When people find out I’m an author,
they ask what kind of stories I create.
When I say Sci Fi Romance, I receive a
certain look. The listener blinks, then tips their head to one side
and views me with narrowed eyes, like an art patron viewing a modern
art piece and trying to figure out what the heck it’s supposed to
mean.
They’re seeing a casual-classically
dressed woman of a certain age with the lines of a happy outdoor life
on her face and minimal jewelry, no tattoos, living in North Idaho
with a DH, golden retriever, and SUV … and they’re struggling for
context.
I used to attempt to explain the
wonders of SFR, the incredible depth and breadth of the genre, and
the many uber-talented writers. But anymore, I usually just stick
with the short answer: Cowboys!
My SFR began with the ‘horse operas’
I watched as a young child, so called because the movie cowboys and
gals would break into song as they rode along on their horses. In the
60’s and into the early 70’s, westerns ruled American TV.
My dad was a cowboy, mom was a cowgirl,
and so were their parents. My great-grand-parents were settlers in
Montana who built themselves a huge ranch and a town around it. Since
these were my heroes and heroines, it seemed only natural to me that
the history of the US West comprised so many of the popular TV shows.
Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, The Lone
Ranger, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Big Valley, Death Valley
Days, Rin Tin Tin, The Rifleman, The Real McCoys … and the list
went on. And yes, now we realize the cultural stereotypes rampant in
historical productions of those days, but it was fabulous stuff for a
kid to dream on.
The American West is no longer the
wide-open frontier it was then, and we as Americans have realized the
native cultures were treated extremely badly by many settlers (happy
to say Gr-Grandad & Gr-mom were not among them) and by the early
military. Such is the history of human civilization, sadly. But
modern day North Americans now work together to right wrongs and
celebrate native cultures, so although we now view our past through a
clearer perspective, we can still enjoy the ‘High, Wide and
Handsome’ possibilities of the frontier days.
And now we have a new frontier to dream
in … space. My Cade-iverse is as wide and deep as my imagination,
peopled by beings as wild as the cowboys, cowgirls and native tribes
of my family’s past … okay, wilder—my beings have extra powers.
But they all spring from the Old West.
Tyger and Dragolin shifters? Coyote,
Raven and Fox are all Native American tales.
Dealing with space critters? Mountain
lions + wild mustangs = catamount ponies.
Scary humanoid aliens such as Gorglons
and Ingoes? Check out Pacific NorthWest Native American story-telling
masks, brrr!
The LodeStar Corporation? Hudson Bay
Fur Traders, the big cattle companies, the railroads
Planetary exploration with the TerraCon
Expedition ? Lewis & Clark & Sacajawea
The InterGalactic Space Forces? The US
Cavalry
Cyborgs? … okay, that one I can’t
correlate. Cyborgs are just plain fun, so look for them in my next
SFR!
Thanks for riding along with me. Join
me in the Cade-iverse for some rollicking space opera … and you
just may recognize a favorite historical character or two.
Start with LodeStar Series #1, STARK
PLEASURE; the Space Magnate’s Mistress. FREE on all sales
outlets!
Kiri
te Nawa will do anything to escape the perilous streets of New
Seattle, Earth II and find the treasure for which she searches the
galaxy, even become the mistress of space magnate Logan Stark. But is
he her savior, or simply the man who wants to own her?
Just
when she is ready to trust her heart to this powerful, magnetic man,
she's kidnapped and thrown into her worst nightmare. Will he search
for her, or believe she's betrayed him with an old lover?
Set
in the futuristic galaxy of The Orion Series.
I’ll see you there!
Cathryn Cade
Best-selling author of sci
fi romance
RT
4.5 Stars and Night Owl Reviews TOP PICK
… it’s
hot in space, red hot!
