Angela Steed | The Road to…Time Travel?

Her footsteps go where no other woman has walked before. Through a doorway our heroine treads into a fracture in the universe, and empty space becomes a walkway to her destination. Stonehenge is the beginning of her journey; a renowned world is the end. And everything else between is…nothing?

Science is an ingredient I really wanted to add to The Sea’s Embrace, but only as much as I could get away with in a romance novel. I managed to throw in enough to make it work, excluding a short prologue divulging the secret behind the mysterious floating orbs lighting the way. (You’ll have to read the story to find out about them.)

The true science comes with time travel. I’ve always been fascinated with the Bermuda Triangle. Ever wonder why things go missing there? Did you know there’s a similar phenomenon off the coast of Japan? Some scientists believe these two locations are connected beneath the earth by a black and white hole. Though it hasn’t been proven, and has caused a bit of controversy within the scientific community, most gurus would love to believe in this fantastic theory.

Think time travel. Not in a sense you can travel back in time and play lottery numbers already played. Wouldn’t that be nice? Think traveling from one place to another in the blink of an eye, think wormhole. Though in the case of my book, a short walk between the sea and sky takes our travelers to a legendary world as well as a different time.

So back to the book: I sent my characters into more chaos than one can endure, leaving science somewhat in the backdrop. After all, it’s a romance novel, so everything is centered around love. The story is adventurous, mind-boggling and dark, and in one reviewer’s words, “mentally exhausting.” No, it’s not the simplest romance novel to read, and there are several traumatic life or death scenes. But I believe anyone who wants something different and loves unusual sci-fi, fantasy love stories might actually enjoy it.

You can find more information, as well as an excerpt, at www.angelasteed.com/. I’m also on Myspace at www.myspace.com/angelasteed.

The Sea’s Embrace will be out at www.blacklyonpublishing.com/ sometime this month as an e-book. It’ll be available everywhere else on the official release date of November 1st.

Angela Steed

Angela Steed | "What is a 1080 Kiss?"

I’ve been asked that quite a few times and have come up with several different answers. I came up with one in particular that I thought was pretty good, but it turns out it had too much comedy involved to get a positive response from the asker. So here’s the other answer to the enigmatic question, "What is a 1080 Kiss?"

"A 1080 Kiss is when your special someone’s lips touch your lips in a kiss, it sends your head into a weakening-of-the-knees spiral, thus doing a 1080, or two or three."

Okay, maybe not quite the perfect answer, but it’s as close as I could get to a logical one. Luckily, I recently conducted an interview with Vince and Morgan and asked them this specific question. Here’s what they had to say about it:

Vince: "It sounds like a new snowboarding stunt. I’d probably be doing it right now if I hadn’t been dragged here for this interview."

Morgan: "Ever since he brought home his gold medals from the Winter Games, he’s been like this."

Vince: "Like what?"

Morgan: "Eager to get out of your responsibilities. I know the Winter Games is still a-ways off, but you have to keep up your appearances otherwise…"

Vince: "Yes, I know, the sponsors will find someone else. You remind me all the time. You’d think after marrying her she’d let up on me, but no, she’s just as pushy and unrelenting as ever."

Morgan: "Don’t take that tone with me!"

Vince: "What are you going to do, ground me? Okay, mom!" (He rolls his eyes at her—big mistake I can see)

Morgan: "Why you arrogant…!@#$...!@#$..." The rest of this profanity was removed per request of the guest, and by me since I really don’t want to write out such language for my readers to see.

After the brief argument between the two lovebirds, order was finally restored and the interview went on. Just to shorten it and get to the point, I’ll leave you with Morgan’s final statement about what a 1080 Kiss really is. I find her answer most refreshing to say the least. It gives a sense that true love, despite the struggles and hardships that occur in the process will live on forever in our hearts and souls.

Morgan: "When I met Vince, I knew in my heart he was different then most men. He was gracious, though stubborn in a sense I wanted to strangle him at one moment, and then cradle him in my arms the next. It can be confusing when you’re not sure what the other person is feeling at the time a relationship begins. I suppose when this happens, you create circles around yourself, building walls around your heart hoping you won’t get hurt like the times before. I was rather insecure to begin with, but luckily, after some deep soul searching, I found my stability in him. He never gave up on me no matter what. And when he finally kissed me, it shot straight through to my soul, sealing my feet to solid ground. I knew then that he was the one I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. I’ll love him forever, or as long as he’ll put up with me anyway."

I’d never seen a grown man with so much stubbornness suddenly melt like butter on hot pavement. I was finally able to see the side she’d fallen in love with, and I’ve got to admit I was a bit envious. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with such an intense, yet charming passion that even I felt the sparks suddenly ignite the room into flames. I knew then that her answer, when brought together with mine, was right on the money. And I could see plain as day by the look she gave afterward that she’d just experienced a 1080 Kiss.

If you’d like to read more of this interview, please request it at www.myspace.com/angelasteed. I’d be more than happy to post the rest on my blog.

You can also go to http://www.angelasteed.com/ and leave me a note in my Guestbook. I love getting new messages!

If you’d like to read 1080 Kiss, you can purchase it at www.blacklyonpublishing.com/ or any of the great online retailers and bookstores such as Amazon.com.

Thanks to Fresh Fiction for having me here today. I really enjoyed doing this and hope to do it again soon.

Angela