Veronica Scott for AMAZING STORIES: Welcome to my periodic series of author profiles. Today I’ve chosen Cynthia Sax to highlight, for her “sizzling cyborg” (and other excellent science fiction romance) novels.
VS for ASM.: What was the first SFR book you ever read and what did you like about it?
CS:: The first SciFi Romance I ever read was Warrior’s Woman by Johanna Lindsey. I loved her historical romances and had read everything she published. Warrior’s Woman was different but I loved it. The hero was a barbarian in space, which really appealed to me. I loved the intrepid warrior heroine. And her guidance system made me laugh. I was completely captured.
ASM.: Which of your SFR books is the bestselling?
CS: Releasing Rage, the first story in the Cyborg Sizzle series and the first cyborg romance I ever had published, is, by far, my bestselling story. I wrote Releasing Rage for me. My two favorite cyborg romance writers (Laurann Dohner and Eve Langlais), at the time, were both taking break from their respective cyborg romance series and I needed a story to read. So I wrote one.
The logline – Half Man. Half Machine. All Hers. – could apply to many cyborg romances.
ASM.: That one had a profound effect on me – it was the first one of yours I ever read and it was so packed with emotion – wow! How do you go about world building? Do you do elaborate planning, keep a big file, use post its, wing it – what method works for you?
CS: I use an onion-like method with world building. I first narrow the world building in each story to only the aspects that specific story needs. If the hero was a space architect, for example, he would notice the buildings around him, the materials they were constructed from, their key functions. But he might not be as interested in the currency the planet uses or the clothing the locals wear. With each additional story in the series, I then build outward, exploring different aspects of the world. Maybe the next hero is a chef. He would be interested in food preparation, crops, etc. and would bring those insights about the alien planet. The cyborg world, now that has over 40 stories in it, is quite complex.
ASM.: What was your most recent book and what was the story spark or inspiration for that story?
CS: Raw Desires, my most recent release, features a human heroine from a peace-embracing culture. Raw, her hero, is a cyborg warrior and LOVES battle. I thought… what would happen if he was matched with a being who grew up believing she should always ‘turn the other cheek’?
And what if she had a heart-wrenching reason to hate all cyborgs? What is she hated them to the point of extreme violence?
ASM.:Which of your characters do your readers love to hate? Why?
CS: Before I wrote his story, quite a few reading buddies disliked Power, the self-appointed leader of the cyborg council. He is such an arrogant a** and he almost had some previous cyborg heroes killed. It was so much fun to ‘redeem’ him in Seizing Power, his story. That redemption was an extremely painful and humiliating process for Power. He certainly earned his romantic happy ever after.
ASM.: Your own favorite tropes? Least favorite tropes?
CS: My two all time favorite tropes are Beauty and the Beast and Enemies To Lovers. These two tropes have SO much in common. I love it, for example, when there’s anger or tension between the two (or more) love interests. It curls my toes when all that fury flows to passion. I also love the revelation that the other being isn’t who their love interest thinks they are. That’s such a wonderful moment. Every time I say I don’t like a trope, a writer does it so brilliantly I find myself liking it. (grins) But normally I don’t like tropes that are about one character being needlessly cruel to another.
ASM.: What’s next for you?
CS: I am currently writing Strive For Forever, the fourth story in the Cyborg Unity series. It will release in July and features a beauty-loving cyborg hero and a human heroine serving as the unwilling host to an all-powerful alien being.
ASM.: What’s on your To Be Read List?
CS: My To Be Read List is HUGE. I still haven’t read Talinn, your (Veronica Scott’s) most recent Badari Gladiators story. I like to always have an unread Badari story as an emergency read. (grins) When you release the next stories, I hastily and happily read the previous releases.
Also on my To Be Read List are Her Cyborg Rangers by Susan Hayes, Conqueror by Anna Hackett, Knowing Her by Michelle Howard, R’jaal’s Resonance by Ruby Dixon (pre-ordered!) and so many more awesome SciFi Romances!
ASM.: Give us your short author bio and where you can be found on social media.
USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes steamy Cyborg, Alien and Contemporary Romances. Her stories have been featured on TV, in Star Magazine, and numerous top ten lists.
Social Media Links:
Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled monthly newsletter and visit her on the web at www.CynthiaSax.com
Website: https://cynthiasax.com/
Newsletter: https://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cynthiasax/
Twitter: @CynthiaSax
Blog: https://tasteofcyn.com/
ASM.: Raw Desires: A SciFi Cyborg Romance (Cyborg Unity Book 3) released this past week. Here’s the book’s full blurb:
His human female is attempting to kill him.
This cyborg finds that adorable.
Raw, a K model cyborg, is one of the lucky warriors who has located his genetic match. He hears his human female’s voice over the communication lines and immediately processes she is his.
Winning her affections will be a greater challenge. Battle has always been Raw’s focus. The rough-and-tough warrior has no idea how to engage anyone’s tender emotions.
Fortunately, he isn’t alone in the universe. His unmatched male friends help him craft a plan.
All Raw has to do is relay a few unsettlingly sweet words to his female and give her the thoroughly unfunctional wall decoration he has obtained. He projects she will then jump into his big, strong arms and beg him to claim her.
Taytu isn’t jumping anywhere. She has one mission—kill every cyborg in existence.
The huge, handsome male traveling to meet with her is her first target. His rough hands, firm lips, and sparkling, energy-infused eyes won’t save him from her vengeance. She has trained vigorously for this moment, and she won’t fail at her assigned task.
The cyborg will die.
Source: Auto Draft
