Today Imogene Nix has stopped by to give us her take on love… in space! That's right a girl after my own heart. Give me a facsimile of Spock, a deserted space ship and ample opportunity any day. Yumm.

Nicola is running a contest to win he latest release Starline. Just share your own idea of a romantic space encounter to be entered. The contest will run until Sunday the 19th! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

10 Ways to be romantic in space

The concept of romance and space exploration isn't new, by any stretch of the imagination. As writing styles have changed, we have a greater freedom to connect romance and exploring the stars, and boy, is there room to have a whole heap of fun! Among some of the better-known romantic scenes used in science fiction, you have Captain Kirk and the bevy of beauties he always seemed to hook up with. For that matter, what about Chakotay and Seven of Nine – remember when he took her on dates on the holo-deck? (I didn't remember that romance until my husband bought me the dvd sets and I watched them through!)

I always through too, that River Tam and Mal Reynolds from Firefly would end up together, not that we ever got that ending *sigh* (though there were hints throughout the series.) However, we did get Simon Tam and Kaylee (they weren't quite so hinted at though!) so there was the payoff there, just not quite everything we may have hoped for as viewers. You know, even Anne McCaffrey touched on romance in her fantasy series Pern books. Remember when Sebell and Menolly finally sorted their romance out on the boat and she had to send two of her fire lizards away? Yeah, I know…just because it is science fiction and fantasy, it can still have serious romantic aspects. (From my point of view, that gets a huge *phew*)

However, back to my blog topic. I love the idea of having a list of ways to be romantic in space, because it allows us to explore the layers of romance and sensuality in a way we cannot possibly imagine here, on earth in our time. To be frank, the whole concept of space travel and exploration makes me feel hopeful, that we as humans and humanity can leave something behind, and surely that is compatible with romance. Right?

Now I have to say, some of these I have already explored in my current

works, or the pieces I am working on. Some of them have evolved and others are yet to be attempted.

So starting at number ten:

10 – Choose a famous wine from another galaxy while you ply the partner of your choice with the funny stories of how you came across it, lose the inhibitions and party for two! (Be wary of the headache in the morning though!)

9 – Recreate hologaphically the one place you and your partner would love to go. Create an exotic meal, complete with moonlight (or moons) and candles, soft music and the right atmosphere.

8 – Surprise you lover and make love in Zero G. (That has to raise all sorts of ideas )

7 – Spend a weekend on a deserted planet, with fresh fruits, wines and so on. (Sure, it has to beat the old picnic at the beach!)

6 – If you must do a beach, then find one far away from the usual white sands and sun. Somewhere by moonlight. (This could lead to skinny dipping though – so be wary of the critters in the water!)

4 – Send you lover a bouquet of exotic flowers from different planets. (Who needs red roses when you could have an exotic orchid from Alpha Centauri?)

3 – Chocolate is the food of love. Find a range of "foods of love" from other planets, just be careful to take it slowly, who knows what went into those foods and what exotic reactions you might experience? (Makes me shiver at the thought of it!)

2 – In medieval times, reciting poetry to your love was considered the absolute height of romance. So find erotic and or interstellar poetry to share with your love.

1 – Romantic dinner for two, orbiting the earth in a spaceship built for two – complete with viewscreens. (Now that could be seriously cool! But don't forget the wine!)

Yeah, I know. Shame we can't experience any of the things on my list. But don't forget, romance can be a touch, a whisper and even a kiss, whether you are here on earth or somewhere orbiting the Alpha Star Colony!

Above all, I hope your Valentine's Day is fun, light hearted and romance filled (even if the romance is between the pages of a book!)

Imogene Nix

www.imogenenix.com