Guest Post by Sharon Lynn Fisher - Author of Ghost Planet and The Ophelia Prophecy

World Building for Ghost Planet and The Ophelia Prophecy

I love both Ghost Planet and The Ophelia Prophecy (click on titles to see my reviews).  One of the things that really caught me was the unique and complex world building in both.  When I asked Sharon to share how she goes about creating these wonderful worlds she agreed to do a guest post on the subject.  I want to thank Sharon and I hope you enjoy the post as much as I do.  But first just a little bit about Sharon.

A Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist and a three-time RWA Golden Heart Award finalist, SHARON LYNN FISHER lives in the Pacific Northwest. She writes books for the geeky at heart—sci-fi flavored stories full of adventure and romance—and battles writerly angst with baked goods, Irish tea, and champagne. Her works include Ghost Planet (2012), The Ophelia Prophecy (2014), and Echo 8 (2014). You can visit her online at SharonLynnFisher.com.

Building Sci-Fi Romance Worlds by Sharon Lynn Fisher

I used to hate world building. It’s a ridiculous thing for a speculative fiction author to say. But when I first started writing, I found it intimidating. Generating a whole new reality out of your gray matter. Making it believable and vivid for the reader. And really, wasn’t it just the “in between” part? The part that happened when there was no actual story going on — no action or dialogue or romance?

It’s hard to say when my attitude shifted, because I didn’t actually realize it until I started getting reviews that mentioned world building. I remember thinking, “How is it I’m good at this when I don’t even like it?” It landed on my head like a cargo hold full of tribbles. I do like it! In fact I love it. Creating setting and atmosphere and tone … it’s often a catalyst for the rest of the plot. It adds another layer to character development. It’s key to motivation. 

But yeah, it’s the hard part. For my stories, there are multiple branches of world building — the physical setting itself, the culture and political situation, and the science behind the speculative element.

For settings I often draw on geographical areas I know. My debut novel, GHOST PLANET, is set on an Earth-like planet in areas that closely resemble different parts of the Pacific Northwest, where I live. In my new book, THE OPHELIA PROPHECY, the last human city is located near Moab, Utah, where I’ve hiked and mountain-biked. The rock formations have a captivating, otherworldly quality. The main action of the story takes place in Connemara, in the west of Ireland, and in the Moorish city of Granada, Spain, both of which I’ve visited. The Gaudi-inspired architecture in OPHELIA comes from time I spent in Barcelona.

The science, culture, and politics are all pretty knotted up together, and make up what I think of as my special sauce (and really they’re the special sauce of any sci-fi novel). I tend to write speculative elements inspired by science. In GHOST PLANET, the heroine is actually an alien reincarnation of a human woman, joined in a symbiotic relationship with her psychologist supervisor. I researched Gaia theory and symbiogenesis for that story. For THE OPHELIA PROPHECY I researched recombinant DNA to create a species of human/praying mantis transgenic organisms. I also did research on biomimicry and biohacking. The book I have coming out next year, ECHO 8, required research into parallel universes, quantum physics, and parapsychology.

How all of the research and personal experiences blend together and churn out a whole world with its own unique history and personality is something of a mystery. It’s sort of like dumping a bunch of ingredients into a crockpot and opening it up to find lamb stew the next day. Because I’m mostly a pantser and don’t plot out stories in advance, my characters and story often spring from this world development rather than the other way around. 

Counterintuitive though it may seem, reading science books can really get the creative juices flowing. I think it’s because I try not to read with a specific goal in mind, but for the sheer joy of learning about something new.

World building takes time, and it takes faith. During the research phase it can feel like procrastination. Like I’m accomplishing nothing. But I’ve learned that as soon as those ingredients begin to coalesce — as soon as I feel that world coming into focus — the rest of my story is not far behind.

Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher

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Science Fiction/Science Fiction Romance

Goodreads Summary:

"Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world—a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these "ghosts." She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet.

As a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy—creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids him to acknowledge or interact with her. Confused and alone—oppressed by her ghost status and tormented by forbidden love—Elizabeth works to unlock the secrets of her own existence. 

But her quest for answers lands her in a tug-of-war between powerful interests, and she soon finds herself a pawn in the struggle for control of the planet…a struggle that could separate her forever from the man that she loves"

Oh my goodness.  All I can say is Ghost Planet is great, great, great.  I loved the concept, the story, the characters and the writing.  This is Science Fiction Romance at its best.

The twist at the beginning of the book sets the tone for the rest of the story.  Elizabeth does not realize she is a ghost.  She feels the same, looks the same and reacts the same as before.  Here are the two beginning sentences:

"The tarmac was deserted.  Foggy and disoriented, I wondered how long I’d been standing there, listening to the evergreens groan in the wind and dreading my first encounter on this new world."

When you read this after reading the book you can see the foreshadowing of Elizabeth’s real status.  Then you meet Grayson Murphy and see the interaction between the two before he realizes that Elizabeth is a ghost.  It is a great set up for the rest of the story.

The world building is unusual and very realistic.  You can see the connection between the Ghost Planet and Earth.  You can also see how everything is changing because of the interaction or lack thereof between the colonists and the ghosts.  All of this matches the plot and helps keep the story moving.

Science Fiction Romance fans buy this book.  I checked Sharon Lynn Fisher’s web page to see what she had in store for us next.  This seems to be her first published book.  It could be a stand-alone or it could lead to more stories about the Ghost Planet and Elizabeth and Murphy.  I for one would love to see both of them again. She is working on another book but it seems to be in an entirely new universe.

Tor Science Fiction published Ghost Planet by Sharon Fisher in 2012.

I received an ARC of Ghost Planet from Netgalley.

Waiting on Wednesday August 8, 2012

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I am waiting on Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher.  It is due out in October of 2012.  

Here is a summary from Amazon:  

Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world—a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these "ghosts." She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet. 
As a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy—creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids him to acknowledge or interact with her. Confused and alone—oppressed by her ghost status and tormented by forbidden love—Elizabeth works to unlock the secrets of her own existence. 
But her quest for answers lands her in a tug-of-war between powerful interests, and she soon finds herself a pawn in the struggle for control of the planet…a struggle that could separate her forever from the man that she loves.