One of the problems with writing Erotic Science Fiction is the fact that many potential readers assume the focus is on the erotic elements rather than the underlying science fiction and general plot. To try and overcome this perception, I’m sharing some excerpts from my series, A New Past to share some of the “non-erotic” elements. This first scene is from Book One, Chapter 14. It deals with Paul’s public debut on the national stage which goes on the create some problems for him and Jeryl in the future.
Jeryl squeezed my hand as the show cut too commercial. We were at Jim’s house in Bloomington. Jyl and her parents were there along with Mom, Jim and Kelly. Jim and Lisa had also joined us for the Sunday evening airing of “60 minutes”. They had finished filming it almost six weeks ago. The buzz in town was just starting to die down. I knew it would reach a different level of drama this week.
The ticking of the stopwatch brought my attention back to the TV.
Dan Rather’s voice greeted us. “Some people claim that America’s youth are not being prepared by our education system to be ready to lead our country into the future. With continued criticism of the Department of Education and the quality of education in America, we decided to look at an example in rural America that would challenge those critics. Here is Morley Safer with an interesting glimpse into our next generation.”
The scene cut to a sweeping panorama of our fields covered with snow before pulling back to show my shop in the foreground. Morley began his voice over. “The heartland of America, where Friday night football matters as much as the price of corn or soybeans; where families have struggled to make a better life for their children for generations; where new ideas are being born as easily as crops rising in the spring. This is a new generation of innovation, and it’s coming from a garage on a humble farm that most of us would drive past without giving a second look.”
The camera cut to my office.
“This is the office of a modest inventor. He has been at it for two and one-half years and has filed or been granted forty-two patents as of this filming. He is seventeen years old. His name is Paul Taylor, and he wants nothing less than to change the world.”
I groaned and Jeryl and Mom both shushed me.
Morley went on with background on my car and then included some of my footage from the first car show we did. Then it cut to the interview footage.
“And that show led to a deal with Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors?” Morley asked.
“That’s right. We now have agreements with most auto manufacturers in the U.S., Europe and Japan.”
“And you did this just after you turned sixteen years old?”
I smiled at the camera. “My stepsister actually had to take the car to get its certificate of road worthiness, since it was ready a week before my birthday.”
The camera tightened on me.
“Why? Why put so much effort into this idea of a better, safer car?”
“In 1979, in the U.S. alone, over fifty-one thousand people died in auto accidents. Isn’t that reason enough? I had ideas to apply the new microprocessors being built by Motorola and Intel to make cars safer. If I could prevent even a portion of those fifty-one thousand deaths, didn’t I have an obligation to? I know how my mother would answer that question.”
“But many of your inventions are not just about safety items. Your car gets pretty impressive gas mileage as well.”
“It does. I thought Americans would appreciate that as well. The price of gas doubled on average between 1979 and 1980. It’s only going higher.”
“Why?”
“Globally, our appetite for energy doubles every seven years. If demand for internal combustion engines keeps pace with that, we’ll see four dollar a gallon gas before the end of the century.”
“And you want to do something about that?”
“I do. I want to give people a way to make their gallon, or dollar, go further and preferably reduce our dependence on oil for our energy needs.”
“Why single out oil?”
“Because there are better things for it to be used for and it’s a finite resource. As far as I know, God isn’t pumping any more into the earth for us to go out and discover.”
The interview continued, switching between topics and scenes as Morley built a story about my accomplishments as well as why I thought they were important.
“I understand that you attribute your accomplishments to ‘hard work and thinking logically’. Would that be your message to your peers watching this?”
I grinned at the camera. “No, that sounds too dispassionate. It’s true, but hardly motivating.”
“What would you tell them?”
“Think for yourself. Take logical risks. Learn from your mistakes and setbacks, and don’t be afraid of failing.”
The interview ended with my words sub-titled on the screen and a still shot of me looking into the camera. Morley’s voice-over stated: “Since filming this interview, PT Innovations has launched a new partnership with Nike selling the Diamond Skin brand of sportswear Paul Taylor and his girlfriend Jeryl Salaway created last fall. Initial estimates are that it will be worth even more than his automotive patents.”
The ticking stopwatch announced the cut to commercial and I heard a collective release of breath by those around me. Suddenly my back was being pummeled by congratulatory slaps and Jeryl was hugging me. Even Janet was smiling, I noticed.
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt. Read more to see how Paul created his fabulous car and more by checking out Book One of A New Past available on Amazon for Kindle.
Book One is also available via Smashwords and other channels for 33% off until August 28th.
Follow me on Amazon, GoodReads, or Facebook to get information about upcoming book releases.
CharlieFoxtrotWriter 
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