Our final Featured Author for our five year anniversary celebration is the brilliant Sharon Lynn Feature. She donated a book to our final drawing, so be sure to enter by answering the question below!
THE BOOK
Echo 8
Three lives. Two worlds. One chance to save them all.
As a parapsychologist working for Seattle Psi, Tess has devoted her life to studying psychic phenomena. But when doppelgangers begin appearing from a parallel world that’s been struck by an asteroid, nothing in her training will help her survive what’s to come.
After dislocating to Seattle Psi from the other Earth, Jake is confined by a special task force for study. But when he drains life energy from Tess, almost killing her, it causes a ripple effect across two worlds – and creates a bond neither of them expected.
Ross is an FBI agent ordered to protect Tess while she studies Jake. His assignment is not random – he and Tess have a history, and a connection the Bureau hopes to use to its own advantage. By the time Ross realizes his mission could be compromised, it’s already too late – he’ll have to choose between his love for Tess and his duty to protect the people of his own Earth.
At the publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
Available at Amazon and other fine retailers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RWA RITA-finalist author Sharon Lynn Fisher writes stories for the geeky at heart — meaty mash-ups of sci-fi, suspense, and romance, with no apology for the latter. She lives where it rains nine months of the year, and she has a strange obsession with gingers (down to her freaky orange cat).
Sharon writes sci-fi romance for Tor Books: Ghost Planet (2012), The Ophelia Prophecy (2014), and Echo 8 (2015). She is also the author of the Fantasies in Color series of fairy tale erotica, coming soon from Penguin-Random House Loveswept.
Find her on Facebook | Twitter | and Pinterest
Mini Interview
Q. When did you realize SFR was a genre?
A. Laurie Green, SFR author and founder of the SFR blog Spacefreighters Lounge, ran a list of the 2009 RWA Golden Heart paranormal finalists (which I came across because yes, I was Googling myself). My debut novel GHOST PLANET was a finalist, and there was discussion in the comments between Laurie and Heather Massey (of The Galaxy Express) as to whether the book was an SFR. I responded that I thought it was, but I wasn’t sure, because I wasn’t even sure it was romance until it made the finals. When I described it, they assured me it was, and that was my education!
Q. What SFR book had the most impact on your reading and/or writing?
A. I think I have to say A WRINKLE IN TIME. Which actually was a children’s book with the barest hint of a romance. But I read the book many times in my formative years, and it definitely left a mark. Next in line I think was probably SPLINTER OF THE MIND’S EYE, an old Star Wars world book by Alan Dean Foster. This book came out before the third movie, which rendered SotME rather incestuous. It was a great book though.
Q. Do your books lean more SF or Romance?
A. The industry folks who have read them have described them as half and half. Which is exactly what I like as a reader — half speculative, half romance. But this caused some head scratching when it came time to figure out where to shelve them. They were originally to go in the romance section, but it was decided the cover for book 1 was not romance-y enough. So they’re all in sci-fi.
Sharon’s question for readers:
What made you start reading SFR? (Because I think this is a challenge we face — convincing romance and sci-fi readers to give SFR a try.)
Smart Girls love SciFi 
I loved having strong female characters. It just fulfilled a real need that just plain SciFi did not satisfy.
Yes, agreed!
Did not say how much I love Sharon Lynn’s books.
Aw, thanks so much!
What made you start reading SFR? I can’t say that anything MADE me start reading SFR. It just is. I have adored sci-fi since Star Trek – original series, and at one time, had all the following books. Now we all know Captain Kirk has a girl in every port so these books often had a romantic bent to them. There is even some romance in Star Wars. So, it just evolved.
As for a separate genre, SFR, weeeeeelllllllllll . . . Since this lovely contest started, I have been paying more attention to some things. (You did good here, you got us thinking and watching.) For instance, I am currently reading a new release from a favorite romance writer. This one has an end of the world theme to it, as well as romance. However, just for information I looked at how it was tagged. Interestingly enough, it had tags for sci-fi, military, romance, dystopia, but all in separate places. For instance, if tagged as sci-fi in one place, it was not tagged romance and visa versa. So I have a question – the authors here this week are lamenting the fact that SFR as a genre is languishing, but do all authors know of the genre so they can so tag their work this way when they leave comfort zones and go exploring? Do the sellers even have SFR as a choice for you to shelf your book? Just something I noticed with this new book, but don’t know how wide spread. I know there are several of my erotic romance authors who take off into space, but don’t know how they tag their books. Just a thought.
These are some great questions. Traditional bookstores definitely don’t dedicate a section to SFR. And I’ve found the Amazon categories rather confusing. (Though I confess I’m no expert.) My first book, GHOST PLANET, is in a category called “space exploration”, but not SFR. I believe SFR may be a keyword and not an actual category. But again, folks who have indie published are way more savvy about all this stuff!
This is a bit of a cop-out, but…learning it existed. Seriously. I already loved the two separately and two great tastes that go great together, yes please!
A good gateway drug: the Mass Effect video games. I’ve managed to sell a friend or two on an SFR book by saying ‘it’s like Mass Effect but with symbiotes and the romance is great.’
(and that’s the best picture of the Space Needle’s future that I’ve seen in a while. Yay Seattle!)
That’s pretty much the same way I fell into it. No shame there. 🙂 I knew a lot of sci-fi and fantasy had strong romance elements and that sometimes I got lucky enough to find one like that, but that was the extent of my knowledge of the subgenre.
Isn’t that lovely? Tor’s designer did a fantastic job. The Space Needle has two futures in ECHO 8. 🙂
I have a big fan of Sharon’s books; I did not know SFR was a thing – but I’m glad it is. As well I appreciate she posted info on your blog on FB – my to-be-read list is always in need of additions!
Thanks so much, Joskimo! And ditto, awfully glad it’s a thing. 🙂
I was always a fan or sci fi and fantasy, but never thought about romance much. I guess I thought romances novels were either historical (boring!) or contemporary (meh!). Once I realized I could download free books onto my Kindle, I started getting sci fi and fantasy books. Then I stumbled upon Anna Zaires’ Close Liasons (Dec 2013) and I couldn’t believe how much the romance added to the sci fi element. I was hooked! From there I moved onto discover other great authors and I haven’t stopped reading it since.
Oh, that’s a new one for me! I’ll have to check it out.
When younger, traditional scifi was my goto genre. Then, when I had read most of the scifi in my small local library, I branched out to romance. Somewhere or other I picked up a scifi romance. I don’t remember what it was…wish I did…and discovered the best of both worlds. I read a lot of books of many different genres. But, SFR is my favorite and one I give myself as a treat when I’ve been good and I try to be good as much as possible! Teehee!
Ha ha! Good for you. 😉
It combines my two most loved book categories!
🙂
I haven’t actually read any sci fi romances that I can think of immediately. I have to say that I am interested in the concept. One of the problems with romances for me is that the ones I have read in the past are very formulaic, or the female protagonist is weak. But I love having some romantic elements in the fantasy and sci fi that I read. I’m always willing to give a genre a second chance.