How to (Make) Love (To) an Alien - My Galaxy Fest Presentation, Conclusion

Because of the content of Runner's Moon: Jebaral, my books were labeled "controversial". But once that hoo-hah died down, I decided to push the envelope again. I wrote Beauty's Alien Beast for Carina Press Harlequin. They retitled it to Captive Surrender. In the book, I have a human-looking female cop with psionic powers. She gets involved with another alien who looks like a minotaur of Greek legend.

This was my visual inspiration for the book. As you can see, he's complete with horns on his head, enormous clawed hands and feet, and other body parts that are... Well, let's just say they're equally "impressive". Carina Harlequin loved the premise that these two are kidnapped and held captive, and forced to do the sexy hokey pokey for select people who pay exorbitant sums of money/rupees/credits to watch them perform because inter-species fornication is a galactic offense. Yet, again, there were some problems with the "ick" factor. So on the cover I have a naked human female being hugged by human male.

I have no idea why there couldn't be alien arms and claws on the cover. I guess the "ick" factor remained.

The point I'm trying to make is this. For decades we've been stuck with human aliens. And everything they did simply echoed what we Earth people have been doing for millennia.

If we were confronted today with a creature that looks like Chewbacca, what do you think the chances would be that a romantic interlude could occur?

Although, I must confess, on a very cold winter night, snuggling up to the big guy might be a plus.

Oops! Sorry! Wrong slide.

Here we go.

Oh, and for those of you who are still waiting for the answer to "How to Make Love to an Alien", it's quite simple, and can be summed up in two words:

Very Carefully

That's my presentation. Thank you again for coming. I hope you enjoy the festival!

How to (Make) Love (To) an Alien - My Galaxy Fest Presentation, Part 4

However, there's still the "ick factor when it comes to aliens and humans having a romantic or sexual relationship if the alien isn't humanoid in appearance. As a romance write, I have to find ways around that problem...and I think I have.

My series Runner's Moon is about a small aliens whose entire species has almost been eliminated by a race of alien slave traders. The group, now dwindled down to less than thirty individuals, manage to escape the slave traders in a lifepod, which eventually lands on Earth. That race, the Ruinos, are tall, green, and very strong. They're not little green men. They're BIG green men.

The males also have bony plates down the back of their heads, across their shoulders, down their spines, and around their legs. They have huge talons on their hands and feet, and their faces only have some humanoid features.

But what makes them unique is that they can shapeshift into the local life form. Which means - Ta Da! - they can look just like us. They're not here to conquer the world or anything. They simply want to live out the rest of their lives in relative peace. You see, they have those big claws because, on their home world, they're an agricultural species. They farm with their talons.

As for the females, they don't have talons. They have five-inch, razor sharp blades for nails. And wings. That's because they fly to the tops of the plants and trees, and use those blades to harvest the food that grows there.

Now, stop and think about it. With that simple explanation, you've stopped viewing these creatures as dangerous and life-threatening because, now, you can relate to them.

In my series, of the survivors, four Ruinos have found a human mate to share their lives with. But at some point in each book, they must mate with their loved ones in their alien form, not just in their human skin. And for a while, my books were considered highly controversial. But once the readers came to identify with and love them in their human forms, having the aliens shift back to their original persona was no longer considered squeamish.

Case in point, I'm going to read you a climactic excerpt from RUNNER'S MOON: JEBARAL, the first book in the series. No, not that kind of climax. Sorry.

With a little judicious editing, of course, let me give you a bit of the background first to this particular story.

Jebaral is a Ruinos. He works odd jobs, usually in construction. Hannah is human, and a waitress at a small diner in the small town where Jeb is working.

Jeb has found himself developing feelings for Hannah, but she currently has a boyfriend. An abusive boyfriend.

One day, he finishes a job and is ready to move on.  He goes by the diner to say goodbye to Hannah, but she's not there. A friend of hers who works there confesses that she's afraid Hannah may have been the victim of her boyfriend's temper again, so Jeb goes to check on her. He finds her, severely beaten and bloody, and decides to take her with him.

They end up in a town called Tumbril Harbor, where Jeb has another job prospect. When they get there, they get a small cabin at a little local motel, where he helps her to recover. The excerpt begins there.

To be continued tomorrow...

How to (Make) Love (To) an Alien - My Galaxy Fest Presentation, Part 3

It wasn't until Star Wars that we got to see some terrific other species.

Okay. There are exceptions to every rule.

I also love what Rick Baker has done in the Men in Black franchise.

Some great stuff there.

But on the whole, alien races were what is termed "human anthropomorphic". That means we've humanized them. Made them appear to look more like us...

But with a few "cosmetic" differences.

So what does all of this have to do with making love with one? Well, plenty, actually. You see, if he looks like us, chances are he's built like us, reproduction-wise.

Same goes for the female. Which wouldn't make the thought of doing the horizontal tango too much of an "eww" factor. Or so you would think, right?

Back in late '89, early 90s, there was a television show called Beauty and the Beast. Remember it? The beast was huge and lion-like. Super strong. He could purr and quote Shakespeare simultaneously. Believe it or not, people objected to the idea that he and the heroine could mambo with the rest of us. But while we fans yelled back, "Hell, why not?", the censors remained worried and adamant.

It wasn't until Alien Nation that sex with an alien finally came out from under the blanket. Who remembers that show? Do you also remember the premise of the show takes place in 1997? Anyway, I remember one episode where Sam Francisco, the alien cop (center), sees his human partner Matt has a black eye and I think also a broken wrist and severe neck lash. Sam starts to ask Matt, "What happened to you?" when he remembers that Matt is dating Susan (in the red dress) who is an alien. "Did you try to have sex with Susan?" he asks, much to Matt's embarrassment because the answer is yes. If you've never seen the series, please check it out. It's funny, warm, exciting, and very thought provoking.

To be continued tomorrow...

How to (Make) Love (To) an Alien - My Galaxy Fest Presentation, Part 2

Until the past couple of decades, when it came to the romance genre, either in movies or television or books, the alien looked human. You had the choice between something like "I'm From the Planet Displaysia", or whatever, and Earth was about to be destroyed.

Or, if you were male, there were the AMAZON WOMEN OF MARS, (or in this case, "Space Thing"), who were here to mate with Earth men. And if you were one of the unfortunate to be captured, you were doomed to a life of absolute luxury and frequent sex. The horror!

When I was growing up, the comic books were full of aliens. All human. All extremely easy on the eyes, and with the additional perk of having super powers.

How neat would that be if you fell in love with one? You could have your own personal Super Hero! He'd be a great lover AND he can turn the car into a six-inch block of melted goo in six point four seconds!

But when it comes to human aliens, where better to start than with the original Star Trek? With exception of some body paint...

...a little extra hair here and there...

...and a few prosthetics, every plant's inhabitants were either human looking, or at least humanoid in appearance. Oh! But before you say, "What about the Horta?"

I gotta give 'em credit for that. It was a wonderful exception.

To be continued tomorrow.

How to (Make) Love (To) an Alien - My Galaxy Fest Presentation, Part 1

This week I'll be uploading my presentation that I gave at Galaxy Fest up in Roswell, NM. The lecture was not meant to be serious or thought provoking, as most of the other key notes were. Instead, it's a light-hearted look at "Romancing the Alien" through the past few decades via television, movies, and books. The original, of course, was a slide show presentation. Here you're going to get the original photos and accompanying dialog.

Enjoy!

* * *

Hello! Good afternoon, and thank you for coming. Especially those of you who came to take notes. How are you enjoying the festival so far? If at any time you wish to ask a question, please don't hesitate.

This session was originally entitled "How to Make Love to an Alien". That was the PG version.

It's now called "How to Love an Alien". Don't tell anyone, but you're still getting the PG version.

My name is Linda Mooney. I am a best-selling and award-winning author of sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal romance. I write for Carina Press/Harlequin, Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, New Concepts Publishing, and Red Rose Publishing.

I also write horror under the pseudonym of Gail Smith.

Every Monday night, starting at 11 P.M. eastern, I host a Blog Talk Radio program called "Other Worlds of Romance", where I interview other authors of the sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal genres. But what makes the show unique is that the authors read a ten- to fifteen-minute excerpt from their books. For a link to the talk show, you can go to my website, Linda Mooney (dot) com.

When I'm not writing or hosting, I teach Kindergarten, and have been an educator since 1976. You do the math.  I have a BM and an M&M -- that's a Bachelor and Master of Music Education, from Texas A&M University in Kingsville.

But enough digressing. Let's get back to the reason why you're here.

To be continued Wednesday...