Welcome, author Aubrie Dionne

Welcome Aubrie. Congratulations on the release of Tundra 37. Can you tell us why you love writing Science fiction so much?

One of the most enjoyable parts of writing science fiction is researching all of the neat science words/terms pertaining to space and space travel. While keeping the science part of it pretty simple, because I’m by no means a rocket scientist or an astronaut, I tried to incorporate a few of these terms throughout the book. For authors, this is part of word building, and a way to create your own unique world.

Where does the inspiration for Tundra 37 story come from?

The sci fi inspiration comes from the countless times I watched Star Wars and Star Trek TNG as a kid. I love space opera and the endless boundaries that come with it. I’d never, ever, go on a real spaceship- too scared- so I travel there in my mind.

As for the ice planet inspiration, that’s all from living in NH, where the temperature can drop below zero. I wear pants under my dress all through the winter, along with two sweaters, a hat, gloves, and scarf every day. It takes me ten minutes to leave the house! So, I don’t like being cold, and I thought: what a wonderful way to create tension in a novel!

As well as being an accomplished author, you play the flute . How do you combine the two?

I’d always loved writing and reading fantasy/sci fi books ever since I was little but I always pushed it aside for flute. I felt like I needed to explore more of my interests in life. Ever since I started writing, I couldn’t stop! I use what I’ve learned about craft, diligence, structure, from my flute playing. It’s exciting to start a new discipline and have no idea where my boundaries are: how far I can go with it, how good I can get.

To date, which of your own works is your favourite and why?

Actually, it’s Tundra 37. I knew I had to write something better than Paradise 21, the original book that sold the series. So, I worked my butt off on Tundra 37. I feel like it’s my masterpiece. Everything came together so well in the end.

Thanks for joining us today, Aubrie.

http://www.entangledpublishing.com/tundra-37/

 

Tundra 37 Blurb

Gemme is a hi-tech matchmaker who pairs the next generation of Lifers aboard the Expedition, a deep space transport vessel destined for Paradise 18. When the identity of her lifemate pops up on her screen, she’s shocked that he’s the achingly gorgeous and highly sought after Lieutenant Miles Brentwood—a man oblivious to her existence. Believing everyone will think she contrived the match, she erases it from the computer’s memory.

Just as comets pummel the ship and destroy the pairing system forever.

With the Expedition disabled, the colonists must crash land on the barren ice world of Tundra 37 where Gemme is reassigned to an exploratory mission, led by Lieutenant Brentwood. Only in the frozen tundra does she understand the shape of his heart and why the computer has entwined their destinies.

Prologue

The Seers

I’m losing her.

Abysme guides the vessel in silence, her blind eyes rolling as she senses our course, two hundred years away from Paradise 18. She’s scattered her thoughts among the stars, and her mind drifts farther from the sister I once knew. I fear the machine has engulfed her individuality. She’s forgotten the meaning of our goal, the oath we took three centuries ago. Most of all, she’s forgotten me, creating an emptiness inside me more profound than the desolation surrounding us.

If I had my arms, I’d reach out to comfort her and usher her back from the black abyss spread before us. As children, I kept her alive through the destruction, signing us up for the Expedition and winning two tickets off Old Earth before it succumbed to hell. But can I save her now?

I send impulses through my brainwaves and into the ship. Bysme, do you hear me?

Unlike her, I have one operating eye and can see the control chamber we hang from. Twisting my head, I search her features. Her skeletal face twitches. She writhes and the wires holding her in place stretch taut. I wonder what I’ve done to us, the shock of our disembodiment jolting me. Every input hole drilled into my skull snakes with activity. The ship surges through me, a vast intranet of information, names, status charts, and infinite trajectories. If I couldn’t feel the cold, regulated air on the remnants of my torso, I’d be lost in the machine too. I remind myself of our mission and the perseverance flows into my veins.

She doesn’t respond and the fear wells up from within me. Can I guide the ship alone? I realize I’ve left her at the helm for too long while I drifted into memories.

Status of Beta Prime? Bysme speaks in monotone computer speech as she turns to the corner of the main control deck where the orb glistens, tempting us with the mysteries hidden in the cosmic swirls within its core. Sometimes, I wish we’d blasted the ball off the hull after its tendrils attached to the outer frame instead of recovering it for study. We’ve guarded it for so long, Project Beta Prime has become part of us, yet we’re further than ever from unlocking its secrets. All I know is the insistence of my memories, like ghosts that refused to be ignored.

Unchanged. The weight of my voice in our mindspeak reflects my disappointment. Like everything else.

Bysme falls silent, and I scan the systems searching for answers that aren’t there.