That’s All Alien to Me

I love creating new worlds. Granted, I do it every time I decide to sit down and write a story. But my newest sexy romantic suspense, A TOUCH OF LILLY takes place in deep space. This is a whole new world which meant I could let my imagination soar free! I thought I’d share a little bit about how I created this world and its inhabitants.

First of all, I’m a VERY visual writer. I need to see a scene before I can describe it. Usually I have it in my head, but sometimes it requires a walk around the internet. In one of the scenes the hero, Dallas is leading the heroine, Lilly into an alley. I wanted something dark and I wasn’t sure I could describe it well enough, so a quick image search and I found this picture to the left. This really set the tone for the entire feeling of the dark planet, Garalon Five (with its three moons and lack of sun).

Next, I needed to populate the setting. And since we’re in deep space I wanted to give the reader a real sense of aliens. Of course being a die-hard Trekky my mind went to all kinds of scenes from the series. Supplement that with Star Wars and Total Recall and my mind was just bursting with ideas. I kept the different aliens to only 5 or 6 life forms so I could describe each one in detail. I didn’t want so many as to confuse me or the readers, but enough to make it different from earth.

I actually scoured the Internet for pictures of aliens and then morphed and melded them together to create my characters. (Due to copyright laws, I can’t include the pictures I used for my character sketches. But suffice it to say every one of my aliens comes complete with a photo for visual cues while I’m writing.) The Ickbatas play a significant role in this story. They have a soft snout, jade eyes, smell like leather, and have two penises (it is an erotic story after all *g*), My notes actually read … head of Jar Jar Binks, body of Jaba the Hutt.

Then there is the two headed Xerick with its beady eyes, eight holes for hearing and royal blue skin. I’ve also got a couple of villains including a Znedu who is tall and skinny with large eyes and hoofed feet for walking in the desert and a Braugtot (which can take the shape of any inhabitant, but has a unique facial tattoo much like a fingerprint).

Though I really enjoyed finding new types of characters, none of them play prominently in the romance part of this novel. Only the very human looking Ka’al, Theagan, with his mahogany skin, long dark braid, golden eyes and nose ridges gets up and close and personal with the heroine ;~)

My muse had a wonderful time creating this galaxy and its inhabitants. But don’t misunderstand, A TOUCH OF LILLY is at its heart a romance with a couple of very hawt heroes falling in love with a kick-ass heroine.

What about you? Does the thought of entering a new world with new types of characters intrigue you or make you think twice about picking up a book?

(Photo Credit: iStock and Reese Dante)

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Excerpt:

Lilly D’Angelo wasn’t expecting a trip down memory lane when she sauntered into the dingy tavern, but the acrid stench and gruff hum of the Friday night crowd carried her back to one of the seedier establishments on Chicago’s south side nonetheless. Except for the clientele, the owner had managed to replicate nearly every detail right down to the blue haze of cigarette smoke and the soft crooning of a jazz band on the corner stage.

Pushing the sour thoughts of home from her mind and focusing on the job at hand, Lilly morphed her features into her sexiest vixen pout and moved gracefully toward the long bar on the other side of the room. Her voluptuous breasts, spilling temptingly from her silk blouse, led the way. The eyes watching her leather-clad ass sashay around the battered tables were clustered on various life forms—none of them human.

Yeah, definitely not Chicago. Hell, this wasn’t even Earth for goodness sake.

“Regent’s ale, straight up, hold the brenic.” Lilly ordered the local brew in English, hoping the two-headed alien behind the bar had a cochlear translator in one of those eight holes that passed for ears. Satisfied when one head nodded, she settled on a stool, making sure her fur jacket and blouse parted just enough to offer a seductive view of her cleavage. She shifted, allowing the black leather skirt to ride up her thigh and expose a little more silky real estate. The reflection she saw in the mirror behind the liquor bottles was every inch a working woman on the prowl. She wasn’t trying to attract anyone in particular, just hoping to mislead the locals into thinking she was some female making a living with her body—which was true—just not as the human streetwalker she impersonated.

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Ex-Chicago detective LILLY D’ANGELO has a secret she doesn’t share with anyone. A master of the one night stand, she’s given up ever finding a soul mate and thrown herself head first into her career. That is, until she captures the wrong alien. Kidnapped and sold into the sex slave trade, she’s shipped into deep space. Barely escaping with her life, Lilly now travels the galaxy working as a bounty hunter using her secret talents to bring down criminals and seeking revenge on the one male who ruined her life.

Agent DALLAS SAWYER works for deep space’s version of the FBI. After a disastrous mission that left several of his team members murdered, a president executed, and Dallas near death, he’s determined to take down the assassin targeting government officials. When a sexy human female gets between him and his goal, Dallas and his alien partner find themselves on the receiving end of a passionate night they won’t soon forget and a proposition that may very well blow up in their faces.

Because in deep space … true love can happen with just a touch.

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USA Today Bestselling author, Nina Pierce, grew up in a house full of readers. Nina’s discovered the passionate side of romance with her sexy stories. For her, it’s all about the sweet scent of seduction mixed with the heartwarming aroma of romance.

Nina resides in New England with her high school sweetheart and soul mate of twenty-eight years and several very spoiled cats who consider her “staff”. When she’s not writing she enjoys spending time with her three grown children, one love-sick son-in-law and a heart-melting grandson.

You can keep up with her new books at her website (http://www.NinaPierce.com) or by following her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/nina.pierce) or Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/ninapierce)

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Nina will be awarding A print copy of HEALER’S GARDEN and author swag (Shipping to US winner only. International winner will receive a $25 Amazon OR BN Gift Card in lieu of print book and swag) to a random commenter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon OR BN Gift Card to a randomly drawn host (US ONLY).

Make sure to follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:

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