Greetings, Starfighter!
Welcome to my stop on the SFR Brigade’s Blog Hop. If you haven’t come by this post as part of the blog hop, you can read up on what this is about by clicking the banner at the top of this post or here.
The theme this year is Out of This World. After careful consideration, I decided to put my own spin on it, by talking about how alien our own planet can be sometimes. Specifically, and since it pertains to my current SFR series, the amazing, bizarre forms of life in our oceans.
Have you ever taken a look at what lives in the depths of Earth’s waters? We’re talking organisms that crawl through bubbling pools of molten sulfur or that have eyes encased inside giant bubbles atop their heads or ones that look like something you blew into a tissue. Just take a peek at this or this (both short 5 minute-ish videos) for a little taste of what I’m talking about here. Or go read the comic on The Oatmeal about the mantis shrimp. THIS STUFF EXISTS. And it doesn’t require FTL travel to see it, although the needed equipment to find it is comparable to that of space exploration.
I think my favorite of these amazing creatures are bioluminescent jellyfish (admittedly, I’m a bit of a bird and OOO! SHINY!). The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a whole exhibit on jellyfish and it’s amazing to experience and see these guys up close. They have a deadly elegance to them and that they exist at all leaves me breathless. These aquatic lifeforms are so varied, so strange, so beautiful, I wonder how you could resist being inspired and awed that they share a planet with us.
It’s mind-numbing how little we know about our own planet. I suppose this is part of why I chose to set the Endure series at the bottom of the ocean. I find the concept of living in that environment both fascinating and terrifying. It doesn’t require as much imagination as building a fictional alien planet from scratch, perhaps, but, oh… what a captivating setting this is. Aliens amongst us? Most certainly, but not because they are new to the planet, only new to us.
If you’d like to see how I’ve spun this idea into my own creative universe, I invite you to check out the Endure series, beginning with book 1, Maven (this link will take you to Goodreads where you can sample the first 6 chapters for free).
If you’d like to enter the giveaway for this blog hop (courtesy of the SFR Brigade), this is for you:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
To continue on with the SFR Brigade’s Midsummer Blog Hop, follow the list below (and thank you for visiting!)
Misty Rios says
Sea creatures are truly fascinating :)
Thanks so much for the opportunity!
farmaki(at)live(dot)com
Tawania says
Thanks for the great giveaway!
tl.etheridge31(at)gmail(dot)com
AnnaM says
I just saw a really cool picture on Facebook of a lake that had recently had a “bloom” of bioluminescent micro-organisms. Large swaths of it glowed baby blue in the dark. It was amazing.
Thanks for participating! I have Maven on my To Buy.
AnnaM.
doxisrcool at aol.com
Eva Millien says
Maven sounds exciting and I can’t wait to read it. Thanks for the giveaway.
pippajay says
I love posting pictures on my Facebook page of all the weird and wonderful to be found on our own planet. Great inspirations for alien worlds!
Sandra Stixrude says
Oh, I do love jellies! You’re right, of course – Earth’s already come up with all the cool alien life forms :D
BookAttict says
Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
elizabeth @ bookattict . com
veronicascott says
So true that there are still amazing things to be seen on our own planet – love your idea of taking off from the sea for your SFR world building inspiration.
ryan snyder says
I love your idea to incorporate the oceans. i have heard it said that we know more about outer space than we know about our world’s oceans. New species are being discovered all the time! lol. Strange ones, too. There is this one shark species that they have seen maybe 1 time. It came out of the deeper waters when it died or something and it was ugly as hell…. (: interesting post.
Melissa (My World...in words and pages) says
Oooo, Had to enter for this one. :) I’m a bit late with life being a pain in the arse lately. But some amazing new books on the list here! :) Thank you!
ELF says
I love seeing the exotic creatures from the sea, it makes me even more convinced of the presence of lifeforms outside of your world. I particularly like watching the sea dragons, I think they are quite fascinating.
elewkf1 at yahoo dot com
JeanMP says
Enjoyed reading your post, have always been fascinated by the water and what is in it.
skpetal at hotmail dot com
lizaoconnor says
I suspect the occupants of deep water think we are the strange aliens coming down there in our own little bubble. Shining bright in the neverending blackness. Now that I think about it. We might just be larger thems.
Anna Hackett says
Fabulous post and so interesting. Love the premise of your stories under the ocean.
gennadonaghy says
Exciting stuff! Can’t wait to read the sample chapters.
shadowluvs2read says
Hi! Awesome post! Your book sounds great!! Loving this hop! So many awesome authors! :) Thank you! Have a great day!
shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com