We all love to talk about our Favorite Things, but it’s not always the latest and greatest that charms us. Sometimes it’s those foundational favorites, the works that shaped us, that we find ourselves returning to again and again. Here at Speculative Chic, we decided it was way past time to create a dedicated platform to shine a spotlight on these longtime gems. Welcome to Blast from the Past.
Blast from the Past is a new and sporadic column, and today we bring you guest author Erica Cameron, whose space opera thriller/romance, Pax Novis, came out on November 4th from Entangled Teen!
What shaped Erica into writing about cargo ships in war-torn star systems? I think the title below says it all….
A Love Letter to Star Trek: The Next Generation: How One Series Taught Me to Love Science Fiction, Space Exploration, and Beyond
If likes and dislikes can be inherited, I definitely got my love of speculative fiction from my father. Dad also taught me a deep appreciation for stories I can read or watch repeatedly. He introduced my sisters and me to his favorites early, and so I grew up visiting Bilbo in Bag End, Willow and the Nelwyns along the River Freen, and Buttercup in Florin. I also watched Batman defeat every villain who rose up against him, Indiana steal artifacts and evade Nazis, and Leeloo decide if humanity was worth saving.
And then there was Star Trek.
Although I was born in the mid-eighties, I’m really a child of the 90s, and one of the shows I remember spreading across almost my entire childhood is Star Trek: The Next Generation. Our house was equal opportunity as far as sci-fi consumption went — I watched the original Star Wars trilogy more times than I can count — and yet there was always something special about Trek for me. If someone had asked me which ship I wanted to visit, the Millennium Falcon or the Enterprise-D, there really wouldn’t have been much of a choice. I would’ve hopped on to the Enterprise at warp speed.
As a kid, what I loved about Star Trek was the sense of adventure. The crew was like family, and they traveled to ridiculous, wonderful, or terrifying places at impossible speeds. I adored Data, admired Picard and La Forge, wanted a protector like Worf, and kind of wanted to grow up to be Guinan. In my house, dinner time was Star Trek time, and for years my parents, my sisters, and I watched episodes together while we ate. It wasn’t until much later in life, though, that I really understood the history of the show, the depths of Trek’s awesomeness, or all the layers the show contained.
By now there’s been more than enough written about creator Gene Roddenberry’s intentions when he created and cast The Original Series. Sociopolitical commentary was written into the very bones of the original show, and that’s not a mission that went away in later series. I love how now, when I go back to watch episodes I remember well from childhood, I can always find something new to learn from it or appreciate in it.
My love of Star Trek is part of my love of all spec fic, but I definitely am always going to be especially attached to stories with purpose. The books, movies, and TV shows I remember best and talk about most often are the stories with a message that aims not only to show us the darkness inside human souls but how that can be defeated by anyone fighting to overcome those impulses.
Today, my list includes not only classic authors like Shelley, Bradbury, L’Engle, Tolkien, Heinlein, and more, but also authors like Julie E. Czerneda, Jacqueline Carey, Margaret Atwood, James S.A. Corey, and Seanan McGuire. Today, I get to consume beautiful shows like The Expanse while crafting my own forward-looking science fiction story. I’m pretty sure my interest in and appreciation for all of it began with the crew of one particular ship and all of their bold adventures.
After a lifelong obsession with books, Erica Cameron spent her college years getting credit for reading and learning how to make stories of her own. Erica graduated with a double major in psychology and creative writing from Florida State University. She’s worked as a dance instructor, research assistant, pointe shoe fitter, pizza delivery girl, editorial assistant at a yachting magazine, bookseller, tutoring coordinator, and English literature teacher at a residential rehabilitation center for teens. Now, she has written several series for young adults and is an advocate for asexuality and emotional abuse awareness. She currently lives in North Florida. Her next novel, Pax Novis, is out now.
Author Photo by Lani Woodland
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Your novel sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks for sharing!