Introducing Tai-Chi in my next series - by Vijaya Schartz

  As I’m writing the last book of the Blue Phantom series, set in the Azura Universe (Angel Revenge – October 2024) I wonder about the theme of my next science fiction series. There will be a little fantasy, of course, (Magic is only science we do not yet understand). A strong heroine is a must and I already have her. As for my next hero, I’m thinking of making him a Tai-Chi man.

I have been practicing Tai-Chi daily for over a decade, and teaching it for years, and for some reason I never used it for a character in a book. So, for the start of my next series, one of the protagonists will be a Tai-Chi practitioner.

In a violent universe often at war and fighting back evil forces, the art of Tai-Chi, a soft and graceful martial discipline might offer a different perspective. Tai-Chi works with energy gathered from all around us.

Long ago, in imperial China, this secret Marcial Art was practiced by the feudal Chen and Yang families, hence the two main different styles. Chen is more aggressive, and Yang more flowing, but both are deadly.

Intrigued by this secret technique, the emperor summoned the heads of the Chen and Yang families and ordered them to teach his guard the secret art of Tai-Chi. Since they could not refuse the emperor, the two clans taught Tai-Chi not as a Martial Art, but rather as a dance or an exercise for health purposes. So, the fighting applications of each movement were lost in the official Tai-Chi spread through imperial China.

But through the centuries, the Chen and Yang families kept the secret fighting techniques for themselves. Today, with all the dissemination of information, many of these secrets have resurfaced, and although most Chinese masters are reluctant to teach these techniques to Westerners, a few of their students have come forward to teach in the West.

I was lucky to find a teacher who knew about these fighting applications, and as a practitioner of many other martial arts over the years, (Aikido black belt and instructor, Karate, Judo, sword, etc.) I jumped at the opportunity to learn this technique.

Tai-Chi is for everyone, young or old. It has been called stillness in motion. The health benefits have been studied at Harvard Medical School and definitively proven. It’s a long list. Find a Tai-Chi school near you. There are videos on U-Tube. Or watch movies like “Man of Tai-Chi” on Plex with Keanu Reeves as a villain, or “Shang Chi and the legend of the Ten Rings” with Simu Liu.

SHANG CHI and the legend of the Ten Rings

Through my next series, it will be my privilege to open a window on this ancient Martial Art, and maybe inspire some Westerners to try it. The health benefits alone are worth it.

Tai Chi in the park on Tai Chi Day, a few years ago.

In the meantime, you can read about my fighting angels, as they confront evil and demons bent on subjugating the universe. Be prepared for epic space battles.

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Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

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Getting inspiration from ancient cultures - The way of the Samurai

Not so long ago, I practiced Aikido, a Japanese martial art. I lived in Hawaii at the time, a place of mixed cultures, where part of the population is of Japanese descent. I had a Japanese Sensei, who taught his pupils the fascinating traditions of ancient Japan. I even learned the language and visited the country with its feudal castles and many temples.

  

The most mysterious part of Samurai culture, at least for Westerners, is that deep sense of honor that pervades every thought and action. The Samurai were the equivalent of the medieval knights of ancient Europe… on steroid. Their dedication to the clan was complete. Without a second thought, they would sacrifice their life to save their master’s honor or the honor of the clan. 

 

 Myamoto Musashi was the most famous Samurai of ancient Japan. He was a Ronin, a masterless Samurai, and had the reputation of being ruthless. Himeji castle illustrates the architecture of the period. It was built to withstand battles and invasions... and it did survive the test of time. 

The movie THE LAST SAMURAI illustrates that innate sense of honor in a way most westerners can understand. But Martial arts are not reserved for men. Many young women, even in ancient times, took the sword and adopted the way of the Samurai... until they chose to marry and have children.

As I am finishing the story of AKIRA’S CHOICE, a November release from Books We Love, I enjoyed revisiting the heroic times of the Samurai. Although it's a science fiction romance, my heroine is of Japanese descent, a Samurai by tradition, and a bounty hunter by necessity. More precisely, she is a Ronin, a masterless Samurai. The story is set on the Byzantium space station, part of the Byzantium series but a standalone story, although a few characters do appear in several books. Oh, and Akira has a cheetah retriever as a companion.

When bounty hunter Akira Karyudo accepted her assignment, something didn't add up. Why would the Galactic Trade Alliance want a kidnapped orphan dead or alive?

She will get to the truth once she finds the boy, and the no good SOB who snatched him from a psychiatric hospital. With her cheetah, Freckles, a genetically enhanced feline retriever, Akira sets out to flush them out of the bowels of the Byzantium space station. But when she finds her fugitives, the kidnapper is not what she expects.

Kazmo, a decorated Resistance fighter, stole his nephew from the authorities, who performed painful experiments on the boy. Stuck on Byzantium, he protects the child, but how can he shield him from the horribly dangerous conditions in the lawless sublevels of the space station?

Akira faces the worst moral dilemma of her career. Law or justice, duty or love. She can't have it both ways.

"A captivating story with interesting, appealing characters. Being a cat lover, I found the relationship, with its psychic element, between Freckles and Shane absolutely captivating. As always, Ms. Schartz’s solid plot and crisply-written prose incorporates a good blend of action and intrigue... This story can easily stand alone... but I believe you’ll enjoy this exciting Sci-Fi series much more if you start reading it from the beginning... a must read for all fans of Sci-Fi romance. Go pick them up and settle into your favorite armchair for some entertaining reading. 4.5 stars - Manic Readers

Vijaya Schartz, author
 Strong heroines, brave heroes, romance with a kick
 http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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Living on a futuristic space station by Vijaya Schartz

Imagine debarking from a spaceship into a vast array of wide corridors like an airport terminal. Except that the entryway seals are hermetic, and the side windows show black space, with spaceships anchored to the giant circular wheel encircling the space station, like the rings of a planet. The station floats in space, orbiting a small planet. Or it could be in the wide orbit of a faraway sun. The station, built and expanded over centuries, would be made of many different parts, some older, others brand new. Size is irrelevant in space. It can be as big as needed.

This is how I imagine Byzantium-5, the space station featured in the Azura Chronicles

First, you would notice the lighter gravity. You might even get sick. If you spent much time in space, it would be familiar, but if you came from a heavy world like Earth, the change would be noticeable. You would probably grow taller over time, as gravity doesn't pull you down as much, but your bones might grow lighter and weaker.

Hundreds of miles of corridors in a wide circle around the core. Fortunately, there are also levitating cars and carts to carry the luggage.

Hundreds of thousands could live there. Even millions. They would have room for growing food without dirt in hydroponic tubs, they would manufacture artificial meat in labs, without raising animals, and they would make their own water and their own oxygen. The complex would function like a large city, not bound by the planetary cycles of day and night... although they may want to create a semblance of circadian rhythm for the comfort of their visitors and inhabitants.

Parks and gardens would provide oxygen and relaxation

The station could be a port for trading goods, with commercial docks and cranes to load and unload large containers from ships to dock and vice-versa. It could also be a pleasure destination. I imagine a Vegas type of atmosphere, with entertainment, gambling dens, spas, shopping, restaurants, and all the luxuries we imagine in the future, like cyber-pleasures... the legal and the illegal kinds. I personally like the idea of sex robots.

Here the scale is misleading. The craft would be tiny as it approaches the behemoth of a station

By the time we get to that level of sophistication, we may have made contact with other space-faring races, and that might bring diversity (and possibly discrimination) into our advanced society.

Such a place would need tight security. Space is not the safest place. There would be corruption, gangs, drugs, terrorism, and individuals striving for control. Delinquents would be detained in jail-like areas. There might even be a prison, but who needs metal bars when a clear titanium pane can do the trick?

Glass is not resistant enough and too breakable for these windows. I imagine they are made of transparent metal

At the core of the structure, would be a reactor to generate the energy needed to keep that city in space running smoothly. As we know, reactors can become unstable. More fodder for future stories.

But what would happen to those forgotten by the system? Orphans growing on the fringe of the affluent society, escapees, and stowaways might be reduced to hide in disaffected parts of the station and form their own society. They might steal in order to survive. So far from central power (and from the overseeing authority), such a community might recourse to shortcuts, unethical practices, and oppression of the underprivileged.

Although this is a futuristic design for a train station, I imagine the style would fit a space station as well

As you see, the world of tomorrow may not be so different from ours, because no matter how many advances we make in science, health, and space exploration, human nature doesn't change that much.

It's all about survival, and the balance of good and evil. And that controversy will not soon be resolved, so there is plenty of fodder for upcoming science fiction novels.

In the meantime, you can learn more about life on a space station by reading the Azura Chronicles. Book 1, ANGEL MINE is already out and Fianna, my heroine, is a bounty hunter. But she was born on the Byzantium-5 space station, orphaned as a teenager, then survived with the protection of a violent gang, the Dragon Squad.

What in the frozen hells of Laxxar prompted Fianna to pursue her quarry to this forbidden blue planet? Well, she needs the credits... badly. But as if crashing in the jungle wasn't bad enough, none of her high-tech weapons work. She'll have to go native, after the most wanted felon in five galaxies. It's not just her job. It's personal.

Acielon has never seen an outworlder like this fascinating female, strangely beautiful, and fierce, like the feline predator loping at her side. He always dreamed of exploring the universe, despite the legends... and the interdiction. Is it truly a hellish place of violence, lies and suffering? If it spawned this intriguing creature, it must also be a place of wonders, adventure and excitement.

Fianna's instincts tell her someone is watching. Sheba, her telepathic feline partner, doesn't seem worried... yet, something on Azura isn't quite right.

HAPPY READING

Vijaya Schartz, author
http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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