The Lady
is Blue: What Color are your Scales?
My first
science fiction romance novel The Lady is Blue is set on the distant planet of Eden in a town, which
mingles aspects of Yale University, USA, and Oxford University, UK. The story
was written some decades ago, while I worked at Yale.
The
heroine, Dr. Lucy Stannis, runs a lab in the Science Center in the main town of
the small colony. The Science Center is a recreation of the Kline Biology
Tower at Yale. Its 12th floor cafeteria is the site of several scenes,
including an attempt to kill the heroine. The real cafeteria was popular among
science faculty and students for lunch and informal discussions. No scaly
aliens have dined in the cafe to my knowledge, although I once met a famous
ballet dancer who had been smuggled in under the fake name of Mr. Brown because
he wanted to see real research laboratories.
 |
| Kline Biology Tower, Yale University |
When the aliens are released from quarantine, Lucy and Sa Kamizan often stroll
around the nearby park. The park and bridge over the river are transported from
Oxford University Parks.
 |
| Rainbow Bridge, Oxford University Parks |
The Lady
is Blue: What Color are your Scales?
Book 1 in
the series Atrapako on Eden
Dr.
Lucy Stannis leads a quiet life as the chief biologist in the small human
colony on Eden until an alien spaceship arrives.
Undaunted by the scaled bodies and vicious claws of the formidable Atrapako,
Lucy befriends the captain, Sa Kamizan Veedak. But, soon she grows suspicious
of the aliens’ intentions and believes they are hiding a secret.
Sa
Kamizan is desperate to find a haven for his exiled people and he cannot permit
the puny humans to scuttle his plans to settle on the fertile planet. He longs
to claim the beautiful human scientist as his mate, but he has sworn to conceal
the Atrapako weakness. Yet Lucy’s skills astound him at every new challenge,
and he is forced to rethink his devious scheme to seize control of the colony.
Conflicts
with the arrogant Atrapako threaten to destroy Eden’s peaceful society. Can
Lucy discover the aliens’ secret weakness in time to save the colony or must
she and Sa Kamizan separate forever?
What Reviewers say
about The Lady is Blue
“Really Captivating and Fun!”
“A sassy human female
and an arrogant, scaled alien spaceship Captain collide. What could possibly go
wrong? Or go right?”
“I loved the twists and turns of the
story.”
“An amazing, adventurous romance
between curious adversaries.”
Main
Characters
Humans
The main protagonist is Dr. Lucy Stannis, a scientist and secret Terran
agent. She is aided and abetted by Dr. Colin Murti, her physician; Roger
Fourno, her (soon to be ex-) lover; Dr. Trisha Duran and Dr. Jun Danzhu, her
friends and scientific colleagues, and her students, especially the beautiful
Sonia.
The elected Governors of the
independent colony on Eden are: Mossy Fairweather, Don Vargos and Bernal
Mathis.
Lucy is in contact with Admiral
Simon Sinclair on a Terran Spaceship.
Atrapako
The Atrapako Blue, Sa Kamizan Veedak, Captain of their spaceship is the
major player. He is supported by the old Blue judge, Sa
Radekis Volkin, and the Green scientists, Te
Suzzaine Sukla and Te Tamarkis Varenne.
He is opposed by the young Blue Sa Varasek and the
other Blues, including the Honorable Lady Kamilla.
The Atrapako have a rigid class system and
their scales are colored according to their class.
Blues are the leaders. They
scheme for power and expect instant obedience from the other classes.
Greens are the technologists,
scientists, and mechanics.
Reds are strong and
massive. They are soldiers and laborers and rarely speak. They have no names as
far as the other classes are concerned.
Yellows are the children and
anyone not included in the other three classes. For instance, an artist would
be a Yellow since art is an unvalued talent, unnecessary for survival on
Vkani.
Short Conversation between the Main Characters:
“Why
do you talk to me anyway?” Lucy said.
He
laughed and seemed to relax again. “Your questions are very direct, Dr.
Stannis. I like your fearlessness. The others are nervous or afraid of me.”
“I’m
not surprised they are nervous,” she retorted. “You have vicious teeth and
sharp claws.”
He
curled one set of claws in front of her face and ran them lightly down her arm.
It tickled and Lucy grinned. “Oh, you are so mild mannered you wouldn’t dare to
lay a hand on me!”
Sa
Kamizan gripped her wrist firmly. “Call your committee and tell them they need
another token female scientist. Then, you can see me at the meetings.”
“I
may be a disruptive influence.” Lucy grimaced, she hated restraints. Suddenly,
she twisted her wrist against his thumb in a maneuver intended to free her arm.
It was a mistake. Her arm slipped free, but she felt claws scrape her skin as
Sa Kamizan quickly pulled his hand away.
She
examined her arm. Blood was welling from two shallow punctures. Most humans would blame Sa Kamizan if the incident were known. She
glanced up. He looked wary, waiting for her response with crest lowered. “I
hope your nails are clean,” she remarked nonchalantly, while searching through
her pockets with the uninjured hand.
He
stared at his hand. Then, he offered her a wad of tissues from a desk drawer.
“Let me help you.” He wiped off the blood.
“You should be more cautious in future when playing with Atrapako,” he
said softly.
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