A chat with Science Fiction Romance author, Diane Burton - pt. 1

Good day, everyone! I hope you're all doing well. The temperatures have finally gone back up in my neck of the woods, after having snow on the weekend. I have a special treat for you today. I'm going to be chatting with fellow science fiction romance author, Diane Burton, about the genre, and her latest release, Switched Resolution.

Hello, Diane! Welcome to Backward Momentum. We always love to have our fellow science fiction romance authors over.

DB: Thanks, Jessica, for having me here today.

Now, science fiction romance covers a wide range of stories, including most any futuristic romance, romances involving aliens, clones, artificial intelligence, dystopian romances, space opera, steam punk, and so much more, ranging from sweet stories to erotica. Yet, it is still a fairly niche genre. Why do YOU choose to write science fiction romance as opposed to the more popular paranormal romances, or even contemporary romances?

DB: I love to read science fiction romance. When I was younger, I never got into science fiction—too much technical detail, too dry, not even a hint of romance. Usually written by men. And that’s okay. I’m not knocking guys or what they like to read. When they first came out, I fell in love with the movies Star Wars and Star Trek (well, not the very first one—too long). I love action and adventure so put that in a movie or book and put all that action in space and I’m hooked. Back in the 90s, I couldn’t find enough sci-fi romance books so I decided to write what I wanted to read. Here we are, fifteen or so years later, and we have more choices. Halleluiah and amen.

I completely agree. I didn’t read a lot of science fiction as a child for the same reasons. I really need to have a connection between individuals in order to enjoy a story. And it’s great that we can find more of that nowadays. Who are some of your favorite science fiction romance authors, writers you turn to when you need a SFR fix?

DB: My go-to authors are Linnea Sinclair, Jayne Castle and Susan Grant. Lately, I’m discovering new (to me) SFR authors, like Elysa Hendricks, Cathy Pegau, Catherine Asaro. And you, of course. <g> Who are your favorites? I’m always eager to find new authors.

I am, too, especially in SFR. Automatics for me are Gini Koch, DL Jackson, Beth Revis, the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I’ve also read stories from Pippa Jay, Diane Dooley, and yourself, and have more of their stories on my Kindle and Kobo. If only there were more hours in the day to get all of the stories in my head written, and to read all of the e-books I own. Now, I’ve heard that some authors don’t read in their genre when they’re writing. This doesn’t apply to me, but how about you?

DB: I didn’t discover Linnea Sinclair’s books until this past year. Now here’s why I should have found her sooner. I started writing The Pilot ten years ago. And despite a friend’s encouragement to read Finders Keepers several years ago, I didn’t until after The Pilot was published. That’s when I discovered so many similarities it was downright freaky—to the point that I wrote to Linnea and told her really, truly I hadn’t copied from her book. Gracious lady that she is, she said this happens often. Something in the ether. LOL She then told me an instance of when she was in the middle of edits she discovered that the name of one of her non-human characters had just become a popular toy—one that looked surprising like her character. At least she found out soon enough to change the name. She also reminded me that’s why we should read in the genre we write so we learn common terms and don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Also so we don’t inadvertently “copy” another writer.

So true! I’ve seen that happen in another genre a couple of years ago. When it comes to film, besides Star Wars and Star Trek, are there any other sci-fi shows and movies that are must watches for you, or something you’re looking forward to seeing this year?

DB: I was so entranced by The Matrix series that I’ll watch them over and over. Neo’s relationship with Trinity is so touching. I enjoy Warehouse 13, especially the push-pull between Pete and Mika. Oblivion blew me away. I expected lots of adventure and special effects. I didn’t expect the romance. Wow. I’m really looking forward to Star Trek Into Darkness. While ST is not technically SFR, I’m curious to see how the relationship between Uhura and Spock will progress. I’m sure I’ve missed a TV show or movie. What are they? LOL

Matrix is the only movie I’ve seen twice in the theater. Loved it that much! Though my favorite right now is Star Trek (2009). I haven’t seen Oblivion yet, but I want to see that along with Star Trek Into Darkness, After Earth, Upside Down, and Man of Steel. Though some aren’t true romances, I still enjoy the relationships between the crew, and the many familial relationships as well. As far as television goes, I’ve started watching Defiance (on Showcase in Canada, and SyFy in the US). It’s still early on in the show, but I think it’s fascinating to learn about all of the cultures of the futuristic society, and how they must learn to get along with each other. A lot of amazing world building, not only in the development of the society, but in the setting as well. And as you know, world building is an integral part of most science fiction romances.

Come back on May 27th for the second half of our chat.

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing science fiction romance. Besides the Switched series, she is the author of The Pilot, a series about strong women on the frontier of space. She is also a contributor to the anthology How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in Michigan. They have two children and two grandchildren.

For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com

Connect with Diane Burton online 

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest