Showing posts with label Cathryn Cade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cathryn Cade. Show all posts

Saturday, August 17, 2024

Paranormal Romance with Cathryn Cade


The first time I met our guest this month was years ago when I attended an RWA meeting. I wasn't familiar with Portland, OR and she offered to drive me to the change of address for the meeting. She was so kind, funny, and down-to-earth that I am humbled to call her a friend. 

Cathryn Cade writes steamy romance in genres from contemporary paranormal set in Hawaii, contemporary MC romance, and Sci Fi space opera as CJ Cade. She has over 40 works independently published, with more to come.

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Paty:  Did you intentionally write a paranormal or did it come from the lore of the islands? 

Cathryn: The whole series actually began with a visit to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, on top of Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. In the park headquarters were a series of gorgeous murals depicting Pele, goddess of the volcanoes as a beautiful woman, being honored by exceptionally handsome Hawaiian men in traditional dress. I developed a serious crush on the gentleman in one of the paintings ... And began to imagine a suitable romance for him. He became David Ho'omalu, the hero of WALKING IN FIRE; Book 1 of Hawaiian Heroes.
NOTE: The park headquarters are sadly closed until 2026 to repair damage from several small earthquakes associated with the latest eruptions, but should reopen with fabulous new exhibits.
 
Paty: OUr first trip to Hawaii we went to a show and they had Pele in the show. It was thrilling and fascinating as they depicted the history. How did you come up with the Hawaiian heroes in this series?

Cathryn: Pele's legend is that she used her fire to create the Hawaiian island chain. She now rests under the islands, but still protects them. My idea was that she sent 'heroes' with special powers to do so, the Ho'omalu family. In Hawaiian language, ho'omalu means protector. David's powers come directly from the volcanoes, his older brother Daniel's from the oceans, and from the sea god Kanaloa. Their cousin Lalei Kai-Ho’omalu, a society girl from Honolulu, learns to her shock that she can control the very wind and rain of the Big Island, and cousin Bella Moran, newly arrived from the mainland, discovers that the very plants and trees of the Big Island want to come to her aid.

Paty: The heroes are definitely hunks! Each book in this series is sizzling hot. What made you decide to link the heroes to Pele? 

Cathryn: Pele is depicted in Hawaiian legends as a passionate goddess who longed for a love of her own and sought handsome Hawaiian warriors of old. In the legends, the warriors had to trick her to find a way to be with their true earthly loves. Not to say too much, but this 'may' be a problem for our hunky David ...

Paty:  Each book is different, yet your love interests are mostly tourists. Did that make it easier or harder to ignite the spark between hero and heroine? 

Cathryn:  For me, it was only natural, as I am a serial tourist! My husband and I spend several weeks on the Kona coast of the Big Island every winter. As a tourist, I can easily imagine wanting to find a mate among the beautiful, gracious Hawaiian people, and stay forever, be a true part of the wonderful culture and ambience. I can also imagine a native being reluctant to fall in love with a haole tourist, but I've always enjoyed a spark of antagonism to begin with, heh heh.
 
Paty:  Having finally experienced Hawaii on several islands, I enjoy these books even more. As I read them, I can feel the islands. How did you make the experience so real? 

Cathryn: Thank you! The moment I disembark from the plane in Kona, I take a deep breath of the warm, humid air and just soak in all the scents and sounds of the islands and I feel myself begin to relax. Even just visualizing my favorite places on the island soothes me. So I try to truly immerse my readers in the experience. To me, a big part of the charm of reading books set in other places is feeling as if we've been transported there. It's a gift the author gives us, and a very important one. Otherwise, why not just have every book set in the same place?

Paty: I agree! I love it when I feel like I'm experiencing a new place through a book. What romantic tropes did you use in these books? 

Cathryn: Oooh, lets see, enemies-to-lovers, grumpy-sunshine, unexpected pregnancy, fated mates, lost princess, beauty and the beast, alpha hero, magical hero/heroine, super hero/heroine, last chance epiphany to name a few.
 
Paty: Wow! you captured almost all of the tropes! ;) Just for fun – Tell us what is your favorite activity besides writing and reading, because we know that’s a given. 

Cathryn: I'm going to have to say getting more acquainted with our new home here in central Washington state. We built a house, near the grandkids and other wildlife, with a quilt room for me—first one ever​. Meeting new friends and close enough to the old to visit. Not too far from the west coast to explore and fish. Life is good!

Paty: Wildlife and grandkids you can't get better than that! And a room just to quilt in! I quilt in my bedroom. That would be nice to have. Thank you for being a guest. If you want to find out more about Cathryn you can go to her website or Amazon author page: 

These Hawaiian heroes are out to save their island… but can their hearts survive unscarred?

For centuries, the Ho'omalu have protected the Big Island for their goddess Pele, while she sleeps beneath her volcanoes. But the battles they now face are the deadliest yet, as a California crime family attempts to move their illicit drug empire to Hawaii. Which will prevail, the paranormal powers of Pele's guardian warriors... or pure evil?

Walking in Fire
Hawaiian Heroes, Book #1 

Passion blooms on a Hawaiian beach… but danger lurks, hot and deadly.
When a young food blogger visits paradise, she falls for a big, handsome Hawaiian… but with glamorous women at his beck and call, she doesn't expect him to notice a freckle-face blonde like her. Until danger throws them together, and passion flows like molten lava on the flanks of Pele's volcano.

Rolling in the Deep
Hawaiian Heroes, Book #2 

Desire as dark as the deep Hawaiian seas… danger poised to strike.
On Hawaii for her best friend's wedding, a young tourist falls for the groom's brother. But the big, tough, tattooed Hawaiian has secrets too dark to share… until passion explodes between them. Caught in desire's net, can he keep her safe and rid his island of evil drug runners… or will he have to choose?


Blooming in the Wild
Hawaiian Heroes, Book #3 

Tropical romance blooms deep in the Hawaiian jungle… but deadly peril is close behind.
A young sporting goods exec leads a team of models and photogs into the remote Hawaiian jungle, for a photo shoot against the backdrop of tropical blooms, along with a cocky, handsome, adventure TV star. But someone wants her plan to wither on the vine. They may even want everyone dead. Good thing she has a hero close at hand… and a rain forest that knows what she needs, even before she does.

Burning Up the Rain
Hawaiian Heroes, Book #4 

Their hook-up is hot enough to set the rain on fire… but danger looms behind the storm.
When a Hawaiian beauty discovers she can ignite storms over the Big Island, she resolves to use her new powers to drive away crooked developers. But to evade the arranged marriage her mother is brokering, she'll need human help. A semi-public hookup with a handsome California tourist should cover it... until they uncover a sizzling passion that neither can deny. And what will happen when he learns she's no ordinary society girl?

Don't miss this sexy, thrilling Hawaiian package--get your copy of HAWAIIAN HEROES Box Set today! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZWHCKV


Saturday, October 13, 2018

Out of This World Romance with CJ Cade


Out of This World Romance – What’s the Appeal?

Hello to all you readers who love to romance the genres. When Sarah and Judith asked me to post, I got to thinking… just what is the appeal of Out of This World (Sci Fi) Romance?

Sci Fi has been around for a very long time, since tech came far enough to create robots and flying machines. Being human, our imaginations were not far behind.

What would happen if… those robots could think for themselves? Those flying machines could take us out into space? Where we would of course meet other fascinating and dangerous sentient beings… and there our adventures would begin.

According to Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction ,‘E. E. "Doc" Smith's Skylark of Space, written in collaboration with Lee Hawkins Garby, appeared in Amazing Stories in 1928. It is often called the first great space opera.’ Then came Buck Rogers, etc. Plenty of fictional fun to be had.

I read sci fi as a kid—in the form of comic books. Those were a nickel a piece at the local store, and oh, wow! Superman and all his enemies and allies introduced us kids of the ‘60’s to a whole new universe.

Then came the televised Star Trek, followed years later by the movie Star Wars…and from there the genre really took off, so to speak.

I’ll tell you a secret about sci fi and space opera…they’re really just ‘out-of-this-world’ westerns. With robots instead of colorful sidekicks, space ships instead of horses, and laser weapons instead of six-shooters. And heroines who get to wear fitted space suits instead of those silly bustles.

And sci fi romance…even more fun! The hero always gets the girl…and vice versa.

Sometimes even on the page.

Join me in a space opera romp, won’t you? My books are all available now FREE in Kindle Unlimited.

Best,
Cathryn Cade writing as CJ CADE


Bio: CJ Cade is a native of Montana, so look for the flavor of the cowboy culture in her Sci Fi Romance/Space Opera. Her alpha heroes & feisty heroines may pilot space ships instead of horses, but they find plenty of wild adventure & sexy romance, so deep space never stays cold for long!

CJ also writes Contemporary & Contemporary Paranormal romance as USAT Best-Seller Cathryn Cade.



Saturday, May 7, 2016

Cathryn Cade: Re-Inventing Myself as a Writer

It is an honor to be invited back to RTG. A few years have rolled by since I met the Genre-istas in Portland, OR at the Rose City Romance Writers. I still remember the awe I felt sitting in the same room with real published romance writers … I want to touch the nearest one, lol.

Now I am one! And 22 romance books & novellas later, it's been grand … but things change.

I was first published in 2007, just past the age of 50. I experienced the hey-day of digital publishing, when the small pubs like Samhain were rocking the romance reading world. Wow, my first paychecks were big! They continued to grow as I wrote more books, until … more publisher fish swam into the sea and they had new ways to grab their share of readers.

This thing called self-publishing happened. Market share of the publishers, large and small, began to shrink even faster as readers shrugged and said, 'I don't care where the book comes from, as long as I can load it on my e-reader and enjoy it.' My paychecks from Samhain shrank too.

I leapt into the self-publishing ocean. It was delightful! Those big paychecks returned, with a larger percentage coming to me since there was no publisher in the middle to take their share. Woo-hoo, life was once again grand.

Then, more and more and more writers began to self-publish. Wow, getting crowded out here in the romance ocean, even for those of us with marketable names. But paychecks were still big, so with some advertising and a newsletter, no worries.

Next, Amazon rolled out a feat of marketing genius (or an evil sledge-hammer with which to destroy writing careers, depending on one's perspective), the Kindle Unlimited subscription plan. My sales plummeted again as hordes of voracious romance readers leapt like sharks onto this new unlimited reading plan—and stopped buying as many books.

All the while, more writers published their works, meaning more competition. I was so discouraged … if I didn't love writing so much, in the winter of 2015, I would have quit publishing altogether and gone back to work at a library or in education. I'm still selling books, still have loyal readers, and I know I'm doing better than the vast percentage of authors now, but not making the BIG paychecks.
But I seem to need to write nearly as much as I need to breathe.

Thus, I listened to a friend and mentor, Maggie McVay Lynch who said, "Many people who are making money now in publishing aren't just writing. They're diversifying, offering services to other writers." She herself is a shining example of this, teaching on All Writer Workshops, helping writers decipher promotion and other facets of publishing. I'm taking her class on maximizing newsletter/email lists right now.

Diversification. Great idea, but what services could I offer? Hmmm, I love writing ad copy/blurbs/cover copy, and often volunteered to write it for friends and colleagues, who expressed undying gratitude for my services. So, perhaps other writers would pay me to do so?

Turns out they will indeed. In February—just as I turned 60—I opened up shop as The Blurb Queen. In that time I've acquired many clients. I'm now being paid to do another facet of the publishing biz—helping other writers highlight their stories in a few, exciting words!

Like writing good stories, writing good ad copy is hard work, but I enjoy it just as much. So I can now afford to keep writing my beloved romance, and working from my home office, which is exactly where I want to be. Now that I've relaxed a bit about the income stream, writing is once again joyous.

As George Eliot may have said, 'It's never too late to become who you might have been!'
Wonder what new marketable skill I'll discover when I'm 70??

What do YOU do to subsidize your writing career? I'd love to hear. We're all in this together, my friends.

Cathryn Cade
Red Hot Sci Fi/Contemporary/Paranormal Romance
RT 4.5 Stars and Night Owl Reviews TOP PICK
And sign up for My Newsletter for a chance to win goodies!

Cathryn Cade
Keep Calm and Let the Blurb Queen Fix It!

Saturday, October 24, 2015

SHIFTERS! by Cathryn Cade

I wish I could recall the first shifter romance I read. The idea, if not the story, left an indelible impression on me—all the lethal power and grace of a big predator, rolled into one being with a sexy man. I’ve since read and enjoyed many more.

I believe shifter romance is so popular because so much of our real lives are out of our control.
Partners hurt us, ignore us and leave us. They don’t want the children we crave, or refuse to accept their responsibility for assisting in their creation. They decide another, younger woman is more attractive.

Or they love us to pieces, but things happen that they can’t protect us from, even if they wanted to. The world is a frightening place, and we live it waiting for the next crisis to happen. Part of being human, of being a woman, is being a caregiver … and hoping we receive at least a little in return.
And real men aren’t perfect. Love my manly man so much, but he reads hunting magazines and watches football instead of binging on Netflix seasons with me … and he thinks I have too many shoes. I know, right? There is no such thing.

But if an alpha predator fixes on us—come to Papa! Suddenly we are a mate, desired above all other women with a force that borders on obsession. To protect us, he’ll take on multiple other scary beings, and kill if he must. He’ll provide his lair as our new home, surround us with his wealth, and of course desperately want the children we produce. He’ll go alpha-bossy on us, but only so he can give us what we really want and need. And yes, he hunts, but he doesn’t read magazines about it and leave them all over our cute living room.

Nice, if a girl can get it.

Which is why I love to read shifter romance, and why I began writing them.

I also love Halloween—you should see my collection of old-fashioned Halloween decor. So when I decided to write the Halloween romance that’s been rattling around in my head for a while, the hero is … what else? A shifter!

However, he’s not the big, apex predator kind of cat. He doesn’t need to be, not when he can zap opponents with a spell whenever he chooses. He’s a wizard—and since a big cat can’t be running around modern day Sunnyvale, Oregon, his alius magickus is a black tom cat.

Yes, here I delved into another facet of shifter-ness. We all cuddle up with our pets for comfort, reassurance and love. And we talk to them, at least I do. My golden retriever has heard many a tale of woe and aggravation.

Soooo … what if, when you confide in your newly adopted cat that you have a huge crush on your new neighbor, you’re actually talking to the sexy wizard himself? And how embarrassing will it be later, when you realize exactly what secret wishes you poured into his furry ears? Oops.

Touch Not the Cat; a Sexy Halloween Romance by Cathryn Cade.
It will take a Halloween intervention of the furriest kind to get this unlikely pair together.

Egan Warburton can have any woman he wants—so of course this eligible wizard will choose a witch to share his new home. But why can’t he keep his eyes off his pretty neighbor? She’s too innocent for the likes of him … although she does love cats, especially Warlock, his own alter-ego. In either form, he can’t seem to resist playing naughty tricks to get her attention.

Too bad she’s a mortal with no idea his magickal realm even exists.

Paige Turner is the first to admit she’s as vanilla as they come—youth librarian, good neighbor and kind to cats, even black ones. But in her dreams, she’s a femme fatale who’s not afraid to shake off her bonds of caution and go after what she really wants ... such as her mysterious new neighbor, who is suddenly starring in her most erotic fantasies.

Too bad he’s also the most obnoxious man she’s ever met.


What’s your favorite shifter romance?

I love Cherise Sinclair’s Hour of the Lion & Winter of the Wolf, Rebecca Zanetti’s Consumed, Jennifer Ashley’s wonderful Shifters Unbound series.

How about a favorite Halloween read? If you need some delish new romance that’s spooky around the edges, join me in The Romance Zone @ Night Owl Reviews FREE Online Magazine.

Cathryn Cade
… red hot romance
Amazon best-selling author of sci fi romance & contemporary too
RT 4.5 Stars and Night Owl Reviews TOP PICK

And sign up for My Newsletter for a chance to win goodies! 

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Shapeshifter – One that seems able to change form at will.




Miriam Webster’s Dictionary definition of Shapeshifter - one that seems able to change form or identity at will; especially :  a mythical figure that can assume different forms (as of animals)

Growing up in an area rich in Native American history I have always been curious and empathetic to the band of Nez Perce who summered in Wallowa County many generations before Lewis and Clark entered their lives. This fascination and believing I encountered a Nez Perce spirit warrior one summer while I was riding my horse on the mountain behind our house, gave me the inspiration for a trilogy about three sibling shapeshifting, Nez Perce spirits.

I read several book with Nez Perce myths and legends as well as nonfiction books on how the Nez Perce lived and their beliefs.  Using the myths and legends I came up with the sibling shapeshifters. They were taken from their Nez Perce or Nimiipuu(as they call themselves) band by the Creator. Their father had chosen cowardice over the lives of his fellow band members. By sacrificing the men of his band he made his children scorned by the people. The Creator took them and made them spirits to look over the Lake band of the Nimiipuu. As spirits they can shift into shapes at will or enter other animal bodies to keep the Lake Nimiipuu safe.

The oldest brother I gave the shape of a white wolf. He traveled over the mountain by the Lake where the Nimiipuu summered. Because of his trouble holding his anger and his need to avenge his father’s cowardice, he was forbid to leave the mountain. To leave the mountain he would become nothing but smoke. In his story, Spirit of the Mountain, he must let the mortal maiden he loves go with another off the mountain.

The middle sibling and second brother takes on the shape of a great bull elk. I came up with his animal from a legend I’d heard growing up and read in several of the myth and legend books. As an elk he lived in the lake. The legend says that a great antlered beast lives in Wallowa Lake.  When the Nimiipuu children were bad they were told the great beast would come out of the lake and take them. There was a winter when historians believe a herd of elk tried crossing the frozen lake and the ice broke. They fell in and their antlers remained up above the ice and that is what started the legend.  This elk spirit is the playful, light-hearted sibling. Which infuriates the older, serious wolf spirit. Wewukiye’s book is Spirit of the Lake.

The third sibling, the sister, travels about as a bald eagle. She soars in the sky and is the only one who can converse with the Creator. She sees more and is the most adamant about not allowing the mortals to know they exist or to show themselves to the mortals. Her book is Spirit of the Sky.
   
The spirit entity in these books is all a figment of my imagination, but it felt real to me. My fascination with the Native American culture, their healing herbs, chants, legends, myths, and vision quest all primed my imagination when I came up with the spirit siblings who are the main characters in the books.

While my shapeshifters do shift into animals there are other writers who have shapeshifters that defy Websters definition. One of those authors is Marie Harte. I asked her why she liked to write shapeshifters. This is what she had to say:
There's a wild quality to a shapeshifter that's both sexy and frightening. That uncontrollable aspect to a hero can be sexy. Will he be ruled by his heart or his instincts? And will that rugged side hurt or help him when it comes to finding a mate? I love female shapeshifters because that power to shift forms gives them an extra butt-kicking factor that I love in my leading ladies. Mentally, women can be as tough, if not tougher, than men. But physically men have a biological advantage.That's not necessarily the case when the heroine can grow fangs and claws of her own.

And this is what she had to say about her shapeshifter books and how she has bent the norm on shapeshifters:
I have a few shapeshifter series out. My Cougar Falls and Mark of Lycos series are more traditional, with the shapeshifters turning into animals. But my Circe's Recruits and Dawn Endeavor series involve a different type of shifter. I threw together the military, gene experimentation, government conspiracies, and found a group of men and women who shift into creatures neither man nor beast, but a mix of both. It's been a really fun ride, and I have a new book in the Circe's Recruits series arriving soon--Circe's Recruits: Gideon. His was supposed to be one follow-on book. Instead it looks like Gideon is starting a new series of his own. *sigh* Those Circs are so difficult to control.

Marie's books prove, a writer, with the right incentive and creativity can make any type of shapeshifter "real" in the reader's mind. http://marieharte.com/books/gideon/

Have you read any shapeshifter books?  If so, what were they and what did you like about them?
About Paty Jager
Award-winning author Paty Jager and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. On her road to publication she wrote freelance articles for two local newspapers and enjoyed her job with the County Extension service as a 4-H Program Assistant. Raising hay and cattle, riding horses, and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Her penchant for research takes her on side trips that eventually turn into yet another story. She recently returned to the genre of her heart- Mystery.

You can learn more about Paty at
her website; http://www.patyjager.net  
Newsletter: Paty’s Prattle: http://eepurl.com/1CFgX
twitter  @patyjag.

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Using a Free Read to Sell Books by SF Romance Author Cathryn Cade

Thanks, Sara and Judith for inviting me back to RTG. It’s been so great to watch this blog grow, and to explore the wealth of information here.

Let’s talk about marketing. Pffffft! Yes, the subject most writers would like to kick into the nearest closet and slam the door. I don’t just dislike marketing, I hate it! I want to write stories for my readers, chat with them on Facebook, answer the wonderful, inspiring messages they send me. I don’t wanna market.
So I’m all about promoting my books the easy way. My favorite part of writing? Writing. So going with my strengths, I use a novella (40K) as a major marketing tool. It’s written, edited, covered and packaged. 
Done. 

I don’t have to sit in a chair behind a table of books and bling, hoping readers will take pity on me and stop. I don’t even have to go to a con. I love cons, but they’re expensive, and I am essentially an introvert. I love meeting people, but it also exhausts me emotionally. So after a day or two, I’m ready to dive into that closet, even with marketing lurking in the shadows.

Instead, I let my ex-space pirate and alpha hero Stone Masterson do the heavy lifting for me. 


Heart of Stone is a science fiction romance. It can also be called ‘space opera’, a term I love as it means a rollicking good adventure. The story is set in the world of both my Orion and LodeStar series, so it serves as an introduction not only to my work, but to both series.
I’ve heard authors rally the cry ‘Don’t give away your work! It devalues all of our work.’ Sorry, I totally disagree. When my local grocer lowers the price of sweet, juicy oranges to get people into his store, he loses money on the oranges, but he makes money on everything else they buy. And who walks out with only oranges? Not me and probably not you. The oranges are a ‘loss leader’.

And I’ve never heard one grocer complain publicly about devaluing oranges.  They just put up their own loss leaders!

Amazon is by far and away my biggest sales venue. Heart’s Amazon categories are
·         ‘Free > Romance > Science Fiction’
·         ‘Free > Science Fiction > Space Opera’
Amazon’s Free chart lists are, as I’m sure you know, a very popular place for readers to cruise for new books and authors. I have a number of reviews that say ‘I don’t really read sfr, but I enjoyed this story’. I also have reviews that say ‘Love this story. I’ve found a new author.’ They’re willing to try my story because it was free.

Romance, luckily for us, is a genre with prolific and adventurous readers. They snap up free samples of authors’ work at a great rate. Heart has been out since January 2013, and downloads haven’t slowed. With a fabulous, sexy cover by Christy Carlyle at Gilded Heart Designs, Heart remains in the top 100 on Amazon sfr lists, usually in the top 40. That is great visibility for my sfr.

Now, not all who download will read. And not all who read will buy. But enough do come back for more of the author’s work, and pay for it. I have never once regretted publishing Heart of Stone as a perma free read on all sales sites. Want more proof? This is my Amazon sales chart for a portion of May 2014.

AMAZON SALES CHART
The red line represents sales of all 3 of my self-published books on Amazon, day by day. The green line represents free books given away. Notice how the general flow of sales follow the flow of give-aways. This month, I have given away X number of copies of Heart. I have sold more than double that number of books.

And these are just my self-published books. Because of Heart and the success of my new self-pub sfr series, my sfr backlist at Samhain continues to sell despite being published 2008-11. I’m a mid-list author with no pretensions to the top echelons, but this month I met a financial goal of mine, and I expect to reach another by year’s end.

Hopefully my backlist sales show that publishing a free novella can work for a traditional or small press author too. In fact, publishers usually love it when authors take on some of the heavy lifting! If contract terms preclude this, it can’t hurt to lay out a proposal, right?

Heart is always available, always working for me. That’s what I call a great sales partner. The rest of marketing can stay in the closet with the dust bunnies.

Best,
Cathryn Cade
Best-selling author of Sci Fi romance
RT 4.5 Stars and Night Owl Reviews TOP PICK
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