A NEW BRIDE'S DIFFICULT CHOICE: Earthman's Bride by Icy Snow Blackstone

Earthman's Bride started out as a short story, and then--like Topsy--it just grew. I wanted to write a story of a young woman given to a conqueror as part of a peace agreement, how she first feared and came to love him. Okay, so far so good, but what was to be the setting...medieval...paranormal...futuristic? And the conqueror, would he be a warrior...a beast...a supernatural entity?

There are too many science fiction stories of invaders from other planets coming to Earth a la War of the Worlds. Well, I decided, I'm not going that route. That theme has been run into the ground. What if my story told the other side of the coin? What would happen if Earthmen barged into another a galaxy attacking and conquering?

My Earthmen aren't very nice people, I'm afraid. Having depleted their own natural resources, they go searching for planets having the elements they lack, to make them a part of the United Terran Federation simply to lay claim to those assets. They "accept" these worlds into the Federation, place them under their "protection" and then haul their natural possessions back to Terra. Since most of the planets are less developed than theirs, it's easy to subdue them with superior firepower and take what they want.

The planet Tusteya is different. Though not as technologically advanced, the Tusteyans knew of space travel and traded with other planets and weren't about to allow themselves to be enslaved by aliens. A war resulted, one in which the Tusteyans put up steady resistance until, at the opening of the story, only one small tribe, the Elius, is still free, all others now slaves to the Federation's representative, the Governor of Tusteya. Philip Hamilcar, the Governor, was ordered to stay behind with his men ostensibly to keep the natives under control; in fact he was really stranded on the planet as punishment for voicing his disapproval of their treatment. As the story opens, thirty years have passed, the original Governor has died, and his son, another Philip, has taken his place. Alcin Spearman, leader of the Elius, asks for a truce, and to show the sincerity of his intentions, offers his 17-year-old daughter Rebeka to the new Governor to cement the peace. Alcin is certain the young Earthman will want Rebeka, not knowing that she has an agenda other than simply being a peace offering. Once Rebeka has gained his trust, she's to kill the Governor, and during the chaos of his death, her father and his men will storm the palace and end the Terran tyranny once and for all.

Rebeka agrees because she has no choice, and everything appears to be going just as her father wishes...the Governor is intrigued and eager to stop the bloodshed...he's fascinated by the young woman and lets it be known he wants her...eagerly, he agrees to the peace, and Rebeka is left alone in the palace her father used to rule, married to an alien whom she's expected to bed and then kill...




Earthman's Bride will be available as an e-book from Lyrical Press. Other books of mine published by Lyrical Press are Jericho Road, and When the Condor Returned, the sequel to Earthman's Bride.