QSFer Christine Wright stops by for an interview about her new sci fi book, Supernova, and her writing in general:
Supernova completed the Mated to the Captain Series
Supernova is the third book in the Mated to the Captain series. It’s MM Sci-Fi romance with lots of adventure, sassiness and humor. There are quirky characters and unusual situations. Below are some questions readers typically ask me.
The Mated to the Captain Series summarized in a sentence?
A human gets way more than he bargained for when he gets drunk and ends up unwittingly mated to a bossy alpha alien.
Who IS Christine Wright?
Wow, that’s a deep philosophical question and a tough one. I’m not really sure yet. Yes, I’m almost fifty. Inside though, yeah, I’m probably thirty-five forever. In fact I believe that is the perfect age to be bitten by a vampire. Just old enough to have it somewhat together and young enough to still enjoy it. At fifty you start thinking about naps and staying home Friday nights.
I’ve been writing forever. Even as a child my father used to lock me outside to play but I’d go to the school yard with a notebook (okay, probably paper in a Trapper Keeper) and write ‘Space Stories’ with titles like The Red Planet of Doom. I bet you couldn’t guess that my favorite show was Star Trek. I didn’t know what shipping was back then but I totally shipped the doctor and the Captain. I was a kid and I dreamt of them kissing each other.
My first publications were in magazines for the disabled and travel journals. I love writing both non-fiction and fiction. To be honest though, my true loves are horror, Sci-fi and Fantasy. One of my earliest memories is lying in front of my grandfather’s fireplace and listening to him read Poe’s stories. My grandfather was a storyteller in his own right. He could spin quite a yarn and I loved that gift he passed to me.
Three secrets you may not have known. First, I have a pet hedgehog. Second, I’m a huge Doctor Who fan. Numbers 9 and 10 are really MY doctors, though of course I love 11 too. Doctor 12 and I haven’t hit it off yet. Third, I have the ability to read and write upside down and backwards. Little family quirk I inherited.
What inspired this series?
My first fiction book, Light Years Away, came to existence after a trip to Vegas. I witnessed a few couples hurriedly getting married after a whirlwind of drunken fun and that’s when the character of Del popped up in my mind. I sat him down and talked to him. That’s pretty much how I write. I meet an interesting character and I interview them. It eventually leads to plot points and key dialogue being laid out. Sometimes I jump around in the book sometimes I go chapter by chapter.
What is the hardest part about writing?
I have a whole universe in my head- full of life, history, significance and wonder. All that’s hard to get down on the screen. I want the reader to be immersed and dragged along by the sleeve. As a reader I love an author that can take me so far into the world that I forget this time and place. I hope to do that to readers. I also tend to forget you can’t see inside my head. After I write a draft I go back and fill in smaller, finer details.
Supernova is the end of the Mated to the Captain series, what now?
I’m going to Disneyland. Joking. I’m struggling to say goodbye to my intergalactic friends. Kai, my sassy octo-shifter is a pain in the butt and demands his own stand-alone so he’s getting it. I hope to have it out by January. Also near the end of December I will release Light Years Away with a new cover and book 2 will be formatted to print.
Do readers actually love the bad guys in your books?
If you are talking about the Rathian Raiders, yes they do. I must admit I also love them. They are heartless and just a bit crazy. Their idea of parenthood and retirement is definitely not something that is seen on Earth. At least I hope not. Hastor, the cunning ‘rat’ as Quinn calls him, is unluckily mated to a Xolian. You know that combination will be flame to petrol.
I don’t think anyone likes the poor fly guys who keep getting their butts whooped by my whole universe. Readers ask if I hate flies or something. I mean I must, I keep laughing evilly whenever I write something happening to them.
Who’s your favorite character?
Haha. Not telling you. If they found out there would be rebellion. Can’t have that, can we? ****whispering*** Might say only this… I’m kind of fond of his crankiness and barbed tail.
Your absolute favorite book of all time?
How can you ask me that? That is like choosing between chocolate and pumpkin spice. Okay, twist my arms. It has to be The Hobbit. I’ve read it so many times I’ve lost count. I liked it because I was a really shy petite child and this hobbit was small and feisty. He tricked a dragon! How cool is that? When he was brave it made me feel the same way. I daydreamed a lot as a kid (bet you couldn’t tell). I was often Bilbo in the dragon’s hoard looking for that freaking jewel while everybody else stayed safe outside.
A secret revealed: Readers could play ‘Where’s Benedict’ in every book. Could you explain that?
This made me laugh actually. A reader said she noticed in each of my stories a character that reminded her of someone Benedict Cumberbatch could play if these became movies. Firstly, thank you for saying you think they are awesome enough to be made into movies. I agree. I think we need LGBTQ sci-fi shows and movies. Secondly, you may be right. I read through this series, my short stories and my current work in progress- I did find him in each one (created completely subconsciously). Now readers can play ‘Where’s Benedict’ if they so choose. My lips are sealed; I am not going to reveal the answer.
Any other projects?
I have a new series I’m working on. It’s dark erotica with angels and demons. It is something completely different to my light, sassy sci-fi.
But in the meantime I hope readers enjoy Supernova, book 3 of the Mated to the Captain Series. I had an absolute blast writing it.
Captain Quinn has always been the savior, rescuing his little human mate Del from every unlikely predicament. Even with Quinn’s protective nature and Del’s tendency to find trouble, they balance each other. The mated pair are ecstatic, anxiously awaiting the birth of their twins, when disaster strikes. A mysterious illness waylays the Captain, leaving Del in charge. Being the Captain leaves Del in a bind–pregnant, a magnet for trouble, Del struggles to find his feet and keep everyone safe. All their lives are deeply impacted by Del’s command decision to seek assistance from an old enemy.
Brync and Kai fear Kai’s parents won’t accept their blossoming relationship. When Kai is ordered to return home Brync must make the decision of his life.
Rathian Raider Hastor, annoyed that he’s been mated to a Xolian, plans to ignore the spoiled, whiny, green-eyed alien until he dies from exposure to the desert climate. But Braxx may be more interesting and resilient than Hastor first expected.
Now if those babies would just arrive on time and follow their fathers well laid out plan, life could get back to normal.
Book Three in the Mated to the Captain Series
Books One & Two:
Mated to the Captain Book 1: Light Years Away
Maybe it was fate. To get off of the space station Del desperately needed a job on board a spaceship.
He wasn’t looking for love and he certainly wasn’t wanting the attention of a grumpy alien Captain who disciplined wayward crewmembers or threw them out of airlocks.
Del never expected to be the Captain’s new mate.
In this gay sci-fi follow the misadventures of a young human on board a Xolian space cruiser where being the Captain’s mate just might prove to be more difficult than being his First Officer.
Mated to the Captain Book 2: Gravitational Forces
Just when he thought he was safe…
Trouble seemed to find Del no matter what he did. He got caged as a pet to a fly, caught in a trap as food, chased by a crazy, saw-wielding doctor and found himself mated to an alien Captain. One year after the consummation of their relationship Del thought that trouble was far behind him. Little did he know that life was going to get far more challenging and dangerous than ever before.
Quinn too was ready to get some rest and relaxation. But something strange followed them aboard the Narada Marant, something with tentacles and a unique appetite for Xolians. If that wasn’t bad enough, a cunning, evil warlord had his sights on kidnapping and selling Del. Looked like another rescue mission was going to be needed.
Getting pregnant would be the least of Del’s worries.
“Super sexy…sassy and sweet with a rush of danger all rolled into one book!”
Five star review of Gravitational Forces, Book 2 of the Mated to the Captain Series
Buy Links
Excerpt
Xolian alpha male Brync struggles to accept his smaller partner, Kai, an octoshifter, is always going to top him. This was determined by an earlier wrestling match, which Brync had lost to Kai. He has demanded a rematch.
Brync:
Warily, I sat up and gained better balance on my knees. He did the same.
“I thought we said tentacles were cheating,” I reminded him.
“You said they were cheating, not me. You have a weight and height advantage, Brync.”
Hmmm, that was true. “Alright, shifting is allowed. But no, erm, you know, spraying ink or injecting venom.”
Kai nodded his agreement. “Sounds fair.”
“I guess that means I can’t bite or use my body armor…” I started to say.
“Go!” Kai shouted as he transformed in front of me. I found myself suddenly engulfed by a very large, very strong cephalopod. In the few months I had last seen him in this form he had grown considerably.
His tentacles slipped around my body, pinning my arms down at me sides. As I struggled I fell over backwards with him on top of me. His eyes locked on mine and I swear to you they were sparkling with humor. In fact I could hear a burbling laughter from beneath him where his sharp beak was hidden from view. The markings covering his bulbous body and arms shimmered in the light and almost hypnotized me. Letting him shift was a bad move!
The more I strained the tighter his grip became. Barely able to breath I whispered, “I think we need to renegotiate.”
One thin, muscular arm reached over to the bed stand and with suckers attaching themselves to the translator, Kai brought the small device to his mouth. Bubbly sounds were translated quickly. “You always want to renegotiate when you are losing, Brync.”
“Not liking the outcome,” I grumbled. “You’re a lot bigger now.”
The mollusk shifter chuckled. “Still growing. In a year I’ll be my full adult size when shifted.”
I frowned and stated, “I don’t really get how you can be so damn big in one form and smaller in another.”
“Physics,” He replied with a shrug of one octopus arm. “Do you want me to explain or shall we have sex? Personally I hope you choose sex. That’s just me though. You want discourse…”
“Go,” I shouted. I planted my legs in the bed, lifted him and bucked hard at the same time, dislodging him. Turning my body quickly I wiggled away from Kai.
“Oh, finally a challenge!” I heard him crow as he thumped back down onto the empty space on the bed.
I was instantly in his tentacles again. I’d have to fight smarter not harder. As his body attached itself to me I stood up and jiggled him until he was sliding towards the floor.
“Look if I win,” I told him. “I don’t want to mate with an octopus. So if I pin you, you turn back. Got it?”
The translator lay on the bed out of reach but the gurgling sounded like one of agreement. Stealthily, I nabbed my belt from the pile of clothing covering the chair next to me and kept it behind my back. He had me by the legs and wasn’t going to let go. Some of the tentacles on the floor started to pull me off balance and I knew if I fell it would be over.
With my hands kept out of Kai’s sight, I worked the belt into a loop. Once I was certain his focus was on destabilizing my stance I made a sudden move. I grabbed two front arms, yanked them free of my legs and pulled them through the loop of my belt securing it. Kai grunted in surprise.
He lashed out at me but I caught the tentacles and held them tightly, even as they curled around my wrist sucking against the skin. With four of his eight appendages trapped in my grip the four on the floor skidded as I pushed him backwards.
Carefully, I pressed my leg into his soft body and pinned him into the corner. After a moment of thrashing, angry convolutions I felt him slowly start to relax. I told him, “I have you pinned, Kai. Surrender and shift.”
His arms went limp in concession. I released him and watched, as he smoothly became his humanoid form again. The belt remained around his wrists as he knelt in front of me and I nearly exploded from seeing him helpless this way. I grasped the belt and raised his arms above his head. He tilted his head back, his cross-shaped pupils wide in desire.
“Kai, give yourself to me. I’ll be gentle. I want you to experience what I do every time. It’s incredible.”
His pink tongue licked his lips as he considered. “Oh, you’re really going to suffer and beg now!” Kai said huskily.
“I don’t understand. I’ve won, clearly.”
“Did you, Brync? Are you certain?”
Frowning, I tilted my head, regarding him. “Yeah, I said if I pinned you that meant I won. You agreed.”
Kai rose slowly and I allowed him to rest his trapped wrists on my chest as he drew closer to my body. I pushed back a strand of his blood red hair from his face eliciting a shiver from him. He looked up at me and answered, “You heard me agree?”
“Yeah, I did, Kai.”
He sighed deeply, almost sounding hurt. “I wish you’d learned Polvo as fast as I’ve learned some Xolian.”
“Well to be fair, fish bubbles are a lot harder than Xolian grammar, Kai.”
Caressing the skin on my chest to soothe me Kai added, “Very true. But if you knew what I’d said earlier, you wouldn’t be confused right now.”
“I’m not confused.”
“I didn’t agree with your terms, Brync. In fact, I called you a sissy father fucker!” With that statement the humanoid in front of me suddenly had four octopus appendages as well as regular arms and legs. Two tentacles slithered beneath my arms and began to tickle me mercilessly just as the other two poked my ribs. I let his wrists go and tried to protect myself.
I screamed in laughter, “You cheater!”
Kai laughed along with me. “No. No! You said I could shift! This is totally fair!”
Author Bio
I’m almost fifty. Inside though, yeah, I’m probably thirty-five forever. In fact I believe that is the perfect age to be bitten by a vampire. Just old enough to have it somewhat together and young enough to still enjoy it. At fifty you start thinking about naps and staying home Friday nights.
I’ve been writing forever. Even as a child my father used to lock me outside to play but I’d go to the school yard with a notebook (okay, probably paper in a Trapper Keeper) and write ‘Space Stories’ with titles like The Red Planet of Doom. I bet you couldn’t guess that my favorite show was Star Trek. I didn’t know what shipping was back then but I totally shipped the doctor and the Captain. I was a kid and I dreamt of them kissing each other.
My first publications were in magazines for the disabled and travel journals. I love writing both non-fiction and fiction. To be honest though, my true loves are horror, Sci-fi and Fantasy. One of my earliest memories is lying in front of my grandfather’s fireplace and listening to him read Poe’s stories. My grandfather was a storyteller in his own right. He could spin quite a yarn and I loved that gift he passed to me.
Three secrets you may not have known. First, I have a pet hedgehog. Second, I’m a huge Doctor Who fan. Numbers 9 and 10 are really MY doctors, though of course I love 11 too. Doctor 12 and I haven’t hit it off yet. Third, I have the ability to read and write upside down and backwards. Little family quirk I inherited.
Thank you Scott
These sound interesting… Damn, they’re not on ARe. Guess I’ll have to wait…