Masked Men With Knives

Men with knives... will they always be necessary?

I'm not thinking about alien assassins, aliens with table manners, or futuristic barbaric warriors. I'm thinking surgery.

Assuming for a moment that wars are not fought by champions playing chess, or out-singing each other, or displaying their terrifyingly impressive tails (or other body parts). Someone is going to get hurt.

I do "buy" heroines who can "do" pyschic healing.

In fact, the 2006 Romantic Times Conference, Pyschic Sunday was a real mind-opener. Two psychic healers --one hands-on, the other hands-off-- helped an unfortunate person with a visibly swollen face and abcessed tooth, and also on a number of others.

The psychic healing was very responsible, the point was made that all methods are complementary and the sufferers were also told to see a conventional doctor. However, whatever they did seemed to work.

I like medicine based on plants and other natural substances, too.

I have trouble suspending disbelief when a mortally injured party is put into a futuristic light box (like a seed propagator? like a tanning bed?) and they recover "just like that" --to quote the memorable, Fez-wearing magician, Tommy Cooper.

Maybe I accept it for some ailments. Immersion in the sea is supposed to be restorative. It certainly does great things for my feet... unless I step on a weaver fish, of course, or get stung by a jellyfish. So, I can believe that being bathed in some sort of light might be as good for me as being bathed in some sort of liquid.

Should I infer that the light box is akin to teleportation as medicine. I should re-read The Physics of Star Trek (which is on my keeper shelf). Beam Me Up, Scotty, is fine. Beam Me Well?

Sometimes, just taking my rotating head electric fan apart and putting it back together again the way it was does work for a time, but it wouldn't if something was broken or rusted.

Lasers, I suppose, could replace knives. My problem is, when I think of lasers, I think of a couple of James Bond films... Goldfinger, Die Another Day... and I shudder at the thought of laser eye surgery. I know I shouldn't.

Do I think that a machine with a laser could replace a man --or a woman-- with a surgical knife? Yes, but I don't want to write about it, any more than I --personally-- want to write about an android with a libido.

Terminator with a tool? Great for action adventure, and I daresay he would have been very competent in the Operating Room. But for a fictional frisson, give me a masked man with a very sharp knife, every time.

BTW, INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL begins with the damaged hero on an operating table,
hoping that his enemy's surgeons don't take a professional interest in his tattooed penis.

Best wishes,
Rowena

Do I like writing love scenes?

“Rowena, do you like writing sex scenes?” I was asked recently.

It’s the sort of question that makes one want to straddle a fence.

Well, I do. And I don’t....and do let's call them love scenes.
That said, if I had to come down on one side or the other, I'd say Yes, but...

Whether you see it or not, Sex usually happens in a romance. It’s part of the most important story of a person’s life… not necessarily sex with an alien, though if that happened and especially if the alien happened to be a little bit anatomically different, you can imagine that a blow by blow account would be quite fascinating.

Correction: could be.

On the other hand, one can write a first rate romance without a graphic description of what might happen once the bedroom door is closed behind two relatively normal people. Georgette Heyer’s Georgian and Regency romances spring to mind.

I do like to write the sort of love scene (or sex scene) where something goes dramatically wrong -- I have a rotten sense of humor—or at least not according to the hero’s expectations.

I usually pick on the hero, for reasons that are probably perfectly obvious.

He’s more likely to be … less philosophical … not to mention sore, if he can’t get the heroine’s chastity belt off, or if the heroine’s beloved pet cat mistakes his equipment for a funny looking mouse, or if the film crew falls out of the air duct, or if the lubricant contains a dye that won’t come off.

What—apart from its effect on character, and its potential to annoy the protagonists and shift the plot into a higher gear—is the point of a love scene in SFR or in a Futuristic?

Comic relief?

Oh, yeah. But in my very personal opinion, lovemaking that is good for both of them isn’t proof of a happy ever after, and it isn’t the high point on which I like to end my books.

Rowena

PS
Another thing I like about alien romance love scenes (or sex scenes) is that if the hero and heroine are from different planets, and do not have infallible translators implanted in their ears, one can have such fun with their grammar.

Got Magic?

If it's got Magic in it, it can't be Science Fiction Romance....

How many of us have read, or been told that if there's magic, it must be Fantasy.

I'd like a straw poll. If you've believe that there's no place for magic in SF --or if you've heard it, and wondered Why not?-- please comment.

It's easy. Click the crayon symbol to the right of the author's signature. You can be Anonymous. You just have to recognize the distorted alphabet soup. Sometimes, you have to do that part again because maybe a Z is really a z, but how could you tell?

Back to Magic... nor not... as a topic.
My position is that I don't appreciate being told what I can and cannot write.

That said, I was grateful for Guidelines when I was starting out. It's good to know the ten greatest "turn-offs" that might cause an editor, an agent, or a contest judge to read no further (metaphorically speaking).

Yet the rebel in me wonders: If it is scientificially OK, even desirable, for aliens from other worlds to have religions and spiritual beliefs, why shouldn't they have magic?

Is there a difference --as far as a third party observer can tell-- between a miracle and magic?

As we get older and wiser, do we "grow out of" magic?

Do we assume that a technogically advanced civilization capable of interstellar travel will be too sophisticated for magic? Will they have explained it all away?

We know the difference between a conjurer's act and something that truly cannot be explained.... don't we? Still we are fascinated when the pea under the shell is not where our senses tell us it should be, or when the magician catches the bullet between his not-even-chipped teeth.

When you think of jobs with legs, the entertainment industry must be one of the most durable... not counting the illegal occupations and the hereditary positions... there's singing and otherwise making music; news-and-story-telling; conjuring, juggling and magic-doing.

There's also cooking, farming and fighting.

There must be a reason why we need magic in our lives, whether it is Swords and Sorcery; dangerous bald genies in bottles (why are they always bald?), wands and winged dragons; portals to parallel worlds; or the possibility of amorous and lonely hunks --pretty much like us, perhaps with two penises, or pointy ears, or fangs, or silver-bullet-semen-- travelling through the icy blackness of space in search of love and understanding.

Why should an industry professional who is judging my alien romances become confused and upset if my non-human, interstellar starjet pilot can levitate through the sheer force of his personality and will?

Suppose he glares intently at the heroine and sweeps her off her feet, literally, without recourse to magnets, nano-power packs, or other scientifically possible explanations?

Disclaimer: I don't mean to say that any industry professional that I know HAS become confused and upset by such seductive delights (on the other hand, my alien djinn heroes haven't --yet-- performed inexplicable magic, either). I'm simply reflecting the warnings I've heard from How-To enthusiasts.

I might also be contemplating a little genre rule-breaking, some time in the future. INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL is virtually finished, and I'm seriously thinking about breaking new ground in the next book, which is provisionally titled Knight's Fork (yet another chess reference).

Best wishes,
Rowena

Disclaimer: This is pretty much the same blog as published on the group blog alien romances

New Photo

INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL

Browser trouble prevented me from posting this in the body of the previous posting.

Dangerous research on the seashore

Maybe I'm unusual, but when I read a novel, I expect to come across the scene on the cover. I feel vaguely cheated if it is not there.

I'm not so bothered if the cover is an artistic grouping of artifacts, although... if there's a bejewelled dagger and a lace doily, I suppose that I do expect them to be used to good effect in the novel.

Please do not misunderstand me. I'm not criticizing anyone's cover or art department. I am simply sharing my inner thoughts about covers in general, and my gut reaction to the gorgeous cover of my next book... and the hazards of hasty research.

The colors are fabulous, and the artwork is sexy. I couldn't ask for a better looking cover (unless I was absolutely out of my mind). It's just a little more "romancy" than I had in mind.
An author friend who is a bit of an expert on cover psychology says that I should tell readers, especially male readers, to ignore the cover. But should I?

My gut instinct is that if the scene is on the cover but not in the book, then I have to --somehow-- write the scene and beg my editor to fit it in. Is that extreme?

If only they'd given me a bare-chested hunk staring out to sea (face not visible, so his features could not be wrong) or up to his waist in the ocean... I should have suggested that! I'm not blaming the Art Department at all. I was warned that I could not have a hunk in underpants out of respect for buyers' fine sensibilities.

Anyway, how many cover models would want INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL displayed boldly across their groins?

Verisimilitude is important, and there are times when you just cannot ask your more exhibitionist friends to commit an illegal act and tell you how it felt.

Illegal? Well I think you can be pinched for doing the deed on a public beach.

In case any members of the law enforcement community are reading this with professional interest, I must disclose at this point that the sea was too cold for my husband. Mostly.

Suffice it to say that my scrupulous --and ingenious-- attempts at research took longer than expected. Either the tide was wrong (too far in or out), or the waves were too mighty, or too placid, or the sand was too gritty, or the light was wrong....

On the last day of my time by the sea, when my bags were packed and it really wasn't convenient to get my costume wet again, my dear husband and our child decided that despite the low tide, and a stiff onshore breeze, it might be fun to experience the surge of surf.

My mother went to get towels from the car, and we splashed into the North Sea (English Channel) to join dozens of screaming bathers and people surfing on one sort of board or another.
August. Low tide, but only a seven foot drop, not like the nine foot range one gets at the full moon or with the spring tides. For a month I'd watched the shallows at low tide for signs of sinister movement. That day... I forgot.

I did get to refresh my memory of whether there is any difference between the feel of sun-warmed masculine, muscled skin in cold seawater (as opposed to in a fresh water bath, shower, or chlorinated swimming pool) but it's not useable.

Not worth the risk. If anyone in my immediate family had to step on a weaver fish, I'm glad it was me. I have very high arches, and go barefoot a lot. Thanks to that, only one spine got me, and it broke off before it could deliver much of the excruciating neurotoxin.

Knowing what had stung me, I flicked off the spine, got out of the water, got home as quickly as possible (luckily it was not far), and immersed my throbbing foot in the washing up bowl filled with water as hot as I could bear. And epsom salts. And more water.

That's what you do to draw out the poison, if you are unfortunate enough to step on a weaver fish or lesser weaver fish. They are spined, venomous little predators (they eat prawns, I believe) who like to bury themselves all but the spines in sand when the water is warm.

Keeping the water as hot as possible until the pain was gone meant regular top ups. My dear husband was especially enthusiastic about this, and had no compunction about tipping very hot water onto my toes (the arch area was what needed it). I noticed an odd thing. Near boiling water feels almost cold for the first second or two as it is added to hot water. Then the brain resets, and registers that the water is very hot.

I didn't even limp the next day, as I lugged (schlepped) my little family's three heavy suitcases from Guernsey, to Gatwick, to Detroit. I was lucky.

I'm glad to have my feet under my desk again.

Rowena

The alien experience of... house cleaning

Would I want to see an alien being -- such as Mr. Spock -- vacuuming up my dustbunnies?

No.
I don't think the spectacle would be either romantic or funny. Not for me, anyway. I'd be mortified. Also grateful for the help.

If, for some reason, he needed to use human household appliances, I imagine that a quintessentially logical alien would locate the appropriate user manual, study the instructions, and carry out the domestic operation with great efficiency and a deadpan expression. Maybe he'd raise a quizzical, flying eyebrow.

Actually, that might be romantic in a traditional Regency romance sort of way. His plight might not be. Why would an arguably superior being do my housework?

Loveslavery springs to mind.... Or not. If he's cleaning house for me, that doesn't reflect too well on my libido or my sex appeal, does it? He must be doing Research. Or perhaps a quest for some meteor-like small object that could be retrieved from my neglected carpet... I almost have a story, here! I do so love blogging.

Of course, in my home, a highly intelligent and efficient alien might have trouble finding instruction manuals. If I were to write a blow-by-blow account of the exercise, I think an alien would comment. His remarks would probably be very funny to everyone except myself, the butt of his cool wit.

I am sure many authors have written scenes where their aliens have issues with human housecleaning appliances.... I just haven't read all that many.

Dara Joy's splendid early novel, Knight Of A Trillion Stars, does come to mind. What was it her alien hunk attacked with his broadsword, thinking it was a rival? A TV? An answering machine?
That was a very funny scene, and seemed so "right"!

Is chopping up the furniture the closest that any alien hero has come to housework? Generally, I think alien heroes tend to be extremely macho. They are world rulers, starship commanders, space pirates, intergalactic diplomats or trading tycoons.... they have servants, or orderlies, or androids to do the domestic dirty work.

Maybe I just haven't read the right books.

No one seems to wash their clothes, or scrub toilets in an alien romance. Susan Kearney said --http:aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com -- that her aliens' clothing was self cleaning (smart!!! and with nano-technology, this is becoming a reality).

Intelligent spaceships have aircleaning devices that work a lot better than the monsters we keep in our human furnace rooms. I once thought of modeling an alien toilet on a whole-house vacuum.

Then I read a joke about a sexually adventurous man who did himself a mischief with a vacuum cleaner.

In FORCED MATE my alien prince does have a little bit of trouble drawing a bath, mostly because he takes a macho stand (sitting on its edge, waiting for the heroine to take her clothes off and get in) without realizing that human baths don't automatically stop filling once the water reaches a sensible level.

He also has trouble with a shopping list, and aborts the shopping expedition once he learns that Marijuana is not a feminine toiletry product.

And... he has trouble with the heroine when she discovers that his spacecraft toilets perform automatic urinalysis and a few other functions and announce the results.

Romantic? Maybe not, but it appealed to my low sense of humor.

And then, there's recycling. We all do it, I suppose. Like Susan Sizemore (who also blogs with the pioneers and best sellers on the alien romance blog at blogspot) , I like military books.

I find them a treasure trove for research, for instance for battlefield uses for urine (to make communications equipment work). My heroine of FORCED MATE is grossed out when she learns how spacefarers obtain yeast to make deep space bread. But that's getting into cuisine, and housekeeping, rather than house cleaning.

My "thing" is to gaze at the underbelly of an alien character's lovelife and poke fun at it. And, you might not have guessed it, but of all the sciences in science fiction, Biology is my favorite.

I'll be gone tidepooling for the next four weeks. Do you know the ins and outs of a crab's sex life? I do.

Rowena
For my newsletter: www.rowenacherry.com/newsletter

Highlights~ Interview with Exotic Male Entertainer, Devin Yala; excerpt from Linnea Sinclair's An Accidental Goddess, except from Brenna Lyons' Last Chance

When the high and mighty trip up (or even when the low and obnoxious do)

It's been a weekend of Must-See TV for me.

I couldn't resist staying up much too late to watch
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets --again.

My favorite scene, perhaps of all the Harry Potter movies so far,
is the demonstration duel, where Gilderoy
is so busy posing that he gets legally zapped by Severus.

At least, I'm pretty sure Severus Snape is simply quick on
the spell-casting draw, in neat dramatic contrast to Draco Malfoy,
who cheats.

Why do I like that scene?

I find it immensely gratifying when a poser gets their come-uppance!
Don't we all? One of the most enduring themes in literature is hubris:
the dramatic downfall of someone who gets too big for their boots.

There are dozens of similar scenes in other movies -- fights, where
the dramatically well-armed or well-equipped bad guy makes a lot
of flashy moves, and sooner or later the good guy throws a simple punch,
or kick, and disables his opponent.


"Your High-and-Mightiness, you are in deep shit!" is something I imagine
many of us would love to be in a position to say
to a boss or world leader.

(One of my characters says it with great glee --and lives--
in my next book, Insufficient Mating Material.)

In real life, we wouldn't dare. History has shown that it isn't healthy
to be the bearer of bad news... as was demonstrated on a documentary
on Sunday morning about Great Intelligence Blunders.

At least, I think it was on Sunday.

The other program that stands out in my mind was Nigel Marvin's
documentary about the swings and roundabouts of a lion's sex life.
Actually that is my very loose, personal interpretation of what I got
from the program.

The up-side of being a lion with a big, dark mane is that the lionesses
like you (and you have fewer parasites). The down-side is that you
have a lower sperm count.

I haven't figured out how I can work that quirk of nature into one of
my alien djinn romances, but --trust me-- I will.

I wish you all an interesting week.

Rowena

Alien Royal Wedding Dress

Sword angles, chiggers in unmentionables

I apologize in advance for my Subject line

Swords, secret underwear, and biting insects seem more in keeping
with my sense of humor than, for instance "Behind the Scenes," or
"What I wrote last week!"

I've just finished self-editing INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL,
with a little help from my friend Karen Babcock
(who is a brilliant freelance editor).

The Publishing House Editor-directed edit comes at the beginning
of August, but there are some typos I'd rather find--and correct--myself.

When my editor first saw the manuscript in July of 2005,
she felt very strongly that there wasn't enough sexual tension in
INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL.

(Since IMM is a sequel, it has to match or exceed its predecessor.)

So, in the Fall and Winter of 2005, I rewrote the first fifty pages,
then the first hundred pages, then the first two hundred pages ....
by which time there was enough sexiness for the first 200 pages,
and the title had become a bit of an in-joke.

INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL is actually a Google-searchable
chess term for an unwinnable situation.

As my deadline approached for submitting the completed, four-hundred page
manuscript, I thought that adding a nickname for the heroine,
and fitting in SURVIVORMAN, Les Stroud's advice about water,
wilderness condoms and incontinence wear could wait until the editor's edit,
but I did not realize that the official editing would be in August,
with galleyproofs to be checked in September.

I decided I'd better tie up a few loose ends on my own and make sure no
swordsman was sitting at the same time that he was bowing with a flourish
with his sword protruding at an angle.

Someone did sit down --on the arm of a chair-- before he bowed.
My choice was to delete the act of sitting, or add a stage direction
for him to stand again.

Also I had to check that no one's ancestors' eyes changed color between
this book and the prequel.

(That was an intellectual challenge, because eye color was a story point.
Yes, I found a cool solution.)

To be honest, I do not have any incontinent characters in my novel.
Well...if I am going to be pedantic about it, there is a god-Emperor who
has a problem with escape velocity, but he does not leave the dignity of his Palace.

However, if a woman is unexpectedly marooned on a desert island
without a month's supply of toiletries, she might wonder how she'd improvise.
SURVIVORMAN suggested that my heroine consider the most absorbent
material available (cut from an ejector seat, or from clothing) plus Spagnum type
moss.

I hear from a female survivalist that red bugs can live in moss -- so one must
be sure to boil the moss. What a useful thing to know!

Short stories

Is this the stuff of blogs? Maybe not....

but when I was trying to sell MATING NET,
I would have loved to see a posting like this forwarded
to the loops I was on.

The prequel to FORCED MATE, my short, dark and mildly dirty story
MATING NET was only around 10,000 words when I
started seriously thinking about selling it as a stand-alone
short story.

Later, I added 3,000 words.

Owing to its length, or lack thereof, it seemed like I was out
of luck unless I wanted to sell to a magazine... which I did not do!

Now, New Concepts Publishing has opened up several new lines
and is actively seeking short, short stories:

Here's editor Andrea DePasture's call for submissions:

New opportunities for authors (Permission to post)

We have many new projects we're working on throughout this year
and the next, and we're very excited about these themes.
These lines/series are open to all authors, so please spread the word
to any writing groups you're on or to your writing friends.

Also, please be sure to include the series title in the Subject header
of your submission.

Kinetic Series—Releasing November 2006

The theme for this series is psychic powers.
Examples include, but are not limited to psychokinesis, pyrokinesis,
hydrokinesis, and other superhuman powers.
Let your imagination run wild!

Stories should be between 10,000 and 35,000 words,
but longer novels will be considered.
Genres can be historical, fantasy, futuristic, or paranormal/contemporary
and can be in any locale or setting. Spicy or erotic sensuality is preferred.

Non-NCP authors must submit full manuscript.
Stories should be turned in for consideration no later than the end of July 2006.
Send to submissions@ newconceptspublishing.com (no space)

Harmony™ Line—Ongoing release dates

We are actively acquiring high quality, original interracial
and multiracial romances for this line. T
his line is widely advertised in print media and heavily promoted
wherever opportunities arise.
Romance genres we are most interested in are paranormal, futuristic,
fantasy, and historical—spicy or erotic are preferred.
Straight contemporary romances are rarely accepted for this line.

Novels should be at least 70,000 words but novellas will be considered for anthologies.

Non-NCP authors must submit full manuscript.
More information about this line can be found on our website: www.newconceptspublishing.com/submissionguidelines.htm
(We've had requests for more Domination/Captive themes for this line,
but are not limited to this theme alone.)
Send to submissions@ newconceptspublishing.com (no space)

The Brood—Releasing February 2007

The theme for this series is animal shifter clans,
either of earthly origin or of the fantasy variety.
(Please, no bestiality themes)
Examples include, but are not limited to wolf, lion, bear, dragon, griffin, swan, etc.
Stories should be between 10,000 and 35,000 words,
but longer novels will be considered.

Romance genres can be historical, fantasy, futuristic,
or paranormal/contemporary, in any locale or setting and use any plot device,
as long as shifting is used within the story.
Spicy or erotic sensuality is preferred.

Non-NCP authors must submit full manuscript.
Completed stories should be turned in for consideration no later than
the end of October 2006.
Send to submissions@ newconceptspublishing.com (no space)

Enchanted—Releasing May 2007

The theme for this series is magical enchantments and curses.
Examples include but are not limited to retellings of fairytales
like Beauty and the Beast, Rose Red, Sleeping Beauty, etc.
Stories should be between 10,000 and 35,000 words,
but longer novels will be considered.

Romance genres can be historical, fantasy, futuristic, paranormal,
or contemporary, in any locale or setting and use any plot device,
as long as the theme is used within the story.
Spicy or erotic sensuality is preferred.

Non-NCP authors must submit full manuscript.
Completed stories should be turned in for consideration
no later than the end of December 2006.

Send to submissions@ newconceptspublishing.com (no space)

Inferno—Releasing August 2007

Theme is summer and heat.
These stories should be VERY SEXY
and should include high sexual tension.

Stories should be between 10,000 and 35,000 words.

Romance genres can be historical, fantasy, futuristic,
paranormal, contemporary, in any locale or setting.
Spicy or erotic sensuality is preferred.

Non-NCP authors must submit full manuscript.
Completed stories should be turned in for consideration
no later than the end of April 2007.
Send to submissions@ newconceptspublishing.com (no space)
Sincerely,Andrea DePasture
New Concepts Publishing
www.newconceptspublishing.com

------------------------------------------------------------------
Good luck!

Rowena Cherry

The Faery Court

Here are the faeries who sponsored the recent Faery Ball at the
Romantic Times BOOKClub Convention in Daytona Beach.

What a colorful group we were! Are!!!

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

Romance and research

Q: Why is research like an iceberg?

A: Because only about 10 percent of it shows.

In my books I try to leave about 90 percent
of my background research to loom below the surface.
With luck, my readers will never notice that it's there,
apart from enjoying my worldbuilding. :-)

After all, for every cool, alien-seeming flower or fruit
I might learn about --I prefer not to completely make them up--
there are lots of equally exotic plants that aren't useful
for the purposes of my story.

In INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL, which I recently sold
to Alicia Condon of DORCHESTER PUBLISHING, my furious
hero is maroioned on a deserted island with an unwilling heroine
who won't take off her fancy (but wet) clothes to save her life ....
which she should!

According to the Science Channel's SURVIVORMAN, Les Stroud,
the best way to avoid hypothermia is to doff the wet duds and share
body heat.

So, my frustrated hero decides that life will be more tolerable
if he can construct a distillery and a guitar --or a flute, with a view
to getting drunk and singing raunchy songs about his plight.

It doesn't much further the story if my hero then plans exactly how
he will go about fabricating his moonshine still or his instrument,
but the author needs to know, and a true detail here or there gives
the hero something to do in coming scenes.

Research is on my mind partly because my "Research" for a desert
island survival romance was the topic of a radio interview I was
given yesterday.

Also, because I have suggested to the organizers of next year's
Romantic Times Convention that I'd like to put together a
workshop on "Research".

And finally, because I am about ready to get into the Research
phase of writing my next book. Thank goodness for the internet!
Imagine walking into a public library, and asking the librarian
to point me to the stacks dealing with unauthorized exhumations,
for example.

I'll leave you with that thought, pretty much, except to say that I
intend to blog a little more predictably.... Maybe on Sundays.

Best wishes,
Rowena

STARSHIPS, SORCERERS, SEXY HEROES...oh my!

I'm on that panel at the RT convention, and have my dibs on the Sexy Heroes... as a topic, in theory, of course. I leave for Daytona very early on Weds morning.

Meanwhile, my latest newsletter is out www.rowenacherry.com/newsletter

I'm sorry this is a short posting.

Best wishes,

Rowena Cherry

A fun read -- that's a tad X-rated

A fun read [that’s a tad X-rated].
~KC Heath, yetanotherbookreview.com

Read the full review at http://yetanotherbookreview.com/forced_mate.htm

Normally, I'd save review snips for my newsletter, which can be found at www.rowenacherry.com/newsletter (and there is a link on this blog) but someone else asked me for a convenient way to find links in a hurry, and this seemed the simplest answer since my next newsletter won't be out for a couple of weeks.

I've been blogging at Amazon Connect about questions readers have raised, such as:
"Why is FORCED MATE called a futuristic when it is set in 1994?"

"Why are there so many names beginning with Dj-- and how do you pronounce that, anyway?"

And "If FORCED MATE isn't a bodice ripper, what does the title mean?"
(It is a chess title.)

Best wishes,
Rowena

http://yetanotherbookreview.com/forced_mate.htm

Yet Another Book Review of Forced Mate

A fun read [that’s a tad X-rated].
~KC Heath, yetanotherbookreview.com

Read the full review at http://yetanotherbookreview.com/forced_mate.htm

Normally, I'd save review snips for my newsletter, which can be found at www.rowenacherry.com/newsletter (and there is a link on this blog) but someone else asked me for a convenient way to find links in a hurry, and this seemed the simplest answer since my next newsletter won't be out for a couple of weeks.

I've been blogging at Amazon Connect about questions readers have raised, such as:
"Why is FORCED MATE called a futuristic when it is set in 1994?"

"Why are there so many names beginning with Dj-- and how do you pronounce that, anyway?"

And "If FORCED MATE isn't a bodice ripper, what does the title mean?"
(It is a chess title.)

Best wishes,
Rowena

MATING NET review by Aysel Arwen

Compact, but Very Complex...

... intrigue, tension and a surprising and tender ending.

~Aysel Arwen, author of A Pirate, A Secret And Rose

a steamy, sensual sci-fi read that will entertain!

~Kristi Ahlers, contributing author to No Law Against Love

Rowena Cherry chats on Blase Skip Radio

Rowena Cherry, aka Rowena Beaumont Cherry, answers eleven questions about her titles, about the logistics of going on a booktour with an allergic child, and about what she will be doing at the Romantic Times Bookclub conference in Daytona next month.

Download and listen to Rowena Cherry, author of the critically acclaimed alien djinn romances FORCED MATE and MATING NET.

Rowena's April 17th 2006 radio interview can be found at Blase Skip http://www.blaseskip.com/lb

I love to break rules

Perhaps I should qualify that! I like to break "rules" that other people make concerning what and how I should write.

I tend to be a bit of a contrarian if I make a "bet" on the stock market, too.

Otherwise, I am a law abiding citizen.

Talking of breaking the law.... One of the most interesting books I've ever read was Isaac Asimov's The Gods Themselves, which was in three parts. One of the parts involved breaking a so-called law of either Physics or Chemistry, which Asimov decided to make possible in another, parallel, dimension.

My books would never work if read aloud as books on tape. I know that. I have too many names that sound as if they start with a J.

You noticed? There's Djohn-Kronos, Djetthro-Jason (in fact, there are two Djetthro-Jasons), Django-Ra, Djerrold Vulcan... and many, many more.

I did it on purpose. The fact that a lot of my favorite male names begin with G or J had little to do with it.

Once I'd decided that my ruling race were going to be Djinn, it seemed logical to me that all members of the Djinn Royal Family should have at least one "Royal" name. Thus, the Dj- in a character's name is an intentional heads-up to my readers that this person is one of the Djinn.

Not all characters choose to use their Royal Djinn name, which may imply something about their personality or that of the parent who named them.

Tarrant-Arragon doesn't feel the need to use the "Djustin Djohn" in his royally long list of names. Helispeta Djinnifer never uses her Royal name. Djarrhett abbreviates his name to 'Rhett.

Adding to the complexity, some of my characters hyphenate their given names, and some don't.
Some of them started out on the original Family Tree with hyphens, but which, as the character developed, I realized weren't right for them ... like Djinni-Vera and Helis-Peta. That, however, is another story!

Best wishes,
Rowena

Alien villain of MATING NET checks out good women

The god-Emperor Djohn-Kronos hasn't had decent sex in a gestate and is looking for a good time, tonight, April 1st. His High and Mightiness will attend the Coffeetime chat at 9pm Eastern in hopes of meeting a few "good" women.

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/ctr_chat.htm