Unfortunate | Laura Stapleton, Author

First the shameless promotion: This post is brought to you by the letter “U” for Unfortunate. Read about what happened to Daggart Bartlett after Undeniable over at Amazon.

On to the content. Let’s get comfy for a moment and talk science fiction and space aliens. I’m always thinking up new plots, always reading the science websites for the latest in knowledge. The recent discoveries of Earth-like planets always get a flurry of questions about humans someday living there and life on other planets.

Which got me to thinking. A lot of the current science fiction offerings have most of the aliens encountered depicted as either a father figure or a buffoon. It seems our deepest desires are to find a solution to our problems via a superior being handing over their advanced technology to us, no questions asked. Failing that, we want comedic relief. We also seem to have a need for superiority over them while at the same time wanting their protection. Even when an alien race is somewhat equal, like Star Trek’s Vulcans, they’re still set aside as not human with implied condescension.

So even in the fictional future and with fantastical technology, we want both someone to help us as needed while still making us feel superior. I know this is just one aspect of the human-space alien relationship popularized in fiction. What others are there that YOU see? Comment below because this would be a fun discussion to have.

I can already think of two exceptions, Skyline and Independence Day, where the aliens are scraping humans off the planet because they want Earth. No discussion, no attempt to communicate, just extermination. Even the Daleks in Doctor Who laid out their plans for us and our eradication. The exceptions listed above? They don’t tell us because they don’t care. Which is why those movies are such thrillers, I think. They kick us in the “Humans are Awesome” crotch and it hurts.

So again, tell me what you think about how other life forms are depicted in science fiction in general. I really want to know! Serious accepted, silly even more so!

First of all, I have to admit I’ve been living in a ‘Quil haze this past week. My usual solid steel immune system has let me down. While my blog has been neglected, nothing else has been. The Very Worst Man is up for preorder with a release date of February 28th. Unfortunate, Daggart’s fate, is at the editor’s, as is Undeniable, getting its makeover in round two of edits. The Very Best Man is getting another polish, too. When writing advice says “Sleep on it,” believe them. You’ll find mistakes from way out in left field. Also, weigh a good editor, on a scale, and give them that much in gold because they’re worth it. Mine is, and if I earned it, she’d be paid double.

You did catch that The Very Worst Man is up for preorder, right? In case you’re not convinced you NEED this book, here’s a little teaser. Available now at Amazon, everywhere else by the 28th, maybe before then.

Notice how I’ve not mentioned Uncivilized? Shhhhhh. I’m finishing it in a marathon session as soon as I can quit snorting Benadryl. Kidding about the snorting, but wish I wasn’t. Mass quantities of meds at this point can only help. I’ll look back on this post and think TMI. Or not. I tend to look forward.

Something in the fun and procrastination department is I’ve started a personal Learning from the Masters series where I take a billion selling book and give it my own what if. Like, what if Christian Grey was a dollaraire instead of a billionaire?

Thus, I present, 50 Shades of Gremlin

He rolled up in the Gremlin and my breath caught. Was it his cold steel eyes or the exhaust fumes choking me? I couldn’t tell. All I knew was my heart raced, seeing him get out of his car. Most of the paint still clung to life on the vehicle, discolored to a light grey from what I assumed had been navy blue.

“Miss Steele,” he said, holding open the door. “You’ll have to slide in from the driver’s side, my passenger’s side is broken.
The sexy growl in his voice convinced me as much as his muscles as they flexed under the tattered flannel shirt he wore when he continued, “I’m good at driving backwards through the drive through, since your window rolls down better than mine.”