Tag: science fiction

Categories
Virtual Book Tours

Strange and Not-so-Strange Brews from Science Fiction Worlds by Tyrean Martinson

I am currently enthralled in the action that has been my experience of reading the Nexus. I loved the first book and am loving this one, but more on that after these insightful and entertaining thoughts, from Nexus author, Tyrean Martinson, pertaining to “space brews.”

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If you enjoy science fiction, you might have noticed a tendency for writers to give a unique twist to foods and beverages. Doing this can provide context for character development, a way to highlight social issues, plot twist moments, and detailed world-building. In this post, I want to give a quick summary of notable science fiction drinks from notable science fiction universes. I find it fascinating the authors and creators of these worlds took the time to create detailed and fun beverages for their characters to enjoy. I have posted a bit previously about this for my Nexus Book Party Celebration, so I will mention some of those posts here.

From the multi-verse of stories:

Klah is a coffee-like beverage from Anne McCaffrey’s Pern Universe, most notably mentioned in The Harper Hall Series. I did a short post about this comforting beverage at Lynda Young’s blog.
The Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster from Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is a mind-bending drink I posted about at Patricia Josephine’s Blog.
From the Dune Series by Frank Herbert: Spice beer is an alcoholic beverage made with the spice melange. Spice melange gives long life, vitality, and heightened awareness and even prescience in some. One of the reasons I think the whole “spice” concept works in the Dune series is that it takes a familiar word and gives it new and interesting definitions.
From Firefly, Mudder’s Milk is “all the protein, vitamins and carbs of your grandma’s best turkey dinner, plus 15 percent alcohol.” This notable drink from Firefly, the way it was mentioned, and especially in the Jayneston episode, I thought was both funny and clever.

From the Babylon Five Universe:
Bor’Kaan is a potent Drazi alcoholic drink beverage. Human can only safely drink Bor’Kann after first taking an alcohol blocker.
Brivari is a Centauri alcoholic drink and used for some celebratory occasions.
Orcha Juice is a Markab drink blended from a mix of fruit juices, mostly venda juice and something similar to Earth ginger ale. It was a favourite of Dr. Franklin.
Not-so-strange: Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic Earth cocktail enjoyed by Vir.
If you aren’t familiar with the Babylon Five Universe, I recommend finding it on Netflix or at your local library. A five-year series planned and plotted out before it’s beginning, this series may start out feeling a bit clunky on the sound stage, but by the middle of the first season, it’s hard not to be hooked on the intrigue and drama of this series about a unique space station with truly creative aliens and humans interacting with one another in the hopes of either peace or profit.

Notable drinks from the Star Wars Universe:
Blue Milk has non-alcoholic and alcoholic varieties. It is Bantha milk in its original form, but it can be created into Blue Milk Coolers, the alcoholic version. There are fan pages dedicated to this drink.
Thala-Siren Milk aka the Green Milk Luke guzzles in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Many other drinks that Star Wars fandoms have multi-pages set aside for them. The Star Wars universe takes its authenticity in world-building seriously at a highly detailed level.

Notable drinks from the Star Trek Universe:
Romulan Ale is a famous drink with political ramifications, which I explain in a post at Alex J. Cavanaugh’s blog.
Kanar is the Cardassian liquor of choice.
Raktajino is played off as simple “Klingon coffee,” but it may have a kick.
Aldeberan Whiskey is a drink Data poured for Scotty when he found himself alive one generation later in the fan favorite episode “Relics.”
Tea, Earl Gray, Hot – Captain Picard’s favorite beverage. Sure it isn’t really a strange brew, but I think it’s worth mentioning as a show favorite.
Like Star Wars, Star Trek has many dedicated fan pages to favorite foods and beverages.

In homage to all of these greatly detailed and fun science fiction universes, I created my own coffee and tea like beverage called awak for The Rayatana Series. I think it’s fun to include these kinds of details for readers who enjoy getting a taste of fictional worlds.

If you’re interested in the way Food and Beverages can play a role in fiction writing, check out these posts:
The Role of Food and Beverage, Part 1: Comfort
The Role of Food and Beverage, Part 2: Social Issues
The Role of Food and Beverage, Part 3: Danger

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This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

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Amaya is supposed to bring peace to the galaxy. Which is tough when she’s being held for crimes against the Neutral Zone. Her imprisonment is on her own ship with her own crew. But close quarters create tension.

Honestly, her role as Rayatana is a mess.

She may never get to use her powers for anything good. Not if her teacher continues to keep secrets, and not if her powers keep harming others. Putting her mother in a coma should put her in prison, but she has a mission. She wants to bring peace to her people. She needs to become the Rayatana.

Find it here:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AUS |Amazon Canada

Smashwords |  Apple |  Kobo | Goodreads | Bookbub

I just finished Nexux yesterday as I was putting this post together. I hope to have my review up for it very soon. In the meantime, feel free to check my review of the first book in the series.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

Categories
IWSG

#IWSG October 2021- Where do you draw the line?

IWSG

Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

Optional Monthly Question: In your writing, where do you draw the line, with either topics or language?

I don’t like to think that there is any topic I’d be afraid to tackle but will admit that some subject matter simply doesn’t appeal to me. I also think it’s one thing to completely avoid certain material and another to find a different or more comfortable way to approach it than say “the norm”.

Rape is a topic I’ve written about without describing it. For some people, it’s important to describe things in vivid detail all the time, but sometimes you don’t have to and still manage to be compelling. There are other topics that I’m not likely to write about simply because I don’t want to, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t.

When it comes to sexual content, I think I’m a bit more open, though I’ve not gone too steamy at this point. Even when it comes to reading mature content, which I’m ok with, I draw the line when there’s more than one graphic sex scene within a chapter, sometimes even having one a chapter is just too much. Some descriptions are unnecessary and seem to only serve the purpose of being shocking. Still, even if I did write something truly steamy, I still don’t think it would be considered profane. Some writers excel at writing shocking content that can be disturbing, visceral, or hyperrealistic. That’s not me and I’m okay with that. I like the idea of entertaining readers, not shocking them.

When it comes to language, I’m okay with profanity if it serves a purpose and seems real. Again, I admit that I’m more likely to read books with profanity than I am to write it (though too much is a turn off), still, I have put a few mature words in my stories when I felt it played well with either a character or the overall plot. I don’t think anything I write will ever be considered profane, but that’s just me. I have no problem with other writers writing what works for them.

On a side note, I recently listened to a podcast that stated there’s research that content warnings aren’t effective. They don’t help readers cope with the content, but can deter some readers, which in my opinion is a good thing. If someone doesn’t want to read certain content and they know upfront, that means that book is less likely to get a negative review because the reader was unnecessarily shocked or disturbed. Also, I feel like they could help other readers find the content they are looking for. Maybe someone wants to read something a little more intense than the norm. I’m all for content warnings. What do you think?

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IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS

Member Spotlights

#iwsgbookclub

The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of October are Already Home by Heather M. Gardner and Dragon of the Stars by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Please check these out and consider giving one or both of these a read this month. If you’re not up for reading them, no worries, you can still help spread some love for these publications and or participate in the book club activities.

 

My co-mods and I have done a lot of research into the books written by IWSG members to help facilitate the current direction the book club is taking. In the process, I’ve learned about how readers find and don’t find books by our members. So, I’ve put together some, hopefully, helpful tips I like to call…

Ways to Make Your Book(s) “Findable”

…and increase their chances to be featured and discovered.

2) Make sure you have a complete and up-to-date Amazon Author page unless you are opting not to sell on that site. You can also look into setting up profiles on other retail sites that allow that. I must admit, I’ve been meaning to get set up on Google Play and still haven’t done that yet. If a reader can’t find you on Goodreads, the next place they are likely to search will either be Amazon.com or Google.

P.S. It has come to the attention of the admins that there is a discrepancy between the members we are currently pooling from and the actual numbers of members to pool from. We are currently working on a registry system to fix this. Thank you all for your patience as we strive to give all IWSG members a chance to be featured.

Now, on to the personal updates.

I attended my first live event in over a year. It was simply a vendor table at an outdoor fair-type event. It was more fun than I’d expected but just as stressful as I’d imagined. I had a few moments where I felt dizzy from the rush, the commotion, and the heat. I was happy to have my husband there as a support.

After a year of forgetting what a profit feels like, it was nice to have a hefty wad to either blow on something extravagant or reinvest into my business. If only I could muster the nerve to do more of these events.

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So, where do you draw the line?
What are your thoughts on content warmings?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog.

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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Jemima Pett,
J Lenni Dorner ,
Cathrina Constantine,
Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and
Mary Aalgaard!

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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #33).

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter

Categories
Promotion

Will you survive the zombie apocalypse? by Patricia Josephine @pjlauthor

Hey guys, sorry for the late post, but I wanted to give you plenty of time to check out this cool book. The ebook is discounted until Wednesday and there’s some really cool stuff in this post, including a giveaway. Check it out and enjoy!

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Will you survive the zombie apocalypse?

You wake up and find the zombie apocalypse has started. What do you do?

A: Take stock of anything you can use as a weapon, secure your home, and take stock of what food you have and how long it will last.

B: Get closer to look at a so-called zombie. This can’t be real.

C: Barricade yourself in your home and freak out.

Which of the following weapons would you use to kill zombies? 

A: Gun.

B: Knife.

C: Baseball bat.

You’re making your way downtown in hopes of finding supplies. Along the way, you see a group of 4 zombies. They appear to be eating some unlucky sap. How do you get around them?

A: Backtrack and take a different route.

B: Run in with guns blazing and take them out.

C: Throw something that makes noise and causes the zombies to follow it.

Someone you love is now a zombie. How do you react?

A: Shoot them and put them out of their misery. It’s what you’d want if the roles were reversed.

B: Sob.

C: Capture them and put them somewhere secure in hopes of someone finding a cure.

You’ve found a group of survivors, but they don’t trust you’re not infected. How do you gain their trust?

A: Put your hands up and back away to show you are no threat. Leave. It’s not worth trying to reason with them.

B: Strip down to show that you are not infected, setting all your weapons aside.

C: Insist that you are not infected, motioning to visible skin and lack of blood on your clothing.

Results

If you answered mostly A then you’ll survive. You take survival seriously and don’t take unnecessary risks. You’ll either do it alone or find people you trust. You may even end up the leader of the group.

If you answered mostly B then you are screwed. You don’t take stock of your surroundings, don’t exercises caution, and think you are invincible. And now you’re a zombie.

If you answered mostly C then you have a chance. Sure, the concept of the zombie apocalypse freaked you out, but you’ve calmed down and you’re hoping with enough gumption you’ll make it. If not, you at least plan on taking out as many as you can first.

Toi: I answered mostly A, so I guess I’ll be okay.

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Every human in the world becomes a zombie when they die. But Erin refuses to accept the world as it is now. She’s heard about a cure locked away in a lab in Upper Michigan, and she plans on retrieving it. To do so, she needs a zombie. Not just any zombie, though.

Zee is Erin’s link to the lab. His connection to the living world is her bargaining chip. But only if she can teach him to control his mindless impulses.

Can a zombie be trained? Or will Erin be Zee’s next meal and become a zombie herself? The fate of humanity rests in her hands.

Amazon.com

See my review on Goodreads | Add to your Goodreads Bookshelf

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Patricia never set out to become a writer, and in fact, she never considered it an option during high school and college. She was more of an art and band geek. Some stories are meant to be told, though, and now she can’t stop writing.

Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo, and has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow.

Social Media Links:

Website  |  Newsletter  |  Goodreads 

Amazon Author Page  |   Facebook Page 

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter