Romantic weddings in outer space with J.L. Hilton, author of Stellarnet Prince

My publisher, Carina Press, has soooo many talented authors. Occasionally I'm going to introduce you to a few, starting today with J.L. Hilton.

 

Hi, Christi! Thanks for letting me visit your blog to talk about my new book, Stellarnet Prince, the second book in the Stellarnet Series, published by Carina Press. It's a science fiction book with video games, aliens, lasers pew pew, wearable smartphone-type devices, virtual reality, social media, and a lot of real-world cutting-edge technology.

But it's not a typical sci-fi story because I also happen to love fairy tales and romance. The heroine, Genevieve O'Riordan, is an interstellar news blogger who begins covering an interplanetary war and falls in love with an alien rebel. My influences were Beauty & the Beast, Victorian-era literature and tales of Camelot, as much as Firefly, Babylon 5 or V for Vendetta.

I faced a lot of challenges while writing Stellarnet Prince. My characters visit Washington DC, so I went there myself for inspiration and accuracy. I did a ton of research about the United Nations and diplomacy. But one of the biggest challenges was planning a wedding for my characters. I spent more time on their wedding than I spent on my own back in 1999. I couldn't just write, “They got married,” right? I had to choose food, beverages, cake, flowers, a location and everything, just as if it were a real wedding. I wrote vows. I chose a wedding dress. I created a guest list from all of my characters.

Here are some pics that I used as my inspiration for the bride's dress and groom's suit. The bride is human and the groom is an alien, and they both live in Asteria Colony, on a far away planet. Their wedding is kind of a hodgepodge of many Earth cultures – clothing from India, music from Ireland, recital of a Shakespearean sonnet, and their Chinese friend Hax as the officiant.

This event had been built up since the first book, Stellarnet Rebel. I had to give my readers a complete and fulfilling experience. That, and several things happen at the wedding that are important to the plot – including an abduction of the bride! But I won't give you any more spoilers -- you'll have to read Stellarnet Prince to find out if she's rescued and whether the wedding goes on as planned!

 

There's a Rafflecopter giveaway for an ebook running November 16-23, and a Rafflecopter giveaway for a necklace November through November 30. Check them out!

J.L. Hilton is the author of the Stellarnet Series published by Carina Press, including Stellarnet Rebel (January 2012) and Stellarnet Prince (November 2012). Her artwork is featured in the books Steampunk Style Jewelry and 1000 Steampunk Creations. Visit her at JLHilton.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and deviantART.
Author website: www.JLHilton.com
Stellarnet website: www.StellarnetSeries.com
Publisher website: www.CarinaPress.com
Buy link: http://www.StellarnetSeries.com/shop/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/J.L.Hilton.author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorJLHilton
deviantART: http://jlhilton.deviantart.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5344538.J_L_Hilton