Please welcome author Diane Dooley to the blog. Make her feel welcome by leaving your questions and comments in the comments section following this post.
Romance, Religion and Politics, Oh My!
In Mako’s Bounty, my science fiction/romance novella from Decadent Publishing, the hero is a man known throughout the galaxy as ‘The Saint.’ People believe his nickname is derived from his formal name, Vin Sainte, but in fact he is monikered thus due to his penchant for praying. Yes. Praying. Even though this story is most definitely NOT an inspirational romance, one of the main characters is a man of faith who, usually at highly inappropriate moments, likes to offer up a plea for help or a word of thanks to the God he believes in.
I’m an atheist myself, so my character’s religious beliefs are not me channelling my own. I did, however, have a very religious upbringing and grew up in an area of Scotland that was rife with religious strife between catholics and protestants. And the plot and characters of Mako’s Bounty are very much inspired by those times growing up in political turmoil in the west of Scotland. In addition to being religious, Vin Sainte is also a rabble-rousing communist. It *is* possible to be both. Ever hear of liberation theology? Vin would call himself a freedom fighter rather than a communist, no doubt, but he DID name his ship after the Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin.
Religion and politics? In a romance story? I must have been crazy! But please believe that I’m not heavy-handed with it; Mako’s Bounty is actually a comedy. When a writer sits down to invent an imaginary person, where does she find them? I found Vin Sainte in Scotland, even though I had him be born in a bleak mining colony in the asteroid belt. His political and religious beliefs are merely facets of a multi-hued character; background details that inform his motivations and worldview. Believe it or not, he’s actually a charming and funny guy.
Now I’ve nearly scared you off with serious issues, let’s see if I can reel you back in *grin* Here’s the opening. You’re meeting the heroine – Makiko Dolan, bounty hunter:
Excerpt From Mako’s Bounty:
“About freakin’ time!” Mako Dolan cursed as Flight Control gave final clearance to bring her Zebra One Eighty into the bay at Lunar Station. Damn place was always so busy with ferries and amateur day trippers from Earth. She guided the craft in at a little over legal speed, performing a nifty maneuver to ensure she docked softly as a whisper.
The comlink blinked on. “Two hundred credit fine for speeding.”
Damned overzealous employees with nothing better to do. She needed her cred balance to be going up, not down. “You’ve got to be freakin’ kidding me, Dockie.”
“Knocked off a hundred for the sweet maneuver. Take it or leave it.”
Mako heaved in a deep breath to get her temper under control. “Acknowledged, Dockmaster.” She flicked switches until her beloved Zebra quieted then patted her armrest. “It’s been a long haul, Zebbie, my sweet. Ya did good. Time to rest.” She walked back to the empty hold and fondled the manacles and chains bolted to the bulkhead. Won’t be empty much longer. “I’ll be back soon, Zebbie. With company.” Hitching her backpack over one shoulder, she strode to the dockmaster’s office, kicking the door open with her grav boot.
The pimply youth behind the counter raised his hands in mock surrender. “Not me who fined you, miss. Honest!”
He wasn’t quite so young or scared that he failed to give her a quick up and down with his eyes. Noting his leer, she tossed her log on the counter. “I don’t give a shit, sonny. Just get me processed as quick as you can. I gotta be somewhere else soon.”
The youth shuffled through her log book. “Makiko Dolan. Bounty Hunter. Everything seems in order.” He removed her lectrocard and ran it through a scanner. “Approved.”
She snorted. “Well, of course I’m approved.”
“Who are you chasing?”
Nosy little shit. “No one. I’m on vacation.” She placed her palm on the scanner. “Dock fees, refueling, miscellaneous charges from my business account.” Noticing the red-faced young man ogling her, she bent over the counter, bringing her six foot frame down to his level and allowing him a glimpse of cleavage. “Wanna do Mako the Shark a little favor, sonny?” She smirked at him.
He nodded, turning even redder.
She played with the zipper of her flight suit, tugging it down a little. “Is there a ship called The Gagarin in dock?”
The boy dragged his gaze away and tapped into his ’puter. “Yeah, docked sixteen hours ago.” His eyes went back to her jumpsuit zipper.
She pulled it up to her neck. She’d saved herself a long walk around the docks. “Thanks, kid.” She hitched her backpack over her shoulder and headed toward the ferry terminal.
I’ve been chasing you for nine months, you bastard. And now I’m only sixteen hours behind. Grinning, she licked the sharp little teeth that had helped to earn her nickname. Not long now, Mamma. Not long ’til I can claim that bounty and get you out of that freakin’ mining colony.
Blurb From Mako’s Bounty:
For nine long months, at the behest of the evil Ravenscorp, Mako Dolan has been hunting the space pirate they call The Saint. Now she’s finally lured her prey to a one night stand with a mysterious woman—herself. But Vin Sainte is not at all what she expected. Far from being a ruthless space pirate, his main occupation seems to be rescuing nuns, adopting orphans and praying like a champ.
For nine long months Vin Sainte has been fleeing the bounty hunter from one temporary refuge to the next. Now he’s got Mako exactly where he wants her: weak from gravity sickness and ripe for conversion. Problem is he didn’t expect a foul-mouthed, hard-as-nails bounty hunter to be such a devoted daughter. His head on a platter is Ravenscorp’s price for her mother’s freedom.
They have less than twenty four hours. One will win; one will lose. Mako might be a fearsome predator, but Vin has the Lord on his side. Who will win the bounty?
What do you think? Will the determined bounty hunter be a match for the praying space pirate? And what do you think about having a man of faith as a hero in a romance that is not intended to be an inspirational romance?
You can purchase Mako’s Bounty from Decadent Publishing, Amazon, and all the usual online retailers.
About Diane Dooley
Diane Dooley writes science fiction, romance and horror – sometimes all in the same story. You can learn more about her previous and forthcoming publications on her blog or Facebook. You can also track her down on Twitter.
Thanks for visiting us here on the blog Diane. I hope you’ve had a good time during your visit.
It was a lot of fun having you here. I enjoyed the conversation about politics and religion in romance…also enjoyed hearing more about Mako’s Bounty. I hope you’ll come back and visit us again in the future.
I’ve had a lovely time, Laurie. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. I’d be delighted to visit again in the future and have more conversations.
Thanks you so much for hosting me. Happy reading to you and your readers!
Thanks Diane. Drop me a note (LaurieSanders@blackvelvetseductions.com) next time you have a book coming out and we’ll set it up.
I don’t mind religion in a story, but politics, not so much.
There is politics as expressed by waving flags…denouncing the candidates of the other side…and that sort of thing. Then there is kind of a quiet bias on one side or the other (liberal or conservative — socialistic or communistic in thinking) that might come through in a character’s general world view. I get frustrated with politics in real life…though my husband loves it…so I really am not that interested in reading political battles in my romance novels. However…that said…characters who have a political bias…I am okay with that as long as it is a part of who they are…not a label slapped on them at some point in their construction.
And how the politics is handled is also important. Star Wars, for instance, is a rip-roaring space opera with interesting characters and lots of exciting adventures, right? But, at base, it’s about a political struggle, as a scrappy bunch of rebels try to defeat a fascist dictatorship.
Indeed! It is very much about how the politics is handled. Handling of issues in books/stories/movies makes all the difference. Sometimes it is the balance. Sometimes it is how the characters see the politics that plays out in their own lives. Star Wars is an excellent example of politics worked in in such a way you wouldn’t really say it was a political story…but the politics is there…
Sounds like a very interesting 1NS story. I love that series. It’s so all encompassing (have a 1NS piece coming out myself).
The religion aspect in interesting…I wonder how well it would fly if the hero or heroine (and not the author) were the atheist?
Oh, good luck with your upcoming release for 1NS!
I think that’s a very interesting question. Religion gets very little mention in most romance novels, but I’d imagine that a character who actually self-identified as atheist might be quite controversial. In the U.S., at least.
Good question Cara.
For the degree of attention paid to religion in most non-inspirational romances the hero and heroine COULD be atheists. I believe the same is true of other non-inspirational genres. The vast majority of books seem to leave religion and spirituality on the sidelines.
There certainly is a lot going on in MAKO’S BOUNTY. I’m loving the idea of a Space Pirate.
Thanks, Mary. I hope you give it a try. Science fiction romance is a small but dynamic sub-genre.
We switched from Cable TV to DISH Network today…we get a whole lot more channels and a very nifty DVR that allows us to record a bunch of things at once. We don’t really watch that much TV…but we watch at odd times of the day…usually late at night…when the pickings on live TV are pretty slim.
The sudden wealth of material to record and the nearly unlimited space to record it has me thinking about TV today…so I’ll ask…what are some of your favorite TV shows? Are there any that inspire you as a writer?
I don’t watch much TV. I went years without having one. I have one now and can’t actually remember the last time I turned it on. What I like to do is wait for buzz about something, then when it’s finished I rent it on DVD. Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Rome: The Minseries are some I’ve enjoyed. I loved watching longer series when I was much younger. It started with ‘Roots.’ When I got older ‘I. Claudius’ was a big favorite.
I watch movies a couple of times a week. Me and my husband have been introducing our kids to some classics. Last one was Back to the Future. Still fun after all these years.
Oh, I just remembered the last time I turned on the TV! It was to watch a basketball game.
We tend to wait for the series to get a whole season out…then we rent the DVD’s and watch the whole season within a few days. We like watching that way…you don’t forget what happened between episodes that way…we’re also not very good at delayed gratification so that way of watching series works for us.
My husband liked Battlestar Galactica. I couldn’t get into it. I watched the first hour and just was not into it. Too many characters…too much backstory…not enough crisis at the opening for me. It didn’t grab me. He stuck in with it and ended up watching the whole series and liked it.
Firefly I liked a great deal.
I was a big Star Trek (the first one) series when I was a kid… It was fun to watch them later as a grown up to see how much adult innuendo went over my head when I was a kid.
I like TV…but usually like it as an accompaniment to something else. I tend to cut quilt pieces while watching it…or pin quilt pieces…or sew on bindings… Most of the time I don’t JUST watch TV. Whether I watch TV or listen to a book on tape kind of depends on whether I am going to be up and around (mobile) or sitting in one spot…and depends on what hubby is doing. Hubby likes TV…so if we’re spending time together we’ll usually do it with TV. If he’s doing something quiet on the computer then I will listen to a book on tape while I sew at the machine or clean the house or drive in the car.
I generally like the variety of material out there. There are SO MANY stories…SO MUCH creativity. I like being able to dip into that.
Yes, I like to watch the entire season/series within a few days. I find it makes for a much more intensely enjoyable experience. I’m the same way with book series. I’m currently waiting for the GRR Martin fantasy series to be complete so that I can read the entire thing with no agonizing wait between installments.
It’s interesting you always do something else in addition to watching. That’s part of my problem, I think. Watching TV feels so passive and I’m always restless, thinking that I should be doing something.
Yes…I too find that it makes it more enjoyable to watch a whole series/season of TV within a few days. Part of it is the pieces in the story arc fit together so much more closely when you watch it all in the space of a few days. Some of the arcs are, I think, lost if you watch it spread out over months.
With books I don’t usually wait for the series to be complete. I don’t usually read the series in order…because I tend to buy books that have a theme or storyline or trope that I like. Sometimes the one I like falls in the middle of the series… If I like that one well enough I will usually go back and buy the whole series.
Part of doing something else while I am watching TV is that it does feel very passive…and to a degree like wasting time. Time in my world is usually filled to the max so doing nothing makes me feel…agitated. The flip side is that when I am tired and I sit down just with the intent to veg the cats pile on, it is warm, they are relaxed, and gradually I relax. Before I know it I am asleep. I HATE when that happens and I miss my show. But then most of what we watch is recorded anyway so I can watch it another day.
But definitely for me, the handwork that I do while I am watching TV is an important part of the experience. It enriches the experience…and come Christmas when I have quilts to give away that were largely made while watching TV I am glad that I doubled up and double used the TV time.
Works for me…has pretty much all my life. I’ve never been one to just watch TV passively while doing nothing else.
You obviously enjoy stories that combine some traditional ideas with some new unique bits when it comes to writing. Is that what you like in reading material as well?
What are your favorite sub-genres to read – to write?
What do you think is the mark of a great romance novel?
Who are some of your favorite authors? Which of their books are your favorites and why?
I love to read and, when I do, I’m completely in the hands of the author. Just tell me a good story and tell it well. I’ll read a very sweet, traditional romance, then follow it up with something completely different. I do like unique angles and characters I haven’t met many times before.
Favorite sub-genres to read? Sub-genres of romance, I take it? I love most of them; contemporary, historical, science fiction are my favorites. I’ll read paranormal or fantasy on occasion. I’m really picky about erotic romance. rarely read inspirational.
The mark of a great romance novel is the same as any novel: you don’t want to put it down, and you keep it on your shelf because you know you’ll want to read it again in the future.
Favorite authors? Wow, I have an extremely long list. I find Nabokov endlessly fascinating. I go between ‘Pale Fire’ and Lolita’ as my favorites. CJ Cherryh and Octavia Butler are favorites and influences. Too many favorites books of theirs to mention! For romance I love the humor of Jennifer Crusee, the beautifully written historicals of Loretta Chase and Jo Bourne. Courtney Milan is edging into favorite territory. I love a Scottish author by the name of Alasdair Grey. No one’s ever heard of him, which is sad, ‘cos I think he’s quite astonishing. I could go on all night about books and authors. I really could.
Thanks for sharing your favorites with us. Like you I tend to like a variety of sub-genres…and I tend to mix it up. If I just read a sweet romance there is a very good chance I’ll want a paranormal or an erotic or a historical or something very different next.
I tend to mix up what I read…like you, I like books in most genres. If the book is well written, the characters, well drawn, the story well-told…I’ll probably like it regardless of genre. The same is true of movies.
Do you tend to read more authors who have already achieved a place of favoritism or do you tend to read more new authors, looking for new favorites?
I tend to go back and forth. I tend to really like finding new favorite authors, but then when I find them I tend to horde their books. The books of favorite authors are like special treats dolled out now and then.
Like you, I mix it up. Both genre of book I’m reading, as well as dividing my reading time between favorites and new-to-me authors. When I find a new favorite I can be quite obsessive as I search out and devour a back list. I’m trying to not be quite so gluttonous about it. I’ve ruined authors for myself before by pigging out on them. I need to do what you do, and dole them out to myself as a special treat. Gorging is sooo unattractive, lol.
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Good Morning Diane,
You definitely took some risks with your book…made some choices that wouldn’t necessarily be attractive to traditional publishers. You mentioned them — having a religious hero in a non-inspirational romance — having a hero be a communist —
A lot of authors write to the specifications of a publisher – you seem to have gone out into the less explored terrain.
Did you find it difficult to find a publisher for Mako’s Bounty because of the decision to do something a bit unique – a bit different?
Please talk to us about your route to publication. These days there are a number of routes that authors take…what was yours? Were there any memorable moments along the way?
Hi, Laurie. Thanks so much for hosting me.
I wrote Mako’s Bounty for a specific line of a specific publisher: Decadent Publishing’s 1NightStand line. So, no, it wasn’t difficult to find a publisher. They could’ve rejected it, of course, but thankfully they didn’t.
I’m currently focused on digital first publishers, and I find there is a lot more freedom with these smaller publishers; freedom to play with tropes or unusual characters. My writing seems to fit. I never met a trope I didn’t want to tweak or a character I didn’t want to torment.
My first published pieces were short stories. They’re dark and twisted and often funny. I write in different lengths and several different genres.
My first acceptance was definitely a memorable moment. The story had started out as a cute children’s story. I got up one morning with a terrible hangover from the shenanigans the night before. When I’d finished the story it was no longer suitable for children. It was quite horrific and eventually sold to a journal of dark humor. I don’t even try to write children’s stories any more *grin*
Hi Diane,
The freedom to write the kinds of stories that interest you…that you enjoy writing is a big positive of smaller publishers…and I think the move toward more electronic distribution of books. With ebooks one has to sell fewer titles to break even…and therefore to make a profit. That allows the publisher (and the authors) to take some chances…to push the envelope a bit…to do some different and unusual things.
I’m glad you’re finding the freedom to play. Unusual characters and tweaked tropes are fun to read.
Welcome to the blog Diane. I’m delighted you are here and love the sound of your book – and I’m not usually a sci-fi reader.
Your book intrigues me on a number of levels really.
First – most people have some form of spiritual belief system – whether they believe in a God, believe in something more general like the universe, or believe only in things like karma which don’t require a belief in a supreme being. It has always bothered me to see spiritual belief and experience confined only to inspirational romance…and only to certain religions.
I’m intrigued by the idea of a non-preachy book in which the hero has a religious faith. It’s interesting…in the way that unique is often interesting.
I’m also intrigued by the set-up. I like the idea of having the bounty hunter heroine needing to turn over the “saint” hero in order to save her mother. That puts both the hero and the heroine into a space between the rock and the hard place…a great place for characters to be.
This seems like an intriguing read – it’s definitely going on my TBP list.
Thank you for your kind comments. I hope you enjoy Mako’s Bounty.
You’re welcome Diane. I’m sure I will enjoy it. Need to find my written list (spiral notebook) of things to add to my shelves at Goodreads where I TRY (only marginally successfuly) to keep my books organized.
Since I started having guest author spots, hanging out more on Twitter, and organizing my books at Goodreads my TBR and TBP lists have both grown by leaps and bounds.
Yes, I love Goodreads. Now, when someone recommends a book, I add it on Goodreads. I always used to forget the names of books/authors, but now I have a fun place to chat about books and keep myself organized. Well, somewhat organized.
Yes, I like the same things about Goodreads. I also like their recommendation generator. I’ve found quite a few things to add to my TBR list there.
Like you, before Goodreads I was always forgetting the author name/title of books people recommended…if I didn’t buy them right away…which probably led to me buying quite a few of them right away.
Now I rely more on Goodreads to keep the books I have and want to read separate from those I want to buy. I also keep them separated by where they are and format. Audio shelves…paper shelves…Kindle shelves.
Goodreads is great for book chats, learning about books I might have missed, and staying organized. At least marginally.
Wow, you are using Goodreads much more efficiently than me! My actual bookshelves (in my home) are organized by genre, author and, if it’s a large section, alphabetically. I should have been a librarian!