Aurora Springer is a scientist morphing into a novelist. She has a PhD in molecular biophysics and discovers science facts in her day job. She has invented adventures in weird worlds for as long as she can remember. In 2014, Aurora achieved her life-long ambition to publish her stories. Her works are character-driven romances set in weird worlds described with a sprinkle of humor. Some of the stories were composed thirty years ago. She was born in the UK and lives in Atlanta with her husband, a dog and two cats to sit on the keyboard. Her hobbies, besides reading and writing, include outdoor activities like gardening, watching wildlife, hiking and canoeing.

RK: What made you decide to become a writer?

I have been a writer as long as I can remember. Since childhood, I have imagined adventures in fantastic worlds. My father gave me a notebook and I wrote down poems and short stories. Some thirty years ago, I completed a full length novel with a romance set on a human colony after the arrival of an alien spaceship. This story was written in pen on sheets of paper. Over the years, I attempted to type the story into digital form, starting on a floppy disk. Life intervened, including two children. About eighteen months ago, I made a serious effort to finish, edited the story to 95,000 words and published it with the title “The Lady is Blue”. To date, I have published four novels in two series and three novellas.

RK: What attracts you to the romance genre, particularly SF and the paranormal?

I write the type of story that I enjoy reading, a mix of SF adventure and mystery intertwined with romance. Imagine Andre Norton plus that extra perspective of the relationship between two or more characters. Romance suggests heroines and happy endings. My stories feature active characters traveling on exotic worlds where love develops naturally during the disaster, adventure or quest. The characters and the otherworldly setting drive the story. I believe that when two compatible people are thrown together by circumstances, romance happens. They may not be looking for love, they may be divided by race, culture, or on opposite sides of a conflict. I enjoy inventing unique characters, weird worlds and fantastic aliens.

RK: What do you feel makes an engaging hero/heroine? How do you develop your characters?

An engaging hero/heroine has the mental strength to move the plot forward. They are not perfect and have flaws. My heroines are stubborn and curious, active participants and often leaders. My heroes are often leaders such as the captain of a spaceship, although not always. The characters come to me with the core of the plot. Once I have a good image of their personality, I can throw them into disasters and know how they will react. Many of my couples banter with each other. Humor slips into most of my stories. The character of the “hero” in my latest series, the Griffin Grand Master, crystallized in my mind after the 2014 Nebula Nights Party of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade. My notes for the story go back thirty years or more, but I could not proceed until the characters came to life. Then, I discovered I had a trilogy.

RK: What themes and ideas do you often explore in your writing?

My main characters may be loners, struggling to find acceptance, or hiding a secret. I have explored the effects of a rigid class/caste system, slavery, and superpowers on my characters and the conflicts or disasters they contend with. Common themes are persistence in following your goals, honorable conduct, and simple kindness.

RK: Please tell us a bit about your most recent project.

Currently, my biggest project is the Grand Master’s Trilogy. I published Book 1, Grand Master’s Pawn, in March, and Book 2, Grand Master’s Game, releases on July 14^th. I am writing Book 3, Grand Master’s Mate. My initial idea, being frugal, was to combine several short stories into a full-length novel. The organizing theme was a young woman, the Pawn, who travels on missions to different planets under the orders of a mysterious Grand Master. Following the chess analogy, the Pawn, Violet, is “Alice Through the Looking Glass”. Two of my short stories and skimpy notes about a dragon morphed into three of Violet’s missions. Then, she meets her Grand Master, resulting in several kinds of fireworks and material for two further books in the Trilogy. There are hints of some of my favorite authors in this series: Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, Roger Zelazny, and Philip Jose Farmer.

And some fun questions …

RK: If you discovered a close family member was an alien, what would you do?

Beg them to take me to their planet.

RK: If you were a superhero, what would be your name and superpower?

Silver Comet with the superpower of flight.

New Release on July 14: Grand Master’s Game

 

Blurb

Spin across the galaxy as Violet and her Grand Master hunt their enemies.

Cracks in the portal web threaten galactic civilization, and suspicions fall on the mysterious Grand Masters with their immense psychic powers. Once, there were twelve Grand Masters, humans and aliens, on the Council. Now there are eleven. One was killed when the young pawn, Violet, rescued her Grand Master, Athanor, from the Red Queen’s dungeon. The Red Queen fled the fight and now she lurks out of sight, regenerating her energies.

Athanor devises a risky plan to expose his enemies on the Council and force the Red Queen into the open. His strategy will employ Violet’s empathic skills as his secret weapon. Meanwhile, she wrestles with her erratic talents and doubts about their unequal partnership. In their search for revenge, they contend with the portal crisis, psychic traps and hostile aliens. In the inevitable battle of Grand Masters, Violet and Athanor each will face their worst nightmares. What is the sacrifice for victory?

Website: http://AuroraSpringerNovels.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aurora-Springer/885945434752937

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AuroraSpringer

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8197461.Aurora_Springer

Grand Master’s Game is available at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0104OFJJ8