Marion Zimmer Bradley

It's funny how things cycle around one's life.  Marion Zimmer Bradley is very well known for her Fantasy novels, especially MISTS OF AVALON, which was made into a movie.  But, I'd never read her.

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I was stumbling around the Internet, searching for published novels similar to my unpublished novels so that I could learn the ropes.  I found Susan Grant first.  Love THE STAR KING.  Through her, I found Linnea Sinclair.  Went ga-ga for GAMES OF COMMAND.  Well, Linnea was mentored, at least in part as far as I know, by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, who mentors tons of aspiring authors through blogging, twittering, and so on.  From what I read, Jacqueline was mentored, at least in part and as far as I know, but Marion Zimmer Bradley.  So, of course, I had to go read something by MZB too.  Jacqueline made a recommendation for one of MZB's Science Fiction novels, but all I could find in the whole state of Alaska at that time was ENDLESS UNIVERSE.  Read it, loved it, omigoodness, there were even babies! (former nanny now mommy of four here)  While it doesn't fall under the RWA's definition of a Romance novel, it is a love story, in my opinion, and the Hero does go through several romantic interests, saddened by the simple nature of his life aboard a starship which is always on the move.

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Marion Zimmer Bradley's bibliography is massive and I've only had a taste so far.  Pop over to her official website to learn more.

http://mzbworks.home.att.net/

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Here's the wikipedia entry on her most famous novel-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mists_of_Avalon

I own it now, but haven't found the time to read it.  My ARC stack at Enduring Romance is a mile high and they take priority.

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Here's my review of ENDLESS UNIVERSE by Marion Zimmer Bradley-

http://enduringromance.blogspot.com/2008/01/endless-universe-by-marion-zimmer.html

Definitions

For practical reasons, I'm calling everything you'll find here either Science Fiction Romance or Romantic SF.  This is to stay in synch with Heather, my good blog buddy over at The Galaxy Express.   http://www.thegalaxyexpress.net/
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For a really good run-down of different labels you'll find in this subgenre, pop over to Linnea Sinclair's website-   http://linneasinclair.com/links.html
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On this blog I will call it Science Fiction Romance if there is a Happily Ever After and the love story is central.  This follows the requirements of the Romance genre.   http://www.rwanational.org/cs/the_romance_genre
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I will call it Romantic SF if there is a love story, but it might not be central and there might not be a Happily Ever after.

This Blog is Under Construction!

By a very busy blogging Mommy.  Hopefully, things will be up and pretty by December 6th.

Am I Missing Something?

It's possible there's an awesome SFR novel out there you think ought to be included in The Best of The Best.
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It may be that it's just not my cup of tea.
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Or, I might have it in my ARC stack and haven't read it yet.
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Or, I might not know about it.  Please tell me about it in the comments! 
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If you're an author or author associate and want to send an ARC, first read this-
http://bestofsciencefictionromance.blogspot.com/2009/11/why-these-are-best.html
If you think I'll like it, then email me at

kimberannebulaATyahooDOTcom

Why These are the Best

'Cause I said so, that's why!  Oh, sorry, that's a mommy thing.
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The best way to explain why I love these stories the best is to have you read the following article by Jacqueline Lichtenberg-
http://www.simegen.com/jl/intimateadventure.html
It's all about the Intimate Adventure, baby.  Gotta have it.

The Very Best of the Absolute Best

'Nobody Does It Better' by Carly Simon



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO8FZJ_UIn4

The Purpose of this Blog

The purpose of this blog is to showcase the best of Science Fiction Romance in all its degrees and incarnations.  This way, when someone asks me, I can send them here.  That's the first purpose anyway.
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The second reason is if anyone comes surfing through Enduring Romance, they can pop over here and see exactly what kind of stories I would love to see more of.