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This time, we are going to take a look at a blending of genres, that of fantasy and romance. One could almost call it a science fantasy, because there are elements of science fiction blended into the magic, blended so well it is hard to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. There is also the technology of magic, the ways to make things work in a world where magic and science are inseparable. What makes this book different? There is romance in every fantasy
story, and in most of the science fiction ones as well. We are human,
and wherever we go in the universe, there must be romance, for without
love, we could not exist. What sets this story apart from ordinary
sci-fi or fantasy is that it centers not on the magic, not on the
science fiction, but on the romance itself. That, in itself, is
nothing new, for Cinderella was just such a story. This story, however,
takes place on a world not our own, and not in our past, but our
future. Let's take a look at this blending, and see what makes it
tick.
His family had been one of the twenty-five first families who had colonized the planet Celta. They had left Earth to settle on a new world where they would be free to use their Flair, their magic talent, without the persecution they had known on Earth. They had found the world of Celta, an Earthlike world, orbiting a blue-white star they named Bel. These twenty-five families became either GreatHouses or GrandHouses, depending on the amount of Flair they possessed. The Ash family had a great deal of Flair, so they were one of the thirteen GreatHouses. But, when Rand was six years old, a rival family had burned the Ash home, and Rand was the only one to escape the fire. He had been chased into Downwind, the slum district of the capital city of Druida, by a member of that family and his two servants, who would have killed him if they had found him. Rand managed to find a hole to hide in, and escaped their detection. But he had no home to return to, no one to care for him. He grew up on the streets of Downwind, homeless, hungry, but with a large amount of Flair and a huge appetite for revenge. He waited until he was older, then he went after the family that had killed his family and stolen the Ash lands and wealth. He recovered his wealth, but he was still alone. All those with Flair go through what is called the Passage three times, a time when they are confronted with their past and must learn to deal with it. It will also define the area of their Flair, and Rand's area is with metal and stone. During his last Passage, he had forged and set the stones of the necklace that was to be his HeartGift, the thing only his HeartMate, his perfect match, could see clearly. It contained the magic that would show him who she was and would draw her to him. But he could not force her to accept his gift, she had to take it of her own free will. And for Rand, therein lay the problem. Danith Mallow had not been a member of a GreatHouse or even a GrandHouse when her parents were living. They had little or no Flair, and Danith had shown very little Flair herself as she grew up in the orphanage in Druida. She had known rejection, for she had never been adopted. She longed for a large and close-knit family, and she had made friends with the Clovers, a common people with little Flair. She had intended to marry one of them, Claif, a simple man with simple needs. Then, she met Rand T'Ash, and was drawn to the necklace and the man. But T'Ash was a big man, dark and brooding, and Danith was afraid of him. He had a lot of Flair, and she would be no match for him. Besides, there were too many rules that came with being a member of a GreatHouse, and Danith had her fill of rules in the orphanage. She refused to accept the HeartGift, and left T'Ash wondering why. How could he win his HeartMate? The struggle these two lonely people go through to finally learn that the magic of love is all the reason they need to be together is both heartrending and funny. They are both afraid of losing the love they want, almost afraid to love at all. But with the aid of T'Ash's Familiar, a cat named Zanthoxyl, Zanth for short, T'Ash wages a campaign to fight down Danith's fears - and his own. Heartmate
contains many interesting characters, and is a world I would like
to visit again. My favorite charachter is Zanth, a huge black-and-white
domestic shorthair, that is a loveable scoundrel with expensive
taste in gems and a love for chocolate mousse. Now, that is a cat
after my own heart!
Now, we're going to have a chat with author Robin Owens and see how she put this story together.
Jo Rogers: Robin, welcome to Beyond the Words. How long has Jove been publishing the Magical Love series of romances? Robin Owens: Since June of 1998.
J.R.: Where did you get the idea for HeartMate? R.O.: I looked at a bloodstone pendulum I'd just purchased because it was pretty and the idea of divination came to me, and T'Ash, the hero, practicing it. But he's a manly sort of guy, so he created (chiseled the rock, shaped the stones) his own runes. Blood doesn't faze him, so he used bloodstone with deep red veins.
J.R.: I love the character of Zanth! Where did you meet his real-life role model? R.O.: Maddox (alias Zanth) just sauntered into my backyard one day and munched on the food I leave out for stray cats. He moved onto my front porch for the winter, then I finally trapped him and got him fixed, then brought him inside.
J.R.: Who was the model for Rand T'Ash? Does he have a real-life counterpart or is he someone we wish we could meet? R.O.: T'Ash is my favorite type of hero to write, which is to say that I don't know a man like him. I can project what I really like in a man onto a larger-than-life figure and write about him.
J.R.: He has a past no one could envy. What brought this particular past to mind? R.O.: I felt that T'Ash was a rough guy, even though he'd been born noble. So he had to have a harsh background, which meant growing up in the poorest, toughest part of town. Whenever I need a disaster, I always think of fire first, and in a society like Celta's there will be politics played on a "clan" or "family" level, thus the instigator and motivation for the fire.
J.R.: Danith Mallow is also an interesting character. Is she based on someone you know, or a conglomerate of many women? R.O.: LOL, too much like myself I believe. I have to watch that, and am trying out different character types...
J.R.: In HeartMate, you tell of non-HeartMate matches. Why do these people settle for less than the perfect mate? R.O.: I think the driving need of everyone is to have a good relationship/partnership with another person. The idea of HeartMates, like most of Celta, evolved as I wrote. Most of the time a Flaired person will connect with their HeartMate during one of the "Passages" that frees their psi power. Usually if they don't connect, they don't have a HeartMate in this lifetime. I feel that "HeartMates" occur at most only about 50% of the time, perhaps as low as 25% of the time, for the greatly Flaired. The other classes usually stumble around on their own, or would have to go to a Flaired matchmaker to find theirs.
J.R.: You named Celta's sun Bel and call it a small blue-white star. Is it a real star located in a specific place in our galaxy, or is it just "somewhere out there?" R.O.: Somewhere out there. I haven't really plotted the trip of the three colonist ships (though I know quite a bit about it). But a blue-white stars have always fascinated me. Bel is smaller to human vision than our sun, because it is a hotter star and therefore the planet needs to be further from it...
J.R.: Does the planet, Celta, have magical powers of its own, or is it just the people who have Flair, and Celta is just a world where humans could survive? R.O.: I am still contemplating this (and anyone who wants to weigh in with an opinion, please let me know at robin@robindowens.com). I know that the colonists had psi powers and most of the families, especially the First Families, bred for it. The child most powerful in Flair is named as heir to the family title and estate. I'm also considering that there might be something in the atmosphere or the soil that magnifies innate psi powers.
J.R.: Celta is a very interesting world with many interesting people. Do you plan to go back there in future books, perhaps tell the stories of the Ash children? R.O.: Oh, what a question to ramble on. I am currently working on two spin off books (Ruis Elder, the thief and Holm Holly). I have another story (Straif Blackthorn and Mitchella Clover) that is at proposal stage, with notes for Tinne Holly's; Winterberry/Trif Clover's, and some other characters who have been whispering in my ear. I also have an erotic novella in mind... All of the spin-off characters will be either mentioned or introduced in previous books.
J.R.: Will the people ever seek the world they were going to settle before they got lost? R.O.: The ships were so far off course that the Celtans (if anyone cared) would never find the original planet. The Celtans are still exploring and taming their own planet. Right now all the action is taking place just in the city of Druida and it will be a while before I move to the outgoing towns or frontier settlements.
J.R.: Do you plan other fantasy romances in places besides Celta? We hope to see a long line of them. R.O.: I have notes of "other dimensional" stories...That is, women being summoned from contemporary Earth society through a dimensional gate to another world. I have a basic idea for a second wave of colonists that made it to the original planet (nowhere near Celta).
J.R.: Have you an interest in writing a fantasy that is not primarily a romance? R.O.: Though my second book in the Celtan series, Heart Thief was at one time slanted that way, it is now being revised to emphasize the romance. I like the romance genre best, and prefer working in it, but if my career doesn't take off that way, then I will probably do fantasies with a strong romantic sub-plot.
J.R.: There is a growing market for science fiction romance. Do you plan to enter this field too, or do you prefer the larger arena of fantasy unbound by science facts? R.O.: I think I'd have to do more research to be able to craft a good science fiction world. My background is in the social sciences (International Service) and Library Science--which means research is a great temptation -- I'd research more than I'd write.
J.R.: After HeartMate, straight romances seem pretty tame. Have you written, or do you plan to write, one of these? R.O.: Thanks for the compliment! I wrote two Regency historical romantic suspenses (one paranormal, one not) before I started on Celta. Again, I would prefer to include a paranormal element in any romance.
J.R.: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. I hope we can visit again in the future. R.O.: So do I, and as the Celtans say "Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again." We must now
end our visit to the magical world of Celta. I hope you will want
to go back there. It is easy to do, just pick up a copy of HeartMate
and visit to your heart's content. Also, please visit Robin at her
website:
Next
month, we will visit the realm of science fiction as we
visit our own Moon in the novel Darok 9. It is a novel suitable for
teens and still appealing for older readers. Join us as we visit with
author H.J. Ralles and go beyond the words. Until then, Happy Reading,
and have a Merry Christmas!
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