait until 2013, when the theme will be space aliens!

Check out all of the costumes here.

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

My friend Jill playing the Angry Birds IRL game at the Geek Gala

More of my favorite costumes from the Geek Gala 2012. Photo courtesy of the Charlotte Geeks.

Posted in Conventions & events, Fantasy, News & misc, Science Fiction | Tagged , | 3 Comments

STELLARNET PRINCE release month madness

Posted on October 27, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

Free ebooks, recipes, character interviews, cool jewelry, Stellarnet tarot cards and all the goodies! Here’s my blog tour schedule and most of it revolves around the release of Stellarnet Prince, sequel to Stellarnet Rebel, available from AMAZON U.S. Kindle * AMAZON U.K. Kindle * B&N NOOK * GOOGLE BOOKS * SONY eBooks * CARINA PRESS (DRM-free ePub format) * OMNI-LIT * KOBO * DIESEL. The audio book is available on AUDIBLE and iTUNES, or on BOOKSHARE for readers with disabilities.

* * *

Oct 26-28 – CoyoteCon
I moderated the Steampunk panel on Friday and participated in the Girl Cooties in SF panel hosted by the Contact-Infinite Futures blog. Sunday, I participated in the SF & SFR panel about the challenges of combining science with romance.
Read the transcript of these panels here.

Oct 27 – Geek Gala in Charlotte, NC. I was one of the judges for the Geeks Got Talent competition.

Oct 31 – HALLOWEEN

Nov 1 – My cat Merlin is featured in the Mean Kitty gallery, though he wasn’t really a mean kitty, he was a knight in shining fur.

Nov 2 – An Eclectic Author
Guest post about how my jewelry designs tell stories and my stories feature jewelry.

Nov 3 – Visiting sci-fi, paranormal and fantasy author Kim Knox at her Darkness and Romance blog. Stop by for a sexy sneak-peak from chapter seven of Stellarnet Prince.

Want a free sticker? Email me.

Nov 4 – My cat Kaylee, vanquisher of toilet paper, is featured in the Mean Kitty gallery.

Nov 5 –  “Stuck in the Middle” with sci-fi author Cathy Pegau discussing sleeping arrangements in a M/F/M relationship, with a Duin/J’ni/Belloc excerpt from chapter one of Stellarnet Prince.

Nov 6 – U.S. ELECTION DAY (Great Ocean, help us)

  • Mean Kitty inducts Zoe, the last of my cats, into the Mean Kitty hall of awesome. She’s named after the Firefly character, because she’s a survivor!

Nov 7 – Romance Cooks
This is a fun website where romance writers share their books and favorite recipes. Because the Glin don’t use fire, I’m sharing my no-cook recipe for Rainbow Fruit Salad.

Nov 8 – Paranormal and SF romance author Veronica Scott interviews J’ni, Duin and Belloc. Yes, you read that right. It’s a character interview with the heroes of the Stellarnet Series!

Nov 9 – Fun Fridays with Angela Campbell
The author of Cry Wolf chats with me about the Stellarnet Series, complicated alien love triangles and Nellie Bly.

Nov 10

  • Ruth Diaz, the author of superhero romance Dynama, chats with me about Stellarnet Prince, how Legos inspired Asteria Colony, and some of my WIP (work in progress).
  • I’m talking about love triangles on fantasy author Tia Nevitt’s blog. I’ve avoided talking about this for more than a year, because it’s a spoiler. But Stellarnet Rebel has been out since January, and Stellarnet Prince certainly gives it away, right there on its Amazon page: Human blogger Genny O’Riordan shares two alien lovers. Find out how Camelot is to blame.

Nov 11 – The Galaxy Express
Heather Massey interviews me about the Stellarnet Series and why I write science fiction.

Nov 12 – RELEASE DAY! READ STELLARNET PRINCE!

Nov 13

  • Guest post on the Carina Press blog about aliens in sock kilts. This is probably one of the funniest things I’ve written in years, it makes me laugh every time I read it, but I’m sort of deranged and laugh a lot anyway, so YMMV. I’ll also be giving away another r’nawesome r’naw eye pendant — this one I handmade myself, based on the Gypsy Moon design (with permission).
  • Stopping by romance author Kate Davies’ blog. Check out the comments for a Glin-mod of Richard Armitage.

Nov 14

  • Meankitty interviews me at Writer & Cat about the lack of cats in the Stellarnet Series, and how I deal with kitty interruptions while writing.
  • Also check out Meankitty’s review of Stellarnet Prince on Writer & Cat. “These two-leggers actually WORSHIP the ‘Great Ocean’ and the ‘Great Rain’ and other horrifyingly aqueous deities, when clearly all should worship cats. … It’s almost like this author was trying to say water is a vital substance or something. Haha–she probably thinks we’re MADE of water. Hm. Dogs and humans, maybe. Cats are made of awesome.”

Nov 15 – Sharing my “Thirteen inspirations for the Stellarnet Series“ with New Zealand author Shelley Munro.

Nov 16

  • Otherworld Diner
    Talking about space pirates, post-cyberpunk, writing rituals and characters who take over my brain.

Nov 17

  • Stellarnet Prince is transformed into Stellarcat Pounce courtesy of a creative Meankitty cattification. “A society of humans obsessed with all things feline brings catnappers, pet traffickers and environmental exploitation to the lush catnip fields of Glin-nip…” (read more) And don’t miss this cattified excerpt of chapter one.

Nov 18 – See Belloc’s suit and J’ni’s wedding dress while I talk about alien marriages in outer space with romance writer and former wedding planner Christi Barth.

Nov 19 – Visiting urban fantasy author R.L. Naquin‘s blog to talk about my love affair with aliens and monsters.

Nov 20 – I’m guest posting on the Charlotte Geeks blog about some cyber, steam, zombie, romance and kickass books you’ve probably never heard of.

Nov 21 – Bull Spec magazine
“The Hardest Part” is a weekly series where creators talk about the hardest part of putting together their most recent book. I’ll be writing about the hardest part of Stellarnet Prince.

Nov 22 – HAPPY U.S. THANKSGIVING

Nov 27 – Plotting Princesses
An interview about Stellarnet Prince, character POV, using music while writing, and the difficult middly bits.

Nov 28 – Blog swap with historical romance author Susanna Fraser. She’ll be talking about her love of sci-fi on my blog, while I talk about my love of costume dramas on hers.

* * *

Stellarnet Prince is transformed into Stellarcat Pounce courtesy of a creative Meankitty cattification. “A society of humans obsessed with all things feline brings catnappers, pet traffickers and environmental exploitation to the lush catnip fields of Glin-nip…” (read more)
Posted in Conventions & events, News & misc, On writing..., Q&A, Romance, Science Fiction, Stellarnet Prince, Stellarnet Rebel, Stellarnet Series, Technology | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on STELLARNET PRINCE release month madness

Warp drive on its way to a reality near you

Posted on September 30, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

This post originally appeared on the Contact – Infinite Futures SF blog on September 25, 2012.

In STELLARNET REBEL, like so many other science fiction authors before me, I had to come up with a way for my heroine to move from Earth to another planet. So “particle engines” exist in the Stellarnet future to “shift” space. In a brief blink, Genny O’Riordan’s colonization block moves to another solar system, where it’s met by tug ships that haul it to the planet’s surface and connect it to the settlement.

Space travel is one glaring bit of sci-fi magic I allowed myself in a book otherwise based on a lot of research and fact. Most technology in the Stellarnet books is extrapolated from real trends and current devices. Everything from Google goggles to programmable clothing to interactive tabletops is already possible IRL. Even the aliens are based on animals such as dolphins, electric eels and cockroaches.

For the sake of the story, though, I had to wave the plot wand and say “science happens” so Genny O’Riordan could cross space without being 110 years old when she arrived, suffering from radiation and rickets. I never thought that we might really be able to travel light-years in the blink of an eye. Certainly not within my lifetime.

Then I read this article: “NASA Starts Work on Real Life Star Trek Warp Drive.”

By creating a warp bubble, according to the article, “the spaceship’s engine will compress the space ahead and expand the space behind, moving it to another place without actually moving, and carrying none of the adverse effects of other travel methods.”

My readers will know that physicists are “a bunch of lying bastards,” and Genny suffers a kind of bizarre, temporary, all-over pain when shifting to Asteria. I wonder if that will come true, as well?

What do you think? Even if it’s painful, would you take a chance to vacation on another world? Live there? Work there? What if you could “commute” home to Earth on weekends?

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in News & misc, On writing..., Science Fiction, Stellarnet Rebel, Stellarnet Series, Technology | Comments Off on Warp drive on its way to a reality near you

Pixels and pitches at Escapist Expo 2012

Posted on September 17, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

I shared a table with BULL SPEC at Escapist Expo 2012. The magazine is an active supporter of regional authors and artists. It’s been an enthusiastic friend of mine ever since I met the founder and publisher Sam Montgomery-Blinn at NASFiC in 2010.

I spent some time with Richard Dansky (author, RPG developer and video game writer), Natania Barron (author, fiction editor for Bull Spec and blogger for Wired magazine), Bill Bridges (Senior Content Designer at CCP Games / White Wolf), various Charlotte Geeks, the crew of ConTemporal, and Cynthia Sheppard (fantasy artist).

I met game developers, authors, artists, college students, aspiring writers, bored parents, photographers, Minecraft characters, Escapist magazine magazine staff, and D20 girls. People came from all over the country, some even driving eight hours or more for a chance to meet Yahtzee Croshaw and play in the Gears of War 3 tournament.

I attended the expo with Bull Spec publisher, Sam Montgomery-Blinn.

Escapist Expo was the first event where people asked if my books were available as ebooks and audio books, instead of asking why I wasn’t selling print copies. To be honest, it’s the first event I’ve done all year where people asked questions about the novels at all. At other conventions, the art books featuring my steampunk jewelry designs garnered a lot more attention.

Ironwoman with Minecraft Avengers

The expo was not just sci-fi or steampunk fans, but fellow gamers and technophiles. This was my audience. One woman even squeed and asked for my autograph. She already owned Stellarnet Rebel, and didn’t realize I was a local author.

Several people were excited to read cyberpunk. “There’s not enough of that genre,” said one person. I also heard, “I’m sick of vampires and steampunk.”

One attendee told me that science fiction relied too much on violence and gadgetry without bothering to explore “what it means to be human.” I suggested he check out my Stellarnet books, where “what it means to be human” is a central theme.

Another attendee described her discovery that “romance” no longer meant bodice-rippers with vapid heroines who aspire only to get married. To paraphrase her insightful words, “It seems as if any novel written by a woman, with a strong female lead, is automatically labeled a ‘romance,’ nowadays. Even if it’s fantasy, steampunk, or whatever. So, I’ve started reading a lot more ‘romances.'”

A few men noted the bare-chested Belloc on the cover of Stellarnet Prince and said, “I don’t read chick books.” One guy complained, “Why is it every time a woman writes a science fiction novel with a female main character, it has to have romance?” I asked why is it that every man who writes fiction with a male main character, the hero ends up getting laid?

An awesome Alice costume from the Madness Returns video game. With teeth for earrings. Love it!

By 4pm Saturday, my energy was fizzling. When asked about my books, I mumbled, “It’s about a blogger and a rebel, with lots of sex, violence, and video games.”

Pause.

“Did you say, ‘sex, violence and video games?'”

“Yep.”

“That sounds great!” He took a promotional postcard.

Maybe I should start using that as my pitch?

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in Conventions & events, News & misc, Science Fiction, Stellarnet Prince, Stellarnet Rebel, Stellarnet Series, Technology, Video games | 1 Comment

Minecraft cakes

Posted on September 11, 2012 by J.L. Hilton

That’s a very nice birthday you have there…

We’re a Minecraft house. We have a family server so we can play together with extended family and friends, and we watch more Yogscast than any TV program.

Today, for my husband Steven’s birthday, I made him some Minecraft cakes. First, we brought out the little round one, a replica of the cake on a crafting table, and he thought that was cool. Then I said, “Oh, no, wait, that’s not the right one.” And I brought out the bigger one. He thought that was really cool, then I said, “No, wait, that’s still not the right one.”

So then I brought out this little scene we made. My kids did the creeper and “Steve” (that’s the character’s name) paper crafts, and helped me bake the cake. It’s supposed to be blocks of dirt, and a block of TNT, obsidian and diamond. I should have made a crafting table, too, but I didn’t get that far before daddy came home.

There are three candles. We covered them with chocolate frosting and when they were lit they looked like torches from the game. Here they just look kind of melty, after being blown out.

Also, here’s a picture of our waiter Justin at Gonza Tacos y Tequila, where we went out to dinner. Minecraft tattoo ftw!

~ J.L. Hilton

Connect, support, comment or contact the author here 

Posted in News & misc, Stellarnet Prince, Stellarnet Rebel, Stellarnet Series, Technology, Video games | Comments Off on Minecraft cakes