Tag Archive for: galactic dreams

Galactic Dreams

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 by Bethany Maines

Welcome to a brave new age – the future!  When my co-writers and I agreed to collaborate on Galactic Dreams – a series of sci-fi fairy tale adaptations – we had no idea that the project would stretch into three volumes. Galactic Dreams (from Blue Zephyr Press) is a unique shared universe that I, along with my co-writers, J.M. Phillippe and Karen Harris Tully, developed and set the rules for, and then set our own stories within that universe.  In Volume 3, we’ve adapted some classic fairy tales: Beauty & the Beast, Hansel & Gretel, and Jack & the Beanstalk.  

As you can imagine, agreeing on rules, let alone deciding what they are can be quite challenging.  Particularly, since sci-fi is not a genre I generally write in.  I enjoy sci-fi. I read a good deal of it when I was a teenager. And don’t get me wrong I have plenty of weird ideas, but I’m more in the Flash Gordon style of sci-fi—toss in some jet packs and some fantastic costumes and I’m all set. My more fact-adherent co-writers seem to prefer that gravity not take a vacation without an explanation. (So picky!) However, I have to admit that their insistence on basing my science in… you know… science has been beneficial to my stories. 
In this volume, all of our stories are intertwined through a time traveling villain, which added a whole new level of headache to keeping our stories and science straight. We also decided to do a phased release plan—releasing the individual stories first and then the collection.  My book, The Beast of Arsu, is out now. And the next two installments will be released by September, with the digital collection following shortly thereafter.  As with any group project it’s been hard to keep track of all the details.  But despite the very literal headaches, I have enjoyed the challenge of writing in this genre, and I hope other sci-fi fans will enjoy these stories as well.
Galactic Dreams Vol. 3 contains three novels  and each tale is a chapter in a connected tale of villainy, time travel, and the consequences of hate. Journey through these sci-fi fairy tales today!


The Beast of Arsu (Beauty & the Beast) – Bethany Maines – When Bella Glass is thrown a 140 years into the future she finds a world she doesn’t recognize and love in Kai Craig, a man fighting against the effects of a bomb that turns him into a rage-filled beast. But someone else has traveled into the past and Bella must choose between preventing a devastating alteration of the timeline and a love she was never meant to have. 
Read Chapter 1 >>> https://bethanymaines.com/galactic-dreams/

A Trail of Stardust (Hansel & Gretel) – J.M. Phillippe – When the Hexx siblings, Rax and Lex, are forced to flee into
space by their malevolent step-mother, Hila, they have no idea what is waiting
for them and a damaged space craft throws them from the frying pan into the
oven. Captured by pirates, Lex and Rax are facing certain death and the only
way out is to rely on each other, but what will be waiting for them at home?

Break the Sky (Jack & the Beanstalk) – Karen Harris Tully – When Jakarta “Jak” Moon climbed up the giant elevator that leads to the low-orbiting space station above her irradiated planet, she has one goal—don’t die. But when she returns to the ground, she finds herself targeted by the winged-dictator known as the Godmother. Now Jak is on the hook to climb through the clouds and bring back the treasures the Godmother craves or she, and her planet, could face destruction.

Buy Beast of Arsu Now

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Bethany Updates:

Blue Christmas received a Maincrest Media Award! It was also a finalist in the Book Excellence Awards and an award winning screenplay.

The Second Shot Audio Book is now available! 

Buy Now: https://www.audible.com/pd/B093C8MWYH/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-253261&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_253261_rh_us


The Moonlight & Misadventure Anthology: 20 Tales of Mystery & Suspense, featuring my story Tammy Loves Derek is now available! 

Buy Now: https://books2read.com/Moonlight-Misadventure

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Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.


Award Winning!

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By Bethany Maines

This year has been an unusual one for me.  I set out with the intention of pushing
myself into uncomfortable and new areas in my writing.  As a result, I’ve submitted short stories to
publications, submitted my work to contests, and tried out different genres and
formats.  As I expected, there have been
rejections and a few “not quites”.  But I
have been surprised to see that several of my gambles have paid off. 

I’ve had a short story published, taken a screen-writing class
and subsequently won an award for my screenplay, ventured out to read my work
in public and had it featured on the radio. 
My most recent success came from the Book Excellence Awards where mynovella The Seventh Swan, a sci-fairy tale, was a Finalist in the Adventurecategory. I must confess that this award makes me happier than it probably
ought to.  My story features alligator-men,
robots, nanites, an evil queen, and of course, true love – it’s a throw-back to
the Flash Gordon, Tarzan-type adventure tale that I’ve always loved and I
thought that it was probably a bit too weird to win.  So to see that someone else thinks it’s a gem
is very encouraging.
But, while winning awards is nice, it’s not my goal.  The majority of the places I’ve submitted to
came with the promise of feedback.  My
goal was to learn from the responses I got to help my writing become stronger.
No one really likes hearing that something isn’t working, but it has been
really helpful to hear the commentary and discover what exactly people are
responding to. And of course, I can now say that I’m an award-winning author
and who doesn’t like that?

**
Bethany Maines
is the author
of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous
short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some
serious butt with her fifth degree black belt in karate, she can be found
chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

Practicing Being Brave

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by J.M. Phillippe

Last night I had the great joy of helping take over Creative Colloquy in Tacoma, Washington’s monthly open mic night with fellow Blue Zephyr Press authors Bethany Maines and Karen Harris Tully in order to celebrate the release of our newest collaborative effort, Galactic Dreams Volume 2.

I struggle a lot with public speaking. I have a theory that people tend to be better at either prepared presentations — creating a script and practicing it over and over again until they get it just right — or spontaneous presentations — getting the gist of an idea down in your head and then winging in more of an improvisation way. I developed this theory after taking an improv class in my 20s. It took a little while, but then I felt super comfortable getting up in front of others and making things up. But in that class we also had to prepare and perform a monologue. I had spent weeks being able to throw ideas out in front of this class of people and feeling comfortable with the idea of failing. But preparing something ahead of time gave me time to get nervous. Really nervous.

I thought of this again as I sat in the room waiting for my turn to read from my newest book, The Glitter of Gold. I had practiced reading it a few times. I know I have a tendency to talk fast (and read fast) due to years of being told that, so I had to sit and continue to take slow deep breaths to try to calm myself down.

And then I got up, and I started read. I’d like to say that I magically felt better and the words just flowed. Instead I kept losing my place on the page as I looked up at the crowd (something I was told was better than just keeping my head down and reading) and stumbling over words I’d read perfectly several times before. I found myself spontaneously rewriting sentences as I read, skipping words or changing the order for the sake of my poor twisted tongue, and I could feel sweat pooling on my upper lip.

I was fortunate enough to have family and friends come and support me, and I switched from face to face in the crowd, looking for a lifeline, and trying not to speed up as I got closer to the end of my prepared section.

When it was over, I was very happy to drop the paper down to my side, take my applause, say thank you, and get off the stage. It did not feel like a graceful exit.

And then my cousin told me later how proud he was of how brave I was — not just for reading in public, but for writing and putting my words out there for others to see. I of course started to tear up.

Both improvisation and presentation take bravery, and perhaps doing the one you are least comfortable with takes the most.

In the end, like anything else, they both take practice. Being brave takes practice.

And last night, my fellow authors and all the folks who participated in the open mic got a chance to practice being brave.

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J.M. Phillippe is the author
of the novels Perfect
Likeness, Aurora One, The Christmas Spirit,
and The Glitter of Gold and the short stories The Sight and Plane Signals. She has lived in the
deserts of California, the suburbs of Seattle, and the mad rush of New York
City. She works as a clinical social worker in Brooklyn, New York and spends
her free time binge-watching quality TV, drinking cider with amazing friends,
and learning the art of radical self-acceptance, one day at a time.
 

Celebrating Pretty Books

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by J.M. Phillippe

There is nothing quite like seeing your book in print for the first time. I adore eBooks, and am just as thrilled when someone buys a digital version of my books as when they buy a print one, but actually seeing my books in print does something to me that seeing it digitally just doesn’t do. In print, it’s tangible, solid. My first memories of books were of course the print kind, and seeing my words as I flip through the pages feels magical.

I am particularly excited because today, the print version of my latest book, The Glitter of Gold, a space age retelling of Rumpelstiltskin and part of the Galactic Dreams Volume 2 boxed set, is being released, and I can’t wait for folks to see it because the inside is just so pretty!

 I love all the details inside the book, from the font choices to the additional little illustrations found in the section and chapter headings. A quality design can really add something to the way a reader experiences a book, and I am super excited for the experience that readers will have with this book.

Maybe Bookstagram (taking pretty photos of books for Instagram or other social media) has made me even more aware of just how pretty books can be, but lately I have been thrilled to see what designers are doing to help add to the experience of readers investing money (and shelf space!) on print editions.

So here’s to pretty books — may the stories they contain be just as memorable!

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J.M. Phillippe is the author of the novels Perfect Likeness and The Christmas Spirit, the sci-fairy tales Aurora One and The Glitter of Gold (part of the Galactic Dreams boxed sets) and the short stories The Sight and Plane Signals. She has lived in the deserts of California, the suburbs of Seattle, and the mad rush of New York City. She works as a clinical social worker in Brooklyn, New York and spends her free time binge-watching quality TV, drinking cider with amazing friends, and learning the art of radical self-acceptance, one day at a time.

The Perfect Ending

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by Bethany Maines

Sci-fi season is done and I’m back to working on
mysteries!  Yay!  Something I’m utterly comfortable with and
totally know how to do.  Wait… how do you
do this again?  I think I’ve got genre
whiplash.  Can I just toss in some aliens
at the end of this thriller and solve everything?
As I plug away toward the ending on my latest WIP
(work-in-progress) I find myself struggling to find the perfect stopping point
(that doesn’t include aliens). Some genres are more forgiving of ambiguity in
an ending, but I think that across all genre’s the perfect ending is one that
feels satisfactory to the characters. I’ve read many books where it was as
though author just wandered off and their lead character is left twisting in
the wind. (Grapes of Wrath, I’m looking at you. 
Just because you couldn’t come up with more tortures for your characters
does not mean you just get to quit writing Steinbeck.) I’m all for leaving room
for character development and a sequel, but… uh… let’s have a little bit of
satisfaction for the reader and character.
And an author probably shouldn’t subvert their genre too
hard.  Hamlet is not meant to end with
Hamlet and Ophelia riding off into the sunset. 
Romances should definitely have the two main characters getting together
and mysteries should solve the damn mystery. 
Don’t betray the audiences trust just to be clever.  But that still leaves a lot of leeway.  Just HOW do I want my characters to get
together?  What’s the perfect way to expose
the murderer?  It’s like I’ve got a
choose-your-own-adventure in my head and I’m the only one who can figure out if
I’m supposed to flip to page 42 or 117. 
So wish me luck as I venture off to page 117.  Hopefully I don’t die.
***

3 novels, 1 low price
Welcome to the universe of Galactic Dreams, where fairy tales are reimagined for a new age—the future.

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Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Galactic Dreaming

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by Bethany Maines

The sci-fi fairy tale anthology Galactic Dreams Volume 2, featuring my novel The Seventh Swan will be released next week. Today, I’m interviewing one of the the other authors featured in the anthology: Karen Harris Tully.  Karen generally writes sci-fi YA novels, including The Faarian Chronicles trilogy, and creates elaborate worlds for her novels aided by her bachelor’s in political science and economics. We met through a mutual friend and I have had the pleasure of beta reading some of her manuscripts.

For the Galactic Dreams series, myself, Karen, and fellow Stiletto Gang author J.M. Phillippe, were given the task of creating a literary universe that could be shared across the anthology series. We have to agree on the history of the universe as well as technology and vocabulary.  Each of us is venturing into unexplored territory, whether it’s by sharing a world, trying out the sci-fi genre (that’s me!), or attempting to write on a shorter deadline than normal, the Galactic Dream series has been challenging for all of us. I’m asking Karen about some of the challenges that came with writing as part of the Galactic Dream Team.

What is the best/worst part about sharing a universe with two other writers?
KHT: Like Cerberus, three heads are simply better than one. I may come up with some good ideas, but when I’m lucky enough to put those together with the imagination brainpower of JM Phillippe and Bethany Maines, well, the stuff we come up with as a trio is mind-blowing. And when our brains flow and mesh together to create something bigger, that I never could have imagined on my own, that’s the fun part. Of course, the worst is when they don’t like my amazing ideas! As if that could ever happen, right? 😉

BMM: You have great ideas—we’re probably missing out on sheer awesomeness whenever one gets voted down.

How do you develop the technology in your books?
KHT: The ideas, you mean? They come from extrapolating real, amazing s**t that is happening right now! I am so fascinated with CRISPR gene editing for example. I love science news and listen to a lot of NPR and science podcasts. I read online articles about new tech that scientists and companies are developing that isn’t even out yet, from gadgets and tech to clean up our oceans, to weapons of the future, to tiny interstellar disk probes on shiny, laser powered sails, and pretty much everything else. I think to myself, what happens with this technology next, what does this look like in a hundred or a thousand years? And then I write it in. 
BMM: I’m interested in the tech, but I think the social ramifications of a technology become more interesting for me. I think you’re more science-minded than me. Which is beneficial.  Definitely don’t leave me in charge of the tech.

Do you think fairy tales adapt better to sci-fi than other genres (and if so, why)?
KHT: Of course! Because what used to be magic, strictly relegated to the realm of fantasy, is becoming real, through technology. Waving a magic wand is too easy. Making miracles happen in real life, that’s science. I love it most when science and fiction, fantasy and imagination, all crash together to create something new, weird, and wonderful.
BMM: I completely agree with this, but also, I think some of the disjointed plotting of fairy tales can more easily be explained in sci-fi because… aliens.  😀

The core of your plot is a mystery of who is behind an impending war—do you approach that plot line differently than the sci-fi portions? 
KHT: I think all good sci-fi starts off with a mystery. Strange stuff is happening in a weird location and the science and imagination of that fascinates me. But, without the mystery of why the drama is happening, and who’s behind it all, fighting the alien horde would just be visceral stimulation without a purpose, you know?

BMM: That’s right. You heard it here, folks. Even the sci-fi people admit… Everything is Mystery!
Many thanks to Karen Harris Tully for being interviewed today!
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3 novels, 1 low price
Release: 2/19/19
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Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San
Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo
Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she’s not traveling to
exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in
karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working
on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube,
Twitter and Facebook.

OK, Not OK?

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by Bethany Maines

Happy Valentines Day! Who doesn’t like to celebrate the bloody death of man in third century Rome?  I, for one, am all about the guy that no one really knows why he died, or how, but heck, if he somehow wants to spawn a greeting card industry associated with romantic and courtly love then I’m all for it. I am so for it, in fact, that I have written a book for the occasion – When Stars Take Flight!

When Stars Take Flight, a retelling of Thumbelina, is part of the new Galactic Dreams collection from Blue Zephyr Press featuring fairy tales retold as science fiction adventures.  Each story is unique, but all the stories take place in the same universe.  Galactic Dreams Volume 1 also includes Soldier, Princess, Rebel Spy (inspired by Mulan) by Karen Harris Tully and Aurora One (Sleeping Beauty) by the Stiletto Gang’s own J. M. Phillippe.

Writing this book was a fascinating process involving a lot of “research” aka reading of fairy tales. And the first thing I have to say is what the hell is wrong with fairy tales? What sick twisted bastard invented these things? So much limb chopping, incest, and cannibalism.  Apparently, cannibalism was a far greater problem back in the old days than I gave it credit for. The second part of the process was the “world building”. The other authors and I had to establish, build and agree upon our science-fiction setting. Monetary systems, space travel, religions—just how do all of these things function in our universe?  As we developed rules, we created some artificial stumbling blocks for ourselves to push how we were writing. One rule was that only people directly from Earth would use the word OK. Until I couldn’t use it, I had no idea how often I used OK.  But there is no word more distinctly American than OK. Would space colonists who were originally from Iceland use the word OK five hundred years or a thousand years from now?  It seems unlikely.  But even with that in mind, I ended up having to do a find and replace in my manuscript to find all the places I typed it without even thinking about it.  I believe that the result of our hard work are a fun, romantic, adventurous stories that stays true to the fairy tale tradition (I mean the ones about torture and true love, we skipped the cannibalism), but creates something entirely new and unique. I’m excited by this collection and hope that other people (aka readers) are too.



Buy now – three sci-fairy tale novels for $4.99!



Welcome to the universe of Galactic Dreams, where fairy tales are reimagined for a new age—the future. In each Galactic Dreams novella you’ll find an old tale reborn with a mixture of romance, technology, aliens and adventure. But beware, a perilous quest awaits behind every star and getting home again will depend on a good spaceship, true love, and maybe just a hint of magic.


Buy now – three sci-fairy tale novels for $4.99!

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, Tales From the City of Destiny, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous
short stories. When she’s not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some
serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in karate, she can be found
chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You
can also view the Carrie Mae YouTube
video or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.