Thanks to the generosity of author Cathy Pegau and Carina Press, here is an exclusive peek at the cover of RULEBREAKER (August 2011)! The classy cover (with Carina’s signature cool-blue tones, natch) for this f/f science fiction romance made me realize a couple of things. One, I really, really, really have a thing for these next-gen SFR heroines—meaning the ones that don’t take a back seat to the hero. I love reading about them in the stories and I enjoy connecting with them on a cover. After the recent parade of endless male torsos, it is so refreshing to see a cover with double-the-heroine action.
Two, this cover doesn’t scream “hot hot hot erotic sex!” With its tastefully portrayed heroines, RULEBREAKER challenges readers to avoid conflating GLBT romances and erotic romances. And many publishers don't exactly help keep the boundaries clear by lumping GLBT non-erotic romances with GLBT erotic romances. Newsflash: nothing frustrates readers more than being promised one thing and receiving another. In this market, Carina took a risk by creating a non-erotic cover for this story, and I salute that.
Seems like RULEBREAKER is breaking rules in more ways than one…!
Let’s take a look at the story blurb:
Liv Braxton, a small-time thief stuck on a backwater planet, takes on the gig of a lifetime filling in as executive assistant at Exeter Mining Company. Her job is to download incriminating files, but Liv finds herself unexpectedly torn when she falls for Zia Talbot, the beautiful and alluring VP she is supposed to betray.
Okay, so we have one heroine who’s a thief, and the other’s a VP. Frankly, I find that much more appealing than how hot they are, or how many love scenes they have. Give me a heroine with some character development “meat” on her and I’m there.
I don’t have anything against heroes, of course, but when it seems as though certain types of heroines have been underrepresented in both SFR and romance as a whole, I can’t help but get happy when stories like RULEBREAKER attempt to redress the imbalance.
Hmm…could the f/f romance dynamic be an emerging new “Other” in science fiction romance?
Joyfully yours,
Heather