Good morning, Lynda! Don't you just love the hint of Autumn in the air?
Ladies, Lynda has a great story for us.
Please make her welcome.
Deja Vu or Alternate Reality?
A few years ago, I was putting groceries in the trunk of my car when a man called out, "Hi, how are you? Wow, I haven't seen you around in a long time!"
He was a nice enough fellow, not bad looking, definitely friendly, but he hadn't seen me around...ever. This has happened to me before. I have one of 'those faces' I guess so I just smiled and asked, "Who do you think I am?"
For a moment he looked puzzled. You could almost see the wheels turning in his brain. It was at that point that he realized his mistake and apologized, adding that I looked exactly like the woman he obviously thought I was. I assured him no harm was done. He ducked into the store, leaving me thinking about what had just happened.
I'm no beauty and my looks won't stop a clock. I'm maybe a teensy bit above plain. I'm sure there are many auburn haired women with blue eyes who are just a teensy bit above plain so it's easy to understand a momentary mistake. But this fellow had the light of recognition in his eyes and voice...as if he was speaking to someone he'd known for a long time.
Hours later, my writer's mind kicked into gear. What if...he'd stepped out of another time line? In that one, he knew me. I was a close acquaintance. Or maybe a friend. In this time line, I was a stranger, a person he knew nothing about. In his original time line, I could have been a doctor or nurse or teacher. In this one, I could be a thief, a scammer or, worse, a politician! And that made me wonder what could cause a different time line where I could be something totally different from what I am.
My favorite theory is that alternate time lines occur from yes-no type decisions. But that would give rise to an infinite number of time lines for each individual or being from the moment they got out of bed every morning. The universe is infinite but that's too much for my very finite mind to comprehend. I realized then that the Yes-No decisions had to be significant decisions, not ones based on what pair of shoes I'd wear or what kind of cereal I'd put in my breakfast bowl. True, these things might be important to me but in the sweep of the universe, I'm really pretty insignificant.
So maybe the Yes-No decisions have to be significant decisions for a large group of people. These would be decisions that would have the most effect on the most people. For example...Imagine the American Revolution failing. We'd still be part of Great Britain. Or imagine the Mongols sweeping Europe and maintaining dominion over the entire continent. Or imagine what would happen to our world if alien intelligence had arrived, not today, but several hundred years ago. What kind of world would any of these create?
My choice of breakfast cereal or whether I'd wear a blue shirt or purple shirt with my jeans kind of pales in comparison to that. (For the record, I'd probably go with my favorite color, the purple.)
Being a Science Fantasy Romance author, I naturally gravitated toward the arrival of alien intelligence for an instigating event for my novel, Altered Destiny. Well, sort of. In the alternate time line, the Qui'arel arrived, safely, at about the same time as the Jacobite Rebellion. But in this time line, they didn't arrive until our current time and they didn't arrive safely. The ship in our time had a malfunction (which is why it was so late) and slammed into our moon.
The resulting explosion catapults our heroine, Liane Gautier-MacGregor, newly divorced and disappointed with her life, right into a world filled with castle-dominated communities called Reaches, dragons wandering around the North American continent, humans in subjugation to aliens who look like Elves...and straight into the arms of her ex-husband.
But is he? He looks exactly like Devyn Alistair MacGregor...except for the kilt and the eyeglasses, things her ex wouldn't be caught dead wearing. Neither would her ex have a slight brogue. Or act like a decent and honorable man. No, her ex would do none of those things.
Understandably, Liane is confused and puzzled and downright terrified of what's happened to her. She can't live in a world where humans can be enslaved on the whim of the alien overlords. The more she learns about this new world, the more she wants to go home. And the more she learns about this new Devyn James MacGregor, the more she realizes he's worthy of her respect...and love. Can she find a way home or will she accept an Altered Destiny?
So, yes, Altered Destiny came about because of an accidental encounter in a parking lot and a face that looks like many others. It's a kind of strange way to get an idea but it worked and I love the story ;-) Hopefully, you will too.
Look for an excerpt tomorrow!
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Heartstone
By Lynda K. Scott Mundania Press
Science Fantasy Romance
Eric d'Ebrur is out of time. He must fine the legendary Heartstone and fulfill the ancient Gar'Ja bond he shares with the Stonebearer. But when he finds her, he discovers that love can be more dangerous than the Gawan threat. Eric can defeat the mind-controlling Gawan but will it cost him the woman he loves?
After terrifying episodes of hypersensitivity, Keriam Norton thinks she's losing her mind. When handsome shapeshifter Eric d'Ebrur saves her from the monstrous Gawan, she's sure of it. But insane or not, she'll find the Heartstone and, if she's lucky, a love to last a lifetime.
Available in print and ebook format
Buy Links: Mundania Press (use MP10 at checkout for 10% discount)
http://www.mundania.com/book.php?title=Heartstone
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Heartstone-Lynda-K-Scott/dp/1606592335/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3
About Lynda: In her family of Kentucky 'ridge runners', oral tales were a tradition that even the children participated in. She spent many nights with her brother, cousins and friends telling tall tales to excite the imagination. Now she creates award winning science fantasy romance filled with despair, hope, love and courage.
Thanks for having me! If you are a member of or join my newsgroup before Oct 1, you'll automatically be entered into a drawing for a beaded crystal heart pendant. (Sorry, you must be a resident of the USA to win the pendant but a non-USA winner will receive an alternate prize to be determined at the time of the drawing.) Contest Rules are available at http://lyndakscott.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-member-only-contest.html
Come join us tomorrow for an except from Altered Destiny and a cover that is absolutely eye candy!
