TBR welcomes Jessica E. Subject

TBR: Welcome to TBR, Jessica. Will you share a little bit about yourself?
Jessica: Thank you so much for inviting me here, today. Besides a romance author, I’m also a wife and mother. I enjoy reading, dancing and hiking. Most of the stories I write are science fiction romance, although I do have a contemporary romance. And I believe everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after.

TBR: Tell us about Unknown Futures and where it's available.
Jessica: Unknown Futures is the story of two young women looking for love in uncommon situations. Here’s the blurb:

Attacked as a young adult, Jewel is left scarred and alone. She applies to the 1 Night Stand service, believing no one can see past her appearance to love her. But she doesn’t expect to be sent to a space station where her date could be any number of unusual alien species.

Flavia left everything behind to be one of five humans working for the Space Service space station. Extremely homesick, she is excited to learn she will be a guide to a woman from Earth visiting the station for a couple days. She is immediately drawn to the petite woman, seeing past her scars to her true inner beauty, stirring unforeseen desires.

Unfortunately, Jewel is there for a date which Flavia hasn’t been told about. Can she contain her lust and simply show her a good time? Or will she let her desire lead them into an unknown future?

Buy Links here: http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?page_id=7671

TBR: Please tantalize us with an excerpt.
Jessica: Sure, in this excerpt, Flavia gets her first look at the visitors from Earth.

She waved to get their attention, thankful her charges had arrived without incident. “Hi, I’m Flavia, but you can call me V. That’s what everyone here calls me.” Because no member of any other species on the station had been able to pronounce her name without it sounding vulgar in his or her language.

The Ginnunian stepped forward and surprised her by reaching out to shake her hand—not a custom for his people. “Hello, I’m Frey, and this is my wife, Carrie.”

She shook his hand and then his wife’s, trying to hold in her excitement at meeting someone from home.

Frey moved to the side, revealing the petite woman behind him. “And this is Jewel.”

V squealed. Unable to hide her exhilaration any longer, she wrapped her arms around Jewel. Not only was she from Earth, but she looked to be only a couple years younger than her. All the Terrans on-station were her parents’ age. For once, her unwavering loneliness would ebb, at least for a few days.

But her hug wasn’t returned, only met with a gasp. V stepped back. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”

Jewel shook her head, but wouldn’t make eye contact.

“I think she’s a little self-conscious about her scars,” Frey said.

V winced. Why did he have to mention them? Sure, she’d noticed, but she had friends with fins, feathers, and elephant ears. A few scars wouldn’t stop her from being social. Was that why she’d been asked to entertain Jewel during her stay?

TBR: What inspired you to write about the theme?
Jessica: As I mentioned before, I believe everyone deserves a happily ever after. The two women come from different situations, but are both very lonely. The book started as a sequel to Celestial Seduction, and though it is, the romance between Jewel and Flavia is the main story.

TBR: How do you develop your characters?
Jessica: I wish I could say I have a magic formula, but I don’t. These characters come to me as I daydream (or brainstorm) which I do for two days to a week before I start writing. When I have a good idea of who they are, they become willing to share their story.

TBR: Did any music inspire your book? Do you have a playlist?
Jessica: For Unknown Futures, many songs inspired me while I was writing. Actually, one scenes takes place in a dance club. (Yes, there is a dance club in the space station.) 

Here is a sample of the songs on my playlist:

Afraid by Nelly Furtado

Don’t Phunk With My Heart by The Black Eyed Peas

Faces by 2 Unlimited http://youtu.be/MfDCWD3lhsg

Hook Me Up by The Veronicas http://youtu.be/ShQTEUjdBxY

Take Me On The Floor by The Veronicas http://youtu.be/jEiGbXvF_Rw

TBR: Which of your characters would you most/least like to invite to dinner, and why?
Jessica: Oh, I’d want to invite both to dinner. Flavia loves pasta as much as I do. And in no way could I exclude Jewel. I would not want Gar to show up for dinner though, for fear he’d pull a stunt like he did on the dance floor.

TBR: Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others.
Jessica: Well, Unknown Futures is set in a space station. That in itself is different, but the most interesting aspect is “the tube” transportation system, which sucks you up then shoots you out at your destination. It can make for some interesting situations.

TBR: Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
Jessica: Although I read many genres, I’m on a big science fiction romance kick right now, with books by Gini Koch, D.L. Jackson, Rebecca Royce, and Cathy Pegau on my immediate TBR list.

TBR: What's next for you?
Jessica: Actually, this coming Tuesday (January 31), I have the first book in The Underground series releasing, Never Gonna Let You Go. On top of that, I have many other science fiction romance projects on the go, including some sequels.

TBR: Any other published works?
Jessica: Before Unknown Futures, I wrote two other books as part of Decadent Publishing’s 1Night Stand series, Beneath the Starry Sky and Celestial Seduction. All three stories are connected through recurring characters.

TBR: Where can readers find you on the web?
Jessica: Here are the places I frequent most:

Website/Blog: http://www.markofthestars.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/jsubject

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessicasica-E-Subject-author/205759796126370

For anyone interested, leave your email address in the comments and I will send out swag for my books. *International.*

Thanks again for having me!

TBR: Thanks for visiting TBR, Jessica! Best of luck to you.