Sci-fi Romance with Elsa Jade

I'm excited to introduce you to an author who is a friend of mine. Years ago, she graciously let me spend the night in her house while I attended an RWA event in Portland. 

Elsa Jade grew up reading SFF, buying the biggest books she could with her chore money. While she loved the action, adventure, and exciting worlds of classic SFF, most of those stories were missing…kissing! Now she reads and writes paranormal romance, science fiction romance, and fantasy romance that mix the best of all worlds. You can find all her books (including free ones!), social media links, and newsletter signup at http://ElsaJade.com.    

Paty: What is Sci-fi Romance?

Elsa: To me, Science Fiction Romance is when a Science Fiction novel and Romance novel are standing on a Star Trek transporter pad, minding their own business—when all of a sudden something amazing happens! The two are mixed together somehow! Romance gets all wild and weird, and stuffy ol’ SciFi gets hot’n’bothered. Turns out, they love each other very much and they make a new genre: Science Fiction Romance.

But much like any Star Trek episode featuring a transporter glitch, SFR can be…a little tricky. Some romance readers aren’t looking for the extra adventure and worldbuilding of a bigger universe, and some SF readers don’t want kissing books. So I feel like this particular subgenre sometimes struggles to reach a wider audience and hasn’t yet found everyone who would love it. But us SFR authors keep putting out books, like strange searching tentacles…

Paty: What drew you to writing this subgenre of romance?

Elsa:  I love SFR because it will happily swap DNA with anything cool and fun: Robots? Why not! Shapeshifers? Sure! Adventure? Always! Hard science and magical fantasy? Cuz we can, baby! I love the enthusiasm, the hopefulness, the whimsy, the faith that however different we might be (and the differences can be, um, extreme and extremely entertaining) when we lean into communication, trust, and understanding, we make the universe a better place.

Also, it’s super amusing to explain why that universe makes so many sexy aliens physically, biochemically, and emotionally compatible with Earther girls.

Paty: Which is more important to this type of book, the romance or the sci-fi element?

Elsa: I think both the SF and the R elements are equally important, but—and I’d happily debate this point—I feel the romance matters just a nano-bit more. Because no matter what else happens—multi-stage explosions, ships teetering on the edge of black hole oblivion, mysterious appendages—the true beating heart of the story is the deepening relationship between the main characters. Not that every book needs a romantic plot thread, of course, but in a romance novel, love comes first, last, and always.

Paty: What do you feel is the most important thing to know about sci-fi romance or a misconception about the subgenre?

Elsa: As I mentioned earlier, I think SFR can seem too strange to some readers, either too much or too little of what they want. And that’s okay! What I love about romance as a genre is there is literally a story for everyone’s desires. And I find that holds true for SFR as a subgenre: There is a SFR universe for every reader, with the “right” mix of science and smooching for you. Just ask a SFR reader and they will surely recommend a bingo card for you.

Paty: How did the plot idea for this book come to you? 

Elsa: The Intergalactic Dating Agency universe was created by a bunch of authors sitting down at their keyboards, thoughtfully considering their blank pages, and then going… Woo hooooooo! and writing a whole bunch of fast, fun stories full of spacey shenanigans and big love. As idea-generating machines go, keeping that kind of company is pretty awesome. My first book was a relatively straightforward “How do I introduce my Big Sky Intergalactic Dating Agency?” which involved a very confused Earther girl, but the newest trilogy coming this fall is more “What if the Love Boat was haunted…in space? And had more quantum entanglement?” It makes sense in my head, I swear!

Paty: Do you have a favorite character or series that you’ve written?

Elsa: When I was reviewing my Big Sky books in preparation for writing the latest trilogy, I actually lost some time re-reading MACH ONE, which is the first book in the Cyborg Cowboys of Carbon County mini-series (technically Book 9 of the Big Sky IDA). I quite adore the hero, Mach! He’s trying so, so hard to hold everything together in his big, strong, cyborg hands…and then loves along. Such fun. It takes him a little while to learn that he doesn’t have to do it all alone, that he is even stronger when he shares his troubles with the people who love him.

Paty: Who are some of the authors you read who write this subgenre of romance? 

Elsa: Of course I read my fellow IDA authors—and there are a lot of us now! This year will be our tenth season, which seems incredible to me. You can find the whole list at www.RomancingTheAlien.com. I also enjoy Anna Hackett, Grace Goodwin, Hattie Jacks, and Jessie Mihalik who all write wonderful, entertaining, sexy, and loving SFR.

Paty: Just for fun – Tell us what is your favorite thing to do besides writing and reading, because we know that’s a given.  

Elsa: I love spending time outside: gardening, walking and hiking, camping. It’s nice to get away from the keyboard occasionally, and it helps with thinking. But I confess, I sometimes dictate my stories while outside, so even when I’m away from my keyboard, I’m still writing! Can’t ever truly stop the words.

Thanks for letting me share a little bit of my story with you. If you want to escape into the Big Sky universe, you can get the first book ALPHA STAR for free at https://www.elsajade.com/book/alpha-star/ or save with the Original Trilogy +1 box set.