When she was a child, San Diegan S.G. Blaise dreamed of far-away lands and fantastical realms.
Nowadays, she gets to create strange lands, magical galaxies and rebellious heroes. Blaise has become a successful, award-winning sci-fi/fantasy author who sometimes gets her inspiration from the beaches of her hometown San Diego.
Blaise was one of the main attractions of the 36th WonderCon pop culture conference held in Anaheim last weekend.
It was her second appearance at the event, and she took center stage with one of the most elaborate displays in the conference’s exhibit hall.
The display featured a recreation of a crashed spaceship, videos touting her books and a live cosplay performance reenacting a scene from her “The Last Lumenian” series.
The series is a sci-fi fantasy and action adventure about a princess who joins a rebellion to save oppressed refugees and discovers she has magical powers. Romance complicates her life when she meets a powerful general and a handsome rebel pilot.
The series has earned positive reviews. Four books have already been published, and a fifth one is coming out in December.
Considering how she grew up, telling tales of rebellion and fantasy is personal for Blaise.
She was raised in Hungary under oppression by the old Soviet Union. Her father would smuggle in Hollywood movies and even translate and use his own voice to dub the movies.
“We had movie night every Sunday,” she said.
From there, she developed a love for sci-fi and fantasy films. She recalled wanting to be a writer at a young age after she read a story she wrote in class and got a positive reaction. Her life experiences led her to write “The Last Lumenian.”
“I cannot separate my own background and experiences from being an author,” she said. “When the story came to me, it was natural that she’s going to be a rebel, she’s going to always fight oppression, fight for the freedom of innocents and protect the innocents who can’t protect themselves.”
Later, after her father passed away, she was able to flee Europe and make it to America, first in Boston and then eventually settling with her husband in San Diego, near Rancho Bernardo.
San Diego provides plenty of inspiration for Blaise.
“If I’m stuck, which I tend to be not a lot, I love going to the ocean, to La Jolla, to drive around and do a road trip,” she said. “There’s always something more to discover in San Diego. I still have more to discover.”
Blaise is looking forward to the publication of the fifth book in the “Lumenian” series later this year.
And she’s planning on a new nine-book series and another series featuring seven books.
But that’s to come later. Last weekend, she spent her time at WonderCon autographing books and meeting with her fans.
She is hoping to bring her elaborate spaceship display to Comic-Con in San Diego this summer.
“It’s not just about promotion,” said Blaise. “It’s about sharing the love of sci-fi and fantasy with my readers. It’s the most amazing feeling to see people’s eyes go wide, the biggest smile on their face.”