Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Wednesday Guest- Cathryn Cade

Blogging with me today is fellow Rose City Romance Author Cathryn Cade!


Horse Opera to Space Opera

If you're reading Paty Jager's blog, chances are you're a western romance fan.

Well, so am I! I grew up in Montana, in a ranching family that included great-granddads who helped settle the west. One of them even lived with Sitting Bull's tribe for a few years, and remained friends with him until his death. When I was a little girl, I progressed from a stick horse to a Shetland pony, and then to bigger horses.

That life ended when my parents divorced, and my sister and I moved to town with Mom. But I stayed grounded in western lore. I still love Western stories, especially romance, and there is nothing like a good country western song, or a handsome man dressed in tight jeans and a cowboy hat.

So how did an ex-cowgirl from Montana end up writing sci fi paranormal? Well, any good rancher will tell you, when you live miles from the nearest hardware store, you've got to improvise. Trailer hitches to boots, things fall apart right when you need them, and livestock won't wait for you to go get the right part. Baling twine or wire and duct tape are essentials of any ranch tool kit.

Gadgets, in other words. Creativity. I've always wanted to write westerns, which used to be called 'horse opera'. This was because the first cowboy heroes would break into song as they rode across the silver screen. But then, exploring the possibilities of how to break into print, I came across a publisher called Samhain, who wanted stories with a shape-shifting hero. My brain lit up like a yard light—I had an idea for a shape-shifter hero. A kind of half big cat, half man. A true alpha male. He was originally going to be an Indian.

But, in plotting the difficulties of bringing him to life, I realized that if he were from another world entirely, all the rules were busted. I could make up my own rules. And if I used a little inter-stellar baling twine here and there, no one would know. 'Cause, hey! I wrote it. So that's how I went from horse opera to space opera. Along the way, I discovered I love inventing beings from other planets, and all kinds of space gadgets.

And while my heroes don't sing, they do round up the bad guys, using their paranormal powers. And the heroines admire the way they look in their snug space suits!

So, if you love a romance no matter where it takes place, stop by my website for excerpts from my stories. I'll leave the yard light on for you.
Best, Cathryn
... red hot romance!
'Deep Indigo' Book 4,The Orion Series available now from Samhain
http://www.cathryncade.com
http://cathryncadesblog.blogspot.com/
http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/cathryn-cade

4 comments:

Kim Bowman Author said...

Spoken like a true country girl. A woman after my own heart. I love improvising in my stories!!

Dianna said...

Horses and rocket ships require the same love and understanding and firm seat in the saddle ;-) One of my favorite TV series was "Firefly". And even its writers thought of it as a horse opera in space! I'll take you up on your invit and stop by your website.
Dianna

Sarah Raplee said...

Enjoyed your blog, Cathryn! Nice job!

Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel said...

LOL, Cathryn! This is a great post. Love the way you moved from cowgirl to space explorer, but kept a link between them!