She Wrote a Bold New World

SFR: A Bold New World…for me

I’m not a newbie. Far from it. I’ve been writing romance for…counts on fingers…takes off socks…almost 14 years now. As with all writers, the writing – and the business – hasn’t been easy, and it hasn’t moved quickly. There have been ups and downs as I figured out what it was I needed to do.

I actually started out trying to write Historical Romance.

It was not my niche, to put it delicately. I loved doing the research, but there was always something off. It turns out that my voice is entirely unsuited to historicals. shrug Live and learn.

Then I started writing Paranormal Romance. At last! This was where I really fit! I write light, contemporary paranormals with a lot of fun, and if we’re all very lucky, a few dead bodies. And I love it. I really do. There’s all kinds of scope for imagination, as Anne Shirley would say, in PNR.

But I must confess, I’ve always loved reading Science Fiction Romance. Back in the day, that mostly meant Futuristic Romances with hot heroes in the Space Military of HotMenIxon. (Throw an X in anywhere, and you’re good to go, space naming-wise.) Then I found Catherine Spangler and Linnea Sinclair, and realized that I could have my romance AND the science fiction I loved, too!

Not that I was going to write it, of course. I mean, I had finally found my niche in PNR. If it wasn’t changing shapes or sprouting fangs, I couldn’t imagine writing it.

But I did have this one story…and the more I played with it, the more I went, yeah, he’s a shapeshifter, but there’s something missing.

Hence was born Hakon sidUlfr, an alien shifter from the planet Fenrir. Taller than a human, he could go into a berserker battle mode and shift into a monstrous, nine-foot tall wolf creature that delivered death and dismemberment to his enemies. He found his mate, a physicist named Lauren Ivers who needed some extra-terrestrial bodyguarding, in a short story I called “A Wolf to Watch Over Me.”

And all was fine. I’d gotten the SFR bug out of my system. But I think SFR must bear some resemblance to malaria. You’re never fully cured. Soon enough, I had readers asking for more of Hakon and Lauren.

Not one to turn down a reader request, I started thinking of ways to bring them back. And so, “A Most Wanted Viking” was born. Featuring Andrew Wyatt, a human spy, and Ule tärEinar, a Fenrir soldier, I was able to revisit the world I’d begun to build in the first story.

Set in a future Earth, we’ve colonized the stars, and stepped on a few alien toes. The Earth became embroiled in a galactic conflict and sided with the Fenrir against the evil Axis powers. The Fenrir are the descendants of Loki’s son, the original Fenrir from Norse mythology, and his Valkyrie wife, who traveled to the stars.

This way, I get to combine two of my favorite things – science fiction AND mythology! It’s really a win-win situation for everyone. ￿

And so I present to you, “A Most Wanted Viking.” It will be released Sept 21 in a box set called Vikings Untamed, which contains not only my sizzling hot alien werewolf, but also several other smokingly sexy Viking SFR stories by amazing authors.

About Sela’s book:

A spy and a werewolf walk into a firefight…

No joking matter, Andrew Wyatt thinks all he has to do is bring a human scientist back into the fold. He doesn’t count on a sizzling hot alien wolf shifter getting in his way, and getting under his skin.

Ule tärEinar has kept herself busy rebuilding engines since she settled here on Earth with her fellow Fenrir. The last thing she needs is a tall blond spy interfering with her life. She may not trust Andrew, but that doesn’t stop the sparks from flying around them. And once she does learn to trust, they’ll need each other to survive an invasion that could draw their two allied cultures into a war neither can afford.

A MOST WANTED VIKING by Sela Carsen is one of 7 erotic romances in the new VIKINGS UNTAMED box set, also featuring Kate Pearce, Anne Marsh, Crystal Jordan, Holley Trent, Dayna Hart, and Zoe York. Pick up your copy at your favorite e-tailer starting September 21! UPDATED: Preorder from Amazon!

I will admit I have never thought of mixing Vikings into my science fiction romance. Fun idea! So dear readers, what do you think? Vikings? What else should we mix into SFR?

I love comments so much that I pick a favorite to receive my monthly AnaBanana gift basket ($25 value).  Recipient is announced the first blog post of the new month.

Perilously yours,

Pauline