Sci-Fi Encounters: Interview with Catherine Spangler

Recently a number of my friends in the science-fiction romance reading world were buzzing about author Catherine Spangler's latest novel, Shadow Fires (Shielder Series Book 5). Although I don't usually jump into the fifth book of a series, I heard so much praise for the story, that I decided to take the plunge. (The book is nicely stand-alone, I'm pleased to report.) After devouring the story, I had to ask myself why hadn't I read anything by her before?! And of course now I'm adding the earlier books in the series to my towering to-be-read stack on the Kindle.

A little about Catherine (courtesy of the author):

Catherine lives in north Texas with her husband and a menagerie of critters. She loves reading, taking naps on the sofa with a good football game for background noise, eating chocolate, and playing poker. She celebrated the sale of her first book, Shielder, by drinking champagne from a plastic cowboy boot mug.

About Shadow Fires (courtesy of the author):

Jenna dan Aron, a Shielder, lives a solitary existence, shunned by her people because she has visions and can see the future. She's even foreseen her own destiny: to be a human offering, a mate for a savage Leor warlord. When two Shielder colonies need to be rescued, the Leors who are their only hope demand a bride for their leader in return. Knowing she can't deny fate, Jenna steps forward.

The Leors are a hybrid race and only part human. Arion of Saura finds mating outside his race abhorrent, but he has no choice, as his kind faces extinction. His life is ruled by hard logic and physical prowess, with no room for softness or emotion. Bound to him, Jenna faces a life of barbarism with a mate who seems more beast than man. In the relentless heat of the wild Sauran desert, Jenna and Arion wage a battle of wills, until they discover that the heart is mightier than any weapon—and that love can forge shadow and fire together.

Veronica: What were your major influences for writing this book?

Catherine: Many of my ideas seem to springboard from earlier characters and scenarios. Because Shadow Fires is the fifth book in the Shielder series, two influences came from the previous books: the introduction of the Leors, and the brief appearance of Jenna and Arion in a short story.

The Leors were first introduced in Shadower as a fierce, barbaric race (half human, half reptilian) that was honorable, but swift to mete out deadly justice to anyone crossing them. They were only in Shadower because my smuggler heroine was procuring goods for them. I really didn't plan for them to become major players.

But the striking and enigmatic Leor leader, Comdar Gunnar, must have made an impression on my imagination, because he was back in book three, Shamara. This mighty warrior was trying to deal with the indomitable Lani, and was essentially helpless to corral her or resist her charms. So now the Leors had a stronghold in the Shielder world, and in my mind.

In the meantime, I had written a short story that correlated the events that occurred at the beginning of Shamara (really the only purpose of the story). I introduced Jenna dan Aron as a Shielder seer who foresaw her own future: a forced mating with a Leor warlord. I had specific reasons for the story and didn't intend to take it any further.

But Jenna started haunting my thoughts and I wondered how her story ended. If she was entering into a marriage of convenience with a Leor, who was he, and what was the purpose of this marriage? And from that came the basic premise for Shadow Fires.

The third influence was my love of fairy tales, and my fondness for the Disney and Broadway productions of Beauty and the Beast. Hardened and emotionally remote Arion was the total opposite of visionary and sensitive Jenna; they were night and day. There were times Jenna felt her mate was more beast than man. That gave the story its Beauty and the Beast twist. The conflict from Jenna's and Arion's differences was natural and real, and the story flowed from there.

Veronica: Always fascinating when an author shares the behind-the-scenes evolution of characters and plots. I very much admired the character of Jenna so I'm glad she haunted you until you told us her full story in this book! Can you give us some insight about the shaman and goddess worshipped by the Leors?

Catherine: I always have spiritual themes running through my stories. In this case, the warlike, honor-bound Leors, who lived in wild desert areas and honed their bodies for battle, brought to mind the American Indians, so I gave them a spiritual culture, with a shaman as their version of a "medicine man." This shaman has visions and guides the clan in all spiritual matters. During special life events or challenges, Leors go through a physically harsh ceremony, called saktar, which purifies and enlightens them.

Although females are equals, the fierceness of the Leors, their orange and red colors, the blazing suns heating their planets, all lent the race a masculine feel. I liked the idea of making their deity more feminine and nurturing, a goddess they revere and to whom they make animal sacrifices.

And since Jenna had been shunned by her own people for her seer abilities, I wanted her to finally find acceptance, which she does, even though it is ultimately with an alien race.

Veronica: Which character was the most challenging to write?

Catherine: The hardest character to write was the hero, Arion. While he was basic in many ways, he was also intelligent and complex. He was the product of a very structured, rigid and emotionally repressed culture, and Jenna was completely opposite from what he'd expected in a mate. My challenge was to have him believably transform to the point where he could accept her and even come to love her, and she could love him as well.

Veronica: It was fascinating to watch him struggle with thinking "out of the box" as far as his own worldview and assumptions. Do you have a favorite quote or short scene from the book you'd like to share?

Catherine: One of my favorite scenes arises from Arion being bombarded by suggestions from Gunnar's mate, Lani, and the android Maxine on how to approach Jenna, and urging him to take time to woo and reassure her before he mated with her. He's becoming frustrated with the entire situation:

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"There are the laboratories. You can find your way from here." He spun to leave.

"Perhaps you would consider taking instruction on the finer points of mating," the android called after him. "I have received extensive sexual pleasure training. I would be glad to educate you on the matter. Or I could provide some resource materials."

First Lani, now this android! When had a simple matter of taking a mate and producing offspring become more complex than orchestrating a major space battle?

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Veronica: Yes, Lani did seem to be a force of nature all right! What's next for you?

Catherine: I'm currently working on the fourth book in my urban fantasy romance Sentinel series. After that, I'm considering a sixth Shielder book, one about Jenna's and Arion's daughter.

Veronica: May we peek at your to-be-read List?

Catherine: Mission to Mahjundar by Veronica Scott, Archangel's Enigma by Nalini Singh, Ladder to the Red Star by Jael Wye, Dark and Damaged box set by multiple authors, and many more books!

You can learn more about Catherine and her books at catherinespangler.com.

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Amazon best-seller Veronica Scott is a three-time recipient of the SFR Galaxy Award and has written a number of science-fiction and paranormal romances. Her latest is Ghost of the Nile. You can find out more about her and her books at veronicascott.wordpress.com. Please e-mail Veronica at scifiencounters@gmail.com about content related to this column. Due to the volume of mail, e-mails may not be answered personally, but all will be read.