Welcome Elizabeth Fountain today

“A Little Romance”

Guest Post – Elizabeth Fountain

The story that became An Alien’s Guide to World Domination started as a dream. After a conversation with a dear friend during a time when I was stuck trying to make a serious version of the story work, I dreamt a scene of two people standing on a bridge that stretched across a wide river in a beautiful old European city.

The woman turns to the man and says, “I think I’m falling a little bit in love –”

Her companion chokes before she can finish her sentence.

“With this place,” she reassures him. “Not with you. But thanks a lot.”

I thought about this scene for my guest post here on Dawn’s Reading Nook because it reminds me of all different kinds of love: romantic love, for sure; the love of a place that speaks to our souls; and all the variations of romance - mysterious, terrifying, and silly. The two people in this scene allow themselves to experience the deep bonds of friendship, and as An Alien’s Guide unfolds, they make a pledge to become one another’s “chosen family.” This allows a beautiful love to begin, one which will change them both. Because the story is science fiction, at least one of them will turn out to be from another planet. And of course, dangerous, improbably, and sometimes hilarious consequences will ensue.

Sometimes, as happens to these characters, we feel we belong more to our “chosen family” than to our given one. As for me, I’m blessed with a wonderful given brother, and a small group of chosen brothers and soul-sisters who create my own sense of family belonging. Having this experience in my own life made it joyous for me to write about the love that comes from profound friendship, and how it can bridge so many gaps, including those between humans and aliens.

And above all, this blog is about our romance with books – stories that transport us to other worlds, other people, other problems, other experiences, yet somehow always help us to discover more truths about ourselves. Our love for terrific tales, like our love for our friends, opens us to the joy of all kinds of romances.

By the way, in An Alien’s Guide, it is the love of a dog that ultimately saves humanity. I find that to be pretty true-to-life, too.

Teaser Excerpt:

“Don’t tell anyone back in Seattle, because I have a reputation to uphold.” Louie thought of the beer, so that the rest of her sentence surprised her too. “But I think I’m falling a little bit in love…”

Jack choked on his beer and spit half of it out. Louie looked sideways at him. “Relax. I was going to say I’m falling in love with this city. But thank you for that. That was a Hallmark moment. For a split second you think I’m about to say I’m falling in love with you, and you choke. Beautiful. That’s a moment I am going to remember on my deathbed. Thanks.” Louie laughed a little. Then she surprised herself again by starting to cry. She felt her heart swell as she realized how she did feel about Jack. She felt…connected. And feeling connected felt good. It felt very good. Louie didn’t want to ever stop feeling connected like this.

She realized Jack was staring at her, his face pale and drawn with worry. “Jack…”

“Oh my god, Louie, I’m sorry. I really hurt your feelings. I can tell because you’re crying, aren’t you. Stop crying…” he reached out to touch her cheek, to wipe a tear away.

“Do you want to know why I’m crying?”

“Yes I do. Do I? You look so sad. Maybe I don’t want to know,” Jack said.

Author Bio:

Elizabeth Fountain left a demanding job as a university administrator in Seattle to move to the small town of Ellensburg, Washington, and pursue her dream of writing novels.  Liz started writing in grade school; fortunately, most of her tortured high school poetry and song lyrics are lost to posterity. Her first book was five years in the making, and offered lots of opportunities to give up along the way; that might be why it’s a tale of people, aliens, and dogs who face the impossible, and do it anyway.  A small publishing house in Calgary, Champagne Book Group, released the novel in April under their sci-fi/fantasy imprint, BURST! Now Liz has three more novels in progress. She takes breaks from writing to teach university courses, spend time with family and friends, and take long walks while leaning into the diabolical Kittitas valley wind.  She holds degrees in philosophy, psychology, and leadership, which contribute to a gently humorous view of humanity well suited to tales of aliens and angels, love and death, friendship and dogs. Liz strives to live according to a line from British singer-songwriter Chris Rea: “Every day, good luck comes in the strangest of ways.”

Web page: http://lizfountain.wordpress.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethFountainAuthor

Contest (sponsored by Pump Up Your Book): Between now and August 12, you can enter a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card! Just visit my featured author page at: http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2013/07/10/featured-author-elizabeth-fountain-author-of-an-aliens-guide-to-world-domination-win-25-amazon-gift-card/

Buy links:

Find An Alien’s Guide to World Domination on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Aliens-Guide-World-Domination-ebook/dp/B00C4NUBW8

For other e-book formats: http://burstbooks.ca/product.php?id_product=93