Wouldn’t You Like To Be A Rebel, Too?*

Rebel characters are practically the bread and butter of science fiction stories, so it’s no wonder that they’ve migrated to sci-fi romance. One of the more recent entries is D.L. Jackson’s REBEL SOULS (Decadent Publishing). So when you’re in the mood for an SFR featuring rebels, here’s a handy list of tags to see if this one is right for you:

*Type of plot: The plot itself is straightforward—a group of rebels is building a weapon and has to smuggle the needed materials. In order to do so, they have to evade enforcers working for the Evil Government. (It’s really not as campy as all that; I just wanted to write “Evil Government” because when do you ever see that? Not often enough, LOL!)

* Type of romance: A forbidden love develops between rebel smuggler Ava Frost and Fleet Commander Seth Reynolds. Despite the two guys on the cover, this is not a ménage romance.

* Tone: Moderately serious; action-adventure space opera; playful with a touch of angst

* Political unrest quotient: High, and it’s channeled through the three main characters rather than an ensemble cast. The story focuses on political machinations taking place at the interpersonal level rather than the systemic one.

The Sci-Fi Romance Conversation Continues

A couple of weeks ago, urban fantasy author Suzanne Johnson (ROYAL STREET) wrote a post at Heroes and Heartbreakers called Who Put That Romance In My Non-Romance Novel? I discovered this post by accident in the sense that I was researching something else (SFR related, of course!) and the search engine turned it up. The post is about the debate over genre hybrids, specifically the idea of mixing romance with other genres:

The longstanding stigma of romance is a hard thing to overcome, and might meet its biggest resistance from old-school sci-fi fans—ironic since romantic science fiction is a growing genre.

This post was a nice surprise because it’s always heartening to discover conversations about science fiction romance from various angles. In fact, a significant portion of Ms. Johnson’s post deals with science fiction-romance blends and how various readers perceive them. Very cool. And I certainly didn’t expect one of my TGE posts to be quoted or see one of the covers to my books included with the post—holy cow!

I suppose that finding such a post should be old hat to me by now, but it really isn’t. I still get a thrill when I discover someone having a conversation about sci-fi romance.

Winner of Cathy Pegau's RULEBREAKER

Now that we've had our fill of massage oil, denim, and chain mail space bikinis, it's time to announce the winner of Cathy Pegau's RULEBREAKER (a rare signed, print copy!).

The Randomizer has chosen...Liz S! Liz, please send your snail mail address to sfrgalaxy "at" gmail.com and I'll forward your contact information to the author.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered. And stay tuned for future adventures of Agent Z., Intergalactic Spy Extraordinaire!

Joyfully yours, Heather

An Interview With Heather Lin, Author Of THE SYSTEM

Author Heather Lin has entered the ever-expanding frontier of science fiction romance with THE SYSTEM, a gritty, steamy adventure tale from Silver Publishing. I invited her aboard for an interview to help celebrate the release of her book, which came out earlier this month.

I deeply appreciate that the genre tags for THE SYSTEM in the “Book Details” section include “action/adventure” along with “Romance” and “Science Fiction”! Because yes, women love action-adventure stories as much as the next guy! The lack of segregation is awesome. And it looks like THE SYSTEM embraces the high octane action along with that of the romance kind.

Here’s the story blurb:

Capri is an alluring young prostitute with a painful past; Brody is a ruthless mercenary for a crew of thieves from the spaceship Gypsy Lass. When he enters her brothel, the attraction between them is instant, electric, and too much for him to handle. After a robbery gone wrong, the crew takes Capri hostage, forcing her and Brody to remain in close quarters until they see fit to drop her on another planet.

But Capri's plight and the intense feelings between her and Brody turn out to be the least of their problems. Together—whether they like it or not—they uncover a secret no one in the whole System could have expected.

And now for my interview with Heather Lin!

Agent Z. Interviews her Newest Bestest Friend: Cathy Pegau

Yee-Haw, dear readers! Agent Z. here, wearing a brand new pair of cowboy boots I pilfered from Heather Massey’s storage locker aboard The Galaxy Express. ‘Ole Heather is chained up down in the engine room, pretending like she knows how to fix the hyperdrive and that twerp, Diane Dooley, who keeps claiming I am a figment of her imagination, is tearing chunks of hair out of her scalp while she attempts to write another one of her cruddy books. All your Galaxy Express are belong to us! Chef has rustled up a vat of Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters for us to guzzle and I’ll tell you right now that any non-inebriated comments will be summarily made fun of. Now, drink up!

I have today as my guest, the author Cathy Pegau. I’m afraid she has helped herself rather liberally to the Gargle Blasters, so please forgive her inappropriate behavior. If you can! And please note that it was not I who tied her to the chair. She did that all by herself. She is one talented lady.

Agent Z: Now, Cathy. I abducted, er, I mean invited, you here from Alaska today because after following your tweetstream for a lengthy period I’ve decided that you are far too fabulous to spend so much time shoveling snow off your roof, driving your kids around, and slaving over enormous feasts of fresh Alaskan salmon. I’ve always wanted a female traveling companion for my intergalactic adventures and you, my dear, are The Chosen One. But you can’t conquer the galaxy in flannel and denim. Tell us about the fabulous outfit and hairstyle you shall adopt before we embark on our travels.