New Book Alert: Clone: The Book of Eva by Paxton Summers

When a world leader’s daughter meets a clone, a doomed love affair begins.

In the year 2087, a great war erupts on the planet and a struggle to survive begins. One hundred-fifty years later, the continent of America is divided into two factions, Aeropia and The United Regions. There is a shortage of food and an abundance of illness, leaving most to live on the scraps of the wealthy, who wallow in excess.

This is the world Olivia Braun inherits. Sick from birth, she wakes up from surgery with a new heart, only to discover she is the youngest president of Aeropia, an empire that has created and used clones to maintain its position of supremacy since the war. However, Olivia’s rise to power is no accident. Before her transplant, she conspired with a clone to free those enslaved, but the outcome is not what she expected.

Now, enemies hide among the population, and even friends can no longer be trusted. Olivia must make a choice that will decide the fate of an empire. Before her tale of corruption, forbidden love and war ends, the mighty will be brought to their knees.

By a clone.

Buy Links:

Kindle * Nook * Kobo * iBooks  * Google Books

Bio:  Paxton Summers loves to incorporate crazy plot twists, comedy and the unexpected into her worlds. As a U.S. Army veteran, she naturally adores men in uniform and feels the world could always use more. She does her part by incorporating as many sexy soldiers in her novels as she can. When she isn't writing or running the roads, you can often find her online chatting with her peers and readers. Grab a cup of iced coffee, pull up your virtual chair and say hi. She loves emails and blog visits from her readers. http://www.paxtonsummers.com

*New Cover Alert* Tethered by Pippa Jay

I love Pippa Jay's books. I love her creativity. Her worlds. They're awesome. I'm uber excited about this book and can't wait to get my grubby hands on it.

Without further ado, here's the cover!

She can kill with a kiss. But can assassin Tyree also heal one man's grief, and bring peace to a galaxy threatened by war?

For Tyree of the Su, being an assassin isn’t simply something she was trained for. It's the sole reason for her existence. A genetically enhanced clone—one of many in Refuge—she's about to learn her secluded lifestyle, and that of all her kind, is under threat by a race capable of neutralizing their special talents to leave them defenseless.

For Zander D'joren, being a diplomat has not only cost him his appearance, but also the love of his life. Scarred, grieving, he must nonetheless continue in his role as co-delegate to the fearsome Tier-vane or risk a conflict that could only end one way.

Now both of them need to keep each other alive and maintain a perilous deception long enough to renegotiate the treaty with the Tier-vane, or throw their people into a war that could wipe out Terrans and Inc-Su alike. But there's more at stake than humanity, whether true or modified. Can the love growing between them save them both? Or merely hasten their destruction?

A science fiction romance novella, coming from Breathless Press 25^th July.

Add it to your Goodreads shelf HERE.

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Excerpt:

A thrill of excitement shivered down her spine as she backed away a few steps with Zander following. He shrugged off his formal outer robes, and for the first time she could appreciate the broad expanse of his chest, the close-fitting fabric stretched over well-defined muscles. It appeared he hadn't allowed his physique to slacken, despite leaving the Galactic Commission.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Zander spread his hands in an open gesture to say that he was.

So why is he just standing there like a defunct Manikin instead of poised to fight?

Tyree took her combat position and Zander matched her, just as the Manikin had done. She'd never fought a human in combat practice before. This should be interesting.

She sprang forward and aimed two rapid punches at his face. Zander evaded both with a speed and grace totally out of proportion to his bulk. Her third he blocked with little effort, and she stepped back to reassess her strategy. But only for an instant.

A quick step forward and she lashed upward with her foot, snapping his head back. Zander staggered but didn't fall. Her second kick failed as he grabbed her ankle and jerked her off balance. She twisted as she dropped and caught him hard in the knee. Zander collapsed. Both rolled aside, and then jumped up to face each other again.

Not bad.

Tyree bit back a laugh as they exchanged blows, each faster than the last. Zander blocked or evaded most, but not all. His skill almost matched hers, yet his defenses were just a fraction too slow. Each move she made tested his reach, his reflexes and his stamina until she could sense him struggling a little.

Time for the kill.

She floored him with a kick to the chest, the full weight of her augmented density behind it, but as she moved in to finish the fight he dove into her. Tyree landed on her back hard enough to drive the breath from her lungs.

Zander had her pinned to the ground. She bucked but couldn't shift him. The triumphant smile on his face sent rage blazing through her gut. With hardly a whisper, she Misted out and went through him. Golden warmth filled her for a second before she pulled free. Zander pushed to his feet and spun to meet her, but she cranked up her molecular density and punched him hard in the chest. He collapsed, gasping and coughing. In one fluid movement she sat astride him at full density, and the air whumphed out of his lungs. She pinioned his arms with her hands, her face hovering mere centimeters above his.

As her breathing slowed to normal, a huge grin split her face. She'd made a vow to herself to jump him, and she'd done it. Perhaps it was childish, but it warmed her heart.

"Your...reputation...is well deserved," he gasped.

"You're not so bad yourself," she complimented him. He'd fought well, but perhaps not quite with the determination—and certainly not the desperation—of most opponents she'd faced. "For a human."

"Thank you. Perhaps we could try this again tomorrow?"

Tyree laughed. As much as he could irritate the hell out of her, he was equally amusing. "If you want to spend most of your morning on the floor..."

He gazed up at her with that easy smile, making no effort to struggle. Most humans, without the influence of her pheromones and the distraction of her naked body writhing above theirs, would not have been so trusting. So compliant. She found herself staring at his mouth. What would it be like to kiss him, without the use of her talents? Would it be as satisfying? As sensual? The warmth of him, the firmness of his body beneath hers, sent heat spiraling through her abdomen.

"Perhaps you could let me up now?" His words jerked her from such musings. What the hell was she thinking?

About Pippa:

After spending twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay is now a stay-at-home mum who writes scifi and the supernatural. Somewhere along the way a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moment playing guitar very badly, punishing herself with freestyle street dance, and studying the Dark Side of the Force. Although happily settled in the historical town of Colchester in the UK with her husband of 21 years and three little monsters, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.

Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, blogging at Spacefreighters Lounge, Adventures in Scifi, and Romancing the Genres. Her works include a YA science fiction novel—Gethyon—published through BURST (Champagne Books), two self-published short stories (Terms & Conditions Apply and The Bones of the Sea), and she's one of eight authors included in a science fiction romance anthology—Tales from the SFR Brigade. She's also a double SFR Galaxy Award winner, been a finalist in the Heart of Denver RWA Aspen Gold Contest (3^rd place), and the GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Awards (2^nd place).

You can stalk her at her website http://pippajay.co.uk, or at her blog http://pippajay.blogspot.co.uk, but without doubt her favorite place to hang around and chat is on Twitter as @pippajaygreen.

Free Promo Friday - Ice and Peace by Claire Dargin

Extremely excited to have Miss Claire Dargin on the blog today! She's busy celebrating her upcoming release Ice and Peace, #2 in her Cold Warriors series. Stay tuned for a great excerpt!

A Love So Close You Can Feel It
There's something about a hot guy in uniform who's touchable but at the same time out of reach. That kind of man was on my mind when I wrote Colonel Medoro Keegan in Cold Warriors. A man who has chosen to be an island onto himself, he is in a sea of humanity yet is alone.

Unlike some heroes of this sort, they have no friends and live on the fringes of society. Keegan is anything but that. He has two very good friends whom he trusts, he is respected by his colleagues and his considered to be on the career fast track but on the inside, he feels like a hamster on a wheel. He's going through the motions but he ain't going any where.

All that changes when Caitlin Driskoll enters his life. In the beginning just a 'passenger' in a cargo manifest, she is but one of many who are to be sent out as cannon fodder for a military with dwindling numbers. In a frozen stasis for nearly a hundred years, because of a long gone medical fad, she awakens to find she has been recruited to fight in a war she knows nothing about.

From day one, her strength and her annoyance has been one the light that shone in an other wise darkened existence. Attracted to her, he fights between the rules of his job and society which says they can't speak much less touch, they both struggle to not only survive but to explore the attraction they feel for each other.

In the second book, Ice and Peace:

A New Threat? After a long and vicious war, peace is on the horizon for Earth and its allies. However, a series of mysterious attacks on several secret military installations causes hostilities to rise once again.

Redemption. Having left under a cloud of disgrace, retired Marine Colonel Medoro Keegan is called back to duty.

Bound. His wife Caitlin, the only surviving member of her team, chooses to embrace life, albeit grudgingly, as a cryo soldier. Seen as sub-human, she is forced to serve a planet that denies her rights as a person.

Driven. Guided by their sense of duty and belief that some things are bigger than them, they are determined to risk it all.

Hope. The cost of war is high. Can their love and marriage survive? Or will it be killed off by the very same mission that brought them together?

Excerpt for Ice and Peace

“Sir,” a soft voice, feminine and sweet, beckoned his attention. He knew the voice, like he knew himself. His heart skipped a beat.

Rising slowly from his chair, Keegan cleared his throat and straightened his uniform. Suddenly, the room seemed unbearably long as he walked the three feet or so to be near her.

As he took in every detail of her, he was stunned silent. She wore a Marine Corps uniform with Navy insignia, with her hair neatly pinned off her neck and shoulders. Her clothes were pressed with a crease that could cut a major artery and her demeanor was impeccable. Something was not right.

Still, Caitlin was a sight for sore eyes. She was beautiful. Her petite frame was perfectly accented by the curves of her figure. And her brown eyes and coffee-brown skin was smooth, creamy.

Standing at attention, she did not meet his gaze. Though it was customary not to do as a sign of military courtesy, he could tell she was not doing it for that reason. Her gaze was different. Circling her, he tried to see if he could catch her watching him out of the corner of her eye. In fact, she appeared to be staring blankly ahead.

Peering directly at her, he spoke in a soft tone. “At ease.”

She relaxed.

“Cate. Can you hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” she responded mechanically.

Pain pierced his insides. She was definitely not there. Keegan placed his hands on his hips and hung his head in defeat. The one thing that was supposed to go right did not. For whatever reason, they had placed her in a deeper state of mental control than she’d ever been in. He controlled the hostile emotions brewing with him. Touching her face gently, he felt her icy skin.

This is unacceptable! Not here. I will not let this happen here. Not under my command.

“Chief, listen up,” he said in an authoritative tone. He knew in this state, it was the only way he could speak to her and still have her respond.

“Yes, sir.” Her gaze became even more distant.

Her response fueled his anger. “You are going to hightail it down to the doc and receive a full examination. Tell him it is based on my orders. He will know what to do. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Knowing that she was under the influence of cryo neurotransmitters, Keegan figured the only way to combat it was to get someone to reverse it. They usually wore off once she was away from the stimulus triggers for a long period of time. But considering her stimulus triggers were high-ranking officers in uniform and combat situations, being around here meant she was going to be in a drone zone for a very long time. The last thing he needed was a zombie on board, especially one in charge of the lives others.

Only the jerks in psyche warfare thought doing this to someone would be a good idea. As long as he was running the ship, none of that would be allowed. There weren’t going to be any super zombies soldiers on board his ship. And he’d rollover in his grave before he let them do it to his wife.

“After you come back from the doc, you will report to me, understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are there any questions?”

“No, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

She did an about face before leaving the room. Keegan clasped his hands behind his back. In the blink of an eye, his joy had turned to sorrow. Now faced with the responsibility of looking after his wife, he wondered how could he handle the burden of command and still protect the woman he loved.


Check out Ice and Peace at Amazon!

Review: Gethyon by Pippa Jay

His father died. His mother abandoned him. In the depths of space, darkness seeks him.


Abandoned by his mother after his father’s death, Gethyon Rees feels at odds with his world and longs to travel the stars. But discovering he has the power to do so leaves him scarred for life. Worse, it alerts the Siah-dhu—a dark entity that seeks his kind for their special abilities—to his existence, and sets a bounty hunter on his trail.

When those same alien powers lead Gethyon to commit a terrible act, they also aid his escape. Marooned on the sea-world of Ulto Marinos, Gethyon and his twin sister must work off their debt to the Seagrafter captain who rescued them while Gethyon puzzles over their transportation. How has he done this? And what more is he capable of?

Before he can learn any answers, the Wardens arrive to arrest him for his crime. Can his powers save him now? And where will he end up next?

I love that I can always trust Pippa Jay for a kick-ass science fiction experience, and Gethyon doesn’t disappoint. The book takes place before Keir (which I loved), and tells the story of Gethyon, son of Quin, who is one of my favorite heroines period. Like Quin, Gethyon has the ability to open gateways that allow him to travel through both space and time. Unlike Quin, Geth can open these gateways at will.

One of my favorite parts of Gethyon is the mass amount of world-building that Jay has put into this story. Each world Geth travels to is completely unlike the last one. There are no repeated landscapes or similar descriptions—every planet is fresh and unique.

I particularly enjoyed the time-bending Geth ends up doing. The concept is amazing and something I hope Jay pursues in subsequent works. I also hope to see a point when Gethyon, Quin, and Keir are together. They’d make an interesting little family…

Speaking of family, I really loved the dynamic between Gethyon, his twin sister and his grampa. Jay did a great job of painting Geth as the misunderstood outsider. He has a little spark of Annakin Skywalker—and I did wonder if he’d go to the “dark side” a few times—but manages to redeem himself. Each of them is a complex character, flawed and as human as the person sitting next to you. Gethyon is not a long book, so this is definitely evocative of Jay’s skill.

 And we have to talk about the villain—the Siah-dhu, the creepiest freaking thing I’ve read about in a long time. It’s just a big hulking darkness that’s been trailing Quin for years, and now it’s after Geth. His first real encounter with this thing? CREEPY. The hairs on my arms stood up. No joke.

Pippa Jay is an incredibly talented writer and knows her way around the many worlds science fiction can create, but she still manages to make them accessible. Gethyon is a fast-paced, exciting read with characters you'll grow to care about. 

Review: Terms and Conditions Apply by Pippa Jay Green

 “Welcome to Venus Ascendant, a Public Grade space station in the Andromedan Galaxy. With our open-to-all policy, any being in the universe can find their perfect R & R, romantic getaway or dangerous liaison at our purpose built resort. The on-board empathic AI Ganesa ensures that anyone coming to Venus Ascendant will find their heart’s desire, with suites that transform from luxurious boudoirs to sunset-lit beaches to dark BDSM dungeons. So come to Venus Ascendant and find exactly what you’re looking for!”

It was meant to be a romantic getaway for Marie and the love of her life Jaisen; a chance for him to get to know her better after months of her denying him more than a few stolen kisses. Instead, Marie finds herself dumped and alone on Venus Ascendant with no credit for a transmat and the next starship home not due for another hour.

But the all-seeing AI isn’t going to leave anyone aboard the space station with their dreams unfulfilled. Marie's boyfriend might not have made it to the station, but there are others willing and able to take on the role - even if they aren’t entirely human.

I normally don't review short stories, but I think I'm gonna start. Somehow, within a few thousand words, Green manages to construct a world and a beautiful relationship that will leave readers breathless.

All the action takes place on the Venus Ascendant, which is practically a pleasure palace filled with anything you'd need to make yourself happy and Ganesa, the AI, to ensure all your needs are met. This is how virgin Marie meets Soren, an extension of Ganesa's AI in a gorgeous blond haired, blue eyed package. Soren acts as Marie's "companion" for the evening, and their one-night fling quickly develops into more.

There's a problem, though. While Soren is very real, he's not exactly human. Nor could he ever leave the Venus Ascendant, no matter if he wanted to or not. He's bound to Ganesa.

Thus begins one of the more excruciating doomed-ish relationships I've read in a long time. Marie's just experienced this immense heartbreak from Jaisen leaving her, and Soren comes out of practically nowhere to ease her hurt. However, Soren isn't just a part of Ganesa--he was once human and chose this life to keep from dying. Like a woman building beautiful statues out of spare nuts and bolts, Green takes all these working parts--the tragedy of Soren's past, Marie's broken heart, the promises of the space station, and creates something infinitely more beautiful than the sum of their parts.

Short though it may be, Terms and Conditions Apply is an experience you'd be stupid to miss out on. So go. Read it. I'll be waiting here to discuss when you're done. If you need more convincing, check out the excerpt I posted last week.

Find Terms and Conditions Apply at:

Smashwords.com 
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
Amazon US 
Amazon UK

Free Excerpt Friday - Terms and Conditions Apply by Pippa Jay Green

It's no surprise that I love me some sci-fi, and I really love sci-fi written by the lovely and talented Pippa Jay Green. Today, I'm featuring her new short story release Terms and Conditions Apply.

“Welcome to Venus Ascendant, a Public Grade space station in the Andromedan Galaxy. With our open-to-all policy, any being in the universe can find their perfect R & R, romantic getaway or dangerous liaison at our purpose built resort. The on-board empathic AI Ganesa ensures that anyone coming to Venus Ascendant will find their heart’s desire, with suites that transform from luxurious boudoirs to sunset-lit beaches to dark BDSM dungeons. So come to Venus Ascendant and find exactly what you’re looking for!”

It was meant to be a romantic getaway for Marie and the love of her life Jaisen; a chance for him to get to know her better after months of her denying him more than a few stolen kisses. Instead, Marie finds herself dumped and alone on Venus Ascendant with no credit for a transmat and the next starship home not due for another hour.

But the all-seeing AI isn’t going to leave anyone aboard the space station with their dreams unfulfilled. Marie's boyfriend might not have made it to the station, but there are others willing and able to take on the role - even if they aren’t entirely human.

Excerpt

The door glided open and Marie stepped through, to find herself in the heart of the nebula. She squeaked and Soren grasped her arm in reassurance. The floor of the room was a burnished silver disk beneath the heavens. Crimson and gold light, woven in twisted strands of fire and strung with stars, formed a gauzy canopy overhead. As the door closed, the illusion was complete. They hovered in the fiery remnants of a long dead star. In a shroud of scarlet flames between them and a void full of shadows and distant pinprick suns. Marie forced herself to take a long breath, then another. Her heart fluttered. “I told Jaisen that if I ever had the credit, I’d do a tour of the nebula,” she murmured, as she drank in the beauty of it. “You can barely see it from the surface of the planet. Too much light pollution and atmospheric distortion.” She knew she was rambling but couldn’t seem to stop herself.

Beneath the glowing astral web, in the center of the silver disc, stood the bed. It was huge and circular, draped in midnight blue satin—a luxury beyond her means. A dozen people would have fitted in it comfortably. In fact, if they’d been able to squeeze it into one of the subsistence apartments in her block, double that number would have fought for the privilege of doing so.

Marie took a tentative step forward, her legs unsteady under the illusion of deep space. Her companion kept hold of her elbow until she found her balance again. She ran her hands over the silken fabric, savoring the soft chill of it against her fingers. Something else wove its way into her awareness. She held very still, hardly daring to draw a breath. Music filled the silence. “That’s Darkangel!” 

“Of course.” Soren’s voice startled her from her wonder. She closed her eyes and let the ballad drift over her. Tears squeezed into her eyes. “It’s ‘Eternal Love,’” she murmured. “My favorite track.” She drew in a long, slow breath then let it back out. “This is heaven. I’ve died and gone to heaven.” 

A hand touched her back. “Is this what you wished for?”

Awesome, right? 

Check out Terms and Conditions Apply at:

Smashwords.com 
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
Amazon US 
Amazon UK

 

Review: Keir - Pippa Jay Green

Outcast. Cursed. Dying. Is Keir beyond redemption?

For Keirlan de Corizi--the legendary 'Blue Demon' of Adalucien--death seems the only escape from a world where his discolored skin marks him as an oddity and condemns him to life as a pariah. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise: Tarquin Secker, a young woman who can travel the stars with a wave of her hand. 

But Quin has secrets of her own. She's spent eternity searching through space and time with a strange band of companions at her back. Defying her friends' counsel, Quin risks her apparent immortality to save Keir. She offers him sanctuary and a new life on her home world, Lyagnius. 

When Keir mistakenly unleashes his dormant alien powers and earns instant exile from Quin's home world, will she risk everything to stand by him again?


Number one, Is that cover not seriously hawt? All right, moving on to an actual review. *Glances at cover one more time.* 

OK, I think I'm ready now. I. Loved. This. Loved it. It's some of the best science fiction I've read in a while, with two incredibly different main characters who discover that they're not so different after all.

Yes, there are alien races, yes there are other planets, but deep down, what I love most about this book is that it's a book about people.

Keir has been ostracized his entire life because of his blue skin. Otherwise seemingly normal, Keir has been forced to hide in the shadows, scavenge for food, and fend off attackers since a young age. As a result, he's incredibly distrusting. When he first meets Quin, he's being held in a storage room, a beaten and battered prisoner. The pair manages to escape, leading them down a road where Keir finds not only acceptance, but a deep, abiding love.

Of course, that's not all, and you're gonna have to read the book to find out. The world(s) Pippa creates are wonderfully done, each having its own customs, lore, and geology. Nothing felt...contrived, or too difficult to understand, if that makes any sense. Each world the characters travel to feels like it could exist somewhere, and the different alien races are fleshed out with their own political issues, customs, etc. 

At its heart, Keir is a story of love and redemption for both Keir and Quin, two incredibly broken people who find healing with one another. Though Keir has suffered the most physically and mentally, Quin has suffered emotionally. Immortal after the destruction of her world, Quin has traveled the stars searching for the being responsible for destroying everything and everyone she loved. She's loved and lost along the way, and each loss has left its scar. Once she starts falling for her Smurfin companion, she wonders if he could ever love her, but buries her feelings. The middle of the book is when their love story truly starts, and it's pretty amazing to read. I laughed and cried with both as they found their ways to each other. 

And just FYI, the last 20 pages or so nearly scarred me. I was almost bawling.

Pippa Jay's Keir is most definitely a fantastic science fiction read (admittedly, I read it all in one day). It's also a fantastic read that happens to be science fiction. I would recommend this heavily.

Check out Keir at:

Goodreads

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Six Sentence Sunday

Welcome back to Six Sentence Sunday! I took a long hiatus to work on some projects (aka procrastinate), but I'm back, ladies and gentlemen. Hopefully with something worthwhile. As always, don't forget to check out the Six Sunday crew here.

I started a SFR while I was gone, but I have no idea what the eff I'm doing. So, for your reading pleasure, I give you six sentences from Cyber.

Cyber stared through the glass separating her from millions of stars, the fingers of her left hand tingling to touch them, to hold them, to never let them go. Each time she stood on the observation deck, she vainly made wishes on each one, millions of wishes unanswered and millions more still to be made. She balled her hand into a fist and slammed it against the thick window. The hum of the engines carried through the walls and into her skin. 

It’d been months since Kalilah had become sick, but the passing of time in space made it seem like her little sister had been lying in the med bay for years. Unreal that it’d only been two years since her own accident. 

Six Sentence Sunday 12/11

Good Sunday, my peeps! Hope everyone's having a nice weekend. I actually have the day off, so I'll be able to hang out and read all the awesome snippets in the comfort of my own home ^_^ 

If you'd like to read along with me, check out the official Six Sunday site here.

I'm staying in Duality for a while (maybe until I untangle and finish Spark). This scene takes place immediately after last week's.

The bang! sounded like a bomb blast. Sylvia clamped her hand over my mouth, but I couldn’t make a sound. I clutched Sylvia’s arm, tears streaming.

Maggie’s rage died, like a candle’s flame snuffed without a care. She crumpled on top of him, a jumble of spider legs and dark, stringy hair. When he pushed her off, he stared at her, wild-eyed, blood streaming from his nose, chest heaving.

World-building - Fantasy & Society

This goes for SF too, but I'm in the mood to talk about fantasy today for some reason. I guess between reading Game of Thrones and playing Dragon Age: Origins, I've got fantasy on the brain. Also, I really wish I'd developed this a little better, but hey, I'm not a teacher, so I can get some slack, right? :D

Anyway, one of the most important aspects of building your world, be it SF or fantasy, is the society in which your characters live. This is something Dragon Age does fantastically. In the game, you can choose from three races: Human, Elf, Dwarf. Within those races are classes. For Human, you can choose Mage or noble. For Elf, you can choose Dalish (elves who live in the forest), Mage, or commoner (in which case you live in the alienage, which is an impoverished, sectioned-off portion of a city ). For Dwarf, you can choose noble or commoner. Whatever you choose decides how other characters in the game see you.

If you're a Human noble, for example, everyone treats you with optimum respect, referring to you as "my lady" or "my lord" depending on your gender. If you choose Mage, people are afraid of you because they don't like/understand magic. If you choose Elf, people are more likely to talk down to you because most elves are servants. Regardless of your standing as Gray Warden, people will still refer to you by your previous social status. Most of the time, you have to tell them you're a Gray Warden to get a little respect.

So, what do you need to think about in order to construct your society? Well, a lot, actually. Now don't be alarmed. There are a lot of wonderful tools to help you along your way.

Some important ones:

• Economic/class model - This one is probably THE most important one because this will shape how your characters view the world and themselves. Is it a commerce-based society? Are merchants the at the top or close to the bottom? Is there a gap between haves and have nots? Are you shooting for more of a communist-based society where there's no wealth?
  
         Ex. Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy uses the world's economic model as the catalyst for the Hunger Games. Basically, it's all for rich people's amusement.
  
  
• Technology - Are you writing steam/cyber/other punk? Basing your society around the Middle Ages when people still rode on horses? Is it an era of invention?
  
         Ex. Steampunk is all the rage these days. Kady Cross' The Girl in the Steel Corset utilizes the steampunk automatons and advanced technology. The plot centers around automatons being used for dastardly deeds.
  
  
• Religion/Spirituality - This is probably tied with Economic model in terms of importance because it will help shape your characters, whether they're believers, non-believers, or just don't care either way.
  
         Ex. In Dragon Age (I know, I know, but really, it's a good example), the central religion (Chantry) is built around a prophetess and a higher power referred to as the Maker. Chantry belief dictates everything from the lore surrounding the evil critters you have to kill (Darkspawn) to how Mages are treated to curses and praises. There are people within the Chantry called Chanters who can only speak the religious text the religion is based around.
  
  
• Geography/Setting - The actual world part of your world-building. If you are setting your story anywhere besides present-day Earth, you're going to have to figure out the geography. Draw *really crappy, if you're like me* maps. Figure out important places. Mountain ranges. Deserts. Flat lands. All these things (and more) will determine how your character travels and the potential hazards therein.
  
          Ex. Star Wars. Dune. Game of Thrones. Pitch Black. Each of these uses setting to show something about character, whether it concerns how the character grew up--Luke was raised on a desert planet with 2 suns--, a character's attitude--Ned Stark is often referred to as cold because of his "northern blood" while characters from around Kings Landing are "those southron folks"--or a character's adaptation to his environment--Riddick's night-vision.
  
  As you can see, when you build a world, you literally build a world. You design it. You make its history, its culture, its classes and all of that. Everything, be it where a character's from to what he believes in, will shape your characters and their reactions to the world around them. 

World-building - Science Fiction

I'm gonna try to cover this. It's a large topic and can become incredibly intricate. So, that being typed, I'm going to share with you my experiences world-building my science fiction and fantasy ideas and *in theory* how to bring your worlds to life. Today, I'm going to cover science fiction. Next time, I'll cover fantasy.

When I started writing Duality, I had in mind this almost dystopic setting where there were 5 major cities--the locations of the 5 laboratories--and everything else had just gone to crap. For my world's purposes, science had replaced religion as the opiate of the masses, and the government invested more in the labs than in its citizens. Because the action takes place mostly in the labs, I had to include this information in spurts, but avoid "As you know, Bobs," which was especially tricky given my MC's amnesia. So a couple of things Dima asks about, and I have a few opinionated secondary characters. I try not to info-dump.

For example, there's a scene where Dima's watching the lab workers unload cargo for the next round of experiments. As the workers unload the human components, she spots a stringy-haired kid in ratty clothes, covered in dirt:
"He was a gutter-rag, a kid who lived on the outskirts, not in one of the major cities. He represented the most impoverished section of America, and now he was being led like a lamb to slaughter."

She doesn't go into a diatribe concerning which cities were the major ones (because she might not remember), but she gives you enough insight into how the people who live outside those major hubs are treated (like they don't even matter). Here's a second example:
The PTSD. The missing leg. His desert-scented fear… The Oil War. The government had thrown him into a useless battle with the Saudi nation for garbage oil that couldn’t even be refined effectively enough to pad the country’s thinning supply. Even though it had ended years ago, he looked like he was still in it.

She doesn't discuss how the War started or ended, only that it occurred and had affected the person she's thinking about.

In other parts of the story, Dima might be testing her memory, thinking about what she might or might not remember. It's possible to weave in bits of history creatively without it being overbearing. What I try to do is focus on my world as my MC knows it rather than as an outside observer. That helps to avoid info-dumps and "As you know, Bobs."

But how do you know what to explain to your audience and what not to? That primarily depends on your main character. Is your MC an alien in the world you've created? If so, then he's not going to know much about what's going on, and in informing the MC, you inform your audience. One of the best examples of this is the Syfy series Eureka, which follows Sheriff Jack Carter as he tries to maintain peace in a town of super geniuses building stuff for the government. Here's one of the more entertaining quotes showing what I mean:

Allison: Now that we are involved I had to file an IA248 with the DOD
Jack: IA??
Allison: It's the form required for our intimate alliance.
Jack: There can't be a form for that!

See what I mean? Jack doesn't know what an IA is, and Allison tells him without giving too much info, like why the form is required or when the forms first came into use. Just enough info to answer Jack's question.

The thing to remember about world-building is that, even though we as the writers need to know EVERYTHING about the world we're constructing, the readers DON'T. The information they need should be given in context with the characters and situation.

If you guys have questions, leave them in the comments, and I'll try to answer them in the next post.