The final results have been calculated, and my erotic sci-fi space trek, Lust in Space, finished a couple of spots higher than its #9 spot in the tenative calculations. The Predators and Editors Reader's Poll is a yearly event, including titles by authors from across the board.

I am very excited to share that not only did Lust in Space make the top 10 list, but it finished at #7.

The final top 10 results for the erotica poll are:

1 Murder by Design, Jade Falconer, Phaze
2 Kilted Lover, Nicole North, Red Sage Publishing
3 Only Pleasure, Lora Leigh, St. Martin's Griffin
4 Scent of a Vampire, Jude Stephens, Hearts on Fire Books
4 Strangers, Barabara Elsborg, Ellora's Cave Romantica Publication
5 Breaking The Covenants, Celina Summers and Rob Graham, Aspen Mountain Press
5 Spell of Appalachia, Molly Wens, eXcessica
6 Eden's Hell, Dawn Dominique, Purple Sword Publications
6 Internet Bonds #8: After Glow, Christy Poff, Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
7 Lust in Space, Lisa Lane, Ravenous Romance
7 The Janitor, Jan Irving, Loose ID
7 Xylon Warriors IV: Ecstasy Bound, Ruth D. Kerce, Ellora's Cave
8 Triad, Cat Grant, Lyrical Press
9 Curfew, Samantha Stone, L&L Dreamspell
10 By Chance, Cat Grant, Lyrical Press

Go to http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/votenovelero09.htm to see all of the final erotica novel standings.

Among the top 20 were a number of other Ravenous Romance authors, including C. Margery Kempe (#14 in erotica), Lexi Ryan, Ryan Field, and Sandra Cormier (tied for #20 in erotica), and Inara LaVey (#11 in romance).

The Darkness and the Night III: Twins of Darkness finished at #14 in the horror poll, and Love in Space finished at #15 in the romance poll:

http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/votenovelhor09.htm
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/votenovelrom09.htm

Thanks again to those who voted!

Tags: Predators and Editors | The Darkness and the Night | Twins of Darkness | Love in Space | Lust in Space | Lisa Lane

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On December 1, 2008, New York literary agent Lori Perkins teamed up with longtime publishers Holly Schmidt and Allan Penn, to embark on a literary venture that promised to be innovative, provocative, and unafraid to take chances.  Ravenous Romance has met all of those goals and then some, and I’m so pleased to be among their list of authors.

I learned about Ravenous Romance just a few months before the launch.  Being an avid follower of Lori Perkins’ blog, “Agent in the Middle,” I responded to an open call for submissions, for an anthology that would feature creative short stories about Sex and Shoes.  I wrote a chancy piece featuring a married couple who appear at first glance to have a shared shoe fetish ... only at the heartfelt end does the twist reveal itself and the real meaning of the story shine through.  Ms. Perkins accepted it, and then invited me to submit more of my stories for other upcoming anthologies.  I ended up having two stories being accepted in the Men in Shorts anthology, at which time Ms. Perkins requested to see some of my longer works.

My erotic horror vampire trilogy, The Darkness and the Night, had been on the back burner for some time, and decided to add a little romance to the story and see if Ravenous Romance might be interested.  They bought the trilogy, and then commissioned me to work on the most delightful project I have ever had the privilege to write: an erotic space trek, inspired by some of my favorite episodic sci-fi shows (Star Trek, Red Dwarf, Farscape, etc.).  It was a closet-geek’s dream come true, and to this day my tribute, Lust in Space, campy and kinky in all the right places, has been a fan favorite.

I contributed a couple more short stories (my personal favorite is “Blood and Money,” which can be found in the Sex and Taxes Anthology), and had a blast with those, as well, but nothing prepared me for the next proposition I would receive:  Ravenous Romance had teamed up with the Home Shopping Network, planning the first ever television release of an exclusive romance collection.  The owners had hand-picked six books each in three different subgenres: paranormal, historical, and contemporary, and they wanted Lust in Space to be among the paranormal group.  However, they wanted me to rewrite the story and create a sister book, of sorts: whereas Lust in Space is an experimentally kinky erotic work (I had fun seeing how far I might push my limits), Love in Space was to be romantic, sweet, and completely vanilla.

It turned out to be, in my opinion, my best published work.  Love in Space has it all: action, adventure, space travel, aliens, romance, wit, literary “Easter eggs”—and intergalactic war.  I can’t thank Ravenous Romance enough for challenging me as they did with this story.  Lori Perkins and Holly Schmidt knew how to make a great story even better, and they pushed me to turn a fun and kinky space trek into a heartfelt and fun romantic adventure.  Moreover, they gave me the chance to prove myself as an author—in a market of mass closed doors, stiff competition, and form rejection letters, during a time in the recession when being a no-name writer like me would have been otherwise left sitting cold in the dark.

Writing for Ravenous Romance has been an amazing experience.  I’m delighted to have so many people reading my work, and I’m delighted to be working with such a great group of people.  Happy Birthday, Ravenous Romance—here’s to another great year!

Tags: Lisa Lane | ravenous romance | Sex and Shoes | Men in Shorts | Sex and Taxes | The Darkness and the Night | Lust in Space | Love in Space

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Today's book of the day is Lust in Space, my kinky and highly experimental space odyssey that pays homage to such episodic greats as Star Trek and Red Dwarf.

However, Lust in Space has an alter ego....  For those who are interested in romantic sci-fi, but do not enjoy so much graphic sex and experimental kinkiness, Love in Space takes all that is great about Lust, and then makes it sweeter and much more romantic.  It also contains adventures and characters never before released, including the winner of the Lust in Space sequel "pick the android's name" contest.  Congrats again to Phoebe, for becoming forever immortalized in the form of a literary android.

Do you enjoy both kinky and sweet?  Tell me which of the two books you enjoyed more--Lust or Love--and why, and you'll qualify for a chance to win your choice of any of my e-books published through Ravenous Romance!

Tags: Lisa Lane | Lust in Space | Love in Space | erotic | romance | sci-fi

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Diana at Night Owl Romance chose Lust in Space as a Reviewer'sTop Pick, giving it 4.5 of 5 Hearts!

From the review:

When I saw the title “Lust In Space” I am not quite sure what I expected, but I can tell you it is not what I got. The story far exceeded my expectations.   I absolutely adore where Lisa Lane took this story. It will shock you (in a good way) and keep you on your toes as to what is going to happen next. Well worth the time to read, Lust in Space falls into a must have in my book. I hope you take the time to read it for yourself.

Read the full review here.

Tags: space | sci-fi | Lisa Lane | reviews | Lust in Space

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For those who have read Lust in Space, I have a contest just for you:

I am currently developing Lust in Space 2, and I would love some reader feedback.  If you could answer one or more of the following questions, I would be most appreciative:

1. What types of issues would you like to see the crew experience/endure?

2. Which characters do you want to learn more about?

3. How about the sex?  Do you want more of the same, or do you want to see the bar pushed even further?

The winner will have a new character featured in Lust in Space 2, an android or robot (I haven't decided, yet) named after him or her.

Thanks ... and good luck!

You can contact me through the form on my website, through MySpace, or via a response here.

I've already received some phenomenal feedback, so your work is now cut out for you. ;-) With that said, good luck and thanks for reading!

Tags: Lust in Space | Lust in Space 2 | contests | characters | name Lisa Lane

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A few days ago, I narrowed down the top 10 reasons to check out Lust in Space:

1. You’re curious about the one-inch-tall vibrating man.

2. You love everything Star Trek, Farscape, and/or Battlestar Galactica, and feel shortchanged whenever a scene begins to get steamy, only to go to a commercial cut.

3. You want to see Lisa Lane’s inventive solution to the problem of intergalactic travel.

4. The scene in which the Esirian, Suxien, makes love to herself is simply delightful.

5. The book is packed with literary “Easter eggs,” sure to delight pulp sci-fi fans across the board.

6. Shape-shifters take “experimental” to a whole new level.

7. Four out of five erotic romance readers agree that LUST IN SPACE is a classy read and a fun tribute to the genre.

8. You would never have thought the space flu could be kinky.

9. LUST IN SPACE 2 is currently in development, and your TBR pile needs thinning.

10. You know you want to (and nobody has to know!).

Since I released the list, I have received numerous comments on “#1.” The inch-tall vibrating man has people intrigued ... and perhaps with due reason.  It got me thinking about the subject of size. While Jim is a far extreme when it comes to analyzing size and compatibility, I have noticed that rarely does a “little” man get much positive attention in erotica. Authors find numerous colorful ways to describe and denote the penis, but they tend not to describe them as “small.”

The fact of the matter, however, is a monstrously large penis can be just as much of a turn-off ... so why do we, as readers and writers of erotic works, seem to have a fascination with “large?”

I’m a middle-woman, myself. I like “average.” Perhaps it’s just me. Just the same, I do also believe in the adage, “it’s not the size that matters; it’s what he does with it that counts.” I think my little Locaru friend exemplifies that adage well, but I’m curious as to whether or not it holds true among the majority of people. What do you think? Don’t be shy (remember, we do write erotica, here)!

Click here for more information on Lust in Space.

Tags: penis size | Lust in Space | Lisa Lane | Locaru

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I am honored to be a guest at Jamaica Layne's blog, this weekend!  Join me, as I discuss my hot, erotic sci-fi romance, Lust in Space, and the use of aliens when exploring the issue of sexual identity!  You're not going to want to miss this one:

http://jamaicalayne.blogspot.com/2009/03/guest-blogger-lisa-lane.html

Hope to see you there!

Lisa

Tags: aliens | sex | Lust in Space | Jamaica Lane | Lisa Lane | sexual idenitity

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Read about it here and here!

From Phoebe Jordan's review:

"I've never seen "Star Trek" before though Lisa did mention that she came up with this book and the world that it is set in on that old television show. This is a novel that I recommend to everyone to give a try because if you don't you are totally missing out. Lisa Lane delivers a wonderfully intriguing, suspenseful and highly erotic romance novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting more even after the novel ends. Lisa if you are reading this I would really like it if you could write a sequel to Lust in Space because there is so much that I would really enjoy knowing more about in that world especially with Nora and Robert."

You talked me into it, Phoebe!

Tags: Lust in Space | review

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For me, half the fun of writing science fiction is creating new worlds and new kinds of people, and seeing just how rich and unique I can make them. I love the feeling that comes when that special level of depth and uniqueness develops, when a world paints itself across the page, and the characters take on lives of their own. When it comes to writing about aliens, I feel that it is important to make their worlds, beliefs, and histories meaningful and real. When it comes to writing about aliens and sex, I believe it is just as important to make the characters’ sexual experiences reflect something important or unique about their people. Those characters, in turn, reflect something about all of us.

I had a blast exploring the numerous groups encountered by the Pandora’s Hope crew, in my book Lust in Space. Each type of alien is very different from the next, and each affects the crew in a different way:

Esirians: Esirians, or “Unicorn People,” are a dying race. Spread across the galaxy in waning groups, the Esirians were forced to abandon their planet, after biological warfare left it uninhabitable. Identifiable by their tall stature, pale features, and horn-like structure on the forehead, Esirians are highly intelligent and exceptionally sensitive. They are passionate lovers, and the majority of them are bisexual.

Tantra: The Tantra are bodiless entities that live off sexual energy. Able to enter the minds of the sleeping, Tantra seduce their victims with hot, exciting dreams, and then feed off their life-force like psychic leeches. They have no regard for humanoid life. Tantric space is especially dangerous to Esirians.

Locaru: The Locaru are two-inch-tall, insect-like people, who group together to explore space, via living super antennae. They are extremely intelligent. Technology and music are religion to them; they believe that to explore both is to experience God. A good beat will induce in them an excited buzz, and they seem particularly animated when exposed to twentieth-century Earth disco. Locaru are selfless lovers, incapable of jealousy, and are delightfully creative, especially when paired off with individuals of larger races.

N’yebi: The last of the N’yebi live on a large, wandering ship. Their waning gene pool has riddled their youngest generations with sterility, and the crew is always looking for compatible races willing to donate their genes. The N’yebi are hungry sexual beings, its women willing to engage in threesomes, even foursomes, with the same man, in attempt to conceive and help save their dying race.

Gatgars and Nova: The Gatgars and the Nova are actually the same race, but they distinguish themselves by color; until the revolution, the dark Gatgars enslaved the pale Nova, and their people continue to fight, to this day. They are shape-shifters, capable of transforming into the likeness and characteristics of any humanoid they touch. They are a technologically advanced race, so advanced that they rely on hand-held computers in order to communicate, their natural speech capabilities nonexistent. They are asexual, reproducing spontaneously when they reach sexual maturity. When a handful of Gatgar stowaways take on human forms in order to survive in the simulated human atmosphere on Pandora’s Hope, they experience interaction, physical touch, and sex for the first time . . . and then decide they’re not willing to give them up.

For me, exploring the sexual nature of these different alien races was a chance to investigate the nature of sexuality. As a science fiction writer, I love to explore, play with literary values, and push my own boundaries. Writing Lust in Space helped me to do that more than any other piece I’ve written, and it is my hope that the experience is just as fun and enlightening for those who read it.

Tags: Nova | Gatgars | Locaru | trantric space | Tantra | Esirians | alien sex | Lust in Space

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I have an identical twin sister. Over twenty years ago, we did what many other identical twins do: we established our own language. We both spoke Ersa fluently for years, writing letters to one another using its foreign characters and developing our own clear sense of grammar and accent. It is always interesting to hear the difference between, for example, someone from New York attempting to speak Ersa, and someone from Texas trying to pronounce the same words. The accents always ring clear.

When writing sci-fi, one inevitably comes to the dilemma of developing and using foreign languages for their characters. A great language can make or break a story. The benefits to using a real language that is foreign to the rest of the world is simple: variation and consistency. In applying different rules to my variants, I can have my characters speaking a consistent language, not just uttering a bunch of randomly repeating sounds.

In Lust in Space, the N’yebi speak a variation of Ersa that I would be willing to bet my twin sister could understand. For the rest of you, I invite you to take the Ersa Challenge. The Ersa Challenge is a 2000-word essay translated completely to Ersa. I have been approached by self-proclaimed cryptographers, and no one has yet deciphered the essay back into English. Is it a code? Is it a language? Is there anyone out there who can solve the puzzle?  Pes yuv lesof yotejti?

I am also curious to know what do other sci-fi writers, those without twin languages, do about the problem of creating and using alien/otherworldly languages….

Tags: Lust in Space | the Ersa challence | twin languages | Ersa | alien languages

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I never used to take chances.  I always took the straight and narrow path, unwilling to risk any kind of loss.  When a few life-changing events hit me all at once, one of which I feared I would never overcome, suddenly I realized that life was too short and too precious for me not to explore more – as a person, as a professional, and as a writer.

My new release, Lust in Space, is all about taking chances.  I decided that, if I was going to write a story taking place entirely onboard an intergalactic space ship, I was going to push the sci-fi themes of boundary and reality as far as I could.  As this was also to be an erotic romance, I decided that I was going to push those boundaries out of this world, as well.  I found myself with an immense challenge before me, however: find a way to write shape-shifters, space-flu-induced orgies, and tiny, vibrating men in a tasteful manner. . . .

Lust in Space is among my most prized works.  While I would blush to know which friends and family members end up reading this one, I also present this second full-length Ravenous Romance release with the utmost of pride.  The story is kinky and experimental, but it is also provocative and thoughtful.  I loved the character progression, and I hope to have the opportunity to write more stories about the Pandora’s Hope crew’s adventures in uncharted space.

I hope it proves as fun to read as it did fun to write.  This one goes out to all of the other closet sci-fi enthusiasts, out there.  Together, may we boldly go where no kinky sci-fi geek has gone before. . . .

Tags: Lust in Space | sci-fi | science fiction | space | intergalactic space travel | space flu | aliens

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