Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Getting Over My Fear of Aliens by Jessica Subject

First and foremost, I have to say a huge thank you to Rebecca Royce. Not only did she allow me to post today, but she encouraged me to write the short story Celestial Seduction, which released published, and for that I will be forever grateful.

I’m not ashamed to admit that at one point in my life, I was afraid of aliens. Okay, so maybe this fear lasted for years, into adulthood and to the point of paranoia. In my mind, aliens hid in the dark recesses of houses, waiting to abduct unsuspecting Earthlings.

I’m sure, at least I hope others have or had the same fears about ghosts, werewolves, vampires, monsters, etc. Watching the movie Signs pushed me to my limit, especially since we lived in a farmhouse, surrounded by corn fields at the time. Luckily, no aliens ever showed up, at least none that I know of.

So how did I overcome my fear? I couldn’t exactly face it head on; I’ve never met an alien, yet.

I started writing. Without any intention of writing about aliens, I started a story about superheroes for my daughter. I didn’t want these superheroes to have any special powers though, at least none that they announced to the world. They would keep their differences hidden, pretend to live like the people of Earth. Then I thought about Superman, my favorite superhero. And….he’s an alien. Add Astroboy, many characters from Star Trek, Star Wars, and Men In Black to the list. Maybe not all aliens were bad, wanting to poke, probe and abduct us. And so my characters became aliens, thus beginning my love for reading and writing science-fiction romance. ‘Cause aliens want someone to love, too. At least in my head, they do.

Now it’s a different kind of poking, probing and abducting the aliens are involved in. And I’m not afraid of these ones. We’ll see how I feel after watching Super 8.

Find out more about Frey Berger, a field informant from the planet Ginnun and his one-night-stand with Earthling Carrie Cooper in Celestial Seduction.

Blurb:

At the end of his obligated commitment to the Space Service, Frey Berger decides to stay on Earth to further experience human emotions rather than return to Ginnun where his intended has already mated with another. Looking for real love and someone to accept him for what he is, Frey enlists in Madame Evangeline’s popular dating service. Although he does not understand the concept of a one-night stand, he hopes to find his perfect mate.

Carrie Cooper’s husband divorced her for someone who could provide him with children, leaving her with little self-confidence and no desire to let a man hurt her again. Her best friend convinces her to join a dating service, claiming Carrie needs to get laid, while not winding up with a broken heart since her date requires no commitment after the night is over.

Although several misunderstandings nearly derail them before the date has even begun, Carrie and Frey end up becoming closer than they ever believed possible. Still, Frey will need to convince Carrie that her perfect mate isn’t human at all, and that one night can lead to a forever love.

Excerpt:

“Remember how I said I needed an open-minded partner?”

She nodded, her eyes catching a quick glance from his before returning to her stomach.

Just a couple more minutes and he’d be finished. He prepared to hold her down should she freak out when he told her he came from space. “I’m not exactly like you and most of the people on Earth. I’m….different.”

“Like a demon or a guardian angel?”

He laughed. It sounded forced, but he needed to stay focused on healing Carrie rather than mating with her. “No, you’re thinking paranormal. Try science fiction.”

She began to squirm under him, but he didn’t need to restrain her. “A….clone? Artificial intelligence?”

He finished healing her and lay down beside her. His thumb ran across her lips, wanting to taste them again, but knowing he probably wouldn’t. “Try alien.”

Her mouth curved into a smile. “Alien. I don’t think so. You’re missing the big head and eyes, the green skin, the willowy limbs.”

He touched his fingertips to the side of her head. “Like this?” He flashed an image of the alien Earthlings always expected to arrive from space.

“Yeah, but how’d you do that?” Fear shone in her eyes.

Leaving the bed, he sat on one of the loveseats. The night was over. In a second, she’d dress as quickly as possible and rush out of the room. “I told you, I’m an alien from outer space.” Perhaps he shouldn’t have told her. He would spend the rest of the night alone.

Jessica Subject went from fearing the possibility of aliens to reading and writing about them. Combining her love of both science fiction and romance, she creates happily-ever-afters for the entire universe. She lives in Southwestern Ontario, Canada with her husband, two children and their seven year-old rabbit.


8 comments:

Bree said...

I became afraid of aliens when I watched...E.T. Yeah. Weird, huh? For years I couldn't watch the entire movie. That scene when E.T. is in the shed and no one has actually seen him yet frightened me so much I couldn't watch the rest of the movie.
lol!

The story sounds great. Congrats!!

Jeannie said...

This excerpt is interesting. :) I have never been afraid of aliens, seeing I do not believe in them. However--ghosts. Yeah, those scare the crap out of me. Poltergeist, The Ring, and other movies scare me so bad I am afraid to go anywhere--including the bathroom alone. I have no idea why I watch them; maybe I like being scared? Not sure.
I also write paranormal romance. It was fun reading about another author of the genre.

Rebecca Royce said...

I love reading about aliens and I'm of two minds about them. 1--If its the Vulcans coming, I say bring it on. Start the peace and the loving each other stuff. If its the bad dudes from War of the Worlds, watch me go and hide.

Jessica E. Subject said...

Bree - There was another I watched when I was younger, but I can't remember what it was called. Scared the crap out of me. Signs just made it worse. LOL :)

JM - Everyone has something they're afraid of. :)

Rebecca - That's why I write about the first kind. LOL :) War of the Worlds didn't scare me as much as I thought it would though. I guess it was the character story on top of the alien invasion that kept me occupied.

Thank you all for dropping by!

Jennifer Lane said...

Jessica, when you said you used to be afraid of aliens hiding in your house, I instantly thought of Signs. Cree-py movie! I'm glad you've worked through your fears by writing, and now you have a published short story, yay!

Jessica E. Subject said...

Jennifer - Yes, didn't help that we lived in a similar setting at the time. All worked out now, but I refuse to watch the movie. LOL

Unknown said...

I agree, I use to be afraid of aliens too. But that's because most of the alien stuff I have seen were scary and I was just a kid. But movies helped, especially the ones you listed above. I think Star Trek played a big role in that, I use to watch the reruns a lot when I was a kid and that's when I though aliens were cool. And now they are sexy, thank you for that Jessica LOL! Great post hon, thank you :)

Jessica E. Subject said...

Thanks for stopping by Diana! Yes, when you think about all of the "good" aliens on television and film, it makes the "bad" ones disappear from your mind.