Why She Wrote “The Lady is Blue”

The idea for the book came to me while I was working as a scientist at Yale University. The core of the story is the conflict between the scaled aliens with their proclaimed cold logic and the human colonists with their party-loving society of a small college town. The heroine is a scientist, and scenes are set in her laboratory and in my fictional version of the real cafeteria at the top of the Kline Biology Tower. In my book, the aliens and scientists eat lunch and interact in the cafeteria.

The first draft of The Lady is Blue was completed three decades ago. My working title was “What color are your scales?” and the story filled the pages of an inch thick binder. Over the years, I made several attempts to type up the handwritten story in different word processors. Life intervened, with two sons, and moves from city to city up and down the eastern coast of the US. Early in 2014, I made a serious effort to put the story into digital form. After editing cycles, I published the novel in May 2014.

The story explores what it means to be human, and contrasts two social structures. The human colonists on the terraformed planet enjoy an easy lifestyle and the main town of Riverside mimics a small university setting. They love celebrations and value the arts as well as sciences. The alien Atrapako have an authoritarian society with a rigid class system. The class/caste is marked by the color of their scales. Blues are the rulers, Greens are the scientists and technicians, Reds are the laborers and soldiers, and Yellows, the birth color, may be juveniles or artists.

The Atrapako on Eden are exiles from their native planet of Vkani, a hostile place with warring tribes, dangerous sandstorms and the radioactive Deadlands. The evidence for the disaster that destroyed civilization occurred on Vkani is discovered in Book II, Dragons of Vkani.

At the start of the story, the Atrapako spaceship lands on the planet Eden. The human colonists welcome the aliens, and the scientist, Dr. Lucy Stannis, is overjoyed at the idea of studying an alien species. She has an ulterior motive as a secret agent for Terra. Unfortunately, the aliens refuse to submit to physical examinations. Lucy befriends the Captain, Sa Kamizan Veedak, an impressive and cunning Blue. He is desperate to find a refuge for his people. She cannot tell whether he is attracted to her or if he is playing on her emotions to ensure better treatment for the Atrapako. Their lively banter and misunderstandings add a comic touch.

About The Lady is Blue:

The peaceful human colonists on the remote planet of Eden welcome alien refugees in their crippled spaceship. The alien Atrapako have spiky crests, sharp claws, and scales of four colors covering massive humanoid bodies. Their rigid class system conflicts with the party-loving society of the humans. The intrepid Dr. Lucy Stannis, a scientist and undercover agent of Terra, is both curious and suspicious of the aliens. She befriends the captain of the alien spaceship, the impressive and devious Blue, Sa Kamizan Veedak, who led the escape from their hostile home planet through the hazards of space to the safety of Eden. Their tenuous friendship is threatened by assassination attempts, and sabotage by humans and aliens. They must learn to fight together to survive. Can the Atrapako overcome their cultural instincts and co-exist peacefully with humans on Eden? In the conflict, Sa Kamizan questions his allegiances, while Lucy strives to discover the secret of the aliens in a race against time before the colonists lose their independence.

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To celebrate the first anniversary of the publication of my Science Fiction Romance novel, The Lady is Blue will be discounted to 99c for the month of May.

About Aurora:

My career in science involves plenty of writing facts for research articles. But, I’ve imagined exciting adventures in weird worlds for as long as I can remember. For many years, life intervened. Now, I have achieved my life-long ambition to publish novels. My published works include science fiction and fantasy with romance and a sprinkle of humor. I was born in the UK and live in Atlanta with my husband, a dog and two cats to sit on my laptop. My hobbies, besides reading and writing, include outdoor activities like watching wildlife, hiking and canoeing.

Where you can find Aurora:

Blog   Amazon   Facebook   Twitter   Google+

Thank you so much for sharing your story, Aurora and congrats on the anniversary! Anyone else celebrating something today? Or wish they were? lol

You know I love comments so much that I pick a favorite to receive my monthly AnaBanana gift basket ($25 value).  Recipient is announced the first blog post of the new month.

Perilously yours,

Pauline