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.

Contemporary Western Romance with Stephanie Berget

I met Stephanie years ago at an author unconference.  Another author told her about a Western romance author who lived in Oregon (Stephanie lived in Idaho at the time) and who would be at the conference. When she introduced herself she said she was looking to connect with that author. I raised my hand and we've been friends ever since! We've even had stories in the same western romance anthologies.

Paty: Why do you write Western Romance?

Stephanie: I've been a cowgirl and an avid romance reader since I was in my mid-teens. As I started training and competing on barrel horses, it bothered me that the rodeo scenes in the romance books weren't true to life. The love stories were good, but I couldn't find authors who studied rodeo and ranching and wrote real cowboys and cowgirls. I started writing to put reality into my western romance.

Paty: The realism of rodeo life comes through in your books. How many series do you have? Do you only write series or do you have standalone books?

Stephanie: I have three series published, Harney County Cowboys, Rodeo Road, and Sugar Coated Cowboys. I'm working on the second book in my Change of Heart Cowboys series and hope to have it out by February of next year. I also write standalones. I just published Balancing The Books. It's an enemies to lovers story featuring an accountant and a small-town sheriff.

Paty: I've read at least one book from each of your series. But I'll have to get Balancing the Books.  Your books are mostly in rural settings. Why did you pick those settings?

Stephanie: I was raised in a fairly large city but was always horse crazy. Since becoming an adult, I've chosen to live in very small towns. I love the friendly atmosphere and people and to have room to keep my horses.

Paty: I know that draw to having horses. How do you make your cowboys so real? They all have the swagger and the toughness of a cowboy.

Stephanie: I'm married to a former bareback bronc and saddle bronc rider who has become a team roper. We've lived the rodeo lifestyle, so I've had lots of role models for my heroes.

Paty: And it comes through in your stories. Do you have an ongoing character (main or secondary in a series) that is your favorite?

Stephanie: This is a hard question, but if I had to pick, it would be Sean O'Connell in Dancing Creek Ranch, the second book in my Harney County Cowboys series. I like the fact that Sean was willing to make major changes in his life to win Catherine's heart.

Paty: He is a definite hero. Who are some other Western romance authors you enjoy reading?

Stephanie: One of my favorite western authors is Kari Lynn Dell. She was a good friend, but I love her books because she was the best at putting reality into rodeo romance. I also really like Katie Lane and D'Ann Lindun's books. I usually read contemporary western romance, but for historical western romance, I've really enjoyed your books.

Paty: Ahhh, thank you! What is the one thing you hope readers take away when they finish one of your books?

Stephanie: I hope they'll take away a smile at my happy endings and maybe I can teach them about rodeo and ranching.

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

Stephanie: I love to run barrels and ride in the mountains on my horse, Cisco. He's a fifteen-year-old dun-colored registered Quarter Horse and if I do say so, he's the sweetest and prettiest horse around.

Paty: Thank you for answering my questions and being a guest on Romancing the Genres.   

Stephanie: Thank you for asking me to participate. 

Here's more about Stephanie:

Finding romance beneath a rodeo moon. That’s what Stephanie Berget had in mind when she began writing--adding a realistic view of rodeo and ranching to her Contemporary Western Romance.
She was born loving horses, developing a lifelong love of rodeo when she married her Bronc Rider. They traveled to rodeos throughout the Northwest while she ran barrels and her cowboy rode bucking horses.
Stephanie and her husband live in the mountains of Eastern Oregon, where they raise and train Rodeo horses with the help of Cisco, the wonder horse, and Dizzy Dottie, the Border Collie.

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephaniebergetwrites, or Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/stephanieberget. Check out all her books on Stephanie's Amazon Author Page

This box set of three stories is about cowgirls falling in love and the men who capture their hearts.

Tied to a Dream – Frannie O’Connell was taught to be self-sufficient, but being Superwoman was harder than it looked. On a lonely stretch of road as she rests and dreams of rounding the barrels, a stranger knocks on her window. By the look of his black Stetson, he’s a cowboy. Life had taught her to be wary but his deep blue eyes and sexy smile has her reaching for the door latch.

Dancing Creek Ranch – Catherine Silvera, manager of the Dancing Creek Bar finds a waterlogged, unconscious man sleeping in the only vehicle left in the parking lot at 3 a.m. She recognized the cowboy. This man had helped her years ago, when she couldn’t help herself. It would only take a few minutes to repay his kindness then make tracks like a coyote-shy rabbit with hot breath on her tail.

Rocky Road Home – Sissy Leviny couldn’t let the man who saved her from the pack of jackals at the bar. When she found him beaten up alongside the road, she picked him up. He’d been beaten because of her. She liked cowboys but there was something about this Harley-riding hero that she couldn’t shake.
Buy link:
https://bit.ly/HarneyCountyCowboys

 

Stephanie is giving away an ebook of Tied to a Dream to one lucky commenter.